Juno Recommends Deep House: September 2022

Review: This is the third album sampler in what is set to be Kerri Chandler's biggest album drop to date; 'Spaces And Places' Vol. 3 is enough to be a full LP in its own right, and contains myriad garage house and deep soulful house tracks from the legend himself. Each track was inspired by, and made in, a different venue in which Chandler himself has performed in; these include DC10, Industria, Basic Club, Sir Henrys, Club Qu and Barbarellas. They channel his love for every space, bringing us to new house-inflected sonic places.

Review: A timely reissue of an eternal Detroit house classic, and one remastered by Yossi Amoyal and recut at MMM Berlin at that. Carl Craig and the late Mike Huckaby (RIP) remix of Delano Smith, with Craig taking on 'Midnight Hours' with dreamy synths and light, bouncy grooves blazing and some subtly dubby effects up his sleeve, and Huckaby's version of 'What I Do' typified by a cute keyboard motif and some crunchy, crunchy snares. Another tour de force from Sushitech.

Review: No Fuss is back adding another quality lineup for their eighth vinyl sampler. A1 sees Swirl People's 'We Are'. The original was was released over 20 years ago on the classic West Coast label Seasons Recordings. Saison offer a driving bumpy deep house interpretation that is bound lift you up out of your trousers and hit the dance floor with both hands in the air. A2 is no other than man of the moment Felipe Gordon. FG provides a soundscape to your chilled summer by the ocean with a stripped back jazzy version of Saison's 'Man of Soul' which we have included on B1. To round things off we bring in one of our favourite new comers Clive From Accounts on remix duties for Saison's 'Want You'. If you like your music all analog, synthy, emotive, and full of audits this is one for you and your accountant's cart. You may even be able to write it off on your taxes.

Review: Ayr producer Ewan McVicar has quite literally nailed the quintessential Ministry Of Sound, er, sound with this tune. Having floated around the charts for a good while now, it's got a kind of minimal jackin' house feel, with its eerily reprocessed vocals lifted from Rufus & Chaka Khan's 'Tell Me Something Good', producing almost maddeningly soulful results. The new B-side 'Delta', meanwhile, continues to show off McVicar's vocal science chops further, mixing 90s house vibes with a slow feel and dub-delayed entity ordering us to 'take a ride...'

Review: London producer Scott Ferguson, aka Robot84, continues his superlative run through 80s speckled gear on his own label. This time he's cooked up a killer slice of proto house with an Afro vocal boost from TAMA. From the slick reverse edits to the warm thrum of the bassline, the classic drum machines patter to the spangled arps, this is feel good business rendered with reverence and love for the roots of dance music as we know it today. Stick on the A side for the vocal version, flip it over for the dub, or better still bag two copies and get creative in the mix.

Review: The original 12" of 'I Follow Rivers' remixes was served up back in 2012 and was an instant hit. It now gets a reissue that proves it has aged perfectly well in the last decade. The original is a swelling and deep soul-drenched groove with broken beats and scattered percussion. The soaring vocals are designed for maximum impact. The Lost Sessions mix then pairs hits back to the tender piano chords and allows the aching vocal room to shine and The Magician remix brings a hands in the air festival vibe.

Review: Cardiff's Che Ahmed produces under many aliases such as Chesus, Earl Jeffers and Metabeats, but had only one release as Earls BOOOM!!!l It was widely sought after, leading to another much needed repress here - now the third since its original release back in 2016. 'Thank You' is a thumpin' disco house monster that's looped to perfection, and its vocal is just epic throughout. The dusty, late night heads-down stomp of 'Badadu' follows, while over on the flip he remixes some golden oldies you'll for sure know from the first beat, in the form of 'D-D-D' and 'The Paper'.

Review: It seems like Shall Not Fade manage to put out killer new EPs every week. It is Felipe Gordon who is next up and he brings some late night and bumpy deep house stopped in plenty of steamy emotions, soulful grooves and sensuous vocals. And that is certainly the case with the opener 'The Love' which immediately draws you in. There is a more spangled funk feel to 'Da Ghent Life' while 'More Than Grateful' has a stylish jazz feel thanks to the wistful sax motifs and rubbery bass rotations. Last of all is the party starter - 'Natural Born Climber' with its bigger drums and hits and vamping pianos.

Review: Back in 2018, Alphonse served up what was widely hailed as a mini masterpiece with his lush Afro-dub-house and basement breaks EP. Now it is repressed by the (Emotional) Especial label complete with standout remixes from The Pilotwings and DJ Normal 4. First up is the original 'Smokey' which is a fresh British house tune with congas, bongos, kick, dub bass lines and chants riding twisted FX. Fellow original 'Glint AM' strips things back with throbbing 808s and Detroit inspired strings and Akai vocals. The Pilotwings retake of 'Smokey' is a floating groove that strops things away to pure goodness and DJ Normal nods to the atmospherics of Biosphere and Leiner.

Review: This is GDWAX001 the debut vinyl release from GLBDOM, featuring four sumptuous, vintage tinged house tracks.

Up first is 'So Fly' by Saint Paul, a soul infused jam with heaps of uplifting vocal samples, organs and synths a plenty, not to mention a subtly jacking beat that steadily bumps the vibe along.

Next up is 'Keep Me Inside' by Yann Polewka, taking things back with that classic house piano buzz.

A pounding beat, an understated yet driven bass line, strings, pads and some ecstatic vocals all combine for a truly heavenly touch.

Manuold follows on with 'Beating Hear't, a super catchy deep house number. Melancholic synth stabs and subtly employed vocal samples, luscious pads and that unmistakable house sax sound: Beating Heart is the perfect track for getting the crowd moving.

Finishing the release off are Marc Brauner & David Silver with 'Gioia', an energetic house tune with an initiable beat and an exquisite bouncing bass line. A soulful, uplifting vibe from start to finish, Gioia is the perfect end to this awesome debut vinyl release.

Review: House with an extra dose of crispy high-end from DJ Aakmael, who has haunted the saucier ends of the Chicago house scene since the mid 1990s. Aakmael is a mysterious entity, and can be ghost-spotted behind any solid pair of decks on a rainy night. 'Deep Cookie' harkens after a forgotten platonic form of house, in which East Asian synths and 808 claps collide compellingly. Meanwhile, '4ever' rounds off the B-side; it's a diggers' delight with a near-UK feel and mystical vocals and sax, recalling recent tunes this side of the pond by Ben Hauke.

Review: Akio Nagase is a well known acid specialist from Osaka and now he is back on the (Emotional) Especial label with a second offering of 303-infused world music. His last offering was an Asian orientated EP, but here it is ethno-inspired dance from Africa that provides the stylistic overtones. First up, 'Acid Maasai Collecthiv' sets the scene with TB 303 weaving around dub heavy bass then 'Morisyen Acid' is more ethereal with Mauritian samples that really uplift. 'Serengeti Acid' find the 808 and 303 in harmony and closer 'Jua' interweaves the fabric of life with a psychedelic beat design to bring people together and dance.

Review: Mall Grab's new album showcases the full gamut of the acclaimed producer's sound across 13 hefty new cuts. The Aussie himself says of the album that it is "deeply personal and an exploration of all influences, sounds and sides of the Mall Grab project." He only dropped out of university six years ago but since then has grown into a new school DJ star who has found solace in making music. There is lots of rawness here, energetic techno, powerful house and warehouse-ready dynamite that has become his MO in the many top clubs of the world he so frequently headlines.

Review: Sneaky remix action alert! We're not sure who DSO is (or are) - internet searches come up blank - but the two tracks on this 12" genuinely hit the spot. A-side 'Love You More' puts a new spin on the Sade classic of the same name, adding the '80s soul star's vocals to a hypnotic deep house groove, dreamy chords and occasional flecks of wine bar saxophone. Over on the flip the shadowy remixer(s) offer-up a radically different new take on Erykah Badu's 1997 hip-hop soul gem 'Apple Tree', reimagining it as a rolling chunk of deep house warmth. It's basically soul-fired, 21st century hip-house with enough depth and atmosphere to please deep house heads.

Review: David Agrella returns to his Agrellomatica Records with the spacey house sounds of 'Flowing', featuring remixes from Ben Hauke & Mr Barcode. Hot on the heels of his recent 'Freedom Unfolding' release, praised by Raresh, Sasha, Laurent Garnier, Vladimir Ivkovic and Dorian Paic, Italian-born tastemaker David Agrella is back on his Agrellomatica imprint with more intergalactic fire. This time, the London-based selector serves up four groove-laden cuts across 'Flowing', including remixes from Woop Records' Ben Hauke and Into The Wizards' Sleeve Mr Barcode.
Title track 'Flowing' is a cosmic voyage peppered with glossy pads, eerie synths and sharp percussion, before Agrella's own 'Sabotage Mix' throws in deep, driving tones, subtle robotic vocals, and interstellar keys. On the flip, Ben Hauke delivers a dubbed-out reshape, harnessing fluttering echoes, emotive harmonies and deep basslines. To close, Mr Barcode provides a punchy electro remix, as warped samples and driving low-ends get down in this slice of dancefloor mania.

Review: Airport Society are the Detroit duo of Brian Kage and Ryan Sadorus who founded the label BerettaMusic together nearly 20 years ago. They have recently teamed back up to bring us some big dancefloor friendly tunes.

Review: The late and great Avicii is notably honoured on this four-track sampler vinyl from Vicious Recordings, pledging the delivery of garagey summer house versions of monumental hits. 'My Feelings For You', with all its stellar vocal sample work, gets a stunning dub house rework from Mark Knight, while further soulful house and Detroit tech cuts follow from Joshwa, Hotmood and JARC. An impressive, rhythmatic slice of wax from the rabid canines over at Vicious.

Review: After 20 years of a restful sleep, the legendary Icelandic Thule offshoot house label 66 Degrees has been resurrected. Three deep cuts exhibiting what is in store for the year 2022.

It begins with "Can Ride", a neo-disco anthem from former resident Justin Simmons. Nifty groove with an acid-bassline - topped with all the razzle and dazzle that is needed to get the dancefloor moving.

The flipside starts with a remastered Raresh secret weapon, a proper minimal percussion-driven groove from Kate & Joan, a side-project of Dole & Kom from the renowned label BCC music. The Detroit-influenced dub house anthem will, without a doubt, be a useful tool for any DJs to get the crowd going.

The second cut on the B-side is from a Reykjavik-based beatmakers Oh Mama. Its wild style sample-based approach caught the label's attention and the result is a worthy debut vinyl release. Hypnotic, sexy and groovy - with a big and dirty bassline.