On the week that a drunk man ended up helping the police on a search for a missing person – who turned out to be himself – I go through the records so you don’t have to. And I assure you absolutely none of these will turn out to be mine…

Ralph Session – Cielo (totheRock)
Cielo, for those unaware, was a nightclub based in New York. It opened in 2003 and closed back in 2019. It’s much missed by sections of the dance music community – and I’m guessing it’s missed by Ralph Session too. There’s three mixes available here, and they’re all good. No duds to be found in this pack, but the Danny J Lewis mix was interesting. Slightly different to his usual output, but still with the character his productions have.

Richard Earnshaw & Steve Taylor Feat. Sulene Fleming – Get Up (Duffnote)
Mr Earnshaw does get quite a lot of stick in this column. But he does occasionally surprise – and that’s usually when his productions go in a more jazzy direction. This is on the deeper side of his output. Perhaps that’s the Taylor influence here – and it has to be said the vocals on this one are pretty captivating. Enjoyable.

Groove Assassin & Sol Brown Feat. Kayleigh Gibson – All We Need Is Love (Groove Odyssey)
Want to go back to 1994 for a few minutes? This reminds me a little of the notorious Dancing Divaz remix of “I Luv You Baby” by The Original. I suspect it would also feel very much at home amongst the piano house tracks doing the rounds today. The distinct lack of that Korg M1 plastic piano is welcome, as are Kayleigh Gibson’s vocals.

The Backroom Congregation – Sunday Morning (Soul Groove)
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you gave the prolific DJ Spen his next remix project, and then immediately stuck him in a time travel machine, sending him back to 1995? Something like this is the answer. The track starts in a vain like the recent Masters At Work remixes of “Love Changed Me”, and then that piano comes in, transporting you back to many a Basement Boys production from the 1990s. A slightly understated remix, but I think the vocal works better because of it. The dub is more of a reprise, which is a very nice surprise.

Sean McCabe – Wanna Be Good (Good Vibrations)
This column is a big fan of Sean McCabe dubs. There’s not many people these days who do them well, but he certainly turns up with the goods. This one isn’t labelled a dub, but might as well be. It has that late night feel they all do – chances are it actually was a dub of something which never got released, and why spend all that time on something people would never hear? Either way, this is a fun one…

By The Editor

Editor-in-chief at Amateur’s House.