Distortion Inc – Echo Of Tape

We stay in pastures uber-deep now with this newie from Denmark's ever on-point DeepWit Uncovered.

In fact, Echo Of Tape marks one of the label's deepest excursions yet, and that's saying something! Across the EP's three tracks, then, expect warm pads, muted percussion, disembodied vocal snips, tinkling minor-key jazz piano licks – you know the story – all at a tempo that means this EP is best filed somewhere between slo-mo and ambient. And that makes it perfect for those moments when you just want to lean back, shut your eyes and drift off into inner space.

Out: This week

About: You can find the DeepWit crew on Soundcloud, on Facebook or at their own website.

Various – Deeper Shades 03

Can't believe it was way back in May when I wrote about the excellent first volume in this set… feels like last week… nor am I entirely certain why Vol 2 never made in onto the blog, maybe I was washing my hair or something… but anyway, here comes Vol 3 in Spring Tube's series.

And yep, it's another winner. For those that couldn't be bothered clicking on the link above, "lazy, stoner-friendly deep and progressive house" is how I described Vol 1. This time out, there's less of the proggy vibes, and instead a few more trax that veer towards ambient/downtempo territory… but otherwise the song remains much the same, with ten cuts from Shimmer, Anthony Mea, Blood Groove & Kikis, MacLaro, Pavel Densiov and Sergey Sivenenko (all but the latter contributing two apiece) that are tailor-made for those late, late driftaway sofa sessions, with BG&K's funk-fuelled, garage-leaning Aura, Mea's uber-deep, atmospheric and aptly-titled Liquidia and MacLaro's Balearic bliss-out Why Don't You standing out in particular.

Superb, is the word. And everybody knows that the word is the bird.

Out: This week

About: You can find Spring Tube on Facebook, on Soundcloud or at their own website.

Nikosf – Remembrance Remixes

It's been another hard day so to make up for it, in tonight's reviews we're on a seriously chilled-out tip. First up, this remix EP from Etoka Records.

You know that point where deep house gets SO deep it essentially turns into ambient/chill-out music? Well that's about where we're at with this, particularly if you're talking about the two Alveol rubs of More Than Sad or Lazzich's take on Gray Morning. The Verano mix of Summer Afternoons and Nikosf's own End Of Summer Colours Mix of Sensual Colours, meanwhile, do actually have a 4/4 beat behind them, but we're still at the very, very deepest end of the house spectrum.

Not one for rocking the clubs with then and, to be fair, these are tracks you'd want to find the right time and setting for. Right now, though, they're sounding pretty perfect.

Out: This week

About: Etoka are based in Liverpool and can be found at their own website or on Soundcloud.

The Melancholist – All This EP

Okay that's enough prancing about on the dancefloor like you were all young and carefree… now it's time to get melancholy!

Except it isn't. While these are undoubtedly far deeper, more introspective grooves than those contained on the two releases below, as late-night deep house cuts with influences from dub and from deep techno go, lead track Adjusting To All This is actually surprisingly sunny of disposition and upbeat of rhythm – one for the afterhours floors more than the sofa, then. On the B, Freefall is a more downtempo affair that, quite unusually, pairs carnival-esque (but non-frenzied) percussion with long, lingering pads and deep, resonant drops.

The latter's a solid-enough offering that will have its fans, but it's the A-side that does it for me here.

Out: This week

About: This comes on Sounds Of Juan, who can be found at the Endemic Digital Facebook page.

Various – Faint Frequency Records sampler

Okay, consider this a VERY early heads-up on this one! This is a sampler EP from a brand new label based in Washington, DC… and while I'm led to believe it IS kind of available, they're still in the process of getting distribution sorted so you might be best contacting 'em direct.

But it'll be worth your while if you do – this is quality stuff, rest assured. In total, you get four tracks of deep house in various shades from Yush, plus two more downtempo/leftfield excursions from Big In Malta. Big In Malta's Of Quiet Birds Circling In Flight – an exercise in ultra-deep D&B – and the jazzy, hip house-inflected Culture Of Divide by Yush stand out for me, but truth be told there's not a duff cut in sight.

A very impressive debut, let's hope we hear more soon.

Out: Now (sort of… see above)

About: You can find Faint Frequency Records here, here and here (web, Facebook, Soundcloud)

Daat – Orange Line

I posted the video for this on the Facebook page earlier, but that was just the A-side. And it's really the AA-side that we need to discuss.

Cos the A-side's fine, in fact it's a rather pleasant slice of downtempo electronica that reminds me a little bit of Yellow Magic Orchestra and a little bit of Tangerine Dream. But it's the AA-side that's of most TIWWD interest, where you'll find lurking a refix from the D&B legend that is Deep Blue. In his hands, Orange Line becomes a sublimely deep, liquid-y, chilled-out affair that'll appeal to D&B fans and non-fans alike.

"A collage of smooth glacial textures with hypnotic driving beats," is how the hype sheet describes it, and yeah, I'll second that.

Out: This week

About: Now, this gets a bit complicated. This comes on UK label Organic Beats, but its catalogue number is OBSORG002 and it's actually a joint EP series conjured up by Organic and US D&B imprint Offshore Recordings.

ALBUMS Hakimonu - Cadences & Frameworks/Worlds Are Born Again

A two-for-one deal here, cos what we have here are TWO recent albums by Israeli producer Hakimonu – something of a mystery man who started out producing trance but has moved in recent years into progressive house, techno and minimal territories.

The first of the two, Cadences & Frameworks, bears the sub-title 'Techno Sketches', which is indeed a pretty accurate description of the sounds contained within. The emphasis is on abstract, often quite melancholic pieces, almost entirely instrumental (bar one or two brief spoken snippets), with Cadence 10: Move really the only excursion onto the minimal dancefloor. Otherwise, this is an album that calls for late nights, sofas, low lights and possibly a jazz fag or two.

The other album, Worlds Are Born Again, isn't HUGELY dissimilar, but it does boast a couple more floor-friendly tracks, and there's also a greater emphasis on melodic and musical elements as opposed to just rhythms and textures… as befits an album that's not subtitled 'sketches', I guess!

I'm no expert on abstract/arty/downtempo sounds like this, so I'm not gonna try and draw comparisons, but when some laidback yet involving listening is required, reaching for either of these albums wouldn't be a bad move by any means. If forced at gunpoint to pick a winner it'd be Cadences… I think, but it's a close run thing.

Out: Now… one of 'em came out late June, the other late July, but your idiot of a reviewer can't remember which way round it was. 

About: Worlds Are Born Again comes to you via Berlin-based label Sleep Is Commercial, while as far as I can make out Cadences… is self-released, so here's Hakimonu's Soundcloud and MySpace pages. Check the latter and you'll see that Cadences… did also come out some time back but don't worry, it's not me being blonde, it's just that it's never had a proper 'push' until now.

Trademark – Exosphere EP

If you like your deep house music on the experimental/leftfield/slo-mo side then you'll be well aware of Intelligent Audio by now… here's their latest, courtesy of Tony 'Forces Of Nature' Reeves and Loki, who together make up Trademark.

"Four classy, deep and jazzy tech-house cuts" is how the hype sheet describes this one. Not sure 'jazzy' applies here so much TBH but I wouldn't argue with the rest! Glass is yer straight-up lush late night bizniss, The Good Earth starts out all uber-deep and dubby then gets busier and techier as it goes on, Inner Motion is a laidback Balearic groove and finally Origin Of Matter is a bit more abstract and soundscape-y, but still with a solid 4/4 kick.

A cert for the more cerebrally-inclined househeads out there.

Out: This week

About: You can find Intelligent Audio on Soundcloud, on Facebook or at their own website.

ALBUM Robert Lamm & John Van Eps – Robert Lamm Songs: The JVE Remixes

Sorry reviews have been a bit thin on the ground this week… been stupid busy. But I'm gonna be spending a significant portion of the next couple of days sitting on trains, so we should be able to catch up a bit. In the meantime, here's something of a curveball of an album… it's been out a couple of weeks now but I promised! And besides, you can't listen to tech-house all day, every day you know…

If the name Robert Lamm doesn't mean anything to you, he's the singer and main songwriter from Chicago, and what this album consists of is Chicago classics from their late 60s/early 70s days as a jazz-rock-fusion outfit (ie, before they went all AOR later on), remixed by contemporary producer John Van Eps into…well, therein lies the rub. I'm not sure exactly how you'd describe the fruits of JVE's remixing labours. But "Latin-leaning, jazz-flecked downtempo grooves with a lounge bent," is the closest I could get, just off the top of my head.

Not being any kind of Chicago expert, it's the refixes of well-known tracks like 25 Or 6 To 4 and Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? that are appealing most to me. But taken as whole, this is definitely an interesting listen, even if I'll confess to being a little outside the TIWWD comfort zone trying to write about it. You can see tracks here slotting easily into Sunday chill-out sets and the like as well, so a job well done, I'd say.

About: If your leftfield sonic fancy has been tickled, you can find out more (and buy the album) at the Robert Lamm website. Oh yeah, and it's brought to you by the Blue Infinity label.

PS Some good news: one of the things I've been busy with this week, has been putting the framework in place for a TIWWD revamp, redesign and relaunch! More details soon but it's all tremendously exciting. No, really.

Ksoze – Wobble Jazz

Sorry there were no blog reviews yesterday… spent most of the day climbing a download mountain and by the time I finished that, I'd kinda lost the will to do much else. But anyway here we are back once again…

And we'll start with a nice easy one. Easy cos there's only the two mixes; easy because it's pretty 'easy' in the sense of being laidback, mellow, easy on the ear etc; and easy because, well, if you know the kind of dusty, downtempo vibes that Cold Busted trade in, then there's not a lot that I can tell you about Wobble Jazz that the title doesn't! Except that the remix comes from Vitamin D, but to be honest even that doesn't do huge amounts different.

But don't let either the lack of mix variety or my shoddy, half-arsed review put you off… if it's lazy, Sunday afternoon grooves you're after, this is gonna delight.

Out: Wednesday (June 20)

About: This comes, as I just suggested, on Denver's Cold Busted. Find 'em at their blog, on Facebook or on Soundcloud.

Mirza-Zadeh - Heart Of Glass

It's been a long day and I'm about ready to crash and burn (not necessarily in that order!) but before I do, there's this… which is, it has to be said, a very enjoyable way to end the day.

Five tracks, coming (mostly) from that most rewarding of musical places where deep house and deep techno collide. Bar-B-Q ain't nothin' but a lazy, sumptous, bassy late-night groove; Bernado's Sarangi is as fine a piece of sitar-sporting downtempo Indian fusion bizniss as you'll hear all summer;  Reflection is more out-and-out deep techno cut, one of those atmospheric, cinematic numbers that sounds like it's been recorded in a huge underground cavern full of leaking pipes; Tachyon takes that same blueprint, but then overlays it with disco synths to quite devastating effect; and finally Heart Of Glass itself is another slower, more sofa-oriented affair, with whispered vocals, tinkling chimes and abstract synth squiggles among the elements that drift tantalisingly in and out of the mix as the track ambles along to its conclusion 6 and a half very chilled-out minutes later.

Superb stuff for those that like it so laidback it's horizontal!

Out: This week

About: This comes on Lucidflow, also home to Klartraum… more info at their website, Facebook and Soundcloud pages

Losing Rays – One Day

We take a trip into pastures considerably more mellow now, with this second release from Russian prog label Incepto's new Incepto Smooth offshoot.

There's just the two mixes to choose from, the Morning Mix and the Seven24 & Soty Mix, and not being any great expert in matters downtempo it's quite hard to describe the subtle differences between them… but suffice to say, if you're looking for some blissed-out electronica for those comedown moments and chill-out, er, 'tapes' then either will do the job nicely.

Don't know what more I can tell you, really, but this is very easy on the ear it has to be said.

Out: This week

About: Here's where to find Incepto Music online.

Peter O – In Our Time EP

Is it a while since we had anything from Electric Sheep Recordings on here? Seems like it has been… not sure how that's happened but anyway, here's their latest. And it's rather good.

A Brighton-based artist who (it says here) has been DJing since the late 80s but only recently started making steps into production, Peter O serves up for your pleasure two fully instrumental originals. Space is an almost textbook late-night deep house groove, all pads and hi-hats and a luvverly warm bassline, while In Our Time is slightly more downtempo, atmospheric and filmic.

You then also get two remixes of the latter cut. Dorothy's Ghost go full-on downtempo and experimental and I have to say their remix leaves these ears a little cold, but Pretty Criminals' Time Is Acid Remix is worth checking, though its not the retro jack-fest you might be expecting, rather branching out into leftfield techno pastures.

It's Space that stands out for me but this is a strong EP all round.

Out: This week

About: Find Electric Sheep online here.

Kohib - Solar Day EP

"Prime examples of Norwegian electronic music, ranging from nu-disco to slinky house music to downtempo electronica," is how the hype sheet bills this one. So let's see…

Well, opener So Good certainly has the house part covered: a throbbing, pulsing organ cut from the get-go, any dancefloor that doesn't shake to this is a dancefloor I have no interest in being on. Something of a Plastic Dreams-y feel to the mid-section, too. Next up, Don't Tease The Bumblebee ticks the nu-disco box with its glacial analogue synths and pulsating, arse-shaking b-line. Escape Velocity then covers the downtempo part of the equation… cinematic electronica like this isn't really my area but it's pleasant enough, mellow without being nice-y nice-y, and trippy around the edges without being all "ooh look at me, I'm so weird and different, aren't I?". And then finally we come to Solar Day itself, which sits stylistically somewhere between the last two tracks, the Italo synths returning over a less frenzied backbeat.

So the hype sheet's description is accurate enough, but is the EP actually any good? Well, it's a good showcase for Øivind Sjøvoll AKA Kohib's obviously wide-ranging production skills, certainly. Escape Velocity isn't really my kinda thing but I can see the quality; Solar Day and Don't Tease The Bumblebee I could see myself playing in the right circumstances, but if I was buying this, it'd be for So Good alone, really.

Thankfully, So Good is worth the price of admission on its own anyway. So that's okay.

Out: This week

About: This comes on Norwegian label Beatservice, who can be found on Facebook.

Pykup – Nature

And if you thought the Demarkus Lewis track was deeper than deep, then wait till you hear this!

If you dig that Greta Cottage Workshop kinda vibe, where the very, very deepest of house meets more experimental, downtempo vibes, then this one's for you. Coming from French producer Pykup, what you have here are two tracks that are about as esoteric as it gets. Nature lives up to its name by putting the sound of birdsong atop the quietest snare roll you ever heard and gently tinkling ivories, while How's Wally on the B rides a rhythm of fingerclicks, brushed snares and the gentlest of hand percussion as jazzy, ambient piano chords throb over and over in time with a single repeating bass note. It's all a little outside the TIWWD comfort zone, almost… but it works.

An understated gem made for come-down sessions and chill-out tapes.

Out: This week

About: This comes on a brand new Welsh/German label, Cambrian Line. Here's their website, and you can also find 'em on Soundcloud where you can get preview of their next, more overtly house-ified release from Darko Kustura.

Sarp Yilmaz – Ro Vibes EP

Some deep, techy, tracky shiznit here from Trendy Mullet, as supplied by Turkish producer and cat-lover (apparently) Sarp Yilmaz.

Got My Money is the standout for me, a slow, headnoddin' slab of soulfully-tinged, techy deepness… like listening to vintage deep Jersey garage on downers. Ro Shuffle works a similar sort of vibe, and is then given a beefed-up remix by James Johnston that's really your only hope here if it's dancefloor action you're seeking! And then finally Urban Vibe goes to the opposite extreme, being a downtempo/uneasy listening kinda thang.

A varied EP then, and one that won't have much appeal for a lot of floors… but if you like your sounds a little more challenging, this is well worth checking out.

Out: This week

About: Here come the usual links… Facebook, website, Soundcloud

Various - Guilty Birds EP

More seriously deep goodness here from Denver's 5 And Dime Recordings. Once again, it's a V/A EP featuring the usual label suspects: F Stop, ben A, Mateous and Zach DeVincent.

ben A is up first with Signals, a driftaway late-night groover sporting analogue synth washes, birdcalls and sampled NASA Mission Control dialogue. Next, F Stop's Luna is an ominous slab of deep techno with a huge fat bassline, coming complete with a more ambient-leaning Omar Fayyed remix (there are beats though, so it's not an entirely ambient affair).

Detour from Mateous is the standout track of the EP for me, another late-night house groove with an obscenely large bottom end, and then Zach DeVincent closes the EP on a dancefloor high with Close To Me, a heads-down tech-house chugger with proggy overtones and a breathy female voice inviting you to do what the title says.

Out: This week

About: This is number five from 5 And Dime, and every one has been a winner so far – if you like it deeper than deep, this is a label you need to be checking for right now. Here's their website, Facebook and Soundcloud, so you can do just that.

tONKPROJECT feat Marie K - It's Time To Introduce You

A nice varied set of mixes on this latest from Romanian label Behaviors and he of the jammed Caps Lock key, tONKPROJECT.

The Radio Mix I guess is the 'original', a mellow, trippy affair in a laidback, downtempo kinda vein, featuring a breathy spoken female vocal with a touch of the 'birth tapes' about it and lilting, soothing piano notes. The Arthur Abidzhba Remix stays in a downtempo vein, but here things take a notable turn towards the glitchified n' twisted… find the magic space between 'easy' and 'uneasy' listening and file this one there.

But for TIWWD's purposes, it's really the other two mixes that are of most interest. In the hands of Disclosure Project, It's Time… becomes a sumptuous deep disco groove with live-sounding funk bass, soaring-yet-understated strings and crisp, unrushed 4/4s – nice – while finally on the Pion Remix, it's reinvented yet again, this time as a dreamy, late-night deep house chugger that'd also work well in warm-up or bar sets.

Quality stuff, make no mistake.

Out: This week

About: You can find Behaviors on Facebook, Soundcloud and YouTube.

John Collins - The Introspective EP

An aptly-titled release this one, with four tracks that (mostly) chug along at an unhurried, thoughtful kind of pace.

Freestylin' is the most obvious case of point, a melancholic, minor-key affair that sits somewhere between deep house and downtempo… think early St Germain and you'd not be a million miles off, in terms not just of the overall vibe but also of the impressive musical depth. Next, Alone is a more jazz-leaning offering that operates at a similarly unrushed tempo and uses big chunks of preacherman vocal.

Deep Inside picks up the pace just slightly and is a sultry, sexy number you could play equally well alongside nu-disco or deeper garage tracks, before finally we come to Roll With You (though technically it's actually the opening track, but never mind). This is the only track of the four to operate in more out-and-out dancefloor territory, being a dreamy, Balearic kinda thang working a yearnsome female vocal that older heads may notice nods to garage classics like Colourblind's Nothing Better or NY's Finest's Do You Feel Me.

All told, four varied tracks that'll appeal to deeper lovers of various persuasions.

Out: This week

About: This comes from Vision Collective Records, a new label (this is VCRD004) from Cork in Ireland, home also of course to the mighty Elevation. And Danny La Rue, or so Wikipedia tells me. Anyway, click the link for their website or find 'em on Facebook or Soundcloud.

Nitin - Latenightlife Remixed

Not sure if I got sent the original EP of this when it was out early last year, and I'm not at home right now so can't check or (assuming I did) compare these new mixes to the old ones*. But that doesn't really matter… all you need to know is, this is great.

On this remixed version of the EP, you get two mixes apiece of Blink Twice and The Nine In One. Anthony Collins' remix of the former is a mellow deep house take with lots of gentle jazz piano, while Nitin himself supplies a Re-Edit on which he's collaborated with Colombian group Sexteto Tabala. Together, they deliver a version laced with hypnotic tribal percussion and slightly more use of the female vocal, which sounds to me very much like a sample from Coldcut & Lisa Stansfield's People Hold On, though I guess it could not be.

Moving on to The Nine In One, this features another sampled vocal and comes with rubs from Subb-An and Brett Johnson. Brett's 4 Steppers Only Remix features, er, steppy beats and the kind of fat n' squelchy bottom end you associate with broken beat; it's quality 'late night' stuff for sure, but if you need something a little more driving then the Subb-An Remix – a prog-tinged deep house throbber – should see you right.

Between them, then, the four mixes explore different musical territories, but they all do so very successfully, making this an EP lovers of more leftfield deep house need to be checking for sure.

Out: This week

About: This is number 45 from James Teej & co's Toronto-based My Favorite Robot. Nitin himself, it's also worth mentioning, is co-owner of the excellent No19 Music, who've also featured on this blog before now.

*Actually I guess I could probably find them on YouTube or Beatport of something but, y'know… I'm lazy.