Back catalogue: Progressive House

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Volume One of a label retrospective of pioneering early 90s Prog House label Interactive Test Compiled by Alex from Utopia Records and enigmatic Interactive Test founder Franco Falsini. Falsini, responsible for many of the underground classics on the label he founded in Florence in 1991 was first known for his 70s Italian Prog / Cosmic group Sensations Fix. A trailblazer who continued to push the boundaries of electronic music two decades later with Interactive Test, accompanied by the up-and-coming talents of Trance hero DJ Miki the Dolphin, his brother Riccardo and an host of cult Italian music producers. Here we start with 5 tracks from the archive, all highly collectable, remastered for DJs and psychedelic music enthusiastic alike from the best sources possible. Authentic and original dance sounds still hitting the spot in our times.

Review: Italian duo Mathame return with a new single, which they wrote to embody the essence of summer through its energetic melodies and uplifting vibe. It was created during their 2024 tours across Mexico and Asia and was refined through live performances in New York City and Ibiza. It has all the hallmarks of a summer anthem, frankly - the sentimental dance-pop vocals, the big synth waves, the happy melodies and the big, bold, accessible drums. It's well produced, bright and shiny and is easy to sing back when dropped on vast festival stages.

Review: Italian producer Mennie lands on EYA Records here with an EP that hits plenty of contemporary touchstones: techno, retro synths, trance and faster rhythms. 'We Are Not The Plan' has a tech house edge but with cosmic pads and bright melodies, while 'Make It Easy' has playful top lines and a fizzing, textural synth bassline powered by crisp kicks. 'Engine' gets more physical with faster drums and snappy percussive layers, and 'The Story' grinds it out with mechanical stiffness and bleeping synth sequences that bring a retro-future flair. It's all perfectly colourful body music for knowing clubs.

Review: No nonsense analogue house champions the notorious R-A-G team are back once again with more goodies on their home label M>O>S. For this one, they drop four outstanding and acidic deep house jackers. Featuring the skills of Aroy Dee, MaSpaventi and G-String, it is the former who kicks off with 'Touch', which is dusty and far-sighted. He then features with Maspaventi on 'Horizons', which is a dreamy and low-key sound with backlit chords. R-A-G then hook up for 'Wired', which is a twisted and trippy after-party mind melter and 'All Forgotten', which is moody, shadowy and traces a line to the best Detroit house from their long-running Amsterdam studio sessions.

Review: "Yeah, as I gaze upon you, I am overwhelmed by the fact that beauty is an insufficient phrase to describe you. You are the definition of pure perfection, and though many have tried and failed to get close to you, I run that walk into the flame." Echoing the seductive vocal soliloquies heard overlaid in much deep Chicago house - the work of the late Paul Johnson springs to mind - K' Alexi Shelby marks a terrific introduction to this new V/A from Cod3 QR. The label was long the subject of much speculative chinstroking; only in recent years was it revealed to be the brainchild of Laurent Garnier and Oliver Way. Here on this latest output from the label, we hear a mix of technical and tribal moods traverse across a mostly slow-burner sensibility, pinnacling on DJ Bone's bosomy chord viber 'DD'.