Munk

Played by: Superbreak, Juno Recommends Funky House, Tooli (Local Talk / Omena / 18437)

Review: While Local Talk has always tended towards the deeper and more soulful end of the house spectrum, there's no denying the jazz chops of label co-founder Mad Mats and the imprint's penchant for jazzier house workouts. It makes perfect sense, then, that the Swedish DJ/producer would want to showcase that side of Local Talk's output with this tidy trawl through the back catalogue. It naturally contains a wealth of jazz-flecked, floor-friendly gems, with the many highlights including Vick Lavender's near 20-minute, Latin jazz-influenced 'Time Traveller Mix' of his own 'Shifting Gears', a deliciously warm, woozy and sub-heavy tweak of Coflo's 'Lux' courtesy of Kaidi Tatham, Kai Alce's 'St Germain does Detroit deep house' re-vision ofMunk's 'Hot Medusa' and Ron Trent's luscious take on 'Rising' by Kyoto Jazz Sextet.

Played by: Kraak & Smaak, Juno Recommends Deep House, G-Blaster (Memorie Cluster), Pontchartrain, Chuggin Edits, VIGI

Review: Last year, Kapote joined forces with regular home Toy Tonics to release Teutonik Disaster, a compilation of his own re-edits of late '70s and early '80s, "German new wave funk". 12 months on he returns to the same label with a new collection, Mushroom House, which boasts a mixture of Balearic, Afro and cosmic-influenced cuts from the imprint's vaults. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the rubbery, dubbed-out Afro-house bounce of Ponty Mython's 'Slippin' Into Darkness' and the dusty Afro-disco haziness of Munk's 'Nigerian Jam', to the intergalactic electro trip of the Asphodells' killer remix of 'The Circular Path' by the Deadstock 33s, and the deep space Italo-disco chug of Baldelli's sparkling 'Phobos (2020 Version)'.

Played by: Low Steppa

Played by: Juno Recommends Deep House

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!

Review: On this second volume in their ongoing Disco Jams series, Gomma has decided to focus on tracks that ripple with the synthesizer-heavy sunshine sheen of nu-disco. Of course, there are still nods towards low-slung dub disco - see he spiraling synthesizers, electric bass and trippy electronics of the GB's "Lucky in Vichy" - but for the most part it's a rubbery, positive and heavily electronic affair. We're particularly enjoying the warehouse nu-disco strut of Pete Herbert and Tristan da Cunha's remix of the Glimmers "U Rocked My World" and authentic '80s P-funk bounce of Munk's "Down in L.A" (as remixed by Shazam), though the slow and spacey synth-pop of Nancy Whang and Etienne de Crecy's "Comme Un Aigle" is almost as impressive.

Review: As the title suggests, Local Talk's latest compilation showcases some of the best remixes and alternate versions nestling in the Swedish label's bulging archives. A quick glance at the track listing confirms the presence of some serious studio talent, with Atjazz, Kai Alice and Kaytronik amongst those supplying superb re-rubs in their own distinct styles. Highlights include, but are not limited to, Alexader Lay-Far's bustling and fuzzy rework of his own collaboration with Ashley Beedle and Darren Morris ("Slope"), Glenn Underground's wonderfully positive and musically expansive deep house rub of Kiko Navarro's "Nea Kemeni" and Basic Soul Unit's thrillingly stab-heavy "Basement remix" of Kyodai's "Moving" - a prime slice of early morning sleaze that's been a little overlooked since it appeared a few years back.

Played by: Dicky Trisco, Juno Recommends Disco, In Flagranti, BRENDON P, CHEWY RUBS, Hober Mallow, LEGO EDIT, Hard Ton, Stephen Richards (DiscoDaze), Sould Out

Review: While more often associated with punk-funk and dirty Italo style dancefloor workouts, Gomma's vast back catalogue contains a string of disco and boogie-inspired gems. To highlight the fact, the label has decided to release a series of EPs featuring some of its finest "Disco Jams". This first installment begins with a fine WhoMadeWho interpretation of Munk and LCD Soundsystem founder James Murphy's Sly Stone style growler, "Kick Out The Chairs", before charging into dub disco-meets-proto-house territory via In Flagranti's "In The Silver White Box". There's another chance to admire Dimitri From Paris and DJ Rocca's Prelude Records tribute, "Eros Disco Theme", while original NYC disco don Nicky Siano channels the spirit of Loose Joints on his fantastic rework of KDMS's "Never Stop Believing".

Played by: Luis Machuca, Kenneth Bager // Musicfordreams, Andy Buchan, Kiwi

Review: Toy Tonics' Mushroom House series has so far sparkled, delivering a series of "weirdo house" inspired EPs full of tracks that look to "ethno, Afro and psychedelic" music for inspiration. Each of the producers involved in this third installment predictably hit the mark, with Ponty Mython's trippy opener - think rolling tropical deep house with hallucinatory flourishes - expertly setting the tone. Fast-rising producer Kiwi steals the show with a low-slung fusion of dub disco and smacked out Afro-house, while the Barking Dogs join forces with Tom Trago for a seductive trip into cosmic deep house territory. Red Axes also do a terrific job turning Munk's "The Bolero Brunel" into a hazy chunk of nu-disco psychedelia.

Played by: Roe Deers

Review: According to those behind the label, Toy Tonics' Mushroom House compilation was inspired by "the new wave of weirdo house" that's inspired by "ethno, Afro and psychedelic music". The collection's 15 tracks include a swathe of new or previously unheard cuts from the likes of Auntie Flo, Daniel Avery & Justin Robertson, Daniel Haaksman, Hyenah and Drrrtyhaze. With such a strong line-up, it's no surprise that the music is uniformly excellent. Highlights include, but are not limited to, DJ Koze's superb Hudson River Dub of WhoMadeWho's eccentric "Keep Me In My Plane", the epic build-ups and trippy, dubbed-out riffs of Munk and Rebolledo's "Surf Smurf", and the psychedelic acid attack of Massimiliano Pagliara's remix of Barotti's "She Once Knew".

Played by: Jimpster, DJ Said, VanDoorn, Djs: Most Charted - Deep House

Review: The second volume in Toy Tonics' ongoing Mushroom House series gathers together more Afro-influenced dancefloor jams from an impressive selection of producers. Zut and Kapote kick things off with the bouncy house rhythms, chanted African vocals and heavy dub disco bass of "Afro Rico", before Gomma regular Munk pays tribute to Afrobeat on the excellent "Nigerian Jam". Elsewhere, Freerange and Objektivity regular Hyenah throws down a typically tactile chunk of atmospheric, Afro-tinged tech-house ("Fire"), and Glaswegian genre-bender Auntie Flo layers up indigenous instrumentation and hand-held percussion on the standout "Kampala Boda Boda Ride".

Played by: Alkalino, Juno Recommends Minimal Tech, Ponty Mython

Review: Berlin based imprint Toy Tonics serve us with a new series entitled Mushroom House which will explore some mutant strains of house music, drawing in a diverse range of influences and boy are we excited! Starting out with the legendary Danish trio WhoMadeWho with the deep and smacked out DJ Koze remix of their track "Keep Me In My Plane". Also on offer is Australian act and the Sonar Kollektiv affiliated Jad & The Ladyboy who offer us the jagged and exotic latin flair of "Gervinho", the dark dancefloor drama of Berlin/Mexico collaboration by Munk & Rebolledo "Surf Smurf" (Rebolledo Short version) and Italian duo Alien Alien with the emotive Detroit techno influenced "Uhura" for something a bit deeper and futuristic.

Played by: Mike Woods

Played by: Maceo Plex, Martin Garrix

Played by: Dave Lee ZR, JimmyTheTwin, Lysgaard, Thatmanmonkz (Shadeleaf Music), Superbreak, Juno Recommends Deep House, J Khobb, Weedyman, Djs: Most Charted - Deep House, BRENDON P, Nachtbraker, Munk, OPOLOPO, Delpezzo, Jon Delerious

Review: Given that he released his first record under the Munk moniker way back in 2000, it would be fair to describe Mathias Modika as a "veteran". The Gomma founder has released a wide variety of music under the alias over the years, much of it with a jazzy bent. He's at it again here, with title track "Hot Medusa" offering a 95 BPM stroll through hazy, guitar solo-laden downtempo pastures. Even better is "Purple Haze", which combines bumpin' deep house, woozy chords and notable Todd Edwards influences on a particularly tasty, mid-tempo shuffler. Best of all, though, are Kai Alice's two deep, jazz-house remixes of "Hot Medusa", which blend bossa influences with all manner of tasty musical flourishes.