Back in stock: House

Review: Arutani's third album Who We Used To Be is a meditation on times passed and alternate lives lost, filtered through the decorative lenses of deep, minimal, tech and dub. As if to paint a character portrait of the artist himself, this is a measured, calm, light, mindful and modest album, replete with bulging concave chord undulations and synaptic percussive snaps for balance. Everything from electro's usual dotted rhythmic pattern to progressive house's woodblocky felicities are checked off here, plus the glissando'ing lead on 'In Case You Wondered What I've Been Doing' is a special highlight.

Review: Archeo Recordings bring us some more Balearic Italian treasure here with some gold initially recorded in Bologna almost two decades ago. It's a collaboration between friends Bottin and Lucio Dalla that has never before been on vinyl. 'Lunedi Cinema' was an ident that played before Monday night movies on of one of the main Italian TV channels for many years. This electronic version includes the Martedi Mix from 2008, a Minibar Bonus Track and also a mix by pioneering Italian dream house dons Leo Mas & Fabrice with a Bottin dub sealing the deal. It's a superb package of real Italo music history.

Review: There are not too many house and techno labels in the United States that can boast quite the discography and international success that the Brooklyn based Scissor & Thread label can. For over a decade now, the busy label has kept the quality up to the high standards the label set when starting. A big part of that quality is having Frank & Tony on board through the label's history. Ethos is their new full-length album that, spread across a double pack of wax, with tracks mostly kept under close guard, except the opener 'Olympia'. Make no mistake though, from the rumours and whispers we've heard already, it looks like being a big hit.

Review: As his pseudonym makes clear, Sudi Wachspress has long been an exponent of ultra-deep, intergalactic - and increasingly retro-futurist - deep house. He continues this trend on his latest album, which sees him pop up on Canadian imprint Pacific Rhythm for the very first time. After opening with some superb, deep space ambient ('Virtual Age'), he pays tribute to the tactile, turn-of-the-90s New Jersey deep house of Dream 2 Science ('Inner Focus'), before flitting between new age ambient warmth ('Save Point', 'New Day'), sunrise-ready ambient house ('Sounds of Peace'), piano-sporting Italian dream house revivalism (the utterly gorgeous 'Time Station'), drifting electronica ('Heal') and loved-up street soul beats ('Private Paradise').

Review: Cologne's legendary Kompakt label has been rolling out these superb compilations for many years now. The 23rd instalment is another fine snapshot of the more matter and grown up end of the tech, minimal and techno spectrum with plenty of familiar faces as well s new school stars. Boss man Michel Mayer opens up with the bright melodies and swinging grooves of 'Talmi' before Jurgen Paape keeps it deep and delicious with more easy going grooves and keys. Elsewhere a Sofia Kourtesis remix if Perel brings more dancefloor ready sounds and Reinhard Voigt's 'Endlich XXL' (feat Eduard Weber) is a freaky one for the afters.

Review: 541 is in the middle of a big run of spacial double albums that they say are made up of "nothing but classix" and we're inclined to agree. This eighth volume of 12 Inch Lovers is another bumper collection of big dance sounds from the 90s to the present day by plenty of names you will likely know, from Erick Morillo to Michael Gray to Robin S to Bakermat. There is string-laced swing-house to start with, vocal anthems like 'Show Me Love' to finish with and main stage house bangers and feel-good festival favourites in between.

Review: For their 12 year anniversary, Munich's Compost Disco serves up 15 previously unreleased tracks. The variety ranges across the floor from classic soul (Ed Lee's 'You Are The Star' feat Allison David - extended dub) to boogie (Dimitri From Paris & DJ Rocca's 'The Compass Point') to some Italo (Ron Deacon on 'Killersong' or Imperial Porcelain's 'Tulip Moon'), and even a bit of deep disco (as heard on Mark E's playful 'I'm Your Eversion'). 12 Compost Disco Years is what the label best described themselves as tasty, hypnotizing and emotional.