Back catalogue: UK Garage

Review: Melodiesinfonie, Bluestaeb and S. Fidelity join forces to form a powerful trio, unveiling a rich nonnet of tracks destined for the universal chillout space. Taking shape in a picturesque studio in the South of France - and then completed in centres from Zurich to Berlin - the likes of '365 P', 'Summertime In '92' and 'Just Give Me The Aux' carry on the sparse and material-sonic tradition that has in recent decades inflected the neo-soul and jazz-electronica worlds. Every track here sounds to have been made with what sounds to the most apparently humble means available; rimshot clicks, wooden hits, impassioned hums and coos, Rhodes chords here and there. Loyal to one rule and one rule only - "we need to stay in the room together to make this a record that feels exciting to us" - the result is an evenhanded five-track flirtation with soul-bearing passion, toeing the hobline of cool and hot.

Review: FOXBAM INC is back to build on the momentum of their first EP with a second one that packs a mighty punch. This one kicks off with EBY, who this year has been cooking up acid for 40 years and here offers the warped low ends and garage-techno power of 'Goldtooth'. Foxtrot vs Ma Bla then mashes up old school samples with earth-shattering bass on 'Deep Down Inside' and bRz vs Stije is a double-time hard techno stomper with warped synths and twisted bass that is inspired by and named after ISCO, a concept from Einstein's general theory of relativity that makes predictions about the dynamics of black holes.

Review: Wrong'uns is a newly established label designed to serve up dirty jams for the dancefloor. For this second outing, they look to a beat-making crew of miscreants in Just Olly, Mehlor, Jake Rollinson and Joejoemojo who all offer up one jam each. Just Olly's 'Tougher' has filthy basslines and lip-curling menace in the stepping drums. Mehlor's low ends are just as warped and the drums and percussion are just as kinetic, then Rollinson's 'Trip The Funk' is a sinner blend of synth modulation sand bleeping dial tones that is full of fun for the club. Last but not least, 'Shake The Funk' is a catchy slammer with big breaks and sirens designed to blow up any sound system.

Review: It can be hard work keeping up with the myriad of different labels that Burnski aka Constant Sound aka Instinct heads up. This one leans more into UK garage and welcomes Main Phase for another succulent selection here. 'Gotta Maintain' kicks off with a nice dusty garage sound that will get your lip curled, and then Buckley brings broken beat rework with dubbed-out low ends. 'Soul Mirror' is a clean, bouncy sound with a cool synth breeze and 'Breather' brings some olds school references - the raga vocals, the bleeping synths and the monstrous bass. Brilliantly filthy.

Review: Shall Not Fade/Time Is Now hook up a new initiate, fellow hair-raiser producer Mance, for a sharp bee sting in the vein of true-blue speed garage and spindle-warbling 2-step, 'Passing The Impassable'. The EP also incorporates shed thoraxes from breakbeat and an extra special ocular compound eye from bass music, making for a trad British, room two feel. All weighty, and with the force of a wasps' nest gone ballistic, we lead with the inflated basses and surface-tense, sped outbuilding dynamics of the title track's Come Rudeboy remix, the rudest of the lot. Then 'Hornet's Nest' fronts an 808ing, samply-wamply crumpler, marking a full-on nailing of fatness; not long before the garage door is again prized open on Oxide's new version of 'Can I', giving subsequent rise to the minimal afterthought 'Verbal Glock'.

Review: Smart dresser and dedicated beard groomer Manuold - real name Emmanuele Macagnone - has notched up some excellent releases since making his bow in 2017, including admired EPs on House Puff and Madhouse Records. Here he brings his classy brand of deep house to GLBDOM for the first time. With its squelchy synth-bass, loose-limbed garage-house drums, gospel vocal samples and warm pads, opener 'Jersey' sounds like a long-lost Kerri Chandler gem. He continues the retro-futurist theme on the low-slung and jazzy 'Hot & Crunchy', before doffing a cap to deep house/tech-house fusion on the Tenaglia-influenced 'Zanzibar'. Over on the flip, 'Night Long' is a chunky slab of 21st century New Jersey deep house with an Italian twist, while 'In The Clouds' sees him successfully lean into his Italo-house influences while retaining a dreamy and chunky deep house flex.

Review: GLBDOM Classic drops a second vinyl release here in the form of a various artists' selection of vintage house sounds. Manuold's 'Hey Sunshine' gets things underway with some back-to-the-90s kick drums and playful horns with uplifting vocal samples making for a sweet vibe. Evenn's 'Inner Dance' is a nice raw house bumper with vamping chords and some soulful Detroit chords in the background. Scart Lead then keeps things silky with the smooth pads and muted melodies of 'Everglades' and Esspee and Kid Only close out with two more ageless house gems that pair dance for clout with heartfelt soul.

Review: Recovered DATs is a collection of lost tracks from the legendary producer Masterplan and they all pack a raw UKG punch. They were once assumed to be gone forever but were happily found on some original Sony DAT tapes and have since been carefully extracted. They were made with all the gear of the day such as the Roland JV-1080, Emu Proteus 1 & 2000 and Korg M1 so offer proper authentic sounds of the sort that define true UK garage. 'Dub General' is our favourite with its clipped vocal sample and restless chord stabs daring about the mix.

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: UFO Series starts 2022 with a high quality and intergalactic EP from a revelation artist called Moy On Wire. Emotional focused music that can remind us of many classic, warm and extra terrestrial sounds,crazy secuences even in fragments of the EP you can start making memories of the incredible space duo daft punk.

Review: Almost a year after it debuted on digital download, Mr X's most celebrated single for Vega Records finally lands on wax - and in expanded EP form, too. Lead cut 'The Curse' is a terrifically energetic, sweat-soaked affair with incessant electric piano riffs riding a breathless base of swinging, bumping house drums, deep bass and echo-laden percussion fills. The mysterious, New Jersey-based producer remixes it himself on 'The Curse (Revisited)', opting for a darker, moodier sound and loose-limbed, Kenny Dope-esque drums. He also offers up two bonus cuts: the funky bass-propelled jack-track 'The Underground', and the low-slung, heavily edited disco-house throb of 'B-Side Only'.

Review: For his latest release, Tommy Musto delves into his venerated DAT vaults to unearth a treasure trove of mid-'90s NYC gems that are sure to excite house heads. These four tracks capture the essence of the legendary likes of Red Zone, Club Zanzibar, Twilo, and Sound Factory scenes and do a fine job of evoking the vibes that legends like Frankie Knuckles, Tony Humphries, Roger Sanchez, Tommy Simonelli, Masters at Work, and David Morales were all spinning back in the halcyon days of house. Now, you can own a piece of that iconic era with these deep cuts sure to bring back that classic house sound in some style.

Review: Jackpot Recordings is a fresh sub-label brought to you by London-based production duo Club of Jacks. Their debut release showcases solo sessions from one half of the COJ crew, Max One aka MX1, and stays true to their signature UK garage-influenced house sound. The EP commences with 'Down Like That,' which has lively beats, resonant analogue sub-bass, and velvety chords with classic r&b samples while 'Waiting On' has swung beats and chord stabs with more captivating vocals. Don't Give Up' then brings a little sun to the grooves with funky undertones and 'Work Me' closes the EP with a more moody late-night vibe.

Review: There's something pleasingly matter-or-fact about Moxy Muzik's edit series, which offers up single-sided revisions of classic cuts from uncredited producers. The series' latest instalment is something of an anthem in waiting - to our ears, at least. It offers a revolutionary remake of a classic hip-hop/hip-house cut, with elements of the rap periodically rising above a warped, bassline house style bassline (original Niche heads will love it) and chunky, floor-friendly beats that sit somewhere between 'dark garage' era Armand Van Helden, two-step and 4/4 London garage. It's big, bold and guaranteed to get dancefloors going. Job done!

Review: The debut EP from The Set Records arrives as a vinyl-only offering, shunning digital realms in favour of pure analogue sound. This limited edition record shines a light on six standout artists - five from the UK and one Dutch - who've carved out their own corners of the deeper house spectrum. From the first groove, TSR001 pulls listeners into a nuanced exploration of house music's more intricate layers. Garage rhythms hum next to progressive beats, with each track offering its own distinct energy. It feels like a journey into the heart of a dancefloor before the lights come up - familiar yet full of surprises. What makes TSR001 especially exciting is how each artist brings something different to the table. There's a sense of variety that never strays too far from the EP's overarching vibe, which is smooth, sophisticated, and unmistakably underground. These are tracks for the heads, the DJs and anyone who knows the satisfaction of holding something rare and tangible in a digital world. The lack of digital presence ensures this isn't just a release but a coveted collectible. Collectors, be warned - missing this means missing out completely. V.A. TSR001 is here, it's elusive, and it's gone before you can press play twice.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***


After building up a nice head of steam with its first few releases, French label Groovence now starts a new series, Amour Deep, with volume number one. It's a various artists affair that kicks off with the deep and sensuous sounds of Moonee's 'Amour Deep' (feat Simple Request) which has swirling and romantic pads and a great r&b vocal sample. Milk & Honey picks up the pace with the more raw and bumpy 'Chi Train' and Armless Kid goes deep into an electro workout complete with bittersweet piano chords on 'Night Ride'. Roy Vision's 'What's Your Name' rounds out the release with a more glitchy and stripped-back house sound for the dub lovers.

Review: Time-honoured, blue-crossed phono-phrenic audio pharmacists Positiva celebrate their 30th anniversary with the launch of a brand new sampler series. Simply titled 'Positiva', the new outing spans every sonic end-logic from slick UK garage to mesmeric trance, the throughline being the modern uplifter sound into which the label has settled; a far cry from their jet-propulsive Ibiza-rave garage house days of yore. Most of the tracks on this first edition of the series are already floating about out there, though they've never been compiled onto a single record before: Sammy Virji and Gorgon City complement each other well on the A-side's 'Voodoo' and 'If You Need It'; then Azari & III, Max Dean, Alan Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Spiteri spin things out ever further, into two warming, well-layered party-pushers driven by ecstatic vocals.

Review: UK legend MJ Cole is best known for his vital contribution to drum & bass and then garage over the years, but on his first new album for 17 summers he takes a different turn. Here he dare on the classical music on which he was brought up, and shows off the vast array of studio skills he has picked up over the years, all in order to lay down some evocative early hours ambiance, classical compositions and sunrise sounds on his studio's piano. It's a serene listen, a grown up sound that provides you with plenty of moments of contemplation and is finished with some lush strings for a truly luxuriant sound.

Review: On Curve 1, Mura Masa takes a detour from pop-infused collaborations and returns to his roots with a record steeped in the spirit of club culture. Released on his own Pond Recordings, this fourth album is a statement of independence, reflecting both a shift in direction and a rejection of the narrative-heavy, hyper-commercialised approach that has often surrounded modern music releases. Curve 1 is enigmatic, playful, and ambiguousidesigned to resonate in both solitary listening sessions and the intensity of packed, sweat-drenched dancefloors. Mura Masa describes the album as a manifestation of a personal philosophy: to ignore the noise of the attention economy and focus on what truly matters. In this light, Curve 1 becomes more than an albumiit's an invitation for listeners to strip away preconceptions and find their own meaning within its layers. Tracks bounce between euphoric highs and introspective moments, leaving plenty of space for tension and release. With the launch of his own label and creative space in Peckham, Mura Masa continues to position himself at the heart of youth culture, pushing boundaries and fostering new talent. Curve 1 marks the beginning of this new chapter, full of possibilities and free from convention.