TURNTABLE LAB

V/A
Watch How The People Dancing: Unity Sounds From The London Dancehall 1986-1989 2LP

vintage 80s digital reggae compiled

Leave it to UK's Honest Jon's label to reissue a definitive collection of productions from legendary London sound system Unity Sound. In the 80's, Unity was one of the greatest dancehall sound systems, revolutionizing the dancehall with fresh digital dubs from Jamaica including King Jammy's anthem Under Mi Sleng Teng. Inspired by Sleng Teng, Unity produced their own casio-tone, 8-bit versions that can be found here on this brilliant compilation. It's easy to see where current digi-dub labels (Jahtari, Hyperdub, etc) are getting their inspiration from with all this tough vintage stuff! Thankfully they've included both vocal mixes and versions for all the riddims included. 21 tracks total. Recommended.
reviewed by snackmaster

file under:
dance - lab recommended / reviewer recommended / reviewer reccomended / reggae albums + comps / and more

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Virgo
Virgo CD

classic deep Chicago house album

Classic and much overlooked deep house album from 1989 by Merwyn Sanders and Eric Lewis aka Virgo (not to be confused with Marshall Jefferson and Adonis' Virgo) gets its first official repress from Rush Hour. This album is considered as one of the best of its kind by house heads and it's easy to hear why. Think the best elements of Trax legends like Larry Heard, Marshall Jefferson, and Armando rolled into one free flowing album. Deep pianos and strings, jackin beats and bass - this is beautiful house music. Really isn't a dull moment on the whole thing. Remastered for extra bump with new artwork too. Recommended.
reviewed by snackmaster

file under:
dance - lab recommended / reviewer recommended / reviewer reccomended

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Bost & Bim
The Bombing: The Very Best of Bost & Bim Reggae Remixes LP

reggae remixes of classic soul, funk, and rock jams

Awesome collection of reworks from French reggae production duo Matthieu Bost and Jeremie Dessus (Bim). They get busy giving a steady reggae skank to twelve classic soul, funk, and rock jams from absolutely legendary artists and manage to pull it off with style and finesse. Check how smooth their version of Marvin's "Let's Get It On(1)" and "Sexual Healing(2)" sounds for starters. Pretty good, no? And how cool are Sting's vocals over a proper dub on "Message In A Bottle(3)"? They even manage to get the Supremes(4), Janis Joplin(5), and Stevie Wonder(6) sounding right over island flavors, but once they hit the Beatles(7) I'm 100% sold on these dudes' skills. Great stuff all around and essential for anyone who dug the excellent Motown Flies Jamaica LPs. Recommended.
reviewed by snackmaster

file under:
dance - lab recommended / reviewer recommended / reviewer reccomended / current dancehall + hip-hop remixes + acapellas / and more

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2 Many DJs
Radio Soulwax Live: Get Yer Yo Yo's Out, Pt.4 CD

live mix featuring 50 songs from all over the dance spectrum

Volume four of 2 Many DJs' series of live mixes. They don't really give many details about where this was recorded (they simply say that the venue was "Earth"), but the crowd noise is included and it sounds like those who were lucky enough to be there were going absolutely bonkers. The boys bring out that trade mark style of theirs, quickly switching between classic dance tracks, new electro, and rock to craft a mix that can be pretty dizzying (almost all of the tracks play for less than two minutes). All in all, there's 50 tracks from artists like Chemical Brothers, Mr. Oizo, Gossip, David Guetta, MGMT, Daft Punk, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Queen, The Clash, Klaxons, Walter Murphy, Michael Jackson, Depeche Mode, Major Lazer, Tiga, Nirvana, and many, many, more.
reviewed by Hires


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V/A
Message From The Tribe: An Anthology of Tribe Records 1972-1976 CD

spiritual jazz from legendary Detroit label collected

Essential compilation of spiritual jazz tracks from the Tribe Record label. Tribe Records came out of the wasteland that was early 70's Detroit. The city was once home to Motown and the country's largest auto manufacturing center, but come 1970, the city was in "a cultural and industrial void." Out of the ashes came Tribe, a label formed by the creative black jazz players left in the city, that proudly released records for 5 years under the m.o. "Music is the healing force of the Universe." This album contains a history of the label from 1972 - 76 through incredible tracks from such notable and influential artists such as Phil Ranelin(1,2), Doug Hammond(3,4), Marcus Belgrave(5), Wendell Harrison(6), and the TRIBE collective(7, 8, 9). This deluxe CD version also includes an incredible 60 page booklet containing liner notes on the label, as well as articles and features from the Tribe magazine which circulated at the time in Detroit (graphic design heads will want to check the vintage styles in there too) and a handful of Tribe postcards. 12 tracks total. Recommended.
reviewed by snackmaster

file under:
dance - lab recommended / reviewer recommended / reviewer reccomended

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Muse
The Disc Jockey Headphones - Orange

retro style headphones

Cool retro-style headphones from Muse. The Discjockey model gives you that old school DJ look while providing deep bass and crisp highs with 40mm drivers. The fully adjustable headband ensures the perfect fit on your noggin with quality earpads that fit over your ears for extended listening comfort and durability. Also features a reinforced nylon cord that is much more flexible and durable than a standard plastic cord and also helps eliminate annoying tangles.

- Driver Unit 40mm
- Frequency Response 20-20.000Hz
- Sensitivity 105+-3dB
- Max Input Power (mW) 100mW
- Cord Length (approx) 2.1m
- Plug Type 3.5mm Jack
reviewed by the mgmnt

file under:
listening + audiophile - headphones / dj equipment - new arrivals

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Wolfmother
White Feather (Sebastian Tellier, Burns, Bang Gang) Pic Disc 12"

vintage-sounding rock with electro house remixes

Everyone knows that Wolfmother and electro go together like peanut butter and bananas. "White Feather(1)" features that classic sound that they're so good at, makes me want to go buy a Camaro. French synth wizard Sebastian Tellier arpeggiates the hell out of it and gives the whole thing a real gothic vibe(2). Things pick up on the flip side, with Burns taking the vocals and turns them into a relentless siren(3), and Bang Gang flips it with an electro-rock vibe(4). Of course, you get all of that and a great looking, limited edition picture disc as well.
reviewed by Hires

file under:
new rock / rock + new wave + 80/90s / new electro + electro rock + rave / new electro / electro rock / rave / and more

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Muhsinah
Always (Flying Lotus, 00Genesis) 7"

future soul beats

Singer/producer Muhsinah teams up with pioneering LA new school beatsmith Flying Lotus and DC's 00Genesis for her latest release on All City. It's a bubbling future soul affair on "Always (Smile)(1)" with 00Genesis providing a nice backdrop for Muhsinah's vocals (and pitch shifted backup) while Flylo conjures up a hazy beat for "Lose My Fuse(2)." Cool pic sleeve too.
reviewed by snackmaster

file under:
new school beats - vinyl / downtempo + electronic - vinyl / downtempo + electronic - all / vinyl new arrivals

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Theo Parrish
Suggested Use Pt.1 CD

limited mix from one of Detroit's finest

Awesome mix from Theo Parrish, easily one of Detroit's most highly regarded DJ/producers. If you ever had the chance to see Theo do his thing live, you know how incredible he is on the decks. If you have never had the pleasure, do yourself a favor and cop this mix to see how it's done. He works it like a true master - seamlessly blending the finest deep and soulful house, spiritual jazz, funk, soul and R&B selections - all the while also getting deep with those EQ's. Features tracks from Larry Heard, 3 Chairs, Mike Dunn, Headhunters, Dam Funk, Skye, Gladys Knight, Patrice Rushen, and more.
reviewed by snackmaster


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Gakken
Mini Electric Guitar Kit

mini-electric guitar from Japan

The DIY heads at Gakken have done it again, this time with a miniature guitar! The guitar features real electronic circuitry, a pick up, 1/4" output and four strings. The assembly instructions are in japanese, but they're heavily illustrated (if you can build furniture from Ikea, this should be no problem), and best of all there's no soldering required! Comes with a history of electric guitars as well as tablature for popular rock songs as well as traditional songs. Recommended.
reviewed by Hires

file under:
books & design - new arrivals / dance - lab recommended / reviewer recommended / reviewer reccomended / and more

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WESC
WESC x Medicom Swedish Bongo Box Set w/ Be@rbrick

custom headphones with exclusive Be@brick

Cool collaboration between WESC and Japanese toy company MEDICOM. They've put their minds together and come up with this cool Bongo and Bearbrick (only available with these headphones) set that feature a unique pattern printed allover on both. All the same quality is there, so rest assured your ears won't know the difference. This pair features 40mm power drivers for a loud crisp listen and 33 ohms of impedence making these perfect for portable devices(ipods, cd players). Also, with a frequency range of 20-20,001 hz you won't miss a thing and the gold plated 3.5 Stereo plug makes the connection cyrstal clear. As reliable as they are stylish.

- Type: 40mm power drivers,
- 1khz Sensitivity: 120 dB
- Impedance: 33 ohms
- Frequence Range: 20-20 001 Hz,
- Plug: Gold-plated 3.5 Stereo
reviewed by the mgmnt

file under:
wesc - headphones / dj + studio headphones / listening + audiophile - headphones / and more

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WESC
Stretch Armstrong Bongo Premium Headphones - Orange / Blue

custom signature edition

Stretch Armstrong edition Bongos. This is the second time Wesc has given Stretch a pair of signature headphones (the first were the Bagpipes), and this time the Bongos get a wild custom colorway. All the same quality is there, so rest assured your ears won't know the difference. This pair features 40mm power drivers for a loud crisp listen and 33 ohms of impedence making these perfect for portable devices(ipods, cd players). Also, with a frequency range of 20-20,001 hz you won't miss a thing and the gold plated 3.5 Stereo plug makes the connection cyrstal clear. As reliable as they are stylish.

- Type: 40mm power drivers,
- 1khz Sensitivity: 120 dB
- Impedance: 33 ohms
- Frequence Range: 20-20 001 Hz,
- Plug: Gold-plated 3.5 Stereo
reviewed by the mgmnt

file under:
wesc - headphones / dj + studio headphones / listening + audiophile - headphones / and more

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