Deep House Recommendations May 2016

Review: Byron The Aquarius resurfaced earlier this year after a nine-year absence, delivering the future jazz/deep house fusion of High Life on Sound Signature. This speedy follow-up on Kyle Hall's Wild Oats label is, if anything, even better. Warm, rich, soulful and evocative, it includes six superb cuts. These variously touch on off-kilter modern soul ("Co$mic $hit"), Herbie Hancock-influenced deep house (the jazz-funk synths, woozy chords and smooth beats of "Moments In Life"), intergalactic hip-hop beats (the impeccable "Space N Time"), blissfully Balearic house (the hazy positivity of "The Sun"), and jazz-influenced house rollers ("Better Tomorrow").

Review: Having contributed a stellar track to Gerd Janson's Musik For Autobahns 2 compilation, it's little surprise to see Leon Vynehall pop up on Running Back. Rojus (Designed To Dance) is an expansive affair, with eight tracks stretched across two slabs of wax. It's also predictably varied; contrast, for example, the drowsy ambient chords and twinkling electronics of opener "Beyond This", and the deep-jack-goes-rave sweatiness of "Beau Sovereign". Vynehall also finds space for the Balearic jazz-house swing of "Paradisea", the wall-of-sound Detroit deep house of "Blush", and the African influenced drum workout "...There Is You". In other words, it's a versatile cracker.

Review: Italojohnson has clearly decided that less is more, having limited their output to one self-released 12" a year since 2013. Volume 10 in the mysterious threesome's self-titled series predictably contains more twisted, tried-and-tested material. The untitled A-side sounds like a modern update of a breakbeat-boasting Frankie Bones classic, with hectic bursts of percussion, surging sub and a classic riff taking it in turns to impress. There's more of an acid house feel to the similarly untitled flipside workout, with booming, mangled vocal snippets and sharp electronic stabs riding a thunderous groove, '80s electro hits and a classic Chicago bassline. There's little subtle about either track, but they sound like guaranteed floorfillers.

Review: D3 Elements continues to serve up delicious house music with its next EP, which this time comes from the Detroit native MoReese. He serves up three cuts of rich, musical club sounds that continue in the Motor City's fine tradition.

MoReese marries the history of his hometown, and influences such as Derrick May and Kevin Sanderson, with his own taste for jazz, funk and soul and the results are always magical. He has been touring the world for more than two decades now, playing all over the radio, events like WMC and special four decks set at Movement festival. This new release is sure to introduce him to European crowds who will no doubt immediately fall in love with his fully formed hose sound.

Opener Jupiter Heat marries a nice smooth groove, churning percussion and blistered bass with some simple but effective sax stabs that really elevate the track to the next level. It's the sort of roller, complete with a monologue about modern life, that will really get crowds shifting shapes. 'Linear' is a more direct and hard hitting deep house cut with solid rubber kicks, slick hi hats and lush chords, keys and frazzled synth lines all adding colour, heat and a sense of joy. Lastly, feel good bouncer The Mist is stuffed with the sort of soulful vibes Terrence Parker us famous for, and as a result immediately finds a place in your affections. This is another pure house EP that exactly hits the mark.

Review: Just one step before the 40 releases on Deep Explorer, the label dives into jazz waters with this "Jazz City" Mini LP by Gregor Yan. Six cuts for those that like to swing. Includes a reshape version by New Jazz Fakers.

Review: Peterson returns to Havana to continue where he left us five years ago. This time the focus is placed squarely on the rumba, it's many variations, mutations and relationship with other musical forms. Complete with a documentary, sample pack and full remix album, it's another unique international bounty. Here are two examples of its hip-shaking magic: Motor City Drum Ensemble anchors the rumba down with a stately 4/4 allowing the sensation come through the keys, bass and insistent percussion. Max Graef and Glenn Astro celebrate the weird in "Weird Melody" with a stuttering kicks and wavey synth washes that keep their own sense of tempo.

Review: Richard Sen's last outing on [Emotional] Especial - the bleep revival brilliance of "Songs of Pressure" - was something of a stone cold killer, so hopes are naturally high for this belated follow-up. The title track again digs deep for inspiration, doffing a cap to the starry futurism of Detroit, psychedelic acid and the drum-machine driven jack of early Chicago house. The flipside Dub of the same track takes it into uncharted territory, with hazy, drawn-out chords and post-production effects only serving to emphasize the heavy nature of Sen's vintage groove. Bonus "Shoc Horracore" explores similar territory, while offering a knowing wink towards obscure 1980s horror movie soundtracks and the bold synthesizer lines of Italo-disco.

Review: Side A - 'Let It Go' featuring Blake Baxter - A mid 90's 'Ghetto House' instrumental with moving bassline, that raw Chicago beat track and a groove that will keep you dancing until the early morning hours. Side B - New Dub featuring Kool Rock Steady - Unreleased recording by Tyree Cooper with outtakes from his 1988 release 'Turn Up The Bass', with a rocking baseline groove, and those classic Chicago House chords, sure to move any dance floor.

Review: We are excited to announce new Finale Sessions member Aleqs Notal to our growing roster of tallented producers he is part of the Paris renaissance that is moving the underground scene at the moment with that being said we go the first track "Linea" with its lush keys and pads moving in and out to monstrous deep bass great deepness for sure. Track two "Scenium" is deep track with a great sound that moves in and out of the dancefloor with its techier pads and massive drums most def a late night killer . Last but not least we have the track "Disparity" what I like most about the track is its fantastic drum programming and it it's wavering pads and keys this a great chill track to get the party going right . We at Finale Sessions want to thank you for your kind support.

Review: After a few years of quiet, Ali 'Nebraska' Gibb seems to have refound his creative mojo and is popping up everywhere at the moment. Here he leads the way with a superb, playful refix of Session Victim on the latest Retreat 12", with his self-styled Soho Samba refix of the German duo's "Good Intentions" living up to its title and showing off Gibb's proficiency on the MPC. Session Victim then open the B-side with a remix of Iron Curtis & Leaves before the 12" closes on a Quarion rework of their cut "Black Cream." Both these are fine deep house numbers straight out of the Retreat text book but this 12" is all about that Nebraska remix!!

Review: "Kaleid", 4 trax of wonky, late-nite-swing, the first EP of new house stuff by Nail on his own 89:GHOST label. Step away from the drip-tray. Props to Bones. 300 copies on no-frills black vinyl.

Review: For All Caps, it's quality over quantity. Last year saw just the one release from the Glasgow label, but it was a veritable gem from Vancouver secret weapon Florist. If they release just one record this year, that's fine too because this Rave Archive EP from the mysterious Neuroshima is quite superb. Tracks by Neuroshima have been appearing in mixes from Kowton, BUFO, and their contemporaries as far back as late 2014, so kudos to Bake and his fellow All Cappers for collating them on this 12". The six tracks here effortlessly join the dots between post-rave "intelligent techno", the dark '90s IDM of Future Sound of London, and the cut-up, pitched-down jungle breaks of one-time N Tone/Ninja Tune artist Neotropic. In other words, it's an atmospheric collection of paranoid, retro-futurist gems that will sound deliciously fresh to those under the age of 30, and wonderfully evocative of a bygone age for those of a finer vintage.

Review: First release in Minuendo by Marc Cotterell owner and producer of Plastik People Recordings with vocalist Doreen Younglove. Contains remix by Chris Gray (Deep4Life).

Review: Lawrence's latest full-length, his third and final for Mule Musiq, is described by its' creator as being "deep and mystical". It was inspired, in part, by a Tokyo green space of the same name, and includes elements recorded by Lawrence's live band, Sky Walking, and plenty of field recordings to add texture. The result is a luscious deep house and techno set that veers from the dreamy and rolling ("Tensui"), and lovably bouncy (delicious IDM/electro excursions "Ava" and "Simmer"), to deep and dirty ("Joy Ride"), via wide-eyed humidity (the hypnotic and beautiful "Illuminated"). Lawrence rarely fails to disappoint, of course, but even by his standards Yoyogi Park is something special.

Review: A Belgian in Berlin, Pablo Tarno has released previously on Onirik's Serialism imprint throwing down some fairly decent minimal grooves, but now goes for some sublime deep house flavour for the new imprint he runs with the aforementioned: who are now on to their fifth release. The emotive "Inner Peace" features just the right amount of dust and shuffle with melancholic flavour in its chords. The Rhodes driven dreaminess of "Holding Time" is worthy of mention too and rolls along nicely for those afterhours moments at small basement clubs. Finally "Lackin (Revisited)" has subtle dub techno aesthetics incorporated in its pursuit of deepness, bringing to mind classic Fresh 'N Low or Dean De Costa: not at all a bad thing.

Review: Last year, Chez Damier launched a new imprint, Inner Balance, which debuted with a slightly overlooked EP of deep house from Jorge Caiado. For the label's second release, he's turned to veteran producer Ewan Jansen, who recently impressed with some killer archival material on Going Good. Opener "Harvest" is an undeniably floor-friendly affair, with snappy, drum machine handclaps, classic techno bass, swinging percussion hits, wild electronics and woozy chords combining to great effect. "Sines Of Life" is deeper and creepier, while "Square Dance" sits somewhere between bubbling electro, Damier style deep house, and far-sighted Motor City techno.

Review: Here's something of a treat for deep house fans: what appears to be new material from celebrated Japanese deep house maestro Soichi Terada brought to you via new label Wasabeat. It takes shape as a split EP with Terada's lesser-known compatriot Sekitova, and sees them contribute original productions that feature Chrisato Moritaka as well as remix each other. Terada calls shotgun with "Hyamikao", a deliciously tactile, sun-kissed deep house number that sounds like one of his classic 1990s productions, which is complemented by his remix of Sekitova's "Foetus Traum" that effortlessly emphasizes the loved-up fluidity at the heart of Sekitova's original version. Sekitova owns the B-side with the dreamy, ultra-deep hypnosis of the aforementioned "Foetus Traum" followed by his remix of Terada's "Hyamikao" which offers a more tech-tinged, heavily electronic deep house interpretation.

Review: Payfone are Balearic pushers Phil Passera & Chieka Ononye from London who return with a second release on Phil South's esteemed NYC imprint Golf Channel. On the A side we've got the low-slung nu disco of "Catholic Central" which is immersed in just the right amount of marijuana haze on this deep and sultry summertime groove for endless summer nights in NYC loft parties and London basement shindigs alike. On the flip is an absolutely epic remix by Ann Arbor hero of the underground D'Marc Cantu who gives the track a deep, dark and tunnelling makeover, clearing the smoke away and instead covering the track in a nice sheen of dust and rust, finding the soul in the machines like he always does!

Review: Stuntman Mike is a guy with special taste for cars, women and especially music. In his car radio groove is allways present. Here's a second part of what he prefers to hear when things get interesting. From Motor City , a house legend like Alton Miller, gives us a gem with this detroit house sound. From the city of rising sun Miruga makes an elegant, jazzy and groovy awesome track. And from Spain two deep house masters . On the one hand Jesus Gonsev brings a tasty bass and juicy string. On the other hand Ernie explores his dark side with this deep and dusk track. Four great artists for this new soundtrack. Mike's takes it out loud in his car. What are you waiting to do in yours? LImited to 300 copies.

Review: Djebali's back again: does this guy ever sleep? His eponymous imprint brings the goods again, this time with some sweet remixes. "Ideal Juice" gets a makeover by Berlin legends Cab Drivers and has all the hallmarks of their sound: deep rolling bass, buzzing synths and hiss and the unmistakeable and shuffle of the 808. On the flip, Switzerland's Alci's remix of "O'riginal Rude Boy" is so funky it's not funny. Both the original and the Tuccillo remix were good, but this version totally owns both of them.

Review: Johannes Albert's Berlin based imprint Frank Music is on a roll right now. Their new compilation series celebrates five years in business and what a way to celebrate, drafting NYC deep house legend Fred P with the sublime "Energy Cloud" which is one of his best tracks of late in our opinion, Berliner Iron Curtis with the ultra-smooth deepness of "Operater 123" (live mix)" and the epic dancefloor drama "Got The Juice" showcasing Freer and Reilling's typical studio magic as always. The most upbeat offering is by Tim Toh who has previously released on Philpot and Ornaments with "Hidden Beauty" a late noughties style journey in the vein of classic Innervisions, Buzzin Fly or Freerange.

Review: Hot off the heels from his album on Church, Ishmael delivers Street Scenes EP on Deso with a remix by Mannequins

Review: This special release revisits classic Brothers' Vibe tunes, edits and a never before released on vinyl track. Kicking off proceedings is the 1989 gem "I Ain't Gonna Wait". An early Brothers' Vibe piece and massive underground anthem! Brothers' Vibe distinctive gritty style of groovy house takes us on a hypnotic journey into uncharted territory. Melody and percussion interchange amongst a framework of zippy synths and sinuous kicks. Released under the moniker Silent Rodgerz, the second track "Infractions" saw the light of day back in 2008 solely in digital format on a MixxRecords compilation. Low slung with an acid influence, the cut reveals a distinctly natural groove lead by the classic bassline. The final track is the definition of a house classic!! Featuring echoing words of the great Maya Angelou, "Words To a Nation" exudes a timeless quality, unveiling a masterpiece which stays firmly in your head...

Review: Peggy Gou has had a busy debut year thanks to her opener on Phonica's white offshoot, and now two EP's out on Rekids in quick succession. Her sound is a subtle, minimalistic blend of house and techno, exactly the sort of tech-minded groovers that have appeared on Radio Slave's label in the past. "Jen High", for instance, takes a dusty being of drums and wraps them around delicate blends of chimes, whereas "When Round, They Go" heads deeper into space with the help of a sublimely cosmic swarm of sonics. The special piece comes from Terekke's remix of the latter, and the LIES man adds his signature touch to an already very deep house tune, making his version that one toke over the line!

Review: Berlin based DJ Pegasuz alongside DJ Clyman is the boss of Hamsa International with their headquarters in the African quarter in Berlin Wedding. It is rusty and dusty vintage house vibes on the Endlessmief MIEF #2 which despite the volume number actually inaugurates the label and they're on to big things if this stellar debut is anything to go by. On the A side "Erdmeik (H mix)" and "Hi Fi Power" is a very Berlin deep style reminiscent of stuff by Glenn Astro or Max Graef with its unashamedly lo-fi production and summery vibe with dreamy Rhodes helping you drift away. On the flip is the thumping and bumping "Tiefbett" which is reminiscent of classic Moodymann while the relentlessly jacking disco loops of "Vow" would easily appeal to DJ Sneak fans.