As fall approaches and the slow summer schedule wanes, a steady stream of new releases will begin flooding the catalog once again. This week's first update, brings back a couple of full release titles that you guys devoured on white label a few weeks back, as well as a groundswell of new music you don't want to miss. Here are a few of this week's picks:

NATURAL RHYTHM "Simple Needs" EP Blockhead [House, Tech-house] So Cal's Natural Rhythm have been pumping out more quality music than just about any other producer this year, and this debut release for the fledgling Blockhead label is no exception. Boasting four new tracks to add to their canon, this EP includes the sultry deep Chicago vibe of "Freak FM," a tweaked-out techy cut called "Simple Needs," the jackin' and jazzy "Time For A Party," and "Lovely Day," a tight and punchy vocal house cut that recalls some of their best work for the Seasons label. It's wonder then that this EP has already received confirmed support from the likes of Miguel Migs, Lawnchair Generals, and Spettro, to name a few.
BACK IN ON FULL RELEASE!

URSULA 1000 "Samba 1000" (Original, Rob Mello, and Nicola Conte Mxs) Eighteenth Street Lounge Music [House, Tech-house] The much-loved Thievery Corporation camp goes house with their Eighteenth Street Lounge imprint and they've enlisted the best to create the makeover. The original "Samba 1000" is a sultry Latinesque jaunt for the lounge, but you'll want to head straight for Rob Mello's jackin' house re-rub. His most flawless work since "Fantasize," Mello crafts the perfect blend of Chicago funk, UK production crisp, and electro-'80s synth play for what could be the feel-good hit of the summer. Surefire.

www.eslmusic.com

PLASTENE "Maybe Naked" (Original & Jacob London Mxs) Suburbia [House, Tech-house] As Plastic City's catalog found itself getting deeper some years back, Plastic City's sister imprint Suburbia started picking up the dancefloor slack. I still play lots of the earliest releases—Niko Bellotto, Blondini Gang, and The Timewriter among them—with fondness. These days, Suburbia seems to be taking the lead for the two labels and their latest release certainly ranks amongst their best: Plastene's "Maybe Naked" is a deep, atmospheric groover that should go over well with fans of the early Plastic sound or more recent Jeff Bennett-styled material, while recent Classic Records favorites Jacob London fly the freak flag with another irrepressible b-line driven tech-houser that ascends into a different style atmospherism altogether.

www.ucmg.co.uk

THE APOLLO KIDS "Counting Off" (Original and Meat Katie & Elite Force Mxs) Fat! [Breaks] From where I'm sitting, Brixton's Fat! imprint has been the most consistent breakbeat label we've come across in a long time. Here, The Apollo Kids return to the label fold with "Counting Off," a not-quite-nu-school breaks jam that utilizes a lot of the classic cut-up techniques of the early '90s breakbeat classics without abandoning the modern FX and fat drum programming best associated with the current breakbeat movement. Meat Katie & Elite Force do a fine job, then, of bringing the entire track up to speed with a heads-down lights-out club moment that will fit in smoothly with both the breaks and four-to-the-floor sets, bringing in an effective 303 line to conjure up memories of acid breakbeat past.

www.thefatclub.com

CUTLAB "Alpha" EP 2x12" (Original, Go! Dimaggio, and Chatelain Mxs) Big Chief [House, Tribal, Tech-house] You know it's a big deal for Big Chief when they're kicking out the doublepack action. Cutlab, perhaps best known for the massive Loudkissing EP, returns with "Alpha," a high-energy tribal run with a Moroder-like synth pattern that keeps its feet firmly planted in tech-house territory, but finds crossover potential written all over it. Newcomer Chatelain offers a darker tribal interpretation that should go over well with the Lawler and Stephan set, but it's UK house folks Go! Dimaggio that bring the funk with a deep and atmospheric tech-houser that recalls the classic Pagan and Eukahouse sound of the late '90s.
BACK IN ON FULL RELEASE!

www.syntaxrecordings.com/bigchief

Also new this week is remix and production work from Piliavin & Zimbardo, Larry Heard, Danny Howells, Behrouz & Andy Caldwell, Sly Fidelity & Clubfoot, Harold Heath, Funky Transport, PC Synergy, Seafoam, Hoxton Whores, PQM vs. Luke Chable, and the latest from the Anchorage crew at Igloo.

Aside from Igloo, there's also new label output from Yoshitoshi, Made, Sexonwax, Bamboo, Progress Inn, Sensei, Eighth Dimension, Regress, Gimme Some, and many more.

On the restock tip, rediscover Trentmoller's latest for Naked and a surprise techno hit from Jahcoozi on Kompakt.

More to come. In the meantime, be good!
(Norman Arenas)