Wolf Music Recordings 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Frits Wentink continues his long-running relationship with Wolf Music, a partnership that is now entering its eleventh year. 'Club Land', the title track from the Dutch producer's first EP of 2024, is a nostalgic and glassy eyed affair, whose sparkling piano riffs, bumpin' house beats, mazy synth solos and rubbery bassline sit somewhere between the Frankie Knuckles and MK productions of the mid 1990s. The A-side also boasts a slightly jazzier and more US garage-influenced 'Alternate Mix' that also boasts some rather addictive organ stabs. Over on side B, he opts for a deep, dubby and trippy sound on 'Crowd Contriol', before doffing a cap once more to vintage NYC and NJ deep house on superb closing cut 'Run Run Slow'. One of his best for a while and that's saying something!

Review: Wolf Music Recordings is one of the UK's real independent label treasures and it shines again here with a new offering from the classy mind of Manuel Darquart. There is real art in his craft and that shows from the off when 'Jerry's Song' is lit up with celebratory synths and beautiful chords that radiant subtle joy. 'Del Sol' is a deep hose beat with a Balearic feel and new age melodies that suit sundown dancing on the beach, and the Space Ghost remix of the same tune is a more club-ready house workout though still one with an air of fantasy. 'The Vibe' shuts down with a jazzy deep house vibe full of love.

Review: Retromigration's Cloudin is a deep house 12" that offers a great blend of fun, jazzy, and serious tracks. Sometimes, all in the same track. It opens with the title track, which is a proper deep house effort that is techy and fresh, with tribal and psychedelic elements. This is followed by 'Only Well,' which is a jazzy funk track with a nice melody. The third track, 'Just Take It,' is a catchy, slick house track with an addictive melody and hints of disco. Side 2 of the album opens with 'They Hatin',' an urban groove track with cool sound effects, an old skool jazz feel and a 70s sound. The album closes with 'You Win,' a clever, different and unique track. Overall, Cloudin is a great 12" that shows that house music can be much more than just an evolution of disco.

Review: Justin Drake and Clive Henry and best known as the legendary Peace Division duo, but did you know they also made ventures into other realms as Soul Purpose? Their 'Selected Works' on Wolf Music is a musical anthology that encapsulates the essence of their sound. And that sound is timeless deep house with emotive synths and well-crafted grooves that manage to be stripped back but dynamic. These tunes originally came on low-key labels in 1997 and 1998 but have aged to perfection and have been pulled from original DAT tapes and are present in all of their complete glory here.