Various Artists - Basement Traxx Vol.I

Recording info

SHIFT Ltd has already created quite the stir with its inaugural outings. The Italian imprint, owned and helmed by Gianluca Marcelli in collaboration with Francesco Gori , has already featured originals and remixes by the likes of Fabio Della Torre, Nasty Boy and DJ Spider, but it's their latest - a 4-track Various Artist EP - that looks set to cement their fledgling status as house purveyors of some repute.

Kicking off the EP is the sounds of Jordan Fields; a man who needs no introduction to fans of quality-strewn house music. The US native has been on a rich vein of form recently, with his productions - most notably on Dutch imprint Rush Hour - landing in the boxes of some of the scene's most celebrated acts. His purple patch very much continues unabated on 'Stay On The Path', a whimsical, almost celestial track that makes smart use of a series of analogue chords and a ubiquitous melodic charge.

Capitalising on the package's early promise is the aforementioned Gianluca Marcelli, who opts for a more uptempo - albeit ominous soundscape - on the snare-soaked 'Gangsta'. Stuffed to the brim with groove-soaked sounds and a mound of clever claps, it saunters at a swaggering and charming pace that's difficult to find fault with.

Little Hado's majestic 'Curtea Interioara' is another sophisticated slice of party-starting house music, with its brash kicks wonderfully at odds with its sporadic piano flourishes. Finally, DNArT's 'Planet' - complete with its twinkling, sonic soundscapes, its futuristic leanings and its bassline-led charge - forces obvious parallels with vintage Red Planet records; both in title and in sound. Make no mistake about it: this is classy stuff that's been tailor made for the more discerning side of the house music spectrum.

By DJ VOICE