Soiree US Vinilo y CD

Review: Derrick Thompson is back under his Drivetrain alias and steering another various artists release on his own Soiree label carrying real-deal underground house and techno from his home base in the Motor City. Thompson kicks off with 'Spin The Record', a jacking, tracky slab of metallic pressure which will work wonders in the mix with all kinds of gear. Jay Strata is up next with 'Heart Strings', a plush slice of machine soul schooled in the Detroit approach. Teknobrat brings something a little spicier but no less classically informed, while DJ Mourad completes the set with an edgy, loopy affair to send synapses into overdrive.

Review: Drivetrain and Melodymann hail from Detroit and Belgium respectively and together the've cooked up an incredibly affecting quad of tunes which we now hear pressed to wax via Soiree. An overarching homage to the classically 'slapdash' or lackadaisical feel of Chicago and Detroit house abounds, as the likes of 'Music Got Me' and 'Keep It Movin' work in the very same janky shuffles that would hear the latter ends of those genres bleed into US garage and come with palette-cleansing aperitifs in the form of vocal samples from various soul sources. Keep it coming.

Review: Soiree hands over its next 12" to a pair of artists who take care of one side each. Drivetrain goes first with 'The Moonlight' which is a moon-lit jaunt through a futuristic city scope with broken beats and neon chords. 'Moonlight & You' carries over similar melodies with steely drums and vocal harmonies, and then G-Prod steps up with 'Moonlight' which brings a more stripped back and dark groove run through with acid menace. Last of all is David Duriez with his Floating Light mix of the same cut and it's a dreamy deep house roller for cosy basements.