Back in stock: Deep House

Review: Berlin-via-Tokyo artist Courtney Bailey lands on Naarm's Animals Dancing with a debut packed with hypnotic force. Three versions of 'I Wanna Feel You' form the core: the Berlin cut drifts in slow and hazy, Bailey's bilingual vocal wrapping around a rubbery acid line and slinky percussion. Tornado Wallace's Tokyo version ramps up the pressure with sharper drums and a more focused low end, while the short version distils its essence into a tooly spiral. 'Animals Ate The Mushroom' is a wild-eyed polyrhythmic trip, bristling with shakers, broken FX and warped animalistic calls. 'I See The Future' edges closer to dancefloor propulsion, FM bass flickering beneath spectral vocals and birdlike synths. Released on Wurundjeri Country, this marks the offering number 12 from the label and a powerful first move for Bailey. Equal parts lucid and dreamlike, it imagines a world just out of reach: a city populated only by animals, where language breaks down and rhythm takes over.

Review: French producer Antoine Bourachot returns with his third release, delivering a trio of original tracks that blend his sharp ear for melody with a clear affection for groove-driven pop and club sounds. The warm, percussive edge of his productions hint at late-night sets and sunlit afterhours, bringing a jaunty mutant disco. Myd, Diogo Strausz and Art of Tones each offer their own take on the material, turning in remixes that stretch from laid-back funk touches to punchier zoomings into the floor. Bourachot's ability to sit comfortably between radio-friendly hooks and crate-digging sensibility makes this a record with plenty of replay value, balancing polish and playfulness in equal measure.

Review: Chunky, cheeky minimal house and techno from Murmurations signee Leo Christopher, based between London and Leeds. Stretching his time between DJing, remixes and original productions - there's a very special Leviticus' 'Burial' remix floating about the ether-net somewhere - one can sense that Leo carefully plans his many productions for a wide variety of impromptu situations. 'Decorated' and 'One In The Groin' each bring humoured but ultimately deep shuffles to the dance, the latter track especially proving "garagey" enough to cater to any given proverbial Room 2. The B strips things back to dubbier territory, with the Delilah collab serving hollowed-out vocals, and '080 Lounge' depositing carefully placed bongo hits and chords across a clacking rollage.

Review: The Manchester producer, already known for his work with Hot Creations and Cuttin' Headz, channels a refined, magnetic energy here that solidifies his rising-star status. Back for his eighth EP since breaking on to the scene, AJ Christou makes a triumphant full EP debut on Crosstown Rebels with Desire, a sleek two-tracker that feels both sharply contemporary and deeply rooted in classic house vibes. The title track is a smouldering cut built around a throbbing bassline, crisp, polished percussion and a teasing, seductive vocal that coils through the mix. It's a slow, deliberate burn that feels primed for those moments deep into a set when the dancefloor is locked in and the lights are low. Flipping over to 'Patience', Christou leans into a more textured, intricate sound. The drums are playful yet tight, driving a track that's equally effective but more subtle in its progression, with layered synths and understated melodies gliding beneath. Both tracks show Christou's talent for crafting grooves that are as detailed as they are danceable.

Review: Since launching three years ago, Luv Shack Records' 'Disco Biscuits' series has become a reliable and popular source of quality club cuts that frequently blur the boundaries between house and nu-disco. The series sixth missive (and first outing of 2025) begins with 'Padja Banana', an acid-fired, delay-laden psychedelic nu-disco chugger laden with attractive synth sounds and 16-bit electronics. Label newcomer Ubre Blanca steps up next with 'Renzo', an authentic tribute to mid 1980s Italo-disco, before Austrian producer Gregory joins forces with Alexander Wirth on the synth-laden deep house hustle of 'Peaks'. To round off another inspired EP, Kelton Prima opts for a warmer and more sample-rich take on the same hybrid nu-disco/deep house sound ('Strawberry Cream').

Review: US veteran JT Donaldson makes the sort of killer tech house that immediately makes you want to move. This time out the Dallas, Texas resident lands on Dolfin Records with a deeper sound that is raw and heavy. 'Choose' rides on knackered-sounding kick with just deft synth smears for company. 'Don't Sweat' has a double-time rhythm with sombre chords adding the soul and 'Want Her Around' gets the hips swinging with its lovely claps, muted, softly glowing sustained synths and lumpy deep house drums. Flipping the script yet again. 'Sunday Drive' is a more nimble and jazzy dancer and 'Take 2' is a sunny house sound with hints of Metro Area nu-disco synth magic and a big fat bassline.

Review: Japan's Keita Sano and Monkey Timers join forces as Gaeg for a three-track blitz that pushes disco into uncharted terrain. 'Vivre' opens the A-side with a cosmic stomp-chunky bass, warped vocals and a pulsating groove that sounds like it's being beamed in from another dimension. Flip it and 'Demi-Glaze' offers a sharper, more percussive take on the formula, laced with off-kilter edits and robotic tension. 'Fvk' rounds out the trip with a sludgier low-end assault, pairing slowed-down filter funk with distorted FX that feel both sleazy and surreal. Built with classic dancefloor ingredients but cooked up into something far more deranged, this is mutant disco with a mission-dance music that scrambles heads.

Review: A true Chicago veteran with over 100+ releases to his name(s) steps into a fresh chapter with this first EP on a new label, delivering four cuts that reaffirm his mastery of deep house expression. 'Lush' opens with silky, melodic textures, driven by emotive keys and a warm, jazzy touchipure late-night soul. 'Magic (Gherkin Syndrome Mix)' ups the energy, blending jackin' rhythms, funky basslines and a misty atmosphere, while still rooted in deep house sensibility. Flipping to Side-B, 'Showing Off' cools things down with a laid-back piece that is a worth alternate to all the heat elsewhere on this disc. Closing track 'U Don't Own Me (Destructive Beauty Inst)' dives deeper still, a spacious, textured instrumental that has a timeless, defiant spirit. Every track feels like a personal statement from an artist still pushing forward, rooted in tradition but reaching more great emotional heights.

Review: HERO U.D.A. aka Hiroyoshi Udaka is a Tokyo-born DJ and producer who emerged from Japan's underground techno scene after moving to London in the late '80s and being inspired by the UK's legendary acid house wave. Throughout the '90s, he played at iconic clubs like The End and Tribal Gathering, supporting techno legends on tours in Japan and this EP features tracks recorded between 2002-2005 after his return to Tokyo. He draws on broken beat, acid jazz, dub and breaks with plenty of interesting and palpable textures bringing the work to life in HD. It comes on the SAISEI label, which revives rare Japanese electronic music and Udaka's timeless, playful sound is a perfect fit.

Review: We're not sure what a Groovebom exactly is, but we can assure you that the head of this Ialian label Luis Radio has you covered. Emphasising constancy and sophistication, the dispositif of Groovebum is as follows: "untroubled by internal strife, untempted by drastic changes of direction, inspired by the long shadows of its own history but with feet planted in the present day and one eye of the future". Remarkable! Their newest comp is a Hammond-heavy hoverer in the vein of deep house, lilting between the leading solo-tastic 'Reach Up' from Radio himself, before the soulful house reactionary motto detourner 'Make Love Great Again' by Deep Roger and Marc Evans, and the closing handpan calypso culmination, 'Zou's Song', by Woody Bianchi and Pietro Nicosia.

Review: On his long-awaited debut, Osaka's Takuya Matsumoto draws a clear line between the tactile futurism of 90s IDM and the emotional depth of Detroit techno, finding beauty in grit and structure in chaos. There's a cinematic quality to the sequencing, from the shimmering opener 'Drifting On The Ocean' to the gnarled syncopations of 'Dril and Acid' and the broken funk of 'Fonseca'. But what makes this record truly sing is its refusal to sit still: 'Mini' dances with jazzy irreverence, while 'Triangles' feels like a dusted-off memory from a lost Rephlex archive. Matsumoto's palette is warm, spiky, and full of movementian album built not on pastiche but on devotion to groove and experimentation in equal measure. You hear shades of Underground Resistance's urgency, Mike Paradinas' off-grid detail, and Floating Points' melodic intricacy, but none of it feels borrowed. 'Traverse' and 'Mercy on the floor' close things with a spacious melancholy that lingers beyond the final fade. This is a conversation with dance music history, spoken fluently in rhythm and mood. A richly detailed, deeply personal statement from one of Japan's most quietly consistent producers.

Review: Heavyweight sonic Afro-botics from Nikodemus, Barzo and Mr Doris on 7" wax. The trio team up here with Dinked Records for a double-bill 7" in veins of amapiano and broken beat, primed for crate sifters and floor ambulants alike. On the A, 'Want Some More' delivers Mr. Doris' signature blend of rhythmic muscle and Afro-Latin swang, while the flip flops Nickodemus with Barzo and Zongo Abongo for 'Show Your Power': a bold, percussive cut straddling broken beat, house, and ska. Somewhere between 126 and 128 BPM, both are utter floor finishers and could easily intro your next Afro-house set as they could provide it a sense of continuous, mid-set body.

Review: Windy City collective Future Rootz are all about mixing up worldly electronic sounds, Latin, tropical bass and global jazz. This second volume in their new series does just that with two expressive remixes of iconic Afro-Colombian tracks. On Side A, Sound Culture delivers a modern take on Son Palenque's legendary 'A Pila el Arroz,' which was originally composed by Justo Valdez for Palenque Records. He infuses it with fresh and bubbly bass and hypnotic vocal chants. On side-B, Afroqbano reimagines 'Tropical Scenes' by adding a vibrant, rhythm-heavy twist to the original that sympathetically blends traditional Afro-Colombian sounds with electronic influences into a wiggling bit of irresistible and sunny global fusion.

Review: Somewhere between a rolling terrace session and a very well-behaved afters, Aloque's second 12" offers a quietly confident take on modern club gear. The Valencia-based label launched with a bang last year i their debut sold out quickly i and now they return with four new tracks from co-founders Vsan & Jose Marti. If the first record introduced the label's sound, this one deepens it. 'Creilla' opens the A-side with a stripped, percussive groove that unfolds patiently, stitched together with dubby effects and subtle movement. It's restrained but functional i the sort of track you'll play more often than you think. 'You Will (Remaster)' leans into darker territory: heads-down and system-facing, with a weighty low end and just enough melodic tension to hold your focus. Over on the flip, 'Stabito' takes things into smokier, slower territory. Airy stabs drift in and out over a skeleton of drums, soft-edged but purposeful. 'Calibre (feat Badano)' closes with more urgency i a focused, dry pulse driving the most direct track on the record. With two sharp 12"s under their belt and a clear sonic identity forming, Aloque sit right at the centre of Valencia's shifting dance landscape i these records already feel built to move well beyond it.