Faces France At Juno Download

Review: Over the past few years, MCDE has cultivated its own sound and vibe within the expansive spectrum that is deep house and this is thanks to, in part, the formation of a tight-nit family unit. Jayson Brothers are back once again with their signature sound on "Drop Back", a mellow yet raw beat surrounded by climatic pads and chopped-up vocals. "North & Pulask" is another sweet MPC-cut house jam rich with ringing melodies and sharp, crunchy hi-hats. On the B-side, Creative Swing Alliance introduce a deep, Detroit-flavoured percussion on "Yeah" but CSA member Pablo Valentino goes solo and maybe steals the show with "Like It Was 99" - classic hip-hop fuelled deep house for fans of Moodymann, Andres and the whole 313 sound. Highly Recommended

Review: When he first reached the wider deep house scene on Yore Records, Kez YM demonstrated his ability to absorb the legacy of Detroit house as fathered by the likes of Kenny Dixon Jr. or Theo Parrish and adapt it to a more direct template. Where his influences might be famed for their curveball tracks, a DJ is safe with Kez YM's bluesy, soulful jams. It's actually 'Smoke Reflection', the closer on this EP that wins out with its smartly employed vocal. Whilst Kez YM's productions are undoubtedly steeped in a vintage deep house aesthetic they maintain a high-grade ethic that makes it hard to resist.

Review: A real gem, this supremely funky and slick Nu-Boogie bomb will remind you of many things, but will still uniquely burn itself onto your brain after a couple of spins. L'Aroye (aka Frenchman Thomas Arroyo) has already released acclaimed tunes like "Be The One" and "The Meet", and has been supported by Jazzanova, Patrick Forge, Gilles Peterson and 4Hero to name but a few.

Sounding in equal parts like Change (Luther Vandross's first disco/boogie gig) and PYT-mode Michael Jackson, the production on this is second to none. Every single note is groomed and smoothed out to perfection, with L'Aroye's voice sounding soulful but never cheesy.

The release comes with a range of different formats, with the dub and instrumental being as useful as the vocal. With any luck, this should be a smash really soon.

Review: Given his love of all things jazzy, it's perhaps no surprise to find that the latest Motor City Drum Ensemble label release (via parent company Faces France) is a modern re-boot of fluid jazz-house. "Cosmic Cart" itself is delightful, a spacious, flowing composition that fuses the looseness and organic grooves of jazz with the comforting pulse of high grade deep house. If Moodymann relocated to Moldova and necked copious amounts of tranquilizers, it would probably sound something like this. Soulphiction provides a suitably odd, slightly darker house take (think acid, wonky 4/4 beats and long, drawn-out chords), while Laroye turns it into a piano-laden jazz-house anthem (St Germain dragged kicking and screaming into 2012, if you will). Terrific stuff, all told.

Review: Finally! Motor City Drum Ensemble aka Danilow Plessow drops the Raw Cuts series into one neat little package. Ubiquitous in 2009, the series showcased the Stuttgart native's ability to combine warm pads and luscious synths to create a house sound with a decidedly classicist tip. On this EP you'll also find two new jams from the Plessow-produced Jayson Brothers and a couple of new MCDE tracks, the highlight being "Prayer".

Review: OL, AKA Oleg Buyanov, is fast emerging as one of the rising stars of Moscow's previously little known "beats scene". With a sound that sits somewhere between Falty DL, Flying Lotus and BNJMN, his tracks are versatile, on-point and impressively fluid. The two tracks that make up Cover EP are a great example of his art. "Cover" itself begins as an exercise in head-nodding MPC love, before morphing into a wonky 4/4 dancefloor slammer. Throughout, woozy vocals and tumbling chords accompany the expertly programmed beats. "Vertical Race" goes straight for the jugular from the off, delivering a mix of jazz-funk drops and rave-era techno pump.

Review: Despite looking like a 1980s glam metal star, Japanese producer Rondenion is deep house through and through. Now plying his trade with French label Faces, he's previously released excellent material on Still Music and Rush Hour. The Montage EP sees him delivering more organic, jazz-flecked material shot through with a hustling urgency and intoxicating intensity. The relentless keys and jazz drums of "Herb" lead the way, before "Surely" injects some wayward jazz-funk into the floor-friendly mix. "Convulsions" follows suit, sounding like Theo Parrish in Ugly Edits mode, before Inkswel rounds things off with a suitably fluid rework of "Surely". Highly recommended!