Back catalogue: House

Review: "Are You in Heaven?" Is a phrase immortalised by Roxy DJ Eddy de Clercq during one of Amsterdam's earliest house parties and it captures the spirit of what was a transformative era. Arnoud Winkler and Jochem Peteri (later known as Newworldaquarium) dropped this EP back in 1991, and it explored a then-new mix of euphoric energy with youthful, clever charm. Drawing inspiration from the booming European dance scene of the time, it's a passionate Dutch interpretation of American house music that very much stands up. Featuring blissed-out pads, dub textures and peak-time vibes, the reissue includes a new Gerd Janson edit of 'Ulysses Horizon' that brings it right up to date, plus the dreamy melodies of 'Flowerdale Beach' and the title track, and all three are timeless cuts that still radiate magic and meaning.

Review: As you can tell from the title of this ongoing series, System Error likes to serve up only 100% party bombs. The third volume lives up to that once more with Parchi Pubblici kicking off with the acid-laced bumps of 'Perfect Vacuum2Disco' complete with zippy synths and snappy percussion. Lanzieri's 'Twisted Tango' hits just as hard with an electro-techno fusion that rides on psychedelic synth loops with jacked-up drums. Raku's 'Valle Dei Templi' has a more pared-back sound with a menacing and rubbery low end and creeping synths that keep you on edge. Phill Prince's 'Indigo' shuts down with something tripped out and retro with 90s techno vibes colouring the drums.

Review: 'Let Me Go' is the debut EP from Italian duo Pathagonia, which is made up of Noha and Alex Tea. They are a pair of minimalists who craft sounds for the late-night hours, starting with the title cut. 'Let Me Go' has warm solar winds blowing over the kinetic, crispy drums so makes for a nice soulful sound while 'Swirl' is heavier. The dub quotient is upped, the chords rattle and there's a heads down feel to the way things move onwards. 'Atomic' takes another tack - it's more sparse, airy and shady with whimsical synths doing a nimble dance over tight, loopy drums. Last but not least, 'Boys Can Cry' is a turbocharged but serene tech house wafter. All four are well designed and sure to appeal to real heads.

Review: Peverelist stands as a defining figure in UK electronic music, shaping the intersection of bass-driven sound system culture and forward-thinking techno. Emerging from Bristol's fertile underground scene, his work as a producer, DJ and label head has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of UK dance music. Closing out his long-running series, he distills his signature sound into four meticulously sculpted tracks. 'Pulse XVII' bookends a skeletal, stepping groove with shimmering synth strings and crisp chord stabs, injecting a dose of Motor City euphoria into his typically weighty framework. 'Pulse XVIII' strips things back to bare essentials, constructing a taut, jacking house cut from pulsing low-end and precisely placed percussionia masterclass in restraint and impact. The energy escalates with 'Pulse XIX', where dub techno textures are reworked into something sharper and more urgent, its rolling momentum underpinned by a driving rhythmic core. 'Pulse XX' then flips expectations, shifting into leftfield steppers territory with elastic bass motifs and alien hooks, recalling the producer's earlier experiments while pushing his sound into fresh terrain. It's a fitting conclusion to a project that has consistently balanced dancefloor functionality with a forward-thinking approach.

Review: The Montreal-based boutique label, Aissa Records, a vinyl-only sub-imprint of Suleiman Records, continues to carve out a niche for sophisticated, nuanced techno with this new one from Pheek. 'Maybe It Was A Dream' merges ambient textures with crisp minimal techno that is dreamy and hypnotic. 'Goldfish Memory' is a track that feels both meditative and kinetic so is perfect for deep listening or late-night sets. On the flip, Mihai Popoviciu delivers a tight, club-ready remix that adds punch without losing the original's subtlety and lastly, 'YEAH' is a dubbed out and reverb-rich roller with abstract sonic details keeping the mind as busy as the body.

Review: C&C Music Factory lynchpin Eric Kupper takes on 'BackStabbers' with a considered touch, reinforcing its groove while preserving the essence of its original 1982 recording. Captured at Virtue Studios by a powerhouse ensembleiincluding MFSB and Salsoul Orchestra greats like Earl Young, Ron Baker and Vince Montana, Jr.ithis session defined the lush, orchestrated soul of Philadelphia. Joe Freeman's lead vocal remains the focal point, its urgency cutting through Kupper's updated mix, which tightens the percussion and adds a refined low-end punch. Side A presents the vocal mix, where the track's layered instrumentation breathes with new clarity, while Side B strips it down to an instrumental, letting the intricate arrangements shine. US-based Kupper, a veteran of over 1,400 remixes, treats the material with the respect of a historian and the instincts of a modern dancefloor craftsman, balancing nostalgia with crisp, club-ready sonics.

Review: Marcellus Pittman is one of the Motor City's finest. The long-time house explorer has a singular sound that is built around brittle drum loops, hissing and dusty hi-hats and loose-limbed arrangements that are stark and dehumanised but somehow full of intriguing machine warmth and soul. Take this EP, 'Loneliness Leave Me Alone,' first dropped back in 2010: the title cut has bouncing, bulbous bass and jacked up drums that sound both menacing yet playful, which the fizzy, sugary chords spray across the mix like a mist of pixelated water. 'Razz 09' has that Omar-S style melancholy and trudging rhythm that's heightened by the curious melodies which unfurl with a mind of their own in the background. Superb.

Review: The Pittsburgh Tracks Authority crew prides itself on serving up fad-free, no-frills, authentic-only house music that will stand up to the tyranny of passing trends. For their next outing, they veer into tech territory with 'Tech 97', a tune that embodies just that, a bit like, a no doubt subtly named in reference to, Micke Huckaby's Bassline 87 tune. It might sound simple, but effective, but that's really not an easy trick to pull off. The manic mix allows the synth more room to roam and rumble with more raw percussion, and the Calm mix is a smooth, dubbed-out but still nice and pacey rework. Very useful tools.

Review: We hear distant soul croons, and lyrical talk of silver linings, on this latest EP from Pornbugs and Frink, as the pair draw another heat on the EPs game after 2023's 'See Through My Eyes'. Striking while the rod is still hot, these two've releases through the likes of Spielgold and Sublease since 2006, which have surely informed on this rippling release, which keeps one foot in the chillout vault and the other in room one. But both moods are held in impossible superposition - we feel relaxed and upbeat at the same time. 'Keep It Down' especially impresses with its distant use of a vocal line that might otherwise be put to more focal use by less patient producers, proving the compatibility of lyricism and soundscape.

Review: Inspired by his neon-lit walks around London's docklands, crate digger Ilan Pdahtzur's 2019 compilation Night City Life marked him out as a dusty-fingered crate digger and record collector with a distinctive, synth-heavy musical vision. It made him the toast of the selector/collector community, but more than that it was a genuinely superb selection of obscure, hard-to-find cuts. This belated sequel is every bit as essential and filled, unsurprisingly, with rare and lesser-known gems. Highlights are too plentiful to mention, but our current favourites include Sharon & Tracey's 'The Sheik' (a belly-dancing inspired slab of TB-303 bass-driven house hedonism), Jennifer's 1992 Euro-house gem 'Come Into My Life', Scicilian musician Claudio D'Ignoti's boogie-era treat 'Ache Per Noir', and the fashion scene inspired leftfield synth-pop of Lena's 'Embrasse-Moi (Strumentale)'.