Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Past Moves III is the final instalment of the vinyl-only series served up by Berlin's ever-well-curated and cultured Sushitech label. It is another essential 12' that packs in plenty of heat from the long-time UK favourite. His records are hard to find and expensive when you do and this collection highlights some of his superbly blended acid, dub, tech and house grooves from back between 1997 and 2004. On this one, you will find a pair of weighty, warm, and dubbed out tech cuts with bounce in the drums and Detroit soul in the pads. Timeless stuff.

Review: The Mountain 45 label has been giving us some unique music that cross genres since its inception just a few years ago. Like previous editions, Double A contributes 'Super Badman Riddim' which is both catchy and clever. Featuring James Brown samples thrown in the mix takes this dub related track to the limit of fun. For the B-side, James Nasty's 'Fan Dem Off' with a peak time party song that should take the dancefloor to another level. These attention getters are ideal for being addictively fun and different. It's hard to categorise music like this, which is a sign of its originality.

Review: Joe Babylon's cultured US label Roundabout Sounds has never rushed music out but when it does serve up new material it is always timeless and top quality. This latest EP is the first installment in the new All Hands series and it features some real house heavyweights. Frits Wentink kicks off with the mystic and lo-fi depths of 'Jellyfish, then DJ Aakmael layers up his soft edge chords and cuddly kicks drums with some muted horn motifs that bring the romance. The label head brings some upright drums and spoken word lyrics for a beautifully warm sound and last of all Detroit royalty Rick Wilhite links with Jon Easley for a final blissed-out and breezy deep house day dream.

Review: Big Love records assembles four talented artists for the 5th edition of A touch of love. The compilation opens with Seamus Haji's 'Dance With Me', a spirited house track featuring Kathy Brown's powerful vocals and a driving beat. Illyus & Barrientos contribute 'Wait' featuring Phebe Edwards, a melodic house track with disco influences, soaring strings and rhythmic percussion. The B-side features Richard Earnshaw & Mr V's 'This House Is Yours', a party-ready disco house track perfect for the dancefloor. DJ Meme's 'Century' concludes the compilation with a deeper, more melodic offering. Together, these four tracks offer some great opportunities to make a dancefloor happy.

Review: Mystery surrounds the story behind this edit-style two-tracker - and, indeed, the identity of Baggy Leggins and Duke Hobo themselves - but there's much to admire about it. Check first A-side 'Keep Marching', where a lightly beefed up and housed-up semi-acoustic groove offers a platform for sweet, bilingual female lead vocals, jaunty guitars and simmering strings. It's a genuine dancefloor revision, but one that will suit Balearic DJs and confirmed party starters as much as dusty-fingered crate diggers and selector sorts. 'Shuffleupagus', meanwhile, sees the mystery artist cut up and tool up a vaguely familiar Latin workout with predictably energetic and party-starting results.

Review: Twilight is the latest piece by long time DJ, producer and remixer, Dominic Dawson. The Japanese label Flower, has released this single to 7" complete with a remix for the second side. The title track is a catchy and funky house track that while the remix is a bit more Balearic and beachy. Both versions have their place in any house setlist and will set the tone for any eclectic DJ set. With the DJing background Dominic has, he is a great guide to setting the mood with music. Like the title artwork suggests, this is perfect music to watch the sun go down to.

Review: Nu Groove is one of those labels that everyone who knows recognises as having played a key part in the early house movement. Based out of the New York scene on the East Coast it had a distinctive 90s deep house sound which DJ Steaw now taps into but with his own twist. His grooves are jacked up and analogue, densely packed but high on warmth and soul. 'Take It There' is a prickly opener and 'Seascape' then brings some acid. 'Close To U' has a more low-slung groove that is peppered with raw claps and last of all, 'Exotica' brings some cosmic synth work to crisp, funked-up and electro-tinged rhythms.

Review: The young Soul Touch Productions label knocks it out of the park once more with this new 12" featuring Motor City royals at the top of their game. Terrence Parker kicks off with the beautifully uplifting 'Tonight We Luv' with its streaming and soulful melodies and nice smooth drum loops. Drummer B then steps up with the mad piano action and slamming house of 'In My Zone' (feat Javonntte) and last of all, the man so often left out of the early history of Detroit's underground, Eddie Fowlkes, comes through with a spine-tingling vocal deep house delight in the form of 'Hold Me Down'.

Review: See-Saw records out of the Netherlands were a well-respected label very early in the rave era. Starting way back in 1991, the label was known for being one of the first rave labels in the area but also respected for their variety of styles like house, techno, hardcore and trance music. Their third record and one of their most desired The Jewel EP by Diamonds & Pearls aka Gijs Vroom, is getting a welcomed reissue on the Late Night Burners label. This reissue is a mirror to the original that features the heavy piano house monster 'What You Do To Me', the Euro house gem 'What You Do To Disco' and the Chicago influenced 'Rockin' Your World'. We can't say enough great things about the beautifully mellow ambient house track 'Perspective' which perfectly captures the amazing chill out sound of the time. A very worthy and welcomed reissue from beginnings of of rave post the New Beat era in the Netherlands.

Review: &Chakib is the debut album from Swiss Producer, DJ, and live-act Dominik Traub, also known as Dandara. Infusing influences from Africa, Asia, and Latin America with European techno and house, Dominik's signature sound shines through. The album's inception came after a fateful encounter with Algerian vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Chakib Bouzidi at a festival in Basel. Despite Chakib's untimely passing, Dominik continued the project, honouring his memory by completing the work. Infused with Chakib's voice notes and collaborative recordings, the album serves as a heartfelt tribute and through resilient collaboration and creative influence it emerges as a fine collection of globally influenced dance music.