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.

HT Zero feat. Stephanie Cooke - I Used To (No More) (FastFWD)

The latest FastFWD release is from HT Zero who first appeared on the Groove 201 EP alongside Atlanta house veteran Kai Alce.  Detroit raised and Atlanta-based, HT is a keyboard maestro influenced by both the jazz greats and the Motor City techno legends. A few years back HT Zero connected with legendary soulful singer-songwriter Stephanie Cooke, known for classic tracks on the likes of King Street and West End Records. The two collaborated, and the result was a gem of a track titled “I Used To (No More).” Now this magical cut gets retooled by FastFWD for this release with a quartet of remixers lending a hand. Just One, reknown for releases on Sonar Kollectiv and Neroli as well as sought after cuts in collaboration with DJ Kemet as Kemetic Just, provides two separate remixes tailor made to rock the spot. His Househeads Mix features a super swingy four-and-floor and a buzzy bass line anchoring Cooke’s sultry vocals. Just One’s Bruk Down Rinse dubs the vocals and takes the rhythm into broken beat / nu-R&B territory, intensifying the spaciousness. Moving things to a more traditional, but no less interesting, deep house territory is Peruvian producer Alvaro Ernesto. It’s a warm and sexy mix with lots of lush accents and a rolling low end. FastFWD’s staple production team of Sandman & Riverside go for a totally classic disco feel with their ambitious mix that serves up soulful house music heat with latin percussive fire and Cooke’s full vocal way up front. The backing track is such a mover that the duo have also added an instrumental version to the package. Finally, Chillin Music captain Rob Slac offers a slinky dub with subtle breakbeats, cinematic textures, and Cooke’s vocal evocatively weaving in and out of the mix … a definite treat for late night sets.

Marques Wyatt - “Nice package!”
CJ Mackintosh - “Just One’s Househeads Mix is working!”
Alex Dimitri South Soul - “Sandman & Riverside off the hook for me… i will support this for sure.”
Andy Ward (Soul Heaven) - “Just One’s Househeads Mix … sick bass line and progression on this. I like it a lot.”
Daz-I-Kue - “Just One’s Bruk Down Rinse … This works hard. Got my support.”
Doc Link - “Who doesn’t enjoy Stephanie? I’ll be rocking the Alvaro Ernesto Remix!”
Vincent Kwok - “Great release!”
Edground - “This is wonderful! Smooth vocal and sexy groove.”
Christos Kedras (Kapa Music) - “Nice release, lots of variety, really liking the broken sound! Just One and Alvaro Ernesto my picks, both in the bag!”
Joey Silvero (Distant People) - “Great sounds and lovely vocals as always from Stephanie. I’m really into this!”
Matthias Kirsch (JazzRadio, Berlin) - “Sexy vocals, great remixes, superb production. A winner!”
Stefan Popovic (DiscoTone Radio Show) - “Alvaro Ernesto dived the deepest here. Nice, chil, and yet danceable vibe. Rolling bass line adds extra thrill.”
Michael Fossati (Spirit Of House) - “Loving both the Just One and Alvaro Ernestro mixes. Top notch soulful house featuring wonderful melodies and the unmistakable vocals of the legendary Stephanie Cooke.”

Available now from Traxsource.