Vested Soul - Love Trap (Super Hi-Fi Recordings)

The eclectically electric Vested Soul strike again with another double A-side single of sleekly designed slinky deep house. The party starts with "Love Trap," a down-and-dirty lovemaking anthem that features bubbling arpeggiations, cooing vocal phrases, and a glittering sonic sphere in the shape of a giant disco ball. Thomas Blondet (Rhythm & Culture) lays down some smooth magic on the remix, amassing a massive bass line that'll levitate dancers at least two generous inches off the dancefloor.

Flip the digital wax for "Set Piece," opening in a contemplative mood with popping percussion and swirly pads. Once the bass and filtered chord stabs hit, it's off to the boogie zone. There's a definite bounce per ounce in Vested Soul's groove cooler. Nu-disco legend and the Insect Queen man himself Ursula 1000 grabs "Set Piece" by the sleeve and rearranges its outfit in a new fashion. And that fashion draws upon synth-pop of the '80s, funky house of the '90s, and the sublime punchiness of modern times. It's a cornucopia of delicious vibes, all coming strong from Vested Soul and friends.

Richard Dorfmeister (Kruder & Dorfmeister) – “Top Summer tune!”
Rusty (All Good Funk Alliance) – “Loving these late night rippers. Will be playting them for sure.”
Jon Fugler (Fluke) – “Pretty sure the sound of summer is in there somewhere - something I fully endorse - lovely.”
Bruce Tantum (DJ Mag) – “Nicely chilled house, perfect for the hot-weather months - loving both originals and both remixes.”
Quincy Jointz (Timewarp Music Radio Show) – “Hot release. All tunes and versions are winners, it’s hard to choose a favorite.”
Karem Gokmen (Dubmission) – “Originals are top notch, and both remixes are rather complimentary to the originals - a proper double single!”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Ursula 1000 - The Glass Dragon (Insect Queen Music)

New York producer Ursula 1000 is known for his signature retro-future electronic dance fusions, but it's less known that he started off as a jungle and drum 'n' bass DJ during the scene's golden era in the early '90s. For Insect Queen Music's first release of 2023, Ursula 1000 decided to pay homage to some favorite elements of that period by mixing that sound with what he thinks is the perfect theme: classic martial arts movie vibes!

Early inspirations for Ursula 1000 were producers like J. Saul Kane's proto-trip hop stylings in Depth Charge and Photek's initial series of 12"s. Both producers often deployed the sound of whizzing shuriken throwing stars, whooshing swords, high-flying kicks, and karate chops for percussive hits. One should also mention the amazing Wu-Tang Clan, who also championed this recipe. With this sound palette in mind, Ursula 1000 has created the ultimate kung fu meets spy movie suspense thriller. Who is and what is … "The Glass Dragon"?

Andy Cerutti (Fort Knox Recordings) – “REWIND & come again … This is wicked, nice beats & fun groove. Let’s go!”
Kassi (Stereo de Luxe) – “Refreshing funky beats and excellent vintage martial arts vibes.”
DJ Moneyshot (The Allergies) – “Hi-Yah! Dope little cut of slickly sliced Shaolin soul samples for all you kung-fools to get busy with.”
Morphososis (NSB Radio) – “Yep! Will be supporting this fo sho!”
Mikebee (Vinyl Dreams) – “Nice vibe, definitely sounds like a throwback to 1997 jazzy D&B, not a bad thing at all.”
mister (Green Arrow Radio Show) – “Can’t break this Glass Dragon down. The entire piece is da FUNK.”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Gatto & Eric Shans - Around The Sphere (3Bridge Records)

Long-time NYC producers and DJs Eric Shans (Colour & Pitch, Personal Belongings) and Gatto (Deep Sessions, Soleid Music) team up for 3Bridge Records' first release of 2023, the Around the Sphere EP. The title is fitting as the release touches upon multiple styles of electronic music. Big house grooves, techno influences, and chilled-out workouts; they're all here, replete with memorable melodies and atmospheres.

"Electric Surge" kicks things off with tribal drums, crystalline arpeggios, and smacking percussion, gluing the rhythms together over the course of the track. This one's meant for the late nights and those dark smoky rooms. "Around The Sphere" ups the techno energy a bit with an analog bass line that filters throughout, along with big acid squelches, pristine percussion, and soft ethereal pads serving as a juxtaposition to the tough-sounding beats. "Liquid Comedown" takes futuristic riffs, big synth lines, and dramatic strings, giving this one some moodiness and mystery. And then "Numbers" delivers lush grooves, meticulously programmed drums, and soothing sounds to round out this great EP.

Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) – “Liquid Comedown and Numbers are the ones for me. Great work both.”
Anders Lyngen (Utzekatze) – “Cool and interesting sounds. Nice synths.”
Cuillere (Jack Junkies) – “Feeling Numbers for sure.”
Rob Zile (Brain Food) – “Great grooves.”
Simon Kirk (Proton Radio) – “Massive release! Liquid comedown is my fave, so deep and uplifting. Magic.”
DJ Firefly (Couch Dancing) – “Top notch melodic house / techno. A great collaboration between these 2 experienced producers!”

Available Now From: Beatport, Traxsource, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Ursula 1000 - Kinda' Kinky (20th Anniversary Remix) [Insect Queen Music]

Let’s set the time machine back 20 years to 2002. New York’s Ursula 1000 (AKA Alex Gimeno), DJ/producer/multi-instrumentalist, started working on his sophomore album after the success of his debut, The Now Sound of Ursula 1000. His steady diet of ’90s lounge revivalism, UK big beat, German club pop, European library music, spy soundtracks, and Japanese Shibuya-Kei sharpened his skills in producing his own take on this melting pot of retro grooves and futuristic electronic beats.

This vision would be more fully realized for this new album. Ursula 1000 had an idea of a travelogue collection of songs, every track like a new stamp on a passport. For the opener, he originally had iconic model Verushka in mind for vocals. Locking her in became elusive and so he had a re-think. Swinging ’60s London. Groovy mod scenery. He needed a fun voice for this. Enter Rebecca Mader, who at the time was an up-and-coming model and actress, later to star in the hit series Lost and Once Upon a Time. A mutual friend connected them and she nailed the perfect cheeky, sex kitten delivery!

Inspired by the 1966 film Lord Love a Duck, featuring Tuesday Weld — where her character goes sweater shopping and runs through a laundry list of exotic color schemes — we riffed on that idea and made it our own kaleidoscopic palette. This song had it all: sitars, Hammond organ (performed beautifully by Brother Cleve of neo-lounge act Combustible Edison), big beat drums, and some acid house tweaks to make it into a nice retro/future cocktail.

Originally released on Thievery Corporation’s 18th Street Lounge label and now on Ursula 1000’s own Insect Queen Music imprint, this song would be called “Kinda Kinky” — as would the album on which it was featured. Ursula 1000 was able to score world-renowned contemporary artist Shag to design the cover in his distinctive space-age bachelor pad style.

For the 20th anniversary of the release of "Kinda Kinky," Ursula 1000 decided to revisit this classic cut and give it a re-rinse, adding some tasty flavors of today but keeping its original kitschy vibe. For the flip, we have the one and only breakbeat legend A.Skillz transforming “Kinda’ Kinky” into a funky, disco house groove monster. An unadulterated sonic delight!

Steve / Fort Knox Five (Fort Knox Recordings) – “Congrats on the anniversary! Seems like just yesterday when we were just foolish young DJs making the scene. Love the repackage and updated mix and the A.Skillz remix is a surprise bonus. Top notch today like it was top notch back in the day! Need this 45 for the collection to be complete.”
Soul of Man (Finger Lickin’ Records) – “Great release and A.Skillz puts a rocket up it too!”
Tal M. Klein (Aniligital Music) – “A great remix of one of my favorite Ursula 1000 staples. I like the A.Skillz sendup as well!”
Quincy Jointz (Timewarp Music Radio Show) – “I like the new mixes of this big classic.”
Bruno From Ibiza (Ibiza Global Radio) – “Ursula’s remix is amazing.”
Jon Fugler (XLNT radio show) – “100% smiles guaranteed - sometimes it’s easy to forget dance music should be fun - outstanding remix and with the dubs you are really just spoiling us.”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Juno Download, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Also available from: Juno Records on 7” Vinyl.