Back catalogue: Progressive House

Review: Amulanga, operating out of Thailand, emphasise beauteous atmospheric progressive house, pairing each compilation with exquisite, extra-worldly sci-fi themes. Their latest, sixth vinyl V/A hears additions from Dulus, Acrobat, Ilias Katalenos & Plecta, Taleman and Shri & Alej, each track a seamless infusion of living, writhing organic sound. More than just music, the aim is to imply a narrative, shuttling and transforming listeners over and beyond centrifugal, interplanetary orbits - not just dancefloors.

Review: Fabric Originals releases the collaborative EP of Irish-born DJ, producer, and label owner Mano Le Tough and electronic musician and DJ Perel. This EP marks the second release in the label's new series, 'Future Memories,' which pairs a "legendary" producer with fresh talent, with the aim of safely bridging the ideas of generations (heaven forfend the new generation reject the old ideas!). 'Entertain Us' brings progressive house synth eighths to wonderstruck female vocals, while Perel and Tough share respective solo contributions on the B-side: 'Homage' is the self-described electrance love song written for a secret love object, while 'Infinite Scroll' indulges the contemporary screen-mirror percept, with sloshing sound effects and slow-burn builds suggesting that an embrace of the impending technological infinite need not necessarily amount to a doomscroll.

Review: Effortless fusions of broken beat and rabbit hole prog-acid on this latest from Speed Dial. After a slight hiatus, the imprint is back, and is here joined by a slew of underground talent, coming together as one for a combinative set of 'Rhythm Rituals'. Surprisingly for a set of rituals, the three A-siders proffer three wordless mudras (as opposed to incanted mantras), with Mtty's 'Ahhhhh!cid' laying down a two-stepping breaks dust-storm replete with bells, ufologic risers and ectoplasmic synth flatulences; and Pocket's 'Smoke Signals' imparting the ways of long-distance telegraphy by way of a deeper four-wheel drive, with indo-Australian chants sampled therein. B-side helmers DJ Relax and Local Support offer two contradistinct Balearic beats, the former track veering more chuggy and auto-suspensive, in contrast to the latter's emotive, e-organic builds and vox gates.

Review: 'Move It Or Lose It' isn't just the name of the latest release from Brit producer Joseph Nugent aka Papa Nugs, it's a mantra for our time. Emboldening Big Saldo's Chunkers imprint with an uncaged, high-octane batch of "house" cuts, this is the label's first release for 2025, dialling in to the label's signature bandwidth-filling "chunkers" sound. Rave-ready FX are the order of the moment, as flashes of early trance, progressive and hard house motifs, and Ibizan sample banks all hear Nugs truncate old-school references into a contemporary hip house come rave-breaks template. 'Turn it Down''s irresistible hook, "we're here to have a good time," has to be the bugler's choice moment.

Review: Aad de Mooy is better known as Paradise 3001 and has been releasing his fulsome take on techno since the mid 90s. Blue Highway is an EP from back then, 1994 to be exact, and it has aged faultlessly because these tracks will slot into any modern set without a problem, and likely be some of the best in it, in fact. It kicks off with the warped synth and bass entanglements of 'Mind & Motion' before the more gloopy and cosmic bass of 'Ludomil 75'. It's a masterful bit of future music that's followed by the vibrant Jaydee-like 'Blue Highways' and dreamier scapes of 'The Gates Of Dawn' and progressive cosmic funk of 'Mellow Moebe.'

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: Pascale Project debuts on Craigie Knowes with her 'Good People Only' EP, a melodramatic exercise in bubblegum kitsch, dramatized synth-organ hums and eerily quantized vocal recordings. The title, of course, takes its namesake from lead track 'Cafe Crazy' - a dance-pop hybrid soaked in a simple viscous formula: good vibes and electronic fun. The three originals making up its bulk come laced with nostalgic lyrics recalling hyperpop, but also carry retroisms of noughties dance-pop and trance, 'Hang Out' being the post-ironic jubilant highlight. The lyrics are, of course, written and performed by Pascale Project, and what's more, 'Cafe Crazy' comes remixed and refoamed by D. Tiffany with additional vox by NAP (yes, your eyes do not deceive you - a remix on Craigie Knowes! What?!)

Review: Dreamloops is a collection of long-form tracks spanning two and a half hours across four, yes four, records - that's a mighty eight sides of wax all created, mixed, and designed by Dennis Huddleston, aka 36 ("three-six"). The album offers a profound subconscious connection that was originally released as cassettes in 2019 and was revisited by Huddleston in 2023 to enhance its clarity and cohesion. The eight 18-minute pieces unfold slowly and build emotional power through developing themes. Imperfections like tape hiss add depth while influences like Henryk Gorecki and Max Richter help to shape the album's epic and haunting soundscapes.

Review: Perel launches her own new label Hits Hits Hits! with a potent new single that is backed by a great remix from Canadian talent Jex Oplois. The lead tune on this 12", which also comes with a sticker, is '1 Life', a full throttle and thumping cut that is packed densely with 90s tribal techno synth sounds, old school house piano chords and a nice r&b vocal all of which serve to sweep you up and journey you to the stars. After the instrumental comes the remix from Jex Opolis that dials things back and makes it even more zoned out and subtly euphoric.

Review: With its next release, Rezpektiva's Prozpektiva series platforms an artist they think is a future star of the minimal and techno scene. Pi hails from Montevideo, Uruguay, which is where a few new school names have emerged in recent times. He has served up singles on labels such as Holistico Records, White Scar and Lutzifer but this is his first solo EP. It's an intriguing mix of techno, breakbeat and electro with heady melodic tones up top all making for a great mix of snappy low ends and captivating emotions that bring freshness to the floor.

Review: Pleasure Planet has enlisted some fine artists to reimagine two standout tracks from their debut album. Earth Trax turns 'Go With Madness' into an exhilarating and euphoric anthem that will blend surprises and smiles when this peak-time dancefloor bomb gets dropped. Maara accelerates the tempo by diving deep into prog-inspired proto-trance. Roza Terenzi transforms 'Alien 'with ghostly melodies, hypnotic hooks and sizzling breakbeat electronics, while Alex Kassian's Sphinx Gate Mix slows the pace, infusing 'Alien' with Hacienda-era nostalgia, melodic arpeggios and emotional basslines that leave a tender vocal touch from Kim Ann's partner in its fading moments.

Review: If you're thirsting for more of that horror soundtrack house then you're not going to want to miss out on this one. BOOOoo! is a new French label debuting with four protagonists in this buoyant sound, leading in with PO tapping into some serious scientologist vibes on 'Self Deception' before Venetia demonstrates the theory that the longer the note, the more the dread on delightfully creepy workout 'Fat Man'. Eliaz tips a bucketload of acid into the mix on 'Weuweueoou' and BOOH completes the picture with the throbbing jack track 'EVIL'.

Review: Indo-Ukrainian producer Mayank Saraiya, under his Pontiff Ordric alias, helms the third chapter of the Barbatus series with a new four-track release that continues the label's deep-space electro saga. Based out of the Barbatus label's inner circle, Saraiya not only crafts the music but also handles the mix and mastering, giving this entry a tightly unified sound. 'Secrets Of Nexus' and 'Laboratory's Hazard' pulse with crisp, syncopated drums and shimmering 80s-inspired synths, while the B-side moves into darker, more propulsive territory i 'Ancient Technology' runs on acidic undercurrents and robotic swing and 'The Dawn Of Machines' closes the set with a steady proto-trance march that edges into cinematic territory. It's a new release that never leans too heavily on nostalgia, instead reanimating vintage electro textures with just enough detail and narrative flair to keep things compelling. Riddled with sonic in-jokes and pirate lore, this one rewards both the dancers and the heads i electro as odyssey, with its boots still muddy from the last expedition.

Review: Debuting for the Frankfurt label Zuperflex comes rising producer Luka Hartz under his Porco Rosso alias, topping up a string of releases already breadcrumbed for the likes of Pager Records and Blank State. 'Global Player' hears four surefire dancefloor quickscopes in the vein of progressive and trance-like house, sure to leave you leaving on a high, like 'The Real G'. Of all the auxiliary tracks aside from the supernova A1, the best of the bunch has to be the simply appellated 'Rave', whose phasey offbeat 909 hat is especially hair-raising.

Review: Bulgaria's Prarhamansah is a duo that last released back in 2004, but they have remained active in the intervening years on their local scene. Their return is somewhat epic with this 11-minute-plus new single 'Bouncing Off The Van Allen Belts' a real comic odyssey. It rides on proggy drums but has an ever-shifting eco-system of synths that bring sci-fi twists and intergalactic colour that keeps the mind locked in. After that, the tune comes as various remixes, from the more far-sighted and trance-tinged subtleties of Waterblip remix part 2 to Charter Murphy's Homemade Pulse Drive remix, which is dark, hard techno for strobe-lit raves.

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.