Fort Romeau, Jacques Renault, Evren Furtuna, Joyce Muniz
Seriously guys, so sorry for the downtime around here. While activity on Blog.H34 has been waning slowly over the past 2 years as I’ve focused the vast majority of my time and energy on my graduate work, that chapter of my life has reached it’s fever pitch, and a few months from now, I’ll have re-entered the world outside of the vacuum of academia once again…which I hope means that the content will start flowing anew, maybe even a redesign to reflect all that I know now about design & technology could lie in H34’s future.
Fort Romeau – Nights Bridge – Kingdoms
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This track by Fort Romeau caught me by surprise, and has been on heavy rotation ever since. The producer, Mike Norris, who plays for La Roux when he’s not exploring more interesting realms of electronic music, recently released Kingdoms, which has already been spreading like wildfire across various deep house circles of the internet. This beat is so catchy, is it two-on-the-floor? Halfstep? Whatever, give me more…it sounds like an entirely new sub-genre waiting to be explored. Kingdoms is most certainly a worthwhile listen, though many old school house heads may react with a measure of dismay to Norris’ shameless sampling. His referencing of Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers) in the track Jack Rollin’ is playful enough not to be insulting, but it doesn’t come close to the full-fledged exploration of the sound’s underlying themes, like what DJ Sprinkles did with Grand Central, Pt. I (Deep Into The Bowel Of House) on the new classic, Midtown 120 Blues (can we blame Norris if he wasn’t there at that time wearing drag? Who of us would have been brave enough to venture into the Bowel of the deep house when it was born?). At any rate, Nights Bridge, which unavoidably conjures up memories of the two times I’ve been to Knightsbridge, London, is an exciting track that has me hungry for more.
Roberto Rodriguez – Tell Me Feat. Kholi (Jacques Renault Remix) – (single)
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I started watching Twin Peaks recently, part of my 2012 resolution to get caught up on all the David Lynch I never got exposed to when I was younger. I knew of the disco/house mainstay Jacques Renault for a year or two before I knew of the Twin Peaks character. If you know both, you can imagine my disbelief when I found out that there are two Jacques Renaults in the world, and then double it when I learned that Jacques Renault may indeed be Jacques Renault’s real name. OK I’m starting to get dizzy, so let’s have a listen to an edit he did for Roberto Rodriguez‘s newest single, Tell Me. Rodriguez gives me something new every time he releases an EP, but Renault can always be relied upon for a specific, funked out, electro-tinged take on any track he touches. It makes for a really interesting combination when you put these two guys together. If you’ve never been to a party being DJ’ed by Jacques Renault, you should do yourself a huge favor and get to the next one!
Evren Furtuna – My Miracle Baby – My Miracle Baby EP
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I’ve got a perfect example here of how easy it can be to pass over a solid track when you judge a release by its album artwork. I won’t post or link it, you can Google it yourself if you’re interested enough, but let’s just say that in Evren Furtuna‘s case, there was a design that, while not sloppy or low-res, did less than nothing to convey the vibes of the sounds it signified. Rather, it’s a big turn off to anyone who doesn’t associate babies or greeting card aesthetics with underground house music. Anyway, since you aren’t seeing the album art and you have no reason to press play to this track besides your inquisitive nature, and my poorly-worded suggestions, you’ll have nothing to get in the way of your enjoyment. There’s a lot to like here, I’m curious to know who the vocal is, whether it’s a sample (my guess, since no other artist was credited in the track name) or if it was recorded, which would be impressive.
Joyce Muniz ft. Taliwa – Messin’ With My Mind (Original Vocal Mix) – (single)
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Last but not least, another solid offering from Joyce Muniz, holdin’ it down for the female deep house producers. While Maya Jane Coles has blown up in some circles, she hasn’t stolen the spotlight from other deep vixens like Nina Kraviz, Maayan Nidam, Kate Simko, who have each found comfortable places in respectable scenes. Joyce Muniz doesn’t seem to have hung her hat anywhere yet, with releases on Lo:Rise, Defected, and Exploited, among others, but you can tell by her poise that she will the moment she feels like it. You can also tell by her production that she is an acute purveyor of driving, slightly progressive but never plastic, and often eclectic house music that ranges from deep and dubby to bright and soulful, but always dope. Definitely one to keep an eye out for.
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