The new site is up, the testing is done, the bugs appear to be all fixed. (If not, let us know!) So now on to the good stuff! Beginning next week, we'll begin regularly updating the Weblog feature on our homepage with house music news, relevant links, and site news. I'm also planning on cooking up a contest or two within the coming weeks. Much of the interplay between us and you will happen in the Weblog and on our message board, so please contribute and stop by regularly!

In the meantime, there is an absolutely large-and-out-of-control update in the online shop with over 100 new titles and another solid batch of exclusive pre-release white label material from the likes of Mazi, Natural Rhythm, Grant Dell, and LHK & Alex Moran. As we no longer segregate the records into clear-cut House and Progressive sections, our e-mail newsletters will no longer be segregated either. The newly formatted hit list follows:

GRANT DELL & RICHARD PHONEMAN "Loopanomics" EP Macumba (Promo) [House, Tribal, Tech-house] London tribal tech-house guru Grant Dell (of Tribalation fame) follows up his incredibly hot EP for Household Recordings with Loopanomics--a collaboration with Richard Phoneman and the debut release for Get Groovy's freshly minted Macumba imprint. Here on exclusive white label, Dell & Phoneman churn out a pair of bottom heavy cuts with serious crossover appeal. "Sub-strata" rolls along a subsonic bass line and light keys that deftly contrast the track's darker tones. "Realize Nothing" keeps a more minimal and dubby tech-house approach--perfect for early evening twisted revelry or late night debauchery. First come, first serve on this one.

V/A (GET F*@KED & TERRY FRANCIS) "Loveballs / Hello, Acid Dathera" Technical House [Tech-house, House] It's a pick hit this week because if you missed it the first time around, you were truly sleeping. Brand new label imprint Technical House release a split EP of 2 classic pre-Fabric tech-house cuts from the genre's brightest stars. Get F*@ked's "Loveballs" was a highlight from their LP of a couple of years back, but Terry's "Hello, Acid Dathera" has been a box staple for me ever since it first reared its head on Eukahouse in 1998. Kudos for the reissue.

TYLER "T-BONE" STADIUS & JAY TRIPWIRE "The Spirit" EP Deepen Discs [House,
Tribal, Tech-House] Vancouver's men-of-the-moment team up for an absolutely stinging collaboration for Deepen Discs. Stadius is a long-time Vancouver DJ and co-owns the city's Bassix record store and Sonar nightclub in addition to having a prestigious residency at London's Fabric club. Tripwire is, well, if you don't know yet, I don't know what to tell you. Together, the duo dishes out some dirty acid house with my pick going to the EP's title track for it's subtle groove and clever sampling of Abundance's King Street classic, "Spiritual." Long-time box potential, here.

http://www.deepen.cc
http://www.djtbone.com
http://www.jaytripwire.com

NATURAL RHYTHM "Freakinought" EP Doubledown (Promo) [House, Tech-house] There's most likely no need to tell you how much Natural Rhythm have accomplished in the past few years after a slew of stellar releases for labels like Under The Counter, Mosaic, Lowdown, Viva, Dufflebag, and Vista. Here, the production team hands over three brand new tracks to the trusty Doubledown label for another white label Primal Records exclusive. "Freakinought" is a harder-edged house cut that maintains a pleasantly funky drive to it until, somewhere about halfway through, a violently filthy bass line erupts and transcends the track into climactic terrain. If that doesn't do it for you, the flipside handles a couple of alternate takes that focus on the original groove sans grit. But I'll be damned if the grit didn't do it for me.

http://www.doubledownrecordings.com

STARECASE "See" Pt. 1 (Original & Timo Mass Mxs) / Pt. 2 (Starecase Club & Rulers Of The Deep Mxs) Hope Recordings [Progressive, Tech-house] Starecase started off as Hope's great hope: A progressive production duo that had their roots steeped enough in breakbeat to make a rousing combination of the two possible. With their latest LP, Firstfloor, the Bristol pairing take that progressive/breaks formula into further foreign territory, adding more of a vocal element into the mix. "See," in its original version, is a four-to-the-floor vocal progressive cut that keeps things mellow, but moving. Remixer Timo Maas trades in the ol' wet-and-hard schtick for a dancefloor dub that is more tech-progressive than Teutonic techno. And on plate 2, Starecase give up a clubbier deep progressive take of the original. But my pick here goes to Ovum Recordings alumni Rulers Of The Deep for a prog-tinged vocal tech-houser not unlike Pete Moss's recent collaboration with Terra Deva--fiery and deep, but unmistakably fierce.

http://www.hoperecordings.com

JAY-J & CHRIS LUM "Roots Roll Call" (Peace Division Rmxs) Vibrant [House, Tribal, Progressive] I'll be honest: The original mixes for this one on Jay-J & Chris Lum's Moulton Studios label seemed a bit off to me. I think the music felt too light-hearted, and what should have come off as an earnest homage to the forefathers of House Music came of, well, almost tongue-in-cheek. Enter UK production duo Peace Division and this stunning remix package. The Vocal Mix here is pensive and deep, and in my opinion, adds a whole new mood to the roll call. (Indeed, everytime a Peace Division
infuence like David Morales or Danny Tenaglia comes up, just listen to the accents in the track. They've got an homage of their own going on!) If that don't get to you, the instrumental dub carries the dark and moody backtrack into prime focus, surely securing another master stroke in the Peace Division canon.

ASYLUM SEEKERS "Eastern Asylum / Computer Teknology" Three [Progressive] It's newcomers all around here as 3-Beat's latest label imprint, Three, teams up with Asylum Seekers for peak-time progressive house EP. "Eastern Asylum" is a synth-laden trancer with an overlaying Eastern vocal that should do well with the melodic set, but most of you will have your sights set on "Computer Teknology"--a stripped down and relentless deep prog chugger that borrows its sample from a spoken word piece waxing over the glorious fusion of computers, audio, and... umm... drugs. Trust me, this one's going over in a big way.

http://www.3beat.co.uk

MAZI "Music As Communication" EP Detour (Promo) [House, Tech-house] Fresh off the release of a pair of massive records for Jamayka and NRK, Mazi returns with his first proper EP for Tony Hewitt's Detour label--here exclusively at Primalrecords.com on white label only. The result is a deep and trippy 3-tracker that spans from the warm, funky, and slightly freaked-out vibe of "Interplay," to the tough and tribal "Interplay Beats" mix, to the hypnotic London tech-house vibe of "Artificial Stimulus." An
official release won't see the light of day until later in the fall; we've got limited copies, and as always, they are first come, first serve. Good luck.

http://www.tangorecordings.com
http://www.audiosoulproject.com

UNKNOWN (Bobby Konders) "Nervous Acid" (Jay-J & Jay Tripwire Rmxs) White Label [House, Tech-house] Oh, man. This is one of those records that people are going to be bidding on eBay for in a few years. Bobby Konders's New York acid house classic gets the modern makeover from two of house music's most consistent producers: Jay-J gives it a deep and sexy Moulton Studios rub that transforms the bass line into a slinky smooth rhythmic treatment for the more high-octane moments in a deep house set, while Jay Tripwire goes buckwild on the 303 for an acid tribal excursion that has been rocking it on dancefloors here in San Francisco for the past few months now. Again, this one is limited--and we will run out. This week's essential pick, hands down.

http://www.jaytripwire.com

Also new this week is remix and production work from Demarkus Lewis, David Duriez, Bedrock, Ian Pooley, The Little Men, Mr. G, Chicken Lips, Silicone Soul, Dylan Rhymes, That Kid Chris, Tony Thomas, Terminalhead, Jacob London (with Tony Senghore on the remix), Casa Del Soul's Little Mike, David Alvarado, Patrick Turner, Nigel Richards, Ian Wilkie, Oko Tek, Lexicon Avenue, Coco DaSilva, D. Ramirez, and Chab. New label releases in this week include material from Oblong, Airtight, Odori, Defected, Automatic, Baroque, Fuju, Marine Parade, Junior, TCR, Ovum, MFF, Classic, Product Deluxe, Seasons, Fire Recordings, and Silver Planet. Restocks in this week include a variety of titles from Siesta, Brique Rouge, MFF, Viva, and Lowdown. And on
the exclusive front, keep your eyes peeled for limited white label promo material from all of the above-mentioned artists as well Fresh & Low and brand new Guided Methods illicit mixes of tracks by Ashanti and Toni Braxton.

Finally, we'd like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support over the past few years that allowed this new website to launch. And to everyone that picked up early white label copies of our upcoming release from Fries & Bridges, thank you, too. We're just about out of those now, but the actual release date is forthcoming this September.

That's it for now. Be good.

(Norman Arenas)