WITH more quality house releases around than you can shake the
proverbial shitty stick at right now and time and money both rare commodities
these days, what is any self-respecting vinyl lover to do? Raid the kids' piggy bank and round up the best of
the best hitting the spot here at bringdownthewalls HQ, that’s what.
And a word to the wise, hit the
EP titles to check out the sounds.
Tireless in his pursuit of house
excellence, Andy Vaz has assembled for his Cologne-based label Yore the
supergroup of Eddie Fowlkes, Amp Fiddler and Niko Marks [collectively known as BXT]
for a hunk of Detroit-style goodness on the Sunrise
EP. Sun Is Rising is a sensuous
seven-minute journey of truly uplifting and soul-drenched deep, a clarion call
for summer, whilst FM 80 a slightly
more acid-flecked cut of a similar ilk. For something even more bumping the
boys offer up the infectious You Set Me
Free.
Burgeoning Italian imprint Roots
Underground goes about its business quietly and with some style. So it is
heartening to have it back with its third vinyl release, the splendid Italo To Chicago EP from the two Ric[c]ardos,
Ricardo Miranda, owner of Chicago label Noble Square Recordings, and young
Italian producer Riccardo
Masi, aka ReeKee, head honcho at Wrong Notes Records. It’s an inspired tag
match with the ever-excellent Miranda serving up gloriously melodic and
spine-tingling deep house in the shape of the irrepressible London Councils and Smooth Flights, whilst Masi draws inspiration from his jazz-loving
roots to present the classy pairing of Phrases
and Shared Love, the latter featuring
the vocal talents of Francesca Sortino. A definite tip this one.
Another outfit making
a name for itself rather sharpish is Belgrade-based Soul Print Recordings. And it
will do its reputation no harm at all with outing number six, the Yesterday For Tomorrow EP, a
double-header with two-tracks apiece from the brilliant Leonid and
equally-superb LAAK. Madrid-based Irish producer Leonid dives in headlong with
a pair of stunning spacey deep house cuts, Urania
1 and Urania 2. The LAAK duo is
just as impressive, albeit a touch more restrained and understated, but make no
mistake, SP and Waiting For Tomorrow are a couple of cosmic-inspired belters.
A new release from Malta’s
Batti Batti stable is always hugely anticipated here at bringdownthewalls and the Breeze
EP is no exception. Featuring four acts new to the imprint, it may be the
label’s 13th vinyl outing but it’s definitely not unlucky for some.
Enigmatic artist and Luxembourg-native Acasual leads the way with the dreamy,
melancholy of Her, whilst Japanese
starlet Tominori Hosoya complements perfectly on side A with the wistful Thinking Of The Days. Over on the flip
proceedings take a funkier twist with Kiddmisha & Apoena teaming up on the
appropriately-named Dancin’ and British
underground stalwarts Jonno & Tommo wading in with the majestic Mystic Feelings.
Man-of-the-moment
Javonntte, yet another talent from Detroit, pops up on another firm favourite
round these parts, the top-notch Madrid-based label Troubled Kids. Depending on
your take on such things, Late Night Sessions is either a six-track twelve or an LP, but what is for sure is
that it ain’t half good. Bumping, infectious, feel-good house is the order of
the day here on numbers such as Walking
In The Rain, United We Dance and, personal favourite, Yes House. It is what is known as a must-have.
Contrast Wax is a
handsome beast that’s for sure, a label that never disappoints and a small but
perfectly formed collection minus one – the Ethyl & Flori one, which I
sacrificed to a DJ I respect who wanted to bang it out at Panorama Bar –
proudly graces my record shelves. Room is being made as we speak for this, outing
number 11, a welcome return for that most dynamic of duos, Owen Jay &
Melchior Sultana, with the ethereal Star Gazing EP. If you like/love this pair, and I do, then you will know exactly
what to expect: emotive, head-nodding deep house of the highest spec.
Never one to
knowingly miss an obvious link, Contrast Wax artist Brad Peterson is also back
in business. But this time as boss of his own highly-collectable imprint, Inner
Shift. Joining the roster is another artist enjoying a rich vein of form, Ewan
Jansen. Having made waves of late with a slew of releases on various labels
including his own Red Ember Records after a lengthy hiatus, Jansen debuts on
Edinburgh-based Inner Shift with the truly essential Return To Hyperbola. It’s deep house in its purest, finest,
somewhere-from-outer space form via the Australian producer du jour. From the purposeful deepness of
Docking Lane to the shuffling
perc-driven Bulkhead through to the
more delicate Deceleration and
warmly-pleasing Perspex, it’s a real
gem.
And talking of gems,
diamond geezer and friend of ours, the young and ridiculously-talented Arnheim
[aka Simas Savickas] is lining up release number two on his own label, Barbara
Recordings. Would You Tell Me About You
is very much in a similar vein to his imprint’s debut in that it is the man
himself at the helm once again, aided and abetted by live recordings from
handpicked artists and friends who between them absolutely nail that smoky jazz-dive
sound that the Londoner-outta-Lithuania so appreciates and adores. Stunning in
its ambition and execution. Well done young sir. With previews still private,
do yourself a favour and check out Barbara’s first release, Floras Of Autumn Street, right here for
a taste of what to expect.
Bringing up the rear
[feel free to insert your own Carry On-style
quips], is a producer and label we at bringdownthewalls
have an abundance of time and admiration for, namely the trusty Hugo Giner [aka
W&P Hgg] of the superb Valencia-based Cornuta Sound, which he happens to
own. Been a fan and collector since the Sleep
Scott Heron EP, one of both Cornuta’s and Giner’s early offerings from nearly
ten years ago now. Alteraciones is yet
another EP for my shelves. Giner is in fine fettle, opening track Blue Sea finding the man at his pumping,
deep house best, whilst Dirty Loop almost
belies its title being a hypnotic little number of intricate and interwoven
melodies. Surprise of the package perhaps is a beautiful, electro-tempered
remix of Blue Sea from Giner’s pal
Nacho Marco that nigh on steals the show.
