Back in stock: Deep House

Review: Dojo Zone is said to be "a local lurker of the backstreets of Santa Catalina" as well as being a deep digger with a fine vinyl collection and a penchant for taps. He has knows a thing or two about crafting some nice fresh minimal sounds, as evidenced here for the Santa Cata label from Spain. 'Mediterranean Express' is as frictionless as they come, with nice jacked drums and balmy pads, then 'Houdini's Hauz' gets more playful with some blurting synths and smeared pads under nice percussive patter. 'Encuentro Tropical is a steamy and cruising groove with irresistibly warm bass and 'Viaje Del 23' (Isla mxi) shuts down with some topical cosmic vibes.

Review: If you're a fan of 'dream house' - that immensely colourful, loved-up take on deep house pioneered by Italian producers at the turn of the 90s - then you may already know Don Carlos' Mediterraneo, a 1992 mini-album that contains one of the most celebrated (and, we will add, inspired) tracks produced in the period. We're talking about the undulating melodies, saucer-eyed chords and shuffling beats of 'Re-Mida Overture', of course, and as this timely reissue proves, there's plenty more to get excited about across the six-track set, including two takes on 'Play It Again' (a sunrise-ready 'Underground' version that's as deep as they come, and the lusciously emotive 'Paradise' mix), and the simply gorgeous, life-affirming title track - a cut just tailor-made for open-air dances and beachside festivals.

Review: Francis K remains a legend to this day and his music will always be well received whenever it is reissued. It was pioneering tackle back then and it remains a cut above the rest to this day. Here his FK EP is in the spotlight on Wave Music. It opens with the rapturous vocals of 'Hypnodelic' (feat Freddie Turner) before going for jacked up space beats on 'Mindspeak.' 'Edge Of Time' is a freaky tribal number for the dead of night with plenty of cosmic chords, and last of all 'Moov' explores deep house beats with new age melodies. Hard to categorise, easy to love, this is classic electronic music.

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: Reece Johnson brings the party across this limited new and hand-stamped 12" on the fledgling Disco Disco label. 'San Sal' is a lovely rough and ready party with nice loose, raw drums and freewheeling synth lines full of big energy. 'HTT' follows the same path and keeps the vibes pumping then 'Dance To My Beat' brings in some mad funky slap bass and plenty of tambourines and shakers to make the floor get down in even more unhindered fashion. 'Wanna Be Loved' closes down with a more stripped-back and deep sound for late-night seduction.

Review: It's been a while since we last heard from former Ubiquity Records modern soul starlet Jeremy Ellis. Despite his mid-2000s success, the man with the golden tonsils has been off the radar since 2010. He's sounding as smooth and soulful as ever on this surprise return to action, lending his impeccable tones to a chunk of lilting deep house from Sandman and Riverside. Kai Alice handles remix duties on the A-side, delivering a tactile chunk of heavily electronic deep house with fluid chords and extended solos aplenty. That musical fluidity comes to the fore on the flipside KZREKchampa Club Dub, which peppers a shuffling, glassy-eyed groove with selected snippets of Ellis's brilliant vocal.

Review: Neapolitan Soul's fourth EP brims with soulful house stylings that are effortlessly timeless. Also inspired by deep and afro influences, 'The Heart Knows' comes as four different and equally brilliant versions. The original is soulful house with nice deep drive and a great vocal filled with passion and meaning. After the more stripped back instrumental is a typically chunky, percussive, meditative Trinidadian Deep Naples Bush mix that works the keys, then Neapolitan Soul & Luciano Gioia link up for a final deep mix that is superbly smooth, with warming bass and lush hits all making for a silky groove.

Review: Return to 2001: Swiss brothers Shakedown drop an iconic house anthem that debunked the standard XXL funk du jour with a much spacier, synth-based 80s boogie sound. Still relevant and heavily played, Defected have commissioned three on-point artists for the 2018 contemporisations: Peggy Gou gets her acid tweaks on, Tiger & Woods pitch down the vocal and dust off the Street Sounds electroid feel and Purple Disco Machine cooks up an unapologetic funked up house jam that wouldn't have gone amiss on Classic back in the day. For good measure Shakedown return with their own signature Galactic Boogie version that pumps with strong Moroder tendencies. Good night.

Review: As his pseudonym makes clear, Sudi Wachspress has long been an exponent of ultra-deep, intergalactic - and increasingly retro-futurist - deep house. He continues this trend on his latest album, which sees him pop up on Canadian imprint Pacific Rhythm for the very first time. After opening with some superb, deep space ambient ('Virtual Age'), he pays tribute to the tactile, turn-of-the-90s New Jersey deep house of Dream 2 Science ('Inner Focus'), before flitting between new age ambient warmth ('Save Point', 'New Day'), sunrise-ready ambient house ('Sounds of Peace'), piano-sporting Italian dream house revivalism (the utterly gorgeous 'Time Station'), drifting electronica ('Heal') and loved-up street soul beats ('Private Paradise').

Review: For their 12 year anniversary, Munich's Compost Disco serves up 15 previously unreleased tracks. The variety ranges across the floor from classic soul (Ed Lee's 'You Are The Star' feat Allison David - extended dub) to boogie (Dimitri From Paris & DJ Rocca's 'The Compass Point') to some Italo (Ron Deacon on 'Killersong' or Imperial Porcelain's 'Tulip Moon'), and even a bit of deep disco (as heard on Mark E's playful 'I'm Your Eversion'). 12 Compost Disco Years is what the label best described themselves as tasty, hypnotizing and emotional.

Review: Brazilian producer Zopelar is a real wizard when at work in the studio. He has done disco-tinged full lengths, synth-laced house sounds, deeper than deep grooves and now steps up to Sudd Wax with another brilliantly musical EP. It opens with the shimmering pads and free-flowing keys of 'Papaia' which then gets a Byron The Aquarius Jazz Twist mix that cuts even more free and gets even more cosmic. 'Jazz Class' is a funky one with golden chords and astral pads and the flip brings three more house gems laced up with the sort of meaningful melodies you don't often hear in this genre.