Sleight of Hands - Lipstick Shades (Green Gorilla Lounge)

The Green Gorilla Lounge crew have been big movers and shakers on the San Francisco underground scene since the mid-'90s and Sleight Of Hands is the label's flagship combo. This collaboration between collaboration between DJ M3 and Phil Collis is responsible for singles on Smoke N' Mirrors, remixes for Om Records, and consistently working crowds on the club and festival circuit. Now Sleight Of Hands come at dancefloors with a potent collection of tracks from their Lipstick series. Behold: Lipstick Shades!

This beauty batch of beats is 10 cuts strong and explores a range of influences, from jungles of Tulum to old school electro to synthwave for late night drives, The vintage-meets-the-new vibe of "Yucatech" is pure nightclub bliss, as are the sleazy midtempo handclap strut of "Arpwave" and the ecstatic Chicago House homage "Are You With Me." Sleight Of Hands are also ready to deliver more pensive sounds, such as the dreamy techno of "Lone Driver" and the dubbed-out Balearic House Remix of "Thankful." Championed around the scene, heard round the block, now's the time to grab some shade.

Tyler Stadius (Deepen) – “So good! Every track stands out. Can’t wait to get playing these.”
Magnus Asberg (On The House Records) – “Yes yes! Full support on this.”
Spaceotter (SCOHM) – “Hey Hey has extraordinary levels of vibe.”
Brian Busto (Serious Soul) – “For me, it’s one of the best releases of the year. Excellent work!”
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Show) – “Awesome selection here – I can see featuring all of these in my sets.”
Leri Ahel (Mutant Disco Radio Show) – “Some brilliant tracks here. Already played on my show!”

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

monotropa. - Inmovilidad (Tremulant)

Lockdown. Shut in. Claustrophobic. Inmovilidad.

What can we learn about ourselves in moments of immobility? So much of our daily activity is full of movement, and within those moments where our movement is restricted, we become faced with discomfort, sometimes pain, and we are forced to be with ourselves in permanence.

These sentiments inspired "Inmovilidad," recorded by Seattle's monotropa. in the early months of the 2020 covid lockdown. The track sonically details an expression of anger regarding a relationship that was no longer beneficial and when anger helps one to understand there is something going on that is crossing a boundary. Loping and techy, the tune starts with a pulsing bass line and a punchy and somewhat tribal drum track. Dark and cinematic layers of synths melodically play up the treacherous vibe — this is moody late night business that'll more than satisfy the dancers on the floor.

The Golden Hour remix from Just Emma (Katermukke, Hanse Hertz) extracts the deepest elements from "Inmovilidad" and reworks them for a hypnotizing extended version. The mix's many twists and turns evoke the intricate thoughts behind the original. Hector J Rodriguez (Underscore Recordings) spotlights the tribal hand percussion hinted at in the original and rounds out the stereo field with arpeggiated synths, piano stabs, and dramatic transitions. A top notch release from Tremulant, a label that claims it's 'not of this world.'

Rory Hoy (Super Hi-Fi) – “Great downtempo release. Supporting!”
FineCutBodies (Chi Recordings) – “Love the production of the Just Emma remix. Great lush vibes!”
Anders Lyngen (Utzekatze) – “All of these tracks are floorfillers. Especially at my Sunday club – Utzekatze. Bangin’ and chill all at the same time.”
Andreas Kinzl (play.fm) – “Deep vibes. Well done.”
Sandro Bianchi (Ibiza Sonica) – “Love it! Original and remixes are dope.”
Jon Wesley (Music Goes On Radio Show) – “Excellent for afterhours for sure. I like both mixes. Nice production and deep vibes.”

Available Now From: Beatport, Juno Download, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Various Artists - SoundSAM Bootleg Remixes (Beatservice Records)

Norwegian producer SoundSAM punches the clock with four revamps of some of Beatservice Records' most iconic cuts from the vault. Initially designed as tools for SoundSAM's own DJ sets, the first two remixes instantly caught the attention of the Beatservice Records staff, and two more reworks were commissioned to wrap up the SoundSAM Bootleg Remixes EP.

A bouncy take on Mind over MIDI's "Elektrical Aktivity", SoundSAM's first revamp, beams proper exhilarating galactic vibes and does exactly what SoundSAM originally tailored it for: knocking dancefloors askew. Flush with sizzling bass bravura and soaring synth alchemy, the track hops with seamless ease from no-nonsense shuffle to spaced-out escapism in a jiffy.

Meanwhile, Fenomenon's "Lucy Said" gets tweaked into a bubblin' n steppin' housey pop delight, tinged with a hint of R&B suavity for good measure. A catchy love tune primed for sweaty boogie-down sessions by the boudoir, or the ideal track to detect the darling of your life in a crowd of unknown faces. Either way, a blast of cheeky, half Chicagoan/half UK-informed house to crank the heat levels up to incendiary summits.

A minutely carved-out DJ tool in the smartest sense of the term, Motion Control's "Digits 3" gets all turned up into a stealth and loopy acid weapon, laced with a funk-savvy dose of filtered house to keep things jiggy from the minute you enter the club up until the lights go off. The epitome of a robot's greasy and oily honeymoon soundtrack, sure to get some nuts and bolts flying off the fuselage along the way.

Topping it all is Mind over MIDI's "E. Scape", which does exactly what's written on the tin, i.e. taking us to far-flung vistas where Middle-Eastern riffs coalesce with nasty 303 swashes and brooding harmonic tides to shape a distinctively mind-boggling symphony of faux-organic, cross-pollinated escapism that will have one flying off to another dimension effortlessly.

Tom Lown (Lucky Sun Recordings) – “Lucy Said is something special. Love how the chords flow over the cool production.”
Alvaro Hylander (DeepWit Recordings) – “Digits 3 is a great track!”
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) – “E. Scape (SoundSAM With Love Remix) is tidy!“
Tommy D Funk (Good For You Records) – “Yeah! Great stuff right here.”
DJ Deelay (Underground Sessions) – “Wow. Lucy Said is hypnotic.”
DJ Morpheus (Lysergic Factory radio show) – “I like the remix of Mind over MIDI’s Elektrical Aktivity best here. It’s flowing right!”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, AND Spotify.

UNA - It's OK (The Movement Tribe Goes Dubbing) [Cool Jewel Records]

The past couple years have brought UNA inspiration and time to think, write, create. As UNA searches for breaks in the clouds and embrace the changes that have taken place, they are hopeful. With this hope UNA brings you The Movement Tribe's Goes Dubbing remix of "It's OK," UNA's second single from their forthcoming album The Look in Their Eyes.

Veteran DJ and current 'life ninja' Jacob Okino Benson heads up The Movement Tribe, producing a bass-prone version of "It's OK" that fuses UNA's jazz-inflected female vocal with a downtempo dub pulse. Cool percussive flourishes, reverb splash, shimmering effects, and sparse, ringing keys combine into an atmospheric treat that's as sonically potent as it is evocative. This vibe is a heartbeat.

Velanche (Soul Dust Productions) – “Cool, dark and sublime. Digging it.”
Piiit (So Watt) – “Perfect chill vibes. Beautiful voice.”
Kid Loco (Flor) – “This is pretty cool.”
Snooba (Radio Panik) – “Poetic minimalism.”
Jon Fugler (Fluke) – “Really rather beautiful.”
misterG (Green Arrow Radio Show) – “Love UNA in every shape, color or form.”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, AND Spotify.