NEW JACK CITY

This November sees the launch of Manchester based imprint Music Is Love Records, kicking things off with a four-track release of sublime house cuts in the form of 'Back In The Dayz' by Dutch duo New Jack City. In true Manchester fashion the labels philosophy is to create a platform for releasing 90's tipped underground house music and embodying a hands on attention to detail with heavyweight vinyl, hand curated artwork and high grade remix artists set for each release. Local acts, artist friends and up and coming producers will be providing releases from the off with label owners Oli Furness and Angus Jefford delivering remix works on each under their Music Is Love guise. Arnhem based New Jack City launch things here, they're relatively fresh faces on the scene having formed their collaboation in early 2011, their ethos is heavily focused on Chicago house music with an old school grit and rawness incorporated.Title track 'Back In The Dayz' opens the release, utilizing timeless 909 drum programming with a big open hat, off-kilter claps and weighty kick. A subtle sub bass softly meanders around the drums in the background adding a bouncy shuffle while warm Rhodes chords build the track alongside a filtered vocal chop. Classic house stabs are introduced to the latter stages alongside a soulful spoken word vocal about the feeling of house rounding off the old school vibe. Next up is label owners Music is Love's rework of 'Back In The Dayz', adding a sharp intensity to the drums with an insistent snare pattern running throughout and the signature sounds of 90's house, a deep bubbling organ hook brought in, this is a brilliantly contrasting remix from the duo with a clear distinction yet capturing the vibe of the original cut beautifully. Next up is 'Gimme That Chance', a pacier affair picking up the tempo slightly and embracing a US Garage vibe. Dreamlike synth chords, warbling pad lines and a sonorous walking sub-bass build the tracks body while an amalgamation of vocal chops are layered, looped and processed throughout, creating an ever evolving dynamism. 'The Golden Age' closes the release with crunchy distorted drums and heavily reverberated synth shots running from the start, the track takes on a darker form than the preceding tracks with a peak-time dance floor approach. The introduction of a warm melodic synth melody in the centre stages adds a unifying house touch, breaking things down before the pumping heavily swung rhythm re-enters and tails out the track.