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Monthly house music reviwes and artist biographies

Musica - The Soul Store

Simon Dunmore - Defected In the House (various artists)

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Editor's review

As head of one of the premier house labels in the world, Defected Music's honcho compiles what he sees as the quintessential celebration of Clubber Island (mostly referred to as Ibiza)--and as such, the mix features the party sounds of Todd Terry, Kenny Dope, and others. Since it's a tribute to those long island nights, of course it's got a strong tropical and tribal house backdrop, congas and bongos flying around shiny synths, and the occasional diva demand.

Biography

Eivissa is the Catalan name for Ibiza. The famous Island known for its summer parties, with thousands of people flooding in for the big summer club nights. Defected’s label boss, Simon Dunmore on his fourth installment of “Evissa in the house” shows us the style and feel that is Ibiza. So crank it, lift your cocktail up in the air and get into the hottest summertime party in the world.

For us Pacha is the only venue that we consider, because it’s a
pure disco. There are great clubs in Ibiza obviously, but none
of them really have the combination of clubbing and fashion
that I think Pacha has. It’s the perfect home for us. – SIMON
DUNMOR

Defected boss Simon Dunmore is a fanatical collector of vinyl, with over 10,000 records organized by label, and with those he most loves and respects, Motown, Philly, Salsoul, Strictly Rhythm, taking centre-stage. Simon has always had a vision that his own label, Defected, will one day be as revered
and respected as those other labels, and that the Defected section will have pride of place in the collection of any self-respecting dance music fan.

As a DJ, doing a compilation is a pretty personal thing. I think there are DJ’s who put compilations together with the intent of selling as many records as possible, which is fine. For me, the Eivissa comp is an extension of what I’m about musically and about what we do as a label – SIMON DUNMORE

As ever, this years ‘Eivissa: in the House’ is packed with all the big tunes that will be soundtracking countless thousands of dedicated clubbers’ summer holidays this year. This double CD moves thru many of today’s hottest producers from Mr. V to Basement Jaxx, Dennis Ferrer to Grand High Priest.
A few real highlights on ‘Evissa 07’ are a new track by Todd Terry that’s coming out on Strictly Rhythm called ‘Get Down’. It’s a collaboration between Todd, Kenny Dope, DJ Sneak, with vocals from Tara. Dennis Ferrer’s new track ‘Touched the Sky’ had a great run at WMC, you can play it on your i-Pod or in your car and think it’s a pretty cool record, put it in club it’s something else, it just sounds dope and really comes
into its own.-SIMON DUNMORE

THE HIT MAN

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Biography

Patrick Vigil & Adam Fazio aka The Hitmen were a late 90's electronica sensation in the underground SF rave scene.

 

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Ananda Project

 

Editor's review

House music's main motivation much of the time is to uplift even the most foul of moods, but sometimes you just don't feel like belting out songs about the importance of self-love with an old-school Chicago house diva. We feel you. Thank goodness, then, for Atlanta producer Chris Brann. His brand of house aims at nothing but to be beautifully, relaxingly melodic, with an easy sparkling of tribal percussion and smoky alto vocals that could unite the club in a sweaty, spiritual tangle 'til sunrise.

Biography

Fire Flower. Ananda Project's highly-anticipated follow up to Morning Light has finally blossomed. Brainchild of Atlanta-based genius producer, Chris Brann, this third full-length artist album on Nite Grooves, solidifies his standing at the forefront of modern dance music production. Chris is also the mastermind behind such internationally renowned ensembles such as Wamdue Project, Wamdue Kids and P'Taah and has done remixes for Everything But The Girl as well as remixed the title song for HBO's hit show Six Feet Under. His previously successful works on Nite Grooves, including "Cascades of Colour" & "Kiss Kiss Kiss" have gained the attention of the industry as well as the dance floor yielding a theme song for a Johnny Walker whiskey commercial with the former song and inclusion in a Karl Lagerfeld movie with the latter. Fire Flower contains 14 original works and blends such styles as Future Jazz, Neo-Soul, Deep House, Ambient, R&B, Broken Beat, Salsa, & Funk into a cohesive listening excursion setting sail in a new rhythmic era. Ananda Project supports a revolving cast of outstanding vocalists with mainstays Terrance Downs & Heather Johnson having top-billing. Terrance's stellar vocals grace the beautifully produced "Space & Time", "Into The Sunrise", "Fireworks", & the funk-jazzy forget me not, "Where the Music Takes You". We hear the delicate voice of Heather Johnson on the deeply smooth, simple-bassed & equally as percussive, "Let Love Fly". Other singers who in the past contributed to Ananda's veritable musical bounty have included Lydia Rhodes, Naked Music's Gaelle Addison, Kudu's Sylvia Gordon & Marta Gazman. This time the dynamic group welcomes Chicago stage actress, keyboardist & songstress Denise White, whose extraordinary vocal range and musical skills grace 3 songs including the frenetically jazzy "Free Me", "Stay As You Are" (who, on this song, critics have compared her voice to Karen Carpenter), and the infectiously hook-y "Stalk You", destined to be one of the stand-out cuts off the album. Solu Music's Kai Martin sings "Universal Love" which has gotten and epic remix by the legendary Jay-J. There are also 2 instrumentals of pure groove. Brann brings a healthy mixture of new styles, new artists, and fusions thereof culminating into what will surely become Ananda Project's most celebrated artist albums to da

Where to buy

Dennis Ferrer

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Editor's review

New York producer Dennis Ferrer is probably one of those old souls who still believes house music will save the world. Oh, to think that way again ... Come to think of it, though, Ferrer's progressive house with its souled-out edge and gospel grounding can really dig deep into even the most pessimistic naysayer. So if you're not looking to shake your booty like the Church Lady to hand-clappin' glory tunes, you best cover your ears.

Biography

NYC-based deep house producer Dennis Ferrer will release his much-anticipated solo album, "The World As I See It" February 20, 2007 on New York City's King Street Sounds. Known for his ability to brilliantly fuse Soul/Afro/Tech and Deep House-influences, Ferrer has created a signature sound that is at once musical, modern, and ultimately crowd-pleasing.

Sublime, yet far from elitist, Ferrer's productions and remixes have been on the money, literally, as it's been his remixes of club hits such as "Cure And the Cause" by Fish Go Deep, "Jealousy" by Martin Solveig and particularly "Most Precious Love" by Underground Dance Artists United For Life featuring Barbara Tucker that have been key to their success.

Ferrer's debut genre-spanning album includes the previously released singles "Son of Raw," "Change The World," "Church Lady," and current single, "Underground is my Home."

"The collection is named 'The World As I See It' if only because it was supposed to provide you with a view into my life, my emotions, my character and the love I have for this music. It may not be the greatest story ever told, but at least it's mine," says Ferrer.

Booka Shade

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Editor's review

Minimal music doesn't have to be click-heavy and made by emaciated dudes with slick hair and a penchant for black. The duo on M.A.N.D.Y.'s Get Physical label (one of the standout electronic dance music imprints of 2006) made waves in the electronic underworld with its epic melodies behind stripped-down bass and mini-synth stabs.

Biography

Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier aka German producers and live act BOOKA SHADE have come a long way since the early 90s. Back then, Arno and Walter were a synth pop act signed to a major label. However, they were seduced by the trance,house and techno they heard in Frankfurt club The Omen and started releasing records on R&S, Music Man, Tommy Boy and Sven Vath’s Harthouse imprint. Apart from
their 1993 trance classic 'Una musica senza ritmo’ as Degeneration, they scored big success in the mid-90s on Dutch label Touché with the progressive Kind of good and Silk.

By the end of the 90s, Booka Shade needed a new direction and they founded a label, Get Physical, with DJ T and their old friends Patrick Bodmer and Philipp Jung, aka M.A.N.D.Y. Booka Shade are responsible for all productions and remixes by M.A.N.D.Y., DJ T., Sunsetpeople and Chelonis R. Jones, and Get Physical has become one of the most popular underground dance labels.

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Miguel Migs - Get Salted Vol.1

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Biography

Compact Disc From one of America`s most sought-after house producer`s- DJ`s - comes the 4th installment of the House of Om series: Miguel Migs "Get Salted volume 1." With the launch of his own label, Salted - Miguel Migs continues to send ripples across the sea of house music. This mix CD encompasses the sounds that are perfect for any time - laid back and chill - tracks for morning, noon or night. The Salted label was started one year ago by Migs in an attempt to encompass all types of music, for all types of people...and the Miguel Migs Get Salted Vol. 1 does just that. Miguel has toured non-stop over the past 8 years creating a fan- base that is a force to be reckoned with...as Migs takes it to a whole new level, teaming up with Om Records and delivering a mix to enjoy with your head back, feet up and a cocktail in hand!

Tfox

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Biography

He started to produce music on Ejay.He produced many tracks with the Ejay, but in December 2002 he purchased Reason 2.5 and the(Roland MC505).That was a revolution to him. His music started getting better.He has always produced standard trance, but he decided to move over to the house music scene instead.TFOX  wants to produce strong house tracks, and he always put a lot of imagination his melodies.

Dani Siciliano

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Editor's review

Somewhere among the styles of Ellen Alien, Sia, and Esthero lies a sliver of previously uncharted territory that Dani Sicillano has now claimed. Music afficionados who are into trip-hop and like their songstresses sassy and their beats a bit bizarre will definitely dig Dani.

Biography

"If you speak, then speak your mind. Use your head, not your behind…"

Following the critical success of her 2004 solo debut, Likes..., Dani Siciliano's new album, Slappers, solidifies her position as one of the most passionate and original voices today. Gliding through house, disco, blues, pop, electronica, soul, and even a little country, with wit, verve and honesty, Slappers is an album that captures you with its melody before teasing you with its meaning. While Slappers knows its history, it is definitely an album that could only have been made today – one capable of making heads dance and feet think.

This isn't a techno record or a dance record. Slappers is comparable to a singer– songwriter record written on the strings of a guitar, but like innovators before her, Dani prefers the 0s and 1s of electronics to balance out her voice and give the album a singular feel. Informed by Dani's own past, Slappers is full of songs of dislocation. After all, Dani started in Arizona, then spent a long period in California before finally moving to England to work with Matthew Herbert. Her voice is very much caught somewhere in the mid-Atlantic stream. The electronic backdrop articulates that state, but at its core, Slappers is essentially about songs. Like her debut, Likes..., this new album is about intimate situations and the politics of emotion between people.

Primarily through her work with Matthew Herbert, Dani Siciliano has become one of electronic music's most recognizable voices. However, Dani's voice has also largely influenced Herbert's sound, helping to make his music more accessible as she has put the "sing" into "singular" on all the Herbert albums from 1998's Around The House to 2001's Bodily Functions, 2003's big band outing, Goodbye Swingtime and this year's Scale. On Slappers, Dani did much of the production herself, but in return for her many contributions to his work, Herbert shared some of the production duties. This dynamic is explored with some humor on Dani's self-produced, self-sampling tongue-in-cheek song "Be My Producer" (a 100% all-Siciliano outing with beats sampled from that distinctive voice). Though they have worked together on many releases, Dani Siciliano and Matthew Herbert are two individual artists with individual ideas. She's got her own bag of tricks and Slappers is Dani's quest to find a musical realm of her own.

Stand-out tracks on this all-killer, no-filler album include the clipped funk of "Didn't Anybody Tell You" (built on the beat-boxing talents of Neil Thomas); the brooding, electronic soul of "They Can Wait" (where Dani built a percussion kit for drummer Leo Taylor sampled from American high school "True Love Waits" promise rings); "Why Can't I Make You High?" (featuring Ingrid and Kitty from cult teen band Kitty, Daisy And Lewis) — a brilliantly catchy digital-goes-country song that'll soundtrack campfire sing-a-longs for years to come; and the title track, a stomping call-to-arms where you'll find instruments made out of the sound of women's voices collected during a little soiree in Dani's kitchen one night - as well as the percussive sound of asses being slapped!

As a DJ who has played everywhere from Berlin to Sydney, Dani's deep love and playful knowledge of music is clear in her sets: obscure 12"s, classic cuts you forgot you loved and fresh mixes you're surprised no-one's thought of before. Disco, house, soul, a cheeky nod to acid, electro and techno — everything and nothing is sacred in Dani's box of party tricks.

Singer, producer, songwriter, DJ…Slappers confirms Dani Siciliano's place as one of the most exciting artists today.

Joey Youngman

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Editor's review

Having established himself as a hot new stateside house talent on labels such as Jamayka, Tango, and his own Fetish imprint, Oakland's Joey Youngman is no stranger to the mixing desk. His tracks pump with an irresistible funkiness as warm, wavy chording and surgically sliced sample grooves deflect off one another in his signature bass-bouncing house style. For fans of Dizzy, Funky Transport, and Brett Johnson.

Biography

The owner and A&R of Fetish Recordings, Joey Youngman has been producing house music since the ripe age of 11. With extensive training in classical and jazz piano, he had a strong foundation to start from.

Most of Joey's early teen years were spent satisfying his obsession for making electronic music. Eventually, he fell so in love with house that he decided to focus his energy completely on it. This was during the peak of the 'massive' scene in California, where young Joey found himself inspired by the fresh new sounds of this music he so loved.

After watching Mark Farina and Derrick Carter play to 25,000 people, Youngman picked up his first set of turntables, and began learning how to mix records. This new craft taught him how to move people with music, and enlightened him in his own music production. Joey soon began playing at clubs and parties before he was old enough to get in the front door.

Now with over 10 years of production experience under his belt and a huge library of original tracks to show for it, Joey also finds time in his hectic production schedule for DJ gigs -- a way to spread his patented flavor of house music to the world. His discography is growing extremely fast, and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Future plans for Fetish Recordings include a great deal of Joey's original work, and a few surprises from some new groundbreaking artists; watch out for a new release every month. Youngman has also joined forces with Tony Hewitt under the alias "Young Governors," and Jonene under the alias "ManWhore."

Sunshine Jones (Dubtribe Sound System)

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Editor's review

If you think tribal house is a thing that disappeared in the early '00s with the rave, you probably haven't checked up on Sunshine Jones. The founder and frontman of San Francisco's Dubtribe Sound System, Jones is still at it--re-emerging from Dubtribe's farewell tour with a solo album he recorded in just seven days. Like DSS, the stuff is built around traditional Chicago house track structure, but the focus is around the bongos and on delivering a thick tribal vibe.

Biography

Sunny Delight: Dubtribe Sound System's Sunshine Jones Returns with Beats, Bliss and Bongos. Debut solo album "Seven Tracks In Seven Days" brings back the joy of dancing to deeply deep wee hours House tracks

"...A researching of the electronic side of this half of the tribal, naturalist duo Dubtribe Sound System. A search through roots, and history to discover what we ever loved about getting together and losing our minds in warehouses, and around the bonfires of California beaches. — Album preview, Tribe.net

If names like Frankie Knuckles, Mr. Fingers, Francois Kevorkian mean anything to you, so too perhaps will Sunshine Jones. As the former founder and frontman for the internationally known San Francisco-based Dubtribe Sound System, Jones built a worldwide reputation as the maestro of blessed-out, feel good, sweaty, deeply deep four-on-the-floor dance anthems rooted in the Chicago House Music esthetic. His moody-and mood altering tracks were equally at home rattling bass bins around blacked-out dancefloors as they were washing over incense-scented California beaches, rocking raves in Gainesville or greeting Ibizan sunrises.

Dubtribe Sound System formed in 1991 in San Francisco and made their first major impact on the house music scene with their 1994 debut CD, "Sound System." After extensive touring, EPs, three more albums ("Sound System," "Selene Songs," "Bryant Street," "Baggage," which included their monster, "Do It Now"), a slew of remixes and two compilations, on a variety of labels (Imperial Dub, Organico, Jive Electro, Virgin, Defected) the husband and wife duo of Sunshine and Moonbeam (both their real given names) Jones called it quits after what, last year, became the Dubtribe Sound System North American farewell tour of North America.

Here, inspired by his renewed love of those deep tracks, that aforementioned farewell tour and pure momentum, Sunshine Jones returns with his first solo album, "Seven Tracks In Seven Days." (Yes, momentum. Jones came off the farewell tour so moved that he locked himself in his studio and, you guessed it, seven days later, surfaced with this very album.

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