V.A. We Are VR (Voyeurhythm)

The sun's out and I have the day off: the perfect excuse to head over to Rush Hour, my local retailer of the fine black stuff. I was actually just going in to pick up some old bits I found on their Discogs page (some killer old Theo Parrish tunes) when I spotted Voyeurhythm's latest outing in the 'just in' section. I've said it many times before, but we think Voyeurhythm is one of the most underrated  labels out there at the moment, harbouring a fine bunch of talented producers. So here's the next installment of our 'plugging and pimping all things Voyeurthythm' series.

"We Are VR" is a sampler of sorts, with trusted label stalwarts Ben Sun and Tyson Ballard pitching in a track each, and introducing Francis Inferno Orchestra and DJ HMC (whose alias Late Nite Tuff Guy might ring a bell or two) to the imprint's roster. Ben Sun kicks things off with 'Just Living', a string-drenched deephouser with stuttering vocals, shuffling hats and subtle drums. Senor Sun makes churning out timeless deep house nuggets again and again seem easy...another huge tune by the man that'll be played for years to come (watch these pages for an upcoming review of his Love Momentum EP that out soon on Delusions of Grandeur, which we can safely predict will become one the years biggest releases). Francis Inferno Orchestra sticks to the vintage deephouse theme on the A2 with 'Father Figures', a chuggy and choppy beast of a track. Hadn't heard anything from FIO in a while, good to see him back in action.

Flip over from DJ HMC's analogue boogie squelcher 'Star Trax', which will please the fans of rubbery basslines and 80s claps. It's closing track 'My House' by label boss Tyson Ballard that is the pick of the bunch for me though, a classy, moody, midtempo ride, built around a classic female vocal loop, sharp claps and huge amounts of sub-bass. Can't wait to try this out on a sunkissed sunday afternoon. Another Voyeurhythm essential then.


Pick up a copy here or head over to your local store if there's one around

Tommy Awards - Tommy Awards EP (Magic Feet)

After covering a bunch of moody, bassheavy deephouse nuggets over the past few weeks, it's time for something a little different to keep things interesting: the Tommy Awards EP on Magic Feet.

In case you were wondering (and obviously you were): I used to beat the sh*t out of Craig Bratley's Free Music EP on Lowdown that came out almost a decade ago (think 90s jacking deephouse, used to be obsessed with those US imports back in the day). The sound he's pushing with Magic Feet - his new label - is an alltogether different beast though, introducing the unmistakable talents of Sweden's Jon Möller and Alexander Holm under their 'Tommy Awards" nom de plume. Make room for dreamy, meandering balearica everyone!

Opening track 'Blind Andy' is a lovely slowpaced, breezy percussive shuffler (close your eyes and feel the sun tickle your skin and lick your eardrums).  Skuggan, also on the A, follows roughly the same delectable recipe, with gentle live guitars thrown in for good measure. The B-side offers two more slices of picture-perfect headnodding gear, reminiscent of The Bubble Club's excellent 'Goddess EP' that came out on International Feel last year. The live guitar and subtle basslines really stand out and the whole EP oozes quality and craftmanship. I usually don't rate hypesheets all that much - I know from experience what an ordeal it is to pen down sales notes - but in this case 'blurring the boundaries between the Balaeric, Psychedelic and Cinematic' is pretty spot on.

As you may know, I'm a bit of a sucker for dreamy, meandering balearica (check this cheeky mix I did a while back) and this EP totally makes me want to dig through the piles for a new lazy sundayafternoon mixing session, which goes to show just how inspiring this release is. Have a listen to clips of the release (they're really short and don't do the release justice to be honest, best head over to your local and listen to the tracks the way they're meant to).



Out soon on 12" vinyl only, and comes in a full colour sleeve designed by Leolyxxx (who makes awesome stuff if you're interested in graphic design, definately worth a google or two).

Lazare Hoche & Martin Hayes - LH Edits (Lazare Hoche)

When we think of bomb records to come out of France we here at sleazy HQ are immediately reminded of the immaculate deep house stuff that came out circa 1990s on labels like Versatile, Basic, Basenotic et al. The thought of goodtime funk & disco jams doesn't exactly spring to mind. New Paris-based label named Lazare Hoche (named aptly after an 18th C french revolutionary soldier) aims at chipping away at that stereotype though, releasing chunky edits that have one thing in mind - to work on the dancefloor.

We know very little about the imprint except its run by three Parisian chaps who share responsibility of music and artwork combined, and from the looks/sounds of things it seems they know what they're doing. Now you might be thinking that the whole edit thing has had its day - and you'd be right to a certain extent. But these three cuts they've chosen to spice up are very obvious and deliberate and lord knows the originals are damn good. And surely these guys know that, and are likely taking razors to these trusted gems - if nothing else, to have one hell of a damn good record in the bag to rock a good drunken crowd on the dancefloor. Precicely the type of stuff you want to reach for when playing out after midnight or so when the Heineken's been flowing, erm, or in this case the Kronenbourg.

B1 by Lazare Hoche offers a killer reworking of First Choice's 'Love Thang'. Starting out looping that badass thumping kick/break, strings, and vocal snippets of people having goodtimes at a house party (so good) in the background, the meat soon slams in and sends you packing. Martin Hayes of Rose Records steps up to the plate for an invitation on the B2, and serves up a delightfully welldone edit of 'Why Did You Do It' by Stretch. Those of you who know the tune can attest to it's simplicity and pure funkiness, Mr Hayes has kindly done the needful by prolonging the fat woodclap beat and most important vocal, and added some delicate effects in some spots. Presto, another killer rework that rocks. The flip sees another LH rework called 'Edit A', which sees a well known disco classic refunked and thumped to great result, that should leave them in the palm of your hand.



Rumour has it that Lazare Hoche will be dividing their time between funk/disco edits (be on the lookout for number 2 out soon) and also other housier releases an exactly similar (see what I did there) imprint. As usual - keep em peeled. This first release is superlimited to 300 copies worldwide, so be quick to snatch one up. A killer 12" that's made with a whole whack of love. Love, and loads of polyvinyl chloride.

V.A. Restaurant EP (Rest Music)

After a sublime debut a few months ago (see our glowing review here), Herb LF and Phil Decker just put out the sophomore release on their freshly minted imprint Rest! Music, which we kindly got sent for reviewing purposes. It's a sampler of sorts, with Morgenklang, Superloader and Discoshit (the nom de plume of the label bosses) all pitching in a track. Morgenklang and Superloader are new names to me, but if it's house of the moody and bottom-end heavy persuasion you seek, you're in most capable hands here. Morgenklang kicks things off rather nicely with 'Green & Blue', a deep workout with clean but heavy drums, a driving bassline and some well-placed synth stabs. Discoshit's 'Strangers' starts off as a lovely midtempo groover with chunky drums, but the groove gets a little overshadowed by superheavy squelchy synths about two minutes in. A bit too heavy/squelchy to my ears but if you like your music twisted and techy you're bound to love this.

It's Superloader's 'Walk With Me' that is the standout cut for me though, a delectable slice of moody midtempo deephouse with badass, rolling drums and oodles of chug. If you like any of the recent cuts on Luv Unlimited you'll love this little bugger.The vocal samples ('Walk With Me / Take My Hand') work a real treat too, should sound absolutely massive on a proper soundsystem. All in all a very fine second release on one of the year's most interesting new imprints.

Have a listen to/order the record here

PS The vinyl comes with proper artwork on the sleeve again and three locked grooves too, which is a really nice touch for those of you willing to shell out a few bones for the real thing.