Deep House Recommendations January 2011

Review: Deep house label Ornate rounds off a fine year with a 12 inch from esteemed Irish production duo Fish Go Deep aka Greg Dowling and Shane Johnson. "Deep, Like" kicks off the A Side, with the result bring to mind what would happen if Jean Michel Jarre rolled a spliff and started making deep house, while the synth work on "Model One" will please anyone who indulged in the recent Recloose retrospective on Rush Hour. "Dub Model", meanwhile, is drenched in positively luscious Detroit chords and shares the B Side with Dylan Debutt's emotive 'red light' remix of the EP's eponymous track.

Review: Omar S teams up with Atlanta based producer Kai Alce for this killer new 12", with the FXHE boss openly suggesting the second B-Side offering is 'ringtone worthy'! The Jive Time EP features three original productions - "Not Phazed", which takes up the whole A Side, while the EP's dancefloor-friendly eponymous track shares the flip with ambient house track "Incognigro". Alce, a Detroit native who now resides in Atlanta, has had a fine year, releasing a tidy little 7" on FXHE back in April as well as a collaborative EP with Englishman Phil Asher and Atlanta vocalist Kayenne. Killer release.

Review: Retrofit reaches release no. 4 with a solo endeavour from boss Jay Shepheard that truly encapsulates the label's mantra of referencing vintage house, disco and techno but laying it in a sheen of contemporary sonic dynamism. This is more than evident on the expertly paced "All Over My Nord" which is driven by a richly elastic analogue bassline riding the slick syncopation. A surfeit of melodic stabs imbues the track with real energy whilst the gradual rise to dominance of a pad wash drenched in Detroit atmospherics adds the requisite emotion! This is complemented by the much more immediate "String Theory" which opens the B Side with a master class in future retro jacking house business whilst "Kuderski's Groove" bridges the gap between filtered disco aesthetics and deep house BPMs with nonchalant ease. Prime DJ business once again from the Retrofit camp.

Review: With Theodopolus Parrish Month in full swing just as the Christmas chaos begins it's a neat little coincidence that this heavily prized one sided twelve inch for Dope Jams should arrive on clear red vinyl. "Just1LoveBug" is an exercise in simplicity from the Sound Signature don, slipping the accapella from Amerie's "One Thing" over the demented Chicago house flex of Lil Louis' "Nyce & Slo (The Love Bug)" from all the way back in 1990. Just the right side of outright formaggio and destined to be dropped by many a DJ on NYE.

Review: Two of Chicago's most underappreciated producers pop up on this splendid record. The cowbell carnage of A-Side "Time Trekker" is offset by the string-laden, piano heavy house thump of "Pretty Noise Suite No. 1" - a guaranteed floor filler if ever we've heard one. Pressed up DIY style on Nicholson's Circular Motion Recordings, this is one for the purists.

Review: Danish duo Lars Gregers and Simon Damborg aka Blagger return to Ripperton's Perspectiv imprint with this dope 12". "Gracefully Yours" chairs proceedings with gently undulating chords and subtle vocal clips working up a serious groove. Sharing the A Side is Anges' remix of "Mine To Keep", which is positively dripping in mid tempo Detroitisms. It's the standout track here, although the original on the flip ain't half bad either. Stimming chips in with a moody reworking which will please the minimal house heads immensely. Top 12" all round!