Review: You can call this an EP or an album as you see fit; either way, 'LPHLXXX' finds Brooklyn-based Jacques Renault in nostalgic mood, as he serves up seven tracks on his own Let's Play House label that pay homage to house and disco sounds of yore. It's hard to put the needle down without stumbling across a much-loved hook or familiar vocal sample, though the album's at its best when Renault steps away from the sampler and gets down and dirty in his own right, notably on intense, sweaty, sax-tastic funker 'The People Groove'. 'Say You', which has a distinctly Crown Heights Affair-ish feel, would also be a good place to start.
Review: For his third album, coming once again on his own Brooklyn-based Let's Play House imprint, Jacques Renault has decided to flip the script, eschewing the standard album format completely and instead presenting us with what are essentially 23 DJ tools, all hovering around the one- or 1.5-minute mark, plus a couple of 15-minute minimixes thereof ('Sunny Side' and 'Sandy Side'). As such, home listening appeal may be rather limited but with the 23 tracks spanning a range of house, disco and funk moods, creative jocks in need of some fresh loops 'n' grooves for their sets will find much useful ammo here.
Review: Here's something to genuinely set the pulse racing: a new set of remixes of Saidera's gorgeously sunny, samba soaked 'Deixa Tudo Fluir' from Ray Mang, a producer who could turn almost anything into dancefloor gold. His EP opening 'Remix' sounds like a carnival anthem in waiting: a gorgeous, bounce-along slab of samba-house laden with summery Portuguese vocals, jangling guitars, South American percussion and effects-laden flute solos. It comes accompanied by an instrumental and chopped-down radio edit, plus the 'Sambatone Beats' version - a brilliant DJ tool that adds stabbing analogue bass to layered samba band drums and loose-limbed Latin percussion hits.
Review: Jacques Renault's latest album, Sky Islands, contained some genuinely killer cuts, though its non-stop, mixtape-style construction meant digital DJs couldn't get their hands on them. This six-track missive puts the record straight, with Renault offering up a quintet of short, sharp, sample-heavy workouts - most of which blend heavy beats and sweat-soaked disco loops - plus one lengthier jam, 'Larry Lenore'. This is the most musically complex and hard-to-pigeonhole of the lot, with the New York producer adding druggy aural textures, eyes-closed vocal snippets and throbbing, arpeggio-style bass to a breathless beat full of heavy kick-drums and hissing ride cymbals.
Review: The last time Better Listen associate Sune appeared on Let's Play House, back in the autumn of 2019, it was with a superb EP of ultra-warm, sun-kissed deep house brilliance. Everything is Fine, the producer's debut album, expands on this ear-pleasing blueprint, adding sparkling and colourful nods towards deep house, Dam Funk, French Touch style disco-house, jazz-funk and dusty downtempo grooves. It's undoubtedly a recipe for success, with the LP's multiple highlights including the jazzy, low-slung goodness of 'I Didn't Quite Catch That', the vintage jazz-house/deep house fusion of 'Fancy Fa?ade', the sparkling and excitable 'Humble' and the immersive sci-fi house sounds of 'Cloud Therapy'.
Review: Jacques' back! After outings on Shall Not Fade, Take Away and Barefoot Beats, Let's Play House co-founder Jacques Renault returns to the imprint with a predictably solid six-tracker rich in club-ready jams that touch on a number of tempos and styles. Slo-mo disco heads will love the sample-heavy, slap-bass-propelled chug of 'Jam On It', while 'Lookout Rhythm' offers a more intense, percussion-rich and peak-time-ready take on low-slung disco-house. The edit-not-edit approach continues on the hazy and driving 'Play That Thing', while 'Torrid Drums' is deep, jacking acid house with a gloriously melodic twist. 'Got That Boing' is sweaty, breathless and sleazy, while closing cut 'High' is sparkling, lightly modified take on a piano-rich boogie gem.
Review: We were very impressed by Saidera's debut double A-side release on Let's Play House, so hopes are naturally high for the trio's speedy sequel, Saidera Bloco Party. This time round they're in an unashamedly celebratory mood, joyously skipping between the 100 BPM carnival hypno-funk of 'Sarara', the stomping, solo-laden dancefloor exuberance of 'Sofrendo E Sorrindo' (a cheery and angling, horn-heavy fusion of samba, disco and house), the more low-slung, '60s style Latin funk-rock of 'Ei Xara' and the crunchy brilliance of 'Rima Brasilliera', which sees them give their interpretation of Earth, Wind and Fire classic 'Brazilian Rhyme' with predictably impressive results.
Review: Let's Play House has described this debut EP from Saidera, a trio comprising former Lemonade man Alex Pasternak, Avan Lava's Mike Cheever and samba school leader Osvaldo 'Vadinho' Luiz Freire de Araujo, as "a big move in a new direction" for the long-established Brooklyn label. It genuinely is, but one that we wholeheartedly recommend checking. Title track 'Deixa Tudo Fluir' is genuinely gorgeous, summery and mood-ehancing - all cheery Portuguese vocals, sun-kissed guitars, warming nu-disco synths and huggable samba grooves - while 'Sincronicidade' delivers a slower but no less sunny fusion of samba-soaked musical elements with a glassy-eyed twist. Guerrinha's remix of 'Deixa Tudo Fluir', which boasts denser beats and expressive, David Cole style house piano solos, is also extremely impressive.
Review: Back in February, Makez made the move from Heist Recordings to Let's Play House, bringing with him the Elevation EP, which we dubbed his "strongest EP to date". This timely follow-up for the Brooklyn-based imprint is equally strong. He begins by combining gently tropical drums, kaleidoscopic synths and languid melodic refrains on mid-tempo number 'Blue Island', before upping the tempo and reaching for rubbery disco bass on the equally picturesque 'Red Island'. Title track 'Levitation' is a glorious chunk of Afro-funk/deep house fusion, 'More Vision' is a dense and hallucinatory slab of feverish house hypnotism, and 'If We Were Children (Makez Rework)' is a bouncy disco-house number full of cut-glass strings and jammed-out electric piano riffs.
Review: Following this year's release of Pacific Coliseum's third LP, How's Life, Slim Steve's label debut with the I Do It EP and two Westcoast Goddess titles, Let's Play House caps of a fine year for the empty dancefloors out there with Jacque'd Toolbox - a super combi between 'the' Gerd Janson and New York's Jacques Renault! Throwing into the mix all matter of edits and cutting techniques to disco, pop, electro and house music, the pair throw down hard when giving the free world a dose of what the really want; be it the stringed, pumping heaviness of a piano-ladened "Never Saw Never" or the rave-infused happy house of "Movin' Kinda Screwy". Find some '80s breakbeat electro in the shoulder pad pop of "One More Slice" next to the space pongs and filter loop tropics of "One More Slam" and percussive disco banger of "Jus Wanna Party". Disco, check!
Review: Westcoast Goddess's previous appearance on Let's Play House is still stuck in our heads months after it was released, so hopes are naturally high for her second EP on the Brooklyn-based imprint. In her now traditional style, opener "Strawberry Infiniti" is wonderfully warm, positive and melodious - a rolling ride through deep and dreamy, sunrise-ready piano house that comes complete with a bassline so tactile you might want to hug it. "Fruity Loop" is another rush-inducing slab of aural dancefloor colour, while "Like A Benediction" is a similarly kaleidoscopic chunk of Balearic boogie cheeriness. As for "Stay On My Mind", it's almost overwhelming giddy in its' smiling, rave-ready sunniness.
Review: As you'd expect, there's plenty to set the pulse racing on the latest multi-artist edition of Let's Play House's "LPH White" series. Label co-founder Jacques Renault sets the tone via the lolloping, bass-heavy filter-house bump of "No Strings Attached", where swirling orchestration gently rises to prominence over a bustling groove, before Kirsty Harper whips out her Roland TB-303 and lays down some seriously sleazy, Phuture style acid-jack. Laroze's "You Inspired Me" is a throbbing, filter-sporting romp through disco-house territory enlivened greatly by layered drums, while Keita Sano's "Party Vibes" successfully manipulates some superb samples in cahoots with a typically weighty and thickset house groove.
Review: Over the last couple of years, Canadian producer Jamison Isaak has released a number of notable albums and EPs as Pacific Coliseum, in the process establishing himself as a fine producer of sunny, musically expansive, mood-enhancing deep house and downtempo beats with a decidedly Balearic bent. He naturally continues on a similar theme on new album "How's Life", a warming and gently uplifting collection of cuts seemingly crafted from a mixture of seductive synthesizer sounds, vintage drum machines and seemingly effortless live instrumentation (think glistening jazz guitars, undulating jazz-funk basslines, fluid hand percussion etc.). There are highlights aplenty, but the most impressive thing about the album is how genuinely listenable it is from start to finish.
Review: This fine EP marks sometime X-Kalay and Cactus Traxx artist Slim Steve's firstb appearance on Brooklyn-based Let's Play House. Opener "I Do It" is delicious, colourful and loved-up, sitting somewhere between the glassy-eyed sunrise pleasure of Italian Dream House, the acid-fired jack of Chicago house and the organ-rich deep house associated with New Jersey at the turn of the 90s. "Do It" is a more trance-inducing and rushing take on the same idea - think rising and falling synth bass, psychedelic flashes and emotive chord sequences - while "B3" is a bumpin', organ-rich romp through mid-80s US garage territory. That track is given the remix treatment by Baltra, who brilliantly re-imagines it as a breakbeat-driven fusion of dreamy deep house and NJ garage goodness.
Review: Over the last few years, Berlin-based Westcoast Goddess has released some of the most colourful, joyous and life-affirming dancefloor music around. Here the publicity-shy, Berlin-based artist makes her first appearance on Let's Play House with an EP packed to the rafters with memorably bright and breezy, synth-heavy gems. For proof, check the tactile deep house sunniness of opener "The Inner Snoopy", where dreamy chords, huggable riffs and tumbling lead lines dance around a chunky, turn-of-the-90s groove, or the giddy synth-pop/nu-disco/acid house fusion of "Limelight Garden". Elsewhere, Splitradix hook-up "Beach Noir" is a curious and quirky mixture of squelchy acid lines, grandiose sci-fi chords and rushing synth melodies, while "Murder At Passion Cove" is a veritable piano house stomper like none you've heard before.
Review: Having previously operated exclusively on Heist Recordings, Makez has decided to mix things up. "Elevation" marks the producer's first outing on long-running Brooklyn imprint Let's Play House; what's more, it could well be his strongest EP to date. He begins in confident fashion via the starry but bumpin' deep house positivity of "Melting" - all sustained electric piano chords, slap-bass, glassy-eyed pads and whispered vocal samples - before exploring even more melodic and dreamy territory on "Elevation". The headline attraction though is probably Tone Adjustment collaboration "Merlot", which is available in two distinctive forms. The original mix sees the pair smother swinging jazz-house beats and squelchy jazz-funk bass in excitable piano solos, while the accompanying "Basement Dub" is a piano-laden exercise in muscular late night bump.
Review: The latest volume in Let's Play House's LPH White series offers up an EP of tracks jointly produced by Whiskey Disco big cheese Sleazy McQueen and sometime Bedrock, Large Records and Little Creatures regular Terry Grant. It's a pleasingly diverse selection too, with the pair giddily flitting between thickset, arpeggio-driven goodtime grooves (the electric piano solos, subtle disco samples and fireside warmth of "Daikaya"), throbbing peak-time nu-disco ("Floating On Air", with its druggy, non-stop bass, vocoder vocals and undulating lead lines) and Stardust-esque French Touch revivalism ("Love Ripple"). Arguably best of all though are the accompanying remixes of "Daikaya" by Chateau Flight's Gilb'R, who first re-imagines the track as a deep space analogue house jam (his "Main Mix") before going all dubbed-out, hypnotic and percussive (the similarly good "Stripped Mix").
Review: Unlike Green Velvet or DJ Rush, DJ Mountain Dad (AKA Lobster Theremin boss Jimmy Asquith) doesn't come from Chicago. But just like those two Windy City legends, he's certainly got the knack of blending house, techno and juke/ghetto-tech into one hard-driving, genre-blurring dancefloor concoction, as is evidenced here by 'Shook Goat' and 'Pio Pio'. We then head into slightly more leftfield/experimental techno territory for 'Step On The Edge', before 'Piano Dream (Heaven On Earth Mix)' plays us out with an old school Ibiza piano riff turned up to 11 and underpinned by hard, pounding 4/4s.
Review: Let's Play House have not said much about Eluize, the artist behind their latest EP, but we can confirm that the mysterious producer has hit the spot. Opener "She Only Counts To Eight" is addictive an intoxicating - an undulating, synthesizer-heavy affair that sits somewhere between druggy deep house and the kind of psychedelic, Middle Eastern-inspired chugging nu-disco more associated with the Disco Halal imprint. The more tech-tinged and melodious "Be Easy" is similarly inclined and "Apart" is a feverish, acid-fired affair. "Illuminated" comes in two different forms: an original mix that updates Italian dream house for a new era and a 39 second spoken word DJ tool. There are two takes on "Morning", too: a hybrid Italo-disco/piano-sporting deep house club cut and a beat free "Lonely Melody" mix.
Review: Sometime Better Listen and Live Ones artist Sune makes his first appearance on Let's Play House via an expansive EP packed to the rafters with ultra-warm, melodious and sun-kissed deep house. There's not enough space to detail all six tracks, so instead we'll point you in the direction of some undisputed highlights. Check first the classic-sounding U.S deep house haziness of "Oh, Well (featuring Vitamin D)", where eyes-closed soulful house vocal samples rise above sumptuous chords and rubbery analogue bass, before wallowing in the jazzy, off-beat lusciousness of both "Fikpaus" and quality EP opener "Jazzmelakoli". The rest of the EP lives up to these dizzy heights - especially the impeccable, classic-sampling goodness of "Moovin" - so we'd recommend buying it post-haste.
Review: Davide Disanto - that's St David to you and me - completes his trio of releases on Let's Play House with an effervescent trip into what the Brooklyn label calls "90s throwback territory". In effect, that means swirling, filter-sporting disco-house. Opener "Sexy Funk '98", for example, layers a bustling, DJ Sneak style groove with rugged and raunchy sections from an electrically charged disco-funk workout, while the insanely bass-heavy "I Got The Music" is a maelstrom of hold-and-release disco-house euphoria. The fun continues on chunky and sweet stomper "When You Move" and the heady late night hustle of "The Connection", which has a hazier and much more locked-in feel than the EP's other tracks.
Sense Of Love (Black Loops 1 AM remix) - (7:27) 131 BPM
Sense Of Love - (5:05) 134 BPM
Dans Le Living Room - (6:43) 83 BPM
An Ad Some (Commercial Use Only) - (4:43) 117 BPM
Sense Of Love (Black Loops 6 AM remix) - (6:52) 128 BPM
Review: Armless Kid's previous releases have been "must-check" affairs so it's little surprise to find that his third single of 2019 is another quality collection of cuts. He begins in confident fashion via the brilliantly mangled samples and joyously bouncy beats of "Hardos Sampling", while "Sense of Love" is a kaleidoscopic fusion of shimmering, future R&B style synths, psychedelic acid lines and snappy, snare-heavy club beats. Black Loops provides two reworks of that cut: a "1am Mix" the re-wires it as a warming slab of two-step/deep house fusion and a more driving and hypnotic "6am Mix". Arguably best of all, though, is "Dans Le Living Room", a chunky and sub-heavy slab of heady earning morning deep house for those that like to get locked into the groove.
Review: This rather fine four-tracker sees a quality cast of high-profile underground heroes rework tracks from Jacques Renault's rather good 2018 album "BK Club Beats, Breaks & Versions". DJ Boring gets things going with a deliciously loved-up and glassy-eyed take of "Don't Wanna Stop" full of bubbly synth lines and foreboding bass, while Spencer Parker re-invents "BK Slice" is a jacking chunk of cut-up disco house insanity. M.I.A.L's version of "Make Me Feel Good" expertly fuses dreamy deep house and punchy club electro, while Tee Mango's revision of "Let Me Jacq" joins the dots between relaxed deep house, future boogie and eyes-closed jazz-funk electric piano solos.
Review: Manakinz may be a new name, but the debutant duo behind the project has plenty of experience. James "Harri" Harrigan has been a Sub Club resident for well over three decades now, while 34 year-old Max Raskin is a Scottish actor and music maker who has been a familiar face on the Glasgow scene for some time. There's naturally plenty to set the pulse racing on "Wild Combination", from the darting synths, good-time vocal samples and driving grooves of opener "Lampaholics", to the spiraling and mind-altering, arpeggio-fired disco-house throb of "Le Stoat" and the spiraling synthesizer motifs of the amusingly titled "Happy Bovril". Digital bonus "Bassline", where fizzing electronics and disco string samples cluster around a typically low-slung groove, is also rather impressive.
Review: Parisian producer Clement Mallein has yet to achieve much in the way of coverage or hype, but his previous releases - especially those on In The Box and LaGaffe Tales - have all been excellent. Debut album "Daze Album" is every bit as impressive, with the In Any Case Records co-founder moving away from the DJ Deep/Three Chairs inspired deep house dustiness of old towards a sound clearly inspired by the likes of Young Marco and, perhaps more pertinently, fellow Paris resident D.K. That means tropical drum machine rhythms, breezy 1980s new age synthesizer lines, ultra-Balearic chords, extended ambient intros and an overriding sense of rushing sunrise positivity.
Review: Ray Kandinski has made his name with releases on E-Beamz, and now brings his analogue house and techno to LPH. Opening up the release with "Cdr", where he lays down fluid, acid-led melodies over a jacking groove, it's clear that Kandinski is steeped in the electronic machine music of Detroit and Chicago. The title track, with its purring bass and high-frequency tones, follows in a similar vein, and positions him in a similar space to vintage UR. "Ophelia" is a more pacey take on the same approach - its melodic licks even come close to those on Hi Tech Jazz - while "Disk Driver" rounds off this impressive EP in tracky mode.
Review: First released on vinyl for Record Store Day 2019, "BK RSD" gathers together some previously hard to find Jacques Renault remixes on one must-have release. Check first Renault's revision of Philip Budny's "Parprocie", a driving fusion of non-stop deep house drums, squelchy acid bass and dreamy nu-disco synths, before marveling at the life-affirming rush of the producer's Italo-disco inspired re-make of Brian Ring's "Big Town Boy, Small Town Dreams". Arguably most impressive, though, is his deep, hypnotic and groovy revision of "Sweet Thing" by Lovers. The package also includes an unexpected bonus in the shape of Renault original "Donau Beach", a chunky, breakbeat-driven affair rich in exotic vocal samples, funky bass and glassy-eyed chords.
Review: Ask Bordeaux native Robin Laroze about influences and he'll cite the likes of Theo Parrish, Omar S and Moodymann. But he'll also namecheck Salsoul and Motown, and it's that side of his musical education that's most obvious on this EP comprised of five tracks, all of which come from the disco-fied end of the deep house spectrum. File 'I Wanna Know' under blissed-out, 'I Don't Need You' under energetic, 'Shine On' under authentically 70s-sounding, 'Let You Down' under soulful and 'Salut Michel' under jazz-flecked barrio funk... or just scoop up all five and chuck them into the box marked 'quality'.
Review: Pepe aka Jose Bernat has previously released on labels like Lobster Theremin and now brings his mesmerising sound to Let's Play House. The EP starts in reflective mode with the melancholic chimes and electro drums of "As Long As There's Sunset", while the title track is a lush techno arrangement, underscored by steely drums and redolent of early Morgan Geist. While he plunges down a rolling, filtered wormhole for "Delusions Of Grandeur", where the central electronic riffs are looped to infinity, this is primarily a deep release, and "50 AM" is a rolling, hypnotic slice of Detroit-inspired techno that is as sublime as it is effective.
Review: Following smart outings on Linoil, Church and Coastal Haze, Philip Budny rocks up on Let's Play House's 'White' series with four more reasons to be cheerful. Chief amongst these is title track "Sommambulism", where chiming synthesizer melodies, dreamy chords and beautifully opaque electronics weave their way in and out of a chunky, analogue-rich deep house groove. "Pypes" is similarly breezy, picturesque and positive, while "It's Different" sees Budny focusing more on the comforting combination of drifting, spacey chords and chunky, thickset drums. To round off a fine EP he offers up the tech-tinged, sunrise-ready swirl of "Paprocie", where more intergalactic synthesizer sounds seemingly float above clicking drums and a fantastic analogue bassline.
Review: Viers aka Jordon Saxton makes his debut on Let's Play House with this scintillating release. The title track is a pummelling, percussive techno workout. Underpinned by heavy kicks, it features a pitched down vocal sample that lends the arrangement a moody feeling. The feeling on "Dolphin Telephone" is radically different, with Saxton drawing on celebratory piano lines and screeching diva vocals to create a euphoric, uplifting vibe. Changing tact once again, he delivers an acid-led electro breaker in the form of "AFB", while he returns to a more celebratory mood on "By Your Side". Like "Telephone", it is led by uplifting piano lines and soulful vocal samples.
Review: "Where We Will Be", Zenzizenz's decidedly horizontal debut album, marks a significant departure for Brooklyn imprint Let's Play House. While it does include some suitably hypnotic, soft touch beats and leisurely, bongo-driven grooves, it's decidedly ambient in tone and execution. This is no bad thing though, as the five collected cuts are little less than delicious. Those with a keen knowledge of 1990s ambient and IDM releases will particularly enjoy it, with the deep space fluidity of "Lost Twilight" and the ultra-deep ambient techno hypnotism of "Jan B10" recalling some of Pete Namlook's most mesmerizing works. We're also big fans of the ultra-blissful, "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" style goodness of "Left Lifeless" and the Gaussian Curve-esque wooziness of "Where Will We Be".
Review: Brooklyn, NYC label Let's Play House bring us a very solid three-tracker from St David, a producer based in southern Italy who's previously appeared on labels including Frole, Manitou and Quality Vibe. Opener 'I'm On Beat' is an instrumental jam based on crisp, rolling beats, a nagging two-note piano riff and a hint of funk guitar, atop which an insistent flute functions as the lead line. 'Bumpin' Heat' is aptly titled, another instrumental affair sitting right on the deep house/garage cusp, while finally 'Jumpin' Dub' is a slightly pacier cut with cut-up vocal snips and a filtered bassline.
Review: The limited cassette edition of Jacques Renault's sophomore set "BXClubBeats, Breaks & Versions" presented the album as a non-stop mix-tape, with the Brooklyn producer's core tracks stitched together with previously unheard interludes and bonus cuts to aid the flow. "Tape Cuts and Cut-Outs" gathers together those cassette-only cuts together for the first time in standalone, un-mixed form. Highlights include the soaring strings, chopped loops and wonderfully grandiose original disco samples of peak-time roller "Bridge Music", the Detroit style layered, gospel-influenced deep house hypnotism of "Pump That Shit Up", the synth-heavy, percussion-laden purple funk of "Mr Fox Likes To Party" and the glassy-eyed breakbeat dreaminess of "Human Nature".
Review: Perdu is the nom de plume of Amsterdam's Alain van der Born, who presents his much awaited sophomore effort on New York City's respected Let's Play House imprint. Much like his track "Cece" on Midnight Riot's Riot In Lagos sub label a couple of years back, the Mystical Choices EP is a collection of Afro influenced disco numbers that incorporate even more disparate influences. From the swelerting polyrhythms of "Saromosa" or "Tanora" - the latter perfect for cool down moments by causing a raindance on the dancefloor. The moody and atmospheric closer "Textures" ventures into the same spiritual kind of territory like that of Boddhi Satva or Toto Chiavetta.
Review: A long overdue and much anticipated debut album from Let's Play House co-head Jacques Renault arrives, three years since the last edition. BK Club Beats, Breaks & Versions displays Renault's influences over the years and ultimately 'a celebration of the inspirations that fueled his ascendance to DJ and producer.' He offers up an album of originals featuring hip-hop breaks and disco licks as heard on "Let Me Jacq", deep and sleazy disco house for the late night on "Movin' Kinda Funky" and some super deep funk to lose yourself under the discoball to: on "Java Harem".
Review: Prolific Japanese producer Keita Sano has been developing a close relationship with the Let's Play House label for sometime. This latest EP, which first appeared as part of the Brooklyn imprint's "LPH White" series of 12" singles, follows on from a 2016 mini-album and the recent Totsu EP. It's something of an epic affair all told, with eight fine tracks to choose from. Our picks include the swirling delays, heady reverb and looped electric piano motifs of head-in-the-clouds disco-house workout "A Place Called Sun Beach", the gentle tropical melodies and South American percussion "Sweet Fruit", and boompty-minded disco-house bounce of "Can't Wait For The Party". That said, the more cinematic deep house chug of "Psychedelic Ants" and dubby, slo-mo disco shuffle of "The Stripper" are also fantastic.
Review: If you copped DJ Heure's two EPs on Distant Hawaii, you'll know that the Adelaide resident is a producer on the rise. Predictably, his first outing on Brooklyn-based Let's Play House is very impressive. Check, for example, the delay-laden synth stabs and sun-kissed piano parts of rolling, percussion-rich, deep disco-house opener "Take Dat Chance" and the sound space filling fusion of deep house dreaminess and techno tempo rhythmic hustle of closer "The Feeling". Elsewhere, he brilliantly smothers a jazzy, broken house groove with early '80s Herbie Hancock synths on "Eastbound", before offering up an impeccable slice of poignant two-step futurism on EP standout "Last One".
Review: On Let's Play House's latest floor-slaying missive, label co-founder Jacques Renault shares top billing with Cosmic Kids member Daniel Terndrup. Both are in full-on re-edit mode, with Renault laying down a marker via the rubbery slap bass, relentless cowbells and urgent disco-funk grooves of virtual A-side "Choo-Choo Beat". Renault does a good job in emphasizing various instrumental elements in turn, working through short but sweet percussion, synthesizer and guitar solos. Terndrup flips the script with "Master Plan", expertly cutting up and rearranging a thoroughly obscure electro jam rich in body popping drum machine hits, squeezable synth-bass and quirky, child-like vocals.
Review: It would be fair to say that Javontte (AKA original '90s deep house producer Brian Garrett) has been making up for lost time. Since returning to action in 2016, he's released no less than ten EP singles, all of which have been packed with high quality material. Predictably, it's hard to find fault with the five fine tracks featured on Garrett's first contribution to the Let's Play House "White" series. Check, for example, the bumpin' '90s deep house warmth of opener "Just Listen", where ascending electric piano lines rise above toasty chords and sneaky vocal samples, and the feel-good roll of "Capricorn". Elsewhere, we recommend the spacey bounce of "City to City People", which also features a wobbly, D&B style bassline, and the laidback dancefloor jazziness of evocative closer "Organic J Mix 2".
Review: If you're wondering who is behind the previously unheard J&AG project, we can confirm that it's the work of Moda Music chiefs Jaymo and Andy George. Listening to the EP, it's clear why they wanted a different alias for the project; each of the four sample-rich house workouts is altogether dustier, dreamier and more disco-fied than their usual collaborative work. In terms of highlights, we'd like to point you towards the Tiger and Woods style loop-funk brilliance of "Vitamin Loops", the early Daft Punk flavours of "MDK" and the woozy, late night loops of filter disco opener "Girl". That said, the EP's other track, closer "Nothing To Worry About", is almost as good as its' celebrated companions.
