One of the founding fathers of Chicago house, himself a grandson to a DJ and frequently alongside other greats such as Ron Hardy on the decks, Gene Hunt summons a 3-tracker for the Midnight Shift label. True house and techno direct from the source and in his own words, a rather 'jungly' take of it due to the tracks' chaotic percussion.
'Feeling It' takes you back to the original old school, with all the classic elements in place, it's a house lover's wet dream, 30 years after the fact. 'Spector' twists things up while keeping that pumping jacking groove a perfect intersection between then and now. 'Scatter' punches through the noise like a clarion call to arms - where are all our jacks and jackies at? Report to the dancefloor, please.
Harmonious Thelonious's ethnomusicologic journeys to the African continent continues with a burning package of 3 rhythmic tracks inspired by American minimalist music and African rhythm patterns. A primordial soup of polyrhythms and dense harmonics hypnotise the body into movement, transporting the origins of dance music to neoteric audiences.
Following the first of the 'SHIFT LTD' capsule collection by Xhin is an EP by Kirk Degiorgio with a remix from John Beltran. Full-bodied tracks fill in every frequency corner
'The Nearness of Flames' as a headspin stomper, while 'Acid Symphony' weaves an acid line into a rich tapestry. Ambient producer John Beltran reimagines the original with a sunrise touch.
Moving to a house formation, the fourth release from Midnight Shift combines the forces of Detroit veteran Terrence Parker with small German hometowner Simon Hinter, plus an additional remix by Turkish Philogresz.
Covering the spectrum of the ever-evolving genre from classic to techy, jazzy to deep, it’s one for both the recently initiated and original house music lover.
“It Hurts”, we are told is Terrence Parker’s tribute to the 2011 Japanese Tsunami. A multi-layered instrumental composition expressed over a chugging beat successfully conveys the complex and highly strung emotions involved in a tragic event. A heavyweight tune from a key player of the music world.
From Siegen, Germany, a town with a population of 100,000 comes Simon Hinter, as yet an underrated artist with a talent for subtle melodies. “Finding Home” is as exploratory as its name suggest; a tribal trip in the twinkling wilderness of space. On the flipside, “Leave” employs microsampling to jazzy effect, using choice bites to create a hypnotic groove out of loop heaven. Philogresz (Ilker Soylu) adds the tech flavour to this bag of tricks – an arresting crossover waiting to unleash its magic spell on the dance circles of the world.
A tribute to Andreas Gehm (1972 - 2016), German producer, king of acid and inspiration to many including the artists in this compilation. All proceeds will go towards funding Andreas Gehm’s post-mortem affairs, managed by his best friend, Joe Kurta. Long live the king. Vital Sales Points: - Tribute album to acid king, Andreas Gehm, who took his own life in 2016 - Andreas released one of his last few EPs with Midnight Shift - All artists in this compilation have been influenced by and are deeply saddened by his passing - All proceeds will go towards funding Andreas Gehm’s post-mortem affairs, managed by his best friend Joe Kurta.
Limited capsule collection 1/3 from Midnight Shift
A homecoming for Singaporean Xhin as he releases on the Singaporean label Midnight Shift for its limited triptych capsule collection focusing on straight-up techno: 'SHIFT LTD'. A 4-tracker full of asiatic heat bound for the dancefloor from the iconoclastic sound designer. This is the first release out of three.