Deep house, only more so. That’s not to say the deepness disappears up itself, but the Beef boys/Shades of Gray ‘s Michal Ruzicka and Nick West have their eyes and ears open to sylphlike house sounds prompted to try things outside of the whole warm keys revolutions and chord stabs drawing stiffly in and out of the concept of mystique. A genre unto itself when it comes to leaving itself liable to repetitive monotony (all about vibe blah blah blah), Prime Cuts 3 dances in the dark, but isn’t using it to shield itself from the outside world and third party influence.
NTFO’s Allure has exactly that, its funky bass allowing punters to crane their necks; for a deep house compilation it’s an unusually bullish introduction, encouraging you to enjoy yourself early and not to just talk in whispers. Some will bracket this straight into posh bar anonymity; if that’s the case, chat over it, you’re tapping feet will do the rest. Next track in gets into the serious house music hush, though Rob Small’s mix of Ivan Weber sets the standard dusky stabs to sleazily maniacal giggles sounding like a Family Guy walk-on.
Deep house denomination remains central and critical, marked by manipulated vocal run-throughs, sub-tribally and with evidence of techno genetics, from Chris Special and scrambled vocal signals from Hann versus Kreon, which sounds like a TV needing a clump so it can jump into life properly. Both continue the implicit funkiness where hips move and eyes don’t necessarily focus, but again just give something a little extra to your average deep house gravity; there’s an uppity, almost spirited nature to it that won’t blear into the background quickly. That techno element that might sound like a spare part shoved in unceremoniously continues as a fine asset. Jet Project’s Message from Chi-Town is another beneficiary, meaning you’re getting sleekness muttering under its breath as hi-hats up their ping. Not to mention the black 'n' white private detective hanging around on the breakdown.
Proving deep house’s sexy and stylish certification, Shur-I-Khan’s String Killer filters a winding bassline giving way to a murmuring whoomp, and spreads chorded stardust and a loose, deep exhaling liberation for an ice-cold classic done on simple, knowing terms. Shades of Gray assimilate US sass from their Aussie base – House of Cards full of horn squalls and suggestively blank vocals that just feel right and where the execution validates what looks like a jumble when reading it back. Reverting to type –which is fine – but then taking the template in different directions – which is even better – is a knack naturalised by Peter Horrevorts, segments of disorientation and sound-bending applied to the otherwise tightly wound as expected Into the Wild.
Prime Cuts 3 doesn’t pose a threat to deep house ethics; you wouldn’t want it to, and even though it’s unmixed, there’s plenty of room to wander around at your own pace. At the very least it will make you think twice about how constricted it can sound as it unfastens a couple of the genre’s buckles. A tasty, well-garnished piece of meat all round; it’s deep house, only, y’know, more so.