Back catalogue: House

Review: Finland's Common Labour label unites four different producers on the fourth volume of its Odd Jobs series, and each of them goes deep in their own inimitable way. Omar Santis begins with an unhuried and smoky dubbed out house with wispy pads and subtle vocals on 'Pinoki.' Flabaire ups the energy with some slick, tightly programmed but smooth drum loops that bounce freely beneath warm pads which infuse the mix with soul. Thomas Wood's 'All It Takes' has molten bass and liquid synths for a dub house delight on 'All It Takes' and Potholes's 'Bromsman' is the headiest of the lot with DJ Koze-style melodic whimsy.

Review: Dan Piu and Grant's Theory of Movement project has served up gold for lovers of heady tech and minimal. After something of a hiatus, it is now back on When The Morning Comes with more of the sort of tuneage that is going to quickly sell out and soon become the ID request du jour at your favourite underground parties. These are of course sophisticated sounds from the silky house bumps of 'Now & Then' with its seductive vocal allure to the throwback 90s sounds of 'Over Time' (Acid Mix). 'Basis' (Foundation mix) is another immediately classic house sound with analogue and dusty drums and zippy melodies next to more smooth chords. 'Motion Of Objects' shuts down with a more zoned-out vibe and widescreen melodic architecture for late nights.

Review: Hailing from Tokyo, Satoshi Tomiie emerged in the New York scene after Frankie Knuckles discovered him and his debut record, 'Tears' in 1989, was co-produced with Knuckles and featured Robert Owens. It is a dance music classic and as part of Def Mix Productions with David Morales, Satoshi crafted iconic 1990s remixes for artists like Madonna, Mariah Carey, and Inner City. Here collaborating with Ibiza's Tuccillo, Satoshi created 'Delta Dubs', a live, one-take dub house project recorded on a Soundcraft Delta desk. This tribute to dub's pioneers reimagines the essence of dub with a futuristic twist that lands courtesy of 20/20 Vision.

Review: Tommaso is an exciting young talent who has brought plenty of freshness to the underground scenes of both Florence and Chicago. Now he debuts on Rocksteady Disco with more of his signature organic and soulful sounds. This one kicks off with 'G Class' which is a peak-time house pumper with lovely liquid bass and sunny strings. 'Fierro Viejo' is more twisted with rumbling bass and a peppering of percussion that will twist dancers inside out. 'Giente Que' is an arp-fuelled Italo-inflected banger and last of all is the more slow, seductive and absorbing sound of Snake Pit' for late-night lovers. Another fine EP from Tommaso.

Review: The Disco Gioconda crew spin narratives as they do grooves, dream-weaving throwback Italo-style records through editable wattles. Trend-chasers begone: Gino Tonico and Tino Arancino together tap into a sound whose immanent quality foregoes any need for PR preservatives, letting each section breathe, twist, and evolve organically as energy builds. 'Vorrei Rubaria' leans into drama without excess, moving through bold shifts in tone and rhythm that hold attention from first bar to last - its dub mix, meanwhile, swirls our medulla, leaving us cochlear blear. It's a record designed for full playthrough, rewarding those who stay with it.

Review: Berlin-based Aussie Tornado Wallace has a long track record of tiptoeing the fine line between perfectly judged dancefloor pleasure and the more musically immersive sounds of Balearica and sun-soaked, sofa-ready deep house. He touches all those bases on 'Bitter Suite', his debut for Apiento's excellent Test Pressing Recordings imprint. In its' full length, near ten minute original mix form (side A), the track joins the dots between psychedelic, lightly acid-clad 1993 progressive house and - via waves of instrumentation and positive melodic motfs - the colourful musical rush of the System 7's most gorgeous early-to-mid-90s productions The latter element comes to the fore on the kaleidoscopic, string-laden and slow building 'Symphony Mix', while the 'Bitter Beats' version is a pounding, sweat-soaked drum track.

Review: Ascension on Wax tap Toronto Hustle & Sean Roman for their third release, a slick four-tracker pulling heavy influence from *that*argent 90s US-East Coast deep house sound. 'The Unity' lands with some pedigree, where recent drops on Wolf, Local Talk and Freerange have mounted this pairing firmly in the frame. Javonntte lends his unmistakable Detroit flow to the A1, which also gets a shimmering rerub from longtime Prescription associate Abacus. Flip for a late-night dub version that leans into tougher territory, before closing out with a heads-down deep house cut built for sloppily recalled nights.

Review: Two legendary producers joined production forces in 1999 to create one timeless track that sees the light of day again here. Ron Trent and old friend Chez Damier were co-owners of one of the most important house labels of all time - Prescription Records - and they re-teamed up for this deep house classic for Ron's first full length album Primitive Arts. For the remix package, Atjazz deliveres an extended remix that amplifies the groove while maintaining the soulful depth of the original. Atjazz's signature melodic refinement and rhythmic precision shine through, making this version more uplifting yet hypnoticia lush reinterpretation that still respects its deep-rooted heritage. On Side-B, two more Ron Trent gems receive modern reworks. First up, 'Berlin Night in Paris' (Fred H Remix) transforms the 2017 track from 'Spaces and Places' EP into a chord-driven, tech-house-infused journey. Lastly, 'Cry' (Sourires Remix) delivers an atmospheric deep house experience, rich in space and emotion. Subtle yet powerful, this remix explores introspective tones, balancing melody and groove with a meditative feel. Together, these remixes further reinforce the already vast legacy of Trent and Damier in deep house history.

Review: Tweak's latest is another fine trip through rhythm, texture and atmosphere across three originals that are couched in broken beat. 'Generation' leads with lovely laidback grooves and a warm, gloopy bassline as precise electronics merge with a hint of vintage soul. The 'Red Rover' (Rework) is another sunny, horizontal sound with bubbly broken beats and lush flutes adding the hook, then 'Fathorn' explores darker, more tribal rhythms with deep bass and ritualistic percussion. Raw Deal's Freedom Time Remix of 'Fathorn' takes it further with some fluid grooves and expressive brass top notes next to glowing, golden Rhodes chords. A fantastically feel-good and fuzzy sound.

Review: Razor-N-Tape's white label series serves up its first-ever various artists collection here, and it opens with Windy City master Glenn Underground. His 'Happy House' is a joyous disco stomper with florid strings and lung-busting vocals. Rahaan adds his own edit to 'Be Cool', which is a jazzy dancer with magnificent guitar work and brassy horns. 'Hot Damn' (JKriv edit) keeps the love flowing with funky disco house energy and an air of hands in the air celebration and The Patchouli Brothers flip 'Love Explosion' into a strident, front foot wafered and pumping disco funker with gorgeous vocals. There I so much sunshine and joy in these tunes that they melt even the stoniest of hearts.

Review: Detroit vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Javonntte is contracted by Marcel Vogel and Tim Jules for the smooth, disco-splashed house cut 'Just Because', now hearing a long-awaited 12" release on Lumberjacks In Hell, the clav-loving label named after the 2018 Vogel release of the same name. Known for his deep musicality and effortless brio, Javonntte's soulful touch now drops anchor on the original's groove, letting open the possibility for the three distinct remixes by Floyd Vader, Lyma and Stefan Ringer to follow. There come etched a future-leaning electro r&b cut, a Portlandian Yoruba house hitter, and a complementary post-boogie bust-up respectively.

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: 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: After spending much of the last five years confined to the United States, Ron Trent is off on tour this year. As a way of re-introducing himself - not the deep house legend needed to do that of course - he has partnered with Rush Hour to release Lift Off, a fresh double album of previously unheard music. More defiantly dancefloor-centric than his previous album, the decidedly cosmic and downtempo 'What Do The Stars Say To You' (as WARM), the two-disc set sees the Chicagoan combine his usual percussively-layered grooves, warming basslines and colourful synth sounds with nods to all manner of musical influences old and new. The results are uniformly superb, with our picks of a very strong bunch including the spacey future-boogie of Leroy Burgess collaboration 'Let Me See You Shining', the spaced-out, slow-motion epic that is 'Woman of Color', the AM radio-friendly Balearic pop of 'Just Another Love Song' and the undeniably gorgeous 'Street Wave'.