Chris James – Kind Of Heavy

And from a brand new UK-based label, we move to a German imprint that's reached the grand old age of release number three!

Headed up by Dirk Hermann and Andreas Mueller, Klangkultur Schallplatten are based in Cologne, but this particular offering comes from Chris James, who hails from much closer to home (Birmingham). His original version of Kind Of Heavy lives up to its name, based as it is around a large, chunky yet still somehow understated bass riff, topped with breathy fem vox.

Stepping up to the plate on remix duties we have two names that will be very familiar to TIWWD readers. OFF Recordings boss Andre Crom supplies a more stripped, percussive rub that puts the bass riff through some kind of sonic mangle and adds gloriously squelchy synth stabs, while Lost My Dog fave Dale Howard comes (as is his wont) with the rich, garage-y vibes, adding a second, male vocal part to boot.

It's Dale's rub that stands out for me but there are strong mixes here to suit a range of floors.

Out: Friday (November 30)

About: Despite putting out just three releases to date, Klangkultur Schallplatten was founded in 2010 so they're definitely going down the 'quality not quantity' route! Find 'em on Soundcloud, on Facebook or at their own website.

Ardalan – The Sea

We're on a tougher, techier tip today, starting with this from Florida's Chillin Music and San Francisco-based Iranian producer Ardalan.

There's just the two mixes of The Sea, but to be fair they are quite different. In its Original form its a tuff n' glitchy tech-house workout, but for me the pick would be the Chris James Pacific State Resplash on the flip, which is a slightly deeper, more melodic pass with those glitches carefully ironed out.

Still, with two quite different rubs on offer this'll be a useful one to have in the box.

Out: This week

About: You can find Chillin Music online here.

Keydin – Remember

The latest from Sideways Recordings here, coming from a producer who ought to be familiar to TIWWD readers by now, though perhaps mostly as a remixer to date.

There are four mixes of Remember to choose from, covering a range of styles. The original is an uptempo deep/tech house cut, its shuffling beats topped with a technoid synth riff; Daladje's Remix uses near-tribal percussion and could fit into more adventurous sets alongside UK funky and post-dubstep cuts, while Soulsway's rub doesn't actually vary hugely from the Original to these ears (sorry). But the standout for me is the Chris James Rethink, a considerably deeper pass with some very old-skool (think Chicago 1987) drum sounds that also makes more use of the heavily treated vocal snips.

Apart from being Rather Good, this also had to go in because label co-owner Wesley Burden was polite enough to apologise for only getting the promo across one day before release. Which in a world where people send me stuff that came out two weeks before, then wonder why it doesn't get reviewed, certainly made for a refreshing change here in MeWorld.

Out: Tomorrow

About: You can find Kent-based label Sideways Recordings here. And here. And oh look, here as well!

Chris James – On & On

More quality from Germany's excellent Off Recordings. Not to be confused with 90s handbaggers Chris & James (of Calm Down fame), or current deep, dubby techno master Dave James, Chris James is one-half of Coat Of Arms, who've had stuff out on Pets Recordings and Future Boogie Recordings, but here under his own name he serves up two tracks in a total of four mixes.

On & On itself features vintage Chi-town percussion paired with a fat b-line and yearning, echo-ing female that are vocal redolent of the deeper end of early UKG. A remix from MANIK then takes the track into techier territories. Nothing Else Matters, meanwhile, is a very contemporary-sounding tech-houser that makes the most original (and freaky) use of a Janet Jackson phrase/sample – not 100% sure whether it's resung or not – you'll hear all year, and comes complete with a dubbier, bassier Hot Since 82 Remix.

All told: four slammin' cuts tailormade for underground dancefloors. By way of example, here's that latter remix for ya…

Out: This week

About: You can find Off Recordings at their website, on Facebook and on Soundcloud. It's worth keeping an ear on their regular podcasts, too.