Mahogani US 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Some 18 months after it appeared on Amp Fiddler's ace "Amp Dog Knights" LP, "Keep Coming" is given the remix treatment by a quartet of hugely talented producers. The headline rework comes from Ninja Tune signee Jayda G, whose effortlessly soulful version not only makes great use of the Detroit veteran's brilliant vocals and keys, but also flits between smoky deep house and sweaty, percussive madness. Elsewhere, Jahn Cloud and Meftah offer up some sweet post R&B beats, Julian Dyne re-casts it as a Latin-tinged chunk of beatdown brilliance and Brenk Sinatra does his best impression of Motor City beat-makers Platinum Pied Pipers.

Review: Oh my Lord, it's a new Mahogani twelve inch which has taken us by complete surprise! Detroit's Amp Fiddler hasn't appeared on KDJ's imprint in a while, but the man is never forgotten; we know just how important he is to the label and scene, so this actually feels like a return to normality for us. "So Sweet" is remixed twice: first up, the legendary Louie Vega reframes it into a majestic slice of soulful house for the late night hours, while Waajeed drops a supremely funky and viciously seductive soul monster that easily makes for the sexiest tune available on our charts right now! There's an instrumental on the back of it, too!

Review: Newcomer to the world of house music, Paul Hill is a singer-songwriter, composer and trumpet player. He shares his debut release with Nikki-O (real name Nicole Covington), who also first appeared on Mahogani back in 2005 with the nine-track Nikki-O EP. Hill delivers some spacey soul in "Need Me Some Of You" - a potential top 40 hit had Erykah Badu or Cody Chestnutt replaced Hills vocals - but nevertheless, Hill's velvet chorale's heart warming chords, breezy synths and relaxing percussion is something the majors will wish they hadn't slept on. The skippy beats of Nikki-O's "Music" is reminiscent of a Rick Wade production, which features Covington clear-cut vocals that sing of jazz, blues and of course love.

Review: James 'J Dilla' Yancey is once again the focus of attention with this new collection of material on Mahogani entitled Dilla Lost Tapes. Despite his untimely passing in 2006, J Dilla's legacy has remained strong thanks to the enduring qualities of his back catalogue, the endeavours of the J Dilla Foundation and the Yancey Media Group, not to mention the countless Dilla themed reissues and projects that have surfaced in the wake of his death. Moodymann's Mahogani imprint have of course played their own part in ensuring J Dilla's enduring legacy with the release of the Dillatroit EP last year, a 12-track release of previously unreleased J Dilla material done in collaboration with the Yancey Media Group and J Dilla Foundation. This LP expands on that release with a 20 track trawl through the expansive archives of unreleased material Dilla left in his wake.

Review: Erstwhile producer to the very biggest names in hip-hop, and one of Fiddy's G-Unit faces, Nick Speed has flown the coop to develop his own solo career with the help of KDJ's Mahogani imprint. And he's making quite the statement; The Beat Down sizzles with myriad inspirations and influences, pitching Speed somewhere between Kanye and Dangermouse. At one moment we're marching to the military heritage of "Say Good Bye", the next moment our heads are revolving deliriously at the savage 8-bit techno wheezes of "The Agent". Blurring the lines between electronica, hip-hop and raw soul, this is an engaging listen that captivates from start to finish.