Vibraphone Vinyl & CDs

Review: Vibraphone Records kicks off its New Year with a mighty first release that pays great tribute to the city of Detroit. Basic Realities is the artist behind the originals and the first is 'B-9', a percussive, loopy tech roller with vocal sounds and dreamy pads drifting in and out of focus. Motor City icon Kevin Sanderson then steps up to remix and does so with more warm and surging basslines and thudding drum funk. 'Viento Lunar' then cuts loose on some inventive melodies and cosmic rays of energy that unfold over tinny beats and 'Endles Clouds' rounds out with some more dusty drums and nice spangled synths that surge through the cosmos.

Review: Chicago based producer Tai Davis first came to light earlier this year with the Made In Chicago 12" on Dizzy Tunes, and now he follows that up with an EP on the ever productive Vibraphone. As the title No Computers Necessary would suggest, this is classically-rooted house music with all the charm the hardware process provides. Davis' productions are bright, melodic creations with rock solid grooves and strong hooks for all kinds of good times, with B2 track "Floating" standing out with its strafing acid line punching out into a decidedly ethereal soundscape.

Review: A reissue here of the first release on Rome-based, underground dance label Vibraphone Records by prolific producer S. Di Carlo with M. Ruvolo - the latter renowned for his forays into trance music. A 1992 production, the Memories From The future EP truly captures the zeitgeist of the nascent deep house sounds emerging at the time. Features a 202K remix of the celestial 'Magic Staircase', as well as the evocative and soulful 'Alien Landscape' with its thundering drum patterns and the late night mood music of 'Invisible Light.

Review: The legacy of Vibraphone's second wave continues to represent the best of classic Italian house, as long-time producer Joy Kitikonti joins up with Vibraphone main man Stefano Di Carlo to present this EP of impeccable grooves made the good old fashioned way. "Beautiful Eyes" takes the romantic, Ibizan approach to trancey house with its hands-aloft lead lines, while "Drink For Peace" brings a bit more jacking attitude to the table. "Devotion D" perhaps speaks to the more classic Vibraphone sound with its heads down chords and throbbing bassline, capturing that 90s vibe in fine style.

Review: First released way back in 1992, Stefano Curti, Mauro Tamino and Stefano De Carlo's first 12" as Minimal Vision (they'd previously released numerous as The True Underground Sound of Rome) remains one of the classiest and most ear-pleasing Italian deep house records of all time. For proof, check 'Magic Staircase', where picturesque synthesizer melodies rise and fall atop skittish beats, 'Pacific' style chords and a chunky Korg M1 bassline, and the bleep-sporting Chicago deep house tribute 'Prelude'. Those searching for something a little more energetic should take a listen to the warm and beautiful 'Milky Way' and 'Night of Love', whose programmed percussion, fizzing synth solos and jaunty bassline doff a cap to Detroit tech-jazz.

Review: Few can fail to have noticed the re-emergence of Italian deep house in recent times. Tracks paying tribute to the dreamy, loved-up and new age-influenced style pioneered by Italian producers in the late '80s and early '90s are ten-a-penny these days, though few are quite as breezy and evocative as this EP from Minimono. The fact that it's appearing on re-born Rome label Vibraphone - dormant since 1993, but brought back to life late last year - is rather fitting. The duo's dreamy, melodious and tactile style - see the fluttering synthesized flute lines and tactile grooves of "Sailing", the horizontal house bliss of "Suspend", and the Ron Trent style slickness of "Next Step" - is perfectly in keeping with the label's wavy, sun-kissed ethos.

Review: After first appearing on the label back in 2016, Florence-based Italo house stalwarts Minimono return to Vibraphone with another selection of illustrious dancefloor gems for subtler moments in the dance. "Oldest Friend" is an airy, dreamlike track laden with upper register chords, tones and FX pinging around in a reverie of deep house delight, while "Questions" gets locked into a loose, swinging groove with some mysterious pads swirling around the middle distance for added atmosphere. "Some Day" is a more rugged affair that bumps and wriggles in all the right places, while "Eleven Days" explores broken beat territory without losing the hazy atmosphere that permeates the EP.

Review: Vibraphone Records continues to deepen its contemporary repertoire by inviting Andrew Soul into the fold with a vocal contribution from house music legend Robert Owens. "Slipping Into Darkness" is a beautifully rendered deep house gem with expressive piano work, rubbery bass synth tones, but in some ways the minimalism of Vincent Floyd's remix gives Owens' vocals a chance to take centre stage. "As You Are" is a crooked, broken beat exploration on the fringes of deep house, and Owens' voice sounds resplendent in the more experimental surroundings before Nick Anthony Simoncino comes on board with a 90s flavoured, darkside remix of the highest order.