Back catalogue: All genres

Review: The mighty and unmovable Toolroom offers up a snapshot of where it is at right now with a fifth volume of its Sampler series. The boss himself Mark Knight kicks off with a collaborative tune with Crusy: 'Daddy Shhh' is loopy, tribal, full flavour tech with jumbled drums and lots of buffed metal. Huxley's 'All I Need' is one of the UK producers warm house sounds, a smart vocal brings a sense of pain over simple but effective beats. Essel's 'Lennon' then brings peak time energy with strobe-lit synth sequences and churning drums, and Leftwing: Kody, James Hurr & I Jah shut down with 'Music Is The Medication', a muscular bumper with dub-wise vocals.

Review: West Yorkshire's finest house label Hudd Trax - named after Huddersfield, of course - kicks out more essential and timeless jams here with Eddie Leader at the helm. Kids in The Streets feature on this package which includes a single and several different versions. The original form of 'Pressure' is a lovely deep house groove with warming chord vamps and smoky vocals. There's a subtle skip to the drums that really locks you in, then comes an Instrumental Mix that makes more of the starry synth work. The dub has fatter, heavier low ends and a 90s New York vibe, then a Dubstrumental closes out another tidy package.

Review: The artwork for this new 12" from the System 108 label is eccentric enough to make you want to check out the music even if you don't know the artists. It's the sort of cover that suggests the music will be left of centre and quirky and that it is. 'Sao Januario' is a deep and lazy groove with sunny chords and jazzy keys that take you to the global south. 'Sunny Villa On A Distant Planet' is a twisted disco cut with house leaning drums and big cowbells under intergalactic synth lines. 'Rolando Nascer Do Sol' then rides a crisp electro breakout to keep you on your toes and 'OWL WCS' slows down for a cuddly back-to-mine style closer.

Review: Five new brooding tools from the heads over at Legofunk, each under their own three-lettered moniker. It's difficult to know which artists are behind each track here, but all are moody big-room house and disco groovers; LKN's 'Country Hous' strikes and instant chord with its echoed-out harmonica and deep bass stride, while continuations on the theme go on to impress; HLD's 'DITD' is an indeterminately dreamy number that plays up a rare triplet house rhythm, while LGD's closer 'A A On' amps up the mood of urban get-up-and-go with Hammond organs and funking low-reg licks.

Review: In signature cinematic melodic techno style, Mind Against and Cay bring 'Cant U Hear Me / Trust', laying thick a hi-tech fusion of soulful house and synthetically squeezed sound-energy. The thrumming heartbeat of UK club culture is heart sifted through a harsh cyborg grate, reducing things to a metallurgic, pulmonary pulp. Crystalline percussion, cascading synths... 'Trust' makes particularly pristine use of untainted pluck design, with peaking plucks wriggling in the mid-high layer like buds on a mecha-euphoric flower (just look at that front cover).

Review: DAYBREAKERS, a new London label dedicated to deep house in all its forms, opens with a study of Jeffrey Collins' Music Station, an imprint that helped define US dancefloors in the 90s. The EP feels like a time capsule, revealing the label's essential DNA through four carefully selected cuts. Elaine Monk's 'Something For Nothing' appears twice, its Vocal Mix exuding warmth and deep swing, while the D A.p. Dub strips it down to bare essentialsisubmerged chords and hypnotic motion. The flip explores even deeper textures. Cherie Lee's 'Love Me Or Leave Me (Club Dub)' simmers with effortless groove, its vocal ad-libs curling around crisp percussion. Then comes Gerideau's 'Take A Stand (Smack Rain Vibe Mix),' a brooding, red-lit anthem built on thick bass weight and velvety synth lines. Across all four tracks, DAYBREAKERS capture the allure of the classic, the forgotten and the essential, proving that deep houseiat its bestiis timeless.

Review: Moodena and Charles Levine join forces on Rekids with their track 'Badman', all set to blow up your spot this winter. The vocal mix kicks off with high-energy big room drums, classic house strings, an infectious bassline, and playful telephone samples while Cratebug's remix transforms it into a hypnotic after-hours cut that emphasises dub echoes while retaining the original's essence. On the B-side, Radio Slave reimagines 'Badman' with a low-slung vibe that blends trippy sounds and vocal traces. The EP also includes a dub version that forgoes the original vocals but keeps the classy house heat.

Review: John Morales is pretty universally credited with inventing the 12" when he decided he needed more run time for his remixes than could be found on a small 7" 45rpm. Those remixes were often done on the studio floor when he would cut up and splice analogue tape to insert new breaks and extended instrumentals. He remains as good as anyone at that and these new versions of Curtis Harrison's 'I Want Your Lovin' and 'I Want You All Tonight' show why. They are steamy and loved-up disco gems that have everything needed to set the floor alight- big vocals, big drums, lush synths.

Review: FaF's Marseille-based label Durite has assembled another Various Artists compilation full of global soundscapes inspired by Middle Eastern rhythms on one side, while the other blends psychedelic Japanese and Chinese samples into trippy, atmospheric cuts. Italian producer Nativo balances deep house and electro with worldly flair, French artist Pagenty keeps ting dubby and slow with snaking leads and hiccuping drums. Fellow Frenchman Blinkduus Dischetto sparkles with raspy synth leads and celestial keys and Crane De Poule then serves up 'Lucky,' the clear EP highlight with its hurried Eastern Melodie and vocal samples over a clipped and tight tech beat.

Review: It has been a rather remarkable three years since Yuko dropped its first release, but finally, they are back with more. It is co-founder Emo Omar who features both solo and in collaboration with Luje from Club Pizza while two exciting new French talents Chud and Vivant also make their mark. 'Pollen' is a bright and hooky melodic electro sound then 'You & Me' gets more percussive, with old school cow bells staying busy next to all sorts of wonky synth work. 'Tomorrow's Made Of Breaks' is built on rigid funk and trippy synth bleeps and 'Zeus' shuts down with some retro-future vocoder vocals. This is a great return from a label we hope now pushes on.

Review: Mark Knight's mighty Toolroom has ascended from being an underground label into a globally recognised brand with a world-wide following. Its sampler series is always a good indication of where it is at during any given season and now the tenth installment brings more party ready fun. Piero Pirupa kicks off with some big disco-fried loops and cooing vocals, Tini Gessler gets more gritty with a bumping tech house cut in the form of 'Do What You Want', CASSIMM and Bruno Blanc combine for the florid strong loops and edgy house beats of 'House Affair' and Tony Romera's 'House Y'a' is a sleazy throwback with real attitude.

Review: Detroit-raised, London-based Demi Riquisimo assembles a dynamic mix of label favourites and fresh talent on Love State, the 22nd release from his Semi Delicious imprint. This six-track V/A hears offerings from Demi himself alongside Clint, Swoose, Lulah Francs, Dukwa, Anastasia Zem & Asa Tate, blending club modernity with classic analogue dance influences, sampling every sonic cate from Italo to tech house. Best among the bunch has to be Swoose's 'Re/Vision' and Anastasia Zems' 'Eternal Beauty', which bring together wasted electro, Italian new beat and trance for well-measured tinctures of dreaminess.

Review: There is a wealth of No Fuss releases all dropping this year and number 12 is a tasteful house four-tracker from various quality artists. Saison's 'Suffer' is up first as a remix from Fouk, and it is a lovely, jazzy, laidback and heartfelt sound with an infectious skip in the drums. The original is just as infused with dusty soul and warming chords and on the flip Saison remixes Pete Moss & Colette's 'Higher' 'into carefree grooves with more noodling melodies and DirtyTwo then keeps the grooves flowing with 'Rymden,' which exudes summery excellence.

Review: Tropical Disco racks up its 25th release and the quality just keeps on getting better. On this must have four-tracker, you've got label chief Sartorial kicking off the A-side with low slung heater 'Hootin N Tootin' followed by the sweltering Latin drum workout of Musta's 'El Matador'. Over on the flip, feel the late night mood music of Corrado Alunni's 'Funk Decision' (dub mix) and finally the mandatory boogie-down vibes come courtesy of Fun Kool on 'Low Toe'.

Review: Moodena and Sartorial's Tropical Disco is now into its 24th release and they haven't let up on the quality grooves. On the first side you've got Toscana who takes you poolside on the lo-slung deep disco of 'The Girl With The Red Hair', followed by the dusty and hypnotic late night loops of Toby O'Connor's 'Cave Of Gold' featuring a seriously sexy sax solo. Over on the flip, it's all about Neapolitan favourite Frank Virgilio, who serves up some lovely sunset mood music on 'What We Love'.

Review: Two legendary producers joined production forces in 1999 to create one timeless track that sees the light of day again here. Ron Trent and old friend Chez Damier were co-owners of one of the most important house labels of all time - Prescription Records - and they re-teamed up for this deep house classic for Ron's first full length album Primitive Arts. For the remix package, Atjazz deliveres an extended remix that amplifies the groove while maintaining the soulful depth of the original. Atjazz's signature melodic refinement and rhythmic precision shine through, making this version more uplifting yet hypnoticia lush reinterpretation that still respects its deep-rooted heritage. On Side-B, two more Ron Trent gems receive modern reworks. First up, 'Berlin Night in Paris' (Fred H Remix) transforms the 2017 track from 'Spaces and Places' EP into a chord-driven, tech-house-infused journey. Lastly, 'Cry' (Sourires Remix) delivers an atmospheric deep house experience, rich in space and emotion. Subtle yet powerful, this remix explores introspective tones, balancing melody and groove with a meditative feel. Together, these remixes further reinforce the already vast legacy of Trent and Damier in deep house history.

Review: Bobby Donny's ongoing ACE series of vinyl releases has thus far delivered some genuine deep house treats. This is particularly true of the Dutch label's sporadic, compilation style EPs, which tend to showcase tracks previously released on digital-only EPs. There's plenty to set the pulse racing on EP number four, with highlights including two fine collaborations between label founder Frits Wentink and fellow Amsterdam scene stalwart Malin Genie (the sub-heavy peak-time bounce of 'Ambrosia' and the techno-tempo hypnotism of 'Exopaq'); the ultra-deep two-step house shuffle of 'Comet (Deep mix)' by ZZ Banks; the Italo-house influenced colour of Clovis Chilwell's 'Don't Let The Night End'; and the deep, hazy and dubbed-out brilliance of 'Slow Burn' by Rico Scott.

Review: The sublime music of Kaoro Inoue is the subject of this essential new compilation on Mysticisms. Inoue describes himself as an "extreme music lover" and has been for more than 30 years. His Chari Chari alias is all about self-expression and the music here has previously only been available digitally. It fuses ambient, house and techno soundscapes across four sides of vinyl with a deeply spiritual outlook and soul-soothing sound. Organic percussion, traditional instruments and new age moods all colour the deeply enticing grooves.

Review: The glorious Dobro label gets to double figures in fine style here with a new album that finds Iner both going solo and collaborating with Oiuna on four new cuts which then get remixed. The originals are summery, airy, organic worlds of gentle deep house rhythms, feathery synth melodies and gentle hooks that have a subtle future feel. The remixes rework the tunes for more direct vibes in the club with Frank Music label head Johannes Albert going first and then Crowd Control also stepping up. Great artwork, too.