We're a little bit late this week thanks to last weekend's disabling snow storm on the East Coast, but we've gone and made up for it with an absolutely massive update--almost 100 new titles and restocks!--to get your weekend started. New white label material from the folks at Jamayka and the official relaunch of the Primal Records label tops our hitlist this week:

FRIES & BRIDGES "Affiliated Drums Vol. 1" EP Primal [House, Tech-house] When they're not Fries & Bridges, they're Phil Weeks--owner of the much-loved Robsoul Recordings label and prolific Parisian tune machine--and Hector Moralez--Primal Records crew member and well-respected international DJ. Here, the pair unite for another absolutely brilliant 3-track EP; so good, in fact, that we decided to put it out ourselves. Confirmed airplay from Derrick Carter, Mazi, David Duriez, Garth, Grant Dell, and H-Foundation--and that's being modest. Honestly, though, we just adore this record and we'd tell you to buy it if we had nothing to do with it.

www.primalrecords.com

SOUL PROVIDERS "After Dark" EP Jamayka (Promo) [House, Tribal, Tech-house] Chicago's newest label powerhouse Jamayka continues their winning streak in style with the latest 2-track EP from Soul Providers. This one is for peak-time, kids: Chuggy and druggy, this tribal tech-house affair is totally relentless in approach. Dark and dubby, but leveled off with tasteful funk guitar and key stabs, this vinyl is perfectly versatile. It's promo only for now which means, as always, this one is first-come, first-serve.

FREAKS "The Man Who Lived Underground" 2x12" LP MFF [House, Techno, Tech-house] With glowing reviews in magazines like SPIN, the latest album from London house loonies Freaks hardly needs my approval. But I'll give it anyway: Miles ahead of their last full-length, The Man Who Lived Underground is about as true to the Freaks sound as it gets. My personal picks go to the '80s acid romp of "What's the Point?" and the quintessential Trax-style jamming of "Nice & Slo," but the playable cuts on these plates number the album's tracklist.

www.musicforfreaks.com
www.themanwholivedunderground.com

FORMIDABLE FORCE "Mind Games" (Original & Brett Johnson Mxs) / "Secret Weapon" 20/20 Vision [House, Tech-house] Early 20/20 contributor Huggy teams up with Florida tech-house/prog upstart Atnarko for the second Formidable Force EP on 20/20 Vision. As if the original--a cut-up and tweaked-out robot tech-houser--wasn't good enough, Texan man-of-the-moment Brett Johnson hands in a deeper house mix that works a similarly technologically twisted angle. Ridiculously hot.

www.2020recordings.com

DAVID CHRISTOPHERE pres. LIFT "Between The Hands Of Friends" (Original & 20/20 Vision Mxs) Hallucination Limited [House, Tech-house, Breaks] Rabbit In The Moon mainman David Christophere returns to DJ Three's Hallucination Limited label--currently home to incredible new releases from Terry Francis and Phillip Charles--and what a welcome return. "Between The Hands Of Friends" is a classy tech-house breaks record with genre-defining propensity. On the flip, Carl Finlow teams up with Nick Simpson for a four-to-the-floor mix that is doing the business for everyone from Mazi to Digweed. It's no wonder: Funky, but defiantly upbeat, dubby tribal tech-house has rarely sounded better.

www.hallucination.com

X-PRESS 2 "Muzikizum" (Superchumbo Rmxs) Skint [Progressive, Tribal] We all know the original; after "AC/DC," it was X-Press 2's most victorious comeback moment. Here, NYC-via-London producer Tom Stephan steps into his Superchumbo guise for two no-nonsense high octane remixes to give the original a run for its money. Both sides of Superchumbo represent here--one mix is a techy peak-time prog cut; the other, a tribal house monster of Sound Factory proportions--and neither disappoint.

www.tomstephan.com

HOLDEN & THOMPSON "Nothing" (Original & Silver City Mxs) Loaded [House, Tech-house, Progressive] This was practically the first thing I heard after wrapping up my vacation. I was in London, and the 93 Returning Mix came on KISS-FM during a ride to a friend's house. My initial reaction? James Holden knows how to make progressive house work as a dynamic format. Uncharacteristically signed to Loaded, this atmospheric but dancefloor-minded vocal progger has been on the playlists of all the A-list jocks for most of 2003, with Sasha perhaps being its most well-known cheerleader. The remixes, handled by 20/20 Vision's Silver City, also make the grade, recalling Charles Webster and the classic Pagan sound for a pair of wicked deep house re-rubs. If this isn't huge now, it will be.

Also in this week is new production and remix work from JT Donaldson, Tiefschwarz, Layo & Bushwacka! (with Mr. C and D'Julz on the remix), Decepticons, Airgap, Kaskade, Tom Gilleron, Jay-J & Chris Lum, Magik Johnson, John Ciafone, Chris Specht & Claude 9, and many more.

New label output this week comes from Playhouse, Shaboom, Tummy Touch, End Recordings, NRK, Defected, Visitor, Shinichi, Progress Inn, Surround Sounds, Triebstoff, Bedrock Breaks, Dorigen, Icon, and others.

We've also got restocks from Jamayka and Imperial Dub, as well as white label mixes of Coldplay and a classic 12" featuring Frankie Knuckles essential tune "Tears." And believe me, that's just a small sampling.

Thanks again for all your support, and don't forget: Next week is a big week for the PR2 Recordings label. Full release copies of DJ Adnan & Amit Shoham's "Searching" (featuring Jay Tripwire mixes) will be in, as well as white label copies of PR2's sophomore release from Wyatt Earp & DJ Foxx, The Emerson EP. Watch this space!

(Norman Arenas)