Lee Walker – The Deep Stuff

Another TIWWD fave label here, as Savoir Faire Musique bring us this solo outing from RiffRaff's Lee Walker.

In its Original form, The Deep Stuff is typically sumptuous SFM deep house tackle, chugging along nicely at 120bpm and sporting a pleasingly understated, though insistent organ line (and at one point, what sounds like a dog barking but might not be). Deep Edition label boss Martijn gives us a remix that's similar but slightly rawer-sounding, Groove Syndicate beef up the kicks and push the tempo a notch, while Miami Ice take us even deeper with a mix that rides groovier percussion and adds lounge-y sounds on top.

All that said, the four mixes aren't hugely varied, to be honest. Good job the Original is as strong as it is, then… cos that also means you won't go far wrong with any of 'em.

Classy stuff as ever from SFM.

Out: This week

About: You can find Savoir Faire Musique on Facebook and Soundcloud.

Alan Svartr – Diamond Fluff

The latest here from northeast UK-based 22 Digit, who probably don't get as much love on here as they deserve.

It comes from label stalwart Alan 'Unpronouncable Name' Svartr, and features two tracks in four mixes. Diamond Fluff itself is a perfectly acceptable little chugger in its original form, deep and a little bit wonky around the edges, but the track really comes to life when handed over to fellow northeastern lad Martijn, whose remix transforms it into a dark and menacing deep/tech bass monster.

That's the highlight of the EP for me, if I'm being honest, but you also get two rubs of Low Rider: the original's a slightly ploddy deep/tech cut with a funny little Star Trek siren sound buried deep in the mix, while the YokoO Remix rides more straight-up 4/4s and has a slightly slo-mo disco feel.

But like I said, to these ears it's all about the Martijn remix here.

Out: This week

About: You can find 22 Digit on Facebook and Soundcloud.

Martijn – Green Haze

Northeastern lad Martijn takes time out from running his own Deep Editions label to deliver a single for another UK label, Deep 8.

In its Original form, Green Haze is an atmospheric, late night affair, albeit one that does have solid kicks throughout, not to mention some weirdy Radiophonics Workshop-tye sounds going on. Soul Minority's remix beefs up the beats some more and injects a lil' more rumpshakin' funk, while Matches brings the EP to close with a somewhat more stripped-down pass that for me is probably the standout of the bunch (not an unprecedented situation when Matches gets involved!)

With three respected names like these involved, this will be something of a must-check for the true underground lovers. Not entirely certain what the title's meant to refer too, though…

Out: This week

About: You can find Deep 8, rather quaintly, on MySpace

Deep house soldiers

And next, three releases from three well-known, well-respected names in deep house.

First up, Pete Dafeet gives us the Family Affair EP, a four-track/five-mix offering. Expect the usual high-quality deep house in various shades, with the dubby, slightly techy Lungs the standout for me. It's actually the Fred Everything remix of Lungs, to precise; elsewhere, Demarkus Lewis remixes Love Undercover while Giom has a go at Beneath The Fold, making this something of a 'family affair' indeed.

Out: This week

About: This comes of course on Lost My Dog, what with Pete co-owning the label and that… 

Next up we have another from the same stable, as Dale Howard takes us off on a deep, garage-y tip with the Inner City EP. All four tracks are very playable, but the jazzy overtones of C'mon and the Tuff Jam-ish bump of C'mon stand out for me. Niceness!

Out: This week

About: Here's another Lost My Dog link, for their Soundcloud page.

Our third and final deep house hero for this little mini-roundup is Matthieu Duchesne, who this week is doing the honours for Savoir Faire. Actually I say 'final' but there's a couple of other very familiar names involved as well. The original of Kind Of Funk is a heads-down, rolling deep house groover, but you also get remixes from Martijn and Dave James, the former taking us just a wee bit deeper, the latter doing his usual uber-deep and dubbed out thang… and as usual stealing the show for me! But again, a strong offering all round.

Out: This week

About: Here's where to find Savoir Faire Musique online, as if you didn't know already.

Acasual – Blue EP

Was the Anturage & Silvertone a bit too proggy for you? In that case, let's take a trip into properly deep pastures with this latest from the ever-reliable Deep Edition.

There are two tracks, in a total of four mixes. Blue itself is lazy, laidback and soul-infused, with snippets of (presumably sampled) jazz/blues-style vocal… it's summery but in a thoughtful, melancholic kinda way, while the remix from Matches ups the dancefloor ante somewhat with a throbbing, Chicago-y b-line. Still Got It, meanwhile, is textbook dreamy, late-night deep house in its original form, again coming with the sampled and heavily treated vox; label boss Martijn does the remix honours on this one but to be honest the two rubs are very similar, except that Martijn uses a little less of the vocal.

Still, if it's very deep and melodic vibes you're after, you won't go wrong here.

Out: This week on vinyl, digitally at the end of August.

About: Acasual hails from Luxembourg but is now based in Germany, while Deep Edition Recordings, as you no doubt know by now but I'll tell you anyway, are based in the northeast of England and can be found at their website, on Facebook and on Soundcloud.

Jeremy Breen – Sense

Some typically lush deep house grooves here from the ever-dependable Savoir Faire Musique.

The original version from Breen (who you may remember from his previous Holic Down, also on SFM) is a midpaced, blissed-out groover based around sumptuous piano chords, chicka-chicking hi-hats and synths that I'd want to describe as soaring and euphoric, only that makes them sound horrible and cheesy, which they're not.

Said original is accompanied by a brace of rerubs from none other than Martijn, of Deep Edition fame. His Remix takes the track into more floor-centric deep house territory, dominated by an organ line straight outta the mid-90s and additional chopped-up, chant-style vox, while his Stripped Dub is… well, more of the same basically.

Classy stuff, whichever mix you go for.

Out: This week

About: You can find Savoir Faire Musique at their website, on Facebook and on Soundcloud.

Martijn – Make Me Feel EP

The Deep Edition boss steps up with a release of his own here, with two original tracks plus a remix from Adam Shelton.

Taking them one-by-one, then… Make Me Feel in its original form is a drummy and spacious production that, to these ears anyway, recalls the mid-90s days of dark garage and New York tribal. Chuck in some very now-sounding treated vox and an arse-swayin' squelchy bass/synth riff and this should work on all kinds of house floors. Adam Shelton's refix of the same is a livelier take that ditches the drums of doom for a more energetic 4/4 thump, and adds lots of atmospherics while still allowing the vocal and that synth riff to shine through. And then finally the EP's completed by Give It To Me, a slower, steadier deep house funk-a-thon with an almost-breakbeat and more of those heavily treated vox.

Quality stuff as ever from Deep Edition.

Out: This week

About: Deep Edition are based in the northeast of England, as you surely know by now, and can be found here, here and here (website, Soundcloud, Facebook)

Le Vinyl - Time For Change

A new release from Martijn's Deep Edition Recordings is something of an event in TIWWD's world… and this latest doesn't disappoint.

Le Vinyl has his own deep house label, Deepmentality, and has also released on the likes of Look Ahead, Seamless and Loco Records. Here for the northeast-based Deep Edition he serves up a mid-paced deep/tech-house cut, featuring sampled speech over the kind of drawn-out, rough-edged synth builds this writer will forever associate with Presence's Sense Of Danger. Some big, echo-y organ sounds add warmth towards the end.

But it's really the Chris Minus A Bit Deep Fried Remix that I'm feeling more, as it ups the tempo slightly, adds a little swing to the percussion and chops up the vox to create something considerably more floor-friendly. Excellent work.

Out: This week

About: I've pretty much told you all I know about Deep Edition but you can visit them for yourself on Facebook and Soundcloud.

Martijn - Party People EP

After our little jaunt into downtempo pop territory we're back on more familiar ground here, with this four-track EP from northeastern wunderkind on Martijn on his own Deep Edition Recordings. Oddly, the EP consists of three mixes of Easy Lady and just one of Party People itself.

Regular readers will know I'm a big fan of the Deep Edition sound, and so it is here, but it's worth pointing out that this is one of the techiest, most leftfield offerings from the label yet, compared to the more funky/soulful side of deep we know them best for. From the original and Qmusse mixes of Easy Lady, then, expect quirky, forward-leaning deepness, while the Marvin Zeyss Remix would be more readily filed under tech-house.

And then finally, Party People takes us on a more retro-inspired house tip, with a sparse, Chicago-esque sound palette, cowbells, a treated, druggy vocal à la Green Velvet's Flash and what sounds suspiciously like a snippet of Weekend.

It's Party People I'm feeling most but all told, another strong release from a fine label.

Out: This week on Beatport, then everywhere else from 5 December

About: You can find Deep Edition on Soundcloud and Facebook

Various - Twenty Eleven Sampler

This five-track EP showcases some of the artists affiliated with the excellent Deep Edition imprint, run by rising house star Martijn and described on the hype sheet as “never a label to be swayed by big names over music quality”. In other words, what you get are five deep house cuts from artists you’ve probably never heard of.

The artists in question are Marc Vexar, Jesus Pablo & Di Riviera, Mile Grozdanovski, Nachtbraker and RJ Fletcher, of whom the latter is the only one that I can recall popping up on my radar before. Vexar is a Geordie now living in Australia, Pablo & Riviera are from Liverpool, Grozdanovki comes from Macedonia (and has previously had stuff out on Tokyo Red, just as ‘Mile’), Nachtbraker is Dutch and Fletcher hails from Manchester; all of them, regardless of geographic origin, here demonstrate an innate, instinctive and impeccable understanding of how to make the deepest of house music that will move you on the floor, yet is equally suited for late-night listening sessions at home.

This is as good as it gets, basically: proper deep underground house to satisfy the most purist of heads. Go seek.

Out: This week

About: Forthcoming goodies from Deep Edition, we’re rather helpfully informed, include EPs from Lee Pennington & Guthrie, Remote People, Steve SoulBasics, Michael McLardy, that RJ Fletcher chappy again, and of coure label boss Martijn himself. For more info, visit the Deep Edition MySpace page.