A lesser-known secret weapon from the West End catalog. First off, check that big fat synthetic bass... slow and so damn hard. It's almost a shock to hear Barbara Mason's soulful chat / vocals over such a construction (you almost expect some...   click for more

When Debbie Deb got it right, she struck freestyle gold. "Lookout Weekend" is her biggest banger and has been covered by giants like Janet Jackson, been on countless mixtapes, and has opened everyone from Diplo to my Puerto Rican neighbors - people...   click for more

Had to consult the Mr Fresh bible on this one (our trusty spiral-bound promo version, bien sur, suckas and japanese), and of course there is both a label scan and a "highly sought-afte" tagline. What else makes these things happen these days?...   click for more

Like the title says, this is SERIOUS party music. Ednah Holt's "Serious, Sirius Space Party" is slow burning space disco funk that gets you deep into the groove thanks to production from Kenton Nix (the man behind many West End classics). Real...   click for more

Full length offering from the Truth & Soul (Soul Fire) in-house boys, compiling all their previous 7" only singles (but not that one great 12, you gotta hunt it down yourself) plus about 6 brand new tracks. These guys are honest-to-goodness talented,...   click for more

Ed's note: Woodman wrote this before all the Roots/Pitbull hoopla was in effect, which has made "Din Daa Daa" something of a no-brainer compared to the "daring" choice that it was a couple years ago. George Kranz, take your place in the...   click for more

1976's Harlem Underground has firmly established its place as a digger's classic. The faceless band (produced by Paul Winley, including such notable players as George Benson, Dave Cortez, and Willis Jackson) is a perfect expression of blaxploition music, break aesthetics, and 70s...   click for more

It's a safe bet to call this one of the top 5 electro records of all time. (In fact, Electro Empire ranks it #2.) Hashim worked as a janitor at Tommy Boy for a year and learned the business. In '83, he...   click for more

LAB EARLY EXCLUSIVO: This is the first time this title has been available digitally. TTL Digital will have an exclusive rights to this release for a set amount of time. The promo sticker for this highlights these selling points: "the drummer that...   click for more

"Is It All Over My Face" is one of the most classic underground dance tracks ever. Its winning combination of insanely funky, minimal proto-house percussion, bass and keyboard work (courtesy of leftfield disco genius Arthur Russell) and great sleazy, double-entendre lyrics -...   click for more

Whoa. I had no idea so many versions of Jam On It existed! This compilation seriously has a version to suit every taste imaginable. Personally, I'd go for the original heavy electrofunk flavor of the "Back In Da Dayz Old School Mix"...   click for more

This is a live double album recorded at London's Barbican in May 2006, where Os Mutantes reunited after nearly 30 years off. If that doesn't have you geeked, I don't know what to tell you. All I have to say is: GOD-DAMN,...   click for more

Freddy Fresh claims that 1979's "Rhymin And Rappin" was the first rap record. That's a separate debate, but what is not debatable is the silkly smoothness of Paulette & Tanya's flow, check the effortless glide over the ultra-funky backing. Flipside here...   click for more

This is gonna be really easy, "Do It To The Music." It's that really fucking classic, universally appealing disco shit- even my mom likes this song. It's great warm up stuff and it's also great end of the night make sexy dance...   click for more

Here's another big money 12inch re-issued for the masses. Upon first listen you're probably gonna feel just like I did, a big SO?! So what's the big deal, an ok record that costs too much money? Wrong! Wrong! Get your ears together...   click for more

The Shoes series is definitely one of my favorites, delivering a string of Lab bestsellers with edits of "Love And Happiness," "Why Can't We Be Together" and "Shades of Jae." This might be the series' most creative release yet, as in a...   click for more

"Love and Happiness" has recently been the subject of several successful remixes. It's quite amazing how it translates so easily into downtempo and even house frames, which speaks volumes about Willie Mitchell's original production. This new version is my personal favorite thus...   click for more

Hands down, Shoes is one of the top re-edits series around. While everyone and their mamas are re-editing Italo tracks that nobody's ever heard of, Shoes attacks classics and diggers' favorites with the DJ in mind. Checkout the wicked beats re-edit of...   click for more

Three more flawless edits from these mysterious Chicagoans, best known for their "Love & Happiness" and "Why Can't We Live Together" edits. They lead off with "Are You Crazy?," a blazing versions of the Chi-Lites' "Are You My Woman?," whose heavy breaks...   click for more