Back catalogue: Deep House

Review: Having appeared on Yore in mixed by Patrice Scott and The Memory Foundation format on a rather dashing 7" release earlier this year, label boss Andy Vaz offers up his first original Yore material of the year with the equally well presented Bicycle Love 12". Unique handmade red paint bicycle wheels patterns on the front record sleeve - Each a unique individual piece, sleeve backside handstamped, vinyl comes as transparent light rose transparent coloured vinyl. Music-wise, both the original version of "Bicycle Love" and the two accompanying remixes from Brad P and Damon Lamar slot neatly into the Yore aesthetic - indeed Vaz is on wonderfully sweet and Detroit influenced form here!

Review: Yore label boss Andy Vaz returns with his imprint's 21st release, "Shadow City." This three tracker takes on the deep, soulful music that lies somewhere between house and techno that he and his label have become renowned for.

Yore was set up by Vaz in March 2007. He wanted to focus on the 'days of yore' and re-create the authentic old school sounds of House and Techno. Distancing itself from the trendier, often indistinctive minimal hype, Yore aims to bring back the depth and soul that dance music has been so desperate for. The label places a strong emphasis on material from some of the finest old school producers, such as Todd Sines, Rick Wade, Terrence Dixon and others.

It is with this sentiment then that on "Shadow City" Vaz has dropped three deep, percussive and hypnotic house tracks with strong influences from the Motor City. "The "Y" Theme" opens the release with a deep, funky and percussive number. The track pulsates and grows, edging ever nearing to its acid finale. A trippy vocal ignites the track, adding intensity which only builds and escalates as Vaz begins to plunge even deeper. Deep inside the hypnotic groove we then come face to face with the aforementioned old school finale.

On the flip "Shadow City" begins in much deeper territory but again ascends into a dizzying and furocious house attack. Its progressive vibe would make it a useful weapon for dancefloors the world over. "Mumbai Dweller" takes things even deeper. All about the low end, a throbbing bassline lies beneath an almost tribal-like house groove. Some dark chords intensify the atmosphere, finishing the package on a darker tone.

Put simply, this is exactly the sort of raw house music from the days of yore, brought to today's dancefloors by Andy Vaz and his team at Yore.

Review: Berlin's Yore Records lovingly reissue Andy Vaz's 2012 release 'Imaginary Beings', originally out on Chiwax. Elevated to the status of "the best authentic Chicago acid house (EP) heard in a very long time" by at least one sovereign tastemaker, we can attest to this assessment. At first, A-sider 'Minimal Acid' only barely teases its charm - its "Chi-style" snap-beats and naked acid line signaling only a minimal investment in the dance - but not long before a momentous vocal line broadens the mix's aural consciousness to shockingly simple but movingly efficacious effect. Then there's the mathematic movements of 'He Used To Be An Asian' and the shamelessly mindful mistral of 'Imaginary Beings', which sound like two sides of the same brain (one calculating, one quelling). Finally, 'Still On Time' returns to the well-planted root and scapular sways of Chicago house, its warping filter cutoffs and salubrious saws serving as only two of many possible glimpses of and over a Michigan lakeside rave.

Review: Long-time quality deep house operator Andy Vaz has a classically inclined sound that is infused with his own European perspective. Never has that been more obvious than with this EP on I'm In Love which assembled some of his best work. A Collection Of Trax Vol 1 is a limited 12" that opens with 'Only', a lively rhythm with jazzy chords and smooth vocal hooks, while 'Balances' strips it back to deep, warm, diffuse basement house. 'Deutz Motorcity (From The D)' channels the best of the Motor City with its balmy pad work and 'Little Acid' brings some raw 303 lines to a twisted house sound for the freaky after-hours.

Review: Andy Vaz shares a fresh Detroit-flavoured deep house EP, fenced through one of many production studio complexes lying in the heart of Cologne, Germany. With slurred streetwise vocals sounding spreadeagled over modal chords and bodying beatwork, this one hits different. A rarefied soul vibe emerges especially on 'The New Germans', which fleshes an immensity of feeling out of a simple kicks n' claps mix alone and 'Hometown CGN' does similarly with its trombone-esque lead parp and brain-fogged puff-around synths.

Review: Over the course of the last 15 years, Andy Vaz has long since proved his deep house credentials. Even so, it's still a surprise to find that House Warming, his first full-length for four years, is something of a cracker. More overtly soulful and organic sounding than many of his previous excursions, the album's ten tracks effortlessly blend live instrumentation, vintage analogue hardware, and slick vocals with occasional acid, electro and modern soul references. It's a blend that works wonderfully well, resulting in an album that bristles with attractive melodies, soft-focus dancefloor workouts, and an undeniably breezy vibe. It could well be his best album to date, and that's saying something.