Laurence Guy

Review: Church has certainly grown into one of London's most dependable house music outlets these past few years across their various interlinked label divisions. The emergence of Laurence Guy is testament to that - last year he debuted on Church with the well-received Kojak EP, and has gone on to prove his worth across a number of 12" releases and V/A contributions. Bamboo sees him back in the Church fold for their ninth White Label release and it's a confident four-track display of measured deep house. From the warbling melodies of the title track to the Smallville stylings of "Knotweed" and "Lotus", Guy is clearly improving with each release!

Review: Having graced an impressive roster of labels in recent years - think Church and Cin Cin, for starters - Laurence Guy pitches up on Mule Musiq for the first time. Happily, the three tracks on display are amongst his strongest works to date. We're particularly enjoying A-side "All I See Is Her", where heart-aching, bluesy piano motifs, simmering clarinet lines and eyes-closed vocal samples stretch out lazily over a bumping, breakbeat-driven house groove. Guy's love of warm and relaxing piano sounds comes to the fore once more on twinkling, broken deep house gem "Belong", while closer "Then Again Maybe Not" sits somewhere between vintage jazz-house and the smoky, dust-encrusted goodness of FYI Chris and Folamour.

Review: Hans Peeman (Junktion) and Daniel Leseman's Outplay is strictly committed to spreading the gospel of deep house music and this sermon comes courtesy of the aforementioned, with a bit of help from Laurence Guy. He appears first with the title track, which samples a pretty breathtaking strings section mixed with a spangling Derrick May style synth melody which fades out and gives way to a pretty wicked arpeggio... and some cowbells; sold already? Next up is Junktion with "Breakfast At Midnight" an offering of deep and dusty late night disco that certainly takes its cues from KDJ, but that's totally fine by us. The Brame & Hamo remix is more dancefloor friendly, slo-mo deep house that fans of Genius of Time or MCDE will appreciate. Finally Leseman's "On My Mind" offers us another deep and dusty house gem that revels in its beautifully sombre Motor City vibes. Not bad for a guy from Utrecht!

Review: The comic book-inspired Quartet Series returns to action, with another four studio superheroes joining the label's unofficial 'League of Extraordinary House Producers'. Returning hero Nachtbraker kicks things off with "Dobie", a quirky foray into percussion rich, jazz-house territory that packs serious dancefloor punch. Laurence Guy successfully breaks up the beats on the deep and woozy "Love & Be Loved", while Tommy Vicardi Jnr works his DJ Sneak style beats and cut-up samples hard on the deliciously energetic "Aplomb". Finally, LK doffs a cap to R&B, hip-hop and Detroit deep house on the pitched-down 4/4 shuffle of closer "Honey", which should appeal to those who enjoy the work of Marcel Vogel, Inkswel and Andres.