Deep House charts

Review: Eagles & Butterflies has had plenty of notable tunes over the years. No doubt that is why he gets the nod from Gerd Jansen's legendary Running back label to offer up Retropolis Vol 01. It is a four-track EP that shows off the producer's well-realised sounds. The title track is the real standout - 'Retropolis' brings electro-styled synth work with brilliantly future retro euro-disco energy. It's packed with hints of Italo and is sure to light up any club scene. Says the producer of the EP, "Retropolis is the past meets the future. I love influences and technology from the past and making music that sounds like it could be from a time yet to arrive." Mission accomplished.

Review: Last year discerning digger Jose Manuel gifted us with a first compilation of 'Obscure & Rhythmic Tunes', searching for deep cuts which fused the best of various cultural percussive styles with the emergent dance music of the early 90s. Now he's back for a second round, drawing further into the breakthrough years of the late 80s and coming up with some astounding cuts well outside the usual narrative around the advent of house music. Just check the bass heavy, piano laden thumper 'Sombras Na Calcada (Def Dub Mix)' by Civil and you'll hear exactly what we mean.

Review: Daniel Klein aka SIRS impressed us recently with his fine work on Robert Johnson and is now back on his own Sirsounds Records label with a seriously seductive collection of tunes. His The East Is Near EP brings melodies from that faraway land to Balearic beats. The Berlin based talent kicks off with the winky and intricate rhythms of 'Zappelnder Hindu' before 'Treibsand' layers up what sounds like a didgeridoo with loose-limbed drums. The marvelous 'Ocean Dreams' brings upbeat sounds and smart arrangements that are run through with exotic melodies and last of all is a blissed-out instrumental mix of 'Zappelnder Hindu.'

Review: Bordello A Parigi looks to lowkey but high-class German artist Lauer for a fine four-track exploration of the similarities and differences between deep house and disco. The sentimental 'Harmony Unit' kicks off with lush chords that lead to starry eyes and raised hands then 'Betone' has chugging grooves and spangled chords under longing vocal coos. 'Frizzante' brings the dazzling disco brilliance with pinging analogue drums and bright arps and 'Playa' closes down with a playful and tooting vibe that recalls the classic 'Inspector Norse.' It is the final piece of a fantastic EP.

Review: Vienna native Lee Stevens returns to Luv Shack Records for his first solo EP since 2012's 'LUV001', in the meantime exploring a more relaxed sound under his Rising Seed moniker. The opening track 'Right On' creates a sonic universe where Ennio Morricone and John Carpenter have joined forces to make synth-heavy dance music. 'Maskaron' sounds like a full homage to new wave and the obscure side of Italo disco, topped with chanting reminiscent of 1970s western movies. On 'Trippin' On Your Love', Stevens taps into proto-house and synth-dance, complete with arp bass and occasional breakbeats. Track number four, 'Ju Know' features Stevens and long-time collaborator Simonlebon in a moody jam, fit with heavy low-end synths, bittersweet vocal samples, and 80s pop-style piano chords. Finally, the closing track 'Destruction' features tight 808 drums accompanying a dark bassline and eerie vocals, with uplifting synth chords reminding us there is still hope.

Review: Although their collaborative releases as Black Spuma are more sporadic than we may like, Fabrizio Mammarella and Phillip Lauer never fail to deliver the goods on the rare occasions that they get together in the studio. The Hypercall EP is their first joint effort for two years and sees them pitch up on Live at Robert Johnson for the first time following a series of inspired outings on International Feel and Futureboogie Recordings. After opening with the rugged by colourful Italo-disco revivalism of 'Station to Station', the pair variously offer up synth-heavy high-energy excitement (the Bobby Orlando-influenced 'Transpork'), bleeping, rave-igniting hedonism (the pleasingly throbbing, camp and masculine 'Miracoli'), and squelchy, acid-flecked electro ('Data Life').

Review: The third volume in Tiger & Woods Unleashed Tapes series is a rare solo outing from Larry Tiger (real name Valerio Del Prete) under his occasional Delphi alias. As you'd expect, it boasts the same loop-based, synth-heavy, house-not-house style as the Tiger & Woods material he produces with Marco Passarani, albeit with more of a focus on sounds more often found in Italo-disco and new wave records. Highlights include the spacey robo-disco thrust of 'Vector', the mid-tempo Italo-disco shimmer of 'Silicone Emotion', the hard-wired heaviness of 'Riscio' - all undulating sequenced bass, echoing drum machine hits and mutilated talkbox vocals - and the squelchy, Bobby Orlando-influenced 'Metropole'.