Various Artists – 3am Wax Vol 4
Established in 2003, Al Bradley’s 3am mainstay has long been a bastion of quality underground house music amongst a sea of mediocrity. I first came across the label circa 2005, stumbling on the excellent Sound Navigators remix of Ben Dean and I’ve been a fan ever since. Here on the fourth instalment of the “3am Wax” series, the model follows the previous three with a various artists EP encompassing 4 excellent tracks.
Up first with “I Told Ya” is regular contributor Carlo Gambino (Breaking news, Bare Bones have just signed an EP from Carlo!). Sitting somewhere between deep house and minimal it’s all about the low end and groove before a rather cheeky vocal rears its head. Lee Guthrie joins the party with his techier “Truffle Shuffle” that gives more than a nod to the West Coast vibe of the early noughties. Next up is the don of Mastering, Rob Small with “Fear & Loathing” (Breaking news part 2, Rob will be mastering all Bare Bones vinyl releases!). Originally released digitally we are treated to swingy percussion, sublime sub bass and vocal snippets to great effect. The final track is by label head honcho Al Bradley who delivers a deep beauty called “The Golden Ratio”. Lush warm pads and a dubby feel makes it a perfect chugger to round off the package nicely. Out now at all good vinyl outlets.