For his second release on Klasse Recordings, head honcho Luca Lozano goes back to his hardcore roots and brings us the 'Out of Step' EP. The title of the EP hints at a homage towards the strong spirit of independent music and the artwork denotes Lozanos admiration of a key player, Ian Mackaye (singer of Minor Threat and Fugazi). Side A, 'Thug it out' is a mean beast of a house groover. The mood is lightened up occasionally by the presence of a sweet vocal and jazzy chords, only to be so viciously slapped down by that ice cold bassline and cut up by the razor sharp percussion. Its exactly this kind of beastly contrast that makes 'Thug it out ' such a monster on the dancefloor. 'Phree in 93' is an homage to the the gritty yet soulful sound of 90s New Jersey House. With its bouncy synth line and heart-strumming vocal, 'Phree in 93' is the kind of track that takes ol' skool house heads down memory lane, but still carries that 'house' feeling that modern clubbers also understand. On remix duties, Poker Flat Recordings' Kris Wadsworth shows us how they thug in Detroit with his 'We Be Thuggin' remix. Fans of KW will not be disappointed with this one, as Kris keeps it real by keeping the bottom end tough and heavy while holding up the beautiful melodies up top. The result is a different kind of thug from the original, but still a bad muhfucka that you wouldn't want to mess with. To round off the EP, Red Axes honour us with an excellent intepretation of Phree in 93. These shining new stars of the Israeli house scene are definitely ones to watch, as they take the track into soaring and uplifting territory with a patience and maturity that holds the tension and interest for the duration of the track and beyond.