- One of dance music's grooviest producers delivers the goods on her Smallville debut.
- There aren't a ton of "big tunes" in Dana Ruh's discography. But there also aren't any duds. For nearly 20 years, Dana Ruh has been the purveyor of some of the finest, understated house out there. Words like reliable and functional jump to mind. Any DJ looking for that extra sprinkle of swing could pick a track from her back catalog at random and it would, nine times out of ten, keep the punters shuffling. Her latest EP—and debut for Smallville—Different Places Different Faces showcases what makes her brand of house so special. Across four tracks, Ruh balances groove-laden house with minimal techno on an EP that is as modest as it is moreish.
Just because Ruh is consistent doesn't mean her tracks all sound the same. "The Spirit" and "Reach Out For Me," for example, are some of the coldest she's ever released. "The Spirit" in particular sounds like a throwback to when Ruh used to run Aras Records alongside former Berghain resident André Galuzzi, with its dubby chords and snare line. Likewise, the icy slink of "Reach Out For Me" wouldn't sound out of place downstairs in Berghain circa-late '00s. But it wouldn't be a Ruh release without some straight house gold. "La Night" is as vintage as they come with an added layer of red velvet richness thanks to the soul searching chords and wanderlust vocal sample. As the title suggests, "TJ Mornings" is the afterparty burner with a bassline that winds its way through a labyrinth of spaced out chords that glow like the cherries on just tossed cigarettes.
It seems like every year, we hear talk of the underground's demise. Whether it's pop at warehouse raves or your favorite DJs showing up in video games, we seem to exist in a perennial "end of the underground" loop. Regardless of what the term might or might not mean in 2023, it's hard to argue that Ruh's DIY approach is anything other than underground. She's built a full ecosystem dedicated to house music across her various labels and record store-meets-distro, KMA60. Different Places Different Faces showcases that underground ethos well. None of these tracks are going to soundtrack a fashion show and they don't need to. These are club tracks for working DJs, nothing more, nothing less.
Tracklist01. The Spirit
02. TJ Mornings
03. LA Nights
04. Reach Out For Me