Reed & Radley - Bongo Lover (Grass Green Recordings)

The latest Grass Green Recordings release is of a style that has traversed from Manhattan to Manchester, from Brooklyn to Bradford - with love. For some mad reason garage, the dominant sound of the buzzy New York and New Jersey scenes, found a willing underground audience in northern England in the early ’90s. Clubs like the Hacienda and Hard Times embraced garage gurus such as Todd Terry and Tony Humphries much like they were their own. Reed & Radley were amongst that crowd, spending many nights lost to the dance floor and many paychecks lost to shrink-wrapped gems on labels like Strictly Rhythm and Easy Street. Now living in New Zealand, the Bongo Lover EP is their tribute to the NY and NJ garage sounds of that day, filtered through the styles and scenes that followed - both of a time and capable of going off like a bang now.

“Keep On” - A motto of the relentless, “Keep On” kicks things off with a crunchy four-to-the-floor beat complimented by skipping snares, hopping hats, and a deep, bubbling bass. The meat of the track is built around smooth pads and an ever-morphing rubbery synth riff which, with some jiggery-pokery of the filter, is eventually set free, sending fizzing, twisted stabs whizzing through the mix. There’s a hint of Wild Pitch about the reversed stabs, rides, and vocal refrain but the complexity of the main refrain and panned toms bring things right up to date.

“Don’t Let Me Down”- Even the most underground dance floors need a piano anthem now and again - here’s one that won’t let them down. Bright, simple chords are underpinned by a bouncing bass, hypnotic Korg organ motif, and cut-up vocal line. If that’s the ‘then,’ the ‘now’ comes direct from a Detroit basement in the form of pitched-down stabs. And it’s all enveloped by a string so warm it could be used to advertise Horlicks.

“Keep On (Shallow Taxi Club Hard Dub)” - What’s a Shallow Taxi Club without a showy driver? This Hard Dub of “Keep On” is an uncompromising and aggressive take from the self-pronounced producer-not-DJ. It’s verging on Mr G-style techno but retains enough swing and bounce to appeal to peak-time, bigger room garage floors.

Inland Knights - “All cuts are strong. Good stuff!”
Paolo Rocco (Real Tone / Klasse) - “Dope music!”
Graeme Park - “Groovy, baby.”
Giom - “Nicely done!”
Severino (Horse Meat Disco) - “Pretty cool stuff.”
Spettro - “‘Keep On’ is simply amazing. Full support.”
Nick Holder (DNH Records) - “This is fire!”
Tyler Stadius - “Feeling all three. Great timeless sound.”
Cyclist (Homebreakin / Punchout!) - “Quality stuff!”
Joey Silvero (Distant People) - “This grabbed me as soon as the groove hit, There’s a really infectious feel to this … made me smile right away.”
Sebastian Davidson (Seamless / Night Drive) - “Classic and raw!”
Phonatics (Housesession Records) - “This is sex house!”
Craig Stewart (DCSTrax / Montana & Stewart) - “I’m feeling the original of ‘Keep On’ … those synth stabs are hot!”
Bruce Tantum (Time Out NY / Resident Advisor) - “Three winners! All right up my alley … fantastic, thumping-yet-deep house all around.”
Michael Fossati (Spirit of House) - “Gorgeous old skool inspired late night gem guaranteed to put a spell on you.”
Black Mighty Wax (Irma Records) - “Reed & Radley show great love for those good ol’ days … house music all night long!”

Available now from Juno Download and Beatport.

Reed & Radley - Mum's The Word EP (Grass Green Recordings)

Chris Reed and Paul Radley (AKA Reed & Radley) have been playing and making records for more than 20 years. Their earliest adventures were in their native north of England - Chris releasing on R&S and Paul a resident at the seminal Orbit club near Leeds. They didn’t meet until moving to New Zealand around the turn of the millennium. After well-received EPs for DIY Discs and Kiwi label Reliable they got married and grew up (a bit). Now, with their passion for music undimmed, they’re back with the debut release on Grass Green Recordings. The Mum’s The Word EP takes its name from the deep house night at which Chris and Paul were founding residents. It’s still going strong and celebrates its tenth birthday in September. This EP showcases the sound Reed & Radley have championed at their club night over the years, as well as their commitment to high-quality, enduring production.

The EP is lead by “Crying In The Dark,” featuring rolling afro-style percussion, a minimal acid motif, and a deep, subby bass line. A bittersweet vocal takes the track in another direction over velvety pads and resonant strings … deep house bliss, for sure. “Listen Up” follows with an understated Ibiza-house vibe. Inspired by classic US garage and deep French house alike, the cut uses a hypnotic rhodes riff, crisp rhythms, and warm, building synths to maximum effect. “Night Chills” is next, deep and dark like the Kermadec Trench (look it up!). This cut is a nod to the kind of small, basement clubs where true house-heads hang. Razor sharp bongos and skippy hats bring the swing, while ripples of mutating pads and judicious use of delay and reverb spread the deepness. “Analog Rain” then comes off as a bit woozy, the sound of a late night and an early morning rolled into one. African-style drums and the sizzle of a tambourine set the scene for an ascending Detroit-esque chord sequence and gated, shimmering pads. Lastly, “Crying In The Dark” gets revisited by New Zealand DJ Anthony Muirhead (Serialism, Cesare vs Disorder) who offers a stripped back revision for cellar-dwelling househeads. Rattling drums and a hypnotic two-note bass line serve to reel in the dance floor as snatches of synth and drifting washes of organ bring things home. Superb all around.

Brett Johnson (Bang The Box) - “Nice tracks, great vibe.”
Moodymanc - “Nice vibes and elements. I like ‘Night Chills’ here.”
Demarkus Lewis - “Proper deepness all around and clean production. I’ll be playing a few of these for sure.”
Q-Burns Abstract Message - “Wonderfully full-rounded EP with lush sounds over tough rhythms throughout. I’m going with Anthony Muirhead’s remix at the end …. swirly stuff.”
Marques Wyatt - “This is tight!”
Daz-I-Kue (Bugz In The Attic) - “I love ‘Analog Rain’ … some late night pressure here.”
Robert Owens - “I love it.”
CJ Mackintosh - “‘Crying In The Dark’ for me.”
Da Sunlounge - “Cracking EP. Deep, yet still has a good thump to it.”
Natural Rhythm - “Great synthesis in the deep storm of ‘Analog Rain’ but the Muirheads remix is the deep jam for me.”
Jota Wagner (Lunatic Jazz) - “This is really good. ‘Crying in the Dark’ is the kind of track you have to play in the best moments of the night. Super.”
Craig Stewart (Universe Media) - “‘Night Chills’ is super hot, very tasty deepness - great work.”
DJ Harri (Sub Club) - “I’m liking all of these. Great EP … full support!”
DJ Phil T (DJ Times) - “Love all the tracks. Gorgeous keys and deep proper bass lines bang it out from top to bottom.”
Deepshizzol - “Honestly, all five tracks are amazing! What a great EP … full support.”

Additional support from Inland Knights, Abicah Soul, Alexi Delano, DJ Schwa (Shades Of Gray), Nick Holder, Dave Mothersole, Benji Candelario, EMan, Alexander East, Vincent Kwok, Alex Dimitri South Soul, Manuel Sahagun, and Spettro.

Available now from Juno Download and Stompy.