I’ve been writing about Manuel Sahagun’s records for a long time — almost since 5 Mag began and I heard this young producer from Argentina that made bright and uptempo house music that served dancefloors so well. In the last year, he’s been having something of a renaissance, having released a pair of EPs with Freerange (Move & Body and Awake) and a pretty great remix on Tensnake’s LA Noir remix album on Armada (reviewed back in March but, as sometimes happens, never posted here outside of 5 Mag’s member’s section).
Hearkening back to era when jackin’ house was en vogue and every jackin’ house label seemed to be named after food or things you use to eat food, Pomme Frite means “french fries” in their native tongue and is the platter for Sahagun’s next 12″. Boogie Sister is a lively EP of disco, disco samples and house that sounds a little like disco but weirder. Sahagun has always been among the most versatile producers I can think of — he can probably make a track in just about any genre you’d like, including a few that don’t exist yet and a few others that have since gone extinct. “Get Closer” is a driving, strident track with a confident strut, like house made from techno made from disco made from funk samples, in that order. The title track and “1.2” are well-produced but still off-kilter: Sahagun must have a killer custom set-up because these tracks lack that dead mausoleum polish that you hear so often in modern filtered house and disco house. I like “Get Closer” and “Shit & Run” as tracks that a DJ can drop to move a floor like tectonic plates.
Manuel Sahagun: Boogie Sister (Pomme Frite / 12″ Vinyl / August 2022)
A1. Manuel Sahagun: “Get Closer”
A2. Manuel Sahagun: “Boogie Sister”
B1. Manuel Sahagun: “1.2”
B2. Manuel Sahagun: “Shit & Run”
B3. Manuel Sahagun: “Spoon”
