DJ OCTOPUS Vinilo y CD

Review: DJ Octopus has been busy in the last few years, appearing often alongside Steve Murphy on labels like Love Notes, Chiwax, Hot Haus and Shall Not Fade. On this new double pack for House Crime he goes it alone, bringing the kind of raw, off-kilter but ultimately fun vibe that the label seems to plump for. "Born In 86" is an absolute head driller of a track, looped up but utterly addictive, while "Diastemia" offers a very different kind of disco-infused groove. This personality split runs throughout, ensuring there's never a dull moment diving into any of these sides of wax. Check "The Toy Is Mine" if you need proof that Octopus knows how to throw it down.

Review: Italian rave monkey DJ Octopus is a prolific sort. This is his third EP for DJ Haus's Hot Haus imprint in less than a year. As you'd expect, it's packed with weighty, dancefloor-friendly concoctions. He begins with the mangled rave vocal stabs, throbbing sub-bass and intense military percussion builds of "Aware Mistake", before calming things down a little via the loopy dub house business of "Fixed Thought". "Day By Day" sounds like an attempt to capture the spirit and unfettered joy of rave-era house - think urgent vocal samples, skittish breakbeats and "Pacific" style chords - while "Hangover" bangs hard thanks to its' heavy bassline, bumpin' beats and R&B vocal samples.

Review: DJ Octopus begins 2015 as he finished 2014, with a typically forthright selection of late night jams that join the dots between vintage deep house, acid, European techno and the analogue style jack tracks of Willie Burns and the L.I.E.S crew. There's a particularly day-glow feel about deep house opener "Untitled", which features looped organ riffs and energy-packed drum machine rhythms. "The Player" switches things up nicely thanks to some brilliant, cut-up slap bass antics, while "Ghost Antics" sounds like the sort of early British acid track that was found lying around on a dusty DAT. Finally, "Purple Pills" invited you to drop illicit refreshments and lose yourself in a brightly coloured fusion of rave chords, bounding beats and clandestine textures.

Review: Self professed "90s MTV addict, vinyl supporter, and Akai lover" Marco Zanin is usually seen alongside Steve Murphy as Die Roh or indeed Steve Murphy & Co. Lately the Italian has been spreading his production tendrils as DJ Octopus with appearances on Chiwax, Muscle Records and Enlightened Wax. The Cycling EP sees Zanin bring his cephalopod house styles to the ever impressive Hot Haus operation overseen by DJ Haus and the four tracks see the Italian combine what people love about the Analogue Cops with bassline house techniques of artists like Huxley, with a dirty Chicago fare thrown in. Four different shades of contemporary house music to make the one killer EP.

Review: Tobias Gullberg's Crime City Disco hasn't been flooding the underground market with music since its first release back in 2011, but the Berliner has always put out quality music; from MRSK to Josef Jaktmark, the diversity of the house and techno has been impressive. This week, however, the label goes all out and introduces a selection of producers who we were really not expecting to land on their catalogue: Brenta's (Northern Italy) techno crew are united onto one slab of wax and all the regulars are here - the Analogue Cops feature under their respective names - Lucretio and Marieu - and they're joined by fellow machine enthusiasts, DJ Octopus, Steve Murphy, and Sagats & Madi Grein. Needless to say, the sounds are rough and grainy, dusty and funked-out. The special treat is Lucretio's "Just A Little Bit", a masterful piece of Chicago-leaning house music that's full of power and charisma. Recommended and tipped!

Review: Italian producers Steve Murphy and DJ Octopus are regular collaborators, and earlier this year released an excellent split EP on Chiwax. Here, they return to the much adored German imprint with a proper collaborative four-tracker. There's much to admire, from the rush-inducing bounce of opener "Track 1" and Mr Lee-ish cheekiness of "Track 2" (check the '89 style riff, snappy drum machine groove and cut-up vocal samples), to the impeccable depth and sun-drenched warmth of the decidedly wide-eyed "Track 3". Arguably best of all, though, is "Track 4", which re-imagines Sir James' 1990 Strictly Rhythm classic "Special" as an immersive Chicago deep house jam.

Review: The second Love Note from Brooklyn is with us and this time it's the all-hardware stylings of DJ Octopus and Steve Murphy of Chiwax fame. All tracks show serious depth, though Untitled 02 is the stand out for its dancibility and force.

Review: Back for one more night with Hardmoon London. Fresh new, gritty, mind-altering tracks by way of Steve Murphy and the eight armed, cephalopod mollusc, DJ Octopus. The Duo are bringing their ecstatic energy for an exciting break in the the label. Definitely count on some serious hardware action to create the finest dance-floor melters. Encapsulating only the cream of the contemporary electronic sounds with the beautiful renditions of classic house just laced with fat sweltering bass and heavily distorted seizure inducing melodies.