Terrestrial Funk US Vinyl & CDs

Review: Coral Morphologic's brilliant debut album guided us through space but with their sophomore LP, if feels much more like we're arriving at a final destinationia vibrant, water-filled world brimming with life. The rhythms are lithe and heavily atmospheric with distant pads, sci-fi motifs and sense of the unknown ever-present. It's brilliantly evocative and cinematic from front to back. To sweeten the deal even further, the album comes with a foldout poster with the fantastically dreamy and otherworldly album art by Robert Beatty

Review: Swiss scene stalwart Dan Piu is celebrating 30 years as an active producer. Fittingly, his latest EP - the first in a series of six - dives into his archive of unreleased recordings and delivers a quartet of tracks laid to (digital) tape in the early years of his career. The influence of early Warp Records releases and the wider bleep & bass movement is evident from the start, where 'Aromatic Love Potion 23' offers a perfect fusion of deep sub-bass, bleeping lead lines, Rob Gordon style percussion programming and ghostly chords. 'Hypnophobia' is weighty, warming and acid-smothered shuffle through deep bleep pastures, while 'Space Bleepin In A Street Moment' pays tribute to Leeds label Bassic Records (and specifically releases by Juno and Ability II). Finally, 'Transmania' combines the warmth and beauty of deep house with authentic bleep techno sonics.

Review: Miami-based label Terrestrial Funk revives the sound of early 90s house with a long-overdue return from Insight, their first new material in over 30 years. Originally emerging from the UK scene and known for their 1993 output on Strictly Rhythm, the group reappear here with three fresh house tracks and one unreleased downtempo dub, all steeped in the warmth and spirit of that golden era. 'Starry Eyed' and 'Spring' combine tactile keys with swinging, classic drums, while Ashaye's vocal lines weave emotional clarity through each groove. The previously unheard 'Na Mix' of 'What Is This World Coming To?' flips the tempo, stretching things into a dubbed-out meditation that slows the pulse without losing intensity. 'Here We Go Again' rounds things off with a shuffling rhythm that lands somewhere between warehouse and sun-drenched terrace. Nostalgic yet agile, this is a quietly triumphant return that reaffirms Insight's place in UK house history.