Back catalogue: Electro House

Review: Black Key recruit the consistently excellent Dan Piu for their nineteenth vinyl release, laying out three tracks of sophisticated deep house. Opener, "Venus Agenda" (which Piu claims is one of his all-time favourites), builds with reverb-soaked claps and the faintest hint of acid in the bass line, before skipping hi hats and lush pads move us in a deeper direction, soon making way for a haunting, yet beautiful lead - this one really is a thing of wonder. "Mother's Love" immediately heads in a different direction, with sublime keys and a subtle, yet highly effective bass line, and a sparsely used vocal sample heightening the mood when it appears. Finally, "Altarf" again takes us to new territory, with the opening, pacey 45 seconds quickly making way for dreamy pads and a perfectly crafted bassline, underpinned by a broken beat kick and expertly programmed hi hats. This package firmly shows why Piu is in such high demand with some of the best labels in the business.

Review: Much loved doom monger emo kids Depeche Mode have always been ripe for remixing by new generations of electronic music artists and so it is that there 'My Favourite Stranger' gets a series of re-rubs here on Columbia. Tech house mainstay Boris Brejcha remixes first and elongates the grooves with mournful pads up top. The Ela Minus remix of the same tune brings some extra textured and darker moods and the best is saved till the last if you ask us. The Lond Island Sound remix is high speed and tinged with electro synth work as the moody vocals echo about the mix to trippy effect.

Review: Maestropolis is staking its reputation on expansive various artist releases like this one, where we take in a wide breadth of cheeky minimal tech house from underground operators who know how to have fun without sacrificing the headsy quality of the music. With six tracks on a single 12", there's plenty of heat to get hold of here, whether it's the squashed slap bass funk of Aline Umber's 'Qu'un Jour Ca Dure' or the tweaked sonic trip-out of Eli Atala's 'City 17' you're in the market for. Fresh approaches and rock solid grooves for the floor are in abundance on this latest must-grab from the promising French label.

Review: Running Back presents the fourth edition of the Swallow This various artists series, featuring five tracks by five different producers, all straddling the line between 'remodeled deep house techniques and floor mechanics.' On the first side we have the deep, down and dirty retro house shenanigans of Yungruzt's 'Starlight' (feat Eluize) followed by strobed-out rave energy of Baldo's 'Human Connection'. Over on the flip, 9th House delivers the EP standout on the glassy-eyed and bittersweet 'Ara', while Delphi gets a vibe reminiscent of Sueno Latino on the epic '7_11 House'.