00Deep - A Review Of The Decade - 2009

2009 was a testing time for NRK, with the label having to downsize and restructure itself, and so the year started slowley, with those involved taking some time to reorganise and evaluate the future of the label. However, you can't keep an old dog down for too long, and the label fired out a serious contender for "compilation of the year".

Planned in 2008 and finally released in April 09, Loco Dice, the infamous DC10 resident and doyen of deep grooves, compiled and mixed the first in NRK's new mix CD series, The Lab. Designed to let the selector experiment with music, the Lab 01 found Loco Dice rejuvinate his love of pure deep house, and so his double CD spanned the more techno orientated sounds that he is know for as well as some classic deep house sounds from the likes of Nick Holder, 95 North, Tyree Cooper and many more. The Lab 01 was a great success, Loco Dice scooping the front cover of British dance bible iDJ, and the album appearing in the Resident Advisor Top 20 compilations of 2009.



September of this year saw The Lab reappear, this time with fellow German-based DJ/producer Steve Bug at the helm. Notorious for his labels Poker Flat and Dessous, Bug mixed up a double CD delight for The Lab, again pushing the sound towards the deeper end of the spectrum, as Loco Dice did. Choice cuts from MCDE, DJ Koze, H.O.S.H, Ben Klock and Joris Voorn made this compilation a must have for lovers of the deep tech groove.

Back In The Box also carried the torch for retrospective compilations, this time it was Chi-town legend DJ Sneak who got to ransack his record collection, all in the name of creating a mix that will drag you down memory lane to some of house music's most memorable years. Sneak literally slayed the turntables on this double mix, including blinding tunes from the likes of Daft Punk, Ian Pooley, Cajmere, Bob Sinclar, Cricco Castelli and Global Communications. Sneak showed us a masterclass in jackin, boompety house, with flawless mixing and tune selection.



And Belgium's Spirit Catcher offered us a brilliant mix in (the last of) the Coast2Coast series. A superb, contemporary mix of great electronic dance, Spirit Catcher selected great music from the likes of Carl Craig, Johnny D, Jerome Sydenham, Matthias Tanzmann and Motorcitysoul.



NRK got back on the singles racks in September of 09, after an absence of a year, with new singles by Scope (including a massive Kruse & Nuernberg remix), David Durango (with Tony Lionni and NRK's Nick Harris on the mix), Spencer Parker and a new single from Detroit's Kris Wadsworth (enlisting David Alvarado and Nick Harris for remix duties).

David Alvarado returns to the fold

David Alvarado, the LA based house veteran, makes a welcome return to the music scene this month with a remix of Kris Wadsworth's "Direct". Alvarado has been a long time associate of NRK Music, and released the ultra deep mini album, "Transiguration" on the label back in 2004.

David has been a consistent favourite on the house scene since his early productions for Strictly Rhythm, Groove On, Yoshi Toshi and Ovum in the 90s, as well as productions for legendary labels such as Peacefrog, Guidance and Plastic City. Recent years has seen David taking a back seat from the wheels of music production, but it is hoped that his remix here for NRK will spark the flames of musicality for more productions to come out over the next year.

His remix of Kris Wadsworth's "Direct" is in classic Alvarado style, heavy tribal beats, dubby reverberations, trippy deepness, and dense and engaging production. His remix is already picking up support from the likes of Dixon,Rocky (X-Press 2), Paul Woolford and Jay Tripwire.

Wadsworth's new EP comprises two tracks, "Direct" and "Full Body", both treading similar paths of stripped back, raw house tracks. Bleepy yet with plenty of deepness, it's refreshing to see a producer out there not following suit, but producing an individual sound. Certainly these tracks are intended for those who like their house deeper than the black hole!

The package is completed by a remix from NRK's Nick Harris, who neatly moulds "Full Body" into a more club firendlier version, utilizing some of the original's chords and bleeps and turning out a solid, hypnotic rework.

Kris Wadsworth "Direct"/"Full Body" is released on 30th November as a digital EP, with the vinyl release concentrating on Alvarado's remix of "Direct" and the original Wadsworth version.

Direct (David Alvarado Remix)
Direct (Original Mix)
Full Body (Original Mix)
Full Body (Nick Harris Remix)

Back to basics with Kris Wadsworth

Kris Wadsworth, an artist who has had an incredible year to date, with releases and remixes on labels like Poker Flat, Hypercolour, Dark Energy and Fresh Meat, showcases two fresh new tracks on NRK Music next month.

Renowned for his "back to basics" approach of house, prefering the raw and gritty sounds of yesteryear to the somewhat sleeker production sounds of the current crop, Detroit based Wadsworth drops two tracks in his own inimitable style.

The new EP comprises two tracks, "Direct" and "Full Body", both treading similar paths of stripped back, raw house tracks. Bleepy yet with plenty of deepness, it's refreshing to see a producer out there not following suit, but producing an individual sound. Certainly these tracks are intended for those who like their house deeper than the black hole!

Kris Wadsworth "Direct"/"Full Body" gets a release on 2nd November with remixes.

Full Body
Direct
Kris Wadsworth Myspace