Soul Holder – Dusty Vinyl EP

Like the Spring Tube release below, this is an EP of house music with a decidedly classic/old skool feel.

Anyone who picked up MUM's ADE sampler a month or so back will recognise the funktified roller that is One More Time, but here it's joined by four more cuts. Edited comes on like the deeper end of classic French filter disco, Let It Go is a more sedate, quietly rumbling groove, Respect starts out percussion-led, then introduces a simple three-note bass synth hook and a "gotta have music" vocal, while finally Don't Break, with its echo-laden production and big chunky bass hook, leans a little more towards that contemporary deep/tech sound.

Apparently the EP title comes from the fact that a lot of the sounds here were indeed sampled from vintage house vinyl… in which case props must go to Soul Holder for capturing that classic vibe without ever resorting to the obvious.

Out: This week

About: You can find Manchester Underground Music on Facebook.

Joyce Brooke – Broken Love EP

Without a doubt the most garage-inclined release I've heard from Manchester Underground Music to date, this three-track EP from London duo Joyce Brooke kicks some serious ass.

The Way It Is has something of a surging, euphoric feel, driven by a rumbling two-note bassline and topped off with classic-style fem vox'd that are chipmunk'd just slightly in that 'early bassline house' kinda way, while Wish You Love goes a touch deeper and rides beats that are more stuttered, almost broken in places. But good as both are, the winner here for me is Hypnotized, which places a resung Do It To The Music vocal atop dramatic synth sweeps and a fuck-off struttin' b-b-b-b-b-b-bassline.

Go on, move. Etc.

Out: This week

About: You can find Manchester Underground Music on Facebook.

Various - MUM ADE Sampler 2012

Sorry for no updates yesterday or the day before – there were reasons but, y'know, we're here now…

Let's get the ball rolling tonight with a couple of ADE samplers. The first comes from Manchester Underground Music, and if you're familiar with the label (and you ought to be by now) then you'll have a good idea of the kind of deep house, tech-house and techno bizniss to expect.

The artists involved are (deep breath) Kyka, Merimell, OD Muzique & Mark Holmes, Stanny Abram, Soul Holder, Carlos Pulido & Lopezhouse, Peter Pizzutelli and Edy Ramas & Danny Torres. I'm not going into all nine tracks individually but Kyka's Butterfly Effect is a garage-y, scat-y deep house gem and Stanny's Happy Face is a fine slice of uplifting peak-time tech-house chug. That's two very good reasons to check this right there.

Out: This week

About: You can find Manchester Underground Music on Facebook, mostly

Mr Pedros – It Came From Us

In which the Sankeys resident serves up a tuff-ish, driving house cut that you won't forget once you hear it: it's the one with the extensive samples from Blow. As in the Johnny Depp/Ray Liotta film about cocaine smuggling. Normally I might cavil at the sample choice… not for moral reasons particularly, just cos drug talk isn't really the most original material to choose, is it? But in this case, it just works, as do the shoulder-shaking, lolloping beats and insistent bass stabs.

On the flip, Who Dis is another driving houser, again with the almost-tribal beats and dark room feel… in fact we're almost in mid-90s Vasquez/Tenaglia territory. Again, it works, but it can't quite compete with the A-side for me.

You're still gonna need this for the A anyway, though!

Out: This week

About: What with Mr Pedros having a job playing records at the Beehive Mill, it's no surprise that this comes on Manchester Underground Music really, is it?

So many tunes, so little time 18

And so another week goes by, and it's time for another round-up of more musical goodness we didn't quite get round to this week…

Greg Fenton – Friends Electric EP
A sterling three-tracker of forward-thinking sparse, electronic dancefloor grooves from Megacity 0161 native Greg, that you can file under deep house, techno, tech-house or minimal as you see fit! It's quality stuff however you want to classify it, and an impressively varied EP overall – though it might be a bit too "heads down and boys-y" for some.
More info 

DJ Renat – Aye Aye Aye
An energetically chugging, party-oriented tech-houser that veers a little bit too close towards Ibiza-style prog-lite at times, but don't worry, the Anton Liss Dub should see you right. Comes on new-ish (est Aug 2011) Russian label Red Stars Records.
More info

Jay Lumen – Rendez Vous EP

Jay Lumen on Great Stuff… you kinda know what you're gonna be gettting here, admittedly, but fans (and I'm one of them) won't be disappointed. Boomrush The Show hijacks a hip-hop vocal and puts it atop tuff, chuggin' tech-house beats, while Rendez Vous goes down a slightly deeper path; both are well worth checking. 

More info 

Ivan Barbero & Juan Varez – Stick
More tough tech-house action here on Spanish label Akusah. There's a lot of this stuff about, admittedly, but this pair do it as well as anyone else! Bingo works lively finger-percussion, accordions and a big room, almost Vasquez-y feel while To Stick is more funktified, with a disco-house b-line and a peacock strut.
More info

Jesse Futerman – Fuse The Witches EP
Seven tracks of lazy, dusty, jazzy lo-fi hip-hop and leftfield beats. Yes it's been done, but Futerman steers his ship between the rock of being too twee and "nice" and the hard place of being pointlessly twisted, malevolent and head-fucky better than most, making this something of a smoker's Sunday afternoon treat. The lad's only 20, as well, which bodes well for the future.
More info 

PS Oh, and it's a free download as well, so rude not to really…

Taran + Lomov – Basta! 
Coming on Stripped Digital, the six mixes of this instrumental electronic groover take in various shades of deep, progressive and tech house. Jini Cowan and Paul Alexander's rubs stand out for me.
More info

Various – House Of Ibiza 2012
A seven-track EP from Street King built with one particular island in mind. Artists include Nacho Marco, John Rivera, From P60, Ivan Iacobucci and more, with the emphasis on sun-drenched house grooves and tuff, terrace-friendly drum trax. Mr Kavalicious's bumpin', west coast-y Deception stands out for me.
More info

Thanks also this week to: Cera Alba, Paskal Daze, The Bulletz, Soulrack, Yariv Bernstein, Andy Kneale, Da Fresh + Maverickz, Ignacy Rome, Javier Perez + David Bort, Johannes Regnier, John Lee + Damage Brigade, Kill Your TV, Lerio Corrado + Max Coseglia, Nigel Hayes, Ricardo Ferri, Sergio Marini + Luciano Manci and Vanyano. As ever, sorry if you didn't make it this time but see the title of this post!

Stanny Abram – Thank You

Yesterday we had What Happens boss Tim Andresen cropping up on Seamless Traxx… today, we have sometime What Happens artist Stanny Abram making an appearance on Manchester Underground Music.

Thank You, in its Original form, is a reasonably uptempo tech-houser with rolling, almost Latin-y beats, vocal stabs that build up into a looped "wanna thank you for the joy you brought me" line and, as the track progresses, jaunty pianos. Not a world-beater perhaps but it'll keep 'em moving for sure. On the B, techno bod Mark Holmes supplies a remix that's probably best filed under 'techno', sure, but also shows a strong influence from cosmic/Italo disco in its use of analogue synth sounds.

Out: This week

About: You can find Manchester Underground Music on Facebook. Meanwhile, other labels the Slovenian producer Mr Abrams has had stuff out on include such TIWWD faves as Savoir Faire Musique, F*** House Music and Punch Underground, as well as many others – find out more at his Soundcloud page.

Robba - The Secret EP

Some nice chunky tech-house grooves here courtesy of Manchester Underground Music and Dutch producer Robba.

The Secret itself is the most upbeat and also the most technofied of the three tracks on offer, working busy, Latin-tinged percussion, a walking b-line and not one but three, thankfully not over-extended atmospheric breakdowns. It'll work on the floor I'm sure, but better to these ears is 1988, a more heads-down, chuggy affair with some seriously phat bottom end (and one that's not as retro as the title might suggest). And then finally Just Let Me brings the EP to a close, which is even more funkified, with some lush garage-style piano chords and female vocal snips bringing the musical warmth.

The latter, unsurprisingly, is the standout for me, but all told this a strong and varied EP from this ever-checkable Manc imprint.

Out: Today!

About: The best place to find Manchester Underground Music is on Facebook.

Jared & Sebastian - Deeper Shades EP

With a title like that, you shouldn't really need me to explain this one! Manchester Underground Music is a label that takes in many styles, but it's their deep house/deep techno output that gets me the most excited, and this is another fine example of why.

The EP's made up of four tracks. Deeper Shades itself is a looping, loping, slightly techy groove with female vocal wails, The Groove is a more off-kilter tech-house bumper with a decidedly wonky feel, Same Old Shit is more yer straight-up afterhours deep house cut featuring some fine plucked Hawaiian guitar (at least that's what it sounds like to me) and soulful vocal injections, while finally Where Were You is a broody, cinematic piece.

The hype sheet calls this one "an aural delight". I'm certainly not arguing.

Out: This week

About: You can find Manchester Underground Music on Facebook.

Timmy P - Mode EP

A three-track EP here from the mysterious Timmy P, on which he touches several house bases.

Mode itself is the most uptempo and driving of the three cuts, with a tuff techy beats n' bassline groove counterpointed by insistent female wails – not to mention a wee snippet of a VERY familiar male vocal from way back in the day (I won't spoil it but you'll know it the second you hear it) – and… er, well that's about it really but that's all you really need.

Moving on, 1880 is another fairly chunky number but with a slightly more late-floor kinda feel… which brings us nicely to the real star of the show for me, Afterparty, which appropriately enough is a deeper proposition altogether, starting out with fairly no-nonsense kicks but soon warming up with lots of atmospherics, gently tinkling keys and floaty, disembodied vocal hooks.

Afterparty's my pick but it's a strong EP all round.

Out: This week

About: This comes on Manchester Underground Music

Formatique - Ping Pong

After the laidback loveliness of Claes Rosen, let's jump to the other end of the spectrum with this upbeat and driving slab of dancefloor silliness from Formatique. Silliness isn't an insult, by the way… it's just that when a record's vocal goes "ping… pong… ping-pong" in a daft voice then it's hard to get too chin-strokey and earnest about it!

The original of Ping Pong, then, is (er) a driving and upbeat tech-house cut that wouldn't sound out of place on Great Stuff or Klang. It's accompanied by remixes from Justy and H2. The former's rub is perhaps a little too techno for me personally but reading the feedback it looks like plenty of DJs are loving it, while H2's pass operates in more of a cool, leftfield house arena. Well, as cool and leftfield as you can get while still having a daft voice go "ping… pong… ping-pong", anyway.

Solid stuff for the floor that's bound to raise a few smiles. The throwing of some remarkable shapes may also ensue, with any luck.

Out: This week

About: This one comes atcha courtesy of Manchester Underground Music.

Matt Smallwood - Delphic

Some more quality deep house action for you tonight, this time coming from rising UK producer Mr Smallwood and the ever-checkable Manchester Underground Music.

The Original of Delphic is a chugging, somewhat proggy instrumental dancefloor workout, while Ovi's mix ups both the tempo and the tech quotient a little. Both will move bodies for sure, but it's really the Mark Holmes Remix I'm feeling the most, as he takes the track considerably deeper and dreamier… in this form, Delphic becomes the kind of deep house cut you'd want to shut your eyes and lean back with a 'long cigarette' to enjoy at its best and, well, there's always room in the collection for another of those, isn't there?

Out: This week

About: Manchester Underground Music, as I've said before, can be a bit techno-oriented for me at times but when they do deep house, they do it exceptionally well, as I've also said before!

Micha Mischer - Summer Nights EP

A three-track EP here from Germany's Micha Mischer, who first appeared on this label (Manchester Underground Music) with his remix of ROTD's Fettle.

Opener The Night Before is a mid-paced, lazy houser that sits somewhere between prog and deep on the sliding subgenre scale, if you see what I mean, and gets a little bit Balearic and euphoric around the edges… one for those hazy post-club sessions.

On the B, The Morning After is another proggy, melodic number in its original form, with warm piano chords, a mournful sax and multi-layered strings providing the musicality over an unhurried, insistent rhythm. The dancefloor ante is then upped on the Universal Solution Remix, which de-emphasises the melodic elements in favour of driving, pacier beats and some spaced-out synth action.

Overall, perhaps a little bit more 'floaty prog' than is usual for TIWWD, but worthy of a place in your box all the same.

Out: This week

About: Can you guess where Manchester Underground Music are based, peeps? That's right… former adopted hometown of TIWWD (way back when) Megacity 0161, where the label's been focusing mostly on putting out undiscovered local talent for several years now. Find out more here.

Nique - Hoyne EP

Some quality house vibes on Manchester Underground Music here. Unusually for this label though, the artist involved isn't actually from Manchester... but rather from the birthplace of house music, Chi-Town itself. The Hoyne EP marks his first full release on MUM, following on from his remix of Rulers Of The Deep's Fettle.

Again there are three tracks to choose from. Left On Hoyne fuses techy and soulful elements to great (deeper) dancefloor effect, Right On Hoyne is a sparser but still brings da funk while Two Blocks West is a deeper groove with snippets of sampled speech, truncated Rhodes chords and all kinds of weirdy FX and atmospheres going on deep in the mix. One for those locked-on, 'eyes wide shut' 4am kinda moments.

A strong EP that suggests you might want to be keeping an eye out for Nique in the future.

Out: This week

About: Find out more about Manchester Underground Music on Facebook and MySpace