Another quick round-up doodahmajig

Well, as ever the best laid plans etc - blame a very hectic month at one my regular daytime employers Music Tech - so again not got as much blogged this week as I'd hoped. And this weekend there's loads of downloads to catch up with plus my iDJ reviews to write… plus I appear to be going to a bellydancing competition, somewhat randomly... so here, just quickly, are some freshly-issued recordings of popular music that I'd strongly advise you to seek out… with apologies to the artists/labels concerned that it's not a full review this time out!

Morning Factory – Dazin' EP (2020Vision)

Ralph Lawson's label show why they're still at the top of the deep house tree after all these years with this debut release from Morning Factory, a Dutch twosome named after a Trent/Damier track dontchaknow? Three tracks of quality contemporary-sounding deep house, plus more downtempo cut Dedication, make this one to check for sure.

Deepak Sharma & Dieter Krause – The Great Lawn

(Hidden Recordings)

Seem to have lost any info on this I may have had but it's good, one to check if you like your house deep and just a little wee bit on the techy side. Mixes come from Alexi Delano, Alland Byallo, Ambivalent, Andrea Ferlin, Andrew Grant, Argenis Brito and also some people whose names DON'T begin with A, to wit DJ Seoul and Franklin Da Costa. With that many rubs there's bound be at least one ya'd play...

The Suppliers – Lost Count

(Bad Pony)

One for the tech-house or 'house/techno' lovers here, on a label I don't know much about and with a little of that off-kilter Balkan feel thrown in. Remixes from Fady Ferraye, Tone Depth, J.O.S.H, Raxon and D-Slide & Doxx. Some of 'em are a bit too techy for me, others though aren't so investigate for yourself!

City Soul Project – Something With Jazz (NuLogic)

Not quite sure what the deal is with this one in terms of other mixes, a proper release date, etc. What I CAN tell you is that it's a new deep house sub-label from the SK Supreme stable, and like pretty much everything this not-so-mysterious duo have done, the track is a wicked slice of old skool-sounding house that will have the older heads/ageing cheesy quavers drooling, with some fine understated, almost Balearic-sounding pianos, some melancholy sax and a couple of wicked slap bass breaks to inject a little good-times energy.

Good Parts – You Say It… We Edit! EP (Star-fi Recordings)

After the Star-Fi boys kindly gave TIWWD an exclusive on that Voodoo Ray bootie, could hardly overlook their latest release now could I? Thankfully no boy's own nepotistic back-slapping is required, as this three-tracker of re-edits of (very obscure) disco cuts is easily up to their usual GP high standards. I do know what the three edited tracks are BTW but I'm not gonna spoil it – or pretend I'd heard them all before (one I did know, two are making their My World debut in GP re-edit form).

D-Pulse – On A Highway To Saturn (Nang)

Apparently some thieving bastard Bristol postie got a nice bundle of Nang vinyl recently, cos I know I certainly didn't – ah well thanks anyway Emily! This latest from the Nang stable pursues the usual nu-disco direction, this time out with some mixes (the Jan Ken Po Instrumental, for instance) that will appeal as much to the deep house heads as to the nu-disco beards, while at the other end of the spectrum, Sare "it's that man again!" Havlicek serves up a rub that's a treat for those with a penchant for the analogue-tastic and unashamedly kitsch. A very solid package all round, then.

*** Please note that ALL OF THE ABOVE came out this week so are still nice and fresh for your floor… now go seek! ***

PS I didn't do very well at keeping it brief, did I? Ah well (again).

John Daly - Big Piano

Been a while since I've had owt land from Drumpoet Community so this was a very welcome arrival last week or whenever it was…

Big Piano itself is a languid, laidback deep houser whose primary instrumentation shouldn't need much explaining, but it's just one of four tracks on this EP. Elsewhere, Reach is an even deeper, late-night affair, Long Distance is a wobbly, warbly deep techno bubbler, while finally Atlantic Drive takes us into ambient territory.

The latter passes me by somewhat, but the other three cuts here are crackin', with Reach my fave I think. DPC do it again.

Out: Tomorrow (24 Sept)

About: The Vienna-based, Compost-affiliated Drumpoet Community can always be relied on for deep house grooves of the finest quality – find 'em on MySpace.

The Model - Love Songs For Robots

Not quite sure how you'd classify this one, but as I just mentioned my robot collection in the last post, then spotted this in the 'to blog' folder as I signed out, I figured now was a good time to give it a mention!

I guess you'd file it somewhere between nu-disco and techno/electro. But there's a fine line with all this retro analogue stuff, isn't there? Sure, You is a nice piece of electronica that owes not a little to Detroit techno, while Still In My Heart (in its Original, instrumental form) provides the synthy nu-Italo fun; but on Japanese Garden, and particularly on the vocal version of Still In My Heart, we're veering dangerously close to J-MJ/Vangelis and dodgy 80s synth-pop territory, respectively.

My Favorite Robot are touting this as "their most important release to date", on the basis that The Model is already a big name in electro circles. That's not something I can comment on, really, but for me, two out of four ain't bad.

Out: It just says "September" so now-ish

About: Not a label that've featured on TIWWD before, I don't think, My Favorite Robot describe themselves as "building a catalogue of music that incorporates the best of electro, techno, nu-disco and house". Presumably they've listed those genres in descending order of importance to them, which is maybe why they've not featured here much cos my order of preference would be exactly the reverse… but anyway their back cat features the likes of Sasse and Phonogenic so they're not to be dismissed. Here's their website for your non-dismissing pleasure… and here's their MySpace so you can not-dismiss them some more.

Mr V - Mix The Vibe

You might be a bit like me. You might come from Bradford, have a funny non-bending toe where you broke it once, and own a stupid number of toy robots. That'd be spooky.

Or, you might be a bit like me and have fallen a bit out of love with 'soulful house' in the past year or two, particularly when everyone's so obsessed with Latin/Afro rhythms and those good old-fashioned fat basslines and thumping 4/4s are in such short supply from your traditional soulful house faves.

Well, in that case you might not expect a huge amount from the new Mix The Vibe album - the 20th in King Street's mix comp series… but you'd be surprised. Cos while the album does take in a few of those wispy, Afro-y type numbers, Mr V actually takes us on quite a varied ride all told, with big synth/organ lines providing much of the dancefloor thrills and several hip-house vocals to liven up proceedings (I'm a bit of a sucker for hip-house vocals – who isn't?). With tracks and mixes from the likes of Moodymanc, Kruse & Nuernberg and Ivan Ianobucci as well as the more expected likes of Ananda Project, Stephanie Cooke and Roland Clarke, this is definitely worthy of your attention.

Oh yeah, and if you're not like me, and you're still a soulful house diehard, then you'll probably love it too – just maybe for different tracks.

Out: Next week (September 27)

About: This is the 20th in the Mix The Vibe series, so you shouldn't really need too much explaining, but here's the obligatory King Street weblink in case you need to know more.

Stuff we missed last week - a round-up

Got quite busy last week and hence a few things I'd planned to blog about got overlooked, so let's just rattle through 'em quickly.

Conan Liquid – Disco Sux 2 EP (MN2s)

A second EP of disco-house goodness from Conan Liquid here. Doesn't break any new ground really but there's a lot of interest in this sort of stuff at the moment, innit? If pushed I'd say Twisted Tabs is my fav but all three tracks will do the do.

S.N.U.S – Everyman

(Forbidden Fruit)

Techy deep house with a soulful male vocal and a hint of vintage Chi-town. Comes from Leeds-based label Forbidden Fruit, courtesy of a Swedish/Geordie duo. Remixes come from Raymond Rodriguez and Audiobliss, the latter chopping up the vox à la Todd Edwards/MK.

St Plomb – Precious Soul (Perspectiv)

Another soul-infused joint, this time from Ripperton's label. The 'soul' is as much in the melodic overall vibe as it is in the disjointed vocal snips, which are actually quite few and far between, and there are three quite different mixes: the original is a languid warm-up/Ibiza sunset kind of affair, Soulfiction's Kinda Dub is a druggy deep house groover and Jackmate's NDS Boogie adds some serious funk.

Chuck Cogan – The Inside EP (Ooze Recordings)

A bit of a departure for TIWWD, this one: it's a two-tracker of downtempo/leftfield synth-led electronica. It's good though, vaguely Philip Glass-ish with a bit of nu-disco in the sound selection, and will suit those very, very late night moments nicely.

Out: Now (all of 'em)

Maher Daniel/Daniel Dubb - 3rd Time Is A Charm/Bring The Heat

A simple split two-tracker here, and it's a tale of two Daniels.

On the A, Stereo (Montreal) resident Maher Daniel serves up 3rd Time Is A Charm, a rolling, looping dancefloor-oriented affair that builds nicely, the vocal snips and keyboard stabs barely there at first but then slowly, steadily emerging out of the mix until they hit you full in the face in a sudden rush of old-skool nostalgia. On the B, meanwhile, Daniel Dubb's Bring The Heat is another rolling, dancefloor number with a slightly prog/tribal feel (as befits a producer who's made previous appearances on ViVa and Plastic City) but also hints of disco.

A worthwhile bet, then, and the two Dans can very proud of themselves. Not too proud, though, or they'll turn into cocky Daniels. Let's hope Jerry Springer gets to hear it and invites them on his TV programme, then they could be Springer Daniels as well. Or maybe the Prince of Wales will ascend to the throne... then he could invite them to the palace, but they'd be all like, nah, can't really be arsed. King Charles cavalier Daniels, y'see... I'll stop now...

Out: This week

About: This is on Rejected, which as you're no doubt aware is Joris Voorn and Edwin Oosterwal's label – here's the Rejected website.

Jazzloungerz ft Johanna Olarte - Amor

Regular readers of this blog and/or iDJ will know I'm not the world's biggest fan of Spanish vocals, which means I'd bypass the Original Vocal here in favour of the Original Instrumental. Both, though, feature a main synth-string riff comprised of rising and falling, heavily filtered stabs that give the track a surprisingly Detroitian feel for Seamless (it also reminds me a bit of Akabu's Ride The Storm).

Lauer & Canard turn in a mix that's a bit more Ibiza-y and big room, but we'll skip past that to the Jonny Montana & Craig Stewart mixes. Again offering vocal and instrumental versions, this pair take the track down a far more, er, jazzy and loungey path altogether, with some tinkling ivories to die for, which do battle with some ker-razy parping organs.

Mixes to suit a range of floors/DJs/moods, then, but it's Montana & Stewart's instrumental all the way for me. Time to get loose, moose.

Out: This week

About: As with most Jazzloungerz material, this is on Seamless Recordings, who I recently got accused of being in love with, so much coverage have they had on this blog recently... but it has to be said they HAVE been on a serious roll of late, treading a deeper path than in days gone by. Visit 'em online here.

Misstress De Funk - Secret Garden

Not a lot of info on this one, but it's good…

Secret Garden itself comes in two versions, the Original and a Pedramovich Yazdi Remix. The Original sits right on the house/techno border, with a slightly tribal/drummy kinda flavour about it, and you could imagine it slotting into sets for a range of DJs. There's a weird spoken vocal (or rather vocals, cos there are several voices) that raise it from the ranks of mere set-filling fodder, too. Pedramovich Yadzi's remix (or is it Pedramovich's Yadzi Remix? I'm not sure…) is more of the same but with a slightly dubbier, trippier feel.

But the highlight for me here is bonus cut End Of An Era. This is even more drum-oriented and tracky than Secret Garden, but when you realise it's a tribute to/lament for the closing of DC10 that makes perfect sense! Again it comes with a spoken vocal, which in this instance is (I'm told) sampled from an interview with Tania Vulcano about the club's closure. And don't me wrong: it's drummy and tracky, but it's also got a deep, musical vibe that means it'll serve your dancefloor admirably. Go seek.

Out: This week

About: This is on breakoutaudio, a label I'll confess to knowing precisely zero about previously. However, thanks to some special wizard-like powers, and the ability to meld minds and warp the very fabric of the space-time continuum in an endless quest for knowledge – not to mention a quick Google search – I can now tell you that they're based in Leeds, they're run by Darius Syrossian and a bunch of his chums and chumettes, and they once released a single called Knob Farm, which fact alone is enough to make me wish them every success. I think this is #11 out of the breakoutaudio stable; anyway, here are the obligatory website and MySpace links.

Club Rayo - Floppy Disc EP

A deep/tech house four-tracker here from Club Rayo, who are a bunch of DJs and producers from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Which is an alpha world city, so there (I just found out while checking the spelling).

Anyway sudden misguided forays into global socio-economic rankings aside, the four tracks on offer are Secret, Almost Dress, Lonely Street and Senorita Da Noche. The first two are decent enough techy chuggers, but Senorita Da Noche and Lonely Street are floating my boat more: Senorita, the only vocal number here, does that kind of post-Berlin Prince thang while Lonely Street, well, it's another chugger really, just with a little more texture to it.

Taking the EP as a whole, it might not set your world on fire as such but it'll move dancefloors for sure.

Out: It just says 'mid-September' so round about now, I guess...

About: This comes on Greek label VIM, who can be found online at their website or MySpace. Club Rayo, meanwhile, have had a clutch of previous singles out on Low Pressings, Deep Xperience and their own Club Rayo Disquietes; find out more at their MySpace.

Various - ReWired EP Vol 1

A fine four-track dubstep EP coming from the Studio Rockers camp, whose first compilation album Studio Rockers At The Controls featured as 'compilation of the month' in iDJ not so long since.

Some of you will have heard Pempi's Fire on the last Mixcloud show – a nice dubbed-out rave-ified dancefloor bouncer. Elsewhere on the EP, Cross-Eyed by Albert recalls dubstep's roots – two-step garage stripped down to its very barest bones – while Nu-Pho's Calm represents its more futuristic side, blending fierce, hammering bass wobbles with ethereal-sounding Indian vox and tablas. And finally, Wha' Gwaarn by Dodge Vyrus is the one for those that simply must have it all gnarly n' rude n' up in ya face, yagetmi?

All told then, an EP that showcases the various facets of dubstep in 2010 nicely, and that will be an asset to the box/wallet/virtual crate of lots of DJs as a result. Though Fire and Cross-Eyed are definitely my faves.

Out: This week.

About: You can find out more about Studio Rockers at their MySpace, or preview/buy the entire back cat at Beatport

Abel Ramos feat Erire - Dream Come True

It's purely coinicidence that this is getting blogged right after the Alvaro Ernesto release, but the one would flow very nicely into the other in a set, I'm thinking. Or at least, the one would flow very nicely into the DJ Bee My Rules Remix of the other.

In Bee's hands, Dream Come True is in a similar deep-but-driving, chuggy style to the Ernesto single, but this time with a full female vocal from the mighty Erire, taking us off on a journey into that 4am, drifty-head, go-all-night zone. Elsewhere, the Original and (naturally) the Radio Edit are in a bit more of a main room, Hed Kandi-type vein. Tthere's a place for that kinda thing, I guess, but it's the DJ Bee mix to head for here, make no mistake.

Out: This week

About: Erire's tonsils have graced lots of house records dating back to the early/mid-’90s, so you surely must know who the gyal is by now! You can learn more about Spain's Abel Ramos from his MySpace, which just leaves me to tell you this on With Love Music, which seems to be part of the Stereo family. Their actual website seems to be down at the mo' so here's a With Love Music Facebook page, MySpace and Soundcloud page instead. You can HEAR THIS at the latter at time of writing.

Alvaro Ernesto - Peruvian Soundsystem

Okay, so having had some retro funk and some big room drum shenanigans, let's return to what this blog knows best with some sumptuous deep house courtesy of Peru's own Alvaro Ernesto.

In its Original form, Peruvian Soundsystem comes from that place where deep and prog meet, though the scales are tipped heavily on the deep side of the equation. It then gets remixed by Oliver Klein and J.A.M.O.N. The latter sticks pretty closely to the Original, just stripping it down a little and holding back on the proggy touches for a more afterhours-style deep house joint, while Klein takes the track into techno territories, albeit techno of an ilk that's still deep and groovy enough to not alienate house crowds.

I'm sticking to the Original but it's a strong package all-round.

Out: This week

About: Ernesto is as I've said from Peru, and this release comes from a label called Chillin Music who I've not come across before I don't think. However, a quick peek at their website (where you can currently HEAR THESE TRACKS, by the way) tells me that this is their 27th release, with previous singles/mixes coming from the very respectable likes of Chuck Love, Sasse, Johnny Fiasco, Alexander East and Sleazy McQueen, among others. And I think they're based in Florida, though I could be wrong.

A/D/S/R - DJ Whore/Cantaloupe Island (Remixes)

Reviewed the original EP of these two tracks a couple of months ago, now here come new mixes from Dainty Doll and the charmingly-named Bastard Boys (their mothers must be so proud).

The Bastard Boys Remix of Cantaloupe Island is worthy of note since it uses that instantly-recognisable piano riff only quite sparingly, thus rendering it more playable – the original version was a smile-inducer, sure, but did have a whiff of 'novelty' about it. Not convinced the same trick works on DJ Whore – here they've used less of the Bronx-accented girl speaking which was the main thing I liked about DJ Whore in the first place, and without it the track becomes a fairly generic house/techno workout. Never mind though, cos the Dainty Doll Remix is a nice rolling, slightly disco-fied take that gets just a little bit proggy towards the end, and is very playable, though again there's less of the vocal.

Just to save you scrolling down, here's the original review by the way.

Out: This week

About: This comes atcha as before on Erase, about whom you can find out more by visiting their MySpace.

Free Rennie Pilgrem nu-funk mix

To celebrate the arrival of his new Street Legal Vol 2 EP, which I'll be bringing you a review of next week cos it's really rather good, Rennie Pilgrem and his team of elves at TCR have been kind enough to present you with a free 60-minute nu-funk mix.

If you don't follow the breaks scene you might not be aware of nu-funk I guess, but basically it's very like old funk... just made by people who used to make breaks, and have now started listening to their old Zapp records again instead :-)

Here's the link to grab the mix

Here's the tracklist:

1. Rennie Pilgrem “Untitled 1’

2. Rennie Pilgrem ‘Untitled 2’

3. Bush Doctors ‘Ghost’

4. Rennie Pilgrem ‘Grasshoppa’

5. Rennie Pilgrem ‘Dubstyle’

6. Unknown ‘Sliding’

7. Rennie Pilgrem vs Ellis Dee ‘Brick Hausen’

8. Cashflow (Rennie Pilgrem Edit) ‘Party Freak’

9. Rennie Pilgrem ‘Dalek’

10. Rennie Pilgrem ‘Untitled 3’

11.Bush Doctors ‘Night Train’

12. Bush Doctors ‘Turn It On’

13. Bush Doctors ‘Spacehoppa’

14. Caper ‘Something Else’ (Rennie Pilgrem Mix)

15. Rennie Pilgrem ‘Dubwa’

16. Rennie Pilgrem ‘Ice Cream’

And if you dig the mix, you can buy the excellent new Street Legal Vol 2 EP here

That's all for now.

Kid Massive & Blacktron - The Drums EP

With an EP title like that, and coming on Stealth, you've probably already got an idea what to expect here, haven't you? You're already anticipating big, drum-driven house made to shift crowds on big dancefloors in Ibiza, aren't you?

Well, you'd be right. But Stealth generally does this kinda thing better than most, and so it is here. Three tracks, of which The Drums itself is my fave, being more in what we might have called a 'New York tracky shit' vein back in the 90s. Medellin and Mama Hey are both okay, but would have suited better were it not for the (slight) flirtation with those electro-y, Dutch kinda sounds. So it's The Drums and its retro Sound Factory kinda vibe for me.

Out: This week

About: Stealth is of course Roger Sanchez's label, and since Rog is officially one of the nicest guys in dance music (or at least always has been every time I've met him), they're always welcome to some love round these parts. The Stealth website can be found here.

SumSuch - Middle Of Between (On The E18) EP

A quality four-track EP here from Urban Torque, spanning a range of house moods. Lord alone knows what the EP title means (well, the good Lord if he exists and presumably Will SumSuch as well), but the music contained within certainly warrants a listen.

Probably my favourite track is the equally peculiarly-titled Arms Too Short 2 Box With God, which is deep house, but with a techy bent and just a hint of acid towards the end. Quiet Times and Ground Down operate in that territory where progressive and deep house meet (for the first hour of a Digweed or Cattaneo set, for instance), while Punavuori Nights further expands the EP's house palette with its mellower pace and chill-out-style female vocal (though don't get it twisted, there's a little acid squelch to it as well and it's still aimed at the dancefloor).

The production throughout is sumptuous without being over-fussy or ornate, making this an EP that could find friends among househeads of many persuasions. To HEAR THESE TRACKS, click here.

Out: This week

About: Urban Torque are, as I've pointed out several times recently, definitely back on a roll of late! Find out more about the label at the website.

Moody Twin - On One EP

Seems like ages since we've had anything from the Star-Fi crew on TIWWD - bar that rather excellent Voodoo Ray bootie that was on the Mixcloud show and downloadable on here, of course. But now, back in the real world of actual records, here comes the latest from Moody Twin, AKA label bosses Tim 'Lo-Fi' Stoakes and Steven 'I Am The Woodstar' Wood.

The On One EP consists of five tracks that sit somewhere on the house/techno border. One and Three are pretty much a straight-up techno affairs, albeit with a decidedly proggy slant on One. Two though is a much housier ditty with an old skool "party people in the house" vocal hook, and comes with a wonkier, quirkier I Am The Woodstar's Game Of Two Halfs Mix (sic). Finally, the Tim Lo-Fi Stoakes Wonkey Keys Mix of Three takes the track into more downtempo territory, in a tripped-out, uneasy listening kinda way.

I described Star-Fi once as 'doing strange new things with house and techno' and this EP is one of their more experimental offerings so far. It's the Chi-town flavours of Two that I'm feeling the most personally, but the EP as a whole definitely deserves your attention.

Out: This week

About: Find out all you need to know about Star-Fi Recordings here.

New Mixcloud show

Just quickly, this week's Mixcloud show is up!

Tracklist:

1. Hain Dutt - In - Clock Records
2. Chris Mounter - Get A Little More - F*** House Music

3. Inaya Day & Ralf GUM - Lose My Worries (Muthafunkaz Remix) - GOGO Music

4. Le Vinyl - My B-Day - Tokyo Red Recordings

5. Jean-Claude Ames Vs Vincent Thomas - Vallée De Larmes (Pleasurekraft 'Sideshow' Remix) - Great Stuff

6. Pempi - Fire - Studio Rockers

7. Jenkinsound - Helter Shelter - unreleased, very exclusive D&B belter!

8. Tricksi - Point 0 (Chopstick & JonJon Remix) - SUOL Records

9. Max Essa - White Shoes Blue Dreams - Bear Funk

10. The Cool Notes - In My Car - Priority Records

This Is Why We Dance_Show #3 by This Is Why We Dance on Mixcloud

Will try and get full reviews up this week of tracks that haven't had one already but just in case, the key thing you need to know is they're all great tracks (or I wouldn't have put 'em on the show) and they're all OUT THIS WEEK (except the Cool Notes track, which is this week's classic closer from 1985)

The Chris Mounter track comes from an EP called Eclectic Acquaintances which I've been aksed to point out you can buy HERE, and the Pempi track is from a V/A EP called ReWired Vol 1, which features three other dubstep slammers from NuPhlo, Albert and Dodge Vyrus.

And the Jenkinsound track is a very cheeky booty and kicks some serious botty, so special mega thanks to 'Dangerous' Dave Jenkins for letting me have this one to play ya! Check the Jenkinsound show on Brap.FM every other Monday for mucho more booty-kicking rinsage of a D&B, dubstep and breaks persuasion.

Fast style originator vs original junglist!

Not normally a fan of blogs that just post YouTube links but this had to be shared... for the UK fast chat lovers!

Inaya Day & Ralf GUM - Lose My Worries

Given that Ralf & Monique Bingham's Little W.12th Street was one of THE tunes of last year for me, this collab' with Inaya had to get a mention. Not sure it's quite up there with that tune (few are) but it's still pretty damn good, and this is coming from me who I'll admit hasn't been feeling the soulful stuff so much lately…

There's about 342 mixes (well all right, seven) so not gonna go into all of 'em, suffice to say the Muthafunkaz' rub is the one for me and it's already down for a spin on the next TIWWD Cloudcast (coming in next few days, not in eight weeks like last time) so don't forget to tune in for yourself to hear it!

Out: Monday (Sept 6) or maybe Monday 13 on vinyl, been up on Traxsource for a week or two

About: This comes of course on Ralf's own GOGO Music as does most of his stuff… here's the website

PS In case you'd forgotten just how good Little W12th Street was as well… click here

Sonny Fodera - Got You On My Mind EP

Another one I'm not gonna go on about cos it's featured on the Mixcloud show, but yeah, a solid EP from the ever-reliable Salted Music. The title track is in kind of a housed-up-acid-jazz vein, a bit like early Freakpower; Talk To Me (the track on the cloudcast) is west coast house with a serious dose of soul, I Don't Need You is a more uptempo/commercial cut with crossover appeal, and finally I Know is just archetypal West Coast and there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that!

Out: This week

About: If you don't already know Migs's Salted imprint, I'm very surprised you're reading this blog! So here's the obligatory link and we're done.

Semtek - Lotus Eaters

And what was I just saying about digging techier stuff these days? Actually some of the mixes on here are a bit too techy even for my tastes now, but the Justin Harris mix of Lotus Eaters is definitely worth checking... which you can do very, very easily cos it's on the TIWWD Mixcloud Show#2 so what are you waiting for?!

As it's already had some Cloudcast love I'll leave it there, except to mention that the lyric is taken from a poem by Tennyson, apparently… there's fancy.

Out: This week

About: This would appear to be only the third release on this label, Don't Be Afraid, and that's about as much as I can tell ya really. They don't seem to have a website but here's a (brief) profile on Resident Advisor.

Kiki - Cinema Obscura

Definitely been feeling the techier vibes a lot more lately... still not a fan of out-and-out techno on the whole (particularly not those glitchy drums that techno-types seem so fond of these days) but tech-house and that whole German house/techno thing, yeah, definitely. Hence, Ellen Allien's Bpitch Control label, as I think I've said before, has gone from being a label I used to never really like anything on, to being on my 'mild levels of excitement when a new release lands in the inbox' list.

Not saying EVERYTHING on Bpitch Control floats my boat, but quite a lot has lately, and this does. Four tracks, all operating in that house/techno hinterland that a lot of stuff coming out of Germany and Eastern Europe seems to these days. I'm particularly liking the deep dancefloor vibes of the Subb-An Remix of Good Voodoo – not sure if this is the same Subb-An who we featured in Ones To Watch in iDJ years ago or not (and if it is, say hello Ash!) – but Sumore is good too with its rolling house-y vibe and wonk-jazz strutter Damaja ain't half bad either...

Out: This week

About: Er, said all I've got to say about Bpitch Control really! And I don't really know anything about Kiki except that his real name's Joakim Ijäs, so here's the Bpitch Control website and let's just leave it at that.

Le Vinyl - Buen Camino

My good friend DJ Sydney's Tokyo Red label is always a solid bet for the deeper side of tech-house (not to mention some highly distinctive Japanese-themed cover art), and this four-track EP from Barcelona-based artist Le Vinyl, a new name to me, keeps up the usual high quality.

Not got huge amounts to say but four very solid tracks here: three chuggy, chunky groovers in 3 Points, My B-Day and Mimo, plus a rather nice downtempo outing called 6Doble. For me it's a toss-up between 3 Points and My B-Day as to which is my favourite, but suffice to say it's an EP that's well worth investigating. Sorry I'm not waxing more lyrical but it's been a busy, stressful day and I'm getting kinda weary y'knaa...

Out: Tomorrow (3 Sept)

About: Pretty much anything from Tokyo Red Recordings is, as I've said, always worth a listen, so do visit their MySpace, and while you're at it check out Le Vinyl's MySpace as well, where at time of writing you can HEAR THESE TRACKS as well.

Tricksi - After & Before EP

There's a track on here called Pill Collins… you've gotta love a record called Pill Collins, really, even if it was a bit a rubbish! Thankfully, it isn't rubbish at all. In fact, it's really rather good and if it's solid, chuggy house grooves with just a hint of techno about 'em you're after, then it'll suit you to a T.

The HOSH Remix of Pill… is the one for dancefloor action, while the Original takes the slo-mo house thing to new levels, essentially sounding like the other mix @ 33. Elsewhere on the EP, Point O is also in a slow-ish kinda vein and has a bit more of a techno influence; not in love with this one so much BUT THEN Chopstick & Johnjon's Remix takes it into far groovier territory, largely dispensing with the techy sounds in favour of a lo-slung vibe that sits somewhere between funk-fuelled deep house, and nu-disco.

Four very varied mixes, then, making for a strong package all round.

Out: Tomorrow (3 Sept)

About: This is on SUOL, which is Chopstick & Johnjon's own label and always worth checking for some quirky house/techno fusions to satisfy the deeper headz. Here's their rather smart-looking website and here's a Soundcloud page where you can HEAR THESE TRACKS and feast your ears on some other SUOL goodness as well. All the rage, these Soundcloud pages, aren't they?

Max Essa - White Shoes, Blue Dreams

Seems like a while since there's been any nu-disco on here so let's rectify that right now with this latest from the Bear Funk stable.

Max Essa should be familiar to most by now, but White Shoes is perhaps a touch poppier and less experimental/wonky than you expect. In fact, with those analogue synth sounds and the slightly mournful-sounding, half-sung half-spoken vocal, you can't help conjuring visions of some earnest 80s electropop trio, wearing a touch of blusher, sucking on a lemon drop and staring moodily out of rain-spattered windows as the train pulls out of the Bahnhof Zoo... but then in come some melancholic, meandering geetars to give it a little yacht rock flavour and reassure us it really is a thoroughly post-modern, 21st Century kind of affair.

The Marbella Mix is an instrumental take and is getting my vote, because without the vocal the 80s feeling is somewhat lessened and it takes on more of a groovy, laidback air, while the Robert Auser Mix has just a little more oomph and is probably the best suited for rump-shaking duties. Though you might not want to shake your rump TOO hard in case you messed up your expensive Hoxton haircut! Tee hee.

Out: Monday (Sept 6)

About: Bear Funk you should be familiar with by now, but here's their website, just in case. Oh yeah, and there's a Max Essa album coming soon (his second, after last year's Continental Drift)…

Hain Dutt - In & Out

A quality slab of proper house music deepness here, with two tracks called In and Out (see what they've done there?), plus remixes by a Dactilar Remix of the former and a Sebbo & Agent Remix of the latter.

In isn't exactly groundbreaking, it's really just yer typical deep house 'midtempo beats and pads'-type affair... which is another way of saying I'm loving it, of course! Mellow vibes to soothe your soul. Sebbo & Agent's Remix is just a teeny, tiny bit more dancefloor, though only for the most specialist of clubs even so.

And Out? Well, more of the same really, except with some snippets of spoken vocal and a fatter b-line that's a little bit Chi-town, a little bit Detroit. Sebbo & Agent's remix of this one makes the most of the that bass squelch and is the rub that could see this working on those floors where they like it tech-y and Berlin-ish.

All told, a very solid bet indeed for the deeper heads, even if it's unlikely to win many new converts to the cause.

Out: Monday (6 September)

About: This is on Clock Records, a new Barcelona-based label (this is only their third release) co-owned by Dutt himself. You may remember Clock was also responsible for the excellent Deepah by Carl Handbig, which has been a bit of a fave for me this year… can't seem to find a website though so if anyone can help on that score, please do!

Russo - Manitoba EP

Well well well… here's a new label to me and they actually hail from Bradford, where I grew up. No-one comes from Bradford (apart from New Model Army and Kiki Dee) so that got my attention for a start.

Russo, who's a tender 23 years of age, doesn't come from Bradford either, sadly. He comes from Southend-On-Sea, but still. This EP features two tracks, Manitoba and Fuck My MPC, with several varied mixes of each (from Cecile & Huxley, Saytek, Nick Jun, Youandewan and Nitin), which I'm not gonna go into one-by-one. But essentially, Manitoba is a very pleasing near-instrumental groove coming from that place where deep house and deep techno collide, while Fuck My MPC features an unattributed male voice telling us that a lot of people go home and take a bath, a lot of people go home and fuck their wife, a lot of people go home and cut the grass... he goes home and (I quote) "I fuck that motherfucking MPC all night long".

Now, call me old-fashioned but if I was gonna indulge in such idiosyncratic sexual activities, I'd probably want to keep it to myself. Still, it's another pretty damn fine deep house/techno joint, a little more bumpin' this time, and each to their own. Just don't buy any musical equipment off him on eBay, is all I'm saying.

Out: It just says September, so at some point in the next 30 days. Well, 29 days and three hours, now.

About: This comes atcha on Fullbarr Digital, who as I've said are based in my home town (as was) of sunny Bradford, home of the almighty conquering BCFC, the Bradford Bulls who unlike BCFC actually win stuff occasionally which is quite good even if it is rugby, the National Film & Photography Museum or whatever it's called now, periodic race riots, the Yorkshire Ripper, my old school, Dennis Healey and the best curry in the world. Sorry, I've gotten a bit bogged down in the Bradford thing, haven't I? Anyway, always happy to support so here's links to their:

MySpace

Soundcloud page where you HEAR THESE TRACKS

and Blogspot, er, blog where there's lots more info and video links n' stuff