July: 15 house releases you need to hear this month

Northern Power House 'Vol 2' (Night Shift Sound)

The composite parts of this label are Mike Burgess and James Medina, who were formerly known as HeavyFeet and had strong releases on Black Butter and Bingo Bass. Their Night Shift Sound venture has been gaining in stature over the last two or three years, with this new album featuring club cuts from Bang Tidy (Audio Rehab), Murder He Wrote (Roska Kicks & Snares) and Gawp (Dirtybird). It starts with the gargantuan bass of Jay Robinson’s remix of Bang Tidy’s ‘Dreams’, before Wrangle and vocalist Maria Marcial team up for the rave-driven ‘Your Love’. Later, JH Nickel’s ‘Get On It’ starts a shift into a more late-night direction, adding some dramatic overtones to this solid album of club-heavy tackle from the Manchester label.

9/10

Leonidas & Hobbes 'The Rags Of Time' EP (Hobbes Music)

Hobbes Music comes up trumps with this classy piece of house from Leonidas and label boss Hobbes. ‘Web Of intrigue’ has smatterings of disco, guitar licks, forlorn synths and thunder crashes; it sounds like the soundtrack to a Tarantino film set in the Balearics. ‘Heavy Weather’, meanwhile, is available in a number of guises including a Dawn mix, a Balearic Acid mix and an Acid Rain mix – and we’d happily listen to them all on repeat.

9/10

Tiptoes 'Celui La' (Lyceum Social Club)

Rob Etherson (Mic Dora) and Illyus’ new imprint Lyceum Social Club turned heads with a strong debut release from Mr Night, and it keeps up the momentum with this new effort from Tiptoes. ‘Celui La’ sounds like a lost Roulé B-side with its filtered, repeated sliding in and out of the mix, and mellow house cut ‘Seabreeze’ isn’t unlike the cocktail it shares a name with thanks to its shades of sweet and sour. With subtle sighs, classic bass, smooth pads and strings, it sounds like Faze Action on holiday.

8/10

Grijo 'Wrong Latitude' EP (Nordic Trax)

Grijo releases his new EP on Canadian label Nordic Trax, with a title track that trundles along with a walking bassline and organic percussion before breaking into a Roland interlude. ‘Zancle’, meanwhile, is for those twilight clubbing moments when things are toning down, ‘Phono Deep’ (Acid mix) is late-night warehouse music and ‘Exp #13’ (Inner Earth mix) rides along on a pitched-down midtempo house groove.

6/10

Omar 'The Remixes Pt 1' (Peppermint Jam)

It’s very hard to write about Omar without mentioning the considerable calibre of tracks he’s released in the last two decades, and as his latest album ‘Love In Beats’ proved, he’s not lost his touch one bit. Some of the tracks from that LP are given the remix treatment here, with ‘Vicky’s Tune’ reworked by The Reflex, who gives it an infectious bass line, disco keys and guitar licks that perfectly underpin Omar’s silky voice, while the mighty DJ Jazzy Jeff provides a 6/8 bumping version of ‘Gave Me Heart.’ Rob Hardt of Cool Million gives us a grooving soulful remix, too, but it’s The Reflex’s contribution that comes out on top.

7/10

Soul Clap feat Nona Hendryx 'Shine (This Is It)' (Classic Music Company)

Fresh from their recent Fabric album, Soul Clap drop this vintage piece of house on the esteemed Classic Music Company imprint. Bona fide funk diva Nona from Labelle lends her voice to ‘Shine (This Is It)’, belting out a joyous vocal on top of tinkering pianos. It’s a convincing disco-house anthem, while the decision to get Hot Toddy on remix duties is equally inspired: he hands in two versions with hypnotic marimba rhythms setting it apart from the original. Scott Grooves is also on form with his remix, providing liquid-bass squelches.

8/10

Tough Love 'Like A Drug' (Remixes) (Get Twisted)

‘Like A Drug’ has already garnered support from a diverse list of DJs including Huxley, Gorgon City and Oliver Heldens. On this package of remixes, Jodie Harsh delivers the biggest rework, injecting the original with a liquid bassline. It rises and falls underneath a vocal which, mysteriously, has been written by “a Grammy-winning, platinum-selling artist”. They won’t tell us who it is; what we do know is that it’s a catchy vocal that works very well with this Saturday-night club cut. It’s then over to K&K, who deliver a sprightly remix with soaring strings and skipping beats.

7/10

Weiss 'Change Dat' (Dirtybird Records)

By now, we know exactly what to expect from Claude VonStroke’s flawless Dirtybird Records: off-kilter late night house music. Weiss previously had a track on one of the label’s compilation albums, but now it’s time for his own Dirtybird single. ‘Change Dat’ is peak-time wonkiness that sounds like a release from Music For Freaks mixed with Buckfast and MDMA. ‘Charlie Brown’ evokes an image of its cartoon namesake dancing to its shuffling beats, random synths and vocal snips; it’s a tongue-in-cheek house jam that feels at home on this label, and suggests a bright future for Weiss.

8/10

Daniel Steinberg 'Another Gal' EP (Arms & Legs)

They’ve been friends for a long time, but this is the first collaboration from Oliver Dollar and Daniel Steinberg on the latter’s Arms & Legs label. ‘Another Gal’ is a twilight drum jam that will appeal to fans of late-night house and techno – think Eats Everything working with Dave Clarke. ‘Another Drum’ takes elements from ‘Another Gal’, adding melodies to take it in a more peak-time direction, while ‘Perc It Straight’ takes a snippet from ‘Express Yourself’ and chops it up to make a quirky vocal loop that intertwines with funking guitars (there’s also a dub mix for those alternative sets). ‘Another Drum’ will be the pick of the bunch for the techno fans, while ‘Perc It Straight’ is for the house heads.

8/10

Ki Creighton & Makanan 'High Motions' EP (Under No Illusion)

Ki Creighton & Makanan are receiving a lot of attention right now, with their massive release on Mar-T and Luca Donzelli’s WOW Recordings about to drop. But Creighton’s also been holding this great release for his own Under No Illusion label. A cheeky vocal snip is combined with a colossal walking bassline on this grooving track; by the time it hits the breakdown, you’ll be absolutely immersed in this club banger. Elsewhere, ‘Simply Yellow’ showcases the duo’s variety with its more grounded sound. Elrow’s favourite son De La Swing offers an energetic drum remix, and Waifs & Strays put their own spin on the title track with their driving tech-house rework.

8/10

Mihai Popoviciu 'Home (Remixes Part 1)' (Bondage Music)

Poker Flat label boss Steve Bug is among the cast of names invited to remix tracks from Mihai Popoviciu’s ‘Home’ album on this new release. Bug provides a cryptic take on ‘Focus’ with murky synths, crisp beats and classy pads, while Pornbugs and Dilby add a driving groove and metallic synths to ‘Sunshine’. Peter Makto and Gregory S tackle ‘Data On Data’ with a minimal, heartfelt remix, and the digital version also comes with James Dexter’s bumping tech-tinged remix of ‘ACK’ as a bonus track.

6/10

El Prevost b2b Doorly 'EP1' (Reptile Dysfunction)

Doorly’s amazingly named Reptile Dysfunction label brings us this off-the-wall collaboration from El Prevost and Doorly. This is part-Theo Parrish, part-Moodymann and part-Soul Clap with its authentic keys, piano chops, drum breaks and weird vocal samples (and something else which sounds like a dolphin). It’s a freaky track that’s not for every dancefloor but could be lethal if played at the right time. ‘Temper Mental’ is an angry, twisted house track which is then given a great remix by Lee Foss; it will take you by surprise when it goes off on one with bonkers synth stabs (and there’s also a handy ‘synthapella’ from Doorly, too).

7/10

Audiojack & Kevin Knapp 'Implications' (Crosstown Rebels)

This is the first release from Gruuv founders Audiojack and Kevin Knapp on Damian Lazarus’ label Crosstown Rebels. Complete with vinyl crackles, spooky voices, modulating synths, dark pads and more, it’s a classy cut that’s then given a remix by Martin Buttrich, who adds sprightly percussion, a grooving bassline and a playful take on the original vocal. ‘6EQUJ5’, meanwhile, is inspired by the radio signal that astronomers picked up in 1977 that was thought to be from aliens, setting the scene for a tech-house track for the space age.

7/10

Paris Green 'You Got To Try' (Rebellion)

Paris Green is the unlikely collaboration between DJ/producer Mitchel Kelly and jazz musician Thijs Bastiaans. ‘You Got To Try’, which is being released on Crosstown Rebels’ sister label Rebellion, was discovered and supported by Kölsch on his Radio 1 residency. Fathoms deep and featuring the forlorn vocals from David Stolk, it’s moody, melancholic house that’s then handed to Steve Bug to give us two remixes: the subtle keys and clicking beats of his Sunrise mix complement the original’s beautifu vocal, while his club dub has plinking melodies and clean drums. The release also includes the jazz-tinged house track ‘Ghost’, too.

7/10

Komon & Will Saul 'Harmonise' (Aus Music)

It’s great to see Aus label boss Will Saul back in the studio with his long-time sparring partner Komon. ‘Harmonise’ is a lovely piece with its melodic pads, synths, vocal chops and frenetic drums. Berghain regular Nick Höppner is on hand to give us a delightful building remix that possibly improves on the original with its subtle musicality. Dekmantel and Gold Channel regulars Juju and Jordash also give us a space-synth version to round off this quality release.

7/10