Studio Barnhus Sweden Vinilo y CD

Review: Is there a more fun and hard-to-pin-down label than Studio Barnhus? The plaything of Swedish artists Kornel Kovacs, Axel Boman and their mate Petter Nordkvist it has done it all from trancehall to bubblegum house via pop edits and plenty in between. Now they look to Stockholm boys Ari Bald & CJ Scott once more for a new EP that bangs hard and has a great sense of character, much like their label debut here last year. All four of these house cuts are full-flavoured slammers with heartfelt vocal samples and lovely naive melodies that really make their mark.

Review: Experimental deep house superstar Bella Boo returns to Studio Barnhus for her latest album DreamySpaceyBlue, and expands outwards into a more varying tempo range in the process. If album titles are anything to go by, this one should give you an indication of the kind of sonics you'll hear when popping this 180g cream vinyl record on the belt-driven plate. Moving in more bittersweet, heartstring-tugging directions after a jankier set of EP movements years prior, the likes of 'Can't Stop' and 'Heartbeat/Into The Night' move through every influence from Jersey bounce to breaks, pitting deeply affected vocals and spacious synth bubblings against a thematic backdrop of "dark times (demanding) love, healing and forgiveness."

Review: Those pesky Swedish pranksters Studio Barnhus always like to surprise and subvert with the music they make and release and it is fair to say we never expected to find FaltyDL on their well regarded label. It finds the accomplished New Yorker paying homage to deep house while also updating the classic template. 'Our House Is Barnhus' is run through with serene strings as the paddy drums uplifting you and sprinklings of percussion keep things classy. 'Gut Punch' is the one though - a steamy and deep cut that channels early Prescription and Pepe Braddock into something beautiful.