Diego Krause – Tropic EP

Another label who are no strangers to TIWWD here, with the latest from Carlo Gambino's Leeds-based Midnight Social Recordings.

Four original tracks make up the EP. Face It is a bassy, layered deep/tech groove with whispered female vox imploring you to "touch my face" (I think), Make Me Feel tops a more strident riddim with almost rave-y stabs, warbling Wurlitzer sounds, "baby, give me your good lovin" male vocal wails and a cheeky line pinched from Diana, Rabbit Hole marries more of those militant Chi-town beats with warmer synth sounds and a vocal nod to Heard It Through The Grapevine, while finally Tropic itself is a techier cut with jerky, filtered percussion and some lush garage-y stabs.

If you're looking for some contemporary-sounding deep/tech house vibes with real soul, here's where you'll find them.

Out: This week

About: Find Midnight Social on Facebook.

Carlo Gambino – Low For Me EP

If the two releases on Spring Tube and MUM below are a little too retrofied for your tastes, then this slightly more contemporary-sounding four-tracker from Carlo Gambino on his own Midnight Social Recordings may suit you better.

I say 'four-tracker' but to be more precise there are two tracks in four mixes. Low For Me in its Original form is a chunky, midtempo deep house groove with a slight techy edge and, as is so popular right now, snippets of soulful male vocal, as well as a female spoken vocal that intones the title throughout. A remix from Dudley Strangeways then takes the track to a more head-warped, 4am kinda place altogether.

Say What?, meanwhile, is an even more languid affair in its Original form, sporting piercing high-end synth drones and a big, chunky bassline, while again, the Nick Devon Remix is a trippy, head-noddin' pass aimed straight at the afterhours floors. Both rubs also use a heavily-treated vocal sample from a very well-known R&B track… I won't spoil it by saying what track but the artist rhymes with 'Ronell Rones'!

Out: This week

About: You can find Midnight Social Recordings on Facebook.

Flubba – Don't U Know EP

No, not a cover of Bobbi Humphrey's boogie classic, but rather some seriously deep grooves courtesy of Carlo Gambino's Midnight Social Recordings.

The EP is a four-track affair. Don't U Know itself is a contemporary-sounding deep/tech house slow-burner with one of those very 'now' heavily treated/downpitched male vocals, On Fire is a slighly tougher cut with a phat jungle/rave-sounding b-line contrasting with its crisp beats and female "on fire" vocal wails, Worth My While is another deep/tech cut with soulfully-inclined vocals and synth sounds reminiscent of Yellow Magic Orchestra while finally Want You Back is in a similar vein but with nods to classic US garage.

High-quality stuff that belies Flubba's tender 19 years of age, and suggests the lad has a bright future ahead of him.

Out: This week

About: You can find Midnight Social Recordings on Facebook.

Various – The Residence EP

Our second V/A ep today comes from Leeds-based Midnight Social, and showcases the production talents of some of the world's hard-working resident DJs.

Leading the charge is Dudley Strangeways (also featured on the Something Different EP, of course), who gives us Side C, a slab of deep n' moody house bizniss with a hint of classic UK garage circa 1995. Next, Lee Pennington's Billy's Coming Out is a sparse, stripped chugger with raw technoid kicks, while Matteo Baudoni – an Italian DJ now resident in Seattle – serves up We Love Dance, a more driving cut counterpointing a terrace-friendly, percussion-led groove with deep organ sounds and barely-there vocal snips. Bringing the EP to a close is Drag That Ish from David Moran, a druggy slice of 3am wonk with what sound like garage organs drawn through a mangle, and with a heavily treated spoken vocal that probably ISN'T saying "techno pussy" but sounds like it is to me!

It's Dudley's cut that stands out for me, with Mr Moran taking the silver, but there's plenty to explore here so dive in.

Out: This week on Beatport, everywhere else from 15 Oct.

About: You can find Carlo Gambino's Midnight Social Recordings on Facebook.

Mr Pedros – The Lesson EP

After getting all garage-y and post-this and future-that yesterday, tonight let's take it deep, deep down… starting with this quality four-tracker from Sankey's resident Mr Pedros.

The title track is an energetic but not frenetic deep house dancefloor groover, coming accompanied by a techier and slightly acid-tinged rerub from Lee Guthrie. S'good, but B-side Poetry Deux is even better.  The crisp percussion, brooding chords and chopped vox-en-Francais of the Original Mix are pretty damn spiffing to start with, but just wait till you get to the Dave James refix.

Mr James has long been a TIWWD fave when it comes to proper heads-only deepness, so when I tell you his mix is actually called the Dave James Droning Dub, well, it won't really need much more explaining. But it's wicked stuff, rest assured.

Proving yet again that less is, indeed, more!

Out: This week on Beatport, everywhere else from 10 September

About: This comes atcha courtesy of Carlos Gambino's Midnight Social Recordings.

Various – The Leeds EP

Having grown up in the Leeds/Bradford area, it's pleasing to see how the Leeds house scene has grown so strong in recent years. This seven-artist, eight-track EP from Midnight Social Recordings serves as a reminder of just how strong it really is.

With tracks from Al '3am' Bradley, Thomas Malo, Joe Morris, Steve Jones, Soanso, TDRMC (whose Me And My 808 is presented in two different mixes) and of course label boss Carlo Gambino, there's plenty to please lovers of the deep here. Most tracks err towards the techy side of things, but Gambino's Work Dat adds a little west coast/east midlands-style bump n' funk while Morris's Sunburst takes us into dreamier, Mogadon-disco pastures.

Honourable mention must also be made of Steve Jones's Plasterman, which comes on like a ride on a tech-house ghost train. Well, it does to these ears, anyway…

Out: This week

About: You can find Midnight Social Recordings on Facebook. Oh yeah, and this one's a Beatport exclusive, I should probably mention…

HNQO – All Over EP

Right, I warn you now… there is a TON of good music in this week's 'to blog' folder and I've got a busy week ahead so how much of it we're gonna get through remains to be seen! I'll do my best tho'…

Starting with this latest from the Midnight Social Recordings camp, a three-track EP from Henrique Oliviera. All Over itself is a very contemporary-sounding deep/tech house groove with a soulful male vocal that's oddly reminscent of My Friend Sam back in the day, and comes complete with a very satisfying Roland Nights rework that takes us into lusher, more late-night pastures.

The latter's very cool, it has to be said, with some great Korg M1 action, but the standout for me is the sparse n' techy Stupid, with its fat b-line and its clever, unexpected reworking of a very (some would say over) familiar vocal trope from WAY back in the day. I won't spoil it by telling you what vocal though, you'll have to check it for yourself!

Out: This week

About: This was a confusing one to review, cos the first promo came with another track called Love N Pain that's now been signed to Hot Creations instead, apparently… so look out for that one, too.

In the meantime, you can find Midnight Social Recordings, who are based in Leeds and run by Carlo Gambino, on the Big Book Of Face That Is Eating The Universe

Ceri – Something's Cooking EP

The latest from the fledgling Midnight Social Recordings is a three-tracker from Ceri, a London-born DJ whose sound the hype sheet describes as "a blend of all things house and techno". Let's see…

The EP opens with Something's Cooking itself, a tough, chugging slab of tech-house made for late, late floors. Though when I say that, it might lead you to expect some tedious boys-y minimal drum track… but no, there's enough going on here in terms of stabs, washes and random vocal snips to make it far more than that for sure. A very solid dancefloor cut indeed.

Moving on, No Boundaries is another tough, percussive affair, but this time with a BIG synth bassline and what sound suspiciously like tiny little cut-ups from Funky Green Dogs' Reach For Me. Which was always gonna win it friends round these parts! And then finally, speaking of old school samples, there's Loco, a more straight-up house offering with a funkified, west coast feel and, by way of a vocal, the "y'all are crazy, man" line from the very end of Groove Is In The Heart.

This is Ceri's very first ever record: on this evidence, let's hope we hear more from the girl soon!

Out: This week

About: Midnight Social Recordings is run by Carlo Gambino, also known for his adventures on 3am Recordings, and is based in Leeds. This is the label's fourth release.

Al Bradley - Power To The Peaceful

There are times when you hear a familiar vocal sample and you think, oh God, not again. If, for instance, I never hear another dubstep/garage/D&B track with that 'six million ways to die' sample, I won't be complaining. On the other hand, there are those times when you hear a familiar vocal sample and you think, 'I can't believe he's used this… but it works'.

And in the case of Jetstream here, it certainly does work. The sample in question exhorts you not only to continue pushing, but to do so more forcefully, and sits atop muted Sound Factory-esque drums and a simple looping piano riff on the Original mix, or (my pick) an epic slab of Mr Fingers-ish deep/Balearic house on the Joe Morris Coloured Smoke Remix. It's great.

And that's only the B-side! On the A, the Original Mix of Power To The Peaceful pitches sampled Civil Rights-era speech over a sparse, echo-y deep house backing starring some gorgeous Rhodes work, while Gambino's Unruffled Mix is a midtempo near-breakbeat shuffler featuring some fat, squelchy analogue synth sounds.

Excellent stuff all round, but Jetstream just pips it for me. So I'll keep on pushing it harder.

Out: This week

About: This comes not on Al's own 3am Recordings but is in fact the second release (I believe) on Carlo Gambino's Midnight Social Recordings.

Rob Small presents Uncle Rico - All That Jazz

Rob Small takes time out from mastering for the world and his brother, to deliver this three-tracker for 3am under his Uncle Rico guise.

The original of All That Jazz explores the area where jazz and deep, dubby house/techno… to remarkably pleasing effect, it must be said! Universal Solution's Remix tones down the jazz elements (bar the spoken vocal) in favour of a smoother deep house ride, while the Jamie Adam Tune Remix takes us in a proggier direction. But while both are playable for sure, neither competes with the original for sheer out-there freakiness.

House music for the mind as well as the body. To coin a phrase.

Out: This week

About: The mighty 3am Recordings don't need any intro from me by now, surely? But click the link anyway – it'll take you to their Soundcloud page where you can HEAR THIS for yourself.