Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Toolroom has gone from underground house label to one of the UK's most successful and large scale dance brands. They keep on serving up the sort of hits that become big festival anthems and this is another one, with new school Chicago artist Gene Farris paired off with ATFC for big, rollicking piano house sounds on 'Spirit of House.' 'R U' then gets more tech edged and sweaty on a big synth loop and walls of drums, while 'Tech House Kinda Thing' is a supersized tune designed to do plenty of damage. There is real funk and soul in the cut up and filtered vocal loops of closer 'Not Enough.'

Review: Like Father, Like Son sees Big Strick and his prodigious son Generation Next team up for a split 12" showcasing this pair of criminally underappreciated Detroit producers. "Rain Dance" sees the elder of the two deliver a deep techno journey filled with abstracted textures and organic chimes that sound, while the young Generation Next shows a remarkable maturity beyond his years on "And You Too", where sparse, subtle chords and the simplest of melodies drift by on a light rhythm. On "Like Father, Like Son" the two pair up for the most gently uplifting of deep piano jams. Just like pretty much everything on 7 Days Entertainment, this is some nigh on essential material.

Review: Everyone's favourite house label Toolroom is back with another edition of its stellar VIP Edits series. This one features the mighty Flashmob with the powerfully uplifting house of 'Closer' on the A side, followed by the loved-up euphoria of GotSome & George Kwali's "In The Dark". Over on the flip, put your hands up for the Detroit feels of Chaney's 'Back To Me" (feat Laura Davie - VIP edit) and Dombresky serving up some late night mood music on "Do You Remember" (feat Camden Cox).

Review: Tsuba's ten year anniversary - that's right, it has been that long already - has been marked with hit after hit from a wide selection of artists from across the house kingdom. In fact, for this 2nd instalment of the festivities, we have White Material frontman Galcher Lustwerk remixed by the inimitable Jimpster, with the latter putting a more starry-eyed mechanic onto the original; For Romeau complete the A-side with a vintage-sounding remix of "Pinball" by Williams. On the flip, Roy Comanchero drops the Chicago bass over a minimal sort of percussion groove on "Hypba". Kevin Griffiths adds a little acid to the jingly 707 beat of "Satori", and completes a stellar EP from the magnetic Tsuba.

Review: A new offering on Bristol imprint Banoffee Pies this week, on which they have again tapped the elusive Gallegos following up some terrific releases on Holding Hands and Service Please. This is his second EP for the label since 2018. Said to be a nostalgic reflection of UK club culture, it features the oddball house gem 'Sentiment Of Love' on the first side, followed by the dusty acid house banger 'Put Me In'. Over on the flip, he goes for a UK garage vibe on the tripped-out number 'Together Flyin' High' and closing it out is the euphoric early '90s rave homage 'Before Or Since'.

Review: The I Was Never Here EP is said to possibly be the last ever offering from Gameboy, which is sombre news as this has been a superb series that first started 15 years ago. Sakskobing Russia has the pleasure of serving it up and once again, tune tunes from Ibrahim Alfa Jnr, an artist from London, are fresh indeed. His take on electro on busy and melodic, with melancholic and pixelated chords marbling the forlorn and slow-motion electro of opener 'Waking The Others.' 'In Dreams' is another insular cut with crisp hits and glassy melodies like no other and 'Visions & Memories' then gets choppy with busted up beats, scraping perc and all manner of hits.

Review: Aubrey's Don Gardon alias was a one-shot decoy deployed in 1997 with the now highly sought-after "Textures" 12" on Aubrey's own Textures label. While the provenance of these new tracks is a little foggy at this stage, what you can be sure of is the grade of techno we're dealing with here. Aubrey's illustrious career speaks for itself, and so do these tracks in the first Textures release since 2001. "The Phase" is an effervescent, funk laced race to the stars, while "Vari Tube" takes a more intimate route through dusty house that wouldn't sound out of place in the Workshop stratosphere. "Slam Dunk" is a cheeky, jazzy affair while "Dons Slide" gets a little more freaky and far out in the finest tradition of B2 tracks.

Review: There's been much debate over the years about whose version of this seminal track was in fact the best. Laurent Garnier's 1997 classic "Crispy Bacon" gets a vinyl re-issue and it still stands the test of time. You can just imagine how innovative and futuristic this adrenalised peak time weapon sounded like in the mid-nineties. On the flip, the equally legendary Jeff Mills delivers his take on the track, keeping in mind that this is one of only a handful he's ever done. There's relentless and punishing cyclicality on offer here; the sharply resonating loops, that brutally overdriven 808 kick.. it's one of those secret weapons that never leaves the bag of the best techno DJs. Choose your side, but either way it's a definitely a classic!

Review: There is not much more to say about Chicago's Gemini apart from the fact that he was a true house legend who, until recently, remained largely in the deep underground of the city's music, and has inspired a new generation of producers. Sadly, although he's still kicking about somewhere in the States, the man doesn't make music anymore. However, it's difficult to say whether he could have done much more these days, given how futuristic and cutting-edge his music-making was back then, and how fresh and it still sounds today. For these reasons, Germany's Chiwax have reissued a number of his EP's by now, and Shadowlust is the latest in the series. Much like the previous instalments, these four cuts are classic Gemini delivering the pure house magic - from "Log In" to "Motion", the beats are swinging, the chords heavy and pads climactic. If you've copped the other recent reissues then this is a must, if you haven't even heard of Gemini then please do yourself a favour..!

Review: A plethora of different dancefloor flavours from Frankfurt's Chris Geschwidner, across four tracks, that take in the warmth and soul of house and the cold steel beauty of techno and bound them up into something fresh and altogether new. 'Corroded' has the colliding drum machines and handclaps of vintage techno or even electro, but welded to a skippy, playful beat that is a definite mood lifter, while dreamy synths seductively cut a swathe around the metronomic hypnotism. 'Pass Over' is smoother, sleeker and combines a bleep techno approach to the soundscape with a bed of comforting Detroit-style synths and strings. 'Viktrak' has more classic Motor City influences but a more classic garage-slanted beat regime - imagine Derrick May's 'Nude Photo' overhauled by Roy Davis Jr. 'The Free' ends the set off with simple but effective electro funk flourishes and a sense of sunny optimism, bringing this lively, accessible but deep affair to a close.

Review: ** Repress of the reIssue ** Ooh if there's ever a deep house history lesson wrapped up in a 12" then it's this reissued Stomp The Beat EP from Gherkin Jerks aka the master Larry Heard. The Gherkin Jerks project originally surfaced back in 1988 with this 12" on the Chicago based Gherkin Records label, released anonymously at the request of Heard himself who viewed the Gherkin Jerks material as a creative experiment. Later revealed as the work of Larry Heard, original copies of Stomp The Beat rack up a pretty penny on Discogs so it's good work all round that the producer's Alleviated Records label has teamed up with Clone to release a digitally enhanced version. From the mind bending stereo panning of opening track "Don't Dis The Beat" it's easy to see why the Gherkin Jerks material has been so widely praised - Jamal Moss is a big fan - whilst the general off-key melodics and tough 909 arrangements of what follows still sound futuristic some 15 years on.

Review: Having been dormant for over three years, New York label Satamile returns to continue spreading the gospel of proper electro music with a six-track EP from The Ghost That Walks. Drexciya enthusiasts will be all over this record; the rubbery melody of "The Angriest Angel" recalls the Detroit duo at their most playful but with a simmering undercurrent of tension that is very much the producer's own signature style. Similarly great are the searing analogue synth buzz of "Seven Deadly Sons", the tribal 303 stomp of "Urban Jungle" and the 808 rattle and Belgian rave tones of "Resident Evil". Those who were lost without the label's presence should rest easy - Angry Angels is easily among their extensive catalogue's best releases.

Review: The latest offering from the West Norwood Cassette Library comes shrouded in mystery, as anonymous outfit Girls Of The Internet serve up four tracks of oddball electronics that swerve the usual upfront dancefloor fare that populates the label. There's still plenty of groove to be enjoyed, but the overall tone is one of leftfield analogue electronics with a rough finish and an experimental leaning. There's a pleasing directness about the likes of "Teletherapy" with its lean drums and erratic lead synth line, while "Spam Folder" creates an unhinged funk with some heavy swinging drums and oddly quiet acid lines. All in all it's a wild affair that will work for more adventurous spinners of a raw disposition, and marks an interesting diversion for the label in question.

Review: Man-of-the-moment Felipe Gordon was little more than a Columbian producer with promise when he first appeared on Razor N Tape Reserve back in 2019. It's therefore nice to see him back on the Brooklyn-based imprint two years on. Those who've followed Gordon's career of late will know what to expect - namely heady, musically rich dancefloor workouts that join the dots between deep house, nu-disco and jazz-funk. Opener 'Strings of the Afterline' is pleasingly hazy and dreamy whilst boasting Gordon's usual synth-heavy squelch, while 'The Fall of a Withered Empire' is a rare vocal number with a deep jazz-house feel. Elsewhere, 'Classico' is a bouncy, classic-sounding deep house bounce-along rich in sparkling synth riffs, while 'Julia Y Lewis' is a more languid and laidback chunk of jazz-sampling, funk-fuelled deep house haziness.

Review: Global dance music superstar Peggy Gou comes back with a second super summer single that is widely infused with her own distinctive influences. Chiefly, that is a love of 90's dance anthems, which was rekindled in her during downtime during the pandemic. Released via her own Gudu Records, 'I Go' is a catchy, singable bit of throwback dance-pop with her own vocals front and centre. The old school beats and bass will get any party pumped, with the synth work looks to the cosmos and explores a very different vibe to her previous single. An instrumental and acappella are also included on this lovely 12".

Review: Following up last year's production with Baltimore techno legend Maurice Fulton on 'Jigoo', the next release on Gudu is the first of two songs by label boss Peggy Gou that she will release over the coming months. Her first single in over two years, it translates to 'Butterfly' and is another collaboration. This time with fellow Korean sensation OHHYUK who is the lead singer and guitarist in the band Hyukoh. 'Nabi' is a downtempo, pop-inflected number said to be inspired by '80s synth classics and '90s Korean songs that Gou's mother used to play at home during her childhood.

Review: The second salvo on Further Electronix's Shakesphere sub-label comes courtesy of Charles Green, a producer of underground techno and electro previously best known for his releases on Four Triangles and Hardgroove. His trademark style - forthright, energetic and often intense - comes to the fore on EP opener 'Edit Generation', a slamming slab of warehouse-ready techno-pump rich in beefy kickdrums, creepy sounds and loopy late-night riffs, and can also be heard on 'Mind Restore', which sounds like a wholehearted tribute to rave-era techno (all fizzing melodic riffs, deep bass and sweaty drums). Over on side B, 'Resolve Jam' is a more sci-fi flavoured techno joint, while 'Solus' is a gorgeous fusion of echoing dub techno motifs, broken techno drums and glassy-eyed electronics.

Review: Greymatter can probably be considered a Wolf Music stalwart, appearing on a couple of the London-based label's various artist 12?s, most memorably with the "Give It To Me Slow" cut that featured on WOLF 09. For the next release on Stu Clark and Matt Neale's label, Greymatter holds court for a solo EP, with the shimmering arpeggiated exotica of "Tisno" sharing space with basement house jam "Sweat" on the A-Side. On the flip you'll find the revving synths of "Pick & Roll" alongside a shuffling US garagey remix of "Sweat" from James Welsh.

Review: 'Les Gans' out on Musique Risquee, is the first of the two singles taken out from the stellar album 'Face a L'est' by Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts. On the A side, you'll find the original version of 'Les Gans', a beautifully crafted moody house tune. It's melancholic but none of the less cheerful tone provides the listeners with a feeling that tomorrow might not be so dark after all. 'Les Gans', with it's afro jazz sensibility, represents the underlying theme of Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts album Face à l’est. Organic drum patterns topped by a persistent saxophone line (played by [iks] saxophonist Sebastien Arcand Tourigny) result in a complex composition that unfolds slowly, leading the minds into profound hypnosis. On the B side, Audio Werner (Hartchef, Perlon, Hello Repeat) takes us deep into his foggy mind. Known by the public for his versatility, it's the first time he dives so deep into the dubby side of things. Setting the mood with the most massive bass ever, he then proceeds to reveal all the elements slowly over an amazing 12 minutes of pure delight. As an answer to the original melodic line, Audio Werner brings in the saxophone of Hayden Chislom, collaborator of Burnt Friedman and member of Root 70. The result is pure pleasure and Musique Risquée is now happy to share it with you

Review: You can always trust in the quality of house music carried by Inner Shift. As a long standing label pursuing a sincere and emotive strain of 4/4, they've carried the work of a huge number of high grade artists since 2012, and the trend continues with their second Collective Continents VA release. Opening things up, Mark Hand unfurls more of his exquisite, Rhodes-licked vibes, while Platform 001 offers up a more subliminal, stripped and bumping groove. G-Prod takes things into the distance with the pad-soaked dreamstate of 'Horizon', and Leo Gunn digs into something dusty and lounge-geared with the outstanding warm-up cut 'Aheeoo'.

Review: New from Sound Signature is "I Only Have Eyes For You", from the multi talented percussionist Jerrald James (aka Jerry The Cat). Jerry aptly demonstrates his own production prowess in covering the Flamingos' "I only Have Eyes For You". He smartly chose Genevieve Marantette to provide vocals on this piece, and she gives her best recorded performance to date.

Review: The vital Conform Re-Touched Series hist volume number four with another no frills collection of five fierce techno cuts. Up first is long time Berlin mainstay and Rekids boss Radio Slave who does what he does best - heavy, dark, rolling techno that is stripped back but hugely effective. Fellow UK techno luminary Mark Broom then brings the heaviness he is so well known and respected for on a cantering remix that is brilliantly upbeat. Honey Dijon's offering is a naming, paranoid version with synth loops that melt your brain and Adriana Lopez closes out with similarly high pressure techno that doesn't come up for air.

Review: Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard created a landmark of ambient music when they released 76:14 back in the 90s. Their Global Communication project was never just about ambient though, and it also coursed through deep house and more besides. In the spirit of progress, Middleton has returned to thinking about the project from a contemporary perspective, stepping forth as GCOM with the epic scope of E2 XO. From stirring orchestral suites to high octane DSP, it's an expansive listening experience that shows Middleton pushing himself into new terrain in the studio. Whether you tie it back to the prior material or not, it's a towering piece of work from an elder statesman of UK electronica.

Review: Riding high on the buzz he has generated in the last twelve months, Max Graef delivers this album to Tartelet as a man very much in demand. His style, fuelled on the foundations of sampling funk and soul to a brilliantly modern end, has more space to breathe on this LP, but still the fundamentals remain. "Itzehoe" struts on a lazy jazzed-out sizzle of drums and beautiful Rhodes notes while "Tamboule Fudgefunk" punches its way through woozy synth work and a righteous beat and "Drums Of Death" struts on a perfect disco groove replete with live instrumentation, but there's a wealth of other tempos and styles all shot through with the homespun jazz charm that Graef has made his own of late.