Smallville Vinilo y CD

Review: Sweden-based Chicagoan Amir Alexander's first EP for Smallville is as immersive, woozy and warming as you'd expect, with the long-serving deep house producer delivering a string of exceptionally classy cuts. To kick things off, he unfurls a simply gorgeous, soft-touch tribute to New York's hippest borough, 'Love Notes To Brooklyn', where starry and echoing vocal samples, neo-funk synths and the deepest of Rhodes chords ride a sumptuous house groove, before plunging into ultra-deep territory on the bluesy, early morning hypnotism of 'The Deepness'. To round things off, he doffs a cap to his Windy City roots on the impressively analogue-rich 'That Feeling!', where ocean-deep pads, soulful vocal snippets and angular electronics ride a weighty TB-303 bassline and snappy machine drums.

Review: With his deliciously deep With You By The Lake 12" on UntilMyHeartStops still ringing in our ears, Arnaldo drops his first EP for Smallville for three years. Unsurprisingly, this two is a wonderfully fluid delight, with all three tracks offering a near perfect balance of lolloping grooves, glassy-eyed melodies and eyes-shut chords. A-side "Moving On" sets the tone, layering dreamy pads and cascading melodies atop a shuffling groove. He gets a little more forthright on the cymbal-heavy deep house pump of "Never Used To Be Better", before calming things down with the heavenly throb, woozy spoken vocal samples and cyclical melodies of "Million Mile Love".

Review: Four technical scratches from Joe Davies, who asks us forgiveness for his "late response"; he's been toiling away in the studio since at least his last EP for Smallville, 'Shields In Full Sunlight', and now returns to the fore for yet another punchy and arresting new EP. 'Errol Dub' and 'Unknown' provide the first intersonic tension, the former track building low chord pulses and nautical beats around an encircling "what'd I do?" sample, and the latter proving swangier, more acidic and low-slung. Thereafter come the two latter, more pisciform trax, with '1234' bringing a submersive Drexciyan steeze to a metallic pulse, and the latter 'Hi Life' moving more waterboarded breaks and minimal, providing a ruinous undersea vision of the German city of Frankfurt, post sea-level rise.

Review: Very unorthodox and textured deep house from Edward with the self-referent 'Eddie Green' EP. The fourth record on Smallville, this one bolsters the label's enduring status as a weirdo's deep house favourite, with A-siders 'Primal Dream' and 'Blue Glue' bringing a kind of Seussian or Carroll-esque adventurism to the genre. All manner of slippery, slimy, verging on post-organic sound effect - be they from chup-chup birds, slerber gerbs, and every other 'nonsense' organism imaginable - are heard on these otherwise mechanistic beats, which, merely between the cracks, sound as alive as a collective fungus' inner mycelial core. Then, on the B, by far the standout is 'Eddie Green', which bowls down a suddenly, seemingly endless speedway of neon-lit whizz-past scenes, yet tempered by a still surreal animism shared on the A.

Review: Since founding the admirable Scissor & Thread label 14 years ago, Francis "Frank" Harris and Anthony "Tony" Collins have made very few appearances on other labels - making this outing on Hamburg's masters of all things deep and dreamy, Smallville Records, a notable excursion. As befits both label and artist, the three tracks on offer are genuinely atmospheric and ultra-deep, albeit still blessed with enough groove and bottom-end oomph to titillate late-night and early morning dancefloors. For proof, check A-side 'Ways of Mine', with its yearning pads, warm bass, heady spoken word snippets, spacey electronics and locked-in beats. The quality threshold remains high on the flip, where the slow burning (and even deeper) 'After All' is joined by the intergalactic dancefloor drift of 'Dimension'.

Review: Last year, Home of House Records founder - and the producer responsible for the first release on the admired Kalahari Oyster Cult imprint - delivered his first new EP of music in over five years. The creative juices now flowing again, he's landed on another admired imprint: Hamburg stable Smallville. He begins in confident mood via the new age house-meets-vintage-Italian house hustle of 'Move Your Body', where Enigma style synth-flutes and elongated chords flutter around a squelchy bassline, before opting for a dreamier and more thickset classic deep garage-house sound on 'Feel The G'. The Italian producer reaches for more sublime ambient house chords, jazzy bass and eyes-closed melodies on flip-side opener 'One Kiss One', while 'Isola 89' sounds like his tribute to the 'paradise house' of Don Carlos and Sueno Latino.

Review: Hamburg purveyors of the deep Smallville are back with the debut of L'amour Fou, The Dujuan EP is the work of David Moufang aka Move D with Benoit Bouquin and Taipei based Marco Wollenberg. While opening cut "Sunday Haze" may sound like more generic fare, with its emotive house organs and all; the trio really find their sound on the B side when they dive into the deep and abstract. The evocative title track for instance, with its razor sharp and wandering arpeggio which is backed by a wonderfully hypnotic arrangement. Final offering "The Last Call" incorporates live instrumentation (mainly that sombre fingerpicked guitar riff), over ambient textures and reverb drenched field recordings with dusty rhythm patterns. Like most anything involving Moufang you really can't go wrong: and this one's no exception!

Review: 24 years into his career as Lawrence, Peter M Kersten continues to deliver devilishly deep house workouts that somehow manage to be both effortlessly immersive and percussively propulsive. There's plenty of examples of this trademark style on the Gravity Hill EP, which marks his return to Smalleville after a nine-year absence. Check first the title track, where soft-focus pads, poignant piano motifs and deep bass ride a rock-solid house groove, before turning your attention to the dusty, opaque, slowly unfurling dancefloor beauty of 'Beaver'. Kersten opts for a warmer, drowsier and more hypnotic deep house sound in the similarly gorgeous 'The Swamp', before he doffs a cap to Green and Brown Album-era Orbital via the looped intergalactic synth sounds, analogue synth-bass and swinging house beats of 'Stargazer'.

Review: In the sales notes sent to record stores, Smalleville has described this multi-artist affair as "a club night from start to finish". Certainly, the four tracks are pleasingly varied, moving from the 109 BPM bliss of Makybee Diva's untitled dream-house shuffler, to the energetic acid house/deep house fusion of "Monkeys On My Roof" by L'Amour Fou, a collaborative project whose members include the legendary David 'Move D' Moufang. Elsewhere, Arnaldo delivers a near perfect chunk of Detroit techno inspired deep house hypnotism ("Screaming With A Blocked Nose"), and Chicagoan producer Snad combines sweaty, bumpin' grooves and becalmed synthesizer motifs on the excellent "Excerptz".

Review: Two years on from the release of his glistening debut album, Hamburg-based producer Christopher Rau delivers a self explanatory follow-up. Throughout his short career, Rau has impressed by taking a sideways glance at deep house, delivering a mix of vivid electronic melodies, off-kilter rhythms and tactile synths. Two continues this approach, offering both floor-friendly deep house atmospherics ("Sound Shake", "Unlimited Dancemoves" and the crackly blues influences of "Ciao") and wonky, synth-laden beat-scapes (check the fluid swing of "Apple Snapple Tracking" and the decidedly tropical "Swag Lude"). The album's best moment, though, is "Weird Alps", a kind of bittersweet synth-pop/deep house fusion that bristles with melodic intent.

Review: While his productions have graced many fine labels - Die Orakel, Pampa, Mule Musiq and Giegling included - Christopher Rau has been integral part of the Smallville Records family since 2009. High quality deep house is the order of the day throughout Abspace, his first EP for the label since 2020, with the yearning, slow-build positivity of the gorgeous title track being followed by the immersive, sci-fi bliss of 'Set It Off', whose melancholic chords add a bittersweet touch to an otherwise loved-up affair. Over on side B, 'Do It' sees him successfully doff a catch the classic Mr Fingers productions (with a touch of Move D on the side), while 'One More Time' is a melodious, riff-heavy affair that's as saucer eyed as they come.

Review: Bari house don Rhythm Of Paradise has been upholding the Italo house tradition over a run of superlative releases for the likes of Cosmic Rhythm, Chiwax and Kalahari Oyster Cult, and now he returns to Smallville for more of that quintessential deep-diving gear. His sound is right at home on Hamburg's finest house label, with 'In My Face' revelling in subdued, blue-hued pad tones while 'Love Me Tonite' rides mellow chords on delightfully dusty beats. Nu Cleo is on hand with a sprightly remix of 'Deepside' before the record closes out with the celestial acid fantasy of 'Solaris'.

Review: Dana Ruh has made a lot of great music over the years, much of it in a trademark personal style that's deep, dubby and tailor-made for bleary-eyed early morning dancefloors. Even so, the first lady of Berlin deep house has gone even deeper on 'Different Places Different Favourites', her first outing on Smallville. Check first 'The Spirit', where echoing synth stabs and gentle acid lines ride a weighty, dub house style bassline and locked-in drums, before admiring the spacey, Move D-esque brilliance of 'TJ Mornings'. Elsewhere, 'L.A Nights' is dreamy, deep, hazy and soulful - U.S deep house viewed through a cloud of jazz cigarette smoke - and 'Reach Out For Me' pairs the wonky, stripped-back sonics of bleep with Ruh's trademark deep, dubby house crackle. Impeccable.

Review: Having made a name for herself via a series of fine EPs for Shall Not Fade, Chiwax and Tresydos (the latter in collaboration with Vince Void), rising star Lis Sarroca makes her Smallville label debut with a quartet of typically impressive cuts. The Spanish producer is in fine form on opener 'Atacote', where positive and gently sunny piano motifs and Italian dream house influenced pads ride a smooth bassline and shuffling deep house drums. 'Breaks Reminder' sees her successfully fuse the immersive dreaminess of classic Smallville deep house with shuffling electro-breaks and tight TB-303 acid lines, while 'Early Years' is a sumptuous slab of picturesque deep house dreaminess. To round off a brilliant EP, she serves up the revivalist electrofunk-meets-early European house excellence of 'Might Be'.

Review: Snad's latest three-track EP is a captivating journey through deep house, with a mastery of lush atmospheres and intricate sound design. 'Bubblescope' opens the EP with smooth, melodic deep house, blending ambient elements that create a soothing, immersive atmosphere. 'Lukeworm Lava' follows with its bubbling deep bass notes and aquatic washes of melody, evoking a serene, almost otherworldly vibe. The track is both calming and deep, perfect for reflective moments on the dancefloor. Closing with 'Tanni', Snad delivers an ambient and jazzy tech house gem that brings a sophisticated, soulful edge to the EP. The track is a beautiful fusion of laid-back vibes and rhythmic energy, highlighting Snad's ability to craft deep, emotive house music. A smooth, jazzy exploration of deep house that will resonate with fans of both Chicago house and atmospheric sounds.

Review: With a title such as Simply Positive, you'd expect this EP from Stephan 'STL' Laubner - the follow-up to his typically dubby and spaced-out At Disconnected Moments LP - to be cheerier than average. Certainly, by the techno stalwart's usual standards, it is. Both tracks operate in the deep house sphere, with opener "Heaven's Vape" (we chuckled, at least) peppering a rubbery, low-end groove with tuneful synthesizers and glistening electronics. There's a similar love-of-life demonstrated on flipside "Joy Operator", with winding synth motifs, lazy synth-strings and tumbling electronics draped over a notably bullish, forthright groove. Both tracks are typical of Smallville's output, but rather less obtuse than Laubner's usual fare.

Review: Stefan Laubner is the undisputed master of the left of centre house groove and on "Where Have You Gone", he proves his worth yet again. Spacey, somewhat mysterious melodies float through the arrangement, appearing gradually over Laubner's trademark doubled up, scuffled beats. He adopts a similar approach with "Inverted Reality". There, grinding sounds and a heavy bass make the off beats sound more deranged and out there. However, it's with "Your Turn" that he really impresses. The track marks a departure of sorts for Laubner, with a dubby, snaking bassline at its centre, and the metallic drums and a linear rhythm marking out the German producer's most techno focused release to date.

Notes: With his debut release on co-owned Smallville label, Stefan Marx presents an exclusive Poster Collection coated inside a gatefold 12" cover sleeve. Giving the Smallville shop and label a visual face since the very beginning, Stefan Marx created hundreds of posters and partyflyers, painted the shopwindows regularly and set up every single record cover. Now its the time for himself to release an extraordinary Smallville issue in 12" format.

Three posters (each has the size of 90cm x 60cm) including a first appearance of his band project The Dead Sea (aka Stefan Marx, RVDS, Lawrence and Birte Loschenkohl). The Smallville 25 is a collaboration with Nieves, the Zurich based publishing house of Stefan Marx and some all-time favorite contributors such as Kim Gordon, Mike Mills, Mark Gonzales and Wesley Willis. Stefan is working with Nieves since 2004, publishing books and zines on regular basis. The Smallville Release is dedicated to Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, probably the best band in the world.