Elements Of Life - "Are You With Me Love?" (Alex From Utopia remix) (7:04)
Oyvind Morken - "How Bleep Is Your Love?" (5:41)
Eirwud Mudwasser & Romansoff - "Cherrie" (6:36)
N-Gynn - "Es Vedra TB Deluxe" (8:12)
Review: Mysticisms imprint strides purposefully into 2025 via a multi-artist extravaganza that touches on many of the label's regular musical themes. To kick things off, Utopia Records main man Alex Bradley offers up his take on Elements of Life's 1996 jam 'Are You With Me Love', reimagining it as a deep and spacey roller rich in languid trumpet motifs, metronomic synth bass and intergalactic pads, before Norwegian veteran Oyvind Morken asks 'How Bleep Is Your Love' via sprightly analogue synth sounds and jacking, sweat-soaked machine drums. Over on side B, Eirwud Mudwasser and Romansoff join forces on the deep, dubby, steel pan-sampling early morning tribalism of 'Cherrie', while N-Gynn treats us to a spot of deliciously deep acid house ('Es V edra TB Deluxe').
Review: For his first outing of 2025, Matt Edwards AKA Radio Slave has joined forces with vocalist Kameelah Waheed, a singer who has previously appeared on a number of singles on the long-serving producer's popular REKIDS imprint. In its' original 'Extended Mix' form, 'All Rize' is prime Radio Slave - think long, elongated, dark, mesmerising and mind-altering with all manner of raw, razor-sharp electronic noises and doom-laden motifs rising above a booming bassline and snappy drums. Edwards has included a fine alternative take in the shape of the 'Revolution Mix', a warmer, dreamier and jazzier interpretation that's looser and more akin to classic house of the 90s and early 200s, and a trio of DJ tools (a 'Beats' cut, a short suite of effects, and an acapella of Waheed's fine vocal).
Review: No nonsense analogue house champions the notorious R-A-G team are back once again with more goodies on their home label M>O>S. For this one, they drop four outstanding and acidic deep house jackers. Featuring the skills of Aroy Dee, MaSpaventi and G-String, it is the former who kicks off with 'Touch', which is dusty and far-sighted. He then features with Maspaventi on 'Horizons', which is a dreamy and low-key sound with backlit chords. R-A-G then hook up for 'Wired', which is a twisted and trippy after-party mind melter and 'All Forgotten', which is moody, shadowy and traces a line to the best Detroit house from their long-running Amsterdam studio sessions.
Review: It would be fair to say that Rahaan's Chicago Club Culture series, which here reaches its second instalment, is something of a passion project, inspired as it is by - in his words - "the golden age of Chicago club culture". Our reading of that is the 1970s and 80s, with all of the tracks on show being versions of cuts big on Windy City dancefloors in that period. The double-pack is heavy on tried-and-tested treats, from the expansive, Clavinet-sporting disco rush of 'Do You Like It' and the delay-laden, percussion-heavy brilliance of 'Columbian Dance' (all chanted vocals, punk-funk sax sounds, heavy electronic bass and layered Latin beats), to the crispy and crunchy, Chic-influenced excellence of 'Jealous For No Reason' and the low-down disco hustle of closing cut 'Can't Shake Your Love'.
Review: No one's edits and disco bombs slap quite like Rahaan's. The US master of all things soulful and funky can tap right into your core with his work and this new EP on Hot Biscuit is the latest example of that. 'Get Up' opens with retro disco favours, funky guitars and lung-busting vocals that bring the heat. 'Zombies' sinks into a nice silky sound with sliding cymbals and hi hats and knotted bass, then 'How' slows it down a bit for a more playful and seductive disco sound with nice horns and squelchy bass. Three real heaters.
Review: Spanish producer Rayko has been a key figure in the disco scene since 2008, the point at which he launched the influential Rare Wiri label. His fastidious DJ sets hear him blend underground disco, boogie, funk, and electronica, and surely foregrounded his Vadillo Vice series, where Wiri outpours his rarer, outer-there sonic shinies. 'Towers', 'Cosmic Boy' and 'Napole' all command the subtle sensibility of disco edits, but these are actually originals through and through, making impressive use of what sound like sampled vocals and homegrown syntheses.
Review: Berlin's Regent returns to Mutual Rytm with a precision-crafted techno anthem backed by a trio of heavyweight remixes. 'Permean' is the kind of track built for peak-time warehouse deploymentifierce in its groove yet unusually emotional, merging surgical low-end with spiralling pads that lend it a timeless and melancholic charge. Dutch veteran Sterac pares things back with a hypnotic, tunnelling reshape that nods to classic 90s minimalism. Head High, Rene Pawlowitz's house-adjacent alias, flips it into a thudding, big-room roller with buzzing synths and tough drums primed for festival sets. Finally, Shed delivers the darkest mix of the lotihis 'Forceful Pressure' take ratchets up the intensity with distorted kicks, jagged loops and glitched-out percussion. It's a masterclass in restraint and tension, channelling the relentless energy of proper machine music. For a four-tracker, this covers a serious spectrum of club pressureifrom introspective to incendiaryiwith Regent's original anchoring the release as something both forceful and strangely beautiful.
Review: A jazz head with deep hip-hop roots, New York-based saxophonist Benny Reid returns with a brand-new 7" on Fat Beats, following his 2023 The Infamous Live reinterpretation. This is his latest standalone tribute, and it plays like a deliberate two-sided concept: '93 'Til Infinity' on the A, 'Day One' on the B i reworked with full reverence but plenty of vision. Reid's take on the former is all patience and atmosphere, stretching the groove into moody, modal territory without losing its swing. Flip it for a tighter, chunkier pass at the D.I.T.C. classic, where arrangements lean into low-end murk and sharper rhythmic interplay. Drawing on years of post-bop work for Concord, Reid reanimates sample culture as memory, process and momentum.
Review: The debut full-length from Bangladeshi-Canadian producer Raf Reza fuses UK soundsystem culture with his own deep-rooted Bangladeshi influences. Raised in Tokyo and musically shaped in Toronto and Glasgow, Reza blends dub, bleep, breaks and jungle with Baul music samples and vintage Bengali film soundtracks here and it results in a brilliantly original style. The album explores sonic futurism and asks how diasporic and Dhaka-based electronic cultures can intersect. With a unique mix of field recordings, semi-obscured monologues and dubwise textures, Reza's identity-driven narrative comes to life and cements him as a bold, genre-bending voice in cultural fusion and sound.
Review: Riccardo's a master of dance floor grooves that blend minimal, techno and electro into always fresh sounding new worlds. This latest release arrives on El Milagro Records and has a distinct edge and introspective moods that adds up to a reflective journey of depth and drive. 'H Dimension' is a speedy space-tech sound with nostalgic synth work and evocative mid-to-high frequencies echoing the spirit of '80s melodies. 'Hologram' is wrapped in a mysterious, emotive atmosphere with smart synth sequences and snappy low ends and 'Die Ritme Vertel' is a mechanical rhythm with blurts of synth, neon colours and freeform drums. 'Cosmodanza' shuts down with soft acid lines lacing up a more dreamy groove.
Review: Skeme Richards of New York pioneers Rock Steady Crew returns to the Redropped series with a tour-exclusive 7" packed with two raw-edged flips. For this release, he's unearthed a pair of cosmic disco and jazz-funk originals from his bottomless crates and retooled them with heavier low-end and tighter edits built for modern rigs. The result? Deep cuts reimagined for today's selectors, shaped by Skeme's seasoned touch as both a dancer and DJ. Ahead of a confidently slated Skeme Richards x Oonops tour across Germany in May 2025, 'Galaxy Amonst The Stars' is truly a riotous cosmic soiree, made unforgettable by its kazooing sax and brilliantly bright beat novae.
Asha Puthli - "Our Love Is Making Me Sing" (Black Devil Disco club remix) (4:04)
Review: Naya Beat, the LA reissues and reworks label gathering and recasting some of the most delicious sounds of the South Asian diaspora, gathers some of its standout digital-era reworks onto vinyl for the first time, offering a vibrant cross-section of global disco, house and experimental editry from its roster. At the centre is a brand-new reimagining of Asha Puthli's 'Our Love Is Making Me Sing' by Bernard Fevre, better known as Black Devil Disco Club, who brings to the fore his signature moody synth atmospheres. Also included is a pulsating disco mix of Pinky Ann Rihal's 'Party Tonight' by Turbotito & Ragz, already spun by the likes of CC:DISCO and Barry Can't Swim. JKriv then twists RD Burman's 'Birth of Shiva' into a house stomper laced with bansuri and squelching bass, while Daniel T. transforms 'Zindagi To Zindagi Hai' into a dubbed-out Bollywood journey.
Review: This new one from Stefan Ringer on his FWM Entertainment combines two distinct releases in one: 3 tracks from his 2021 Meta Music EP and his darker alias Black Sued's 'Rogue' EP. It's a yin-yang journey of sound that shows his range and quality. 'Monotone' pairs signature deep chords and soulful vocals and distorted bass with minimal drums, while 'New Plan' is a driving, rhythmic workout of persistence and groove. 'YIA' offers meditative chords and affirmations set against a thunderstorm backdrop and the flip, the title cut explores shadowy jazz textures with a mysterious groove, 'Maze' marches forward with urgency and layered rhythm, while 'Deep Dirt' closes with gritty, broken-machine chaos. Together, these EPs make for a powerful emotional and sonic contrast.
I Can't Wait (Franck's Atlantic dubthrumental version) (6:35)
Goldtone 92 (6:14)
Review: We're still a little way from summer but Franck Roger already has an eye on house music for the warmer months. His 'I Can't Wait' comes with a vocal from South African Ree Morris whose smoky tones bring classic deep house vibes to a nice smooth instrumental. Franck's Atlantic dubthrumental version is even more deep and cuddly then flipside joint "Goldstone 92' is a portal back to the 90s with bumping drums and humid chords that bring good vibes only.
Gari Romalis - "Electronix (I'm Ya Dancer)" (7:31)
G Major - "Metro To Downtown" (6:27)
Chuck Daniels & Hazmat Live - "I Want You" (6:25)
Max Watts - "Velocity" (6:35)
Review: Norm Talley's Detroit label Upstairs Asylum comes through with another various artists gem here: Gari Romalis kick off with the sort of smoky house depths you always expect from this imprint. 'Electronix (I'm Ya Dancer)' is dubbed out but dynamic, then G Major's 'Metro To Downtown' brings an injection of soul warmth and percussive looseness. Chuck Daniels & Hazmat Live's 'I Want You' is a darker, more heads down affair with freaky vocals and digital synth patterns over gritty, US garage styled low ends. Max Watts then cuts loose with the undulating dub techno depths of 'Velocity' to round out a varied EP.
Review: Bielefeld's RR has been rolling out house sounds for the last five or so years on labels like Story About You, Feuilleton Germany and Ad Sol, but this time lands on Eat More House. He kick off his latest with the sweaty, humid and chunky deep house dynamics of the title cut before 'Rolex' has more thudding low ends but wispy, fuzzy synths and plenty of funky percussion. 'Dienstags Disco' ups the energy further then '81 12' sinks Ito a deeper vibe with smooth chords and rolling, dubby drums. 'DUNDR' leans into a serene sound with Motor City machine warmth and cuddly low ends. Plenty of ground is covered here, all of it with a stylish touch.
Review: Zinc was a busy busy boy in the 90s. Especially those foundation years. His work with Hype and Bizzy B around this time was legendary but besides his UKG moniker Jammin' years later, less is spoken of his various aliases. Jack Ruby had a cool run of cuts in 94 and 96 including this almighty slab of breakbeat drama 'Ophelia'. Big pads and a breath-taking arrangement. It's your quintessential deep or atmospheric jungle cut that has all the hallmarks of a Good Lookin jam. 'Beyond Reality' (which came out in 95 under his Tyranny alias) follows a similar sweeping sense of triumph but a little jazzier and cooler in its roll-out. Timeless.
Review: Razor-N-Tape's white label series serves up its first-ever various artists collection here, and it opens with Windy City master Glenn Underground. His 'Happy House' is a joyous disco stomper with florid strings and lung-busting vocals. Rahaan adds his own edit to 'Be Cool', which is a jazzy dancer with magnificent guitar work and brassy horns. 'Hot Damn' (JKriv edit) keeps the love flowing with funky disco house energy and an air of hands in the air celebration and The Patchouli Brothers flip 'Love Explosion' into a strident, front foot wafered and pumping disco funker with gorgeous vocals. There I so much sunshine and joy in these tunes that they melt even the stoniest of hearts.
Clovis Chilwell - "Don't Let The Night End" (5:16)
Dominic Oswald - "Never Letting Go" (4:40)
Rico Scott - "Slow Burn" (4:59)
Review: Bobby Donny's ongoing ACE series of vinyl releases has thus far delivered some genuine deep house treats. This is particularly true of the Dutch label's sporadic, compilation style EPs, which tend to showcase tracks previously released on digital-only EPs. There's plenty to set the pulse racing on EP number four, with highlights including two fine collaborations between label founder Frits Wentink and fellow Amsterdam scene stalwart Malin Genie (the sub-heavy peak-time bounce of 'Ambrosia' and the techno-tempo hypnotism of 'Exopaq'); the ultra-deep two-step house shuffle of 'Comet (Deep mix)' by ZZ Banks; the Italo-house influenced colour of Clovis Chilwell's 'Don't Let The Night End'; and the deep, hazy and dubbed-out brilliance of 'Slow Burn' by Rico Scott.
Review: In the formative years of his career in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ricardo Villalobos frequently utilised a handful of alternative production aliases - first Minta Spacew (one EP way back in 1993) and then more frequently Richard Wolfsdorf. Tia, first released way back in 2000, was the Chilean minimal maestro's second outing under that alias and has become a sought-after EP in recent times - hence this Rawwax reissue. A-side 'Echt Rot' is typically Playhouse-era Villalobos, with cut-up vocalisations, odd noises and spaced-out electronic snippets riding a crunchy minimal-house beat and looped, mind-mangling TB-303 bassline. Title track 'Tia' features simmering orchestral samples clustering around a typically wonky, stripped-back beat, while 'Feurwasser' sounds like the blueprint for many of his later minimal techno workouts.
Review: The RAH Band's iconic album Mystery celebrates its 40th anniversary with a reissue that finally fulfils plenty of demand for it. This marks its first vinyl pressing since 1985 after originally being created by producer Richard Anthony Hewson. The ageless album blends jazz, funk and electronic pop while placing great spotlight on Hewson's unique production style. With eight impeccably crafted tracks including the jazz-funk anthem 'Are You Satisfied?' and the chart-topping 'Clouds Across The Moon,' which reached #6 in the UK, the dreamy synth-jazz epitomised by 'Float' and the smooth sax of 'Out On The Edge' (which featured in Funkineven's DJ Kicks) ensure Mystery remains a timeless classic.
Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical - "Sonido Amazonico" (3:09)
Los Wembler's De Iquitos - "Sonido Amazonico" (2:32)
Review: Two cornerstones of rare Amazonian (!) cumbia appear together on 7" for the first time, as Vampisoul resurrect these wildly sought-after versions of 'Sonido Amazonico'. On one side is a hypnotic, percussion-heavy take by Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical, first and only released on LP. Led by Raul Llerena, this Iquitos band helped forge the sound of psychedelic cumbia through Llerena's Producciones Llerena imprint, now a holy grail label for collectors of such trove-bound tropical rarities. On the inverse comes Los Wembler's de Iquitos - of equal stature as one of the genre's most enduring groups - bringing their stomping rhythmoids to the same track; it also just so happens to remain one of their most defining anthems. The UK's not the only "jungle scene" out there - just listen to these killer, understoried sonic forests.
Review: After 20 years of soulful and authentic rock & roll blues, Eli Paperboy Reed definitely had a right to celebrate. Originally recorded in a basement in Allston, Massachusetts, completely live onto and direct to analogue tape in mono, this collection was first released on a limited run of 300 CDs, self-released, and mostly sold by hand on the streets of Cambridge, close to Harvard University. Now redone, pressed-up and polished for 'proper release', you get all 12 original tracks and another 14 that never saw the light of day before. Four of those were recorded at the time of the others, the remainder come from a radio session the following year. All of them are incredible, and prove that it's not only the Deep South that can make these raw and unflinchingly honest sounds.
Review: Retrouve retrieve eight new future house retroversions for their resident PIV label, bringing brilliant syntheses of 80s inspo, speed garage, and hard dance groove-dynamism. So far having rocked dancefloors from Amsterdam's Thuishaven to Miami's Space, an electrifying past two years have fed the febrile fan anticipations going into this one. The sound is distinctive, with no pulse missing the mark, though the experimental ante is upped as the record progresses, as on the dark jacker with Midas Field, 'Gravel', whose textural palette hears the duo cross into an uncharted otic darkness.
Review: Marc Ribot's latest LP draws on decades of work and reflection, gluing fragments recorded over years back together to form a coherent whole, and finally foregrounding Ribot's own voice in the process. Sparked by a memory of one of his daughter's childhood drawings, Map Of A Blue City perambulates states of disorientation and openness, tracing the emotional topography of loss. Stark truths pivot against tender storytelling, at once producing an intimately distant space. "Recording production is really complicated," he says, "but it all boils down to what kind of room the listener feels they're standing in." Not quite autobiographical, it's a record built on the long, unresolved tension between what changes and what doesn't.
Review: Texas-based Ben Hixon and Atlanta's Stefan Ringer collide on this new split EP for the increasingly vital Dolfin label. It is Ringer who starts with a tight, grinding groove on 'Moving Walkway' with spoken word snippets and kaleidoscopic synth sequences bringing a trippy and unusual energy to the menacing bass. His 'PLGLY' (SR Big Room mix) is then a heavy beatdown with synths that snap and crack while jazzy percussion and dark vocals bring extra character. Hixon's 'Feels Extremely Good' is a busy, off-balance mix of deep house drums and mind-melting synth refrains while 'My Family' offer a blissed-out and soul-drenched closer.
Review: A significant return to the core of Goldie's pioneering drum & bass project, here in collaboration with Bournemouth beatsmith Submotive. Since the early 90s, Rufige Kru have ve redefined breakbeat science, with Goldie's early tracks like 'Darkrider' and 'Terminator' laying the foundation for modern drum & bass. Now, over a decade since their last release, the duo's chemistry is palpable, revisiting their roots while steering the genre forward. The opening track, 'Alpha Omega', sets the tone with intricate beats and emotional intensity, while 'Goldikus' (feat. Cleveland Watkiss) layers jazz influence with expansive soundscapes. 'Still The Same' (feat. Casisdead) blends grimy vocals with atmospheric pads, reaffirming their connection to the genre's experimental edge. With tracks like 'Mercury' and 'The Guardianz', the album remains rooted in the soulful, deep bass culture Goldie helped create. A fresh chapter in the legendary Rufige Kru legacy.
Review: Goldie revives his genre-defining Rufige Kru alias for Alpha Omega, a new double LP on London Records. The record secures the first new release under the name since 2009. Though the proverbial kru once consisted in Goldie (Clifford Price), Linford Jones and Mark Rutherford, Price characteristically dominated it. Rufige finally came to with the seminal 'Darkrider' release on Reinforced Records: the track was a handed down later version of what started as a plundering of Japan's 'Ghosts Of My Life', giving the classic new wave title the mood of a broken-window metropolis, and it became the object of much cultural theorising for its influence on d&b's reflection of class politics. Now, Goldie faces the city of glass again, exposing the dirt behind the neon with longtime collaborator Submotive, enlisted to propel the project further into the "rufige": classic roots crusted by high-presh, concrete crud.
Review: Rufige Kru, the legendary alias of Goldie, has long been a cornerstone of breakbeat enervation and innovation. First tizzwozzing dancefloors in 1992 with the hardcore classic 'Darkrider', Rufige Kru delivered pivotal tracks like 'Ghosts of My Life' and 'Terminator'. Now, for the first time since 2009, Rufige Kru returns with new LP Alpha Omega, featuring longtime collaborator and krumate Submotive. Leading the charge is 'Still The Same', a heavyweight single featuring CASISDEAD, fresh off his BRIT Award win, interceded by 'Goldikus' with Cleveland Watkiss, a chance early jazzstep pioneer from the far-flung realm of piano jazz and soul.
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