i break in two

Been a lucky boy the past couple of days, with tons of great new stuff coming my way. Today, I share a yet-to-be-released album by Home & Garden, aka producers Tim Kvasnosky and Timothy Shumaker. With two Colette records under their belt and a fantastic pre-released teaser single from their upcoming album on San Francisco's OM Records, the pair seem to be blowing up once again. Domesticated is a truly great deep, loungey West Coast house album-- look for it on September 23rd!

"In & Out," which features the smooth vocal stylings of Chez Damier, is a 112-bpm piece of soulful house with a tinge of 80's electro. The synth stabs are funky as hell, the bass-line and guitars are excellently-mixed, and the strings are equally masterful. Percussively, it has enough momentum to make for some sexy moments on a dancefloor, or just get a drink. Chez D.'s vocals are layered incredibly well, and his immediately-recognizable voice and spirited delivery really make the track.

Home & Garden- In & Out featuring Chez Damier

making love forever

Two tracks today, since I flaked out on yesterday's post. Both of these came to me by way of my friend Leo's abiding obsession with Ron Trent and Chez Damier.

First, we have what might be my favorite Ron Trent track, "Making Love." Taken from his Afterlife 12" of 1990, the piece contains everything I love about Chicago house-- deep kicks, lush and harmonically-gorgeous mid-level synths, and a bass-line that propels everything forward quite nicely. The track's main melodic line is simply bewitching, and the drum programming is brilliantly crisp, with some of the best-sounding hand-claps my ears have ever been graced with. Finally, the fact that "Making Love" ends with a lovely slowdown is indicative that the title is well-chosen. A classic!

Ron Trent- Making Love



Next up, "Forever," by Classic Vol. 1, aka the producing duo of Chez Damier and Stacey Pullen. Everything about the track is perfect, from the three-note, lush main melodic synth line to the more hi-frequency, almost-acidy harmonic lines; from the bass-line that you think will never come in and then does to the deep kicks and crisp hi-hats. Another winner from the mid-west!

Classic Vol. 1- Forever

Think I'm heading to the first night of a new monthly dance party this evening, so I'll probably be getting some inspiration from that for tomorrow's post!

what i'm feeling

So today, a special treat. My friend Leo found the most impossible-to-find record in Chez Damier's catalog. Here is the Discogs entry, and you can find out more about the record and Chez Damier later on in this ILM thread-- Leo has a lot of interesting insights into the record that I could not possibly have, as he's possibly the world's biggest Chez Damier fan (for real), so it's recommended that you read the thread.

All I can say is that the A-Side of this record is some excellently lush, four-to-the-floor Chicago style house. A real pleasure to listen to, this is one of the best finds I've heard in a long while! The whole 12" is available below!

Boot Leg With Love- Untitled 12

Tomorrow, thinking some new deep techno that arrived in my inbox a couple days ago!

a chat

Today, an old-school treat from Abacus, aka Austin Bascom, a truly underappreciated deep house head with ties to such luminaries as Ron Trent, Chez D., and so on. At about 122 bpm, "The Abacus Chat" is a lesson in how to do your synths right-- lush mid-level chords swell while more hi mids do a bit of Chicago squelch, the drum sequencing is excellent, and the deepness of the bass is something for the ears to behold. Finally, with a sample that sounds like Paul Robeson reading Countee Cullen, and a traditional African song coming in ever-so-slightly at the track's end, this is some deep, funky, Afrocentric house that is sure to please. Originally released on Prescription in 1994.

Abacus- The Abacus Chat

Tomorrow, something nasty and awesome frm Jamal Moss.