DJS: MOST CHARTED - DEEP HOUSE - MOST CHARTED IN JULY 2014

Review: The world of underground dance music may seem to be fracturing into ever-smaller subdivisions, but it's fair to say that no matter what your disposition is, the arrival of a new record from Sam 'Floating Points' Shepherd is generally something to be celebrated by all, especially given his last release was the single-sided Wires record last year. Naturally arriving via his own Eglo Records, the two track King Bromeliad is vintage Floating Points and offers two distinct sides to the Sam Shepard production palette. The title track commences with what could feasibly be a field recording of people gathered outside Plastic People before a rousing rhythm of jazz infused house comes bumping in and has you hooked for the next eight minutes. It's more than matched by the epic "Montparnasse" which exudes a more electronic approach over 11 heavenly minutes. Yes Sam!

Review: Genius Of Time and Running Back seems like such a perfect fit you wonder why the Swedish duo haven't graced Gerd Janson's label before now. It might be because Alexander Berg and Nils Krough aren't exactly the most prolific of duos when it comes to original material with only three EPs to their name since they inaugurated the Aniara project in such sublime fashion back in 2010. Fans of Genius of Time and John Talabot's DJ Kicks mix have added reason to engage in some vociferous rejoicing as the former's sublime offbeat number "Juno Jam" contribution to the latter release is centre stage on this 12". In addition to the A Side bliss of that Berg and Krough slip in two more percussive numbers on the flip which Running Back quite rightly point out would make "Joe Claussell proud".

Review: Theo Parrish lays down a marker for a long overdue fifth album, apparently due out later this year, with the sublime Footwork 12". Named in reference to the dance as opposed to the breakneck offshoot of Ghetto House, "Footwork" is a sublime slab of Theo with many of his trademark production touches. Think lightly brushed percussion, meandering bassline that juts out with an odd funk, and subtle yet sumptuous musical touches, all topped off by a gruff "let me see your footwork baby" croon. Those Theo fans out there that like the man to get a bit rugged will be all over "Tympanic Warfare" too, where off the grid polyrhythms cannon around the channels, augmented by an ugly bassline and dexterous keys.

Review: Originally debuting on Well Rounded Records' Housing Project sub-label in 2012, Leon Vynehall has since become one of the UK's most in-demand of the new wave of young house producers. He's released subsequent records for George Fitzgerald's ManMakeMusic and Will Saul's Aus, and most recently an album on Martyn's 3024. Vynehall is now in cruise control and he lays back on Clone's Royal Oak with what will prove to be a favourite with DJs this summer. "Butterflies" is this record's piano-driven house jam, but really it's all about "This Is The Place", a loved up peach of a production with the strength to appease the underground and crossover into the mainstream.

Review: Given the effortless swing and low-end bump of his productions, it's little surprise to find Seven Davis Jr popping up on the reborn Classic label, now part of the sprawling Defected family. Certainly, there's a brilliant eccentricity about the sparse, bumpin' rhythms (created, in part, by the L.A producer beatboxing along with the groove) and quietly soulful vocals that mark out lead cut "Friends"; it's the kind of thing that you'd once have expected from Classic stalwarts Iz & Diz. "Beautiful" is built around more straightforward Chicago house beats, but is still blessed with the distinctive late night shuffle and baked soulfulness with which Davis has become known.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Finale Sessions presents a new series of releases from the vault on 10" format. This first release pairs two bonafide legends in the shape of Fred P and Kai Alce, both known for their incredibly accomplished takes on house. Fred P's "Ram" is a deep excursion into pulsing chords and delicate atmosphere, while Kai Alce's "Scene 1" is a raw, acidic affair for peak time sets - both are essential cuts.

Review: This special one off collaboration sees young gun native Berliner prodigy Max Graef, coupled with globe trotter Fantastic Man aka Mic Newman. With Mic living in Max's broom cupboard for a few vodka soaked weeks in Berlin this autumn, there was a beautiful inevitability that some music would outcome. The lead track "Soothe Me" is no noodly shrinking violet, but a grade 10-cross-genre-dance-floor-destroyer which Andy snapped up for label on first listen. Clearly taking it's inspiration from the Rhodes and sample drenched Sound Signature Detroit label and adding in live instrumentation, tape effects, for a track rich in Steely Dan sensibility, coupled with a sub bass and twisted lead line dragging us into a new year. The B-Side Relaxin' At The Flip is a raw slab of analogue goodness, flying 606 high hats, a tough kick drum and simple elements driving the track forwards, best heard 8am in a dark corner of a club.

Review: This fourth release from Pressed For Time is the label's second various artist EP featuring three known names and one new. The newcomer is Ben 'Boe Recordings' Boe under his Maad Maxx Traxxe alias. He provides "Lakeshore Rollin", a linear, dub-tinged slice of thwacking deep house. YSE top and tails this 12" with a chiming, rhode-cruising "Tomorrows Yesterday", while his B2 is slower and woozy with a killer smacking hit on the offbeat. Label regular Rhythm Plate also features with the vocal lead "I, The Music".

Review: Ten years of Deep Explorer... The celebration started with "The Capsule remixes 10" that was released 2 months ago, now is closed with this "Far & Beyond", a double pack vinyl where the brothers and heads of the label (Dubbyman & Above Smoke) make their own selection of exclusive material into groove and dark deepest house tunes from artists worldwide.

Review: One of the many highlights of Versatile's output last year was Concrete Guajiro, a 12" hookup between label boss Gilb'R and his Sex Tags counterpart DJ Sotofett that was the end result of some extended time together in the former's Paris studio. It's great to see the pair collaborating again on another record for Versatile and the results sound just as impressive! The pair once again took an impromptu approach to both "Cobra" and "Plantehaelvete" with one recording the track, and the other arranging on the fly. The end product is a perfect match of Versatile's finely cultured flair and Sex Tags unpredictable energy.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Back in the day, there was one artist that stood out in the underground, this person was admired and respected worldwide, his cuts we're played from Paris, London, NYC to Chicago & back again, he was - Olivier Portal AKA Playin'4 The City. This year, 2014 - Playin 4 The City is back, 3 brand new tracks released on the deeply respected US label - Plastik People. Side A delivers two soulful edged tracks with a reprise at the start of A1 which keeps the roots of P4TC from back in the day - both tracks include live bass by Slikk Tim. Side B "Good Groove" is a black & white track, It has the feel of the early Bouge & Shuffle track that came out on Olivier's Straight Up label, deep & groovy elements, 16 bit samples & keeping it four to the floor. Good Groove is sure to be a classic, one for the true heads & the P4TC collective.

Review: Given that his finest releases have all offered an authentic but pleasingly off-kilter take on '80s boogie and raw synth-soul, it's something of a surprise to see Australian producer Inkswel popping up on Wolf Music, a label that has - for the past couple of years at least - been firmly focused on capturing the house zeitgeist. The fact that it's a departure for both parties seems to have got the best out of Inkswel, who delivers another inspired - and varied - set of tracks. Highlights include the fuzzy, soul-flecked slo-mo house of "Get High", the deliciously saucer-eyed Balearic boogie of "Love Beat" (written with Dutch producer Tom Trago), and a thrillingly low-slung chunk of off-kilter boogie (the rubbery bass, woozy synths and MPC beats of Freekwency collaboration "Datsun Drive").

Review: Laurent Garnier turned many-an unsuspecting head by appearing on 50 Weapons earlier this year, and before they've had a chance to look back in the other direction the infamous and much-loved Frenchman turns up on MCDE. It swiftly follows a hailed back-to-back DJ set he and MCDE boss Danilo Plessow played at Lyon's Nuits Sonores festival this year, and like Garnier did for 50 Weapons, he's attuned his sound to fit the label. Across both "Psyche-Delia" and "Whistle For Frankie", Garnier's seemingly taken the elements he loved most from Plessow's Raw Cuts series - warm pads, loose drums, bangin' percussion - and given them the full buffered Garnier treatment. If you love Garnier you'll obviously love this, but even more so for listeners not so inclined to the sounds of the big room French legend, this may well change your mind.

Review: Ornate resurface with their first release of 2014 and usher in a label debut for Rai Scott, the Edinburgh-based producer who has been making a name for herself as part of the 2DeepSoul project with Brad Peterson and the Inner Shift Music label they both run. This standalone appearance on Ornate Music provides the opportunity for Rai to explore the deepest facets of her sound. Machine soul runs throughout the three original tracks on this EP, marrying the warmth and punch of classic techno instrumentation with compositional skills and a sharp ear for production. Reaching out to Dubbyman for a remix, the Deep Explorer boss uses a crisp broken beat structure to inject a wholly different kind of energy into "Do We Really Know".

Review: Given the "contemporary classic" status of Danilo Plessow's Raw Cuts series - arguably a string of 12" singles that helped redefine deep house for a new generation - the announcement of a surprise remix 12" is enough to make even the most level-headed DJs go weak at the knees. Pleasingly, said remixers more than live up to the hype. Marcellus Pittman's version - smooth and deep, but with enough raw disco cut-ups and wonky Detroit swing to impress those who like it raw - is particularly good, though Mike Huckaby's locked-in deep house groover is not far behind. There's also a superb version from Recloose, whose crackly, shuffling beats, sweeping pads and soulful vocal samples recall his earliest productions for Planet E.

Review: Several years in the making Mike Grant finally completes the second Cool Peepl project. Originally assembled in 2002 for the Puzzlebox Sharevari remixes, Cool Peepl is a collection of Detroit artists coming together for a session. Focusing less on machine based tracks, the group focuses onorganic productions. Free features former Members of the House vocalist Bill Beaver, longtime percussionist Sundiata O.M. and the multi-talented heavyweight Amp Fiddler.

Review: Keeping the pace up with his many aliases, the man also known as Felix Lenferink steps up to the eminently groovesome Heist imprint with four slices of choppy house music for those who like soul as much as brain-bugging production skills. "Schrewd" matches friendly vocal slices and fluttering keys with cheeky bass grind and a healthy swing, while "Ligament" works some serious dubby tones into a steadily soaring jam. "Sauce" gets more delirious in its manipulation of jazz and soul samples around a detailed, clattering beat, and then "If I Was Gravy To You" takes things into a steamy headspace full of piston-pumping drums and sensual vocal snippets.

Review: New York's venerable Mister Saturday Night imprint - an offshoot of Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin's party series of the same name - has spent the last couple of years building a reputation as a go-to label for those who like their house and techno eccentric and left-of-centre. Here, they present a showcase of their output to date that mixes previously vinyl-only singles - see Lumigraph's "Yacht Cruiser", the murky jazz-house flex of Archie Pelago's "Brown Oxford" and General Ludd's sweaty "Woo-Ha" - with a swathe of previously unreleased cuts. These are uniformly excellent, with the murky future voodoo of General Ludd's "C" and Archie Pelago's jazz-funk jam "Cinema Club" standing out.

Review: Amsterdam-based graphic designer turned producer Young Marco has previously shown hints of greatness, most notably with a pair of superb 12" singles on ESP Institute that layered picturesque melodies atop huggable analogue grooves. Here, he delivers his debut album, Biology, and it's every bit as warm, imaginative and luscious as his previous work. Each of the album's seven tracks is something of a gem, from the crystalline, new age house of "Sea World" and Vangelis Katsoulis-inspired ambience of "Out of Wind", to the Italo-influenced dancefloor pulse of "Suzaku" and rush-inducing, synth-heavy brightness of "Can You Really Feel It". It's one of those albums that will brighten up even the dreariest of days, and those sets are arguably few and far between.

Review: Gene Hunt is a prolific producer with an un-mistakable sound of his own. And although an originator of the acid house sound from Chicago, he certainly didn't stop there. His music has naturally evolved over the years, often incorporating more mature melody and rhythm structures, but always in time with a proper underground style dance track. These tracks are a perfect fit for the direction and vision of the Inner Shift Music label as well, and for this reason we are pleased to present you with "Planted Seeds" by Gene Hunt.

Review: Secretsundaze fave Youandewan (AKA producer Ewan Smith) forged his reputation by delivering house and techno cuts that defied easy categorization. Over the years, he's variously released robust analogue jams, woozy deep house and wonky late night tech-house. There's plenty of that variety on this first EP for Will Saul's Aus imprint. The four tracks variously touch on sparse, soul-flecked deepness ("FM Jam", which is also impressively remixed by the ever reliable Andres), spaced-out acid (the relentless 303s and late night textures of "Tino"), and Mr Fingers-influenced analogue deep house (the excellent "Alright Son").

Review: After dropping the hammer with Blunt Instruments killer Hold Back EP, Dungeon Meat are back again debuting on their own label with the brain mincing Lose Your Mind EP. Both sides deliver big swings of their mighty axe and hit hard with their signature sound of meaty beats & beefy basslines. Aimed straight at the dance floor, it's obvious both the tracks have the intention to crack some skulls and spill some brains. Already road tested individually by Tristan da Cunha and Brawther at their D.J gigs & their Dungeon Meat live show, the reactions have shown that both of these tracks hit the chest and do the damage. Also included are two "tools" so the creative DJ's out there can get busy in the mix and give their sets a little meat injection. Pressed on 180g vinyl with embossed company sleeve dressed to impress with the trademark Dungeon Meat artwork.

Review: Adesse Versions' second release combines a touch of Baile Funk with some classic Balearic samples, a touch of Dance Mania and deep, liquid house pads from the heart of Detroit. This can mostly be said for the A-side's "Color Talkin", while there's a stripped back alternative in "Drums Talkin". Not content with the one alternative there's a drum machine heavy rework of both tunes in "Leaving The '90s" while there's argument to be had that "Dread At The Controls" is a Jamaican riddim version made for a hot summer's dancefloor.

Review: There's an embarrassment of contemporary house riches to be enjoyed on the second edition of Music Is Love's Lovebox series, with a sizable contingency from the UK stable of deep house troopers. There's soothing funky tones from Mr KS, nifty broken beat delights from Cassio Kohl and Tuccillo, and rough-shod party-starters from U Know The Drill and Jackson Ryland. The diversity across the four sides is pleasing to see, and there's no shortage of fresh ideas from the likes of Liam Geddes with his distinct shuffle on "Untitled" to Oli Furness' off-centre approach to rave tropes in house music.