COMPILATIONS House of Limbo 23rd Precinct-Limbo/UK via Tribal/US/CD Glasgow record shop 23rd Precinct launched the Limbo label a little over a year ago taking the emerging UK progressive house sound and turning it on itÕs hard head, making melodic and uplifting house records. If youÕre at all into intelligent dance music which gets at your feet rather than going above your head then you should run out immediately and buy this compilation. Perhaps the fact that the label is based in Scotland, several hours away from the hyped and overly trendy London scene, has kept the music at Limbo fresh and different. Certainly there is an abundance of melodic ideas here. The breaks tend to be melodically driven rather than exclusively rhythmic and, unlike alot of progressive tracks, there is clear structure to alot of the music not just tired sequencer loops. Stand out tracks for me are GIPSYÕs ÒIÕll Trance YouÓ -awesome ambient breakdowns- and the self titled track from STEALTH SONIC SOUL -did I say Piano Riff?. A four track vinyl EP from this compilation is also available on Tribal. Very highly recommended. AR DJ Culture: The Stress Compilation Stress/UK via Moonshine Music/US/CD One of the problems facing the general music buying public when buying house music compilations is that the listening environment at home is not quite the same as hearing the music on a thumping sound system at a club -somehow the gaps between the records spoil the vibe! A new and very welcome trend seems to be mixed compilations. Strictly Rhythm have released several excellent ones and this new compilation of top English label Stress continues the idea with tracks programmed by none other than Sasha and Dave Seaman. Wanna hear tasteful musical mixing that makes sense? You got it right here. Nothing flashy, just enough to bring out the best in the slamming music released on the Stress label in the last year or so. The music speaks for itself with an emphasis on the funky side of house. Biggest props here go to the BROTHERS LOVE DUBS, whose ÒMingÓ disco tracks in their various mixes are featured as well as the wonderful HUSTLERÕS CONVENTIONÕs ÒGive It All to MeÓ, the solid electro-garage ÒCanÕt Play AroundÓ by KATHY BROWN and the pure Euro sound of LAST RHYTHM. Once again itÕs good to see Moonshine Music having the good sense to make quality British compilations available in the US at domestic prices. Top tunes, top DJ'ing, no excuses, go get. AR The Acid Jazz Test Part 1 Moonshine/US/CD Fans of the Dorado label needn't pay much attention to this one, it's got lots of the second compilation's material - namely Jhelisa's sexy, Young Disciple-ish "All I Need", Milk's delightfully ominous "Beached" and Shakee's incredible spoken word colaboration with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials called "A Headnadda's Journey To The Planet Adidi Skizm" (okaaaaay...) But that's all right, 'cause they're all great tracks and add additional songs like "West By South West" by As One and the Bygrave's street soul classic "Set Me Free" and you've got a pretty decent collection of vocal and instrumental jazz funk for mass consumption. ML This Is Acid Jazz: New Voices Instinct/US/CD To those who still haven't a clue as to what "Acid Jazz" is, this compilation shouldn't help much. That doesn't mean there's bad material here per se, it's just that the tracks tempo ranges from A.J.'s typical 80- 110bpm to house rhythms of 120bpm and up. Actually this only pertains to the CFM Band's "Hold Me Tight" and Swing Machine's "Deep Vibes". The rest of the music isn't mindblowing, but it's got JTQ's gorgeous "Spirit Of The Sun" and "Tell It Like It Is" not to mention Swing Machine's "Soul Power" sample- driven "What's Happenin'". Lots of breakbeats-with-live-riffing, plus Night Trains' irritating "Lovesick" (Why don't they just break down and play "Work To Do"?) and "Lonely Road" singles. Indefinitive to say the least. ML Rising High Trance Injection Instinct/US/2CD This double CD set, while not exactly "trance", is an interesting excursion through various flavors and types of electronic music. Tracks with a classic trance sound - can anyone say "square wave"? - are counterbalancedwith several house-influenced tracks, such as Perry & Rhodan's"The Beat Just Goes Straight On and On", and a lot of ambience. The second disk, with an average song length of about 12 minutes, is almost entirely ambient music of one sort or another. The Irresistible Force's "Flying High" and Dreamfish's "School of Fish" are long, complex, beatless tracks which ought to have just about everyone flat on their backs by the end, and "Voices of the Rainforest" by New London School of Electronics brings some tribal sounds into the mixture. This isn't really the place to look for a straight-up fix of classic trance, but the interesting combination of styles ensures that you won't be disappointed. JM Feed Your Head Planet Dog/UK/LP/CD The Feed Your Head compilation is indeed for the mind. This CD is comprised of very beautiful and intricate mental rhythms that take you far far away and deep inside. Music made electronically but that has a surprisingly predominant organic feeling is great to experience. ASTRALASIAÕs ÒTwilight WhirlÓ is a heavy synth tribal gem without beats: when I hear this track I canÕt stop from flailing about the room. DRUM CLUBÕs ÒFurry MeadowsÓ, TUUÕs ÒOne Thousand YearsÓ, ULLULATORÕs Ò and hardly any ears!Ó are very soothing earthy tracks. Lots of tribal rhythms, flute, tabulas that could quite easily become ritual music for ambient tribes around the world. SYSTEM 7, BANCO DE GAIA, PRESSURE OF SPEECH all provide groovy ambient dub. EAT STATIC and THE KNIGHTS OF THE OCCASIONAL TABLE give us crazy mental music that may deeply affect our dreams. All the music on this CD has a powerful organic feel and offers the listener the opportunity to transcend and open doors to a higher understanding through electronic tribal music. I highly recommend this compilation for those looking for ambient music other than the over abundant spacey synth type. EEG Platinum on Black ffrr/US/CD ÒWhen it began in the mid-eighties house music was easy to define and categorize. Now it has been split so many ways and analyzed so many times it seems like almost every new tune starts a trend all of itÕs own.Ó So starts a well written sleeve note by DJ magazineÕs Chris Mellor. This CD presents house music in many guises and, even if a few of the tracks are a little overplayed, the selections make good sense for someone interested on getting ahold of some of the better club tracks from the last year or so. There are 14 very varied cuts ranging from the soulful house sound of JOE ROBERTÕs ÒBack in My LifeÓ or DANNY CAMPBELL & SASHAÕs ÒTogetherÓ to hard and funky house such as X-PRESS 2 ÒLondon X-PressÓ or THE GOODMEN ÒGive It UpÓ and the dubbed-out bliss of ONE DOVE ÒWhite LoveÓ and the looped-out madness of ORBITALÕs ÒImpactÓ. Programmed by David Morales, this collection makes a nice change from the current slew of one style category compilations that never really live up to their monikers. Platinum on Black promises nothing specific through itÕs title, but delivers solid and all-round eclectic house music. Good purchase for anyone looking for an all round selection of accessible club music. AR The Judgement Day The Mayday Compilation Volume III Hot-UK/Radikal-US/2CD Its not often a bunch of great techno bands appear on one release. The Mayday compilation has accomplished this and is chock full of great techno tunes. With both UK and US artists lending a hand, youÕre in for a long trip through a variety of styles, 23 to be exact. From the hard hitting Moby track, UI HE FU to the UK breakbeat style of N.R.G., both of which appear on CD 1. CD 2 includes the unique yet repetitive Jeff Mills tune Data 6 and the smooth buzz of Psilocybin Part 1. Most fans of techno will definetely wanna pick this one up. SS HOUSE AND TECHNO Blood Brothers Inca Chant Baseroom/UK/12 On the A side we are greeted by the Ritmo Rivals East of the Equator remix. If you remember the Ritmo Rivals "Americano Slide" then you already know what to expect from this: quality building trance. Driving bassline, drum rolls, ethereal effects and soaring synths give a good anticipatory feel. Nice one. The flip offers the Trancid Trailer mix and Incapella. The first is a decent atmospheric acid house track with congas adding flavor and some nice subtle pianos thrown in. Nice but doesn't stand out from the pack. Incapella is basically just the keyboard line and some electronic doodling. A nice record, play it make up your own mind. DV Mystic Phases Ancestral EP Toronto Underground/Canada/12 Marvelously varied six tracker from Vince Ailey whose Mirage EP on Toronto Underground (TU003) you should pick up if you can find it for minimal tribal grooves. Here the vibe is alternately down and dirty, deep and moody. "Yabo" is a hard driving house track with a cracking vocal sample. "Funky Stuff" is just that, spare feel, hooky bassline and cheeky 'ah shit' sample. "NRG" is a haunting organ riff-driven builder with jack-style rimshot shuffle and sonorous melodic pads. An acquired taste but deep and sweet stuff indeed. On the flip "Reach" sets a spacey tone with bell tree and oscillator sweeps over a grinding thump of a groove. Dubbed-out organ lines, rattling tambourine rhythms and slow swept string stabs build this one in an almost Wild Pitch style. "Blackout", a subdued tribal workout with effective builds and breaks, and "Voices", a punchy groove that is melodically driven through the bass, complete a wonderfully mature house release that should be in your box now! AR Lex Loofah Freaky Deaky Warp/UK/12 One of two new releases from Warp. This has a tasty old school feel to it: a hollow bassline, grunts from Mr Brown, hip hop samples, all layered over with a well tempered breakbeat and atmospheric keys. Deep. On the B side there are two cuts, the first "Step Off" starts kickin', but after the bassline drops in I kind of lost interest. Next is a catchy hummer called "Ooh La La". It has a much more housey feel with a bouncy bass line and vocal samples urging you along. Overall a choice record. DV MG Over You Hi-Bias/Canada/12 Top Canadian producer Miguel Graca's new release on Hi-Bias is a deep vocal cut showcasing a soulful performance from Francis Clark. "Original Raw Mix" is what a vocal record is all about: the song. The arrangement is subtle and leaves the voice to do the business. "Royal Dub" is the one for me however! All the instrumental ideas left over from the vocal cut thrust to the fore in a thick driving bass heavy 9 minute mix. Superb mature house music. The flip mixes are on a lighter tip: "Rub Kenetic Dub" features synth riffs and cool manipulated vocal fragments. "Rub Kenetic Vocal" is just that. Cool shit from the DJ's Label. AR Marine Boy Fluid Om Records/UK/2x12 Trancey twinpack from Om. First up is a progressive stomper with a marching bassline, burbling electronic noises and the sampled plea to "Let Me See Your Hands". The flip is similar with the percussion livened up by adding a subdued breakbeat. Pretty good track that never quite seems to get where it's going. The second disc is a pair of remixes from 108 Grand. Faster than the originals with more of a trance orientation. Added vocal samples, acidy bits and a couple of tribal touches are added here and there. The flip has 108 Grand's Mad and Messy mix. A good building moody trancer with a sample last heard on "Jungle Bill" by Yello. Not a bad pair of discs. DV Junior Vasquez X Tribal America/US/12 The NYC godhead returns with an original project instead of remix work and wow! Slammin' sound of the Sound Factory. Minimal, bass heavy groove; subtle backslide samples, popping electro noises, reverberent distortion FX's that build and mutate. This is a music of detail, intricate in structure yet when it comes down to it, house music at its' purest and dance music at its' finest. Two mixes here, "Sound Factory Mix" and "Junior Style Dub" both work mighty fine. Sweat it. AR Trip Ta Funk Here I Come Baby Ultra Ethereal/US/12 Dubtribe's alter-ego are back at the task with another choice offering. "Here I Come Baby" starts with rolling bongos chased quickly by a frantic funky rhythm with a breakdown to a smooth hollow bassline. Packed with horn stabs, old school treats and shouts of satisfaction. The cut. Next is Sunshine's mix, slower, stonier, trippier. It still has the funky groove of the original only this time it's obviously in no hurry. On the back is "Vegetable Garden" which starts with a wonderful bendy sounding bassline and then fills out with horns, beats and the sampled reassurance that "Trip Ta Funk" sound system got it goin on!" Buy this record. DV Loni Clark U Nervous/US/12 Bear with me folks, I've been coming down hard on formulaic follow- up singles in this issue. I can't help it. There are a lot of them out there. Loni Clark caught our ears with the monstrous "Rushing" single a while back. Now with "U" she relies heavily on previous nuances to propel two mediocre 126bpm garage mixes and a busily overarranged 101bpm R&B mix. All redundancies aside, the remaining two mixes are BRILLIANT and make this record well worth the purchase. Here's what's up: Garage geniuses Mood II Swing compose a stunning 126bpm dub, weaving vocal snippets in and out of a melancholy, driving arrangement. On the improved downtempo side, the "Hip-Hop Mix" is a stripdown sound lover's dream. Clark's vocals are showcased by a bass-heavy, almost Massive Attack-like groove with subtle piano chords floating around at all the right times. Look for the goofy cover and believe. ML Renegade Soundwave Renegade Soundwave Mute/UK/12 Finally there is a long overdue new self-titled single out from these guys. There are five mixes on this 12'' including two by Leftfield, of which the "Leftfield Remix" is the one which attracted my attention. It starts out with some low frequency bass and builds up to speed at 100bpm. The recognizable sample in this track that seems to stand out sounds like a saw being bent back and forth with effects over it. This cut is the longest at 8 minutes which leaves enough time for a couple of good breaks. The other mixes range from soft vocal house to trance. Also available on limited edition seven inch. MZ Tranquility Bass Broadcast Standard Issue #1 Exist Dance/US/12 This 12" is first in a series of remixes/reissues from Exist Dance. The classic "Cantamilla" is included in its original and remixed form, as well as "They Came in Peace" and "Mia Yadana." Low-energy ethnic bliss. MC Scheme Freedom Tonight/So Real Toronto Underground/Canada/12 Great two track, six mix release featuring subtlely un-Diva vocals from a very capable Jessica Ramp. "Freedom Tonight" in the Club Mix is the sweet melodic downtown kind of sound that we've come to expect from Hi-Bias. No hysterics, this gets the job done with a sound arrangement, solid though minimal vocal and catchy melodic synth fragments. The Fly Overnight dub mix is more of the same with a bouncy bassline and more rhythmic development. The third (un-named mix on my promo) is the one I'll play: cool spacey groove, vibey and full of atmosphere. Pure Saturday night! "So Real" is a sparer organ groove with sampled vocal and tasty synth stabs. The two dubs are deeper, smoother. More sweet stuff. AR Joe Roberts Lover ffrr/US/12 Top British soul vocalist Joe Roberts with a top song with structure and great hooks, here given the major mix treatment by ace Liverpool remix team and artists K Klass. This is the club sound of Northern England. If this doesn't get the hands in the air nothing will. Solid vocal performance matched with a killer piano riff and gorgeous sensuous pad sounds and a tribal-esque groove. Flip mix is the hard-assed Pharmacy Dub, much more on the UK progressive tip, still has a really minimal meaty tribal groove but with almost acidic synth doodlings and edgy analogue melodic riffs which keep building and breaking down overlaid with clever vocal sample manipulation. Fab. AR DJ Duke Blow Your Whistle-Death to Digifunk Remix ffrr/US/12 Here's a strange concept. Ultra-cred London team X-Press 2 (Ashley Beadle, Rocky and Diesel) do a slamming remix of a DJ Duke record that's almost a tribute to their classic Boy's Own releases! Though out for a while in the original mix on Duke's own Power Music label, this new "Death to Digifunk" mix gets in a title joke at SF's expense. Kicks ass when Dukes' classic east coast sound is paired with the floor filling groove of hard underground London house. AR Fellows Play All Cuts EP-Vol 2 Hi-Bias/Canada/12 The second in the Play All Cuts series, the first of which is still in my box a year or so later. Where Vol 1 was jazz inflected, this one is harder, more tribal. Side A opens with the tinny percussive "I Flight 2 Night", where spare rhythmic riffs slide against tweaky synth, resonant marimba and goofy vocal breaks. Unusual and fun. "Muzik Don't Stop" is an angular bass and kick driven track more in the style of the Vol 1 EP. My favorite cut here is "Shoo Shoo", a catchy sampled riff, bubbling bass and cartoon like vocal stabs. "Reach for the Top" completes this great value 4 tracker with a NY style organ-filled slammer again featuring goofy vocal samples: these Fellows seem to have a thing for those. AR The Groove Regatta Hey Brother Onizom-Irma/Italy/12 Once again leave it to the Italians to put out another wicked jazz track. Produced by studio sub-genius Claudio Rispoli (aka Mozart) whose releases are almost guaranteed to be fly. The four mixes here can be classified as jazzy house with vocals and nice piano, congas, sax, guitars and the ever popular JB samples. Every mix here is different but all are excellent and could fit into your record collection if you have soul! MZ Self Control Initiation EP Toronto Underground/Canada/12 An unusual moody 3 track EP from the prolific Miguel Graca. The long (16 minute) A side cut "Chameleon" in an aptly named Ever Changing Mix is an understated ambient house track with a lot of changes that avoids the cliches that alot of music designed for chilling falls into. "Just a Feeling" is the cut for me on this EP however, combining that unmistakable 6am vibe with the deep, deep sound that Strictly Rhythm did so well in their early releases. All we need now is for someone to start playing music like this at afterhours parties! AR Dr. Freeclouds Psychedelic Drugstore Ron D. Core Mix CD/US/CD Hard and relentless is what it is. It's Techno - hard core and hard acid. Whatever you want to call it, the emphasis is on hard! Ron's music selection can only be described as intelligent. In the whole 78 minutes of the CD I don't think I heard a single Òwoo-woo-wooÓ sample loop. It sure is more than formula Techno breakbeat + chainsaws + car alarms. One thing for sure with this sort of Techno, it doesn't sound tired or commercial. The packaging is as good as the music; Ron hired Mark Hiatus of Havoc clothing fame to do the art. It's all bright and glossy process printing; the cover can even double as a fold-out poster. Cool. The only bad thing for those who like to know what songs are included (if you like the track, buy it! DJs don't pay ASCAP royalty fees for mix projects) is trying to decipher the track listings. The font is cool but rather unreadable. With 11 mix tapes released over the last two years Ron has shown incredible DJing skills with all of them. Those skills, with the clear fidelity of CD sound, combine for an excellent addition to a music collection. GR Vapourspace Themes From Vapourspace ffrr/US/CD Mark Gage, the human meteorological phenomenon known as Vapourspace, brings us his debut LP - a complex twisting journey through the cloudscapes in his head. Gage, who was lofted frem relative obscurity as an ambient DJ in Rochester, New York into instant stardom through the success of his single "Gravitational Arch of 10" and its 35-minute-long incarnation as the "Magnetic Gravity Arc Suite", creates highly experimental trance-influenced electronic music which manages to escape most classification. Although it is pretty easy to guess at Gage's influences, he brings a sort of formalism to the structure of his songs which lifts them above much of the hot-record-of-the-week continuum.With titles like "Degaussing Atmospheric Charges" and "Paradox of Time Dilation", the album is undeniably atmospheric, but manages to become more than just a soundscape. Probably my biggest complaint is that the CD version is produced as a single hour long cut with no track divisions. Although I can understand wanting to make the album a unified whole, it seems like producing the disc in this way is overkill. JM AMBIENT AND UNCLASSIFIED Various Artists Ambiento-A FAX Compilation Reflective/US/CD Ambiento, a compilation of releases from Pete Namlook's FAX +49- 69/450464 label, represents the first US release (through Reflective Records) of this influential ambient music. Its six tracks feature Pete Namlook and various collaborators (Dr. Atmo, Atom Heart, and Jonah Sharp of Space Time Continuum). The ambient sound of FAX is minimal, relying less on the ethnic samples and environmental noises common to most so-called "ambient" music of today. Pete Namlook's take on ambient music is more comparable to "Discreet Music"-era Eno than Deep Forest, ambient music in a truer form. MC Adham Shaikh Realignment Modulation Elektronik/Canada/CD This new release from Canadian Adham Shaikh is quite remarkable and lengthy -most tracks run 20 minutes. His selections of noises and structures are unique and intriguing. Some tracks are soft yet very densely layered, uplifting ambient pillows to dream on. Other tracks seem to reside in a haunting eerie darkness of beautifully strange frequencies and tribal tendencies. The first track ÒPulsation (Oscillation Vibration)Ó begins and ends with a soft spacey techno pace. What lies in the middle are pleasant layers of noises, frequencies and feelings that one might experience leaving the earthÕs atmosphere, orbiting rapidly around an aimlessly wandering asteroid and then re-entering the atmosphere! Track 2 ÒQuazarÓ could be a soundtrack to a very groovy cyber (and yes ambient) film not yet in existence. This track seems to be made with certain images in mind. Track 3, ÒOberon (Grey Matter)Ó is a wonderful supplement for any environment. What begins as slightly electronic and austere goes through very subtle changes over a long period of time right before your ears and before you realize it you have been floating forever with only love and clouds in your mind. Track 4 ÒAlternate Spectrum (Transmission)Ó is a nice combination and balance of seemingly organic sounds and very electronic sounds. This track isnÕt as long as the others but is just as powerful and developed. All the music on Adham ShaikhÕs CD appears to have been designed to take the listener to specific places with specific feelings. The music is moody and full of many brilliantly executed transitions from the deep dark and eerie to the beautiful and heavenly. These types of transitions could come across as awkward and amateur, but seem very very natural here. For info on this CD call or write to Modulation Elektronik, 1265 Burnaby St., Ste 905, Vancouver BC V6E 1P8, Canada. (604) 688-4308. EEG Material Hallucination Engine Axiom (dist. by Island)/US/CD Bill Laswell and crew in another amazing Axiom release -a steaming platter of jazz-influenced dub ambience. Laswell has built up an empire on the Axiom label by releasing a series of mutated, funky dub-fusion-world- music albums featuring both new musicians and old favorites who Laswell has saved from obscurity. The list of contributors sounds like some kind of all-star team: Wayne Shorter, Nicky Skopelitis, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins, Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, and Aiyb Dieng. Every Axiom release has a very distinctive sound: a bubbling witch's brew of live instrumental jams heavily produced and dubbed over in the studio. Laswell is a bass guitarist and a studio wizard, and it shows -each track features impeccable bass lines and delicate, distinctive production work. "Black Light" is a dark, sinuous jazz piece powered by Wayne Shorter's sax riffs and Bootsy Collin's distorted bass; "Mantra" combines electric violin by Shankar with heavily dubbed tabla and talking drums. If you're looking for real "world music", you can't do much better than this hunk o'fusion. JM JAZZ, NEW GROOVE, SOUL Silent Majority Frankly Speaking Unik/Switzerland/12 There has been a buzz on Silent Majority in the jazz community for some time now so I am happy to finally have the chance to review some of their work. Not really having heard any of their work before I was impressed right from the start by the innovative groove and sample arrangements, clean and crisp production as well as vocal diversity. They seem to be a very multi faceted crew deriving influences from jazz, hip-hop, funk and dub. The first cut "Frankly Speaking" is heavily laden with fat stand-up bass, vibes and piano over a soulful hip-hop strut. The next cut "Dans un Otre Langue" reminded me a little of Herb Alpert's "North on South Street" from 1991. On the B side, "Plot 51" is more of a down tempo big bass groove with vocal stylings resembling Master Dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson. CF Xavier The Present/Just a Vibe White Label/UK/12 You're lucky to come across good white labels such as this. Not knowing how many are in circulation or who produced it may be part of the allure, but I feel it does the artist no justice to give such a minimum of information. At least a contact number! Xavier is a male vocalist featured on the two tracks here, both of which got my ears twitching. "The Present" is a nice upbeat and positive song with a message of hope and unity: "today is a gift that's why its called the present." If you dug the last couple of records that Noel McCoy worked on with JTQ, then this should be right up your alley. But for me "Just a Vibe" was the star track on this 12 inch delivering a beautiful arrangement, smooth execution at a steady 127bpm and sounding like an old EWF jam. If you can find it, buy it. If you know who put it out please contact ChillFreez at XLR8R. CF Assorted Artists Jazz Powers EP Typhoon/Japan/12 This the second EP to come from this fine label demonstrates some powerful Jazz Ballistics. Coming out of the ever growing Nipon jazz scene, there are a number of artists and producers getting busy right now. Lately a few well known DJ's and labels have even been working in and outside of Japan to bring various artist's material to turntables around the globe. If this is just the taste of things to come from the land of the rising sun I can't wait for a full meal. There are four cuts in total and each one as good as the last. Hip-hop, latin jazz, soul and funky house all blended together brimming with heady mixes and original flava. Also try to find the first release on Typhoon "Jazz Com Bossa", equally slamming. CF Carleen Anderson Nervous Breakdown Circa/UK/12 Four mixes at a mellow 110bpm comprise this very listenable 12". Anderson's lyrics are storytelling and introspective, which make me doubt the immediate club appeal here - especially with her midsong primal scream being too much for my tiny living room. Anyhow, Pogo & Swift's Mix really stands out with great beats and just the right amount of atmospheric, reverberating Hammond keyboards to caress Carleen's flawlessly soulful voice of which there is no comparison. ML Zhane Groove Thing Motown/US/12 In light of their previous success with "Hey Mr. D.J." this is the typical follow-up single - incorporating the same loping 104bpm groove (Patrice Rushen's "Haven't You Heard" being the musical influence this time) and those catchy party-anthem lyrics. As unimaginative as it may seem, Zhane have a unique, recognizable formula that really works at the moment. ML The Brand New Heavies Dream On, Dreamer Delicious Vinyl/US/12 At 99bpm, this long overdue single isn't anything these folks haven't done before - a "Never Stop Part 2" of sorts, the melody is equally breezy and positive with four interestingly different mixes that almost form a progression of melodic development from Dallas Austin's no nonsense, but unimaginative, mix and instrumental to the Heavies' own percussively correct version on the A side. David Morales' rendition is predictably lush, but the chords work well with N'Dea Davenport's vocals as they did with his beautiful remix of "Never Stop". However, one would hope that Mr. Morales' current income would enable him to use - maybe create - some beats that didn't resurrect the already ransacked Soul-II-Soul rhythm tracks of the late 80's. Such is corporate remix culture I suppose. Last but not least on side B is the Angel Mix - a refreshing radical departure which grinds along with fresh drum tracks, carefully imbedded samples and an unbelievably deep bassline. No instrumental for this one, unfortunately. The Brand New Heavies have a decent record here. Let's hope it keeps them in the forefront of their countless imitators this time. ML Shara Nelson Uptight Cooltempo/UK/12 I've recently taken to describing Shara Nelson to people as the female equivalent of Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals), possessing one of those voices that is both raw and passionate to the point where you either love it or hate it. Having admired her previous work with the late Massive Attack I continue to tell folks to take Miss Shara's solo debut into consideration. Her first solo single, "Down That Road" has since become an anthem on Re-Bar's Wednesday and Sunday nights and despite a feeble second 12" ("One Goodbye In Ten") and an LP of spotty quality ("What Silence Knows") Shara's back in my good graces with this new single. Four 110bpm mixes here, ranging from Steve Osborne's inevitably arranged Perfecto Mix to Ashley Beedle's Delta House Of Funk Reconstruction and Dirty Lowdown mixes - my pick of the litter being that he's ditched the original version's cheesy, faux- gospel backing vocals and replaced it all with a deeper, heavier percussive groove using an occasional bass riff to propel us into the rhythm. Shara's vocals are pretty stRong at first - convincingly assertive at times, yet when she claims she's "Playing to win, no matter what it takes" her voice drops to a self-conscious whimper that I doubt happened for emotive effect - unfortunate since she's always seemed to have a way with those moodily empowering street soul jams ("Safe From Harm", "Unfinished Sympathy","Down That Road") and despite its occasionaly feeble nuances, "Uptight" is no exception to her successes. ML Reviewers this month are Andrew Rawnsley, DJ Dervish, Matt Lemcio, DJ Chillfreez, Joseph Martin, Matt Corwine, DJ EEG, Mike Z, George Rickle and Saul Stokes