Scientific Funk – After The Rain

Only the fourth release here from fledgling Portsmouth-based house/techno label Murge Recordings.

There are three mixes of After The Rain to choose from. The Original is a midtempo deep house shuffler with some cool space disco-ish synth action going on, the LHK Remix is a more chugging, heads-down and bottom-heavy house rub while Affie Yusuf's mix takes us into more techno-leaning territory, with the influence of the 'bleep' era (think Tricky Disco, LFO and other early Warp artists) writ large. Rounding out the EP is bonus cut Love Has Gone, which features busy, Loft-ish hand percussion, breathy vocal samples, a fat b-line and more of those killer synths.

The latter's probably actually my favourite, but these are very cool grooves all round.

Out: This week

About: You can find Murge Recordings on Facebook, on Soundcloud or at their own website.

Flash Atkins – Camper Van EP

After Maya Jane's excursions into slower, dubbier pastures (below) let's stick with the slightly more leftfield house vibes, with this rather lovely four-tracker from Flash Atkins, AKA Paper Recordings main man Ben Davis.

Test One is a reworking of Sweet Exorcist's bleep classic with the tinky-tonk analogue acid sparseness of the original replaced by an altogether more sumptuous and uplifting nu-disco feel. And a trumpet, unless I'm very much mistaken… but it works. In Flash Dub form, which has something of a big-room techno feel to it, it works even better. And it comes accompanied with Cherry Bounce, an altogether funkier, more organic affair with plenty of uplift, which again is accompanied by Flash's own Dub for maximum impact.

Playing the original and this version of Test One side-by-side is quite instructional, actually, I think. It's the perfect demonstration of how far we've come, and proof of what for me is one of house music's greatest strengths – the ability to essentially all sound the same, and yet simultaneously, continue to ceaselessly reinvent itself.

Anyway enough of the cod theorising – this is good.

Out: This week

About: Here's the obligatory Paper Recordings link, then.

Luke Pompey - Mind Control EP PLUS FREE TRACK

Luke Pompey delivers the latest for Definite Ridge here, and it's a must-check if bleepy house/techno with that classic early 90s feel floats your boat.

Think somewhere between Space Face, early Warp, ACR's classic MCR album and the more techno-inclined remixes of early Orb or System 7 and you're somewhere along the right lines for lead cut Mind Control. Label boss Leigh Oliver AKA Olivaffair serves up a re-rub that takes us into deep house territory, with the addition of some wicked sax parpery, and then Dark Kustura also delivers a remix that'll delight the Detroit heads.

Basically, this is a record that'll make any old raver very happy… well it does me, anyway.

But wait, there's more. To celebrate the release of the EP, Definite Ridge have kindly offered up this freebie track from Luke as well… it's not on the EP so get DL'ing cos when it's gone it's gone!

Luke Pompey - 'Sometimes' (FREE DOWNLOAD Bonus Promo Track) by Definite Ridge Recordings

Out: Last week, sorry, but I was away…

About: Definite Ridge are, without a doubt, THE finest house and techno label ever to have emerged from a small market town in the Pennines (Barnoldswick, to be precise)… they're only a few releases old but pretty much everything they've done to date has been a cracker. Find out more at their website and Facebook page