Mr. Stefanik concludes his 'days of old' ep series on KANN with this third and final part. As highly valued friend and artist from the labels neighborhood he locks his diverse journey to its own past with another awesome track collection. As part 'one' and 'two' already certified, KANN15 teases out Daniel Stefaniks many-faced shining talents in techno and housemusic.
Together Old-Skool Acid House Alert! These tracks were recorded by Jordan Fields in Chicago during the late 80's. Just recently re-discovered on reel to reel tapes and as soon as we heard these beauties, we knew the world needs to have these on vinyl! Starting off with 'Among The Kloudz' which is a very raw & mental analog groovin' acid-house track. On the flipside you'll find 'Keepin' It Together", a warm soulful but yet club friendly Mr Fingers, Virgo Four alike track. This EP is for all the true Chicago heads, enjoy!
- Turn Me On' by Jay W. McGee is the third release in a series of sought after boogie, disco and modern soul re-issues on Légère Recordings. The original 12inch vinyl single appeared on the tiny Canadian Indie label Love Productions in 1980 and is immensely hard to find these days.
- Turn Me On' is an unusual production for its time, grooving along unbelievably deep in a spartanic arrangement, and fuelled by vocals which are not too far away from Sylvester's iconic style of mixing soul, disco, funk and jazz.
Jay W. McGee has a strong opinion about disco music: - When disco came out, it had its own way of reaching people's hearts too. Being in a club, you know, it's escapism, like with soul music. Soul is addressing everyday life problems, disco is about how to forget and enjoy yourself. They each have their own unique place. I saw people railing on doing disco because they didn't understand the seriousness of it,' Jay W. McGee explains about - Turn Me On' when he officially commissioned this re-release: - The discrimination of disco was in reality a discrimination against black music.'
- Your Love', the flipside of this 12inch single, is an exciting ballad on the B-side and a surprise in itself. Both tracks feature a great combination of talents. Wayne Jackson, the trumpet player on - Turn Me On', played on Rick James' album 'Bustin' Out On L Seven', in the late Seventies. Glenn Johanson was the engineer on - Your Love'. He became Eddy Grant's house engineer at his studio in Barbados right after he mixed this tune. But there is also a little drama in the story. When Jay W. McGee returned to the studio where he recorded, "Turn Me On" he found out that the original version of - Turn Me On' was erased by another technician: - Everybody said it could have been a hit, and maybe the guy did it on purpose.' Nevertheless he recorded the song again with a now different arrangement and instrumentation. Maybe that is the reason why the production is so unique and also so different to - Your Love'.
Jay W. McGee could have been a solo artist on Philadelphia International Records, back in 1969, when he met Leon Huff of Gamble & Huff, in Philly for an audition, just before they recorded - Me And Mrs. Jones', - Bad Luck' and - Backstabbers' with Billy Paul, Harold Melvin and The O'Jays. They offered him a contract, but he refused, because he came with his whole group from Flint, Michigan and they wanted to be signed collectively.
Jay W. McGee kept just one of the original 12inches in his home: - Both songs were a profession of love to my wife. We are now married for 34 years.' Now if this ain't love, we don't know....'
London trio Vondelpark have received quite some notable accolades for their debut full-length album Seabed, released earlier this year on R&S Records. The BBC compared their dreamy sound to The xx, describing the song 'California Analog Dream' as 'exemplary electronic pop, tracing dance and RnB patterns but rarely running over them in anything permanent.' Now DJ Koze calls upon Robag Wruhme's magic touch to bring the band's hushed tones out of the bedroom and onto the dancefloor for this new Pampa Records 12. With 'Moppa Habax NB", our beloved Robag takes certain elements of the original-most notably the bittersweet vocals and gentle guitar strumming-and weaves them around a functional house stomp. The dusky feeling is still there, but with an ultraviolet sheen and those quirky flourishes that have become trademarks of both Mr. Wruhme and the Pampa label. Flipping the record over, we hear Robag shift Vondelpark's pop tune further into dubbed-out DJ tool territory with 'Habay Latoff NB", placing it atop a hand-cranked mechanical pulse that's more tech than house. The vocals are reduced to a mere atmospheric aspect, letting Robag's buzzing and clattering do the talking, as the underlying drawn-out melodic phrases breeze past, with plenty of auditory curveballs to make your ears smile. Grab the vinyl version now-R&S won't be offering these remixes digitally until later in the year.
repressed ! Memoria has the pleasure to collaborate with one of the most established artists in Europe for her 15th release. The Parisian - Berliner DJ /producer Okain, after his very successful releases on various acclaimed labels such as Tsuba Records, Quartz Rec and Bpitch Control, joins Memoria with an EP entitled Welcome to the Hood.
Okain's music was incarnated in legendary Parisian clubs, home of some of France's finest inspirations. However, his fervent fascination with hip-hop, soul and jazz has highly contributed to his fresh dance floor creations.
The Frenchman has really received great admiration from the crowd all over the world with his intensive touring in Europe, USA, South America, Japan and China. Until this very moment, Okain has played at the biggest clubs like Cocorico, Fabric, the Rex Club and Watergate to name a few.
For this EP, his groovy upbeat music, diced with bits of old school flavor, stayed once again true to house and techno based roots. Samuel's productions explore the deeper side of tech house, with classic grooves and modern sound design that stands out due to its originality.
Welcome to the Hood (A Side) and Hot Garonne (B Side) really do speak for themselves, both of which flow well throughout the night, the second, slightly faster and darker than the first. The strings in B1 are unexpected; and bring a completely different feel to the track giving it real character and charm.
support:
anja schneider, gel abril, karotte, guti, luca agnelli, gary beck, valentino kanzyani, dubfire, bleed, florian meindl, yousef, jimpster, sandy huner, franco cinelli, hermanez, gel abril, mr. statik, nino santos, richie hawtin, claude vonstroke, joseph capriati, fil sonik, luca bacchetti, tania volcano, stacey pullen, arado, butch, wally lopez, danny howells, scuba, whebba, kaiserdisco, marko nastic, kiki, riva starr...
Ed Banger proudly presents their new signing Boston Bun, AKA ThibaudNoyer.. A 25 year old producer and DJ from Paris, Noyer spent his formative years in a series of rock bands before finally finding his way in the form of House Music. "It's my main influence - especially vocal House, anything between 120 and 125 bpm that talks about pleasure, love and desire..." and of course the all important "big warm bassline"
Noyer's displays a masterful touch on this his debut release - lead track 'Housecall' recalls the classic baseline arpeggio pulse of Mr Fingers, allied to the tough jacking drums of Green Velvet, and a moaning, imploring vocal. 'Closer' manages to up the sleaze quotient with a baseline so filthy it needs a good scrub, insistent grunts and shuffling perc, and 'Urname' rounds things out with blissed out pads, yearning vocals and skittering cowbells.
Everything started with his mixtape project entitled "LEAN HOUSE". The idea was to compile and mix some edits of his favourite house track of some of his favorite producers and DJs, in a chopped & screwed style. A couple of months after, his remix of Maelstrom's "HOUSEMUSIC" was released on Sound Pellegrino, and quickly defined the Boston Bun's aesthetic. "I build my music as I would build the atmosphere in a club. A club where you feel good, where you meet people, where something special happens. I try to recreate both the mood and the acoustic of this ideal place"
Subwax Bcn is very proud to present our new sister label Detroit Dancer! On this first release we give you no other one than detroit legend Santonio Echols! Mr Santonio got famous in the late 90's with vital releases on label's such as KMS , Serious Grooves, Made In Detroit, Express, Siren and Tresor, from which he made a true mark in techno history. On this release you get three tracks of pure detroit dancing moods and including a fresh remix from Orlando Voorn, another pioneer in the world of detroit sounds!
RAWAX IS PROUD TO WELCOME MR. K-ALEXI SHELBY TO THE FAMILY!
Mr. K Alexi Shelby
Like a moth drawn to a flame, there is something utterly infectious about the music of Mr.K Alexi Shelby, better known as K-Alexi one of the founding fathers of house music direct from his home city of Chicago. Since the late 1980s, he has pioneered the true house sound, leading to a DH and production career spanning over 20 years, including collaborations with artists ranging from The Pet Shop Boys to Derrick May and from Larry Heard and Felix da Housecat to Will Smith, as well as gigs across the globe.
An impressionable young teenager, Mr.K Alexi Shelby developed friendships with Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy whilst attending seminal venues like The Warehouse and The Music Box in the mid 1980s. Being here at this embryonic stage of dance music culture, there were no rules or precedents, so K Alexi drew on a rich musical heritage that had seen him grow up in the 70s and 80s listening to Stevie Wonder, Prince, Curtis Mayfield and David Huff. Those roots continue to influence his music to this day.
It was under the moniker Risque III that Essence Of A Dream was released in 1987, firmly establishing the name of Mr.K Alexi Shelby amongst the most prominent of all house producers at the time. Moreover, those early tracks are still recognized to be the quintessential Chicago house sound. The rumbling and dark bass, smooth strings, incredible percussion and the spoken word poetic and erotic lyrical flow became the trademark for classic Chicago house and the template for everything else that followed. To reiterate, there was no template before this. This was the beginning.
This initial success has lead to Mr.K Alexi Shelby working with the leading names across the electronic music world and beyond. Collaborations and remixes for Chicago peers like Mike Dunn, Mr. Lee and Marshall Jefferson merely served as the springboard for Alexi to work with the best in the electronic scene, from Derrick May to Paul Johnson ,Ron Trent Dave Angel to Felix ad House Kat. Furthermore, his talents have also lead to him working with The Pet Shop Boys and Will Smith.
On top of this, his tracks have appeared on compilations by artists varying from Laurent Garnier to DJ Hell, who used It's Me 2010 contribution to the Body Language series for Get Physical Music. Produced under the Club M.C.M. moniker, the 1991 EP It's Me/Club M.C.M. has been a frequent selection for compilations for 20 years and is rightly regarded as a true underground techno classic.
Single vinyl 10 track LP on black wax. Full colour, gloss laminated thick card outer sleeve with matt black poly-lined inner sleeve and full colour centre labels.
A1 The Blight of Old
A2 You're So Boring
A3 A Life In Dreams
A4 Hate & Love
A5 I Can't Get Enough Of You
B1 So Famous
B2 Tiger Balm
B3 The Daddy Remix feat. Q-Ball & Curt Cazal
B4 Arigato Mr Roboto
B5 Over You
Played and Supported by Chris Liebing, DVS1, Marcel Fengler, Inigo Kennedy, Bas Mooy, Oscar Mulero, Truncate, Markus Suckut and more. Kike Pravda presents his first release on his own label called 'Senoid Recordings', including a remix of Ben Sims. The vinyl starts with the track 'Exalt' .It includes a Roland 909 very processed, aggressive and distorted sound until the end, accompanied by a sequence of a dark bassline and dynamic,which Kike Pravda takes it to the limit of its frequencies in constant evolution.A track that makes it the letter of introduction of Senoid. In B side, Ben Sims remix 'Scared' to the most pure style of Mr Ben. Hi-hats unstoppable, unmistakable grooves, giving back to the sounds of the original, essential for its most faithful followers. Closes the record the original version of 'Scared', a continuous arpeggio with an accompaniment of a 909 ride pure, brilliant, subtle.Scared evolves from beginning to end, with touches of dark, analogic, atmospheres and glitches, which turns it into a space trip.
THAT'S SOME SERIOUS SHIT ! is a new record label dedicated to old House music and to dancers. Following the steps of Kerry Chandler, Mr. Fingers, Ron Trent, Masters at Work and so on... Away from the hype, we want to bring back the spirit of the early 90's when House music was not only music, but a communion of body, soul, freedom and love.
We hope to get you with us... in the dance, in the club.
Now ride on the sound !!!
Emerson Todd is our prized import from New Zealand. Since settling in Berlin, he's become a valuable team member at the Upon You headquarters, improving our English by cracking jokes and also assisting in the studio with technical needs. The man with a plan! Back in NZ he produced some well-known bands, but his relocation to Berlin sparked his specialization in tech-house. The results of his work have been heard on several labels including Cocoon and Saved Records, but for his third EP he returns to Upon You, once again showing his keen interest in funky sample work, pulled from his dusty vinyl collection. A1 'Inside Out' and A2 'Streetwalker' exhale radio moments from the past, but bolstered by the contemporary construction of modern power tools. The B-side is a winning remix harvested from the Thuringian Forest with a pounding climax, custom built by Mr. Mathias Kaden.
i met kirill from spdsc last year at a festival in bucharest called "poolside" and instantly became friends. to be honest i wasnt really aware of his productions at that time but in the end who do i know anyway so one of the first things while keeping in touch was him sending me the demo of "i need it" which he produced with his friend lipelis. instantly i fell in love with this tune and asked if its available to sign for teardrop. it was. and here we go, a few months later with remixes by myself lovebirds and mr iron curtis under his new moniker leaves from the western hemisphere and arsenii and vougal from the eastern!
A new label offering from the ever active vaults of Mr. Sascha Müller is the new imprint named Psychocandies which is setting things straight for an Acid-poisoned future with cat.no. 001 which is a marbled, limited to 200 copies 7" pressing holding Sascha Müllers "Tempelrotation (Edit)" and Acidfloors "Goja 3" on the flip. Whilst the first mentioned tune is on a grinding, distorted MonoAcid tip clearly influenced by long gone labels like Labworks or Propulsion 285 we see Acidfloor working on a mind bending fusion of dry ElectroPhonk and a tweeking 303 that is about to make all breakers twist their legs and the rest of the crew jump around like mad. If you love alltime classics like "Higher State Of Consciousness" you'll surely appreciate this little tune as well. Watch out for more candy!
Edward O’Sullivan Lee “but my friends call me Bunny or Striker Lee” was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 23rd August 1941. He started in the music business plugging records for Duke Reid at Treasure Isle, Coxsone Dodd at Studio One and Leslie Kong at Beverley’s. “I used to do plugging… when I say plugging I used to get their records played on ‘Teenage Dance Party’ and we’d dance so if you had a record to plug you’d put it on and dance to it and show the latest moves”.
