House News

The first 12" from the team of Gary Martin and Sean Deason on the new label Third Wave Audio brings us 4 strong songs all quite different from each other but pulled together by a theme of life on a simulated planet.

Emperor Recordings are back with DJ Pembroke's highly anticipated debut 12" EP.

EMP004 takes us on a journey through outer-space with 3 house-techno-electro cuts. Swung, funky and relentless, this record is to be played loud whilst you're cruising through the asteroid belt.

Dark Entries returns to the New Jersey basement studio of Smersh to unearth an 18-minute jam session from 1989, backed with two contemporary remixes. Smersh was the duo of Mike Mangino and Chris Shepard from Piscataway, NJ who began making music together in 1978. They were uninterested in traditional notions of songwriting or live performance. Between 1981 and 1993 they released over 40 cassette albums on their own Atlas King imprint. As these tapes traded their way across continents, Smersh developed a devoted following in places far beyond New Jersey, leading to releases on dozens of other labels from around the globe.

Sideways' was taken from a cassette titled '100', which refers to a 100-minute jam session the band recorded to tape on June 12, 1989 in Piscataway. The track was composed and performed by Mike, utilizing a Roland TB-303, TR-606, SH-09 and an ARP 2600. A frenetic hybrid of techno and acid with driving EBM style beats, Sideways' weaves intricate industrial noises with synth melodies that drift in and out of phase. On the flip are two fresh remixes by different aliases of prolific Ann Arbor producer Tadd Mullinix. As JTC, he expands the sound palette, adding organ stabs and lush pads, drawing on Detroit deep house and UK garage.The Charles Manier remix features chanted vocals on top of an array of pulsating synths, stark percussion, and post-punky guitar effects. Each song has been carefully remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is sleeved in a replica of the '100' artwork, which designer Eloise Leigh modified using motifs and textures sourced from the original cassette. Also included is an oversized postcard with notes.

Classy super sound house single! Warm and uplifting with a gentle approach - but still with a solid mix and statement on both melody and groove. These two brilliant pop-lenght tunes cut generously on full 45rpm sides are produced by Wada, half of Tase, known from their great Acido and Atelier Records outputs.

After more than a decade of deep, expansive productions on labels such as Detroit Underground and CPU, Annie Hall arrives on MUSAR for a record typically rich in texture and understated grooves.

Opening track 'Linium' immediately seduces listeners with a complex drum pattern that somehow feels spacious, subtly twisting and turning its way around Hall's analogue world. Dutch artist Mattheis maintains this understated feel but adds a soft, compelling kick in response on his suspenseful remix of 'Lavandula'. The original, moodier version of this cut the follows to open the B side, gradually erupting around a killer distorted bassline. The EP continues to hit a more urgent note with the tense machinations of 'Silene', where dense layers of stuttering, frenetic drums interweave with Hall's trademark, melancholy keys. The record concludes on a weightless, transcendent note with 'Santolina', taking each visceral element featured thus far and slowing each down, with affecting results.

Indebted to vintage electro and IDM, Hall's music is no throwback, always looking forward and moving dancefloors in the most unexpected ways.



DJ FEEDBACK

Early support from



Michael Mayer (Kompakt) : Nice vibes from Mattheis... will play for sure!

James Zabiela (Born Electric) : Linium is a nice one, thanks.

Arnaud Le Texier (Cocoon / Chronicle) : Nice music. Thx!

Marcel Dettmann (Ostgut Ton/MDR) : Thx!

Carl Craig (Planet E) : Thx!

Gonno (Beats In Space Records / Endless Flight) : I like Mattheis' :)

Thomas Hessler (Index Marcel Fengler) : Nice one! Thank you!

Slam (Soma) : Thanx

Âme (Innervisions) : Thanks

Blasha & Allatt (Meat Free / Manchester) : Amazing!

EREZ / John Byrun : A superb EP

Tom Lye (Melodic Distraction - Liverpool) : Big fan of the whole EP. Strong, building electro with different moods. Essential!

Afrodeutsche (NTS / LuckyMe / Skam) : Glitchy melodica... Right up my Strasse...

DJ Shiva / Noncompliant (Valence / Detroit Underground) : Stellar music here. Moving beyond "DJ music", this is just really fantastic to listen to in headphones. Gorgeous stuff.

Lonya (Asymmetric Recordings) : Great stuff here!

Nori (Posivision) : Cool work.

Cinnaman (Rush Hour / Naked Naked) : Lavandula and Santolina are my favorites! thanks

Dj Windows XP (E-Beamz) : Dope E.P. Will play Lavandula.

Ambivalent/LA-4A (Delft/Cocoon/Ovum) I'm a huge fan of Annie Hall and Mattheis!!! This is a FANTASTIC release!! One of my favorites of recent months just on first listen!!

Benoit C (Tsugi) : Linium for me

Ian Blevins (ESP Institute / Sulk Magic) : Linium and another bit of top work from Mattheis. Santolina is pushing my buttons too. Aphexy vibes.

Joe Europe (Ransom Note) : Very nice!

Azterisco: Very interesting record. Nice remix!

Oded Peled : What a fantastic release! Was hard to choose a favourite between Linium and the Mattheis Remix of Lavandula. Both will come in handy in my sets. ....Thanx a lot and keep em coming.

Naduve (Cocktail d'Amore / Disco Halal) : Both A1 and A2 are great!..Thanks.

Anastasia Kristensen (Nous) : I dig this a lot, it's a crazy well produced record.

Demia E.Clash (Darknet) : Such a good ep-.i love them all,quality production yess.

Pedro Martins (Karakter Records) : Nice EP overall. Linium, Silene, and Santolina are my favorites. Thank you so much!

Xinobi (Discotexas) : Great record. I'm specially enchanted by the original version o Lavandula. Congratulations.

Scan Mode (DJ Mag Spain) : Lavandula in both mixes for me

John Osborn (TANSTAAFL) : Can't pick a fav. it is all Devine. thank you.

Madloch (Sound Avenue) : Nice EP, Linium & Lavandula original are my favs, thanks.

DVS NME (Transient Force) : The standout track is Lavandula.

Metamorphic is happy to announce a new artist to the label family! MirrorTouch is a new project from London-based producer Tim Van Zandyke. The sound of Mirror Touch can best be described by a moment in time when mid 90's trax records from the US Midwest combined techno's brutalist grooves with layers of emotive harmonies harking back to Detroit's funk, soul and jazz legacy. Then techno sound hurtled forward, blazing new paths of experimentation, minimalism and hypnosis. MirrorTouch points back to that magic moment when Techno emerged from Detroit, with a series of hardware tracks that combine emotional rawness with the flow of 21st century techno.

Pink Vinyl

Blake Baxter aka The Prince Of Techno returns to his roots with this six-track 12" of raw Detroit minimalistic grooves.

Fourth release for the young label Slow Bistro Records, created by Slow-L in 2019.
Great EP from the established house producer Laroze (D.KO records / Let's Play House / RTCT). Between classic 90’s house, Balearic and more raw Detroit-influenced tracks.

Chicago Basement Trax flexes its muscles and enlisted the services of one Chicago's Crown jewels of the Underground in the form of one Mr. Jordan Fields. Apparently only deep connections in the scene or a history of teenage friendship yields you access to this sort of Magic on vinyl! Nothing but Pure authentic 1980s + a bonus disco dub! Wow! Surely at this point Chicago Basement Trax is looking to reenforce their mythology while also stating the obvious. No doubt this is the pure uncut raw from the man with the plan himself so let's see who wants to see the Provenance now Want to trip more Rumour has it Vincent Floyd is coming next. Do what needs to be done and get this now.

The Dutch icon Orlando Voorn is releasing a fresh new sound on Deeptrax Records sublabel Contrafact! Having started his career in the early 80s with major influences of Parliament, Kraftwerk, Motown and P funk, he is now widely recognized as an ingenious (Detroit) house and techno producer with former releases on Juan Atkins’ Metroplex records and Kevin Saunderson’s KMS. In “The Master” this album brings something special and is influenced by the deeper sounds of soul and funk. Orlando Voorn has used aliases in the past to present and release various styles of music without limiting himself and is one of the most versatile producers out there. We are proud to team up with Voorn and release this album that captures soulful jazz, funk rhythms and perfectly fused with passionate vocals in a real jazzy Detroit vein.

Mint Condition - A reissue label focused on excavating the outer fringes of classic House and Techno. Unreleased mixes, classics and overlooked gems mined from the last 20+ of contemporary dance music are the order of the day. From Chicago, Detroit and New York to London and beyond, Mint Condition have got their expert digging hats on to bring you exclusive heat and those rarer than rare jams that have been on your wants list for years! Dig in....

1988 - The second 'summer of love' - The UK is in the grip of acid house fever, warehouses, sports halls, basements and nightclubs are reverberating to the new dance sounds emanating from Chicago and Detroit. Unbeknownst to most at the time this halcyon year will go down in the history books as a defining time that will shape the future of dance music. All major cities in the UK had their own scene, their own sound and their own legends. Manchester is one such city, a much storied participant with a legendary musical pedigree. Enter Annette, built around vocalist Annette Dos Reis this was a veritable all-star group featuring Quando Quango's Mike Pickering, A guy called Gerald, A certain ratio's Simon Topping and respected studio face Ritchie Close all on production. 'Dream 17' was the group's first outing on the newly minted DeConstruction label in 1988 and boasted a truly original and fresh spin on the US sounds that were dominating dance-floors at the time, so much so that most people didn't believe the record was created in the UK! Obviously it made perfect sense to draft in Detroit's Derrick May to craft a stellar remix that pushed the record even further into the stratosphere. May's remix wasn't included on the original 12" and was hugely sought after by DJ's and jocks alike. This is the first time all of the mixes of 'Dream 17' have been collected in one place, the complete package of this all time classic, a true old school transatlantic anthem available again for todays dance.

'Dream 17' has been legitimately released with the full involvement of the rights holders and remastered by Bristol's Optimal Mastering from the original DAT tapes especially for this release. 100% legit, licensed and released. Dug, remastered, repackaged and brought to you by the caring folks at Mint Condition!

BUD Records is back in action with the new housy "black series".
Produced by well known veteran Dj and vinyl collector Kosmiko and our beloved
Jellyfish, Inglorious Trax Ep is an excursion into the deep roots of Chicago and
Detroit sound.
Two groovin dancefloor trax, and an incredible Detroit deepness trip ft. Mowdee. A
must have for all house conoissieurs.

Mid 90s Holy Grail alert! Subwax Distribution welcomes Future Monument! Run by legendary underground DJ and producer Justin David from 1995-1997.

We are now reissuing this label which features some of the finest fusion's between early Tech House, Detroit and Deep House, all mixed together in a perfect blend. Highly recommended!

Amrint Keen is the new alias of Lake People, reserved for his dance music productions with a rather Electro feel to it. And he has something to tell... It's a welcome return on Uncanny Valley after the release of "Break The Pattern" last year. "Believe" has so much punch that the glasses in the club run the risk of falling off the bar. However, it still manages to create a feeling of yearning. At "Dancing in the Parking Lot" we welcome Uncle Acid on the dance floor or in front of the petrol station, just to be carried away by warm synth cascades a short time later. Finally, "Natural Homeostasis" creates a symbiosis of stomping bleepy British techno and a great day with your blankie.

While the world continues to be in a bizarre mixture of feelings and circumstances, we can thankfully still hark back to last fall when the sophomore LP from the elusive and innovative KAMM band, Cookie Policies gave us an opportunity to reflect on the past while fully looking toward the future.
The album presented a beautifully unique blend of listening-oriented music styles, combining the early roots of the four producers and their pre-DJ formative musical travels. It is now our great pleasure to introduce an EP set of specifically dance floor-focussed remixes that take the diverse textural arrangements and expansive sonic bliss of the LP and stretch it around some solid percussive membranes, sure to excite many DJs and dancers out there in the wild as things begin to reopen.

KAMM band members Dave Aju, Alland Byallo, Kenneth Scott, each chose one original album track to rework with a more propulsive feel and from Aju's psychedelic West Coast breaks rendition of the noir-esque "CCBPGC", to Byallo's high vibe leveled-up flight of "Bird Call", or Scott's bold section-by-section recreation of the sprawling "The Soft Glow Of Electric Sex" laser-designed for heads-down late night club sessions, the boys came through to say the least. The real A1 treat of this reinterpretation package however comes from unanimous artist choice and label favorite I:Cube, whose majestic take on "Shleem" sees the veteran producer and master remixer move the bubbling ambient piece into bumping and rich space-age deep house territory, equal parts angelically uplifting and pure 5am club-belter/mind-melter.

“That’s the whole message in all the sounds! Man, you can turn your TV on today and watch a war just happening! Right before your eyes! Things are really moving fast! This is … I don’t know what we are going to do… Too much lack of understanding… it’s unbelievable!”
Lonnie Liston Smith

These words spoken by Lonnie Liston Smith to describe the inspiration for the lyrics to his timeless classic Expansions are sadly as true today as when he spoke them all those years ago. It was this notion that prompted Japan’s UnitedSoul (DJ Uchikawa and Soul-T) to revisit this message, reinterpreting the song as a deep soulful house cut complete with live instrumentation for a new generation.

They also enlisted a stellar cast to provide the remixes.

Osunlade brings the funk out in his extended “Yoruba Soul Mix”, while Ian Friday was so inspired that he decided to make his own cover version with the “Libation Remake” featuring Byron J Moore on vocals.

Completing the package is Chi-Town’s very own Excursions crew (Cordell Johnson & Skorpeze) taking it to the club with their “Excursions Go Deep Remix”.