K.A. Posse – Strikes Again

Chicago producer Keith Alexander Shelby, aka K-Alexi aka K.A. Posse, is regarded as one of the pioneers of house music. Now, for Black History Month, the label Dark Entries is releasing previously unheard recordings by him that compellingly carry the spirit of those early days into the present.

The EP’s title, Strikes Again, could hardly be more fitting. These six tracks hit hard. Within house, certainly, but also in styles such as hip-house, new beat and acid. Always with plenty of “jack” in the machinery. Alongside that come driving claps, twisted police sirens, erotic moans, psychedelic monk chants, Inner City-style »Good Life« chords, wild highlife guitar samples, propulsive percussion, pumping TR-808 kick drums and raps by Chicago MC MCD Tay. Everything produced from the gut, without calculation, with a full sense of enjoyment. House from before the club style was polished to a high sheen. “Music box” tunes that Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy or Larry Levan might have played in heavy rotation. More than thirty years after they were made, they still sound absolutely fresh and maximally seductive.