Review: The Sccucci Manucci label has done a fine job of handpicking artists on the rise for their releases to date, collaring the likes of Casino Times, Francis Inferno Orchestra and Toomydisco as well as the odd established name like Jacques Renault. The label's fourth release Forza Quattro is still grounded in the disco/house sensibility that has served them so well, though the presence of Waze & Oddysey demonstrates the Sccucci A & R team are willing to deviate. The elusive US pair are in the midst of a hot patch right now with releases already burning on Body Work and Southern Fried and plenty more due over the coming months, so their presence here is a real coup. "I Can't Hear You" sounds vaguely like a extra bouncy cover of the classic "RIP Groove" and definitely ranks alongside their output to date. The EP also has tempo traversing contributions from Fil Lavin, Sellouts and Deadly Sins, with the latter's slow and chuggy "Don't You Know" a particular highlight.
Review: 19 years after first taking up DJing, Serbian producer Zoran Petkovski has decided to launch his own label, Soul Print Recordings. This first EP offers a glimpse of what's in store, delivering a pair of decidedly deep house shufflers, each with an accompanying remix. "Hear Me", a hook-up between Fil Lavin and DJP, is fantastically deep and groovy, with a few neat soulful touches and some lovely, winding strings. Andy Ash remixes, retaining the lusher elements of the original while beefing up the bottom end. Petkovski and Akioki's "Think" is dreamier but a little bouncier, beats-wise, an effect heightened by the additional percussion and electronic madness that marks out Deep Space Orchestra's off-kilter remix.
Review: Having spent the last two years building up his reputation via a series of superb cuts on Sccucci Manucci, Much Love and Retrospective, Filip Jankovic continues his impressive rise with an excellent EP on Luvbug Recordings. In many ways it's typical of his work, offering a fuzzy but appetizing blend of '90s nostalgia, deep house sassiness, warm atmospherics and tough rhythms. Opener "Full Range" sounds like a vintage fusion of '90s US garage, East Midlands deep house and rolling techno-funk - all hypnotic, floor-friendly rhythms, garage vocal stabs and cheeky organs. The loose-limbed "Good Love" adds a bit of swing to a similar formula, before "Control" proves that bass-centric Hypercolour house can still be warm and inviting.
Review: This third EP from Alkalino and Alphabet City's occasional MuchLove label gathers together more bright and breezy deep house gems from up and coming producers. Fil Lavin leads the way with "Feel As I Do", a typically bold and beautiful combination of atmospheric synths, big chords and classic vocal samples. Linntronix & Samm's "Musique Concrete" ups the ante with the sort of bold strings and melodies that will have you reaching for the strobes, before Mike Gill offers some deep and dirty midtempo bump in the shape of "Prankstar". A solid EP is completed by Debonair's "Trans Express", a decidedly Balearic fusion of clattering electro rhythms, disco samples and deep house chic.
Review: Having recently expanded the repertoire of their previously edit-heavy Retrospective imprint to include original productions from themselves and others, Ruben and Ra gather together a bunch of mates for an expansive collection of previously unreleased material. It's a largely excellent collection, mixing brand new deep house and nu-disco with smart edits and loopy, slo-mo edits-not-edits. Bedmo Disco Records' regular Jimmy The Twin and Rayko provide scalpel jobs, Ruben and Ra do their Tiger and Woods-ish thing and Toomy Disco drops some contemporary electrofunk. Best of all, though, is Fil Lavin's "Love Is Gone", a formidably rush-inducing chunk of fluid deep house that channels the spirit of Chill Out/"Pure Trance" series-era KLF via a familiar, dubbed-out vocal sample.
Review: Given the re-emergence of good old-fashioned house music in the last couple of years, it's little surprise to find another disco/electrofunk imprint abandoning filter-heavy discoid edits in favour of piano-laden old skool goodness. "Soul Brother" is spine-tingling stuff - all early-90s pianos, snappy beats and hazy, sampled vocals. Label bosses Ruben & Ra employ a delicious jazz break on their woozy remix, which turns the anthemic original into a lovingly crafted chunk of mid-90s deep house groovery. "Chord Cracker" offers a starry-eyed take on deep house (with, it should be said, more than a touch of 80s soul), while "Shiver & Breeze" slows things down impressively. Recommended.
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