New music is up and online now at Primalrecords.com, with another hundred brand new titles to browse through as well as a large selection of most-wanted restock material. Before we get to that, however, I just wanted to make an important annoucement for our international customers.

Effective immediately, international shipping options have changed at Primalrecords.com. International customers now have the following two options (and only the following two options) to choose from when ordering with us:

1. UPS EXPRESS: Packages sent with UPS Express have an expected delivery rate of 2-3 business days anywhere in the world. Your package is insured and issued a reliable tracking number. We recommend that all of our international customers use this option by adding the words "UPS Express" to the "Comments" section of their order.

2. USPS STANDARD AIR MAIL: General delivery time is in 7-10 business days, however, this is not guaranteed and there is no tracking number issued for your package. Additionally, your package will not be insured. Although this method is considerably cheaper than our UPS Express offer, be forewarned that Primal Records will no longer accept responsibility for any lost, damaged, or undelivered packages using Standard Air Mail service. Primal Records will not refund or replace any orders placed with this selected shipping method. International customers who choose this method may do so at their own risk by adding the words "USPS Standard Air Mail" to the "Comments" section of their order.

Finally, excluding any pending orders, Primal Records will no longer ship packages to international territories using USPS Global Express.

These changes are as a result of our continued effort to serve our customers in a timely and reliable way. Although UPS Express is slightly more expensive than our previously offered Global Express rate, we are confident that the added security and prompt delivery will more than make up for the difference. Please make a note of this!

For more information on this, please refer to the FAQ section of our website, here:

http://www.primalrecords.com/customerservices/index.html

Now, on to this week's picks:

MUSIC FOR FREAKS AND THEIR FRIENDS (DERRICK CARTER & LUKE SOLOMON) "Spoo / Ass Therapy For Bunny Girls" Plink Plonk [House, Techno, Tech-House] All of your plain ol' house records sounding the same lately? Call Derrick Carter and Luke Solomon. As proprietors of the institutionally perfect Classic Music Company (and one-half of the MFF label), this transcontinental duo have literally built their careers on making twisted funky house records for distinguished DJs who dare to take it left-of-center. On their latest EP for Mr. C's Plink Plonk label, Carter and Solomon present "Spoo"--a dark and moody tech-house jab that dabbles in a breaks-like rhythm underneath a variety of tweaked samples and an incoming 303 for maximum jack potential. Truly original.

http://www.plinkplonk.com

TUHIN ROY "You Gotta Love" White Label [House] Besides a stamp of what appears to be an image Mao Tse Tung, this label is about as white as they get. I have no idea where this is from and I have no idea who Tuhin Roy is. What I do know is that this record is a top quality 3-track house EP in the San Francisco tradition--deep and subby bass lines, warm keys and synth pads, and a tough and solid drum sequence that will inevitably draw comparison to (and likely airplay from) DJ Rasoul and Jay-J. If its not from these parts, it should be.

TWO RIGHT WRONGANS / SILVERLINING "Wrong Station, Right Platform" / "Fill The Gaps" Wrong [Tech-House, Tribal, House] London tech-house duo Nathan Coles and Asad Rizvi return for another staggering collaboration for the Wrong label. The Wrongans' chime in with "Wrong Station, Wrong Platform," a deftly bass-driven dubby house cut currently on the playlists of Terry Francis and Craig Richards. My pick, however, goes to "Fill The Gaps"--a contribution from Asad Rizvi's Silverlining alias that explores a more upbeat tribal instinct while maintaining its dub-reggae influence in a series of well-planted key stabs. If your sound has been cross-pollinating lately, this one will fit across the board.

UNKNOWN (MISSY ELLIOT) "Lick Shots" (Fred Everything Rmxs) White Label [House] I don't even know why I'm writing this. If there's a record to get this week, this is the one. Solar's been kicking his "Lick Shots" acapella over lots of records in the past six months, but house maestro Fred Everything beat him into the studio with a funky tech-house white label that will no doubt wind up on the collector's block. When the vocal gets old, you can always turn the dub, but let's face it: Missy will never go out of style.

BROTHERS VIBE "Rhumba Macumba" Jersey Underground [House, Tribal] The name Brothers Vibe has become synonymous with quality deep and tribal house music and this right here does not disappoint. First off, be forewarned: "Rhumba
Macumba" is not a warm-up cut. The Brothers Vibe clan move the tribal percussion into a modern peak-time club setting and, especially in its original mix, reminds me of Ralphi Rosario's classic "Energy Factor" series. (The Spanish vocal on the original, indeed, sounds a lot like Ralphi to me!) The flip goes instrumental for those DJs who can't take the Latin flavor, but I'll stick with the A-side for my daily dose of drum worship.

http://www.somunderground.com

YELLOWKNIFE "True Soul / Pitch Blend" Prolekult [House, Tribal, Progressive] Lexicon Avenue's Chris Scott strikes out on his own as Yellowknife and the result is not quite shocking: Quality bottom-heavy tribal house with a progressive tinge that, well, kind of sounds like a cross between Lexicon Avenue and The Echomen--one of his deeper house alter-egos. Dark and funky just the same, my pick goes to "True Soul"--a late night big room rocker that is as much Mazi as it is Steve Lawler.

GUZMAN & KARLOS "Dakkar" (Original & Evolution Mxs) Fluid [Progressive] Mexico City production duo Guzman & Karlos rear their head on the respected Fluid label with "Dakkar," a deep progressive track cut that finds anthemic proportion in atmospheric production. So leave it to UK progressive pioneers Evolution to find a new expression in an otherwise minimal track: Their remix encompasses all that is good about progressive house--a largely funky though still hypnotic groove, additional synth interplay that acts as a bridge between the beats and the accents with clobbering them, the ability to take a track into an altogether different and climactic place without
losing the plot. This is expert work, here.

http://www.fluidrecordings.com

REVOLT "Relax" (Original & Lemon 8 Mxs) Bliss [Progressive] The ever-dependable Arno Asmus signed this one to Bliss in what seemed like ages ago. The original--a deep and techy progressive houser that somehow manages to tip its hat to Grandmaster Flash--did the rounds with basically every A-list DJ around. But ah, fellow Dutchman Harry Lemon then comes along for the remix and, what do you know? Digweed, Pappa, Satoshi, Fortier, Van M, and just about everyone else starts charting the hell out of it. With good reason: Lemon 8's mix takes the original into an energetic playing field, volleying between tight percussion and mind-bending FX while perfectly utilizing the original's signature descending electro synth line.

http://www.blissproductions.com

Also in this week is new remix and production work from Jay-J, Fred Everything, Tom Middleton, David Duriez, Source Of Gravity, Soul Mekanik, Redanka, BLIM, 20/20 Vision, EBE, The Timewriter, Alexi Delano, King Britt, Red Moon, DJ Q, and Nils Hess, amongst others. New label releases in tow include Guidance, 3 Beat, Shinichi, Junior, Low Pressings, Whoop!, Plastic City, Statra, OM, Eukahouse, Glasgow Underground, Peng, Imperial Dub, and Pure Recordings.

Also be sure to check out Hot Restock material from Metro Area, Little Mike, Kokee "The Nose" Anu & Korin Ladke, Mike Dixon, and the much-loved white label remix disc from Mary J. Blige and Blu Cantrell.

Finally, local folks are encouraged to check out this month's Get Underground! party on Friday August 9. The party is still all night long, but this time it will be spread over two rooms. The line-up includes Natural Rhythm, DJ Rasoul, Rebecca Watkins, Hector Moralez, Oscar, Shawn Hinman, Joe Harp, and EO. For more details, you can call the info line at 415-364-3095, and as always, pre-sale tickets are available at the Primal Records retail shop in Berkeley.

Thanks again and be good!

(Norman Arenas)