House DJs, this one's for you. The No Reason release is a nice little package for the genre, containing the original track by Hatstandy Andy and five different remixes by various artists. Different flavors of funk, to be sure, but all house to the core.

This project, by Belgian producer Side, is very different and interesting. However, I am not a big fan of this genre and ultimately felt it feel short of a quality standard. It does show talent and creativity, but I feel the producer has yet to "come into his own".

"Rapture" is an excellent song, but I've heard it way too many times already. True, the remixers did great work in improving on the original, but ultimately I think we need to leave this genre behind and move forward.

Borrowing from the info that we got from the label, "This is a new mix CD series from Baroque Records. The concept is like Sasha's Involver where each track in the mix is a remix done by Shiloh for the mix. In some cases, what you are hearing is a remix of a remix." When I first read that, I was very excited. Being a fan of both Shiloh and Sasha's Involver, I could not wait to listen to this project.

At first glance, Dunamis' Revelations EP (Deeplife, 2006) brought to mind another drum n' bass record that I quite like: the hard, dark compilation The Horsemen Present: Apocalypse LP (Renegade Hardware, 2005). Both records are obviously apocalypse-themed and, in a general sense, of the same style. Both come from the hard, less R&B and hip-hop influenced side of drum n' bass.

This is a fun release with loads of play in the effects and overall aural soundscape. From a very bouncy bassline to tweaky melodies, this single brings fun back into dance music. It would be a great track to throw in any peak hour set, and I think will probably go down in history as one of the great tracks to be remembered for quite some time.

Although the label provided us with only two of the five songs, I did my best in evaluating the EP as a whole. The two songs, respectively, come with two different sides. On one side a shallow, commercial-sounding piece. On the other side a darker, more layered spin on the same concept.

the halogen ep is a jaunt into trance and breakbeat that I found myself liking considerably. But I am not sure if I am enjoying it because it reminds me of Cloud2Ground and similar groups or because it is original in itself. I do recommend it though, even if only because it leans on favorite elements in the genre.

Acid Winter is a bit of a departure from Spector's previous releases.  Those familiar with the dance duo will know that they definitely have a handle on contemporary production techniques, so the retro sound you'll find here might be surprising.

First, if there was a genre for this release, I would put it in vocal drum n bass. This is a 3-track EP, with radio and extended mixes of the title track "Elation" and another track called "Superconscious". The production quality is very good, compares on level with already released music on bigger labels, very well done.