LoopMaffia - Letters From (Cold Busted)

Just over a year after his last golden-funk full length for the Cold Busted label, Poland's purveyor of old school beats -- the intriguingly named LoopMaffia -- is back. Inspired by the likes of DJ Premier and Pete Rock, LoopMaffia began working with sampled beats in the late ‘90s and soon was an instrumental member of Polish hip hop group Rap Kulminacja. After the group split up, LoopMaffia went back into the lab and ’back … back into time’ by finding new inspiration in the rhythms and sounds of classic funk, R&B, and soul. A regular fixture on the Cold Busted Bust Free series, as well as responsible for the Street Bangerz Volume 7 and FunkISH albums for the label, LoopMaffia brings his newest body of work, Letters From, into focus. He gets a boost from friends Toni Pereze and DJ Flovcut plus blood brother My Neighbour Is on the first and final cuts. Showcasing more of a classic-meets-contemporary blend on previous efforts, this album is all about bending ideas in a way that points towards the future. There's still some familiar, vintage sounds, but LoopMaffia plays with their malleability more this time around. Letters From is at its most exciting when the synths are put into overdrive, as on the boundary blurring nu-funk of "Future In The Past", "Funk On Water", and "The Rain Bringer". Further exploration into these new territories is also pervasive throughout the other cuts: from sublime strolls in the park, to evocative saxophone story telling, to the Spanish horn tango and gothically guttural outliers.

Opolopo - “I’m feeling ‘Future In The Past'!”
All Good Funk Alliance - “Dope beats … I’m loving this.”
Dogu (Ancient Astronauts / Switchstance) - "Good vibes right here … love the warm grooves."
Flashbaxx (BaxxBeatMusic) - “Really nice beat science going on here. I love the heavy swing in combination with the ‘real’ funky drums … nice tools for DJ'ing.”
Stickybuds (Goodgroove Records / Baffin Island Beat Brigade) - “Always cool stuff from these guys!”
Robin Parris (Parris & Vanucci / Dancefloor Outlaws) - “A fine selection of low slung, smokey basement beats. ‘Night Cruisin’ is the stand out track for me.”
Basement Freaks (Goodgroove / SunsetSoul) - “Soulful jams.”
tOtALcULt (Cult Music / NuFunk.net) - “Sublime, beautifully funky material … coming at it from a unique direction … just my cup of tea.”
Shantisan (Salted Soul) - “Beautiful album!”
Brandon Bass (Hub City Music / Mile High Sessions) - “Hot as expected … nice work!”
Raoul Lambert (We Play House Recordings) - “I really like that ‘Chasing Sun’ jam.”
DJ Rahdu (BamaLoveSoul) - “Jazzy and nice.”
Black Mighty Wax (Irma Records) - “Absolutely super … I’ll play all cuts, but ‘The Rain Bringer’ is an emotional experience for serious listeners.”
Aja Allsop (Ketch A Vibe Radio Show, UK) - “Heavy, grinding funk that is absolutely brilliant stuff.”
DJ Doubles (Urgent FM, Belgium) - “Great stuff … loving the diversity!”
Marc Lacasse (sHIFT Radio / Jackhouse) - “Lots of sick, cut up and jazzy jams tossed in to funky effect … and some cinematic orchestration, too.”
Adrian Lugo (WEFT 90.1 FM, Illinois) - “Quality downtempo beats to make sure you recall the smokey days of summer.”

Available now from Beatport and The Cold Busted Shop.

Patrick Gideon - I Hope You Robot (Soulgrab Records)

Soulgrab Records is a recent addition into the ring of Texas house music labels, proving there's hardly just a 'Lone Star' in that state's electronic music community. For Soulgrab's second release they touch down in Dallas with three original productions from Patrick Gideon. Titled I Hope You Robot, the EP's individual cuts are each made up of very different parts. From an early age, starting in his early teens, there's something in Gideon's wiring that has made him seek out his own methods of programming, whether it be DJ'ing parties or producing music. He broke with the predominant sound at his early rave experiences with explorations into house music. This desire to break with the status quo in favor of more personal pursuits is shown by the range of this work. "El Camino" is a minimal and deep tech-house vehicle with a meaningful message provided by an expertly placed vocal sample breaking through the hypnotism of the track's laid back lounge appeal. The slower "City Rhythm" serves as a complete 'one-eighty,' busting out unexpectedly in a broken electro funk and nu-disco party-starting blend. Once again nothing like its predecessor, "Shameless" is a flashy, hard-hitting piece poised to drive the dance floor into a frenzy with tires burnt-out and squealing like its pitched up synths. All together, I Hope You Robot will have listeners unable to sit still -- much like its creator.

Da Sunlounge (Myna Music / Bambino) - “‘Shameless’ is cool … nice, chunky underground house.”
Marques Wyatt - “Nice beats.”
Robert Owens - “Cool tracks.”
Soul Minority (Kolour / Pack Up And Dance) - “‘Shameless’ for me here … nice work on vocals.”
Alvaro Hylander (DeepWit Recordings / Balance Alliance) - “‘El Camino’ has some proper robotic groove to it … lovely!”
Daz-I-Kue (Future Soul Records / Bugz In The Attic) - “Liking this.”
Distant People (SSRadio / Foliage) - “Yeah, love that bounce and bass … ‘Shameless’ is my favorite here!”
J. Caprice (High Maintenance / Juiced Music) - “Very smooth release … looking forward to hear more from Patrick in the future!”
Graeme Park - "This is quite appealing."
Matt Prehn (Oh So Coy / Large Music) - “Intresting textures here … will try.”
Vincent Kwok (Eight-Fifteen / Transport Recordings) - “I love the funkiness of 'City Rhythms'.”
Kid Enigma (Great Lakes Audio / 1200 Traxx) - “I really love ‘Shameless’.”
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch / Mega Jawns) - "Awesome trio of tunes … I'll be playing at least one of them tonight!"
Taigo Onez (The Essence Radio Show, Chicago) - “Jackin' … quality release from Patrick Gideon!”
SimonG (Deep South Audio, New Zealand) - “Smoking quality … ‘El Camino’ is the bomb … I’m looking forward to more from this label.”
Deron Delgado (Stompy) - “I’m diggin' ‘City Rhythms’ … the other two tracks are solid deep house, too.”
DJ Nova (Rodon FM, Greece) - “The deep funk of ‘El Camino’ -- with its echoes, space effects, and random keys -- is a carefully done, dubbed-out house piece.”
Al Bradley (3am Recordings / Fabric) - “From the stabby, hypnotic grooves on ‘Shameless’, to the bouncy Brett Johnson-esque beats on ‘El Camino’, and the brilliant ‘80s future-disco on ‘City Rhythms’, this is a winner all round … top class EP!”
Michael Fossati (Spirit Of House Web Zine) - “Utterly sexy slice of deep house.”

Available now from Beatport and Juno Download.

Tonepushers - World Reboot EP (Purespace Recordings)

After an extended hiatus, Purespace Recordings is back with a sizzling five track EP. The late '90s label has revived itself -- after over a decade and a half in suspended animation -- on the work of Canadian duo Joe Silva and Ali Khan, together known as Tonepushers. Individually the two have released on labels like Stickman, Viva!, Cocoon, and Fabric London, growing as international forces to be reckoned with and developing their own live performance styles to present their respective bodies of work. Branching off into other areas of writing, Khan's ethereal and ambient sensibilities have also made for successful forays into video game soundtracking.

Combined, Tonepushers blend funky tech house with atmospheric techno, nomadically exploring a twisted tech-house terrain. Since 2004 the long-standing producers have mixed and matched their abilities, uniquely tailoring their live sets together with lush presentations across the energy spectrum. The result of their chemistry is front and center on the World Reboot EP, a collection which can't seem to hide from either of its parts. Each cut sees deep, immersive soundscapes laid over a groove-oriented backbone, likely to leave dance floors wandering between space and time in both body and mind.

Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister / G-Stone) - "Trippy stuff here and i like that. 'Fossils' and 'New York' are my faves."
Nick Warren (Hope Recordings / Way Out West) - "Great to see the label back again. Quality music from Tonepushers."
Stacey Pullen - "This is cool."
Tensnake - "The deeper tracks on here are nice."
Anthony Pappa (Red Light District / Bedrock) - "Cool EP. My favorite track here is 'Fossils'."
Phonogenic (Moodmusic / Turbo) - "'World Reboot' is very cool indeed."
Hollis P Monroe (Renaissance Infinity) - "'New York', 'World Reboot', and 'LFO Waveshaper' are all great."
Pablo Bolivar (AvantRoots / Seven Villas) - "Great … deep … I'm feeling it!"
Tyler Stadius (Deepsite / Dialtone Records) - "Love this release. Sonic monsters! Can't wait to play 'Fossils' and 'LFO Waveshaper' out."
John Norman (KMS Records / UNT Records) - "Beautiful tunes. 'New York' is top for me."
DJ Nova (Rodon FM, Greece) - "Warm, deep house sound … eclectic and perfect for the winter season. 'Dear Jim' seems to be my favorite … raw electronic funk."
Mark Mac (The Sounds Collective) - "Abstract beats and warm bass gives this release an added edge."
Lyand (Elastic Beatz) - "I love the amazing vibe in 'Dear Jim' and the underground feeling in 'New York'. Dope release!"
DJ Morpheus (Lysergic Factory) - "Superb production all in all … it's ace! I like all the tracks in here."

Available now from Bandcamp.

Smay - Rune (Warm Box)

Based from a Russian city in the Northern Ural, the Warm Box label launches full force into its first release with the "Rune" single. It's an enchanting piece by Smay, a talented producer and musician, with past work finding its way onto labels like Spring Tube, Round Triangle, and more. The original blends elements of chilled deep house and nu-disco, dragging in tempo but uplifting in spirit - even explosive at times - with melodic stabs making their way through intense progressions over a pronounced bass line. Warm Box remixer Ari Fonner dials up a faster-paced, evolved club version of "Rune" sure to send crowds euphorically reeling through the stars. A rhythmic, twinkling arpeggiation shines bright at the track's most spine shivering moments. Just like that, Warm Box comes firing out of the gates unabashed with a release sure to make a few ripples.

Sunshine Jones (Dubtribe) - "I love this!"
Nick Warren (Hope Recordings / Way Out West) - "Both versions are great."
Tensnake - "That's a nice spacey thing."
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch / Mega Jawns) - "Charming tune and a great remix … lovely stuff."
Fine Cut Bodies (Biscuit Real / Chi Recordings) - "The original is some nice laid back synth disco."
Distant People (Foliage / Seamless) - "I like the dreamy atmosphere feel to the Ari Fonner mix."
Lönya (Asymmetric Soul) - "Excellent vibe."
Aldrin (Zouk Club / One With Music) - "I'm digging the lovely slo-slung groove of the original."
Dave Pineda (Pineapple Digital) - "NIce vibes, lovely melodies, and the bass line is great."
Dado Funky Poetz (Radio Monte Carlo) - "Fantastic nu-disco vibe!"
Corbin Dooley (Electric Feel Radio Show) - "The original's slow groove is the winner."
Clive Craske (RadioReverb, UK) - "Ari Fonner makes the track into a dance floor number, and reduces the melodic content to make a perfect Ibiza sunset tune."
Alien Tom - "Slice of paradise house music here."

Available now from Beatport and Juno Download.