Back catalogue: House

Review: Chris Barratt aka Eagles & Butterflies possesses the rare ability to unite a larger-than-life peak time personality with the understated production method of comparatively underground records, techno pop and Italo. Bridging such gaps of authenticity and palatability can be a mean feat, but Barratt sacrifices few opportunities on his new 'Heartbreaks & XTC' EP to really think about how both poles can be met. Focussing on skeletal, hands-off mixing and yet apotheotic buildup production, Eagles & Butterflies truly do fly in unison on this stonker.

Review: This month, Sonic Wax has started a new sub-label, Disco Edits, to deal with just that. The first one was a stunner, and this second one is another essential weapon for DJs who work in the worlds of funk and disco. It finds the dream team pairing of Matt Early and Lee Jefferies once again cooking up a storm as they remix 'Rocking Me In Your Arms' into a sensuous groove with a knitted, funky bassline that loops tightly under the sing-along chorus. The Disco Dust mix of 'Knowledge & Love' is a little more paired back and deeper but still has a high funk level and timeless charm.

Review: We're not sure what Lee Jeffries and Matt Early have been eating of late but we want some, because they have dropped a whole bunch of killer 7"s all in quick success this month. Some come on Sonic Wax In Da House and some have minted new Sonic Wax sub-label Disco Edits, which is where this one lands. It finds the scalpel masters and dancefloor dynamics experts offering up their own main mix of stone-cold classic 'Love Is A Vision'. In their hands, it has a low-slung baseline and dry, clipped drums that call to mind Mood II Swing. The Opolopo mix of the same tune is much more lavish and luxurious in its rich synths and strings.

Review: Ok, we're calling it. August 2024 is utterly being owned by Matt Early and Lee Jeffries. The pair have been mad busy in the studio turning their unique hand to cuts from the disco, soul, Afro and funk worlds. The results are all dropping in quick succession on Sonic Wax In Da House and its new sister label Disco Edits which is where this one appears as the label's third outing. First up it finds them in slinky late-night house mode as they flip 'Disco Knights' into a medically rich groove sprinkled with cosmic fairy dust. On the flip is a main mix of 'Lets Boogie Disco Joint' which is a slinky, hip-swinging bit of funky house with some great brass hooks.

Review: Lee Jeffries and Matt Early kick off Sonic Wax Records' new Disco Edits label with a deep dive into 'Lady' which is something of a classic, sought-after gem that will reportedly cost you over a grand to find in decent condition. First up the pair elevate the original with their Disco Dust mix which is perfect for main house rooms and the inks of the glammed-up Glitterbox crowd. It features bold production and diva vocals and then Opolopo delivers a moody, pulsating disco remix that infuses the original with some stylish grooves and quality production. Both tracks have been played plenty already by heavyweights like Opolopo, Kenny Dope, Bobby & Steve, and Wade Teo.

Review: Cult favourites among Japan's 90s underground, Ecstasy Boys crafted a deeply transportive fusion of Balearic bliss, leftfield house and shimmering progressive elements. The trioiMitsuru Kotaki, Shiro Amamiya and Tatsuro Amamiyaileft behind only a handful of releases before disbanding in 1994, but their work has lingered in the minds of diggers and dreamers alike. 'Tsukino Oshie (Full Moon Temple Mix)' glows with late-night transcendence, its swirling vocals and soft-lit synths floating over a measured, hypnotic pulse. 'Chichichi Gankannon' slows the pace into a cinematic haze, spectral pianos and drifting percussion shaping its ghostly allure. Closing out, 'Nirvana Sexy (Amoras Dub Disco Heruka Mix)' slides into leftfield disco, layering multilingual vocals over undulating grooves with a quietly euphoric edge. Remastered by Wouter Brandenburg, this release recaptures the warmth and depth of the originals, ensuring their glow remains undimmed.

Review: Given that both producers are underground titans, traversing the blurred lines between disco, acid, deep house and wide-eyed dreaminess, you'd expect this two-track collaboration between Eddie C and Keita Sano to be pretty darn good. It is, of course, with the pair carving their own mind-mangling, breathlessly energetic niche on 'Disco Universal' - a certified throb-job in which trippy noises, exotic instrument samples and pulse-racing electronic motifs rise above a thumping beat and Italo-disco style sequenced bassline. It slows down midway through, 'French Kiss' style, before the duo brilliantly bring it back to a peak-time tempo. They explore sub-heavy, garage-influenced deep house and breakbeat pastures on the dreamy, weighty, impactful and acid-fired 'Joy Joy Joy', once more showcasing the diversity of their musical influences.

Review: Andy Meecham has released a lot of fine music as The Emperor Machine, but little as perfect as his recent album, Island Boogie. Here a trio of cuts from that set are given the remix treatment. Hardway Brothers (AKA A Love From Outer Space co-founder Sean Johnston) will grab the headlines for his takes on 'Wanna Pop With You', and rightly so. His 'remix' (A2) cannily combines elements of Meecham's original - synth, bass, bits of Severtine Mouletin's vocal - with oodles of hallucinatory sounds, psychedelic guitars and a tough mid-tempo beat, while the 'Dub' strips things back further whilst upping the trippy vibe. Elsewhere, Tigerbalm delivers a rework of 'La Cassette' that sits somewhere between dub disco and proto-house, and Meecham provides a skeletal, dub-wise 'Version' of his fine La Fox cover, 'S-S-S-Single Bed'.

Review: The ever shadowy Explorations label - background info about whose releases are notoriously difficult to find - follow up their recent unknown artist remix of George Duke's 'Brazilian Love Affair' with a second remix from Chicago house music legend Jordan Fields. As far as we can tell, Fields is the first named artist to appear on the label, lending the whole outing an extra-musty shroud of cool. We're not sure what song exactly 'As Always' is a remix of - it's not a take on Stevie Wonder, nor is it a version of 'I'll Be Loving You' by 1993 one-hit-wonder freestyle act Collage - so we're sad to say we're stumped on the chain of ideas behind this one, unlike the Benson rerub. We will say, however, that this is a wicked dub disco lick, with Fields' generous use of phrase-stop dub delays lending the track a real cool enjambment. Oh, and it comes to an ultra-limited randomly splatter coloured 100-record run; just like the intermittence of Explorations' releases, you can't be sure which colour you'll receive.

Review: J Axel and Eva Essa find magical harmony on this new collaboration on the Do It Now Recordings Vinylized label. 'Turned Your Back' is a perfectly heart-melting, life-affirming bit of soul-drenched and intimate deep house with gorgeous vocals and super smooth drums all healing you to your core as the gentle rhythms wash over you time and time again. It's a faultless original but one that is also ripe for remixing and who better than Atjazz who slightly ups the tempo but keeps the deep, wavy rhythmic vibes and adds a little cosmic magic in the synths. A sublime package indeed.

Review: KooKoo offers up a sampler of what it is all about here and it spans some big-name house talents and equally big tunes. Mark Knight & Armand Van Helden open up with 'Don't Abuse It' (extended) which is a full-throttle house sound with diva vocals and plenty of raw fills. Cloud One's 'Disco Juice' (Fabrikate rework) brings some 70s disco energy to modern production and Full Intention's 'Sky's The Limit' is a celebratory house cut with loose grooves and freewheeling pads. Last of all is the party-starting disco house pumper 'Plain Outta Luck' from Ewan McVicar.

Review: The third volume in Colpo Grosso's edits series amounts to yet another slinky slice of sensual post-Italo disco sundries. With each original artist and track title on the record respectively lent a three-letter and N-letter abbreviation, we'll leave it to you to piece together the puzzle as regards to whose source material is being reworked here. On this occasion, the hired hands are Massimo Voci, M.B. Funk, Wandevogel and Legowelt, each of whose takes on the various steam-downs and sweat lodgings of the genius genre that is Italo amount to four farther, slammingly sexual condensations of the sound. Our fave has to be Vandevogel's version of 'PRNDLCS', which starts out dramatically downcast before launching into a well-placed implantation of baritone sax and *bonne brisse* vocals.

Review: French house and disco outlet Roulade set aflight on their third holiday outing in the series known as 'Gaston's Holidays', bringing twinkly electro-disco juice to a faraway tropic fantasy. This fructose fancy, by the power of the postal system and/or the Internet, has the power to beam itself into your living space for a solid half an hour - but only if you let it. According to Roulade, the Gaston thus named - maybe he's the personified lemon wedge depicted on the front cover - have this time around hooked up for a remote island rendezvous come shindig, linking Merov, Occibel, Emi Omar and Wooka for a limbo dance each: here, "mojitos have replaced tap water and the sound of the waves is swapped for dream house beats. You in?".

Review: This special 12" sampler, part of the forthcoming compilation, taps into the timeless spirit of the Paradise Garage with two unreleased collaborations that showcase the late Frankie Knuckles' legacy. On the A-side, the final production from Knuckles, alongside Kenny Summit and Eric Kupper, delivers a soulful, uplifting remix of Lou Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine." It's pure house brilliance that captures the essence of the Garage sound. On the flip, the trio reunites for "Loving You," a Motown-inspired anthem featuring Yasmeen's powerful vocals. These tracks, which have been staple spins for DJs like Cajmere and Sonny Fodera, form part of a larger collection that celebrates house music's rich history, with remixes of iconic tracks. The cover art, designed by Alexander Juhasz, adds an extra layer of cultural significance to this must-have release.

Review: Many happy returns to Detroit's Rocksteady Disco, an undeniably consistent label that has reached the ripe old age of ten years old. To celebrate, they're releasing a series of anniversary EPs containing fresh jams from the label's roster of artists. Mainstays Sol Power All Stars get things going with off-kilter Afro-house scorcher 'Solsibisa' - all heavy horns, hot-stepping drum machine beats, squelchy synth-bass and heady vocal snippets - before Eddie Logix combines lightly pitched-down First Choice vocal samples with Balearic guitar bursts and plenty of deep house nous on '2nd Choice (It's Still Not Over)'. Over on the reverse, Blair French gets summery on the Latin-tinged deep house joy of 'Whispers of You', while Topher Horn reaches for dense drums (acoustic and electronic), sparse melodic motifs and heavy bass on 'Gratiot Dub'.