Premiere: Unknown Associates – Handle It (Denney Remix) [Unknown Records]

Australian house and techno pioneers Unknown Associates land on their label with a new single that features remixes from fellow underground mainstays Denney and Jacqui Cunningham.
Unknown have spent a decade fomenting their own scene in Wollongong, having thrown more than 300 raves to date. They were the first crew to throw a weekly techno party – Institute Of Dance ran for five years – and they have hosted a who’s who of top names from Denis Sulta & Jayda G to DJ Boring and Patrick Topping. Unknown Records is another feather to their bow and it’s dropped fresh music from the likes of Kolombo, former Infusion man Francis Xavier and many more.
The excellent ‘Handle It’ is a twitchy bit of backroom techno. The rumbling drums sweep you up while the pulsing synths bring a sense of paranoia. There is subtle funk in the groove, with fleshy chords and steamy vocals bringing both a sense of sweat and seduction. It’s a full flavour cut destined to stand out in any set.
Denney is the first to remix and is a UK talent synonymous with no-frills, high-class house sounds on a range of labels from Hot Creations to Moon Harbour. He brings his own unique flavours with a more textured and raw rework. His drums hit with a tech house edge as the slapping hits and taught synth stabs get dancers on their toes.
Jacqui Cunningham supplies a second remix and is the owner of Sydney’s GiRLTHING, which celebrates queer culture with epic pride parties amongst many other community-minded events. Her music fuses luscious arrangements of disco to pure house rhythms, one of Sydney’s most notable players. Her remix is eight minutes of classy dance floor pressure that twists and turns endlessly on lithe synths and hooky melodic sounds. It’s loose yet driving and erupts later on with a darker energy that will take any dance floor up a level.
This is another red-hot package from the illustrious Unknown Records.