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Beatconductor has been on quite a roll lately, covering every spectrum from funk and disco to Latin sounds. You can now add Caribbean rhythms to his roster. This new 12" off his Spicy label has a super-long edit of "Caribbean Path(1)," which...
expand review is the ultimate relaxer track, sure to have you fiending for some fancy cocktails, friendly locals and good food. The Caribbean chants will uplift your soul (Paul Simon would approve) and the steel drum melody will take you away. Flip the side for the Balearic disco sounds of "I Wouldn't Wanna Be Like You(2)." You'd think it would be spraying haterade from the title, but take a listen, it's quite the opposite. It's sooo relaxing. He ends it with a funk edit, "The Scatsong(3)," sure to have those springtime good vibes. I used to not be so into it, but a lot of the songs I play out now have a lot of scat singing. There's no words to slip up on, drunk people love it! Another good batch for the fans. Do I smell an LP on the way? -C'mish
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The Beatconductor flexes his versatile re-edit skills here giving you three new tracks on Spicy. The pressings are loud and clean, really doing justice to the quality of these edits. The first track "Jibaro(1)" re-works Elkin & Nelson's smooth Latin groove, turning...
expand review it into a super extended version with breaks and movements. The mood is simply undeniable. Flip it over for an almost housey re-vamp of Dance Reaction's classic "Disco Train" called "Dancing Trains(2)." He gives it the useful rework, keeping the integrity of the original with the perfect modern touch. For good measure, he ends it with some flavorful heavy dub in "Out Of Bondage(3)." -C'mish
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I like this Freddie Cruger guy: he keeps it simple and powerful. You might already know him from numerous releases on GAMM and Swedish Brandy, or his full length released earlier this year under the name "3 Foot People" all good things....
expand review This 12" is a first in a series of instrumental cuts of his most requested tracks. Ever since producers like Prefuse, Dabyre, and RJD2, it seems everyone is trying to out-sequence each other to form their signature sound. Not this dude. Picture smooth, jazzy beats, with insanely crisp snares and kicks, and warm bass. Basically, the type of shit MC's would kill to rhyme over. 4 tracks total, all playable and all good: "Keep On Moving(1)," "In The Jungle(2)," "Sunday Love Beat(3)," and "Live Tune(4)." -C'mish
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Freddie Cruger is the head of Sweden's most influential Raw Fusion and Gamm labels, and is a notorious grey label bandit releasing re-edits under a slew of guises including Red Astaire. This is a joint release on Raw Fusion and Ubiquity, and...
expand review presents 12 tracks of primarily vocal collaborations. The producer- collaborator album is difficult to pull off, but Cruger does it. Rather than go for established names, it seems he tapped the hungry, lesser-known artists, willing to give 100% to their parts. Check out extremely solid opening triplet: the dubby "Over The Ocean(1)," the swagger-rap of "I Wanna Make You Move(2)," and late nineties hip-hop feel of "What'chu See(3)." Don't forget the soul vocal collaborations either, these really give the album another dimension, check "Pretty Little Thing(4)" featuring Linn, and "Special Lady(5)" featuring LDN. There's actually only one instrumental track here, but it's a heater, check "The Hustle(6)." 12 tracks, engaging all the way through. -the mgmnt
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Yes! Jazzconductor (aka Beatconductor aka Beatfanatic) always comes fresh and this Brazilian edits 12" is testament to that. Check out the madness of "Sapio(1)" with its uptempo drum break intro, haunting bass plucks and wicked vocals. This track is the mofocking truth...
expand review like Yao Ming 2007! JC explores several Brazilian styles here with the nice bossa fix of "Wanda Vital(2)," the hypnotic Samba-house of "Pra Oxala(3)," and Samba-jazz fusion fire of "Pixiero(4)." All will bring the fire. Recommended. -the mgmnt
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We last heard Palov & Mishkin on their stellar Re-De-Troit hip-hop blends single on GAMM (a Lab bestseller). They've returned on the Scribble label with four more well-executed mixes. First up(1), you get a remix of Masta Ace Inc's "Jeep Ass Niguh"...
expand review blended with that Moog version of James Brown's "In The Jungle Groove." "Brothers(2)" is a cool weed-themed cut and paste track over some ska-beats. On the flip, "In Cubanas(3)" is a Mobb Deep blend over latin beats, and "Well Stomach(4)" is a nice female soul vocal over live instrumentation. -the mgmnt
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This might be the coolest Red Astaire remix yet. On "Go Move(1)," a sinister as phuc beat (think "Tom Sawyer" meets Blade Runner) sets up the rebirth of Q-Tip and Busta's "For The Nasty." So much better than the original (engineered in...
expand review Stockholm, brotha). Red Astaire is relentless, offering an awesome b-boy horns track on the flip entitled "Feel The Horns Blow(2)," totally smoking. And for the DJs, he's also included an echoed out mix version of "Spread Love(3)" (not the Bozo Meko track), so ripe for blends. Recommended. -the mgmnt
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Another Red Astaire remix double-down winner on Homegrown (check the previous one featuring Q-Tip). "Move Yo Ass(1)" is a latin-beats remix using Pharrell's chorus from Clipse's "When The Last Time." P's bravado translates perfectly into this party track. Along similar lines, check...
expand review "Mambo El B-Boy Stance(2)," another latin-beats workout. "Rio De Noche(3)" takes a major left-turn on the b-side, providing a cerebral, downtempo-latin-psyche track. That's a lot to put your head around, but the track is quite amazing. Lastly check the party break, "Nomo(4)," about some girl who wants to keep drinking... we like. Note: due to some massive bass sounds on "Mambo Dinero(5)," this particular song might skip on certain turntables, please consider this when purchasing. -the mgmnt
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In the history of the Lab, Red Astaire is probably somewhere in the top 20 of total amount of 12"s sold. That's pretty impressive for someone who has only released 8 or so 12"s. It's easy to tell why his records do...
expand review so well: they combine quality downtempo and nujazz with party break aesthetics. If you don't want to douse the crowd with the commercial stuff, your next best bet is to go with Red, he keeps the party vibe intact. This is Red's first compilation, and it collects many of the his "famous" tracks plus several unreleased tracks. If you need an introduction, check "Follow Me(1)," that infamous D'Angelo remix that set things off back in 03 (shout to Jamie at Stones Throw for originally putting us on to this back then). In total, you get 12 tracks, spanning his import Gamm releases and his stateside Homegrown releases. Double vinyl, recommended. -the mgmnt
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One-sided white label from Lab favorite Red Astaire. Why one-sided? Cuz it's that good. Red is one of the few who can pull off that gangster nu-jazz sound. Who else would sprinkle Biggie samples over a jazz beat? Oh yeah, listen ...
expand review for the 9th inning flute solo. 300 copies, no repress. -the mgmnt
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Norway reps hard these days, what with the seemingly endless stream of releases from the likes of Lindstrom, Prins Thomas, Kango's Stein Massiv and new Nord on the block, Todd Terje. Proving himself to be one to watch, Terje's rolled out a...
expand review hugely anticipated re-edit of the freak formerly known as Michael Jackson, circa Off The Wall. "I Can't Help It(1)" is one of those surefire dancefloor demons that heads like Gilles Peterson always pack in the bag just in case things get rough out there. Kitty Winters' "New Morning(2)" also gets a rub, as does Michael Henderson's jazz-soaked "Let Love Enter," but we all know it's that Jacko cut you're after! -Roy Dank
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The second volume of Gamm's James Brown reworks is in, featuring a whole new batch of timeless classics modified by the modern ear. The soulful talents on this include Swedish funk phenom Red Astaire(aka 3 Foot People, Freddie Cruger) bringing us a...
expand review fiery beat, alongside the soulful sounds of Caretta Bell's vocals on "You Dead Wrong." It's not just an ordinary, but a true reworking that competes with a lot of the modern soul today. Next, the London funk duo Sugarloaf Gangsters add a heavy dash of latin spice to the huge "Sayin' It & Doin' It(2)." It's already a classic, but they really did a number here changing up the percussion for higher intensity. Perfect for dancin' in the sun. The last edit is of JB's huger than huge "I Know You Got Soul(3)" flipped by Swing Section. With the hearty extended version they provide, this classic will now keep the floor forever movin'. Especially towards the middle and end, it gets deep. -C'mish
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Third volume of JB reworks from the GAMM crew. This volume features the incredibly funky, pumpin', almost disco-house version of "Bang It On(1)" by Badsim which would be my pick off the EP. Flipside features Yosaku's high energy edit of "Ain't It...
expand review Funky(2)" which extends the break for days and will surely get the b-boys on the floor. Also features Pure P's boom-bapified version of "Fonky President(3)" which gets your head knoddin' till your neck snaps. Bamn! -snackmaster
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