Back catalogue: House

Review: The Moiss Music label seems to like to drop their EPs two at a time. They did it in February and they're doing it again in May. This eighth outing collects four more lively disco cuts, each with their own subtle influences. Berobreo's 'White Rabbit' for instance has funky undertones with loopy guitar riffs and nice breaks. The Magic Track's 'Jamming With Mom' meanwhile is more sensuous and deep, with late-night synth work and seductive vocals. Oldchap's 'I Want To Show You' has an expressive soul vocal with more low-slung grooves and Alexny's 'Not Bad' then gets quick, clipped and loopy for its lip-pouting disco thrills.

Review: Cult Edits are specialists in pushing a certain kind of heater, working in a mode landing something between edit and original. Six producers - Mario Bianco, Tomoo Hata, Roe Deers, Radial Gaze, A Tweed and Oltrefuturo - lay down a blend of sampledelic, ecstatic, multi-tempo'd tribal moods. Channelling everything from chic Tulum rituals to the brutalism of Eastern-European underground clubs, and rounded off by doses of Italian rasta and Japanese re-imagining of Hungarian folk song, all come to the label's exquisite brand of mandala-esque vinyl.

Review: Soul meets speed garage on this new V/A EP from Z Records, blurring the lines between the genres in just the way we like it. The opening track - Grant Nelson's mix of 'Starlight' by Dave & Omar - is a euphoric, piano-laced uplifter which both sonically and lyrically urges us to reach for the sky. That's followed by the DJ Fudge production 'Everything' by Chocolate Fudge Band, featuring lots of live instrumentation and a Curtis Mayfield style vocal, while over on the flip, 'Looking For You' proves to be a deep and bouncy cut filled with soulful Motown vocal chops and an organ workout worthy of any Sunday service, over a beautifully wonky house framework.

Review: Second time around for Harlem Hustlers' surging disco-house anthem, which first appeared in stores way back in 2005. This time round, the Italian duo have reworked it considerably, placing underground boogie legend Orlando Johnson's lead vocal front and centre while opting for some more organic-sounding instrumentation (the original was more sample-heavy). On their '2023 Rework' they channel the sound of Groove Culture label bosses Mickey More and Andy Tee, wrapping Johnson's vocal, tidy horns, flanged guitars and classic-sounding piano riffs around a warming bass guitar part and crunchy house drums. It's a very classy and far more authentically 'disco'-sounding track than their 2005 original. Their flip-side 'Get On The Floor' mix, meanwhile, has a smoother, more synth-heavy disco-house sound, less vocal and even more of the excellent horn sounds.

Review: Fool's Paradise is the exciting new label from Toolroom Records' Mark Knight. Coming straight from the heart, it's a natural progression from his hugely acclaimed 2021 album release, 'Untold Business', which saw Mark go back to his roots, paying homage to the more funky, soulful, and vocal house from the 1990s from where he came. With a focus on real instrumentation and production, coupled with great songwriting, this new Toolroom sublabel will be a platform for high quality house music designed to stand the test of time. Launching the new label with a mighty bang and delivering the first in our exciting new vinyl sampler series is head honcho Mark Knight, who joins forces with his Australian Toolroom labelmate, Sgt Slick, and British Soul sensation, Beverley Knight, on a dynamite cover of Prince's 1979 classic, 'I Wanna Be Your Lover'. Respectfully transporting the song onto today's dancefloors, Mark & Sgt Slick deliver a classy uplifting soulful house production, loaded with funky guitars, warm pads and sublime key performances. Adding the icing on the cake and putting her own stamp on things, Beverley belts out one of her signature spine-tingling vocals, garnished with lush harmonies and BV's that would indeed make The Purple One proud. Completing the vinyl package is dance music stalwart, Opolopo, and British soul icon, Jaki Graham, whom together bring the dancefloor heat with their new single, 'Fire'. Powered by a potent soulful house groove from Opolopo, loaded with warm piano hooks, emotive synth melodies and a sublime popping bass hook, 'Fire' see's Jaki flaunt her electrifying vocal talents with a show-stopping performance on this irresistibly catchy song.

Review: Having set out their stall via a fine first collaborative release on Bordello a Parigi a couple of months back, Mytron and Ofofo pitch up on Multi-Culti. As you'd expect from a label with such a strong track record of multi-cultural musical fusion, much of the EP defies easy categorization. Sure, you'll find a chunk of Italo-influenced electro ("Non-Binary Joys on the Venus Holodeck") and a couple of slabs of madcap disco-funk fusion ("Si Jambo" and "2Tac Onana"), but also a heavyweight slab of low-slung punk-funk/post disco ("Czary Mary"). Oh, and the skewed electro-funk-meets-intergalactic synth pop insanity of "Something for Your Mind", which also boasts some notably brain-melting vocoder action. More, please!

Review: .Odd Mob & GD Vandal very much sounds like a hip-hop duo from the early 90s, but it is not. It is Brisbane based Harry Hope who has been making beats for a decade and more, and GD Vandal about whom nothing is known and this is only their first release. It arrives on Tinted and features two choice tunes. The first is a collab between the pair - 'Been Dreaming' - and is a full throttle house banger with catchy and impassioned vocal loops over thumping drums and nice raw hits. Perfect stuff. Odd Mob then goes solo for 'XTC' which is a deep tech throbber with a darker vocal.

Review: Shuya Okino and Pirahnahead, two Japanese producers of soulful house and jazz, present the first of a bundle of new releases, 'Shine'. A subsequent two versions of the eponymous track, which flaunt the lilting vocals of the divine Diviniti, hear a driving yet heavenly song play out over two sides, with its echoic calls of "the sun will rise..." calling out over an impressive instrumental dawn chorus of bass and strings.

Review: Opolopo is a machine when it comes to serving up superb disco, funk and soul sounds. He's done so for two decades on plenty of top labels from Toolroom to Version Galore to Gamm. This time out he finds himself on a self-released tip with X Machine which is a mash-up of James Brown. The original vocals cut through funky basslines and lots of big percussions as the loose drums rumbled on next to warming organ chords. The instrumental is a more direct to dancefloor jam.

Review: Opolopo and Alafia have hooked up here to work together on a new musical journey that takes the form of these two richly layered percussive monsters. 'Axxanxxan' and 'Axxiove' which arrive on this 12" from Canopy are as addictive as it gets - they fuse Afro rhythms and disco dazzle with synth innovation to create a pair of dance bombs with real tribal energy. The A-side is detailed with metallic bass, choppy guitars and swirling synths that add up to a nice tropical sotmg, while the flip has more prominent drums and hypnotic rhythms that have a subtle cosmos twist. Two gems from Canopy, then.

Review: Time to Attack the Dancefloor once more as we supply some heavy Disco & House weaponry. Featuring the brand new remix of Opolopo's storming 'Stroke my Disco' by dutch funkateers Fouk who double down on the Piano and Clav workouts for the peak time. Exclusive new material from Wipe The Needle who's 'Skyscrapers' track is a modern Jazz-Funk masterpiece, heavy on the flute and soulful bass. On the flip Dave Lee takes it back to '97 with his rework of Backroom Productions 'Classic Vibe' which sees him flex his house-ier muscles, re-arranging the classic elements and adding extra keys to this much loved underground tune. Finishing off the EP is Dave's remix of nu-soul diva Raquel Rodriguez, where he crafts Raquel's dynamic vocal delivery over chunky Disco drumming & soulful synths before letting loose into Roy Ayers-esque vibes finale!

Review: We've got some of that naughty and irresistible white label madness here from new and mysterious label and production outfit Outtaface. It comes with a label that references the energetic cartoon stylings of the late Keith Haring and a bassline that will melt your face. The 'Vocal' track mixes up disco, skank, rave, The Prodigy references and outer space designs into a truly unusual blend that will bring colour and craziness to the floor. The flip side dub slows it down, fleshes out the low and and allows the cosmic synth work more room to shine. A handy 12" for sure.

Review: Long-time Amsterdam selector and digger Ouvrijster goes legit on Sleazy Beats Black Ops new label Make Believe Disco with three immaculate slices of glitterball deep house. "Lazarus" is a sprightly piece of Farina-level jazzy magic with persistent keys and subtle dub effects, "Mostly You" ups the jack factor with layers of hypnotic rippling washes and "Flamboyant" dims the lights with a sultry, loopy groove and the perfect balance of cosmic flare. Stunning.

Review: The Brazilian Hot Sauces is a four-track EP that explores the rich and diverse sounds of Brazil through house music. Parisian Soul opens the EP with 'Livre Ou Nao', a sunny and uplifting track with a catchy vocal sample and a Latin piano melody, followed by Keymono aka House Master Flash with 'Bahia', a deep and funky track with a reggae influence and a saxophone solo. On the B-side, Oscar delivers 'Brazil 2030', a futuristic and minimal track with a robotic voice and a percussive groove, and the EP closes with Keymono's remix of 'Brazil 2030', which adds more drums and synths for a more energetic and dancefloor-oriented version.

Review: The Roulade label is doing things right - not only is the music they are serving up superb, but so to do this second 12" comes with great and original artwork. Its neon glow and diffuse light capture the vibes of the synths on the opening cut 'C'est Party' perfectly. It's a melodically rich tech house cut with rubbery bass and great spoken words from a world disco dancing competition. Occibel's 'Give 'Em Some Rest' is busy and dense with whirring sci-fi synths, funky Prince riffs, thudding house beats and plenty of colour. Add in two more equally vibrant and characterful cuts from Hearthug and Wooka on the flip and you have one of the most unique EPs we've heard in some time.

Review: The mysterious Medieval Man is joined by Thomass Jackson, Mytron & Ofofo and Barry Sunset on this new split EP from the fledgling Culted label. Their edit series tackles plenty of interesting dark disco source material with beguiling results. The freaky future sounds of Mytron & Ofofo's 'Machinenhimmel' opens up with phased bass and spooky leads. Barry Sunset's twisted sci-fi disco stomper 'Hit The Drums' then takes off to the cosmos and Thomass Jackson twists and turns on loose, jangling percussion that is underpinned by fat bottomed bass. The brilliantly entitled 'Humble Frodo' is a weird and wonderful closer.

Review: Deep house producer Shuya Okino shows his class once more on another tasteful outing, this time via the Extra Freedom/Village Again labels out of Japan. For this one he revisits his 2011 album Destiny which was made with help from the Japanese funk, boogie and jazz-funk outfit Root Soul and replays and remakes the tunes. The originals become more disco-leaning and horn lead jams here with Okino's warm, rubbery basslines, P-funk synths, loose live beats and cute keys. The result is an album that sounds like Earth, Wind & Fire making modern soul and it will improve your life no end.

Review: Complementing the fresh single 'Shine', released at the very same time, 'Tokyo Crossover Night 2023' is a compilation album by various artists selected by Shuya Okino, esteemed Japanese disco and broken beat DJ/producer. Kyoto Jazz Sextet, DJ Kawasaki, J.A.M and Shuya Okino himself all crop up on this veritable razzmatazzer, amounting to yet another worthy contribution to the label Village Again Japan, and the Tokyo crossover scene they occupy at large.

Review: Orpheu The Wizard is a Dutch DJ and co-founder of the infamous but sadly now defunct Red Light Radio. Coming through for the fifth edition of the Sound Of Love International series - which showcases the eclectic musical tastes of the DJs who play at the Love International festival in Croatia - this fresh selectors' comp hears Orpheu crate-fiddle through cosmic disco, Balearic pop, synthwave and ambient, by the likes of Khidja, Benedek, Donato Dozzy and Gaussian Curve.