New releases today: House

Review: Mother Tongue pushes on with more sounds from the constantly evolving creative mind of Julion De'Angelo. His vibe is soulful, modern yet proudly Black, and always has a big focus on the dumps. This debut for the label carries on that tradition with opener 'NOWnormal' built on a rugged rhythm and laden with percussion and off-grid chords. 'NotAnotherCafe!!' (with Deon Jamar - Turmeric Latte mix) has more sunny synths and a percolating low end reminiscent of Theo Parrish and 'MyzticBounz' rides roughshod on broken beats and busted synths that bring a raw sense of soul.

Review: Atlanta's leading deep house outlet NDATL welcomes DJ Aakmael for its next outing and - as always with this producer - the results are smoky and seductive. His signature sound is all about cuddly, dusty drums with deft little melodies, horns or gospel samples that lodge in your mind while you move to his compelling grooves. That's true again here with a Latin-jazz-infused opener in the form of 'Track 109.' 'Imagination' is a truly hypnotic house sound and on the flip are 'This Is Not A Game,' a killer collab with label head Kai Alce, and '102.5' which has a bassline smoother than chocolate. Another doozy from Aakmael, then.

Review: Some 29 years after it first hit record stores, Nick Holder's sought-after Fruit Loops EP returns in remastered and reissued form. The long-serving Canadian was already four years into his career - and many 12" singles deep - when he delivered the four-tracker, which offers a funky and seductive take on deep house rich in disco and boogie samples. Check first the Chic-sampling disco house roll of 'Dance, Dance, Dance', before moving into the more complex (but not less attractive) 'Keep On Running'. 'The Message Is Love' does a brilliant job in turning choice loops and samples from MFSB's 'Love Is A Message' into heady house gold, while 'Clap Your Hands' makes merry with the stomping brilliance of Hamilton Bohannon's most famous tune ('Let's Start The Dance').

Review: First released on Nice & Ripe in 1994 when it was produced by early UK house and garage dons Grant Nelson, Si Firmin, and David Thackeray, this track has been remastered for the first time. The reissue comes on Digital Tape Recordings and sounds as good as ever, especially given the current revival of original garage. Reminiscent of their iconic 24hr Experience and GOD releases, it opens with the gritty and low slung sounds of '1 2 Luv', features the more thumping 'Sampler', diva vocal cries of 'Groovement' and stripped back version 'Dubment'.

Review: This new one from El Triangulo Records is the debut single from North Satellite's 2023 album, Past Life Half-Lived. It features several different and equally good versions including the original LP vision by the legendary Metro Area man Darshan Jesrani and alternate versions by Eugene Tambourine and Conrad McDonnell of Idjut Boys fame. The 12" is limited to 300 copies and for our money features some of the best cosmic disco and analogue drum grooves we've heard in a while. Of all the highlights, the opening Cosmic Freestyle is the one we love most.

Review: Especial Specials has recently helped to take the Japanese label Chill Mountain Record into the world of wax after it previously operated only in the digital world. Now it carries on with a similar MO as it works with Multi Culti label head, DJ and producer Dreems on new set of limited-edition EPs. He has already landed on the likes of Kompakt, Pinchy & Friends and Futureboogie and now digs into his vaults to serve up some edits and dubs that are hard to pin down but often doused in psychedelic overtones, acid and dub. Each one is a unique work in its own right but they all add up to one helluva good EP.

Review: Especial Specials always deal in releases with a story often as interesting as the music itself. This time out they enlist DJ and producer Dreems for a fine collection of limited-edition 12"s. Angus Gruzman aka Dreems is the man behind the vital Multi Culti label and has dropped his own wares on the likes of Kompakt, Pinchy & Friends and Futureboogie but somehow remains rather in the shadows. This deep dive into his vaults should change that - these are edits and dubs that come doused in psychedelia as they trip through several genres. There is off-kilter dub, melon-twisting dub, intensely percussive and tribal dub, and more besides across the five fantastic tracks.