Tiff's Joints Vinilo y CD

Review: Last year's first outing from the Tiff's Joint label - a gleeful, hard-to-pigeonhole fusion of global musical styles and contemporary dancefloor chops - has naturally raised expectations ahead of this second 12". This one comes from Deoke, a previously unheralded producer keen to present us with his Kudu Fantasy Versions. On A-side "Kamby" he smartly underpins loose and vibrant South American hand percussion with the locked-in pulse of drum machine rhythms, throwing trippy electronics, rich Afrobeat bass and tropical sounds on top. While impressive, it's nowhere near as overwhelmingly positive as B-side "Saskwatch", where undulating synthesizer lines, jazzy guitar flourishes and rush-inducing chords wrap themselves around a killer, densely layered Afro-house groove.

Review: Having impressed connoisseurs with the quality of his largely overlooked debut on YAM Recordings, "Off Grid", Romaal Kultan has been given a chance to further showcase his skills via a three-track EP on Tiff's Joints. A-side "Step Aside" is particularly potent, with Kultan expertly fusing chiming lead lines, off-kilter polyrhythmic drums, undulating acid lines, cascading synth-strings and Rhodes chords so warm you could probably use them to toast crumpets. He moves further towards an organic, jazz-funk flavoured deep house sound on the sumptuous "Why Not?", before brilliantly dipping the tempo to shuffle his way through the ultra-deep blend of new age melodies, Osunlade-style drums, delay-laden percussion hits and seductive bass that is title track "Everlasting Romance".

Review: You might not believe from the name and its exotic array of artists names, but the Tiff's Joints label is very much a London affair. The label has literally sprung up out of nowhere and caught us all by surprise but, if this tropical house style is what they'll be going for in the future, then we are absolutely all ears. Oribata is made up of Fernando TRZ and Tahira, and the duo really know how to lay down some proper tribal house, the sort of itchy, disco-leaning material that is harder and harder to come by - fans of Bjorn Torske should dig into this. The flip is no less spectacular, a Tahira edit of "Cavalinho Cavalao by Banda De Pifanos De Caruaro, and it's a high-powered percussion driver like we haven't heard in a while. That flute and those drum rolls are just tip-top, and this is so badly TIPPED!