Helder Teixera – Non

Having discovered Portuguese producer Teixeira, the Endemic camp seem determined to release a record by him at least every 45 minutes… here's just the latest. S'good, though. 

There's just the two mixes to choose from. The original is a midtempo, rolling tech-house groove, with snatches of spoken French vocal but the emphasis primarily on the drums. It's the 4am Mix from Teixeira himself that I'm feeling much more, though – a far smoother, afterhours house joint with organs to kill for.

Nuff said, really… otherwise I'll be forced to do some sort of 'big, throbbing organ' joke. But yeah, this is very cool indeed.

Out: This week

About: Here's a link you may have seen before, and here's Helder's own Soundcloud page which you may not.

Stefan Kaye – Time Goes By EP

And from a label who don't get enough love on here (22 Digit), we move on to a label that get so much love on here, you probably think I've got an Endemic Digital duvet cover with matching pillowcases.

I haven't. But they do keep coming out with the goods! This time around it's label regular Stefan Kaye doing the honours with a four-track EP. In The Moment is yer basic deep/tech chugger with proggy overtones, With You is a mellower deep groove with a few UKG/UK funky-ish vocal wails applied sparingly on top, while Late Night Player is a little more glitchy. But the killer here is Time Goes By, a proper luxuriant and sumptuous deep houser with soulful male vocal snips and, most imporatntly, organ sounds to die for.

Actually I recently burnt a hole in my favourite duvet cover so Wez, if you were thinking of doing any home furnishing-themed merchandising…

Out: This week

About: Oh come on, you know this link by now!

Kurtz & Young2star – Flame

Finally for tonight, we have some more deep house vibes courtesy of the ever-prolific Endemic Digital.

There are four mixes of Flame. The Original is deep and dreamy but features one of those 80s synth-pop style vocals – they're all the rage at the moment but not my favourite personally, so I'd be looking for a mix that foregrounds them a little less. To that end, there's a slightly dubbier Mr Fresh LTC Remix and an actual Dub Version, the latter edging it slightly of the two… but the standout overall for me is the Marco Soave Remix, a lush, late-night pass that manages to out-dub the Dub!

Out: This week

About: Here's a label link you've seen a few times before, then…

Stefan Kaye – Sexy Mood

More quality deep house grooves from our old friends Endemic Digital.

It's a three-track affair. Sexy Mood itself is a laidback, jazzy kind of groove with a subdued but insistent piano riff and female 'aahs' sitting atop warm chords, the overall effect being not un-Boulevard-like. Elsewhere, Sexual works tuff no-nonsense beats, atmospheric synth washes and mournful sax wails, while Moving is another midtempo, late-night kinda cut with whispered vox.

Songs for swingin' lovers indeed…

Out: This week

About: You can find Endemic Digital on Facebook.

Luis Mollinedo – Storyteller EP

Another from the ever-reliable Endemic Digital camp here. Yeah, I know, but when I keep getting great tracks sent through, what's a boy to do?!

It's a simple two-track job. Storyteller itself lilts along at an unhurried pace, its crisp deep house beats layered with atmospheric synths/FX galore, while Dlov Story is somewhat more 'epic' in its construction, starting out all warm and lazy then adding percussion and vocal snips to build towards a dancing-into-dawn finish.

Either will serve as a soundtrack for your journeys nicely, be those journeys deep into the afterhours groove or deep into inner/outer space…

Out: This week

About: Here's that ever-popular Endemic Digital link again, then…

Stefan Kaye – Adherence EP

Whoops, nearly overlooked this one… glad I didn't, though, cos it's generally pretty ruddy spiffing, spot-on, tickety-boo, tip-top and other early 20th century expresssions of approbation.

Five tracks make up the EP, and "dreamy deep house aimed at the afterhours joints and post-club sofa sessions" is the general gist. Gave It Meaning is a little more sexy n' sultry than the rest, Warm People a tad more organic and amniotic, but generally speaking yeah, late-night, floataway vibes are the basic order of the day and if such are what you're after then there's not a track here that will disappoint.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you ever locate that mythical bunch of creatures known as "da proper headz," each of them will probably be clutching a copy of the Adherence EP. Nuff said.

Out: This week

About: This comes on a label called Endemic Digital. I believe I may have mentioned them on this blog once or twice before.

Helder Teixeira – Romantic Moves EP

Romantic moves, eh? Well I don't know about romance, but there's certainly no shortage of love for Portuguese newcomer Helder Teixeira in the Endemic Digital camp… having released the Eco EP on Sounds Of Juan last month, next week he's got another single out on Unrivaled Music while this week, here he comes on the mothership label.

Deep, techy house is the man's stock in trade, and the four tracks in five mixes here show that he's rather good at it. Unhurried chugger Fuck That stands out for me but if you're a fan of the Endemic sound there's nothing here that will disappoint, trust!

Out: This week

About: You can find Endemic (and Unrivaled and Sounds of Juan) on Facebook.

ALBUM - Various/Cole Jonson - Choice Cuts 7

There's 22 tracks on this album so I'm buggered if I'm gonna sit here and attempt to describe every single one of 'em in turn!

So we'll just keep it short and sweet. Endemic Digital is one of the most prolific and reliable providers of deep/tech house grooves we've got in the UK. Here are 22 of their tracks, from the likes of Onionz, Simon Firth, Dan Price, Stefan K and many more, which Cole Jonson has very thoughtfully done some DJ jiggery-pokey with so that it all flows as one long continuous mix.

It's a crazy idea but you never know, it might catch on cos this is rather good. One can envisage young people jacking their bodies to it in discotheques and so forth.

Out: This week

About: The best place to find Endemic at the mo' seems to be on Facebook.

Little 15 – The Bronx

Some more very fine deep house grooves here, this time courtesy of Endemic Digital.

Recognisable by its sampled preacherman vox and "Bronx in the house shouts", The Bronx is quite tuff n' techy in its Original form but still quantifiably 'deep' rather than 'tech' house I'd say, if you're someone who likes to make such distinctions! Peter O's remix takes us on an uber-deep late nite ride, Danny eM's rub is a stripped n' stompin' pass for big speakers in big dark rooms and then finally James Silk's Dirty Jersey Remix is… the bollocks, basically.

Endemic have been getting some deep house chart love of late… this won't harm their cause any at all.

Out: This week

About: You can find Endemic on Facebook.

d00sh – Mystic

I'm a big fan of d00sh… this latest for Endemic Digital doesn't disappoint.

What I'm finding particularly non-disappointing about it, apart from the shuffling tech-house beats and soaring synths, is the bassline on the Original Mix, which nods towards the classic Expansions/Talkin' All That Jazz b-line without actually ripping it off… clever stuff that gives this tech-houser that crucial slightly funkier edge.

A brace of more heads-down, afterhours-style remixes come from Sean Danke and Squicciarini… neither tops the Original for me but both are plenty playable for sure, making for a very solid package all round.

Out: This week

About: Find Endemic Digital on Soundcloud and Facebook.

Stefan Kaye – Summer Days EP

Sorry to revert to clichés but the clue really is in the title with this one, as Stefan Kaye serves up some mellow, sunshine-infused deep house grooves for your beach-loungin' pleasure.

There are four tracks in total, and while the above description pretty much covers them all, we can't really just leave the review there. So, Summer Days itself is a little bit disco-tinged (but just a little bit), I Can See Your Love is out-and-out floaty n' Balearic, Right Time is more laidback and sultry while the pick for me is The Penthouse, a proper deep n' lazy late-night gem.

And what do you know, the sun's actually shining as I write this and everything! Hurrah.

Out: This week

About: This comes courtesy of our old friends Endemic Digital, who seem to be mostly contactable via Facebook at the mo'

Simon Firth – Visions EP

Let's follow that 'nice simple two-tracker' with an 'only marginally more involved three-tracker' from Simon Firth, coming on Endemic Digital. Sorry, I know that's a really lazy-arsed way of going about reviewing records but I've got a headache!

This is billed on the hype sheet as "progressive house/deep house" and yeah, that pretty much covers it. Visions itself sits right on the cusp of the two sub-genres, a gradually building instrumental epic made more for listening than the dancefloor I'd say but pleasing all the same. No More is more floor-friendly and leans a little more towards the deep side of the equation; it's also got something of that Morricone-ish expansive, soundtrack-y kinda feel about it. And then finally Visions itself is another midtempo instrumental, this time with the progressive influences most evident.

Solid stuff from Endemic that will go down well with those who like their grooves on the slow-burning, soundscape-y side of things.

Out: This week

About: You ought to know where to find Endemic by now!

Newman – Culture Code

Two in a row from the Endemic camp as we move on to the latest from the mothership label.

Can't tell you much about Newman, cos there's no info included with the mail-out, but I can tell you that Culture Code itself sits somewhere between nu-disco/Italo and progressive house, so should do pretty well on dancefloors this summer especially in Europe, while Globalisation on the B is a full-on peaktime 'Balearic prog' kinda thang, complete with retro hands-in-the-air pianos.

It's only really the A that's floating TIWWD's boat, to be brutally honest, even though I do like the pianos on the latter track. But that's a personal thing… there are plenty of floors that'll lap Globalisation up as well.

Out: This week

About: Here's that Endemic Digital link again…

Saytek – Don't Pick Up

Some really cool, chunky tech-house vibes here from scene stalwart Saytek, best known for his killer live house/techno sets.

The Original of Don't Pick Up is all thumping bass kicks and sharp higher-end percussion, and as such will probably work best on techno or techno-leaning floors. For those of a housier persuasion, though, Soulight's rub starts off tuff n' tribal but then mellows out into a real head-trip of a mix, while the ReKreation Rmx is a subtler pass still, with most of the relentless hi-hats and tribal fills left out. But the pick for me is James Silk's Mist Remix, which marries straight-down-the-line 4/4s with a big off-kilter b-line and some cool electric piano chords, and adds some looping female vocal snips to the male growls that are present on all four mixes.

Those are all pretty subtle distinctions, though… "cool, chunky tech-house" pretty much covers it really.

Out: This week

About: This is the latest from the Endemic Digital camp… I think it's the first time this veteran producer has had anything out on the label but I could be wrong. If it is though, definitely something of a coup for the Essex boys!

Miami Ice – The Way You

Another simple two-tracker here from Germany's Markus Greulich, AKA Miami Ice, who's previously appeared on the likes of Lost My Dog and Endemic Digital.

The Original of The Way You is fairly heads-down and moody deep/tech chugger, though looping vocals and a killer organ line bring the musicality and save it from being just another set-filler track. File this one somewhere between east London and the east midlands! Over on the B, meanwhile, Demi (of Be Yourself/SOS/Balance fame) serves up a percussion-led remix that takes the track into prog/tech territory.

It's the original all the way for me, though – when you've got a top-drawer organ line like that, why on Earth would you ditch it? It's insanity, that's what it is.

Out: This week

About: This comes on fledgling UK label Form-and Function, who are themselves connected to the Endemic Digital empire and who can be found on Facebook and Soundcloud.

Oh yeah and if you dig this then also check Miami Ice's track Kehta from Endemic's Three Years On compilation… now that really IS a killer organ track!

Matthieu Duchesne - Caliente/Deep Soul

Not one but two singles from rising French producer Matthieu Duchesne this week, with Caliente coming on Endemic Digital and Deep Soul on Savoir Faire Musique.

Turning our attention to Caliente first, then, in its original form this is a driving, uptempo, Spanish guitar-flecked houser that's got 'Beefa written all over it. Which is fine, and the slightly deeper remixes from Pao C and Terry Brookshire are even better… but the stone-cold killer for me is the uber-deep Dave James Dub. But then Dave James can pretty much do no wrong for TIWWD at the moment!

Moving on to Deep Soul, here we have another somewhat Balearic-tinged original, albeit this time it's a deeper, more shuffly affair, built for sun-up/sundown play. The remixes this time come on more like alternative versions rather than doing anything radically different, if you see what I mean, but if pushed I'd go for the Nick Devon Remix, which brings the track's dreamy, soulful side to the fore.

Overall though, with high quality production throughout and a range of mixes to choose from, taken together these two releases definitely mark out Duchesne as a name to keep an eye on.

Out: This week

About: To find out more you can find Savoir Faire Musique at their own blog, or hit up the Endemic Digital website

Yoram - Polder Funk EP

Moving on to this week's releases, then, and first out of the blocks – based on the highly scientific principle of starting at the end of the alphabet and working backwards – is this newie from our old friends in Essex, Endemic Digital.

The Polder Funk EP is a four-track affair. The title cut and Fenomeno operate in fairly straight-up, no-explanation-necessary deep/tech house territory, while Perfect Day (not the Lou Reed song, in case you were wondering) and Glow take us into slightly floatier, proggier pastures, though you'd still want to put them under the deep/tech banner overall.

Not got HUGE amounts to say about this one – not least because Endemic never seem to supply any real info with their mailouts these days! – but it's another solid bet from the label.

Out: This week

About: Hit up the Endemic Digital website for more

St Demetrius - Nocturnal Night EP

The sub-editor in me wants to grumble about the title of this EP, which is of course utterly tautologous* – what other kind of night is there, pray tell? But we'll let 'em off cos the music on it is rather good (naturally, or I wouldn't be writing about it).

Opener Chain Reaction is a simple groove, looping but evolving with nice clean percussion and just enough warmth. Nocturnal Night (ahem!) itself is in a similar vein but with a little extra funk and Latin spirit, while finally The Cold Fall is a slightly more upbeat n' chuggy cut with heavily effected pianos and vox bringing the musical depth.

All told, a very solid EP that'll please the deep/tech lovers for sure.

Out: This week

About: This is another one from the ever-prolific Endemic Digital.

*Just in case anyone was wondering, that's a phrase where one word renders the other one unnecessary. Like saying 'massively big', or 'frighteningly scary', or 'hot Sun'. Or 'Tory twat'.

Diego Metzer - Influencias EP

Yep, it's another one from the Endemic Digital stable… I know, but they do keep on coming up with the goods! In this case, the goods being a two-tracker of uber-deep, drummy house from Argentina's Diego Metzer.

Influencias itself is all insistent, rolling tribal percussion and Papua New Guinea-esque chants and wind instruments, plus some kind of horn – I'm guessing sax but it could feasibly be something else – making the odd back of stage walk-on appearance. One for slowly melding with the sofa to.

On the flip, Raices Devotas, credited to Diego Metzer pres Don Diego, starts out as an even more chilled-out affair, this time opening with mournful piano chords, before a solid 4/4 kick comes along to remind us that this is actually house music we're listening to and you're supposed to dance to it. Which you easily could, with this one… but it'd be just as at home on the aforesaid sofa as well.

Two solid bets for those that like it very, very deep.

Out: This week

About: Here's a link you may have seen before on this blog.

ALBUM Various - Endemic Digital Three Years Old

Release of the week for me without a doubt… and I don't think I've ever actually said that before. But regular readers will know I'm a bit of a fan of the Endemic approach to deep and tech house generally, truth be told… so this compilation celebrating the label's third birthday was always going to be a bit of a no-brainer.

On CD1, you get 11 brand-new tracks put together especially for this album by some of the label regulars, including Adam Coley, Lee Daines, Smak, Dave James, Soulight and of course label boss Wez Saunders. Wez's Always Remember You and Stefan K's deep delight Loyal stand out for me, along with Miami Ice's retro organ bouncer Kehta, but it really is all good, to coin a phrase.

Across CDs 2 and 3, you then get a further 20 gems culled from the label's back catalogue… and with tracks/mixes from Onionz, Pretty Criminals, Mitch Davis, Echofusion, Maher Daniel, Nik Fratarolli, Harnessnoise and other names that should be very familiar to readers of TIWWD, you know it ain't gonna be rubbish.

I'm not gonna go into individual tracks cos time is short right now and there's 31 of 'em… suffice to say that if deep and tech house (with a little bit of groovy techno) is your thing, then you seriously need this. Happy birthday Endemic, keep 'em coming!

Out: This week

About: Here's a link that's also probably quite familiar to you by now…