House News

While the rest of the world basks in the 'Body Glo' of a dreamy label debut from Australia's Bronze Savage, Moonboots & Boardman are straight back to business, uniting a diverse cast of Mancunian talent for a four track collaboration with clothing brand Good Measure. After romancing our ears with the emotional pop of 'Delicious Crime' back on Nado 1001, Half Silk returns to Balearic base camp with the exotic exploits of 'Tsukimi', a coastal cooler for hot Summer nights. Borrowing a bustling bossa from the libraries of Japan, the mystery man canters through infectious organ licks, eleki guitars and subdued synths, darting between Surf and City Pop with a trail of tape delay in his wake.Taking the reins for the A2, King Clyde swaps the sophisticated sway of the Far East for the well-thrown shapes and vivid colours of Nigeria, packing 'Request Line' with red hot Afrobeat brilliance.
As crunchy guitar and distorted organ ride punchy drums and dexterous bass, the track swaggers out of the speakers like Shaun Ryder in a dashiki, demanding complete dance floor attendance from anyone in earshot.Things take a turn for the sublime on the B1 as Dream Lovers deliver a suitably somnolent cover of the Vini Reilly masterpiece 'For Belgian Friends'.
While a stripped back rhythm section keeps its hypnotic time, airy guitars and metallic keys blend the sticky heat of Thai streets with Caribbean calm, laying us softly to rest on a bed of gossamer melody. The Records We Never Made maintains that medicated pace to bring proceedings to a close with the horizontal beauty of 'On A Whispered Way', a delicate haze of melancholic downbeat for the latest night or earliest morning. The steady pulse of reverberating percussion leaves plenty of room for the gentle acoustic strum and shimmering textures which echo through the soundscape, transporting us to someplace different entirely.
Officially Aficionado.

By the power of Discogs DJ Skelector brings you 'Man Hole Records'.

Saint Petersberg's Serene release the At The Zenith EP on Uber.This is a beautifully crafted 3 track ep of lush ambient electronica. Equally at home soundtracking summer sunsets or winter sunrises this quietly hypnotic ep continues Ubers high standards

From the age of 13, Jullian Gomes secretly gambled every cent of his school lunch money on buying deep-house records; no doubt with the unknown knowledge that someday, these records would change his life forever. Only a few people know this but Jullian used to sneak, yes! sneak into local clubs in and around Pretoria / Tshwane from a very early age. At this time nothing could stop this young man being 'in the moment' to enjoy the music that has now, amazingly, become his full time career. Maybe his parents will be ok with the knowledge of his secret nightlife now knowing how incredibly skilled and loved their son has become throughout the world of dance music. Jullian Gomes is truly a very dedicated individual, and this young musical maestro has in just a few years leaped forward and galvanised a career for himself in a very competitive industry. From his brief visit to London for the Red Bull Music Academy in 2010, to releasing his debut album 'Late Dreamer' in 2017, Gomes, with a lot of hard grafting built up his relationships and very quickly covered a lot of very bumpy and obstacle-ridden ground to get him to where he is today. To say this man is 'Here To Stay' is a massive understatement.
Late Dreamer is unmistakably the sound of 'Jullian Gomes' - wonderfully laid back, thick chunky beat-ridden soulful house music featuring some incredible talent, that together make a warm and attractive addition to the world of electronic soul music.

REPRESSED !
Tracy Island, surrounded by natures greatest and ever rising force of the Ocean, is a place emanating peace and joy. The label is a concept representing the isolation and appeal of Island life, contrasted with thought provoking and mesmerising melodies to draw us away from main land mentality, offering feelings of tranquility and wonder. In these controversial times the necessity to escape or break away grows as we feel increasingly submerged by the world's realities, now more than ever we should strive to protect both the environment and the purpose of this planet.
Tracy Island will follow a 10 episode framework taking inspiration from Thunderbirds, all of which aptly named after the original series. The first episode welcomes Mori Ra of Osaka, with four old edits from way back when on 'Trapped In The Sky'.
' Located in the South Pacific, the heavily camouflaged Island's ulterior function is to serve as the secret base of the International Rescue Organisation. Music For Hope. With love from Tracy Island. '

Spring 2017 - No More Pop returns with their most complicated project. To capture an rework the disco masterpiece Kérdés Önmagamhoz. The story of a womam, looking back to her innocent youth. While Flemming Dalum takes the discoid elements and creates a driving early electro italo floor killer, Keen K decides to take us on a spiritual journey of synth cuteness to Japan. This time, also for the first time, Roland Faber is part of the Team - he goes the instrumental dub way, which turns out to be a beautiful artwork of coexistent melodies!

Uber's latest offering is a sublime 5 track ep from French producer Shelter. Sailing On A Black sea is a drifting piece of ambient electronica. Late night stargazing on the deck with the waves gently lapping on the shore. Sad Beach continues with the layered textures with a little more of a percussive feel. through the Desert Land is shimmering mesmerising journey through the dunes with loose congas soft guitars and a hypnotic Jews Harp. Seaport theme continues the coastal vibrations but with a touch of bounce and uplifting choral vocal stabs and louche pads. Finally Water Plain closes the journey with kalimbas and xylophonic melodies and the contining theme of phosphoescent seas and soothing synth sounds. A very accopmlished slice of beach bar balearica destined for sunsets around the med for years to come.

Last in the series of the ever popular Mellow Mellow Right On label, featuring two more dance floor soul classics.

Repressed. 3 industrial dance re-edits inspired by the legendary all-ages Chicago night club, Medusa's. The first is an extended NITZER EBB medley B/W re-edits of SPK's "MOUTH 2 MOUTH" and SEVERED HEADS' "ALL DAY SAINTS". Industrial meets techno! White labels in stickered paper sleeves.

Over the years, Phil Mison has become the go-to selector for those looking for Ibiza-themed compilations. None of his previous collections, though, have been quite as personal as Out Of The Blue, a compilation inspired by his first spell behind the decks at the Café Del Mar in 1993 - and the remarkable chain of events leading up to it. Mison made his first trip to Ibiza in the summer of 1991 and quickly fell in love with the magical music being played by Café Del Mar resident DJ, Jose Padilla. On his return to the UK, Mison began to cultivate his own take on the laidback, open-minded style, recording mix-tapes of "Ibiza style chill out" tunes to give to friends. In November 1992, Mison was hanging out in Tag Records, Soho, when Padilla walked in. He plucked up the courage to speak to the Spaniard because earlier that summer Mison had given one of his friends some tapes to take out to Jose in Ibiza so he wanted to see if he had got them. During the conversation Mison invited him down to his next DJ set at Nicky Holloway's club, the Milk Bar and less than three months later, and clearly impressed by what he'd heard on the tapes, Padilla invited Mison to fill in for him at the Café Del Mar, beginning in April '93. It's that first trip to DJ in Ibiza - a crazy six-weeks spent dividing his time between spinning records at Café Del Mar, hanging out in Jose Padilla's house in the hills, and meeting some particularly eccentric White Isle residents - that proved the inspiration for Out Of The Blue.The compilation contains a mixture of records that Mison played in his earliest Ibiza sets, those that remind him of that period, and recent discoveries that boast a similarly warm, loved-up vibe. Mison is at pains to point out that it's not a track-for-track representation of his first sets, but rather a collection inspired by this most momentous of experiences.

As you'd expect from a selector of Phil Mison's standing, Out Of The Blue is an outstanding collection. Some will no doubt hear the influence of his mentor - the man he credits with effectively turning his DJing career around - in the undulating rhythms and new age melodies of Kamasutra's "Sugar Step", the meandering synthesizer solos and Spanish language vocals of Congarilla's sublime "Sacred Tree", and the lilting flamenco guitars of "Gambarra", an unreleased mix from Mison's popular Cantoma project. Elsewhere, listeners can marvel at the starry ambient bliss of Belgian legend Frank De Wulf's "The End", recline to the saucer-eyed fusion jazz of the Christoph Spendel Group, shuffle along to tactile, hard-to-find period deep house from Language, Moodswings and Don Carlos, and marvel at The Cactus Rose Project's ridiculously rare "Jelly", a sparkling, disco-era jazz-rock outing partly inspired by the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Running".
Out Of The Blue may well be a very personal selection of tracks celebrating a moment in time, but it's happily one that we can all enjoy.

Genuine emotional house in the vein of his early cassette days, combined with twisted disco loops.

Super limited taster 12" from Detroit based vocalist extraordinaire Nikki O !Recent collaborative efforts have brought Nikki back into the limelight, following her stunning mini LP on Moodymann's Mahogani Music back in 2005
Very little information available on this one, we know only that it's a one-off ahead of a wider released project - but safe to say it's a superb 12", featuring two versions of new track 'Gotta Believe'
A thumpin' House rub sits on the A Side, floating the distinctive Badu style delivery over a perfectly pitched groove
On the flip, we're treated to an inspired rework of an underground boogie gem which suits the vocal like it was meant to be !
First come first served on this one folks - destined for big things !

There are many ways to move forward as an artist. You can reinvent yourself, keep track of fashions, or try bold new things. Tom Trago has spent the best part of 10 years pushing his sound in impressive new directions. Yet on his new album, the well-regarded Amsterdam-based producer has done things slightly differently. This time round, his influences come from much closer to home, and he has admitted to being inspired by the dancefloor-focused style with which he made his name.

Welcome to The Light Fantastic. We're sure you'll enjoy the trip.

Trago is an old hand at this kind of thing. Back in 2009, his debut album, Voyage Direct, impressed with its warm, disco-centric blends of full-throttle deep house and boogie-influenced synthesizer funk. He cast his net wider on 2011's Iris, choosing to work with a wide variety of international collaborators on an album that laid bare his myriad of musical influences.

On the Light Fantastic, he's decided to 'step back to move forwards' with a warm, involving set that puts the simple pleasures of the best dancefloor moments at its heart.

'I tried to go a bit back towards the style I was doing on Voyage Direct, so dancefloor beats with deeper impact,' Trago admits. 'I was trying to male tracks that work on the dancefloor, but also move your heart.'

In some ways, The Light Fantastic is Trago in 'back to basics' mode. Partly inspired by his ever-increasing travels around the world to DJ, it melds together a range of influences - deep house, vintage synthesizers, classic boogie, disco, Chicago jack, acid house, and even a dash of full-throttle rave revivalism on the raw funk of 'The Elite' - on a set that sounds like it was painted in vivid colours by an artist at the top of his game.

'I'm like a professor in a lab, trying to make little ideas work,' Trago enthuses, warming to the theme. 'The tracks are all there in my head, like a puzzle, and I have to make all the pieces fit together.'

The 'back to basics' theme extended to his choice of collaborators. Whereas Iris was notable for featuring an impressive cast list of international singers, musicians and producers, The Light Fantastic is more of a homegrown affair. While plenty of people lent a hand during the recording process, they were trusted locals from the Dutch electronic music scene, rather than outsiders.

'This time, I thought 'whoever walks in the studio can get involved',' he says. 'If they walked in, they could sing, play some synths or do some mixing. A lot of people came to hang out and ended up lending a hand. It's a much more fun way of working than sending your track to somebody across the other side of the World.'

There are many collaborations on The Light Fantastic, but listen out for contributions from Steffi, Ben Westbeech, 'studio neighbour' San Proper, Makam, vocalist Holly Wood and, most surprisingly, a local club owner who just happened to swing by the studio. 'Using my friends was a big part of the process,' Trago admits. 'One of the points of the album was using people who were close to home, part of the family almost.'

It's an approach that definitely paid dividends. Certainly, this celebration of Amsterdam's blossoming electronic music scene adds a little extra frisson of excitement to The Light Fantastic's impressive vibrancy.

By the time the rush-inducing positivity of 'The Wrong Right' gives way to the mutant alien funk of album closer 'Desire', you'll be ready to listen to it all over again. That's the thing with The Light Fantastic - it's a trip you'll want to take again and again.

Part 2 of the House of Disco HOD STASH series this time featuring sort after tracks from Art of Tones & Harry Wolfman.
Pressed on Blue Vinyl and packed into a Manila bag with hand stamped logo.

2 Edits from a well known producer under the guise of WYMM.
Pressed on limited Red Heart Shaped Vinyl

Following a one-year hiatus that served only to augment the label's standing as an integral fixture of the Ibiza season, 2017 sees Defected parties return to the island, taking up residence at Eden for the first time. 'Defected Ibiza 2017' celebrates this homecoming, with label boss Simon Dunmore personally selecting and mixing the cuts that will rule dancefloors across the island all summer long.
Three full-length DJ mixes, incorporating over three-and-a-half hours of incredible house music, take you from poolside to party. There's plenty of upfront material from the Defected family of labels, from long-standing favourites like Sandy Rivera, Sam Divine and Benji Candelario, and newcomers such as Amine Edge & DANCE, Jacky and Mason. Fresh cuts by Josh Butler, Soul Clap and Mall Grab range from chart-toppers to underground nuggets, covering soulful, tech and deep house bases, whilst a sprinkling of old favourites from the likes of Urban Blues Project and Kenny Hawkes are sure to raise a nostalgic smile.
Whether you're watching the sunset in San Antonio, or bringing some White Isle vibes to your own neighbourhood, 'Defected Ibiza 2017' is your definitive summer soundtrack.

Francisco returns to Slow Motion for the second in our of retro-dance-floor series; Linea Beat volume 2. Drum beats are rolling and lazers are scanning for a double a-side of vintage yet futuristic discoid funk. Relentless hand claps, ghostly Italo voices and killer bass lines that comes on like the B-52's of your alternative-universe wet dream. This is the sound of a sweaty cellar at 2am on a Monday morning with a uniquely Italian twist.

MAKE BELIEVE DISCO is a very welcome new addition to the SLEAZYBEATS family of labels !
Next up we have a delightful platter by Dutchman Junktion, who serves up a trio of savoury sonic snacks in a similar vein to his sought-after Black Ops outing. In Blue Forests is the main course here, a heads-down groover with a dash of strings and some tropical condiments for that Summery flavour.
Flip over for the uptempo chugger 'That's What's Coming' and 'Friends & Strangers', Junktion's nod to rolling 90's piano-driven French house, ones for the dance floor, and then some!

Anthony Naples announces his return to his own Proibito label with new EP 'Us Mix' - his first release on the imprint since 2015's Smacks.Set for release on 7th of April, 'Us Mix' consists of 4 dancefloor tracks with warm punchy melodies and vibrant grooves.

Here at Optimo Music we have been fans of Dennis Bovell for longer than we care to remember. We rate him as one of thee very best producers the UK has ever produced. From first hearing his work on the magnificent 'Silly Games" by Janet Kay through his incredible solo albums, his production on albums by The Slits, The Pop Group, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Orange Juice, Saâda Bonaire and many more to his astonishing mixes on piles of highly sought after dub 7"s. He has been active in music for 40 years and is still going strong. In 2014 he worked with artists ranging from Rihanna to Golden Teacher! When we heard he was going to be performing in Glasgow late last year we tracked him down and asked if he would be up for going into Green Door studios for a day and doing something with Golden Teacher's music. He was, and these are the results. Mr. Bovell did lots of overdubs, adding organ and other instrumentation, pitching down vocals and basslines and created these delirious dubbed out gems.

On the AA side is the previously unreleased "Instigator" while on the A side he reworked Golden Teacher's second single "Like A Hawk". Housed in another classic sleeve designed by Oli from Golden Teacher this two track 12" is a dream come true for us to release.

Another stone cold NY club jam from the archives of the legendary SAM records label.
'Feel alright' does exactly as the title suggests! Pure early 80's electronic Disco joy for packed, sweaty dance-floors. Not much is known about Komiko, an undercover studio outfit that featured guest vocals from Carol Williams, Tracey Weber & Vicky D and was produced by the criminally underrated Darryl Payne (who manned the boards for Sinnamon, Sharon Redd, Carol Williams, NV & many more) but it's okay, as this - their sole release, more than makes up for it! A true Boogie classic indeed 'Feel alright' was a huge club record that got spin from the Garage to the streets of London.
If you're into that sparse, electronic and funky early 80's Boogie / electro Disco sound then you won't be disappointed with this one. A guaranteed floor-filler of the highest calibre! Reissued in conjunction with SAM records, New York City. Fully remastered with all original 1981 label artwork intact. File under - *Essential Disco*

The Silver Rider & Osmose serve up some beatdown style reworks spanning the tempo range. Joints for all occasions! Get some love... Vinyl only.

Bout time we do something for Record Store Day! Only missed the last six. Special 10-inch (our first!) of Jacques Renault and House of Spirits, a.k.a. Tom Noble, material here. Call it a remix swap twofer. The A is a Jacques remix of House of Spirits' 'Holding On,' the original of which was put out by Tim Sweeney on his Beats in Space label. The B's Noble's remix of 'Words,' one of the cuts off Renault's 2015 debut full-length, Zentrum.

2 delicious ice-cream marbled vinyl scoops of divine, Balearic space disco that will rock Cafe Del Mar in the AM or DC 10 at midnight. "Dirty Cash" is a well-crafted remix tribute to Stevie V's early '90s house gem, "Steel Drums" is pure discoid delirium.

Thalab effortlessly weave through intricate textures, bold soundscapes, and an original take on influences from their hometown in their songwriting and production.
In addition to previously released singles "2 Sails", "Away", and "Morning Before My Plant Dies", the new record is a sultry, downtempo stunner that completes the four track EP in proper fashion. Support from Phil Taggart, Pete Tong & Nemone @ 6Music

An artifact. 80s Beppe Loda. Recorded live at the Typhoon club Italy, 1985

SmartBar resident Chrissy teams up w/Chicago-based vocalist Hawley in throwback to an earlier Smart Bar era w/12" mixes previewing their forthcoming full length. Full 80s representation. Classic electro-pop.

After a slow start to the season Rothmans are back with their second release of 2016 and who else could this record be dedicated to than 'The Godfather of Total Football' Johan Cruyff, RIP. Another great name gone from football but never to be forgotten , a fitting tribute to the Flying Dutchman. The record itself comes from 'Dawn Again' . Not much is known about this producer other than apparently he is Australian but lives in New York and throws parties in Brooklyn. The EP itself is quite honestly one of the best things we have heard all year. No remixes this time (which is the usual format on Rothmans) just 4 pulsating underground juggernaughts , all original Dawn Again material. The First track 'Colored Pens' hit us straight away with a style that seems to have been lifted staight out of a LOTI record, this is something we have no complaints with!. This is followed on the A-side by 'The Italian' which is a slowed down chugger that does serious damage in the last few minutes. The B-side gives us a lushous smooth dance track called Plain of Jars, and the record is finished off with a real Kruyff Turn in 'Lavender' , a total curve ball filled with bass and breaks that remids us something of the remix Eddie c pulled off on Roth10. All in all something completely different from the last Rothmans records, but we are used to this by now as their season starts to unfold and really get going!!

Tyler from Classixx solo project, a full-on Summer jam. Whether you're dancing to Tony Adams' 90s house remix or going Balearic to the Cosmic Kids remix, this record is sure to be playing at your nearest pool party in sunny California where these songs we

We are proud to announce our first ever collab release with another label and above all, from one of our all time fave producers out there, The Revenge'. His Label - Roar Groove has become a household name for excellent deep dance floor excursions into dubbed out and disco fuelled house music and is the perfect fit for our vision of dance music. Making up Roar Groove meets Dirt Crew Recordings' you'll find three originals from The Revenge himself, plus two remixes from our resident producer Nachtbraker. We get right into it on the A1 with a rolling disco workout on Conkers'. This track lifts and intensifies into a straight up dance floor destroyer. The perfect balance of elements, tantalizing synth licks, an oscillating bass line and a vocal that dares you not to get up. Next, Do The Right Thing' explores the aforementioned quintessential dub disco territory, slipping and sliding, pulsing keys and glistening melodies sing to rum infused coconuts and salty sunsets. Nachtbraker flips the same jam on the B1 giving it his signature deep house vigor, while adding some new jazz elements, highlighting the undeniable underlying funk of the original. New Attitude' reps that proper Revenge' sound, this track resides in the realm of the indescribable, we're not sure if techno is quite the word for it, but a deep and rhythmically pulsing exploration through gritty soundscapes bringing some , always welcome, disco lasers along for the ride.Finally, on our digi only special, Nachtbraker slows things down a little reworking Conkers'. He's swung the vibe, infused a little more funk, and once again taught us all a lesson on how to write a bass line you can get your body behind.

The 5th instalment of the Riviera Disco series! Peet Need from The Netherlands, Two Thousand from Germany, October Dance and Flemming Dalum from Denmark and Synthia from Belgium.

The always wonderful BEGIN returns after a very Balearic absence ! And what a return !
'Let's Talk' eases us in with some trademark Begin style mid-tempo mellowness, as undulating melodic elements are carried straight to the beach on gently lolloping beats
'Aight' adds a little more anticipation, with a syncopated backbone and some mesmerising Carl Craig style synth cycles...
On the B, the 'Cut The Paste' is a burly, New Beat inspired chugger, which manages to sound exactly like an early morning, strobe-lit Boccaccio moment, while simultaneously basking in the midday sun

The title track features Boston based female singer songwriter Saucy Lady (well known for hit singles 'Touch It Rahaan Remix' and 'On The Floor').
Disco Town U-key "Do The Right Thing" puts a neo soul re twist on the title track by Japan's hot producer Yuki Monolog.
The EP contains both "Instrumental" and "Raw Vocal" mixes of down tempo, funk groover "Losing Streak" and a crossover into a more raw form of Tom's funk comes by way of the guitar driven and funky keys of "Live it Up".

Al Massrieen: Disco, Funk and modernized Arabic Pop from Egypt

In the beginning of Habibi Funk, our search was focussed on vinyl records. Around a year ago though, we got to the point where we realized that it became substantially harder to discover music, that we enjoyed and hadn't heard before. It became apparent that it was time to start looking for other formats. Cassette tapes were the obvious alternative. These were introduced in the arabic world around the late 1970s. In some countries they took over a bit earlier, in others a bit later, but eventually they pushed the vinyl format out of the market in the 1980s. In Egypt this trend already even started in the late 1970s.

Al Massrieen was one of the first bands I learned about once I discovered the tape format for myself. They were really popular in Egypt in the 1970s and the more of their music I found on either tapes or Arabic pirate mp3 sites, the more I was becoming a fan. Only very few bands from the region can match the band's versatility as well as their strive for innovation. Hany Shenoda is the man behind the Al Massrieen band. He is a reknown figure of the Egyptian music scene and has worked with everyone from Abdel Halim Hafez to Mohamed Mounir. Al Massrieen was his attempt to introduce his ideas of modernizing Egyptian music, heavily encouraged by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt's only winner of the Nobel Price for literature) after discussing his ideas with him. Al Massrieen's sound goes from lush disco like "Sah" to psych rock like "Horreya" or incredible jazz fused pop on songs such as "Edba Mn Gded". I was shocked to realize the band seemed to be hardly known outside Egypt, even though I feel they're at least on the same level as Ahmed Fakroun. An relative obscurity which I largely attribute to the fact that their releases never have been pressed on vinyl (apart from a Greece best of LP which wasn't a strong compilation of the group's songs). One way or another it felt like this band and especially their composer, band leader and overall brain Hany Shenoda was in need to get some recognition outside of Egypt. The release is fully licensed from the band and comes with an extensive booklet with liner notes, interviews and unseen photos.

Orestt is one of those talented producers with a sporadic discography that remains viciously underrated. On L'Age de Glace EP, the producer's first appearance on I'm a Cliché since the Moment of a Crisis compilation, we proudly present new material as well as a hard to find tune self-released by Orestt a decade ago.

The fourth release on Austin Boogie Crew Records comes in the shape of an undeniable 45 from none other than Starship Connection
Representing San Francisco, Starship members B.Bravo & Teeko have been leading the scene for years with their unique brand of modern and hip-hop infused funk. With their first appearance on ABC, the duo offers two complimentary jams...

'Heartbreaker' is an amazing modern funk cover of the Zapp & Roger original. Driven by talkbox harmonies, cracking drums, thumping bass, and slick halftime break downs, Starship puts their signature twist on a classic.

Bas Roos is a DJ and producer from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He started DJ'ing at the age of 16 after spending some time on making his own music. A year later he released his first EP and from that moment on he started to develop a unique and fresh sound which has seen releases on Phil Weeks' Robsoul Label as well as Shir Khan's Black Jukebox Disco House Series on Exploited. The 18th Edition of Black Jukebox sees the young producer deliver 4 new tracks which work magic on the dancefloor. Do yourself a favor and pick it up before this limited collector's item sells out.