If you’re at all familiar with Chicago house then you’re most likely aware of Dance Mania and the Chicago producer Parris Mitchell,who is most notably known for his work on the label. Run by Raymond Barney, Dance Mania was responsible for releasing classic records from likes of Lil’ Louis, Paul Johnson and DJ Topcat. Mitchell in particular was a regular contributor to the label, releasing eight records between 1994 and 1997. One of these releases was “Project,” featuring fan favorite “All Night Long”. After 17 years, that cut has received a proper reissue on the Ukrainian label Wicked Bass. Dubbed the “All Night Long EP,” it comes backed by two Bok Bok versions of the title track as well as a new track called “Bounce”. Topping it off is the retro-futuristic cover and label art of Hargi Csík.
The main attraction of this record is “All Night Long”, which has a beat that anyone can get down to. There’s the constant pulse of a rugged kick and a piano melody that’s basically singable, which is important because everything else in this track is raunchy and X-rated as all hell. It brings to mind Mr. 69’s “Phreaky MF” with lyrics that would be a complete deterrent were they not unusually humorous. “Bounce” dumps the explicit reference for a more elastic groove along with the squelch of a TB-303. In our books this is a perfect floor filler, which is best applied as the transition from warm-up to full-on party begins. On the B-side we find Night Slugs’ head honcho Bok Bok, who has been known to slip the original into his sets, giving “All Night Long” a bit of speed and a borderline Baltimore club skeleton. For the most part he leaves the vocals intact, aside from a few small rearrangements. The final cut is for those who prefer to keep their sets PG; Bok Bok’s dub version of his remix strips away any off-color references and leaves us with just the beat, which is weighty in its own right. Wicked Bass have only improved over the last two years and this reissue is arguably the label’s highlight thus far. Not only do we hope the label can keep up this momentum but this could signal the return of Parris Mitchell, who has been absent from the music scene since the late nineties.
Stream: Parris Mitchell – All Night Long EP (Wicked Bass)
Parris Mitchell’s All Night Long EP is available now on Wicked Bass.
