DJs: Most Charted - Deep House - Most Charted July 2012

Review: After stellar contributions to the series from Bakey USTL and Vakula, Unthank swings back into action with a release from a producer much closer to their Edinburgh home, Lord Of The Isles. This Scottish producer has already graced some fine imprints such as Tusk Wax, Ene and American Standard with his music, while perhaps reserving the best so far to the excellent Hot Blobs EP released on his own Little Strong label. His contribution to the still fledgling Unthank canon improves on that release however, arriving in typically attractive cover art and described as "a journey of whiskey, analogue electronics, Scottish landscapes, nostalgia and underground parties". Musically the five tracks peak and dip between the differing emotions inherent in house music and sound as good as anything Firecracker have released to date.

Review: Mahogani regular Andres comes correct once again with the debut drop on his new label La Vida, with three tracks that flow with that inimitable Motor City soul. Much like previous Andres output, the triplet on New For U draw obvious lines of influence from Dilla and Dixon Jnr, though it's all sprinkled with Dez's own unique touch and style, be it the infectious snap of percussion or deft and subtle implementation of samples. The title track is a gloriously ripe combination of both those elements as thick drums intertwine with the sumptuous waves of strings and warm chiming chords, everything worked into a rhythmic template that weaves with intoxicating energy. "Drama Around The Corner" makes for one of Andres' trademark neck snapping beatdown moments and the level of percussive detail that's apparent when you concentrate is stunning and is the charming almost brief interlude to the B Side magic. Commencing with a short, looped up jazzual intro, "Jazz Dance" swiftly settles into a stripped down procession of bumping drums, low reaching double bass and swift keys - all of which are intermittently complemented by some expertly looped vocal samples. Occupying most of the B Side, it feels like the track could reach into infinity without losing any charm. Rightly the 12" of the year for us and many others.

Review: Motor-City legend Norm Talley has had one hell of a comeback since his hiatus at the end of the 90s. Since 2009, he's reignited his peerless talent behind the production desk and London-based Landed Records have come through with what is probably his biggest EP yet. "Ion" kicks things off with style and panache, merging beautiful chords together with Talley's inimitable percussion style - dicing hi-hats all round! The title track, "Travlin" is a sublime jazzed-out piece for the small hours whilst "Analog Dreams" is just pure hardware delight - those gritty drums delivering some serious action alongside the meandering pads and subdued vocals. Get to know!

Review: A lesson in simple mathematics: Alden Tyrell + Mike Dunn x Clone Jack For Dazed = you need to check this! Tyrell has been busy of late remastering the back catalogue of Drexciya for Clone, yet still finds time to come up with the excellent "Touch The Sky" for the Rotterdam empire's crucial sub label. Little more than the distinctive tones of Dunn freestyling over a f******* huge acid riff and thumping kicks, the track's simplistic composition is outweighed heavily by just how devastatingly effective it is. 4Lux boss Gerd steps out of his Geeeman costume for a remix that evens out the kinks of the original while Tyrell and Clone boss Serge go in the opposite direction on the International House mix which lays down some classic piano lines where the acid was and severely fucks with the vocal programme. Such a good record.

Review: One of the most glaring misconceptions regarding I:Cube's excellent fifth album M:Megamix was its format of swiftly veering through the 26 tracks was allowing Nicolas Chaix to lazily avoid the task of actually producing full tracks. This is clearly not the case, with Chaix and Versatile choosing to release extended DJ friendly versions of the album tracks over a series of EPs, with with "YOUROCK", "Popular Electronics" and "In Alpha" featuring on this latest edition. The three tracks are a nice primer of the smorgasbord of sounds to expect on the album for those yet to indulge, with the bleep infused techy chug of "YOUROCK" complemented by the EBM thump of "Popular Electronics" and the new romantic disco glisten of "In Alpha."

Review: Malcolm Moore's Altered Moods imprint comes through with the self styled "deep as fuq" Love's All Right EP featuring contributions from Dubbyman, Amir Alexander and Mr Done! The well respected Dubbyman marks his debut production on Altered Moods with the sublime "Love's All Right"- a track naturally brimming with his signature jazzy touches and lolloping beat down groove. It's complemented by an altogether housier remix from Above Smoke who does a superb job in cloaking elements of Dubbyman's original production in a hazy sheen deep beneath an infinitely rise rasp of a groove. Turn over and Mr Done! (aka Mr Moore) gently rolls out a melange of widescreen chords and shimmering pads over the ever rippling rhythmic snap of drums that drives "Diamond" forward, whilst Amir Alexander wins the prize for the most apt title on "Woozy!" a tightly wound driving house track whose undulating textures will cause travel sickness for years to come.

Review: It was certainly a big year for DJ Steaw, having released on Traxx Underground and Local Talk amongst others but "Rhubarbe" was probably his most infectious collection of house tunes. "Holing On" is one of those classic beat tracks that just takes you on a journey, with those bumping kick drums accompanied by the seductive female vocals and its smooth, Chicago-filtered bass lines. "Got To Be" is similarly addictive, bringing you Steaw's crunchy percussion and dreamy synths but "Dirty Karma" was our favourite here at Juno HQ - that muffled bass drum scorching its way through lo-fi melodies and chopped vocals is just too awesome.