Back catalogue: House

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: REPRESS ALERT!: Drop Music marks a marvellous quarter of a century of releases with this new slab of vinyl featuring some gems from disco funksters Crazy P and the house mainstays Inland Knights. Crazy P go first with 'Disc Odyssey' which is perfectly indicative of their much beloved sound with its low slung kicks and funky bassline. Inland Knights then offer a trio of in demand & unreleased tracks. 'Overnight' is a bumming deep house joint, 'Walk On' has an icy late night vibe and balmy pads and 'Do It Again is a more playful closer, with some killer b-line action. All four, needless to say, are timeless gems, and the fact the last two are appearing on vinyl first the first time makes it an even more desirable cop.

Review: Toolroom's Fool's Paradise offshoot has done a good job in offering up fresh, disco-inspired material, but it also acts as an outlet for key crew member Michael Gray's 21st century reworks of classic disco cuts. On this 12", the long-serving Essex producer puts his slant on Inner Life's boogie-era gem 'I Like It Like That', a 1982 Salsoul single fronted by a then young Jocelyn Brown and produced by Leroy Burgess and Patrick Adams associate Stan Lucas. Gray begins with a lightly housed-up - but suitably reverential - full vocal remix, ensuring plenty of space for the studio band's squiggly synths, bold pianos and dextrous bass guitar. Arguably even better is the B-side 'Dub', which alternates between heavy groove sections, extended breakdowns and effects-laden showcases of Inner Life's piano, bass and synths.

Review: Established in the UK in 2009 as master-builders of disco-house builds in the late naughty noughties, Instruments Of Rapture first cut the red tape with Ilija Rudman's 'Part Four' and lasted for just three years until 2012. And while the early axing was a shame, we think real works of art are those which are short-lived but profuse in quality. Now kicking back into gear after almost 15 years, the label now return to double up as both label and moniker, humorously titled 'You're Cured Mate'. Described as a "soundtrack more hypnotic and deadly than ever", this new one follows 'The Formula' of cut-short, hypno-loop lyrics and carnal felid whispers (especially in '7 Grams Of Funk'), marking an EPs' worth of subtle libertinage in 2025, the year of the snake.

Review: Intrallazzi and Dario Piana have been friends and Milanese scene contemporaries since 1981, when they both fell in love with the distinctive Afro-Cosmic sound of local DJ (and later Piana collaborator) Daniel Baldelli. Since then, they have both made records aplenty under a variety of aliases, but this EP on Leng marks their first joint release. The headline attraction is opener (and lead cut) 'Out of Control', a dubbed-out cosmic disco chugger propelled by echo-laden percussion and a deep, low-slung bassline, smothered in psychedelic synth and guitar sounds. Fellow Italian producer LTJ Experience remixes, offering up a stripped-back and acid-flecked interpretation. Elsewhere, 'Lazise' is a TB-303-sporting cosmic shuffler and 'Saocraffen' is a Baldelli-influenced fusion of Afro-cosmic funk and ethereal Balearic sounds.

Review: Marcello Giordani, known as Italo Deviance, returns with a two-track release that captures his decades of dance music expertise. Side A delivers a vibrant blend of house and disco, bursting with infectious energy and a nod to vintage Italo grooves. On the flip, acid influences seep in, creating a hypnotic, mind-bending experience driven by crisp production and dynamic rhythms. Mastered by Francesco Salvadori at Sweep Audio in Berlin, this release is a testament to Giordani's ability to craft tracks that balance nostalgia with forward-thinking sound design, making it a must-have for discerning selectors.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record slightly warped***


A top value for money opportunity here, as Moiss Music deliver the latest in their sweet and sticky Jam series of various artist 12" line ups, bringing you no less than six bubbling, vivacious disco triumphs from six artists. Khemir's 'Disco Bandit' kicks off proceedings, a production that sounds like it was made by a band of around 45 musicians, a proper cavalcade of strings, brass, brazen disco thump and beautifully bold vocals. Wurzelholz's 'Prince' goes for a bit more economy but with a slinky funk bassline like that - not to mention the occasional exclamation from the purple overlord himself - it's equally devastating in dancefloor terms. Among the other highlights, 'Golden' by I Gemin has the feel of a lost Daft Punk flip tune and Cosmocomics' 'Glamorous Garcon', boasting 70s-style synth bubbles that are as cute as they are retro. Tasty as ever.

Review: For the latest must-check missive on their self-titled label, London twosome Make-a-Dance have decided to pay tribute to the formative 'garage-house' sounds made for, and played at, New York clubs in the mid 1980s. Rising star Magari steps up first with 'Mars Bar', a Larry Levan-friendly affair where soulful, reggae style vocal samples ride a Boyd Jarvis-esque bassline and warm synths. It's very authentic to the sound being paid tribute to, as is Mark Seven's accompanying (and lightly freestyle influenced) 'Parkway Power' rework. Over on the reverse, Ilija Rudman takes over with 'Danceteria', a proto-garage house affair whose title offers a nod to the infamous NYC venue of the same name. Manuel Durquart remixes, retaining the nostalgic vibe while adding extra trippy layers of sound, a sturdier early NYC house groove and mazy synth solos.

Review: Merwyn and Inkswel's latest is a refreshing blend of deep house and leftfield flair. The title track, 'Eternal Freedom', kicks off with a broken beat groove and a powerful vocal delivering a message about liberation, fusing deep house with an inventive rhythmic style. 'Cloud Eaters' follows with a soulful vibe that channels early 80s funk, creating an uplifting and nostalgic energy. 'Skyline' rounds out Side-1 with its own unique twist on house, pushing creative boundaries in style. On Side-2, Linkwood's remix of the title track injects a spacey disco vibe, layering a deep house groove with subtle funk elements that feel both classic and fresh. Gb's remix takes the track in a different direction, dialing back the energy with laid-back, 80s-inspired electro textures, offering a relaxed and introspective vibe. Together, these tracks deliver a dynamic and nuanced listening experience, perfect for fans of eclectic, message-driven house music.