NAIL Vinyl & CDs

Review: Nail is one of UK house music's most vital contributors. His raw sound pioneered a new style of tech house in the 90s and here he reappears under a different alias, AM Vibe. 'Vibe With Me' kicks off with nice loose drums and perc and jazzy keys adding the warmth and soul. 'I'm So High' brings some loopy and filtered fun and phased vocals for a sleazy feel, then 'Dried Fruit' gets more upbeat with lush synth swirls and effortlessly cool drums and rich r&b vocal samples. 'Powder' closes out with some thumping kicks and more tender vocal stabs. As always, this is brilliantly heartfelt and effective tackle from Nail.

Review: For the third release on the fast-rising Sounds of Style Records, label founder Bobby Hudson has turned to long-serving UK deep house don (and former Bent member) Nail Tolliday - a producer whose output is impressively consistent and rarely less than excellent. As if to the prove the point, Tolliday first slaps down a rubbery and sample-rich slab of soul-sampling deep house perfection - all chopped vocal snippets, sustained organ chords and irresistibly funky grooves - before opting for pots-and-pans percussion, chopped funky samples and copious amounts of dancefloor pressure on 'Hey'. Over on side B, 'Peanuts 3' is a mind-mangling disco-house-meets-wonky deep house roller underpinned by superbly sleazy sub-bass, while 'U Know What U Can Do' is sweet, woozy, soulful and informed by classic New Jersey garage-house.

Review: Since returning to house music 11 years ago following years spent as part of downtempo duo Bent, Nail Tolliday has made some of his strongest material to date - an impressive feat given that 30 years have now passed since the East Midlands native made his debut. Predictably, Tolliday is fine form on this Robsoul label debut. He begins with the bass-heavy, disco-sampling loop-funk of 'Stick Up', before reaching for gorgeous jazz guitar samples, rubbery double bass, echoing vocal snippets and deliciously loose-limbed drums on '175Kan'. 'Listen Man' sounds like something he may have released on Classic in the early 2000s - boompty beats, dusty samples and pots and pans percussion - while 'Almost Time' pairs glassy-eyed rave piano riffs with deliciously bumpin' beats.

Review: Nail Tolliday aka Nail is a house music don who rose to prominence back in the 90s with the cult DiY collective out of Nottingham, but also worked as one half of downtempo pair Bent. He disappeared for a while but then return a decade or so ago and since then has been turning out the jams on a regular basis for several different and respected labels. Now he takes matters into his own hands by launching his own imprint In The Dance. Four effective, stylish cuts mark its debut, from the raw, stripped-back sound of 'Grumble' to the more light and airy drums of 'Highly', the punchy kicks and balmy chords of 'No Windows' and on to closer 'Pretty Thing' with its mix of hefty grooves and more whimsical pads. A super 12".

Review: UK house mainstay Nail has some long roots that go all the way back to the Nottingham scene of the mid-nineties as part of the DiY crew, while he also explored more downtempo sounds as one half of Bent. He is still very much kicking out the jams all these decades on, always with a nice sharp groove and crisp hi hats. That is the case again here with his Mercy EP on Kick-n-Dance which ones with the striped back and infectious 'Broccoli', gets more deep and vibes with 'Lettuce' and comes doused in soul in the case of the flipside opener 'Whas Happenin' which channels Marvin Gaye. 'Spring Greens' is another smart tech house closer that does everything right.

Review: UK house legend Nail - who was also one half of downbeat duo Bent - made a welcome return to the scene some years ago now and since then has very much found the same form he showed in his early career. Here the legend lands on Soundrive Music with another tasteful deep house outing. It kicks off with the super cool 'Beep Beep' with lazy drums and sumptuous melodies sucking you in, then the title cut has a more direct tech feel with vamping stabs and shimmering drums. 'Goin' On' has a breezy and sunny feel to the effortless catchy drums and bass while 'Goin' On' takes things down for a nice gentle end-of-the-night dub.

Review: It has been some years now since Nail came back from the wilderness after one of his early EPs was re-released by Fear of Flying. Since then he has turned out plenty of new material as well as digging deep into his vast and vital vaults to serve up the sort of lo-fi but kicking house sounds that made him and his Nottingham crew such a driving force back in the 90s. And that's what we get here on For Those That Knoe - no fewer than eight masterfully stripped-back cuts of deep house. Some are laced with dreamy melodies, some roll deep for days, some are raw and textured pumpers and some are jazzed-up bangers with charm to spare. Essential stuff.

Review: Taking a moment to pause from their extensive exploration of Persian's illustrious archives, the Mysticisms lot turn their attention back to another fine exponent of UK dance music across the eras. Neil 'Nail' Tolliday had an incredible hit rate with his productions in the mid 90s, and he's since embarked on a mammoth resurgence over the past eight years which almost eclipses those seminal early days. After reissuing the classic Cassiopeia 12", Mysticisms hit up Tolliday for some unreleased gold which he dutifully served up in a blissed-out haze of winding synth lines and deep-digging drums. It comes on a little more wigged-out than you might expect from Nail, showing further insight into the formative years of one of the true stalwarts of UK house music.

Review: Mental health charity label Serenity keeps it sophisticated with its sixth outing and once again donates all proceeds to charity this time Young Minds. It is underground house mainstay and DiY Discs legend Nail who steps up first with a much more breezy and balmy sound than you would expect but it sure is lush. 'Pad On' slips into his more usual and driving house sound but with swirling pads up top for summery refinement. Trixie, Connor Male & Thoma Bulwer then get deep and late night with their punchy 'Impromptune' while Trixie's solo cut 'restless sculptures' is a jacked-up and percussive number that leans into techno.