Billie Ray Martin and Hard Ton – Sold Life EPWritten by Manu Ekanayake  House -More discofied house heat from Billie Ray Martin, one of the best vocalists in dance music. This time she’s teamed up with Hard Ton (of Gigolo infamy) for a rhythmic workout that’s pure classic house. Camper than a Sylvester reunion gig…and all the better for it.
Sold Life is all butter-rich Billie Ray Martin vocals and slick house production, synths crashing away in pure 90s style. So far, so excellent. And Fantasy Girl is a reworking of Pierre’s acid house classic of the same name, which results in a fresh version of the original that sounds ‘cleaner’ with the aid of today’s production techniques from the mighty Hard Ton. Now to the remixes: we’re all about the Snuff Crew version of Fantasy Girl, which amps up the piano to hands-in-the-air proportions, while Luke Solomon’s on patrol with three remixes of Sold Life – his first takes us into more experimental territory by adding some messy FX and discordant keys but keeping the rock-solid vocal intact, for the most part. Next Luke's Work My Nerve Dub is all diva-esque wailing, with lots of deep techy reverb… and not much else, not even a sniff of the vocal. Finally the Luke Solomon Sold Dub gets the balance just right; tougher bass, a touch of the diva and some nicely twisted-up vocal stabs. Our verdict: Rating: 8.0/10
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