Thanos T – Glass Door

Danish label DeepWit come up with the goods once more, this time calling on the services of Greek deep house producer Thanos T.

There are three mixes of Glass Door to choose from. The Original is a headnoddin', midtempo affair with plenty of space in the production, some lush Rhodes chords and – as seems to be ever so en vogue at the mo' – soulful/garagey male vocal snips. My boy Tim Andresen (of What Happens fame) serves up the first remix, an even deeper pass with something of the moody feel of deep/dub techno, while Krummstoff's rub is a touch more heads-down and uses less of the vocal.

Quality stuff as ever from DeepWit.

Out: This week

About: Find DeepWit Recordings in such exciting regions of cyberspace as Soundcloud! Facebook! And their very own Internet homepage!

Maxi Valvona – You Gave Me Everything EP

There was a point this summer when What Happens! seemed to be releasing top-drawer deep and tech house nuggets on a weekly basis. Of late the release schedule seems to have slowed down a little, but I'm pleased to report there's been no drop in quality.

In its Original form, You Gave Me Everything itself is a chuggy, near-instrumental groover (it's instrumental if you don't count the abstract, voice-as-instrument sounds dotted throughout), with quite tuff beats but an otherwise dreamy, driftaway kinda feel. Label boss and long-time friend of TIWWD Tim Andresen supplies the obligatory remix, which is even more floaty and adds another vocal loop to keep the first one happy, but otherwise isn't HUGELY different, while rounding out the EP is The Floor Is Yours. A tad more upbeat, this latter is also a bit more on the 'accessible' side, what with its pulsing two-note bass riff, and looping male vocal… but thankfully, it's accessible without straying into the realm of cheese.

Like I said, no drop in What Happens!'s usual high quality standards here!

Out: This week

About: You can find What Happens! on Facebook or at their own website. Visit the latter to check out their latest podcast, from Norwegian tech-house starlet Tina V, and marvel at the fact that they seem to have quietly mastered the science of time travel… being as it was apparently posted on October 28 and all.

Tim Andresen – DTRT/A Day At The Terrace

Some very solid summer house vibes here, coming from my man Tim Andresen on his own What Happens imprint.

A-side DTRT is a fairly epic slab of deep-ish house, bordering on prog you could say only without getting all pompous and over-blown… and certainly without any nasty trance synths! It's a lolloping, bass-and-drums workout that's sure to see plenty of terrace plays this summer.

And speaking of which, B-side A Day At The Terrace is another percussion-led jam, with barely-there snatches of vocal buried deep in the mix and augmented with crowd noise, whistles and a touch of what sound suspiciously like pan pipes… again, it's tailor-made for dancing in the Ibiza sunshine, with a more musical and house-ified Dave Nash Remix adding some cool old school piano/organ sounds and an "Oh Lord yeah" female vocal sample.

Good stuff as ever from What Happens.

Out: This week

About: Find What Happens at their website or on Facebook. Should I also mention that they're from Copenhagen? Nah, you probably know that already.

Tim Andresen - Whatcha Want

We were just talking about DeepWit main man Alvaro Hylander only yesterday. Now here he is again, this time remixing fellow Danish producer Tim Andresen – himself no stranger to this blog thanks to the output of his own splendid What Happens label.

Tim's original mix of Whatcha Want is a deep and dreamy affair, with fragile percussion, minor piano chords and chopped, stuttered whispered vocal snips sitting atop pads that go on forever and ever… and then some. Acryl boss Da Funk – who we also mentioned yesterday, it's a small world this deep house lark innit!? – maintains the late-night, spacey feel but utilises more insistent and slightly wonkified drums, his mix slowly building into something altogether more dramatic, while Alvaro's rub with its straight-ahead 4/4s is probably your best bet for dancefloor play, though even then you're gonna be looking at specialist floors only.

Uncompromisingly deep shizzle as ever from DeepWit, coming from some of the most respected names on the scene.

Out: This week

About: Usual DeepWit links, then… website Facebook Soundcloud

Tim Andresen – Get Da Funk

The latest here from an artist who needs no introduction to TIWWD readers, Danish house hero and What Happens boss Tim Andresen. This comes not on What Happens, though, but on the UK's Seamless Traxx.

There's just the three mixes of Get Da Funk, from Redondo, Stefan Naimor and Tim himself, and to be honest they don't vary hugely… all three are percussive house chuggers, fairly uptempo but in a dreamy, heads-down rather than a screamy, hands-up kinda way. And all three are suitably drenched in 'da funk', with various jazzy flourishes along the way.

A very solid bet whichever mix you opt for, though if pushed the more sumptuous and liquid-y Redondo Mix just pips it for me.

Out: This week

About: Here's where to find Seamless Traxx online, or of course they're on Facebook and Soundcloud as well.

Tim Andresen - A Little Boogie

More predictably high-quality house shizzle here from our old Danish friend Mr Andresen.

Just the two mixes of A Little Boogie to contend with tonight, the Original plus a remix by Cosmic Cowboys. The latter is a rollin', groovin' affair with 'git up!' vocal exhortations, some fluttering geetars buried deep in the mix and lilting Balearic-style pianos, while those intergalactic cowpokes take us on a deeper and much dubbier trip.

Not much else to say, really, but this is some top-drawer shiznit, no doubt, with the Cosmic Cowboys Remix edging it for me.

Out: This week

About: Tim is of course label boss at Denmark's What Happens, but this one actually comes on another Danish label, Gartenhaus.

I said they were German before, but I was wrong. My bad.

Tim Andresen - Arena

I've said several times on here lately what good stuff Denmark's What Happens have been turning out of late. Well, this latest comes from da main man Tim Andresen, and is no exception.

In its original form, Arena is a tuff-ish houser yet, being based around a rolling funk bassline and some lovely warm piano chords, it's pleasingly musical as well. The Chris Rawles Remix is a pared-down take that perhaps lacks the big room accessibility of the Original but that will work better on deeper/more specialist floors, while finally Mark Cruse & Thomas Dieckmann supply a remix that takes us more into tech-house territory.

It's the Rawles Remix I'm feeling most I think but expect to hear the Original in clubs a lot too.

Out: This week

About: The What Happens website is here or you can find 'em on MySpace

Various - What Happens Now Vol 2

A very solid V/A EP here from Denmark's ever-excellent What Happens crew.

First up we have the no-nonsense rolling deep/tech house of The Red Spotlight by young Danish producer Chris Sane, who also serves up Listen From Behind, which is in a similar kinda vein – think San Fran to Berlin via the East Midlands and you're somewhere in the ballpark. Bumpin'.

Next is another Chris, the UK's Chris Rawles, whose Roomdriver is another tasty slab of tech-house jackery. Mr Rawles also then gives us the slightly deeper and more funktified Hick Up, before the EP comes to a close with Super Classico, a fat, lazy groover with a phat b-line and a pleasantly driftaway kinda feel courtesy of Israel's Roni Be, and finally a tuffer tech-house bullet from Greece's Distant Fragment in the form of Altered Matter.

The latter cut's perhaps a little close to straight-up techno for me but taken as a whole, this EP kicks some serious ass. Show some love people!

Out: This week (except on Beatport where it's been out for a bit already)

About: What Happens, in case you didn't know, is run by my boy Tim Andresen over in Denmark and the label's been on a serious roll of late! More info here and at Tim's own website.

Stanny Abram – The Zoo EP

Okay, I know things have been a bit slack on here lately – I've been stoopid busy elsewhere I'm afraid – but this week we're gonna get that blog ball well and truly rolling again, I promise! So let's kick off with this three-tracker from Stanny Abram, a name that's been making waves on the underground deep/tech house circuit of late.

Taking the tracks one by one, then… lead cut Zoo Land works vocal snippets over a mid-paced, rolling groove. Buck Fifty is a slightly more lively affair with female snips, movie samples, some discreet jazz sax and a BIG bassline thundering along beneath it all. And finally Hand Of Zooka is more upbeat again, this time with an Afro-tinged rhythm and, again, a large, whomping b-line.

Any one of 'em will keep deeper dancefloors moving nicely.

Out: Tomorrow (June 21)

About: This is on What Happens – their first appearance on here for a while. Find out more about this ace Danish imprint run by my boy Tim Andresen here (Resident Advisor) and here (MySpace)