Various Artists - Sixteen (Chillin Music)

Chillin Music signals the end of 2016 with an exciting 16 track compilation given the corresponding title of Sixteen. With over a decade of releases spanning the deep and tech house sphere there are plenty of hot options to choose from when assembling a Chillin Music collection. The powers-that-be at Chillin have indeed chosen wisely, and these cuts derive from the label’s recent output as well as featuring many new and unreleased cuts.

Highlights include Pezzner’s remix of Rob Slac & Alec’s “Sounds Right”, the spectacular Roy Davis Jr. remix of Ovidio’s “Get On Up”, and “Dramarama”, Brett Johnson’s rollicking collaboration with vocalist / DJ Red Eye. Chillin Music also has a knack for sussing out new talent, and cuts from Lion González (remixed by label co-founder John Stuart) and Sepehr (with remixes from Rob Slac and Mr. Harting) certainly deliver. Also represented on the full compilation are the likes of Sleazy McQueen, Alexander Maier, Jonas Saalbach, Alvaro Ernesto, Still Rob G, Homero Espinosa, and even more. It’s a jam-packed amalgamation, and should get listeners psyched up for Chillin Music’s 2017 schedule.

Vanilla Ace (OFF Recordings / Bunny Tiger) – “Roy Davis Jr. is the man!”
Murray Richardson (Electrica Salsa) – “Ovidio - Get On Up (Roy Davis Jr. Remix) is the one for me. Top tune!”
Fer Ferrari (Plastic City) – “Rob Slac & Alec – Sounds Right (Pezzner Remix) is for me!”
Ricky Inch (King Street Sounds) – “Solid pack, I like them all.”
DELLA (Classic Music Company) – “Do I have to pick a favorite? Every track is solid! Can’t wait to hear these in the club.”
Tyler Stadius (Deepen) – “Great, original sounding tracks. Dramarama is the one for me.”
Ken Liu (Headset Records) – “Loving all of these, of course! I will play them for sure.”
K-Zan (So Deep Radio Show) – “Bomb EP! Full support on the show.”
Greg Eversoul (Tenampa / Evasive) – “Cool Diverse selection. Good taste!”
DJ Osric (Black and Blue Show) – “Chillin Music is on a roll. This release is dynamite! The variety of styles evident on this release mean that whatever your house preference, Chillin has something for you.”

Available Now From: Beatport, Traxsource, iTunes, And Spotify.

Rob Slac - Body Movzz (Chillin Music)

Kicking off 2015 right, Chillin Music’s Rob Slac gets down and dirty on his latest groove for the label, "Body Movzz". A driving bass line rumbles beneath contrasting ethereal, chopped vocal samples with crisp hats and snares creating a tight, jackin' rhythm. The lyrics are cut and arranged in witty fashion, flipping the script and threatening to elicit action on the dance floor: "body moves, nobody gets hurt!"

Recently relocated to Berlin, Brett Johnson is no stranger to making bodies move. With over a hundred releases to his name, Johnson is indeed a veteran producer. He deftly expands the vibe of Slac’s original using plenty of swing while maintaining the low end rumble in his funky tech house reshape. The biggest addition is the balance of tense, playful, and poignant Detroit-style synth tones. Better stretch those dancin’ muscles before entertaining this one.

Returning to Chillin after his All Day EP, Oakland native Nackt strips it down rugged and raw with a UK funky-style bass line for his re-rub of "Body Movvz". It’s like break-dancing in a bounce house … just the kind of pandemonium found in the more dutty dancehall scenarios.

Rounding out this release for the special vinyl edition is Chillin’s top selling artist of 2014, Nikola Gala. With releases on Plastic City, Freerange, and Noir Music, Nikola is surely right where he wants to be. Pulling no punches on his rework of Subtron & Markowicz's "Take U In The Back Room", he delivers a hard-hitting techno knockout. It is a pound for pound production, grinding the gears of each element to its limit with the kick, chords, and percussion all on overdrive.

Laurent Garnier - "The Brett Johnson remix is awesome."
Barem (M_nus / Foundsound) - "The original 'Body Movzz' and Brett Johnson's remix for me."
Alland Byallo - "It's all about Nikola Gala's remix. Brett Johnson's mix is dope, too."
Thomas Schumacher - "Loving Nikola Gala's remix."
Hollis P Monroe - "I'm digging all of these."
Colin Dale (Abstrakt Dance) - "Cool track! The Brett Johnson remix is rocking it for me."
Diz (Iz & Diz / Classic) - "Good boogies all around."
Nick Holder - "Dope!"
Chris Fortier (Fade / Mindwarp) - "Really great stuff."
Giom - "Cool stuff."
Matthias Vogt (Motorcitysoul / Larg*e Records) - "A nice remix from Brett Johnson, plus a dance floor monster from Nikola Gala."
DJ Schwa (Shades Of Gray / Beef Records) - "Totally awesome … all three cuts are dope!"
Alvaro Hylander (DeepWit Recordings) - "It's great to hear Brett Johnson keeping it down within the deep range. Will support."
Alkalino (Estimativa / Audaz Recordings) - "Nice release. The Nackt remix is my favorite of the lot."
Distant People (Foliage / Seamless) - "Brett Johnson's remix is full of attitude and flavor. I love the drums … heavy."
Richie Hartness (untitledmusic) - "Dirty! The original version is the one for me."
Jesus Pablo (Something Different) - "Brett Johnson's remix takes you on a journey … where will you end up? In musical bliss at the least!"
Tariq Ziyad (Planet Rave / Dark Horse) - "I absolutely love this. The original is great and the remixes are also fantastic. A funky bit of techno for good measure."

Available now on vinyl from Deejay.de and Juno Records … available digitally from Beatport.

Various Artists - 10 Years of Chillin Music (Chillin Music)

As things warm up, and can't seem to get any hotter, one may be curious about a mysterious cool breeze that's suddenly, refreshingly flowing through the air. To many this may be a surprise, but to the Chillin Music label who -- by no coincidence -- are celebrating their ten year anniversary, it was something they knew all along when they took the temperature of the dance climate and declared: "let there be chill." They have the science of keeping it cool down pat and over their decade of releasing quality house music they've worked with some truly heavyweight artists. Until now, they hadn't re-released any tracks or put together a compilation, but on this special occasion they present their first collection -- 10 Years of Chillin Music. This new report, featuring some exclusive, unreleased tracks, looks to be just as equally refreshing to the dance community.

Among the highlights, label head Rob Slac gets the remix treatment from Birmingham's Chris James (OFF, Get Physical) of Purple Velvet and Coat of Arms fame. Chris goes to work on "Shake & Freak," applying his familiar signature sound with delayed and reverberating rim shots, claps, and metallic bells scattered about over deep, icey pads and a punchy, full bass line. Germany's Marc Faenger, a Minus family member, takes a dubby, minimal techno knife to Mass Digital's "2 Hearts 2 Souls" which he partitions off into sections of varying structure. Pezzner is a Seattle artist with a reputation that precedes him, known for taking listeners through figurative landscapes he's released on labels like Freerange and Crosstown Rebels. On his remix of "Trains Over Broadway" by Whiskey Disco owner Sleazy McQueen, Pezzner entertains listeners in a disco jungle with guitar strings plucked like vines by a canopy of chattering animals and the rumble of tightly skinned drums. Things get a bit more tech on tracks like Dirt Crew's smooth remix of "Again" by Pablo Boilvar and the bigger, harder efforts of Daypack Solo's remix of Sasse's "City Lights" and Ardalan's (Dirtybird) original production "The Sea."

Danny Howells - “Awesome package … classic Pezzner remix, too.”
Tensnake - “I like the Dirt Crew remix.”
Audiojack - “Nice remixes … Pezzner's is my pick!”
Tyree Cooper - “I'm feelin’ 'City Lights' it will most definitely work over here.”
Matthias Vogt (Motorcitysoul) - “I’m in love with Pezzner’s magic Native Language Rework.”
Da Funk - “The Pezzner and Dirt Crew remixes are the ones for me for me … very nice!”
Shur-i-kan - “It's all about Ardalan's 'The Sea'.”
Evan Iff (Large Music / Dirt Crew) - “Congrats on ten years … I have a quite a few Chillin tracks in my library. The Pezzner and Dirt Crew remixes are the ones for me here."
Alvaro Hylander (DeepWit Recordings / Balance Alliance) - “Congrats on ten years to the Chillin Music crew! This is lovely stuff as ever … I'll be playing some of these.”
Craig Stewart (Montana & Stewart / DCSTrax) - “Dirt Crew and Pezzner remix mixes are very, very tasty. Great work and congratulations on ten years … wow!”
Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Superb stuff right here. Each cut offers something brilliant for the dance floors, so it's tough to pick a favorite, but Dirt Crew turn in a sensationally deep vibe here. Wicked slow-ish grooves.”
Bruce Tantum (Lowlife) - “Tons of great cuts here, splitting the difference between deep 'n' spacey and pumpin' 'n' jacking! Really good stuff … I'm digging all of these tunes a lot.”
SimonG (Deep South Audio, New Zealand) - “Not dropping a beat … this comp just hums. Congrats on the ten years and the great work this label has brought to the table.”
Joshua Jacobs (Music You Need blog) - “Super deep and chilled out vibes that are great for end of the summer grooving.”
Myxzlplix (Subdivisions Global Radio Show) - “This is one stellar collection of deep house no one should miss. No fillers here, all tracks stand tall on their own. Chillin is a label to be reckoned with for sure.”
DJ Nova (Rodon FM, Greece) - “One of the best East Coast underground labels for years. It's really great to celebrate the ten year anniversary with Chillin Music and this compilation.”

Available now from Beatport.

Ardalan - The Sea (Chillin Music)

For its 37th single, Chillin Music welcomes the return of Iranian-born, San Francisco-based producer Ardalan with his stunning track “The Sea.” Ardalan, who cut his teeth with previous releases on the likes of Dirtybird (in collaboration with Justin Martin), Anabatic, Sound Pelligrino, and Chillin, jumps right back in with a track ready to capsize the dance floor. “The Sea” features powerful, punchy percussion and a bass line that’s not only in your face but also hits the gut. It’s a main room tech house tsunami, with strategically placed stops and starts, breakdowns, and shimmering speaker candy ready to send nightclubs into a frenzy. On remix duties from Birmingham, UK arrives Chris James, captain of the DubNoir label and partner in Coat Of Arms with Eats Everything. Chris adds motion to the ocean with smooth, elevating chords and a deep, penetrating low end that floods the floor with sexiness. Chris’ mix is deep house at its finest, confidently showing a dreamier side to “The Sea” and harking back to the classic sound of Chillin Music.

Christian Martin - “Another killa from Ardalan!”
Laurent Garnier - “Love the remix.”
Ewan Pearson - “The original mix of ‘The Sea’ is huge!”
Dubfire - “Deep stuff!”
Deepchild - “Very much enjoying the original here - gritty, hand-carved goodness with plenty of grain and muffled swagger.”
Diz (Vizual / Classic) - “Nice thump for your rump … driving and steady!”
Joshua Heath - “Love Ardalan’s work. This is a big heavy hitting, speaker pounding beast. The remix is cool, too.”
Justin Harris (Freaks) - “NIce! Both mixes are ace.”
Neil Quigley - “A classy slice of house.”
Q-Burns Abstract Message - “Chris James’ remix is absolutely lovely. It will be the highlight of an Invisible Airwaves set for sure.”
Tyler Stadius - “The original for me … this will kick some serious ass!”
Dylan Drazen - “F**king fantastic!”
Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Both cuts are cool here. The Chris James version just shades it for me with its more vibey deep groove and lo-slung feeling. Ace.”
Louis Osbourne - “The original is DOPE!”
SimonG (Deep South Audio) - “The original is an off-kilter dance floor killer. Big in the right places and pounding in others.”

Available now from Juno Download and Beatport.