Back in stock: Breakbeat

Review: Returning from a brief hiatus, Spin Desire launches its third release and it is one dedicated to spotlighting talented artists who are currently flying under the radar. This time, they present Mculo, a UK-born, Berlin-based artist known for his versatile production skills. Mculo's four-track EP offers a deeper journey than previous releases, showcasing peak-time house, UK-infused breaks, hazy after-hours vibes, and a captivating downtempo finale. It's a nice journeying EP that is unified by its sense of crisp design and fresh rhythmic invention. A fantastic work from an emerging artist who we shall now very much keep an eye on.

Review: When it comes to 90s Dutch dance music we tend to think of formative techno and the monolithic rise of gabber, but there was also some golden house music being produced around that time. Now German label Anacalypto is taking a trip into these less explored realms to offer a finely curated compilation with eight deep cuts for the discerning dancefloor. Max 404's sublime 'Infinite Legs' is an ambient house fantasy of the highest calibre, while Galaxy's 'Axis' is similarly trippy and soft around the edges, setting the tone for the deeper, techno informed shades of house we're in for across the collection. This is elegant, heads down gear which has been coveted by diggers for decades, now available freshly remastered and pressed up in one place.

Review: Mystics Arts is young label from Belfast that welcomes vocal duo Black Bones aka the DJ and production duo of Aaron Black and Timmy Stewart. Both men have been at this for many years and bring considerable know how, studio chops and dance music understanding to an EP that is aimed square at the rave. It's all about hands in the air breakbeats, old school rave energy, lush chords that come on stronger than the rush of an E and are steeped in the culture of pirate radio, illegal parties and warehouse sessions. A timeless EP that will light up any dancefloor.

Review: Dark Entries welcome back the inimitable Doc Sleep aka Melissa Maristuen for a superb new album of ghostly and ethereal house and techno. This is a welcome follow-up to last year's ambient and IDM exploration, Birds, and shows another side that draws on Maristuen's years of queer clubbing. It fuses aspects of New York house, Berlin techno and West-coast breakbeats and is "a love letter to the West Coast's magnificent natural landscape, the light of the Pacific sunrise." That is reflected in the sublime synths and silky rhythms which manage to both move your body but also captivate your mind. It's another cracking album from the Doc.

Review: Without a doubt, one of the most anticipated reissue compilations of the year is this collection of Future Sound of London side projects. In 2007 this was a CD-only compilation of early 90s tracks as well as unreleased ones from the same age. As the lore of FSOL continues to grow over the past 30+ years, their side projects have gotten more and more attention from the people who love those early rave sounds. Now for the first time, a vinyl version of it with no less than a 3x12 to harness all this early 90s techno goodness. All the tracks are by Dougans and Cobain and the aliases are the same. This 2007 album however has a wealth of new material from the same time period as Earthbeat. It is amazing that one release like this by two producers can be such a prime example of the UK sound that changed dance music forever. If you want the 90s UK rave reissue of the year, here it is!