Back catalogue: All genres

Review: RQZ invites us on a sonic adventure with this diverse and captivating EP. 'Sunset Strip' sets the scene with its hypnotic groove, a pulsating rhythm section interwoven with atmospheric textures and subtle melodies. The track gradually unfolds, revealing new layers of sound and taking the listener on a mesmerizing journey through the depths of RQZ's sonic imagination. 'MK Ultra' delves into darker, more experimental territory, its ominous soundscapes and distorted rhythms creating a sense of unease and intrigue. The track's title hints at its mind-bending nature, as RQZ expertly manipulates sounds and textures to create a truly unsettling yet captivating sonic experience. On the flipside, 'The Rhythm' provides a stark contrast, its driving percussive groove and infectious energy demanding movement and commanding attention. This track is a testament to RQZ's ability to craft dancefloor-focused cuts that are both hypnotic and exhilarating, showcasing a different facet of his production prowess. With its diverse sounds and moods, this EP is a testament to RQZ's versatility as a producer and his ability to craft captivating electronic music that pushes boundaries and defies expectations.

Review: Ruby Rushton's latest offering presents a vibrant exploration of rhythm and texture, breathing new life into contemporary jazz fusion. On the title track, 'Stapodia,' an infectious groove shifts effortlessly between time signatures, creating a dynamic backdrop for striking solos on saxophone and trumpet. 'Kalo Livadi' bursts forth with a whirlwind of flute, trumpet, and synth bass, only to wind down into a hypnotic hip-hop groove, its keys solo lingering like an unexpected afterthought. The interplay of improvisation and structure feels both daring and deliberate, capturing the energy of a band constantly in conversation with itself.

Review: Four new motoric Hardgrooves from the eponymous label, riffing off the back of a mountain of DJ support in recent months to bring three of the best formerly digital-only tracks to grace the label's catalogue, plus a brand new, previously unreleased cut from Ben Sims and Mark Broom under their infamous Roku guise. Sims and Broom whack up the velocity thruster to eleven on the As 1 and 2 respectively, with 'Snapshot '99' and 'WWWWWWWWork' providing little opportunity for exhalation or ease. The odometer hand is well and truly straining, nigh broken by the time we reach Mark Williams' 'Next 21s', with its hypey falsetto rave shouts, while the diminutive duo Roku round things off on a salacious acid smoke bomb, 'Acid Amnesia'.

Review: Since its inception in 2023, Soul Quest Records has released some superbly deep and soulful records. To prove the point, the Hackney-based label has decided to serve up a compilation style EP featuring fresh cuts from current artists and new signings. Max Sinal joins forces with King Crowney and vocalist Liv East on the ultra-deep, super soulful warm-up sounds of 'Intentions', before Slxm Sol cannily combines loose-limbed drums, warming bass, sensitive chords, tactile Rhodes keys and soulful vocal snippets on 'NYBB'. Hitch 93 doffs a cap to Chez Damier on the excellent 'Uno Dos Tres Four', Rob Reckford delivers some bright MPC-house action ('Garden Party'), and Soul Grooves goes deep, gently dubby and spacey ('Blues Kitchen'). The gentle broken house sunniness of 'Edith' by Flying Moth completes a fine EP.

Review: The popular Tropical Disco Records imprint offers up split EP number 28, a typically action-packed and club ready collection of cuts from experienced heads and newcomers alike. Label regulars Vagabundo Club Social kick things off with 'Zumba X', a lightly 'fixed' and straightened-out slab of low-slung Afro-funk/Afro-boogie excellence with just the right amounts of psychedelic sounds, before Russian producer ScruScru turns a horn-heavy African disco instrumental into a disco-house treat. Turn to the reverse for Da Lucas's chunky disco-house re-wire of Rostario Cristofaro's 'From My Soul' - a heavily orchestrated, Clavinet-sporting treat - and the P-funk-flecked dub disco excellence of Fun Kool's 'Policy Aziendale', featuring Bcleo and Anna Dee Tee - the EP's standout moment.

Review: The effervescent Robert Owens, a man whose vocals have blessed countless killer house records since the second half of the 1980s, remains as committed to his craft as ever - as a slew of recent appearances on excellent new releases proves. Here he's the featured guest on Depth of My Soul founder Nat Wendell's debut release on German imprint Eclipser Chaser. In its' original form, 'Easy' is a deliciously warm, loose and soulful house jam of the kind that the late, great Phil Asher used to serve up under the Restless Soul alias. Naturally, Owens as it his effortlessly slick and soulful best. Wendell offers up an instrumental, before West London stalwart Kaidi Tatham re-frames the track as a shuffling, samba-soaked slab of broken beat/jazz-funk fusion.

Review: Surely even he has lost count of how many tunes he has sung on now, yet still Robert Owens remains the most in-demand vocalist in the game. His smoky tones feature on Nat Wendall's 'Easy' and they come with a brighter tone than usual next to the nice piano chords which are draped over upright beats. As well as an instrumental, Kaidi Tatham remixes with his brilliant broken beat style and sunny synth disposition, and he also adds his own spin to the instrumental. A timeless package.

Review: Bobby Donny's ACE series is mostly a digital-only affair, though periodically the Dutch label will round up choice gems and stick them out on compilation style vinyl EPs. This is the third of those and contains six stellar cuts. There's much to admire, from the infectious, James Brown-sampling deep house bounce of 'Space Animals' by Bob Bonadis and the Kerri Chandler-esque excellence of Nanky Nimbo's 'Peony', to the hip-swinging intergalactic house retro-futurism of 'Nitro Bass' by ZZ Banks and the rolling New York house warmth of 'Clear Sky' by Wim Waldo. The EP also boasts a typically impressive collaboration between Frits Wentink and Malin Genie, the undeniably classy deep house excellence of 'Tongue Kiss'.

Review: Originally released digitally last year, Ben Westbeech's Glitterbox Recordings debut was certainly an ear-catching affair - a sparkling, piano-rich slab of organic soulful house wonder topped off with a sublime lead vocal by unheralded artist RAHH (itself a surprise, given that Westbeech is a brilliant vocalist in his own right). Finally on vinyl, Westbeech's sublime original mix of 'Times Are Changing' comes backed by a trio of reworks, two of which come from Two Soul Fusion - AKA NYC house legends Josh Milan (Blaze) and Louie Vega (Masters at Work). They first deliver a hard, hot-stepping 'Bronx dub' - all bouncy, Afro-house insired beats and squelchy synths' - before slamming down a suitably big, energetic soulful house 'remix'. Westbeach's own tribute to early 90s piano house, the 'Takin' It Back Dub', completes a fine EP.

Review: Finish dub techno powerhouse Joachim Spieth welcomes UK artist Rhubiqs to his well-regarded Affin label for a debut appearance that sinks you into a widescreen world of ambient lushness. His Aegis of Silence album takes cues from divergent sounds like post-rock and soft ambient as well as drone and even modern classical. It's an ever-shifting soundscape with smeared pads and nostalgia dreams, half-remembered thoughts and a sense of mood that ranges from escapist and blissed out to more ominous and paranoid.