City Volts 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: The West Loop Chicago collective reportedly span continents, pooling soul-soaked talents into some truly powerful dance music. "Knocking On The Door Of The Cosmos" doffs its cap to Sun Ra with some crafty samples, but the musical vibe is more in line with the likes of Andres, Dego or other such masters of irrepressibly funky house music. "Theme For Chicago" takes an iconic Roy Ayers jam and gets wild with the filter, "Son Of Equinox" trips down a loose and limber jazz funk pathway and "Payback" whips up some tightly clipped samples into a pumped up peak time belter. From start to finish this EP oozes class and authenticity - a serious grip for any self-respecting Midwest heads.

Review: Stunning stuff here from the mysterious but utterly intriguing West Loop Chicago, an outfit only known for two previous releases on City Volt and nothing else. Taking cues from the broken beat and jazz scenes, this new record is a force to be reckoned with, not least as "The Serpent" comes wheeling in with a skittering drum funk and bugging synth lines to send you pinging into the cosmos. On the flip, "Divinity" has a more organic feel with Rhodes keys and piano dancing across the rhythms - these aren't specifically billed as edits, but given the project's background in disco re-rubs it's safe to assume these are two soul jazz bombs buffed up for your wild card spinning pleasure. There's even bonus beats for each track included - how considerate!