Juno Recommends Deep House April 2021

Review: If it's high-grade, musically rich deep house you're after, Kai Alce's latest three-tracker - his first solo 12" for almost three years - should be on your radar. A-side 'Heaven' is a typically groovy affair in which deep Rhodes chords, soulful vocal snippets and mazy synthesized trumpet solos dance atop a warming bassline and typically bustling, well-programmed beats. 'Luv Fantasy' is deeper and chunking, with heavier bass and sweatier drums sparring with sustained synth-strings, atmospheric organ chords and ear-catching melodic motifs, while 'Stars' sees him doff a cap to the mid 1990s sound of Kerri Chandler while breaking up the beats impressively.

Review: Kyle Hall has successfully transitioned from bright new hope to absolute Motor City mainstay. His sound is indebted to the rich traditions of his home town of Detroit but also filled with plenty of freshness. For this latest EP he once again fires up his MPC and lays down rough edged beats with soulful synths drenched with real feelings. That's certainly yer case on opener 'JJ Dreams Of Nippon' while fellow 313 legend Amp Fiddler steps up on' Expression' to lay down one of his killer Rhodes solos. 'Attack!' is classic Kyle Hall - bumping beats with swing and skip, and freeform synth lines that are conversational in style. The dirt and looseness of 'Modified' makes this another unmissable EP from Kyle Hall.

Review: Joaquin Joe Claussell never misses when he serves up his streamy, drawn out and spiritual remixes. Now back on his own Sacred Rhythms label he goes mega long on his 13 minute rework of 'The Mofocongoietric.' Rich with percussion, skyward synths and steamy grooves, it's a fulsome cut that is utterly enthralling. On the flip he is slightly more stripped back, with cosmic overtones next to the tribal dub sounds of his 'Ban Ban Eya' rework.

Review: Delano Smith is one of the absolute OGs of Detroit techno, active in the scene since the 80s but always half a step to the side of the spotlight. His sound has reached many different moods and intensities over the years, but this Detroit Lost Tapes collection on Sushitech has to rank amongst the finest things he's done. As you'd expect for Sushitech, who are re-releasing this album to help toast 15 years as a label, the mood is subtle and hypnotic, balanced somewhere between techno and house without going anywhere near tech house. Sleek, refined, hypnotic and soulful, this is Smith at his very best.

Review: The mysterious Moondance has been receiving plenty of praise for his, her or their second EP on Local Talk, and it's easy to see why. In its' original form (B2), 'Never Find Love' sits somewhere between jazz-house, synth-heavy deep house and the kind of luscious, piano-heavy productions that Ron Trent has become famous for. Arguably even better though is the A-side 'Amen Mix', which brilliantly joins the dots between tech-jazz, early UK breakbeat house, Motor City deep house and Larry Heard style dancefloor bliss. Also worth a listen is bonus cut 'The Moon Dance (2020)', a jazz-funk-fired deep house number that's as luscious and life-affirming as it is spacey and loose-limbed. In a word: essential!

Review: Recently Norm Talley launched a new label, Upstairs Asylum, and delivered a much-needed sequel to his superb 2011 EP on Mixmode, Tracks From The Asylum. A decade on from the record's original release, he's finally got around to producing a sequel. The native Detroiter predictably starts in fine fashion via 'Gonna Luv U', a chunky and locked-in house number rich in groovy bass, bold piano motifs, ear-cathing sax riffs and colourful P-funk samples, before heading ultra-deep via the beatdown-influenced haziness of 'Detroit Dubz'. 'In Your Soulz' sees him add energy-packed hand percussion and chiming lead lines to a bustling deep house beat, while 'Digital XTC (Detroit Mix)' is a spacey, hypnotic workout that sounds like it was tailor-made for dark warehouses in the hours approaching dawn.

Review: All Day I Dream finally gets a new EP from the boss man, the man who has devised the sound which so defines this label, the man who can play for hours on and and keep you in an utter dream state. For this one, dance music's Richard O'Brian opens up with 'Satellite Girl', a heady deep house tune with airy pads and modulated synth stars way up above. 'Diving Bell' is more rooted don earth, but still has legged drums, rolling snares and a real melancholic beauty to it as it shuffles along sweetly. Tim Green then remixes 'Satellite Girl' into a more propulsive bust just as smooth bit of dream house and 'A Hymn For Your Dreams' is a perfect electronic lullaby.

Review: Imogen Recordings continues to serve up dreamy, deep and emotive house that is heavily inspired by the 90s Italian scene here. The spirit of Balearic legend Don Carlos certainly looms large in this one, with opener 'I Wanna Do You' all filled with steamy pads, sensuous vocals and retro rubbery beats. 'A Deep Touch' is another perfect heady cut with drums straight from a Dream 2 Science record and more balmy, late summer pads all layers up beneath gorgeously twinkling keys. Closing things out, 'A Deep Trance' is a perfect record to lift the spirits, with its new age flutes and celebratory pianos all tied to a nice crisp beat.

Review: The latest classic record to get flipped by Italian reissue specialists Groove Records is Peven Everett's 'Special', a gorgeous chunk of organic soulful house that first appeared in stores way back in 2008. You'll find Everett's original mix nestling on side A. It naturally features his own sublime, life-affirming vocals, alongside extensive organ lines, jazzy guitar solos, rolling deep house beats and a bassline that sounds like a survivor from the jazz-funk era. This time round it comes accompanied by Timmy Regisford's 2009 'Remix' version, a heavier and slightly more electronic-sounding affair that's arguably better for peak-time dancefloor plays - largely because Regisford's beefed-up groove and positive-sounding synthesizer motifs pack a real punch.

Review: "Fresia Magdalena is about activism" says Berlin based Peruvian Sofia Kourtesis. It comes after a breakout 2020 that saw her get props as far and wide as The Observer and Mixmag as well as playing in NME's Top 100 list. She builds on that success with another EP that marks a big step up and features her singing properly on her own music for the first time. The sound sources here owe a lot to Peru, with jingling bells and rumbling bass, rich melodies and also explicit field recordings collected from around the city of Lima. The grooves are rooted in house but explore the every edges of the genre in personal and absorbing ways.

Review: On his latest re-edit release, Barbershop Records founder DJ Snips has chosen not to focus on vintage material, but rather contemporary cuts from acts more association with the contemporary jazz scene. A-side 'Think About It' sees him turn the Sault track of the same name into a warm, groovy and floor-ready chunk of Afro-fired deep house/jazz-house fusion rich in fluid bass, sassy vocals, Afrobeat guitar riffs and punchy horns. Over on the flip he turns his attention to Ezra Collective's 'Philosopher', re-framing it as a jazzy Afro-house-meets-broken beat floor-filler full of intricate musical motifs and heaps of sun-baked positivity. Like the A-side, it's a tasteful revision that subtly enhances and reshapes its' superb source material.

Review: Fuse off shoot Locus now hits double figures having quickly served up 10 EPs of essential underground dynamite. It is fast rising Italian DJ and producer Dimmish who makes his debut here and does so with a thumping sense of house groove. 'Planet Zero' is both spaced out and driving at the same time, ten 'Hello Panic' brings high speed electronic funk and dynamic synth work before 'Stellar' layers up punchy, rubbery kicks and spinning hi hats that are all jazzy and party primed. Last of all 'Espresso' is a high speed and superbly slick deep tech classic.

Review: Another week, another new re-edit series of mysterious origin. There's literally no info about the producer (or producers) behind this particular single-sided salvo, or the source material they've tampered with. Regardless, we'd heartily recommend giving it a listen. Firmly focused on peak-time floors, it wraps cut-up and manipulated female rap vocals over a formidably bouncy, turn-of-the-90s house beat and a rubbery synthesizer bassline so infectious you might need to self-isolate for two weeks after hearing it. This is hip-shaking, toe-tapping, arms-flailing retro-futurist hip-house at its very best: ignore at your peril!

Review: For deep house diggers, Soichi Terada has long been a source of inspiration. While he's still active, it's the early '90s material he released on the Far East Recordings label - an imprint he founded soon after his graduation in 1990 - that most excites. Following the 2014 re-release of his sublime hook-up with Nami Shimada, "Sunshower", Rush Hour has decided to put together this excellent retrospective. Compiled by self-confessed fan Hunee, Sounds From The Far East contains a mixture of hard-to-find Terada originals, collaborations, and tracks by fellow Far East Recordings artist Shinichiro Yokota, all in the label's trademark melody-rich, evocative deep house style.

Review: 23 years have passed since Blue Boy (AKA Scottish producer Lex Blackmore) delivered one of the biggest club and radio hits of summer 1997, the Marlena Shaw-sampling "Remember Me". Here the familiar favourite is given a new lease of life via a pair of fresh 2020 re-rubs. David Penn steps up first, expertly layering sustained Wurlitzer organ chords, gospel-style, clipped disco guitars, piano riffs and the famous vocal sample over a thickset, 21st century house groove. Frank Rizaro's remix is even heavier, with Shaw's vocalizations riding a beat that's closer to tribal techno than deep house. The head-nodding, toe-tapping original 1997 mix completes a rock-solid package.

Review: Neroli is always a safe port of call for real, soulful strains of house music, but even by their own standards they've gone further out this time around. The dream team of Patrick Gibin and Kaidi Thatham backing Josh Milan on vocals was a house holy grail when 'Love To The World' dropped last year, but now that magical combination of artistry gets a shot in the arm from the one and only Theo Parrish. On the A side, the Detroit legend lays on one of his inimitable rugged beatdowns, decorated with piano flourishes and punctuated with clattering percussion that takes the track higher and farther. On the flip, the track gets stripped right back for a special acappella version which lets Milan's voice and the light-fingered piano work intertwine in a beatless reverie.

Review: Is there a more positive, soulful and life-affirming dancefloor anthem out there than Roy Davis Jr and Peven Everett's 1996 jam "Gabriel"? As many will be aware, it has long been sought of as a classic, with soulful house, deep house, US and UK garage DJs all championing it back in the day. This white vinyl reissue boasts all of the mixes featured on the original 12". Perhaps the most famous version is the rolling, bass-heavy two-step flex of the "Live Garage" mix that opens side B, but there's plenty to set the pulse racing elsewhere. The driving, jazzy-but-stomping "Words To Give By" version has been annoyingly overlooked over the years, while the "Tambourine Dub" is deliciously sweaty and driving in the best possible way.

Review: The third release on Chris Stussy's new imprint comes from Frenchman Janeret, who for the past few years has done a fine job curating the Joule imprint, presenting the very best in contemporary tech house and dub techno flavours. Those styles are most certainly on display on the Difference EP, with swing-fuelled opener 'Reminiscence' calling to mind that classic Cabinet Records vibe of old, as well as the rolling and cavernous 'Fusion' which will engulf you and draw you into its glacial realm. On the flip, the emotive and sensual closer 'Feelin' goes deep, this is proper mood music for the warm-up or afterhours alike.

Review: Man like Louie Vega is now well beyond 50 years old but is still very much doing to do. Here he assumes his remixes hat to spin some magic on a lead single from Conclave's forthcoming and self titled debut EP on Love Injection. That single, 'Perdon', is bustling soulful house with golden licks and great jazzy chords. First up, Vega adds more weight to the drums and gets things pumping, then an Expansions NYC dub gets more dark, twisted and aimed at a peak time dance floor. Last of all, he does what he does best on an instrumental filled with life affirming chords and the sort of soulful riffs we all know and love him for.

Review: Excursions is a Chicago based label that explores the diverse sounds of soulful house from its fair city, deeply infused with the rhythms of the Afro-Latino diaspora on a musical journey that encompasses a wide variety of influences. Label chiefs Cordell Johnson and James Vincent now present to you the third single on the label titled 'Jazzgalaktik' by Johnson in collaboration with Scorpeze of Windimoto, featuring some hot house beats with soulful and jazzy instrumentation straight from The Windy City's Southside. From the smooth beat and infectious groove of the title track with its creamy Rhodes keys, life-affirming chord progression and subtle syncopated rhythms, which then receives a Detroit style 'hi-tech' soul remix by Chicago Skyway Set and the evocative late night mood music of 'Alone In The Light'. Tip!

Review: Ocha takes us on a Latin tinged deep house trip with Chicago's Vick Lavender behind the beats. The producer's signature soulful sounds and jazz signatures light up each tune, starting with 'Third Planet From The Sun (Sophisticado main mix)' which is all freaky sound effects, fluttering flutes and spiritual beats. 'Live Wired (Vick Time Traveller mix)' s a steamy track with gorgeous keys and sunny synths while closing things out is 'A Space Odyssey (Slow N Low) (Vick Time Traveller mix)', a jazzy jam with lounge vibes, Rhodes chords and cosmic rays all making it a full flavour jam.

Review: 'No Limits' is a record that has been causing waves since 2019. A collaboration between production duo Danism + Train and vocalist DJ RAE (aka DTR Project) the song is reminiscent of New York City's heyday of the early '90s. This year, London-based SoSure Music reissues the hit on vinyl, with the legendary Danny Krivit providing another one of his revered re-edits on the A side which will live on beyond 2021 as an uplifting house anthem - we just know it!. On the flip, the original deep and funky version is equally as worthy of your attention.

Review: The perennially, criminally under the radar Alton Miller is as reliable as they come for classy and soulful house sounds. The Noble Square label now taps up there Chicago great for another pair of blissed out beats. Opener 'Where Did We Go Wrong' is a real gem, with lush melodies and sweeping chords laid over simple but effective drums. The focal point is a superb vocal dipping with soul. 'Sweet Love' is a little deeper and darker but still has the sort of aching beauty that will always stand it out. A Ricardo Miranda remix reworks it into a perfect downbeat tune for star gazing.

Review: Once in a while a perfect record comes along that ticks all the boxes - authentic flavours, rich soul vibes, sweet vocals, deep drums. This Glenn Davies outing on F*CLR Music is just that. 'Special' is perfectly titled and channels the likes of Glenn Underground and Alton Miller through loose but driving grooves, genuinely emotive vocals and subtle chord work. The North Street West vocal remix is more playful and soulful as the production is stripped back somewhat, and the instrumental goes the other way, making more of the drums and chords and their lively interactions.

Review: Few artists are as adroit in the studio with live playing and real instruments as Session Victim. The German pair have always made house with a difference - that difference being proper structures and a real sense of liveliness and vitality a long way from rigid, gridded dance music. This new three tracker on long time home Delusions of Grandeur offers more of that, firstly with he busy percussive vibes of 'Two Crowns' with its soul, jazz and funk elements all sitting pretty. 'Guidance' takes you out into the great outdoors on summery flutes and broken beats and 'Village Youth' is a life-affirming and spiritual house tune of the highest order.