DJs: Most Charted - Deep House - November 2011

Review: Chicago's Ricardo Miranda makes his debut for the ace Stilove4music label, maintaining a fine year in which he has already dropped some serious heat on Rush Hour sub-label Hour House Is Your Rush and his own Noble Square imprint. Title track "102point 7" is all jagged synths, throbbing arpeggios, slashing claps and a rolling acid groove, marking it out as one of his most incendiary productions to date. On the flip "Rotary Cells" is deeper still, a 909-led jacker with undulating layers of sub bass augmented by a wonderfully woozy vocal which extols the virtues of true Chicago House. This is followed by "Greenline", a stripped back jam with scuttling hats and the kind of paranoid synth melody that wouldn't sound out of place in Jeff Mills' Something In The Sky series. This is dark, raw, pulsating dance music - highly recommended.

Review: ** Repress of the Ethereal Sound classic! **It's time for another dose of mystical deep house vibes on the renowned Ethereal Sound. Their mini compilations are always eagerly awaited here at Juno HQ, and this time they showcase the talent of NY house wizard Fred P and Ukraine's main man, Vakula. Fred P's tracks are always a pleasure to listen to and "It's All In The Mind" reaffirms his talents as one of deep house's finest. The beat opens with an unusually punchy acid sound for Mr.P but soon dissolves and melts into something much more sparse and disconnected. New man Pjotr takes the helms on "Waves From The Past" and opens with a stunning chord shadowing a distant sample of a jazz gig which weaves and moulds its way through to the end. On the flip, Vakula drops an intricate percussion filled with bongos and subtle basslines like only he knows how to do best, while Benedikt Frey ties thing up in true Ethereal style on "Untitled 3", creating a stylish atmosphere and serves as a welcome addition to their already impressive artist catalogue.

Review: Jimmy Posters and Huxley's new imprint Saints & Sonnets present their debut EP from production duo Ethyl & Huxley with the 3 Feet High EP. Deep, powerful and rounded deep house is on the menu for release number one as strong bass holds down light melodies and slurry vocals for an undoubtedly peak time record. Electronic chameleon and self proclaimed dandy Roman Flugel is in for remix duty and his dubby "Mix 2" flirts with push and pull percussion and chopped vocal snippets for a delightfully experimental revision.

Review: Amidst the news that Vakula will soon be starting his own Leleka imprint, Shevchenko swiftly serves a third helping of productions from the Ukrainian. This release follows the upward trajectory of Shevchenko to date, as our impressions of Mama Said Glow were surpassed by the quite recent SHEV002. "Dub As Always" is typically unique, beginning like a bastardized East European cousin to Felix Da Housecat's "Kick Drum" before drafting in huge waves of burning synths. Vocals echo around our senses, falling to the depths before rising and shooting in different directions as the track throbs away at your brain. On the flip Vakula indulges in some scratchy, abrasions on "Track 2" which makes for the kind of production those with little studio know how will sit through and wallow in a state of confusion as to how he made it. As ever, it's hard to compare anyone else to what Vakula is doing right now.

Review: The tireless peeps at Rush Hour launch the Vault Series, in which the Dutch imprint rummages for overlooked and unreleased tracks sitting in a big shed out the back of their Amsterdam-based record store. They kick things off in consummate style, with the hitherto unknown (to us, anyway) Duster Valentine dropping the ace "(My Back Is) Against Wall", which features a killer sample of "The Pressure" by Sound of Blackness. A thick set drum loop works for your attention below the vocals, occasional keys and dusty groove - highly recommended. The heads out there will be delighted to see Aardvarck's instantly recognisable party jam "(Just Washed) That Pig" from a few years back given a sorely needed extension!

Review: The enigmatic Robotalco steps up for production duties on the next release from On The Prowl, serving up four slices of raw house business for the weekend. "Robo's Road" sets the tone in subaqueous fashion, strings dripping with emotion over the energising bump of simple, rattling and hissing percussion and satisfying drums, whilst the gently swaying piano and deep lying vocal coos bring the vibes. Alongside it, Robotalco presents a more stripped back side to his armoury with "It Get's To Me", which begins in unassuming fashion before exploding into life once those drum rolls are released. Flipside and "Moon Robot" showcases Robotalco's deftness at crafting rolling synth patterns, which work so well with those finely snipped vocal hooks in the latter part of the track. Rounding things off, "Zuk Zuk" expertly deviates from an off kilter ankle deep groove into a crazed gloopy Latin house jam.

Review: A superb second release on the fledgling Nsyde imprint from Detroit's secret weapon Kevin Reynolds, emboldened no doubt by the positive response to his drop on Todchai earlier this year. Lead track "Liaisons" is a delight, masterfully expanding from the industrially charged and finely sculpted rhythms that open the track into an expansive realm of mesmerising vintage Motor City utopia. The ease with which new layers of sound and texture are implemented amidst the subtly shifting directions keeps your senses enraptured throughout the sumptuous eight minutes. "Port" is just as memorable though more simplistic in its execution, utilising slick beat programming and a thick set bass line to draw you before the vast waves of Detroit emotion come rising through and take effect. The second wave of creeping keys imbues the track with an odd sense of kaleidoscopic warmth. The Del Parque remix of "Portal", which closes out the release, twists the track inside out to focus on the swinging groove, marking it out as a more functional entity for the floor.