#knoe1

The latest release on respected Seattle house music imprint Uniting Souls features New York house music legend Onionz. Label founder Ramiro goes way back with Onionz, with the two becoming friends in San Francisco during the heyday of the '90s scene. This EP Is a reunion of sorts, rekindling the creative energies shared between these two house music pioneers for almost two decades.

Onionz's contribution is the cosmically titled "Space Slave" – perhaps a reference to a certain metal-bikini'd intergalactic princess? – and it's a sublime excursion into beat-driven deep tech house. The track builds masterfully over its seven minutes, with echoed arpeggiations and groovy rhythmic elements pulsing in and out of the mix. "Space Slave" is then punctuated by the emergence of a moody, psychedelic synth melody at its peak, evoking the feeling of space travel via the dance floor.

The release also unites vibes from coast to coast, with remixers from three different corners of the US. Seattle's Pezzner opens up proceedings with a haunting feel, displaying his expert combination of beats and atmospheric textures. Pezzner has also supplied a second version of his mix, featuring a subtle shuffle at a slightly speedier tempo. Next up is Los Angeles producer duo Knoe1 and Jordan Strong (a Uniting Souls resident since 1998) delivering a chugging warehouse vibed rework perfectly suited for the after hours. Brian Busto, of Florida's Serious Soul crew, then turns in a dark-as-night remix of "Space Slave", filled with throbbing bass, ominous soundscapes, and crisp machine rhythms. The release closes with San Diego's Jason Tokita whose hypnotic treatment of the track goes deep, and includes some dialogue snippets captured from distant orbit.

Nick Warren - "It's all about the original for me." Ian Pooley - "Dope Pezzner remix!" Dubfire - "Cool stuff." Chris Fortier (Fade) - "Great package. Pezzner is on point, but it's all about Brian Busto delivering his best music effort to date." Anthony Pappa - "Jason Tokita's remix is a cool track … I will support it." Randall Jones (Audio Therapy / Baroque) - "Wow! Super sick original and the remixes are extremely dope as well. Gonna be playing these nonstop!" Larry Tee - "Loving Pezzner's remix." Phonogenic (Moodmusic / Turbo) - "A sweet slice of post0rave. Brian Busto's remix has a nice Ciafone groove to it." DJ Schwa (Shades Of Gray / Beef Records) - "The Pezzner remix is awesome." Craig Stewart (Montana & Stewart / DCSTrax) - "The Knoe1 & Jordan Strong remix is superb … great work." DJ Harri (Sub Club) - "Hard to pick a favorite … they are all really good. Full support." John Debo (Mindwarp Records) - "The original is the one. Love the sequenced melodies and the strings. Really nice builds." Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch / Mega Jawns) - "Strong original … I will definitely be playing it. Pezzner's mix though … that's got me dancing in outer space." Pumpkin (Jumpsuit Records) - "Really good!" Jaymz Nylon - "I look forward to playing Pezzner's remix … it's so deep and moody." Richie Roberts (The Dance Factory, BBC) - "Absolute corkers of mixes on here from the Knoe1 & Jordan Strong to the Jason Tokita mix to the incredible original … love love love." Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Radio Show) - "Wonderful throughout. I love the diversity between mixes allowing many to be played in the same set. House music of the highest order."

Los Angeles warehouse DJ veteran Jason Blakemore relaunched his seminal Life Music label over a year ago. It's acknowledged as having helped document the California house music sound alongside his other label ventures, Bassex Records and Fiveleg. Blakemore knows his stuff; he started as a DJ in Los Angeles’ then-burgeoning scene as early as 1992 and has been a fixture of the North American house music family since.

Admittedly a product of those very same late night underground warehouse parties in L.A., Knoe1 makes tracks directly for use on their dance floors, delivering the latest offering for Life Music in the form of his debut EP. The Southern California resident and artist has over a decade of DJing under his belt as well as previous productions made up of remixes for labels like Smash Hit Music and Rong.

His Deep Nation EP starts from the top with the title track's driving bass line and propelling rhythm before introducing winding acid notes run through the filter, bright ambient pads, and cutting strings. "Housedrumbreaka" follows with initially misleading disco hand percussion which gives way to sick and twisted electro acid, making this the release's most devastating cut. A similar groove takes place on "Never Gunna Leave You", but this time the other elements remain within the disco umbrella, especially the pumping bass. The rhythmic guitars and vocal give off a Western attitude though, albeit fitting when considering the outlaw nature behind the best parties and music.

DJ Sneak - “Super jackin' mode.” Sunshine Jones (Dubtribe / Treehouse Muzique) - “Yay for ‘Never Gunna Leave You’.” Diz (Iz & Diz / Vizual Recordings) - “Deep!” Jacques Renault (Runaway / On The Prowl) - “Sounding good … going to test them out for sure.” Tensnake - "Cool stuff." Chris Fortier (Fade / Mindwarp) - “I like ‘Deep Nation'.” Danny Ward (Moodymanc / Dubble D) - “‘Never Gunna Leave You’ has the funk for me.” Severino (HorseMeatDisco / Dalston Superstore) - “Oh yeah, love it.” Hard Ton (Gigolo / Permanent Vacation) - “Loving ‘Housedrumbreaka’ and its acid touch.” Jason Hodges (Sampled Recordings / APT) - “So dope!” Distant People (SSRadio / Foliage) - “‘Never Gunna Leave You’ is a nice twist on a disco vibe.” Thomas PM (Ubiquity Records) - “Very nice work on these! I’m a huge fan of Knoe1!” Eric Davenport (Guesthouse / Various Club) - “Really solid west coast-inspired house music with an old school feel … funky and effective.” Fine Cut Bodies (Chi Recordings / MR2 Hungarian National Radio) - “I love the rolling acid vibes on ‘Housedrumbreaka'.” The Zars (Till2012 Records / Progrezo Records) - “Good pack of sweaty house tracks.” Chris Harris (Tronicsole / Nordic Trax) - “I really like the spaced out disco of ‘Deep Nation'!” Amit Shoham (Tarantic / Noice! Show) - “These sounds are clearly steeped in the history of house music and yet still fresh for today … I love it!.”