Tony S – Inside My Soul

Four deep house tracks to suit a range of (micro) tastes here, courtesy of Tony S and UM Records.

Inside My Soul itself is a bassy, throbby midtempo cut, contemporary-sounding but nodding to a more classic sound with its diva-tastic "deep inside my soul" vocal. It's accompanied by a remix from Jon Sweetname that drops most of the vocal and the hefty b-line, going down a more minimal-inspired road altogether. You also get two rubs of Mercy: the Original, which has a similar vibe to Inside My Soul but with a little added boompty-ish swing, and a Max Mikheev remix, which is the one to head for if you like it techy and jacking.

Something here for deep housers of all persuasions, then, though you probably won't be surprised to hear it's the original of Inside My Soul that stands out for me.

Out: This week

About: You can find UM Records on Soundcloud and on Facebook.

PhaTGuyZ – Our Chance EP

The latest here from UM Records, which as you should know by now is brought to you by Richie Hartness and the other peeps behind the excellent Deep House Fans page on Facebook. They know a thing or two about deep, techy house music, it's fair to say, and it shows in the calibre of the material they sign.

Our Chance itself is a chunky but unhurried deep house groove, with elements of both prog (in the general floaty, dreamy feel) and nu-disco (in the spangly analogue synths), and comes complemented by a tuffer, drummier Max Mikheev Remix. The EP's second original is Next To You, a deep, percussion-led journey topped with female vocal snips and more of those vintage synths, which in turn comes accompanied by a Rishi K Remix that heads off into even deeper territory, ditching the militant snares in favour of more straight-ahead kicks and some lovely warm, evolving bass and synth sounds.

Like I said, the UM crew know a thing or two about deep, techy house music…

Out: This week

About: Find out more by visiting UM Records on Facebook or Soundcloud.

Jonny Bee – NYC Sunset

Some typically high-quality deep house here from the UM Records stable.

There are two tracks and four mixes in total. In its Original form, NYC Sunset itself is a lazy, meandering affair made for warm-ups and post-club sessions, unless you're lucky enough to be playing to the most specialist of deep floors; the CRAM Remix then takes us even further into driftaway, late-night territory. You Make My Dreams Come True, meanwhile, is another deep n' mellow affair, with soulful tinges but also a little of that ominous, brooding production quality you associate with the deepest of techno. Hall North then supplies a slightly more floor-friendly take, with tuffer drums but still a dubbed-out feel overall.

Classy stuff all round – but then we expect no less from Richie Hartness's label.

Out: This week

About: You can find UM Records (or Untitled Music, if you prefer… I've never quite worked that one out) on Facebook, at their own blog or on Soundcloud.

Desos – Deep Dancer

Regular readers will know that Desos (AKA Danish producer Brian Løgstrup) and his Deso Records label have become firm TIWWD favourites over the past year or so. Suffice to say, this latest from the man himself doesn't disappoint.

Two tracks and four mixes in total. All Night is a drummy, afterhours kinda groove with a female voice repeating the title, but for me really comes into its own on the Late Night Remix from Andre Detoxx, where the tribal-ish percussion gets replaced by crisp, snapping snares and hi-hats, and where additional pads/chords give the track a suitably dreamy, driftaway kinda quality.


Deep Dancer itself meanwhile is, in its original form, a raw n' jazzy cut that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Strictly Rhythm circa 1991-93, with a spoken vocal informing us that "she's a nightclub dancer". Remix duties on this one are ably handled by Deep Active Sound, who delivers a superb stripped n' techy rework that, like the original of All Night, is tailor-made for the afterhours joints.

Overall, then, the remixes just pip the originals this time out for me, but all four tracks are strong and this is definitely one you should be checking!

Out: This week

About: This comes not on Deso Records, I should point out, but on New Zealand's UM Records, AKA Untitled Music… they've got their own very fine blog or you can find 'em on Facebook and Soundcloud

Marc Cotterell – Untitled Tracks Vol 1

More traditional-style deep house vibes here courtesy of New Zealand's UM Records.

Untitled Track One kicks off the EP, a luxuriant, unhurried groove that's all pads, Rhodes chords, crisp hi-hats and chopped-up female vocal snips, an afterhours/post-club gem, while Untitled Track Two is more upbeat and floor-oriented, with a meandering jazzy sax taking centre stage. Brian Ffar then provides a remix of Untitled Track One that slowly builds from a moody, cinematic intro into a delicate, eyes-closed techy shuffle before finally The Messenger's refix of Untitled Track Two tones down the sax in favour of jerky, garage-y beats and tiny snippets of male vocal.

Again: quality bizniss all round.

Out: This week

About: UM Records is the label run by the same peeps responsible for Facebook's excellent Deep House Page. Find 'em on Soundcloud and, of course, on Facebook in their own right.

Santiago Santamaria - One Night

One more straight-up deep house gem this week before we turn our attention to other genres. Santiago Santamaria hails from Argentina and recently made an appearance on Deso Records, but here he delivers a four-track EP for UM Records.

You get two mixes apiece of One Night and Digg It. The original of One Night is a dreamy, floataway late-night treat – listening to it is like laying back into a hot bath. The Alvaro Hylander Remix then manages to go a tiny little bit deeper, which is quite an achievement! Digg It, meanwhile, is a midtempo groover in its Warm Mix incarnation, while the Jon Delerious Keep It Deep Mix, er, keeps it deep… one for the warm-up sets and afterhours sessions.

Quality stuff all round, not much more to say really!

Out: This week

About: UM Records is part of the untitled music stable, who are also behind Facebook's excellent Deep House Page.

Andre Detoxx – She Believed In Me

On to the first of this week's releases then… a cracking EP from a Polish producer who lives in London, via a label based in New Zealand. What a truly international deep house community we are, eh?

Not sure why the EP's called what it is, cos what you actually get are three mixes of a track called Redeem, plus two of another called Nightchords. The latter comes will satisfy your craving for soothing uber-deepness whether you plump for the Original or the HouseRiders Late Night Remix, while the former is more post-club driftaway bizniss in its Original form, but gets taken to the dancefloor by Jeff Fontaine & Deep Spelle, with a stripped, dubby workout that reminds me a little bit of early Angel Moraes, and by YokoO, who injects some dark, synthy, almost proggy drama.

I think it's the more horizontally-inclined rubs over the dancefloor mixes for me this time out, but a strong package all round.

Out: This week

About: This come's on New Zealand's UM Records, which is run by the same peeps behind the excellent Deep House page on Facebook so they really should know what they're doing!

Deep Spelle & Kevin Martin - Can't Stop Thinking About You

Gonna kick off the TIWWD week with a couple of proper deep treats, the first of which is this, from a pair of French brothers.

For Can't Stop Thinking About You itself, think very, VERY deep house from the soulful end of the spectrum, with the dreamy original complimented nicely by a just-slightly-more-dancefloor remix by Deep Active Sound, aka Mihail Bessmertny. The other track featured, Something About Your Lovin', retains the deep vibe and soulful inflections but is nonetheless considerably more driving and floor-oriented, with some old-skool M1 organ stabs to die for. This one then gets a more laidback, jazzy refix from Karol XVII & MB Valence, as well as a sumptuous late-night rub from Marvin Zeyss.

So that's two tracks, five mixes in total and not a duff cut among 'em – go and find this immediately.

Out: This week

About: To quote the hype sheet, "New Zealand's UM Records is a brand new project from untitledmusic, the deep house ‘brand’ that encompasses a blog, a worldwide weekly radio show and the largest deep house fan group on Facebook." You can download a whole bunch of archived Untitled Music radio shows at their Soundcloud page, while the aforesaid Facebook group is the excellent Deep House page.

Marvin Zeyss - In My Arms EP

A brand new label, and a newish young German producer to boot. Mr Zeyss has had stuff out on iRecords and 1 Trax in the past year or so, I'm told, but I have to admit TIWWD is gonna have to treat him as a newbie today… which makes the quality of this four-track EP all the more impressive.

In My Arms in its original form is a lively, driving deep houser from the outset, then goes into an extended breakdown in the midsection before coming back strong with those whooshy kicks again. A 1am kinda tune, to these ears. Remix duties are taken care of by Giom, a producer in whose hands good things have a habit of happening… and his remix of In My Arms is no exception, as he loses the possibly slightly over-dramatic breakdown and gives the track a healthy injection of added funk instead – quality.

And speaking of funk… the other cut here is Between Your Legs, which is an altogether jauntier affair than the above. As with In My Arms, though, I can't help feeling the Original tries to cram too many ideas into one track, the rolling organic funk at the beginning sitting somewhat uneasily, to these ears, with the more glitchy, cut-up midsection. So again it's the remix that's floating my boat more, the Luzz Vs Obrien Remix to give it a name, which goes down more of a 'classic stripped-down house' route.

Still, for a producer who made his debut only last year, this is very impressive stuff indeed – let's hope there's plenty more to come.

Out: This week

About: As I said, as well as marking Mr Zeyss's first appearance on TIWWD this is also the debut release from a brand new label, UM Records. The guys behind it are no novices, though – as the hype sheet kindly points out: "New Zealand's UM Records is the latest project from untitledmusic, the deep house ‘brand’ that encompasses a blog, a worldwide weekly radio show on eNation, Deepvibes, Live1.fm and Westradio, and [a] deep house fan group on Facebook." To find out more, visit them on Soundcloud or check out the aforesaid Facebook group or their own brand new Facebook page.