Juno Recommends Deep House: February 2022

Review: For the third volume in the label's Remixes series, Heavenly Recordings has decided to look back on its lengthy relationship with the late, great Andrew Weatherall. The man occasionally known as Lord Sabre provided plenty of reworks for the London-based imprint over a 30-year period, and you'll find some of the greatest here (and on the accompanying second volume, sold separately). Highlights include Weatherall's legendary two-part dub of St Etienne's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart', his peerless, 15-minute peak-time 1992 take on Flowered Up's 'Weekender', a delightfully dubbed-out, Asphodells-style rework of Gwenno from 2015 and a stunningly spaced-out dancefloor dub of Ian Lanaghan.

Review: The Plastik People garage wagon keeps on rolling, and they've got that bump n' swing for days. Label head honcho Marc Cotterell is back at it with Danny Phillips, dropping four bombs geared towards exuberant explosions of joy on the floor, leading in with the utterly infectious 'Jersey Music'. 'It's What We Do' keeps the organ stabs tightly clipped and punchy as hell, while 'Give Me Your Love' gets into a Todd Edwards frame of mind chopping the samples around on 'Give Me Your Love'. 'Summer Heatwave' rounds things off beautifully to close the EP with a sweet and sentimental groover that wiggles in all the right places.

Review: Don't be misled by the facetious title, there's no handbag house to be found on Hed Kandi Vol. 1. Instead, you'll be treated to some real proper beatdown vibes by some right legends of the Detroit underground, curated by scene stalwart Norm Talley. The ever impressive Delano Smith gets the Mixmode vibe in effect on the hypnotic back room dubs of 'The Lost Synth' parts 1 & 2 respectively which cover the A side. Over on the flip, Sistrum Recordings main man Patrice Scott gets some emotive Motor City soul going on in his inimitable style on 'Better Days' followed by the heads-down basement beats of Deepset's 'Soltek'.

Review: Bari meets Detroit on these superb remixes on offer here of Alton Miller & Amp Fiddler's 2010 anthem 'When The Morning Comes'. On the A side, Rydm Sectors deliver a rolling stomper of a rendition that still retains the deepness of the original, followed by the ever reliable Nico Lahs who serves up a dusty, KDJ influenced perspective and proceeds to rework 'Ever Wonder' over on the flipside side in emotive late night fashion. As does local duo KETAMA (Cosmic Rhythm) who hand in a soulful Afro house inspired remix.

Review: Everyone loves DJ Python. Since Brian PiNeyro first stepped into the spotlight around 2017 his blend of dembow rhythms, deep house and dubby tendencies have become widely adored, and for good reason. Gentle enough to roll with in any situation, but instinctively tapped into the fluid physicality of Latin dance culture, it's dreamy party music for sensitive souls. After 2020's excellent Mas Amable album, Python is back on Incienso with a three tracker which shows off the best of his celebrated fusion sound. 'Angel' is an incredibly immersive beat track with crisp percussion up front and gorgeous melodic swathes out the back, while 'TMMD (IMMMD)' locks into something a little catchier without disturbing that pervasive Python chill. 'Club Sentimental Vol Three' is perhaps the highlight though, leaning in on languorous, pitch-bent synth work which sounds exquisite warbling out over the low slung reggaeton pulse.

Review: After the runaway success of the Ciao Italia (Generazione Underground) compilation on Rebirth for RSD 2021, we're getting treated to a series of bonus follow-ups taking us further into the realm of classic Italian deep house. Part Due kicks off in style with 'Toxicology Room' by Green Baize, which leans in on the organ chops and sets the appropriate mellow mood to sink into. Unsiputed legend Don Carlos follows up with 'I Believe In Heaven', a truly ascendant slice of house magic, while on the B side Stage 28 and Brother's Brigade bring yet more timeless treasures that sport that unmistakable Roman flair.

Review: The Mindhelmet crew are working hard to whip up a strong identity around trippy strains of techno and house with a 90s flavour and a playful instinct. The fifth release on the label kicks off with 4D working some trancey analogue-isms around a stout beat, while Ramez has a slither of minimal electro informing some of the synth shapes on the celestially-charged 'Las Venus'. Label mainstay Josh Baker takes things deeper with the mysterious shimmer of 'Hot Pursuit', and then Arnic spreads out over the B side with the jacked up 'Fast Stepper' and a freaky vocal chop up called 'End Communication'.

Review: Anushka's 'Bad Weather', previously released as a one-off track on Tru Thoughts' massive 2021 retrospective compilation, now gets its own single release via the same label. While the band's original jazz-house cut - soul-melting in its Kaytranada-style surround-claps and chiptune flourishes - makes a clear appearance on the B-side here, it's really a new remix by STR4TA that takes centre stage here. And who makes up that outfit, you might ask? Why, none other than curator and radio extraordinaire Gilles Peterson, teaming up with Mauritian guitarist Jean-Paul 'Bluey Maunick'. Together, they render Anushka's original into a booming brit-funk bastardization, readying a series of experimental electronic flourishes and licks that venture far beyond that of your average reworker.

Review: Following a string of alluring, melody-rich, digital-only EPs, Peace Symphonies makes its debut on wax with a multi-artist extravaganza. Gorge Hewek sets the tone with opener 'Peace Symphonies', a warming, sun-kissed slab of kaleidoscopic deep house/tech-house fusion that reminded us of some of the material released by the All Day I Dream label. Makebo's 'You' is a soft focus, dewy-eyed slab of sunrise-ready bliss underpinned by shuffling house drums, while 'Lazos' by Simon Vuarambon is a crunchy and groovy workout smothered in relaxed jazz piano solos and synth strings. Perhaps best of all though is the gorgeously grandiose, life-affirming dancefloor colour that is the Volen Sentir Pure Magic Healing version of 'Jinx' by Lost Desert and Hermanez.

Review: Although he's been active as a producer since the mid 2000s, Valentin Huedo still has only a handful of solo and collaborative 12" singles to his name. This outing on the popular All Day I Dream label is a welcome return to action all told and marks his first vinyl release since 2014. Female singer Bird provides attractive and seductive lead vocals on superb EP opener 'Tonight', a warming chunk of hybrid deep house/tech-house fusion rich in sustained chords, bubbly electronic lead lines and glassy-eyed intent. Huedo's ability to deliver tactile, sun-kissed dancefloor gold is successfully showcased on the melody-rich 'Salinas Sunrise', while Igor Marijuan hook-up 'Neo' is a sparkling, gorgeous and effortlessly summery affair capable of calming your mind while moving your feet.

Review: Tartelet has always been a home to nicely lived in and rough edged house and hip hop sounds that belies the clean and clinical minimalism of much German electronic music. Space Ghost continues in that tradition with a superb new album thatches with a bonus 7". These are dreamy tunes with loved up grooves like 'Emotional Healer,' late night basement jams such as 'Be Yourself' and the more laid back and bleary eyed downtempo sounds of 'UFO.' In between that are retro-future house pumps like the new age house of 'Back To The Source' and dreamy 80s vibes of 'Be Yourself.'

Review: Also known as Belizian Voodoo Priest, Miggedy and Steve Maestro, the somewhat mysterious Mortimer Snerd III makes a first appearance with this cool slab of single-sided wax. We're talking sample-focused house heaters here, with lead track 'Here I Come' being especially feisty. Riding an old funk loop and jacking it up with a rabble-rousing stomp, it's a simple but utterly effective damager to get people pushing themselves harder. 'The Chi' is a deeper affair which scatters its source material across a moody, bass-heavy arrangement for those teasing moments in the mid-section of a set.

Review: Boo Moonman presents The Best Of Boo Williams, a selection of quality deep house from the Windy City veteran's back catalogue of timeless work, featured on seminal homegrown imprints such as Relief, Diaspora, Farris Wheel and more. Whether it's the late night mood music of 'Classic Fingers', the spiritual charm of 'Tickle Me' to the hypnotic afterhours vibe of 2013's 'Piano Trance' or the high-octane boompty funk of 'Flashback' there's no doubt of Williams' valuable contribution to Chicago house music - an undisputed legend.

Review: Here two of Situationism's compilation strands combine on one 12": 2up 2down, which focuses on high-grade deep house, and the In The Bag series of floor-friendly catalogue favourites. There's naturally plenty to get the blood pumping throughout, from the thrillingly off-kilter Afro-house rhythms of Mike Agent X Clark's 'My Journey Thru Africanism', and Javontte's sensational 2021 single 'Soul People', to the liquid jazz-funk/deep house fusion of BRS' fantastic 'A Night To Remember' - all rubbery bass guitar, huggable chords, glistening guitars, fluttering flutes and swinging beats - and the driving, gospel-influenced peak-time brilliance of Laroye's 'Best Girlfriends (Soulful Mix)'. To cite an old cliche, this genuinely is "all killer, no filler".

Review: The first full length LP after his 2021 EP 'Bad Chlorure', 'Nocturna Animal' is Dim Kelly's airy, snowballing deep house follow-up. A cinematic tour through folktronic, progressive house builds garnished with plucked guitar, synth mallets and emotive strings, every piece on 'Nocturna Animal' is warm and slow-building, from the rainsoaked moans of 'Embruns Marins' to the driving sample repetitions of 'Glow'. A fitting celebration of All Day I Dream's 10th birthday celebrations.

Review: Any EP whose artwork has the face of the one and only Alan Partridge on it is ok by us. The titles, too, make reference to Norwich's premier radio personality: 'Alan A' is a breezy house tune with wispy melodies and dubby drums all rolling deep with a humid open air atmosphere. 'Alan B' is a broken beat exploration of cavernous cosmic spaces with gentle new age motifs up high and warped synths down low. The final track, 'Linton TT" is a spaced out cut that sounds like Vangelis making minimal techno. It's hard to imagine the man himself liking it, but we sure do. Cashback.

Review: In our eyes, there's no doubting that Scan 7 are Detroit's true kings of dreamy, melodious "techno-soul". They've proved that multiple times over the last three decades, but should you be in any doubt to their credentials we'd encourage you to listen to their latest EP, Orchestrated Reality. Warm, melodious and shot through with machine soul, it brilliantly mixes elements of Motor City futurism with vintage deep house and the organ-fired soulfulness of New York and New Jersey garage. Our picks of a very strong bunch include the deep and dubby, subtly electro-influenced 'Lough Laugh Live', the sparkling sci-fi sounds of 'Orchestrated Reality' and the vintage USG shuffle of 'Watching Over Me'.

Review: Younger readers may not be aware of Chris Nazuka, but back in the 1990s the Chicago native made some astonishingly good deep house records, both as a solo artist and alongside contemporaries such as Derrick Carter and Mark Farina. Remarkably, Perspectives is his debut solo album - under his given name, at least - and arrives after a decade of near silence. He's used the opportunity to mix things up a bit - see the jazzy instrumental hip-hop beats of 'A Walk in the Park', Terry Riley-does-ambient brilliance of '101' and heart-aching ambient jazz of 'Waiting For The Sun' - but for the most part the album is a celebration of high quality deep house in all its myriad forms. There's not enough space to list all of the highlights but suffice to say you won't be disappointed. A genuinely impressive return to action all told.

Review: Germany's always tasteful and boundary nudging Cocktail D'Amore has another irresistible offering for us here. This time it's Naduve at the controls after outings on the likes of Motrodiscs, Calypso and Les Disques De La Mort in recent years. 'Echo Wave Bay' opens with a tense siren that rises and falls but keeps you thoroughly on edge. 'Hypogeum' then drops into deep house territory but riddled with detuned synths and pixelated pads that glow bright. 'FX Jungle' (feat Stephan Bazbaz) is a tropical and tribal cut with a humid feel and unrelenting bas synth and on 'Thursday Gem' the lo-fi, rough edged analogue drums are offset but more sleek, polished metal percussion and synths.

Review: Herbert started his now cult domestic house album series back in 1998. Around The House was the first one, then came Bodily Functions in 2001 which was made from, well, recordings of internal noises generated in Herbert's own body. The maverick British producer now continues the series ahead of the much anticipated summer premier of his decade-in the making Symphony of Noise documentary. Musca finds the producer collaborating with eight singers to make for both intimate late night sound and club ready tunes that are lush, sophisticated and seductive. Word is, making this album was solace for Herbert, and is surely going to provide just as good a place to retreat for those of us listening in.