DJS: MOST CHARTED - DEEP HOUSE - MOST CHARTED IN MARCH 2013

Review: ** MCDE REPRESS ** Dani Plessow dons the Motor City Drum Ensemble name with Say A Prayer signaling a return to the production game following his much publicized creative burnout. It's clear that Plessow's period of convalescence has worked wonders, with the four tracks here every bit as deep and dusty as the much vaunted Raw Cuts series upon which the MCDE project was launched skywards. Proceedings open with the two part suite of the title track, laying down fuzzy chords and intermittent vocal swoons over a gritty 909 backbone on the opening track; part 2 meanwhile will have you digging out those Raw Cuts 12"s in order to do a MCDE master mix, such is it's immediate warmth and neck snapping drums. On the flip, Plessow uses "The Stranger" as a chance to traverse bleepier, rattling techno terrain with superb results, whilst "SP11" is rasping high octane house at it's finest.

Review: Seeking to sum up the sound of his burgeoning label, Mario Castillo pulls in a selection of artists to assist him in his Kastil guise. Soul Notes is a label clearly in love with a more vibe-laden kind of deep house, whether it comes in the form of a bumping garage shuffle as in Fulbert's "Untitled", or Kastil's own more aquatic excursion. The unifying atmosphere is a blue note one, coming out of dreamy chords steeped in the legacy of black music that permeate each of the tracks on offer. Look no further than the feel-good roll of Jefferson Belmondo's "Booty Groove" for an exercise in understated funk that knows how to pay its dues.

Review: Another arm of Chez Damier's multi-limbed Balance Alliance, Courtesy of Balance inaugurate a new series of 12" compilation releases with COB 3, arriving on limited edition transparent vinyl. Amir Alexander kicks things off following a crop of killer releases for Vanguard Sound and Hype LTD with "Dragon Fly!" featuring the subtly undulating bassline and fresh take on the deep house template he's known for, while City 2 City's "True People 88 89 90" comes true on the promise of its title, with a piece of vintage house that goes beyond the usual hollow revivalism. On the flip, Immer & Mr J's "Delta 23" offers a thick piece of mid-tempo house, with a piercing kick drum, offbeat dub chords and contained acid madness, while St Sene & Janeret's "Nightshifter" takes things down a notch with a late-night house track filled with swirling pads and diva vocals swelling on the midnight horizon.

Review: The Chicago based Stripped & Chewed label release their fifth EP with tracks from Borrowed Identity and Mechanical Soul Brother, as well as Simba and Tanzlife. Borrowed Identity and Mechanical Soul Brother's woozy synth lines of "Love For The Gang" glides through filtered hats, rhythmic percussion and seemingly a rocking house party, while Borrowed Identity, this time on his own produces "Boogie Down", a track where drooling acid smothers a stomping beat and air light chords. Simba supplies some late night city funk with "Three Kays", a perfect soundtrack for the Vegas strip, while Tanzlife keeps things balearic with a disco tinged and deep house gem with added bass licks and James Brown "urgh" vocal snippets.

Review: Fresh from the success of their Salty Days LP, Julis Steinhoff and Just Von Ahlefeld sneak over to Running Back to deliver another master class in delicately poised but righteously pumping deep house. "Nofretete" chugs along at a steady pace, but the interlocked locomotion of the drums and the arpeggios keeps a healthy amount of energy in what is ostensibly a deep cut. "Ninja Restaurant" slips into a more prominent groove, keeping the beat sparse and funky, and the smatterings of synth touches freaky. "In The Jungle" heads into a more jacking refrain, rich and warm in equal measure whilst still tapping into that tripped out mindset that comes with the Smallville set.

Review: You can almost feel the European summer trying to burst free when listening to this 12" from Joey Kay and Chicagodeep & Taelue. Joey Kay's "Perfect Time" sets the tone, pairing gospel vocals and high pitched leads set to sustain, while "Cliff Dwellers" ventures into dubby house territory with looped synth stabs that self propel in motion to phase-tinged hit-hats and claps coated in reverb. Chicagodeep & Taelue open with a Rhodes heavy and chord drowsy "Sunday Drive", which Dubbyman the slows down ten-fold by introducing new keys and a deeply languorous bassline.

Review: Detroit producer Scott Grooves returns to his Modified Suede imprint with Bitter Sweet, following on from the jazz-driven Motor City funk of "The Journey". This 12" sees the underappreciated Grooves on typically excellent form; the title track offers a piece of dusty, subtle Detroit house, where fuzzy Rhodes piano are joined by jazzy string melodies and a mechanical groove in a similar manner to Kevin Reynolds' similarly slow burning "Liaisons", while "C Track" offers a sublime piece of rolling house whose urgent yet gentle piano chords are caught in a swell of bottom heavy bass and rattling hi-hats.

Review: Ben Sun continues his glacial release rate of roughly one EP per annum with Your Footprints, the Australian producer's second release for Delusions Of Grandeur. The upbeat stylings of Sun's title track are completely turned out by the subsequent remix from Mr Tevo Howard, as the Chicago native opts to cloaks Sun's original in a lo-fi and filtered sheet or electronic fuzz, undoing Sun's original mix-down by bringing the rest of the instruments into murky bassline territory. Sun employs a walking bassline in "Affirmation", which creates the tracks fluid and constant groove, made all the more danceable with cut vocals and intermittent percussion samples. Hopefully it's not another year until Ben Sun's next release.

Review: Hot on the heels of Ornate Music's last release featuring the bumping house business of Digs, the imprint set their sights on Welsh producer Leif, who has been turning heads with his masterful deep house for labels like Fear Of Flying and Fina since 2003. Kicking off with "Circumstance 4", whose smooth organ refrain drifts over a lightly rolling groove, the vibe switches up with "Every Cloud", whose gentle jazz-inspired piano and abstract, dubbed out soundscape is strongly reminiscent of Floating Points more freeform productions. However, it's "Each Day Made New" that provides the EP's most surprising moment, an Andres style hip-hop track with a cut-up, sunshine drenched quality calling Recloose to mind.

Review: The legendary Chez Damier presents the first of two carefully curated 12"s under the Purpose For Design banner on his own Balance Music, carrying on the Chicago label's mission to deliver the finest contemporary deep house sounds. On the A-side, Ethereal Sound alumnus Miruga delivers "Midnight Theme", a jazz-tinged number filled with swimming keys floating atop a thick undercurrent of bass, while UG provides their mix of Brawther's "Endless", a garage-inspired track filled with feather light vocal snippets, creamy chords and a snappy, upbeat rhythmic flex. On the B-side, "The Way I Feel When I Think Of You" sees Introspective combine an insistent yet smooth synth pulse with reverb heavy piano chords resulting in an improvised, rustling percussive feel. Matthew Bandy's mix of GMS' "Tell Me What It Is" ends on an unexpectedly tropical note with high impact conga rhythms, sun drenched piano, rolling calypso-inspired bassline and bold vocal.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!!! Matlock's finest Rhythm Plate resurface brandishing a new label in Pressed For Time, and what better way to inaugurate it than revisiting one of their key tracks. Released back in 2002 on the Mantis label run by Atjazz, "Lean Part 2" was a wonderfully sleazy slab of deepness notable for the lascivious vocal hook that hung slinkily over the production throughout. It still sounds superb some 13 years on and is backed with an unreleased version that was done in the same period, along with deliciously freaky new "Leaner" mix from the pair.

Review: The Atmospheric Existence label puts quality before quantity; therefore a new release from Miles Sagnia's operation is always something deep house enthusiasts should cast their sensory receptors over. Their first release of 2013 sees Sagnia feature alongside Thug Records artist Jacksonville and the mysterious Tales Ov Rossi for the Altitude EP. Label boss in call shotgun shock! Sagnia takes the lead with the wonderfully inventive "Alchemy" which drops a singular 303 tone intermittently between a hurried array of broken house and rushing chords; the results sound remarkably refreshing. Alongside it, Jacksonville is in full on star gaze house mode with "Tokyo" whilst Tales Ov Rossi 's "Flatpress" takes proceedings a whole lot deeper on the flip.

Review: The Fear Of Flying label's co-owner BLM returns with his first new material in some time on the label of cult London party Secret Sundaze with a three track EP that feels significantly darker in tone than his releases for Tsuba and Underground Quality. "Sudden Death" is a hefty piece of loop techno that would put Skudge to shame, whose chugging bass and clattering percussion is contrasted with some softly placed keys. "Chemistry" is another weighty production whose dimly lit dub chords slowly emerge from the gloom before leading into an unexpected section of gentle 303 and spoken word vocal, while "Brick" is a lighter jam whose swelling synth waves catch a restless bassline and looping chords in its wake.

Review: If Rick Wade sleeps, his machines don't. The Adjustments Of Status EP is his fifth missive for the year and comes via Landed Records. The London label clearly has affections for the Motor City, having already released material from well known Detroit alumni Norm Talley and Dwayne Jensen so the addition of Wade to their schedule makes for perfect sense. Dusty samples and weighted beats make up "Ancient Tongues", while "The Day B4 Forever" builds in pace, keeping Wade deep through his beautiful use of melodious Rhodes and pitched vocals that sound like something from Aphex Twins 'Windowlicker". "Daddy's Theme" is the most disco inspired track on the EP with flutes and strings swooning in time to Wade's trademark boom-tish house beats and shakers.

Review: It's the return of that Kid Sublime to Dopeness Galore with the excellent 12" The Return Of The Basehead brandishing the producer's most jacking material to date! We kind of feel Kid Sublime gets passed over when discussing Amsterdam's enduring club music heritage and this four track release should turn the heads of those that don't know. Early Masters at Work, Mike Dunn and Moodymann are offered up as reference points for the four tracks here and it's a comparison that rings true, with the bumping of "Takin' Me Over" a real highlight. A killer vocal hook and an equally deadly string sample diced up from the Psycho OST show the Kid's edit chops are in good form and crucially the track's complemented by a sublime groove. The string heavy "World Tour" hits the spot too, whilst "Keep On" sounds positively possessed when you pitch it up a few notches. Big tip!

Review: Viennese label Praterei return in fine style with their sixth release sporting some true international talent from the house network. It's not a surprise to see Snuff Crew adopt an old school approach with lead track "Flying" indicative of the raw and wild style of house music the mysterious jack lovers have made their own over the years. Label co-owner 7 Citizens opts for a slightly deeper approach on "Perse" with a just about perceptible dark undertone beneath the nagging hook snares. Chicago Skywave is on superb form with the dizzying, broken house of "Shy Girl" with cascading rhythms that swagger around the channels like a drunk lurching through the grimey back streets of a nameless metropolis. secretsundaze man Ethyl closes proceedings with the tightly wound dubby house of "Push" which is made all the more memorable by the intermittent bursts of subterranean chords drenched in melancholy.

Review: Getting in a lather for that classic 90s house sound, Spanish label Saft draft in three promising up and comers to show off their appropriations of the canonical era of house music. Brame weighs in heavy with "Love To You", getting some sizable chords into the fray amidst an uptempo garage groove. Gianni Siravo, better known as Washerman, gets freaky for his remix by firing off some fresh organ stabs and reaching almost for a transcendental techno experience by letting the melodies propel and the beat support. Adryiano's "Toujours" takes a more measured approach, falling into an understated groove with muted Rhodes chords and a percussive roll.

Review: Newcomer to the world of house music, Paul Hill is a singer-songwriter, composer and trumpet player. He shares his debut release with Nikki-O (real name Nicole Covington), who also first appeared on Mahogani back in 2005 with the nine-track Nikki-O EP. Hill delivers some spacey soul in "Need Me Some Of You" - a potential top 40 hit had Erykah Badu or Cody Chestnutt replaced Hills vocals - but nevertheless, Hill's velvet chorale's heart warming chords, breezy synths and relaxing percussion is something the majors will wish they hadn't slept on. The skippy beats of Nikki-O's "Music" is reminiscent of a Rick Wade production, which features Covington clear-cut vocals that sing of jazz, blues and of course love.