Squaredancing in a Roundhouse

Derrick Carter: Squaredancing in a Round House Label: Classic
Rating (scale of 1-10, 10 being best): 8

Oh man… Last time I saw Derrick Carter DJ in a club, it was late Sunday night at the EndUp, and Derrick was killin’ it w/ a drink in one hand, a joint in the other… I always knew Derrick to be a great DJ, but now his album shows the breadth of his musical repertoire. He’s got some spoken word, some jazzy deep house, some tech-y stuff, some synth-y downtempo, some retro, some disco, some acid… and all of it revolves around the trademark Chicago underground house that is black, funky, raw, and dirty. Try: 2,3,5,7,8,11,15. 7&8 are my faves.

1. Derrick talking like Barry White over twisted analog electronics & a slow solid beat
2. Slower crunchy beats (under 120bpm), layered percussion, analog tweaks & chill synths
3. Bumpin' house track w/ stylish sax loop & funky guitar thing w/ soulful vox - this is SO Chicago
4. Snappy beats, twinkly effects, simple piano loop w/ soulful male vocals
5. Spacey & lazy w/ abstract beats & breathy vocals, really far-out electronics
6. Claps & beats interlude
7. This is SO weird but I love it… some kid (?) randomly talking about friends over house beats
8. Twisted electronics – Derrick talkin’ & preachin’ – very intense track
9. Short instrumental that resembles some sort of 80s industrial-new-wave synth/beat
10. Jazzy flute & lovely electronics – real nice & chill, like an acid-jazz/downtempo track
11. Lush synthesizers, pianos, beats @ 3:00 – like a Carl Craig tune
12. Twisted disco – claps & funky groove w/ some R&B vocals done w/ Chez Damier
13. Robo-vocals & analog w/ tech-y effects; kind of has that retro acid-house sound
14. More of that retro sound – druggy vocals & effects
15. Funky sax groove w/ some slammin’ house beats & vocal improv – nice & jazzy but also kinda raw & dirty-disco, ya dig?