As sunny days reappear and bright flashes of optimism reverberate around the globe, along comes London based producer Kempston Hardwick with a killer five track garage-house release on Lobster Theremin that is crying out to be played in the park over some beers. 

With a more UK-centred approach than his previous work on SITU Records, Kempston Hardwick has captured the ‘better days are coming’ energy and bottled it into four wicked cuts of subtle grooves and deep wobblers.

The early evening groove of ‘Mowbray Street’ bounces into the frame with its playful melodies and sunny aesthetic; bopping and swaying in the fading sunlight. The oxymoronic patterns of harsh and melodic clash on ‘Channel’ as day turns to night; jackin’ rhythms and repetitive pads that create a real sense of inner-groove. 

Big breaks and carnival flavour are the orders of the day on ‘Provoke Iddy’ as Kempston flexes his versatility, before arriving at ‘Have You Stopped It’ - a wobbling melter that takes the very best of contemporary bassline and blends it with the fun energy of the transatlantic Vancouver and Montreal crews for some proper euphoric screwface moments.

Wrapping things up is the electro-laced 2-step of ‘Apologies to 25’ - a cut of distorted garage beamed from disco robots on a not-so-distant galaxy. Kempston Hardwick’s Mowbray Street EP might be the artist's most complete work yet, and it couldn’t be arriving at a better moment.

"Mowbray Street" drops on Lobster Theremin on Friday 21st May.

>> @checan

Mowbray Street

BUY RELEASE

LT082 // Kempston Hardwick - Mowbray Street

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* Read more: https://boltingbits.com/musclecars-she-raised-us-in-sunset-park-toucan-sounds
* Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3MSb5McFUEU
* Pre-order: https://musclecars.bandcamp.com/album/street-dreams?label=1390904943&tab=music

Sometimes you’ve got to take a victory lap. Nothing wrong with that — especially if you’ve been pumping out Body & Soul and providing Shelter for dancers young and old like musclecars have been. The defacto torchbearers for a traditional yet vital and very much alive strain of New York City house; Brandon Weems and Craig Handfield have put in the work through beautiful productions, cathartic DJ sets, and their regular party turned stand out record label Coloring Lessons. It’s hard to believe the two made their production debut less than a year ago with toucan sounds’ fantastic “Don’t Go” alongside powerhouse vocalist Brandon Markell Holmes. Returning to the source with this new deluxe edition of their beautiful debut Street Dreams EP, musclecars and toucan sounds present a joyful and realized companion piece that further proves they’re here to stay.

Anchored by the massive “She Raised Us In Sunset Park;” this three track package of smartly curated remixes and spiritual sequels is bursting with the life and emotion of a city in its reawakening. Perhaps the duo’s finest moment yet, “She Raised Us In Sunset Park” is an everything-in-its-right-place hand percussion latin jazz house groover that takes Pink Flamingo Rhythm Revue’s Eric Mendelsohn’s lush guitar tone from EP standout “The Man Who Kept Bedstuy Warm” and pushes it to the floor with a searing solo drenched in reverb and power. Percussionist Jimmy Lopez steals the show with a flurry of shaker, congas, and a fiery timbale solo. It’s like an early Santana cut and I want to hear it played loud on the streets of New York every day this summer.

An international array of remixers seal the deal including well executed mixes from London’s K15 and Tokyo’s beloved Dazzle Drums. The sound of birds mesh with the cool whisper of vocalist Tiff Ortiz, twinkling grand piano notes, and beautifully mixed deep house percussion laid on top of an irresistible bass line for K15’s take on “Sol.” Hopeful and curious; this is a track you can easily melt into. Another Tiff Ortiz featuring track “Sun Track I,” Dazzle Drums balance meditative calm with lounge dub deepness with craft filled intentionality. All together — Street Dreams (Deluxe) is a natural expansion and well needed victory lap for a group that is just getting started.

Street Dreams (Deluxe)

PREMIERE: Musclecars - She Raised Us In Sunset Park

NoBol

A1 Ben Hauke - Nobol (WOOP006)

Also

Edition of 300 orange vinyl:
https://shallnotfade.co.uk/album/minobu-ep

With his second contribution to the Lost Palms catalogue, Swansea-based producer Tom Vernon takes us by the hand and leads us with him on a contemplative journey through Japan’s rural landscapes and their urban surroundings. 
 
Following the success of his debut EP released on Shall Not Fade’s sub-label Lost Palms, Tom Vernon returns with a blissed-out 5-tracker. Taking its name from the ancient temple district at the foot of the Japanese mountain, Minobu EP sees the emerging producer fuse field recordings with the stylistic tropes of house and broken beat, creating intricately woven tapestries imbued with memory and place. 
 
The wistfully amorphous opening track ‘Onjuku’ captures the stasis of a declining-population seaside town, taking its cue from the futile whine of the tsunami warning system that echoes daily through its empty streets. On ‘Minobu In The Train’, the EP discovers its pulse, translated into the shuffle of maracas, reverberating cymbals and a hypnotic piano melody that New Zealand brothers Chaos in the CBD would be proud of. With instrumental-sounding percussion, a modest, throbbing bassline and the ambient backdrop of Tokyo station, ‘Unexpected departure’ takes jazz-infused broken beat as its reference point, and sees the EP at its most transportive. Bringing things to a close are the complex drum workouts and acid-tinged melody of ‘Route E52’ and the more upbeat deep house track ‘Could This Be’ with low pass filtered funk-infused melody that oozes sex appeal. 

Minobu EP drops 22nd April via Shall Not Fade.

Onjuku

PALMS049 // Tom Vernon - Minobu EP

Braga Circuit - Memory (VR002)

Master of vibes George Feely joins the Shall Not Fade family with an uplifting cut of house which touches base at disco and 90’s piano house.

Easy Living EP drops 19th August via Shall Not Fade.

Easy Living

SNFDIGI016 // George Feely - Easy Living EP

Underground System returns to @razor-n-tape with the ‘Looking In EP’ -  a 5-track offering of fresh originals and remixes. Ranging from low-slung Balearic grooves, to driving left-field funk and urgent up-tempo backbeats, the record is a fine-tuning of the US sound, complete with their signature flute and synth soundscapes, driving percussion, and catchy offbeat vocal hooks. On the B-side, RNT mainstays Nenor and Clive From Accounts take two of the tunes into clubbier territory, with a pair of remixes that are primed for the dance floor.

Stream & Buy - razor-n-tape.fanlink.to/LookingIn

Looking In EP

Stream / Buy

PREMIERE Underground System - Sleazy(Nenor Remix)[Razor-N-Tape]

Javier Ho - Basque Sheperd

Some classy, late night grooves from John Dahlbäck in one of his first releases back in 2002. 

John Dahlbäck - The Backseat [2002]

A deep, rolling house cut built around the unmistakable vocal from Josh Butler’s “White Sand.”
This one blends warm grooves, hypnotic textures, and a driving low-end for peak-time energy while keeping a stripped, minimal edge.

House Thang

Mix Series and Month Radio Shows
[Margate Radio, Balamii]

By @bragacircuit
& @danellanthony

Braga Circuit - Memory (VR002)

Vertical Rhythm