Posts Tagged ‘No.19 Music

28
Apr
13

reviews:85

By gregfenton Closed
Categories: Magazine Sixty reviews
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Tone of Arc - The Time was Right packshotTone of Arc
The Time Was Right
No.19 Music

So excited to get to review Derrick Boyd and Zoe Presnick’s Tone of Arc debut album. The Time Was Right captures everything I love about music that sits just outside that very loose term of soulful dance music, although of course this packs more emotion than a lot of that very same cliché. With song titles like Surrender, Lost In The Machine, and Hardly Standing setting the scene this plays out like life’s alternative with a smouldering, funky drive that would make Bowie blush with envy on the irresistible Love Kissed! Sure, you can hear the influences loud and proud but it makes for sparkling refreshment not to hear the early 90’s replayed over and over again, with the intriguing vocals referencing the lost era of new-wave. All that and their superlative cover of ‘Goodbye Horses’ go to vary the light and shade of the album while tempos live at varied speeds giving you that rush of excitement Tone of Arc do so very well.

release: May 13

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TONE-of-ARC/206988806053907

https://www.facebook.com/no19music

 

Tapesh & Maximiljan
Feelings
Leena Music

Slightly late in reviewing this but none the less a first rate release from the Dusseldorf duo sees the excellent All The Time at the top of the list with its infectious, brooding atmospheres and darkly sophisticated arrangement sizzling with infectious energy. Given the human touch via yearning spoken vocals this has to be one of my favourite releases from the label so far. Feelings, follows with more of a sense of urgency coupled with sleazier bass. Leaving, Get It On to deliver more of that Acid attitude as yet another excellent production sparks your imagination with fiery electronic sounds and rhythms.

http://www.beatport.com/release/feelings/1059737

https://www.facebook.com/tapesh.official

https://www.facebook.com/maximiljan.arndt?fref=ts

http://www.mobilee-records.de/

 

InnerCityRecords_LogoVarious Artists
InnerCity Records Vol 1
InnerCity Records

InnerCity Records is the brand new Manchester based label from Mark Horsfall and Danny Stott and their first volume points the way forward to good times ahead. Music from the likes of Giom’s impressive bass-bizzy Exhausted and from Dale Howard’s typically pulsating Go Deeper indicates what lies in store in terms of fresh thinking House Music that isn’t afraid to look forward. The remaining artists included are: Leigh D Oliver, Roland Nights, Gutto Serta and finally Casey Lee Jones whose invigorating Feel It ends this most promising package. Listen below…

release: May 6

https://www.facebook.com/innercityrecs

 

AL011IGThe Black 80s
Give Me Something
Air London

The Black 80s aka Hollis P Monroe & Overnite deliver a strikingly original piece of music with their latest for Air London. Not least of all because Give Me Something features a soul infused vocal that sits somewhere between light and shade, although with a haunting edge that will you find yourself mesmerised by. The music does a similar thing with drum machine beats and atmospheric electronics feeling distinctive and other worldly. Meanwhile, the Hollis P Monroe Mix replays the elements with a pacier tempo and further spaced out sounds to compliment the original.

Release: June 5

https://www.facebook.com/hollispmonroemusically

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Overnite/307543039338386

http://www.airlondonmusic.com/

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24
May
12

reviews:50

By gregfenton Leave a Comment
Categories: Magazine Sixty reviews
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Konrad Black & Art Department
Graveyard Tan
No.19 Music

Things do indeed only get better as this ridiculously good release from one of the world’s hottest labels No.19 testifies. Following quickly on from Tone Of Arc’s excellent single comes this from Konrad Black (Wagonrepair) and No.19’s very own Jonny White who along with Kenny Glasgow form Art Department. Graveyard Tan, as you might suspect from the title plays with hauntingly deep tones and simmering moody tensions that are at once deliciously intense and beautifully epic. Played over crisp hi-hats the expansive bass broods its way into your consciousness with the simple intonation of the word Baby all that needs saying. Version Two replays those very elements but either way it doesn’t get a lot better than this.

release: June 4 (vinyl)/ June 18 (digital)

http://soundcloud.com/no19music/konrad-black-art-department-1
http://www.wagonrepair.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/artdepartmentmusic
http://www.no19music.com/

 

Behling & Simpson ft. James Fox
EP2
Futureboogie Recordings

It can’t just be about the sunshine but every time I hear something new from Futureboogie smiles appear. You’ve got to admire the sheer audacity of the low tempo which always feels thrilling and of course deeply funky. This is no exception as the apt Work That Body stretches out uplifting chords over crunchy percussion and a vocal sample that weaves its way into your brain. The second track to feature James Fox is Tangled and if anything feels more expansive with its huge bassline and nagging synths complimented by oriental-esque chimes. AAW picks up the pace with more loose percussion and cool piano, while Good Thang feels that bit moodier, though equally effective, with more infectious rhythms and  hot production values.

Release: May 28

http://soundcloud.com/behlingsimpson/behling-simpson-ft-james-fox
http://soundcloud.com/james-fox
http://www.futureboogie.com/

 

Huxley & Sam Russo
Jamma’s Basement EP
Leftroom Limited

Love the combination of daring styles on this latest from Huxley & Sam Russo whose stars are clearly in ascendance. Opening with off-kilter keys the continuing sense of being warped is offset by crisp percussion, familiar delayed vocals, and a dancehall styled bass which you can’t help but move too. This inventive production simply shines. As does the curiously titled William’s Trainers which follows with more sizzling hi-hats and classic House sensibilities adding reason to the twisted vocal edit.

release:May 26

http://www.leftroom.com/

 

Re. You
Mind Your Head
Mobilee Records

Sound advice from Mobilee whose 93rd release once again reminds you just how vital the label always proves to be. The title track featuring Daniel Wilde begins with deliciously funky toms and then works its way into frenzied arpeggios by way of space aged vocal fx and a taut rhythm section. Next, Junction plays with heavier tribal toms and further haunting voices, this time over tech stabs which the louder they get the better they feel.

Release: May 21
http://www.beatport.com/#/release/mind-your-head/914487
http://www.mobilee-records.de/

 

PopSled & Magit Cacoon
Higher Point EP
Be As One

Release 35 sees the label on perfect form with one of their strongest to date. Kicked off by a classic House Music (all night long) bassline sparse percussion then invites you to dance alongside pounding beats and Take Me Higher vocals which, in this case, have survived the nineties unscathed. There’s something inescapably cool about how all of this sounds. The Argy Remix then sensibly retains the bass and adds early nineties Detroit styled organ to his suitably sparkling production. And speaking of the motor city, the legendary Rolando rounds it all off by displaying typical flair via excellent, yet unsettling, drum programming which makes the whole experience shine even more brightly.

release:  May 28
http://www.beasoneimprint.com/

  

Hunter/Game
Reckless Lady EP
Diynamic Music

More in the way of old music sounding new as Diynamic see Italian duo Hunter/ Game join up the dots between the eighties and now, while sounding vital and energised in the process. Cool synth lines combine with acid tweaks and Deep House bass to produce something instantly pleasing on opening track, Under. Boogie Music co-produced with FreakMe follows on to explore avenues of Electro-Funk bass and smoothly soulful vocals, as the title track goes down the classic Chicago route employing an infectious Reckless Lady vocal loop and melodic keys. Crazy Enough, finishes by building the tension superbly with staccato guitar and also takes its cue from the same influence pool, but as with all the music on the EP feels completely contemporary.

http://www.beatport.com/#release/reckless-lady-ep/911193
http://www.diynamic.com/
http://soundcloud.com/hunter-game

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16
May
12

reviews:49

By gregfenton Leave a Comment
Categories: Magazine Sixty reviews
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Tone Of Arc
Shaking The Baby/ No Pushers
No.19 Music

And so the story continues with Tone Of Arc and this deliciously funky production that combines effortless cool with heavy-duty electronics. Providing a taster of what’s in store from his forthcoming album for the label Derrick Boyd’s distinctive ‘live’ style incorporates all that’s hot at this very moment: creatively treated voices saying something alongside irresistibly dark-bass notes, with imaginative arrangements of percussion and sound. No Pushers, then expands those boundaries by delving further and deeper with sumptuous keys and almost jazzy Rhodes that feel comfortably warm, while reverberating vocals remain tastefully soulful. Outstanding.

release: May 21

http://soundcloud.com/no19music/tone-of-arc-shaking-the-sky

http://soundcloud.com/no19music/tone-of-arc-no-pushers

 

Aidan Lavelle
Tinnitus EP
RebelLION

Not in any way to make light of Tinnitus but this does sound good. The title track sizzles with sparkling sythns which offset the deep beats and bass perfectly, and it’s those very notes that give the production such a unique feel. You could say, hypnotic and even apply the words trance inducing…
Stronger, feels moodier and again plays challenging keys off against throbbing rhythms, ending up seemingly sinister with its unsettling, insistent vocal edits driving the distraction. Play It, almost lightens the mood with funkier feeling drums and bass, though also retains its playful sense of experimentation and probing, nearly ambient, sounds.

http://www.beatport.com/#release/tinnitus/908124

http://www.aidanlavelle.com/

http://www.crosstownrebels.com/

 

Tristesse Contemporaine
Tristesse Contemporaine
Dirty / Pschent

An excellent debut album from, Tristesse Contemporaine whose electrifying take on new-wave is all at once dangerously exciting, yet always deeply emotional. Love the way the words play with the late seventies inspired guitar sounds on some tracks and the tension these arrangements inspire. For starters can’t get enough of the beginning number, Empty Hearts which is a case in point with its Hook styled bassline, Magazine beats and icy cool vocals sounding so in-vogue it hurts. But, it’s certainly not all about historical reference points as the album plays very much like today with spoken words rapping over irresistible rhythms and uniquely, contemporary electronics. Try the video to I Didn’t Know below and you’ll get a piece of the action…

release:  May 21

http://www.tristessecontemporaine.com/

https://www.facebook.com/tristessecontemporaine

http://www.d-i-r-t-y.com/

 

Various Artists
Paper Cuts #1
Paper Recordings

Desperately trying to avoid the cliché but there actually is: something for everyone on here. That is if your mind is open to touches of everything from Balearic to Latin, to House and Disco, plus with most shades coloured in-between you could also pretty much use that other cliché: essential. Music like the Mudds Width and Comfort remix of Key boy ‘Viva Blue’ makes you pray for summer days to materialise sooner rather than later (U.K) while Flash Atkins, Crazy P and Neil Diablo will have you gravitating towards the nearest dancefloor. But that’s probably to undersell the sum total of the twenty two tracks which are offered here on what is essentially a first-rate compilation.

release: May 21

http://recordlabelservices.com/

http://soundcloud.com/paperecordings

 

Bill Withers
Just As I Am
bbr

Bill Withers debut album from 1971 gets a timely reissue care of bbr and a record that contains not only Harlem and Ain’t No Sunshine, but also Grandma’s Hands can really only be regarded as a classic. If you were lucky enough to catch BBC 4’s recent excellent documentary: Still Bill then this album is all the more profound as his experienced wit and wisdom can benefit us all. Produced by Booker T. Jones this still sounds incredible today and there are a couple of great covers to witness too, namely Let It Be and Everybody’s Talkin’. But don’t miss out on the exquisitely mournful Hope She’ll Be Happier and or the blues/ rock inflected Better Off Dead either – indeed don’t go missing out on any of it!

http://www.billwithers.com/

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/

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