Archive for May, 2007

A Greater Love

Monday, May 28th, 2007

MN2S are back! Following the huge success of recent singles by Liquid Peoples’ Danism Project and The Jinks, the London-based label returns with a modern-day House classic which combines the many and varied talents of two of the biggest and most well-respected names on the global House scene.

Baltimore’s finest, DJ Spen, and world-renowned vocalist Robert Owens link for ‘A Greater Love’, an uplifting, spiritual and DEEP Gospel House stormer that is destined to become a mainstay in boxes worldwide following its release on MN2S on 11th June!

This single has ‘Classic’ written all over it. Featuring Robert Owens’ unmistakeable voice, DJ Spen’s unrivalled production abilities, Reel People and Mike Patto on keys and renowned songbird Vanessa Freeman on backing vocals, ‘A Greater Love’ is one of those rare House singles which, the moment heard, will never, ever be forgotten. As Spen explains, the idea for the single came about while in the studio.

‘Robert expressed that he had never once done a Gospel-styled track and that he was interested in doing one,’ he said. ‘Mike started playing around on the keys while Robert was singing and I was like ‘Wow’; one thing lead to another and we had it.’

‘I’m one of those producers that likes a flow and this song is just that, an amazing flow of lyrics and instrumentation. Mad props to Mike and Robert; I was just the guy that put it all together at the end of a great session!’

‘A Greater Love’ is the latest success for DJ Spen. The well-respected American talent has been an influential and hugely-successful member of the global House fraternity for more than 20 years. Whether through his uplifting work with Jasper Street Co. and respected imprint Basement Boys, his remixes for the likes of Everything But The Girl and Diana Ross or through his most recent work as part of the Muthafunkaz and through other cuts showcased on his own Code Red imprint, Spen is one DJ-producer at the top of his game.

Similarly, Robert Owens has been variously described as a ‘rare gift’ and ‘the greatest male voice in House music’ since bursting onto the Chicago House scene in the late 1980s. The multi-talented singer, songwriter, producer and DJ has appeared on and contributed to scores of critically-acclaimed productions by the likes of Cold Cut, London Elektricity and Michael Watford and has worked with the likes of Larry Heard, Sandy Rivera, Quentin Harris, Sir Piers and many more. His performance on ‘A Greater Love’ is yet another triumph, and can perhaps best be summed up by a recent quote by ID-J magazine, which declared ‘If God could sing, he would sound like Robert Owens’.

Cecilia

Thursday, May 3rd, 2007

The Jinks are back! The MN2S label favourites return with their eagerly anticipated fourth single – ‘Cecilia’ – and this one is arguably their finest work to date!

Hammered in Miami last month, ‘Cecilia’ is set to further the success of this hard-working London-based D J -production duo and the single is already picking up support from the likes of Danny Marquez , John Julius Knight , Sir Piers and DJ Pippi to name a few!

Given extra ‘oomph’ through stellar remixes by acclaimed New York-based D J -producer Matthias ‘Matty’ Heilbronn , ‘Cecilia’ is destined to find favour in the Ibiza sunshine later this year but, for now, is content to rock dancefloors indiscriminately!

With its rolling bassline and crunching, funky saxaphone lick, ‘Cecilia’ builds to an explosive finale and is, as The Jinks’ Dan Savidge explains, aimed squarely at the dancefloor.

‘We’re doing tracks right now that are aimed at getting bodies moving,’ he explains. ‘It’s a marked move away from our more soulful releases on MN2S of the past.’

‘The way we decided to a rr ange ‘Cecilia’ was very Africanism-esque, in the tradition of the classic DJ Gregory tracks of yesteryear. We wanted it to be a big, building house tune and Matty’s mixes really bring that out as well.’

The release of ‘Cecilia’ continues The J inks’ steady rise to the heights of the international House heap. Having enjoyed worldwide success on the back of their first three singles on MN2S ? critically-acclaimed productions that were remixed by the likes of Jay-J, DJ Spen,Jamie Lewisand Liquid People – Chris Gau and Dan Savidge are still enjoying the success of their Sole Music -released single ‘Brazilla’ and the MN2S residents and MN2S Masterclass Radio hosts continue to wow crowds throughout the UK and Europe with their energetic D J sets.

Matthias ‘Matty’ Heilbronn meanwhile continues to impress after more than 15 years on the scene. His releases on labels including suSU, Atal, Papa, Satoshi Tomiie’s Saw imprint, Francois K’s Wave Music, Prog City Deep, Chez,Distant Music and J oey Negro’s Z Records have demonstrated this New Yorker’s enduring appeal to House Heads worldwide and his mixes of ‘Cecilia’ are consistent with his position as one of THE big names in world house. Matty’s Soulflower Mix adds an infectious bassline to the mix while still bringing out the best of that sax lick, while Matty’s PDP Mix is another sure-fire floor filler.