So many tunes, so little time 35

Here we are then, the last day of 2012. And for once, what with it being Xmas and hence a quiet week for releases, I actually got through most of the stuff I wanted to tell you about last week… but here are a few other bits n' bobs that are worthy of your attention.

First up is Claes Rosen's Starlight. You may remember this spangly, Balearic-leaning and slightly poppy nu-disco gem from a Spring Tube V/A sampler back in the spring… if not no worries cos it's now getting a full single release complete with new mixes from Acryl boss Da Funk, Latvia's Blood Groove & Kikis and Chile's Aerotek. For deeper thrills, it's the BG&K and Da Funk rubs you want to be heading for.

Next, the Soul World EP comes from Georgia Cee and is the first release on a brand new Italian label called Soul Town Records. Georgia was 'discovered' by Timmy Regisford and has worked with Quentin Harris, which should give you a pretty good idea what to expect here… as the hype sheet says, "fans of Shelter and Body & Soul, rejoice"! Of the EP's four Latin-tinged cuts, Fallin' Down stands out for me.

On an even mellower tip, Ir.Replaceable comes from Losing Rays on Incepto Smooth, and is a beautiful slice of downtempo/ambient electronica topped off with a blissed-out female vocal… with B-side Touch venturing even further into all-out ambience.

At the other end of the spectrum, Lyle Quach is a producer you can always count on for some jacking deep/tech house grooves and Check This Out is no exception. Pascal Daze's remix goes a little harder/techier, Aldo Del Rey's a little deeper, so a range of floors should find it in themselves to move to this one, which comes on New York's Yellowjax Recordings.

Finally, a couple of nuggets on a D& B/dubstep tip. Coming on Section 8 Dub, Agari Tachi by Malicious is as deep, dark and minimal as it gets, and definitely worth checkin. B-side Peter Kurten collab Mitochondrion is a little too hard and industrial-sounding for these ears, but not to worry because there are more deep, minimal D&B delights to be found on the Tenderness EP by Mechanical Pressure, a two-tracker coming from the ever-checkable Plush Recordings.

And that, dear readers, is it for 2012. I'd do some big end-of-year spectactular but, y'know, places to go, people to see, etc. So it just remains for me to wish you a most exuberant NYE and I'll see you on the other side… and DO check back tomorrow cos I've got some very exciting news for ya.

Happy new year!

Various – Deeper Shades 03

Can't believe it was way back in May when I wrote about the excellent first volume in this set… feels like last week… nor am I entirely certain why Vol 2 never made in onto the blog, maybe I was washing my hair or something… but anyway, here comes Vol 3 in Spring Tube's series.

And yep, it's another winner. For those that couldn't be bothered clicking on the link above, "lazy, stoner-friendly deep and progressive house" is how I described Vol 1. This time out, there's less of the proggy vibes, and instead a few more trax that veer towards ambient/downtempo territory… but otherwise the song remains much the same, with ten cuts from Shimmer, Anthony Mea, Blood Groove & Kikis, MacLaro, Pavel Densiov and Sergey Sivenenko (all but the latter contributing two apiece) that are tailor-made for those late, late driftaway sofa sessions, with BG&K's funk-fuelled, garage-leaning Aura, Mea's uber-deep, atmospheric and aptly-titled Liquidia and MacLaro's Balearic bliss-out Why Don't You standing out in particular.

Superb, is the word. And everybody knows that the word is the bird.

Out: This week

About: You can find Spring Tube on Facebook, on Soundcloud or at their own website.

Blood Groove & Kikis - Bright EP

Originally a progressive house and trance factory, Russian label Spring Tube has broadened its musical remit considerably over the past year or so. Here, specifically, they deliver what's probably their most straight-up deep house offering to date.

There are just the two tracks. Bright itself is a sumptuous, garage-y and fairly upbeat affair, while So Real on the flip is in a similar vein, parodoxically a little tuffer in the beats department yet with an even more silky, sophisticated flow overall and sporting a looping male "house music" vocal. And both tracks are FAR better than deep house records put out by former trance peddlers really have any right to be!

Check 'em for yourself – you won't be disappointed.

Out: This week

About: You can find Spring Tube on Facebook or at their own website.