Lawrence Friend, Author at Public House UK

Ramiro Lopez – Chunky Cattish EP

Here’s something new out on the legendary Suara Music. A three part EP from Ramiro Lopez called Chunky Cattish. Now, I am a huge fan of Ramiro’s work and find that his productions always go down well in any mainroom tech set I play, and this EP is no different, it is awesome!

For a change, I’m not going to go through the three tracks individually as to give them the real credit they deserve you’ll need to listen to them on a decent set of speakers. They all consist of amazing bassline grooves and big bouncy tech drums. This is possibly my favourite EP so far this year, and that is a big thing for me to say! Have a listen..

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Preview: Groovetonic & Olivian DJ, SOLLORS – Tekknology EP, Vol. 3

Forthcoming on the new, more underground sister label of Jungle Funk, called Jungle Tekk Recordings, is this amazing tech/techno EP. Consisting of two tracks by different artists, and both completely different too; we’ll start with the first track..

Produced by Groovetonic & Olivian DJ is this track called ‘Beat’. It kicks off with some big sketchy tech drums before a nice little drum fill before this big deep bassline groove. It builds really nicely with new sounds coming in continuously, then breaks down and re-builds with a big long riser and loads of cowbell!! Then bang, it smashes straight back into the bass groove. Such a high energy track, I cannot wait to play this in a main room gig and watch the energetic reaction, great tune. The second track on this EP is by Sollors, and is called ‘Oprah’. This track couldn’t be any more different from the first on the EP. Kicking off with some big techno drums and a simple repetitive piano chord, then in comes the famous Oprah Winfrey Lifeclass vocal from one of her ‘Taking Responsibility Of Your Life’ speeches, very cleverly cut up. Throughout the track these is some really nice percussion including little bongo fills which give the track a nice identity. This is definitely one for the deeper techno heads, absolute choon! Not sure of the release date yet but keep your eyes peeled, and your ear to the ground as it’s gonna be big..

Check out the Soundcloud link and support the artist by buying the track on Beatport/Traxsource when it is released:

Siwell – Pagoda

Now here’s someone who’s featured a few times before on this website. Head honcho at Sphera Records ‘Siwell’ brings us this nice bouncy tech number. A really addictive bass pattern and cleverly flowing drums and percussion. One thing that I really like about Siwell’s production is his use of percussion and drum fills; genius! This track has a really nice piano riff that really puts the bounce into this one. absolutely love it! Available now on Beatport..

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Barry Obzee & Lawrence Friend – Grinning

Well I haven’t posted for quite some time now, the reason behind this is that my beautiful girlfriend gave birth to our son at the beginning of the year and it’s taken it’s toll on my free time and has taken some getting used to! However, things are now on track and you’ll be happy to know that I’m now back to reviewing all your favourite house tracks. This time though I have also recruited another track reviewer who’s going to help out and take Public House UK to the next level. I will do all of the introductions in due time!

Right so let’s get to it… I thought it would be relevant to return with a track from myself and Barry Obzee which was recently released on Lucas Reyas’ label ‘Jango Music’. This is a label that has gone from strength to strength recently, with some top artist releases, we are very grateful to be on this label.

So the track is called ‘Grinning’ and is a nice little tech bouncer with a simple 3-key bass pattern, loads of breakdowns and build-ups. We managed to sample the vocal from a really old track (10 points if you can tell me where from!!), cut it up and laid it over our beats, fortunately it worked! We have had loads of great feedback on this release from some of the industries greatest. Have a listen and see what you think, available now…

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Rino(IO)DJ – The Peace Train (Black Legend Project Remix)

I’ll start by saying that I am a huge fan of this track! This is new out on Jungle Funk Recordings and has been remixed by Black Legend Project. He is becoming a favourite on this website, I’ve mentioned him a few times lately!

The main, most recognisable parts of this track are the horn and brass sections. They bounce really cleverly with the hats. I love the deep bass pattern, the rolling snares, the vocals, everything really! Very well thought out and produced, Black Legend has done it again!

Grab your copy on Beatport now…

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Matteo DiMarr ft Tony Leh-Lo Rabaloa – Stratosphere

I haven’t reviewed much in the way of ‘main room’ house music for a while as I’ve really been feeling a lot of the more tech/techno tracks that have been coming out. But, I was recently pointed to this release from some friends of mine in the industry and I’m glad they did! This is something fresh out on Zulu Records from Matteo DiMarr.

The initial breakdown has some really nice repetitive piano chords which gradually built before everything disappears, and a ragga style topline introduces a HUGE bassline drop! If I was asked to compare the bassline to any other recent track, I’d say it most resembles something that Oliver Heldens has brought out recently, although not the same sound or pattern, I’m referring to the feel only! This is an all round great track, well produced without feeling cheesy, and guaranteed to get some hands in the air.

Available now on Beatport, why not slip it into your next set?

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Darius Syrossian – Listen Up EP

Here’s something fresh out on Definition:Music from producer ‘Darius Syrossian’. Now this is a name that I’ve been familiar with for quite some time as I’ve been playing his stuff both on the radio and out in the clubs. This release is a three part EP consisting of both a dub and vocal mix of a track called ‘Give You Some’, as well as another track called ‘Drop Your Gimmicks’.

The track ‘Give You Some’ has a nice bouncy bass pattern with an almost acid feel to it. There are loads of offbeat snares adding to the rhythm. There are a couple of breakdowns and they work really well, nice builds too. The vocal mix is the same but with a really nice recognisable vocal cut up and cleverly placed throughout. Tried and tested, it’s awesome!

‘Drop Your Gimmicks’ is a very well produced deep, techy track with a punchy bassline sat under some sketchy hats and some lovely old skool pads. I love the talking vocal in this too. This is a great release, I can’t wait to play it again!

Available now on Beatport..

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Alvaro Munoz – Piritz (TTBP Remix)

When sifting through the hundreds of tracks we get sent everyday, I regularly come across emails sent from up & coming labels or producers with a link to their track, and a brief description saying something along the lines of “this would be perfect for your website, you must hear it”. When listening to the track I’d say that 95% of the time it’s something that we would never feature on this site and usually something that resembles electro or EDM, which is not really our kinda thing (no offence to the EDM lovers out there, it’s just not my cuppa!).

Well, when going through my emails today and I came across a nice, polite email from a Spanish production duo called ‘TTBP’. The email pointed me to their latest production so I had a listen. It was a remix of Alvaro Munoz’s ‘Piritz’…

If you are a lover of dark, mysterious minimal techno then this is one for you. Loads of great elements kicking in and dropping out, some pitched down vocals and some nice sketchy hats. It certainly helped that I turned off all the lights in my studio and cranked this right up. Try it yourself, it’s awesome!

This track is available now from Beatport, grab your copy now!

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Mark Knight & Adrian Hour – Get Down

Now here is something fresh from the governor over at Toolroom Records, Mark Knight has teamed up with Adrian Hour to produce a new two track EP. For this review, we are going to talk specifically about the track ‘Get Down’ instead of the EP title track ‘Suzee’. As much as I like the track Suzee, I absolutely love every part of Get Down and feel that I need to feature it here.

So, lets go through the elements that make this track so good, starting with the bass. The bassline has an amazing bouncy techno feel to it which instantly makes it accessible to any tech house or techno dj set. It’s deep, it’s dirty, and I love it. Secondly we’ll talk about the vocal, well we have all heard that vocal snippet before from Loleatta Holloway. In this track they have taken the perfect top line; and repeated it! As simple as it is, it just works! And the final element I want to mention is that snare! Throughout the track there features an offbeat snare pattern which filters in and out, I love the way it sticks about in the track after the main drop. It kinda reminds me of Nicky Romero’s remix of Flash by Green Velvet.

Whatever way you look at it, this track is a dancefloor weapon! I first spotted this on a Facebook video posted by Adrian Hour about a month ago, and I’ve been hunting it down ever since!

Now I have it, I’m a happy man! It’s available now, grab your copy..

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Damon Grey (aka Lucas Reyes) & Black Legend Project – This Is Me

Now here is a label that has kept popping up on my radar over the past year or so. Jango Music have been pushing out some awesome releases from some massive producers. For this release they have exceeded themselves as well as Damon Grey (aka Lucas Reyes) producing this track, he was joined by Italian producer ‘Black Legend Project’, who had a UK number one years back with his Barry White cover ‘You See The Trouble With Me’.

This release however, is nothing like his old stuff! Think punchy basslines and big techy drums paired with some big risers, repeating tech toplines and a great spoken vocal. Both producers have done well with this one. A definite main room banger! Grab your copy now…

Click here to buy on Beatport:

Peter Brown – G Dancer

Something new out on Hotfingers by Peter Brown. This producer has been around quite a while and right now is definitely his time, he is hammering the industry with some absolutely amazing productions.

Peter’s original mix of ‘G Dancer’ is nice and bouncy with some huge piano chords, and a chunky bass pattern to suit. I like the breakdown in particular as there are some nice building sirens wailing underneath an American male speech vocal. Huge tune, I’ve bought it already!

Along with the original mix is a more techy remix from ‘Kid Shakers’, they make use of some big piercing hats, chopped up vocals and a nice filtered rhodes stab. Definitely one for the main room! Very well produced and with a label like Hotfingers, I’m sure it’ll get a lot of attention and the credit it deserves!

Available now, get it!

Click here to buy on Beatport: