D.J Genius 313 - Like That! (dotdotdot records)

A native son of Detroit, D.J Genius 313 (born: Sidney Jordan), has had a musical career spanning decades across several genres of music.

Attending high school with Detroit’s own Eddie ‘Flashin’ Fowlkes, his love for electronic dance music was forged early on as a member of Twins, a social club crew who threw huge parties in the early ‘80s. They were inspired by the European new wave music and progressive fashion seen in UK magazines like The Face and iD. This was then interpreted by late night Detroit FM radio shows such as the Midnight Funk Association, hosted by legendary radio host The Electrifying Mojo.

Jordan was featured as part of the famous Hot Mix Crew on Detroit’s WGPR and later ended up living in the same building as Juan Atkins, helping the techno originator put his studio together. Juan later returned the favor by critiquing Sidney’s first techno tracks.

Come take an intergalactic ride with “Like That!” This potent cut — and its pared-down dub — feature classic-sounding elements and a chunky groove that undeniably come out of the Detroit-Chicago house music axis. Proper vibes. It’s part of a long line of releases bearing the name of Sidney Jordan/D.J Genius 313 — there’s a treasure trove of music waiting to be sprung onto the dance floor.

Tyler Stadius (Deepen) – “Cool dub. Something sort of creepy and dark for the late nights.”
Alien Tom (Native Alien) – “Wicked house. Nice one.”
Lee Guthrie (Click Therapy) – “Nice, I like both mixes.”
Eric Davenport (Guesthouse) – “Cool Groover. Crowd pleaser.”
Mozaic (As You Like It) – “Great chunky groove.”
DJ P-Rez (Not So Fast Records) – “I’m diggin’ this. I’ll play it.”
George J.J. Flores (Sol Sundaze) – “Really like this dub!”
Anthony Pappa (Red Light District) – “Both mixes are nice.”
Jean Jérome (Kut ‘N’ Paste) – “Nice old school vibes!”
Kosta (Vibe FM) – “I’m down with this Detroit!”

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

Rick Wade - Heads Only (Viva Recordings)

Rick Wade‘s name has transmitted far and wide from his Detroit home base, garnering heaps of global acclaim for his prolific, high quality output and mercilessly deep and underground DJ sets. In 1998 Rick graced the Viva Recordings catalog with The Harmonie Project EP, a still sought-after classic for the label. Now Rick makes a welcome return to the Viva family with his Heads Only two-tracker, featuring the warm, layered house music that this legendary producer is known for.

“Heads Only” starts things off with a bouncy four-on-the-floor and a strong vocal exclamation that is the track’s cornerstone. Moody strings and pads flow over the rhythm as an ascending bass line pleasingly rattles the speakers. There’s also a perfect ‘lose yourself in the music’-style breakdown to experience. The release’s b-side, “Anger Component”, lowers the tempo just a tad as it raises the funk level. Chiming chords ring over skippy beats, and ambiguous melody transforms into string sample stabs and a gentle horn riff. This cut is reminiscent of some of the finest moments on Rick’s own Harmonie Park label, and intersects nicely with Viva Recordings’ own trademark sound. This single delivers the goods.

Diz (Iz & Diz / Classic Music Company) – “Lovely Detroit dancefloor soul!”
Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks) – “Superb. Definitely will be playing these two out.”
Danny Ward (Moodymanc / Dubble D) – “Loving Anger Component here.”
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) – “Another brace of stunners from the master – Rick Wade!”
Jorge Font (AUDIO nights radio show) – “A masterpiece, marvelous. Love Rick Wade!”
DJ Jazzy L (Jazzy Lounge Radio Show) – “5/5 on the strength of “Heads Only”, which is a killer track!”
Taigo Onez (Bang Le’ Dex radio show) – “Anger Component is so nice! That proper classic Detroit / Chicago vibe. It’s wonderful!”
Koma (Jacbri Radio Show) – “Anger Component is top notch!”
Bruce Tantum (XLR8R) – “One rarely can go wrong with Rick Wade, and this release is no exception. The usual Wade hotness - gorgeous vibes layered over pumping rhythms. Love it, of course!”
Jon Wesley (Insomniac) – “Heads Only rocks! I can't wait to play it. I love the bassline. I like the deep vibes of Anger Component too. It's nice to hear more stuff from Rick Wade!”

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

Monty Luke - Bomb On Bomb EP (Full Flavor Music)

Detroit’s Monty Luke delivers Full Flavor Music's seventeenth release, the Bomb On Bomb EP. Other than being Carl Craig’s right-hand man at Planet E Communications, Monty Luke has been building quite the reputation lately with solid releases on labels like Planet E, Mothership, and his own Black Catalogue imprint. Monty brings a funky, raw eclectic sound to the techno underground, melding his upfront, cut-up DJ mix style and electrifying presence to dance floors worldwide.The Bomb On Bomb EP consists of three originals that cross the boundaries from acid house to funky techno to four-on-the-floor downtempo. In Monty’s words: “The EP is an experiment in contemporary styles of house music with a couple of tracks that were the House of NOW, or slightly ahead of right now.” “In Love With A Dancer" is the EP’s total driver, with meaty synth stabs, teasing builds, and cleverly processed vocal treatments that scatter thoughout the mix. There’s a sparse Dub of this track as well for an evocative late night DJ tool. “Bomb On Bomb" is a sly combination of classic-sounding acid house keys, pulsating rhythms, and a soulful vocal going on about a sexy lady. "13th City Stranger" is a sleek, downtempo house track and one of the first things Monty recorded after moving to Detroit from San Francisco. The title refers to the fact that Detroit was known at a time as the nation’s 13th largest city. Solid stuff all around from Monty Luke and Full Flavor Music … enjoy!

Stacey Pullen - “Cool vibes on this.”
Colin Dale - “‘In Love With The Dancer’ is my favorite here … a killer that’s right on the money. Will be playing and charting this to death. Support!”
Christian Martin - “‘Bomb On Bomb’ is dope!”
Ewan Pearson - “Love the slow burn of ‘13th City Stranger.’”
Sebastian Doering (Lovebirds) - “Really nice!”
Soul Minority - “Awesome EP, into all tracks here. Quality house music!”
Alland Byallo - “Monty’s the man! A man that’s unstoppable at the moment, at that. Top form here with some old school vibes. Love it!”
Orde Meikle (Slam) - “Will try this out this weekend.”
Jay West - “Lovely motor city flavor here, Will play for sure!”
DJ Schwa (Shades Of Gray) - “‘Bomb on Bomb’ is the BOMB!”
Nick Harris (NRK) - “Wow, serious house music here. This is my kind of stuff. Great energy, pumping and deep.”
Leo Portela - “As soon as I first heard this I found myself immersed in the fantastic, unexpected sound.”
Giom - “The ML Tronik Edit is awesome!”
Neil Quigley - “Excellent EP. Loving the ML Future Dub especially.”
Spettro - “‘Bomb Ob Bomb!’ Bouncy, sexy, driving - hot vocal. Outstanding!”
Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Wow! And again, WOW! This is definitely one of the best releases I’ve received this year, just stunningly good. Everything that is right about electronic music is here.”

Additional support from Dubfire, Luciano, Richie Hawtin, Claude Von Stroke, Groove Armada, Djuma Soundsystem, Chris Fortier, Omid 16B, Onionz, Moodymanc, Chris Carrier, DJ T., Three, Robert Owens, Makossa & Megablast, Pete Moss, Agent X, Benji Candelario, Jota Wagner, DJ Harri, Beg to Differ, Tyler Stadius, Raymundo Rodriguez, and Manuel Sahagun.

Available now from Beatport,

AM/TM - Who's Afraid Of Monty Luke (Aniligital Music) →

AM/TM are San Francisco pro bros Anthony Mansfield and Tal M Klein. “Who’s Afraid Of Monty Luke” is a VERY SERIOUS song Anthony and Tal wrote about their friend Monty Luke who left San Francisco and moved to Detroit so he could live closer to his techno friends and run A&R at Planet-E Communications for someone named Carl Craig who AM/TM think may be related to Carl Cox because they have the same first name. It’s a song about house music, or possibly This Old House, and it might be a tribute to Bob Villa whose last name actually means ‘house’ in Latin. When Monty Luke heard this song he got really scared and locked himself in a dark room which, as his eyes adjusted, he realized was a recording studio. As we all know, the best way to overcome one’s fears is to confront them, and so Monty Luke made a remix for the B-side and submitted it to AM/TM with assurances that he isn’t actually afraid of himself.

Doc Martin - “Freaky deeky work!”
Trevor Jackson (Output / Playgroup) - “The Monty Luke Remix is great.”
Sleazy McQueen (Whiskey Disco / Bear Funk) - “Frighteningly good…”
Joshua Iz (Vizual) - “Seriously … This is dope! Carl Cox or Carl Craig would approve.”
Cosmic Boogie - “Wobbly goodness.”
Three (Hallucination Limited) - “Mr. Mansfield has got the touch these days. The Monty Luke Remix is super good and I will play it a lot.”
Bruce Tantum (Time Out NY) - “Nicely kooky tune from two of my favorite Bay Area producers! I’m loving the toughened-up remix, as well.”
Monsieur Monod (SleazyBeats blog) - “Sterling stuff. The original is incredible and I can’t wait to try it out on a big system.”
Lee Jarvis (MyCuppaT blog) - “Heavy! Will definitely play the original a lot.”
Black Alley (In Control Radio Show) - “Good to see someone putting the fun back into the house.”

Also supported by Maceo Plex, Makossa & Megablast, Richie Hawtin, Onionz, Inland Knights, Horse Meat Disco, Flash Atkins, DJ Sabo, Jota Wagner, and Stereo 77.

Available now from Juno Download, Beatport and Traxsource