Nils Penner

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: Kisk

Review: Jamie Odell aka Jimpster's London based label Freerange returns with a new compilation series entitled Almanac which showcases this highly regarded deep house imprint's current extended roster and believe us right now when we tell you: there's a who who on offer here! Featuring Aussie Andy Hart, Dutch duo Detroit Swindle and Hamburg's Kollektiv Turmstrasse to name but a few. Our favourites, again, if only we could pick a few, are as follows: We Play House main man from Belgium Red D with the sultry and emotive deepness of "Chez", Montreal's undisputed king of latin-microhouse Guillaume Coutu Dumont with the summery disco sleaze of "You Lost It" and Pittsburgh Track Authority with the dusty MPC jack of "Gold Trim". Oh and one more? It'd have to be Chicago's Chrissy with the sexy late night EBM noir crossover of "Presidential Astrologer" which will also appeal to fans of the Comeme or Correspondant sound of late.

Review: Sasse's Moodmusic presents us with Nils Penner who you probably know for his previous releases on Freerange and Compost. The Mustang EP delivers some dreamy deep house with enough kick for all dancefloors. Starting things off in good fashion with the buzzing and melodic energy of "Mustang" he gets a bit deeper and atmospheric on "Clouds" and the delightful "Lonely". But the standout track is "Aurora" with its epic atmosphere and killer drop which will appeal to Innervisions and Life & Death fans.

Played by: Tom Lown (Lucky Sun Recordings)

Review: Wazi Wazi is usually the label on which we hear Nils Penner's productions, but the dude has also released on Freerange before, and he comes through on the label with a handsomely hand-picked compilation of the label's best from recent months. On the beautifully presented thirteen-tracker you'll find a selection of different forms of house, ranging from the deeper territories to more jacking and pumped up house cuts. The highlights include "My Man" by Lovebirds, Detroit Swindle's "Brother Man", and label head Jimpster with "Distant Light". You also get a continuous mix for good measure. Get in there.

Played by: Kyodai

Played by: OOFT!, Valique, Thatmanmonkz (Shadeleaf Music), Dirtytwo, Maurice Aymard, Kiu D, Juno Recommends Deep House, Carl Cox, Majora, Djs: Most Charted - Deep House, Resident Advisor, Kele Okereke, Luca Fregonese, Space Echo, Nils Penner, MK, Anja Schneider

Review: Nils Penner's first release for Freerange, 2012's Munich/Berlin EP, seemed to re-ignite his career, landing him subsequent appearances on Compost Black Label and Exploited. This return to Freerange as every but as warm and involving as you'd expect, with the title track skipping along on a wave of Innervisions-style bottom end, shuffling drums, heart-aching string chords, bluesy vocal samples and some wonderfully tactile riffs. Even better is Pittsburgh Track Authority's superb remix, which adds a little Detroit swing and classic Chicago deep house bounce to Penner's very European-sounding original (think jaunty piano chords, eyes-wide-shut strings and fizzing Motor City percussion). Bonus cut "State of Mind" - all melancholic pianos, drawn-out breakdowns and tech-house swing - is pretty tasty, too.

Played by: Alkalino, Droog, Satoshi Tomiie, Nils Penner

Played by: THE GROOVERS, Keep Schtum, Maurice Aymard, Roberto Rodriguez (Manolo), Weedyman

Played by: Space Ranger, Moritz Ochsenbauer

Played by: Mark Hand

Played by: Peter Edison, Ralf Gum, Alkalino, Nils Penner

Played by: Adam B (Homegrown Music), Yiannis 'Nova' Dorakis

Played by: Maurice Aymard

Played by: Ben Gomori, Monologues