dirtySi's Tunes of Note

Yes - I may be late to the party on this one, being as it was a standout track on Ministry's recent Clubbers Guide, but I had to recommend it as the reaction on the dancefloor when I finally got round to dropping it was fantastic. This brand of singalong 80's rip-offs is threatening to undermine House music's credibility, but so far the big tunes are staying just on the right side of the line.

With an arresting hook and some great cut up vocals, it's another party anthem guarunteed to get people dancing.

You can get a copy from Juno for £4.99.

Listen to a sample here.

Over the past year we've seen the rise of Electro, and it has metamorphasised into a more instrument driven form of house, centered largely around the guitar. Big hitters such as Mylo's remix of The Killers, Bodyrockers' "I Like The Way" and other gems have given the dancefloor a taste of filtered grunge. Happily this sub-genre continues to sound fresh and this annonymous promo crept into the CD player without a grand entrance, and yet totally captivated me.

Slow to build, but infectious, it uses "wide" sounds to give a sense of presence and atmosphere, and slowly winds up the grungier guitar sound into a catchy groove. I really got on with this tune, it sits nicely in a set as a segue between electro and grunge and the more swedish synth sound.

I'll look out for more from these guys and I'm enjoying the wide experimentation taking place in House today.

It's promo only at the moment, so no sample or purchase information, but see if you can hunt it down!

There about 200 new House records released on a weekly basis, including promos, full releases and white labels. Just getting through these is a mission, and it's sometimes down to a good knowledge of the major labels and players in the scene that you can refine your shortlist quickly, and listen to as many records that you think will be of a good quality. After all, there's only so much music you can listen to in a week. It's often the case that a good tune gets lost because it's not on a known label, or produced by a recognizable artist.

This tune of note would ordinarily have been passed over, being the debut single release for Liz McClarnon, formerly of Atomic Kitten. The remix package looked shoddy, with the Sucker DJs and K-Klubb on offer - both of whom usually throw up God-awful synth pop-trance synth abominations. And, true to form, they have. But then there was the Soul Seekerz Dub. I'd recently enjoyed their work on "Electric Shock 2005" and the recent collaboration wth Danni Minogue ("Perfection"), so I threw this on the deck.

Wow.

Piano House is back, and with the great "wobbly-bassline" House of the last few years influencing this you can't help but enjoy every moment. It builds on each of its layers, introducing more favourite classic House elements and the result is a well rounded and funky House rework. The gentle and subtle use of the vocal betrays it's pop heritage, but not in a bad way - they sit really nicely.

Great work from these guys - let's hear more!

It's promo only at the moment, so no sample or purchase information, but see if you can hunt it down!

Sneaking onto the decks as a cheeky whitelabel, this bootleg track appeared without anyone putting their name to it. Studious digging identifies it as our Brighton boy - Mr. Phatt, previously of Phatts and Small, and one of the most on form UK house producers of the moment.

Track 1 is the vocal mix, and the one to plump for. Great bassline and a snappy well produced mix.

Works really well on the dancefloor, and earmarks the Freemasons as an act to keep track of this year.

You can get a copy from Juno for £5.99.

Listen to a sample here.

The short burst, 30 second sample that rang in my ears as I surveyed the new tunes from the last couple of months stopped me dead. Coffee barely at my lips I held my cup in mid air, and without breathing I flicked my eyes to the media player - what the hell is this tune?! Coffee down I clicked repeat. And then I did it again. Then I bought it. I stuck it on repeat. FOR AN HOUR.

This is *huge*. This is what I will be playing out as my final tune for the next few weeks. Listen to it now.

I would tell you who produced it, and the label it's out on (Mena Music), and who A&R'd it. But none of that matters, just buy it and get on down. Yes, I'm listening to it now and yes I'm dancing. Don't Stop? Just try and make me!

You can get a copy from DJ Download for £1.49.

Listen to a sample here.

Data records sign another peak time gem. Stealing a vocal hook from Doug Lazy's Bass Power (sung by Pamela Frazier) this is all about the big club sound. Rising strings, piano, charging vocals and a sawn up log of a bassline - it's all there and it's very welcome.

The Data stable know their stuff, and with a remix package including Noferini and Tom Novy, they're making sure that all the bases are covered. Tom strips it down to resonate around the sine-wave bass lines that he has made his own, and Noferini go for the synth whine - a nice 1995 throwback sound. My money's on the Andy Van (Dorsselaer) remix though - he's back on form and I'm tipping him to be everywhere in 2006. For those of you new to his work he was one half of Australia's Madison Avenue, and is great mates with Tom Novy.

You can get a copy from DJ Download for £1.49p.

Listen to a sample here.

Oooooh yes! Nice start to 2006 this one... lots of chanting, lots of lovely 60's reggae influence, and stack loads of punch bass. As the bass laden, electro-stained end of 2005 showed, we do love a good blast of mashed up sine waves and full gain sub frequencies.

This track blesses such danceable excess with Portuguese vocals from the Sergio Mendes classic of the same name, made famous in recent times by the Austin Powers films. It's going to be popular on the club floor. Easy to chant along to, great for a bit of dancing and another cheeky bass heavy cut on the flip make this dark shiny circle a definite star in the record box for early 2006.

You can get a copy from Juno vinyl for £5.99.

Listen to a sample here.