Motor City Drum Ensemble - Raw Cuts 2.

The Balearic Gabba Soundsystem is back, back with a new EP that features three more leftfield remixes from curious electronic specialist Enzo Elia that have all been licensed officially by Irma Records. The source material for his three unhinged reworks is a track by 90s Italian house duo Soft House Company and two from cult Italian DJ and producer Don Carlos.

Soft House Company released only two EPs, both in 1990, but made a big impact with them: pretty much everyone has heard ‘What You Need’ and that’s the track that gets remixed here. Elia turns it into a slightly more bouncy and disco leaning cut with raw silvery drums, huge vamping piano chords and those classic vocal cries and already Eddie C and Gerd Jansen have been playing it. At the breakdown there is the sound of waves breaking on a beach before pianos go wild: It’s a freewheeling and sure fire party starting track that still does the trick nearly quarter of a century after original release.

Don Carlos was behind such seminal club tracks as 1991’s ‘Alone’ and produced five studio albums in the nineties and naughties. He fuses Afro rhythms with deep house vibes and has DJed all over the world since the 70s. The first of his to get re-worked is ‘Overture’, which starts with tropical bird cries, whistles and loon calls. It’s the sound of a humid jungle that gets slowly consumed by lush pads, delicate piano melodies and stirring string sounds. With a truly magical atmosphere and uplifting joyousness permeating the whole thing, it cannot fail to make you feel on top of the world.

Finally, Elia tackles ‘Chicago’ (a track that’s already been supported by Soft Rocks) and does so with swathes of mesmeric effects. Organic hand congas, breathy vocal snippets and a bristling nebula of synths, pads and strings all dance around each other in reservedly euphoric symphony.

This might just be one of the most beautifully and bizarrely Balearic releases yet from the ever unhinged Balearic Gabba Soundsystem.

Soft House Company - What You Need (Enzo Elia Balearic Gabba Style)

Crazy P(enis) will be forever associated with the glory days of Paper Recordings. As the acid house fever dream started to fade, a new generation of ravers took the ball and ran with it for a more groove-driven sound. The band and label were part of the pack.

Paper Recordings first met Jim, Chris and Tim when they were fresh off the boat from North Wales and Nottingham, with a sampler tucked under their arms and a bag full of amazing demos. The first release soon led to their album, 'A Nice Hot Bath With...', which wrote the blueprint for what would become known as nu-disco. Sample heavy and great musicianship fed by late nights on the dance floors of Manchester made it an instant classic.

The band grew with the addition of Danielle Moore's lead vocals and star power. On their next album, The Wicked Is Music', the sound consolidated into the one that has gone on to conquer the world. House, disco, broken beats, funk and pop are all mixed into a heady mix of forward facing dance music.

The Early Years compilation charts their rise from of their early catalogue of ground-breaking productions.

Give It Up

Buy/Stream

Crazy P - Give It Up (Original Mix)

You Started Something

Crazy P - You Started Something (Original Mix)

Eris [Minimal Groove Concept]

Clove [Minimal Groove Concept]

New sad day (1)(2)

I'm Here Again (Joey Negro Rea

Fonda Rae - Living In Ecstasy (Groove Mix Edit)

Premiere number three from our upcoming edits tape comes from @correlateuk

He's given Rock Steady by the queen Aretha a major club overhaul. Absolute peak time business.

It will be available, along with the rest of the VA, via bandcamp for FREE on December 13th.

Shout out @gary-j for the YouTube premiere here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTt-WBeeJ6Y

More to come this week!

Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady (Correlate Club Ready Edit) [FRESH TAKE EDITZ]

Breakaway

Paper has been pushing all things deep house and disco from the furthest reaches of the world via the good old North of England since the early Nineties.

The label has already featured a new series of EP's showcasing the best new dance music and future funk, house and disco from the world's finest producers.

We kicked off in 1994, leading the upsurge in popularity of UK house music within an underground scene previously dominated by a soundtrack from US cities like Chicago, Detroit and New York. Enhanced by a strong visual identity, as well as impeccable musical quality control PAPER was, and is one of the world’s most treasured record companies.

It continues to be funk-fuelled and bottom heavy!