Young blood is the theme for Retrofit so far in 2014. Following the successes of his recent EP’s on Jimpster’s Freerange Records and John Talabot’s Hivern Discs, Barcelona-based Kresy contributes a pair of warm, summery house cuts for the A-side. He crafts a pair of immersive environments with lush melodies that meander casually around their insistent grooves. On the other hand we have Borai. The Bristolian best known for his excellent contributions to the rising Tasteful Nudes imprint gives us a much darker impression. While ‘Mingo’ and ‘Albatross’ seem to soundtrack an oceanside sunset, ‘Nightfall’ and ‘Chromosphere’ are clearly meant for the late hours of the night.
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Following the release of his debut album 'Home & Garden,' Jay Shepheard returns to his own Retrofit imprint to present the album's remix EP. Label friends Locked Groove and Jacques Renault remix 'Two Much Love' and 'Type One A' respectively, while Jay takes the reins himself to rework '48 Stacey' and 'Orbis Tertius.' First off, Hot Flush's Locked Groove molds the lush and nostalgic 'Two Much Love' into an epic piano-led journey, complete with acid line and a booming low-end. Let's Play House boss Jacques Renault takes a more subtle approach with 'Type One A,' leaving most of the original intact, but with a rougher, more driving edge to it. While, the album was, as its title suggests, meant for home (and garden) listening, here Jay takes the opportunity to transform '48 Stacey' and 'Orbis Tertius' into something meant solely for the dancefloor. In his 'Bullfrog's at Dawn' mix of '48 Stacey,' Shep eschews the original's uplifting chords and pads in favor of a more eerie, bassline-led stormer. His 'Broken Mix' of 'Orbis Tertius' brings things to a close, adding organs and a more forward groove into the mix. More

Fresh off their recent single on Avotre, the California duo of Yooj and Steve Huerta return in fine form, this time with their Retrofit debut. The pair’s creative partnership began back during their final year of university where they discovered a shared affinity for a sound quite divergent from the preferences of their ‘EDM’ addled peers. “Take Your Time” opens the EP with myriad distinct influences. Thick progressing stabs, stuttering bass, and a plaintiff female voice make this a perfect peaktime track for the summer. “Love Me Right” goes for a more heads down, late night approach with a deep rhodes line, guitar licks popping in and out, and a thick, chugging groove that rarely relents. Best known for their work on labels like 2020vision and Exploited, the Amsterdam duo Homework lend their expert ears to the title track, spreading the original’s chords out far and wide, surrounding it with several new melodic elements and a jacking Chicago groove - a combination that will find itself in many a set over the following months. To round things off, “I Said” alternates boisterous upbeat moments alongside a moody, insistent groove.
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Continuing to prove it’s a label with two fingers very much on the pulse, the fast-divers- ifying Retrofit imprint offers up a thoroughly varied EP from French producer DJ Steef aka Frédéric Berthet. The Marseille based producer crafts everything from deep, sample-laden disco to warm grooving house for labels like Gomma and Toy Tonics while picking up ample support from DJ’s like James Murphy, Andrew Weatherall, and Tim Sweeney. Steef’s Retrofit debut kicks off with ‘Ghost Producer.’ Infectious motown-esque vocals, energetic piano and a stripped but jacking groove make it ripe for summer dancefloors. ‘Como Un Dios Del Olimpo’ takes things down a much deeper road - a hypnotic Spanish chant is the guide while a disco bassline chugs under soaring pads and arpeggios.Australian producer Mic Newman (aka Fantastic Man) of FINA, Freerange, and Murmur takes the original vox and pads, and weaves them into a shuffling, melodic number that manages to sound lazy and low slung while maintaining a direct-to-the-dancefloor feel. On ‘Soul of Calypso,’ Steef rounds out the package with a percussive workout that still retains an understated musicality about it. More

With releases on Compost, Diynamic, Buzzin Fly, Freerange under his belt, Home & Garden is the debut album from the already established artist Jay Shepheard due for release in early 2013. Shepheard has been releasing 12"s and singles, and remixes steadily since 2007, blending disco and deep house seamlessly into his own unique sound that has seen him nominated for best producer at the Beatport awards on numerous occasions.
Now he delivers an 11 track journey through a wider genre scape, mixing tempos and feeling but adhering to a consistent sound design the album blends the influences that his work has come to represent and is an many ways is a retrospective nod to a culmination of the last 5 years releasing. With an underlying depth of feeling running through the record, the from the looped up sample groove of 'Zippin', the spaced out future disco of 'Signs', the elated retro house of 'Two Much Love' and the slow mo deep pop of 'Here Comes' the album has been designed and conceived to flow as one piece and avoid the all too common trend of '10 club tracks on a CD' that has come to permeate much of the electronic music and deep house album market.
The album will be released on Shepheard's own Retrofit label, the 11th release following on from a string of 12"s featuring along side himself artists including Catz 'n Dogz, Iron Curtis, Matthew Burton, Martin Dawson, Rudy's Midnight Machine (aka Faze Action) and many others. The album will signify a new chapter for the label - moving on from the 'seriers based' first 10 releases all named by catalogue number alone and into new and unexplored territories.
Tracklisting:
1. Forty Eight Stacy
2. Orbis Tertius
3. Climbing Faces
4. Here Comes
5. Up Denali
6. Signs
7. Zippin'
8. Beauty Sleeper
9. Type 1A
10. Be Dangerous
11. Two Much Love
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After introducing Iron Curtis and Catz 'n Dogz to the label on the chart topping Retrofit # 8 EP we follow up with another new introduction, Martin Dawson in collaboration with label boss Jay Shepheard. Here on the Retrofit # 9 EP the pair deliver a quad pack of quality electronic music ranging from the peak-time dance floor killers "Kinds Of People" and "Cut A Hole" to the laid back mid tempo house of "Obey Your Aul" (featured as the opening track on Shepheard's recent RA podcast) and the bouncing hip hop groove of "Megaface 3k". This is certainly one of the most diverse releases on the label to date and if early crowd reactions are anything to go by looks like it will be one of the most popular too! More