We stayed up late last night so you could get your Thursday update. (Damn Labor Day!) But it's here! New records are online now at Primalrecords.com just in time for a little weekend shopping and not a minute late. Who loves ya?

Here's a quick hitlist to give you an idea:

UNKNOWN (MONICA / AALIYAH) "All Eyes On Me" (Slater Hogan & John Larner Rmx) / "Are You That Somebody?" (Guided Methods Vocal & Dub Rmxs) White Label [House, Tech-house] Whether you love the R&B bootleg influx or not, these mixes are pretty much undeniable. Midwest upstarts Slater Hogan & John Larner take on Monica with an unrivaled deep house mix that tweaks the original vocal into a trippy percussive element with truly effective results, but Guided Methods steal the show with their funky tech interpretation of Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody?" The vocal mix will spend the next couple of months at the front of your crate, but the dub mix—which concentrates on the jack-and-flow of the original mix, using only spliced up Timbaland samples—will have absolute staying power for years to come.

www.guidedmethods.com

UNKNOWN (BUSTA RHYMES / CLIPSE) "Dangerous / Grindin" (Swag's Illicit Rmxs) White Label [House, Tech-house, Breaks] As long as we're rocking boots, I'm gonna have to point the latest illicit package from UK tech-house maestros Swag. This time, its Busta Rhymes getting a fat tech-house rub that spars bottomy acid against a slick, funky breakbeat. On the flip, Neptunes proteges Clipse get a chunky electronic dancehall makeover. Whoa. Dancehall? Leave it to Swag to innovate the current confines of house music and hip hop all at the same time.

www.swag-uk.net

NEPTUNE NEVERMIND "En The Flesh / 2 B Inside 3" Planet East [House, Tech-house] Alexander East's Planet East imprint goes from strength to strength with the label's second outing from Neptune Nevermind. The first one is still in my box, but I think this one's going to give it the eviction notice. "En The Flesh" is a deep and dark techy deep houser that falls somewhere between Classic and Cajual, all the while maintaining a slight dubby feel. But my pick goes to "2 B Inside 3," quite simply the most New York track Chicago has ever produced. If David Morales did a Red Zone mix for Alexander East's "Desire" on Aroma, it might come close. Wicked wicked wicked.

www.syntaxrecordings.com

MEDWAY "Trauma" (Original & Rob Curtis Mxs) Release [Progressive] So here's the story: Release Records decide to hold a contest. They post up samples of Medway's new track—a funky progressive cut called "Trauma," which gets its name from an included Ice T sample—as well as MP3 versions of the actual parts to the track. After that, it's a free-for-all. Fans from all over the world can make their own remixes, and if they win, they get to be included on the remix package. Pretty cool, huh? In this case, Vancouver producer Rob Curtis gets the honors of backing the original and does quite a lovely job, balancing the harsh words of an ex-pimp with a euphoric melodic progressive houser that recalls the vibe of James Holden's "Horizons" at its best. Kudos to this contest, I say. It was an excellent idea that yielded excellent results.

www.releaserecords.com

Also new this week is remix and production work from Onionz, Kerri Chandler, Masters At Work, The Holder Brothers, Nils Hess, Jordan Fields, Groove Armada, Murk, Blue Soul, Maurice Fulton, Steve Bug, Floppy Sounds, Rick Preston & Ben Viguerie, Alexi Delano Tony Senghore, Ciudad Feliz, Hip Therapist, and much much more.

New label output from Shaboom, Court Square, Eukahouse, Aroma, Wave, 3AM, F4 Music, Soma, Underwater, Ritmic, and more is also in.

Lots of excellent new releases coming in next week on exclusive promo, including new music from Audio Soul Project and the ever-in-demand, oh-it's-finally-here "Cowbell" by Dirty Gringos, featuring unreal remix work from Mr. Jay Tripwire. Watch this space.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

(Norman Arenas)