Frankie Soukal - Blue Island EP

No fewer than seven tracks on offer on this EP of (in their words) "sun-drenched, deep and funky house jams" from Beats Me Music. Can't fault 'em in the value of money stakes! And, to be fair, it's pretty hard to fault 'em in the musical stakes either, as this is another release from the Eastbourne-based label that's sure to delight the more discerning (by which I hope I don't JUST mean older!) house heads.

Not going to go into all seven tracks and mixes individually, but in total you get just the one mix of Blue Island itself, three of Street Signs, two of Success and one of Sunburst, with the remixes (where attributed and not just named) coming from Groove Federation, Middle Rhythm and label boss Rob Clarke. The overall vibe is indeed "deep and funky" and with jazzy bits, space disco-y bits, Balearic bits and some lush NJ garage-y bits to be found, it's hard to imagine any deep house jock NOT finding plenty to play here, especially if your tastes veer more towards the 'traditional' side of deep house rather than the contemporary deep/tech sound.

Classy stuff you need to check, basically.

Out: This week

About: Beats Me Music can be found here and here (website and Facebook). And in Eastbourne, obviously. If you happen to be passing down that way.

Soul Sway - Quality Of Life EP

Going a little bit deeper now with this latest rather sumptuous offering from the always on-point Savoir Faire Musique.

In its Original form, Quality Of Life is a chuggy, midtempo deep house/deep garage cut with a warm b-line, organs, pianos and vocal stabs… it's just lush, basically, and couldn't be much more up my street if it lived in the house next door. Soul Minority then defy the laws of gravity (or something) by delivering a refix that if anything is even better, a proper late-night gem for the 'proper garage' heads!

And then finally Drift takes us more into deep/tech territory, albeit with the kind of dark room, semi-tribal feel that's got NYC written all over it (as opposed to Berlin or, say, Grimsby)… though, that said, there's enough musicality in its mournful low-end sax warbles to ensure it's just as suitable for home listening as it is for dazed 5am dancefloors.

All told, another excellent offering from Savoir Faire.

Out: This week

About: This is Soul Sway's second outing on SFM – as you might recall, his Don't Step Down EP was the label's very first release last year. Anyway, you can find Savoire Faire Musique online here and here (website and Facebook).

Julius Papp & Mr V - Chicago Tribute Remixed

The weekend's here! So now seems like an appropriate time to talk about this unashamedly old skool, good-time house cut from two latter-day house legends.

You should know the track already – I reviewed it on here last year when it first came out, albeit only in one of the round-up things I think, or was it on an album? Either way I can't seem to find the review right now but I know I did one! – but now we have four new mixes of it, from Devid Morrison and DJ MFR. To jog your memory, it's the one with Mr V reminiscing about the early days of house and talking about "that sound, that freedom, that feeling we had".

Morrison's mix adds a little tropical/Latino flavour to the track, with busy shakers and the like, but it's the DJ MFR Deep Mix that's doing it more for me, a stripped-down and dubby pass that throbs along nicely. Both mixes come with instrumentals, which is handy cos while I'm personally something of a fan of Mr V's Tyree Cooper-esque vocal stylings, not everyone else is.

It all adds up to a very solid bet of an EP. House music all night long.

Out: This week, I'm assured… whatever the cover might suggest!

About: This comes on DJ MFR's San Francisco-based label Transport Recordings, who should need no introduction from me! Here's their website.

DJ 3000 presents – 10 Years Of Motech Pt 1

It's a bit embarrassing that this is, I think, the first time Motech Records have featured on this blog… embarrassing cos this EP's being released to celebrate their 10 years in the game! But hey, I never claimed to know everything and everyone.

All four tracks on the EP are remixes of older material but like I said… so we'll have to tackle 'em as fresh. Of the two mixes of Gerald Mitchell's Belly Dancer, I'm feeling DJ 3000's dubby, tribal-leaning take to the Latin-infused take from Sascha Sonido, but both will find their fans. Franki Juncaj & Fer BR's The Pressure is, as remixed by Enthousiaste Gasten, a rolling, Sneak-y discofied workout, while finally Delta Funktionen's 808 Mix of another Juncaj cut, Moment In Time, takes us as the name suggests back to the warehouse days. Dig those old-skool drum sounds!

All told, a nicely varied EP taking in several shades of house music… from a label to which I clearly need to be paying a bit more attention, eh?

Out: This week

About: Motech is based – I now know – in Detroit, and run by DJ 3000, who is also Franki Juncaj. And, obviously, they're ten years old. This is what they have to say about themselves: "What started as a small vision in Detroit has grown into a global network of visual, sonic and intellectual ideas all driven by a unique group of artists and producers who are combining past and present in order to establish the sound of the future."

A full-length '10 years' label comp is coming later this year. Find out more by visiting the Motech website.

Chris Minus - Finding Spaces EP

Only the sixth release from UM Records, this features two originals from Danish producer (always with the Danes at the moment!) plus a trio of remixes from Marc Cotterell and Michael McLardy.

"In the deepness you will find your way," goes the vocal on Finding Spaces… which should, in and of itself, give you a pretty good idea of the kind of laidback, late-night gem to expect. Drifting Along is a little more obviously floor-oriented, with what sound like Hammond organs parping away and a whispered "Do you catch my drift?" vocal.

Cotterell's Lost In Space mix takes Finding Spaces to the floor on a saxed-up, west coast-y ride, while his Late Night Mix of the same is a stripped-down beauty for the afterhours. And finally, in McLardy's hands Drifting Along becomes a somewhat techier, drummier affair, though without losing those killer organs.

From the peeps behind the excellent Deep House Facebook page, you kind of expect good things… and they deliver.

Out: This week

About: As well as the page mentioned above, there's a separate UM Records Facebook page, and you can also find 'em on Soundcloud or at their own blog

Poussez - Sandcastle Society

A five-tracker here from Poussez, taking in mixture of deep house and slo-mo/downtempo styles… and featuring as disturbing a sleeve as you're likely to see all month. Brrrr.

Sandcastle Society itself opens proceedings, a slow-moving deep houser with a heavily reverbed female vocal, throbbing b-line and plenty of dreamy atmos. Hairy Jaw drops the tempo yet further, being a low-slung groove with a spoken (male, French) vocal and a vaguely Balearic feel to the percussion – one for those lazy beach/poolside sessions. Hairy Jaw then gets dragged to the dancefloor by a brace of dubs from the ever-prolific Danny Ward AKA Moodymanc, his Close Shave Dub being my pick from the EP as a whole, before finally the rather peculiarly-titled Trinity Remix [Original Mix], which again is downtempo and somewhat filmic, closes out the EP.

Good stuff as ever from Jafar and Maxime. Apart from the cover, which is just wrong.

Out: This week

About: Poussez run their own label Artizan Music, but this one comes on Al Bradley's 3am Recordings, the latest label to join an illustrious list the lads have recorded for that also includes Toolroom, Neurotraxx Deluxe, Universal Vibes and Hudd Traxx.

For more info on Poussez, see their own website which features a handy player with snippets of almost everything they've done!

Umek & Mike Vale – Point To Consider EP

Time to pick up the pace a little now with this latest from European techno stable 1605. Regular readers will know I've long been a big fan of Umek's house-informed take on techno… well, this is one of his housiest, dare I say it even discofied in places, efforts to date.

That's not to say it's not plenty tough and pounding enough for the techno floors – it is, and in fact techno floors are undoubtedly where it's gonna be most at home. But there's no mistaking the influence of classic jacking Windy City house music in the two tracks here either. B-side How's Your Body, in particular, comes on, to these ears at least, a little like I Feel Love reworked for Tresor in the 1990s, with a very familiar Chi-town vocal sample thrown in.

Pump up the volume and listen without prejudice!

Out: This week

About: Here's the 1605 Music Therapy website, here's their Facebook page and here they are on Soundcloud

Dean Mickosi - Dreamless EP

Macedonian label Artefact Records don't seem to be able to put a foot wrong at the moment… here's their latest offering, coming from a producer who's of Macedonian extraction but born and raised in the US of A.

As with the Steyoyoke release below we're in the deepest of tech-house territory here, though Dreamless is a fair bit more upbeat and floor-oriented than the Dahu tracks. A chopped-up soulful male vocal sits atop tuff, driving beats, heavily reverbed piano chords and more layers of atmospherics than you could shake stick at on the Original, while remixes from F. North, Ldm And Ramorae just tweak things slightly to suit different dancefloor moods without messing with the track's overall spaced-out, 5am dancefloor feel.

One to pack for those afterhours sessions.

Out: This week

About: Sheesh… always with the links! Website Facebook Soundcloud

Dahu - Deep In The Woods EP

Sticking with the very deep vibes, here's the second offering from new Berlin-based label Steyoyoke.

It's a simple two-track affair. Deep In The Woods itself is a melodic, melancholic and at times slightly menacing meander through those murky shadowlands where deep house and deep techno collide and fuse into interesting new shapes. On the B, those deep and dubby techno influences come a little more to the fore on Falun, with some tripped-out sax insertions in there as well, making this an EP that's "4 da headz" for sure.

But then that's you, is it not? If so, you should love this!

Out: This week on vinyl, you'll have to wait till 13 April if you want to buy it digitally.

About: Here's the usual links for Steyoyoke, then… website Facebook Soundcloud

Various - DeepWit Spring Moods

A five-artist, five-track sampler from Denmark's excellent DeepWit here, showcasing the label's trademark subterranean house sound perfectly.

The artists in question are Asona, Jonny Bee, Ejeca, Ev Darko and dEEPoint. I'm not gonna go into every track individually but suffice to say that if you dig 4/4 beats that are thumping yet unhurried… atmospheric synth washes… warm, phat yet understated b-lines… nods towards classic Chi-town deepness à la Larry Heard… and the odd garage-y vocal snippet… then you're going to be pretty much in heaven here.

Essential stuff.

Out: This week

About: Here's the DeepWit website, or you can find 'em on Facebook and Soundcloud

Phil Weeks - Disco Inferno

Phil Weeks gets down with his disco bad self here, in the company of Brazilian label Clash Music.

The original of Disco Inferno kicks off with two and a half minutes of not particularly discofied rolling deep house bits, before in comes the "dance, dance, dance" vocal (not the Chic sample you might be thinking of, BTW). Another scat-style, much deeper male vocal then starts "b-b-b-bom-bom"-ing away in the background and… er, well that's it basically. This is disco-y, but in the most tracky, house-y way possible, sounding a little like the dub of something by Weeks' recent collaborator DJ Sneak. But that's by no means a bad thing.

Remix-wise, there's a VCO Rox Safadinhas Remix and an Anhanguera 90s School Remix. The former drops a lot of the vocal but adds a big raw-sounding b-line and some twiddly space-disco synths, while the latter ups the dancefloor ante a little with sax parps, and stabs that make me think of Gusto's Disco's Revenge.

Three solid cuts that I'm probably not doing justice to right now – I'm tired – but that will get booties shaking on the floor without a doubt.

Out: This week

About: Clash Music's website is here, or here's their Soundcloud (where you can HEAR THIS). Also, here's what the hype sheet has to say about the remixers involved:

Anhanguera from Sao Paulo, Brazil are Dudu Palandre and Décio Deep - a duo at the forefront of a new generation of funky and jackin' house producers. They have released several tracks through labels such as Robsoul, Minority, Shak Digital, Guesthouse and Good Family. Their music blends classic disco, jazz and hip-hop samples with funky bass lines and fat beats - always sexy, groovy and driving.

VCO Rox complete the Sao Paulo-focused line up. Paula Chalup and Eduardo Marote have been honing their joint live show since 2010 which maintaining solo DJ careers in Brazil, Europe and America. Morate is well known as Prztz (and member of Jamanta Crew) who's releases for labels such as Classic, Robsoul and .dotbleep were hugely popular in the mid 2000's.

Angus Jefford – Bumpin'

Okay, so I try and be as professional about things on this blog as I can be, generally. But for once I'm going to make an exception and, very unprofessionally, just say FUCK ME THIS IS GOOD. And that's swearing.

But really, this is outstanding stuff, revisiting the 90s organ-driven house template to devastating effect both on Bumpin' itself – which comes in Original and slightly dubbier Somethin' After mixes, the latter dropping the Detroitian string stabs but keeping the soulfully-styled vocal stabs – and on The Culture. It's enough to make an over-the-hill raver very, very happy indeed.

The fourth track Fever Fever, BTW, doesn't have the organs. It's still a very serviceable slice of uplifting, retro-leaning but forward-looking house music… but it's Bumpin' itself that means you need to STOP what you're doing and buy this immediately.

Oh yeah, and here it is, as well. Awesome, isn't it?

Out: This week

About: This is the second offering from Say Ahh! which, if you didn't know, is the new house label set up by the legendary MK and his brother Scotti Deep… which no doubt helps explain why this is just SO freakin' good. Find Say Ahh! online here or visit their blog

PS: I was hoping, tonight, to bring you a So Many Tunes… round-up of the ones that got away last week. But circumstances have prevented… hopefully later in the week.

FREE MIX DOWNLOAD from Baker Street

Hello, and welcome to the week here on TIWWD… and we're going to get this particular week off to a very groovy start, because the good folk at Baker Street Recordings, that Leeds-based bastion of all things deep n' techy, have kindly decided to make a one-hour mixed version of their forthcoming fifth anniversary label compilation available for free.

I won't bang on, suffice to say you need to grab this while it's hot!

Out: Well, now, obviously.

About: In case you hadn't noticed, Paul Hardy and McKai are the men responsible for crafting this mix. If you dig this – and I'm pretty certain you will – then the 'proper' version of the compilation, with all the tracks featured here and more besides, in all their full-length, unmixed glory, is out on April 23. Keep an eye on the Baker Street website for more details.

William Medagli – Everything I Am Looking For EP

Italian producer William Medagli serves up a four-tracker for Sleazy Deep that blurs the boundaries between deep house and nu-disco.

Shine On Me marries big Carpenter-esque analogue synths with a breathy female vocal reminiscent of mid-90s house, while a remix from label boss Rob Made replaces the busy percussion with more of a no-nonsense nu-disco clap-throb. And lots of scratching sounds, oddly. You also get a rub from Spaghetti Orchestra, who take us deep down into late-night, er, sleazy territory.

Over on the B, Rise Up is a slightly housier affair in its original form, albeit at a pretty sedate pace, again coming with the fem vox and a big phat b-line; again Mr Made remixes, adding some wukka-wukking guitar to bring out da funk. One for those Ibiza warm-up sessions, methinks.

Out: This week, on Beatport and on vinyl. Everywhere else from 2 April.

About: Sleazy Deep is (as I just said, kind of ) the brainchild of Rob Made, AKA Robin Tabor of F*** House Music fame, and can be found online here (website) and here (Soundcloud, where you can HEAR THIS)

Dance Spirit – Stay

House music all the way from Chicago here, courtesy of Angel Alanis' Home Audio Recordings label and, apparently, "an established techno outfit that wishes to remain anonymous".

Surprising, then, that there's little in the way of classic Chicago house sounds here, and not a lot that's particularly techno-fied either! Instead, Stay is a multi-layered and very now-sounding deep house production, moving along at today's lower tempo and with that currently hot mix of slightly tech-y beats and soulful vox. Gotta say the male vocal's a little too soulful for my tastes these days though – there was a time I'd never have said that – so for me it's all about the Dub. Which is, it has to be said, rather sumptuous.

On the B, Where You Feel It is a more upbeat affair, again with the soulful male vox and, this time, with a relentlessly throbbing synth hook to draw 'em in. Again, though, personally I'm feeling the dub over the vocal mix… but with soulful vocals all the rage, this should go down well in the clubs.

Out: This week

About: Find out more at the Home Audio blog, Facebook and Soundcloud pages.

Sarp Yilmaz – Ro Vibes EP

Some deep, techy, tracky shiznit here from Trendy Mullet, as supplied by Turkish producer and cat-lover (apparently) Sarp Yilmaz.

Got My Money is the standout for me, a slow, headnoddin' slab of soulfully-tinged, techy deepness… like listening to vintage deep Jersey garage on downers. Ro Shuffle works a similar sort of vibe, and is then given a beefed-up remix by James Johnston that's really your only hope here if it's dancefloor action you're seeking! And then finally Urban Vibe goes to the opposite extreme, being a downtempo/uneasy listening kinda thang.

A varied EP then, and one that won't have much appeal for a lot of floors… but if you like your sounds a little more challenging, this is well worth checking out.

Out: This week

About: Here come the usual links… Facebook, website, Soundcloud

Jan Hendez & Superlate – My Feelin'/Out Of Africa

An unusual release here from France's Way Of House… as we'll see in just a sec.

It's a four-track affair. First up is My Feelin', a slab of uber-deep late-night house that's almost amniotically warm and enveloping in its original form, and that comes accompanied by a Matt Star Remix that beefs up the beats for dancefloor play, though only in the most specialist of clubs. Next, Out Of Afrika is slightly more uptempo beats-wise, but the weird, disembodied vocal samples and slightly menacing air mean it's still probably one more for afterhours/post-club/backroom play.

And then we get to the 'unusual' part, cos Track 4 is a mash-up of the two, again from Matt Star… presumably for if you can't decide which you like best and only have time to play one tune!

I'm not sure I've ever had a record that did that before, and WOH are to be applauded for doing things differently… but as regards picking a favourite mix, it's the original of My Feelin' all the way for me.

Out: This week

About: Way Of House, or WOH Lab if you prefer – I'm not really certain what the official name is – is based in Nimes in France, and run by Greg Delon, Bastion Grine and Teka. You can find 'em on Facebook, on Soundcloud and at their own website.

Dale Howard – Merrt EP

Time now for some quality deep house music courtesy of that home of quality deep house music, Lost My Dog.

In total you get four tracks from Liverpudlian producer Howard, plus a remix of the title cut from no less a personage than Ian Pooley. Merrt in its original form does that 'techy beats but with soulful, garage-y overtones' thing that's so popular right now, while Pooley's remix is more funkified and adds a little disco gloss. Elsewhere, Connection is a straight-up small hours chugger, while Get A Grip and Sabbatical take us deeper still, with the latter probably my favourite cut from the whole EP, working sampled civil rights-era speech and some LUSH piano chords.

Another strong release from a label that seldom puts out any other kind.

Out: This week

About: Lost My Dog can be found at their website, on Facebook and on Soundcloud (and on Twitter, MySpace, Last.FM and YouTube, come to that, but I'm not pasting links all bloody night). While you're there, you can grab their latest podcast, which features a guest mix from Mr Pooley, too.

Dale Howard, I should probably also point out, has previously had stuff out on Fear Of Flying, Neurotraxx Deluxe, Witty Tunes and Loco Records, as well as running his own Static Audio imprint.

Robosonic – Punchi Punchi EP

Well, I'm pretty sure this is a first for TIWWD… a tech-house record about a towel. A punchi, you see, turns out to be a scarf/headband/

towel/snood hybrid, designed in Germany by – I think – Robosonic themselves, and apparently a popular item among Berlin clubbers. And Punchi Punchi is a tribute to it.

But never mind all that… is the record any good, is what you want to know. And yeah, it is actually, sitting somewhere on the border of deep and tech house (as so many tunes these days do). It's the Antony Olivieri mix that's doing it best for me, being somewhat housier where the Original is a little techier. You also get a Daft Punchi Edit of Punchi Yellow, which throws in some French-sounding accordions, and 1, another very Berlin-sounding tech-house number.

Robosonic: clearly, froods who know where their towels are.

Out: This week

About: This comes on 0001 Records, who I can't seem to find any sort of website for… but in the meantime you can HEAR THIS (and download Punchi Yellow for free) at Robosonic's Soundcloud page

FREE TRACK from Kraak & Smaak – BPLB

Bit busy today so in case I don't get manage to get round to any reviews, here's some freebie justice from Kraak & Smaak to keep you entertained… this is taken from the Kraak Beats EP, which is out on April 9



Out: Now, obviously

About: For more info, see the Kraak & Smaak website or hit up Jalapeno Records

RJ Fletcher – Double Down EP

Another brand new label! Tact Recordings is, it says here, "a new house and techno label that's the brainchild of four UK producers based in London, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds".

First up to the plate for 'em is Manchester's RJ Fletcher, a name you should recognise from previous releases on the likes of Deep Edition and 3am Recordings. Here he serves up three cuts: Lazy Days, Over Defy and Double Down itself, the latter coming accompanied by a refix from deep house veteran Rick Wade.

Lush, contemporary-sounding deep house is the order of the day… and yes, I'd say 'deep' rather than 'deep/tech', cos this is a fair bit more organic-sounding than much of what's around right now. All five cuts are in a quite similar vein and all are perfectly playable so I'm not gonna go into it track-by-track, except to say that if pushed then I'd pick the jazzual, sax-sporting Lazy Days as the standout.

Let's hope we hear more from Tact Recordings soon, cos this is an excellent start.

Out: Today

About: Like I said, this is Tact's first release from new label You can find 'em on Soundcloud, Facebook and Twitter.

NB: I don't normally post Twitter links. I don't 'do' Twitter. I'm making an exception for these guys cos they're new.

EXCLUSIVE! Jesus Pablo - The Story So Far EP

Right then, breaking the rules here cos this isn't out till next week… but as Mr Pablo was kind enough to let me be one of only two people getting sent it (i! Records don't really DO promo), it seemed somewhat daft to sit on it!

TIWWD has been a fan of this young Liverpudlian producer's style of house music for some time now. His is an approach that's respectful to the past, yet sounds as contemporary as anything else around, and that's no easy trick to pull off. Accordingly, it'll come as no surprise when I tell you… I'm loving this.

There are three tracks in a total of five mixes. The Story So Far itself is led by sparkling pianos counterpointed by Detroitian string stabs, and is gorgeously musical even if it never really kicks off, making it best suited for afterhours or sunny afternoon sessions. For club thrills, best head to the Robot Oil Remix, which adds solid, driving 4/4s and some subdued scat vox and Spanish guitars.

Behind The Line is more yer straight-up deep house dancefloor cut – not that there's anything wrong with that! It's warm, funky and a wee bit left coast-ish in its Original form, and also comes accompanied by a Howard Sessions remix that's a tad techier and dubbier. Endless Dream then brings the EP to a close on a suitably, er, dreamy note… one for those comedown sessions for sure.

A strong EP all round, as befits its appearance on such a well-loved classic US label. The boy from Merseyside done good.

Out: Next week

About: If you need me to tell you who i! Records are, then frankly I despair… anyway, here's their website and Facebook page

Joshua Iz – The Figure

New label alert! Dream In Audio is a brand new label based in San Francisco, "inspired by the late 90s sounds of San Francisco and Chicago", and their first release comes from none other than deep house hero Joshua Iz, of Iz & Diz fame.

It's a two-track affair. The Figure itself is a bleepy-squeaky, Chicago-y houser that jacks relentlessly along for the best part of nine minutes, albeit at not too demanding a pace! Meanwhile on the B, What U Like is a deeper cut, underpinning lush Rhodes pianos, soaring, dreamy synths and occasional echo-ing, disembodied samples of the Class Action Weekend vocal with some SERIOUSLY phat bass.

As you can probably guess, it's the latter I'm feeling the most. Not much else to say really, but I did chuckle at reading the biog on the hype sheet…

"Joshua Iz is a DJ, music producer, designer and slightly better-than- average tennis player. He likes trainers, good design, dub reggae and vodka. Joshua has been DJing since 1986 and has played on 5 continents and been to 6. His music productions have graced labels such as Classic, NRK, Om Records, Nordic Trax and Seasons. He runs his own record label called Vizual which launched in 2010. He currently has DJ residencies in Chicago, San Francisco and London. Joshua also sometimes DJs and makes music with Diz as Iz & Diz and they are currently working on their upcoming debut album. Joshua also makes a killer salsa and is generally fun to be around."

Out: Saturday (March 23) on vinyl, not till April 13 digitally

About: Here's where to find Dream In Audio online… and check the TIWWD Facebook page for a Dream In Audio WMC 2012 mix lovingly prepared by Jonny Fiasco.

Miguel Puente - What You Do EP

A three-tracker here from Mexican producer Miguel Puente, who these days is a DJ and promoter in Barcelona, on the currently hotly-tipped No 19.

What You Do itself opens the package, a track that plays homage to classic Chi-town house in its sound palette, but that throws in some Italo synths as well and comes topped off with a very European-sounding female vocal. Next up, Save Each Other is another track that uses retro Italo/nu-disco synths but this time pairs them with more contemporary tech-house beats n' bass, and more yearnsome, soul-inflected vox. And then finally, It's Been So Long brings the Italo/electro influences even more to the fore, while treated vocal lines drift in and out of the mix.

I'll be honest, this isn't making me bounce round the room like a nutter or anything, but it's interesting stuff for sure, and further evidence of No 19's willingness to push the house envelope. Which, y'know… it's important that people do.

Out: This week

About: Here's where No 19 live…

Do It Proper - Dubtronic

You never quite know what you're gonna get from Do It Proper, AKA US-dwelling Brit producer Lee Jarvis. Do It Proper tracks and mixes to cross TIWWD's radar to date have ranged from the deep to the techy to the discofied… and now Lee throws us another curveball with a slab taking its influences primarily from dub techno and, well, straight up dub.

Three mixes to choose from. The Original is a tad more jerky and experimental, making me think – just a little bit – of vintage sonic explorers like Gang Of Four (though you'd still want to file this generally under techno/tech-house). It's interesting stuff, but doing it more for me are the Tronic Dub from Daniel Allen, a smoker's delight in the finest Basic Channel tradition, and the far housier Deez Raw N Deep Mix from Demarkus Lewis, which ups the dancefloor ante considerably.

Like I said, you never quite what to expect from Mr Jarvis… but you can generally rely on it being quality stuff, and this is, no matter which mix you go for.

Out: This week

About: This comes on San Francisco-based Headset Recordings… here's their website, Facebook and Soundcloud.

Markus Eden – Deep Signatures EP

Despite the title of this EP, here we find deep/tech house stalwarts Tokyo Red perhaps venturing into slightly more overtly techified territory, at least on two of the three cuts.

For me, it's all about the lead track, Something I Feel. This works the familar Cuba Gooding-via-Acen sample, heavily treated, atop sparse, minimal deep house beats, the occasional disco synth stab and, most importantly, a phat, squelchy b-line that's got da funk in spades. A heads' delight.

Something I Feel also comes accompanied by a Dejan Dex Remix that's aimed fair and square at the tech-house floors. This latter's okay in and of itself, and it'll no doubt have its fans… but why you'd ditch that great b-line and throw in a bunch of ear-piercing, top-end percussion sounds instead baffles me a little, so I'll stick to the original. Personally I'm much more into bonus cut Lost Your Beans, a dark n' moody tech-house throbber in that east London warehouse style, coming topped off with chopped-up Afro-y vocal snips.

Very solid stuff, despite my quibbles about the Dex mix.

Out: This week

About: This is but the latest in a long line of gems from DJ Sydney's Tokyo Red Recordings, who can be found on MySpace or via Sydney's own Facebook page.

Monitor – Blissful

The latest from Mile End Records comes from fellow Canadians Monitor, who also had an album out on the label last year.

In its Original form, Blissful is a lovely little deep house slab with a laidback, west coast kinda feel – specifically, it reminds me a little of early Migs productions in the way the vocal's slowly filtered/faded in. Oh yeah… the vocal, which has been lifted wholesale from a yoga meditation tape, making this a cert for those driftaway moments whether on the dancefloor or on the sofa.

Remix-wise, there's a Miguel Graca rub that doesn't do huge amounts different from the Original, except that the percussion is more muted at the start and then gets a tad more frenetic towards the end, with added elements of hand percussion… presumably with a view to maximising its use as a bridging tool in DJ sets? There's also a Mikel Curcio Remix which is aimed more at the prog/tech floors; this too is pretty cool, and it'll work for the jocks it's intended for, but it's the Original that wins out for me.

Out: Today

About: You can find Mile End at their website, on Facebook and on Soundcloud.

FREE EP! Toob - Chop House Vol 1

Here's one you don't want to miss, seeing as it's free… the first of several such freebies, we're promised, from Jakeone and Rich Thair, AKA Toob.

I won't say too much, seeing as you can go and download it and make your own minds up. But if the glitchier, edgier, more experimental end of tech-house is your thing than you should be more than satisfied with Nueva Onda and Chop House, though for me the star of the show is Wave 4, an altogether deeper, groovier affair.

Anyway, click here to grab the tracks. Enjoy!

Out: Today, obviously

About: Chop House Vol 1 is the first release from Chop House, a label-not-label set up by Toob so that "we can simply make the music and get it out there without any of the faff of going through record labels, distributors etc." Further Chop House free digital download 'EPs' are planned throughout the year, with some of the tracks also getting a limited vinyl release.

Ant Brooks – Whassup

We stick with the tuffer vibes now, with this very solid slab of driving tech-house from Ant Brooks.

The original mix of Whassup features insistent beats, an even more insistent "But you know what? It's whassup" female vocal and nagging, building synths. It'll do the do on younger/more mainstream floors for sure – its crowd-pleasing snare rolls will see to that – but for me it's all about the Danic Remix. Here, the synths are reined in considerably as more rolling beats join forces with a warping b-line to create an altogether more heads-down, chuggy pass. And one, importantly, with no bloody snare rolls.

I hate snare rolls. Heads-down and chuggy is good, though.

Out: This week

About: This one comes to you courtesy of Italian label Deeperfect… here's the usual website, Facebook and Soundcloud links.

Adam Fierce – Circa [2012 Tomorrow People Remix]

Quite often we have some nice mellow deep house vibes to ease into the week on a Monday… this week, let's do the opposite and jump straight in at the 'fierce' end!

I'll be honest and say I don't know/remember the original version of this track, but in the remix presented here by Tomorrow People, AKA Scott Langley and Alan 'Jinx' Chamberlain, it's a rollicking uptempo vocal stomper, wearing its 90s influences clearly on its sleeve, but underpinning the looping "you got the beat" diva vox with the tougher, techier beats required for a more contemporary feel.

Firing stuff made for moving bodies on peaktime dancefloors.

**UPDATE 20/2: Please note that's Scott LANGLEY, not Scott Harrington as I said previously. Thanks to SH for pointing out the mistake.

Out: Today

About: This comes on London label Influential House and there's just the one mix promo'd… whether there are any more in the pipeline I don't know, but you might want to keep an eye on the Influential House Facebook and MySpace pages just in case.

So many tunes, so little time 10

Time for a round-up of other goodies that are out this week…

Aartekt – You & Me EP
First up is the latest from Something Different. I'm gonna pass on You & Me itself, even with its Harold Heath remix, cos I'm not feeling the indie-style vocal one bit, though I can imagine today's young floors might and it IS already charting well on Beatport. For these old ears, though, it's all about the techy, soulful vibes on Girl Get Up, a sparse affair in its Original form that also comes with a somewhat funkier Kirby Remix.
More info

Adapter – September In Love EP
Some more very solid deep/tech house vibes from Four Fingers Hand here, with three original tracks plus an Angelo Draetta remix of the title cut. It's actually the Original Mix of the same that I'm feeling most out of the four tracks, but Twisted deserves a mention as well purely for its recycling of the famous Stuart Who? vocal from days of yore.
More info

Andrea Mattoli & Stefano Kosa – Call Me EP
And speaking of solid deep/tech house vibes, here are some more from Italy's Diva Records. It's a two-track affair, Call Me featuring tuff, tuff beats and sampled speech about a man who “never sleeps and never bathes”, while Rewind is a more upbeat cut with fierce hand percussion and chanted vox, aimed fair and square at the White Isle's cooler terraces.
More info

Daco – Under Pressure EP
The latest from the mighty Paper Recordings is a 'distinctive' affair for sure, so much so that I'm not entirely sure how to describe it! Okay, Make A Change operates in fairly straight-up deep house territory and features a jazz-inflected male vocal from Vaceo, while Under Pressure itself is a hefty slab of retrofied electrofunk. But as for Artificial Sweetener, which comes in Ballroom and Monkey Nuts mixes… 'deep acid funk' is what the hype sheet's calling it, so I guess that'll have to do. Good to see Paper still pushing the envelope, if you'll pardon the excruciating pun.
More info

Den Ishu – High U Gonna Feel EP
Sleazy, lo-slung grooves that give deep, bordering-on-slo-mo house a little nu-disco polish, I think would be how I'd describe this one from Supernature Records. Phew, I haven't lost my powers after all! Three tracks, four mixes in all – the title cut is the big, druggy, anthem-y one but don't miss Say The Word on the B either, a proper deep, sexy delight.
More info

George Lanes Jr – Soul Ascension
Nite Grooves has always been King Street's home for trackier shit, but blimey! This is as dark and slammin' a drum track as we've ever heard from them, I think. The Original Keys To Dub Mix adds organ chords to the drums, bassline and snips of vocal, making for a slightly less in-your-face take.
More info

Tom Pooks – Love Is A Groove
Three tracks, five mixes in total, with the EP as a whole sitting right on that deep/tech border and not short of a few slightly proggy touches, either. It's the big and bass-y Original mix of Vagabond that does it best for me. It's only number five from Cabada's Casbour Records, so show some love peeps! You can hear it for yourself if you click the link.
More info

Vandyman – Blue Jam EP
Regular readers will know I'm a big fan of Beats Me Music. This latest from the Eastbourne label, while still of the highest calibre, goes down a slightly different route from their many bumpin' vocal cuts, instead offering up dreamy, discofied beats of the deeper kind, with a lavishness to the production Mr Negro would approve of. Warm, understated b-lines, drawn-out space-disco synth rises and spoken 'jive' vocal snips abound. Deepshizzol, Rob Clarke and Darren Gregory TC of remix B.
More info

Various – Occupy The Gruv EP
Three driving deep/tech-house cuts here on North Carolina-based Release Musiq, courtesy of J Hecht, Luis Armando and Conrad Greggor. Hecht and Armando both veer towards the tougher, techier, more percussive end of the spectrum and will do their job on the floor mos def, but it's Armando & Greggor's deeper, more funkified DJ Smiles that's doing it best for me. Good to see a house label representing from outside the usual territories – this is number 10 from them.
More info

Vital & Hubb – Switchback
Finally for tonight's round-up, this is new from Dallas-based 3345 Music… and something of a deep treat to ease us out on! With six mixes to choose from (including a rather splendid Deez Deep Afro Mix from Demarkus Lewis), there's rubs to suit a variety of settings, ranging from the dub techno-influenced Echo Conscious Remix to the dancefloor bounce n' bump of Pointbender's Compass Rose Mix. Nothing like ending the post on a high!
More info

ALBUM Sare Havlicek - Escape Machine

Been waiting a while for this! But here at last is the second album from Slovenia's master of all things Italo and nu-disco, Sare Havlicek, which follows on from his 2010 debut, also on Nang, Toscana Nights.

'Difficult second album syndrome' doesn't generally seem to affect electronic music producers as much as it does rock bands, for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, any artist's sophomore long-player IS usually a pretty good indicator of whether they're gonna be in this for the long haul, or whether their star is one that shone brightly but briefly. Thankfully on this evidence, we can officially file Sare in the former category.

What's perhaps the trickiest feat for a second-album producer to pull off is to ensure some sort of continuity with his/her/their debut, without merely repeating the same notes in a different order. And Havlicek has managed to do that admirably here, for while Escape Machine largely stays in nu-disco territory (thus ensuring continuity), it also sees him exploring a broader sound palette than before. Where Toscana Nights was pretty much all about the analogue Italo synths, this time out pianos, strings and other instruments have a bigger role to play. There are also a handful of guest vocals (from Mitja, and from Charlie Denholm of Molly Wagger)

Stylistically, Sare veers a little closer than previously towards house tempos/rhythms as well – see, for instance, Sense Station, a piano-led romp for sun-drenched Iberican afternoon sessions if ever I heard one. That said, if it's those glacial Italo analogue workouts you're after, there's still a few of those, too…

In fact, you could sum up Escape Machine by describing it as "like Toscana Nights, but more rounded". And as I loved Toscana Nights, you can imagine how I'm lovin' this.

Out: This week

About: Here's where Nang live online

TIWWD Miami special!

It's that time of year again, when record label types head off to sunny South Beach armed with sampler CDs, showcasing the best of the label's forthcoming catalogue. Many – but not all – of these are also made available for purchase by the general public. So here's a quick look at this year's crop of WMC samplers that have landed on the TIWWD door mat…

First up, Congaloid. A nice easy one to start with, cos their sampler has just three tracks! Diavlo, The Deepshakerz and Baunz are the featured artists, with the emphasis overall on tough, dark and drummy house/tech-house grooves. Baunz's 808s, Pausetapes And Other Shit stands out, but Deepshakerz' Zip Zip is cool too.
Out: 21 March

Next, Nightbird Music. Sebastian Davidson's label offer up five tracks on their Miami sampler, from tONKPROJECT, John Mood, Malbetrieb & Rik Woldring, Rami Deejay and Seb himself (with Ferdy), and suffice to say the label's usual high deep house standards are more than maintained. It's all good, but Mood's late-night, garage-tinged gem Oh My Dear stands out, while an Afterlife Remix of Rami Deejay's Burn Burn feat Keely Timlin sees the label taking a rare stroll through downtempo/chill-out pastures.
Out: 13 March

Artefact Records are really pulling out the stops for Miami this year, serving up not one but two samplers with no fewer than 12 tracks featured in total. I'm not going to go into massive detail cos you can hear both EPs in full on Soundcloud… all I'm going to say is that there's some fine, FINE house music here, from classic NYC-style vocals to deep n' techy groovers. If you don't keep an eye on this Macedonian label in 2012, you're going to be seriously missing out!
Out: 13 March

Rob Made AKA Robin Tabor's new label, Sleazy Deep, will be strolling up and down Collins Avenue armed with a nine-tracker featuring some way upfront nuggets that are due to see the light of day over the next six months or so. As such, we'll no doubt be looking at these individually before too long anyway, so I'll just say that on this evidence, the label will continue to more than live up to its name. Particularly on Ben Clarke's Everybody, which features as phat n' sleazy a bassline as you're likely to hear all month.
Out: n/a, unless you're lucky enough to get given a copy

Finally, I'm not sure if this one's strictly Miami-related or not, but St Petersburg's EasyM Records also have a V/A sampler EP coming up. This one's a little more commercial/

accessible/big room in style, with trance/electrohouse elements in some of the tracks – they like that in Russia – but Wayik's Lush and Sandr Vokson's Eastern-tinged Aiwa are worth checking.
Out: 19 March

T.Lavonte – Fever Pitch EP

We just had the great deep house labels of the good ol' days being bigged up by one of the more established names on today's scene… now here's the latest from one of the great current up-and-coming labels, namely Martiijn's Deep Edition Recordings. Although saying that, this is number 29 from them so they're hardly the new kids on the block any more either!

T.Lavonte is one Lewis Palmer in real life, and hails from Amsterdam (though he's currently based in London). Here he gives us a three-tracker that kicks off with Fever Pitch, an uber-deep, home listening affair that blends spaced-out analogue synth rises with distorted, half-there snatches of soulful vocal and, oh, a full minute of vinyl crackle at the end so be ready all you DJ types!

Dirtbag then picks up the pace somewhat, a techier builder with what sound like they might be snatches from the same vocal source and insistent but not domineering beats. And then finally there's Traumatic, which is another late-night, tripped-out little 'ditty'.

This is one of Deep Edition's more experimental/leftfield offerings to date (and there's been a few of 'em now), but methinks it'll reward exploration. Space cadets, step this way.

Out: This week on Juno and DJ Download, 26 March everywhere else.

About: Deep Edition Recordings can be found, like your Auntie Gladys these days, on Facebook and Soundcloud.

2 Billion Beats - Babylon

The latest from 3am was intended, says the hype sheet, as a tribute to the sound of vintage UK deep house labels such as Paper, Toko and Pagan. Accordingly, they've drafted in the duo of Tom Lonsborough and Col Hamilton, AKA 2 Billion Beats, to do the honours.

In its Original form, Babylon tops off midtempo beats, a throbbing bassline and warm synth washes with trippy, Eastern-sounding synths, making for a track that probably sounds at its best when you're feeling a little 'altered'. The Höhle Remix is doing it for me, though, dispensing with the head-frying wibbles and wandering down an altogether more post-club, hazed-out route, while completing the EP is a stripped-down, dubby take from Matt McHenry that's aimed at very, very late floors, and that brings back the trippy high-end without it being quite as in-your-face as on the Original.

Definitely the Höhle rub for me but if you like it a little more wonky and leftfield, the other two should suit you nicely.

Out: This week on Beatport, 19 April everywhere else.

About: You can find on Facebook and Soundcloud. Oh yeah and before anyone feels neglected, I should mention the hype sheet did namecheck Glasgow Underground and 2020Vision as well… and quite rightly so.

Roland M Dill – The Mysteryous Remixes Of Maryam Alma

Picking up the pace a little here, Punch Music serve up five remixes of a track that was first out last November.

Punch Music is first and foremost a techno label, but several of the remixes here could sit just as well in progressive or tech-house sets. The remixes from Muzarco and Stereo Underground, in particular, I'd say were closer to the deeper end of prog than anything, and probably the ones I'd be most likely to play myself.

Elsewhere, Shoshani's remix is very solid club techno even if it's not my personal bag so much, Yariv Bernstein turns in a deeper techno pass, and then finally there's a remix from Jim Rivers… a lad who's done rather well for himself in the ten years or so since I remember DJing with him at Empathy in Bristol! These days, of course, he's a fully-fledged globetrotting superstar, touring the world under the Global Underground banner. His take on The Mysterious Case Of Maryam Ala is a stripped-down, bleepy number aimed straight at underground techno floors.

All told, a very solid remix package from this Israeli label, with mixes to suit a range of DJs/floors/moods.

Out: This week

About: You can find out more about Punch Music at their website or on Facebook.

Various - Guilty Birds EP

More seriously deep goodness here from Denver's 5 And Dime Recordings. Once again, it's a V/A EP featuring the usual label suspects: F Stop, ben A, Mateous and Zach DeVincent.

ben A is up first with Signals, a driftaway late-night groover sporting analogue synth washes, birdcalls and sampled NASA Mission Control dialogue. Next, F Stop's Luna is an ominous slab of deep techno with a huge fat bassline, coming complete with a more ambient-leaning Omar Fayyed remix (there are beats though, so it's not an entirely ambient affair).

Detour from Mateous is the standout track of the EP for me, another late-night house groove with an obscenely large bottom end, and then Zach DeVincent closes the EP on a dancefloor high with Close To Me, a heads-down tech-house chugger with proggy overtones and a breathy female voice inviting you to do what the title says.

Out: This week

About: This is number five from 5 And Dime, and every one has been a winner so far – if you like it deeper than deep, this is a label you need to be checking for right now. Here's their website, Facebook and Soundcloud, so you can do just that.