Joshua Iz and Atnarko - Free Your Mind (Viva Recordings)

Viva Recordings leaps forward with another appearance from Orlando dance floor warrior Atnarko, this time in cahoots with Chicago's renowned Joshua Iz for the late night bounce of "Free Your Mind". The pairing is an imposing one, as Joshua Iz has over 200 production credits to his name and his own respected Vizual Records imprint, and Atnarko has been in the game just as long, recently active with his Infiltr8:Celebr8 parties and "Lost Again", a collaboration with Noir and Lomez that was one of Pete Tong's essential tunes of the year. Together they've fused "Free Your Mind" which features distinctive touches of each producer's sound. The cut has the energy of a proper tech house floor filler while exhibiting the sultry, lush tones and mood of classic deep house. Swirling synths, a jaunty bass line, and dubbed out vocal snips all interact playfully over an insistent four-on-the-floor groove. This one's loaded and ready for prime time.

Djuma Soundsystem - "Lovely!"
Lars Behrenroth (Deeper Shades of House) - "This rolls super nice."
Mr. V (Sole Channel) - "Nice … full support."
Silky (No.19 Music / My Favorite Robot) - "Groovy!"
Inland Knights - "Liking … in rotation for sure."
Beppe Gioia (Garage Family / Unified) - "Deeeep!"
Giom (Supremus Records) - "Nice and dubby!"
Satoshi Fumi - "Love it!"
ManooZ (Housewax / Beste Modus) - "Love Joshua Iz … big fan of this man's work. Great track here, too."
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) - "Absolutely stunning track … in the bag!"
Alvaro Hylander (DeepWit) - "Catchy, groovy makes you mooooove! Classic sound and great collaboration."
Chemars (Ginkgo Music) - "Nice and deep."
ROBOT84 (Paper Recordings / Under No Illusion) - "Classic deep chicago house … the way i lke it."
Tyler Stadius (Deepsite / Dialtone Records) - "Good one … all bouncy and hypnotic."
Hober Mallow (Mighty Reel) - "A great deep house tune. I love all the dubbiness and pulsing synths on this, and also that it doesn't take the foot off the beat at all."
Michael Fossati (Spirit of House) - "An utterly tantalizing slice of tech-soul bliss."
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Radio Show) - "The title says it all – this is music to get lost in – wonderfully hypnotic house … and THAT bass line!"
Taigo Onez (The Essence Radio Show) - "This is very nice! Just the kind of warm jackin' feel needed in today's music. Excellent work by Joshua Iz and Atnarko."

Available now from Beatport, Traxsource, iTunes, and Spotify.

Funk Mediterraneo - Sexy Shop (Boogie Basics)

Boogie Basics is a respected house music label operating out of Los Angeles that aims to collaborate with both established scene veterans and promising young guns, often within a single release. For this latest, eighteenth issue Boogie Basics reaches out to the southern coast of Italy to hook up with the duo known as Funk Mediterraneo. The two DJs that make up this act, Carlos and Rosario, have been DJ’ing together for fifteen years, with differing tastes and styles that end up perfectly complimenting each other. With previous releases on the likes of Blockhead, Hub City, Phobic, and Boogie Basics the pair have become an established name in the deep and jackin’ house scenes. Here they present “Sexy Shop,” a track with a hypnotic after-hours feel and a few sonic surprises. A persistent house rhythm and a low bump keep the pace as a spacey female voice intones on the beat. The ride is occasionally broken only for a moment by a curious arcade melody, sure to elicit reaction from the dance floor.

Two separate remixers have come on board to tackle “Sexy Shop” with their own identifiable styles. First up is the legendary Joshua Iz, whose storied history with the likes of Prescription, Classic Music Company, and his own Vizual Music label is well known by DJs around the globe. His Like That Mix displays the explosive beats, intoxicating bass bounce, and floating chord play that we’ve come to expect. Not content with one version, Joshua Iz also provides the Vizual Mix with ramps up the rhythm section for a chunkier feel. As if that wasn’t enough, Joshua Iz also gives a sparse Vizual Beats version to act as a necessary tool in the DJ’s set. Finally, Dub Mechanics comes on board for his own high-charged remix. With a slew of releases for labels like Revv Shop Recordings, Bro.kn, and GF Recordings, Scott G., AKA Dub Mechanics, brings his production know-how to a peak time version of “Sexy Shop” that effectively draws on bigger room house sounds.

Jason Hodges - “Sick track … IZ takes it to the next level with his remix!” 
Nutritious - “Nice single! Every mix here is playable and tastefully done. Diggin it!”
Joey Silvero (Distant People) - “The bass does some damage in that IZ mix!”
Doc Link - “Nice! Will be rocking this …”
Tommy Largo (Lost My Dog) - “Great EP! IZ mixes for me.”
Al Bradley (Audiotonic / 3am Recordings) - “Strong stuff all round, but the ones for me are Joshua’s quality vibes - ever consistent, his remixes here are really outstanding. The Dub Mechanics version is also excellent.”
Rick Preston - “Both of Joshua’s mixes are amazing!”
Rob Pearson (Evasive Records) - “Smash bang wallop … lovely stuff!”

Also supported by Orde Meikle (Slam), DJ Three, Justin Harris (Freaks), Atnarko, Inland Knights, Chris Carrier, Onionz, Murray Richardson, DJ Harri (Sub Club),  Nacho Marco, and Merlyn Martin. 

Available from Juno Download and Beatport.

Converge+ - Prana / Aqua (Eighth Dimension Records) →

Eighth Dimension’s Blue Label Series, curated by Q-Burns Abstract Message, deftly presents its third issue, this time featuring Japanese house/techno duo Converge+. Their tracks fell into the label’s lap via unsolicited demo (often the most nefarious kind) and the Eighth Dimension team were immediately enraptured by Converge+’s sleek and futuristic house music sound. Converge+ are comprised of two seasoned DJs, Takashi Sasaki and DJ ENDO, who create spacious and warm house music tracks with subtle flavors of delicious, deep techno. Their previous releases have found homes with the likes of King Street Sounds, Barouque Records, and Nite Grooves. Now Eighth Dimension is pleased to offer a pair of new tracks from Converge+ complete with top notch remixes from our friends Joshua Iz and Funk Shuei. 

First off there’s “Prana,” a flowing deep house track filled with synthesized swells and digital sighs, all laid on top of a funkily synchronized rhythm. It’s like some fuzzy dream realized for the dance-floor. Vital life, indeed. Joshua Iz immediately came to mind as “Prana“‘s remix applicator, and he took a quick break from busy dealings with his own Vizual Records imprint to deliver the stylish version heard here. It’s a classic Joshua Iz production complete with his trademark combination of hypno-beats, layered key stabs, and bass line bounce. Ten satisfying minutes of digital disco fury. 

Converge+’s second cut, “Aqua,” is a melody-treated electronic groover recalling the early days of deep house such as found on the renowned Balance label. Bell-like patterns resonate on top as lush, filtered pads and a rolling low end round out the sonic sphere. It’s a glorious piece of watery house music. On the remix tip Eighth Dimension looked south of the border and to its Mexican friends in Funk Shuei, proprietors of the quickly rising Dialtone label. Their rework takes a sharp left turn from the original “Aqua,” using inspiration from the rhythm to elicit a punchy after-hours house treatment that’s slightly stripped back and driven by a Chicago shuffle. A subtle female voice enters the zone and the repetitious bell sounds take on a more ominous overtone. 

This quartet of tracks is undeniably free of filler, making the contribution of Japan’s Converge+ to Eighth Dimension’s Blue Label Series one to stay locked in the virtual DJ crate.

Justin Harris (Freaks) - “Sick! Joshua Iz Mix is especially super.”
DJ Three (Hallucination Limited) - “Both original tracks are in rotation!”
Diesel (X-Press 2) - “Will support at both club and radio at Ministry of Sound!”
Miles Maeda - “This makes a cosmic connection of Carl Sagan proportions.”
Nikola Baytala - “Joshua Iz on a hot one … watch out, techno dancers!”
Tommy Largo (Lost My Dog) - “Cool tunes. Digging the Funk Shuei Remix the most.”
Chris Fortier (Fade) - “The Joshua Iz mix is ace!”
Orde Meikle (Slam / Soma) - “Nice EP. Will be trying this out.”
Inland Knights - “Funk Shuei Remix is my pick here … cool.”
Ulysses (Neurotic Drum Band) - “I love the crazy techno energy of Josh’s mix best, though all four tracks are cool.”
Joshua Heath (Golden State) - “Definitely some unique sounds here. The Funk Shuei Mix for me.”
Mark Farina - “Iz Dope!”

Available now from Beatport