Funky / Club House

Review: Anane has become one of the most prominent vocalists in contemporary house music. She mixes up a rare skill with a real sense of glamour and diversity that has also lead her to singing the opening song "One Dream" at Super Bowl XLI with Louie Vega & their group Elements Of Life. Her deep afro house sound has grown ever more essential over the last 17 years and now this album transcends through her evolution of the artist and woman she is today. The double 12" features remixes from Louie Vega, Sebastien Grand, Alex Finkin and many more, which makes it a varied and vital affair.

Review: Four seriously heavyweight cuts on this one, a various artists classic in the making from Pi Gao Movement. Lost Trax gets down and dingy with 'The Disruptor', a gurgling, menacing mid tempo cut with dystopian feels. Ultradyne's contribution is much more forward facing, with superb drum programming making for a frictionless broken beat groove that is run through with lithe synths. The machines cut loose on manic head wrecker 'Ultradyne' and last of all, 'Deconstructing The Immortals' sounds like the sort of tech Kraftwerk might make if they were now globe trotting DJs.

Review: Long running and iconic mix series Back to Mine has got a huge coup for this one, with big beat maestro Fatboy Slim stepping up. As always, he invites you deep into his own personal musical world, offering up a view at the far reaches of his record collection. It's a worldly mix for sure, with scorching dub open things up and rolling reggae rhythms keeping you in a deep groove until the soaring strings and jazz-funk fusion of 'The Pink Panther Theme' changes up the mood. Elsewhere there is blue eyed soul, late night folk and low key Americana as well as the original source of one of his most famous samples on 'Take Yo Praise' that all makes for a lovely and intimate vibe.

Review: Given that Defected's multi-arist EP series was designed as a way for vinyl DJs to get hold of some of the imrpint's biggest digital download hits, you'll be unsurprised to learn that volume nine contains some seriously sizable material. Riva Starr kicks things off with a remix of Dennis Ferrer classic "Hey! Hey!" that turns the track into a Moroder style electro-disco throb-job, before Ferreck Dawn delivers some big room vocal house pleasure. Over on the flip, John Summit's "Deep End" is another beefy big room workout built around sweet female vocals and a thickset bassline, while Offiah's "Play It By Ear" is a 21st century update of the muscular, mid-90s MK sound.

Review: Deeppa does a fine job of introducing itself into the world of vinyl labels with this inescapably sunny and luxuriant first offering. It's a rich VA affair with grown up grooves and mature musical stylings, starting with Scruscru's pool-side 'Mellow Yellow' and rolling through the more disco flecked undulations of 'Once Again'. Flip it over and you'll find the sun has gone down, the house betas get deep and the Rhodes solos get more twinkling and adventurous. 'Love In Slow Mo' could be a lost Roy Ayers track and 'Rings of Saturn' rides out the EP in smooth fashion.