4 Lux Black Holland At Juno Download

Review: Alex Agore returns to 4Lux following the success of his "I Remember House" on the imprint at the end of last year. With "Victory", the German delivers an EP of four super deep, groove-led house tracks that touch on disco, dub, tech, jazz and the jacking sound of Detroit. The title track begins in a reggae influenced mood but switches to twinkling house. "The Dayz of Wayback" is slow, liquid disco infused house and "Skyraider" is vintage soul with a pumping house twist. "Jazz Thing", a continually building jazz-house jam completes a release that is sure to further enhance Agore's fast rising rep.

Review: 2011 was a great year for Arttu Snellman, with acclaimed releases dropping on both Royal Oak and Philpot. Here he starts 2012 with another couple of impressive tracks, this time for Gerd's 4Lux imprint. "Attic House" (chuckle) has a suitably retro feel, with treacle-thick bass, beats and synth motifs sparring with hissing, Detroit-influenced hi-hats and a classic vocal sample. "Soul Stream" is arguably even more impressive, a kind of tooled-up version of classic Mr Fingers with the addition of Burrell Brothers strings and melodies. Remix wise, Gerd's stripped-down version of "Attic House" is solid enough, but it's the two suitably old skool basement bumpers from Snuff Crew that most impress; the dub, in particular, is decidedly raw.

Review: After impressing Jimpster and Moodymanc with Honesty, his debut EP on the Undertones imprint last year, James Johnston returns with more deep house cuts on "Missed The Party" for the 4 Lux Black label. The Glaswegian has only just returned to the house music he grew up on after several years of delving into experimental music as part of a guitar noise duo and playing squat parties throughout Europe (Thurston Moore was a fan) but Johnston clearly has a talent for crafting impressive deep house. The title track takes the plaudits here - a bumping percussive rhythm wrapped in neat vocal edits and extra warm bass line where the hypnotic groove early on is transformed into Romanthony sampling deep house bliss. Johnston opts for a jazzier feel on "In The Dream Count To Three", drenching the lolloping beats in an exquisite synth melody and submerged atmospherics. "The Day We Expanded" brings you out of the mist with a slow building mix of uptight hi hats, Detroit-esque synth work and squiggly acid bass stabs.

Review: For the uninitiated, Kazuki Yamaguchi is a rising deep house producer from Japan. His first single on the Dutch label famed for their distinct future jazz groves, 4lux, was a huge success both on the dancefloor and in the record shops. Now he returns to the label with a specially commissioned remix EP of his debut release, the highly acclaimed "Sweetly Confused|."

Whilst hosting his own club night in Tokyo, Kez YM plays alongside the likes of Ame, Jazzanova and Giles Peterson. You can hear the kind of deep house groove that is associated with those producers In his original "Sweetly Confused." With deep basslines combined with solid keys and atmospheric synths and then dreamy leads over a catchy vocal sample, the track could lend itself to any of the aforementioned highly established acts, such is the talent of this up and coming producer.

Here though, the original track finds itself in between two stomping house mixes from fellow 4lux mover Alex Agore and one bouncy, dubby offering from the label's head honcho, Gerd. Opening with Alex Agore's re-edit, we are plunged into peak-time territory with a pure and simple house track. His Beatdown Version though is a much hazier affair, with warm bass and a cosy and intimate feel throughout. Such is its popularity that the original track is included in the EP, it comes in here before Gerd reveals his funked up, dub version. With pristine chords and warm melodies, it sounds playful but in perfect keeping with the depth of Kez YM's original effort.

All four tracks on here are more than worthy releases. Full of warmth and soul, they all radiate a positive energy but at the same time hold the ability to get the dancefloor jacking.

Review: There are numerous approaches to deep house around, but few are quite as spellbinding as that offered by Gerd's 4 Lux Black label. Since setting up a couple of years back, the Dutch label has quietly set its stall out as a 'must check' imprint for those who like their music deep, subtle and oozing with unfussy emotion. So far, the label's clear stand out release has to be Erdbeerschnitzel's brilliant Suave EP, but this new three-tracker from label stalwart Johan Brandes - aka Native Rush - pushes it mighty close. It's a concept EP of sorts, with the 'American Studies' title referring to the various spoken word and vocal samples - all from vintage US sources - that litter the release. These are invariably well chosen and add an extra dimension - a cinematic sweep, perhaps - to Brandes deep and meaningful compositions. This is perhaps most obvious on "Cigarbox", which slowly bobs and weaves for eight timeless minutes. The grooves are wearily sub-aquatic, the melodies chilly and otherworldly. When the poetic, extended vocal sample kicks in, it adds another dimension to an already impressive composition. Then there's "My Obsession", a rolling, low-end heavy groove that pits well-chosen spoken word samples ("America, I refuse to give up my obsession") against relentless organ riffs, bowel-bothering bass and a classic US house finish. It's a fittingly American-centric ending to an EP that delights and entertains in equal measure.

Review: Johan Brandes' most recent EP for Gerd's 4Lux Black imprint, American Studies, was something of a slow-burning deep house delight. While this EP hasn't quite got the same instant impact, it may have greater longevity. Certainly, there's something distinctly classic about the drifting, emotion-rich deepness on offer here. Tracks like "St Johns" - with its spoken word samples and glassy-eyed glaze - and "Landing Lights" are perfectly pitched, offering both head-nodding grooves and heart-stopping musicality. "Gloomy Stacks", meanwhile, sounds like a lost track from the glory days of Naked Music. Such a soft-focus approach to deep house rarely works, but Landing Lights is a treat.

Review: Having impressed with a few sultry slo-mo re-edits and the odd well-received remix, Nicholas pops up on Gerd's 4Lux label with a five-track EP of head-nodding house grooves. While fans of his loopy, disco-centric vibe will still find plenty to entertain (not least the pleasingly snug "All I Need"), All Night Long should appeal to anyone who likes their house bumpin' and groovesome. The title track itself is arguably Nicholas's best yet, a kind of fusion of classic US garage and 90s New York deep house - all hip-wigglin' bass, expansive piano solos and bluesy vocal snippets. Label boss Gerd remixes, dusting down the 808s and 909s for a vintage jack attack.

Review: Fresh from delivering an album's worth of Nu Groove remixes, Italian producer Nicholas pops up on Gerd's 4Lux Black imprint. The title track sets the tone for what follows, delivering a cockle-warming mix of old skool NYC house riffage, Italian house ambience and skippy, New Jersey garage percussion. If it was any more "classic", it would actually have been made 20 years ago. "Down To Nothing" and "Familiar Path" tread similar ground, offering wide-eyed, early 90s house for the permanently nostalgic. Hunee's remix of "Free To Be" offers a rougher, chunkier, late night take on the slick original, offering a delicious combination of rave riffage, acid bass and clattering 808 percussion.