New releases last four weeks: Deep House

Review: Chilean-born, Bristol-based Shanti Celeste has always brought a unique colour and emotion to her often bass-heavy sounds. She's a party-starting DJ, too, but delves into whole new realms with her wonderful sophomore full-length. Romance sees her exploring themes of love and friendship through shimmering pop textures and emotionally resonant songwriting. Her vocals take centre stage for the first time and lead single 'Thinking About You' is a heartfelt tribute to a late friend with a glowing groove and airy falsetto. Crafted between Bristol and London, the album features collaborations with Batu and harpist Miriam Adefris, whose delicate touch enhances its celestial tone and following last summer's acclaimed 'Ice Cream Dream Boy,' Romance is a luminous return and smart evolution.

Review: Amsterdam-based duo Maarten Smeets and Lars Dales - Dam Swindle - offer us their album, Open, prying ajar our otic tract with 14 quixotic tracks. After years of introspection, Open marks a rupture, as the pair break from their preeminent deep house for an even-deeper-down embrace of the lower tempi, with them now incorporating synthwave, hip-house, and ambient elements. A first taster comes with the smoothly lavished 'Girl' with Faye Meana, while 'Bloom' with Joep Beving develops the theme of self-analysis through well-shovelled deep house chords. Still reining in some four-to-the-floor precepts, Dam Swindle have nonetheless presented their most heartfelt and least harried detour to date.

Review: Drawing on influences from the global Cumbia scene that took root in Buenos Aires over a decade ago, El Buho presents a collection of tracks that blend entrancing traditional rhythms with modern electronic textures. The opener, 'La Cumbia Del Cafe Martinez,' sets a hypnotic tone, while 'Anglo-Colombian Expedition' merges lively tropical elements with intricate production. The darker 'La Cumbia De La Ansiedad' and earthy 'Porro Del Tucan' follow, offering variety while remaining grounded in Cumbia's roots. The remixes elevate the experience further. ARN4L2's atmospheric interpretation of 'La Cumbia Del Cafe Martinez' opens up the track into a spacious, reflective journey, while Auntie Flo's remix of 'Anglo-Colombian Expedition' adds a rhythmic intensity. La Jungla's energetic remix of 'La Cumbia De La Ansiedad' and Lagartijeando's hypnotic take on 'Porro Del Tucan' offer new perspectives on the original compositions too, making this a digital Cumbia milestone.

Review: Yorkshire lad Franky Wah continues to have a large say in the sound of modern club culture with his emotionally charged, high-energy productions and infectious hooks, standout releases and endless touring. He also runs SHEN, of course, a label, events company and clothing brand showcasing his broad creative vision. His latest project, The Revival, Vol. 2, arrives there five years after the acclaimed Vol. 1 that featured the breakout track 'Come Together' and solidified his status among dance music's elite. With this sequel, Franky Wah reaffirms his credentials with a fresh bunch of emotive, vocal-laced and sunshine-rich, drop-filled house anthems for hands-in-the-air fun.

Review: Oskaa-born but truly otherworldly producer Daichi Furukawa, aka Ground, is back with a new album that is here to bend your mind and distort your reality with his fourth world follow-up to 2018's cult favourite Sunizm. This experimental odyssey truly defies genre, logic, and linearity as it assembles a chaotic yet mesmerising fusion of organic samples, synthetic textures, tribal rhythms and cosmic noise that are fantastic and freaky. Yaoyorozoo is one of those records that feels both ancient and futuristic as it taps into beautiful and unsettling, inviting and disorienting rhythms and sample sources. Across 73 minutes, it mutates like a dream-always shifting, never settling, so it makes for a cerebral collage for wide-open minds and ears only.

Review: Celebrating 25 years of two of the most influential house labels around, this joint double-pack from London's R2 and Osunlade's Yoruba Records is a heavyweight offering that bridges soulful roots and dancefloor depth. Karizma's long-awaited 'Spirit' appears in multiple formsihis original gospel-powered burner, a Josh Milan remix (as Honeycomb), and a dub version featuring Nicholas Ryan Gant, all radiating righteous, late-night warmth. The second R2 cut, 'W!thout !t' is stripped and punchy, full of Karizma's trademark percussive invention. Yoruba's side sees Osunlade light up the system with 'Electricity' and 'Sumpin' Like Dis', both steeped in rhythm and spiritual uplift. Afefe Iku's '823' dives deep into his signature twilight textures, while Karizma's Baltimore remix of Mr. Flip's 'Drippin'' closes the set on a loose and funky high. It's a snapshot of two defining voices in house musicirich in groove, spirit and intention.

Review: Ma?h is based in Berlin but makes occult techno inspired by Tikal, which is the ruin of an ancient Mayan city in Guatemala. He creates a sense of ancient ritual, tribalism, primaeval drums and otherworldly atmosphere across five fantastically evocative and escapist cuts here. They all go deep, with rubbery rhythms marbled with wordless vocals, chanting, eerie FX and absorbing mysticism that is all expertly done and hugely authentic. 'Acat' is a standout with its lolloping bass and tom-peppered beats, while 'Exorcismo' is more intense and heady. 'Caiman Ritual' is a humid and intense dub techno bumper, and it rounds out one of the most original EPs we've heard in ages.

Review: Vick Lavander is a name that has always been a byword for deep house quality. His sound is couched in a classic template but comes with subtle tweaks and plenty of its own musical character. BEYOND is a bumper collection of beats which proves just that. There are silky and cosmically minded sounds like 'Time & Time Again' next to subtly jazzy dancers like 'Sunset BLVD' and dubby, elegant grooves like the life-affirming 'Grace'. The pace picks up with joints like 'Knights' but never at the expense of atmosphere and slows right down with swab-tinged downbeat delights like 'Good Timing'. A magnificently rich work.

Review: The latest Lindstrom album is so good that he appears to have dispensed with the spell-checker for the copy i but it's always such a terrific pleasure to hear new music from the Norse disco titan that even the most uptight proofreader will surely forgive him. Back in the noughties, he and compatriot Prins Thomas flipped the script with their immaculately crafted take on the meta-disco sound. And though the frequency of Lindstrom's output has slowed over time, the quality of his production retains its magnificent allure. Syrius Syntoms begins with a bang i glistening synths, snappy drums and pristine melodics on 'Crkl' i before taking acidic turns via 'Thousand Island Man' and drifting into dreamland on 'Moo)n'. 'These Are a Few of My Favorite Strings' adds a little NY house bump, with evocative keys and low-end groove, while the feel-good arps and bouncy bass of the title track are vintage Lindstrom i full of kitsch sparkle and joyous main room energy. Top marks.

Review: Margaux Gazur has made her mark as a DJ with sets at places like Panorama Bar and Waking Life. Her debut album on Smallville is a deeply personal exploration of identity and sound that confirms she is just as good in the studio. The French-Vietnamese artist is now based in Berlin but draws from her time living in Vietnam and childhood recollections to craft nearly 70 minutes of immersive, organic electronica across Blurred Memories. Field recordings, traditional instruments and woozy textures blend with street rhythms from Hanoi to create rich, intimate soundscapes of the sort that are well suited to this label. Each track reveals delicate details such as mysterious voices and fragile glitches in the hypnotic grooves. Known for captivating sets at Panorama Bar, La Station, and Waking Life, Margaux offers a magical, emotionally resonant debut that invites listeners into her blurred sonic past.

Review: On his long-awaited debut, Osaka's Takuya Matsumoto draws a clear line between the tactile futurism of 90s IDM and the emotional depth of Detroit techno, finding beauty in grit and structure in chaos. There's a cinematic quality to the sequencing, from the shimmering opener 'Drifting On The Ocean' to the gnarled syncopations of 'Dril and Acid' and the broken funk of 'Fonseca'. But what makes this record truly sing is its refusal to sit still: 'Mini' dances with jazzy irreverence, while 'Triangles' feels like a dusted-off memory from a lost Rephlex archive. Matsumoto's palette is warm, spiky, and full of movementian album built not on pastiche but on devotion to groove and experimentation in equal measure. You hear shades of Underground Resistance's urgency, Mike Paradinas' off-grid detail, and Floating Points' melodic intricacy, but none of it feels borrowed. 'Traverse' and 'Mercy on the floor' close things with a spacious melancholy that lingers beyond the final fade. This is a conversation with dance music history, spoken fluently in rhythm and mood. A richly detailed, deeply personal statement from one of Japan's most quietly consistent producers.

Review: Italian DJ and Producer Jo Paciello proves that full length album do very much still have a place int he modern world wit his superb debut on Groove Culture. The title of this one gives you an idea of what to expect - jazzy melodies and sophisticated house beats. He does so with a modern viewpoint but also plenty of reverence for the glory days of jazzy house. Trumpets, saxophones and guitars all feature here and embellish the drums with quality, meaningful layers of melody adn mood. As he merges the past and present, this richly textured work shines with improvisation and timeless deep house warmth.

Review: Inspired by his neon-lit walks around London's docklands, crate digger Ilan Pdahtzur's 2019 compilation Night City Life marked him out as a dusty-fingered crate digger and record collector with a distinctive, synth-heavy musical vision. It made him the toast of the selector/collector community, but more than that it was a genuinely superb selection of obscure, hard-to-find cuts. This belated sequel is every bit as essential and filled, unsurprisingly, with rare and lesser-known gems. Highlights are too plentiful to mention, but our current favourites include Sharon & Tracey's 'The Sheik' (a belly-dancing inspired slab of TB-303 bass-driven house hedonism), Jennifer's 1992 Euro-house gem 'Come Into My Life', Scicilian musician Claudio D'Ignoti's boogie-era treat 'Ache Per Noir', and the fashion scene inspired leftfield synth-pop of Lena's 'Embrasse-Moi (Strumentale)'.

Review: DJ Sodeyama is a veteran of Japan's underground scene who returns to Sound Of Vast as The People In Fog with a new long player that follows notable outings on cult labels such as Rekids, Trip and more. Here he back on the Tokyo label that's housed all his Fog material and flexing his deep command of house, all infused with his signature warmth. Classy deep house cuts like 'Red Morning' sit next to Chicago-flavoured stompers like 'Jack Out' and disco-filtered bangers like 'Dance To The Air' and he even flips the script with 80s-inspired funk on 'Night Driver' and the Balearic dreamscape 'Sun Moon Lake.' A true trip.

Review: Marking its 25th anniversary, this gem of a reissue reminds us why it's considered a landmark in the evolution of Balearic and Latin-infused house music. Building on the ambient sophistication of Meridian, Since Then sees Pooley embrace a brighter, more joyful palette that is steeped in Latin rhythms, breezy island instrumentation and a deep love for the dancefloor. Albeit a sandy dancefloor. The self-titled opener and single, 'Since Then', is a sun-kissed blend of balearic house and relaxed ambient textures, offering an inviting welcome into the album's glowing soundscape. 'Bay Of Plenty' drips with tropical charm, its lush chords and rich horn section infusing a magical emotionality, while 'Venasque' is an energetic blast of street funk, Latin pop and club urgency. 'Coracao Tambor' keeps the tempo up with an irresistibly playfulness and catchy without losing any depth. 'Balmes' is pure summer distilled, a late-night anthem with shimmering melodies and irresistible swing. '900 Degrees' was one of the album's biggest singles. It is a floor-filler with an unforgettable bassline and undeniable heat, while 'Sundowner' closes on a softer note, nodding back to Meridian's ambient roots with ethereal grace.

Review: Retrouve retrieve eight new future house retroversions for their resident PIV label, bringing brilliant syntheses of 80s inspo, speed garage, and hard dance groove-dynamism. So far having rocked dancefloors from Amsterdam's Thuishaven to Miami's Space, an electrifying past two years have fed the febrile fan anticipations going into this one. The sound is distinctive, with no pulse missing the mark, though the experimental ante is upped as the record progresses, as on the dark jacker with Midas Field, 'Gravel', whose textural palette hears the duo cross into an uncharted otic darkness.

Review: After five years mostly playing only in the US, Ron Trent returns to global touring in 2025 as well as droppinga new album Lift Off, which spans a decade of recordings and comes nearly 35 years since his groundbreaking debut. The new record is packed with rich rhythms, warm chords and heady percussion with diverse sounds and tempos from across a lifetime spent collecting, playing and making music. Standouts include the Wally Badarou-inspired 'Hot Ice,' samba-infused 'Woman of Color' and the deep house jazz of 'Jazz Funk.'

Review: Original deep house pioneer Ron Trent is back with another new album, 35 years after his game-changing debut. And Lift Off marks a sophisticated evolution in his sonic journey as he echews the introspective downtempo of his 2022 LP What Do The Stars Say To You and deftly blends epic instrumentals, vocal collaborations and intricate arrangements that reflect his diverse influences. There is a great sense of musicality here as masterful percussion intertwines with exploratory tempos and elegant bridge dance music's past, present and future. The highlight is 'Just Another Love Song' which has a whiff of Womack and Womack about it.

Review: Lee Burridge's All Day Dream has one of the most recognisable sounds in house music. It's deep, its; dreamy, it's organic. Within that framework, he has recruited plenty of fresh talents to find their own niche and now serves up some sounds from his current squad on this lovely summer sampler. Luca Saporito kicks off with the melancholic chords of "Next To Me Ft. Dalma Puska's, Marian (Ar) locks you into a state of hypnosis with 'Obsidian' and Pole Folder, Gmj & Matter bring subtle day time trance vibes to 'Voyage Austral' which is rich in prog energy. Lauren Ritter's 'Form Constant (Lost Desert RemiX)' is a gorgeous closer with magical xylophone style melodies bring a lightness of touch and deep emotional resonance.

Review: Through standout tracks from artists like Magnolia, Maryag and Third Attempt, as well as remixes from Bosq and Dr Packer, this new one from The Disco Express embodies the irresistible fusion of house, nu-disco, and classic disco, prefiguring the beatdown summer to come. Over seven sizzling tracks, spread across an eye-catching orange vinyl, La Felix's 'Hot', Rayowa's 'Can You Feel The Love' and Bustin' Loose's funk-flecked and wriggling bass-led 'Pharaoh's Lean Time' are but a few several cooldown quenchers to be found here, all of which are sure to add a natural flavour to the sure-to-be parching heatwaves of Summer 2025.

Review: Longplay II: 10 Years Anniversary Compilation is a monumental six-record box set that celebrates a decade of cutting-edge mininalist techno. From the hypnotic rhythms of Cezar's 'Nkv2' on Side-1 to the atmospheric 'Nochi' by Denis Korablev on Side 12, each side brings its unique flavour. Tracks like Vincentiulian's 'Owowow' and SIT's 'Internal Network' showcase intricate, minimal soundscapes that are both cerebral and dancefloor-ready. The compilation also includes standout moments like Alci's "Man Studer" with its deep, pulsating basslines, and Ben Neville's 'Good Techno Stops Time', a testament to the timeless nature of the genre.

Review: New York legend Louie Vega and Detroit icon Moodymann - two titans of house with deep but divergent lineages - collide again on 'Seven Mile', reissued here as a hefty double pack with remixes. Originally released in 2022 on Vega's Expansions in the NYC LP, this expanded edition gathers fresh reworks from trusted names across the house spectrum. Dennis Quin goes punchy and percussive, Kai Alce turns in a soulful NDATL roller, and Rocco Rodamaal teams up with Alex Finkin before offering two lush solo interpretations across the C-side. Vega's own instrumental demo mix adds vintage bounce, while Charlie Soul Clap, here credited as Charlie Levine, delivers an ecstatic final pair - his 'Wild Version' the most unhinged of the lot.

Review: Ben Westbeech returns with his first solo full-length since 2011's There's More To Life Than This, marking a new chapter in a varied career as a singer-songwriter, DJ, hit producer and curator. The Glitterbox release hears Westbeech step back from the mic to focus fully on production and arrangement, bringing together a cast of musicians to channel a message of self-empowerment and inner peace, through pristine delays, diachronic desert grooves and a freed disco-bedience. Joined by fellows RAHH, Dames Browbn and Obi Franky, Westbeech's latest is a full-length ode to changing times and inner openness.