Dance Music Reviews

Singles

“Cha Cha Heels” by Rosabel & Jeanie Tracy (Tommy Boy) is surely a fun track and one that should keep dance floors jumping throughout the summer. While Rosabel presents a very long Big Room Mix, I found the Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Remix a bit more interesting with its layered sound and rhythms. There’s also a Ralphi Rosario Funky Heels Mix. Get ready because you’re probably going to hear a lot of “Cha Cha Heels” in the coming summer months.

Note: You can catch DJ Ralphi Rosario at his weekly Saturday night residency at Hydrate Chicago and on Sundays, starting June 6, 2004, at Sound-Bar.

The next dance track from Janet Jackson is “All Nite” (Virgin Records) and the two mixes, one by Sander Kleinenberg and the other from Low End Specialists are excellent. I think these dance treatments of “All Nite” are much better than the ones for “Just A Little While,” which came out a couple of months ago, and should tear up the dance floors throughout the summer.

On the deep house side of things, there are four songs I’m really digging at the moment. The first is “Unconditional Love” by Copeland Green (Soul’s Our Style Records). A vocal track, the BlakByrd’s Enter The Tabernacle Mix is very pleasing. Matthias “Matty” Heilbronn turns in another strong effort with “Go Getter” (Papa) with Monique Bingham delivering the lyrics over a killer bass line on Matty’s II Deep Mix.

The other two deep house cuts you should be paying attention to are “Heaven’s Piano” by The Eltingville Project (Henry Street Records) and “Peace of Landscape” by Kaito (Kompact). Both of these tracks are lush and soulful and just downright beautiful pieces of music.

If you are looking for some downtempo stuff, try the Lost Star EP by Rekid (Classic Records). There are four quality tracks here, all clocking in at under 112 bpm.

A fun single I picked up recently is the funk-i-fied version of Klymaxx’s “Meeting In The Ladies Room,” re-produced by the The Funk Inn. While the B side has a dance floor friendly Club Mix, the dancers will probably appreciate side A’s Raw Mix more with its chunky dirty funk bass line.

Bakiri Ban has just the record to mix in or out of “Cha Cha Heels.” It’s the Club Mix of “Havana Funk” (Defected Records). On the flip side is the Bakiri Raw Mix, a presentation of drums only that is good for transitioning a set or laying an acapella track on top of it.

I haven’t given a lot of attention to the trance/progressive genre, but the Funk D’Void techno-tinged remix of Paul Van Dyk’s “Crush” (Positiva) forces me to take notice. As with most PvD output, this is a top-notch track that will be appreciated by anyone with a discerning dance music ear.

Back to tribal fare, four more tracks get “A” grades from me. Fred Pellichero’s “Chicago” (Afrodynamic/Cyber) does our city proud. The Tribe Mode Mix has really good energy and interesting progressive atmospheric touches. William Umana gives us “Tribal Evolution” (Star 69) but the real prize on this 12-inch vinyl single is on the flip side: “Mind Games,” which appears on Live @ Roxy 3 (see below).

Last year, Greg O came out with “The Drill” and “Invasion,” two tracks I liked immensely. Now he has released new mixes of the two called “Redrilled & Invaded” (Twisted Records) and has raised the bar of excellence several rungs. I especially liked “The Invasion” remix.

Finishing up this category is the tough and funky “No More Subliminal Sh*t!” by Peace Division (Low Pressings). Peace Division is just so incredibly hot at the moment with their various tracks making the way into most DJs’ record boxes. There is some explicit language in the rap lyrics of this song, but the focus is on the gritty funk beat that won’t fail to shake many a booty.

“Bac N Da Day” by Frankie Knuckles (Definity) is off of his latest artist album, A New Reality , and is a prime example of house music at its finest: a solid and strong rhythm pattern and varied instrumentation (keyboards, guitars, and horns) that evokes emotion from the dance floor. The Cleptomaniacs and David Morales provide mixes for this gem.

Note: You can catch Frankie Knuckles during his semi-monthly residency at Hydrate Chicago.

“Beauitiful Girl” by Sophie B. Hawkins (Trumpet Swan) has been remixed by Junior Vasquez into a real nice peak hour cut. It’s a well-balanced treatment with a noticeably restrained percussion track, proving that not all remakes need to be a testament to tribal sounding warfare.

In addition to starring on Broadway in Aida , Deborah Cox has now released a new dance single “Easy As Life” as well a greatest hits CD called Ultimate Deborah Cox . This diva is busy busy, but keeps turning out the goods as is evident by “Easy As Life,” a song re-worked from her Aida songbook with the help of remixers Tony Moran and Warren Rigg.

Compilations & Full Length CD

Higher – mixed by Peter Rauhofer (Armani Exchange / Star 69 Records)
This mix, the third in the Armani Exhange A/X Music Series, is absolutely tremendous. Less dark and less hard than Rauhofer’s typical Star 69 product, he proves with Higher an understanding of the true seductive nature of house music. After a solid start, the middle of this continuous mix simmers with a fantastic groove in Mau Mau’s “The Truth” and then perks with a hint of Kraftwerk-ish beats in Robert Owens’ “Living A Life.” Rauhofer includes his trademark tribal rhythms, though only slightly tweaked here, with “Bahia Azul” by Zebra and then ends the mix with a decidedly old school house music feel courtesy of tracks such as “Can You Feel It” by Mr. Fingers and his Classic Club Mix of Madonna’s “Nothing Fails.” Higher is being sold exclusively at A/X stores and at select Virgin Megastores. I highly recommend that you get out to purchase this one.

Fabric 14 – mixed by Stacey Pullen (Fabric Records)
The Detroit master, Stacey Pullen, has put together a fantastic mixed compilation in this 14th edition of the Fabric series. Fabric is the world-famous club in London known for its serious addiction to the very best in underground electronic dance music. Pullen’s mix, which includes tracks from Peace Division and the Vibe Residents, is a testament to the addiction. While Pullen is associated with the Detroit techno sound, Fabric 14 is a varietal blend of house beats and grooves sure to please anyone who appreciates the underground.

Live @ Roxy 3 – mixed by Peter Rauhofer (Star 69 Records)
Yes, Mr. Rauhofer has been a busy man of late, which may explain the delayed arrival of this much anticipated installment of the Live @ Roxy series. Well, for devotees of the Star 69 sound, the wait for Roxy 3 was well worth it. The mix delivers that chunky New York style of tribal beats with consistency, giving the listener a true feel of what a Saturday night at the super nightclub Roxy is musically all about. The 2-cd set offers two tracks each from William Umana and Madonna. However in my mind, the stand out tracks are “Jungle Out There” by The Tribal Gang and “Soundz” by The Idiots. The latter has a more classic banging house feel to it – like something you’d expect to hear from Derrick Carter or DJ Sneak – and I was a pleasantly surprised to hear it. Its inclusion is, along with the A/X Higher CD, proves that despite his reputation as a master of the harder tribal sound, Rauhofer really does understand the true essence of house music.

Note: You can purchase Live @ Roxy 3 from our partner, Borderline Music.

Borderline Music Top 10 on ChicagoPride.com

In The Moment – Kaskade (Om Records)
Following up on his huge smash hit album from last year, It’s You, It’s Me, Chicago native DJ/Remixer/Producer Kaskade (aka Ryan Raddon) is back with a new album full of underground deep house goodies possessing tasty morsels of jazz, R&B, and soul. In The Moment is a smooth ride through electronica dance sophistication with stand-out tracks like “Stepping Out,” “Soundtrack To The Soul” and “I Like The Way,” which by the way has local DJing favorite Colette providing the vocals. This is one of the most versatile CDs you’ll find with its soulful mix of songs worthy of listening to at any time, day or night. It’s so nice to see a local guy do well.