Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Watergate, the cult Berlin club known for its riverside location and legendary LED ceiling above the dancefloor, is also a reputable tech house label that deals in fresh names only. Here it is 8Kays that makes a debut with Falling Down, a selection of superb collaborations including 'Matematica' with Glowal which is tense and electric tech with indie vocals and with Juan Hansen he cooks up the medically hopeful 'Falling Down' which then gets two remixes. Colyn & Beswerda make it into a moody and deep groove, Chris Avantgarde brings some peak time prog energy and solo cut 'Lyra' has a warm, paddy broken beat to cruise on through the stars.

Review: Party starting outfit Bizarre is back with another offering of leftfield club cuts. The A-side of this one has been carefully curated by founding members Felon5 & B.Love. Their cosmic house excursion starts with the playful robot funk of 'The Talkbox Track' and then takes in the silky space tech of 'M Is For Muff' which is effortlessly cool. Jhobei & Oliver R then step up with 'What's On Then' which is another mix of warped bass and neon synth lines over popping tech funk and then Love & Charleze conspire to send you home on a nice warm hearted disco tech vibe with their 'IC3D' featuring some super synth expressions.

Review: Akka & BeepBeep is a new label from the US that is dropping its first two EPs simultaneously on Valentine's Day. Joradesilver is behind one, and also feature sin collaborative mode on this other 12". It opens with 'King David', a hi-tek house sound with soul drenched pads and tightly programmed drums and bass. 'Mango Strut' slows right down to dubbed out house with clattering percussion and the sound of spacecraft, then 'June Buggy' gets funky with more twitchy cosmic synths and a nice organic house groove. 'Callin' Dybbs' is a deep and smoky closer for the backroom with a sublime sax line drifting throughout.

Review: After necessarily taking time out for personal reasons, Jackmaster is slowly but surely getting back to where he was a few years ago. The party-staring Scot was a real DJ circuit favourite who also knew how to kick out the jams and that's what he does here for the fourth release on the Slack 85 label which debuted last year under the auspices of a certain Seth Troxler. 'Party Going On' is pure fun - a flaming hue cut with an impossibly catchy and pitched-up vocal. 'Freaky Like That' (with Jasper James) is surging Detroit house music with analogue drums and 'Let's Go' (Tom Trago Remix) is a dirty, loopy disco house cut and we love it.

Review: Everyone's favourite cult record label - and some might say UFO religion - Multi Culti are back with a fresh homing-in on the artist Thomass Jackson, who delivers a sprawling array of squelchy, lo-fi acid jams on the EP 'UFO House Vol. 1'. Scouring endless extraterrestrial untrodden voids of sound, we begin with the mouth-filtered 'Belgian UFO Wave' before seguing into the likes of the sizzlingly weird 'Aphex Twinkie', before concluding on the uncanny, janky popper 'Back In Guadalajara'.

Review: It might be one of the most famous hotels in Las Vegas but now the Bellagio lends its name to this new label. The first missive is a delightfully deep and classic house sound from Jacy. 'Sound Of Eleven' is coated in dusty chords and dreamy pads with an early 90s Italia feel, then 'After Dance' adds to the serene sense of hose escapism with more lushness. 'Sometimes' has a nice heavy groove and soft pads that linger in the air with real class. Last but not least is something of a Chicago jacker with 'It's You' layering up the toms. A sophisticated EP with a traditional bent.

Review: Breezy headwinds, orange-tinged skies, hazy, serene bliss - just some of the profound feelings to be had on the latest release from Oath, a masterclass in melody and mood from one of the finest contemporary house producers about today. 'Night Fantasy' is Jacy's first EP in four years and much like his other records, this one blesses us with warmth, delight and joy, in the softest and most subtle of manners. The title track, which opens up the record, greets the listener with a familiar drum pattern, one which then gives way to the rock-hard bassline; 'Just Change' comes on next, and this one opens up with that classic and explicitly dreamy chord sequence we all know and cherish, with Jacy allowing us to soak up this goodness before shifting the perspective to the rhythm. 'Dat Tape' shifts perspective to more of a swing in terms of the groove, with sweeping background pads doing much to tug at the heartstrings - and, finally, we have 'Come On', which retains a more spacious feel between the keys and the drums.

Review: Funk, soul and house music courses through the veins of Jamie 3:26 and he always manages to convey that into his irresistible grooves. The best of them come on his own label 326 which is where he arrives now with this new 12" Dancefloor Damage Vol 1. It's a tight affair with just one cut on each side of the wax, starting with 'Maqnifique' which is a steamy, intense disco house stomper with wiry lines and unrelenting grooves. On the flip is a very different vibe - a sunny, flute-led led and jazzy soulful house number with heart-melting chords.

Review: Red Ember chief Ewan Jansen has been a man in demand in recent years, supplementing releases on his own imprint with outings on Freerange, R.A.N.D Muzik, Innate and Butter Sessions. Here the veteran Australian producer brings his brand of analogue-rich house and techno to Cyphon Recordings for the very first time. Naturally, Jansen's high standards don't dip across the six-track mini album, making it a genuine must-check. Our picks of a sensationally strong bunch include the trippy deep house hypnotism of 'Salt Circuit', the outer-space electro shuffle of 'Brinewave', the moody and high-tech Drexciyan rush of 'Faulty Gelfing' and the gently intergalactic deep house-meets-tech house warmth of 'Surabaya'.

Review: Bad Timin' kicks off its 2024 with a new offering from Jex Opolis that marks this young but esteemed label's fourth release. 'Pneumatic' is a full triple cosmic tech pumper with acid lines and synths spraying about the mix and 'Catalytic' then rides on a more smooth groove with wispy pads that have you gazing off into the future. 'Molecools' gets tight and snappy with some alluring old school vocal coos adding soul to the bright beats and last of all is 'Catalytic' (Converter mix) which rides on waves of deep space magic.

Review: Jihoon links with some talented musicians including Thomas Xu, Omar Meftah, Eric Meftah and Ian Gold on this brilliant new three-tracker on One Spoke. It kicks off with the sublime 'Good In The Bad' which is a jazzy viber with flute lines dancing their own dance above lovely contemporary broken beats. 'There Is No End' layers chords, synths and jazz drums into a richly atmospheric groove before last of all the whole of the flip side is given over to a Thomas Xu & Ian Gold remix of 'There Is No End' that is gloriously sunny jazz-fusion at its finest. These will keep you warm no matter the weather outside this winter.

Review: Originally a drum & bass, future jazz and downtempo producer, Jimpster has really evolved and showed how excellent of a producer he is with his style of house music. The Freerange sound has helped Jimpster become one of the most looked at deep house producers in the world. The Passion EP features two of his new productions plus a special remix by another deep house hero, Atjazz. 'You're My Ecstacy' is a great example of the work that has brought him so much acclaim. Soulful deep house that stays more linear in the groove and stays in the sweet spot, becoming great moments on the dancefloor. The original of 'The Passion' sends a message to all the fake house music artists out there getting into the business for all the wrong reasons. With King Crowney on vocals, Atjazz's version is a little more techy, which is what we expect from him. All in all, this is right in the wheelhouse of the esteemed Freerange record label sound.

Review: Reece Johnson brings the party across this limited new and hand-stamped 12" on the fledgling Disco Disco label. 'San Sal' is a lovely rough and ready party with nice loose, raw drums and freewheeling synth lines full of big energy. 'HTT' follows the same path and keeps the vibes pumping then 'Dance To My Beat' brings in some mad funky slap bass and plenty of tambourines and shakers to make the floor get down in even more unhindered fashion. 'Wanna Be Loved' closes down with a more stripped-back and deep sound for late-night seduction.

Review: Welcome to Nila's Quest, a brand new label that starts as all good day's should, with a healthy serving of breakfast. It's an Argentina Breakfast, to be precise, and the first of what we can only assume will be a series of releases under this title. Jovit is first out of the blocks with the cosmic and crunchy tech house of 'Gamma Goblin' while Ian Puchetti then gets all blissed out and beach with his Ibiza tinged deep house cut 'Dreams'. There is a charming sense of 80s synth nostalgia to the snappy beats of Bruno & TOBI's 'Te Quiero' then Dual Sense's 'Morning Driver' closes out with a perfect soundtrack to late night driving.

Review: Toolroom head honcho Mark Knight has pulled out all the stops here and joined forces with some of house music's biggest names. His ow-slung new tune 'The Greatest Thing Alive' is a collab with the one and only Chicago don Green velvet plus James Hurr and it has already made an impact on global dancefloors since its digital release in October last year. Between these talents they all dig deep and cook up something perfectly chunky and detailed with fresh percussion. It's the sort of tune that will blow up in Miami and has the addition of Green Velvet's take on the classic 'Mannish Boy' from Muddy Waters.

Review: Fool's Paradise is the exciting new label from Toolroom Records' Mark Knight. Coming straight from the heart, it's a natural progression from his hugely acclaimed 2021 album release, 'Untold Business', which saw Mark go back to his roots, paying homage to the more funky, soulful, and vocal house from the 1990s from where he came. With a focus on real instrumentation and production, coupled with great songwriting, this new Toolroom sublabel will be a platform for high quality house music designed to stand the test of time. Launching the new label with a mighty bang and delivering the first in our exciting new vinyl sampler series is head honcho Mark Knight, who joins forces with his Australian Toolroom labelmate, Sgt Slick, and British Soul sensation, Beverley Knight, on a dynamite cover of Prince's 1979 classic, 'I Wanna Be Your Lover'. Respectfully transporting the song onto today's dancefloors, Mark & Sgt Slick deliver a classy uplifting soulful house production, loaded with funky guitars, warm pads and sublime key performances. Adding the icing on the cake and putting her own stamp on things, Beverley belts out one of her signature spine-tingling vocals, garnished with lush harmonies and BV's that would indeed make The Purple One proud. Completing the vinyl package is dance music stalwart, Opolopo, and British soul icon, Jaki Graham, whom together bring the dancefloor heat with their new single, 'Fire'. Powered by a potent soulful house groove from Opolopo, loaded with warm piano hooks, emotive synth melodies and a sublime popping bass hook, 'Fire' see's Jaki flaunt her electrifying vocal talents with a show-stopping performance on this irresistibly catchy song.

Review: Sanderson Dear's Stasis Recordings released the original Time Capsule compilation in 2020 - a 20-track exploration of ten different ambient techno artists exploring two ideas each in compact form for a box set of 7"s. Now the label has revisited some of the project's standout moments and offered a chance to enjoy extended versions gathered on a single 12". From Maps Of Hyperspace shaping out atmospheric halls of synth work on 'Beta' to Glo Phase offering some gorgeous, sparkling grooves on 'Fire Flies', there's plenty of ground covered on this release. Of course the mighty John Beltran is a big drawer too, and his typically stellar 'The Descendent' doesn't disappoint in its full extended version.

Review: Having dropped his Lagarius album earlier this year, Detroit mainstay Gary Martin is back on his Teknotika label with a collaborative EP with fellow Motor City legend Javonntte. The story goes that Martin had planned a break from the studio, but instead wound up connecting with Javonntte to lend his considerable keyboard talents to one of Martin's beats, which wound up in two different versions of 'The Infinite Time', now found on the B-side of this single. In both mixes, Javonntte's keys soar high and Martin's beats move with a broken flex that only adds to the jazziness. A-side track 'Zurvan' came after, balancing the record out with an Eastern-tinged melodic scale which gives the record an enchanting, mysterious quality.

Review: Lost City Archives was a vital label back in the 1990s and now founder and Motor City urban legend Gari Romalis has brought it back from the dead. He has been crafting fine house and techno for 30 years but lots to the future here with some new school stars. 'Dendo Mojo' is first up as Joey and Ron Head Back combine for deep and dusty drums, molten synth lines and plenty of traditional US house goodness. The Gari Romalis Special mix is more heavy and laced with subtle acid, then 'Belle Gruv' slips into a gorgeously skipping groove with leggy bass and brushed metal snares. 'Dance Worthy' closes out with another deep, cuddly, aloof groove of timeless appeal.

Review: Rush Hour has been one of Europe's independent musical powerhouses for decades now. Now only does it have Amsterdam's best record shop, but it throws the best parties and puts put the fresh new records from several different genres. next to that of course they also know how to dig deep and unearth vital reissues, which is what they do here with a triple headed Japanese house affair. Katsuya Sano keeps it OG Chicago with his 'I Need Luv', then Junichi Soma offers the analogue depths of 'Ubnormal Life' and Shuji Wada shuts down with more brilliantly atmospheric sounds on 'Endless Load.'

Review: Mark Night's label is one of the UK's biggest when it comes to main room house sounds. This sampler shows exactly what it is all about as we head into the madness of the Miami Music Week and then Ibiza soon after. Twolate opens up with 'Baila' which has tribal drums and percusison that stomp with real heaviness under wild vocals. CASSIMM & Gene Farris combine then for the maximal monster that is 'Party People' with all its sweeping synth filters and James Haskell's' 'Check It Out' is a funky groove that ducks and dives under stuff chords. Last of all is Danny Rhys with the hooky andoopy joys of 'Sibali.'

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.