Back in stock: House

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


We're never short of new Ricardo Villalobos material and he's generous with his time as a mixer, but this project offers something different from the Chilean mad scientist of minimal. A Mountain Of One are a duo who deal in Balearic-leaning pop with a subtle charm and an adventurous spirit, and they initially approached Villalobos for a single remix of one of their tracks. As a fan of their sound, Villalobos ran with the project and it wound up as a full remix album of seven different versions. On the earlier tracks Ricardo takes a surprisingly light touch, while the later stages find us knee deep in the mesmerising roll of his minimal house, shot through with dubbed out ingredients from the original songs. It's surprising and satisfying in equal measure, showing Villalobos at his best and quite the scoop for A Mountain Of One.

Review: Frappe launched its inaugural studio EP with the original version of the tracks that now get remixed and in doing so marked a new milestone for the Parisian label. They found renowned house producer Art Of Tones and the jazz-funk band Chatobaron combine expertise and top-quality studio musicians into some lush house sounds. Now they get reworked by the likes of Crackazat, Pal Cut and Trubojazz into deep jams, funky and percussive jams, disco-tinged and organic jams and lush downbeat jams.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Louie Vega's famed Elements of Life project - an ever-changing collective of musicians who create live house, disco, Latin and soul tracks - returns to action, this time with old friend Josh Milan in tow. In its original Louie Vega mix form (track 3),'Let Us Shine' is a deliciously deep soulful house number with tribal-influenced percussion, gospel-influenced vocals and Vega's usual impeccably produced instrumentation. Milan provides two top-notch 'Honeycomb' mixes (vocal and instrumental), which opt for a breezier and more tactile vibe with nods to both early New York garage-house and the earlier 'proto-house' wave spearheaded by Boyd Jarvis, Timmy Regisford and Paul Simpson. Rounding off the EP is live Latin house workout 'Los Tonos Segrados', featuring guest musician Axel Tosca.

Review: Eloi (Eloi Chazelas), a producer based in Paris, France, has released his latest work on the German label LTDBLBL. This 13th release showcases Eloi's mastery of deep house and jazz influences. 'The Great Delusion' sets the tone with its soulful touch and jazzy undertones. 'Foundation's Edge' delves deeper into jazz territory, featuring evocative horn samples. Side two opens with 'A Perfect Misconception,' a perfect blend of house and disco. Finally, 'I Hope It Ends Well' exudes a laid-back cafe house vibe with its jazzy nuances. Through this release, Chazelas demonstrates his versatility and ability to create music that both captivates and soothes. This kind of house music is great for day or night and for a bar or club.

Review: Fleet Dreams has worked on labels like PPU and All City but now launches the freshly formed Vinezza Records with an aim of putting out into the world "an eclectic tapestry of magnetic rhythms". The first EP comes from the label founder and kicks off with a tom-laced, dusty and muted melodic house affair that bangs pretty hard but also has a soft and gooey heart. 'Tan Gallant' is just as thumping but marbled with vocals and melodies that bring the soul and 'Deep Respire' gets busy with rising synth pads and swirling keys. 'Echoes Of Ego' is the full-throttle tribal closer with a steamy jungle atmosphere.

Review: We always feel that a one-sided 12" is a real sign that an artist are label are hugely happy with what they are seeing up. And Adam Goldstone has every right to feel that way frankly as his 'Edge of the Night' is a classic deep house sermon that will bring plenty of emotions to the fore when it is dropped, either in the dead of night or just as the sun is coming up one morning, much like a tune such as Ron & Chez's 'Morning Factory'. The smoky vocals are well-treated, the smeared pads bring the soul and the drums and cuddly and warm. Perfect.

Review: Italian label Roof Club aims to raise both ceilings and roofs, and continue to do so with their latest EP from Guile. Mixing a contemporary minimal approach with classic 90s sounds, this one's a neat fusion of progressive house and trance, with sprinklings of cheesy freestyle and acid thrown in for good measure. The jokingly titled '90's Generator' is the real highlight, with its orchestral hits and licky leads.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight sleeve creasing and surface marks***


Last year, Piers Harrison's Mysticisms label shone a light on the late 90s work of overlooked German house producer DJ Leinad via a reissue of 1996 gem 'Souvenirs'. Here his sole album, 1997's sought-after Electric City is finally re-released on wax. Indicative of the time period Leinad was operative, the album contains a fine mix of jaunty, Chic and P-funk influenced disco-house ('Freak Tonight', 'Return To The '80s', the brilliant 'Pretty Young Thing'), chunky after-hours house hedonism ('In Trouble'), disco-rock sampling throb-jobs ('Let's Ship'), classy, solo-laden deep house ('Loving People'), early Playhouse style cut-up house ('Out of Phase') and squelchy, US-style house bounce (the inspired title track).

Review: Christian Linder Essential Elements is a new label from Christian Linder that will serve up the essential elements needed for late-night dancing, so you can't fault its name. The first EP sets out its stall in fine style with two versions of the same cut. 'Circular Motion' (Emotional) is a mix of amped-up and slick drum loops that are detailed with some alien sound effects and a rising sense of synth warmth that brings a subtle sense of euphoria. 'Circular Motion' (Vivid) is a gentle tweak that has more bright pads and a more driving but still dubby and smooth groove. Two different sides to the same coin that will work in many different settings.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Robert Owens is absolutely one of the voices of his generation. He has lent his tender tones to more classic tracks than you could possibly mention and he continues to do so nowadays with a wholeness generation of producer who want a touch go his authenticity. He has recently achieved another career milestone with a superbly poignant new single that comes with sublime remixes. DJ Spinna's re-flip adds his usual sense of soul and Adeen Records label head Camille then brings some South African Amapiano vibes. Nico Lahs takes it on with a heavy house groove and Scott Hess brings some classic acid jack to his version.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Scratch on back of outer sleeve, record in perfect working order***


Geoff Hibbert may be the only rave-era dance music producer of note to hail from Oadby, a small town just outside Leicester. He first burst through with a couple of bleep-influenced anthems as Cyclone, but his biggest club smash was actually 'Break of Dawn' as Rhythm On The Loose - a killer, piano-sporting, saucer-eyed breakbeat house number that made great use of vocal samples from First Choice disco classic 'Let No Man Put Asunder'. This timely reissue packages the 1991 original mix with a trio of later 1995 rubs. There's Hibbert's own remake, which turns it into a MK-influenced house jam, a gloriously up-beat, synth bass-powered Strike remix full of fizzing riffs and bouncy beats, and a throbbing, raw and trance-inducing Stonebridge revision.

Review: It's rather hard to nail the Halloween dance vibe and yet also keep things light and jumpy, but the latest 'Out Of The Crypt' V/A compilation by the sweet folks over at Spooky Wooky have done just that. In fact, they're an entire label dedicated to the cartoon vampire-batty, kitsch smiling pumpkinned, brains-starved nuts-and-bolts-Frankenstein'ed theme: the propulsive monster-mashes therein are just as wicked and weird, with opener 'Je Suis Dans La Nuit' deploying reflective eskimo synths and crepuscular bass progressions; Phase O'Matic's 'Diskotech' making use of raw, flitty bleep leads and dead-of-night screams; and Lazer Man's 'Ozonar 12' opting for hollowed-out dub techno stabs and slinky minimal movements down below.

Review: Tilman returns to Off Track with a four-tracker for ostensible dancefloor pleasure, but our ears can confirm it goes further to sate the home-listeners' predilections too. Continuing the verve of his old skool 90s garage-intoned releases on his very own Pleasant Systems label, Tilman's newest spans dreamatics, whorling deep stabs and saturated toppers; with just the right ratio of sizzle, body and booty to make for a full collective somatic ecstasy.