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   | | Last year, Joeski popped up on Cajmere's Relief Records imprint with a dash of "Acid Disco". On his second Crosstown Rebels appearance, the long-serving producer explores similar territory, serving up "Acid" and "Disco" variants of the sleazy and enticing "I Want You". It's arguably the former version, with its? piercing TB-303 lines, jacking drums, Hipp-E and Halo style dubbed-out rifss and wonky, spoken word vocals that hits home hardest. It's certainly both big room and peak-time friendly. The "Disco Mix" is still impressive though, featuring as it does looser drums, warmer bass and some choice guitar samples from Cymade's superb "Dove". While certainly evocative, it lacks the feral appeal of the wilder "Acid Mix". | |
 | | Since first popping up on Classic back in 2015, Chicago stalwart Chrissy (once famed for his juke productions as Chrissy Murderbot, but not embracing his house and disco roots) has barely put a foot wrong. "Back in Time", his third single for Derrick Carter and Luke Solomon's label, is another surefire hit; a delightfully celebratory vocal workout blessed with nods towards classic disco, Maurice Fulton's Syclops project (check the meandering analogue synth bassline) and sing-along house. Of the producer's two versions, it's the Extended Mix, with its additional bassline pressure and punchy drum fills, that's the superior choice. Arguably even better is Crackazat's swinging, piano-heavy Extended Remix, which comes on like a long-lost vocal house anthem from the mid '90s. | |
 | | Over the course of their short career, Soundersons has consistently delivered material shot through with musical references to New York's oceans-deep dance music history. Last time out, on Midnight Riot, they doffed a cap to vintage NYC disco, boogie and Metro Area. On this second Paper Recordings outing, they've switched focus to embrace the Big Apple's early house history. "Headhunters", for example, is a delicious fusion of Burrell Brothers style analogue warmth, glassy-eyed early New Jersey deep house and gentle but restless acid lines. There's a little more Daniel Wang/Metro Area swing to the cheery nu-disco/deep house fusion of "Make The Music", while closer "Brazilian Summer" is a veritable carnival of jazz-funk electric pianos, foreboding chords and lolloping drum machine rhythms. | |
 | | Blutch has been quietly going about his business since 2014, delivering sporadic slices of Balearic goodness and, most recently, bespoke deep house warmth. This latest EP could well be his most obviously peak-time focused released yet, with swinging, jazz-flecked opener "Dropin' a Chrome" delivering a weighty and attractive mix of bumpin', boompty-influenced deep house beats, lilting trumpet motifs, hip-hop vocal samples and seriously heavy analogue sub-bass. The disco-fired "Last Dance" - all Loleatta Holloway vocal samples, woozy chords and sturdy beats - explores similar territory, while "Ezra Was Not Right" sounds like a morning-fresh collaboration between "Eple"-era Royksopp and swinging deep houser Mall Grab. There's also a tasty bonus in the shape of Red Rack'em's dreamy and swirling remix of "Dropin' a Chrome", which includes some subtle nods towards Pepe Bradock classic "Deep Burnt". | |
 | | Having spent the last few years championing vinyl-only releases, London-based deep house imprint Slow Down has finally decided to make some of its' releases available on digital download. Fittingly, they've reached for the label's 2014 debut release first, a brilliant four-tracker from long-serving U.S producer Greg Stewart, better known as DJ Aakmael. Each of the four tracks is wonderfully warm, rich and gently life affirming, with Stewart variously making use of bluesy sampled loops, fluid piano motifs, deep-space chords, wild organ solos, tactile New Jersey garage basslines and brilliantly programmed percussion. In other words, it's a collection of top quality deep house tracks from a producer who's been at the top of his game since the 1990s. | |
 | | Davide Squillace's label opens its 2018 account with a killer release. G Flame is the house-focused alias of Cisco Ferreira, who is better known for his razor sharp techno and electro work as The Advent. As Fever shows, he is also adept at making deeper grooves. The title track is a good example; based on a tracky backing, it sees Ferreira unleash waves of subtle filters, warm chords and highly effective break downs and builds. "Bumped" is based on a similar approach, with a rolling groove underpinning hypnotic, dubbed out stabs. The label has commissioned another scene veteran, Steve Rachmad to provide the remixes. Working under his Sterac alias, he delivers a deep, driving take on the title track and a "stripped" version that deploys dramatic woodwind over a pulsing, glistening groove. | |
 | | London label Brock Wild drops a split EP that is rooted in the madness of the 303 sound. First up is Enrico Saba with "Acid Groove". Featuring angry vocal samples, rolling snares and wild acid lines, it's a racuous, exhilarating affair, ideal for peak time usage. "303 Buzzer" by Niceteed, is even more deranged, with squelching, brain-melting 303s riding thunder claps and a firing rhythm. While "Mantra" by Lil'M & Jok and Miguel Rendeiro's "Feel That Way" aren't quite as intense and resound to slower tempos, they nonetheless feature the same kind of wild, tweaked acid lines and percussive builds. Rounding off the release is "Acid Phone", by Sammy W & Alex E, where an insistent vocal is woven over a rolling, conga-led groove. | |
 | | Various Crosstown Rebels boss Damian Lazarus has described Spirits, the label's new annual compilation series, as "a fresh psychedelic journey into the mind". While that might be over-egging the (Christmas) pudding a bit, there's definitely a deep, humid and occasionally hallucinatory feel to many of the showcased tracks, which mostly sit somewhere between lucid deep house and skewed tech-house wonkiness. Wisely, Lazarus has chosen tracks from new and rising stars of his various labels, with highlights coming from the likes of Magit Cacoon (the bass-heavy, Innervisions-esque "Nonsense"), Raw District (the foreboding last night hypnotism of "Another Way", featuring folksy vocalist Alice Rose) and Nico Stajan and David Mayer, whose brilliant "Killing Your Lover" layers an eyes-closed Jan Blomqvist vocal over dense but groovy tribal drums. | |
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