LABAT Vinyl & CDs

Review: Moonrise Hill Material has an interesting mission statement. The French label says that it is dedicated to "poetic house music", a deliciously open-ended concept that's open to all sorts of interpretations. In the case of this EP - a multi-artist affair featuring label regulars and newcomers - that largely means chunky club tracks that doff a cap to classic disco and boogie. There are deviations from the blueprint, of course - see the dub-flecked tropical house slinkiness of Tochigi Canopy's "Gulf Ressac", or the Andres-ish loop jazziness of LB aka Labat's "Your Ass Gotta Go" - but it's likely most DJs will reach for the celebratory positivity of Etheyne and Folamour's party-starting A-side cuts.

Review: It's been a phenomenal year for Lyon-based Baptistin Cablou; fresh from his album Fake Memories and his Magic Black-released "Celestial Plan" comes a fresh EP on his and Pablo Valentino's brand new label Le Petit Zoo. Home to four endangered animals, it's a dedicated exercise in house preservation as each cut shimmers with timelessness; "Something" fumes with smouldering Detroit waves, "Alelah Deepness" shines with a dusty jazz so strong it could easily live at 22a, "Purple Thang" adds a little west coast subtlety to a heavily percussive blend while "Rings" closes the deal with a militant drum arrangement and chilling, mournful chords. It's feeding time.

Review: French crew D.KO have had some killer releases this year, particularly Mad Rey's recent effort but now tap Lyon based producer LB aka Labat aka Baptistin Cabalou, who has also released on Robsoul and BFDM in recent times. It's quite a dusty and soulful affair, all in all, and will appeal to fans of Detroit deep house, typically Moodymann or Three Chairs. Starting out with some blunted hip-hop style jams like "Dance Sista" or "STE 11 (You Know)", he's then into the groovy stuff such as on "Duper Avec Rancho" which is reminiscent of Theo Parrish's late nineties output, the sexy discofied vocal house of "Herbal Vapours" (a real highlight!) and the lo-slung soul jam "Queendom" closing out this great EP just nicely.