Juno Recommends Deep House: October 2022

Review: Not enough new releases take their namesake from famous Italian pasta dishes, but 'Puttanesca', the lead track on this new one from DJ Pipe and Global North, is a raucous exception. Bulging with enthusiasm for this capery, oily dish, the tune shuffles about between spaghetti strings and drums in garage housey fashion, before continuing the theme across 'Mobile Craft', 'Escuela De La Vida' and 'Horizon'. This EP conveys a fantastic sonic scene; a 'Night Time Economy' fuelled not by the black market, but by futuristic pasta dispensers!

Review: The Spanish label Mate hits double figures with a perfectly blissful and musical slice of deep house here. Vick Lavender does a fine job of taking cues from dons of this form like Larry Heard, Scott Grooves and Ron Trent but adds plenty of his own style too. The percussion on the opener is like Roy Ayers doing deep house, with a glorious bassline and super serene strings bringing the class. 'Solitude' is another heart-warming and life affirming cut with open-air and expansive chords that bring real lushness over a soulful and rolling beat. Perfect,

Review: Mr A.L.I is an alias for Vick Lavender, a Chicago-based DJ and producer who runs the Sophisticado label. To give you an idea of his vibe within the broader remit of deep house, he's also part of Glenn Underground's Strictly Jaz Unit, so you know his musical chops are meeting a world-class standard. On this new release, he lets his uplifting playing take centre stage on 'Feelin It', tapping into a jazz funk vibe which has plenty of relevance outside the house scene. You could imagine this going down a storm at a soul weekender, but if it's the beats at the back of the mix you vibe on, then fear not because the flip goes in on the drums alone, giving DJs something to work with.

Review: Released last year, 'I Go' saw Peggy Gou in Italo-disco-influenced synth-pop mode, with psychedelic acid lines, sweet South Korean vocals and attractive melodies rising above a Bobby Orlando-esque bassline. Here the track is given a new lease of life by a trio of high-profile producers. Belgian behemoths Soulwax do a terrific job re-inventing the track as a retro-futurist, warehouse-ready house epic - all muscular sequenced bass, bustling drums, rave-igniting stabs and hands-in-the-air intent. DJ Koze does a lovely job of re-framing 'I Go' as a bubbly, bright and breezy nu-disco number, while Maurice Fulton delivers one of those killer re-rubs based around his funky, cut-up bass guitar lines, Nile Rodgers guitar licks and sparse-but-snappy percussion.

Review: Not content with delivering the most magical, soulful and jazz-fired deep house album of 2022 (so far), the incredible Evergreen on Freerange, Ben Worrall AKA Crackazat is back on Dam Swindle's Heist Recordings imprint with another killer EP. Title track 'Demuja' sees him in full-on bumping-but-breezy jazz house mode, peppering a double bass-propelled peak-time groove with breathless sax samples and hands-in-the-air piano riffs. B-side opener 'Sarge' boasts a similarly bumpin', US garage-influenced groove, onto which Worrall has added the dreamiest of deep house chords and some twinkling keys solos, while 'We Know' is a loopy, driving, sun-baked slab of festival-friendly brilliance that's destined to put smiles on the faces of a lot of people this summer.

Review: Leeds legend Tristan da Cunha teams up with Brawther to present more finely curated afterhours house on Enter The Dungeon. This one features the boompty bounce microhouse of Snad's 'Pure Veg' on the A side, followed by Oward's 'Nice To Meat You' getting properly deep, down and dirty. Over on the flip, the swing-fuelled energy of 2HOT2HANDLE's 'Rentre Dans Le Donjon' takes the very best of UK speed garage elements, followed by the emotive, late-night mood music of Incus' 'My Jam'. Tip!

Review: Italian deep house talent Nico Lahs has been around for a while and always cooks up interesting sound wherever he lands. This time it is on the small but already well formed Selections label with four finely crafted grooves. This one follows his standout EP on cult Motor City label Moods & Grooves and explores more super deep sounds, starting with the cosmic and balmy depths of 'Step Into The Future.' The rickety and wooden drum sounds are impossibly warm and human, and from there 'Deepstate' layers up even more pads, chords, keys, vocal motifs and wispy hooks to soothe mind, body and soul. The flip side offers two more classic US house sounds that would be hard to age.

Review: After more than two decades in the game, Brian "Javonntte" Garrett seems to be in the form of his life, which is saying something. Here, the American pioneer of deep house lands on Last Forever with three more fresh cuts that are packed with equal amounts of heat and heart. 'Take Me As I Am' opens up with classic US house drums and a nice tumbling bassline that's finished with a soulful vocal. Perfection. The SMBD WeHouse dub slows it down and softens the edges then 'Crazy About You' picks up with finger clicks and vibes chord work and 'I'm The One' closes with another raw and emotive bit of vocal deep house.

Review: German DJ and producer Delfonic has been putting out great edits and reworks for some time on labels like Razor-N-Tape, Too Slow To Disco, or Nomada, but he has gained great recognition thanks especially to the Illegal Jazz series with his friend Kapote from Toy Tonics. Now comes his debut for Night Shift Records with an EP of four edits entitled 'The Journey Reworked' that reveals all his good work when it comes to giving new life to classic tracks and making them perfect for today's dancefloors. Side A opens with 'Boogie On', a classic that never fails with its funky guitar and signature piano, followed by 'It's Dancing Time', a dark dance track full of tropical disco vibes. On the B-side we find 'Bring On The Music', a perfect example of a funky disco rework with great voices and melodies, and to close 'The Mass Fire', an authentic hurricane of funky rhodes, boogie horns and crazy rhythms that will make you dance until dawn.

Review: Jeigo's debut album Curulean is an album of escapists sounds that was written during periods of isolation, like so much music over the last few years. There is a quiet artistry and real tenderness to these cuts whether fully ambient like the opener or gently rhythmic like 'Overwhemler.' 'Lost River' is a shimmering fusion of delicate drum breaks and off grid hits with icy voices and percussion and '18 03 95 Brock & Groove' cuts loose on rubbery, rugged rhythms with blasts of bass and whirring machines. It's a cutting edge exploration of house electronics that deserves your attention.

Review: Recalling the sensitive soundworlds of Efdemin or Moloko, this new lo-fi house release by Frank And Tony is meditation on family and memory, following up the beautiful 'Dream Vibration' EP out earlier in June of this year. Once again, it's packed with subtle vocals by contributing artist Eliana Glass, and the tracks might be able to lull us into a sense of security so warm and blanketing that we could probably lucid dream to them.

Review: The fourth and (we think) final sampler for Kerri Chandler's epic new album, Spaces & Places, not only features a swathe of cuts from the set, but also a clutch of must-check alternate takes. Of the album tracks, we're particularly fond of the Ministry of Sound inspired piano house workout 'Hurry Up (featuring Dreamer G)' and the locked-in early morning hypnotism of 'Sunrise', which the New Jersey native recorded at Berlin club 'Watergate'. Other highlights across the double-pack include the breezy 'Joyful Life' (and its accompanying 'Vibeapella') and the bonus 'No Guitar Mix' of the mid-90s St German style wonder of 'Dirty', a cut recorded at, and in tribute to, legendary Paris venue Rex Club.

Review: After establishing his name with a pair of rock-solid EPs on F*CLR Music, Glenn Davis established Deeper Groove Recordings as an outlet for his sparkling, melody-rich club workouts. A Place For You, his third outing on the imprint, is undeniably gorgeous - especially the EP-opening title track, where colurful synth riffs, sustained synth-strings and sun-splashed chords leap above a tactile deep house groove. The positivity, warmth and sonic colour continues on the chunkier and groovier 'Take Me To The Club', which is given a more thickset, classic U.S deep house-sounding rework by veteran deep house don Franck Roger. To round off an excellent EP, the Irish producer opts for a spiritually rich, piano-laden sound (and a killer analogue bassline) on 'Who Are People'.

Review: Leading up to her much anticipated Black Girl Magic album, Honey Dijon commits four cuts from the forthcoming LP featuring some darker, Chicago-influenced tracks ready for the club. On the A side you've got the jazzed up, late '90s style boompty house vibe of 'Work' (feat Dave Giles II, Cor Ece & Mike Dunn), while over on the flip 'C's Up' once again features local legend Dunn contributing his signature vocal work over a hypnotic acid house number complete with jacked vocals, followed by the strobed-out, heads down groove of 'Don't Be Afraid' (feat LATASHA).

Review: 'Mermaids', the influential track that helped cement Fila Brazillia's stake to fame, here gets a reissue on Running Back. First released in 1991, it helped propel balearic music into the spotlight, thanks to its use of choral samples, birdsong and euphoric basslines; the track is a retro dance cut whose pastoral noddings could put even masters like Susumu Yokota to shame. The album cut 'Slacker', meanwhile, makes a new appearance in extended form, blending mechanistic guitars with bioorganic scapes. Too much power.

Review: In the 27 years since Delicious Inc's 'Eau De Chante' first slipped out on Underground Music Movement (U.M.M), the E.P has become an in-demand item amongst house DJs. This latest reissue, then, is very welcome. Stripped-back, bumpin' and bass-heavy, it sits somewhere between the masculine funk of Murk, the muscular thump of Sound Factory-era Junior Vasquez, and the rolling swing of Chicago house. The sassy, spoken female vocal comes to the fore on "Eau De Chante (For Men)" and "Eu De Chante (For Sex)", the latter of which is built around woozy loops and a more thrusting, analogue-sounding bassline. There's also a killer 'For Beats' version for those DJs who like to get busy in the mix.

Review: Mr. G continues to be a bastion of the greatest deep house emanating out of the UK, and that practice extends to the artists he chooses to roll with. On this latest 12" on Phoenix G, he's reaching out to various characters for remixes which dial up the soul and don't necessarily play it safe for the floor. Kai Alce's 'New Feel' of 'U Feel Mi' is a gorgeous bath of sprightly Rhodes and sax flex, but it's more concerned with jazziness than simple riffs to keep a crowd pumped, even if there's a sharp beat underneath. Mango Boy takes two very different runs at 'Full A Love', with the 'On A Vibe' version especially impressing with its beatless rhythm mantras for the DJs who like to tease.

Review: Detroit ace Scott Grooves has always been rather in the shadows of his more well known peers but he shouldn't be. As anyone who has spoken to him knows, he is a personable and deeply humble man who turns out a steady stream of excellent music. Most of it came on his own natural MIDI label which is where this new EP arrives. It is a more techno leaning and stripped back affair than you might expect as Grooves finds soul and hypnosis in his machines across four typically well produced and original tracks. Another classic from the great man.

Review: Toy Tonics output is not only reliable, but it is also hugely relatable for lovers of house music. It is steeped in classic tropes and real musicality but always has enough about it to stand out. Felipe Gordon and Bob The Egoist join forces for this latest one and cook up some real magic. 'Freedom' is a clipped and bumpy one to start with before humid organs and tropical percussion are finished with a steamy vocal on 'Don't Wanna Try It.' There is a coy funk to the bass twangs and lithe vocals of 'Sexy Trippin' while 'Expendable' and 'Time' offer more gems to this hugely fresh EP.

Review: It is impossible to talk about Atlanta's Kareem Ali without talking about how prolific he is. It is frankly all but impossible to keep up with the number of singles, 12"s and even albums he has put out in just a couple of years. But here he is with more of his proudly inventive house on the Healthyscratch label. 'Black Energy' is as timeless as US house gets while 'I Want You Closer' gets heartbreakingly intimate with pained melodies and muttered vocals. 'Simulation' brings the sort of Kyle Hall house party vibes that are dusty and loved up and 'Count Your Blessings' layers up more expressive synth work with perfectly programmed and scuffed-up drums. So good.

Review: The latest reissue from dusty-fingered crate digger Kev Griffiths' Isle of Jura imprint is a particularly deep selection. Originally released way back in 1990, 'Voaria' is a killer Kwaito cut from the point when the glassy-eyed end of American and European house music was beginning to seriously influence the development of the sound. As it was on the original 12" single, the song is presented in two brilliant variations: the A-side 'House Mix', where eyes-closed male lead vocals, spine-tingling piano riffs, Yamaha DX7 synth melodies and spacey Roland Juno chords ride a rubbery synth bassline and mid-tempo machine drums, and the longer, more dubbed-out, groove-based 'Clubhouse Mix'. A genuine must-have.

Review: A true classic by the Detroit house legend Terrence Parker on his influential Intangible imprint here. It's none other than 'A Emancipation For My Soul', a seminal track originally released in 1995. Properly soulful and life-affirming house music that captures the zeitgeist of the mid-'90s just perfectly. Over on the flip there's 'A Track 4 O.J. Simpson', recorded around the same time as the criminal trial which gripped the world - this is one deep, down and dirty stomper sure to rock the dancefloor.

Review: Well known & respected Dallas Artist Demarkus Lewis gives us two cuts of deep garage house music, with previous releases on Slip N Slide, Lazy Days, Vista Recordings, Fair Park and loads more respect labels, he now joins the Rhythm Vibe team along with a remix from label boss Marc Cotterell & French music wizard DJ MERCI.

Review: Another UK tech house/Rominimal styled white label in this week, a one-sided 12" titled 'Close'. This bouncy and bass-driven jam is as loopy and hypnotic as you like it, and the pop/R'n'B vocals thrown into the mix make it really infectious. Sure to have rocked many a dancefloor this summer, it's absolutely essential for fans of labels like Digwah, EEE or ODE. Tip!

Review: Australian trio Rufus Du Sol have long been alt-dance favourites. Surrender was their fourth long player, released back in October 2021, and now the GRAMMY-winning group made up of James Hunt, Tyrone Lindqvist and Jon George have signed up a load of talent to give the record the remix treatment.The likes of Carlita, Solomun, Magdalena, the band's longtime collaborator, Rose Ave, Cassian and Dom Dolla have all contributed next to CircoLoco residents Adrian Shala and Adrian Schweizer aka Adriatique, who have been banging their take on 'On My Knees' all summer.

Review: Julien Auger aka Pepe Bradock has kept himself busy in the last couple of years with his ongoing Dactilonomy series. After the fourth volume in march, he now offers up a fifth that again bewilders and delights in equal measure. As always with this legendary Frenchman, he is a man and a law unto himself. His take on house and techno is never less than utterly sideways and always impossible to define. It takes a brave DJ to use these tunes in a club set. but for those who do, the rewards are spectacular.

Review: Matthew Jonson's 2019 album as The Freedom Engine, A Box Full of Magic, may have been pretentiously marketed (the press releases sent to dance music media were needlessly academic), but the set itself was one of the most entertaining things he's done, in part because it saw him repurpose old sounds and craft ear-pleasing epics from live studio jams. You can hear that on this 12", which boasts one of the highlights - the '90s IDM, meditative ambient and melancholic techno fusion bliss that is 'Rain in Kyoto' - on the flipside of this 12". More club-ready is 13-minute A-side 'Diamond Eyes', a cut released under Jonson's given name that wraps bubbly lead lines and bleeping electronics around a swinging house groove and jaunty bassline.

Review: Cosmic Rhythm welcome label head Cosmic Garden for some spritely new deep house sounds that draw on the classics but also look to the future for their inspiration. 'Come With Me' opens with a warm heart, nice retro baselines and smooth drums. There is a more spaced out jazz feel to the silky drums and pads of 'Night Traveler' while 'Drive Me To The Sun' has a reversion feel, dreamy chords and hints of Italo. Closer 'The Rydm' shows off some fresh drum programming with scuffed up beats and double kick making for something perfectly deep, classy and funky.

Review: Shir Khan's Exploited Records has been running the Black Jukebox label for more than 10 years, pushing music from all kinds of underground deep house producers. Following recent drops from Stefano Ritteri and David Body, next up in the series is Chasse, a Belgian duo previously spotted on Big Bait and Night Shift. This is crisply produced stuff which takes its cues in no uncertain terms from the Chicago and New York Black roots of house music, from the Lately bass thump and insistent piano chord chops of 'Fake Real' to the Larry Heard immersion of 'True Game'.