Pezzner 'Shasta EP' (PHG-006D)
Recent Jimpster/Freerange favorite Pezzner teams up with Strictly Rhythm’s Physical Graffiti imprint to unleash quite an impressive slice of futuristic house.
With a nod to the past but feet firmly planted pointing forward, Pezzner’s recent releases have received kudos from some of the world’s biggest tastemakers including Laurent Garnier, Steve Bug & Josh Wink.
Pezzner’s Shasta EP combines all the right ingredients to keep dance floors rocking with deep, techy, hypnotic grooves combined with samples that take you back to an early 90’s house sound that made New York City famous. It’s shaping up to be a big year for Pezzner, definitely one to watch for 2009 and beyond.
With a nod to the past but feet firmly planted pointing forward, Pezzner’s recent releases have received kudos from some of the world’s biggest tastemakers including Laurent Garnier, Steve Bug & Josh Wink.
Pezzner’s Shasta EP combines all the right ingredients to keep dance floors rocking with deep, techy, hypnotic grooves combined with samples that take you back to an early 90’s house sound that made New York City famous. It’s shaping up to be a big year for Pezzner, definitely one to watch for 2009 and beyond.
Laid feat. Kev La "Mercy" (PHG-005)
The guys are also well known under their aliases Zoo Brazil, Cuba Computers and Outcold and have released many club bombs for labels such as Get Physical, Systematic, Size, Harthouse, Pickadoll and Joia.
MAGAZINE REVIEWS
iDJ Magazine – (House) – The Zoo Brazil peeps drop the techno and get deep with this emphatic slice of smooth electronic soul. Kev's lyrics are a tad cheesy ("you can suck my soul and I'll lick your funky emotions"? Come on!), but the sentiment is in the right place and there's a dub on offer too. Remix-wise Shur I Kan adds some classic garage beats for a true journey back in time. Very nice. 3/5
DJ Magazine – (House) - The fledgling US deep house label's latest depth charge features yet another set of happening Swedes, the unfeasibly cool Laid, aka Zoo Brazil. If you know the Laid style, the minimal production style and oh-so-tasteful deep beats cause no surprises, but they do present a twist in the form of Kev La's spoken word ramblings. And in case that doesn't satisfy, the red-hot Shur-I-kan sticks his oar in with a more dancefloor focused delight, a shuffly groover that will disappoint not one of his growing band of aficionados. 4/5
The guys are also well known under their aliases Zoo Brazil, Cuba Computers and Outcold and have released many club bombs for labels such as Get Physical, Systematic, Size, Harthouse, Pickadoll and Joia.
Today I bring you the new Laid release 'Mercy'. A wonderful, snare-lead house cut that is delivered with a superb vocal from fresh talent Kev-La.
On remix duty the label have drafted in one of their artists Shur-I-Kan. Fresh from the success of his 'Berlin Rising' EP for the imprint his delivers a silky smooth remix that takes the original elements and allows them to breathe whilst keeping an awesome groove. Great stuff.
MAGAZINE REVIEWS
iDJ Magazine – (House) – The Zoo Brazil peeps drop the techno and get deep with this emphatic slice of smooth electronic soul. Kev's lyrics are a tad cheesy ("you can suck my soul and I'll lick your funky emotions"? Come on!), but the sentiment is in the right place and there's a dub on offer too. Remix-wise Shur I Kan adds some classic garage beats for a true journey back in time. Very nice. 3/5
DJ Magazine – (House) - The fledgling US deep house label's latest depth charge features yet another set of happening Swedes, the unfeasibly cool Laid, aka Zoo Brazil. If you know the Laid style, the minimal production style and oh-so-tasteful deep beats cause no surprises, but they do present a twist in the form of Kev La's spoken word ramblings. And in case that doesn't satisfy, the red-hot Shur-I-kan sticks his oar in with a more dancefloor focused delight, a shuffly groover that will disappoint not one of his growing band of aficionados. 4/5
Jesus Jackson "Damn" (PHG-003)
Physical Graffiti continues to scour the corners of the earth for todays freshest sounds. Amidst this journey found label boss Danny Sullivan deep in the heart of the Mississippi bayou at an outlawed speakeasy listening to the elusive Jesus Jackson. Jackson has stayed clear of any public sightings since his hit "Running On Sunshine" was released by Fatboy Slim on his Southern Fried label. It was subsequently licensed to the ever so popular Grey's Anatomy television show making him the object of desire for every female thirty something watching the show. It became too much, the chasing occurred daily no matter where I went...super market, the movies, even strolls in central park ended with me hiding behind a hot dog cart. I needed to return to the place where every just knew me as Jesus, back to my home in Mississippi.Rumor has it that after finishing up a gig in the rebuilding city of Biloxi one weekend, Sullivan was tipped off by a local that a once famous artist had been performing weekly at a speakeasy called The Subway Swing and that he could take him to see the man they called Jesus... Jesus Jackson. I was certainly surprised to even hear the name since I too was a huge fan of "Running On Sunshine". We must have traveled around 30 miles of dirt road until we came upon this clearing in the middle of the woods. Cars surrounded this rundown, decrepit building in the middle of no where yet you had the feeling something special was taking place.
It was following that special night of undefinable origins of music (touches of soul, blues, urban and swamp house) that Sullivan sat down with Mr. Jackson and discussed the possibility of a follow up to Running over some moonshine. He spoke with sincerity and a knowledge of music only second to mine recalled Jesus, It felt right!
Looking to make dance music a non chin stroking affair, Graffiti drops Jesus Jackson's Damn. A cross between 80's Prince and the sounds of the deep booty shak'n south. Mixes come via Style Of Eye's new funkdafied alias Nova Project, grammy award winning Sci Fidelity and the fresh indie grooves of Jacob London.
Style of Eye "Grab It Now" (PHG-001)
Physical Graffiti calls on Swedish nu-skool house hero STYLE OF EYE (Classic, NRK, Harthouse) for our first release. Supa-producer Linus Eklow returns with what sounds like the twisted, red headed stepchild of today's watered down electro house genre.
Physical Graffiti calls on Swedish nu-skool house hero STYLE OF EYE (Classic, NRK, Harthouse) for our first release. Supa-producer Linus Eklow returns with what sounds like the twisted, red headed stepchild of today's watered down electro house genre.Eklow injects his own brand of deep, tuff, funkiness to this instantaneous dance floor hit which breaks the mold of what we've come to expect from today's productions. With a prime time and after hours dub mix, STYLE OF EYE once again shows off the ability to roll with the times while sounding completely unique in their own right. "Grab It Now" is a choon of massive proportion, put it on and play it LOUD!
MAGAZINE REVIEWS
iDJ MAGAZINE - Not sure whether it's named after the Led Zep LP, but Physical Graffiti is a sister label to Strictly Rhythm and it's got Linus Eklow and a bad-ass bassline for its first release so things look promising. Other than the bassline, there's bleeps aplenty, a touch of soul, class spoken vox and a rugged, winning funk. Good start.
iDJ MAGAZINE - Not sure whether it's named after the Led Zep LP, but Physical Graffiti is a sister label to Strictly Rhythm and it's got Linus Eklow and a bad-ass bassline for its first release so things look promising. Other than the bassline, there's bleeps aplenty, a touch of soul, class spoken vox and a rugged, winning funk. Good start.
DJ MAG - Style of Eye's Linus Eklow must currently be one of the most currently underrated producers in electronic music. A low DJ profile and low record output are doubtless the reasons, but 'Grab It Now' is a rare chance for re-evaluation. And as ever, he doesn't disappoint. All the elements that make a Style of Eye record are present; quirky but juddering beats, a welter of judiciously positioned effects and off the wall vocals all set off by a nagging keyboard hook. Those who find the low-slung spoken word vocals a little rich can move on to the more spaced out dub, a brooding, bleepy and darkly melodic mood that Ben Watt must surely be kicking himself for not signing it to Buzzin' Fly.