Juno Recommends Deep House: November 2023

Review: Underground and Black is the name of Detroit via Atlanta artist Ash Lauryn's well regarded blog, as well as being the title of her breakout 2023 tune alongside Kai Alce via his much hyped limited NDATL Special Edition. It has been played by tons of DJs all summer long and it arrives back on vinyl with mixes and remixes from another Atlanta native in the form of Leonce. The dubbed out and dusty deep house original, which shouts out all of Lauryn's influences, appeared first, and here comes a smooth dub before the percussive and lively Leonce Vocal Remix and a fleshy vocal dub. A super package - house doesn't get more authentic.

Review: Man like Kerri Chandler is very much breaking the mold by still being right up there as one of the best in the game despite having had such a long career already. His 'You're In My System' came initially back in 1982 then got some remixes from Dance Quin in Ibadan in 2019 and now the original extended club mix and one of those Quin dubs get pressed up to a vital white vinyl 12" on Kaoz Theory. The A-side sounds as good as ever - heartfelt and vocal laced deep house with punchy kicks and rich pianos. The dub is no less vital with florid string samples and nice weighty grooves.

Review: It has been a superb run but now, sadly, we come to the final part of Pariter's Derek Carr reissue series. Carr has been welcomed back into the heart of the underground in recent years with plenty of essential new sounds, but his archives as just as filled with gold. Postlude shows that with four more warm, inviting deep techno cuts embellished with cosmic synth details. 'DJK' is a mid-tempo opener with smeared chords over tech-edged drums and 'Theta' gets more techno with golden synth lines rippling through the mix. 'Ariel' has a happy, upbeat feel to the chords and crisp drum funk and 'L'equipe' shuts down with a slightly slower, more laid-back vibe. All killer no filler.

Review: 20/20 Vision and Crazy P continue their long and fruitful relationship with a fourth volume of carefully curated and super-fresh new cuts as part of this fine ongoing series. Scandi-disco don Ray Man opens up with typically lush cosmic melodies and loose-limed nu-disco beats with more than a hint of funk. Tigerbalm then heads into a tropical oasis with 'Cosmic Union' (feat Joy Tyson) which has Afro rhythms and steamy vocals bringing the heat. Ruf Dug shows his multi-genre chops again with 'Vape Quarter Rhythm' which is part proto-house cut and part dreamy Italo bliss out with rave whistles and hands-in-the-air chords. Ibiza's Tuccillo closes out with one of his signature Balearic gems in 'Siroco', which is as breezy and carefree as cocktails by the sea at sundown.

Review: For the third Lady Blackbird Dubplate, Foundation Music Productions present 'The Unreleased Remixes Volume 1', enlisting the expertise of four stalwarts of the scene to put their signature touch on proceedings. House legend Ashley Beedle kicks it off, taking the original of 'Beware The Stranger' over to the dancefloor with his signature lush strings and sumptuous keys. Think Frankie Knuckles meets Nuyorican Soul. Then comes an array of curveballs; Matthew Herbert gets lowercase with it on his own dub of the song, producing an ambient-audiophilic post-punk resonator, while Bruise and Foremost Poets reintroduce us to the dance with further, highbrow soul-spiced iterations of 'Collage' and 'Blackbird' respectively.

Review: Kai Alce's pretty much faultless label NDATL looks to a fellow American house heavyweight here in Detroit soldier Norm Talley, who is head of his own Upstairz Asylum label. First up is a textbook hard edge but deep house sound from Norm on 'Gonna Be' He then keeps things brilliantly deep on 'Power' which is laced with insightful spoken words. Things are just as essential on the flip side with 'The Bounce' making sure dancefloors do just that thanks to Norm's next level drum sounds, then comes the hypnotic 'The Truth' before Norm shows a different look than usual with the more soft and tender delights of 'Dearly Beloved' ft Jerald Dameyon.

Review: Some of tech house's biggest names feature on this new Defected 12" alongside a trio of more contemporary talents. Butch & Nic Fanciulli are very much in the first category and they offer the happy hosue and big samples of 'I Want You' before new schooler Hannah Wants rolls out a chunky house groove with blissed out Ibiza vocal energy on 'The One' (feat Ara). Archie Hamilton pairs old school Chicago energy with a fresh vocal on the anthemic 'Let The Light In' (feat HQA) then Dutchman Ferreck Dawn shuts down with the crossover dance sounds of 'Better' (feat Jena).

Review: Short Attention has more than grabbed ours with its first two EPs and this third one keeps up that good early form. It's a heavy-hitting mix of pivotal house talents starting off with prolific Windy City player Boo Williams. The big man's 'Transformation' is a smooth and chord-laced house roller that has a more reflective vibe than his usual party-starting offerings. Atlanta don Kai Alce's 'Love Exists' is a heartfelt house romance then the long-time partnership of Owen Jay & Melchior Sultana douse us in star-gazing chords on 'Soul Expression' that leave you feeling refreshed. Hector Ram's 'Morning Sun Vibes' then uplifts with beautifully gentle piano chords.

Review: One of the many Masters At Work 'Lost Tapes' - simply put, a series of lost gems sifted from the esteemed house duo's earliest recording sessions from the 1990s - 'Funky Anane' is something of a precursor to broken beat as it came to fruition later in the decade. Jazzy, chromatic gas wafts come amid vinyl-lifted drum samples, as a sultry voice simply intones the word "funky", again and again - allegedly, the sample was taken from Anane's 'Maw Want You'. "From the archives we pulled this track out noticing the new parts never heard along with the vocal sample which was actually Anane's first time at the studio with Masters At Work behind the mic back in 96." A mythical collaboration we hope never gets lost to time!

Review: We first got wind that the unstoppable music making machine and generally positive life force that is Leeds legend Paul Woolford would be remixing one of the hottest new bands of recent years some time ago, so we're delighted to finally get our hands on the results. Assuming his Special Request alias but in truth sounding more like what Woolford does under his own name, this remix of Gabriels's 'Angels & Queens' is all about bringing hands in the air festival house energy, big piano chords and allowing the original vocal to bring that gorgeous sense of soul. It's a perfect meeting of pop and dance, as is often the case with Woolford's remix work.

Review: Hot Natured emerged on the crest of a new school deep house wave more than ten years ago as part of a circle of artists centred around Jamie Jones and Lee Foss and they Hot Creations label. It's a collective featuring Ali Love, Anabel Englund, Roisin Murphy, The Egyptian Lover, Kenny Glasgow and S.Y.F and produced by Jones and Foss as well as MK and Luca C. They had a cross-over hit with 'Benediction' and ten years ago this August they dropped their debut album Different Sides of the Sun. It's a perfect showcase of their sound that still stands up - creamy grooves, pool-side vibes, smooth and seductive vocals and plenty of sweet hooks. Now you can cop it on triple transparent blue vinyl to mark the occasion.

Review: Born out of a friendship stretching back many years, DJ Sneak lets loose two heavyweight house weapons on Darius Syrossian's Moxy Muzik, with label head Syrossian also serving up his own Sneak sampling slice of heat, complete with a remix from none other than Todd Edwards. The A-siders, 'Blow Ya Mind' and 'Return Of The Gas', are trademark Sneak; punchy and passionate, with a real OG's touch. On the flip, Syrossian slots into place a perfectly-sampled section of one of Sneak's voicenotes to him for 'Big Bizness'; it's a beefy roller, certainly not messing about. For the sendoff, Todd Edwards famously heard it, loved it, and was brought in to remix it in true Todd 'The God' style.

Review: 'Boyd's Jam' first came to our attention as the yield of a special studio session shared between Masters At Work (Louie Vega and Carl Gonzales) and one of New York house's foremost pioneers, Boyd Jarvis, in 1991-92. Known for his hit 'The Music's Got Me', Jarvis is something of an unsung hero in house, a status which MAW hoped to make better known on the release of this collaborative gem. Jarvis' genius keyboard chops play out ecstatically on this soft-edged house cut, here heard incarnated sonically in the form of a synth organ that coalesces seamlessly with MAW's beatific backbone. A raw beats version backs up the B.

Review: Toronto label Selections has become a firm favourite with house heads and now starts a nice sideline with its Special Edition 2023 series. This one welcomes Lea Lisa with her track 'Conversation Between Us' (Heide Club Mix) which is straight up underground house for the heads. Then comes an unreleased Javonntte remix of Evenn's 'One For Love' that pairs things back to raw dub essentials. Dan Only's 'Love Saturates' then gets a fine and formerly unreleased remix by Italy's Black Loops that has pristine drum programming and a fine bassline. Add in Sean Roman's jazzy dancer 'Sir William' and Jamn Ensemble's 'Convection' and you have a timeless house EP.

Review: Richard Barratt aka Parrot aka Crooked Man is one of those artists with an indelible sonic fingerprint yet a diverse array of sounds in his arsenal. Here he offers up a pair of different remixes of the same tune, namely Jim v Crooked Man's 'Phoenix' on Vicious Charm Recordings. His Goth Edit is the one for us - a haunting tune with eerie guitar strings slowly unfolding over swirling electronics and smudged vocal sounds. It's perfect for this time of year when Halloween is just around the corner and is another master stroke from the Sheffield wizard.

Review: Following their collaboration in 2023 on Luke Solomon's Classic Music Company, Sophie Lloyd & Amy Douglas return with a remix package of the track 'Sweet Love', featuring the label boss himself. Luke's Always Love Revision of this modern disco anthem ups the ante, adding huge swathes of energy to the previously sensual record. The two-track package also features the 'Sweet Lovin' Mix', which capitalises on the raucous finale from the original 'Love Hangover Mix', making for a worthy mini-comp.

Review: The second volume of edits of classic outings on Nu Groove records, assembling modern house heroes such as Dam Swindle, Phil Weeks, and Honey Dijon to re-fix tunes by the legendary Equation and The Burrell Brothers among others. Highlights include Dam Swindle's misty eyed extension of Equation's 'I'll Say A Prayer 4 U'- a perfect rainy day house anthem, and the paranoid phonk of Rhano Burrell's 'When Can I Call You' as remapped by Honey Dijon & Luke Solomon. Surefire party starters all round.

Review: It's time to put on something comfy and slide into another cuddly and deep offering from Makin Moves, who this time serve up some unreleased mixes of tunes from Dezaray Dawn and Lavonz. Up first is the smooth soul depths of 'The Real Deal' (Ezel remix) which is underpin day a great funky bassline and then the Ezel Trumpet mix gets more sunny. On the flip is a Yoruba Soul mix of Lavonz's 'Reason For Love' that has lovely languid trumpets and yearning vocals while the club mix roughs up the edges a little with more tech leaning drive.

Review: Chris Stussy's Up The Stuss label is one of the hottest out there right now - a fresh label setting the underground with its mix of spaced out breaks and deep house, slick minimal and futurist techno sounds. Jhobei is part of that revolution and lands here with a fresh four tacker that cones on nice blue vinyl, with 'Slink 'N Slide' - a throwback sound with rave overtones and rapping basslines that never quit - and 'Viral Vendor' (Trance mix) among the rigid groove highlights.