Matthew Burton At Juno Download

Review: Since launching last spring, Jay Shepheard's Retrofit label has earned a reputation as a solid bet for high quality deep house. The label's success has largely been down to Shepheard himself, who seems to have enjoyed a new lease of life since moving back to the UK from spells in Berlin and Poland. This fifth instalment in the series sees Shepheard team up with pal Matthew Burton for four more decidedly organic excursions. Lead cut "Liberal Zee" is outstanding in its combination of floor-friendly deep house groovyness and addictive late night funk. With live electric bass, deep keys and brilliantly layered percussion to the fore, it's sparse but exquisite.
"Just You", meanwhile, goes deeper still, crafting an hypnotic afterhours groove from the sparsest of elements. "Merked" treads a similar path, but is noticeably "bigger" in its sound - a reflection of the use of loose-wristed jazz percussion (hi-hats to the fore) and more pads, chords and melodic elements. The EP is rounded off by a decent remix of "Just You" by Matt N Kate - aka Burton and regular Shepheard chanteuse Kate Rathod. It comes on like a megamix of elements from all three tracks - an "everything but the kitchen sink" rub that somehow manages to retain an atmospheric deep house feel. Like the rest of the EP, it's superb.

Review: If you're going to get remixes done, it's always wise to call up people who will actually give your tracks a proper makeover. That's exactly what Jay Shepheard's done on this excellent two-track remix single. German duo Session Victim kick things off, turning Shepheard and Matthew Burton's sparse 2011 cut "Liberal Zee" into a building chunk of Balearic house - all loose drums, rubbery electric bass (lifted from the superb original), sparkling disco guitars and touchy-feely chords. As remixes go, it's pretty darn good. Hyped deep housers Casino Times give Shepheard and Martin Dawson's "Cut A Hole" a good seeing-to on the (virtual) flip, turning it into a sunset-inspired chunk of wide-eyed haziness. To quote Norfolk's greatest fictional sportscaster, it's "lovely stuff".

Review: "Take Me Away" succeeds in living up to its title, transporting to a more wide-eyed musical time. Its dubby groove opens to the sound of kids playing and then veers into full-blooded jazzy keys that weave in and out of glorious solos. On the off chance that the listener's attention starts to drag, the duo deploy firing percussion to maintain a dance floor feeling. By contrast, the remixes are deeper and more ponderous; in a rare remix outing, UK producer Schatrax turns the original into a dubby techno groove replete with spell-bindingly beautiful chords, and BLM opt for a more melancholic deep house touch. Completing the package is "Tell them Phil Sent Ya", which pushes closer to modern sensibilities thanks to its repetitive vocal sample, but here too, the chiming chords and delicate yet forceful percussion ensure that the musical end of house prevails.