Garage Shelter - Garage Shelter

Fantastic 90s analog Sounding Deep House from Garage Shelter (one half is Signal ST) compiled by the great DJ Sprinkles on Skylax House Explosion

Wax Classic is back! The twelfth release on the label sees the mysterious newcomer(s) Garage Shelter seize the reins, taking us on a trip to familiar and equally unfamiliar territory.  Who is Garage Shelter? How do they capture the moods they do so well?  Where can they go next?

These questions are not important. Garage Shelter should be an idea, something personal, drawing from your own feelings and experiences. Once you finish listening to these tracks, you will want to jump right back in and pick up on what you missed the first time around. When the record begins, you will be hit with an almost overwhelming sense of atmosphere. The midnight jazz and blues club vibe is captured supremely and brought to the forefront on “Moanin’ (Tribute Edit)”, as Garage Shelter show off with a short and sweet sax solo before slipping it into a loop and pairing it with the deepest of chords this side of Detroit. Crisp drum patterns and a chugging bassline drive the track to its climax before blending into the opening keys on “Political Content (Full Contact Mix)”. These first two A-side tracks are early evening affairs, definitely akin to one another, laden with jazzy saxophones and vocal cuts, grunts and cheers. With “Step In The Raw”, we leave the comfort of the smoky jazz retreat that came before and enter a housier club environment. The production on this track puts a raw slant on the progression of the record, as the name would suggest. Soulful vocals contrast with deep sub frequencies whilst reverbed string samples sit perpetually in between. 

By flipping over to the B-side, we are treated with the early morning cuts of the record. Garage Shelter throw everything into the melting pot on “Closing Scene (Dizzy New Heights)” achieving something quite unique. Freeform strings, enchanting vocal slices, skippy percussion and an arpeggiated synth all lie in the echoed distance, awaiting the dubbed out chords and smooth kick/bassline pair which arrive later on. The night is over now and the morning is beginning; however the sun is yet to appear. The forays of the A-side’s jazz haven seem so long ago now. “Losing Touch (The 5AM Correlation Mix)”keeps feet moving and heads bobbing along to ethereal tones of spaced out synths and spiritual female vocals, guiding us towards the end of the EP. Soul 2 Soul (An Outro)” finishes the journey, slowing us down to reflect on what Garage Shelter has presented to us and wiping the tablet blank so it can all be done again.

This record is essential, not only for all house fanatics but also for all lovers of music which can speak for itself, not confined to predisposed ideas or set contexts. Liner Notes by Elliot Coen VIDEO 1 VIDEO 2