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by Vortex
- Testpress: http://www.testpress.com
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July 1999 brings you the fourth installment of the 'Digital
Detangler,' a column devoted to examining the wealth of underground
house and dance music related sites on the 'net. For the next
few months, the 'Digital Detangler' will be bringing you the goods
on online record stores, from the behemoths to tiny specialty
sites, written from a practical perspective. All sites selected
for review have been put to the test via actual ordering, and
reviews reflect the experiences of the 'Digital Detangler,' with
a special emphasis on house music. See the undergroundfiles.com
archives for previous reviews of SatelliteRecords.com, ElevatorRecords.com
and PlanetXusa.com.
As I sit at my Mac composing this month's column, I keep thinking
about how much fun it is writing these articles. Being a part
of a collective brought together by a mutual love for an art form
is, well, pretty cool. As a consequence of the Underground Files
and the Digital Detangler, I have met a variety of personalities
and enigmas via varied modalities: discussion groups, web pages,
telephone conversations, email and in the real. Collectively,
we claim a common respect for the impact that house music has
on ourselves. From there, interests, ideologies, politics and
sanity disperse in all different directions, forming the individuals
I meet. One of these individuals is the body and soul of the subject
for this month's review: www.testpress.com.
Testpress: http://www.testpress.com
Kelvin Kresge, perhaps better known as Kelvin
K, has been a force in the US deep house scene for many years.
His DJ career is dotted with names like King Britt, Housing Project,
Jeno, the Top, GrassRoots, Adonis, WMC. He is largely credited
with creating the rise of deep house in the southeastern United
States, using his mix show "House of Rhythms" (WPAL) to spread
the love and language of underground house.
Today, Kelvin operates Testpress, a truly important contribution
to the support of deep and garage house worldwide. Testpress is
not a full scale web store like PlanetXusa.com or Satelliterecords.com,
nor does it desire to be one. Testpress.com is dedicated solely
to deep and garage house; dedicated to the music, the artists,
the DJ and the soul. On its pages the recent history of deep and
garage house can be found; only the finest offerings are featured,
with every record reviewed, sold and mentioned being a notable
or important work of the genre. An education in the form, Testpress.com
is essential for DJ, producer, record label and fan alike.
Testpress is divided into six main areas: Reviews, Charts, Audio,
Buy, Labels and Headz. The Reviews section offers the most comprehensive,
coherent and heartfelt reviews to be found anywhere. This is not
exaggeration, the respect Kelvin commands within the genre is
well known: he is on the one with his insight, knowledge and love
for house-deep underground house. Testpress Reviews hosts almost
200 record reviews from the last three years. Do yourself a favor
and spend some time there. I guarantee it will make you think
differently the next time you go record shopping, pick up a mix
CD, or evaluate a record.
Many of the recent tracks reviewed are available for sale from
Testpress as well. Symbols at the end of the reviews indicate
when a record is available for sale or an MP3 audio sample is
offered. Conversely, when browsing through the records and CD's
for sale in the "Buy" section, icons indicate if there is a corresponding
review. Keep in mind that reading the reviews section can be a
little frustrating when it comes time to buy... many of the newest
reviews are for upcoming releases, so you have to be patient.
Ordering is straightforward, direct and secure, with no surprises
and plenty of opportunity to correct an order. Testpress also
advises you when a record or CD is out-of-stock. Oh and one more
thing, Testpress thoughtfully gives you the option to browse by
label, mimicking the way the best record stores are laid out --
a feature that works very nicely on this kind of site.
There is so much more to check out on the site, I will not bore
you with further description. Set aside some time, schedule some
if you have to, and visit Testpress.com. Once there, open your
beverage of choice, keep the tasty snacks handy and spend some
time with Kelvin. Buy a couple of records, or better yet, join
the record club (Supaphat tracks handpicked each month?? And you
haven't signed up yet??). And keep the soul alive, baby. Ah yeah.
peacelove&beatphatness
If you have any comments on this
review, please feel free to email the digital detangler.
Vortex
September 1999
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