Juno Recommends Deep House: March 2024

Review: The rightly lauded Bogota producer Felipe Gordon has always turned out plenty of high quality music and this year already he has lined up a new instrumental hip-hop album Psychedelic Melancholia. But that's not all because now he arrives on the much loved Razor-N-Tape with his fine Flutes Of Gold EP. The title track is pure joy with shuffling and jazz-infused house grooves topped with lush chords and golden melodies. 'Right Beside Me' has more swing to it and an intriguing vocal sample that is perfect for late night dances. 'Homage To Bossa' has Latin influences and 'Acid Party At Santa Barbara' has prickly 303s twisting and turning through another warm house arrangement.

Review: People Of Earth strides into the New Year with a new project called The Elements Series. Part one welcomes some serious names, not least Detroit's ambient and techno master John Beltran who kicks off with 'Nuyorico' a joyous, chord-laced house groove laden with organic percussion. Javonntte's 'Tropical Feelings' is another of his textbook deep house cuts with whispered vocals bringing a spiritual vibe. Atlanta's main man Kai Alce does his do with the jazzy synth energy of shuffling house cut 'Benefit' (NDATL instrumental mix) then Byron The Aquarius pairs things back to dusty drums and humid chords on 'Sun Gods'. This one is only for the real heads.

Review: Defected's vinyl series continues to commit the label's biggest digital releases to wax for the first time, and this special twentieth edition has been created in partnership with Shelter, the housing and homeless charity. Together, in July 2023, the label and charity launched 'From House To Home', which pioneers an ingenious idea; taking 'house music' to its utmost logical conclusion, deploying reworks classic house tracks as fundraisers for helping secure actual housing for the homeless. On this latest edition to the series, Germany's Jonathan Kaspar remixes Breach's revered deep house anthem, 'Jack'. Then comes the bubbling Mason Collective and Bipolar Sunshine collab 'People In Love', shortly followed by the recent pop hit by Arielle Free, 'Feels So Good', before a round-off in the form of a generational collaboration between production pioneers Bob Sinclar, A-Trak, and Mele with 'Deep Inside Of Me'.

Review: Soul and Gospel group Gabriels and their 'Love & Hate In A Different Time' gets some proper remix attention with house legends Kerri Chandler and X-Press. Each remixer gets a side each to themselves on this jam-packed future classic. X-Press takes side 1 and includes a more vocal mix and then an alternate dub version. Both versions are up-tempo and perfect for the dancefloor just depends on the time of night which one you might go to. For the B-side, Kerri Chandler takes a similar approach. The vocal mix being a bit more soulful while the '623 Again' version goes deeper. These remixers are like a match made in heaven for turning these into house gems. This guaranteed to be in many DJs crates and many best of lists.

Review: Discotecas keep it catchy with another firey missive that delves deep into disco, funk and Afro. 'Heavy Dub' opens up with loose-limbed grooves that come with horn stabs and plenty of percussion, then 'LFA' gets a little deeper. Here the drums stay low and the mood is more menacing. The groove is detailed with just as many hots and toms, with diffuse chord stabs adding some warming soul and hints of Moodymann cool. As the grover unfolds it gets ever more funky and party starting with some great spoken words finishing it in style.

Review: From the artwork to the vocal stamps to the beats themselves, this is a brilliantly retro-tactic release that brings plenty of nostalgia to the dance floor. Ursula 100 serves up the goods with 'Movin' 2 The Sound' - a dense and intense cut with vocals musing on drum beats and rocking the house, electro-tinged bass and lashings of acid with plenty of analogue percussive sounds. The Acid Jerks Refix strips away some of the noise to focus on the 303 and loopy vocal fragments and Fort Knox 5 up the acid-electro vibes on their rework. Last of all, the DJ Absolutely Shit remix brings some big jungle breakbeats and lively sax. A fun and destructive EP for sure.

Review: Shockingly, it's been almost three years since we last heard new material from Chaos in the CBD aka London-based Kiwi brothers Ben and Louis Helliker-Hales. This two-tracker is not only well overdue, but also as quietly impressive as you'd expect. Title track and A-side 'Sirena Deep' lives up to its name, offering a subtly summery shuffle through lightly dubbed-out, organ-rich deep house goodness complete with an expressive and tasteful flute solo from fellow New Zealander Nathan Haines. Those looking for a more driving, sub-heavy and late-night focused workout will love flip side 'Outdoor Limit', where creepy, ghostly chords and textures ride tough house beats and a deep, dubby bassline.

Review: Adeen Records is on a roll right now and this time out they welcome the Detroit hero that is Marcellus Pittman for a new and beguiling four-track 12". Known for his work with The 3 Chairs collective as well as his solo jams, this Motor City mainstay opens up with 'You Always Hank Bank One Time' which is a real mental maze of rickety loops and blurts of degraded synth. 'Another Spring Lover' is another rusty and lo-fi piece of archetypal Detroit house that is very clearly machine music but with a unique sense of human soul. 'I'm Gonna Be The Everything' is a raw drum track with sparse, heartwarming chords and 'Slick Nickle Pladium Investment' is a knackered downbeat hip-hop closer. Magnificent.

Review: The Bayara Citizens dropped the original 'Ju/Ru Music' 7" on Joe Clausell's Sacred Rhythm label back in 2006. It has become a rather pricey little 45 prm that now gets reissued as two different, dubbed out Afro rhythms with swirling guitar licks. The Afrikan Art opener on the a-side is full of sunshine and Latin vibes thanks to the superbly plucked strings and shuffling groves, while the flip is the Afrikan dub Drum Drums version - darker, more percussive more moody. Both sides bring something different to any dub set.

Review: Courtesy of Balance is a stamp of deep house authenticity no matter who is behind the beats. In this case, we have a debut appearance from Cordoba-based Argentinian Castoldi. He kicks off with 'Make Me Feel' with lashings of Detroit house stylings and bouncy chord sequences getting you in the groove. 'Tribute To Kerri' has kicks the New Jersey house don would be proud of with plenty of smooth synth additions and then 'Those Nights' is an eight-minute odyssey with crisp percussion and rattling dub chords. A timeless 12" for sure.

Review: Nothing is tastier than some Freerange deep house and so it proves with this first new offering of the year from the venerated UK label. Aroop Roy is the man on the buttons and 'Mama Mwana' is the Afro opener that transports you to somewhere hot. Squeaky guitar lines unfurl over the warming rolling beats to a hypnotic effect. Next is a remix from Moroccan scene mainstay FNX Omar who flips 'Re Bulele' into a deeply sonorous affair with twinkling melodies and steamy vocal coos and the original version rounds out the EP with percussive, funky and soulful house grooves. A typically rich EP from this crew.

Review: The first part of a two-part release for Sushitech's sub label Pariter, with Chicago second generation house hero Boo Williams joining the likes of Delano Smith and Norm Talley on the roster for 'Night Fall', the partner 12" to the simultaneously released 'Day Rise'. It features three tracks, all of which fit the mold of early evening classics. 'Acid Matrix' has an early Detroit feel to its raw machine handclap snares and panther-like, stalking bassline, while 'Deep Tech' might be geographically closer to late 80s, early 90s Yorkshire, a compulsive funkiness emerging from its bleepcentric soundscape. 'Service Chamber' is sleeker and more mellow, telephone dial tones spiralling off into the ether while tinkling, xylophone-sounded keys play hypnotically. Choice, quality material that will help any DJ to subtly pick the pace up as the sun falls.

Review: An ultra-depthy broken house production from fellows Roberta and Fawziyya Heart, 'Take Our Time' is a seeming exercise in how many top frequencies one can lop off, yet still use in service a sense of excitement in stasis. The simple tessellation of soul-fed voice, subdued kick, murmurative Rhodes and mono sub make for a fantastic combo, as we're unconsciously fed lyrics and style signifying tarrying and patience, not to mention the Molokos and Smith & Mighties of the 1990s.

Review: Many years after the first instalment we are now treated to a second volume of the Culross Close project from K15, a one time Wild Oats graduate, artist, DJ, producer and deep thinker who mixes up house, hip hop and jazz. He assumes his usual alias for the opener 'Pulse' which dances on dusty drums with nagging melodies in the middle and plenty of swing. On the flip he becomes Culross Close for 'Dawn' which his less club ready and more expressive, with heart melting pianos and a real jumble of drums and perc that is brilliantly loose.

Review: Dutch crew Body N Deep are back with more music that is aimed at both head and heel. This fourth volume in its BND Project series welcomes four more venerated names starting with Marc Cotterell whose 'Deepha' (Plastik Factory Vox mix) is all warm, smeared chords and 90s vibes, while Matt Gillespie's 'Movin' is more stripped-back to sustained pads and shuffling, dusty drums that soon get under the skin. Jovonn's 'Play 4 Today' (Ben Rebel remix) is a more driving affair with libidinous vocal whispers and Jeremias Santiago shuts down with the strong laced and Latin-inspired sounds of 'Soul Festival.'

Review: Spanish label MATE host a four track, two artist 12" that stretches across the Atlantic to take in top house music talents from both sides. The Belgian duo Chasse follow their releases on Robsoul and Exploited take on the A-side, with 'Viola' proving a chunky but emotive offering held together by rhythmic sax stabs and suspended strings and 'Deep Link' a jazzier affair, the sax let properly loose as a plaintive piano loops atmospherically. The prolific Detroit producer Javonntte, a regular on the label, offers up the fantastic Moog improv wigout of 'Sunday Brunch Cocktail', registering some impressively original high frequency operations. 'When Music Feels' boasts a spoken word vocal from Javonntte's own sister and a more classic deep house sound with an uplifting, spiritual vibe. Maximum value for money via four very playable tunes.

Review: The Phonogramme label is a real stamp of house quality, whether serving up deep, French or garage-tinged. This new 12" from Lucas Monet does a bit of all that and more. 'Low Gravity' (feat Dusty Fingers - Deeper dub is a classic New Jersey sound with neon chords and Kerri Chandler kicks. 'Losing You' (Paradise mix) has a more optimistic and upbeat feel with organ stabs and finger clicks and 'Deep In The Blue' (937 club mix) has a little more jack and swing to it. 'Music' (UKG Private mix) shuts down with an irresistible old school groove full of love.

Review: A decade or so after making his debut, Greek producer Lee Burton is rightly revered as an artist with a trademark sound and a variety of rock-solid EPs to his name. Chris Stussy has long been a fan, hence bringing him to his Up The Stuss label for the first time. Burton has delivered, giddily skipping between sub-heavy, acid-laden peak-time hedonism ('Sinewaves'), rolling deep house funkiness smothered in intergalactic melodies and spacey chords ('Burning'), deep and acidic techno (the big room ready headtrip that is 'ITICF'), and the kind of immersive, loved-up and acid-flecked house goodness that's tailor-made for those light moments just before dawn ('Love Motion').

Review: Veteran German producer Sascha Dive is a household name in electronic music. His latest EP 'Deep Inside', is a versatile record that is sure to find a home into many DJ's hands. Kicking things off with the meaty heaviness that is "Dub Chronicles #6". A powerhouse dub related techno track that will push your speakers to the maximum. "International Sun-Earth Explorer" is a deep lush track that gives off a touch of progressive vibes within. Turn the record over for some beautiful house vibes that feature house vocal legend Robert Owens, while closing things out is the tasty offering 'Promise Street'. A seductive B-side option that we feel will be a great alternate choice that really fills out the EP nicely. Sascha Dive is always a name you can trust to bring the quality.

Review: All Day I Dream's Lee Burridge is a man who has walks managed to reinvent himself. Right now he is in his dreamy deep house phase and his label is the best out there for these sort of organic day time grooves. Now well past the 100 releases mark it is back with a new winter sampler full of heartwarming sounds from key label associates like Simon Vuarambon. Homeless, Facundo Mohrr, Maxi Degrassi and more. Each one layers up zoned out pads, soft rhythms and gently persuasive sounds that will have you in a trance in no time.

Review: Native Soul Recordings made a great start with release 001 and the follow-up is easily as good. It's a collaborative offering from two venerated veterans in Roman Nunez and JT Donaldson that taps into both men's signature sounds. The result is 'Feelin' Real Good' which will indeed make you feel real good such is the irresistibly warm nature of its bump 'n' slide house groove and twinkling late night melodies all topped off with a smart male vocal. JT Donaldson also offers a more trippy out and tech-y dub and synth laden remix. This is timeless and summery house music that oozes class and sophistication.

Review: While he's been a stalwart of the Athens underground for decades, it's only in recent years that Lex has begun to release music on a regular basis. Here he returns to Delusions of Grandeur following his collaborative EP with Locke, 7 Day Path, in 2022. Fittingly, Locke makes an appearance - alongside Guto Fernandez - on 'Purity', a fine vocal number that sits somewhere between nu-disco and percussive Latin house, while Lex's love of collaboration continues on the late-80s piano house vibe of 'No Time For Formalities'. It's the A-side's solo tracks that impress most. Our pick of the pair is 'Without You', a hypnotic and locked-in acid house roller full of mind-mangling TB-303 motifs, jazzy Rhodes licks and spacey chords, though the deep and funky 'Strip Town' is almost as good.

Review: Byron The Aquarius (Byron Blaylock), from Birmingham, Alabama, debuts his latest EP for French Synchrophone sublabel Phonogramme, 'Dey Know Vol. 1'. Topping up an already hugely impressive backlog of releases on the label recently - from the likes of Abacus, Steeve O'Sullivan and Vitess - the producer and water carrier adds to their catalogue for a varied scrubdown of the more militant ends of techno's sonic politic. An impressove sense of variation is achieved on the expositionally minimal 'Black Is Black', which contrasts greatly to the ensuing space-quagmires of 'Dr Devil' and then the crude, bleepy and frank analog sonics of 'Real MF From The Avenue'. Dreamy narrations of local life abound, precluding the closing 'Rock That 808!!!', a track that is far more sophisticated and well-developed in sound than its wilfully blase title might suggest.