Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Giuseppe Scarano's musical journey began at a young age, DJing in some of Puglia's best clubs like Clorophilla, Guendalina, Discorama and Heartz Festival supporting top tier DJs before launching NICEPEOPLE in 2018. His latest is on Constant Sound sublabel Cardiology and features four deep and dusty cuts. From the low slung disco loops of 'In Your Own' and the particuarly thumpin' Same For You' on the A side. Over on the flip, there's the swing fuelled deep house of 'Freaky' and some late '90s filtered house in the form of 'Best Places', cleverly sampling a pop classic from the same period.

Review: This marks a first 7" from bassist and composer Shay Hazan playing alongside his quintet in their native Tel Aviv, Israel. The a-side is a dedication to a giant of the Israeli jazz scene and a sometime mentor of Hazan, saxophonist Albert Beger, with uptempo chord work and swirling drums that make you want to spin around like you just don't care. After that bit of joyous but sophisticated jazz comes 'Old Tart', a more slow burning tune that builds through big horns, spare but dramatic chords and tumbling percussion until you are in raptures. This is likely the start of big things for this crew.

Review: The man with the Masterplan returns to Daptone after last year's "Casual Encounter". Once again it's a two-sides-two-vibes situation as the 30-year-standing funk veteran flexes his strengths. "Get With The Program" lives up to its name with total boogie badness, falsetto fire and a bassline so juicy Dapton's vaults have been flooded. "Heads Or Tails" flips to reveal Shorts' smoochier palette. Rich, honeyed vocals and a steamy message: everyone's a winner.

Review: Spring has sprung and Statues bring some positive vibrations to IIB. Clear skies is a shimmering Alan Parsonsesque cosmic groove beaming out into the atmosphere Coyote soften the OG into a fading twilight reflection. The Vendetta suite create a mesmeric ambient gem The Creek continues the kaleidoscopic feel with a soothing dreamlike trip towards a lovely vocal finish. Nothing but clear skies all round.

Review: Over the course of 2012, LA based producer Gabriel Reyes-Whittaker aka Gifted & Blessed aka GB has been stealthily responsible for some of our favourite releases at Juno, be it the self released and brilliantly presented EP The Provider or his return to All City with the vintage Detroit electro flex of Seven In Twenty Four or the all too on point Eglo emission The Abstract Eye. The Steoples project done in collaboration with fellow West Coast musician A Race Of Angels surfaced earlier this year and glowered with the kind of resonating warmth you would expect when Reyes-Whittaker's music is complemented by the angelic yet fragile vocal refrain of his studio partner. Despite originally being restricted to the digital domain, tracks such as "Nature Of The Soul" seem tailor-made for sliding across a slab of wax so it's great to see The Steoples EP finally get a 12" release. Such delays haven't dampened the impact either, which is a clear sign of timeless music. Along with the aforementioned "Nature Of The Soul" - a scratchy concoction of house-not house rhythms, sweet keys and swirling basslines tailor made for the vocal - the duo preside over plump and wonderfully melodic analogue beatdown excursions which bode well for future material The Steoples are apparently working on.

Review: 
For their second installment, the Chateau Chepere crew brings on board legendary producer Stephan Laubner under his STL moniker, with four time warping pieces of music. With his distinctive and intricate sonic palette, Laubner extracts from his hardware different musical colors and shapes to produce singular atmospheres. Opening up the EP is Fly Fly, an epic 11 min minimal house trip full of tension and excitement, followed by Eargrind, an eerie, laid back Detroit leaning ballad. On the flip is Light Up, a spaced out, playful and bittersweet number that will revitalize any hazy after-hours dancefloor. Closing up the EP is Unlike Dislike, a quirky, jacking and mischievous techno workout for the packed club. This diverse ep will pull the listeners and dancers into Laubner's multifaceted, low key but captivating universe.

Review: Christopher Sprains and The Strange Band recorded a whole heap of material in a hazy, drug-fuelled 19178, but their - surprisingly - never gained enough traction with the NYC disco crowd. Perhaps this work was too ahead of its time and, while it does share some qualities with the music of Rick James, it contains something dark, sexy, a little bit twisted and, of course, strange. The lead track "You" is a synth-heavy, electrifying boogie cut with a rugged percussion swing and an air of post-punk to its mix down, not to mention those utterly freaky vocals; our favourite, though, is actually "Space V", an insanely nutty electro cut that would have undoubtedly been on The Electrifying Mojo's playlist should it have landed on his lap. Totally recommended...

Review: Don't be fooled by the volume of soul and funk reissues we have in stock. This limited clear 7" single is a completely new and original track, courtesy of The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, who blend raunchy horn honks and boxy percs to ultimately concoct a geniusly blaxploitation-inspired, modern funk classic. The San Diego band have secured a big ole' ensemble - fuzz guitar, harpsichord and flute included - to pull of this swinging sonic scene. Watch out for the woozily high B-side 'La Fachada' too.