Put simply, "Rush" is homemade Chicago house music at its finest, assembled from the ground up by Soul Foundation alums, Todd Mariana, Brian Gardner, with Brenda D. on vocals. Mariana and Gardner, recording as BTMG, wrote, produced, arranged, mixed, and engineered the track and the flipside's dub version with a clear view of the city skyline for inspiration, and without the use of samples. Surprisingly, the duo also cut their own master dub plates at the Chicago-based Deep Grooves Mastering Studios, making for a truly original house music recipe.

Their process ensures that each BTMG track departs for the vinyl pressing plant (or digital download outlet) laden with the “very essence of House in the heart of the city where it was born,” according to the duo. Through live performances over the last two years, BTMG developed a catalog that will continue to revive the traditional art of cutting master plates by blending it with the music productions available to today’s artists.

“Rush” flows from Todd’s original keyboard loop and Brian’s percussion sequencing, outlining the DJ-friendly arrangement as Brenda’s vocals are interwoven through successive patterns until “Rush” builds to its peak. Additional keyboard patterns emerge and flow alongside the vocal, steadily urging movement to the dancefloor until the track winds down. The dub is a sultry, minimal affair that maintains a sexiness from start to finish, easily holding its own when mixed with deep house or tech house records, a plus for any DJ hoping to increase the body count in front of the booth.

Set apart by their creativity and original production methods, BTMG is preparing for a busy 2011, with several projects of their own, as well as some remixes for the BTMG Music imprint, and other interested labels.

Brenda’s vocal work continues to impress, and “Rush” marks her second release in March 2011—the first is Kate Simko’s “Mind On You” for the venerable, Berlin-based Hello? Repeat label. She appeared on two releases with Gardner (RealDEEP Recordings) in 2010, and looks forward to more BTMG projects and a remix for New York’s MikeALike.[btmg1_info from btmg-hp]