Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Number two in DJ Deep's great old school house/Detroit techno compilation series. Again, it's crate digging at its best, this time coming with rare classics from Urban Culture (aka Carl Craig), Instinct, Jovonn, Rodney Baker & The Rocking House Chicago Mob, Mike Dunn, Risque 3.

Review: Spinna's double-decade document on BBE is an essential lesson in the dark art of remix craft. And here are five perfect examples. His take on "The Power" by Karizma subverts from the off as we're washed with a waterfall of bitter sweet acid. The remix of Bah Samba's "Moonlight" shows Spinna at his most cosmic and reflective while "Got To Let It Go" is straight up jazz church music. Deeper again we find him in straight up bassline soul mode on the Wonder-esque "I Remember Love" while his take on "You Can't Lie", a hookup between Kerri Chandler and Harley & Muscle, is more street soul than it is house music. Truly timeless.

Review: Looking back over 20 years in the game, Spinna handpicks some of his favourite re-rubs and reversions for The Sound Beyond The Stars, a retrospective issued through the trusted hands of BBE. The full album contains 18. four of which can be found on this stunning gatefold double 12"... From the psychedelic spirals and soulful yearns of "Without Your Love" to the overwhelming warmth, depth and length of the 13 minute long synth-focussed take on Animal House's "Dirty Mind", Spinna's signature is deeply scribed into each reversion with serious soul sentiment.

Review: Jump 'N' Funk started life as a small event in New York, organized by Rich Medina in order to pay tribute to the genius of Fela Kuti. Since then, parties have been held across the world, with Medina and guests showcasing music by, or inspired by, the Nigerian Afrobeat legend. This debut Jump N Funk compilation follows a similar formula, delivering both purist Afrobeat cuts (see Fela's punchy "Stalemate", and "Na Oil" by son Seun and his band, Egypt 80), and tracks in other styles that draw heavily on the style. Highlights in the latter category include the hazy Afro hip-hop of Aquil, a tasty Afro-house dub of River Ocean's cover of Timmy Thomas' classic "Why Can't We Live Together", and the lazy, sun-kissed glory of Kutiman's "Bango Fields".

Review: Following their acclaimed debut album Sugar Honey Iced Tea!, NYC duo Musclecars aka Craig Handfield and Brandon Weems are back with a double pack of alternate versions and remixes featuring house legends Louie Vega and Maurice Fulton. Vega reworks 'Tonight' with orchestral flair and festival-ready dub versions including the NV South Jersey Mix and his Bronx Dub. Maurice Fulton's remix of 'Hello?' blends his signature live bass and punchy percussion to add a whimsical touch to the introspective original. The pack also includes stripped-down versions of 'Ha Ya! (Eternal Life)' and 'Water' plus a full side of Musclecars' 'I Don't Remember The Last Time I Saw Stars.'

Review: Sugar Honey Iced Tea! is the highly anticipated debut album from Musclecars, comprised of Brandon Weems and Craig Handfield, delving deep into the Afro-American experience. With 13 tracks that span themes of joy, loss, intimacy, perseverance and more, Musclecars craft a profound narrative that captures the nuances of daily life in native New York. From the exploration of Afro-dystopia to moments of self-discovery and self-preservation, the album offers a rich blend of sound that resonates with authenticity, emotion, and rhythm. It's a musical adventure to throw yourself in and get lost in the essence of the urban experience, crafted with intentionality, depth and a touch of magic.

Review: When Osunlade first conceived and released Pyrography in 2011, it was meant to be the closing chapter of his house music journey. Of course, his attitude has changed since, but the album remains a fine statement from one of house music's most singular producers. This reissue from BBE puts the original set on vinyl for the first time, packaging it inside a brilliantly presented book featuring images, prayers, and information on the Yoruba culture that has long inspired the producer. Musically, the set expands on his usual spiritual house blueprint, fusing elements of jazz, broken beat and soul with influences as diverse as 80s talk box funk, hazy disco and 90s NY house. It remains one of Osunlade's finest works, so it's great to see it on wax at last.

Review: Homage to the Greek island Santorini. Recorded on the island over 12 days, this is a stunningly beautiful soundscape, taking house tempos and jazzy broken latin beats to deliver a stunning album.

Review: On the debut EP 'We Are The Ones/Fire/Forever', Chicago DJ and all-out living legend Rahaan collaborates with an equally talented group of musicians: Marcus J. Austin on lead vocals, Nancy Clayton on backing vocals, Carnell C. Newbill (also known as Spike Rebel) on keyboards and backing vocals, Todd Swope on guitar, and Lou Terry on bass. Together, the outfit known as The Ones create an extended three-track EP of transcendent proportions, drawing on the avaricious world-passion for music and life heard in the joyous chasms between psychedelia, Afrobeat and disco. Bridging these precipices by way of a vast, suspensory dancefloor held together by firmly mixable kick drums serving as rivets, Rahaan produces and mixes a viscerally eye-popping set of devotionals here. From the impassioned beatitudes and thanksgivings of 'We Are The Ones', to the desirous chic-funk drum circle envisaged on 'Fire' and the eternal gospel-rock-tinged disco-soul ablution 'Forever' (a special favourite of ours), this is a holy chrism in record form.

Review: The 20th anniversary of iconic New York house label Henry Street Music has previously been celebrated via a series of 2014 reissues of classic material from Clone. Now, BBE has taken the baton, putting together a superb retrospective that stretches across five CDs and, in this case, three heavyweight slabs of wax. Wisely, BBE has chosen to pack it with both must-have classics - Bucketheads' "The Bomb", Armand Van Helden presents Old Skool Junkies' "The Funk Phenomenon", and DJ Sneak/The Polyester's string-laden disco-house bomb "Show Me The Way" - and lesser-known gems. It's these that really set the pulse racing, with Timmy Regisford's hard-to-find - and utterly brilliant - remix of DJ Duke and Roland Clark's "D2-D2 (I Get Deep)" standing out.

Review: Given the runaway success of Marcel Vogel's Lumberjacks In Hell label in recent times, it was almost inevitable that a bigger imprint would come knocking sooner rather than later. Fittingly, that label was BBE, who asked him to put together a set of previously unreleased tracks that draws on the same classic palette of influences (think soul-fired house, disco, boogie, jazz-funk and shimmering, synth-laden beat-scapes). The resultant set is superb, with Vogel serving up both mixed and unmixed variations. Highlights are plentiful - from the slick, soul-flecked deep house of Jonna's "Everyday", to the deep dancefloor jazz of Boogie Nite's "Jazz-o-nova (ooh)", the low-down funk of Beam Me Up and the spiraling disco-funk of Reece Johnson.

Review: Two years ago, Volcov set our pulses racing with From The Archive, a superb selection of killer cuts from the depth of his notoriously impressive record collection. Volume 2 is equally as inspired, though the focus is a little different. Whereas Volcov previously chose to concentrate on soul, funk and disco, this edition is far more widescreen in scope. So, we get soaring soul-jazz bliss (Collective Peace's "Let The Music Play"), head-nodding hip-hop soul (Eric Lau remixing Ruth Koleva), futurist jazz-funk (Ron Trent's wild but brilliant "Ori Space"), soul-fired broken beat (Volcov's own re-edit of Xantone Blacq's vintage remix of Intuit's "Planet Birth"), impeccable soundscape jazz ("Lawra" by Tony Williams) and much more besides.