Our favourite vinyl-only labels
A wealth of house and techno within
Mood Hut
As you can probably tell from a label that releases music carrying titles like 'Golden Garden' and 'Starcave' from artists with names such as Slow Riffs and Dream Carpets, Vancouver collective Mood Hut produces house music of the most blissful variety.
Mood Hut tracks are evocative of kicking back on warm summer evenings, luxuriating on soft grass as rays beam down and saturate your surroundings with a comfortable glow.
Take Jack J's 'Looking Forward To You' release with a bassline so groovy it could get the shyest club-recluse up dancing the jitterbug, backed with the exceptional 'Something (On My Mind)' on the flip with sax smoother than Morgan Freeman's narration.
From the tunes down to the musical note featuring logo stamped on each record, every aspect of the label effuses charm.
My Love Is Underground
Jeremy Underground wasn't lying when he named his label. Armed with an ear for killer tunes, the crate-digging extraordinaire has shown unparalleled passion in reviving the 90s underground house sound, bringing forgotten brilliance to the fore and keeping things fresh with modern sounds from newer producers.
For the label's first release he plucked James N. Tinsley back from the depths of obscurity to revive his The Nathaniel X Project alias with smooth house sounds on 'The Resurrxion EP'. A first ever release of Lost Cuts from Jerzzey Boy followed, along with a re-issue of a classic Teflon Dons release.
Don't go thinking MLIU is stale though, the label focus is now firmly on the contemporary, with Tristan De Cunha and Brawther leading the way. Their output is more update than throwback: see the thumping groove of Brawther's 'Don't Go' or his work as Paris Underground Trax.
Novel Sound
A label comprised entirely of Levon Vincent releases is a stamp of assured quality like no other. Levon's dedication to the vinyl format is so strong that rather than have his debut album released digitally he just gave it away for free on WeTransfer.
The New York producer has put out some of the most mind-bendingly powerful records in the house and techno spectrum on Novel Sound. There's the hypnotic layered textures of 'Impression Of A Rainstorm' and '1000 Miles From Home', the thumping bass underscoring the certified floor wreckers of '???' and 'Woman Is An Angel', and the whirring synth of 'Man Or Mistress' that is hands in the air huge.
The imprint is also home to surely the cutest track title in techno: 'For Mona, My Beloved Cat. Rest In Peace.' Aw.
