Downbeat Black features some heavily cerebral deep house founders Urtzi and Jose Rico. Urtzi impresses with his two contributions, the undulating, pad-heavy bliss of “Memories From Another Life”, and “No Back Memory” – a pensive slither of rich, piano-laden beatdown. Jose Rico opts for a slightly more energetic approach on his two cuts, though both “Small Island” (built around some superb percussion and tumbling chords) and the sun-kissed “Aint” are still lovingly melodious.
Irish maestro John Daly kicks of the new year with a release on Love Fever Records. Layered, progressive, modern electronic music with ethereal harmonics and a nod to analogue forefathers is a universal in John Daly’s musical cannon. And with Shine he’s formulated a song that could encapsulate a moment in time at a Love Fever party. That 5am throb. Peaks and lows of a breather in the night, the sweating crowd, the stabbing baseline and fluctuating strings played loud and proud. In short an unstoppable single from a producer on the very top of his game. A Detroit influenced yet clearly very contemporary release with strong support already on this one.
Lerosa takes his unique approach on house even further. Private View is exactly what its title promises: an exclusive visit into a enigmatic and fascinating world of groove and sound. It’s full of puzzling places and mysterious events. Delicate arrangements and artful sound combinations amount to a unique record without turning to caprice or flourish. Simplicity that makes sense.
The improvised electronics of Dave Moufang’s long running Magic Mountain High project with Juju & Jordash is no stranger to the vinyl format, first appearing on a Workshop 12″ back in 2012 and gracing that label as well as Jordan ‘Jordash’ Czamanski’s Off Minor with further material. However, as anyone that’s witnessed Magic Mountain High in the flesh will attest, the trio are best experienced live, but for logistical reasons that might not always be possible. This 12″ which consists of a recording of Magic Mountain High straight from the mixing desk at Brussels venue Fuse last year will satisfy the cravings of anyone whose yet to see them perform, with three next level deep house workouts to lose yourself in again and again.
While their sporadic appearance remains a frustration, it’s hard to find fault with Boe Recordings’ Halal Prepared series of EPs. This third installment of the series, which lands 12 months after it’s’ predecessor, contains another quarter of high quality deep house jams. The real highlights – to our ears, at least – are the two tracks that doff a cap to classic Detroit techno, whilst keeping their feet firmly rooted in deep house. Both “Star Struck” by Chicago Deep and Havantepe’s “Plane Waves” capture the retro-futurist spirit and stargazing electronics associated with the Motor City perfectly. Elsewhere, keep an eye out for Taelue’s “Desolate Dreams”, which offers a bittersweet trip into ultra-deep house territory.
Iron Curtis delivers his 2nd full 4 track EP for Hudd Traxx. The opening track ‘Care’ demonstrates IC’s diversity as a Producer as he lays down a killer bassline with melodic keys which will find it’s way into many big hitters bags. ‘Sing Along With Your Friends’ has deep laid keys and an MCDE esk feel to it accompanied by some heavy snares for good measure. Flip for the B Side and find ‘Shouting & Screaming’, a dark driving track that even Spencer Kinsey would be proud of. Iron Curtis rounds off the EP with a solid groovy little number entitled ‘Lasga’s Return’
Side A contents two masterpieces of nu soul remixes produced by Abicah Soul Project and vocals featured by Harold Brandon. Yotam Avni presents the first piece (Sign it away) which he is mostly known for his soulful background. Side B is represented by the two label fellow of deepArtSounds Ernie and Jenifa Mayanja with two magnificent deep house tracks.
Finale Sessions brings another fine release from Nick Lapien. “Lost Days” has such movement to it with its rolling pads and its systemmatic keywork and deeep basslines. “Pigment” is a mid tempo dream come true with it acidy pad synthed structure and lush keys and wicked drum work. “Motif” is a peek time killer with its nice key work and its nice pads layering into a nice kick perfect for a B side jam.
Appian’s forthcoming release ‘Chatter EP’ on Fina Records is a testament to his varied and experimental production style; a distinctive sound borne out of inspirations as varied as funk, experimental electronica, disco, “80s stuff” and early house. Monty Luke showcases his freethinking and flamboyant production prowess with a bad ass reworking of ‘Operator’.
2DeepSoul’s A-side, “Home”, is effortlessly melodious – a warm, rich and enticing blend of shuffling rhythms, swirling chords and the kind of blissfully electronic melodies that make you want to dance with your eyes shut. There’s a more organic and quietly soulful feel about Owen Jay and Melchior Sultana’s flipside effort, “Deserted”. Blessed with a delicious double bass line, bespoke keys and a whisper of Motor City techno (in terms of the electronics, at least), it’s a sublime chunk of sensual deepness.
Analog Superhero Perseus Traxx, known for his live performances and releases for Bunker, Chiwax, BOE, M>O>S> & Snuff Trax finally makes his way to the city of Chicago via Jordan Fields’ Klapmaster Records label. This was created based on a real life occurrence in Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest.
Appian Sounds is fast becoming a reliable source of extra-special deep house. This latest split EP, featuring tracks from a trio of rising talents, is another must-have release. Newcomer Jock Burton impresses with “Dolmen”, a chunk of loose and spacey deep house, that comes with a Slowburn’s remix, which adds a bleep style sub bassline and tools up the percussion. RDMA’s “Syeeda” is ultra-deep and heavily electronic – the kind of track you want to both dance to and immense yourself in while horizontal – while Route 8’s “Hemitropy” is a pleasingly dusty trip into yearning, half-remembered deep house
Legwork’s 2nd single comes from Brett Johnson. The Mission harks back to some of our favourite dub-techno moments, but keeps it’s own flare with Brett’s signature robo-rhythms and chopped and screwed vocal cuts. On the remix tip, it’s label head Lance DeSardi & Convextion bringing their own flavour to the table respectively, with Lance stepping to the chord memory, deep bass, and over sampled drums, and Convextion going all the way out into hyper space with his usual sub-aquatic space funk.
Time Circle is the first solo Moomin 12″ of this year and it sees Sebastian Genz in a classic streamlined and soulful deep house mood.
Aybee follows up the experimental musings of the Sketches Of Space LP with an EP directed in large part directly at the dancefloor experience. In what could be called Aybee’s first Techno outing, ‘The Alchemy EP’ sees Aybee offering 3 tunes which mesh rhythm, drive, and sonic colorings. In line with the Deepblak creative ethos, and rounded off with a simple directive.
First release from new Glasgow based Label NordSüd Recordings. The label is owned by Lee Duncan who records as Leeon and it will be him who has the honour of providing the first outing with a remix of the title track from friend and sometime collaborator Hutton Drive.
Bokhari Records return with another in their split-single series, showcasing new and exciting artists, Barrut Fulsara and Joe Europe. Two stellar tracks on the always reliable Bokhari.
Few projects in electronic music have remained at the very cutting edge for as long as Reagenz, a collaboration between San Francisco based Jonah Sharp aka Spacetime Continuum and Heidelberg based David Moufang aka Move D. Twenty years after their first project, comes The Periodic Table, a stunning live album captured at The Bunkers tenth anniversary party at Public Assembly, Brooklyn, January 2013. The Periodic Table incorporates elements of house, techno and ambient in an organic flow that few artists could replicate.
