Mood Hut Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Unmatched textural-ambient vibesetters Mood Hut flaunt their aptitude for the style once again, this time presenting the latest five-track EP from Sydney's current-favourite musical HSP, Cousin. The origin story for HomeSoon, a dearth of synaptic reflections and blissful fuzzouts, goes something like this: on his way back from the New Year's rave, Cousin would perambulate all bleary-eyed, finding himself in the midst of a dense Angophora thicket. What followed was a deluge of plant-like eureka moments - ideas coming thick and fast, taking root in both arborescent and rhizomatic fashion - producing the likes of 'Overpass' and 'Muster', all of which present as ever-moving quasi-electronic organisms.

Review: When it first emerged a few years ago, Mod Hut was an instant favourite with house lovers. It had a dusty outlook and laid-back vibe that led to some big underground hits so we're glad it has navigated those highs and is still turning out the good stuff as it now drops at 30th release. Freak Heat Waves are the cult collective behind this record which is a hard to define cocktail of hazy house, lo-fi electro, psych, dub and soul that has a proudly DIY aesthetic and very real emotions. Highlights include the lazy vocal allure of 'In A Moment Divine' (feat Cindy Lee) and sultry sounds of slow mo outsider cut 'Music Has An Interesting Power.'

Review: Seven years on from the release of his decidedly loved-up vocal deep house classic, 'Thirstin', Mood Hut co-founder Jack Jutson is finally ready to return to action - albeit with an album that might surprise those who've not paid attention to the inrtricacies of his blazed, glassy-eyed trademark sound. Opening The Door is less concerned with deep house dancefloors than much of the Canadian's previous work; instead, it applies his famously warm, jazz-funk and stoner boogie inspired instrumentation to AOR, yacht rock, Chris Rea (opener 'If You Don't Know Why' is like a cool, 21st century take on 'On The Beach'), West Coast jazz-rock, ambient jazz and mid-80s European Balearic dub. It makes perfect sonic sense and could well turn out to be one of the albums of summer 2022.

Review: Mood Hut's semi-regular forays into ambient-adjacent territory are always worth checking, largely for their preference for hallucinatory sounds, new age melodies and loved-up textures over academic concepts and po-faced experimentalism. Their latest chill-out room friendly missive, which comes courtesy of Chinese producer Knopha, embraces this approach while also offering nods to his own off-kilter dancefloor productions. So, opener 'Fizz', a languid, post-club shuffler, is followed by the jazz-flecked, opiate ambient soul of 'The Light', and the sun-bright joy of 'Mizu Le Gout', where loose-limbed breakbeats, star-burst melodies and cut-up vocal snippets catch the ear. Arguably best of all, though, is the EP-closing 'Corundrum', where Mediterranean guitar sounds and echoing electronic motifs cluster around a UK garage-influenced ambient house groove.

Review: There are not very many labels that are as successful and revered in electronic music as Mood Hut is, coming up with gem after gem after its inception in 2012. 'Water Seeds' by Oro Azul offers four tracks that range from sub-aquatic, mellow and relaxing to tribal percussiveness that really takes things to another level. A little more chilled out than their normal output, perhaps, but certainly not a massive departure, there are some serious island vibes here.