Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Upstairs Asylum is kicking off the year in some style with a couple of killer new EPs. This one is the first in what is presumably a new series to showcase the talents of the Motor City. Mike Clark & Marcus Harris get things underway with 'Hey' which has a subtly uplifting feel thanks to the bright, sustained chords and cuddly drums. Santonio Echols's 'Piano In The Light' (DJ Emanuell Echols mix) is laidback, playful deep house with magical chord work and Brian Kage brings his classy depths to the smooth grooves of 'This Saturday Night.' Ryan Sadorus brings things to a close with the smoky 'Down Below.'

Review: The Fourier Transform label outlay an arresting sonic journey on their debut release, bringing together breakbeat, ambient IDM, ambient techno, and prog house under a single banner. Opening with Inkipak's 'Betwixt', we're met with sonorous low-mid square waves and machine-gun-fire breaks, recalling the breathtaking, verging on apocalyptic expanse of a warehouse rave turned laser light show turned warzone. We break from this warring weir with 'Omnicron Acid' and 'City Of Tomorrow' by Gimmik and Brian Kage respectively, which lowers the intensity and sonic flow via spacious atmospheres and dudding percussive pops. Finally, the perfect fusion of the former two moods is achieved on 'Corrosive Tongue', the lead synth on which sounds like just that.

Review: Scottish producer Milton Jackson returns to Freerange with four club-rooted collaborations that bridge Glasgow's punch with Detroit's finesse. It's a new release that brings Brian Kage on co-production and mastering, HazMat Live on synth duties, and Jon Dixon supplying characteristically sharp keys i and the results are as warm and robust as you'd expect. 'Fire Emoji' opens with a stripped-down, pressure-cooked club tool: all booming low-end, echoing vocal wisps and crisp arrangement. 'The Sunsetters' is the emotional peak, built around a fluid synth solo from HazMat Live and buoyed by plush pads and 909 accents. On the flip, 'Wanna C U' nods to both sides of the Atlantic, fusing US house depth with the swing and snap of UKG. 'The Shine', featuring Jon Dixon, is the most musically rich of the lot i gliding chords, broken grooves and cosmic jazz touches make it a standout closer. Rooted in deep house but flexible in feel, these tracks feel fully lived-in: tactile, soulful and beautifully engineered. Four cuts that do damage without shouting i a smooth burner from a seasoned crew.

Review: Detroit's Brian Kage is back with more Motor City goodness, this time as a remixer alongside a fine selection of peers. It is his Timeless Times album that gets reworked here and for his remix of 'Nordhouse' he works with fellow Detroiter and dub techno don Luke Hess to cook up a warm, shuffling sound. Elsewhere Delano Smith brings his signature smoky loops and plaintive keys to 'Detroit Techno City', Milton Jackson steps up with a buddy deep house roller and 'Galaxian' gets an electro remix from Max Watts to make this a classy, quality collection.

Review: With releases already clocked up on Carl Craig's Planet-E, the Omar S-run stable FXHE and Rob Modell's Echospace, Detroit house/techno fans with a keen eye (and ear) will already know Brian Kage. Michigander is his own label and this EP - that kicks off with Taho and Kage joining forces again on its A-side - was a success when it first emerged on marbled vinyl in March 2023. So much so, in fact, that's it been given a repress. With traces of acid and uplifting piano notes undewrwritten by deep chords on the opener '909 Nights', 'Warehouse Vibes' then brings driving kicks and dubby techno bliss before the closer 'JAX' goes in the style with its fist pumping rhythms. Motor City musical magic at its best.

Review: A White Bear's Heaven... Is A Black Bear's Hell is something of a departure from the smooth, deep and undulating sound we've come to expect from Omar-S's FXHE label. It signals experienced producer Brian Kage's first outing for four years. While that release for Beretta Red paid tribute to atmospheric techno, this outing is far more inspired by late '80s Chicago house and acid. The standout is undoubtedly "Shut Your Eyes", a co-production with Omar-S that wraps James Garcia's soulful, heartfelt vocals around classic synth-strings, tactile stabs and pared-down, '80s style drum machine hits. He switches off the lights and signals more of a heads-down mood on the First Choice-sampling "It's Not Over" - a thrillingly tactile, synth-laden jacker - while "Bear Gonna Getcha" sounds like a warehouse anthem in waiting.

Review: Six releases in and Michigander label head Brian Kage teams up with the legendary French Techno producer, Taho, aka David Jacopin. The electronic music world knows to put respect on the Motor City, but the "Detroit EP" represents a fusion, emphasizing l'accent aigu - not a typo or spec on your screen that needs cleaning. Between Kage and Taho, their production pedigree includes releases for labels like FXHE, Planet-E, Delsin, F.Comm, and more, so it's no surprise the pairing makes for a masterfully produced EP covering the spectrum of Detroit house and techno sounds, with an added deft touch from its French connection.

Review: Coming off a successful transatlantic exchange, Brian Kage and his Michigander label keep the momentum, and the collaborative spirit, moving with an EP that hits closer to home. For any Detroit artist, working with Delano Smith would be on the bucket list, as one of the city's original, more influential DJs - before the D developed any of its "waves" - who would come into his own as a producer later to, once again, help mold the Techno City's sound. Make no mistakes about it, this tastemaker had a ripple effect back before techno even had a name, when it was just "progressive" music and mixing. The thing is, the feeling of admiration and respect here is mutual, from the moment Smith first stumbled across one of Kage's records and had to know who was making these sounds. This meeting of the minds happened organically and timely, with Keep 'em Movin' as the result.

Review: Brian Kage is a Detroit mainstay who finally serves up a long waited debut album here in the form of Timeless Times, which seamlessly fuses classic house rhythms with the distinctive flair of Motor City techno and features top guests like Jon Dixon, Ob Ignitt and Luke Hess. It is a large and bold work that encompasses 19 tracks across four slabs of wax on his own Michigander label. Along the way, there are plenty of club-ready cuts, as well as a range of emotional landscapes that blend ambient textures and nostalgic vignettes into something timeless and escapist. Without a doubt, this is Kage's most personal work to date and an unmissable journey through the current sound of his famous home city.