It's a white label bonanza over at Primalrecords.com! Well, okay, it's not quite a bonanza, but as always, we are trying our hardest to get you the best new music first and up front, and this week is no exception. Besides full-release copies of much anticipated music from Ty Tek, DJ Debra & Tony Thomas, and Jacob London, we've got 5 brand new and exclusive pre-release titles up and online now. Here's what you can expect:

DJ GARTH & ETI "20 Minutes Of Disco Glory" Pt. 1 (Original & DJ Harvey Mxs) Grayhound (Promo) [House, Tech-house] I don't have to tell anyone how groundbreaking DJ Garth & ETI's "20 Minutes Of Disco Glory" was in the first place. As far as San Francisco house music goes, it was a touchstone; a track that almost every local person can tell you where they were the first time they heard it. It was classic acid house from 1996 and it remains fresh to this day. Kudos then to the folks at Grayhound who are now preparing to finally re-release this essential record with all new remixes. The first of 2 parts has arrived here on white label, and believe me, this is one you will not want to miss. The original Acid Rock Mix is here in all its glory for those who missed it the first time around (or for those of us who need a fresh copy!), but this time it's backed by an incredible remix from the inestimable DJ Harvey, who recreates the vibe into a minimal and jackin' deep acid groove. Wow. If you buy one record this week, this is the one. As always, it's first-come, first-serve on white label stock. Don't sleep.

www.grayhound.net

E.B.E. "Consequential Theorist" EP Grayhound (Promo) [House, Tech-house, Techno] If genre-flexibility is a virtue, Lucas Rodenbush wears the adjective on his sleeve. For over seven years now, Rodenbush has been crossing the lines between techno and house, inadvertantly becoming a pioneer and trailblazer among the current wave of "tech-house" producers dominating clubland dancefloors. Here, he returns under his popular E.B.E. guise for a 3-track EP that clearly demonstrates his studio prowess. "En Route," the record's sprawling A-side, is a funky deep houser that resolves its funked-up drum programming and rhythmically cut vocal samples with a soothing array of keys for added depth. "In The Wake" is more of an early evening broken-beat affair, paving new ground for Rodenbush on a stylistic level, while "Looking Ahead" resumes dancefloor kick drum etiquette for those of us who like our minimal tech-house not-so-minimal. Eclectic and diverse, but never disappointing, Grayhound is on point again.

www.grayhound.net

GRANT DELL & GARETH OXBY pres. TRIBALATION "Do It To The Music / Look Behind Your Eyes" Big Chief (Promo) [House, Tribal, Tech-house] Grant Dell pops in two of this week's pre-releases; here, he returns with Gareth Oxby for his ever-popular Tribalation project with a new EP for the fine folks at Big Chief. If you're familiar with these boys, you know what to expect: "Do It To The Music" is a wide-ranging quality tribal house cut that should appeal to everyone from Terry Francis and Jay Tripwire to Danny Tenaglia and Steve Lawler. Low-end frequencies and expert sequencing drive this seductive track into rooms both big and small for a cut that just might usurp "Why Did You That?" as the duo's penultimate track. "Look Behind Your Eyes" is a deep house track that keeps the congas, but adds dubby female spoken word and a warm layer of keys for good measure. I'm hard-pressed to pick one of the two as a stand-out cut and that says something right there, doesn't it?

www.syntaxrecordings.com/bigchief

TONY HEWITT & GRANT DELL "African Dub / Funky Groove / Warm Feeling" White Label [House, Tribal, Tech-house] Two of the UK's brightest production hopes (even though one of them lives about 10 minutes from here) join up for another Primal Records exclusive--so exclusive, in fact, that it's not even signed yet. Tango's Tony Hewitt and Tribalation's Grant Dell hand in their first collaboration and it's a hit: "African Dub" is a dub-influenced tribal cut with an emphasis on rhythm and groove, while "Warm Feeling" goes for an upbeat deep house flavor with a club-centric aim. My pick, however, goes to the appropriately titled "Funky Groove"--a tough-as-nails peak-time cut with subs that should test the actual worth of your soundsystem. Quality!

www.tangorecordings.com

CPEN "Electric Wickets" EP Shva Muzik (Promo) [House, Tech-house] Shva Muzik, the new label run by Immigrant Records mainman Robin Porter, is just about to drop its first release--a new EP from David Duriez--but in the meantime, they've allowed us to get a glimpse of record number 2 with this exclusive pre-release white label. The honors for this one goes to CPEN, of Seasons and Straylight fame, and these two tracks are among his best. "Eighty Six" is a bass-heavy techy house jam that slightly nods its head to Chicago, Moroder, and its own West Coast roots all at once. On the flip, "Plateaux" gets a bit more stripped down for a proper tech-house vibe that should agree with David Duriez, Craig Richards, and Luke Solomon's crate-space. Chalk one up for CPEN, then, and this truly crucial follow-up to his massive "Broken" EP from a few months back.

www.immigrantindustries.com

HUMATE "Choose Life" (Rob Rives, Gee Shock, and Thomas Schumaker Rmxs) Yoshitoshi [Progressive, Techno] Humate's "Choose Life," originally out on Oliver Lieb's Superstition label a couple of years back, found itself becoming one of progressive house's biggest vocal tunes ever. Between the Original Mix and Trancesetters' pumping vocal mix, the track's shelf life was almost neverending (indeed, I watched Jimmy Van M used it as his opening cut in Chicago well over a year after its release). Now, Deep Dish--one of the track's biggest supporters--breathe new life into this classic with 3 brand new mixes (and one older one) over 2 plates. Thomas Schumaker's tough techno vibe came with the original Superstition package, but Gee Shock and Rob Rives come through with big new reinterpretations. Of the four, my pick goes to Rob Rives' vocal mix--deep and techy progressive house, not too far off from his Floppy Sounds guise, with the warm and soulful vocal finding new meaning in the context of his atmospheric vision. Try this one on at sunrise and see if it doesn't move your crowd.

www.yoshitoshi.com

TY TEK "Ultrasonic / Audio Thunder" Dirty Blue [House, Tech-house, Progressive] After a long and healthy run on promo, we've finally got the latest EP from Denver DJ/producer Ty Tek in house and online. Fans of Casa Del Soul will remember Ty from his "Audio Jackin'" release from last year; here, Ty gets filthy for a relentless tech-house rub called "Ultrasonic," a tight and crisp production practically tailor-made for 2AM madness and debauchery. "Audio Thunder" is equally as solid, bringing in a slew of percussion and a climactic build that should satisfy any need for drama in a set--sans the tired cliches, of course. Another score then for the Denver hotbed of house music.

www.djtytek.com

Also new this week is remix and production work from Common Factor & Steve Bug, Kenneth Graham, S.U.M.O., Wally Lopez, Da Sunlounge, Terminalhead, John Dahlback, Phil Weeks, and Jacob London, among others.

New label output from Lo-Rise Recordings, Camouflage, Guidance, Dessous, Stickman, Ing, Africanism, Afro Art, Coldtap Recordings, and Freakaboom is also in, as are new white label illicit mixes for Michael Jackson and restock material from Seafoam--a record that, if you missed it the first time around, it is your imperative to seek out. An absolutely wicked hidden gem there.

And that's about it. (As if that wasn't enough!) If you missed it last time, here's the scoop on this weekend's Primal-related party action on both coasts of the United States. Be sure to come out and support!

I'll be away in New York next week, but I'll update the weblog from the road. I'm sure Justin will chime in on the newsletter front, so keep an eye out because--and this is no false alarm--we will finally have white label copies of the very first PR2 Recordings release, DJ Adnan & Amit Shoham's "Searching" with Jay Tripwire remixes, in house next week. The official release won't be for another month and a half, so if you want them now, watch this space.

Be good!

(Norman Arenas)