Collection: House

Tom Jay

FootShooter

Having previously worked his magic on classic cuts from Diana Ross, Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass - among others - Bridge Boots boss Caserta has now moved on to Marvin Gaye. He's grabbed the acapella from a classic song - in this case one of Gaye's duets with Diana Ross, "My Mistake (Was To Love You)"- and incorporated it into a brand new track. The A-side "Casey Mistake Mix" sits somewhere between early '80s boogie and the mid-80s proto-house sound created by Boyd Jarvis, Timmy Regisford and Paul Simpson. Interestingly, Gaye and Ross's vocals fit it like a glove. The flipside "Dub That Got Away" is an altogether more bumpin' garage-house workout rich in cut-up vocals snippets and wobbly analogue bass.

For the last eight years COEO has successfully built a reputation via EPs on Toy Tonics, Let's Play House and Razor-N-Tape reserve that gleefully blur the boundaries between deep house and nu-disco. Here the Munich-based duo appears on House Of Disco for the very first time. The headline attraction is undoubtedly "Habibi Dub", a wonderfully cheery, melodic and up-tempo affair full of stylistic nods to 1980s Euro-disco and NYC freestyle (Fairlight stabs, bubbly Bobby Orlando bass, chiming synthesizer riffs, delay-laden drums etc). You'll find two rather good remixes of the track tucked away on side B, too. There's a sparkling, rush-inducing take from Phillip Lauer that throws Balearic house pianos into the mix, as well as a Mix & Fairbanks rework that adds a little tropical flavour.

Another week, another new re-edit series of mysterious origin. There's literally no info about the producer (or producers) behind this particular single-sided salvo, or the source material they've tampered with. Regardless, we'd heartily recommend giving it a listen. Firmly focused on peak-time floors, it wraps cut-up and manipulated female rap vocals over a formidably bouncy, turn-of-the-90s house beat and a rubbery synthesizer bassline so infectious you might need to self-isolate for two weeks after hearing it. This is hip-shaking, toe-tapping, arms-flailing retro-futurist hip-house at its very best: ignore at your peril!

When it comes to hybrid blends of intoxicating world music sounds and contemporary dancefloor rhythms, few producers are quite as accomplished as Nicola Cruz. He's at it again on "Hybridism", the Equador-based Frenchman's first EP for Multi-Culti for almost three years. Opener "Aima" sets the tone, with Cruz wrapping lilting synth lines, weirdo electronics and chanted vocals around a bubbling electronic groove, while "Naeku" makes the most of echo-laden drums, what sounds like an African children's choir and faintly foreboding acid lines. "Drom Tradisie" is an exercise in trippy sounds and layered percussion, "Third Eye Dub" is a darker and moodier slab of techno-exotica and "Kawe's Dream" is a blissful blast of clarinet-sporting musical positivity.

Something slightly different here from one of Detroit's most storied producers who - somewhat surprisingly - has gone against type and decided to include a full vocal on "Poor Fake (Remix)", the mesmerising and melancholic A-side of his latest release. The vocal in question comes from an uncredited Kate Bush sound-alike, whose distinctive drawl works in perfect unison with Smith's moody Detroit bassline, snappy machine beats and celestial chords. Over on the flip the former Motor City street racer makes merry with some classy disco samples on feel-good workout "Bullshit Baby", before brilliantly playing around with the same Diana Ross sample he used on 2004's "Day", on the throbbing, peak-time ready loop jam that is "75&Day"

Originally released back in 1996, Felix Da Housecat's one and only release under The Visionary alias gets a much needed reissue here on original imprint Music For Your Ears - a lesser known sublabel of NYC legend DJ Duke's Power Music Distribution, While the mesmerising energy of "Free My Soul" does well in its own right, here it's accompanied with remixes by the legendary Danish-born label boss: the first being the sensual and emotive deepness of the "Deep Skool" Mix, followed by the stomping "Visionary" Remix that's powered by a thunderous rhythm department and a hypnotic vocal refrain. Get your hands on a piece of proper house music history!

After five years of on-off collaborations and side projects, Aaron 'FIT' Siegel has finally got round to making a new solo record. It's rather good, with startling A-side "Exist On" delivering a brilliant blend of breakbeat-driven turn of the '90s grooves, chunky bass, ultra-dreamy chords and the kind of bleeping top-end melodies more readily associated with the early releases of Warp Records. Title track "Formula" moves even further towards bleep techno territory via deep space chords, thumping techno beats, Kraftwerkian lead lines and the kind of distorted analogue bass found on LIES releases, while "Wayne County Stomp" sounds like a mutated, mind-altering cover of Steve Poindexter's "Computer Madness".

Four highly requested remixes of Jacques Greenes sophomore Dawn Chorus album by Fort Romeau, Big Miz, Ciel and Martyn Bootyspoon. Last years “Dawn Chorus” album showed Jacques Greene outgrowing the limitations of the tempo-defined dance genres he rose to notoriety within. And while his own music grew in scope, Dawn Chorus became his most collaborative work: courting friends and instrumentalists to lend their work to the album. For that reason, Dawn Chorus feels so much richer than his prior, solitary bedroom production and spoke to Greene’s competence as a curator. Inviting friends to contribute original remixes to the Deluxe Edition of the album which speaks to his ability for curation in a whole other sense: building on the album with club primetime house and techno, afterparty warehouse versions from Greene’s friends and family.

Over a decade after the first LiveJam collaboration surfaced - on a strictly vinyl-only basis - an entire cosmos of interconnected artists, labels and releases have spawned off its mystery - a perpetual praising of the shadows that is less and less present within the underground. At its core, it instilled an ethos and a clear aesthetic both for the label’s regulars, and for the wider house and techno spectrum as a measure of quality. The initial collective, led and curated by founders EMG and John Swing, gave rise, together with the Analogue Cops, to the tirelessly anonymous APPOINTMENT project - an improvisational, techno-minded session - and the SPS moniker that includes talented producer Battista, with both sets of crews making a return after a long break from the label. Ten years later and the cooperative expands, finding mutual respect and admiration among two heavyweights of the UK house and techno ecosystem - house maestro, Mr G, for the former, and British techno luminary, Ben Sims, for the latter. Even so, this remains consciously limited to vinyl, and while they now have official support from two of dance music’s legends, it’s been earned through a dogged pursuit of Livejam’s founding principles. Simply, a physical production ethos from conception through to performance.

As you'd expect from someone as experienced as DJ Qu, this two track, single-sided salvo manages to strike just the right balance between dancefloor weight, drive, and the kind of mind-altering weirdness that sounds so good in the early hours of the morning. This is particularly evident on hazy and heady opener "A Lucid", where off-key electric piano notes, weirdo noises, echoing percussion hits and mangled vocal snippets ride a wonky, bass-heavy techno groove. "Tape" is a little less brain melting and a touch deeper, but still makes use of wiggly acid lines, spacey stabs and reasonably robust beats. Like the A-side, it sounds like it is probably best enjoyed in a very dark room at five in the morning.

The pleasingly unpredictable Adeen label returns with another record of outstanding and distinctive quality. Scott Hess is an emergent talent, originally from Detroit but now based in Bangkok, who channels the heat and clamour of the Thai capital. The result is a funkified strain of house with rich synths and some satisfyingly organic licks. "Redlight" is the heavy lifter, all muscular bass synths and a nagging, twitchy groove, while "Circle Of Funk" brings a more introspective tone embellished by some gorgeous slap bass. "The Rhythm" pushes a more steamy kind of funk that nods to the Detroit house grandmasters.

1 Life returns to its "Keep It Deep" series with another sizzling slab of feel good party wares designed to blow the clouds away. First up, Vincent Inc remixes Julian Sanza's "Starduster" with the slickest kind of '80s funk - like a Level 42 deep cut on steroids. Rune Lindbaek and Frisvold get deep in the mangroves with their swampy version of "Sunset On Punta Paloma" by Incarnations. Cosmic master Danielle Baldelli and Dionigi bring some slick Italo vibes and subtly psychedelic flourishes to their original production "Prepare To Energize", while Jorge Savoretti shakes up Mateo & Matos' "Vibe" and turns it into a snapping, clacking deep house workout par excellence.

The grooves are heavy and dubby but still resolutely house-oriented as William Caycedo steps up to Dungeon Meat with his first EP in a couple of years. "Rock It" perfects the lean and mean groove - just a nasty drum jack and a big subby bassline, and utterly infectious with it. "Lock N' Load" follows a similar trajectory, although functions more as a tool than a standalone track. "Cut I" is a little more bubbly in its demeanour while still following the formula of drums, bass and little else. "Cut II" has a sweet bassline that will hook the dancers in, while "Cut III" keeps the pressure up with its nagging hats and subtle rhythmic fills. This is one for the DJs, but don't be fooled - there's bags of attitude tucked within these stripped back jams.