Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Sometimes, the right track just lands in your lap. That's exactly what happened with Mamacita's 'Tu Amor', a Chilean cover of Jamie Principle & Frankie Knuckles' 'Your Love'. Originally released in 2012, it started making waves after being played in sets by the Idjut Boys, catching the attention of DJ Steve KIW, who passed it on to Mr Bongo. It quickly became a favorite. While playing in Barcelona, Luke Una dropped the track in his set, and it instantly clicked with him. The track's raw, DIY vibe, paired with its quirky arrangement, made it a perfect fit for E Soul Cultura, and now it's getting its first vinyl release. The song was created by Chilean DJ Mamacita (Carolina Vallejos) and producer Persona RS (Sebastian Roman) on lo-fi equipment, channeling a DIY energy that recalls early Chicago house. It became a hit in Chile's underground scene, though it didn't receive much attention outside of Latin America and the US. For this release, Luke Una and Luke Solomon re-edited it, extending the track and emphasising its wonky synths, while still keeping that unique cosmic feel. Both the original and the re-edit are included in this vinyl release, bringing new life to a previously overlooked gem.

Review: After a near two-year break, the shadowy CUE Point label - an imprint based in Valencia, Spain - returns to stores. To reintroduce itself, the imprint has decided to offer-up a multi-artist EP featuring cuts from new signings, old heads and friends of the label. Pad Union kicks things off with the deep, dusty and gently jazzy 'Holodnaya Para' - all rich Rhodes chords, languid bass guitar and crunchy drum machine beats - before storied producer ScruScru joins forces with Guydee on the acid-fired, funk bass-propelled house bounce of 'Nesting Down'. Over on side T, Negroove's ghostly, slipped tech-house jam 'Smoked Jazz' (a track blessed with Villalobos-influenced percussion programming) is paired with EP highlight 'Grisha (Soe)', a chunky and organ-rich slab of peak-time tech-house by label regular Heavenchord.

Review: Don't let this one go over yo head son! The final repress from Sound Signature HQ is an essential slab of late 90s Motor City deepness from Theo, presented once again for contemporary reassessment and sounding every bit as jaw dropping 14 years on. Dropping back in 1999, title cut "Overyohead" came to be regarded as a quintessential Theo Parrish track; strings incandescent with soul and lovingly off centre Rhodes riding those heavy drum arrangements towards a sweet piano infused crescendo. Face down, "Dance Of The Drunken Drums" is a prime example of Theo's own distinct brand of cavernous beatdown.

Review: Marcellus Pittman is one of our favourite Motor City mavericks. He crafts raw as you like drum tracks and layers them up with weird and wonderful sonic details. For opener 'Bumpin Squwow???' here the beats are paddy, dusty and warm, while the synths up top are twitchy and sharp but doused on more heartfelt chord work. It's a beguiling mix, then 'Faze Out' gets all wonky with prickly hits and vamping digital chords speaking of a future world. 'November Peoples' is deep and sleazy house with a more human sense of heartbroken soul.

Review: Star Creature is very much leading from the front right now if you like cosmic disco. Tim Zawada's label is back with another delicious dose of the stuff here as Plastic Bamboo heads out on a crime jazz exploration of the outer reaches of our galaxy. His lithe beats and rugged drums are laced up with marvellous synths that are ever on the move. They shine bright and bring real sugary rushes of joy as curious narratives and intergalactic intrigue come thick and fast. Amongst the big bright cuts are some more mellow moments like the wonderful 'A Scene At The Sea' with its hints of Afro percussion. Delightful.

Review: Italian DJ and Producer Jo Paciello proves that full length album do very much still have a place int he modern world wit his superb debut on Groove Culture. The title of this one gives you an idea of what to expect - jazzy melodies and sophisticated house beats. He does so with a modern viewpoint but also plenty of reverence for the glory days of jazzy house. Trumpets, saxophones and guitars all feature here and embellish the drums with quality, meaningful layers of melody adn mood. As he merges the past and present, this richly textured work shines with improvisation and timeless deep house warmth.

Review: Inspired by his neon-lit walks around London's docklands, crate digger Ilan Pdahtzur's 2019 compilation Night City Life marked him out as a dusty-fingered crate digger and record collector with a distinctive, synth-heavy musical vision. It made him the toast of the selector/collector community, but more than that it was a genuinely superb selection of obscure, hard-to-find cuts. This belated sequel is every bit as essential and filled, unsurprisingly, with rare and lesser-known gems. Highlights are too plentiful to mention, but our current favourites include Sharon & Tracey's 'The Sheik' (a belly-dancing inspired slab of TB-303 bass-driven house hedonism), Jennifer's 1992 Euro-house gem 'Come Into My Life', Scicilian musician Claudio D'Ignoti's boogie-era treat 'Ache Per Noir', and the fashion scene inspired leftfield synth-pop of Lena's 'Embrasse-Moi (Strumentale)'.

Review: DJ Sodeyama is a veteran of Japan's underground scene who returns to Sound Of Vast as The People In Fog with a new long player that follows notable outings on cult labels such as Rekids, Trip and more. Here he back on the Tokyo label that's housed all his Fog material and flexing his deep command of house, all infused with his signature warmth. Classy deep house cuts like 'Red Morning' sit next to Chicago-flavoured stompers like 'Jack Out' and disco-filtered bangers like 'Dance To The Air' and he even flips the script with 80s-inspired funk on 'Night Driver' and the Balearic dreamscape 'Sun Moon Lake.' A true trip.

Review: U Know Me present a fresh, modern object of intrigue, with Balance Remixed, which takes Pepe's 2023 album of the same time and makes it over into another full-length vinyl only release, throwing back to the days of vinyl only DJ sets, which were necessitated by technological limitation alone. DJ BLIK, Envee, Molehead, Riffz, Tropiki, true.dat, and TVB top up Pepe's original house, funk and disco blend with a brasher bass bisque, mastered and masterminded by cyborgish music titan Eprom. Spanning ever bassy tempo-set from 87 bpm to 164, we've a thrilling range of momentums here.

Review: Marking its 25th anniversary, this gem of a reissue reminds us why it's considered a landmark in the evolution of Balearic and Latin-infused house music. Building on the ambient sophistication of Meridian, Since Then sees Pooley embrace a brighter, more joyful palette that is steeped in Latin rhythms, breezy island instrumentation and a deep love for the dancefloor. Albeit a sandy dancefloor. The self-titled opener and single, 'Since Then', is a sun-kissed blend of balearic house and relaxed ambient textures, offering an inviting welcome into the album's glowing soundscape. 'Bay Of Plenty' drips with tropical charm, its lush chords and rich horn section infusing a magical emotionality, while 'Venasque' is an energetic blast of street funk, Latin pop and club urgency. 'Coracao Tambor' keeps the tempo up with an irresistibly playfulness and catchy without losing any depth. 'Balmes' is pure summer distilled, a late-night anthem with shimmering melodies and irresistible swing. '900 Degrees' was one of the album's biggest singles. It is a floor-filler with an unforgettable bassline and undeniable heat, while 'Sundowner' closes on a softer note, nodding back to Meridian's ambient roots with ethereal grace.

Review: Led by Luke Solomon, The Legion of Boogie Down returns with their second album, Powerdance II, eight years after the success of their debut The Lost Art of Getting Down. Since then the collective has evolved by adding more experimental sounds to their vision of nightclub and basement music. This album continues their journey of genre-blending with the addition of Chris Penny, rising star Josh Ludlow, and original members Alinka and Lance Desardi. Featuring wild synths, drums and percussion from Holly Madge, this left-of-centre record offers a trippy mix of disco, funk and house that leads to a cosmic musical adventure in some style.