Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Athens Of The North can usually be found honing their expert craft of unearthing nigh impossible to find disco, and reissuing it in the utmost quality. However, the work of East Coast Love Affair (Euan Fryer and Nick Moore) is deceiving, as it adopts the image of one of said reissues while actually being fully contemporary music. 'Get Down' tops up a slew of master-quality releases for the label, expropriating a vocal line from obscure Minneapolis 'lo-fi' band Quiet Storm and putting it back into an entirely new, drunk-and-high instrumental context (think lasers, whistles, funk basses, an overall hazy sound). 'Can You Deal', on the flip, lends Quiet Storm a similar treatment, albeit for a cleverly hi-lo-fi disco house treatment.

Review: Toolroom Records are partly responsible for the recent upsurge in jackin' deep house in the early 2020's; this sampler record, the second in their compilations EP series, serves as yet another tour of their grand new deep house estate. Delusions of grandeur are expressed on 'You Are A God' - which, for a track so deitylike, measures itself with rather a lot of restraint - while 'Talking To Myself' contains a vocal sample that is so mouthy and infectious that we really are beginning to believe ourselves to have been possessed by Metatron. 'Mallet' swerves into tribal territory, while ESSEL's 'Try' could be a contender for dance-chart-topper, assuming its piano weaponry is effective enough at swaying the radio pluggers. Joyous stuff.

Review: Now busy running a popular studio in Brooklyn, Will Holland has less time to devote to his popular Quantic project. While that is very much our loss, he does at least reappear occasionally to remind us of his talents. 'Tropics', his first release for well over a year, is therefore a rare treat - with the emphasis on treat. The A-side title track does a good job in combining his often-explored Cuban and South American musical influences with the bass-heavy shuffle of Prins Thomas style dub disco. Over on side B, 'Born Again', featuring Laura Roy on vocals, doffs a cap to his formative releases of the 2000s on Tru Thoughts, while 'Japanese Knives' is a chunky, string-laden workout reminiscent of some of the Quantic Soul Orchestra's most picturesque instrumentals.

Review: Fad-free French house label Skylax has always done its own thing, and always to a great reception amongst serious heads. This new one from Quasar is an impossibly perfect mix of physical drums and heart-aching vocal hooks. The pitched up female vocal conveys such bittersweet pain it doesn't matter the words she sings as you're immediately drawn in for the ride. 'For Your Love' is another hugely emotional cut with floating breakbeats and nagging vocals that really get you where it hurts. 'Morning Bells' is a deep house cut with a spritely groove and blissed out vocal, and 'Inside My Love' closes with more heavy analogue drums but no less of a heartfelt sound thanks to the melancholic pads.

Review: Let There Be House welcome Queen B and Lee Wilson for a big and soulful new single here that spans all eras of house music. The six-minute 'Nobody Else,' is built on a knotted bassline that never lets up. The silky drums call to mind Kings of Tomorrow and the timeless diva vocal up top is never going to age. It's a feel-good tune with plenty of colourful xylophone melodies. On the reverse is a Glen Horsborough remix that lays down big piano energy that is sure to make for plenty of unforgettable and floor-filling end of night moments.

Review: More house heat here directly from the home of the genre, namely the Windy City, courtesy of Chicago Vinyl. As soon as the first bar unfolds it oozes Mid-West house charm - the warm, soft-edged chords over the deep but driving beats complete with a nice light percussive sprinkle. 'I Need To Feel It' has a more laidback and soulful vibe with funky bass riffs and swirling pads. 'Let Em Blow' then rides on more elastic basslines that plunge down low and has colourful synth up top. 'The Weight Of Dependance' has a chunky feel with bold bass notes taking centre stage next to rising chord work and organic hits.

Review: PIV Limited is one of those white-hot labels that has its own universe of artists, dedicated fans, and even parties soul in places like Ibiza. The vibes are rooted in house with a slick future feel. Dennis Quinn is behind this new one which has a serious nod to the deep house don Kerri Chandler on opener 'Treat You Right (feat Cheshy)' with its bulky kicks, chord vamps and diva vocal. 'Impressions' has a more heady and blissed out feel with sunny chords and Roy Ayers style vibes. 'Touched' brings some raw, heavy house sounds for the warehouse and a Classy dub mix of the opera brings things to a sweaty close.

Review: Beeyou Records proudly presents False Promises, a captivating EP from Dennis Quin, a renowned artist known for his timeless, soul-moving house music. The A-side kicks off with 'Reactivate,' a high-energy garage track that immediately captures the listener's attention with its punchy basslines and crisp percussion. Following closely is 'Diamond Hunting,' a bumpy 4x4 track that is guaranteed to get any dancefloor moving. On the B-side, Quin offers a more introspective sound with 'Accidentally,' a track that blends classic house grooves with playful modern production. The EP's title track, 'False Promises (Original Mix),' is a standout, featuring a lovely vocal and vibrant house energy. Finally, 'Well Conducted' showcases Quin's versatility with its downtempo, chilled vibe. False Promises is a must-listen for fans of house music. Quin's talent for creating timeless tracks is evident on every track on this EP.

Review: Last year, Quiroga (real name Walter Del Vecchio) returned to Hell Yeah! Recordings with an impressive dose of TB-303-laden dancefloor psychedelia, the superb 'Acid Dropout EP'. 'French Kiss', the title track from his latest EP for the popular Italian imprint, is a more immersive, warm and hazy affair, where sweet female vocal snippets, warming Rhodes riffs and dreamy electronics rise above a shuffling, mid-temp deep house beat and organic-sounding bassline. His trademark acid lines naturally feature on the accompanying 'Baia Club Ambient Version', a shuffling breakbeat affair that takes cues from Italian 'ambient house' (IE dream house) rather than beat-free soundscapes. It is, though, genuinely superb. Turn to the flip for two bonus cuts: the vintage Jazzanova-esque broken house brilliance of 'Ask Coppede' and the deep, Balearic-fired electro shuffle of 'Cala Ventosa'.

Review: The new album by Quantic - aka. multi instrumentalist, DJ, composer and producer Will Holland - is in many ways an evolution. Now twenty years into his career, Dancing While Falling is the British-born, New York-based artist's most live sounding, euphoric and, in his own words, grown-up release to date. Capturing the beginnings of every good person's revelatory movement from an individual to a collective spirit, Holland originally began the album in his Brooklyn studio, before realising that he didn't just want to make a record that reflected his 'singular pandemic wormhole', but rather one that tapped into the essential togetherness of the human condition. So too does this record explore themes of connection felt through, and made more intense by, the antagonistic bouts of loneliness that characterised COVID-19. Influenced by legendary artists in the scene like Bohannon and Larry Levan, Quantic wanted to make a disco -eaning album at first; "I'm really interested in Latin music and Afro Caribbean rhythms and I think there's a really amazing point in history where the emergence of those rhythms and its combination with American soul sparked what we now know as disco," he says. This PIAS extended edition comes one year on from its initial 2023 release, Quantic here expands on his work by adding a ream of extended versions.

Review: Quiet Dawn's latest offering, Celebrate, is an 11-track testament to the eclectic talent that has made him a cornerstone of the First Word family for a decade. Following in the footsteps of his previous ventures, particularly the Movements EP, this album seamlessly blends broken beat flavors with a diverse range of influences. Featuring luminaries like Bembe Segue, LyricL, and Oliver Night, Celebrate is a terrific drift through soulful grooves, lively bars and infectious rhythms. From uplifting jazz samba vibes to downtempo boom bap, Quiet Dawn effortlessly melds organic and electronic elements, creating a good dose of positivity and good vibes. Tracks like 'Celebrate,' composed with his son on his lap, and collaborations with talents like Bembe Segue and Oliver Night, highlight Quiet Dawn's ability to translate personal moments into universal celebrations of life, love and cultural diversity. With infectious energy and a message of turning negativity into positivity, Celebrate invites listeners to dance, reflect and embrace the richness of our individual journeys.