Frank & Tony – Ethos LP [SAT064LP]

More about the world has changed than not in the decade since dance production dyad Frank & Tony, the project of house legends Francis Harris and Anthony Collins, released their last full-length record, 2014’s “You Go Girl”. Despite, or perhaps in spite of, this shifting landscape, house music has managed to stay fundamentally reliable (either a bug or its greatest feature, depending on who you ask). Where previously, Frank & Tony have been celebrated for their contemplative, studious approach to the genre, with 2024’s “Ethos”, the Brooklyn/Biarritz-based duo return amidst metastatic cultural upheaval to prove out those scholarly credentials — with an album that serves to remind listeners why dancefloors and liberatory politics consistently share the language of movements and revolutions.

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Frank & Tony – Ethos LP [SAT064LP]

Darand Land – Whispers From The Lake [DOWNBEAT014]

After two years of silence, Downbeat comes back with an old friend of the label. DaRand Land releases a new vinyl on the label from Madrid and he is fit as a fiddle. This underground music hero presens 4 synthetic deep house tracks with all those elements that are already an original brand: Hypnotic vibes with warm and smooth synth lines, silky pads and dubby basslines, This whisper from the lake EP will be immediately loved by the label followers because is exactly what the label is. Atmospheric and erotic midtempo house that represents perfectly the sound of Downbeat.

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Darand Land – Whispers From The Lake [DOWNBEAT014]

DaRand Land – Discover You [SAT030]

DaRand Land gets to spread out and show off his unique brand of euphoric and uplifting deep house on his debut EP for Scissor & Thread label, ‘Discover You’. The title track is classic DaRand Land, with bright piano chords, buzzing organs and a thick Chicago house bass line. Siren-like pads fade in and out from the periphery, as electrifying percussion elements come into play. Frank & Tony take a turn and apply their signature style onto the former track, adding a chunkier kick with bright as day claps and hi-hats to propel the track through the opalescent haze draped over the melodic elements. On the flip, “Marcela’s Sense” is a blissed out, head down late night affair. Cosmic pads swirl around glistening keys and repressed organ chords, as toms bounce among the steady hi-hat ride, lulling the listener into a state of euphoria. The EP closes out with the atmospheric, peak time Detroit house cut, “Souls Awash”. A serpentine bass line runs the show amidst swelling pads and in-your-face kicks and percussion. As with all of his productions, the track shines in the smaller details that float in and out of focus throughout, lending the track’s weightier elements an even greater sense of gravitas.

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DaRand Land – Discover You [SAT030]

Chris Gray – From Fear to Fantasia [PULP06]

GRAY, Chris - From Fear To Fantasia

Chicago based ‘Chris Gray’ has appeared on multiple releases throughout the 90s and the new millennium. While some of his most appreciated works have been published through his own imprint Deep4Life, for the next PULP release, Chris gets deep and melodious with some funked out synths whilst maintaining that lush deep atmosphere that has proven to be his signature mode.

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Chris Gray – From Fear to Fantasia [PULP06]

VA – Freebeat 04 [FREEBEAT004]

The enigmatic Freebeat label drops the fourth release as a collaborative effort from four deep house heavyweights. Leonid aka Paul Smith comes through with the mighty “Can’t Stop” on the A-side, a full-bodied cut with plenty of synth magic, followed by Miltiades and the slow-burning sway of “Xnn”. On the flipside, there’s a sweet and soulful house cut from DaRand Land in the form of “In Earnest”, and two pieces of off-the-wall mentalism from Jose Rico, one of which takes a totally beatless approach.

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VA – Freebeat 04 [FREEBEAT004]