#DiggingInTheShelves No. 27
Digital Minds - Beautiful Tones EP
Nightshift Recordings (2005)
https://www.discogs.com/release/487155

Nightshift was a trusted house label for me back in the day. Have their releases stood the test of time?

The titular track is a standard mid-00s sample-heavy affair. I like the spoken word sample slicing quite a bit, but the cut-up guitars aren't really cutting it. Needs more funk.

Things perk up slightly on the flip. "On & On" repeats the formula but with a superior bassline and a overall groove. This should've been the A side tbh. On the other hand, "Audio Art" is quintessential B2 filler. Nice vocal samples again, but lacks anything else to catch one's attention.

Not as good as I remembered, something of a letdown. Maybe it's just sounding its age.

Selected: On & On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiY1QAVES6c

#DiggingInTheShelves No. 26
Black Merlin - New World Fantasy / Ice House
Common Thread (2014)
https://www.discogs.com/release/5269243

Two pieces from the synth wizard and documentarist on the inaugural release from the (now sadly defunct) Common Thread label.

"New World Fantasy" would be right at home on the OST for some 80s scifi B-movie. Not the imaginary clichéd "synthwave" kind with neon lights and sports cars, but the real shit: leather jackets, nihilism, dusty warehouses cheaply repurposed as shooting locations.

"Ice House" takes a small leap for mankind towards a more spacey and almost Kosmische sound. Repetitive and hypnotic, as is appropriate.

Premium "electronic listening music" here. Cold, but not too dark or depressive. The press sounds crystal clear. Warmly recommended if the less cheesy side of 80s retro is your thing.

Selected: New World Fantasy
https://0110001101110100.bandcamp.com/track/new-world-fantasy

#DiggingInTheShelves No. 10
The Swiss - Bubble Bath / Manthem
Modular Recordings
https://www.discogs.com/release/2631434-The-Swiss-Bubble-Bath-Manthem

This 2009 EP by The Swiss is peak #nudisco in good and bad. The original versions on both sides are well versed in all the disco tropes, but the production is very modern sounding. These are not slow tracks, so very dance floor friendly stuff indeed. [1/2]

Track: Bubble Bath (Knightlife Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Is1KokFVyQ

#DiggingInTheShelves No. 9
Steve Moore - Beloved Exile
Temporary Residence Limited (2019)
https://www.discogs.com/release/13602672-Steve-Moore-Beloved-Exile

This record was rather difficult one to write anything about. [1/2]

Track: Your Sentries will be Met with Force
https://stevemoore2600.bandcamp.com/track/your-sentries-will-be-met-with-force

#DiggingInTheShelves No. 25
James Welsh / Zoo Look - The Way / People Let Me Down Remixes
Join The Dots (2013)
https://www.discogs.com/release/4467174

2nd hand purchase from Audio-In. 2 remixes of 2 previous Join the Dots releases from 2 different artists, reworked by 2 different guest producers. Let's see if it's worth 2 thumbs up.

Tom Demac does his thing on "The Way" by James Welsh. Catchy chopped vocal samples and detuned chord stabs. Takes a bit long to get going, other than that I can feel it.

Zoo Look's "People Let Me Down" gets reimagined by Medlar into a slow, moody and traditional deep house number. Perhaps too traditional. Apart from the vocal sample, not much stands out here.

Quality production on decent sounding wax, but nothing remarkable. Side A is the keeper out of the two. That's my 2 cents.

Selected: James Welsh - The Way (Tom Demac Remix)
https://fullcirclesounds.bandcamp.com/track/the-way-tom-demac-remix

#DiggingInTheShelves No. 24
Hysteric - Summer In Cairo EP
Fuego International (2016)
https://www.discogs.com/release/9155341

Upbeat disco edits for those special carefree copyright-unconcerned times.

As is often the case in the edit genre, the modus operandi appears to be stripping each source down to the barest of its elements for maximum DJs friendliness. That can easily backfire and result in dull club chuggers, but Hysteric does a decent job here. There's no anachronistic filler added to the material and none of these feel like doing injustice to the originals.

The highlight is the titlular track which really lets the "Sahara" piano riff shine. Yet, in the end these are just tools to be utilized, so not much more to say here.

Selected: Summer in Cairo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaK5h-ha-SQ

#DiggingInTheShelves No. 23
Gramophonedzie - Swingin' With The Fishes!
Guesthouse Music (2009)
https://www.discogs.com/release/1892539

Everyone hates "electro swing". What many may not remember is that it was a bastardization of "swing house" which enjoyed its last (latest?) hurrah in the late 00s. Unlike the latter day horrors, this nanogenre could even be fun in moderate doses.

Case in point: a silly record which became something like a hit for a few weeks. It is what it is, a Peggy Lee sample on house beats. This ain't the music production equivalent of cold fusion, but it does its job. The full breakdown with the original sample was the winning move here. There's also a B side which repeats the formula with a worse fitting sample. That's a pass.

Does this serve any function in 2026 and beyond? Probably not, but I can't lie and say it wasn't an enjoyable little fad at the time.

Selected: Why Don't You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4t8L7lpDN4