Deep Explorer Spain レコード& CD

Review: Madrid based producer Above Smoke returns to his own Deep Explorer label with his "Time" EP. Ten releases after 2007's "The Gathering" EP, the producer makes a welcome return with four original tracks of deep house with a slow, smooth and emotive feel.

Opening with "Forever in My Mind" Above Smoke drafts in the help of Alton Miller whose soulful vocal hook compliments the jazz inspired, dubby production of the track perfectly. Following simple piano key melodies and building chords the track drops into funky bass rolls with nice breaks and hand claps. There is another collaborator on the following track, "Elevation." This time, Stereociti of Mojuba records joins Above Smoke on this deep and calm track. A nod to the more relaxed sound of Detroit, "Elevation" merges a steady, understated beat with light percussion and hushed piano chords. The occasional soulful vocal adds to the sophistication of the track, turning it into a piece of deep house music in its purest form. "Burning" goes even deeper, this time utilising echoed vocals and stretched synthesizers to create a warm and easy feeling throughout. There is some light bongo action in there and a nice groove weaves and bends itself around straightforward beats. Finishing the package is "Right On" which steps things up a gear with some 4 / 4 beat and waving bass. The 'I Gotta Have It' vocal cries back to the original days of house as Above Smoke keeps everything very controlled in another of his deep house efforts.

As one of the main artists responsible for the sound of Deep Explorer, it is great to see Above Smoke back where he belongs. And even better that the Spaniard has been able to pick up exactly where he left off from to deliver some more pristine, deep house cuts.

Review: The new reference of Deep Explorer brings the different visions in electronic music for the dancefloor of Javier Alvarez (aka Above Smoke) until now habitual in Deep Explorer for his works of mastering and his remixes for different artists within the world of the electronic music. On the A side, 'Hysteria' gives what its name suggests and opens the EP with a cut of electronic house with a solid bass influenced by Environ or Chicken Lips among others. 'Minimal Time' is exactly what title transmits: a subject of clicks and cuts with a marked rhythm for a defined mixture. The B side begins with the reconstruction that makes Dubbyman main subject of 12". 'Hysteria' (Dubbyman remix) is a cut uptempo of electro-house with synthetic low effects for high hours session. Finally, 'Feel To Learn' closes the disc with its dragged rhythm and cool sax. The result is a honest tribute to the present masters of the Detroit sound like Theo Parrish, Kenny Dixon Jr or Rick Wade among others.

Review: Deep Explorer Brings you 'Psychopark EP'. A special ep that celebrates the 10th release on vinyl, making a special tribute to two Detroit based labels: FerrisPark and Psychostasia. With a side for each label, this record opens with soul singer Marvin Belton and his 'Back to Africa', a percussive vocal tune that grows step by step among a sea of Detroit atmospheres. Next up on the A side, the owner of Ferris Park. With 'Dancing in circles”', Scott Ferguson uses his weapons mixing disco, funky horns and deep chords The B side walks in another way of the deep. The techno deep-fire is opened with 'Transformation' by Reggie Dokes, the mind behind Psychostasia, the cult label from Detroit, and known too for his releases on Detroit beat-down and Sound Signature, offering a mix between percussive house and melodic techno. To complete the circle Juju and Jordash (Psychostasia, Real Soon, Underground Quality) smoky jazzy flavoured house track.

Review: The 'Dubtroit EP' from Deep Explorer is another submerged voyage into the deep waters of real house. The first track 'Arrecifes de Coral' is a solid track full of joy that mixes the spirit of early house with an irresistible groove and deep atmospheres. The trip continues by the hand of the house master of Detroit, the one and only Mike Huckaby directly from the Motor City. We don't really know what we can say to describe his remix of 'Messages from the Dub' but if you know his works for Harmonie Park, Funky Chocolate or his own label Deep Transportation you know for sure that he is a heavyweight in the house scene. For the second part of the EP things move in a more dubbed direction with Nick Sole (Mojuba). He chews the original of 'Arrecifes de Coral' and spits out a dark, strong piece of deep and dubby house. If you've heard his latest 'Worldubbing EP' (Mojuba 007) then you know what we're talking about. The EP ends with a bonus track from the mind of Dubbyman. 'Dinner with Cousteau' is a fine, sexy song that mixes slow house with downtempo elements, perfect to relax your body and close the party, or maybe to start it again!

Review: The fifth release on Deep Explorer comes again from the hand of Dubbyman, one of the heads of the label and the debut of Hoheluft. The result called "Endtropia". It's a fresh electro-house track that mix the pop and dirty voices from Hoheluft with a infectious electrohouse bassline and remind us the style of Playgroup and Rework.

Review: Deep Explorer brings you 'Broken Home' from Gauss Control. Four electro house cuts along the lines of Jerome Pacman & David Duriez. Sophisticated and well produced tracks for the dancefloor by this new artist in the Spanish underground scene. One to watch.

Review: Leo Gunn is an artist that has been truly dedicated to the cause of Deep Explorer. To date all the artist's music has come to light on Dubbyman's bastion of Spanish deep house, and it's no wonder when you listen to the illustrious tones of his productions. Ahead of a new album, this 7" of mystery and wonder starts off in the utterly enchanting world of "Voodoo", a spaced out lullaby of expressive pads and the softest house tick buffeting along the aqueous sounds. There's a slight change of mood on the flip as "Moondub" lives up to its name with a spacious soundworld marked out by echoing piano notes and a rock solid bassline, but still that inimitable Deep Explorer mood prevails.

Review: With a story intrinsically woven into the fabric of the Deep Explorer catalogue, Leo Gunn presents his debut album in a sultry haze of natural, heartfelt deep house with all the soul the genre has to offer. The LP begins in a laconic fashion with the slow-ticking "Leo & Leo Jr" before "Journey Inwards" presents a more focused kind of track for steady warm ups and hazy mornings. "Digital vs MIDI" is equally a subtle kind of party starter with its solid rhythmic foundation and "Home Base" fixes its gaze on a more lively time of night, but here and throughout the mood is predominantly mellow, as it should be with a release on Deep Explorer.

Review: There aren't many outposts in Europe quite as deep as Dubbyman's Deep Explorer, while the selector himself is well versed in communicating with the soul. Here on The Remix Capsule it's deep, soulful overload as Jersey Real Estate and Ex Friendly both get the remix treatment from the label boss, with both cuts featuring life-affirming musings from Jovonn and Rich Medina respectively. "What Is House" is the most blissful of trips, all sumptuous pads and keys drifting into eternity while the beat listlessly rolls out on a refined consortium of bongo drums. "Journey Man" is a more punchy track (well, by Dubbyman standards) as the synths look more upwards and the beat sports a funk injection that should make it work on smoother dancefloors.

Review: 'Ocean Species EP (Vol 2)' is the killer three track 12" on Deep Explorer. On the main side, a deep dubby track with cool
percussion, nice keys and vocals by The Lady Blacktronika, inspired by Mike Huckaby as the label suggests! On the b-side
a jazzy house track called 'Dubbyman', remixed by Alton Miller and a mid tempo track by Anton Zapp. Recommended!

Review: Imperious Spanish imprint Deep Explorer reached release number 26 this year, with a split EP featuring Altered Moods boss Malcolm Moore alongside long time Explorer Bjak (real name Brian Cullen). Bjak's two cuts - "Rhythm Of Love" and "Purple Fire" - are both produced with typically immaculate poise, but it's the sultry nature of the latter cut that had everyone at Juno HQ swooning. Malcolm Moore meanwhile served the swooping chords and rock hard bump of "Love (A Perilous Thing)", which features an ethereal vocal contribution from Debra Jones-Davis, who talks about the dangers of the "L" word while the lush arrangement works deep below in the mix. Jenifa Mayanja rounds off a consummate package with a shuffling, Latin-influenced remix of "Love (A Perilous Thing)".

Review: The sixth release on Deep Explorer Music is their first label sampler. A set of different tracks that represents some of the most interesting artists of the underground scene. It opens with the remix that Jaumetic (from the smash label Regular) made from a track of Dubbyman "Acid Risotto" originally edited in the label Bucketround. Oval Future Face (the owner of Bucketround recordings) take another direction mixing percussive forms with electronic elements. Side B opens with the team Ernie from Minuendo and Tony Mass from Circular recordings that offers "Oiseaux Sans Ailes" a minimal track with a lot of textures and clicks that sounds like it was created under the deep ocean. To close the sampler Above Smoke shows his weapons remixing the original version of "Revolution Is Done" from C. Gonzalez (half of Minuendo Recordings) and the voice of Dubbyman.

Review: For their latest trip into ultra-deep house territory, Spain's Deep Explorer imprint has turned to South African producer Ofuren, co-founder of the Roots Go Deep imprint. Predictably, he delivers a trio of cuts oozing with smoky atmosphere and intoxicating dancefloor warmth. The bongo-laden "Ancestry' kicks things off, with evocative pads, whispered vocals and a delicious bassline wrapping themselves around a bongo-laden afro-deep groove. Somehow, he manages to eke even more depth from the machines on "Mind Jazz Exploration" and "The Deepness (Ode To The Soul)", a Ron Trent style chunk of dreamy dancefloor bliss. Finally, Man-Drake and Afrikan Sciences join forces to turn "Ancestry" into a loose, appealing slice of midtempo goodness, complete with hazy melodies and a yearning, early morning feel.

Review: Dubbyman's Deep Explorer label eases into their 31st release with Sounds From The Void a celebration of the production palette of Deepblak founding father Armon Bazile. All four tracks here are pulled from the Deepblak digital archives, with a pair of Orion 70 productions complemented by an Aybee cut and refix of Dozie. First up is the rattling, broken flex of "The Little King", an Orion 70 production from 2007 that's been pressed on vinyl for the first time and sounds just as fresh! "In Every Way" presents Aybee at his most soulful, with a restrained production that gives Omega's vocal the centre stage it deserves. A similar mood pervades Aybee's Midnight Creep refix of Dozie's "Superstar" whilst the taut and punchy "Technoir" from Orion 70 rounds out proceedings in a steadfastly futuristic vein.

Review: Rob Paine, founder of Californian label Worship and one of the most respected producers in the underground US scene, opens
this promising new label with deep house 12" 'Excerpts From The Past', with remixes from Deep Explorer label head Dubbyman.

Review: Spain's Deep Explorer has always operated on the edges of the deep house universe and now they turn there again with this heavyweight 12" from Gregor Yan. It's the sort of classic sound that made first rave deep practitioners like Larry Heard and later Glenn Underground so well revered: musical, lush, layered. Drums feature but are often soft and subtle, with the chords and hi hats doing much of the work to get you in a groove. Highlights are plenty, but the serene and sombre shuffle of 'Garage' takes some beating.

Review: Five years on from their lauded debut album, Dan Piu and Robert P. return with a second trip into luxurious deep house, this time moving from deepArtSounds to Deep Explorer. It's a logical step given their closeness to Dubbyman and his particular world of serious, soulful deep house, and their new album sounds right at home on the label. Dubbyman himself has a hand in a number of tracks on the album, not least the stunning, fired up club cut 'La Experiencia Tribal'. Meanwhile Owen Jay and Chris Gray guest on the melancholic downtempo jam 'Where Do I Go From Now', while Grant and Bjak lend some heady vocals to 'Honesty'. This is a proper deep house album, teasing different tempos and exploring beyond the confines of the club.