Hot to trot new jacks on the scene The House Inspectors are making waves all the way from Adelaide, Australia across the underground. After a stellar release on Guesthouse Music they keep the fire burning with their Doing It My Way EP out now on Control Recordings. The title track is a peak time funkster riding on a groovin' ass live recorded bass line behind a guitarist with some jam in his hands. Absolutely loving this cut up and down... read more ⇢

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Does a West Coast sound exist today? Certainly with people like Miguel Migs around, we're always going to talk about it, but the internet is leveling the old regional accents that we became accustomed to and maybe that's not a bad thing. This track from Gabriel Black could have been made anywhere in the world (and who knows, with a laptop studio, maybe it was). It's atmospheric and adventurous in a way that House sometimes no longer dares to be, and maybe that's why I'm associating it with the nostalgia of the mid-1990s, when the West Coast sound seemed to breathe new life into something getting a bit formulaic to a lot of us. On the remix tip, Q-Burns Abstract Message really takes this track and makes it his own with a laid back and heady edit that with a little adjustment of pitch control could even be played in a pure downtempo set... read more ⇢

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Halo (website, facebook, myspace, traxsource, discogs, junorecords, twitter) made his name here in Chicago in the loft scene and clubs in the early- to mid-1990s. Now regarded as one of the top DJs and label heads in House Music, Halo's CityDeepMusic has released countless deep cuts, including music from Dennis Ferrer and Marlon D, Julius Papp and Franck Roger, available on both digital and vinyl. Their latest release is the "Moon in Taurus" remix package featuring edits by Halo and Jamie Thinnes, Reelsoul, Beppe Gioia and Darryl James... listen ⇢

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This week's episode of the 5 Magazine Radio Show, hosted by 5 Magazine editrix Czarina Mirani and DJ Rees Urban. listen ⇢

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Mazi and Nathan Drew Larsen are working overtime in the kitchen - hardly a month goes by without "fresh meat" and their creations never fail to impress me. The signature Fresh Meat sound is evolving into a synthesis of Tech and Deep House and is fully on display in this compilation. Represented here is the cream of Fresh Meat's roster, including Florian Kruse, Wiretappeur and Mazi's Audio Soul Project. Highlights include Larsen's "Lambdalette" (Reverse Edit) which sounds like one of those sooped-up engineering calculators dancing with the legend of Chip E., and Audio Soul Project's uptempo deep track "Hey Leon"... read more ⇢

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I'd love to review music all month, but if there were more records than the market could support in the past, we're being positively deluged today. 5 Magazine receives on average 200 to 250 tracks a month - and every month, without respite, we receive more tracks than the month before. These cats, Baainar Records of South Africa, have sent me quite a bit of music that I've never been able to get into print and it's a shame because they're doing really great stuff. If you've been reading my reviews (and thanks to the hatemail I know at least a few are!), you know how much I love what the new blood in South Africa are doing, and how much I dislike the shoddy American rip-offs. This is the real deal: 100% deep, tribal without being tacky, and with an energy underlying the beats that can really only be translated from soul to soul. The percussion is top notch and reason alone for owning this record - this is a perfect beat canvas for an acapella and the rare deep record that can seriously drive someone's peak hour delirium... read more ⇢

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San Francisco-based Prismatic Tracks has been making a waves in House Music with the unconventional and broad range of styles that they purvey. Prismatic staples Cubik & Origami come with an intensely tech-infused House release with their tune "Bought & Sold". Kicking off with heavy beats and a super thick bass line, this tune works up into a frenzy before delivering into a beautifully melodic break with a very catchy and soulful vocal. Then wasting no time, they get back to bass line business and beat it out to the end of the track. The original is definitely my choice cut of the release and may work best when beating a dance floor to death... read more ⇢

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Concept and execution? Pretty darn good. If you like a smooth sound and chill, elevating nights where maybe not everyone dances (but definitely grooves) and the crowd lets its troubles go, this track and its remixes is just right. Bandy's Original Mix introduces Houston's appeal, "What do I have to do, to get you to see ... that I ain't goin' nowhere," with a solid, deep feel and some dandy synthesized organ notes for a mild church-y feel. The Limestone Vocal Mix brings in percussion that sounds like a little rubber bouncy-ball stuck in an empty can, with a bit of a lovely space-y feel. It's a tough and extremely close call, but of the remaining remixes, the Guy Robin Main Mix is most warm, comfy and inviting, like that lounge performer who's at the corner joint every weekend, no matter what, for the past 20 years even though he could be totally famous... read more ⇢

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Bursting onto the scene almost four years ago at the tender ages of 13 and 16, the Bronx-born Martinez Brothers (myspace, facebook) have infused new blood and hope in what many see as a plateauing scene. Much hoopla has been made of their youth, but anyone seeing them live on the tables knows they're the real deal.

Initially playing drums, timbales, congas, keyboards and bass, playing in latin bands and church, Chris and Steve Martinez were no strangers to music. Their father was a regular of New York's Paradise Garage and it wasn't long before the boys were turned on to Disco, the Classics and soulful House Music... read more ⇢

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Born and raised in Niort, France, GIOM (website, facebook, ilike, traxsource, discogs, myspace, soundcloud, twitter) now lives in London, producing and remixing some of the most exquisite House releases of the last five years. He's released music on Motion, OM, Aroma, Blackcherry and Kolour.

Instead of the usual rehashed bio, we're experimenting with a Q&A format for our New Mix Monday series, and GIOM graciously volunteered to be interrogated by yours truly. The full playlist is located below!... listen ⇢

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Gramophonedzie (website, facebook, myspace, discogs, twitter) is a native of Belgrade, Serbia and has been DJing for more than 15 years.

His jazzy hit "Why Don't You" was a worldwide smash, establishing him on the international House circuit and leading to his signing with Virgin/Positiva Records. He's also released tracks on Gotta Keep Faith, Yakuza, Guesthouse, DiskoZoo and many more labels... listen ⇢

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From Switzerland, Jamie Lewis (website, facebook, traxsource, lastfm, discogs) has been rocking the tables and carrying the flag for House Music for more than 20 years. As a producer and remixer, he's responsible for dozens of instantly recognized songs - dancefloor anthems embedded with a spiritual message - both of his own creation and those of others released on his Purple Music imprint.

5 Mag spoke to Jamie ahead of an ambitious (and secretive!) triple CD release representing the best of his entire career... read more ⇢

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Listening to the mesmerizing horn come in on Pete le Freq's "Rise" makes being up at 10:47 pm totally tolerable and even enjoyable, despite the looming 5:30 am alarm. Throw in the funky bassline, hi-hat and keys and you'll decide to call in sick, 'cause you're goin' dancin'. This fifth Lowercase Sounds release includes two more mellow but groovy tracks that will get playtime, too, just a bit earlier in the night (which you missed, because you were busy calling in sick to work). But no worries, you didn't miss Terry G's "Higher" ... the vocals will get you to "try to take it higher" around 1:30. And if you're still on your feet at 4, DJ Raw Sugar's "I Just" and Will Jax's "Won't Let Go" will bring you back home in time to chill without stopping the beats (so you don't stumble into anyone waiting for the train on their way into work in the early a.m.)... read more ⇢

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So I've pretty much limited my going out days to Thursdays (our residency called URBAN'S HOUSE at Betty's) and Saturdays at Red Dog. There really isn't a whole lot to do the rest of the week, lots of the regular parties have shut down. This is all fine by me, as I've been keeping busy with dance rehearsals and my new running program. I signed up for a 1/2 marathon training group which means I have to (ugh) run at 7am every Saturday and Wednesday evenings with the group. The rest of the time it's up to me to run and cross-train. My first Saturday was just last week, we ran 4 miles which I don't think I've ever done before. My body was exhaaaaaausted!!! Then I had to follow that up with dance rehearsals for a piece I'm choreographing. I so wanted to just sleep in after that, but it was Saturday evening and I just had to check out Julie McKnight's performance at Red Dog. Ron Carroll was DJing and the whole night was a blast... read more ⇢

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This week's episode of the 5 Magazine Radio Show, hosted by 5 Magazine editrix Czarina Mirani and DJ Rees Urban. listen ⇢

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Two years ago, 5 Magazine published a tribute to one of Chicago House Music's legendary figures: DJ, producer, promoter, and Warehouse Records label founder Armando Gallop (aka DJ Armando). Including interviews with friends such as Paul Johnson, Mike Dunn, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Terry Hunter, Eric Martin as well as fans, this remains one of the most popular features we've ever done, proving that more than 13 years after his tragic death, Armando remains one of the most influential figures House Music history... listen ⇢

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11Feb2010

The shadow of Armando Gallop looms as large as ever over the city of Chicago and the electronic music community. Known simply as "Armando" on flyers and wax, Gallop was one of the most influential figures in the 2nd wave of House and his loss is still felt by fans and those who knew him. This tribute takes place every February in honor of his birthday.

With Urban's House resident Rees Urban, special guests Paul Johnson and Eric Martin, and hostess from 5 Magazine Czarina Mirani... read more ⇢

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Creative people gravitate towards each other naturally, and when it comes to two artists that are known to crossover musical genres it's no surprise that House icon Cajmere and hiphop diva Kid Sister would come together. Their new track "Everybody Wants" is a groovy, infectious dancefloor hit that can only come from the crossbreeding of two innovative players.

Melisa Young aka Kid Sister grew up in south suburban Chicago and made her voice known when Kanye lent his vocals to her track "Pro Nails", accelerating her rise to stardom. With her new album Ultraviolet mixing in clubby tracks worked on by well-known stars in the House constellation, 5 Magazine decided to have a brief chat with her and Cajmere about their recent collaboration... read more ⇢

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Our promo kit for 5 Magazine's gigantic March 2010/Winter Music Conference issue. read more ⇢

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A Tortured Soul single is less a product than a happening, in the hippie era sense of the word. The boys spare no expense and overload the package with some of the top remixers in the business. For "In My Fantasy", DJ Spinna leads off with a cosmic disco sound over Revolution epoch Prince synths that will make you shudder. Jask's Thaisoul Temptation mix makes this track pop - a synthesis of East and West Coast stylings like a San Francisco bassline that buried itself in a Brooklyn backlot. There's a lot to like about Ethan White's remix, which is the most teched-up of the bunch but still soulful. The mixes from Tom Moulton, JKriv, Ezel - there's not a bad one in the lot and really some enduring qualities about the whole shebang. Labels, take note: this is how it should be done... read more ⇢

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Fat fucking beats pounding, a serpentine groove and everything but the afros for the first release by Chicago crew The Chosen Few. To complicate matters for future discologists, the sample chorus on this one is actually by another "Chosen Few", a funk group whose most famous track (sampled here) was "We Are the Chosen Few". You might have caught it on Pete Rock and DJ Keb Darge's Funk Spectrum III compilation. This one is significantly more up-tempo with signature Terry Hunter production beats while retaining that fat'n'dirty '70s P-Funk horn riff and sexy styling... read more ⇢

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Jay West, Argentina's favorite underground House son, teams up with Vancouver's House Music vocal seamstress Ingrid Hakanson on Jay's own imprint Candy Music to bring us "Funny Things". The original mix is a very well produced, almost commercial sounding vocal House track. Ingrid's beautiful voice and "funny little things you do" vocal hook is manipulated and set perfectly in the mix by Jay West's solid production and songwriting skills. This tune has an instant sing-a-long quality which makes for great staying power. The Ronan Portela remix is a more straight-forward jackin' dub mix that keeps building and building throughout and will really deliver a workout to an already sweaty dance floor. Random Soul brings a firm and funky mix that is reminiscent of eighties pop, full of great synth that works perfectly with the vocal to make for a really upbeat mix... read more ⇢

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Los Angeles's HAWT music crew is back at it again with their second fire release. This time around they are giving us Easy Street which is made up of Easily Influenced combo Mikey Velazquez & Gelly Kusuma alongside Neil G. "Dancin'" (Original Mix) is the prime cut of this release. Steady, tough rocking beats and chock full of bleeps'n'bloops, this jam is a dancefloor shaker á la the Derrick Carter school of hard knocks. The vocals (which sound like Mikey on the mic) carry the hook of the tune and command you to dance. DJ Sneak visits this tune with a relentless down-to-the-ground Chicago House banger of a remix... read more ⇢

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This week's episode of the 5 Magazine Radio Show, hosted by 5 Magazine editrix Czarina Mirani and DJ Rees Urban. listen ⇢

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Ever since his debut album The World as I See It came out in 2006, Dennis Ferrer's (label, myspace, discogs, wikipedia, facebook, lastfm) name has been synonymous with sounds that are innovative, fresh and borderline risky, reaching success via a slow burn. His music has Tech and Deep House lovers grooving to the same beat, which is no easy feat in today's uber-divisive House genre. In November of this year his song "Hey Hey" was officially released on his own label Objektivity, serving as a teaser for his upcoming album The More Things Change... read more ⇢

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Let's go back now, to the period after Disco was purged from the airwaves but before House Music was born. Musicologists have dubbed this urban musical outpost "Boogie Music", dominated by the Funk and Soul artists of the era including Foxy, Slyck and WAR.

For many frustrated fans, Boogie Music has been relegated to something that one knowledgeable observer called "music for people who still wanted to party but weren't sure if it was safe outside." But no more. DJ Spinna (website, myspace, facebook, wikipedia, discogs, lastfm) - whose roots in Hip-Hop, House and Soul have made him one of our generation's foremost musical archeologists - has put together a fantastic double CD of underground Boogie called The Boogie Back. I interviewed Spinna in November 2009 to talk about it... read more ⇢

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Dave Miller puts together four slabs of heavy Deep House here, built largely around the strong vocal of Kelly Hayden. "Take What You Want" is a fierce tune - catchy, soulful, danceable - basically everything you'd want from a deep cut. The LawnChair Generals Mix funks it up. "Give Love" is the other featured track (with an Evan Rhodes and Greg Yuen remix) and mines the same vein. On the whole a nice four song EP, though I think it might have been advisable to release the tracks as remixed single packages so as not to lose either of these in the shuffle... read more ⇢

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"A Little More Love" has been circulating (legally or not, I couldn't tell you) for what seems like a year, and finally gets its official debut. This is strictly on the Deep House side of the fence - all four mixes by Mr. McCabe have a clean and souful R&B sound. Adeola Ranson's sings like an angel - I think in this day and age, it's pretty damn easy to tell if something is live or Memorex (or synthesized, tidied and made palatable by ProTools or even the dreaded Auto-Tune), and you can tell this girl can really sing... read more ⇢

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Funk? Soul? Disco? Some crazy vocal lines? Yeah, this has it - all. If you're a a fan of groovy Disco House - mostly on the slower side (120-ish), you gotta grab this. First, you will listen to the mixed tracks constantly for a month, then it will be your go-to for a long time - when you're cranky and need some automatic cheering up. Second, you have the individual tracks and you'll want to put my top-3 favs in your set for sure: "The Bottom Line," "Tena's Song" (I'm a sucker for hand claps), "She Can't Love You" (man, that chick is a sassy truth-teller) and "Salsa Rhapsody" (which has this captivating horn solo before the odd but delicious voices begin). Oh wait, that's four tracks... Bottom line? Totally worth your dollar signs... read more ⇢

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New York City sensations Chris and Steve Martinez of The Martinez Brothers are taking the world by storm. The teenage duo have received support from some of the biggest names in House Music and we're thrilled to provide a platform for them to show their skills in this week's New Mix Monday set from 5 Magazine... listen ⇢

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Guesthouse Music stands tall with another solid vinyl release. GM is one of the few labels of its niche in House Music still pushing vinyl in the recently overwhelming digital age of music. This release features House phenom DJ Sneak who is still bringin' it with his signature style of dance floor House bangers. The A-side cut/title track "Getting Crazy In The Ghetto" is a smooth riding jam with some mellow chords running throughout accompanied by a sexy sax sample hook, signature jackin' Sneaky beats, and some boompty bass... read more ⇢

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While nothing can tear me away from my Gospel House, these would force me to reconsider my love for sunshineJesus for at least a few minutes. The info with this EP mentions another JB track, "Got to Get Down" (Control Recordings), which I plan to locate as soon as I'm done boppin' n poppin' around my kitchen to these. Scrilla Villa's original "Find Myself" is crisp like a new Puma tracksuit, with itty-bitty blips that tease your ears into twitching all the way down to your toes. The "Lost It Found It" mix definitely has a rounder bassline... read more ⇢

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Kinky Boots is a brand new bootleg label coming from Nottingham, UK's Kinky Movement. "Size 1" is the first edition of what is looking to be a really fun and well put together bootleg series. The solid production stylings of the Kinky crew give us two great boots here. The first tune "Clownin' Around" is a playful House version of the rock'n'roll classic by Stealers Wheel, "Stuck In The Middle With You" that was featured in Quentin Tarantino's cult classic film Reservoir Dogs during the famous "scene with the ear". It is such a catchy tune to begin with that you can't help... read more ⇢

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Last Thursday Jan. 7th our weekly residency URBAN'S HOUSE brought back the wonderful DJ Rush to not only celebrate his birthday party (because he wanted to do it at our party :), but also to witness an amazing 5 hour disco set by him!... read more ⇢

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This week's episode of the 5 Magazine Radio Show, hosted by 5 Magazine editrix Czarina Mirani and DJ Rees Urban. listen ⇢

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A sneaky, sinister bassline punctuates the original mix of the title track of Bryan Jones' new Face It EP on his own Control Recordings. The live vocal sample works perfectly - it's just a call-back/response from a show. I don't know why more people don't slide things like this into their sets the way DJs like Cajmere used to do (and if you weren't caught doing something borderline illegal in some dark corner when someone dropped "Prepare to Flash" on yo ass, you're lying!) Jason Jinx's remix is fucking insane! This late addition to the best edits of 2009 channels Sneak... read more ⇢

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When you think of a DJ named Morales out of New York City, you can be forgiven for thinking of David first. John Morales - half of the famous M & M production team - has been out of the music industry for some years, and the sort of remix niche he carved out of the hindquarters of the music industry in the 1980s doesn't really exist anymore. But as a producer and the archetypical man behind the console of some of the greatest club hits of the 1980s, Morales and his remix partner Sergio Munzibai burned out the wilderness for the super producers and remix masters that came after them. This double CD collection is a fascinating retrospective focusing on his more underground edits... read more ⇢

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Drop Music is still at it after all these years with their 66th release. One of UK's finest House labels (run by House maestros Inland Knights - discogs, myspace, lastfm) changes gears a bit with this release and brings us an EP with more of a deep tech vibe. This two tracker features Inland Knights' cut "Another Way" which like all IKs' work is produced extremely well and sits thick sonically across the sound spectrum. The vibe on this cut is a dark and ominous with droning deep bass, but nice funky house beats to keep with their signature House hand... read more ⇢

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Originally released in 1994, the Korg WAVEDRUM percussion synth revolutionized live performance with its versatility, unique sound modeling and nearly perfect audio quality. Though increasingly rare, the original version 1.0 with its classic (and real) drumhead design is still in the kit of many who work in live performance. This month Korg is bringing the old workhorse back and updating the design for the 21st century. The WAVEDRUM is perfect for either hand-drum or touchpad drum techniques, with both rim and head sensors and a bank of 100 pre-programmed presets and 200 PCM instruments right out of the box... read more ⇢

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The original ShureSE115 headphones received rave reviews for sound quality in an inexpensive hands-free headset. The latest model is optimized especially for 3rd and 4th generation iPods and Apple's iPhone 3GS, as it's fully compatible with Apple Voice Control and Voice Over technology. Further down the trunk on the right earpiece cable, Shure has added a small but intuitive 3 button remote control and microphone to allow for volume adjustment, music forwarding and reverse and video playback. The bass in this model is much improved over the original release... read more ⇢

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JBL makes terrific sound products at a decent price, and their latest JBL Roxy RE430 headphones created a stir with their hot pink-over-orange and slightly less garish green-over-blue (pictured) over-the-ear headphones. The truth of the matter is while these are fashionably cute and targeted mainly at young women, these pack a punch in terms of audio quality and match or come pretty close to matching the audio quality of other consumer-line headphones... read more ⇢

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Tracks like "In My Soul" and "Together" made Grant Nelson almost synonymous with the sound of UK garage in the 1990s. His label Nice'n'Ripe became a touchstone for the emerging scene, though he also experimented in 2Step (under the alias Bump & Flex) and early drum'n'bass (under the alias Wishdokta)... listen ⇢

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Beat this shit with both hands! If you're a longtime reader, you know that MD first released this track on our WMC sampler in 2008. He told me a few months later that he had reports that it had hit in Amsterdam and now you can rock it too with these new mixes courtesy of Kenny Dope's Dope Wax imprint. Mike Dunn's Blackball Main Mixx is a solid rework with a moody spoken word (classic MD style) over a bouncy old school key riff. The instrumental rolls in that bridge-from-French-Kiss kind of way... read more ⇢

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Haldo is identified by many with the signature sound of Brazil's Grooveland Music. He steps out some on this heavily R&B influenced track. The vocal reminds me a bit of Chicago's Russoul and the production on the original mix doesn't stray far from the Deep House playbook from the best of what Kerri Chandler and Mark Grant are working on these days. Haldo's Club Mix ups the tempo for the dancers while DJ MFR and Vincent Kwok of New Mondo bring out some strumming guitar and stabbing keys to push this into new disco territory. Other mixes are handled by Ettori Rossi and Gino Woody Bianchi in collaboration with Haldo... read more ⇢

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Quite a few labels are taking the innovative approach shown here and giving jocks something new when they release their back catalog in digital format. This track was originally released under the nym "House of Black Dress" in 2005 and is smacked up here with four new mixes by Bearweasel and Wasted Chicago Youth. The Lazy Dub is some chilled out jack while Bearweasel's reprise uses some dreamy organ and reverb FX to pull this down deep. Mazi and Justin Long of Wasted Chicago Youth make this a great overall package with some buzzed out and extremely danceable tech... read more ⇢

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Classic House sound from Orlando via the UK's Lost My Dog imprint with a stopover in Chicago along the way. "Do It Right" features a muted vocal and the original mix is a groovy organ-driven number. Label boss Pete Dafeet funks up the mix while Chicago's Sean Smith makes a remix appearance with an uptempo stomper that really and truly is my favorite mix in a solid five edit bundle. He has the "less is more" credo down pat with just some simple keys that make this work... read more ⇢

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Here we have a solid freshman release by this young man from Minneapolis. Two tracks here are equally nice, with simple and subtle disco grooves that are done very tastefully. Terrence Parker always has exceptional taste in music as well as talent and his ear caught the attention of proper new talent on this EP. This is already getting support from a wide array of heavy hitters including Tedd Patterson, Jimpster, Jason Hodges and Bobby & Klein and Luke Solomon. Not bad for the new kid on the block!... read more ⇢

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Netherlands duo Dutchican Soul really turn it out on this rockin' new release from Miguel Migs' fantastic Salted imprint. The duo's classic House style takes you right to the dance floor with the title cut "Got To Get Down". The original mix complete with soul grabbing key stabs, head nodding bass line, and vocal hook, do it up just right. The tune cuts some rugs and is definitely the mix to pick up. Along for ride are three other mixes. The "90's Throwback Mix", which is exactly as it says with a deeper vibe with added rhythm, synth and piano, but a moving bass line reminiscent of Petalpusher remixes from the time... read more ⇢

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We have another potential blockbuster with this cut. Hot on the heels of his Strictly Rhythm release "Sinfonia Della Notte" (which is still in heavy rotation around the globe), Dennis brings it home to his Objektivity label. The track will fall in the Tech-House category with a soulful touch care of carefully selected female vocals that fit the tune perfectly. This song may take a couple listens to win you over but its going to be played enough that you are guaranteed to get that opportunity. This tune is going to be around for a long time!... read more ⇢

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The original is perfect if you dig the funk. Quick saxophone honks and simple keys drift in and out of this one. There's some odd, guitar-like break for 16 bars, which I'd never like on its own but it somehow fits perfectly. The original includes a percussion section and then a funny, intriguing voice saying "homeboy"... only I imagine it's actually spelled "homeboi" by the cool accent at the end of the voice. Don't fret, 'cause the funk comes right back in then. The original is one I'd definitely put in my crate labeled "jus' muthafukin' good (aka funky)." The Kinky Dub... read more ⇢

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Super Hi-Fi, sister label to Funk Weapons and brought to you by the All Good Funk Alliance and friends is off to a great groove with its upbeat style of combining house, breaks, and funk. Teaming up with Australian vocal gymnast Rubber Johnson, All Good Funk Alliance jam out a party rockin' funkster called "Man With A Jam Plan" that takes you back to the beginning of hip hop. Both this track and the title track "Sock It To The Man" are infused with funk'n'soul samples, rockin' rhythm breaks, and sit around the 120 BPM range which is a nice change of pace... read more ⇢

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This is the second installment of this title; the initial release came out back in July. If you didn't check out the first set of mixes, you might have missed the Milton Jackson version but the overall package here is much better. There's a vocal and dub mix by Dimitri from Paris that serves up his formula of new school disco-funk that everyone loves, a Tech-House version from Sebastian Krieg that sounds good enough to be on Objektivity; as well as a mix by none other than DJ Sneak. Sneak's mix is my favorite overall. Using his regular recipe of chopped up disco loops never sounded so good and the production is cleaner than ever... read more ⇢

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Los Angeles's burgeoning House scene brings us another deep selection from native label SOWAT. Luke Alan of LA's acclaimed HAWT crew, known for pushing the underground House sounds with their killer underground parties and club events, delivers a hot dose of deepness. Filled with lush pads, quirks, and a smooth melodic piano hook, "Step One" rides like a new bike down a fresh new blacktop road. On the remix tip is HAWT deviant Neil G taking us from the smooth streets to the mean streets of the ghetto with his "Inner City Remix". Neil's mix kicks it up a notch with some tough beats and spoken word vocals... read more ⇢

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This year has been a great year for House Music! 2009 has brought me some really great gigs, from huge festivals to small events, to some of my regular spots around the world.

There is really no comparison between the USA and Europe. People always ask me about this and all I can say is that there is a much more vibrant scene in Europe at the moment, including the Eastern Bloc in particular. Romania, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany have been very open to my style of House Music lately which has really helped a whole lot in getting my message across. "Funky House Music" is finally back on the scene with a vengeance... read more ⇢

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This week's episode of the 5 Magazine Radio Show, hosted by 5 Magazine editrix Czarina Mirani and DJ Rees Urban. listen ⇢

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I finally got to go back to my family home in Manila, Philippines after a 3-year absence. Me and my brothers were supposed to go last year, but that was also the time of the big economic crash, and needless to say our family was not immune to the ubiquitous losses that devastated everyone. Thankfully things are getting better and we were able to visit our parents once again. SPOILED I looove going back home, because we get spoiled, pampered and treated like royalty. We shop all day and night, then get stuffed and fed with all our favorite Filipino foods. The weather is a hot 85 degrees, the seafood is humongous and everything is so cheap! A one-hour massage is only $7! Can you believe that? TRUST that Miss Mirani was getting 2-hour massages everyday!... read more ⇢

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07Jan2010

After a billion gigs and a zillion miles in the air, DJ Rush still treats each set as if it might be his last. Now living in Berlin, Rush will be returning to Chicago on January 7th for a blow-out birthday celebration, playing that old school House and Disco from the days of the Reactor and Medusa's that launched him into the stratosphere. With Urban's House resident Rees Urban and hostess from 5 Magazine Czarina Mirani... read more ⇢

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15Jan2010

Omar S. is living proof that you can make waves in the music biz today and still keep your soul intact. The Detroit producer and DJ has established his own sound (not quite deep, techno or minimal but a unique blend of all three) that many characterize with the early days of Chicago and Detroit do-it-yourself music, which was less about fitting into a genre than making beats that turned you on.

And he's done it his own way: keeping independent, handling his own releases and maintaining an impeccable reputation for quality releases. Many of his cuts appear to be white labels (sometimes with titles like "002" or "008" and little other information), creating a kind of cult among jocks flipping through the racks. Fed up with distributors, he now deals with record sales himself via omarsdetroit.us - strictly on his own terms... read more ⇢

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Look At You isn't a new label - it's been in rotation since pressing their first master about 13 years ago. It is however a new Chicago label. DJ Dealer has been a resident... read more ⇢

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The hitmaker combo of yesteryear returned with a vengeance in 2009 as Shawn Christopher sang and Lego remixed Ralphi Rosario's "Everybody Shake It" on Blueplate Global Records... read more ⇢

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The crazy, souled-up Woodstock of House Music returned in 2009 as the Chosen Few DJ crew and several thousand of their closest friends gathered on the South Side of Chicago for this year's Chosen Few Picnic... read more ⇢

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Half New Zealander and half Japanese, Mark de Clive-Lowe is currently one of the hottest names in dance and soul. He rose to prominence musically in the hothouse environment of West London in the late 1990s, often as the man behind the scenes in the Brokenbeat movement. From his early collaborations with IG Culture, Dego (of 4Hero) and Bugz in the Attic, he emerged as one of the UK's top producers, particularly noted in the House scene for his collaborations with Phil Asher and Restless Soul. Mark has gone on to notch well over 200 releases, including collaborations with Lady Alma, Jody Watley, DJ Spinna and his fantastic project with vocalist Bembe Segue called The Politik... read more ⇢

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Sista Stroke has released records on D'lectable, Dusttrax, Mother Tongue, Innuendo and Revolutionary Music.

She's currently the host of her radio show Brick City House (from which this mix is taken) every Wednesday on chicagohousefm.com... listen ⇢

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This small label from Northwest Indiana has been hammering out the releases (most recently one from yours truly titled Urban Renewal). Shameless plug aside, MWH returns with four tracks of new school Jackin' House. Three of the four tracks are remixes of older releases as well as one new tune. All the songs are quite stripped down, which make them easy for blending and fun to mix. Scattered key and vocal samples make these cuts reminiscent of older music by The Sound Republic. The pick of the litter is Tommy Largo's "redo" of Ladgroove's "Took It To Come Down". Also on the release is music by Combined, High Maintenance, J. Caprice and DJ Remedy. Fans of Mark Farina and the new school jack should scoop this EP... read more ⇢

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Hot new label Pin Up brings a groovy little number with their 12th release. "Lessons" has two versions. The Happy House Mix is a fun San Francisco style dubby house joint. It's something for those that enjoy Miguel Migs, Random Soul or Jay-J songs. The keys are the mainstay of the track next to the thumping bassline and of course a slight garnishment of vocal bits to keep your interest. There is also the Electro Mix, but don't be frightened. It's a bit more energetic but still has a place fitting in comfortably in a House set if you want to pick up the pace a bit... read more ⇢

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A lot of labels view these type of packages as a way to squeeze a few more cents out of an old track, but when it's done right, a "Best of" compilation can really augment an imprint's reputation by trotting out all of the tracks you discovered in the bins, fell in love with, played to death and then slipped to the back of the crate again. At least in promo version, MoHo Vaults Vol 1 comes in both mixed and unmixed versions, for both fans and DJs. I know the Groove Junkies have done a lot of stuff, but it's kind of humbling to think that the 12 great tracks here only represent... read more ⇢

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A reissue and remix package of the Yellorange release "Circles". Boddhi Satva seems to be remixing everything vaguely deep and techy these days, and his Ancestral Soul Remix is worth checking out. It's preferred way more over the dub, which almost sounds like someone took a beat up copy of Lil' Louis' "French Kiss" and slowed it down to 80 bpm. There's so many great producers coming out of South Africa right now, I'd love to hear what a DJ Qness or Black Coffee could do with this... read more ⇢

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No doubt, Kerri Chandler remains one of the most versatile producers in the House scene. After several tracky releases and some reissues, he's back with this ultra deep track featuring remixes by Soulstar heads Harley & Muscle as well as a hot edit by DJ Spinna (as hard as it is to believe, the first collaboration between Spinna and Chandler)... read more ⇢

 

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There's all kinds of stuff going on in this four track sampler highlighting the recent work of Doc Link and Eman's Liberate Recordings. "Escape" by vocalist Angel-A meets its destiny in the hands of Jon Cutler, who has of late been hammering out the boundaries of a signature sound that I haven't heard anyone even try to imitate. All of these are for the deep crowd, including Single Malt Syndicate's "Lady from Islay" which is remixed here in ultra-deep tech style by Mr. Todd Terry. "Soul Liberation" mixes some jazzy keys and downtempo beats with a haunting refrain. Demarkus Lewis handles remixing here with a steady hand, letting each beat resound without cluttering up the mix... read more ⇢

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Late in 2008, I was sent a promo sheet extolling this crew called DJN Project and their intention to create an innovative blend of House and Hip-Hop. And I'm going to admit that I had kind of a bitter laugh about it. Lil Wayne swiping House beats is all the mainstream press can talk about when it comes to House - which is bittersweet to cats like Tyree Cooper, Fast Eddie and the rest of the Hip House generation that started the party and had the mainstream show up about 15 years too late... read more ⇢

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This 3 song EP was a pleasant surprise slipped into the promo pile. All three tracks use nifty vocal samples and can be defined in the funky/new school genre, but are far more organic than the million-samples-a-minute stuff you might be familiar with. "You Got It Baby" has a fantastic groove and a sweet jittery hook worthy of a Paul Johnson production. Jazz heads will like "Oh-No" for a long brassy trumpet solo and stripped-down drum sound... read more ⇢

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