James Curd

Review: Ten years of tech house powerhouse Exploited's exploits - pardon the pun! A born and bred Berliner, Shir Khan started the label in his home city in 2007. The imprint now plays host to a who's who in the current tech-house climate - including Adana Twins, Doctor Dru, Claptone, Joyce Muniz, Urulu and Cocolores to name a few. Its artists have been receiving full support from tastemakers such as Pete Tong, Soul Clap, Wolf & Lamb and Kraak & Smaak. All the usual suspects appear here: many golden oldies and even some newbie surprises too - perfect for the Christmas season and to forecast trends moving forward into 2018. To prove their relevance, they've served up a whopper of a compilation: over five dozen tracks showcasing their illustrious discography. We are certain that these are timeless grooves and will prove to be just as relevant another decade.

Some of these go as far back as 2009! Take for instance Malente & Dex feat. Analogik's "Gipsy Kings" which homed in that whole loopy latin house trend - popularised by similar tunes like "We No Speak Americano". Swedish electro house dons Zoo Brazil appear as well, with their 2012 dancefloor hit "Rock The House", then get deep and slinky with Moodymanc's 2013 sleeper hit "Joy" (Ralph Lawson Dub). They were even doing jazzy/dusty deep house as far back as 2011, like on Homework's "Whipped Cream". Remember Serge Santiago's remix of Murphy Jax's "Let's Get To It" featuring the inimitable Mike Dunn? It's here!

But when best describing the label's success thus far, we'd have to give honorable mentions to the true staples of the label. The legendary Chicagoan James Curd (formerly one half of the Greenskeepers) has kept on going from his new home of Adelaide, Australia and served up some of his best work in years. The emotive and bittersweet "Forever My Friend" is just one example. Likewise, Belgium's Compuphonic appears several times also - his recent hit from earlier this year "Metropolis" appears in all its soulful and evocative glory. Here's to another 10 guys, cheers!

Played by: Juno Recommends Deep House

Played by: FINGERMAN, YAM WHO?, Domshe, SITUATION

Played by: YAM WHO?, Trotter, BRUNO FROM IBIZA, 80's Child

Review: Confirmed party-starter James Curd (he of Greenskeepers fame) has released music on all manner of hyped labels - DFA, Classic, Exploited and Drop Music included - since making his debut at the dawn of the millennium. Here he pitches up on Midnight Riot with a trio of fun-time jams that should delight disco freaks and house heads alike. Certainly, both should enjoy the disco/nu-disco/house fusion of closer "Free Yourself", a tooled-up re-edit that that will have all but the most miserable dancers strutting their stuff. We're also big fans of bumpin' opener "A Lazy Boy Get Down", a Greenskeepers-esque frolic through quirky disco-house pastures blessed with some killer sax lines and rousing horns. Dub disco/punk funk bubbler "Lava Rocks" completes another fine EP from the Adelaide-based Chicagoan.

Played by: Juno Recommends Experimental

Played by: FINGERMAN, Juno Recommends Deep House, Mosaik

Review: The second release on the freshly minted Pronto label sees experienced Chicagoan house producer (and label founder) James Curd join forces with an unlikely collaborator: GRAMMY-winning British composer, keyboardist and audio engineer Marius De Vries. The pair's original, club-length mix is especially impressive, with Curd's drowsy spoken word vocals, spacey synth flourishes, warming chords and cascading vibraphone melodies riding a rubbery, action-packed disco-house groove. Jacques Renault opts for an extra percussive, filter-sporting, French Touch-style disco-house approach on his weighty remix, while Oliver Dollar makes the track bigger, snappier, heavier and bolder. Throw in a swathe of instrumental reworks and the more fluid and sun-splashed 'demo' version and you have an excellent package.

Played by: Juno Recommends Minimal Tech

Review: Following the first volume of Bits N Bobs in 2021 comes this follow-up edition. Focusing on house music in the broadest sense, Volume 2 is a diverse release. It starts with the hypnotic loops and filtered groove of James Curd's "Born Twice", which sounds not unlike vintage Pepe Bradock. Jesusdapnk's "Anomaly" is also inspired by sounds from the same era - rooted in classic 90s deep house, it's an atmospheric but effective dance floor roller. Keeping its club focus, the release concludes with Jason Merle's "I Gotta Change". Powered by tough kicks and rasping percussion, it's an effective, stripped back DJ track.

Played by: FINGERMAN, YAM WHO?, Juno Recommends Funky House, Ladies On Mars

Review: If you're after a near faultless selection of peak-time ready house and disco jams, this special Amsterdam Dance Event compilation from Yam Who's Black Riot could just be the ticket. There's a good mixture of fresh floor-fillers - see the sample-heavy, boompty style Chicago house pulse of The Phantom Revenge's "Workout Music", Phonik D's piano-laden disco-house romp "Talking Vintage" and the smooth, life-affirming deep house warmth of Thatmanmonkz's hazy revision of Amp Fiddler's "Your Love Is All I Need" - and recent revisions of classic cuts. In this category you've find a superb Hi-Fi Sean revision of Psychotropic's rave-era anthem "Hypnotic", a sparkling Kiko Navarro re-make of Kenny "Jammin" Jason's "Can U Dance 2015" and a wonderful, filter-sporting disco-house take on CN Williams "Mr Bump Man" by Yam Who and Jaegerossa.

Played by: Claptone

Played by: Juno Recommends Deep House

Review: James Curd is a deep house nomad, jumping from label to label and from bomb to bomb. The thing about his own personal strain of house is, however, that he likes to add a little Chicago flair and wizardry to his tunes. Although "Checking Out NYC" refers to the other big US house town, the track is very much rooted in the sort of fire that peeps like Ron Trent used to make - sexy piano keys, subtle waves of acid and swampy vocal samples all wrapped up in a tight groove. "Vertigo" is darker and heavier on the 303 licks, while "Dance&Dash" is a super nice tropical touch to end this sublime EP that comes very heavily recommended and tipped from us.

Played by: Juno Recommends Deep House, Juno Recommends Funky House, CheapEdits, BRENDON P, Gledd, Offshore and Coen

Review: There are peaktime-orientated tracks that get all up in your face, grab you by the unmentionables and shout "listen to me!" - and then there are the kind of tracks that are carefully crafted to be set-builders, that won't scream for attention on the radio but will sound just perfect when served to a 4am floor that's already deep in the zone. This team-up between scene stalwarts Osunlade and James 'Greenskeepers' Curd is firmly in the latter camp, a dense, shuffling affair with a bubbling, burbling backdrop topped with a blues-y female vocal that comes with an even more eyes-down refix from FNX Omar.

Played by: Juno Recommends Deep House, Fred Everything, Mike Nasty

Review: Second time round for James Curd and Osunlade's surprise 2023 collaboration, 'Chocolate Puddin', which here returns in remixed form. First to tackle the pair's gospel-tinged, spiritually enriching Afro-house gem is Kai Alce, who delivers superb vocal and instrumental takes built around crispy, bouncy, Afro-deep drums, smooth bass, echoing organ stabs and the most warming and toasty of electric piano chords. Just as potent is Osunlade's own Yoruba Soul mix, a heavily electronic, tech-tinged deep house excursion rich in righteous keyboard stabs, bubbly TB-303 motifs and eyes-closed vocal snippets. The pair's joyous, uplifting and undeniably hypnotic instrumental mix completes a fine package.

Played by: Juno Recommends Minimal Tech

Played by: Juno Recommends Deep House, Philippa

Review: Something of an all-star affair here, as long-serving Chicago exile James Curd (Greenskeepers, Tone Brigade) joins forces with Detroit legend (and sometime 3 Chairs and Rotating Assembly member) Marcellus Pittman for a collaborative two-track outing. Predictably, the vastly experienced duo hit the ground running with lead cut 'Shafty Riptide', where a killer TB-303 acid style bassline, quirky noises and spaced-out organ sounds ride a smooth, rolling house groove. On 'Corners', the pair explore the jazzier side of their sounds, alternating between sax and TB-303 sounds over a sparse, electro-influenced house beat and simply stunning chords. As good as we expected it to be... and then some!

Played by: Juno Recommends Deep House

Played by: Oliver Heldens

Played by: DJ Mau Mau

Played by: Juno Recommends Minimal Tech

Played by: FINGERMAN, Juno Recommends Deep House

Played by: FINGERMAN, Juno Recommends Deep House

Review: Melbourne's Circa Trax are back, following up some great releases recently by the likes of Holmes John, Tim Light and Peekay with this new one by a couple of right legends. US veteran Junior Sanchez teams up with Chicago deep house vethero now based in Adelaide James Curd (Greenskeepers) on "Everybody Wants" - a funked-up and loopy disco jam delivered in both artist's trademark style. There are some great remixes too: Curd himself steps up to give the track a lo-slung makeover, while Superlover elevates the track with a powerful funky house style of flavour. Finally, Jerk Boy goes deeper into the night with his smooth and sensual perspective.