Collection: Products

The American Midwest is of course the homeland of the house and techno scene that has since gone global, and now its two main cities of Chicago and Detroit are represented on this Midwest Rhythms Vol.1 from Windy City mainstay Mark Grusane partners up with 313 area man Eric Schwab. As such we're presented with five irresistible cuts that tick all the right boxes - dusty analogue production, fresh grooves and great synths and vocal samples that are sure to blow up any party but never resort to tired old tropes. There are slower and more mysterious cuts like 'Hot Pursuit' and tripped-out late-night jams like 'Dusk Drive' and plenty in between.

Mark Grusane presents Midwest Rhythms Vol. 3 on Disctechno: a compilation of five stripped down, off-kilter house tracks from four producers out of Chicago and Detroit and one from Grusane himself. On the A side is a spaced out synth-laden “Memory Blank” from DJ Slush (aka Eric Schwab) and a pulsing, bass-heavy beatdown on “AYYYO” from Deon Jamar. The B side features Jordan Zawideh’s reverb-heavy drum machine & synth duet “Axolotls”, Mark Grusane’s pounding, in-your-face atonal track “The Recoil”, and finishes with Thomas Xu’s grooving arpeggios on “School Street.” Not to be missed for fans of the contemporary Midwest underground."

Ku-Is Mike Is On The Mic 

JIT 006

 

Odion Livingstone present another essential reissue from the Nigerian archives, the first ever international release of The Apples’ essential Afro-funk LP rarity ‘Mind Twister’. As part of the St Gregory’s student band scene in Lagos during the late ‘70s alongside Ofege, Grotto and more, Apples were picked up and produced by legendary EMI Nigeria producer Odion Iruoje who added overdubs to the album at Abbey Road in London with Curved Air keyboardist Francis Monkman. The band met and formed in Lagos. Bandleader Frank Ikpefuran teamed up with Georges Vieira from the American School and brothers Clifford and Gerard Nagi who were studying at “St Greg’s” in Lagos, and remembers, “I must have been 19 years old when I met Clifford. We used to hangout on Victoria Island, watching bands play and jamming with them. That’s how we met Georges. We all listened to Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Idris Muhammad and the Beatles.” “We started jamming with Clifford on the guitar, his brother Gerard on the bass and Georges on the guitar. We chipped in with song ideas, with the group contributing arrangements and refning things until we were satisfed. The band had a natural sound, which stemmed from the chemistry we had. It was a strange chemistry, we were an odd combination from different backgrounds but when we played, something happened…” After landing a residency at Tee Mac’s club in Surulere, Apples auditioned for Odion Iruoje who arranged recording dates and cut the record. For a young band, Iruoje was surprised by the quality of the band, adding in extra keyboard parts from Lemmy Udofa and Francis Monkman, founder of Curved Air and session man for Kate Bush, Sky and music libraries like BBC Music, Bruton and KPM. Iruoje remembers, “their playing added a layer of sophistication and sheen without encumbering proceedings.” This defnitive edition of Apples’ ‘Mind Twister’ features new interviews with bandleader Frank Ikpefuran and producer Odion Iruoje and has been fully remastered by The Carvery.

Patrick Cowley

Chicago duo Kenny Gino and Mike T aka Solid Gold Playaz have consistently produced material since 1999 on a variety of labels. From Portland's Losonofono, through to Soulfuric Trax and even Berlin techno merchants Kanzleramt and not to mention their own Solid Gold Records. The Minds Beneath Atlantis EP comes courtesy of Jerome Deradji's esteemed Still Music and starts off with the absolutely sexy deepness of "Shhh (Quiet)" (feat DOT) which will appeal to proper deep house nostalgists like us, likewise "U With Me" has that Detroit style that calls to mind other great producers like Big Strick or Andres. On the flip, things take a turn for the more energetic and look more towards the Motor City than their Windy City again on the soulful techno workout "What Lies Beneath"

Two years ago, the rebooted Vibraphone Records imprint reissued Minimal Vision's sought-after, self-titled 1992 debut. If anything, the Italian outfit's six-track 1993 follow-up - imaginatively titled 'Minimal Vision II' - is even more highly valued by deep house diggers and record collectors. This remastered reissue is, then, long overdue. It remains a fantastic mini-album, with highlights including the chunky, early progressive house-influenced hypnotism of 'Sea Bird', the acid-flecked futurism of 'Vertigo', the tribal-tinged early morning moodiness of 'C119' and the tough Roman techno of 'Repetition'. Best of all, though, is the deep house-goes-tribal headiness of bleep-sporting closing cut 'Ritual'. Simply essential.

Arp Frique