DJ AAKMAEL Vinyl & CDs

Review: Atlanta's leading deep house outlet NDATL welcomes DJ Aakmael for its next outing and - as always with this producer - the results are smoky and seductive. His signature sound is all about cuddly, dusty drums with deft little melodies, horns or gospel samples that lodge in your mind while you move to his compelling grooves. That's true again here with a Latin-jazz-infused opener in the form of 'Track 109.' 'Imagination' is a truly hypnotic house sound and on the flip are 'This Is Not A Game,' a killer collab with label head Kai Alce, and '102.5' which has a bassline smoother than chocolate. Another doozy from Aakmael, then.

Review: House with an extra dose of crispy high-end from DJ Aakmael, who has haunted the saucier ends of the Chicago house scene since the mid 1990s. Aakmael is a mysterious entity, and can be ghost-spotted behind any solid pair of decks on a rainy night. 'Deep Cookie' harkens after a forgotten platonic form of house, in which East Asian synths and 808 claps collide compellingly. Meanwhile, '4ever' rounds off the B-side; it's a diggers' delight with a near-UK feel and mystical vocals and sax, recalling recent tunes this side of the pond by Ben Hauke.

Review: Sloth Boogie has scored something of a coup in signing this EP from DJ Aakmael (real name Greg Stewart), whose track record of producing ultra-deep, high calibre fare makes him one of the most lauded house producers of the last decade. There's naturally plenty to savour across the EP's four tracks, from the languid, laidback shuffle of 'Hardbody' - all mazy, eyes-closed synth solos, warming riffs, dreamy chords and Theo Parrish style deep house beats - to the hazy, Omar-S-esque 'Deepshyt' and jaunty, quietly celebratory 'Strobe'. Our pick of an incredible strong bunch is 'Track 166', if only for the quality of the jazzy piano solos that sit atop Stewart's woozy chords and locked-in beats.

Review: Through a wide selection of releases on his own UnXpozd Entertainment, DJ Aakmael has truly established his place within the house scene, and his own sound, too. The man deals in a very specific sort of deep house filled with jazzy elements, much like the one championed by the likes of Fred P or Patrice Scott. Here, on the People Earth imprint, we are graced by the deep and chimerical synth work of "Izza" on the A-side, while "Untitled 116" on the back of the wax contains an air of disco, but one that's been warped and messed with good and proper; "Spreadsmoluv" is a heads-down house lover with an insanely hummable vocal flex. YES.

Review: Joe Babylon's cultured US label Roundabout Sounds has never rushed music out but when it does serve up new material it is always timeless and top quality. This latest EP is the first installment in the new All Hands series and it features some real house heavyweights. Frits Wentink kicks off with the mystic and lo-fi depths of 'Jellyfish, then DJ Aakmael layers up his soft edge chords and cuddly kicks drums with some muted horn motifs that bring the romance. The label head brings some upright drums and spoken word lyrics for a beautifully warm sound and last of all Detroit royalty Rick Wilhite links with Jon Easley for a final blissed-out and breezy deep house day dream.