Back catalogue: House

Review: Rebirth invites us to go back, way back, to the Italian underground techno scene of the 90s with this new selection of alternate versions, unheard gems and certified classics. Oneiric & Vortex open up with a tune that brings to mind the warmth of Motor City techno on 'Oasi' before GNMR layer up supersized hi hats and seriously weighty beatdown drums, Populous offers the loopy melodic delight of 'Barragan' and G-Connection heads into the cosmos with the dreamy ambient of 'Free Your Spirit', a perfect mood build if ever we heard one. Two further gorgeously blissed-out post-rave comedown sounds close out this gem of an EP.

Review: Another Face launches with a fierce various artist affair here that showcases some of Italy's finest production talent. Luca Vera kicks off with 'Feel Better', a raw and texturally rich cut that brings angst and energy to the dancefloor. DJ Rocca explores a much more horizontal and heady house groove steeped in classic dreamy Italo melodies on 'Epsylon Club' then Rame's 'Bow Down' carries on with colourful synths bringing to mind a sunset dance by the Med. Luca Distefano shuts down with shuffling, dusty, jazzed-up deep house funk on 'Be Kind' to close out a diverse first EP.

Review: Wild Pitch Club is next up in the excellent and ling running Running Back Mastermix series. It's a legendary space that has very much defined the Frankfurt and wider german scene and was also something of a predecessor venue to the new well-loved Robert Johnson. That club was itself a place where Panorama Bar's very own nd_baumecker really made waves and it is they alongside co-founder Ata who have curated these tunes. The venue was hooked on the US sounds and often hosted the likes of Robert Hood and Claude Young to Kerri Chandler all of which shows in the sounds of the tunes.

Review: Whereas the first volume of Italian house pioneer Don Carlos's retrospective of Italian house, Echoes of Italy, largely stuck to the picturesque but chunky and organ-rich "Italo-house" template, this second volume expressly focuses on "paradise house" - what Young Marco and Christiaan MacDonald dubbed "dream house" on their superb Welcome To Paradise series. As you'd expect given his association with the sound, Carlos's selections are notably different (and arguably less well known) than theirs, even if some of the same artists feature. It's cultured, tactile and loved-up dancefloor dreaminess all the way, with highlights including the slow-build wonder of Onrico's saucer-eyed 'Echo Gimini', the low-slung groove of Alex Neri's 'The Wizard (Hot Funky Version)', the piano-laden, breakbeat-driven shuffle of Moto Grosso's 'Titanic', and Carlos's own gorgeous, organ-heavy 'Boy'.

Review: Don Carlos will always be best known as the legendary Italian producer behind the enduring Balearic and Italo/dream house classic 'Alone' which was, rather impressively, his first ever release. Here we get to hear some of his favourite tunes on another vital volume of this series from his longtime home label Irma Records. All the tracks on this essential double pack have been re-edited by Don Carlos himself, especially for this occasion with highlights from the likes of Deep Aural Penetration, Love Nation and Outdance.

Review: Italian house didn't need the glitz of Ibiza or the muscle of Chicago and Detroit. It carved out its own spaceismoky, dreamlike, and effortlessly cool. This collection captures the full spectrum of that golden era, from the hypnotic tribal rhythms of Progetto Tribale's 'The Sweep' to the shimmering, euphoric synths of Onirico's 'Echo'. There's the deep, rolling pulse of Don Carlos' 'Boy', the jazz-infused elegance of Lady Bird's 'Jazzy Doll (Odyssey Dub)', and the raw energy of Green Baize's 'Synthetic Rhythm'. Elsewhere, 'Titanic' by Mato Grosso offers an atmospheric voyage, while 'The True Underground Sound of Rome' delivers deep, sophisticated grooves. These weren't just club tracks; they were portals to another world. Whether it was the funky shuffle of Alex Neri's 'The Wizard', the soulful pianos of Carol Bailey's 'Understand Me (Free Your Mind)', or the after-hours pulse of MCJ's 'Sexitivity', this was music made by studio obsessives who understood that house wasn't just a soundiit was a feeling. Underground, inventive, and deeply emotional, this collection is a snapshot of an era where the Italian touch brought warmth, sensuality and an undeniable groove to dancefloors worldwide.

Review: The first volume of this collection of warm and breezy deep house came back in 2019. It was a fine one with a focus on tunes between 1991 and 1993 whereas this one is more broad in scope. It is of course a label run by Nick V's and takes its name from his Mona nights, a series of Parisian parties specialising in the deeper end of the house scale. These tunes come from lesser-known names but arrest who are all well versed in the classic sound. The grooves are cuddly warm, musical in their arrangement and designed for cosy underground spaces and backrooms where close bonds can be made on the dancefloor.

Review: There is a wealth of talent on show on the third EP from the Fusion Sequence label which has put together this six-track deep house sizzler. The Variable Club' 'Biorhythms' is perfectly warm and dynamic for cosy backroom moments and Alpine DJ then brings an old school piano feel to 'Pepe Nony' before A Vision Of Panorama zones you out on lush chords and reverential keys on 'Kissing The Sun.' The flipside offers the more dark and heads-down 'Many Stories' while the blissed-out and feel-good grooves return with Common Mode's 'Bassface.' Body Corp shuts down with the slower, seductive sounds of 'Take It Or Leave It' which rounds out a top-class EP.