Review: Notching up a decade of releases requires something suitably celebratory. That's exactly what Germany's admired Quintessentials has served up on this tenth birthday compilation. It comes packed with previously unheard cuts of the highest quality, from the sun-bright swing of Borrowed Identity's UK garage-meets-deep house opener "For You", to the atmospheric, synth-heavy chug of Ooft's "Freak-E-Groove", the smoky late night jazz-house of Loz Goddard's "Leaves", and the foreboding, jazz-funk-biting sample-house dustiness of S3A's "Searching". Also worth checking are the drowst chords and bumpin' beats of KRL's "Baltimore" and the low-slung, gospel-influenced deep house pump of 4004's "Continuous Dialogue".
Review: Last year, Mat Chiavaroli popped up on Quintessentials with his first EP since 2012, a collection of tasty deep house cuts titled Swan. It turns out that the well-received EP was merely a taster for No Stranger To Madness, a debut album almost six years in the making. While there occasional downtempo moments - see the Balearic ambience of opener "Introduzione", gentle beatdown grooves of "Storia Losca" and smoky R&B shuffle of P-Lok hook-up "Latexxxnite Enemy" - for the most part the material is groovy and club-ready, with Chiavaroli drawing on all manner of classic U.S deep house tropes. Highlights include the sun-kissed jazziness of "Whoja Vu" and the Chez Damier style goodness of "Jeep Ridaz".
Review: This follow-up to last year's Gentleman Cuts EP is a significant release for Quintessentials. It's their 50th release in total, and contains material from some very familiar faces. There's Nachtbraker, whose "Bronco" is a lesson in fuzzy electro/deep house fusion, and Ponty Mython, who predictably steals the show with a rock solid chunk of funky disco/deep house fusion. Similarly, impressive is the contribution from rising star Soul of Hex, with the Mexican brilliantly joining the dots between punk-funk, dub disco, punk-funk and deep house on the sweaty dancefloor hustle of "Body Shine". Those looking for more straightforward deep house flavours should check the Andres style dusty beats, soulful vocal samples and chiming melodies of Mat Chiavorolo's "Breakfast At Mat's Bar".
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