House

Originally released in 19962017 repress © Groovin RecordingsLicensed courtesy of Glenn Underground

Folamour has worked under a number of different aliases and makes poetic music. As a DJ he has lit up dance floors all over France, and he also runs the FHUO Records label. This new nine track LP is the start of a busy year that promises more music on Church and Defected, all after some fine outings on labels like Fauxpas Music and All City Records. The excellent album is an ode to his love of Japanese culture and mixes up beats and house samples, disco swing and future jazz in ways that work both in the club and your living room.The warm and musical ‘Night of Desirable Objects’ kicks things off with loose jazz chords, shuffling beats and welcoming moods that come from smart vocal samples. It’s a brilliantly heartfelt opener that makes way for the slowed down grooves of ‘Y’all Right.’ Trumpets, live drums and gorgeous chords all exude genuine soul and funk, and ‘Petit Prince Du Macadam’ is an exquisite hip hop beat that echoes the great Dilla.Elsewhere, ‘Ivoire’ is a big, afro-tinged cut with bouncy drums and vocals as well as party-starting percussion. ‘Look at Me or I'll Steal Your Eyes’ then pulls back to perfect loops of funky guitar, trilling chords and organic drum work. Like much of the music here, the loveably rough style of Moodymann is a big presence in this one. French filter styles characterise the sunny disco influenced grooves of ‘Devoted to U’, ‘Oyabun’ is a blissed out bit of romantic house, ‘Kickflipin’ That Stuff’ is another gorgeous hip hop interlude weighed down by hot soul and ‘Jah Love’ is a masterfully melodic piece with splashes of cymbal, brilliant key playing and jazz drums that find their way into your heart.

REPRESSBack in the day, there was one artist that stood out in the underground, this person was admired and respected worldwide, his cuts we're played from Paris, London, NYC to Chicago & back again, he was - Olivier Portal AKA Playin'4 The City. This year, 2014 - Playin 4 The City is back, 3 brand new tracks released on the deeply respected US label - Plastik People. Side A delivers two soulful edged tracks with a reprise at the start of A1 which keeps the roots of P4TC from back in the day - both tracks include live bass by Slikk Tim. Side B "Good Groove" is a black & white track, It has the feel of the early Bouge & Shuffle track that came out on Olivier's Straight Up label, deep & groovy elements, 16 bit samples & keeping it four to the floor. Good Groove is sure to be a classic, one for the true heads & the P4TC collective.

Finally a fresh MCDE is announced! New one from long time deep house/broken producer, Pablo Valentino... .Its been four years since label co-founder Pablo Valentino became a daddy, and almost as old is the idea of him releasing a record on our imprint. So what makes more sense than to dedicate this record to Hugo-João, his son? On "My Son's Smile" we can hear a recording of Hugo-João's laughter over a mellow, summery house track that has been a big favorite of Danilo over the years.With a little help from Lyon producer Patchworks, who played bass on the track, Valentino pulls off one of his most sophisticated productions yet.GE-OLOGY, legendary Hip Hop and House producer from New York, flips it into a more of a peaktime thing, replacing the Fender Rhodes from the original with layers of thick synthesizer chords and a very vibrant, musical vibe reminiscent of his earlier release on Sound Signature. "Atlantic’s Calling" is one of those signature, late night House tracks that Pablo Valentino has been championing both as a producer and Dj throughout the years.Danilo and Pablo met in the late 90s through their mutual love for obscure Jazz, sampled based House and all things soulful, and 20 years later this sounds like the kind of track that sums it all up, a testament of their musical backbone. Pablo has, like his partner Danilo, started out producing Hip Hop instrumentals back in the 90s, and he continues to do so up until this day. While "Good Ol' Days" is of course a Hommage to that era, it still sounds fresh to our ears.At MCDE, we have always believed in this sound, the rough-and-ready, smoked-out esthetic of 90s sampler based music, and whether its Hip Hop, House, Techno or anything in between, we are proud to carry that Torch.All tracks written & produced by Pablo Valentino.Additional bass on "My Son's Smile" by Bruno "Patchworks" Hovart