Review:
Having only released occasional EPs over the last few years, Home Taping is Killing Music appears to behave got its mojo back. This EP from recent G.A.M.M contributor Love Drop appears a few months after a fine single from Klic ("Disco Music", which was backed by killer re-rubs by Dicky Trisco and Tuff City Kids). The original version of "Don't Look Back" is a dubby and hypnotic affair, with delay-laden synths, Clavinet lines and disco snippets riding a metronomic mid-tempo house groove. Dicky Trisco does his best Revenge impression via a smooth, groovy and deep revision, before Dan Shake throws everything but the kitchen sink at the track on a killer "Dancefloor Dub "laden with layered percussion hits and mazy Moog solos.
Review:
According to our meticulous records, "My Hood" is the first collaborative single from sometime Relief Records and Monologue Music producer LEON, and recent Hot Creations signing Dennis Cruz. It sees them drag hip-house into the 21st century, layering a swaggering half rapped, half sung vocal atop a rubbery, driving backing track rich in fuzzy bass, rolling percussion and deliciously odd electronic noises. While good, we'd argue that Ewan Pearson's accompanying reworks are even better. Both the "Remix" and "Dub" versions operate at a slower, more chugging tempo, with the experienced producer wrapping mind-altering, psychedelic electronics and delay-laden dub-disco guitars atop a chunky, Italo-disco influenced groove. The "Dub" is naturally the more intoxicating of the two, though it's a close run thing.
Review:
Scotland's Soup Dragons hit the mainstream in 1990 with their cover of the Rolling Stones' "I'm Free". The Glaswegian four-piece were synonymous with the emerging 'Madchester' sounds of the time and the track reached almost anthemic proportions. These modern perspectives by nu-disco giants Midnight Riot still do the song justice: label staples Yam Who? team up with Alan Dixon Remix for a gospel like remix that reaches near spiritual moments, then all the Riot Allstars team up for a sultry and dubby nu-disco rendition until the man himself - Hifi Sean aka Soup Dragon's frontman Sean Dickson - wraps it up with his driving funky house makeover which is superb.
Review:
Philpot co-founder Soulphiction has been MIA for a while now, making it an utter pleasure to have him back on our charts with some effective new house swingers. He's landed on Local Talk, one of the very best in its class, and "Bizzness" kicks off with a funky-ass bassline and some freaky vocal chops, while "Cart People" lingers at a steadier sort of tempo, filtered through mounds of dubbed-out haze. "Slow Glow" is an experiment in percussion, also meandering its wavy synths on an off-kilter mode, and "Sweet Dreams" works the drum-machine in and out of the groove, ending up with another off-balance house experiment for the deeper minds out there on the floor!
Review:
For those who like their house deep, groovy and emotion-rich, Dessous's back catalogue is a veritable goldmine. It is rather vast, though, so it's good to see the Steve Bug-helmed imprint giving us a few pointers via this excellent compilation. Check, for example, the drowsy chords, undulating bass and jazzy drums of Thierry Tomas's "Piu Piu", the basement-bothering tech-tinged chunkiness of James Dexter's "120" and the ultra-deep late night hyonotism of Chocky's "Self-Knowledge (Dub)", where hazy and trippy synthesizer motifs ebb and flow over a locked-in groove. Further highlights come in the shape of Tom Flynn's fuzzy and far-out "Pluck" and a brilliant mid-tempo Genius of Time rub of Vincenzo's "106 Downtown" full of gentle acid lines and freaky electronic noises.
Review:
Given that each of their previous releases has been on-point, it's little surprise to find that Fouk's latest EP is packed full of warm, sample-heavy, disco-flecked deep house treats. We'd argue that the headline attraction is bouncy opener "Organ Freeman", a tasty workout that layers fresh organ solos over a house groove built around rubbery bass and obscure disco-funk samples, though the wilder and more driving "Wrong Way" pushes it close. Elsewhere, "Butterfunk" is a lolloping trip into mid-tempo deep house/disco/jazz-funk fusion, while closer "Winter" is a loved-up chunk of deep space instrumental hip-hop with added boogie synths.
Review:
Originally released back in 2012 on Croatian imprint Burek, "Leko" by Bulgarian hardware maverick KiNK returns to the label with some fantastic remixes for today's dancefloors. While his sound might be more on the techno tip these days, there's no doubt that his penchant for catchy melodies and amazing chord progressions were something he had a true knack for even back then. He hands in a couple more perspectives here: from the gritty and harder hitting Kink's Bass Shake version, though to the mellow and dreamy Kink version featuring the angelic vocals of Rachel Row. Finally the Berlin-Hamburg alliance known as Session Victim step in for an always welcome appearance: their exploration further into the deep is evocative and life-affirming.
Review:
Not content with co-founding the Steel City Dance Discs imprint, Mall Grab has decided to launch another label: Looking For Trouble. Naturally, the label's debut release comes from the man himself, who serves up another quartet of killer cuts. He first pushes his crunchy house percussion up to techno tempo and reaches for glassy synthesizer melodies on fine opener "Liverpool Street in the Rain", before peppering a warm and woozy deep house groove with punchy hip-hop vocal samples on "Bust". Those hankering after some up-tempo filthiness should check the doom-laden rave stabs and full-throttle ghetto-house rhythms of "Looking For Trouble" - one of the producer's dirtiest and most thrill-packed cuts to date - while "Get Impetuous" is a bustling chunk of late night hip-house revivalism.
Review:
As per usual, the UK's Toolroom imprint has put together the definitive summer collection when it comes to tech-house and anything minimal. As you can see - and hear - there are 67 tracks on here, all from the very best and most coveted talent in the scene; Mark Knight features prominently, of course, alongside established house entities like Erick Morillo, Format: B, Sascha Funke, Nic Fanciulli, and many others. But, don't stop there, as there is plenty of new talent to discover in artists like SecondCity, GotSome, Marcellus Wallace, ANOTR, and many more. There are three continuous mixes available, also, one for each summer setting. This is BIG!
Review:
London scene stalwart Tom Szirtes is back on Freerange, a label he's no stranger to - he's only had nearly a couple of dozen appearances for Jimpster and Co. over the years! The Dark Energy boss is in top form as always on his new State Of Emergency EP, serving up three deeply compelling grooves on the emotive tip. Features the deep down and dusty title track with its subtle acid flourishes, the sensual late night mood lighting of "Out At Night" and ending with the bittersweet boogie-down antics of "Three Of A Kind".
Review:
Dortmund based producer Mr. Fries returns to Wolf Music for his third outing for the London label, with yet more sample heavy/MPC saturated cuts that follows up a terrific EP on Philpot. WOLFEP 045 opens with the sexy late night mood lighting of "Nocturnal" with its creamy Rhodes melody and dusty drums, the funky "Work" and its bass driven/Moodymann influenced groove, and the sunny open-air deepness of "Getright" which you could imagine hearing at a outdoor party on a summer Sunday in Berlin. Speaking of which, the fine EP closes out in blissed-out style with the very Money $ex/Tartelet sounding urban blues of "Thesimplethings" nailing that deep sound of the German capital.
Review:
Crazy P main man James Baron returns under his Ron Basejam alias, with more liquid nu-disco jams. Started as a casual side project 12 years ago, Baron wanted to 'capture the more diverse and quirky sides of his musical tastes', creating underground music that he incorporates with character, personality and humour. The After The Rain EP sees him return to Bristol institution Futureboogie, for the first time since 2016's "The Carrington Spirituals". Featuring the very soulful and near spiritual title track, the lo-slung funk attack of "The French Exit " and the late night acid express of "Raise" (featuring some vocals reminiscent of the legendary Daryl Pandy) among others - each one is a a sure shot and will light up the dancefloor.
Review:
There's no high concept behind Midnight Riot's latest compilation of label favourites and unheard cuts, just a desire to deliver "summer burners" to "make your body move". As usual, label boss Yam Who has gathered together a selection of original productions, re-edits and remixes that prioritize frenzied limb shaking. Highlights include a deliciously deep and woozy, Joey Negro style M+M rub of Soulpersona's "Sunset City", a bouncy, boogie-meets-nu-disco revision of Hypnotic Lovers' "Chemistry" by Birdee, the sax-laden disco-funk shuffle of Stephen King's "Hold On To You", some soaring peak-time disco edit business from Alan Dixon and a suitably cheery, talkbox-sporting rework of an underground disco classic by long-serving edit crew Drop Out Orchestra.
Review:
Magic Feet boss Craig Bratley is not the most prolific producer in the world, but his sporadic EPs are usually excellent. Certainly, this outing on Futureboogie Recordings contains some superb music. Pulsating opener "99.9" - a body-jacking, Italo-influenced throb-job high on horror-influenced synthesizer melodies and foreboding riffs - is particularly potent, though wholehearted Italo-disco tribute "Italo Love" and the slo-mo chug-fest "Take Me To Bedford or Lose Me Forever" are almost as good. The EP also includes a sublime interpretation of "99.9%" by Andrew Weatherall, whose stretched-out take places exotic, snaking synth lines and yelping vocal samples over a Love From Outer Space-ready pitched-down groove.
Review:
If you dig Masterworks Music's celebratory, feel-good approach to disco re-edits and reworks, we'd advise picking up this bulging, 26-track collection of killer cuts from the label's recent past. It begins with a superb disco-funk cut-up by The Funk District and ends with a smooth, rolling and glassy eyed boogie-era disco revision by Saskin S that's almost worth the admission price on its own. In between, you'll find a swathe of superb revisions from some of the edit scene's finest - South Beach Recycling, Hotmood, Chewy Edits and Dr Packer included - with the selected tracks variously touching on electrofunk, boogie, P-funk, Latino disco and super-sweet '80s soul.
Review:
Berlin based Israelis Disco Halal are purveyors of all things exotic and this is further exemplified tremendously on their Perfect Strangers EP. With previous releases by hometown heroes such as Moscoman and Autarkic, you know what kind of oddball grooves to expect from this bunch! The Organism from Ukraine serves up some dark disco of the most hypnotic kind on "Reflection", Kincaid (Sol Selectas/Silver Bear) gets into some esoteric tribal vibes like a true shaman on "Tyrant" and mysterious trio Mount Kismet get back to the program on the trippy and lo-slung cosmo-balearica of "Prune & Dunes".
Review:
The Alma Negra collective are based in Basel, Switzerland and are made up of Miajica, Dario Rohrbach and Dersu Figueria. They have appeared on some great labels such as Lumberjacks In Hell, Basic Fingers and of course Heist - this will be their second appearance for Detroit Swindle's imprint since last year's Endless Summer EP. The new Conversation EP features more sweltering grooves by the trio: from the soulful and entrancing title track which is rich on the hypnotic tribal polyrhythms - it also receives a wonderful rework by Amsterdam's Awanto 3 later on too. Not to mention the sultry deep house of "This Is The Place" which takes it cues from the mighty Kenny Dixon Jr or the sexy late-night groove of "From The Heart" which is perfect to enjoy on what is left of these long summer evenings.
Review:
The Night Bass rampage continues to rage as they bring in Bijou for this exciting four track selection, packing a serious punch. The title track 'Super Phat' is a heavyweight collaboration with Ushi Qute, working her impactful vocals into a high pressure build up, landing on a synth driven madness of a breakdown. To follow we have the super punchy drum work of 'Do Not Disturb' alongside the distorted devisings of 'Expert'. The EP is rounded off with some major flare as the shuffling synths and hard hitting drum designs of 'Better Than That' run riot.
Review:
Mark Knight & Co. are straight up with their latest title - but considering their current 15th birthday celebrations, these guys can do whatever they want - they hardly do wrong anyway! House, Tech House, Techno Vol 2 does exactly what is says on the tin with a whopping 62 tracks and three continuous mixes - each dedicated to said subgenre. From that massive remix of Fatboy Slim's "Right Here, Right Now" by current scene favourites CamelPhat, Saved main man Nic Fanciulli's collaboration with Damon Albarn on "Saying" (Kolsch remix), label head honcho Knight himself steps up to deliver the pumping and white noise filled "We Get High From The Music" (feat Mr V) and the inimitable Danny Howells is always welcome - particularly with a track as electrifying as the recently released "Isolar".
Review:
Hot Creations are back with veteran Italian producer Danny Minchella. The former Flashmob member now dons the Rogue D alias, which has thus fair served up two hot releases for Defected sublabel DFTD recently and "Chains" takes up from where those EPs have left off. A loose and funky affair with looped-up diva vocals in its original form, it's all about Newcastle hero Patrick Topping's deep down and dirty rendition on the flip - which goes for that second wave Chicago style of 'percolator jack' in the vein of legend Cajmere.
Review:
On their Deep Love 2018 compilation, you'll find label stalwarts to newcomers alike for respected Berlin imprint Dirt Crew. Their seventh compilation in the series, the label claims that it is the most complete in terms of sound and flow - and will blend in perfectly with that laid back, late summer mood. From moments of dusty and chilled-out deepness courtesy of Lorenz Rhode or Felix Leifur, lo-slung acid jams like Ponty Mython's "It's All Understood" or funked-up disco house like Frenchman S3A's "Modern Soul". Elsewhere, we have got the kind of slinky and sensual tech-house you've come to expect from the label - best exemplified by Canadian Dan Only or Jaxx Madicine's particularly sublime "Blue Bird". Essentially, it's more of the fine quality you've come to expect from this house music institution.
Review:
Suol's weekly open-air parties at IPSE, Hallo Montag, have become a summer fixture in Berlin over the past few years. Like the parties, the accompanying series of EPs showcase "sunny tracks" from the label's roster of artists and like-minded guests. This second part of the 2018 edition contains some suitably bright and breezy cuts, with Jimpster's "Lightshine" - a carnival-ready chunk of deep house dancefloor bliss rich in dreamy chords and Latin percussion hits - standing out. There's plenty to gently warm the soul elsewhere across the EP, though, from the snappy, low-slung grooves, toasty chords and CeCe Rogers vocals of Atjazz's remix of Chopstick and JohnJon's "What Is House Music", to the sparkling, life-affirming goodness of Zepherin Saint's "Take You There (featuring Divinity)".
Review:
Fresh from turning in a killer remix of the Soup Dragons "I'm Free" alongside Midnight Riot boss Yam Who, Alan Dixon returns to the label with a feisty four-track missive. He fires from the word go, with bounding, energy-packed opener "All We Need Is Dance" delivering a brilliantly bouncy revision of a shirts-off, turn-of-the-'80s San Francisco disco smasher. The thrills don't stop there, either. "Let Ya Feet Rock" is a thrilling combination of elastic slap bass, synth-fired disco-boogie instrumentation and sturdy beats, "Dance Across The Floor" is a seductive 129 BPM deep disco workout, and "Forever" is a riotous re-edit of a stone cold classic that sounds like an end-of-night anthem in the making.
Review:
Since going solo following years spent collaborating with fellow Stockholm resident Mr Tophat, Art Alfie has delivered some superb material, not least a fine debut album for Studio Barnhus that expertly showcased his quirky approach to electronic music. His audio eccentricities are writ large across this Toy Tonics outing, from woozy and soft-focus opener "Downstreamed" - all dub-flecked, slow motion beats, lilting melodies and slowly shifting chords - to the bounding dub disco/deep house fusion of "Bondkatten". Fellow Swedes Mount Liberation Unlimited provide a superb "Ethereal Teen Dream" re-make of "Downstreamed", craftily re-imagining Art Alfie's original version as a defiantly dubby blend of Scandolearic bliss and hypnotic deep house.
Review:
Next up on Lee Burridge's renowned daydream house imprint is French progressive house veteran Sebastien Leger. Although not having as prolific an output as he did throughout the late '90s/early '00s, it's all been about quality not quantity in recent times - first signalled by a tremendous return to form a couple of years back with his Jelly Bean EP for Systematic Recordings. Given Leger's experience in creating in deep, mellowed and entrancing sounds, there was no doubt in our minds that he could nail that perfect groove for All Day I Dream - and these three tracks are just perfect for drifting on a dancefloor atop a rooftop party downtown. The first track is an ode to the label and it's chief (if we've ever heard one) titled "Rocket To Lee's Little Cloud", followed by similarly slinky and melodic tech-house journeys like "Satellite" and the absolutely majestic "Underwater" which is as immersive as the title suggests.
Review:
Three cheers for Stefan Riesen's Morris Audio imprint, which has now notched up a century of releases after two decades in the game. By way of celebration, Riesen has decided to release a clutch of EPs containing a wealth of previously unheard gems. Part one begins with the Motor City influenced deep house jack of Iron Curtis's "Ultraviolett [100 Mix]", where shimmering chords slowly rise above sturdy beats and a wonderfully raw analogue bassline. Anna Wall and Corbi join forces for the sinewy deep house sensuality of "Tower of Babble" - all dreamy chords, lilting melodies and fuzzy analogue bass - before Repika serves up the hypnotic deep space chords and bustling bottom end grooves of "Don't Break". Arguably best of all, though, is the all-action contemporary Chicago house funkiness of Elvis Cassetta's "Lethargy Zero".
Review:
Lodemann has put out music on some of the world's finest house labels, including Freerange and
Innervisions. However, for his latest album, he returns to his own imprint. Designed to be listened to at home or played in a club, Deeper moves from the techy title track and the growling bass of "Voices From The Past" into more flowing, musical expressions such as "Emptiness" and reflective, down tempo arrangements such as "Lost In Your Eyes", the folksy guitar twang of "Connected" and the wonderfully hypnotic ambience of album closer "Misty Road". You'll be hard pressed to find a more articulate expression of the deep house sound this year.
Review:
By now, we should all know what to expect from Berlin underground royalty Till Von Sein, namely high quality, floor-friendly material that joins the dots between dusty deep house and celebratory disco. It's the latter influence that comes to the fore on this party-hearty EP, with opener "Say Say Say" delivering a driving, funk-fuelled chunk of loopy disco-house built around samples from a lesser-known late '70s cut. In contrast, "Shadrach" is a wonderfully percussive and low-slung slab of sweaty Latin jazz-house, while "Impala" sees him pepper a jaunty, piano-heavy disco-house groove with seriously snaking saxophone lines. Those looking for something altogether dreamier and more loved-up should check closer "Baden Powell Dr", whose fluid piano solos and meandering nu-disco synths help create a particularly saucer-eyed mood.
Review:
Since 2015, Tel Aviv twosome Rabo & Snob has been delivering annual releases on re-edit stable Whiskey Disco. Here they make the transfer to one of Sleazy McQueen's other imprints, Lovedancing, with some tasty original productions. "Yawumna", featuring Somma Idrisu, effortlessly underpins jangly acoustic guitars and African vocals with a metronomic nu-disco groove, while "Afia", featuring vocalist Azizaa, sounds like an unlikely fusion of Afrobeat and Adonis's "No Way Back". Art of Tones provides an organ-laden, sunshine-soaked Afro-house revision of "Yawumna", while Jacques Renault provides a suitably chunky dub of "Ifa" for those late night moments.
Review:
When it comes to crafting lengthy, disco fired dancefloor treats, DJ Koze has previous form. His "Extended Disco Version" of Lapsley's "Operator" quickly became a White Isle anthem in the summer of 2016, and we fully expect "Pick Up" to be one of the disco-house hits of 2018. Based around spine-tingling samples from a heart-felt, orchestrated 1970s disco treat - think Tom Trago's "Use Me Again", and you're close - the veteran producer slowly builds the pressure before really letting loose in the closing stages. Then "The Love Truck" is an altogether deeper, dubbier and dreamier affair, seemingly designed for leisurely warm-up sets and gentle, early morning shuffling.
Review:
UK born, Berlin based producer Matt Karmil first appeared on our radar a few years ago, with his brilliant Fight EP on Mule Musiq sublabel Endless Flight. Testament to his diverse sound, he's since appeared on Bristol bass institution Idle Hands, Swedish oddball house heroes Studio Barnhus and Norway's Smalltown Supersound. It's the latter where he's explored his more disco leaning side - and that's on display here on the Sourced EP. From the slo-mo and sultry deepness of "I Love It", "KO" with its smoky late-night jazz bar vibe and the funky title track - where the drummer gets wicked beneath a bass driven and evocative groove.
Review:
By now we should know that Chaos In The CBD barely gets it wrong. In fact, we can't think of one duff moment in their rapidly expanding discography. Certainly, there's much to set the pulse racing throughout the Multiverse EP, which happens to be their first missive of 2018. We're particularly enjoying the Adonis-goes-deep bassline, becalmed chords, druggy acid lines and bongo-laden beats of opener "Multiverse" and the humid tropical house hustle of B-side opener "Kaitaia Fire" - deep and woozy, yet percussively adventurous - but the whole EP is superb. The other two cuts, "Double Dribble" and "Drum Therapy", are altogether deeper and calmer, with the latter also feeling wonderfully hypnotic in tone, too.
Review:
Soundersons slowly expanding discography is chock full of high-grade material, so it's little surprise to find that their latest Midnight Riot outing is also rather good. "Sopa De Tomate", in particular, is excellent - an ear-pleasing chunk of post-boogie/nu-disco goodness rich in chanted Italian vocal samples, bright synthesizer riffs, warm bass and densely layered percussion breaks. Label boss Yam Who provides a typically slick and soul-fired modern disco interpretation full to bursting with his trademark tasty instrumentation, before Glaswegian disco don Al Kent serves up an instrumental revision that sounds like it could have been made in Brooklyn in 1979. Bonus cut "He Doesn't Love Me", meanwhile, is a sparse and atmospheric late night nu-disco jam blessed with seriously rubbery synth-bass.
Review:
Berlin legend Dietrich Bergmann aka Terranova has sure found his comfort zone on the Kompakt imprint, where he's presented three albums and nearly a dozen EPs over the last several years. All of these tracks on the Singularity EP are inspired by a current fascination with artificial intelligence and robotic technology and features three collaborations as well as two originals. From the moody dancefloor drama of "Let It Fail", the beatless ambient adventure of "Powergrid" or the slinky and melodic tech house of "Escape Ism" that builds with tension and suspense - it's another brilliant release by the artist formerly known as Fetisch.
