Back in stock: Funky/Club House

Review: Amsterdam's Makez bring their old school unfused house sounds to Adeen Records in collaboration with Balance Alliance on this fresh new 12" which also features a remix from UK mainstay Mr G. 'Do It' brings super smooth chords and a prickly deep house beat that will get any floor going. Then comes 'Close 2 Us' which is even better - lush and lazy chords are draped over pent-up deep house dynamics with gorgeous vocal coos and jazzy keys also bring extra heart and heat to the mix. 'Beat Of Life' is a more busy percussive sound and then comes 'Love You More' as remixed by the don Mr G who brings his signature smokiness and basement house vibes.

Review: 'Stereo Love' marked the debut single of Romanian DJ Edward Maya and Moldovan-Romanian producer Vika Jigulina and it came back in 2009 on Maya's album, The Stereo Love Show. The catchy refrain is sampled from 'Bayatilar,' a 1989 track by Azerbaijani composer Eldar Mansurov and it helped the song swiftly gain global popularity and go on to rule nightclub playlists across Europe. It soared to the pinnacle of eleven national music charts and its success earned it certifications such as 8× Platinum in Norway, 7× Platinum in Sweden, and Gold or higher in ten other countries. Grab it now on vinyl and pump the party once more with this Euro-dance gem.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Louie Vega's famed Elements of Life project - an ever-changing collective of musicians who create live house, disco, Latin and soul tracks - returns to action, this time with old friend Josh Milan in tow. In its original Louie Vega mix form (track 3),'Let Us Shine' is a deliciously deep soulful house number with tribal-influenced percussion, gospel-influenced vocals and Vega's usual impeccably produced instrumentation. Milan provides two top-notch 'Honeycomb' mixes (vocal and instrumental), which opt for a breezier and more tactile vibe with nods to both early New York garage-house and the earlier 'proto-house' wave spearheaded by Boyd Jarvis, Timmy Regisford and Paul Simpson. Rounding off the EP is live Latin house workout 'Los Tonos Segrados', featuring guest musician Axel Tosca.

Review: Capturing the carefree mood of the mid-00s in a dazzling burst of chart-topping funky house perfection, Michael Gray's 'The Weekend' remains an all-time floor-filling classic. The funked up filter house production takes its cues from the French trailblazers, but it's Shena's soaring vocal which makes it a perennial favourite, transmitting a message everyone can relate to about the week-long hustle and the joy of letting it all go when Friday night rolls around. This reissue brings together different mixes of the track which subtly shift the parts around without messing with the heart and soul of the track, while the Glitterbox mix shifts it down a gear to a slower disco strut which will sprinkle some crowd-pleasing magic over any warm up set.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight sleeve creasing and surface marks***


Last year, Piers Harrison's Mysticisms label shone a light on the late 90s work of overlooked German house producer DJ Leinad via a reissue of 1996 gem 'Souvenirs'. Here his sole album, 1997's sought-after Electric City is finally re-released on wax. Indicative of the time period Leinad was operative, the album contains a fine mix of jaunty, Chic and P-funk influenced disco-house ('Freak Tonight', 'Return To The '80s', the brilliant 'Pretty Young Thing'), chunky after-hours house hedonism ('In Trouble'), disco-rock sampling throb-jobs ('Let's Ship'), classy, solo-laden deep house ('Loving People'), early Playhouse style cut-up house ('Out of Phase') and squelchy, US-style house bounce (the inspired title track).

Review: Victor Simonelli's house music legacy is assured - he more than made his mark on the genre back in the 90s with plenty of iconic cuts and legendary DJ sets and now that is all being highlighted by this ongoing multi-part series from Unknwn. The comprehensive collection looks at the early years here with some of his top mixes including those that have not previously been released. There is an in-depth almost hour-long audio and written interview between BTG founder Alex Rose and Victor to go with this release that is well worth finding.

Review: French label Wagram is a go-to when it comes to quality compilations that take a broad look at certain sounds and scenes, and this one is an on-going series that focuses on house sounds with an Afro undertone. The grooves are lively and often come with plenty of percussion. The drums hit hard but with funk, the vocals are Afro-centric and plenty of irresistible hits come thick and fast from the jazzy tribal swagger of 'Imbalaye' to the big steel drum party sounds of 'Viet Dao' (Klement Bonelli & Yann DL remix). Another great collection of colourful Afro house sounds.