Spencer Parker

Played by: Shiny Chichin

Played by: Juno Recommends Funky House, Ash Reynolds

Review: If you're looking for a quick snapshot of where house music is at in 2022 then you could do a lot worse than pick up this latest Toolroom compilation. With 50 full-length cuts to choose from, plus two 75-minute DJ mixes, you're certainly getting plenty of bang for your buck, and with the likes of Ilyus & Barrientos, Leftwing:Kody, Shadow Child, Hannah Wants, Franky Rizardo, Mason Maynard and Huxley all represented, you get a good chance to catch up with what some of today's biggest stars have been up to lately, as well as checking out fresh cuts from veterans like ATFC, Wally Lopez, Nic Fanciulli and of course label boss Mark Knight himself.

Played by: Jazzman Wax, 1Farshad

Played by: Juno Recommends Minimal Tech, Alex Kennon

Review: Spencer Parker delivers his most distinctive and accessible release to date. The title track draws on 80s influences, including a pulsating Italo bass and electric piano keys, making for a dance floor groove that eminently hummable. Parker continues to draw inspiration from that decade on "Radio Waves (After Dark)"; featuring a repetitive vocal sample and snappy drums, this lean, linear affair also benefits from a throbbing bass. Meanwhile, on "The Work Out", Parker delivers a stripped back rhythm that provides the basis for a gloomy synth line that recalls New Order at their most pensive. Reflected through Parker's prism, it makes for a fresh approach to techno.

Played by: Honey Soundsystem

Review: Hot on the heels of Spencer Parker's Different Shapes & Sizes series comes a new set of singles featuring reworks of some of the best tracks. On this first EP, Steffen Laschinski AKA Rising Sun steals the show with two sparkling, floor-filling takes on "Riff Shapes". The first, a swirling and attractive affair that wraps bold electronic motifs around a sweaty, breakbeat-driven groove, is arguably the pick of the pair, though some may prefer the thumping techno bounce of his second interpretation. Then DJ Fett Burger lays down a typically eccentric take on "SIZE: YES" - think bustling hardcore style breakbeats and mind-altering acid lines, before Belgrade-raised Tijana T joins the dots between Patrick Cowley's muscular arpeggio-disco and mind-altering acid techno.

Played by: Juno Recommends Minimal Tech

Review: Work Them boss Spencer Parker excels at blurring the boundaries between house and techno, and this latest remix package shows that he extends a similar aesthetic to his choice of remixers. Recruiting DJ Deep to rework "Shape Fascination", the Deeply Rooted House owner turns in two stunning versions. The first is a lithe, understated groove peppered with subtle chord stabs and tonal shifts, while the second dub take is more driving and percussive, with Deep upping the tempo and delivering dense claps over a tight rhythm. Akirahawks is drafted in to rework "Riff Shapes" and delivers disco loops and repetitive organ riffs over a tracky house workout while on the Setaoc Mass version of "Shape Fascination", the balance tips in the favour of techno, courtesy of lead-weight kicks and firing percussion.

Played by: Alkalino, Djs: Most Charted - Deep House, Joss Moog

Played by: Dave Clarke

Played by: Matthias Tanzmann, Carl Cox, Derrick May, Dizko Toaster

Played by: Seth Troxler

Played by: The Timewriter, Matt Darey

Review: Following news that Ben Watt no longer intends to put out new music on Buzzin' Fly, the compiling and re-releasing of some of the highlights from the label's back catalogue is timely. This third volume focuses on the high point of the label's output, the golden period from 2007 to 2008. The dominant sound here is trancey and melodic, with synth sweeps combined with sensuous strings and woodwind samples. Manoo & Francois A embody this approach on the windswept "Magnetic", where epic, acid-led hooks build over dubbed out drums, while Pedro Madeira's "Long Shadows" moves from lush strings into an epic break down. Despite this approach, there is still space for classic US house, as the dubby drums of Dennis Ferrer & Steve Martinez' version of Ben Watt's "Lone Cat (Holding On)" demonstrates.

Played by: Anna Maria X, Alkalino, Juno Recommends Minimal Tech, Danny Tenaglia, Guy Gerber, Timo Maas, Lineki

Played by: DJ Mau Mau, Slam, Hannah Wild

Played by: Joachim Spieth, Deetron

Played by: Shadow Dancer, Tommy Largo, Lola Allen

Played by: Djuma Soundsystem, Roma Shpak, King Jackal, David Keno

Played by: Vince Watson, Juno Recommends Deep House, Juno Recommends Minimal Tech, Dockluster

Review: Buzzin' Fly compilations always take on a retrospective feel, looking back at what the label has achieved with a proud (and wholly justified) sense of achievement. They are much like family Christmas cards that fondly round up the year's activities for friends and relatives. As part of their 50th single celebrations this spring, they deliver a compilation of Buzzin' Fly classics as the next instalment of the Focus On series. Penned by Chris Woodward, an integral part of the imprint?s close knit family, this release serves as the audio family newsletter created to celebrate reaching this impressive milestone. All the big moments are there and each family member features, from Ben Watt to Spencer Parker, Justin Martin, Mlle Caro and Franck Garcia.

Like Buzzin Fly: 5 Years in the Wilderness, (and all four Volumes in the Buzzin' Fly series) this compilation digs into the imprint?s revered back catalogue to commemorate its particular achievement. The former was applauding reaching five years whilst the latter celebrates reaching their 50th release. Over seventy-five minutes, Chris Woodward picks out some of Buzzin' Fly's flagship tracks such as label boss Ben Watt?s "Guinea Pig," Spencer Parker's "The Beginning" and Justin Martin?s "The Fugative." As Woodward hones into some deep, intricate, house action, he delves into Buzzin' Fly's trademark mix of deep house, melodic techno and electronic disco. We see cuts like Jay Shepheard?s remix of Glimpse and Martin Eyrir's "Southern Soul" standing shoulder to shoulder with Darkmountaingroup's "Lose Control." Woodward also adheres to the Buzzin' Fly tradition of house that is both sonically ornate and driving in all the right places by including moments like Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia?s beautiful "Dead Souls" and Ame's club fuelled remix of "Insomnia".
Buzzin' Fly specialises in deep and beautiful house music. Their long standing resident has done the admirable job of paying homage to that sound and all the producers that help shape it, in one retrospective compilation that proves just what a force Buzzin? Fly has become over those 50 releases.

Played by: Dirty Channels

Played by: DJ Mau Mau, Romanto (YSR / DISCO MACHINE)

Played by: Marcus Sur, Todd Bodine

Played by: Josh Wink, Axer Rouf, Ben Watt, Soul Minority