James Welsh At Juno Download

Review: If you've ever been to Keighley in West Yorkshire, you'll know that it's hardly a hotbed of quality underground house music. Really, it has little going for it, besides a rugby ground named after a big cat ("Cougar Park") and a very large petrol station. Still, James Welsh has somehow managed to ignore his surroundings and produce a cracking EP of heartfelt deep house that's oozing with bittersweet beauty. All four tracks impress, delivering a mix of shuffling grooves, melancholic chords, woozy vocal samples and quietly soulful melodies. If we had to pick, we'd direct you towards "Air Valley" or the bumpin' "Only", but to be honest all for tracks are excellent. Highly recommended.

Review: Having previously impressed with 2012 releases on Wolf Music and Losing Suki, James Welsh continues his ascent towards deep house superstardom with a typically fluid and atmospheric EP for Futureboogie. "Craven" sets the tone, lacing a touchy-feely, tactile house groove with tough 808 cowbells and an intoxicating vocal sample. Regular collaborator Terri Walker makes an appearance on the shuffling, cymbal-heavy old skool garage jam "King Edward Street", while "Bill Murray Came To My House Party" largely lives up to its riotous title. "Horse Fight", with its minor key chords and sprightly synth bass, also hits the spot.

Review: This two-tracker, featuring remixes of underground hits from James Welsh and Zoo Look, is pretty tasty. First up, Tom Demac gives James Welsh's "The Way" a total overhaul, turning it into the kind of wonky, off-kilter house/garage hybrid that's all the rage right now (think punishing analogue bass, tipsy pitched-down vocal samples, bombastic drums and weird noises). Medlar then takes a hatchet to Zoo Look's "People Let Me Down", going deeper and dubbier in the process. Recently he seems to have been inspired by proto-garage as well as '90s garage, and this blends the two styles perfectly, combining raw analogue drums and sparse pads with delay-laden vocal hits and a "Show Me Love" style hook.

Review: Arriving at a fifteenth release in little more than three years is no mean feat, and the Wolf Music crew have retained a standard of quality throughout that a few other labels could learn from. Once again switching the emphasis from artist release to a quartet of contributors, WOLF 15 opens with a killer Ron Basejam refix of recent Wolf anthem "Nowt" by James Welsh. Originally a louche slice of beatdown, "Nowt" stays at an even tempo in the hands of the Crazy P artist though there are all new levels of seductive funk added. Complementing this are three label debuts of varying style but equal quality, with Squarehead & Mella Dee (one half of Mista Men no less) opting for a brazen concoction of ruffed up garage rhythms and deep house emotions on "Get Together". Next up, breakout house duo Waze & Odyssey add Wolf to their growing CV with the effervescent cut up house rowdiness of "Feel My Voices" whilst South African producer Terrence Pearce might just steal our affections with the skippy, smudged delights of "Magic".