RETROMIGRATION Vinyl & CDs

Review: On Demuja's label Blueprint comes an milestone six-track EP made up of breezy, ultraviolet house tunes, celebrating the imprint's tenth anniversary in the form of a bite-sized sampler referencing a wider compliation LP. With both familiar and fresh faces in tow, we're gripped by the selection on offer: Hall's synthetic glam-funk jam opens proceedings with whistly synths, while Makez' 'Train To Saturn' accelerates towards ever-faster ends, and Basic Soul Unit's 'Souljourn' takes the B's cake with knocky, tactile *perpetuum mobile*.

Review: To keep it in the family is to imply things stay pure and untainted, but the irony with the Keep It In The Family 12" series is that every record sounds raw and unsheltered. So, although 'Feel' and 'Move This Way' cycle through unperturbed and dreamatic sounds, their finish is rough, suggesting a well-wrought processing chain, the music having seen through many a prodigal battle. Retromigration's 'Fret' and Cem Mo's 'Rushmore' continue the mood of vintage deep raspiness, with one-up arpeggios closing out the final track with special glee.

Review: Retromigration's Cloudin is a deep house 12" that offers a great blend of fun, jazzy, and serious tracks. Sometimes, all in the same track. It opens with the title track, which is a proper deep house effort that is techy and fresh, with tribal and psychedelic elements. This is followed by 'Only Well,' which is a jazzy funk track with a nice melody. The third track, 'Just Take It,' is a catchy, slick house track with an addictive melody and hints of disco. Side 2 of the album opens with 'They Hatin',' an urban groove track with cool sound effects, an old skool jazz feel and a 70s sound. The album closes with 'You Win,' a clever, different and unique track. Overall, Cloudin is a great 12" that shows that house music can be much more than just an evolution of disco.

Review: Amsterdam-based producer Malik Kassim aka Retromigration has been turning out a steady stream of beautifully soulful infused house eosins on several key labels over the last few years. Now he lands on Last Year At Marienbad with another delightful EP rich in melodies. 'B O' starts with a mid tempo groove that is embellished with the joys of a new spring day then 'Lapras' is lead by a mystic flute lead while the loose limbed drums make you move below. 'Dead Tech' slows to a jazzy late night crawl and then two flip side joints bring 70s fusion flutes and diva vocals to organic house drums. Sublime EP.

Review:  London label/clothing line Handy has already put out a fine EP in collaboration with Bristol's Shall Not Fade while Retromigration has had big 12"s on Last Year At Marienbad and We Will Always Be A Love Song this year. Now the two on-form forces come together for a fresh EP of dusty, woozy, seductive house. 'Also Durag' has classy skip in the drums and steamy sax motifs while 'Earl Jeffers' flips it into something heavy and sweaty. 'You & Dion' is a freeform house jam with squelchy bass and atmospheric vocals then 'Stop The Presses' rounds out with dreamy, carefree house goodness.

Review: wewillalwaysbealovesong has very quietly become a much treasured outlet for classy hosue sounds by those who know. It is the on form Retromigration who steps up now following EPs on Handy and Wolf Music that deserve more attention than they seem to have so far got. He brings his sleek modern deep house style to the fore here with opener 'Secret Of A Pimp' layering up crispy boom-bap house drums with warm, whirring pads and smart vocal sample. The don Jimpster adds his textbook musicality to a fine remix, then 'Flying Lotus' brings a more airy and melodic vibe for outdoor dancing. The Franc Spangler remix is dubby and deep as you like.

Review: Given their confident style, the artist lurking behind the Retromigration moniker already has an impressive track record, and the take on U.S style deep house and J Dilla style instrumental hip-hop they show here is sure to please both DJs and punters alike . Check first the echoing strings, synth chords and twinkling pianos of deep and steppin' house jam 'Hafenluft', before admiring the swirling deep house jazz of 'Mad Fox' and the more driving but similarly jazzy 'Tinger'. Elsewhere, 'Be Alright' is a mid-tempo number that combines deep house elements with flashes of '80s synth funk, while 'Disk Yard' and 'Nur Weir' are dusty, stoner-friendly head-nodders.

Review: Retromigration is the nom de plume of Malik Kassim, a DJ and producer from Amsterdam with previous releases on labels like Ravanelli Disco Club, GLBDOM and Healthy Scratch. The five tracks featured on the Bloom Street EP come to you courtesy of London's Wolf Music, featuring the sensual late night mood music of A side cut 'Brining It' and its velvety Rhodes keys that guide it all the way. Over on the flip, you have the urban influenced jam 'Free Spirit' getting that Berlin vibe going on that's reminiscent of Max Graef and Glenn Astro's work, and ending with the dusty jazz bar loops of 'Slick Walkin' that takes you deeper into the twilight hours.

Review: Marseille-based label Ravanelli Disco Club welcomes back Amsterdam-based producer Malik Kassim aka Retromigration for the evocative sunset groove of 'Jeffa' which is perfect for poolside vibes, which then heads inside to the club for some deep, late-night mood music courtesy of Ron Basejam on the remix. Over on the flip, Nephews serve up a slo-mo heater reminiscent of French deep house from the turn of the millennium on the sultry 'Reingelaxed' which gets a re-rub by Razor N Tape main man Jkriv on the flip.