Freerange Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Second time around for Italian producer Black Loops' deep house tribute to his beloved Rome, which has become an in-demand and hard to find record since it first dropped on Freerange back in 2018. It's certainly one of the prolific producer's strongest releases, flexing a dusty, groovy at times pleasingly hypnotic take on late-night deep house. Check first title track '7 Hills', where jazzy Rhodes motifs, drifting chords and echoing jazz guitar notes ride a thickset groove, before admiring Mad Rey's chunkier, loopy and more locked-in peak-time interpretation. Over on side B, 'King Paul' is an even deeper and dreamier excursion in warm, bass-heavy dancefloor deepness, while 'Linda 38' offers an enticing blend of futurist electronics, jazzy keys, toasty chords and deep, analogue-rich bass.

Review: It's been a while since Freerange boss Jamie Odell (better known, of course, as Jimpster) delivered an album; in fact, his last full-length dropped way back in 2006. Seven years is a long time between drinks, but the rest seems to have done Odell good; Porchlight & Rocking Chairs is arguably his strongest album to date. While deep house remains his focus (see the intricate "Glowing Embers", Detroit influenced "Cracks In The Pavement" and Moodymann-ish "High Wire"), there's a soulful bagginess and barely concealed jazziness throughout. More impressively, many tracks hark back to his pre-house days as a producer of lovingly crafted downtempo gems (see "Jasmine Dragon", "Wanting You" and previous single "These Times".

Review: Greg Paulus is a noted trumpet player who rose up through the ranks alongside the likes of Wolf & Lamb and Soul Clap. The American has genuine chops which he shows off once more here on an EP with Taylor Bense for the UK deep house dons at Freerange. 'Heat Makes Sense' is a leftfield sound with curious melodic motifs and off-grid bass notes next to funky whistles. 'Switch' (feat Stimulus & Malik Work) is then a more blissed-out and summary deep house groove and 'Marino' (feat Big $exy) comes alive with Paulus's trumpet licks bringing the playful and sun-kissed energy. Last of all is a nice stripped-back and dry tech cut, 'Do You Love Me?' (The Martinez Brothers edit).

Review: New Zealander via Berlin Philippa's passion for house music, tireless commitment to her craft and ear for what makes a dancefloor tick is slowly but surely starting to pay off. With her recent release, 'Rainy Nights', on Slothboogie and 'Things I'd Like To Be' for Razor n Tape getting a lot of love, Philippa continues to deliver the goods, further lending remixes for Fat Freddy's Drop (The Drop) and Roach Motel (Faith). Here on the 'Latent Magic' EP we're treated to three new tracks highlighting Philippa's deft touch and musical approach to making interesting and leftfield house. Opener 'Hold' sets the tone with lush orchestral strings, crunchy drums and a bouncing analog synth bassline, while 'There It Is' umums hints of Mr Scruff with looping horn stabs, live drum grooves and rolling basslines. All in all, another mighty fine Philippa release recalling the early days of Freerange when artists such as Square One, Shur-i-kan and Jimpster were melding live musicians with electronics, for a refreshing, UK-centric take on house music.

Review: Freerange marks its 300th release in style with a collaboration between label boss Jimpster and Philippa, delivering three cuts that encapsulate the label's legacy. Philippa, a New Zealand-born Berliner, is quickly making a name for herself with releases on Slothboogie and Razor n Tape, plus a debut at Panorama Bar. Her organic, deep, and musical approach has won her admirers across the scene, from DJ Spen to Terry Farley. 'All I Wanted' opens the EP with chunky, driving drums and a bassline that hits hard, paired with MON's looped vocal, which adds a hypnotic momentum to the pulsing synths. Both producers' styles are unmistakable, creating a track that's as groovy as it is atmospheric. 'Dreaming', featuring Care, shifts gears into more ethereal territory. Chiming synths and Rhodes keys build layers of rich texture, producing a floating vibe that's both deep and refined. It works just as well on a chilled house playlist as it does in the early morning hours on a discerning dancefloor. Finally, 'Say What' brings a jazz-inflected, UK garage feel. Shuffling beats and a square wave bassline keep things moving, while bold synth chords straddle the line between retro and contemporary. It's a playful, groovy closer that ties together this milestone release, showing Freerange's enduring ability to push forward while nodding to its roots.

Review: Ralph Session's Freaknik EP, featuring Juliet Mendoza, is a standout release on Freerange, brimming with deep house vibes and New York flair. The title track, 'Freak,' is a classy 90s-styled New York house tune, seamlessly blending vocals and samples to evoke the essence of dance music. LADYMONIX's remix on Side-1 strips it down to a more minimal, beat-focused groove, akin to a dub version. Side-2 kicks off with the Brooklyn Bounce mix, which emphasizes melodic elements, enhancing the house feel of the original. Finally, the instrumental mix offers versatility, allowing the track's rich production to shine on its own.

Review: Freerange Records welcome Yannick Roberts to the fore for his latest four-track deep houser, 'All For You', demonstrating the best of the producer's house-productive abilities. If it's house that's being produced here, Roberts' specialty is mobile homes: we can't stop moving for a second. Opener 'Grace' brings unmatchedly crisp vocal sample work and funk interlocks to a smoove groove; said vox is effortlessly looped about the beat, as if to suggest its invocation of something endlessly salient, endlessly desirous. Then, we find ourselves in Europe, at which point we find ourselves raving at the height of winter, in which almost no light of day is seen - 'Anyone (This Late At Night Mix)' and 'Amsterdam Nights' - where cruddy chords find themselves embattled, broiling in an endless nighttime tussle against bellicose beats. Finally, 'All For You' settles the argument with a headily hot dedication to the unnamed object of Roberts' affections.

Review: Nothing is tastier than some Freerange deep house and so it proves with this first new offering of the year from the venerated UK label. Aroop Roy is the man on the buttons and 'Mama Mwana' is the Afro opener that transports you to somewhere hot. Squeaky guitar lines unfurl over the warming rolling beats to a hypnotic effect. Next is a remix from Moroccan scene mainstay FNX Omar who flips 'Re Bulele' into a deeply sonorous affair with twinkling melodies and steamy vocal coos and the original version rounds out the EP with percussive, funky and soulful house grooves. A typically rich EP from this crew.

Review: As part of the mammoth Out Of The Ashes compilation that pulls together records previously lost to Freerange in the PIAS warehouse fire, the latest record on Freerange has everything you need for a freakier kind of deep house. Of course Isolee can always be counted on for bringing the weirdness and pleasure in equal measure, and his remix of Manuel Tur adeptly demonstrates this with a driving yet woozy vocal jam. Switch is in a steadfast jacking mode, getting into a funky techno looping frenzy whilst fuelling it with a more organic kind of sample. Audiomontage rounds things off with twitchiness aplenty on "The Darkness", tussling with nervous synths and neatly interlocking rhythms to reach nervy perfection.