Review: B.Love is next up on Leeds legend Ralph Lawson's 20/20 label having come to his attention on Record Store Day 2024 with his Music Dance Experience EP and then later that day when playing as a resident at the Bizarre Trax party Lawson was en route to play. Here he showcases his electro sound across four cuts starting with 'Rhythm Freq', a celestial and disco-tinged sound. 'Movement Feeling' is a party starting cut with old school style and plenty of percussive lushness, then 'Soda Junior' brings louche, low-slung disco funk before 'Bisous' shuts down with more cosmic playfulness and vibrant synth colours.
Review: Margate-based Braga Circuit showcases a refined signature style and knack for killer sampling with this standout debut on Air Miles. 'Fall' kicks off with amped-up chord stabs and brilliantly well-swung, rolling kicks that soon get those hips moving. 'Closer' oozes summer cool thanks to the balmy chords that soften the percussive, garage-flecked house drums. There is also plenty of Kerri Chandler soul in these here beats that makes them all the more essential. 'Filter Feed' layers up dusty perc and thudding kicks with sultry vocal whispers. It's steamy and irresistible and last but not least, Leod is another talent from the coastal town of Margate and remixes this one with a more direct and dubby style.
Review: Burnski's high-quality Constant Black is back with more essential club-ready sounds. Donnie Cosmo and Pascal Benjamin step up for one side of action each. Cosmo's 'Holo Glitch' is first and pairs balmy synth work that is colourful and silky with some punchy tech drums and rolling bass that pulls you in deep. 'Echo Drift' is another lithe and lively one to get you on your toes while the groove flows and 'Airplane Mode' is another stylish mix of lush synth design and great rhythm. Benjamin's trio on the flip is a little more gritty with industrial-space-tech many the most fitting way to describe these curious cosmic cuts.
Review: REPRESS ALERT!: In case you didn't know, Reliance is yet another label from man like Burnski, the UK powerhouse who is almost single-handedly spearheading a sound that fuses garage, house and tech into something irresistible for the club. He invites Job de Jong to step up for the label's second outing and 'Dub House' is a great opener with just the right amount of bounce, melody and heart. Kepler remixes it into a percussive stomper with siren stabs and dusty perc. 'Emergency' is a trippy melodic workout that bends space and time and 'Don't Wanna Stop, Dub Stop' chucks a killer vocal into the mix over sleazy drums and garage drums that are always going to get big reactions.
Review: Chicago has many legendary figures, but one who stands proud among many is DJ Deeon, a low-end legend and widely considered to be the true Godfather of ghetto house. He dropped this EP originally back in 2013, and it is one of many that soon became classic, which is why it gets this remix from Chiwax. 'Happy' perfectly summarises Deeon's sound - booming and heavyweight kick and drums, smart samples looped perfectly and big hooks. 'The Truth' speeds things up and brings that Ghetto sleaze, and 'R U Sure' is a more minimal sound that still bangs like a heavyweight. 'Gigabytes' is full of caustic synths and blending melodies that bring sheer chaos to the club.
Review: He's the original (and maybe only self-proclaimed?) house gangster and he is back in 2025 and sounding as good as ever. Puerto Rico by way of Chicago's DJ Sneak makes beats as raw as the meat he likes to chuck on his BBQ grill and UK house legend Nail must be a fan cause it's his label he lands on now. This is a solid four-tracker that ticks all the boxes with its killer grooves and smart loops. 'All I Need In Life' is a playful opener, 'Das Gud!' gets more intense and trippy with its bleepy melodic refrains and 'Help Me Somebody' then sinks back into loose and dusty, disco-tinged drums with classic cowbell hits. 'What You Expecting From Me' is a sweaty and gritty warehouse banger to close with aplomb.
Review: Caleto Records's eighth outing takes the form of this various artists compilation featuring exclusively Polish producers. The Etat Cru duo of Olszewski and Pawlescu kick off with the wire and sinewy synths and tech house pomp of 'Jasmina' then Jerry M offers two cuts. 'Gutek' is a nice spaced-out tech cruiser with flashy astral pads and 'Gondin' rides on well-designed breakbeats with an old-school bassline. Robsessive's 'Look After You' is a deeper, dubber, grittier cut for late-night vibes and SIM ON's 'Brudas' is all glitchy and dystopian urban landscaping. Poland sure has plenty of talent based on this EP.
Review: Haggerston-based production wizard Jeigo kicks off the year after a standout 2024 by serving his own label Fleurella Records' first release. For the occasion, he reissues his track 'Pearl Leaf' which sits in between the worlds of Bicep, Sasha and UKG. It has floating pads and airy, organic beats that carry you away on a melancholic mood with deeply buried vocals adding a blurry, heart-tugging hook. On the flip are two new and unheard jams. 'Headpains' is full of a flurry of breaks but is also laden with introspective emotion in the vocals and chords and 'The Days You Were Here' is a more downtempo cut with shimmering pads, pitched-up vocals and languid bass.
Review: It can be hard work keeping up with the myriad of different labels that Burnski aka Constant Sound aka Instinct heads up. This one leans more into UK garage and welcomes Main Phase for another succulent selection here. 'Gotta Maintain' kicks off with a nice dusty garage sound that will get your lip curled, and then Buckley brings broken beat rework with dubbed-out low ends. 'Soul Mirror' is a clean, bouncy sound with a cool synth breeze and 'Breather' brings some olds school references - the raga vocals, the bleeping synths and the monstrous bass. Brilliantly filthy.
Review: Burnski's agenda-setting garage label Instinct is back with killer new beats from Mance. 'Atmos101' gets things underway with sparking melodies zipping about the stereo field over chunky drums and with a filthy bassline. There is more of a throwback feel to the dusty drum loops of 'Stone Cold, Baby' complete with great vocal samples and spiralling pads. 'All Night' shows another look again with dry, stripped-back beats and big hits under warped synth stabs and more brain-melting bass. 'I Can't Help It' shuts down with silky pads work and soulful vocals.
Review: Ninja Records looks to build on the success of its first outing with a new outing from Miroloja who are brothers and key players in the Parisian underground with great credits already to their name on Berg Audio, Tzinah Records and OLO RECORDS. Their stripped-back but tight sound is laid bare on opener 'Linkblow' with its warm house kicks and wet clicks soon to make you move. 'Morgan' is speedier with some space-tech vibes and a snappier low-end. Closer 'Krazyteora' then explores a creepy late-night urban landscape with some cyclical drums and synths moving things onwards.
Review: The Pittsburgh Tracks Authority crew prides itself on serving up fad-free, no-frills, authentic-only house music that will stand up to the tyranny of passing trends. For their next outing, they veer into tech territory with 'Tech 97', a tune that embodies just that, a bit like, a no doubt subtly named in reference to, Micke Huckaby's Bassline 87 tune. It might sound simple, but effective, but that's really not an easy trick to pull off. The manic mix allows the synth more room to roam and rumble with more raw percussion, and the Calm mix is a smooth, dubbed-out but still nice and pacey rework. Very useful tools.
Review: Italian artist Recut is back with a new four-track outing that comes steeped in the lovably mad energy of acid, the enduring rawness of the Chicago underground and the drum sounds of New York. He has been active since the 90s so has a great through-line to these foundational styles but makes them his own here. Interestingly he started producing with turntables and mixers after being inspired by DMC champion so brings a real live feel to his sounds. 'Narcotic Tango' is a full-throttle pumper, 'Acid Street' layers undulating 303 lines into silky and elastic drums and 'Jack O Acid' gets more intense and in your face. 'Feel The Heat' shuts down with some trippy synth colours.
Review: Franck Roger recently impressed with a vocal project alongside Arnold Jarvis and is now back on Seasons Limited with some of his signature house depths. Opener 'Don't Look Down' kicks off with louche, lovely drums and swirling pads and vocals that soon melt the heart. 'That's Alright' is a more thumping kick but is no less heartfelt with its warped bass and prickly hi-hats. 'Proscription' closes out with smooth, serene grooves that have your head in the stars and your heart locked into the romantic melodies. .
Review: Seasons Limited made a welcome return in 2024 and now keeps up that good momentum with another big single from French house mainstay Franck Roger with some fine vocals by Paul B. It's a super smooth sound with drum swaying back and forth, molten synth adding late night and tissue soul and the tender vocal adding intimacy and late night romance. Rocco Rodamaal steps up for remixes and first of all he pairs things back to a sedate, seductive deep house roll then fleshes out the drums with some dubby weight to finish.!
Review: Swayzak's role in establishing minimal makes them one of the scene's greats. Their meticulously compiled discography has many treasures, and plenty of them are hard to find and expensive. That has long been the case with this EP, originally from 1998, but now reissued by the back-cat boffins at Rawax. 'Lokal' has it all across 11 immersive minutes, from the deft, loopy drum programming that floats above the floor to the wispy and synthetic melodies and churning synth hooks. 'Yardarm' is another majestic minimal symphony, though this one hits a little harder and might well be the best of the two because of it. It's a perfect mix of dreamy mental escape and irresistible body music for the wee-small hours.
Review: Burnski's Pilot label keeps it fresh with more sounds that operate in the middle ground between house, tech and garage. This one is a split EP that kicks off with Vitess's 'You Got Work,' fizzy, sugary cosmic cut with bouncing drums. 'Play My Game' is another trippy and astral affair with disco energy and wispy synth melodies that hit different. Robin Graham steps up on the flip with 'Not Here 2 Party' which is a low-slung tech cut with a sordid little bassline. 'Pipe Dream' gets even more abstract and minimal with sleek drums and dry drums rolling onwards.
Waterslide (Gallegos' Blue Playstation mix) (5:36)
Kindness (6:42)
Review: Vyvyan is the solo project of Bonar Bradberry, a perennial underground perfumer with roots in disco and house and plenty of great releases to his name as half of the acclaimed Leeds duo PBR Streetgang. Here, he delivers music for dancefloors when the night turns uncanny by stripping club sounds to their raw essence. Following his 2022 debut album Y, which fused rough percussion with warped melodies, the 'Waterslide EP' pushes on further. The standout title track is minimal and wonky house with synergic synths that burrow deep into your brain and it receives a powerful remix from Gallegos, while 'Kindness' is an amped up rhythm with plump kicks and trippy lines spraying throughout the mix.
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