Global Underground's flagship singles label, Quad has undergone a complete re-birth with new management from a new London office. New signings and tighter links with the award winning compilation label means that Quad is receiving a massive increase in profile at club and press level. This production is the work of John and Barry, who are otherwise known as the highly acclaimed Evolution (Fluid Recordings). 'Three' is the follow-up to 'One/Two', which received a license to Sasha's Ibiza Global Underground CD. There is a huge buzz currently surrounding Evolution, after their successful single 'Crocodile Man' and the forthcoming 'Walking on Fire'. They are due to release their debut album, expected early next year. 'Three' is a solid and emotive progressive cut, which has already been No. 1 in the 3 Beat Club Chart and has received strong club play with full support from all the GU DJ's.

"Huge already for the big guns"
5/5 Pezz - Muzik

"An epic dancefloor tool of ruthless efficiency"
- Ministry

"Superb..Another Quad nugget"
- Wax

"The Evolution boys maintain the same high standards as ever"
- IDJ

This release follows hot on the heels of a number of great releases in 2001 for Rhythm Syndicate, including Pariah's 'Keep The Peace', Pitch Black's 'Underground Sound' (Heller Mixes), SSHH!'s 'Hold That Body' and Breeder's 'New York FM'. New producers Jay Storric and Neil McKay are behind the Gateway production and this has received amazing reactions from the DJs listed below. It was given to Sander Kleinenberg, who loved it so much that he included it on his excellent Nu-Breed CD, which was released earlier this year. The Darkhouse remix is a quality tech-house groover, which has been hammered by the Tyrant crew (Richards and Burridge) and by Terry Francis. This follows hot on the heels of their first production, the Darklight EP, which was featured on the Original Tyrant Compilation and was released a few weeks ago to critical acclaim.

Two of the hottest UK producers of the moment return to the 20:20 Vision squad with arguably their finest EP to date. Laurence Ritchie and Andy Riley released their first EP on 20:20 Vision over 2 years ago, and have since been overwhelmed by the positive reaction they have received all over the world as purveyors of deep, funky, dubby house. Their own Drop Music imprint has spawned artists like Party Criminals, Big Audio Spidermite and, of course, the Inland Knights. Fans of the Drop sound will remember fondly their recent debut album, Creative Spaces, and will no doubt find their mouths and other body parts dampening at the prospect of this EP. The title track builds quickly with punchy kicks, hats and atmospheric swirls, and before you know it THAT bassline takes over - only for the looped up guitar to take things sleezy in cahoots with a diva-esque vocal loop. Nice. 'Used Blue' is a much slower, deeper affair to begin with that peaks in just the right place . Flip it over, and 'Drive Time' doesn't take any prisoners, launching any club into orbit as Chris Duckenfield, Yousef and Lottie will tell you. Finally, 'Cabassa's Chord' is proving popular with the deeper floors that are under the spell of Fred Everything, Miguel Migs and the soulful bods.

Another superb release from one of the most reliable dance labels in the UK as the classic track 'Lost' gets a welcome re-release. Jayne Hanna's vocal classic has had a masterful re-working form Bill Hamel and Simon Noble under their pseudonym Mezz, who have not only stayed true to the awesome original but made this record a future classic. Jayne has already made a name for herself in the progressive market, with her sublime vocal talents, and is looked on as a lady you can rely on to produce a truly stunning vocal as Fluid have shown with the future release of their Evolution track called 'Walking On Fire'. Bill and Simon have recently had a smash under the Mezz name called 'Cubism', which was signed to Nebula. Here the dynamic duo deliver an incredible, tough, progressive work out, that is truly sensational, using driving beats, hard percussion, dark drums and superb stabs to create a deep, groovy, infectious, vocal monster, which is pure prog heaven.

Crescendo continue their superb form with another stunning release from Nokternal, which is the follow up to his last slamming cut 'Marauder'. This is another chance to hear Justin Spear (Nokternal) in full effect, as he carves two tracks of pure, no-nonsense, funk-fuelled house which are guaranteed to set dancefloors alight. 'Multiplex' is a rolling, twisted, tech-disco track which uses floor hugging beats, punchy stabs, tough kick drums and driving percussion, all worked into lush, spaced chords and stabs which filter through the track beautifully. 'Zynch' on the flip has a neat, stripped down groove, which is deeper and moodier but has just as much punch and energy as the A side, perfect for those deeper moments on the dancefloor.

One of the more mellow releases from this fantastic label comes to us by way of Geert Huinink & Alco Rhythm in this quality production. One side of this 12" has no drumbeat - its laid back, dreamy style makes it ideal for sitting back and chilling to on a Sunday afternoon. The other side is a bit more upbeat and more progressive with a skippy beat and really nice melody. We think this tune is more suited to the early part of the night with a nice build up from start to finish, its certainly the type of track the likes of Tiësto and Anthony Pappa would play in the early parts of their sets.

The last release on OTR, 'Nuclear Device' by Derler & Klitzing is still doing the business on the dancefloors and was recently named by Anne Savage as her 'Tune Of 2001' in DJ Mag. 'Hardcore Mother' is a slice of quality German production that will leave the dancefloor begging for more! Tough, pumping drums, a fierce, phat bassline and an unforgettable female vocal, 'Hardcore Mother' is another proven crowd pleaser from OTR. Oliver Klitzing a.k.a Kaylab is one of Germany's rising stars and Kaygee is a young and talented producer / DJ whose fanbase is growing fast with recent remixes of 'Nuclear Device' and 'Fast Lane People' by Antiloop on Stockholm Records. Kaygee delivers in style, with a clever remix that combines his own distinctive nu-tech sound with the ingenuity of the original.

"Love the original - want to marry the remix - outstanding and front of box! 10/10"

Ed Real

"I've been into this label from the start and this next release is the strongest so far, this is a label to watch in 2002."