Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Contemporary Afro-house producer and record procurer Auntie Flo tops up his flux-satisfactory A State Of Flo label with a re-pressed bleary-eyed house number, 'Green City', a track first released in 2024 and which paid homage to the Afrobeat legend and activist Fela Kuti. First debuted in a revelrous setting at 2019's We Out Here Festival, the track has since evolved into a staple of Flo's live sets, building on the contemporary folktronic fervour for records built out of obscure sample sources. In this case, the track evolves around a field recording captured in Nairobi, his motherland. East African Ambassa Mandela from the band Sarabi resounds on vocals, while contributions from Yohan Kebede of Kokoroko on keys, Ziggy Funk on guitar, Laurie Pitt from Golden Teacher on drums, and Glasgow's Joe Howe (Ex Ben Butler & Mousepad) on saxophone follow. 'Aker The Lion God' contrasts to the A's rather grand spirit crescendo with a downbeat deep house digestif.

Review: Shut Off Notice welcomes Teakup - a local Columbus, Ohio DJ and producer born Lauri Reponen and known for his stylish techno - for a second outing on the label. 'Forest Bed Moss' kicks off with dusty mid-tempo breaks and deep basslines full of soul, while 'Mhm' is a mechanical groove with dubby undertones and nice chopped vocals. 'Rain Groove Revisit' is a deep, percolating and stumbling rhythm with a smattering of percussion and bubbly feel infused with cooing female vocals. Finally, Teakup remixes Rew's 'Fragile Abundance' into a deft and lithe minimal dub for the small hours. Sophisticated stuff once more from Teakup.

Review: Berlin-based Aussie Tornado Wallace has a long track record of tiptoeing the fine line between perfectly judged dancefloor pleasure and the more musically immersive sounds of Balearica and sun-soaked, sofa-ready deep house. He touches all those bases on 'Bitter Suite', his debut for Apiento's excellent Test Pressing Recordings imprint. In its' full length, near ten minute original mix form (side A), the track joins the dots between psychedelic, lightly acid-clad 1993 progressive house and - via waves of instrumentation and positive melodic motfs - the colourful musical rush of the System 7's most gorgeous early-to-mid-90s productions The latter element comes to the fore on the kaleidoscopic, string-laden and slow building 'Symphony Mix', while the 'Bitter Beats' version is a pounding, sweat-soaked drum track.

Review: The COVID era amused many artists with its desolate streets and locked-down excesses of time, but few artists ran with its associated concepts such that they named themselves after one if its nanny state cornerstones. Whomever they are in real life, Track & Trace (maybe they're a duo, or maybe not?) join the Danish NES crew (the label project of one DJ Popup) for an exquisite mid-twents take on deep house and experimental sonic Aquarii. 'Question' deploys deep Balearic whispers and forgotten, Akai-esque voxsyn highs, and 'Spatial Awareness' goes in on synth replica pan pipes and bruk shades. One of many great new aquasonic additions to an already self-outdoing label.

Review: Ukrainian producer Vakula makes a swift return to the always reliable Phonogramme label from Paris with a superb follow-up to his recent Dinsync collaboration. Deep, nocturnally charged and gorgeously atmospheric, the EP opens with the brooding acid of 'Quantum Voyage', where foggy pads drift over bubbling 303 and jagged machine hits. 'Skys Whisper' blends emotive synth waves with growling bass and crisp drums, with its bittersweet topline gliding over sumptuous harmonics, while 'Sunny Konotop' maintains a similar trajectory, with misty-eyed synth work dancing over low-slung bass and swung beats. Magnificent work.

Review: Bo Wosticz is a passionate music producer and DJ from the northern parts of Sweden. He has previously released own tracks as well as remixes under various names, but with this new project he returns to his roots, creating music with a wonderful blend of electronic and acoustic elements, influenced by sounds, melodies and rhythms from around the world, Suinga is a shuffling percussive kalimba led mellow house groove John Beltran delivers a subtly more energetic remix Return to Fender has an early evening rooftop feel electric pianos sit on a chugging baseline and light pads. Gnallbulver picks up the pace, just a little for the discoteque. Polished mid tempo Nordic Balearic goodness

Review: Chilean-born, Bristol-based Shanti Celeste has always brought a unique colour and emotion to her often bass-heavy sounds. She's a party-starting DJ, too, but delves into whole new realms with her wonderful sophomore full-length. Romance sees her exploring themes of love and friendship through shimmering pop textures and emotionally resonant songwriting. Her vocals take centre stage for the first time and lead single 'Thinking About You' is a heartfelt tribute to a late friend with a glowing groove and airy falsetto. Crafted between Bristol and London, the album features collaborations with Batu and harpist Miriam Adefris, whose delicate touch enhances its celestial tone and following last summer's acclaimed 'Ice Cream Dream Boy,' Romance is a luminous return and smart evolution.