Juno Recommends Deep House: April 2022

Review: As the title suggests, this four-tracker from the mighty Kerri Chandler is made of material recorded in - but for whatever reason never released - in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He first unfurls 'What Shall We Do', a sturdy but snappy New Jersey deep house number rich in attractive organ stabs, warming bass and bluesy lead vocals from 'Grampa', before unveiling the squelchy acid bass, dreamy pads, colourful melodic flourishes and loved-up harmony vocals of 'Tonight'. 'Into The Night' is a beefier, bolder and weightier slab of intergalactic peak-time deep house, while 'This & That' manages to be both funky, jazzy, loose-limbed and stuttering - a remarkable achievement in anyone's book.

Review: 
Four slices of underground house and garage in a variety of flavours from UK producers Club of Jacks on this their fifth vinyl-only EP. The A-side starts with the smooth, deep groove of 'Dreamin' before moving onto pumping jazzy sample house cut 'The Rush'. On the flip side the piano flecked bass heavy 'Move to the Groove' has that packed outdoor terrace, sun coming up, hands in the air vibe and finally the nostalgic, old-school hip-hop inspired 'Infinity' finishes off the EP in style.

Review: killer new heat from Omar S on his FXHE label featuring Desire on vocals + backed with an instrumental mix.

Review: Six months after it first landed digitally, Chaos in the CBD's superb Brainstorm EP has finally made it to vinyl. In keeping with the Helliker-Hales brothers' previous outings on their own In Dust We Trust label, all four tracks on show are rooted in the warmth and hypnotism of dub house. They hit the ground running with 'Echolocation', where dreamy deep house motifs and dub techno chords ride a warm and hazy late-night groove, before delivering a lighter and airier exploration of similar influences on the impeccable 'Liquid Experience'. Mongo Skato collaboration 'Brainstorm' is jazzier, jauntier and a touch less dub-wise - though still wonderfully smoky - while closing cut 'Mind Message' delivers weightless, mind-soothing deep house warmth by the bucket-load.

Review: Techy funk As and Bs from dream trio Oden & Fatzo, who finally press their hit house bit 'Lauren' to 12" wax. This 'accidental hit' came about when the bass sample, taken from a song by indie band Men I Trust, was lifted and plonked against a slapping house beat and backing strings. The resulting tune, which exploded in popularity in 2020, was a bittersweet ode to the dance in a time when no-one could think or begin to do so. Now, the instrumental occupies the B, taking up all the funking wax space it deserves.

Review: Leftfield French artist Pepe Bradock cannot be second guessed. One moment he's crafting some of deep house's most seminal grooves, then he's sampling cats on barely listenable experimental records and everything in between. For a while now the man behind 'Deep Burnt' has been working on his on going Dactilonomy series, and it now hits a fourth volume. The artist himself provides note with the music, saying "Dring Dring Dring! the phone keeps ringing but nobody answers. Gone fishing, ( les gros matous sont partis a la peche)," which tells us nothing but rest assured the beats do plenty of talking for him.

Review: We are thrilled to have DEMUIR on Selections once again, after his appearance on last year's 'Movement EP' This time he has dropped 'The Persistence Of Hope EP' - and it's exactly what you'd expect from his stellar output. Starting off on the A side is the title track 'The Persistence Of Hope' - a super deep slice of house music with a spoken word repeating "The System" and "Hopeless" over 90's style keys - then at around 3 minutes the punchy bassline drops. Starting out on the flip we get down chi town style with 'Life Is Simple' Shuffling high hats over a spoken word with a killer bassline. Rounding up we have 'Unto Thee' - another prime example of that DEMUIR groove.

Review: You always knew that when Norm Talley started his Upstairs Asylum label is was going to be pure quality. The Detroit man is one of the many contemporary flag bearers for the much loved original 313 house sound and as his DJ sets attest, heinous how to pick out the best work from others on a similar tip. He does that here with a various artists four tracker that kicks off with a brace of soul fuelled and jazz laced deep house cuts from Felipe Gordon. Stefan Ringer then brings that lo-fi house goodness and exquisite synth craft with 'You Know' while Deepset's 'U Got Dat' is a late night number with a low slung sense of sleaze.

Review: Berlin-based musician, producer, and DJ Alex Kassian is well known for his solo works but also his work as Opal Sunn. Here he leaves behind the gritty and sweaty dance floor and heads out into the sun. 'Leave Your Life (Lonely Hearts Mix)' pairs live sounding drums and nice Balearic riffs with care-free feels that lift your spirits. The dance mix is more weight and propulsive and then 'Spirit Of Eden' again sets off through a clear blue sky, with twinkling chords and soft, pillowy drums. The Bill Laswell dub layers in the reverb and slows things down to a nice lazy tempo.

Review: Fragments of Reality continues to suck you through wormholes into the multiverse with the second selection of exclusive V/A tracks produced for the fledgling imprint.

FOR 02 opens with a brand new collaboration between Subb-an (ONE records) and Luther Vine (Phonica) with a track called 'Expression' - an ominous, swirling, floor-filling monster that combines relentless rhythms, otherworldly vocals and futuristic synths into a high-quality production. It's closely followed by 'Animal Anthem' from acid breaks maestro Rudolf C, that features his trademark multi-dimensional layers of sound wrapped up in a contemplative mood and finished with intense production skills.

The flip side opens with 'Pyramid' a fresh new sound from a mysterious duo, Voodoos and Taboos. Following a string of high calibre releases on Phonica AM and their own label the duo continue to make their mark as masters of cinematic sound design with this tripped out mind melter! FOR 02 is beautifully balanced with 'Enchanted' from Berlin based duo ERIS, known amongst other things for their releases on Tokyo based label, Cabaret. Once again Fragments of Reality delivers four unique excursions into different dimensions and soundscapes.

Review: Welcome to Purveyor Underground Limited. For our first release we are very excited to present Hymn of truth by Demuir. Leading off the A side we have the original mix starting with a banging bass line and snares leading into a spoken word that is reminiscent of those gritty 90's tracks from the likes of Green Velvet a la Preacherman The track quickly builds from there into a late night juggernaut that does not slow down! This is peak time underground house music at its finest. Up next we have the Dub mix for those who like to get down on the instrumental tip. On the flip side we get that remix treatment from house music heavy hitter Byron The Aquarius (Axis Records/Sound Signature/ Shall Not Fade). Byron has taken Hymn Of Truth into deeper territory and the result is absolutely stunning. Layered pads and beautiful strings accompany a slightly subdued bass line which turns this track into something totally different while maintaining the integrity Demuir's original vision. For the last track we have Demuir's Stripped accapella which is just that, a bare bones version of the title track that is very useful as a tool or to blend between the dub or any other version of the track.

Review: Six years ago, Vince Watson released a digital-only compilation marking two decades since his first release, in the process providing updated re-makes and remixes of some of his best-loved cuts. The versions on this 12" appeared on that set but have not been released on vinyl before. His re-wire of 1999 cut 'Mystical Rhythm' is little less than sonically gorgeous, subtly updating Watson's classic, Detroit influenced sci-fi techno sound to include all manner of spacey chords, warming organ sounds and jazzy, life-affirming synth solos. His version of 2000's 'Moments in Time' is even deeper and more intergalactic in tone, delivering heart-aching Motor City style machine soul by the boat-load. In a word: stunning.

Review: Since launching a few years back, Half Baked Records has consistently served up high quality fare from a mixture of underground heroes and rising stars. We'd put Luca Piermattei in the latter category, even though he's been releasing music for a few years and recently featured on Rawax. Memories of a Wonderful City is genuinely excellent, with the Italian doing a good job in combining vintage synth and drum machine sounds in a fresh and ear-pleasing way. Choose between the pleasingly bouncy, sci-fi-fired deep house dreaminess of 'Galaxy', the sleazy late-night brilliance of 'Vintage Style' (which incidentally features a frankly filthy acid bassline), the bustling sweatiness of extra-percussive opener 'Busy Life' and the undulating, analogue-heavy jazz-funk-goes-house hustle of '80's Sound'.

Review: Three sumptuous offerings of quality grooves from the Aesthetic series, as Paris club scene fave Djebali and Argentinian DJ and producer Jorge Savorett join forces once again. This choice trio definitely veers on the side of the under rather than over stated, preferring to rely on warm rhythmic flourishes and enticing, inviting instrumentation rather than thumping firepower or gimmickry. The beats are tight and hypnotic, with perhaps just the slightest hint of a nod to the shuffling drum machine funk of early Derrick May productions like 'Nude Photo' here and the more head nodding repetition of Chicago jack house there. Aesthetically pleasing for sure.

Review: First released way back in 1992, Stefano Curti, Mauro Tamino and Stefano De Carlo's first 12" as Minimal Vision (they'd previously released numerous as The True Underground Sound of Rome) remains one of the classiest and most ear-pleasing Italian deep house records of all time. For proof, check 'Magic Staircase', where picturesque synthesizer melodies rise and fall atop skittish beats, 'Pacific' style chords and a chunky Korg M1 bassline, and the bleep-sporting Chicago deep house tribute 'Prelude'. Those searching for something a little more energetic should take a listen to the warm and beautiful 'Milky Way' and 'Night of Love', whose programmed percussion, fizzing synth solos and jaunty bassline doff a cap to Detroit tech-jazz.

Review: Tel Aviv's champion chuggers Red Axes are back on Phantasy Sound with more of their muscular business for floors who like a good fist pump. 'Some Lights' is the consummate lead track, summoning a peak-time energy for those nights where you don't want the BPM to peak above 125 and the mood can't get moody enough. It's a heads-down, psychoactive concoction with the power to turn a party inside out, but by way of contrast B2 track 'Professor Grasstov' offers up a strangely fizzing, playful variation for freaky dancers who like their disco delirious and off-kilter.

Review: It would be fair to say that Richard Sen's definition of funk, as outlined in the title track of the veteran producer's latest EP, is pleasingly wonky, wayward and deliciously electronic. Mining the same pool of influences as his work as part of Padded Cell, it sees him layer panicked but hypnotic synth sounds and wild, 'Plastic Dreams' style organ lines over a rubbery punk-funk bassline, throbbing electronic arpeggio lines and pleasingly loose-limbed machine drums. Sen explores his electro roots on the bleeping, vocoder-sporting flipside opener 'Social Science', before reaching for beefy sub-bass, creepy melodies and echoing rave riffs on dystopian breakbeat number 'Smoke & Mirrors'.

Review: No-one never quite knows which side of the deep / minimal house divide the latest on Constant Black is going to fall. The one thing you can be sure of, however, is that both sets of fans will find plenty to love in this sweaty, trippy, stealthy cauldron of house beats. We're offered four slices of the Sota sound, and they're quite the quality set, the wonderful 'Lafayette' bringing the jacking glory days of Ferox to mind, while 'At Least 10 Words' has a tactile feel to it that puts it up there with the raw tech of Transmat or other early Detroit. Simply reeks of quality.

Review: NBAST's wax operation has an early spring treat in store for us with this split EP featuring Belgium artist Uc Beatz and UK talent Ethank. The stylish and considered EP opens up with bouncy and soulful sounds from Uc Beatz's 'Rino Magic' with its lush chords and groovy beats, fine samples and upbeat feel. 'Tricky Games' then cuts loose on big filter loops and euphoric vocal cries and on the flip Ethank opens with some sexy sax sounds and punchy, raw beats for 'Kootenay' and 'Clouds' then bristles with frazzled drums and hits but smooth chords.

Review: Newcomer vinyl label Bare Bones deliver a deep-dished diavola 12" of deep house, channelling four individual bits from Uc Beatz, Flaze, Adam Nahalewicz and Slur. With a view to showcasing the variety of styles that the label intend to put out with future releases, this sultry slice of wax grows progressively more experiemental and broken; Slur's 'Uncaged' is closer to Dego than Larry Heard. Meanwhile, though, we enjoy the Rhodesey revelry of 'Forty', 'Out There' and 'Dullness', and are sure you will too.

Review: Sloth Boogie has scored something of a coup in signing this EP from DJ Aakmael (real name Greg Stewart), whose track record of producing ultra-deep, high calibre fare makes him one of the most lauded house producers of the last decade. There's naturally plenty to savour across the EP's four tracks, from the languid, laidback shuffle of 'Hardbody' - all mazy, eyes-closed synth solos, warming riffs, dreamy chords and Theo Parrish style deep house beats - to the hazy, Omar-S-esque 'Deepshyt' and jaunty, quietly celebratory 'Strobe'. Our pick of an incredible strong bunch is 'Track 166', if only for the quality of the jazzy piano solos that sit atop Stewart's woozy chords and locked-in beats.