Rob Clarke - Gravity EP

Staying on a tech-house tip here, but going a little bit deeper with it, this is the latest from UK producer, coming courtesy of US label Headtunes Recordings.

The original of Gravity is a midtempo affair sitting right on that deep/tech border, with a dubby feel to the bassline and some soaring synths for that eyes-wide-shut dreamaway effect. Deepshizzol supplies a remix that beefs up the beats slightly to give the track a little more dancefloor oomph, and adds a spoken vocal – which sounds like it's been sampled from some old public information film or something – featuring a guy talking about the influence of African rhythms on music. Mike Jules' Mid-90s Basement Mix, meanwhile, is fairly accurate in its self-assessment… if you were dancing to deep house in basements in the 90s you'll know just what I mean. Unsurprisingly, I think this would be my pick of the three rubs on offer.

But that's not all, because you also get two mixes of bonus cut The Haunting. Clarke's original is a slightly more uptempo tech-houser to kick off, then settles down into something altogether groovier, jazzier and more house-ified, while the MJ Lo-Fi Beats Version (also from Mr Jones, as above) flips the script entirely and takes the track into dusty, beatdown kinda territory.

All told, more evidence that Mr Clarke is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Out: This week

About: This is what the hype sheet has to say about Headtunes (cos I'm feeling lazy):

Since 2005 Boston-based Headtunes Recordings have released music by respected underground producers including Audio Soul Project, Joshua Iz, Pete Dafeet, Dexter and Sleazy McQueen alongside up and coming talents such as Rob Clarke, Brenden Wesley, Markus Mehta, Matt Prehn and Bass Experiment. The labels diverse sound covers everything from nu disco through house and techno.