Back catalogue: House

Review: Rosie Gaines will also be synonymous with her smash hit single 'Closer Than Close' (also the name of her fifth album) which now gets reissued by the Demon Record Singles Club. Gaines actually started her career back in 1985 when she perfumed and recorded with The Curtis Ohlson Band but it was when she was a member of Prince & The New Power Generation that she really got noticed. Her Closer Than Close album came in 1995 and soon after she was dropped by Motown, but a remix of the title track a year so so later arrived in club land on bootleg and sold over eight million copies around the world.

Review: Gala's iconic dancefloor hit resurfaces with a sharp, modern edge, proving that true anthems never fade. Nearly three decades after its debut, the 2024 version injects the track with fresh energy, weaving crisp electronic textures into the unmistakable melody that first captured hearts in the 90s. There is a balance of nostalgia and reinvention that amplifies the hypnotic chant we all know, providing an infectious rhythm with new layers that feel built for contemporary club sound systems. What's remarkable is how the essence of the original remains untouchediits euphoric pulse still as irresistible as it was on its first spin. It's a celebration of a track that continues to unite generations on the dancefloor.

Review: To mark the passing of three decades since he established the now iconic Environ imprint, Morgan Geist has decided to reissue the label's long-deleted debut 12" - a solo EP that was just his second release. At the time, Geist had yet to develop the disco-leaning but naturally synth-heavy trademark sound he's become renowned for. Instead, he was investigating the stargazing potential of Detroit-influenced techno and jacking-but-spacey house. Check first the lightly bleep techno influenced excellence of 'Sands' and the more driving, upbeat and jacking 'Airpour', before diving deeply into the percussively rich deep techno wonder of 'Smear'. To complete the package, we get a suitably cosmic, pitched down ambient techno revision of the same track by The Connection Machine - back then a duo who had just released a fine EP on Planet E.

Review: One of Chicago house most unique and salty tousled producers, Gemini's music will always be well regarded. It gets reissued every so often to prove that fact and always sells out as no one made house as intensely emotive and rhythmically fresh as him. This EP previously appeared on Classic shortly before he stepped out of the fray and it's not hard to hear the signs of his mental health struggles to come in the playful lyrics of the title track, but throughout the EP is the evidence of what a gifted house artist he really was. From the playful, bubbly bounce of the lead track to the heads down low end trip 'A Taste', this is essential, still.

Review: The most sought-after release from the entire Sounds catalogue, Gemini and Unit T's 1995 release, 'Sideburns', finally gets a much-needed reissue. A1 track, 'Trip', is a prime example of deep house if there ever was one. An infectious, encircling melody meets the deep groove of the bassline to create a finished product that is in equal measure sun-soaked and cosmic. 'B Trip', the A2 track, is a gloriously shifted, off-beat reimagining of A1, pummeling percussion reverberates across the track, left alone to enjoy moments where everything is stripped back, before the body of the track returns. On the B-side, 'Mystery Tones' arrives with the kind of groove that instantly makes its way across dancefloors - a unifying track that feels precise in its simplicity, whilst still retaining exactly the right degree of looseness to get a crowd moving. This is a must-have record for any deep house aficionados, and you can now save yourself the hefty Discogs price tag!

Review: Rebirth invites us to go back, way back, to the Italian underground techno scene of the 90s with this new selection of alternate versions, unheard gems and certified classics. Oneiric & Vortex open up with a tune that brings to mind the warmth of Motor City techno on 'Oasi' before GNMR layer up supersized hi hats and seriously weighty beatdown drums, Populous offers the loopy melodic delight of 'Barragan' and G-Connection heads into the cosmos with the dreamy ambient of 'Free Your Spirit', a perfect mood build if ever we heard one. Two further gorgeously blissed-out post-rave comedown sounds close out this gem of an EP.

Review: In 2016, Peggy Gou debuted with her EP Art of War and allegedly sett ambitious career goals, including playing Berlin's iconic Berghain and contributing to !K7's DJ-Kicks series. She achieved both. This 69th edition of the legendary mix series seeks to reflect her musical journey across 18-tracks that blend disco, house, techno and electro-spanning tempos from 90 to 150 BPM. Highlights include her own exclusive track 'Hungboo' alongside works by Aphex Twin and Andrew Weatherall and shows she has wide tastes and the skills to knit those together into a fine, storytelling mix that rides up and down, covers plenty of emotion, and never forgets about the groove.

Review: Groove Armada proven so adept at putting totters intimate late nigh sound tracks that they have made not one, not two, but three different entires into this legendary and long running series. And each one has its own equally special vibe. This one finds the pairing digging into the new York disco of Metro Area, the funk of Roy Ayers, the classic house of Mr Fingers and the gorgeousness of Shuggie Otis. It's as good an after the afterparty mix as you could wish to hear so we're delighted it is being reissue.