Young Pulse & Fleur De Mur - "Smooth Sweet Talker" (6:53)
Review: Get yourself geared up for festival season with some fierce party starters certified with the Glitterbox stamp. Melvo Baptiste leads the charge with 'Sweat', a sizzling disco house stomper with Dames Brown giving the biggest diva energy on her show-stopping vocal. Lovebirds bring unbridled joy on the Philly string swoon and slinky b-line funk of 'Burn It Down', while Art Of Tones & Inaya Day keep it peak time on the sassy strutter 'Give My Love'. Young Pulse & Fleur De Mur complete the set with 'Smooth Sweet Talker', another bright and bold vocal cut par excellence.
Review: The second various artists EP from the Merkwurdig label is another tasteful collection of up front sounds from a clutch of inquisitive underground names. Body opens up with some nice cosmic tech powered by rasping bass and reverberating synths. Nate SU's 'Neutrino' is a busy jam with hooky synths and splashy cymbals that takes on a twisted sense of cyborg funk. OBG very much smooths things out with the heady house roller that is 'With The Wave' and Fabiano Jose shuts down with the rock solid kick patterns and subtly rising joy of his diffuse piano chords on 'Discotale.'
Review: ***B-STOCK: Warped, otherwise plays fine***
The second various artists EP from the Merkwurdig label is another tasteful collection of up front sounds from a clutch of inquisitive underground names. Body opens up with some nice cosmic tech powered by rasping bass and reverberating synths. Nate SU's 'Neutrino' is a busy jam with hooky synths and splashy cymbals that takes on a twisted sense of cyborg funk. OBG very much smooths things out with the heady house roller that is 'With The Wave' and Fabiano Jose shuts down with the rock solid kick patterns and subtly rising joy of his diffuse piano chords on 'Discotale.'
Review: Sweat It Out Records kicks off their tasty Sweat Sampler series with their first volume, cutting niftily across four exceptionally sweaty bops, spanning tongue-in-cheek deep tech reworks and downtempo disco delights. First off is the dream team of Cid and Havoc & Lawn, whom together deliver a hilariously effective house version of America's 'A Horse With No Name'; this is shortly followed by Saturday Love, Kon and Furious's 'Come Out', a rejigged nu-disco samosa packed with some rare vocal spices; then there's 'Give It To Me' by Marco Lys and Ben Miller, a bass-driven bouncer unafraid of lasershot winddowns, injunctive vocals and risers; and finally, there's Set Mo's 'Could I Be', the anthem of the bunch, whose buildup and drop is alarming, affecting, cumulatively awe-striking.
Coflo, Steve Howerton & Niya Wells - "Ecru" (9:51)
Review: A San Francisco house producer who is taking jazz influenced house music to another level is Coflo aka Cody Ferreira 'Syncopatience' is a stunning deep house release that highlights his signature blend of soulful rhythms, intricate grooves, and rich musicality. Each track brims with personality, that blend clever and creative vocals and lyrics to a deeper level than just for the dancefloor. Side-1 starts off with 'Get Down, Show Love', a collaboration with Fenyan that exudes a hip, jazzy charm. Playful yet refined, it features catchy vocal work and a high-level jazz flair, effortlessly blending house with improvisational energy. Next, Coflo's remix of 'Cee.Side's Elektrify' brings atmospheric depth, wrapping Latin influences around a funky, sultry groove that's as hypnotic as it is danceable. Side-2 delivers Ecru, where Coflo, Steve Howerton, and Niya Wells craft a deeper, tech-tinged house cut with sharp, clever lyricism. Its polished production and layered instrumentation elevate it to a higher plane of jazzy house, demonstrating Coflo's versatility and artistry. 'Syncopatience' has the solution on how merge soulful textures with dancefloor energy in a unique way.
Manuel De Lorenzi & Freddie Wall - "Sun-Rise" (6:15)
Fichs - "Find Yourself" (6:35)
Manuel De Lorenzi - "You Already Know It" (7:08)
Manuel De Lorenzi & Giacomo Silvestri - "The Big Apple Community" (7:09)
Review: Monday Morning is back to roll out some more lush house depths with a second EP, this one featuring founder Manuel De Lorenzi in the company of his pals Giacomo Silvestri, Freddie Wall and Fichs. 'Sun-Rise' is a nice gritty but vibey opener with percussive skip and dry hits. Fichs's solo cut is a loopy workout with nice bulbous synths and a pared-back rhythm that gets ever more inescapable while De Lorenzi then offers up the radiant synth warmth and dubby undercurrents of minimal house shuffler 'You Already Know It.' With Giacomo Silvestri he then closes on the more percussive loops of soft house soother 'The Big Apple Community.'
Review: Stefano De Santis kicks off Ten Lovers' new 'Best Of Various' release with 'Murk'; as the name suggests, this is indeed a dark workout from Rome's finest. The tone is set thereout for a thoroughly varied V/A, blending every curious hallmark from jazzdance, G-funk, Chicago house and progressive. The opener is a muted but no less expansive start, establishing the broken, one-beat-eliding, live-drummy mood that is then heard throughout. Batavia Collective's 'Rearview' thematically harks after an unconscious joy, considering what can only be implied, not stated, by way of a gorgeous, what sounds to be largely live, modal synth squeezer on which the slowdown is the real highlight. Future Jazz Ensemble's 'Over The Rainbow' is by far the most challenging, blurring any woulda-been established lines popularly splitting 'live' and 'electronic' with a reverb-drenched generative fill workout, while closer 'Outer Heaven' from Takahiro Fuchigami, hailing from Fukuoka, rounds things off on a note of Hancockian jive.
Review: After years spent serving up tasty, digital-only singles, Polish imprint That's Right Dawg Music finally makes its vinyl bow via a six-track mini-album featuring some of their most-checked catalogue cuts. Demarkus Lewis kicks things off via the carefully crafted disco-house release of 'TGIF', before Federfunk slams down the jazz-sampling peak-time punchiness of 'We Keep It Groovin' and Jazzmik offers up the funky deep house bounce of 'Get Him Outta Here'. Over on the reverse, Oggie B cannily combines mind-mangling electronic stabs, pumping beats and orgasmic vocal samples ('Steady Old Foot'), Makson makes great use of vintage rap and disco guitar samples on the energy-packed house thump of 'Last Man Standing', and Casserta and Jonny C join forces on the bass-heavy garage-house bump of 'Party #1'.
Doni & Leo Young - "Rebelion In The City Of Gangia" (6:03)
Pastaboys - "On & On" (Panna mix) (6:32)
Hiver - "Magic Crusade" (5:51)
GPM, Steve Mantovani, Dan-E-MC, Daniele Mad - "House In Full Effect" (9:21)
Feel Fly - "Armaduk" (6:08)
Review: Rebirth is thrilled to announce the release of three bonus parts of the 'Ciao Italia. Generazioni Underground' album in 2023, available on limited edition vinyl. 'Ciao Italia' Bonus Quattro, Cinque and Sei continue to connect two generations - the trailblazers of the early 90s and those continuing the legacy today, with a futuristic perspective and renewed energy. Bonus Sei includes classic tracks from legends like Doni & Leo Young, Pastaboys, G.P.M., Steve Mantovani, Dan-E-Mc, Daniele Mad, along with unreleased material from newer Italian artists such as Hiver and Feel Fly.
Review: Detroit mainstays Drivetrain and Blaktony are next up on Soiree with some high-octane but soul-infused machine music, while Funtom and Hughes Giboulay appear on the flip side. Drivetrain gets to work with the jerking loops and turbocharged chords of 'Hyperlock' while Blaktony's 'Butt Naked' sinks into a deeper late-night and more dubbed-out house vibe. Funtom's 'Wisdom' brings a great lightness of touch in the wispy pads and scuffed-up drum patterns, then 'Kickin That Feelin' has a more exuberant but still deep feel with subtle chord joy and deft acid.
Review: Brazilian Fabe has been at the heart of the evolution of house and tech in recent years. His kinetic, high-impact sound has brought freshness to the new school and continues to do so now with this EP on the young but promising Les Enfant label out of Spain. 'Hyped By Light' is a perfect embodiment of his sound - garage-style percussive precision, clipped but bouncing kicks and great vocal samples. 'Jabba The Hot' is another one to sweep you off your feet, 'Heading To NL' is darker and more stripped back but no less potent and 'Pankow Plastic' shuts down with a little cosmic energy. Pure dancing tackle of the highest order.
Review: Blkmarket Underground Music Party Edits is a sub-label to the influential Blkmarket, an esteemed label and event series in New York. Contrary to what that catalogue number might indicate, this is actaully their second release and has Facets at the controls. First up is 'Computers' with its raw and snappy analogue drum sounds and late-night synth details. 'Time Of War' is another full-fat blend of analogue drum thump and driving synth motifs, 'Talk To Me' has crashing cold-wave synths and deadpan vocals and 'Paranoia' has loopy vocals and moody atmospheres for freaky dancing. 'Lies' and 'Dub To Destruct' shut down this varied and retro-tinged EP with jerking rhythms that will do plenty of damage.
Review: For those too young to remember the days of glitch-house and electro-house at the turn of the noughties (think Herve, Switch, Claude Vonstroke etc), Fake Blood was one of the true masters of the style. He released a swathe of big records for Cheap Thrills and others, with the two tracks collected here - both of which date from 2009 - being the biggest. A-side 'I Think I Like It' is a superb example of the style, with the producer expertly cutting up a pleasingly silly and over-the-top disco-pop number and turning it into sweat-soaked, hands-aloft gold. 'Mars', meanwhile, gains its dancefloor power from a frankly filthy, mind-altering bassline-turned-lead-line, around which crispy drums, breakbeats and Mylo-esque synth stabs make their presence felt.
Review: Here's something we didn't expect: an outing from noughties dance music star (and now long-serving producer) Nic Fanciulli on Radio Slave's Rekids imprint. A-side 'On My Mind' has the feel of a genuine peak-time club smash in the making - a rolling, bass-heavy disco-house excursion that peppers a muscular, non-stop groove with cut-up vocal samples from what sounds like a classic soul record of the 1970s. As you'd expect from a producer of Fanciulli's experience, the track does all the right things in all the right places. He goes deeper, darker and more hypnotic on flipside 'U Gotta', wrapping sustained note synth-strings, echoing female vocal snippets and peak Tenaglia synth stabs around a weighty, dubby, Twilo-inspired NYC house groove. It's a pleasing blast from the past.
Review: Fantastic Man is no stranger to crafting cultured house jams. He has done so for many years on many labels and now arrive to mint new imprint Axis of People. 'The Axis Theme' kicks off with some smooth, serene and cruising house grooves while 'Warm Waters' keeps similar vibes flowing, this time with some mystic synth energy up top. 'Jungle Juice' is another sublime house cut but it's dusty breakbeats which power this one under trippy and vibrant arps. 'Sunsystem' closes out with some nice lithe breakbeat and tech fusions that head into the cosmos.
Farayen & Liam Parkins - "Where Do We Go" (Jamie Unknown remix) (5:04)
Dan Newman - "Movin'" (5:05)
Dean & Di After - "Wicked Dreams" (5:06)
Shade Guevara - "Ted Or Dead" (4:07)
Review: Warehouse Tools takes listeners on a nostalgic journey through the vibrant world of UK house music, showcasing the iconic sounds of Hooj Choons. Opening with Farayen & Liam Parkins' 'Where Do We Go (Jamie Unknown Remix)', the track blends high-energy euro house with New York-style house rhythms, offering a dynamic trip back to the early 90s. Dan Newman's 'Movin'' follows with a melodic Balearic progressive house gem, featuring heavenly piano moments paired with a serious beat that creates a dynamic vibe. On the flip side, Dean & Di After's 'Wicked Dreams' brings retro energy to the forefront, evoking the essence of house music's early days while offering a fresh perspective. Finally, Shade Guevara's 'Ted or Dead' delivers a piano-driven breakbeat, showcasing a vintage sound that encapsulates the roots of house music. This compilation is a well-crafted tribute to the genre, perfectly balancing nostalgia with contemporary energy.
Review: Fabrizio Fattore brings a lush world of sound to the fore on his new EP for Mule Musiq. It mixes up early, soul-drenched Detroit techno championed by the likes of Derrick May with jazzy melodies that would make John Beltran proud. 'Deep Blue is a sophisticated symphony of melodic and cosmic techno that will lift you off your feet. 'Passengers To Mars' is more lo-fi but still has a driving sense of groove and serene synth craft that is rich in emotion. 'Moon Temple' shuts down with more melancholic melodies but no less elegance in the craft.
Review: Having built his career via a mix of inspired self-released EPs and outings on the likes of Shall Not Fade and Happiness Therapy, Parisian producer Matthieu Faubourg lands on Housewax for the first time. The five-track missive he's delivered is undeniably impressive, fusing good quality deep house grooves with intricate arrangements and mood-enhancing musical flourishes. For proof, check opener 'Pressure Drop', where fluid piano motifs, bubbly electronics and gorgeous chords ride a nagging analogue bassline and drum machine percussion, and the fizzing, Norwegian space disco-inspired house futurism of 'Oslo Track'. Elsewhere, title track 'Normal Boy' is warm, woozy and cheery, 'Waves' doffs a cap to early 90s Italian deep house and 'Haze' is a stab-happy slab of warehouse-ready peak-time sleaze.
Review: A polished deep house rework that retains the breezy charm of the original while adding a weighty, melodic groove. Built around PNAU's 'Baby', its smooth sax riffs and warm vocals give it an effortless appeal that has kept it relevant over a decade. Dance On The Beat Italy's reissue on pink vinyl includes remixes by Tocadisco, Robin Schulz and Pretty Pink, each offering a fresh angle, from stripped-back minimalism to lush, feel-good layers. Whether for the dancefloor or casual listening, this is a definitive pick for selectors seeking understated house brilliance.
Review: Is A Feeling ensures that their new 12" very much is with some classically inclined but not overly nostalgic deep house from Scott Featherstone. 'Plan B' is a bulky, wonky deep house cut for the pumping after party hours, then 'We Played House' taps into the early Chicago sound with Peach Boys style synths and dubbed-out vocals. 'Bad Mother Fucker's a raw, sleazy looper that DJ Sneak would love not least because of the rude-boy vocals and filtered synths, then 'Badass Breaks' spins out on just that. 'Journey' might be the best off the lot with its soulful xylophone melodies and smooth-cruising deep house beats. An eclectic and excellent EP.
Review: Fedo prides himself on exploring beyond the usual genre tropes you get in minimal and tech house worlds. Opener 'Sin Titulo' goes some way to proving that with its innovative take on club-ready tech and boiled-down minimal synths. 'Calisthenics & Coffee' is a trippy blend of smooth bass and undulating neon pads. Warped vocals also pepper the mix to keep the brain and body occupied. 'Film Noir' indeed brings a darker energy and 'My Weapon' shuts down with some razor shape precision.
Review: International Feel kicks off what is presumably a new series given its title, Mediterranean Dreams - Part 1. For it, they turn to Perugia synth obsessive, underground mainstay and fine producer Feel Fly for four tracks of breezy and sunny disco-house chuggers. 'Onironauta' brings retro Italo chords and nice chunky drums, 'Grace In Space' is a leggy cosmic wonder with far-sighted chords and muted acid magic, then 'Mediterranean Dreams' is pure 80s dream house bliss. 'Becalmed' is the most rough edged and analogue house jack track of the lot.
Review: Australian singer Nicky Nite Time and veteran Chicago second wavew house don Felix Da Housecat team up to rework Wham!'s 1984 classic 'Freedom', transforming its uplifting energy into a darker, harder-hitting, and low-key surreal dancefloor weapon. This bold refix pushes the track into pulsatory, late-night club territory, where the four walls about the dancefloor melt into strange shapes, and the checkered footlit floor cycles through the rainbow. The B-side includes Nicky's dub version for an alternative spin, along with an acapella, furthering our sense of possibility. A fresh, edgy, multi-version take on a beloved hit.
Review: Scott Ferguson came to house and techno in one of its most fertile grounds - Detroit, in the mid 90s. Since then he has served up his own take on the timeless genres on a range of quality labels. Now he arrives on Chateau Chepere with four more of his stylish cuts. They are couched in deep house as always but with cues taken from future jazz, garage and plenty in between. These are real winter warmers that will seduce an early evening crowd or lock in a 5 am dance floor in equal measure.
Sinfonia Della Notte (The Afterlife club mix) (6:41)
Sinfonia Della Notte (John Dahlback remix) (8:09)
Sinfonia Della Notte (The Afterlife Sunset reprise) (4:36)
Review: Dennis Ferrer has already made sure he will go down in house history as a real pioneer, not least because of his epic anthem 'Hey.' This outing on Groovin shows he has many different styles in his arsenal as 'Sinfonia Della Notte' lawyers up the sort of sleek, hi-tek synth sequences that denied early Motor City techno, but over a deep mid-tempo house groove. The Afterlife club mix is more percussive, though lush chords soften the edges, and John Dahlback remixes with a more groggy, peak-time style. The Afterlife Sunset reprise is pure blessed out vibes for the more emotional moments of the night (or day.)
Dennis Ferrer - "How Do I Let Go" (feat TK Brooks)
Rain: A Lil Louis Painting - "Give It Up" (Masters At Work club mix)
Mood II Swing - "Sunlight In My Eyes"
Kimara Lovelace - "Misery" (Lil Louis club mix)
Review: Now under new ownership (international dance music powerhouse Armada Music, fact fans), long-serving New York house imprint King Street Sounds is doing a good job in showcasing gems from its vast archives. This second label sampler contains four more genuine must-have cuts. First up, there's a chance to admire the deep, soulful house wonder that is Dennis Ferrer's 2008 hook-up with honeyed vocalist K.T. Brooks, 'How Do I Let Go'. It's followed by Masters at Work's deliciously loose, disco-influenced deep house revision of 'Give It Up' by Lil' Louis' Rain project (first released in 2000), Mood II Swing's DIY Soundsystem favourite 'Sunlight In My Eyes' (easily one of the greatest deep house jams of all time) and Lil' Louis's swinging garage-house rub of Kimra Lovelace's 'Misery'.
Review: The third release on Eastenderz offshoot BELIEF comes from rising star Julian Fijma, a Dutch producer who won plenty of plaudits for his digital-only outings in 2021 and '22. Although rooted in tech-house, all four tracks are bold, vibrant and riff-heavy, suggesting that they're peak-time, big-room anthems in the making. Fijma first opts for chunky bass, rolling drums, trancey riffs and psychedelic electronics ('Devious Dog'), before joining the dots between turn-of-the-millennium tech-house and contemporary peak-time tackle on the organ-sporting 'Shadow of Tomorrow'. Over on side B, 'Virtual Reality' makes great use of warped ass, semi-bleepy lead lines and excitable vocal samples, while 'Unresponsible Moment' is a smooth, hip-wiggling tech-house box jam with added organ stabs.
Review: Kontra stalwart Jason Fine makes a long overdue return to FXHE with two cuts of supreme jack material. Last seen on the Omar S hit machine way back in 2007, Fine announces his return in suitably dramatic terms with the cinematic expanses that characterise the opening moments of "Menage At Tois", though proceedings swiftly settle down into a delightfully bouncing house rhythm of crisp cascading drums and swift fingered key stabs - with the breathy, indecipherable vocal yearnings that occupy the nether regions clearly influencing the title making decisions. The flipside proves to be just as impressive - "Jack Yo Bodda" is an obvious ode to the days of Traxx and jack, commencing with some decidedly gloopy rhythms and an insistent female vocal refrain, your senses are sucked in then blown apart by a massive metallic kick drum sound and growling sub bass. The usual big tip superlatives most definitely apply here!
Reel It In (feat feat Madaline - Fingers remix) (5:53)
Between Us (feat Madaline - instrumental dub) (6:40)
Reel It In (feat Madaline - Summer Acid Burn) (5:49)
Review: 40 years have now passed since Larry Heard made his first record. Heard is, of course, without peers when it comes to deep house - he pretty much drew up the blueprint after all - though he does occasionally invite other producers to bask in his reflected glow. That's the case here, as he and Memphis-based Michael Kuntzman (an artist who has previously released music on Heard's Alleviated imprint) deliver a notable collaborative 12". Guest performer Maddaline whispers, sings and vocalises her way through the dreamy, richly electronic and sonically pristine 'Between Us', which is accompanied by a typically gorgeous 'Instrumental Dub'. There are two versions of 'Reel It In' - also featuring Maddaline - too: the deep tech-house shuffle of Heard's'Fingers Mix' and the back-to-Chicago-87 flex of Kuntzman's 'Summer Acid Burn' take.
Review: Hands up - this is one of our favourite ever jams and frankly we can't really understand anyone who doesn't rate it pretty highly. It is a classic of the early dance scene that got hammered everywhere from Warehouse to Paradise Garage and remains in a class of one decades on. Next to the brilliant original, which is from a time when proper songwriting and musicianship defined house and disco, you get a Ron Hardy edit that is more uptempo, with hissing hi hats cutting through the funky rhythms and loopy drums. Sublime.
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