Lots more new music to wrap your ears around this month, so cutting the rambling and straight to the music –
Gloria Ann Taylor – Be Worthy – Flying Mojito Bros Refritos (Ubiquity Records)
This reimagining of ‘Be Worthy’ from the wonderful Gloria Ann Taylor takes the soul, bluesy, gospel original and delivers a spaced out, deep disco, groove heavy beaut of a track. Showcasing the stunning lyrics and vocal and cleverly finding perfect placement for some of the original parts while sticking in classy beats, bass line and layers to take this down to the dancefloor. If you haven’t heard the original, enjoy this current version but do listen back.
6th Borough Project – Rhythm & Truth EP (Delusions of Grandeur)
The 6th Borough Project boys are back on Delusions of Grandeur, and it’s been ten years since Craig Smith and Graeme Clark aka The Revenge, first stepped out on the label. The ‘Rhythm & Truth’ EP kicks hard from the off, where crunchy disco, warm synths, and rolling basslines collide to form one heavy duty release! Opening track ‘Rhythm’ comes out of the gates and smacks you in the face with its driving beats, sweat soaked rhythm, and relentless loop. ‘Truth’ eases up the pressure and treads a more deep-house path but with a highly addictive bassline and classy piano keys that will leave you wanting more and more. The closing cut sees the 6th Borough boys in fine form with ‘Keep On’, with a killer breakdown that is sure to turn the heat up on summer floors. Buy here.
Henk Donkers – Contact Us Immediately (Wolf Music)
Wolf Music continues to bring the heat on the London label, this time from mystery man Henk Donkers and his ‘Contact Us Immediately’ EP. Dropped in the mailbox by the unknown producer, the punchy opening track ‘Without You’ jumps out as the standout on the EP, the rolling two-step goodness featuring London vocalist Ell Murphy. Well, she must know who he is surely? ‘Dope’ brings back the 90s with acid lines, while ‘With Your Love’ explores breakbeats merged with South London garage, the EP closing out on a total surprise with the tripped out psychedelic vibes of ‘Pink Horse’. Buy here.
Ralph Session ft Carla Prather – Be Stronger (Nervous Records)
Following on from recent releases on Large, Sole Channel and Snatch! Ralph Session continues his charge through 2023 with another showcase of his talents and this time on Nervous. Joining forces once more with vocalist Carla Prather, this is pure US soulful house vibes of the highest order, full of groove heavy, euphoric vocals, multi-layered goodness. The package see Ralph drop his own Brooklyn Dub mix which is our pick of the bunch plus Marc Cotterell goes full US garage on his Plastik Factory mix. All we can say is keep them coming Mr Session. Buy here.
Hiatt – 11pm – Til (Razor-N-Tape)
Our favourite Brooklyn label Razor-N-Tape is headed up by JKriv and Aaron Dae, and here they present their next offering from Hiatt dB. Having released previously on Rhythm Section International, Hiatt dB hails from New Orleans. He’s been running his mobile sound system, his Mystery Zone club night, and Mystery Zone label out of the hot and sticky city. His ‘11pm- Til’ EP is packed with live instrumentation and vibrant organic sounds that you might hear coming out of a steamy bar on Bourbon Street. This is Hiatt dB’s blend of down south dubby disco, house, and funk that is just SO good. Buy here.
Hilit Kolet – POV Siren (Faith / DFTD)
Hilit is a whirlwind, both musically & socially. The classically trained musician is full of passion when it comes to her craft as both a DJ and producer and it is clear to see when either behind the decks or dropping big releases such as this. This new track is packed with energy, jacking beats and as always, the Drama. POV Siren is a mirror image of its creator and is being played almost everywhere as we speak. A one sentence rundown of the track would be a 21st century ode to Juniors Sound Factory reimagined by someone too young to have visited it. Buy here.
Felipe Gordon – Errare Humanum Est (Wide Awake) LP
Felipe Gordon launches his own label Wide Awake, to release his ‘Errare Humanum Est’ album. Continuing his meteoric rise, he has been dropping bombs on like Shall Not Fade, Clone Royal Oak and Local Talk. Here the talented Colombian fuses complex sound combinations to form rich musical rich textures. The album moves through a range of genres from house to breakbeat to acid and jazz and has the DJ, producer and multi- instrumentalist showcasing his talents to the max. The album is released in association with Clone, the two pieces of pristine white vinyl serving as a worthy follow up to his ‘A Landscape Onomatopeya’ LP. To fully appreciate this masterful long player it needs to be heard to from start to finish to fully enjoy every sonic corner of it. And when you’ve done that…. listen to it again and again. Buy here.
Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku – 電子音楽の美学 (The Aesthetics of Japanese Electronic Music) Vol.2 – Cosmocities
A delve into the musical mind of Cosmocities, a label we have featured on the site before and on being sent this wonderful VA compilation, discovered a host of Japanese creations covering disco, house, afro, funk, electronica and more. This is the second volume and our favourite in the labels display of love for Japanese electronic music. Take a listen, there are some absolute gems, none less so than a piece of piano house of hypnotic proportions from Brisa with ‘State of Mind’. The whole album is top class, so indulge. Buy here.
