November: 15 house releases you need to hear this month

Shadow Child 'Connected' (Food Music)

Shadow Child, aka Simon Neale, has invited an impressive roster of talent including Bodhi, T Williams, Huxley, Ben Pearce, S.P.Y, Ashworth and Supertanker to work with him on this diverse and exciting project. ‘Um’, with Bodhi, incorporates influences of d’n’b and bass within house. ‘Nothing Ever Hurts’ is a stunning, heartfelt vocal house collaboration with Ben Pearce, ‘London To Cambridge’ with rising star Ashworth is full of depth and drive, plus there’s a hook-up with Code 23 complete with old-skool breaks, and a jacking acid jam with Supertanker, which are set to be released as singles before the end of the year. Also included are Simon’s adept remixes of legendary tracks ‘Plastic Dreams’ and ‘Papua New Guinea’, both ideal ‘get out of jail cards’ for any DJ.

9/10

Sandy Turnbull 'After Comiskey Park' EP (Galleria)

You’ll remember this track when you hear it! It bumps along like a Chi Town-groover, drawing on a disco lick and sprightly piano, before the spoken word vocal kicks in and lifts it to an even higher level. It’s a genius sample that features a first-hand account of the infamous anti-disco rally of 1979, staged at the baseball park of Chicago White Sox. Thankfully, disco didn’t die; instead, it’s kept alive thanks to great disco-infused house tracks such as this.

9/10

Monday Club 'Bumps In The Night' EP (Of Unsound Mind)

Skream’s Of Unsound Mind label shows no signs of slowing down with another strong release. ‘After Dark’, the opening cut on this new three-track EP, is a classy, warm piece of house with pads, melodic piano and a lush vocal, while ‘Born Bad’ sounds like a grumpy DJ Sneak with its tough, bumping groove. ‘The Levels’ is a full-on acid attack with frenetic vocals breaking into an 80s synth line that sounds like a Casio keyboard demo – and although it might seem a little bit out of place, it helps to successfully lighten this peak-time cut.

8/10

Outboxx feat Naomi Jeremy 'Rumours' (Hypercolour)

We’re delighted that Outboxx have finally returned from their hiatus. After previously dropping on Bristol labels Idle Hands and Futureboogie, they’ve now completed the set by recording for Hypercolour, too. From the moment ‘Rumours’ kicks in, we’re reminded of their studio prowess with the clean, self-assured production of shimmering pads and grounded bass, all topped with a beautiful vocal from Naomi Jeremy. It’s then given to Moodymann signing Andrés, who turns it into a polished beach house cut. ‘So Strong’, meanwhile, is a super-cool house track with an agreeable vocal, poised keys and crisp beats.

8/10

Yousef & Harry Romero 'I’m Behind You' EP (Hot Trax)

We know the pedigree of the sum parts of this project, with Yousef previously releasing on the likes of Defected, Coccon, Desolat and Harry Romero working with Ovum, Subliminal and Suara. This, then, is a real meeting of minds, and you can imagine this collaboration slotting into either of their sets thanks to its purring groove. It doesn’t go too full-on but instead holds back, making for a main-room jam that’s never in danger of going too far. Alan Fitzpatrick’s mix takes things up a gear and into the hands of techno DJs with his piano rolls and clanging stabs, before Yousef signs off with the energetic drums of solo cut ‘Tightrope’.

6/10

GotSome 'Zulu' (Zoo Music)

Monki’s Zoo Music brings us the latest release from Defected signing GotSome. ‘Zulu’ is a highly charged and percussive workout capable of moving anyone with its organic drums and chanted vocals; it sounds a bit like a more underground version of Gorgon City’s ‘Zoom Zoom’. It’s then remixed by Bristol’s Kalyde, who takes it to a basement afterparty. With this release following his blistering Kanye edit, GotSome is gaining in stature and has garnered attention from the likes of Annie Mac and Eats Everything.

7/10

Tom Trago 'Being Broke' (Aus)

Tom Trago was responsible for putting out some big tunes before he joined the ranks at Aus alongside Recloose, Paul Woolford, Bicep and more. His latest, ‘Being Broke’, is a vigorous tech-houser that sounds like Subb-an after too much coffee. With a repeated vocal hook, great keys line, swirling pads and steadfast drums, it’s right at home in the Aus camp (and there’s also an instrumental cut). On the flip, meanwhile, are two versions of ‘Good Lies’ that have even more nifty keys, this time deployed on top of a climbing-and-falling bass groove.

7/10

Tiga 'Blondes Have More Fun' (Gerd Janson/The Black Madonna remixes) (Counter)

We know Tiga is more than capable of dropping a dancefloor destroyer. Here, his ode to fair hair gets the remix treatment from two of the most exciting producers of our time, Gerd Janson and The Black Madonna, both of whom have been busy carving out their own sound and totting up the air miles. Janson’s previous solo relases and collaborations with Phillip Lauer as Tuff City Kids have gained him a dedicated army of followers, and given the gargantuan acid rework he turns in here, it’s certainly not hard to see why: its mix of breakbeats, lush pads and choice vocal cuts make for one classy mix. The Black Madonna’s solid rework, meanwhile, incorporates her love of 80s synths with crisp drums. It only makes subtle use of the vocal, which perhaps could have been utilised more, but that’s just us being picky; it’s still another ace remix.

8/10

Purple Disco Machine 'Walls' EP (Kitball)

We‘ve long been fans of Purple Disco Machine, not least for a healthy workrate that’s seen him release on labels such as Toolroom, Defected and Exploited. His latest release, for Tube and Berger’s Kittball Records, is a memorable track with skipping drums, guitar licks and a powerful male vocal; normally, it would be hard to top his original version, but Jeudi Records man Monte takes it to a tougher place with the relentless bass, sturdy drums and expanding synth swells of his mix. Elsewhere, meanwhile, ‘Drumatic’ has a keen sense of fun, with its infectious sax line and keys making it sound like Mr Scruff jamming with James Curd.

7/10

Theo Kottis 'It Wasn’t Meant To Be' (Moda Black)

Despite still only being in his twenties, Theo shows a maturity beyond his years with this piece of timeless house. ‘It Wasn’t Meant To Be’ echoes the melancholic warmth of his stylish DJ sets with its combination of beautiful strings, dreamy pads and catchy tribal chants. On the flip, ‘Running Nowhere’ is a dramatic piece of cinematic haunted house, while Mobilee producer And.ID does a great job remixing the title track – but the original version is still the one.

8/10

Landsky & Resmann feat Jonny Cruz 'Fred The Ball' (Upon.You)

As solo artists, they’ve released some great ammo, and now these two are collaborating again they’ve come up trumps with this quirky and playful peak-time cut, complete with Jonny Cruz’s cheeky vocals that come on like Green Velvet on laughing gas. With lively tweaks and modulations, it rises and falls while jacking around the place. Label boss Marco Resmann is on remix duties, steering the original in a more techno direction. ‘Poly Mono’, meanwhile, sounds like it could have been on Poker Flat with its serious grooving quality; it’s ably remixed by Martin Landsky, but the charm of the title track is the winner here.

7/10

Red Axes 'Caminho De Dreyfus' (Correspondant)

To celebrate its 50th release, the Correspondant label welcomes back Red Axes. ‘Avalon’ is a big hug of a tune with a melodic groove, subtle vocals and middle-Eastern flavours, while ‘Sequencia Astronomical’ is a deep, dark and twisted track that sounds like Talking Heads meets The Black Madonna. ‘Caminho De Dreyfus’ was the track that first introduced us to Red Axes and Correspondant, so it’s great for this punk-funk house tune to get another run out here, too.

7/10

Skinnerbox 'Darkroom Dub Edits #2' (darkroom dubs)

It’s been some time since the first edits were released on Silicone Soul’s edits label. Skinnerbox takes on post-punk band Bauhaus’ 1979 track ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ – and while it’s not an obvious choice, it ticks plenty of boxes by being respectful to the original yet taking it to the dancefloor in 2016. The flip then gives a similar treatment to the Pixies song ‘Gauge Away’: these gothic and grunge tracks might both be unusual choices for edits, but Skinnerbox does a great job and leaves us wanting more in the future.

8/10

Rony Breaker 'I Feel Loved' (Peppermint Jam)

For his latest release, Hungarian producer Rony Breaker has teamed up with Jay Sebag, who previously contributed vocals for Martin Solveig. The original version of ‘I Feel Loved’ is an uplifting piece of disco-tinged house, with Ron Basejam also providing a big glitterball of a disco remix. Cram gives us a spangly guitar rework, too, but it’s the Ashley Beedle mix in its vocal and dub form that brings the best out of this track – and as good as the vocal version is, the dub mix is the real killer here.

7/10

Butane 'Get Down' (Alphahouse)

With previous Butane releases on Crosstown Rebels, Moan and his own labels Little Helpers and Alphahouse, Andrew Rasse is back. This is a punchy number with a jaggy rave stab and a familiar vocal hook creeping in. ‘That’s Right’ on the flip trundles along with a minimal crunchy groove, and it’s not until the dramatic repeated chord kicks in that it stands apart – its whispered vocal cuts make it a restrained and confidently cool track.

7/10