Back catalogue: House

Review: Visions returns with another sharp collection of future-facing house, opening with a luxuriant, mid-tempo glide from Sean McCabe. A long-time figure in Bristol's soulful house scene, McCabe is known for his richly textured arrangementsiand this one, built on warm keys and featherlight percussion, leaves plenty of air in the mix. 'Rawai' from Alex & Stephan Attias moves in deeper, with Sohan Wilson's Rhodes work lending a dusty, meditative energy that simmers beneath the surface. The Attias brothers, both key players in Geneva's jazz-not-jazz underground, remain fluent in groove and restraint alike. Patrice Scott, a cornerstone of Detroit's second wave, brings both heft and elegance with 'Movements', arguably his most hypnotic production in recent memoryislow to unfold but rich with detail. Finally, Eva May debuts on the label with 'Test One', a slinky, electro-leaning cut bristling with sinewy funk. Based in Paris and new to production after years of DJing across Europe, she keeps things stripped-back and sharp, with a promise of more to come.

Review: dO iT nOw Recordings makes its debut in the world of vinyl with a various artists' sampler that shows just what they are all about. First up is Pigsie's wonderful 'Silk' which sets a fine tone with lush jazz-inspired keys, dreamy pads and intricate drum work that make it well suited to those late-night sessions. Wearing Shoes then offers 'Finding Your Words' with buttery Rhodes licks and looped vocals over fat bass, and the B-side begins with Michael Oberling and his deep jazz grooves, trumpet solos and swinging drums. Massive R closes with the lovely, jazzy house of 'This Feeling' complete with snappy drums and a catchy piano hook.

Review: Described as "the home of unnamed beats", North Macedonia label Pirka stand out as among the few to do it in their home locale of Skopje. On their fourth release, we've a new release from fresh but soon-to-stick producer PVC, who throws three new ones at the wall on an adhesive 12", and all them happen to stick. 'Door', 'Cocai' and 'Mode Dubs' chart a slow movement from functional to textural, stimulating every kind of floor-going soma out there, from thrill-seekingly impulsive through to the restrained and cerebral.

Review: Romanian artist Mihai Pol has the honour of serving up the first outing on Griffith and brings his signature atmospheric minimalism to the fore. His sound is both organic and immersive as evidenced by 'Nineteen' with its silky synth tones and wavy, stripped-back tech beats. It has a cheeky character that is replaced by a more dreamy and whimsical feeling in 'Lazer' which has soft harmonies and bubbly pads soothing the drums. 'Little Bit' gets more gritty with a kinetic kick and hit combo and percolating bass that gets more loose and acid-tinged as it unfolds. Last of all, 'Electric Night' shuts down with classy chords from dub techno, rippling melodies that melt off to the horizon and a heady vibe that gets you thinking.

Review: DBH welcome Mihai Popoviciu & David Delgado the the Pleasure Zone series with the 'Evolution' EP. Bringing jazzy, sloshy, jerking flavours to the tech house palette, 'Evolution' and 'Shifting' evolve and shift, convoking a delegated moot of propulsive chords and forward-driving janks, conveying the mood of a finely tuned closed clockwork system chugging away like the central engine of a wider contraption. Closer 'Black Light' operates more readily in the lower regions of things, proving unafraid of sounds that lean towards the more peripheral and umbral.

Review: Seasons Limited made a welcome return in 2024 and now keeps up that good momentum with another big single from French house mainstay Franck Roger with some fine vocals by Paul B. It's a super smooth sound with drum swaying back and forth, molten synth adding late night and tissue soul and the tender vocal adding intimacy and late night romance. Rocco Rodamaal steps up for remixes and first of all he pairs things back to a sedate, seductive deep house roll then fleshes out the drums with some dubby weight to finish.!

Review: The debut album from Ukrainian collective Noneside unites musicians and visual artists under the inspiring words of poet Taras Shevchenko, who said 'Make love, o dark-browed ones.' Framed by a painting from contemporary artist Iryna Maksymova, the music explores the trance and tech house that is destined to bring souls together on the dancefloor this summer and beyond. Shjva opens with fresh and mashed bass and sleek trance pads that are subtle but effective. Lostlojic layer sup deep, bubbly techno drums and bass with an angelic vocal tone and Saturated Color's 'Trancia' is a speedy, scuffed-up tech groove for late-night cruising. Peshka and Yevhenii Loi offer two more future-facing trance-techno fusions packed with feels.

Review: Use Vinyl looks back to two iconic tracks from the 70s and 80s here for source material for a new remix EP by the Vannelli family. Joe T remixes 'Thrill Me' by The Wonderland Band into the sort of direct and funky house sound that brims with early dance music charm while the Vannelli Bros offer their rework of 'Party On' by Pure Energy which comes with plenty of energy for club contexts. Both tracks are presented as Classic Mix versions and bring plenty of new life to the original hits without forgoing the timeless, catchy and meaningful melodies that define the originals. House music like this is as authentic as it gets.

Review: Cabale Records is a Parisian label that has, for the last few years been exploring the minimal techno world. It now branches out with its first various artist release featuring some tasteful tune makers starting with Pheek. He brings some loose percussive energy and wonky drum funk to his opener then Mod303 layers in dreamy and immersive pad work to deft, subtle drums on 'Paris City Zoo.' Night No Tori Vs Hubble keeps it deep and dubby with the late-night introspection of 'Deja Vu' then Sten's 'Slope' is a trippy afterhours sound with tumbling synth smears and percolating dub tech beats.