Paul Woolford is one of those acts who has been there or thereabouts for quite sometime without ever quite blowing up into a global phenomenon. This is not necassirily a bad thing as he has gone quietly about his business releasing a steady flow of strong club cuts that have kept him both relevant and respected for many years. There is no denying that Erotic Discourse (2006) has remained his biggest record to this day, and for good reason, it still sounds ping pong tastic. However enter July 2013 and it would appear Mr Woolford has decided to again make a bid for main floor dominance with his HUGE Hotflush Recordings release ‘Untitled’. Untitled has the potential to become one of those tracks that defines a summer as it maximises the House not so secret weapon of simple but insanely catchy piano hook with memorable but not too long vocal loop, to devastating effect. Therefore with the obvious dancefloor credantials and potential earning power of this record does Paul Woolford simple start churning out club heaters at the expense of his now established musical legacy?
Hardcore EP on the Fabric hosted ‘Houndstooth‘ label is the latest release under Paul Woolfords alter ego ‘Special Request’. As the title suggests this is an uncompromising EP, instantly banishing all fears of Woolford ditching his roots, forget resplendent soaring piano hooks and sultry female vocals, this is gritty jacking underground badness. Wall to Wall has a more current bass type vibe to its techno leanings, where as Broken Dreams undoubetdly delves into Rave music’s dark underbelly pulling together a variety of classic sounds into a cacophony of jungle percussion. Highly recommended. (Out Now)