Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Last summer, Soul Clap Records giddily introduced their first ever singings from the UK, 2Fox, via digital-only vocal house number 'Elevation'. Nine months on, that track has finally made it onto wax, accompanied by the best remixes from the expansive digital EP. In its original extended mix form (A2), the track is a sublime slab of warm, tactile, nostalgic and gospel-tinged deep house excellence with superb lead vocals by Laville. Masters at Work man and all-round NYC great Louie Vega delivers a fantastic, lightly tooled-up soulful house take to kick off the EP, label bosses Soul Clap add tech-house style synths and attractive electronics aplenty, and New York veteran Tommy Musto leans further into 'Calling Your Name' style gospel-house joy.

Review: Get yourself geared up for festival season with some fierce party starters certified with the Glitterbox stamp. Melvo Baptiste leads the charge with 'Sweat', a sizzling disco house stomper with Dames Brown giving the biggest diva energy on her show-stopping vocal. Lovebirds bring unbridled joy on the Philly string swoon and slinky b-line funk of 'Burn It Down', while Art Of Tones & Inaya Day keep it peak time on the sassy strutter 'Give My Love'. Young Pulse & Fleur De Mur complete the set with 'Smooth Sweet Talker', another bright and bold vocal cut par excellence.

Review: Marvin Dash and Lowtec combine to serve up some house grooves here that perfectly embody the Workshop sound. They are lovably loose-limbed, dusty and ramshackle, and almost feel as if they may fall apart at any given moment, but that is the joy of them. Instead, they keep you locked amongst rickety drums, frayed pads and imperfect little vocal hooks that bring the soul. 'Track 1' does that with a hazy feel, 'Track 2' is more one out with a dubby undercurrent and sustained keys and 'Track 3' brings little more prickle and drive, like a super raw Omar-S track. 'Track 4' is all about the prying, bulbous bassline that unfurls with a mind of its own beneath DIY percussive sounds.

Review: Focused on artists from the great anatine peninsula that is South America, Mirror Vinyl Series reflects the techno-house multi-talents of many an artist from Argentina to Bolivia to Ecaudor to Peru to Suriname to Uruguay to Colombia to Venezuela to Brazil... there are simply no limits on locale, except for the featuring artists' ancestries themselves, and that to hail from SA is a must. Here, after a stellar set of digitals recently from Sofia Duz, Zolbaran, Atemporal and Marcos Coya to name but a small few, we're now heard hearing the Uruguayan ur-builds of Marcos Coya ('Sabes Que Si'), the chord-smeared minitech funk of Colombian boheme Donnie Cosmo, and/or the hoarse breaks, seedy acids and "what do you wanna take tonight?"s of guileful Brasiliera, Guile.

Review: Chicago's Tied label rolls out a 17th release as good as all the previous ones, this time with a four-track various artists EP that showcases emerging talents from deep, spacey electronic realms. Just_Me's 'Laser Brane' launches the journey with electro-funk propulsion, while Lumieux's 'In Your Space... It's Me In Space' drifts into cosmic grooves and ambient textures. On the B-side, Constratti's meticulously crafted 'Bind' delivers intricate synth delays and solid rhythms that capture the feeling of interstellar motion. Label head Max Jacobson and 97 Till close with 'Orion,' a break-infused and celestial house cut built for late-night floors.

Review: Definitive Recordings throws it back to 1994 for 'Do It' a house classic by Las Americas, which is a legendary project by David Alvarado. Newly remastered for 2024, this edition includes the original version as well as a refreshed Chuck Phulasole remix and two dynamic new takes from Italian producer St. David, who brings his vintage-inspired style in all its glory. He delivers a playful 'Big Tool Mix' with vocal flips and infectious grooves alongside a funkier 'Drum-Tool Dub' packed with sharp guitar licks. The original's hypnotic basslines and soulful vocal hook still shine, while Phulasole's deeper remix adds rich keys and Moog warmth. Lovely stuff.

Review: The one and only Phillip Lauer continues his flawless sonic journey on 'Seventy Seven Zero Zero Seventy Seven'. The Frankfurt-based producer never puts a foot wrong, as his ever-morphing club sound moves through undulating sonic landscapes. His latest effort features a pair of originals coupled with inspired guest remixes, covering a fair few dancefloor bases. The title track features a hypnotic vocal hook soaring through dreamy pads, pulsing acid bass and plucked guitar, before Khotin ramps up the acid and toughens the drums for a slightly more robust rework. We enter new wave territory on 'Felt Bat', with a bassline that would make Peter Hook proud, euphoric synths and snare-driven rhythms. Yu Su steps up on remix duties, transposing the track deep into heads-down territory, as rolling breaks power paranoid drones and psychedelic synth lines across an immersive nocturnal trip.

Review: From Chicago to New York via the UK, Freedom Party rack up mega phono-mileage on this retrotextual deep house steamer. The label have set foot on this bold, folk artistic sound-quest since 2023, when the first V/A emerged amid black-and-yellow steams of equably danceable produces from in-house charcutiers Look Once, Mederic Nebinger and Steal Vybe. Now a completely fresh crew is welcomed aboard, with just three new mates added to the original four: Vick Lavender deals in impossible erotism on the long out-of-press vocal jam 'The LOVE Song', with anachronistic beat tech and sampled, 1930s-feel vocals. Funkey Munkey follows up with 'Make Me Feel It', an ambitious retro-rave sound-splay, and In House Ii offers to take us home on 'Love To Love You', a sultrier refit of an all-time-classic, Donna Summer surestarter.

Review: Tapping vocalist Latrell James on Bostonian vox duties, Live A Little dishes out a deep 12" and promises to deliver it straight to our doors, not unlike pizza delivery. Across a woodfired record, we're assured we've "got it good", with an initial "get it, get it, good" sample rounding out a ferrety lead beat, as "cribs" and "crooks" are further concept-checked by James. Caserta flips the A with a melodious meander on the B-side, lifting the record from its opening certis of loose-slung 4x4s and haggard textures for a reversion that brightens, smoothens and softens everything out, as if to say, "chop-chop!".

Review: Tuff Cut / Late Nite Tuff Guy (Carmelo Bianchetti) has so far done well to dig out for himself a rather outre oeuvre, the Australian steadily supplying such head-turning edits as this since as far back as 2013. The seventh volume in this new iteration of the series comes in two parts, and brings two further soft disco inflammations: 'Fooled', a pre-coffee, rheumy Sister Sledge disco edit, and 'So Much Love', an unknown cut whose lyrics return plenty of red herrings on the 'ole search bar.

Review: Veteran Russian producer Andrey Loud is back with another exploration of dancefloor minimalism with these three deep outings on Afterme. Precise production defines his style with tight drum loops and a warped bassline drawing you in while alien effects add the detail. A standout is the Ki.Mi. remix of 'Humanity' which reimagines the original with an extra bump in the drums and dry, textured hits. 'Shadow Tree' is a shimmering melange of silvery snares and hits with loopy bassline phrases perfect for cosy club spaces. 'Illustration' is a more introverted close with pensive pads and a moody atmosphere for the wee small hours.

Review: Rooted in New York house traditions,Lovetempo is an exciting new band from Brooklyn that fuse deep house, disco and funk, driven by by former The Rapture man Mattie Safer's seasoned touch. The title track delivers a Chicago house gem with an uplifting, jazzy feel and an inspirational message. 'We Can Make It Happen' dials things down into a lounge-infused jam, balancing disco and house with a relaxed, breezy energy. 'Part-Time Love Affair' leans fully into funk, highlighting the band's tight musicianship and rhythmic flair. On Side B, Eric Kupper reworks 'Live Or Die By Love' into a dancefloor house cut, extracting vocal samples from the original and flipping them into a hypnotic hook. His instrumental remix strips it back further, focusing on groove and texture. With its mix of live band energy and classic house sensibilities, 'Live Or Die By Love' is a promising statement from Lovetempo.

Review: Detroit-raised, London-based Demi Riquisimo assembles a dynamic mix of label favourites and fresh talent on Love State, the 22nd release from his Semi Delicious imprint. This six-track V/A hears offerings from Demi himself alongside Clint, Swoose, Lulah Francs, Dukwa, Anastasia Zem & Asa Tate, blending club modernity with classic analogue dance influences, sampling every sonic cate from Italo to tech house. Best among the bunch has to be Swoose's 'Re/Vision' and Anastasia Zems' 'Eternal Beauty', which bring together wasted electro, Italian new beat and trance for well-measured tinctures of dreaminess.

Review: 'Celestial Dance' is Tommy Vicari Jnr and Loopdeville's latest, collaborative contribution to new label Foxtail. 'Go Again' and 'What Kind Of Love Is This' draw on the slung-down timbral strength of amapiano's log basses for reuse in crowd-busting house groovemanship: we hear giggly knock hits stiffening otherwise angelic house ambiences, making for staunch low-end scaffolds. Loopdeville's B-side is the real hoot, meanwhile, as crowd murmurs and restless rhythmic petri cultures heard to come to life across 'Los Pollos', before the r&b inflect 'Do You', which samples what sounds like Miguel, closes on a potent tearjerker.

Review: Known for his hypnotic dance music, Southern Italy's Lomonte delivers three tracks rich in deep disco soul and tinged with a psychedelic shimmerisounds that have already caught the attention of dancefloor icons like Ricardo Villalobos. Attitude Records is his new label and the 'Attitudes' EP, a record that sidesteps passing trends in favour of crafting music with true staying power is it's first release. Opening the Side-A, the title track 'Attitudes' highlights Lomonte's remarkable touch for layering dynamic, textured rhythms into a groove that unfolds naturally, pulling the listener deeper with every bar. Over on the Side-B, 'Can't Get Enough' and 'Summer Vibes' reflect his talent for channeling uplifting moods without ever losing the music's subtle complexity. Rather than chasing ephemeral sounds, Lomonte commits to an honest emotional resonanceihis work feels timeless, not tied to any particular moment or movement. With nearly 20 EPs already under his belt, he demonstrates here why he's become such a respected name: each track glows with warmth, soul and an understated finesse.