BYRON THE AQUARIUS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: French label D3 - which when pronounced in French sounds like their word for Detroit - is a decade old and celebrates the milestone with a special three-part EP series. As has always been the case over that 10 year period, the sounds it serves up are deep and housey. This various artists affair kicks off with AsTreJinkins' slow and propulsive 'Terror' before some nice airy and live sounding broken beats from New Digital Fidelity. Moroka picks up the pace with some hi-tek soul that sounds straight from the Motor City and Byron The Aquarius shows off his mastery of the keys again with a dreamy deep cut 'Tua Su Ra'. Nico Lahs shuts down with a heavyweight beatdown in the form of 'It's Spelled BARI.'

Review: People Of Earth strides into the New Year with a new project called The Elements Series. Part one welcomes some serious names, not least Detroit's ambient and techno master John Beltran who kicks off with 'Nuyorico' a joyous, chord-laced house groove laden with organic percussion. Javonntte's 'Tropical Feelings' is another of his textbook deep house cuts with whispered vocals bringing a spiritual vibe. Atlanta's main man Kai Alce does his do with the jazzy synth energy of shuffling house cut 'Benefit' (NDATL instrumental mix) then Byron The Aquarius pairs things back to dusty drums and humid chords on 'Sun Gods'. This one is only for the real heads.

Review: Boston duo Soul Clap make a routine yearly stopover in Detroit with House Of Efunk, a DJs' slamdown paying collective tribute to the dance musical legacy of Motor City. Detroit's influence on the House of Efunk is undeniable, and this 25th release in the conjoining V/A series of EPs hears Soul Clap join Axel Boman, Juliet Mendoza, Ataxia, and Mathew Jonson for a serious-unserious serum of dance delirium. Best among them 0s the lo-fi astral projections of Boman's 'Ev'ry Body Wants To Be A Star' (hint: you already are) and Ataxia's future-lectro acid finesse-tration, 'Soul Clap'.

Review: We love to hear from Byron the Aquarius. The US producer is a magician on the keys and also knows how to lay down deep, smoky house beats that brim with soul. His latest comes on Frequencies Rhythm Life out of Italy and opens with the nice and loose drum grooves of 'House Is Black' then 'Is She Here' cooks up a late night vibe with jazzy motifs and swaying claps. 'Atlanta (dub)' strips things down to bare-bones essentials and 'KEMET' brings a more direct sound but is marbled with brilliant percussion and wispy melodies. 'Bamboo Bong' is a nice trippy end to another accomplished outing.

Review: Byron The Aquarius is a bastion of quality modern house music and the seance volume f this series on Phonogramme can't come soon enough. It finds the keys master and former hip-hop producer doing what he does best - laying down raw, dusty beats with captivating melodies. 'Co$mic Felacio (Freaking92)' stars with low-slung menace, 'Gift Of Gab' is a bright house stomper with smudged and smeared chords and 'Willie Wonkaaa' has a darker, more unsettling edge and squealing synth lead. 'Akirashi' is a nice chilled-out beatdown to close.

Review: Byron The Aquarius is one of deep house's most vital innovators. The man with the background making hip-hop for the stars as really excelled in recent times with his always richly musical jams. This new outing is no different: 'Free' (feat Teddy Bryant) lays down solid deep house beats and salts them with soft focus chords and smoky vocals. 'We Still Slaves Out There?' has a dubby groove and more exquisite chords and soulful vocal coos, while two further teriffic tracks 'Slaves Of Reality (feat MDMA)' and 'Lonesome Road We Livin' round out a heartwarming and timeless deep house offering that is cuddly and life-affirming.

Review: We're big fans of Byron The Aquarius here at Juno HQ and it is hard to think why anyone wouldn't be. The master keys man and former hip-hop producer has been turning out a steady and quality stream of deep house deliciousness in recent years and that's what he does again here on US label Toucan Sounds. 'Baddest Behavior' (feat Brandon Markell Holmes) kicks off with chord-laced deep house bliss and a magnificent vocal, 'Freed 4 OG's' (with Coto Loco - feat Rasheeda Ali) is a more lively and percussive jam with more rickety beats and nimble chords and 'I Be Like Dat' brings lovely wet claps and low-key soul to a US garage groove. A series of remixes on the flip seals the deal.

Review: Byron The Aquarius has the sort of mad skills on a keyboard that evade all too many house producers. He has also spent years making beats for hip-hop artists so has plenty in his arsenal. His fantastic EP 'Gone Today Here Tomorrow' is a still standout collection of cuts on Kyle Hall's Wild Oats label that now gets reissued on limited orange vinyl 12". It is a superb showcase of his skills that traverse lithe deep house, cosmic grooves, plenty of mellifluous melodies and seductive late-night sounds. 'Moments In Life' is a particular favourite here.

Review: Byron The Aquarius (Byron Blaylock), from Birmingham, Alabama, debuts his latest EP for French Synchrophone sublabel Phonogramme, 'Dey Know Vol. 1'. Topping up an already hugely impressive backlog of releases on the label recently - from the likes of Abacus, Steeve O'Sullivan and Vitess - the producer and water carrier adds to their catalogue for a varied scrubdown of the more militant ends of techno's sonic politic. An impressove sense of variation is achieved on the expositionally minimal 'Black Is Black', which contrasts greatly to the ensuing space-quagmires of 'Dr Devil' and then the crude, bleepy and frank analog sonics of 'Real MF From The Avenue'. Dreamy narrations of local life abound, precluding the closing 'Rock That 808!!!', a track that is far more sophisticated and well-developed in sound than its wilfully blase title might suggest.

Review: Atlanta's leading purveyor of dusty, jazz-flecked deep house pops up on Clone's Jack For Daze offshoot with an expansive mini-album of raw, drum machine-driven workouts that sound like they started life as hardware improvisations (though they may not be). There's plenty of sonic gold to be found amongst the six tracks on show, with our current favourites including the sweat-soaked beat tool 'Kimora (Dub)' - basically jacking drums to get sweaty in the mix - the dubby, squelchy bass-propelled dancefloor psychedelia of 'BLACK (featuring Brandon Banks)', and the ultra-dreamy, late 80s Chicago deep house flex of 'Mr JX 8P'. 'Ancestors', a tougher and darker workout blessed with bags of percussive energy, is also superb.

Review: Master keys man Byron The Aquarius started out making hip-hop then in the last few years moved into house music and dropped some super deep and classy jams. Now he gets back to his roots with this new project from Birmingham, Alabama, alongside Shurlock, who started way back in 1990. The album takes its title from the fact both men were always told they would never make it out of their hometown. "Well this project is for those that stop dreaming, and believed that Shurlock, and Byron would never make it in the world of music," they say. It's a superb record with some fine guest bars to boot.