This week's second update is online now at Primalrecords.com, and once again, I have no idea where to begin. Lots to update in the House, Tech-house, Progressive, Techno, and Breakbeat sections of the site, including full-on restocks from the folks at Doubledown and Hochokai. There are lots of records I want to mention today, so let's see if I can keep my verbosity to a minimum. Here goes:

SCHATRAX "Mispent Years" Pt. 1 (Original, Breakbeat Mix, and Funk D'Void Mxs) / Pt. 2 (Silicone Soul & Funk D'Void Rmxs) Soma [House, Tech-house, Breaks] The folks at Soma know a classic when they hear one. Schatrax's "Mispent Years" did the rounds with most every self-respecting house and techno jock when it first came out in the early '90s; here, it gets the remix treatment from tech luminaries like Silicone Soul and Funk D'Void, as well as an absolutely brilliant breakbeat mix from Schatrax's Josh Brent himself. Craig Richards saw it fit to include on his last Fabric CD--as a peaking point, no less. If you missed it the first time, don't sleep.

www.somarecords.com

EDDIE RICHARDS "Tileefuoynac / Soul If Life" Storm [Tech-house, House] Hot on the heels of the totally hot Garage Sessions EP with Terry Francis, the Godfather of UK tech-house returns with another stunning 12-inch. "Tileefuoynac" is the deep, funky, and eclectic one, sampling Sound Of Soul's 1990 classic "Uprising" for a fantastic dancefloor cut that stylistically finds itself between San Francisco and the Middle East. (Seriously!) Most likely to do club damage, however, is the filthy flipside: Tougher beats, brooding b-lines, and a compelling spoken word weave around spacious pads and assorted audio ecstacy. Wicked.

MIKE DIXON "3 Piece Suit" Classic [House] By now, Mike Dixon is best loved for his "swing house" output for the G-Swing label. Mark Farina's been listening, as has DJ Heather, Miles Maeda, and Derrick Carter. On his first release for Carter's Classic imprint, Dixon does what he does best: sampling and deconstructing yesterday's dancefloor classics for a modern house music audience, and for the most part, succeeding brilliantly. Best about this EP, however, is when he diverges from the blueprint for an Iz & Diz inspired "House Of Mouths"--a fantastic funky houser that even the biggest G-Swing detractor will submit to.

www.classicmusiccompany.com

THE SWEETLEAF GRINDERS "Jungle Juice / Love Me" Eye 4 Sound [House, Tribal, Tech-house] Apparently, Eddie Richards is not the only one coming back strong after the Garage Sessions EP. Here, co-conspirator Terry Francis joins Uhuru Beats collaborator Bob De Rosa for an EP as the Sweetleaf Grinders. What to expect? If classic Eukahouse records from Housey Doings or The Real did it for you back in the day, get psyched for a return to form. Lots of early buzz on this one from overseas, but it shouldn't take too much to catch on stateside. This is the sound of proper UK house.

SECOND HAND SATELLITES "Multiple Mirrors Remixes" EP Shaboom [House, Tech-house] The original mix was a massive staple for a variety of DJs who rarely play the same records--Garth, John Digweed, Doc Martin, and Lee Burridge all made it their own. And with good reason. Hallucination Limited mainman DJ Three and Sean Cusick's "Orbit" had all the elements of a classic acid house cut. Here, the Shaboom crew give it the remix treatment and the results are absolutely superb. Philadelphia's Philip Charles, also Hallucination alumni, churns out a twisted and dubby deep house mix for the early evening set--soulful, funky, and sublime--but Mark "Blakkat" Bell's collaboration with Randall Jones of Tigerhook Corp. is undoubtedly my pick. Love the original? Been waiting for a peak-time mix with a chest-heaving bass line and a tougher, funkier drum sequencing? Me, too. And I almost died when I heard this.

www.shaboom.co.uk
www.hallucination.com

TUHIN ROY "You Gotta Love" Red Melon [House, Tech-house] Some of you might remember this one from last year. But not many of you. We received a limited amount of white labels for it, as well as a limited amount of information. All we knew about Tuhin Roy was that he was from the Bay Area. And you know what? That's still all I know about him. But I can tell you this: What I heard on that white label was amazing, and apparently, those of you who did catch it agreed since it just about flew out of here as quickly as it came in. Now, the Red Melon crew have given it some proper artwork, a proper release, and the proper respect it deserved in the first place. Percussive and deep techy San Francisco house music doesn't really get better than this.

www.redmelon.com

WAGON COOKIN' "Mar" (Truby Trio, Swag, Hajime Yoshizawa, and Acoustic Mxs) Debaile [House] Looking to get your deep fix? Odori stars Wagon Cookin' are holing to help with this blue vinyl deep house package. Of course, the standout mix belongs to always on-point Swag, who hand in a MAW-influenced deep Latin cut with a tough club kick and some righteous percussion. Truby Trio's mix also delivers the goods with a funkier four-to-the-floor mix that wouldn't sound out of place at a Mushroom Jazz or Get Underground! party. Excellent all-around.

www.wagoncookin.com

FORTUNATO & MONTRESOR "Imagine" (Original & Pole Folder Mxs) Bedrock [Progressive, House, Tech-house] Best known as the opening track on John Digweed's legendary Global Underground: Sydney mix CD, Fortunato & Montresor's "Imagine," as originally released by Electrolux in 1997, has been trading hands on eBay for hundreds of dollars ever since. Good news, then. Put your Pay Pal account number back in your pocket and rejoice! Digweed's Bedrock label has reissued the classic for the newest generation of its devotees, and you know what? It still sounds as totally amazing as it did the first time. Which only goes to show: Truly great records never go out of style.

www.bedrock.org.uk

16B "Doubt" Pt. 1 (Original & Flatline Mxs) / Pt. 2 (Instrumental, Danmass, and Brooks Mxs) Hooj Choons [House, Tech-house, Progressive] Everyone seems to be in agreement here: This is 16B right where we want him. Remember his classic Sounds From Another Room LP? "Doubt" could very well have been on it. In terms of atmospheric deep house, few do it better than Omid. To compliment the Original and Instrumental mixes, Hooj signs on three disparate remix teams: Flatline runs with it for a peak-time electro-prog mix that sounds like nothing else they've ever done (and very little else, for that matter!), Danmass goes for a vintage early New York vocal house aesthetic and finds success, while Mantis Recordings loyalist Brooks takes the deep and techy route for a bleeped-up Brett Johnson-esque affair.

www.hoojchoons.co.uk

SOLID GROOVE "Mad About" (Original, Rob Mello, and Jesse Rose Mxs) Front Room [House, Tech-house] I'd talk about the rest of the record, but I never got that far. One listen to Rob Mello's No Ears Dub and this record went straight into my box.

www.frontroomrecordings.com

FUTURESHOCK "Phantom Theory" LP 2x12" Junior [Progressive] It was inevitable. Ever since Futureshock hit scene only 3 years ago with "Sparc," it was obvious that these guys were no ordinary producers. Futureshock were artists--much like their Junior labelmates in Underworld. Phantom Theory is their debut album and this one makes good on their promise. DJs will appreciate the inclusion of tried club tracks like "Sparc" and "Frequency," but the thrill is in the new stuff. "Statikman" and "Another Hit," in particular, stand out as future prog classics, while "Kato's Revenge" and "Fifty One" delve in the electrickery that will establish them as versatile visionaries. Surprise hits? Check "Pride's Paranoia" for a twisted Green Velvet-like tech-houser that demands a remix package.

www.futureshockmusic.net

Also new this week is remix and production work from Matthew Moffre (with current PR2 favorites Wyatt Earp & DJ Foxx on the remix), Plump DJs, Wally & Dr. Kucho, Blakkat, Grant Dell, Random Factor (with Silver City remixes), The Rurals, Kaskade, DJ Sneak, Murray Richardson, Restless Soul (featuring Andrew Weatherall's return to house music remix!), Peace Division, Playgroup, Home & Garden, Loudeast, and much, much more.

New label output from Rhythm Syndicate, Weekend, MFF, Reform, NRK, Magnetic, OM Records, Poker Flat, Slip N Slide, Dpress Industries, Wave Music, Peng, 20/20 Vision, Grant Dell's new Cove imprint, Beat Freak, Electrik Soul, Kompakt, Nascent, and Southern Fried is also in.

And besides that Doubledown and Hochokai catalog restock I mentioned earlier, we've also restocked Chris Carrier's brilliant new Silver Haze record for Cass' Sabotage label, as well as the latest from Greenskeepers Music--back by popular demand. Also back in on white label: The much-requested Alicia Keys / Maxwell illicit mixes from last year. Can't say who did them, but you know who it is.

I told you there was a lot. Wow.

Have a safe weekend, and be good!

(Norman Arenas)