Tags: Balearic House

Review: The album that everybody is talking about. 'Sexuality' is produced by Sebastien Tellier, alongside Daft Punk's half Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo.

Review: The Phonogramme label is a real stamp of house quality, whether serving up deep, French or garage-tinged. This new 12" from Lucas Monet does a bit of all that and more. 'Low Gravity' (feat Dusty Fingers - Deeper dub is a classic New Jersey sound with neon chords and Kerri Chandler kicks. 'Losing You' (Paradise mix) has a more optimistic and upbeat feel with organ stabs and finger clicks and 'Deep In The Blue' (937 club mix) has a little more jack and swing to it. 'Music' (UKG Private mix) shuts down with an irresistible old school groove full of love.

Review: Wax Classic presents a collaborative 12" from French duo Groove Boys Project and Novaj, which maintains the label's sharp instinct for the finest deep house money can buy. Across four tracks they explore the depth and breadth of the sound, touching on early Italian dream house vibes on the gorgeous 'Amore' before bringing a sweaty late night exuberance to 'Night In Rimini'. 'Taste Of Heaven' returns to the sweet, soulful sway of grandiose pads and twinkling piano lines primed for the warm up, and 'Mondo Paradiso' taps into the deeper end of the Nu Groove legacy without missing a beat.

Review: The Cult had their fair share of phases from the inception in the early 80s, with Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy forming the nexus of the band through various line-ups. Their self-titled album (known as Black Sheep to the band's devoted fanbase) from 1994 captures them shortly before breaking up for the first time, when Astbury and Duffy were at odds with each other and recording their parts in separate sessions. You wouldn't know to hear this cohesive, clear-sighted slab of early 90s rock, where detectable grooves sneak in amongst the hooky riffs and Astbury's gutsy delivery. It's also one of the most personal albums for the singer, tackling some deeply personal subject matter and making for a unique point in a perennial band in UK rock history.

Review: South African-born, Paris-based Portable is one of those cultured artists who doesn't release a lot, but when he does, it is more than worth hearing. And this is a bumper new drop from him on Circus Company in the form of Augmented Dreams, a new double album that takes its title from the use of everyday technological advancements "to achieve what were once only dreams or visions of past generations." He goes deep into minimal, techno and ambient to fuse totters the synthetic and the organic, the real, the imagined and the unreal on a richly rewarding album that makes for a complete listening

Review: Released last summer, Cosmonection's debut album, Hidden Places, was a gorgeously sunny affair that blended organic deep house grooves with bags of Balearic intent. As you'd expect, this remix EP is more obviously club-centric in tone, though the music on show remains pleasingly picturesque. Lis Sarocca gets things going with a deliciously breezy, piano-sporting Mediterranean house take on 'Morning Dew', before Marc Brauner delivers a sumptuously starry, rolling revision of 'Clouds' that doffs a cap to both Italian dream house and chunkier, more bass-heavy U.S deep house flavours. Elsewhere, Tour-Maubourg offers up a sensuous, ultra-deep shuffle through 'Let Me Tell You' stacked with mid-90s synthesiser organ sounds, soulful vocals and chunky beats, while the Black Loops '1am' mix of 'Locura' blends squelchy synth-bass, smooth beats and dreamy pads to excellent effect.

Review: The Soul Clap label that was once so hype has admirably rolled on once the headlines passed and anyone not checking in on it since then has been losing out, frankly. Just get your ears around this new release from Tatie Dee for a start - it is a stylish six tracker though warm and bumping house with real heart. 'Nuit D'Menil' kicks off with lush late night chords and slick broken beats and from there things get more heavy and big with 'Bed & Break Fast' and then a Black Loops remix takes it into late night territory. 'I Wasn't Born In 1937' has a classic 90s vocal house feel and is brilliant and '16 Swing-71' brings jazz, Chicago and swing to another characterful cut before a darker, harder Belaria remix.