Back catalogue: House

Review: Polish mainstays Catz 'N Dogz have always brought some chatter to their music - whether that's a smart hip-hop sample or twisted sense of rhythm. They tap into sweaty backroom club sounds for this new one on the evergreen Crosstown Rebels as 'Can't Stand' is a heads-down pumper with a steamy, libidinous female vocal that's nicely filtered over thudding kicks. You can always rely on German Robag Wruhme to take things into weird and wonderful territory and that's what he does with Flodder Bukk Rehand, a darker and more menacing rework with fizzing synths and more attitude in the vocals. 'Wake Up' rounds out with a fractured vocal fragment and rousing synth lines.

Review: Previous volumes in Polifonic's multi-artist Itria series have loosely explored the more 'Mediterranean' end of the dance music spectrum, giddily scampering between tracks variously inspired by dream house, Balearica and glassy-eyed nu-disco. There's a more psychedelic tone to this third instalment, with the collected cuts doffing a cap towards cosmic sounds and slow techno. Amsterdam producer Interstellar Funk sets the tone via the chugging beats, throbbing sequenced bass and sun-bright synth melodies of 'Jupiter's Arpeggio', before Tamburi Neri opts for hallucinatory textures, twanging Jew's harp sounds and slow-motion tribal percussion ('Oceano Irrazionali'). Elsewhere, Salamada's 'Morning Magic' is an aural sunrise ritual rich in tribal percussion and drowsy sonic textures, 'Thunder' by Hiver's Night Heron project is a bubbly cosmic throb-job, and Zippo & Claudio PRC's 'Nettuno Blu' is an immersive, ultra-deep dancefloor delight.

Review: Four cruel and bewitching dances are conjured on this split EP from MoBlack Records, the chart-topping Afro house label whose music has found itself on the well-used USBs of the likes of Dixon, Black Coffee and Ame. Immediately, one can hear the incipient threads of kwaito and amapiano on this shared vinyl slab, as traditional verbed-out Afro-style vocals hear neat processing along modern EDM production. Expository dreamers like 'Rahamah' segue calmly into headier and doomier cuts like 'Amanga' and 'O Pa Mi Titi Deabe'. All are replete with rare African call-and-response vocal samples lifted from evidently obscure sources.

Review: Here's something fresh on Crosstown Rebels from Made By Pete, making a welcome return on Damian Lazarus' label with another striking vocal house track. This time it's Zoe Kypri leading the way on 'Horizon Red', instilling the track with a poignant, soulful power which brings out the natural patter of hand drums and melancholic piano in Pete's production. If you want to zero in on the track, 'Pete's Dub' is on hand to take the mood even deeper, while Lazarus lends a re-shape on the B-side which weaves its own mystical magic.

Review: On the latest missive from his energy packed Power House imprint, Rene Pawlowitz - he of Shed and Head High fame - has chosen to showcase tracks from two of his lesser-celebrated alter egos, WK7 and Zigg Gonsalezz. As befits the peak-time ready, party-starting nature of the label, A-side 'Wait' offers an addictive blend of bustling, beefed-up house drums, glassy-eyed female vocal samples and sleazy, rave-igniting riffs. Over on the flip we get two distinctive takes on 'Sunday': the classic New Jersey garage meets Nu Groove style deep house warmth of the '3pm' version, and a stomping late night revision (entitled 'Work It') that peppers a chunky, extra-percussive beat with tight electric piano stabs and booming bass.

Review: Eccentric drummer and project leader Ziggy Zeitgeist helms the Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange, an ultra-versatile jazz band hailing from Berlin - he's also an integral part of the band 30/70. While major jazz freakouts of the improvisatory kind are ZZFX's usual penchant, especially on their albums, the new 'Kreuzberg Kix' EP series is far more focused on laying down danceable house and broken beaty cuts to wax. This one's got three tracks of deep and atmospheric house, with the B-siders moving off into the world of collaboration, with vocalist Wayne Snow appearing on the B for a soul-inflected groover, plus a remix from fresh New York talent Jenifa Mayanja. A more functional curveball for ZZFX, proving they're not limited to just sonic spectacle, and occasionally like to bask in mood-setting too.

Review: UK tech house hero Seb Zito returns to Eastenderz with a killer four tracker. The Fuse London and Seven Dials stalwart kicks off ENDZ 051 with the bleeped-out boompty groove of 'Bounce' on side A that's aimed squarely at the main room dancefloor pre-peak time, while over on the flip he's got the afterparty strictly in mind on the bass-driven back room dub of 'A Rhythm', followed by more Sunday morning tackle in the form of hypnotic minimal house cut 'You Can Dream It'.

Review: ZKY who minimal fans will know as one half of Cab Drivers now finds himself on fine French label Phonogramme with a new EP that offers up his lovely and warm analogue house jams. 'Love Train' kicks off with a nagging, wobbly baseline between silvery drum loops and fleshy bass. 'Instant Delight' has the sort of synths that bring to mind deep Detroit techno and they're paired with over sized hi hats and a serene sense of futurism. Last of all is the most playful - 'Punky Music' with James Brown samples, smeared chords and steamy vocals.

Review: Josh Wicks' Transient London Records returns with its sophomore release and it's another impressive various artists affair. Zlatnichi & Mila C kicks things off with the hypnotising 'Mengaelerai' on the A-side, followed by Romanian minimal hero Robert Apetrei (Dubsons) on the darkly sublime backroom dub of 'Porata Hill'. Over on the flip, Frenchman Lukea delivers some glacially-edged minimal house for the afterhours on 'Amethyst' and finally, boss man Wicks closes it out with the proper UK tech house style of 'Exotic'.

Review: Lisbon label Satya strides into 2023 via 'Connections', a multi-artist extravaganza which it says sets their agenda for the year ahead. Zone Plus sets the tone with 'Space Invaders', an attractive mix of alien-sounding lead lines, intergalactic chords, deep analogue bass and hypnotic house beats, before Yokoo brilliantly joins the dots between minimal house, electro, and ultra-deep business on the crackling, heavily atmospheric 'Aurora'. Over on the B-side, Francesco Mami blurs the boundaries between deep house and tech-house on the highly atmospheric, sub-heavy shuffle of 'Mentat', while Retza opts for ghostly chords, tactile tech-house beats and reverb-laden melodic motifs on 'Spaces'.

Review: The fertile South African house scene keeps on giving rise to brand new goodness. Token is a label whose mission it is to bring such sounds to the wider world and this second EP is another winner. 'Stay' immediately gets you dreaming of warm climates and gorgeous sunsets before 'Set It' picks up the pace but keeps the pads warm and fuzzy and the bass elastic and deep. There is spiritual vocal faire on the cosy 'A Winters Night' and a melodic masterclass on 'The World Order' that is steeped in US house tradition but brings something fresh.