Picks of the Week

Jose Carretas featuring Dani "Take your time" (Tribe Records CD Promo)

Jose Carretas featuring Dani - Take your time Tribe Records are going from strength to strength, with their latest release "Take your time" by Jose Carretas being no exception. "Take your time" is a glamorous song featuring delicious keys and passionate vocals by Dani Bates over a funk drenched backing driven by heavy beats and a massive bassline. Zepherin Saint injects the song with his unique deep percussive sounds and gentle synth melodies, while Raw Artistic Soul go hypnotic on their deeply stormin' remix, with their dub versions further intensifying the vibe by adding a dark twist.

More Reviews

Lil Mole featuring Swavy & Crystal T "The light "(DCS Trax Records CD Promo)

The first release from new label DCS Trax is the deep gem "The light" by Lil Mole, featuring inspiring spoken words by Swavy and heartfelt vocals by Crystal T alongside luscious keys over a deeply rumblin' groove. The 'DeepCitySoul Mix' is a captivating deep affair featuring gorgeous keys and chords, with the 'Dropfunkdialect Refix' turning the track into a seductive broken beat styled masterpiece.

Exclusive Preview: Weysa Dya "Connected minds" (Unreleased Mixes)(CyberJamz Records CD Promo)
Exclusive Preview: Weysa Dya "Subliminal" (Unreleased Mixes)(CyberJamz Records CD Promo)
Exclusive Preview: Weysa Dya "Deep house meditation" (Unreleased Soul Oasis Deep Meditation Mix)(CyberJamz Records CD Promo)

Last week we gave you an exclusive preview of beloved spoken word artist Weysa Dya's upcoming 2010 release "The dream", this week we have more exclusives from her in form of unreleased mixes of her previous releases. "Connected minds" comes in a thumpin' soul-tech rework by Mr. Mama, a deep melodic remix by Mark Di Meo and the fierce underground-ish 'SS Family Old Skool Mix'. "Subliminal" is given a laidback, funk oozing feel by the Groove Victim on his summery remixes, while Rob 'Solid Noize' Temple reconstructs his previously released 'Caribbean Mix' into an uplifting dance floor thumper. Lastly label honcho Sammy Rock under his Soul Oasis moniker takes on "Deep house meditation", serving a deep mesmerizing version that uses phat synths and a fierce percussive groove to create a hands in the air feel.

Exclusive Preview: Marc Evans "If I told you" (Martin 'SuperSoul' Faltin Remix)(CD-R)

Martin Faltin returns with a magnificent interpretation of Marc Evans' adorable mid tempo groover "If I told you", taking the song to the soulful house floors by adding a fierce yet smooth percussion enriched four-to-the-floor backdrop underneath the original instrumentation, letting Marc Evans' vocals shine all over.

Exclusive Preview: Terry Lex vs. Sugarhill Gang "Rapper's delight" (House Promo Mix)(CD-R)

I'm sure you'll remember the 1979 classic "Rapper's delight" by the Sugarhill Gang (ok, at least you'll remember the Chic classic "Good times" from 1977 it took some music from). Now Swiss producer and DJ Terry Lex creates an uplifting house version that is guaranteed to spread a feel good vibe on the dance floors. Sorry folks, but no release on this one...

Exclusive Preview: Luther Vandross "My favorite things" (Geoffrey C Mix)(CD-R)

The mighty Geoffrey C takes on Luther Vandross' wonderful "My favorite things" (the original version can be found on the album "This is christmas", released in 1995) and delivers a delightful housed-up interpretation that stays respectful to the original, with a deep yet smoothly thumpin' backing leading the way for the vocals and main orchestration.

Steven Stone featuring Yuanist Woods "Change" (Barcoda Records CD  Promo)

Swiss DJ and producer Steven Stone teams up with vocalist Yuanist Woods for "Change", an old skool flavored production built around a funk soaked groove that is topped with deeply felt vocals by Yuanist Woods, exquisite strings by Michael Gsell and melodious keys. Blacksoul deepens the vibe and uses dramatic synths to give the track a tech-soul feel, while Lewis Ferrier gets groovy on his inexorably stompin' take.

Exclusive Preview: Rhythm Cartel featuring Sandy B "Bad for me" (Playmore Music Records CD Promo)

Behind Rhythm Cartel is the team of RedSoul and Central Avenue who drop their debut release "Bad for me" featuring vocals from Sandy B who became a household name in the house scene with her 1992 classic "Feel like singin'". The powerful 'Main Mix' with its raw electronic sounding and catchy keys is perfect for the main rooms, while Central Avenue's bumpin' funk drenched remix mellows the vibe. El Rojo Alma toughen the vibe to guarantee mayhem in the bigger rooms.

Matthias Heilbronn & Joeski "Stuck in a dream" (Maya Records CD Promo)

Matthias Heilbronn and Joeski team up to present "Stuck in a dream", a slice of ingenious house music that is a refreshing blend of different musical genres into a dance floor gem. It's deep, dubby and a little bit dark too, combining old fashioned blues vocals and guitars with remorseless tribal rhythms and moody synths. The dub is even deeper and features dramatic breakdown to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Soulfricans "Sex in Africa" (Launch Entertainment CD Promo)

It doesn't get any better than this, at least not trackwise.. The ruthless "Sex in Africa" by the legendary JoVonn (under his new Soulfricans disguise) defines what a track should be all about, with afrocentric percussion driven rhythms, a delicious harp hook (for those that don't know: it loops the 1973 classic "Brother's gonna work it out" by Willie Hutch) and off the chain keys creating a hypnotic feel you can't resist to dance to. The 'Dubb' adds funky guitar licks to the track, intensifying the African feel to the max.

Heather Johnson "Home" / "Love alive" (KingStreet Records CD Promo)

KingStreet present another set of beautiful remixes of songs taken from Heather Johnson's current full length debut album "Happiness". "Home" is produced by Tomo Inoue whose versions are smooth yet full of energy, featuring a jazzy piano and gorgeous chords alongside Heather Johnson's angelic vocals over a deeply stompin' backing. On the remix, Trans of Life relax the vibe and turn the track into a glorious acoustic affair. Next is Ezel who takes the Frankie Feliciano produced "Home alive" to deepest grounds, giving the track a thrilling feel that is absolutely resistless.

jOHHYDANGEROUs "War with the devil" (Mr. V Remixes)(NiteGrooves Records CD  Promo)

In 1998, Johnny Dangerous (real name John Holiday) released the massive "War with the devil" which now gets remixed by none other than Mr. V who combines the unmistakable spoken words with warm synth melodies and a deep musical backing, turning the track into a relentless thumper. His 'Dirty Dub' gives the track a rougher more electronic feel underground-ish for the deeper moments of the night. Also included are the original version and the Mucho Soul and Romatt mixes.

Jay-J featuring Big Brooklyn Red "Decide" (Shifted Music Records CD Promo)

Jay-J presents "Decide", the latest single taken from his album "Love alive", featuring outstanding vocals by the one and only Big Brooklyn Red. The 'Extended Mix' is a sophisticated r&b production somewhat reminiscent of the classic 80's club sound that oozes with soul from beginning to the end, reworked by Ethan White into a laidback house groover fueled with warm synth melodies, with his dub putting the synth hooks center stage and using stompin' beats to fire things up. DJ Meme contributes a sexy funked-up remix perfect for late night play to the package that fuses the vocals with a jackin' tech-soul groove, jazzy piano and wicked keys.