LARRY HEARD Vinyl & CDs

Review: There's no shortage of gems in Larry Heard's authoritative deep house legacy worthy of a fresh airing, and his Alleviated label embarks on a reissue campaign to bring some perennial classics back in arms reach. Heading to the turn of the millennium, this particular 12" pulls together a couple of tunes from different releases. 'Another Night' originally landed on the 2001 album Love's Arrival, and it sounds utterly timeless as it tenderly bumps out in a configuration of hazy chords and infectious groove, capped off by Shelby Johnson's smouldering vocal. 'Time Machine' came out the same year as a B side to the single release of 'Direct Drive', and it shows Heard's mellow tones set to a tougher beat when you want to bring a little bite to deeper-than-deep scenarios.

Review: Larry Heard's strain of deep house absolutely lends itself to the album format, and he demonstrated this flawlessly on the 2001 album Love's Arrival. Decades on from his first forays into production at the dawn of house music, Heard's sound slipped into a dreamlike lounge-state which spoke to continued development of his melodic sensibilities. Just stick on 'Praise' and let the sound unfurl around you, full of the aching melancholy which gives his music such power. Like machine jazz funk beaming from another dimension, this is deep house at its very best, as made by one of the true architects of the sound.

Review: REBIRTH 10 came back in 2016 as a limited double CD to mark the tenth anniversary of the label founded by visionary Daniele 'Shield' Contrini. It was curated by the deep house don Mr Fingers aka Larry Heard, and took listeners on a journey through the evolution of the label. Now it lands on vinyl for the first time ever and is still as relevant as ever with iconic releases like NUfrequency feat. Ben Onono's 'Fallen Hero' (Motor City Drum Ensemble Remix), Yotam Avni's 'Pentimento' (Joe Claussell Remix), Butch & C.Vogt's 'The Infamous' (Robytek Vs Shield Re-Edit) and original music and remixes from Larry Heard himself.