Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Ricardo Miranda is a DJ and producer from Chicago who heads up Noble Square Recordings. The Deep & The Lost (A Collection Of Lost Music) is his latest album compilation featuring music from the archives that is unreleased, lost, unappreciated and unavailable. Whether it's the deeply evocative opening cut 'Heirs of Rhythms' reaching near spiritual moments in the vein of Joe Clausell, or the soothing mood music of 'Turntable Blues' on the first side, or the dusty, down 'n' dirty vinyl exclusive '118 Deep Vibes' and the sensual 'Storm Clouds' featuring the Latin Soul Brothas - this is really one for the heads. Tip!

Review: Moon B's next mini-LP offering to PPU, entitled III, is a varied affair. The a side offers up the older taped track "Realms", a semi-muted yet chuggy number for the dance floor overwrought with moon-roasted synth progressions that coat the ears. "Neither Here Nor Where" is an ode to forgotten spaces and places, wrapped tightly in synth bazz and creamed pads that emanate from Moon's favorite synth, the Alpha Juno 1. Flip the record to find Moon's most "instro-spective" offerings to date. "Art Direction" bottomed out tempo conjures up images of 1984 Prince replacing Appalonia with Inga Copeland as his motorcycle passenger after a neon lit love-making session. "Moonda"'s slow fluctuation and linn drum echoes paired with sorrowful yet hopeful chords attempts to warm you in the coldest of polar vortices. "Polywarp" rounds out the affair with syruppy vacillating instrumentation paired with unforeseen wobbly bits and foreign percussive hits. -

Review: Larry Heard once said that he stumped upon his trademark dusty deep house sound rather by mistake - he was simply trying to recreate the instrumental disco of his childhood on the limited machinery he had available at the time. Either way, he went on to explore and exploit its most spiritual and spine-tinging aspects across a faultless discography that often looks to the cosmos for inspiration. That is true of this second volume of his Around The Sun album on his own Alleviated Records. It's another fine showcase of Chicago house, deep house, jazz and r&b that is utterly timeless.

Review: The rhythms of this new LP from Musta are so loose and jangly their likely to shake your bones free from your own skeleton. They are part disco, part house, part tribal in make-up but the results are entirely new - ritualistic dances for late night sermons. The opener might be the best of the lot as 'Tamburi Parlanti' pairs lumpy drums and rugged guitar riffs with rising synth magic a la Theo Parrish. 'Timido' is another steamy bit of body music from deep in a humid jungle and that continues with 'Where Is Juanito'. The flipside is every bit as joyful, with spiritual Afro sounds and beatdown making for a vibrant and varied EP.