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1997 will be remembered as the year Kenny "Dope" Gonzales and "Little" Louie Vega smashed the preconceptions of what house had to sound like with their Nu Yorican Soul project. They're back to the four on the floor, but they've paired it with Vincent Montana Jr. on vibes, Albert "Sterling" Melendez on keys, bass by Gene Perez, and India on vocal duties. "To Be In Love" is actually cowritten by Montana and hopefully is a sign that he's stepped back onto the scene. Another must have vocal wise is "Fall Down", the latest from Michael Proctor. Produced by The Urban Blues Project (Marc Pomeroy & Brian Tappert), and with tasty live horns, bass, and guitar licks, this is yet another winner. Byron Stingily is still flying high with the Mousse T-produced "Sing A Song" [Nervous/New York], but he's teasing us when it comes to the full length. "The Purist" was originally scheduled to drop in November, but they're still working on it and it won't be available until February 10. Damn. His cover of Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" is up next and slated for late January. Labelmate Kim English is touring with Stingily right now and getting high marks for "Learn 2 Luv", produced by the ubiquitous (but always on the mark) Mood II Swing and out with a plethora of mixes. Her "Nitelife" album was apparently also just around the corner, but now won't be out until April. Still on the vocal tip, Althea McQueen is belting it out in fine style on "I Believe" [Velocity/Memphis], an Al Mack production with mixes courtesy of Thinkhead, Dub Tronic, and Cevin Fisher. The UK's Multiply imprint is milking as much out of Basement Jaxx's "Fly Life" as they can, though the new Cajmere take is worth grabbing. Jii Hoo is not yet a familiar name, but you can expect that to change. Info on this artist is scarce, but suffice it to say this is house as only the French can do. The vocal for "Let Me Luv U" is eerily warm, sounding like a sample of a sixties male soul singer. Please, let's have some more. On to the tracks now, Guidance continues to do no wrong. Check out their latest batch of twelves featuring music from Iz and Diz ("The Bioflavanoids" EP), Glenn Underground ("Return Of C.V.O."), and the mighty Boo Williams ("Twelve Tribes" EP). Terrence Parker's new EP for !K7 shares a title with his recent full length, but the material is all new. The downtempo original of "Play-ah Hate-ah" rubs shoulders with a scorching housed version, while "Tatjana Speaks" on the flip is wonderful. Syndicate Of Law work a Roger sample to the bone for more chunkiness, while the matrix for the new one from the Stickmen's Aquarius label reads "DISCO 11" and that just about describes it. The aforementioned Dope one is back on Henry Street as Ken Dog for the "Bucketbeetleg" EP, a collection of raw, latin influenced bonus beats. Victor Calderone's "Beat Me Harder" [Eightball/New York] is aptly titled. This is hard as nails and apparently remains glued to the tables of Vasquez and Tenaglia. Cajual's head is back in his Green Velvet guise to give his "Answering Machine" a going over with Mark Grant. Despite what the man says, you do need this shit. The prolific K Hand is out with some ghetto tracks and jacking electro on her "Project 69" five-tracker. Pagan United Kingdom is getting serious appreciation for the "Throat Cutters" EP from Souledge. This underwater house supergroup is comprised of Miles Hollway and Elliot Eastwick (the masterminds behind Paper), Ralph Lawson, and Carl Finlow. The Global Communications boys record under a whole fleet of names and seem to run just as many labels. Paul Hester's "The Voyage" is on their Heard imprint. Perhaps a tribute to Larry? Top 15 1. Jii Hoo--"Let Me Luv U" 12" [F Communications/Paris]
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