Freerange was founded by childhood amigos Jamie Odell aka Jimpster and Tom Roberts in 1996. The label was launched with the sole purpose of releasing Jimpster and his alter-ego Audiomontage’s electronica, jazz and house magic into the world. With the wheels in motion, Freerange went on to host deep, groove-based, soul-tinged house music from a range of artists including: Dam Swindle, Love Birds, Milton Jackson, Manuel Tur, Square One, Demuja, Clavis and many others.
Review: Radic The Myth's 'Back To You EP' delivers a trio of tracks that embody warmth, positivity and smooth, melodic vibes. The title track, 'Back To You,' blends melodic techno and house with an uplifting melody and crisp production, creating an instantly feel-good atmosphere. 'Phone Calls' takes a deeper turn, offering a smooth deep house vibe perfect for a morning sunrise, with its laid-back groove and soulful undertones. The standout collaboration, 'Summer Solstice', featuring label boss Jimpster, who adds his signature touch to this end-of-the-night gem. A piano lullaby floats over island percussion and sweeping keyboards, crafting a gentle and beautiful atmosphere. Each track offers its own unique flavor, making this EP a perfect soundtrack for relaxed yet uplifting moments. Summer can't get here soon enough!
Review: Jamie 'Jimpster' Odell teams up with new Freerange signing and fellow Essex boy Bishy on a track that's served up in simple original and dub flavours. The original is an unhurried, Afro-leaning deep house jam centred around rolling drums, luxuriant piano chords, shakers a-gogo and barely-there chanted vox that are then joined by a second, spoken vocal which sounds like it was lifted off someone's answering machine, as Person A encourages Person B to "get your shoes on, call a taxi and come down". The dub is basically the same, just without the vocal and without the synth-y squiggles that are sprinkled across the original.
Review: Darran Nugent's 'The Chicago' EP delivers a fresh take on classic house with a mix of deep grooves and nostalgic elements. 'The Messiah' kicks things off with a snappy rhythm and strong keyboard hook, delivering a jazzy, minimal Chicago house vibe that sets a solid foundation. The alternate version, 'The Messiah (An Abacus Story)', brings a more reserved energy, building slowly with tribal rhythms for a deeper, hypnotic groove. 'It Started In Chicago' embraces the classic Chi-town sound, featuring addictive samples and powerful strings that lift the track to new heights. The upbeat energy of 'How Does It Feel?' channels euphoric 90s vibes with vibrant piano and strings, creating a track that will keep listeners moving all night. The EP closes with 'Changes,' blending house and techno for a melodic, dancefloor-ready track that captures the fun and excitement of both genres. Nugent's EP is a celebration of house music's roots, made for both old-school fans and modern dancers alike.
Review: Freerange has always been synonymous with a certain brand of deep house, and their 300th EP, All I Wanted, is no exception. This collaborative effort between label head Jimpster and rising star Philippa is a testament to the label's enduring legacy and their ability to consistently deliver quality music. The EP kicks off with the title track, "All I Wanted". This track is a perfect representation of the label's sound, with its driving bassline, infectious rhythm, and hypnotic vocals. Jimpster and Philippa's production skills are on full display here, creating a track that is both groovy and atmospheric. "Dreaming", featuring the vocals of Care, is a more ethereal affair. The track's dreamy synths and Rhodes keys create a captivating atmosphere that is both relaxing and uplifting. Care's vocals add a touch of emotion to the track, making it a standout moment on the EP. The EP concludes with "Say What", a UKG-inspired track that is both retro and contemporary. The track's shuffling beats and bold synth chords create a fun and energetic vibe that is sure to get you moving. A must!
Review: In 2022, Yannick van Wijk - then best-known for his work as Ouvrijster - decided to mark his Freerange Records debut by adopting a new alias, Yannick Roberts. It's that pseudonym he's using on the All For You EP, his second missive for Jimpster's admired imprint. He begins in bold fashion with 'Grace', a deliciously deep and groovy peak-time house workout that makes great use of sampled snippets from a popular Crown Heights Affair disco classic, before reaching for squelchy synth bass, sparkling keyboard stabs and nostalgic house beats on 'Anyone (This Late at Night Mix)'. 'Amsterdam Nights' is a woozier chunk of strobe-lit deep house colour with added nu-disco bass, while title track 'All For You' wraps tactile motifs and funky bass guitar loops around a stomping house beat.
Review: Barcelona-based Brooklynite Ralph Session has been producing music for over 15 years, though it's only in recent times that he's started releasing EPs on a regular basis. Here he makes his Freerange debut following outings on Black Jukebox, Nervous and Half Assed Limited. In its original form (track one), 'Freak' is a warming, fluid and life-affirming deep house classic in the making, with Juliet Mendoza's spoken word vocals rising above dreamy chords, tactile synth stabs, mazy vibraphone solos and bouncy beats. It comes accompanied by an instrumental mix (track 4) and two remixes: a filthy, low-slung and decidedly mind-altering deep house roller courtesy of Ladymonix, and the piano stab-sporting peak-time joy that is the Brooklyn Bounce version.
Review: "The Detoronto EP" bridges the gap between Toronto and Detroit with a deep, underground house music sound. This four-track release on Freerange features the collaborative talents of Toronto Hustle (Mark Kufner), producer Sean Roman, and Detroit vocalist Javonntte. The EP kicks off with "Deep In This," a hypnotic groove driven by a chunky bassline and Javonntte's soulful vocals. It's a perfect track for warming up the dance floor with its infectious energy. The "Late Night Dub" of the same track extends the atmosphere, offering a deeper and hazier version for extended late-night sessions. "Fall In Love" showcases the vocal prowess of Javonntte further. The original version delivers a classic deep house feel, while the Demuir God Speaks Remix injects a fresh perspective with a driving rhythm and a touch of psychedelia. A classic house with a modern twist will find plenty to enjoy here.
Review: Since the release of his soul, R&B and downtempo-inspired 'Birdhouse' album in 2022, Jamie 'Jimpster' Odell has pivoted back to the dancefloor, serving up a sequence of deep house-fired singles. He continues that run on his first outing of 2024. Opener 'You're My Ecstasy' sets the tone, with the Freerange founder adding echoing soulful vocal snippets to a typically luxurious deep house workout laden with skippy drums, heady bass and dreamy chords. Title track 'The Passion', featuring King Crowney, comes in two variations: an immersive, woozy and piano-laden original mix that's both dancefloor-ready and musically expansive, and a more fluid, jaunty and upbeat Atjazz remix in the veteran producer's trademark style. Basically, it's another must-check EP from one of British deep house's most reliable producers.
Review: Freerange Recordings takes us on a vibrant exploration of Johannesburg's musical landscape with "City To City: Johannesburg," a compilation featuring various artists. This diverse collection pulsates with energy, capturing the spirit of the city's dynamic and ever-evolving music scene. The journey begins with "Icey Baby" by KaySoul, a track that lives up to its name. Soulful vocals and sensitive production create a chilled and introspective atmosphere. SculpturedMusic takes a turn with "Midnight Talk," their signature deft pads shimmering over soft kicks, painting a sonic picture of a late-night cityscape. Then SizLeCaude's "Far Apart" injects a dose of energy with its driving bassline. With "Love (Kinda Thing)," Radic The Myth injects the compilation with his signature sound - harmonically rich and punchy house music that reflects his unique approach to the genre. To close the EP, Persie Botta and Jade Nickels team up on "They Never Loved Us," offering a quintessential slice of Joburg-style deep house: lush pads, powerful groove and a touch of melancholy weave through the track, leaving a lasting impression.
Review: Aroop Roy serves up two new slices of his trademark globally-inspired deep house. 'Re Bulele' (feat Fox Meropa) is, in its Original form, a lilting affair with rolling beats and a simple electronic bassline topped with a smooth, melodic, Afro-style male vocal and, as the track progresses, sweeping synth washes. The accompanying FNX Omar Remix is slightly darker and more ominous in feel, with the track's electronic elements brought further to the fore and the vocal applied more sparingly, while the EP's completed by 'Mama Mwana', which has a similarly gentle, laidback feel to the title track but is more organic in its instrumentation.
Review: Kiwi house queen Philippa returns to Freerange Records - the label which released her fine debut EP in 2022 - following an equally inspired outing on Slothboogie earlier in the year. She begins in fine fashion with 'Hold', and slow building affair in which sparkling, sunrise-ready piano stabs and swirling synth strings rise above a jaunty, tactile bassline and unfussy deep house drums, before opting for a deliciously loved up vibe on the string-laden, life-affirming stomp of 'Latent Magic'. To round of a brilliant EP, the Berlin-based New Zealander serves up 'There It Is', where echoing vocal snippets and bold piano stabs ride a St Germain style jazz-house groove.
Review: French producer Simbad spent years living in London, immersing himself in the broken beat and soul-soaked house scenes. These days he's based in Cape Town, South Africa, immersing himself in the Rainbow Nation's unique house culture. If this fine EP for Freerange is anything to go by, the move has certainly provided new impetus to his productions. For proof, check the two contrasting versions of 'Nuphoria': the spiralling, stargazing, synth-laden techno original mix (a breathlessly brilliant concoction that also boasts a spell-binding breakdown), and the sub-heavy soundscape house of the 'Pretoria Mix'. Elsewhere, South African singer Sanele guests on the twinkling, off-kilter deep house soul of 'Dream', and mic man Frederick appears on the percussive, loose and lovely 'Wake Up'.
Review: Three years on from his last outing on Freerange, sometime No Regular Play member (and Wolf+Lamb contributor) Greg Paulus returns to the imprint, and this time he's got regular collaborator Taylor Bense in tow. There's a hard-wired, P-funk-meets-chunky house feel to storming opener 'Heat Makes Sense', where starry-eyed vocal snippets and eight-bit noises jostle for attention with Bootsy bass, while 'Switch' (featuring spoken word vocals from Stimulus) is a future deep house classic in the making. Big $exy lends a hand on the Chicago boompty-inspired peak-time sleaze of 'Marino', while the Martinez Brothers' edit of 'Do You Love Me' is a chunky, bumping and jazz-flecked soulful deep house treat.
Review: Having previously remixed each other, it was only a matter of time before the legendary Josh Wink popped up on Jimpster's similarly storied Freerange Records imprint. Apparently recorded with summer spins in mind, 'The Half Full EP' combines elements familiar from previous Wink workouts - acid lines aplenty, trippy electronics and driving drums - with a big dose of sci-fi stargazing and sun-soaked deep house tropes. Our pick of the bunch is lead cut 'Automatic Journeys', an acid-fired deep house driver with a dash of Detroit machine soul thrown in, though the tribal-tinged, TB-303-powered trip that is 'Pan Gloss' pushes it close. The deliciously deep, warm and woozy 'San Guine' completes a rock-solid package.
Review: Jimpster was so inspired by his experiences DJing in South Africa that he decided to create a track in tribute. Simply titled 'Tribute', it features South African vocalist Mavhungu paying tribute (in her native tongue, Vengu) to the continent of her birth atop a wonderfully warming, evocative and atmospheric deep house/Afro-house fusion workout that's rich in both organic and electronic instrumentation. Fittingly, Osunlade - a deep house producer who has consistently made music inspired by his African heritage - provides two remixes: a smooth, slightly jazzier 'Club Mix' (check the rubbery bass, hypnotic beats and spring-fresh synth sounds), and a 'Jazzstrumental' that showcases more of Jimpster's wonderful electric piano solos. Also included in the EP is bonus cut 'Jacidswing', a deep, spacey, TB-303-sporting deep house instrumental.
Review: Italian house original Don Carlos will likely never make a record quite so inspired as his 1991 dream house anthem 'Alone'. Yet he's still capable of delivering high-quality treats in his melodic and colourful style, as this surprise EP for Jimpster's Freerange imprint proves. The undoubted highlight is 'I'm Still Here', where classic dream house motifs - sparkling piano riffs, kaleidoscopic chords, sultry synth-strings and gorgeous counter-melodies - rise above chunky house drums and an arpeggio-driven bassline inspired by Rinder & Lewis's classic electro-disco cover of 'Willie and the Hand Jive'. Elsewhere, Carlos wraps sun-soaked, disco-tinged riffs around a chunky house groove on 'Azimuth', before adding layers of musical emotion to a rolling house groove on the similarly summery 'In The Sky'.
Review: A two-track, three-mix EP here from Freerange stalwart Matt Masters, whose association with the label now dates back nearly two whole decades. The EP opens with 'Worlds Collide' itself, a mid-paced instrumental jam which sits somewhere between deep house and deep techno with its stuttered synth notes and extensive use of FX. The accompanying remix from SculpturedMusic then brings Afro/tribal drums and some killer stabs, before the EP is completed by 'Moon Rise', which is a much more straight-up deep houser from the mellow and vaguely lounge-tinged side of the street, and the pick of the crop for this reviewer.
Review: In his previous outings for labels including Groovin', M>O>S, Karankul, Housewax and Phonica White, Massiande has proved adept at delivering timeless, classic-sounding deep house jams that are as warm and welcoming as they are club-ready and floor-friendly. The four tracks showcased on the rising star's first Freerange are similarly minded and uniformly excellent. To kick things off, he adds mazy vibraphone solos and a fine spoken word vocal from Diamondancer over a genuinely groovy, dreamy and toasty deep house groove ('Dancing Is Life'), before ratcheting up the energy levels, low-end weight and sustained chords on future peak-time fave 'Here Comes The House Music'. 'I Feel It' combines the spacey, sci-fi sounds of Detroit with eyes-closed vocal snippets and pleasingly tactile house groove, while 'Focus' sounds like classic, Nu Groove-era Burrell Brothers given a tasteful 21st century makeover.
Review: The DJ, record producer, and DJ Awards winner, Milton Jackson is a regular to Freerange and has been delivering the imprint with increasingly classy servings of melody-rich, musically complex deep house. The experienced Glaswegian continues in this vein on his latest Freerange outing, giddily skipping through vibraphone-sporting classic house (gorgeously deep and tactile opener 'Need Your Love'), sunset-friendly nods to Kerri Chandler (the colourful, warming and percussively rolling 'Day In, Day Out') and sparkling blends of Kai Alce style soulful deepness and analogue-rich tactility ('Closure').
Review: Almost a decade ago, Philippa decided to decamp from her native New Zealand, where she was a well-known figure on the local house scene, to Berlin. It was during a trip to the German clubbing Mecca that Jimpster heard her productions, hence this first outing on his popular Freerange imprint. As label debuts go, it's a doozy, with the Kiwi producer confidently striding between classy, string-laden, smile-inducing post disco-house brilliance ('There's a Ghost in My Synthesizer'), deeper and more bass-heavy deep house loveliness (the sweeping synth sounds and reverb-laden vocal snippets of 'I Guess I Have Boy'), chunky funkiness (the tactile, classic house update that is 'Dimes') and effortlessly soulful and timeless goodness (the Mo Van Zandt hook-up 'Slow It Down', which is as colourful and spine-tingling as they come).
Review: Sometime Sampling as an Art label contributor Yannick Roberts makes his bow on Freerange with a fine four-track missive of pleasingly warming, tactile and atmospheric deep house. The Dutch producer hits the ground running on 'I Can't Hide From Myself', an evocative and rolling workout in which minor key chords, synth-strings and gentle electronic melodies ride a jaunty, pulsating synth bassline and classic-sounding deep house beats. His love of sampling comes to the fore on jazz-flecked MPC-house jam 'Glorious Illusions' - mentor S3A would approve - while 'Femme Fatale' sees him make merry with a mix of rubbery bass guitar, effects-laden female vocal samples, Chez Damier chords and bustling beats. Closing cut 'Desalniettemin' doffs an oversized cap to classic U.S deep house and boasts some seriously toasty electric piano riffs.
Review: Crackazat, a Bristol lad who's now based in Sweden, has built up a strong following via releases on labels such as Futureboogie and Local Talk over the past 10 years or so, and can count the likes of Dave Lee and Floating Points among his higher-profile supporters. 'Everybody Talks About It' finds him in 80s soul/boogie territory before being given a more uptempo and garage-y refix by Cody Currie, while 'I'm Easy' starts out as a hazy soul shuffler before the accompanying Dub takes us into small hours dreamaway territory. Replete as ever with Crackazat's trademark jazzbo craftsmanship, there are some seriously classy vibes contained herein - one for the connoisseurs!
Review: You have to admire Black Loops work ethic, though far more impressive is the consistent quality of the duo's output. This EP - their third of 2022 to date - sees them make a belated return to Freerange after two years spent hopping between labels including Toy Tonics and Shall Not Fade. They begin with something predictably special: a wonderfully deep, immersive, soul-flecked, piano-speckled and hip-swinging house hook-up with rising star Cody Currie in which the latter's softly spun vocals catch the ear. They successfully reach for deep sub-bass, enveloping pads, gentle melodies and snappier drums on the equally as enjoyable late-night shuffle of 'People', before doffing a cap to robotic, arpeggio-driven disco on the spacey synth-house roll of 'Driver'. Excellent stuff as always!
Review: It's testament to Ben J Worrall's skill as a musician and producer that his soulful, jazzy deep house productions can be mentioned in the same breath as those by all-time-greats Larry Heard and Ron Trent. Yet unlike those producers, he's yet to deliver an album so good that it will be considered a true great. Until now, that is. Evergreen, his first set for Freerange, is simply sublime: an unapologetically soulful, life-affirming set that blends effortlessly brilliant vocals and jazz-funk inspired instrumentation (think incredible horn arrangements, smooth bass, twinkling keys and glistening guitars) with the luscious, often Latin-tinged deep house beats that have long been his calling card. If there's any justice, it will end of being regarded as one of the electronic albums of 2022.
Review: Essen's Manuel Tur has released music on many labels over the years, but much of his greatest work - including a trilogy of albums - has been issued by Freerange Records. We can confirm that the German deep house stalwart is in fine form on this return to Jimpster and co's imprint after a three-year absence. Title track 'Love Me Well' is simply sublime: a slowly building chunk of deep, quietly soulful brilliance that adds heart-aching piano motifs, reverb-smothered female vocals and cut-glass strings to a sumptuous deep tech-house groove. He continues in this tech-house/deep house fusion vein on the bouncier 'Paperesse', where twinkling electric piano solos and looped string samples catch the ear, before rounding off a rock-solid EP via the TB-303-sporting deep house squelch of 'Touch Move'.
Review: When it comes to musically expansive, jazz-flecked deep and soulful house, Ben J Worrall AKA Crackazat is in a league of his own. That's been the case for a while, but it's proven beyond doubt by his latest outing on Freerange Records. Title track 'Beacon of Light' is simply sublime: a bouncy, soul-soaked slab of jazz-house/deep house fusion blessed with exquisite musicianship and some superb lead vocals. Equally as impressive is Ron Trent's epic, near 10-minute remix of 'Simple Things', which is every bit as delightful, jazzy and musically intricate as you'd expect from the Chicago deep house legend. Elsewhere across the EP, the 'Maritime Dub' of 'Beacon of Light' transforms the track into a driving but rolling deep house bumper and 'Evergreen' is a sun-kissed future deep house classic.
Review: Since launching his career in the mid noughties, Manuel Sahagun has released a lot of fine deep house music on a wide variety of labels - including such lauded imprints as Drop Music, Salted Music, Kolour, Tooman and Freerange. Here the Argentinian producer returns to the latter label with his first missive of 2022. Opener 'Body' sets the tone, with Sahagun wrapping restless piano loops, wonky electronics, cut-up musical samples and stirring chords around a disco-tinged deep house beat. 'Move' meanwhile is a deeper but arguably tougher chunk of late-night hedonism, while 'Ritmo Pandemico' sounds like his take on turn-of-the-90s Italian dream house. It's certainly as luscious, ear-pleasing and loved-up as the likes of 'Sueno Latino', 'Calypso of House' and 'Alone'.
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