John Heckle - The Second Son (2011)

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For fans of: Virgo Four, Mr. Fingers, Omar S

This is a classic sounding house album executed just about perfectly, with a ton of raw energy and a seductive blend of synths and naturally falling beats. It took me a while to sink into the sound, but once I did it hit me like a brick. The tracks "Inside Me" and "Red Defender" are both fantastic, and are sure to please fans of dance music new and old, house, techno, or electro. It's one of the years best and is highly recommended. - Matthew Foster

"John Heckle delivers a truly incredible album with 'The Second Son', a release which vividly marks him out as a true and distinctive talent in what can (at times) seem an increasingly bland and unoriginal musical form.

The ten tracks presented here come across as some sort of missing link in Chicago House history - what might have happened if the frenetic pace of developments of the late 80s and early 90s had been somewhat tempered and the considerable creative juices of the day had been allowed to swash around more freely. But that, as far as I am concerned, is what Jamal Moss's Mathematics Recordings was willed into existence for, to build upon that era's sounds, ideas, feelings, philosophy and approach, and in this artist and in this album I feel this mission has reached a milestone.

John takes those familiar feelings of classic early house and gives them his own kinda soul and energy. It all sounds familiar and brand spanking new at the same time, like you're rediscovering the intense joys of this music all over again. There is a naturalness to John's production and musicality that struck me as something like eternal Larry Heard meets classic Derrick May, served up through a Hieroglyphic Being style gritty aesthetic. And yet, his sound is very much his own distinct brand.

Whatever's going on here, this release puts a huge smile on my face and stirs something that first got stirred in me more than 17 years ago - so thanks for that Mr Heckle!!" - RonocNikcam