Before we dive into this week's music selection, let's kick things off with a mix I made recently featuring some of my favourite deep house tunes from the past month or so. I'll be playing something similar to this (along with today's top picks) this Friday in Toronto at the Hed Kandi Christmas Party @ Cinema if you're in town and want to come hang out with some of the EARMILK crew!
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DEEP HOUSE
No doubt one of the most recognizable names in house music today is Jamie Jones, co-founder of the massively influential deep house label Hot Creations with Lee Foss and with the release of his upcoming EP on Hottraxx, now the founder of a new subsidiary label that will focus on the more underground side of deep house. If the first few tracks are any indication of what he's planning, we're in for a real treat. As if that wasn't enough, we've also got the Jamie Jones melodic remix of Life & Death's "Step Aside" featuring addicting vocals from Scott McCloud.
On a sad note here, we take a second to remember Martin Dawson, who passed away recently from a tragic brain aneurysm. Martin has been one of the leading members of the deep house movement and his influence is felt across the world. I had already found this Andre Crom collaboration and was ready to post it this week when I found out what happened. Enjoy one of the final release from Martin Dawson as he teams up with one of the brightest upcoming deep house producers.
Berlin outfit Claptone just dropped an impressive release that features two tracks, “Weekend” and “Another Night,” full of that soulful groove found in the glory days of boogie nights. The anonymous producers lay down the perfect vocal touches and disco-influenced beats, accompanied by infectious synth lines, which carry the songs. “Another Night,” especially, has this great downward riff that I can’t seem to get enough of. Add to these two tracks their dub remix of “I’m For Pleasure,” probably my favorite of the three. This one comes off a bit brighter and more bouncy because of the heavier house influences that shine throughout the song.
Another stellar release coming off Hot Creations from British producer wAFF, with a 3 track EP that fits perfectly alongside releases like "Benediction" and "Electricity" from weeks past. "Joolz", is where wAFF really shines through, with a perfect lead synth that drives the song from start to finish and a haunting vocal that echos throughout. Really looking forward to seeing from from the Leeds, UK based producer that looks poised to break out in a big way this year in similar fashion to his Hot Creations predecessors .
When I first saw the Sivesgaard remix EP track listing with Viadrina, Hot Since 82, and Blondish I knew I would be talking about them this week. Its as if Sivesgaard scoped out The Club from previous weeks and picked my favourite producers to remix "In The Night". Both the Viadrina and Hot Since 82 remixes are two of my top picks for the entire hundred plus song selection today, and Hot Since 82 also dropped another release on Get Physcial featuring two more deep house bombs, AS WELL as an impeccable remix of Shadow Child's "So High". Another Leeds based producer and DJ making huge waves lately in the dance community.
Being crowned the number 1 ginger DJ in the world according to Resident Advisor was no small accomplishment and Julio Bashmore took to his Facebook last week to voice his pleasure, "Wow thanks everyone who's supported me these last couple of years. To get no.1 ginger dj twice in a row is a dream come true." It couldn't have come at better timing as he just released potentially my favourite Julio track to date, "Pelican", although it's probably impossible to top his 2011 classic "Battle For Middle You", which EARMILK chose as the number 1 dance track from 2011.
TECHNO
German veteran producer Paul Kalkbrenner recently released a 17 track album, Guten Tag, with songs ranging from 6 minutes to only half a minute. After a listen, two tracks really stood out: “Der Ast-Spink” gives off a slightly more industrial vibe and ominous tone, and “Der Stabsvцrnern,” which features a great rolling bassline with much heavier beats. Both tracks never really climb over a whisper, though, as their melodies faintly play at the edges of your ears between the bass and synth percussion.
TECH HOUSE
Another mix this week courtesy of Toronto duo The NightOwls, who dropped their latest podcast featuring their top tech house picks and even some unsigned tracks from up and coming artists. Check it out.
As a DJ, there's a few producers whose tech house style has become my go- to sound whenever I play a tech set. My Digital Enemy has been pumping out some of my favourite tech bangers for the past year or so, and show no signs of slowing down. Most of their tracks feature massive big room-esque builds and plenty of vocals to keep everyone hooked, all until they drop some of the bounciest tech vibes we get to see here on The Club.
It's tough to argue Loco Dice's presence as one of the true influencers in techno over the last few years, and last week he returned with a 3 track EP that really captures what his live sets have been sounding like recently. A range of intensity that varies from tech house to minimal, it's no wonder Loco Dice has continued to dominate the popular vote as one of the premiere DJs in the world.
NU-DISCO
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If you love the music like I do, make sure you support the artists and purchase the music at a music outlet such as Beatport or similar!
Contributions to this post from Colin Tewksbury
