Gershon Jackson – Huggin’ & A Luvin’ [Defected]

With his body of work and hard-earned status in the upper echelons of house music legend, any new release from Gershon Jackson and his Omni Music Solutions stable makes the whole scene sit up and pay attention. ‘Huggin’ & A Luvin’ follows his monster hit ‘Take It Easy’, from which Sonny Fodera’s mix reached Beatport #1 in 2016. Couple that with mixes courtesy of another Chicago house hero and dynamic Dutch duo Chocolate Puma, ‘Huggin’ & A Luvin’’ is already sounding like one of the most exciting releases of the year. Mike Dunn’s ‘Luvz Huggin’ U ReMixX’ is a pulsating minor-key workout complete with stomping marching band beat, all guns blazing. Chocolate Puma’s version is equally as unflinching with more of a melodic core, giving an uber-cool contemporary vibe using bloopy synths and strings. With warmth and toughness in equal measures, ‘Huggin’ & A Luvin’’ lives up to the hype.