Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Tommy Largo is a big deal in the world of jacking house and here he lands on Greenhouse Recordings with plenty of evidence to support that. His sound comes steeped with Southern influences on opener 'BBQ Ribs' with its noodling jazz chords and spoken word mutterings making for a lively atmosphere over funky beats. The Jam Funk Remix has a Chicago bump to it with the jazzy keys left in place over well-swung drums. 'On No Not Again' hints at new jack swing with its steamy sax lines and effortlessly catchy groove before 'BBQ Ribs' (Oddphonic remix) closes out with the deepest sound of the lot, perfect for when the sun has gone down and the party heads indoors.

Review: DJ/producer Philip Lauer from Frankfurt has teamed up with Berlin vocalist Dena to create a modern take on Julie Stapleton's soulful house classic, containing multiple versions. Lauer's Hotel Lauer EP on Especial in 2016 cemented his position in the scene, with albums for Permanent Vacation and Running Back. Dena, born in Bulgaria and raised in Berlin, has released electronic dance-pop stylings on Kitsune Music and K7. The EP features a Club Mix, a Demo Mix, a deep tech remix by DJ Slyngshot, and a drifting Balearic version for late summer nights and dawn.

Review: 'Mysticisms' prides itself on finding the groove, but with a nod (and wink) to discerning ears. However, sometimes it's right to just let it all out and go route one. Berlin based producer Daniel Scholz aka (DJ) Leinad was all about the dancefloor, releasing a series of simple but highly effective EPs of cut up, looped house music that summed up that late 90s Chicago-NYC-London-Paris influenced bombs.

The jack that house built the "heroes" with the "touch" Souvenirs embodies Leinad's sound. Moving from high-school DJ, to computer programmer to professional producer, DJ and soundtrack artist, remixing for the likes of Yellow and Peter Gabriel's Real World, moving from early classic mid-90s German techno and trance releases on to his 'Leinad' moniker (Daniel spelt backwards), the series of releases on JXP can now go for dizzing sums. In Souvenirs, taken from the Disco Part's III EP, Mysticisms found the source - elastic bass, filtered loops, watertight kick and twisted disco'n' strings, all cut back and forth 'for the party' to abandon.

Present day remixes come from Lewie Day's 'Deep Dean' project, offering a wonderful example of an artist at work, a laid back groove, pushing all the right dancefloor buttons, all presented with respect to the past, but with acres of modern day swing; Mysticisms' own cohort Piers Harrison, side stepping his edit school as one of Soft Rocks, to produce a literal peak time acid banger; and to close the 'DJ' returns, Leinad offers a bumping 2022 remake to show he's still a teacher.

Guru The Mystery.

Review: Bengoa's Athens-based-label B2 Recordings has impressed over its first nine releases. The 10th is another fine one to mark the mini-milestone and it comes from Lex, who was last on the label a couple of years ago. His star has only continued to rise since then with fresh beats on the likes of Samosa and Leng and now his brilliant disco house fusions find more new heights with 'Fast Jags.' This is a cosmic workout that slowly builds on nice loose drums with astral pads circling around you and keys withering in sci-fi fashion. Bengoa offers up a raw edit that brings some deeper jazz keys and tumbling bongos and Felipe Gordon's Deep Funk remix ups the house vibes with a nice thumping groove.

Review: We've been doing some housekeeping and found this first release on the Soco Audio label hidden deep in our warehouse. It is the work of Hakan Lidbo and was first related in 2001. It opens with the 'Sinful Sadie' title track which is drenched in loved-up synth warmth and has a steamy female vocal coo floating above the shimmering deep house beats. 'Kung Pa Klubben' has more twisted synths and a vocoder vocal that brings a futuristic vibe and 'Scrubber' then closes out with some tight and percussive tech funk that still sounds as good now as ever.

Review: The inaugural reals on Word To The Wise from Mah'Mood sold out in quick time. It was a super way to kick off the label and now the second EP six or so months later is just as good. It's a deep house exploration from Sebastiao Loopes that opens with a languid groove and some freeform synth work. The energy is pent up and the bass bulbous. The grocers cut from from easy characterisation after that with the downbeat and stonier sounds of 'Clouds' and lurching beat structures of 'Dancehall Private Party' before closer 'Strictly Bouncin' rounds out on a lazy and swaggering groove that slowly lifts you off your feet.

Review: Linkwood clearly enjoyed the process of recording his 2021 album Mono, which was created in a week in the Athens of the North Studio in Edinburgh, as he's repeated the exercise on Stereo. It's an impressive sequel all told, with the long-serving producer delivering an even deeper, warmer and more evocative excursion informed by his love of analogue deep house, classic sci-fi techno, the 80s compositions of Jan Hammer, intergalactic electro, drum machine-driven synth-funk and star-gazing ambient music. It sounds like it was primarily made with vintage synthesisers and drum machines, which when combined with his impeccable sound design and judicious use of outboard effects results in an enveloping, immersive and highly atmospheric sound that rewards repeat listens. In other words, it's another fine album to get lost in.

Review: Given their shared musical heritage - both are members of the extended Firecracker Recordings crew - it's perhaps something of a surprise to find that Face The Facts marks the first serious collaboration between Linkwood and Gav 'Fudge Fingaz' Sutherland AKA Other Lands. It's less surprising that the album is really, really good. Touching on warming synth-boogie, head-nodding downtempo jams, mutant beatdown, Balearic beats, sunset-ready soundscapes and warming analogue deep house, the 13-track set is notable for the pair's extensive use of dusty old drum machines, tactile instrumentation (think smooth Rhodes solos, languid guitar solos and blissed-out synths) and Sutherland's hazy, sometimes seductive singing voice.