Ivan Picazo – Freedom

Hands up everyone who's a fan of a big, throbbing organ groove?

Thought there'd be a few… in which case this latest from the Hype Muzik camp, which comes courtesy of Spanish producer Ivan Picazo, will suit you to a T (or should that be 'to an M1'?). Just the two mixes on offer: choose from the understated tech of the original, with its heavily-treated male vox, or the Maxim Lany Remix, which really ain't NOTHING but a big, throbbing organ groove!

Personally it's the latter that's appealing the most, but either way this is a solid bet.

Out: This week

About: Hype Muzik, as you should know by now, is part of Norman H's Stripped Muzik Club family, along with Stripped Recordings and Stripped Digital.

D McAleese – Far Out

Far out by name, far out by nature here, as D McAleese – a new name to me – manages to hit that elusive golden spot where a track is familiar-sounding and hence dancefloor-friendly, yet innovative and distinctive at the same time.

This he achieves by taking a very familiar sound – a big 1990s-style M1 organ riff – then running one note of said riff through a pitch-bend effect. I know… ridiculously simple, isn't it? Yet I can't think of another track I've ever heard that does this. So what you end up with is cut that would be just AN Other organ tune (not that that's ever stopped me from loving a record, you understand) with a sampled "thinking about you" vocal… but is instead something that truly makes ears prick up.

Mix-wise, you can take your pick from the warm, organic-sounding Original, Loonic's heads-down, tech-house pass with its crisp 909s, or Reece Johnson's more stripped-down and techier Too Far Rework. Makes no odds really: it's that one nifty little production trick that makes this a winner.

Just… producers! Don't all start doing it now, eh?

Out: This week

About: This comes on Ormskirk, Lancashire-based Discotech… a label who'd have had more props on here before had they told me when stuff's out! They seem to have grasped the importance of that particular piece of information now though, so expect to hear more about 'em in future cos they do put out some cool tuneage. Meantime to find out what you've been missing, hit up their Facebook and Soundcloud pages.

Soulrack – True Love Remixes

Another 'simple two-tracker' here… only this time it's very much a game of two halves, Brian.

Cos while A-side Follow Me (or rather the Matt Star Remix thereof, to be precise) is perfectly acceptable and playable – a prog-tinged, piano-sprinkled affair that manages to be uplifting without getting all cheesy – it's the B-side that counts here. True Love (or rather the Mute: Remix thereof, to be precise) is a MONSTER of an organ tune… only in more of a deep house way than a handbag/bassline kinda way, if you see what I mean.

It's great, basically. So you should probably, y'know, buy it or something.

Out: This week

About: This comes atcha courtesy of Soulrack's own Cray Labworks, who are based in Spain. Their website's currently having its hair done, so you're best checking them out on Facebook or MySpace. Oh, and here's Soulrack's Soundcloud page as well.

Source Of Soul – This Way

The name kind of gives you a hint here… but then it kinda doesn't as well, cos this isn't soulful house as such, as you might expect. It's just deep house music that's absolutely throbbing with soul.

'Throbbing' is the operative word, as the original of This Way is based primarily around a MASSIVE organ bassline straight outta 1995. It's topped off with echo-ing male vocal stabs, understated piano chords and the most sparse, stripped and echoey beats you can imagine… a dubbed-out treat for those 'proper head' types and no mistake guv'nor! Over on the B, you'll find a remix from Smak AKA Steve McCready, who takes us into synthier territory… this might be the one the Berlin and East London hipsters go for, I think, but it's those retro organs all the way for me.

Always is, to be fair.

Out: This week

About: This comes on a label who are certainly no strangers to this blog, Savoir Faire Musique, and you can HEAR IT on their Soundcloud page.

Angus Jefford – Bumpin'

Okay, so I try and be as professional about things on this blog as I can be, generally. But for once I'm going to make an exception and, very unprofessionally, just say FUCK ME THIS IS GOOD. And that's swearing.

But really, this is outstanding stuff, revisiting the 90s organ-driven house template to devastating effect both on Bumpin' itself – which comes in Original and slightly dubbier Somethin' After mixes, the latter dropping the Detroitian string stabs but keeping the soulfully-styled vocal stabs – and on The Culture. It's enough to make an over-the-hill raver very, very happy indeed.

The fourth track Fever Fever, BTW, doesn't have the organs. It's still a very serviceable slice of uplifting, retro-leaning but forward-looking house music… but it's Bumpin' itself that means you need to STOP what you're doing and buy this immediately.

Oh yeah, and here it is, as well. Awesome, isn't it?

Out: This week

About: This is the second offering from Say Ahh! which, if you didn't know, is the new house label set up by the legendary MK and his brother Scotti Deep… which no doubt helps explain why this is just SO freakin' good. Find Say Ahh! online here or visit their blog

PS: I was hoping, tonight, to bring you a So Many Tunes… round-up of the ones that got away last week. But circumstances have prevented… hopefully later in the week.

Stanny Abram - It's Magic

Well, wonders will never cease, as they say! I think this is the first record I've been sent with a Deso remix, where said remix actually ISN'T my pick of the crop.

Don't get it twisted, the Deso Dope Remix of It's Magic IS very good, a slo-mo gem of a deep, druggy groove tailormade for warm-up or afterhours play. The Patrick Podage & Nikola Kotevski Remix is also very good, a midtempo deep houser in the traditional sumptuous, mellow and melodic vein.

But at the end of the day, dear readers, TIWWD is a bit of a tart, an Unashamed Disco Dolly™, and as such, neither of the aforesaid can compete, in terms of sheer joyous 'whack it up loud and dance around the room'-ness, with the Original, which is a BIG-with-a-capital-BIG organ tune that'd give Show Me Love or Morel's Grooves #4 a run for their money any day… or indeed any of the early bassline house organ tracks out of Birmingham on labels like Jump and Ecko, that got yours truly so excited circa 2004/5.

So yeah, the original wins out for me but with two other top-quality remixes on board, all three of which will suit different floors/moods/times, you NEED this.

Out: This week

About: This is another winner from Savoir Faire Musique, one of those labels who I've raved about so much on here it's getting a bit embarrassing now…

9 West – What's On Your Mind EP

Veteran US house label King Street has noticeably been embracing more contemporary house styles of late, and further evidence of that comes in the form of this four-track EP from Greece's 9 West, AKA Kostas Tikis.

Protest leads the charge, and is a fairly typical but very playable slab of techy deepness, chugging along at an unhurried pace with plenty of atmospherics in the background and some treated male vocal snips to add musical interest. What's On Your Mind works a slightly more tribal-influenced rhythm, a suitably big n' rumblin' bottom-end and occasional echo-y female vocal stabs, while In Love operates in more traditional deep house/garage territories with its drawn-out vocal wails, dramatic bass swells and overall dreamy feel.

The vocal on the latter actually reminds me a little bit of Eterna by Slam, but that's probably just me. The pick of the EP, though, is Sometimes, which is all about the big, throbbing organ line… and you know how fond TIWWD is of a big, throbbing organ*! Despite the nostalgic organ sound, though, the track's actually quite current-sounding otherwise, what with its techified beats and sparing use of the vocal.

It all adds up to a strong EP all round… and like I say, good to see King Street keeping it fresh!

Out: This week

About: As ever, more info at the King Street website

*I remember JoeB at King Street once sending me a CD with one of the tracks marked with arrows and a scrawled note that read, “Oi, speed garage throwback!” Hello Joe, if you happen to read this.

ALBUM Various - Inner Circles Vol 1

This actually came out last week, but it somehow went in this week's folder. Never mind, there's no way this one was getting overlooked.

Inner Circles is a sampler showcasing Lower East, a UK label I clearly haven't been paying enough attention to cos there are some proper house gems here. Alexis Raphael's Skalamoosh fuses a gloriously old school organ sound and bang up-to-the-minute midpaced house beats to devastating effect, Max Chapman's Afterparty takes us back to Chicago, Cozzy D & Dodha's White Lightening (sic) is a groovy afterhours shuffler, Lee Brinx's She's Pretty revisits vintage acid vibes in a Snuff Crew kinda way and, best of all, there's Dirty Cash by Dexter Kane & Gav Memnos, which revives the vocal from Stevie V's rave classic in the form of a superlative slab of sleazoid tech-house funk.

Lower East peeps, I will be paying more attention from now on for sure!

Out: This week

About: If you happen to be playing catch-up like me, there's a little write-up about Lower East on Resident Advisor or you can find 'em on Soundcloud, Facebook and MySpace. Or indeed at http://lower-east.com/

Ellesse - Thought About It

Manchester's rising deep house star Ellesse is getting a lot of attention right now, and rightly so. Here's our boy's latest, and there's no sign of the quality standards slipping just yet!

Thought About It in its Original form is a big organ number that's sure to cause maximum grinnage on the dancefloor. There are also some Detroitian synth strings and Balearic pia-pia-pianos thrown in for good measure, but the more contemporary-sounding topline and vocal snips save it from being a mere 'back to the old school' offering. Quality stuff that proves there's life in those classic house sounds yet! On the B, Jordan Peak's Rogue Rework takes us a notch or seven deeper, with a shuffling, heads-down groove topped off with breathy, ethereal vocal stabs and some almost psychedelic synth-squiggles.

So: just the two tracks, yet whether you're rocking a 2am main floor or a druggy basement at 7am, Ellesse has it covered. Like I said, he's getting mucho props for a reason.

Out: This week

About: This is of course on Ellesse's own label Kaluki Musik, a spin-off from his Kaluki night at Sankeys. You can find Kaluki on MySpace or check out the podcasts here.

Various - The Extended Family Pt 2

According to the classic Bacharah & David song, what the world needs now is love, sweet love. Well, I disagree. What the world needs now is actually a MASSIVE FUCK-OFF ORGAN TUNE. And on this second installment in Leftroom's 'new talent' EP series, Laura Jones delivers just that in Love In Me. Freakin' ace.

The rest of the EP's pretty gosh-darned good as well, what with the deep garage vibes of Waifs & Strays' Yeah Yeah, Lazaro Casanova's driving, bouncy retro-house on I Got This Feeling and the jazzy Detroitian vibes of Julian Perez's Butterfly Conflict. In fact, I'd say it's a superb EP all round, all told.

But you can't beat a big throbbing organ, can you?

Out: This week. Buy it.

About: As I said, this is the second in a series of EPs from Matt Tolfrey's Leftroom imprint showcasing new production talent. And if there's this much of it around, then the future of house music is looking decidedly rosy. Here's the Leftroom website: it's getting a revamp at time of writing but you'll find some social media links to keep you going.