Back catalogue: House

Review: The third Rush Hour Direct Current release sees previous incumbents Cosmin TRG and Falty DL engage in some mutual back scratching activities with each remixing a standout track from the others RHDC EP. Falty DL turns the Romanian's "See Other People" into a crazed futuristic techno R&B hybrid - probably what a Kyle Hall remix of Kingdom would sound like. On the flip "St Marks Place" gets a truly menacing techno funky rerub from the Cosmin. Top release all round.

Review: Earlier this year, Rush Hour announced the focus of their archival attentions would fall on Vincent Floyd, a producer with a small clutch of 12? releases in the mid-90s for Dance Mania, Relief and Gherkin Records offshoot Resound Records. Having reissued Floyd's 1990 Dance Mania release Your Eyes back in February, Amsterdam outpost Rush Hour return to the Chicago artist's canon of work with Moonlight Fantasy, a six track 12" filled with unreleased material. Sourced from Floyd's personal DAT tapes, Moonlight Fantasy focuses on his earliest productions and a time when his sumptuous sound was very much in the classic deep house mould of Larry Heard. House music historians will find this a most compelling document!

Review: Vincent Floyd is a true dance music great. Back in the 80s he was landing on vocal labels like Dance Mania and Relief, and to this day that material still stands up. Which is why Rush Hour are reissuing his ?Cruising EP from 1990. It's a primo deep house offering that features Floyd's trademark sense of spaced out melody and cosmic energy. The title track is an epic 12 minute trip on crunchy Roland drums and glistening hi hats, then 'Isolation' spaces you out with its slick but stripped back sound. 'Silent Noise' is the closer that unhinges with its edgy chord sequences and sense of intergalactic tension.

Review: Original Chicago deep house producer Vincent Floyd has enjoyed something of a career renaissance since the release of Moonlight Fantasy, a collection of previously unheard 1990s productions, on Rush Hour in 2014. Here the Dutch label dips into his vaults again and unearths another gem from the late 1990s. "Hard to Love" is every bit as warm, rich and loved-up as you'd expect, with Floyd providing a yearning, soul-fired vocal to accompany his rich Windy City grooves and cascading synthesizer melodies. On the flip you'll find a fabulous instrumental version that closely mirrors the vocal take. That it stands up on its own without the headline vocal is testament to Floyd's impeccable composition and production skills.

Review: Rush Hour's latest reissue focus is Vincent Floyd, a producer with a small clutch of 12? releases in the mid-90s for Dance Mania, Relief and Gherkin Records offshoot Resound Records. Although more from the producer is promised in the year to come, the first record is Your Eyes, a reissue the producer's debut for Dance Mania. Released back in 1990, the five-track 12? brandished a title track that was pretty much a perfect example of vocal deep house from the era, and this reissued edition from Rush Hour pares the record down to just three tracks, with the Chan-featuring title cut complemented by an instrumental and "I'm So Deep," described by the label as a "sinister haunting instrumental jackin track".

Review: Rush Hour, feted by all for their output in 2010, eschew any laurel resting opportunities with an absolute shed load of twelve inches this week, lead by this gloriously gloopy EP of warehouse jams from Freak Seven. The alias of Manchester based producer Naveed Akhtar, Freak Seven was last seen dropping some Detroit tinged output on New Kingdom some seven years ago. This release marks a well overdue return and is drenched in house music history thanks to the vocal contribution from Aniff Akinola, who's CV includes co-writing "Voodoo Ray"! This pub quiz fact is barely the most impressive aspect, with the title track "Nano Kids" dripping with a pulsating sweaty bleeping energy which combines brilliantly with Akinola's anthemic vocal refrain. This is complemented by the rougher, darker sonic headfuck of "Feel The Soul" with percussion bouncing off the rumbling rubber band bass, off kilter rhythms combining with spooked out sax flourishes and heavily phased vocals that suddenly rise to dominate brilliantly at the mid section. Instrumentals are on the flip but seem lacking in comparison.

Review: Firecracker and Prime Numbers' Gavin Sutherland follows up his excellent EP for the Delsin affiliated Purple Maze by adding a Rush Hour release to his list of achievements. "Snow Day" is more along the lines of his moodier, Detroit inspired cuts, as a thick but restless bassline slides underneath shuffling drums and glittering chords. "Vin 2 Win" is a more soulful number, as lightly tapped chords and offbeat percussion combine with abstract bass notes, though it's left to "Trans Pennine Express" to provide the EP's deep moment, as a hypnotic melody, languid lounge pads and a snaking bassline undulate across a solid 4/4 beat.

Review: Deep house enthusiasts have long held the work of Chicago producer Vincent Floyd in high regard. While he was never exactly prolific - unlike, say, Larry Heard, whose melodious, colourful and evocative productions his tracks most resemble - his early '90s singles for Resound, Dance Mania and Relief are widely considered to be peerless classics of the genre. Moonlight Fantasy revisits this period, delivering 10 previously unreleased tracks from the period, mastered from DATs that have long been hidden from view. Predictably, there's much to admire, and it seems odd that these cuts never saw the light of day first time around. Whatever the reason, tracks like "Dark Matter", "Lunar Moods" and "Unwanted Noise" should be considered to be previously unheard classics.