Helium‘s 1993 EP, The Works, is held in high regard as a masterpiece of house and trance music. Now, the EP has been remastered and repressed via the Kalahari Oyster Cult imprint for a February 25th release.

For those who have never had the pleasure of experiencing The Works, the EP opens with a pensive house groove titled “Try Me” which remains as iconic and danceable today as it was in ’93. “Out There” takes a deeper approach, capitalizing on a vocal sample that drives the atmospheric energy forward. Side A of The Works is undoubtedly the more dance floor-oriented portion of the EP, as things shift toward a lounge-centric, ambient sound on the flip.

Side B opens with the dreamy “Clouds,” with airy pads setting the stage for the next two tracks. If released in the present day, “We Are The Future” would seem to be a great take on the ever-popular retrowave sound, but the track was ripe for 1993 with cinematic drum work and arpeggios indicative of the era in which it was actually created. To round the EP out, the acid-tinged “What Is The Human Machine?” continues the lounge theme to emphatically punctuate The Works and cement the EP’s status as a timeless and influential classic.

The re-release of Helium’s The Works EP is out now on Kalahari Oyster Cult and available exclusively through deejay.de.

Lee Clement‘s TELUM imprint continues its tradition of releasing completely anonymous music – that is, records without track titles or artist identities included – with TELUM007. 

Also in line with that tradition is TELUM’s penchant for releasing top quality house music that’s garnered support from some of the genre’s foremost artists. 007 remains true to that notion with three groovy and inventive tracks.

Track A1 delivers a classic house sound with hip-hop vocal samples and funk-infused guitar riffs that play nicely against the swingy drum groove. B1 takes things a bit deeper. A less playful bass line centers the track, but it still delivers danceability. Eerie synth stabs round the song out in a more progressive manner than A1.

To round out TELUM007, B2 continues on the progressive tip, but moves in a more tech-oriented direction. It’s a wonderful counterpart to B1, and the perfect closer for a well-rounded release.

Order information for TELUM007 can be found via deejay.de.

“Pour les Danseurs” (“for the dancers” in English) is the slogan of London’s Nuances de Nuit imprint. It’s a very fitting motto, as the label has made its mark putting forth some irresistibly groovy house numbers like T. Jacques‘ techy “Context” and the breakbeat-infused “Legwork” from Huerta. Now, the fifth edition of the label’s eponymous series has arrived, and it’s packing four more dance floor delights to capitalize on that motto.

On the A-side, Mehlor and Le Louche deliver a big nod to the traditional house sound with “Chromium.” Mirroring that track’s energy is “More Pumpin (Ode To Joy Instrumental)” from Thyone Girls. It’s a stabby house stomper that doesn’t hold back with a memorable bass line best suited for peak time at an Ibiza beach party.

The flip side takes things a bit deeper, as Local Dub‘s entrancing “Moon Dog” impresses with its acid-tinged synths and spacey chord play. To round things out, Karaba returns to serve up steamy, tech-ridden melodies that bounce nicely off of the syncopation in the hi-hats and snares in “Hors Piste,” closing out Nuances de Nuit, Vol. 5 in impeccable fashion.

With Vol. 5, Nuances de Nuit have set a high bar for London dance music, and they continue to develop a roster of artists that suit the imprint’s vibrant personality while expanding on an already dialed-in sound. No coincidence here: Nuances de Nuit is indisputably for the dancers.

Nuances de Nuit, Vol. 5 is available for pre-order on vinyl through subwax bcn via deejay.de.

Finding a home on Lobster Theremin‘s Distant Hawaii imprint is the latest release by DJ Soch. The Italian DJ and producer painted in sublime shades of deep house to deliver The Power Of Poetry EP. It released July 3rd, 2020.

A common thread tying together each of the singles comprising the EP is ambient synths reminiscent of classic Chicago deep house. The instrumental title track introduces these elements before “Underground Night” builds upon them with soulful piano chords.

“Peter Pan” raises the tempo for an upbeat iteration of the DJ Soch sound, and “Round The World,” the arguable standout of the effort, incorporates saxophone samples and a vocal refrain. Closing out The Power Of Poetry EP is “Magic Flute,” the most vocal-driven track of the lot.

About DJ Soch

DJ Soch (real name Marco Socci) has been involved with DJ and remix culture since the ’80s. He first dabbled in funk, rap and hip-house before honing in on the house and techno spectrum that continues to be his lane through the present day.

In 2014, Socci launched a label called Black Angus Records (BLKA) and inaugurated it with a 12-inch track record titled Kick Tom & Hi-Hat Vol. 1. He is also a resident of Italian nightclub Serendipity.

Purchase The Power Of Poetry EP in digital and vinyl formats via Bandcamp.

Tel Aviv, Israel artist Yotam Avni has wrapped up an endeavor nearly a decade in the making. His 11-track debut album, Was Here, is out now by way of Kompakt.

Riding a serene line that straddles deep house and ambient, Was Here ventures outside the four-on-the-floor format just often enough to yield a more cerebral, conceptual work. Songs like “Free Darius Now” and “Thoughts” pair organic instrumentals with elegantly simple sound design to spark something primal through a tale of tone and texture.

Come a Long Way

Yotam Avni’s sound has arguably come into its own over the past several years of his career. He debuted on a U.S. label called Seasons Limited with a 12-inch record titled That’s What The World Needs whose title track featured Chris Dockins. The more formulaic cut was a far cry from the inventive and oft abstract synthesis of electronic music styles encapsulated in Was Here.

Avni’s debut album is not his first release on Kompakt. Last year, he delivered a three-song EP titled Speicher 109 by way of the Cologne, Germany imprint.

Was Here can be purchased in digital and vinyl formats via Bandcamp.

Bucharest, Romania producers Derëk and Aparte have released a track under their joint alias, Slicks. Premiered by Trommel as an exclusive download, “Axia” offers a minimal house concept with clear-cut dance floor utility.

Resonant chords on the high end of “Axia” are underscored by smooth bass lines and a drum pattern with subtle groove. The producers also tastefully incorporated a female vocal refrain into the arrangement. Surfacing through the other elements in short, monosyllabic bursts, it endows the single with a memorable measure of club appeal.

Singular Sound

Individually, Derëk and Aparte have arrived at a similar sonic tangent as electronic music producers. The former made his DJ debut at Pandemonium, which took place at Ibiza club DC-10, at only 17. The latter began to garner attention more recently with 2019 singles like “Platja,” “Orbita” and “Emigre.”

It remains to be seen whether Derëk and Aparte will revisit their Slicks project with another release sometime in the near future.