Garry Todd - The life and times of the California hat EP

Recording info

For the second outing on Illusion Recordings, the burgeoning label welcome back their very own Garry Todd for his first full solo release - the autobiographical 'Life & Times of the California Hat EP'.

For all those not familiar with Mr. Garry Todd he's the larger than life character (with a larger than life beard) originally from Sunderland, who has spent the last 6 years chasing the never ending summer, DJing, promoting and living it up in Sydney (Australia) for 8 months of the year with the other 4 months spent doing the same in Ibiza - It's a tough old life! But underneath his trademark California hat and Macam accent lies a talented musician andDJ ready to funk you up. Garry's first track surfaced on Australia's finest Beef Records in 2009, then it was on to the legendary 20:20 Vision label for his second release as part of the deadly Acid Mondays collective in 2010. The awesome 'Dice Me Up', a funked up early 90's disco house jam that followed up a year later on Illusion's debut release, gained widespread support from artists across the spectrum including Soul Clap, Deetron and Robert Owens. For Illusion 002, Garry again delves into the classic House and Disco erawhilst showcasing his undeniably fresh sound and trademark infectious grooves.

On the A-side we have the cheeky '24 Hour Party Sausage', where Garry takes us back to the sounds of the early 90's UK rave scene. It's a peak time old school vocal affair with a raw, analog bassline, stuttered drums and chopped up stabbed vocals. Stepping up for remix duty on this future classic is The Mole who flips the original on its head and creates a dancefloor creeper for those darker club moments. Winding the bassline and metallic beats between the rawness of the original groove and imparting his trademark spooky percussion, rhythms and eerie vocals.

B-side 'Vacation in Sunderland' is a love story with a firm salute to the classic down tempo US house of the 90's. Its time to dust off those shell suits, high top sneakers and Cazal shades and get ready for another slung back, funked out Garry Todd house jam with growling, rolling bass and seductive vocals and keys. On the remix front fellow Illusion family members

Death on the Balcony step up with a classic house masterstroke that compliments Garry's slower and sleazier original. Here DOTB pick up the pace in a brilliantly original rework that accentuates the vocals and piano hook to create a summer house anthem - a stylish finish to another diverse installment from the Illusion crew.