Ban Ban Ton Ton`s visiting 4 / 4, dance-floor expert / consultant, The Insider, is back – hipping us to what’s hot within the whirl of 2021`s worldwide house nation. Going truly global with essential selections from London to Johannesburg, Seoul via Paris, Los Angeles via Buenos Aires. Where Amsterdam and Atlanta, Georgia, meet and mix it up in Manchester. Collecting cuts that borrow from both classic house and techno while adding creative twists of their own. Most of this music’s so fresh that pre-orders aren’t on-line yet, so please check the embedded artist and label links for updates. If you can wait a week, The Insider will be my very special guest on The Remedy on June 5th, when all of these super sides with get a spin. 

DIDI HAN / WHAT YOU LOVE / ROCHE MUSIQUE

Korean talent Didi Han trailers her debut E.P. for Roche Musique, with the single What You Love – which finds Didi laying her silky, sultry, tones over layered sunny summer melodies, full of Asian flavour. File under gorgeous, smile inducing, dreamy, pop.

 

K.MO / SPACE FUNK / WAYOUT

Space Funk goes in heavy. The E.P., brilliantly produced by James Kumo aka K.Mo in his Manchester studio, is taken into the stratosphere by Byron The Aquarius. BTA uses his Prophet 6 to full effect, adding layers of synths and stabs to the already strong and credible original. Their cosmic creations extending further into the galaxy, with the addition of Mauskovic Dance Band Member, Chris Bruining, who brings live drums and sparkling percussion to the proceedings. Further synth melodies and organ solos are provided by the brilliant, Tim Jules. This gets a deep house 9/10.

IDAN HANA / TORIT / OUTSIDERS RECORDS

Idan Hana is well on the radar of the heads  – with Berlin`s Black Loops famously flying his flag…and he’s not wrong! Hanna`s Torit E.P. finds four deep house cuts – full of soul, warmth and nostalgia, plus a unique and contemporary twist. The L.A.-based, Israel-born producer has created tracks that are melodic, spacey, and packed, groaning, with hypnotic grooves. At the same time you can really feel the rawness throughout. The infectious Torit will draw dancers in and hold them firmly on the floor. The low slung Noon has lush soft pads and distinctive chord progressions, topped off by an atmospheric vocal riff that’s hard to get out of your head. Closing beast, Not Everything Need to Be Perfect, is also some serious shizzle.

MEDLAR / AERIAL / WOLF MUSIC

It’s always worth putting some money on Medlar – since he is pretty much a sure thing. You never know quite ‘what’ you’re going to get, mind, but you know it will be wonky, innovative and high, hi-grade. He’s up again on Wolf Music Recordings with his bread bins and the Aerial E.P. If you can put it in a genre please let me know! This maxi missive takes you on a wonky acid trip through far flung islands, where, on the title cut, Medlar channels his inner Wally Badarou. Iguanadon is dark and deep, with 303 stabs and hypnotic, shamanic, beats. The hopeful reprise of Elephant Bingo picks up the pace, and slaps the funk bass and the bongos at the same time. CR78-108 brings the trippy dub vibes. Phoenix Lights delivers a dash of New York house to this well-travelled island journey. Closer, Sin Prisa, is an acid-tinged affair. Naughty.

SHIRAZI & JARNO / LATE NIGHT THOUGHTS / FLUID ELECTRONICS 

Amir Shirazi started two labels last year – Fluid Funk and Fluid Electronics. The Late Night Thoughts E.P. is out on the latter later this month. There`s no doubting the quality of production chops here.  On this collab, Amir joins forces with Dutch veteran Jarno – who ran the Below night at Trouw for those in the Amsterdam know! The title track is a special serving of spaced-out dub, a gorgeous mix of dream house and atmospheric techno. Amsterdam treasure, Love Over Entropy, then twists the title cut, upping the tempo, taking the listener on a synthesized flight both illustrious and intense. Rotterdam’s seminal duo, Clone artists, Duplex, make you jack on their remix of Continue Learning – turning in a seriously tight, dark and dangerous, deadly dance-floor weapon.

LAZARUSMAN / HERE WE ARE / FREERANGE RECORDS

The outside world has barely scratched the surface of the house music talent in South Africa, but this month Freerange Records shine a light on some of the massiveness in that SA talent pool. Johannesburg native Lazarusman has written and produced this E.P. in collaboration with fellow South African innovator and studio wizard, Bruce Loko. The results will speak to deep house heads and lovers of beautiful warm techno with soul alike. Lazarusman poetically, and sometimes religiously, delivers his conscious lyrics across well-crafted and wonderfully moving beats. The E.P. also highlights highrising producer, Nutty Nys, who delivers a classic deep house groove for maximum dance floor heat.

Please don’t forget that for an upfront airing of these tunes, catch The Remedy on June 5th, when The Insider will be my very special guest. 

Track-list
Idan Hana – Torit – Outsiders Records
K Mo – Inner Soul – Wayout
Didi Han – What You Love – Roche Musique
Medlar – Elephant Bingo – Wolf Music
Medlar – Phoenix Lights – Wolf Music
Shirazi – Continue Learning (Duplex Remix) – Fluid Electronics
Idan Hana – Noon – Outsiders Records
Lazarusman – He We Are (Nutty Nya Remix) – Freerange Records
Shirazi & Jarno – Late Night Thoughts – Fluid Electronics
K Mo & Byron The Aquarius – Space Funk – Wayout