Fire in the hole! Master Error gets a few of his mates together for a session that's rowdy and heavy enough to wake the dead. Skore's on side from the off with 'Dead Creatures', a furious piece laced with a staccato bassline and a beautiful rave breakdown while Warhead joins in the scrap with the wonky bleeped out swagger jam 'Circulator' and Metal Work gets involved in remix form on the ugly tear-up 'Balance Of Terror'. Elsehwere 'XMNV' is pure laser grot while 'Ready' could soundtrack you joyriding into the shop window of a deluxe robot shop. Dead good.
Dave Lee's first Produced With Love album was not only a celebration of his production credentials, but also a celebration of the music that has inspired and shaped his career over the years, namely soul, disco, boogie, jazz-funk and house. This follow-up, which lands 5 years after its predecessor, continues in a similar vein, with Lee offering up 12 new songs and a wealth of remixes of tracks by other artists. As you'd expect, it's an on-point collection, with the many highlights including the soulful disco-boogie bounce of Raw Essence hook-up 'Do It Again', the Omar-sporting dancefloor sunshine of 'Starlight', the boogie/soulful house fusion of 'Love Walked In The Roo his hot-stepping two-step disco tweak of Roland Whitingale's 'In Your Blood' and a string-laden disco rework of 'Mountains' by The Vision.
There's something especially alluring about 'The Time Is (Now)', the lead cut from deep house veteran Fred Everything's latest EP, though we're struggling to put our finger on it. Maybe it's the rolling, shaker-heavy drum track, the bold and beautiful bassline, the soundscape electronics or the cut's smiling, effortless positivity. Whatever it is, the track is fantastic - high-quiality deep house that suits a variety of dancefloor situations. It comes backed with two alternative takes -a darker, more driving and percussion-heavy 'dub' mix and a sparse, slowly building 'Reprise' take - plus two bonus cuts: the organ and piano heavy classic house vibes of 'L'Horizon' and the deeper, dreamier flex of 'Paintings'. High-grade deep house for those who love good grooves, addictive basslines and tasteful musicality.
More dark and foreboding dancefloor drama courtesy of the ever reliable Senso Sounds, on which label chief Oliver Huntemann joins forces with the inimitable Dubfire for the fifth installment of the Elements Series. "Amor" comes in three different versions: there's the pumping and elevated energy levels of the Devocion mix, which is followed by the twisted minimal tech house sound of the Devocion mix, with its bass-driven groove taking it deep into the afterhours. Finally, the hypnotic Rechazo mix is perfect for those heads-down moments on the dancefloor.
Following on from 2020's Ego Rave, Deetron returns to Running Back with an evocative, club-friendly release. The sense of euphoric energy is audible from the get-go, with "Mind Eclipse" (TranceHouzzTool)" resounding to swirling, shimmering synths and a spine-tingling breakdown. "HG" follows a similar path, with Deetron dropping tranced out melodies over rolling snares, doubled-up claps and a wiry rhythm. "Phoenix" is leaner and has a more contemporary sound, with tonal bleeps supported by a pulsating groove, while on "The Shore" Deetron channels the energy of the Dutch West Coast's electro sound, fusing cosmic melodies with a bubbly Italo Disco rhythm.
Earlier in the year, A-Trak paid tribute to old-school house and rave-era breakbeat hardcore via the 10 Seconds Volume 1 EP. The Canadian turntablist-turned-big room headliner opts for a similarly retro-futurist vibe on this sequel, first opting for a bouncy, loose-limbed and warming, Chicago "boompty" kind of sound on 'Keep On' before charging away on a surging, filter-sporting French Touch tip (think compressed, chopped and looped disco-house) on 'Maximum'. Arguably more potent - and certainly less in-your-face - is 'Limbo', where acid bass, bleeping melodies, spacey electronics and snappy drums catch the ear, wile 'Cortez' sounds like vintage, late '90s Caassius with added jazzy samples.
