Apparently Jamie Jones and Lee Foss like it hot. They like their duo DJ sets hot, their tracks hot and their label hot. Given their shared sound it's hard to accuse them of false advertising: their punchy tech house often comes mixed in a sizzling sort of way and is often loaded with bits of spicy funk. Now that it's nearly summer, the heat goes on: Jones and Foss have expanded Hot Creations to include a new digital-only offshoot Hot Waves, which will reportedly release a compilation four times a year, with the emphasis on new producers.
The comp trades easily on the label's established territory, running the gamut from fairly brisk, uptempo house to sexed-up disco and funk jams, further extrapolating the Hot Creations sound palette by logical progression. A lewd sensibility pervades—foreshadowed, it seems, by Richy Ahmed's demurely titled "Suck It," and later embodied by Marc Ashken's "Freaky Naughty." '80s funkateers like Rick James and Prince are pretty standard style icons for house labels these days. Everything from the booty-slapping beats to the outfits: At the Hot Natured party in Miami, Lee and Jamie appeared dressed like leaders of a sex cult from Mars, and I can't help but think that Mr. Superfreak himself would have approved.
As you might expect from the Hot camp, the groove stays crisp, locked-in, occasionally deeply tripped-out and hits a few k-holes along with the way—like on "Ability," the three-way groover between Clive Henry, Jones and Alex Arnout. Maceo Plex, Crosstown's latest breakout, offers a slice of Larry Heard-ish deep house whose uplifting spirit is matched by Jenkyn's "Superstar," the album's closer and easily one of its standouts. What's most fascinating here, though, is that the newbies really hold their own against the vets. It's proof that Hot Creations, which only saw the light of day last year, has been steadily gathering steam, coming into its own with an abundance of new material and a thickening talent roster. If I was another label owner I would find the fact that this comp is supposed to drop four times a year almost daunting. Really, you guys have that much stuff ready to come out?
Tracklist: Various Artists - Hot Waves
01. Richy Ahmed - Suck It
02. Josh T - Green Surprises
03. Beep Dee Good - Colorado
04. Alexis Raphael - Spaceship
05. Robert James - Mindscaping
06. Lee Foss - Stringer Bell
07. Jamie Jones - Tranquilizer
08. Maceo Plex - Alpha
09. Hot Natured - Nino Brown
10. Marc Ashken - Freaky Naughty
11. Henry, Jones & Arnout - Ability
12. Jenkyns - Superstar
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