It’s that time again folks. Time to come together in the spirit of great local music, and great dance music at that, to shake it real hard until (gasp) 2am. The Firehouse is really maturing as a venue and we’re thrilled that they are still letting us do our thang there, hell they are an integral part of the equation at this point. This month Certified Max, P Nice, Jackson and I are proud to be presenting the 2nd stop on the Miss Fairchild album release tour. These guys are pushing a primal soul sound, indebted to Motown, Prince and Michael Jackson. And they do it all with real, live instruments. Joey Beats will be there too doing his indie hip hop blues with co-conspirator Blak, and of course you’ll hear DJ sets by Certified Bananas and Micah Jackson.

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I knew if I settled into a tune-keeping session (yes, akin to book-keeping in a physical library) I’d come across a sweet vocal gem, greedy to be shared. I bought the double 12″ pack of Crystal, the first single off of New Order’s 2001 album Get Ready, to get my hands on the Digweed and Creamer mix – a trance epic back in the days when I could not only stomach the “big T,” but actually sought it out. Pretty nasty of them to record the track just after Bernard Sumner gave it to techno freak Corvin Dalek via his label. Such is the power of Pete Tong, who allegedly called it their best single since Blue Monday. Lee Coombs does most of his work popping out originals for the Camden-based breaks fiends at Finger Licken’ records. This version of Crystal is everything I love about said genre and nothing I hate. At times the breaks, and the DJs who hold them sacred, can get so dark and nasty that, sober as a judge, I feel like I’m thrown in the K hole. Coombs keeps the shimmery lead guitars from the original, adding a lithe pop tap underneath and stretching out the pacing of the vocals. This wouldn’t devestate a dancefloor, but it’s perfect for driving and kissing.

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