Back catalogue:

Review: House Hippo drops a fat one to get its life underway, and who finer than house authority Terry Farley to be behind it alongside Wade Teo. This limited 12" distills a wide range of house sub genres from garage to New York to soulful. 'Come On Now' is a nice breezy opener with swirling, filtered synth loops bringing a nice French touch vibe to rolling beats, then 'Harry Hippy' gets more cut up and raw. 'Dexter' goes deeper with shakers and muted piano chords colouring the drums and last of all is the deepest of them all - a late night and smoky sound for heady escape.

Review: Best Record has secured the rights to this 12" vinyl reissue of Fascination 'Out to Get You', which is dedicated to Giancarlo Meo, the esteemed producer behind Easy Going and other iconic acts. This release, curated by Claudio Casalini, pays homage to Italy's vibrant disco era and blends elements of disco, soul, and funk. The original comes as three different and equally captivating versions, including a re-edit by DJ Massimo Berardi who injects plenty of contemporary flair while preserving the essence of the original tracks. With its fusion of retro charm and modern energy, this reissue offers a nostalgic yet danceable vibe and is primed and ready to for igniting dance floors worldwide once again.

Review: Dusseldorf-based trio Folie 2 return on Themes For Great Cities to follow up their debut long-player from earlier this year. Eingriffe features yet more genre bending experimental pop by Gregor Darman, Marlene Kollender and Sebastian Welicki. Local legend Tolouse Low Trax kicks things off with his Scissor Jazz Hat mix of 'Fullness Of My Heart' before they get stuck into some low-slung cosmic funk on 'Disco' (TBZ Weired Disco) and on side B there's the neon-lit night moves of deep cut 'Universal Sucker'.

Review: Get ready for two of the most heartfelt big room bangers aroundiStay Here and Writeriborn from a recent machine jam between Fort Romeau and Gold Panda, masters of emotional dance music. 'Stay Here' starts with simmering synths, slinky guitar licks, and gentle vocal touches. Over on the flip, 'Writer' delivers restrained euphoria, steady beats giving way to a fragile, beatless acoustic finish. A sprinkle of acid throughout keeps everything hypnotic. Wrapped in Eliot Axelsson's striking design, this is pure Studio Barnhus magic.

Review: Detroit legend Eddie 'Flashin' Fowlkes has had a truly massive month with a couple of releases on his esteemed Detroit Wax imprint (which he runs with Niko Marks) and this week he kickstarts his City Boy imprint back into action. This is its first release in 11 years, presenting part one of the Knucklehead Series featuring a fine selection of moods and grooves. First up is the deep down and dirty tech-funk of '1-2-3', followed by the dusty twilight mood music of 'Hold Me Down' and over on the flip is the double 12's most energetic cut in the form of 'Test Unknown' - a sincere expression in proper Motor city style 'hi-tech soul'.

Review:  Eddie "Flashin" Fowlkes is a pioneering force in techno who was there in the early days but is often rather written out of the story meaning plenty of his peers get more acclaim. His beats tan up on their own though and here he is all these years later still serving them up. This one is a reissue of his iconic 'The Truth' EP originally released in 1995. 'The Truth' is a funky and full-blooded house sound with snappy percussion and melodic bass. 'Planet Claire' picks up the speed with tightly programmed beats that float above the floor and 'Freestyle' brings some future machine soul. 'CBR' shuts down with more inventive percussion and analogue machine goodness.

Review: Anacalypto Records' search for Fairytails led to an unexpected treasure-a forgotten 1994 DAT revealing four original tracks and two unreleased gems. They chose two classics for Side A and the newfound tracks for Side B. Opening with 'Fairytail Track 3', deep basslines and soaring strings create a mesmerising dancefloor spell and then 'Track 4' continues the magic with crisp snares and dreamy pads. On the flip, 'Track 5' delivers joyous chords and lively piano, while 'Track 6' glows with rave energy. This remastered EP revives four trance-infused house gems that will spread real enchantment across any 'floor.

Review: Fred P continues to be a prolific driving force in deep house, with his own Private Society label carrying a huge amount of his work these days. On this latest single he maintains one of his other close working relationships with Parisian institution Synchrophone, delivering three cuts of his refined, endlessly immersive music. 'Dance Of Rhythms' is a driving, sharply defined cut with a lot of action occurring in the lower register while the higher frequencies have acres of space to stretch out in, all the better to keep your head mellow while the hips sway. 'The Beauty In The Sound' is a more pattering affair and 'Vibe Science' favours a nagging drum pattern which nods towards jazz funk as much as techno. This is quintessential Fred P mastery, through and through.

Review: The 1984 classic 'Come Back Lover' by The Fresh Band receives an official remastered reissue from the original tapes. Produced by Darryl Gibbs of The Strikers and expertly mixed by Tony Humphries, this disco boogie gem soared in underground dance clubs across Chicago and New York, championed by DJs like Mancuso, Larry Levan, and Ron Hardy. Are 'N Be (see what they did there?) presents this special re-release on translucent green vinyl featuring two versions mixed by Humphries: the mesmerising original plus the Dub, with deeper, more atmospheric vocals and stunning piano breaks. Do not sleep on this one.

Review: Juuz Records box up, package and release the fifth edition in their vinyl only series. Silat Beksi, Soyro, RWN and Zlatnichi are the latest artists to be spotlit, and all of them deliver a seamless minimal techno experience, teeming with tics and fidgets, the four-piece sonic equivalent of a gut microbiome. Usually, we like to home in on the oddest tunes and we'll certainly indulge the impulse here; Silat Beksi and Soyro's 'Shout In 30 Seconds' makes impressive use of gurgly, subharmonic dream-voices, swabbed across the otherwise sticklike mix, like glue holding a skeleton together. Equal technical and ambisonic itches are scratched on Fedo's closing 'Lena Told', whose transitional vocal scramblings play back like furtive rumours spread through a fragile transmission chain.

Review: Fakear has stated that he has never worked as hard on anything as he has his new album Hypertalisman. It comes after years honing his craft but also after a period of reinvention HIs last album Talisman came exactly a year ago and since the he has returned to his roots, "without looking to the past with nostalgia or contempt; but rather by contemplating his past self with kindness." The resulting record is a magical mix of widescreen synth craft and elegant, suspensory grooves, glassy melodies and found sound percussions that enrich each track and give them life.

Review: Fatima Yamaha is one of several aliases used by Dutch musician and producer Bas Bron, who is best known for the anthemic 'What's Girl To Do'. but who has so much more in his locker. This album proves that. It was recorded over a five year period after his 2015 album Imaginary Lines and draws together electro, p-funk, Detroit techno, Chicago house and plenty of in between styles. 'Drops In The Ocean' is a fantastic opener with potential to become another huge hit while the mix of hooky vocals and melodies with underground beats pervade tracks like 'Day We Met' amongst other highlights.

Review: If anything, the hugely prolific Motor City mainstay that is Omar S seems to be getting even more prolific as time goes on. His vast catalogue grows once more here with Fun House, which finds Alister Fawnwoda exploring a wide range of dance music styles alongside guests such as FXHE regular John F.M., plus Mitchell Yoshida, Super Cool Wired, Troi Alexis, Tyesha Blount and more, with all the production, lyrics and mixing taken care of by Omar S himself. The tracks range from seductive deep house to edgy mechanical techno, dubbed out downbeat joints and smooth electronic Detroit soul. It is yet another crucial chapter in the FXHE and Omar S story.

Review: US house legend Dennis Ferrer's debut album The World As I See It was a masterclass in soulful, emotive house music that really cut rherough when it arrived in 2007. Blending gospel, Afrobeat, and deep NYC roots, Ferrer avoided big-name features in favour of fresh vocal talent while delivering heartfelt tracks like 'Run Free' and 'How Can I Let Go.' The iconic 'Son of Raw' and 'Underground Is My Home' bring dancefloor fire, while 'Change the World' and 'Dem People Go' showcase Ferrer's cultural depth. With rich percussion, fat basslines and sincerity throughout, this isn't just a house albumiit's a powerful work that transcends the club and still bangs today.

Review: In some ways, the work of Figi (AKA Dutch producer Vigi Auke Weemhoff) is reflective of the Netherlands' vibrant, colourful and mixed-up dance scene - one where synthesisers are frequently foregrounded and the rhythms of house, techno, Italo-disco and boogie are mixed and matched in a variety of retro-futurist ways. Certainly, that kaleidoscopic blend is at the heart of the artist's latest album, Fig 1. Rooted in vaporwave, Hi-NRG and Italo-style synth sounds, it's a confident and sonically sparkling set that puts melodic motifs and catchy riffs at the heart of the action. For proof, check standouts 'Belka-Strelka' (an acid-flecked, drum machine-driven chunk of 80s elctro-disco), 'Fig 1', the Klakson-style electro hustle of 'ADSL' and the ultra-deep, dreamy, Endorphins-releasing wonder that is 'Ornex'.

Review: It's been a long time since we'd heard about George Fitzgerald. Several years ago he was everywhere, appearing on all the top imprints at the time such as Hotflush, Hypercolour and Aus Music. After a long hiatus, Fitzgerald returns with his fourth full-length for Domino offshoot Double Six entitled Stellar Drifting. It's a wide selection of moods and grooves demonstrating the diversity within his sonic repertoire. The collaborations are particularly noteworthy, such as with Panda Bear on 'Passed Tense', with SOAK on 'Rainbows and Dreams' and teaming up with British outfit London Grammar on 'The Last Transmission'.

Review: We've been waiting on this one since "J&W Beat" six years ago; there's something about Floating Points sound that instantly lends itself to full-length album immersion. It's clear he feels this way too; using the album to delve deeper into electronic deconstructions and delicate ensemble arrangements. At its most adventurous and contemporary classical "Argente" is up there with Frahm, at is dreamiest and jazz-influenced "For Marmish" is a deeply cosmic affair with disparate chords making more sense than they perhaps should. At its most traditional Floating Points we hit the finale "Perotation Six" where the brushed drums are buried under layers of sound and elements in a way that's not dissimilar to Radiohead. Well worth the wait.

Review: On their fourth studio album, The Masters Plan, Robert and Lyric Hood - the father-daughter duo behind Floorplan - deliver a masterclass in house and techno that's as diverse as it is cohesive. Released on Luke Solomon's Classic Music Company, this 18-track odyssey showcases the Hoods' uncanny ability to blend the sacred and profane, the light and dark, into a sonic tapestry that's uniquely their own. From the opening chords, it's clear that Floorplan's Detroit roots run deep. The gospel-infused 'We Give Thee Honour' sets the tone, its uplifting vocals and rolling rhythms invoking the spiritual ecstasy of a Sunday morning service reimagined for the dancefloor. This spiritual thread weaves throughout the album, most notably on tracks featuring local Detroit vocalists like the soulful trio Dames Brown, Earthtone, and Lowell Pye. But make no mistake - The Masters Plan isn't all celestial bliss. The Hoods aren't afraid to get grimy, as evidenced by the pummelling beats of 'What A Friend'. Here, they demonstrate their mastery of techno's harder edge, crafting a track that wouldn't sound out of place in the sweatiest basement clubs of Berlin or London. It's this deft navigation between styles that makes 'The Masters Plan' so compelling. The dreamy house soundscapes of 'Feel It' provide moments of blissful respite, while collaborations like 'Fake & Unholy' with label-mate Honey Dijon inject a shot of pure dancefloor adrenaline. What's most striking about 'The Masters Plan' is how seamlessly Robert and Lyric blend their generational perspectives. Rather than a handicap, their age gap becomes a strength, allowing them to draw inspiration from decades of electronic music history while still pushing the sound forward. Ultimately,
The Masters Plan feels like both a celebration and an invitation.

Review: Roman Flugel is back with his seventh full length titled Eating Darkness. The nine tracks were created during the coronavirus lockdown of 2020, and are testament to the Frankfurt legend's penchant for mixing elements of pop with sounds of the underground - a scene he has been affiliated with since the early '90s. A variety of moods and grooves are all delivered in his idiosyncratic style: from the woozy and broken slow burner 'Chemicals', to the majestic and spellbinding dancefloor drama of 'Wow' or the raw hardware acid jack of 'Jocks And Freaks' which harks to his days as Alter Ego. Elsewhere, there's the heartfelt and bittersweet ambient house of 'Cluttered Homes' and the downbeat bliss of closing epic 'Charles'.

Review: Some seven years after his last full-length excursion, Fort Romeau has finally got around to delivering a new album. Beings of Light is every bit as gorgeous and picturesque affair, with the Chester-born producer adding waves of attractive synthesizer sounds, colourful electronics, cascading guitars, dusty samples and loved-up riffs to sturdy deep house beats. The album's multitude of highlights include bluesy, post jazz-house number 'The Truth', the tech-tinged late-night wonkiness of 'Power of Grace', the sturdy and druggy after-hours chug of 'Ramona' and the dreamy lusciousness of title track 'Beings of Light'.

Review: Originally released digitally in 2013, Pink collated a series of 12" releases from Kieran Hebden issued over an 18 month period on his Text label. Hebden and record club and subscription service Vinyl Me, Please have teamed up to give Pink a double vinyl release for any Four Tet fans that weren't quick enough to nab those 12"s at the time. There is plenty of classic Four Tet to be had here too. "Jupiters" experiments with swung garage beats in an unmistakably UK Bass style, while "128 Harps" is a whipcrack MPC workout given his light melodic touch and "Peace On Earth" is a beatless 11 minutes of analogue kosmische. But it's the centrepiece of Hebden's Fabriclive mix, the brilliantly moody "Pyramid", and the loose limbed jazz-house of "Pinnacles" that really set this album apart from his other long-playing efforts, two examples of timeless dance music which demonstrate why after nearly 15 years in the game Hebden is only improving with age.

Review: If you were judging Kieran Hebden's 11th Four Tet studio album merely on the way it's presented, you'd immediately think he'd spent the last two years immersed in early '90s ambient house albums. While it's unlikely he's done that, it's fair to say that New Energy does owe a debt to classic electronica sets from that period. For all the exotic instrumentation and subtle nods to post-dubstep "aquacrunk" experimentalism and chiming, head-in-the-clouds sunrise house, the album feels like a relic of a lost era. That's not meant as a criticism - New Energy is superb - but it is true that his choice of neo-classical strings, gentle new age melodies, sweeping synthesizer chords and disconnected vocal samples would not sound out of place on a Global Communication album.

Review: Four Tet is back with a new album of shimmering wonderment on his own Text label. As ever, it's the way that Kieran Hebden tugs at the heart strings so artfully that makes him so well-loved, and he's not holding back one iota as "Sixteen Oceans" opens up with the ineffably pretty "School". There's some advanced garage ruminations on "Baby", classic ambience on "Harpsichord", and so the eclectic and extremely soul-cleansing vibes continue across three sides of wax. In addition to this wonderful new album, Hebden has also held back the fourth side for a bunch of locked grooves so satisfying you could get lost in them all day.

Review: There are not too many house and techno labels in the United States that can boast quite the discography and international success that the Brooklyn based Scissor & Thread label can. For over a decade now, the busy label has kept the quality up to the high standards the label set when starting. A big part of that quality is having Frank & Tony on board through the label's history. Ethos is their new full-length album that, spread across a double pack of wax, with tracks mostly kept under close guard, except the opener 'Olympia'. Make no mistake though, from the rumours and whispers we've heard already, it looks like being a big hit.

Review: Just a week after the first volume of this bumper collection of house gold lands, we're treated to the second volume via Sosure Music. The Director's Cut Collection is an assemblage of remixes by the one and only Frankie Knuckles aka The Godfather of House alongside his frequent musical sparring partner Eric Kupper. They turned out many vital tunes in their time as this eight track selection shows with everything from their take on 'The Look' to a 'Director's Cut' Classic club mix of 'Let's Stay Home' via a 'Re-Directed' mix of the stone cold classic 'Baby Wants To Ride' featuring Jamie Principle.

Review: Frankie Knuckles and Eric Kupper's Director's Cut project continues with its third rendition, bringing together yet another eight house remixes of established neo-soul and trip-hop songs by the pair and their friends. Standouts on this one include Tony Humphries' Work & Play Mix of Inaya Day's 'Let's Stay Home', which follows the singer's orders to "take advantage of this little bit of rainfall" to produce a slice of humble, heated house pie; and Director's Cut's 'Signature mixes' of sultry lullabies by Martina Topley-Bird and Vintage Dbow.

Review: If there is a more hyped artist in the world right now than Fred... again we aren't sure who it might be. The lad who grew up close to Brian Eno and has since worked with him in the studio is a global star who has also collaborated with Four Tet and Skrillex, played all over the world, won various awards and dropped several albums now presses up his acclaimed USB to gatefold double vinyl. It is a collection of his early singles that captures his lo-fi, lived-in, diaristic sounds across a range of experimental electronic styles.

Review: Is there any producer who has broken through as spectacular and made such an impressive mark in the last year than British producer Fred Gibson aka Fred Again? As well as producing plenty of high profile projects for other artists, his own diary-like albums have brought plenty of freshness to dance music. This was the first of them, back in April 2021, at the time an outlet for him to explore "a year of finding love and mourning its loss".

Review: Fred Again's latest album Actual Life 3: January 1 - September 9 2022 is the third installment in a series of albums by the British artist which has received positive reviews from music critics and been praised for its experimental sound and emotional depth. The LP features songs that document his personal experiences and thoughts over a period of time. His musical style can be described as a blend of electronic, dance and pop with introspective and emotive lyrics, often incorporating samples from various sources, including personal recordings to create a unique and eclectic sound. The album features collaborations with various artists, such as Kieren Hebden, Jamie XX and Skrillex, among others.

Review: During the global lockdown, Frederic Blais found inspiration in four simple words: Love, Care, Kindness, and Hope. Scribbled on a post-it note, they guided his creative journey in crafting his fifth album as Fred Everything in a secluded studio near Montreal. These sentiments echoed throughout the music-making process and have resulted in a deeply personal and sonically rich album. Collaborations with esteemed vocalists like Robert Owens and Stereo MC's add depth to Blais's trademark deep house sound, while nods to classic electronic albums from the late '90s and early 2000s offer a nostalgic touch. Each track evolves from rough sketches into magical compositions and reflecting Blais's mantra of love and hope

Review: Since his debut with Schema Records in 2001, Gerardo Frisina has poured his soul into modernising styles such as Latin jazz, funk, and soul. In Sight Vol. 1 now introduces a fresh batch of such cosmo-futuristic moodsetters, continuing a trend that was first set in motion with his debut Moving Ahead (2020). Now the new album, preluded by singles 'Mindoro' and 'Desejar', hears seven tracks, including a cinematic bossa supernova 'O SoNho' as well as an exclusive cut from a rare and revered 10" deep cut from 2009. Frisina's attention to detail ensures the standout vibe of each composition, bringing a one-of-a-kind club-orientation to a rich atmospheric mantle.

Review: It's no surprise to see Amsterdam man Fritz Wentink issuing his debut album through Wolf Music, as the London label have been staunch supporters of his work with two 12" contributions over the past two years. The wonderfully named Rarely Pure, Never Simple adds to Wolf Music's growing artist album profile following long players from main men Medlar and Greymatter and further develops the all encompassing production style Wentink has displayed so eloquently for Detroit Swindle's Heist Recordings and others. He seems most impressive on the more downbeat tracks done in collaboration with Loes Jongerling who possesses a quite astounding vocal delivery, though those craving some proper house will totally dig on cuts like "The Excitement Happens At Page 320".

Review: Given the brilliantly simple concept behind this fine compilation - contemporary Detroit producers remix Funkadelic - we're rather surprised nobody's done it before. With 17 varied re-rubs stretched across three slabs of wax, there's naturally plenty to enjoy. Highlights come thick and fast, from the deep house/P-funk fusion of Alton Miller's take on "Get Your Ass Off and Jam" and Andres' loose, hip-hop influenced revision of "Music For My Mother", to the thrusting loops and heady late night hypnotism of Anthony Shake Shakir and T-Dancer's version of "Standing on the Verge". While many of the versions stay relatively faithful to the original, the more "out-there" interpretations - see BMG's outer-space ambient dub of "Maggot Brain" and Moodymann's epic revision of "Cosmic Slop" - are also consistently impressive.