House & Disco

Mike Davis - Baniza EP

Hot on the heels of their recent EP from a seemingly revitalised Domu, fledgling UK label Sector 12/12 returned to the fray last week with a brand new release from Berlin-based producer Mike Davis.

The digital imprint Sector 12/12 first appeared on our radar a few months ago following a low key launch at the beginning of the year. In that time, label head Mr Shift has already delivered two free Bandcamp releases to pique listeners’ interest, following up an initial EP of deep ambient electronica from the producer Infest with the well-received (and somewhat out of the blue) comeback release from Domu. Both shed some light on the agenda of the new label, a love for pushing twisted electronic sounds overground clearly proving to be a pivotal force that initially brought Sector 12/12 into being. This fact is further confounded by the release of this third EP, written and produced by Mike Davis, a quality four-tracker that features conflicting takes on forward-thinking techno.

Davis is a new name to us, although we’ve been reliably informed that he’s been making electronic records since 2011. Of Canadian heritage but currently based in the musical hotbed of Berlin, he’s a prolific producer (so much so that when asked to submit a demo, he sent through 22 tracks) and by the sounds presented on this EP, a well-versed one at that. Here he flexes his production chops in various ways, pulling together diverse strands of the techno genre and showcasing them in a more than cohesive manner. The productions unmistakably share a common bond with the rawer elements of 90s house and 303 acid culture, yet each of the tracks explores the territory in a different way.

The title track ‘Baniza’ opens things up and heads straight for the jugular with a deep and gnarly sound propelled forward by the simplest of kicks and a relentless bassline that provides perfect fodder to fuel those 6am shuffles on the dancefloor. ‘Toasted Acid’ begins in a similar vein before breaking out into a more refined and driving slice of futuristic funk, while the 303 (as the name suggests) is heavily worked in the background. It’s a mixdown which is more than capable of blowing the doors off any night at Berghain, yet has enough going on to stand out from some of the more soulless productions of its contemporaries. The second half of the EP is slightly more ‘soulful’ kicking of with ‘Synaptic’ which layers syncopated synth stabs on top of a driving hypnotic groove. For us though, it’s perhaps the final track ‘Pedestrian Sound’ which takes the prize, a warm old school style jam with skippy drums and sweeping synths that create an evocative hybrid of deep house and soul-infused techno. Overall, it’s an inviting glimpse into the world of Davis and another solid collection of sounds presented by Sector 12/12.. We can’t wait to hear what’s in store for #4!

Check out samples of the all four tracks below and if some take your fancy, make sure you support by picking them up via the label’s Bandcamp page.

GUESTMIX003 | Danny Clark (Late Night Audio / Luxor Records) (April 2014)

GUESTMIX003 | Danny Clark (Late Night Audio / Luxor Records) (April 2014) by Soul-Identity Music on Mixcloud

April’s guest mix comes courtesy of Late Night Audio’s Danny Clark and it’s a deeply dubby and low slung excursion into underground house sounds just the way we like it. As Late Night Audio, Clark alongside Toby Tobias (Rekids) promoted some of the freshest house and disco events in London Town over the course of four years, as well as running a record label under the same name, putting out tracks from Tobias, Das Volt and New York legend Jovonn. Since then he’s established a second label, Luxor Records that has so far released new music from Stee Downes and original Chicago house diva Liz Torres. He upped and left these fair shores a while ago and can now be found spinning his own unique take on house over in Singapore with an online radio show also in development.

There’s plenty of newness in the works from both Danny and the LNA camp with a solid flow of new tracks and edits to drop in the coming months. New digital remixes from Merwyn Sanders (Virgo 4) as well as new takes by Tobias and Citizen Kane (Disques Sinthomme/NY) of Liz Torres ‘Your Love Is All I Need’ are hot off the press and available online as is the addition of a Dub Mix to the recently released Fabric 72 compilation by Move D.

The Late Night Audio label is are also prepping their first new material since 2012. Watch this space for the eagerly anticipated Jovonn Revival EP2 which features the Brooklyn producer on two tracks‘The Deepest Move’ and ‘Wait a Minute (Stop!!!)’, and a remix from Danny and Das Volt. New material from Roy Davis Jr. and also Lady Blacktronika are forthcoming with special remixes on a limited 12″ vinyl to be made available to selected record shops and online stores soon.

We hope you enjoy the mixtape and if you dig it, make sure to show Danny some love in the comments.

The third and final selection in this year’s boat party warm-up mixtape series comes from Dan Beaumont of Jam Factory fame and a founding member of East London disco protagonists Disco Bloodbath. Dan is co-headlining the upper deck this year alongside young Italian house producer Nicholas (who will be playing live) and here is a 50 minute segment of a live set recorded recently at his Dalston Superstore venue. You can catch the full mix over at Pulse Radio but in the meantime enjoy this flawlessly blended bundle of deep house and disco biscuits.

If you’d like to join us this coming Saturday aboard The Golden Sunrise and catch Dan, Nicholas, Rob Coley in action on the upper deck and Cigarettes and Sunshine and Rad Dad on the lower deck (plus the after party later on), head on over to Resident Advisor now and grab yourself a ticket http://bit.ly/HHa08f. It’s shaping up to be an amazing session!

Soul-Identity Boat Party 2012 Warm Up Mix #3: Dan Beaumont (Jam Factory) by Soul-Identity Music on Mixcloud

Two Armadillos - People of The World EP

Here’s the second selection in a series of three mixtapes to help get you in the mood for this month’s midsummer boat party on June 23rd. Resident Rob Coley steps up to the plate to deliver a swift 40 minute set of some of the sounds you’re likely to hear on the top deck, as he kicks off proceedings on the day and is joined by Dan Beaumont (Jam Factory / Dalston Superstore) and young Italian house producer Nicholas (No More Hits / 4Lux / Needwant). Strictly underground house and deep disco on this one and (mostly) taken from the original vinyl, we get tracks from the likes of Two Armadillos,Delano SmithRick WadeBraxton HolmesNicholas (of course!), Tom Trago and a host of other cats.

Check it out and if you’d like to join us on the day for just over 11 hours of music-related madness, visit Resident Advisor to pick up your ticket http://bit.ly/HHa08f.

Soul-Identity Boat Party 2012 Warm Up Mix #2: Rob Coley (Soul-Identity) by Soul-Identity Music on Mixcloud

California Rock Choir

With just over a month to go until this year’s midsummer boat party, we thought it only right we start getting you in the mood. So, with this in mind here’s the first in a series of mixtapes from some of this year’s DJs. First up… Dave Holloway, one third of the Cigarettes and Sunshine crew who host proceedings on the lower deck. Their Epsom Derby Day raves are legendary, and on our previous two boat trips, their out the hat selections have caused conga lines, impromptu dance offs and plenty of smiles. On the day… expect Northern soul rarities aside soul, pop and 80’s beauties, obscure b-sides, funk-fuelled 45s and balearic rock, and of course a smattering of reggae and piano house… here’s a little taster.

On the top deck, we go HOUSE, with Nicholas (No More Hits / 4Lux / Needwant) and Dan Beaumont (Jam Factory / Dalston Superstore) joining resident Rob Coley. But more about that later. If you can’t wait though, visit http://bit.ly/HHa08f for all the info and tickets.

Soul-Identity Boat Party 2012 Warm Up Mix #1: Dave Holloway (Cigarettes and Sunshine) by Soul-Identity Music on Mixcloud