With Theodopolus Parrish Month in full swing just as the Christmas chaos begins it's a neat little coincidence that this heavily prized one sided twelve inch for Dope Jams should arrive on clear red vinyl. "Just1LoveBug" is an exercise in simplicity from the Sound Signature don, slipping the accapella from Amerie's "One Thing" over the demented Chicago house flex of Lil Louis' "Nyce & Slo (The Love Bug)" from all the way back in 1990. Just the right side of outright formaggio and destined to be dropped by many a DJ on NYE. More

Two floor-smashing highlights from the gnarliest corner of the Spectral Sound library get a welcome reissue on the first limited addendum 12” to the Dope Jams NYC Volume 1: 2005-2012 compilation. First up is futuristic acid banger “Poison Dart” by 2 AM/FM, the double-headed beast of Ann Arbor’s D’Marc Cantu and James T. Cotton. Beginning with an eerie synth coiling endlessly around a shuffling, anxious beat, the track unexpectedly blasts off with one of the nastiest acid basslines since “Washing Machine.” Commanding, otherworldly, and freaky to the core. On the flip, Cotton flies solo and tosses listeners headfirst into his chaotic and terrifying “Bizarre Carnival.” Pounding kicks, blown-out bass and frenzied synths relentlessly collide with one another, creating an endless nightmare of a world on the verge of machine-induced annihilation.

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Dope Jams NYC Volume 1: 2005-2012 is an essential chronicle of the timeless music, colorful characters and uncompromising spirit that made Paul Nickerson and Francis Englehardt’s original Brooklyn-based brick-and-mortar more than just a record store, but a one-of-a-kind community. Assembled with the same painstaking detail that Nickerson and Englehardt have brought to every facet of their shop since day one, Volume 1 includes a 3x12" compilation and 32-page booklet that's jammed packed with vivid photos, profiles of staff and regulars, shop history, personal reflections, discographies, assorted ephemera; and as much tomfoolery, myth-making and shit-talking as anyone with even a passing familiarity with the place should expect. The three 12”s boast a selection of reissued and previously unreleased tracks that together encompass the store's multi-faceted musical vision and evolution. Highly coveted golden age masterpieces like Groovestyle's euphoric "L.O.V.E." and lesser known treasures like Funk D’Void’s “Thank You (Slowly)” and Tommy E’s “I Need to Go Away” join the long list of underground house classics Nickerson and Englehardt have resurrected since opening Dope Jams. Celebrate LIFE peaktime favorites "Desolate Cities" and "Old Landmark" and druggy early morning detours "In a Hole" and "Living in a Zome" recall the all-consuming intensity of the shop's monthly parties. And showcasing the store's never-ending quest for mind-bending new dance sounds, Volume 1 features a trio of exciting, previously unreleased jams from current artists -- "Taken," an explosive techno time bomb from shop favorite D'Marc Cantu; Englehardt's dark and demented dub of Spike’s “Magic Table"; and Beige's mystical, slowly unraveling “Hollow Point."

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Resurfacing a few years major his explorations "At the End Of the World," Dan Quin throws from left field and scores a hit with his unorthodox take on vocal house music. "Everybody Knows" is a party-rocker with heart and integrity, remaining loyal to the tenants of dark, exploratory house and techno while superseding the problematic attachment to the past that has retarded the development of song-based dance music. The result is a sprawling, ominous and moving piece of internally conflicted electronica, caught in the ford between a reverence for the work of electronic-pop visionaries like Fever Ray, and the loyalties of the vast, red-lit expanses of NYC rooted club music. Featuring the fresh new talents of Brooklyn native Tammy K., "Everybody Knows" is the latest release on Dope Jams' very own in-house record label, a new manifestation of soulful house for a new generation of dance music devotees thirsty for the universal sensibilities of the vocal without the tired cliches of yesteryear. More