Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Inhale Exhale bring six full new circular round-trip breaths to the fold, focusing on heartwarming and soulful summer deep house tunes. Intended mostly for outdoor disco BBQs, 'INEX 017' packs a fruitful punch. Opening proceedings on the A come 'Make It Right', 'Understand U' and 'Tears Of The M1', a power-of-three intro tracking a vibeful descension from crystalline waters, synth organs and high string samples down to the chillest of vinyl-crackly, primal mini tech moods. Then there's the unmissable mirror image on the B, podding 'Everytime', 'Clyde' and 'Keep The Stabs', the last of which is an especially delicious, refractive groove.

Review: Eight further sonic spirits are conjured on the seventh edition in Damian Lazarus' annual compilation series. Emphasising deep house and techno grooves with a hypnotic flavour, the procurement here is exemplarily brooding; Dino Lenny's 'I Have Sampled Father' marks a sure turn away from the openers' cleaner-cut mesmerisms with a smoky, funk-inflected haze, bringing rhythm guitar and paternal murmurations to a surreal montage. The monologuing mood continues on the equal highlight that is Upercent's 'Where Are You', whilst Enamour's 'Jackpot' rounds out the show with the record's only brightly-lit minimal triller. The record is marked by sensuous, distant, familiar voices throughout.

Review: Sade's 'The Safest Place (NYC Dance Remix)' is a masterful blend of her signature smooth vocals being used for an infectious tribal groove. Originally from her 2010 album Soldier of Love, this remix seamlessly incorporates Sade's enchanting voice into a rhythm that pulses with energy, perfect for dancefloors. The track's production enhances its danceability, showcasing her ability to resonate with the dance community. It's a testament to her timeless appeal and adaptability, proving once again why she remains a beloved figure in both pop and dance music. Sade often finds her way into underground house and techno mixes. This might be one of the best.

Review: 'Solitude' is a perfectly apt title for anything Sistrum label head Patrice Scott does. The US deep house master makes such introverted and introspective sounds that they have you utterly transfixed in the moment, locked into thought and gazing on at his gorgeous synth designs which are cosmic, meaningful and jazzy. The title track here does all that and more with some deft vocals laced in and gentle tambourine sounds. 'Inoffensive Dance' is another meditation of deepness with loose drums and lovely melodies all soothing mind, body and soul.

Review: Seekers' 'The Man And A Sample' implies that all one needs to craft such tuneful incendiaries is a human body and a phono lead. Bringing three jams laid to tape in Barcelona in 2023, in turn laid to 12" vinyl in 2024, 'Telepathic Soul', 'Isotopic' and 'Parkour Jam' are three psychotropic, street-level soundshifters from the artist and label only known pluralistically as Seekers. All the tracks weigh in on a sound complementary of breakdance and MPC-core, though the added lasery, tropical and psychic sounds lend the whole thing an impressive, colourful abstraction, in good keeping with the highly exploratory Seekers brand. This Seeker saves the best till last with 'Parkour Jam', a somersaulting next-funk jam replete with effected vocal "hups", and the sounds of ancient alien landing gear repurposed into riser and faller SFX.

Review: Skatman's sounds often merge different facets of different genres into something fresh enough to pique the interest. This new album on Cognitive Prophecy is another case in point. It is club-ready tech and minimal but with standout character such as the squealing lead and auto-tuned vocal fragments of 'Fresh' which make it sound super futuristic. There is a warm afterglow to the vamping chords of ageless house jam 'Feel It' and 'Dream On' very much gets you into that mindstate with its widescreen synth smears.

Review: One of the more surprising trends of the early 1990s was the fusion of contemporary club culture - or at least the slow-motion end of it - with what would have once been considered 'church music'. While it was made famous by Enigma's global hit 'Sadness', Sloopey G's 'Domine' EP was reportedly recorded and released first. Certainly 'This Is The Day (Notre Dame Remix)', which naturally heads this THANK YOU reissue, sounds like a prototype of the Enigma sound - think British street soul beats, dreamy ambient pads, sampled monk chants, tactile bass and spoken word vocals. The EP also includes both similarly formed original bonus cuts, 'Victime' and the house-influenced 'Cathederal Dance', as well as previously unheard bonus cut 'Love In Heaven', a deliciously, shuffling and saucer-eyed affair.

Review: The visionary electronic explorer that is Steve Spacek returns with a limited edition 7" release on his new label, SPA. It gets the full treatment with a full picture sleeve and he says there are no plans for a repress so this is your one and only chance to own SPA001. Opener 'Could It Be Your Luv' offers a gentle, soothing half-time rhythm that evokes a love bruk vibe that he says was inspired by the ethereal nights at the legendary Plastic People. The B-side cut 'Dancing In The Light' features a unique clippety-clop, horse-step rhythm that blends a futuristic lovers' rock style with bright synths and bold bass topped with a heartfelt vocal. It's designed for dancefloors that appreciate a one-foot skank.

Review: Etymology is the study of the history and formation of words in language. Rarely do we find an artist, not least a somatically inclined dance music artist, concerned with such disciplines; usually that strand of things is left to us critics. Yet despite the titular allusion to said verbal science, further references to words on this release by Stekke are scant. In fact, 'Etymology' the track is as wordless as a mute, preferring a pure 120-ish BPM movement of rumbly and understated proportions, emphasising process over object. Flicky hats and unassuming chord hits predominate; we infer that it's the following remixes from Daniel Paul, Gari Romalis, Satoshi Tomiie and Losoul that are the real sonic cognates of interest here, spanning fidgeting minimal trance etymons and derivative dub lexemes. We return to a radical root on 'Downbeat', which features Audio Werner on a muted workout for hand drum and synth swell.

Review: New York City's underground stalwart Sweater On Polo returns with the debut release on Signal Route. His Mechanical Confusion EP draws inspiration from early 90s Chicago techno and basement house so it echoes the gritty, raw style of labels that dealt in that sort of stuff, like Dance Mania and Relief Records. Across the six cuts there is an intergenerational dialogue between past and present with acid house, techno and synth punk all capturing a familiar old-school angst and texture but with a fresh twist. 'Land of Code' is one of our favourites with its rising percussive tension, deeply buried bass pulse and dusty analogue drums.

Review: Francesca Macri's System Olympia project takes the best bits of Italo, disco, boogie and house and distills them into something fresh and sincere. As her cover art unfailingly spells out, this is sexy music first and foremost, and that intention charges her productions with a heart which positively radiates out of the speakers. Her Okay Nature label has been a reliable conduit for her prolific output, following up on last year's Always On Time record with this new EP which features a surprise appearance from Working Men's Club on the title track 'Sanctified'. It's a melancholic centre point to an EP which maintains Macri's thematic focus on the spiritual dimension of pleasure.

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: Words of Knowledge is a spoken word tribute album honouring Jerwayne Balentine, who is also known as J-epic and was a gifted poet, author, producer, and illustrator. Jerwayne wrote the book Words of Knowledge and was working with Dave Maze and Spike Rebel on a music and spoken word album based on his book before he tragically passed away in 2020 at the age of only 23 due to muscular dystrophy. Proceeds from the album will support music programs for young adults with developmental impairments and fund muscular dystrophy research. This project is supported by Master Mix Academy and D&e Recordings Chicago and features six sizzling hip-hop cuts with a sense of storytelling and low-end menace.

Review: Originally part of an exhibition curated by Elysia Borowy last September, Scott Grooves' contribution to After The Dance transcends the dancefloor, exploring experimental expressionism in visual arts and electronic music. Critiquing capitalist culture and drawing from afrofuturism, his work prompts reflection on consumerism and futuristic themes. The CD release features deep ambient pieces that caccaompnied six thought-provoking installations: Sweet Dreams Anakin, Foot Work, Vinyl, For All-Dee People, Yellow Sun Bricks, and Found Sound. It shows another side to the deep house don's work and is just as essential.

Review: Titled after Marvin Gaye's soulful 'After the Dance,' Detroit producer Scott Grooves delved into a realm beyond the dancefloor with his contribution to an exhibition by Elysia Borowy in September last year. It showcased six installations that explore experimental expressionism in visual arts and electronic music. Grooves' work critiques capitalist culture and draws from afrofuturism, creating a captivating dialogue on consumerism and futuristic themes across six thought-provoking installations: Sweet Dreams Anakin, Foot Work, Vinyl, For All-Dee People, Yellow Sun Bricks and Found Sound. These pieces challenge viewers to reflect on modern humanity, bridging the gap between observer and artwork and now the deeply absorbing, cathartic ambient music from the show arrives on CD.

Review: Over Under marks a vital moment in Secondo's artistic evolution as he mixes up the functional with the experimental in-house and techno. Reflecting two decades of exploration, this new album recalls his early production style while incorporating lessons from the years. It opens with the kosmische pulse of 'Occhi Nuovi' and moves through various tempos and moods, from club tracks like 'Unlikely Companions' to deeper, reflective moments such as 'Solar Funk'. The album's progression weaves a carefully crafted narrative, blending alien funk, mid-tempo grooves and jazz-inspired texture that all shine bright.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


Shockingly, five years have now passed since perennial deep house/disco/Balearic fusionists Session Victim released their fine debut album, The Haunted House of House. To celebrate, the album has been given the reissue treatment on vibrant orange vinyl. It remains a terrific set all told - a contemporary classic that stretches 11 slabs of deep house gorgeousness across three slabs of wax. Throughout, the pair easily sidestep the genre's many pitfalls, flitting between comfy, melodic goodness ('Push Comes To Shove', 'Zoinks'), jazz-funk/deep house fusion ('AlpineGlow'), slick disco-house ('The Haunted House'), groovy slo-mo electronica ('Blison'), dewy-eyed Balearica ('The Light Scent of Decay') and Clyde-esque broken hip-hop ('Fine').

Review: The Situation collective, led by Mr. Mulatto and Frank Situation, returns with their new album Audio Proxemics. It's a rich, genre-blurring journey across nine tracks of soulful nu-disco, jazz-infused house and broken beat featuring global collaborators like Javonntte, Venessa Jackson and Faze Action's Robin Lee. The album highlights Situation's deep musical roots with live instrumentation that ranges from shimmering keys to brassy horns and guitars which elevate each track beyond mere tool status. From the club-ready sparkle of 'Mrs Donovan' to the sun-drenched groove of 'Bullit,' this is a warm, musical celebration perfect for summer days and late-night sessions.

Review: Soela, the DJ and producer alias of Elina Shorokhova, channels her deep musical roots into Dark Portrait, an album that reflects both personal and global turmoil. Transitioning from her classical background into the electronic realm, Soela crafts a sonic journey that resonates with emotional depth and technical precision. The album begins with 'Unsuitable,' a track steeped in melancholic trip-hop vibes, setting an introspective tone. As Soela navigates the complex emotions surrounding her country's invasion of Ukraine, her music becomes a therapeutic outlet. This emotional intensity flows through tracks like 'Through the Windows' (featuring Francis Harris and Philipp Priebe) and 'Drowning' (with Module One), where intricate beats and ambient textures intertwine seamlessly. 'Spirits' and 'Lost In The Fog' offer haunting soundscapes that draw listeners into Soela's world, while 'February Is Not Going To Be Forever,' a collaboration with Lawrence, brings a dancefloor energy laced with a sense of urgency. The title track, 'Dark Portrait,' melds dubby rhythms with poignant melodies while the lead single, 'Even If I Ask You Stay,' showcases Soela's poignant vocal delivery amid a lush arrangement, addressing themes of escape and healing. The album concludes with 'The Darkest Hour Before Sunrise,' a hopeful and ethereal piece, blending subdued keys and strings with a sense of renewal. Dark Portrait is a deeply personal and powerful album, where Soela's rich musicality and emotional insight shine through, offering listeners both solace and inspiration.

Review: The changing face of nu-jazz is heard mutating once more on this third album by Soulstatejazz, released via the Chapelle XIV label. Band-led by multi-instrumental talent Tom Ellis - who is here heard on drums, percs, bass, guitars, piano and synths - he's backed up by Bugu Pala and Charles Morgan on vocals, Michiel Renger on tenor sax, Dave Elson on electronic percussion and Vicky Flint on trumpet and flute. The result is a rich, hypnotic and swirling journey through the wateriest ends of improv-based electronic jazz, making for a landmark new album.

Review: It's a while since we last heard from Spiral Deluxe, the deep house/nu-jazz fusion project of Jeff Mills, fellow Underground Resistance affiliate Gerald Mitchell, jazz guitarist Kenji Hino and Buffalo Daughter member Umiko Ohno. Having previously released two EPs (in 2017 and 18 respectively), the quartet has finally got round to recording a debut album. Fusing beats and electronics rooted in deep house, jazz-funk and - in a roundabout way - Motor City tech-jazz - with the virtuoso playing of Hino and Ohno, the set delivers a more fluid, instantaneous and loose-limbed exploration of the jazz-house blueprint drawn up by St Germain in the early 1990s. Basically, it's an album that draws the best out of its contributors, and there's no greater praise than that.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


It's a while since we last heard from Spiral Deluxe, the deep house/nu-jazz fusion project of Jeff Mills, fellow Underground Resistance affiliate Gerald Mitchell, jazz guitarist Kenji Hino and Buffalo Daughter member Umiko Ohno. Having previously released two EPs (in 2017 and 18 respectively), the quartet has finally got round to recording a debut album. Fusing beats and electronics rooted in deep house, jazz-funk and - in a roundabout way - Motor City tech-jazz - with the virtuoso playing of Hino and Ohno, the set delivers a more fluid, instantaneous and loose-limbed exploration of the jazz-house blueprint drawn up by St Germain in the early 1990s. Basically, it's an album that draws the best out of its contributors, and there's no greater praise than that.

Review: Ben Sun is a London-raised but currently Margate-based producer who is now back on Razor N Tape with his full-length offering The Henge. It draws on his love of cooking up introspective analogue electronic textures and traverses several different moods and grooves with ease. At times bright and melodic, at others dark and brooding, it offers moments of euphoria and times of reflection. Stand cuts include the downbeat sounds of 'Moon Lion' and funky rawness of 'The Khan's Reverie'. Fact fans should note that the superb artist with the album was also designed by Ben himself.

Review: A rare new V/A record from the diggers deific over at Time Capsule - Kay Suzuki and company - whose focus on reissues has thus far formed a dense but not unbraveable thicket of drummy disco, city pop, reggae and international rerubs. Formed out of the East London party scene centring on Brilliant Corners and Beauty & The Beat, this four-track haul of Choice Remixes is a surely credible little curation. Suzuki lends four flips to the record - first of Gaoule Mizik's 'A Ka Titine' from 2022, which reappears with expository force, providing a banging re-bake of the Guadeloupean gwoka original. The theme continues on a version of Broki's 'Es Que Lo Es', which veers Latin minimalia, before slowing to a chuggy pace on 'Sortez Les Filles', before a final, synthy piano duet leaves the proceedings on a piquant hurrah, 'Oyelo'.