Dylan Debut – Sound System EP

Couldn't not show some love for this one, really, seeing as Mr Debut (I suspect that might not actually be his real name, BTW) is based, like TIWWD itself, in sunny Bristol.

That said, there's really no regionally based favouritism required cos this is a fine slab of floor-friendly deepness, just as we've come to expect from Beats Me Music. Sound System itself is a chunky, funky midtempo groover with the lightest of lounge-y overtones, Walki Talki is a deeper ride with sampled black consciousness vocals and a decidedly New York kinda feel, I Need is a more uptempo affair driven by a full-phat funk bassline and finally Pokki Talki is a stripped-down, loopy cut for the afterhours floors.

Another extremely checkable outing from the boys down in Bournemouth.

Out: Friday (30 Nov)

About: You can find Beats Me Music on Facebook or at their own website.

Rob Clarke – Sometimes EP

There's no stopping the Beats Me Music boss right now, as he follows last week's Organica EP with a five-tracker on the mighty Bounce House.

The EP's made up of three mixes of Sometimes itself, plus two bonus cuts. Sometimes is a fairly stripped-down deep house groove in its original form, the sparse production allowing the chiming synths and the hefty sample from Whitney's classic Love Will Save The Day to really ring out.  Label boss DK Watts supplies a remix that's a little more chugging and throbby, while a 3am Classic Dub sees Al Bradley in typically fine and very deep, afterhours-friendly form. Elsewhere on the EP, Repeater is a techier, synthier and slightly spooky, ominous kinda joint while Solar is more organic and warm-up friendly.

TIWWD has long believed Beats Me Music deserves a wider audience, and Rob putting out nuggets like this on respected labels like Bounce House certainly won't harm their cause any!

Out: This week

About: You can find Bounce House Recordings on Soundcloud, on Facebook or at their own website.

Rob Clarke – Organica

A four-track, six-mix EP on Bournemouth's Beats Me Music courtesy of label boss Rob Clarke.

There are no prizes for guessing which instrument features rather heavily on the title track… the organ lovers will be more than happy with this one, while Vandyman's Broken Remix of the same does what it says and takes us toward bruk territory. Elsewhere on the EP, Polar is a tuffer, darker, afterhours kinda groove, X Marks The Spot is big n' bouncy dancefloor deep house, David Moran's remix thereof is a tuffened-up version aimed at big, dark rooms with an added cheeky vocal sample, and finally Menace To Sobriety brings back the organ sounds but adds lots of FX and distortion and repurposes them within a tough tech-house context.

Some cuts here hit the spot more than others for me but that's to be expected – this is the sound of a label/producer experimenting with a variety of sounds and moods, and that's always a good thing. Well no, it's not, actually – see for instance the umpteen French house producers who've insisted on including godawful cod reggae or 'chilled breaks' tracks on their albums.

But it's a good thing here.

Out: This week

About: Find Beats Me Music at their own website or on Facebook.

Deep Shizzol - Carpet Bomb EP

The ever-reliable Beats Me Music reach their 20th release with an EP that's very aptly named, taking in as it does influences from all over the house spectrum.

The overall feel is definitely deep house, but the five tracks vary quite considerably. The Deep Dub of Boogie With Deep is either very proggy deep house or very deep prog, depending how you look at it…   Golden Age is a proper back-to-the-90s organ tune… Hopscotch has something of a proggy feel again, but this time with soulful male vocals that could see this going down well on the hipster floors… This Is Our Night is a smooth, soulful fem-vocalled groover that recalls the early 00s heyday of the San Francisco scene… and finally Time To Get Busy is a straight-up dancefloor deep houser that reworks the classic vocal from Korda's Moving Power To The Music.

Golden Age and This Is Our Night stand out for me – hey, I'm old – but it's a strong EP all round.

Out: This week

About: Deep Shizzol also goes by Spencer T and has been involved in the scene since rave era, though   it's only recently that he's stepped back into the studio after a 10-year hiatus. As for Beats Me Music, you can find 'em at their own website or on Facebook.

Rob Clarke – Closing In EP

Another of TIWWD's most-reviewed labels here as Rob Clarke serves up six tracks of typically classic-sounding house music for his own Beats Me Music.

Actually strictly speaking that's five tracks plus a Jonny Loves House Remix of The Get Up but we won't split hairs. Nor, for reasons of time, am I gonna go into each track individually… but suffice to say that fans of the label won't be disappointed. If Beats Me Music is a new name to you, then what you need to know is that Rob cut his teeth DJing with the likes of Tuff Jam back in the UKG glory days and these days specialises in funk-fuelled dancefloor deep house with that lil' bit of garage-y swing… think a slightly more soul/garage-oriented DiY Discs or Drop Music and you're somewhere in the ballpark.

Great VFM and six solid cuts for slightly older deep house dancefloors, then, with the squelchy Ascenscion and Rhodes-led Closing In standing out from a fine pack for me.

Out: This week

About: You can contact Beats Me Music, who are based in Eastbourne on the UK's south coast, via Facebook, or check out their podcasts on Soundcloud.

Richie J & Paul James – Moments In Mind EP

Quality house grooves as ever here from south coast-based Beats Me Music.

Paul James has had stuff out before on Salted, while Richie J supplied Beats Me's second-ever release, Sinister Thoughts. Together they give us three originals here. The Waiting Game is fairly pace-y deep house with a little bit of acid, The Need is more sumptuous, late-night and lazy with garage-y female vocal snips, while Daydreamin' has something of a Balearic, blissed-out kinda feel and a hint of nu-disco around the edges.

Also included are two remixes: label boss Rob Clarke supplies a superb Organ Donor Remix of The Waiting Game that adds the eponymous instrument to devastating effect, while young Croatian producer DJ Narda takes on Daydreamin', beefing up the beats and bassline somewhat to make it more readily suited to peaktime house floors.

Like I said: quality stuff as ever from the Eastbourne massive!

Out: This week

About: You can find Beats Me Music at their own website or on Facebook.

D'Experiment – Back 2 Basics EP

And from Hungary we move on to Latvia… via Eastbourne. And Liverpool. Confusing, isn't it? Let's start again. What he have here is an EP from Latvian producer D'Experiment, who's now based in Liverpool… and it comes on Eastbourne-based Beats Me Music, whose praises I've sung on TIWWD more than once before now.

It's a three-track affair. Deep Ride pretty much does what it says on the tin, and is an all-instrumental cut working lingering, space-y pads, a squelchy Chi-town b-line and crisp snares and hi-hats. Spiritual Experience then takes us on an even deeper journey musically, while a mystery Cock-er-ney producer tells us about the importance of bass over the top.

But it's East Coast, West Coast Shit that stands out for me. It features another sampled spoken vocal, this time some rapper or other discussing… well, that bit's obvious… who finds himself placed over non-frantic but still driving 4/4s and an overall chopped, skippy kinda vibe. Fans of Transport, Salted *et al are gonna love this one…

Out: This week

About: Beats Me Music can be found at their website and on Facebook.

Middle Rhythm – Downtown EP

UK label Beats Me Music come up with the goods yet again! This time in the form of a five-track EP from Middle Rhythm, AKA Tom Pearson.

Lead track Ma Girl is a mellow kinda deep house joint, sporting a soulful male vocal sample and coming complete with a brace of more uptempo rubs from J Fader and label boss Rob Clarke. The two bonus cuts Dallas At Night and Bringin' Back Love, meanwhile, are both the kind of jazz-fuelled grooves that'll be home listening fodder for some folk, but that'll keep floors grooving in the more dedicated/specialist deep house clubs as well.

I think the sax-tastic Dallas At Night and Rob's mix of Ma Girl just edge it for me, but there's not a duff cut in sight. Chalk up another victory for the Eastbourne crew, then.

Out: This week

About: You can find Beats Me Music at their website or on Facebook… also take a peek at the TIWWD Facebook page where I've just posted their latest rather fine podcast.

FREE DOWNLOAD! Rob Clarke – Spring Loaded EP

I've been banging on for ages about how good a label Beats Me Music is. Well, if you've been ignoring my sage words so far you've got no excuse now, cos boss Rob Clarke has just made available a three-track freebie showcasing his own production skills and, by extension, the musical spirit of the label.

I won't bang on cos you can hear the tracks right here, I'll just say that if bouncy, dancefloor deep house is your thing you definitely wanna grab this one, while those of a garage-y bent need to check Noir for sure.

That is all. Now here's the tracks.



Out: Now, obviously.

About: Want to know more? Hit up Rob's Soundcloud page or the Beats Me Music website

Rob Clarke – The 100th Monkey EP

Some typically high-quality deep house grooves from Beats Me Music here, coming courtesy of label boss Rob Clarke.

There are six tracks/mixes to choose from… not gonna go into each one in infinite detail right now, but generally speaking, floor-friendly deep house with a slightly west coast-ish slant is the order of the day, with an added Italo/nu-disco twist to Lucid Reality. Apart from on Open Your Hat [sic] there's perhaps less of the soulful/garage-y slant you often get with Beats Me stuff, but fans of the label – and I count myself in that number – should nonetheless be very happy with this one. If pushed, I'd say Sidewinder is the pick but it's a close call.

Oh yeah, and it also comes with a little extra help from DK 'Short Bus Kids' Watts, who provides a remix of Blow Your Own Trumpet – surely a sign that the Eastbourne-based label's rep in the international deep house community is growing. And rightly so.

Out: This week

About: You can find Beats Me Music on Facebook and at their own website.

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.

Rob Wu - The Vibes EP

I've sung the praises of Beats Me Music on here several times. They don't put out huge amounts of stuff, but when they do you can usually count on it coming straight out the top drawer. And this is no exception.

It's good VFM too, with four originals in a total of six mixes. If you like your deep house on the jazzual side, then you're gonna love Let's Keep It and Jazzy Paradise… so jazzual are these two, in fact, that it's only really the presence of a strong 4/4 kick that marks them out as house records at all, rather than out-and-out jazz-funk tracks.

That's a good thing in my books, by the way! And I should stress this is jazz without all the noodles and self-indulgent fiddly time signatures and suchlike, as well. Still, if it's all a bit too white socks n' Cortinas for ya, then a big n' bumpin Mike Jules Remix of the latter, and a beefed-up take on Let's Keep It by D'Experiment that's so Salted-esque it even sports an added chunk of sampled vocal featuring some dude talking about hiphop, should see you right.

A couple more upbeat, jazzed-out instrumentals, The Vibes and What's That, round out another excellent release from Beats Me Music. Keep 'em coming boys!

Out: This week

About: Beats Me are based on the south coast of the UK… if you want to know more, hit up their website and Facebook page. As for Rob Wu… I believe he's an Australian producer now based on these shores, but I could be wrong.

Betamac - Polytrippin'

Right, I still owe you a 'So many tunes…' roundup from last week (cos there were quite a few other decent bits and pieces sent in) but for now let's crack on with some of this week's releases, starting with this from the ever-checkable Beats Me Music.

Over four tracks and five mixes (label boss Rob Clarke supplying a refix of Sleepwalker), the general order of the day is unashamedly retro-tastic big room house, with big fat synth b-lines and tinkling pianos that just SCREAM 1992, and just a little hint of classic prog to boot. How this might sounds to an 18yo today I couldn't really say… for this old raver this EP just brought a big silly grin to the face.

Naming favourites is superfluous – you're either in the market for some classic pumping, driving house sounds right now or you're not. And if you are, you're probably going to want to play all of these.

Out: This week

About: Here's where to find Beats Me online

Festina Lente – I Don't Want You EP

The second of the week from the UK's Beats Me Music, who are definitely on something of a roll.

The title track of this EP will appeal to those who like their house music with a soulful edge, being a melodic number featuring some lush piano chords, busy Afro-influenced percussion and a mournful male vocal. It comes complete with a Richie J Remix and both are cool, but I'm more into Put It Where You Want, an uptempo deep house cut with a spoken vocal, some nice squelchy bass/synth sounds… for this one you can choose from an energetic original mix or a rerub from label boss Rob Clarke, who goes a bit more late-night with it and drops a little acid into the mix while he's about it.

Sunset Now, a drifty n' trippy but quite uptempo groover with floor-exhorting vocal stabs ("move your body!" etc) rounds out another very checkable offering from this up and coming imprint.

Out: This week

About: As I believe I told you just a day or two ago, the still fairly 'fledgling' UK label Beats Me Music are based in sunny Eastbourne and have impressed muchly to date.

Dylan Debut - Tidy Bit Of Skirt EP

Dylan Debut is apparently a Bristol lad, though I must say our paths have never crossed. Must keep up better, cos this EP rocks.

Gave You Love is another track that harks back to the classic Naked sound, with a simply gorgeous (and familiar) vocal atop dreamy synth meanderings and crisp, unhurried beats. The title track is a cheeky dancefloor romp that spruces up the deep house beats with some frankly ludicrous early 80s jazz-funk/electrofunk synth-bass frolics, while Hold Me Tight (featuring Thea C) is a slow-groovin' space-disco smoocher Dave Lee himself would be proud of, with that funky-ass fretless bass making a welcome reappearance. And finally When In Green reminds me of classic 'nu Brit deep' of the mid-90s, which is never a bad thing. I think the title might be a suggestion as to when it'll sound particularly good…

A varied EP then that shows off a lot of talent, and without relying on big-name remixes either. Let's hope there's more soon.

Out: This week

About: This comes on the currently v.hot Beats Me Music, who are based down on the south coast. This is only number 9 but they're already on my watchlist for sure, they ought to be on yours too.

J Fader – Promises EP

Five tracks and a total of eight mixes here from rising UK talent J Fader, who hails from Portsmouth – not generally known as a hotbed of house talent – and who's had stuff out before on Clean House and Slick Music (it says here).

For our purposes today though, we're gonna have to treat Mr Fader (I very much doubt that's his real name, don't you?) as an unknown newcomer… which makes the quality of the music contained herein all the more pleasing. Cast your mind back to a time around 1995 or so, when UK garage was just on the brink of emerging but hadn't quite yet fully distinguished itself from US house – think early productions by Booker T as Underground Mass, Grant Nelson, Fran & Ricky in various guises, Gavin M in his 'DJ Face' days, etc – then you're somewhere in the right ballpark as regards the overall vibe here.

Not going to go into individual tracks one-by-one cos there's too many of them, but the EP as a whole is long on crisp, skippy beats, live-sounding basslines, warm pads, jazzy minor-key piano licks, yada yada yada… you get the idea. If you remember the days when UK garage had more in common with the deep house scene, long before loads of hip-hoppers came in and spoiled it… well, you're gonna love this. Class in a glass… of Moet, natch.

Out: This week

About: This comes atcha on Beats Me Music, who are based in the equally unlikely location of Eastbourne, and from whom this is the fourth release. Hmmm..... is there some kind of south coast 'proper house' revival going on that I don't know about, or something? That may merit some further investigation… so here's their website.