Back catalogue: House

Review: Scruniversal's sub label Tunes Delivery invites Moscow scene veteran Leonid Lipelis to don his Beard In Dust moniker for their third instalment, one which dips into various different eras of dance history for inspiration. There's a distinctly late 80s feel to opening tune 'Music of the U', complete with sampled bell stabs and the kind of beats that wouldn't be out of place on an S'Express or early Coldcut house affair. 'The Armenian Break' and 'City of Love' look back even further, back to the female-fronted disco efforts of the 70s, the latter adding a touch of Balearic flourishes. 'Abstractish P' circles around some serene arpeggios, with rave whistles and, as it progresses, twisting guitar notes, lending it an individual air, while closer 'RoRyaRe' nods to ExCel-era 808 State with some nice bleepery before settling into more progressive headnodding territory and some distinctive synth play.

Review: The first ever release by the elusive Benedict on 12". 'Can't Stop' is a lacrimal liquescence of red-lit dance music, one that does an impressive job of obscuring its vocal sample source, though they've not stumped us: the siftage in question is The Internet's 'Hold On' (2018). Syd Tha Kid's condensed vocals are made nymphlike in their buttery brush-up against warbled deep house prods, marking out a truly luxurious listen.

Review: Body Edits makes its inaugural move with a release shrouded in apparent secrecy and anticipation, responding to rumours that a revered figure in UK house (said to be twice Grammy-nominated) is at the helm. The artist is unnamed, but the production speaks volumes: sleek, functional, and brimming with vintage character and jaunt, 'Shades Of Love' counterposes 'Money' with upticks in tempo and flair, while 'Annihilating Dance' is the surreal A2 vision quest, with dissolved voices and flurried, primeval cries tearing our ears asunder.

Review: Bristol producer Borai (Boris English) and London's Denham Audio (Peri Ashwood) pulled off a remarkable feat with 'Make Me/No Good', an unequivocal release put out on Higher Level Records in 2019. Repurposing the unmistakable hookline from Donna Allen's g-funk jacker 'Serious' from 1986 into a fully re-recorded sample all their own, 'Make Me' set alight the feet of the breaksy raver, striking serious gold in the classic formula of easily-recognised old-school-soul vocals and sculpted tearout heft. As anthemic as its original B-side, 'No Good', the original latter half of the record now comes substituted by Big Ang's Rave To The Grave mix, whose blooping trooper sound design and mains-hum Reeses provide an ecstatic alter. A can't-go-wrong reissue by the Room Two camp.

Review: Margate-based Braga Circuit showcases a refined signature style and knack for killer sampling with this standout debut on Air Miles. 'Fall' kicks off with amped-up chord stabs and brilliantly well-swung, rolling kicks that soon get those hips moving. 'Closer' oozes summer cool thanks to the balmy chords that soften the percussive, garage-flecked house drums. There is also plenty of Kerri Chandler soul in these here beats that makes them all the more essential. 'Filter Feed' layers up dusty perc and thudding kicks with sultry vocal whispers. It's steamy and irresistible and last but not least, Leod is another talent from the coastal town of Margate and remixes this one with a more direct and dubby style.

Review: Esente Records' young journey continues with a second offering that builds on the good work of the first. This one comes from Bucharest's BRYZ and is a masterclass in refined electronic minimalism. Opening up the trip is 'Slippery,' a fluid blend of supple rhythm and texture with plenty of characterful sound designs and details peeling off the beats. 'Self Definition' follows with introspective tones that invite personal exploration and on the B-side, 'She's Infinite Bliss' delivers an ethereal, almost otherworldly atmosphere while 'Eternal Sheevy' closes the journey with a timeless, lingering resonance. Each track reflects the deep, minimal aesthetic Esente is known for-subtle but not lacking power, and introspective yet dancefloor-ready.

Review: Italian duo Lorenzo Fortino and Brody return with their third collaborative release, further refining a sound that drifts between deep house, electro and moody, politically conscious techno. Their work has always carried a sense of purpose, but here it feels more dialled-iniless ornamental, more direct. Opener 'Our Truth' stretches over seven minutes, layering synth washes and sparse drum work around processed vocals that feel halfway between meditation and manifesto. 'Homemade Mould' is tougher, rooted in chunky house drums and dubbed-out atmospheres, tapping into the rawer side of their shared palette. On 'Deep Freedom', they introduce vocalist Veronica Marini, whose debut here is remarkableiher voice rises with clarity and control through a lyrical call to action that's both elegant and forceful. That same control shapes 'Leave Those Memories', where she softens into something more introspective, folding jazz phrasing into a smoother, bittersweet house groove. Both tracks also appear in instrumental form digitally, but it's Marini's presence that elevates them into something quietly luminous. While rooted in the familiar structures of club music, this release reaches for something deeper and often gets there.

Review: Theory Of Swing Records and Club U Nite Records are well loved outlets that themselves have a big love for authentic 90s house. They come togther for this special various artists release which opens with Mellow Man and his side project Black Chunes Productions. Opener 'Soul Groove' brings bright xylophone melodies and US garage drums, while, 'Daddy, Are U Ready' is organ-laced New York swing with great style and vocal stabs. Theory Of Swing main man St. David then hooks up with pal Wildbox from No Hype DJs for the same heavy and sweaty house of 'All Nite.' Their second jam 'Feeling Free' is more stripped back and cool with balmy pads swirling round cool drums kicks.

Review: Neil E and Big City Bill's latest doubles as the second offering from Spincycle, yet another a split 7" single on 180g vinyl. The twins' journey began two decades ago high up in an unnamed mountain range, where they met, after which they descended onto the city in search of purpose. Thus spake Zarathustra: down below, they toiled away in dimly lit garages, decoding mysterious symbols cast on walls by home-gaffed fluorescent lights. At first, their work seemed like madness, but there comes a time in every madman's life when toil leads to breakthrough. Thus were sowed the two fine harvests you hear here: 'Dry Rub', with its tugging taut sound design, and 'The BBV', a mistier firmament of altitudinal unknowns. No need to map out the terrain first - just give in to your ears.

Review: Heavyweight sonic Afro-botics from Nikodemus, Barzo and Mr Doris on 7" wax. The trio team up here with Dinked Records for a double-bill 7" in veins of amapiano and broken beat, primed for crate sifters and floor ambulants alike. On the A, 'Want Some More' delivers Mr. Doris' signature blend of rhythmic muscle and Afro-Latin swang, while the flip flops Nickodemus with Barzo and Zongo Abongo for 'Show Your Power': a bold, percussive cut straddling broken beat, house, and ska. Somewhere between 126 and 128 BPM, both are utter floor finishers and could easily intro your next Afro-house set as they could provide it a sense of continuous, mid-set body.

Review: Back by popular demand comes this four track revisitation of the famous 80s synthpop classic, which emerged in December 2024 with the kind of slightly Euro twist in the vocal department you might expect from the Netherlands-based Random Vinyl stable. The Master Mix is perhaos the most poignant, given that its airy, lush pads were put together by the late producer Marc Hartman who very sadly passed away in August 2024 at the far too young age of 58. But all four show due reverence to this monolithic moment in electronic music history, without resisting the temptation to add a little new. Grey-t stuff.

Review: The eighth instalment in Running Back's playful Hits! series arrives with a globetrotting batch of quirky dancefloor charmers, spanning interstellar disco, Italo throwbacks and Berlin School eccentricity. Kicking things off, Skatman leans into sleazy synth funk and smoky melodrama with 'What I Am Feelin'', a crooning synth-pop number pitched somewhere between space cabaret and Metro Area. Baron Von Traxian Australian prince of peaktime pompibrings glitzy melancholy with 'If I Only Knew', layering ascending Italo arps and soft pads over a chugging disco pulse. Janis Zielinski and Sowhy3 (both Berlin-based) turn in 'In Your Eyes' twiceifirst as a vocal daydream of euro-pop yearning, then as a sleek instrumental. Morphena's 'Venus Underworld' dials up the noir with icy stabs and new wave propulsion, while Zoe Zoe's 'Palikau Dzemperi' signs off with a Tangerine Dream-style glide repurposed for the club. There's no unifying concept, but as with earlier volumes, that's the point: a polychrome snapshot of Running Back's curious, cosmopolitan world.

Review: Prolific Italian maestro Black Loops returns to Freerange with Always Moving, a debut album steeped in high-grade dance heritage. Drawing on over a decade of production, he moves beyond club tools to something more personal and musical, with guest appearances from Harvey Sutherland, Byron the Aquarius and Marlena Dae. Rooted in funk, soul and 90s grooves, these are rich, warm tracks with fully authentic swing i with much of the percussion played live by the artist himself. The result is fluid and human, from the broken beats of 'CDMX' to the shimmering chords of 'Detroit Love Letter'. Marlena Dae adds her touch to several standouts, including the disco-leaning 'Electrical' and hazy deep house of 'Pleasure Ride'. Even at its most downtempo, like the closing 'Good Bye Berlin', the album stays focused and melodic. A confident and expressive full-length that shows how far Black Loops has come while hinting at where he might head next.

Review: Black Loops directs a welters' worth of experience into Always Moving, his debut full-length for Freerange. Far beyond club tools, this is a sensitive elusion of watery neo soul instrumentation and distant broken beat jazz, and we're not surprised in this breath to learn of Black Loops' own background as a drummer. Nor is it any wonder either that such auteur's disco house regals such as Harvey Sutherland, Byron The Aquarius and Berlin vocalist Marlena Dae all appear on the record, through 'CDMX' to the ever so eerie, Erie-downstream deep house of 'Detroit Love Letter'. 'Electrical And LSD' takes after such influences as Metro Area's disco house shimmer, while tracks like 'Pleasure Ride' and 'Good Bye Berlin' further locks down the abiding nighttime tension - that least comparable part of his sound.