New releases today: House

Review: Ukrainian producer Vakula makes a swift return to the always reliable Phonogramme label from Paris with a superb follow-up to his recent Dinsync collaboration. Deep, nocturnally charged and gorgeously atmospheric, the EP opens with the brooding acid of 'Quantum Voyage', where foggy pads drift over bubbling 303 and jagged machine hits. 'Skys Whisper' blends emotive synth waves with growling bass and crisp drums, with its bittersweet topline gliding over sumptuous harmonics, while 'Sunny Konotop' maintains a similar trajectory, with misty-eyed synth work dancing over low-slung bass and swung beats. Magnificent work.

Review: Back in the early-to-mid 2000s, Canadian house stalwart Julius Papp released a series of hush-hush rework and remix EPs under the Excursions alias. Some of those - including the 2003 edition of this release - have subsequently become in-demand items online. Listening back, it's easy to hear why. A-side 'Woah, Nelly (Slap Edit)' re-invents Nelly pop classic 'Hot in Here' as a rolling and squelchy slab of party-starting deep house funkiness that's guaranteed to get dancefloors moving. Over on the flip, we get takes on two Sade cuts: the San Francisco deep house style gorgeousness of 'Sade 2003' (a rework of 'Somebody Already Broke My Heart') and the more punchy, energetic 'Sade 2000' (a fine revision of Diamond Life track 'I Will Be Your Friend' which was originally released on an earlier Excursions 12-inch).