On Sat 24 Aug, we welcome acid-house pioneer Iain McCready back to the Bullitt Courtyard. It’s now an annual tradition and we love offering Iain the freedom to play across disco, soul, dub, house and beyond. This time we’re super-pleased to host the also-legendary Sean McCann on warm-up. Two good friends bringing good times, and two DJs who continue to look to the future.
If you’ve heard Iain play, his endless love for (new) music is apparent. But that also comes across in his love of talking and writing about music, and he has very kindly supplied us with this wonderful chart… for your heart.
Iain: For the chart this time I thought I’d grab a bunch of 12’s from my bag and just go through them. There’s all sorts of bits in there, new, old, things I’ve put together when practicing and interesting tracks waiting for the right time, right place. Enjoy, Iain.
Alex Kassian – E2E4 Mad Professor Mix. (Test Pressing Recordings)
Currently doing the business – Mad Professor takes the Manuel Gottsching referencing rhythm (birds and all), pops it through the dub blender, building, then dismantling into long tripped out breakdowns before releasing the groove with intensity. A great mid-tempo opener.
Chateau Flight – Clare de Lune a Mikonos/ Mange (Versatile Records)
Nice to see I:Cube and Gilbert Cohen back with this ‘La Folie Studio’ album which has been building away steadily since April. All cuts are useful with a mix of downtempo pieces, the mid-tempo hypnotic builder ‘Clare de Lune…’ and more dancefloor tracks especially for me the nagging ’Mange’ which sits beautifully in the mix with its solid groove, annoying bell, and atmospheric drops all adding to the tension.
Oblako Maranta- Trance Beckenbauer and Plutos Mosquitos. (Thisbe Recordings)
Another opener in Trance Beckenbauer, swirling strings open onto a weighty groove with solid drum programming and increasing tension, there’s a heavyness holding your attention while setting up the next mix. Not new but oblique enough to stay in the bag and offers a turning of musical direction. Plutos Mosquitos meanwhile steps it up with a more dark depth and weight plus a bit more tempo.
Red Axes – Up (Shall not Fade Records)
Red Axes, they always produce something I like: solid drums, easy to mix, great breakdowns (aimed squarely at the dancer), trippy, wigged-out grooves with fantastic sonics flying around the mix and generally two or three tracks on a 12 that are well playable. Saturday Night track dubbing while Casi O a 32bit houser. Crafty.
D Briggs – DaMo (Stray Current Records)
I picked this up a couple of weeks ago from the bins at Sound Advice when Lil Louis was over. The track has his intensity with its Detroit style, it’s always building in an early Mr Fingers vibes and when you feel the track is about to break it adds another layer and continues on its upward path, hypnotic, mesmerising and beautifully programmed house music. Feeling it.
DMX Krew – O time your Pyramids (Mystic & Quantum records)
A track from the Whispers of an Ancient World pt.3 album , this song brings down/ mid tempo, squelchy, electro boogie style to the mix with a Moog line that weaves its way like Grace Jones in the cosmic disco . Far too short, quirky and has its place.
LeBaron James – Always be True, (J&M Music)
Absolute killer 4 track 12” in a cut-up disco style, the ‘House Party’ cut sounding like DJ Sneak meets the Bucketheads via Todd Terry. A loopy guitar lick gives way to Todd stabs and sirens that makes you want to hustle the mix building on its energy. ‘Always be true’ the title track layers a bumpy bassline with Philly string stabs and a vocal drop that keeps things firing along nicely. ‘One’ again keeps pace with a string lead phrase over looped beats, hand claps and a moving bassline, simple stuff sounding like a US cut from ‘94 and a dancer delight.
King Amazin – The Shot (Housejam records)
Now this is a ‘90’s cut that been in and out of my bag from the Art College, Vico’s you name a club around then and I’m sure it was played. Simple looped drums, pacey with a disco loop and a wicked female vocal laying it out. Part of Chicago Trackwerk Vol 2 12” and still fresh now.
Dj Sneak- For the Soul ep (Hudd Traxx)
Sneak has been quietly releasing his trademark cut-ups over the past few years and with this plus the forthcoming ‘Housebullet’ and ‘Voodoo’ we’re going to be seeing more of him. ‘From da House’ puts a vocal House! over a building, chopped disco sample bringing the groove up while ‘For the Soul’ scores a hypnotic groove perfect for layering another song over. ‘We all need love’ & ‘En Route’ also do it, well playable.
Jerzzey Boy – Everybody (Bottom Line)
Another oldie in a cut-up style – unusual it’s on Bottom Line as normally this label brings the deeper style of house music. Laying a jazzy swinging foundation it drops a spotters delight bag full of classic samples while a female vocal calls everyone to ‘Get up.’ A simple little mixer that brings a NY vibe, classic stuff for House and Garage heads.
Jack Tennis – AG 01 (Art Groupie)
Jack Tennis has been bringing style on his re-edits for some time, check his mixes of Brothers Johnston’ Strawberry Letters’ or Bobby Rush ‘Chicken Heads’ or even the killer Ann Peebles ‘I’m gonna tear your penthouse down’ and you’ll see he’s got it going on. This ep though sees him flex it with the great ‘Astrud got it all’ ‘California Shake It’s and ‘Hey Gwen’ covering disco, mid tempo soul and a cut-up style that makes this 12” stand out from the pack. Get on it.
Wayne Rollins – Pushin’ On (Downtown 161)
Again an older track I’ve pulled that sits fantastic in the mix with the previous five 12’s. Easily layered with both ‘Push it on’ with its old Todd style stabs and skippy beats to ‘If we try’ with its swinging style and Hammond refrain swirling with vocal snippets both tracks though old school certainly fit nicely with current cuts.
Tom Noble – Times are Changing (Razor’n’Tape)
Good to see Tom Noble breaking through with this quality House of Spirits project. Superb funky guitar led original sounding disco soul workout, not too paced with a beautiful production and classic feel, this will stay.
Joaquin Joe Claussell – I believe (Sacred Rhythm)
Joaquin Joe Claussell/ Ricky Corey- Erratic Telepathy (Cosmic Arts Interpretation) Yellow Jackets records
For years now I’ve been playing Joe Claussell tracks, from the early Spiritual Life right through the remixes and his Sacred Rhythm limited releases, time and time again he shows that he’s un-afraid to put out long, dense, sinuous pieces of music that transcend house music be it Afrocentric or Latin deepness all wrapped up in huge building grooves layer upon layer adding until one reaches aN epoch of understanding with the natural, spiritual and beautiful world we all live in. He is one of the truest producers out there.
These two tracks also show his ability to carve out an unexpected side, darker, moodier building blocks, like Kenny Dope’s odd downtempo b sides on MAW releases or Kerri Chandler’s slower, thoughtful vocal early b sides these are the bonus gold tracks that stand alone. Not for everyone but they satisfy me. His recent work with Ron Trent, another mystical producer on Cosmic Arts projects shows the future is safe for this thing we call House.
So that’s that wrapped up, a small selection picked in one bunch from a bag that holds about 120 12’s, old or new they all bring something to the table. I hope you enjoyed the list.
Yours (as always) in music,
Iain McCready
August 2024
You can find a YouTube playlist of these solid-gold tracks and more over below:
