Franco Cangelli: Wee Funk
Mowar

On the inaugural release for his latest label venture Mowar, Franco Cangelli drops some seriously grooving funk with the title cut, a sleek pile-driver that draws from the traditions of Detroit techno and Chicago house. The Aesthetik Records head works an ultra-tight groove into a jacking lather and stokes it even further with a rapid-fire bass pulse and razor-sharp hi-hats. Taking the baton, Russ Gabriel then gives the tune an epic makeover that winds it up until it's dizzy and then shapes it into a pumping dub-house colossus where handclaps resound like gunshots. For some reason, Daniel Bell and Cristian Vogel both spring to mind during the swizzling strut of “Innocence in a Jar”; regardless, the tune charges forth brightly and nicely makes room for a little beat hiccup or two during its final laps. Lerosa's remix actually improves on the original by adding a deliciously percolating deep house element to its streaming flow that verges on irresistible. A more-than-solid debut for Cangelli's new label.

June 2008