Self Released Vinyl & CDs

Review: A warm welcome back to self-starter Will Long, whose self-released deep house epics - all of which initially appear on vinyl on frustratingly limited pressings - put him on a par with such ocean-deep audio explorers and dancefloor misfits as DJ Sprinkles and Larry Heard. As the title suggests, Long Trax EPs & Singles Volume 2 offers up tracks the producer previously released on wax. It's full to bursting with tactile, dreamy, atmospheric and ethereal club cuts, with highlights including the melancholic yearning of 'Been Lucky', the spoken word-sporting late-night headiness of 'That Dream', the revivalist ambient house immersion of 'The Only Difference' and the organ-sporting sunrise warmth of 'Pay It No Mind'.

Review: 11 months after dropping his third album of atmospheric, slowly unfurling deep house gems under the Long Trax title, Will Long has decided to round-up tracks from some of the vinyk-only EPs and singles he's released over the last few years. While it's effectively an 'odds and ends' collection, the warming, analogue-rich and soft-focus feel of the producer's trademark house sound makes it every bit as coherent as his studio albums. He sets the agenda via the gently spacey, opaque 'You Should Recognize', before continuing on an ultra-deep vibe via the hissing cymbals and hypnotic grooves of 'That's Enough' and the elongated, alien-sounding chords of 'We Have To Find Some Way'. The Sprinkles-esque fun continues on the yearning 'Going On', before he opts for sturdier beats on 'It's Always The Way' and the hypnotic 'Make It That Way'. If you enjoy house music that feels like it might hug you as much as make you dance, you need this in your life.

Review: Sweden has so much to answer for in non-conformist music terms. And Gothenburg is responsible for plenty within that. Take Gustaf Dicksson's renowned Blod project, for example, and its formidable 2023 outing Ondskans Fro. As oppose to the preceding two albums, here we find the man in question flying solo on the mic having previously partnered with fair-voiced female vocalists, lending the record a sense not just of the personal and intimate, but solitary isolation. That may sound slightly sombre, but it shouldn't. In reality, while we often jump to miserable conclusions when we think of words like 'alone', there's no greater strength than our ability to be happy as individuals - self love being a prerequisite to loving anyone else. In many ways, that's a resounding takeaway here. Medieval ambient folk that is warm, inviting, peaceful, and often dreamy.