Lists
April: 10 big tunes you need to hear this month
From Louie Vega and Lone to Mad Rey and Matt Karmil
1 Louie Vega & The Martinez Brothers feat Héctor Lavoe
'Shut The Door' (Cuttin Headz)
Are we seeing a revival of good old-fashioned soulful house? Huge across the board and premiered on Mixmag.net, this features the distinctive Latin vocal of Héctor Lavoe and is one for MAW and Circo Loco fans alike. Nice sheep baa too!
2 Loco Dice
'Roots' (Desolat)
An emphatic, emotional step in the right direction once again for Desolat boss Loco Dice, whose understanding of what makes great club cuts jump is clear on this track which vocally references ‘Break For Love’ by Raze but gives it a new distorted vocal twist.
3 Crooked Man
'Echo Loves Narcissus' (DFA)
Part 1 of the might ‘Echo’ series (with a bassline as big as Double 99) was voted Single Of The Year by Piccadilly Records, so the arrival of Parts 2, 3 and 4 is cause for a Death From Above celebration. “A sonic saga across four movements”, we’re told: more of this please!
4 Lone
'Temples' (R&S)
Lone’s recent Essential Mix was a thing of beauty and there were five tracks from his current ‘Ambivert Tools’ series included in that two-hour journey. ‘Temples’ sounds like something conjured up for play in the middle of a rainforest, and therefore is our pick of the bunch.
5 Wayward
'Good Afternoon Mr Magpie' (Silver Bear)
This sneaky percussive house instrumental gets better with every listen. You may recall that their previous EP was remixed by Hammer and Man Power; this is being supported by everyone from Âme to La Fleur and is bursting with bright spring melodies.
6 Mad Rey
'L’Orage' (Rekids)
If you’re heading to sunnier climes soon, wherever that is, the latest from Mad Rey is one for you. Inspired by freshly filtered French disco, but with a definitively modern twist, this is one for modern floors as the sun hits the sky.
[Photo: Pablo Jomaron]
7 Ataxia
'Kodak Moment' (inc Reeves & Crosson edit) (Visionquest)
It’s a warm welcome back to Big Tunes for the Visionquest imprint, as Detroit duo Ataxia’s ‘Kodak Moment’ comes equipped with an edit from label co-founders Shaun Reeves and Ryan Crosson. Expect to hear in all the right (Miami) spots!
8 KDA
'Hate Me' (Maya Jane Coles remix) (BMG)
An excellent new remix here from two-time Mixmag cover star Maya Jane Coles, whose epic, six-minute remix of KDA (best known for his 2015 hit ‘Rumble’) will be one for bigger floors from Miami to Ibiza this year. Watch this build and build as we head into summer.
[Photo: Hanna Hiller]
9 Tracey Thorn
'Sister' (Andrew Weatherall remixes) (Unmade Road / Caroline Internationa)
Readers of a certain standing will know that Andrew Weatherall is as important to club culture as anyone who came before or since, so these two remixes are something to be savoured. The original’s a natty, nine-minute disco epic to boot.
[Photo: Edward Bishop]
10 Matt Karmil
'Tell Me Why' (Studio Barnhus)
It’s a warm welcome back for Studio Barnhus, undoubtedly one of our favourite labels and now with added sunshine thanks to ‘Tell Me Why’ by the other MK in house, Matt Karmil. This four-track EP follows recent appearances on Idle Hands and Smalltown Supersound, and oozes soulful serotonin.
[Photo: Fredrik Skogkvist]
