Yuksek burns a few brilliant edits for his own Party Fine. Black Loops bring These Changes to Freerange. Theo Parrish transforms Tone Control for Wolf Music. Mr Flip gets Hit Different by an all-star line-up of remixers on Yoruba. Nenor dives deep for Razor-N-Tape. Third Attempt share some downtempo jazz syncopation with Beatservice. Casbah 73 rock the Amazon in a live and direct disco-not-disco fashion, bumping and grinding in collaboration with Boogie Angst. Afterlife makes uptempo moves on Subatomic. Soul Of Hex enter the Mystic, working their house magic for Delusions Of Grandeur. 

All words and selections by our favourite four-to-the-floor expert, The Insider.

YUKSEK / CLEAN DRIVE EDITS / PARTY FINE 

French man-of-the-hour, Yuksek, pulls it out of the bag with, five hot-to-trot edits, hauled from his hard drive, from lord know when. On digging through his mega-bytes, searching for inspiration for his superlative sets, he came across these burning beauties that he used to play out just as rough edits! Yuksek drops these cuts in a very timely manner, getting us limbered up for his album that lands in June. Running the Party Fine label out of his Reims studio, Yuksek tunes, tweaks, tones and squeezes the goodness out of these seismic sample-based tunes that are sure to take your record bag or box next level!  Gilles Peterson jumped all over the opener, Cala Boca, last week on 6Music. The closing, Roulette, is an absolute monster! Released exclusively on Bandcamp for your listening and disco dancing pleasure. HEAT!

BLACK LOOPS / THESE CHANGES / FREERANGE RECORDS

The ever-impressive Black Loops continues his ascent in the wake of his releases on labels like Shall Not Fade, Happiness Therapy, Madhouse and Aterral. This producer has such a richly detailed sound which can’t help but appeal to a much wider audience than that of many of his contemporaries. The Berlin-based Italian returns to Freerange with London vocalist Cody Currie on board for the These Changes E.P. The title track progresses the Black Loops phenomenon, as he delivers another fine slice of deep house heaven. Driver will make the darkest disco shine with its Mariana Trench mood and mesmerising bassline, and is sure to take the dancers all the way to the top. What’s not to love about a record like this? 10/10

TONE CONTROL / ILLUSION (THEO PARRISH REMIX) / WOLF MUSIC

Tone Control released Illusions back in 2008, and the cult cut was picked up by the mighty Kerri Chandler no less. Fellow god of house music, Theo Parrish also loved it so much that he was regularly rinsing it at his Plastic People residency back in the day. London’s Wolf Music play a stroke of A&R genius resurrecting it from the dusty archives and bringing in the big man Parrish for the remix. His SS Translation builds over ten minutes, where bass synth, keys, and fresh drums pack a mighty punch Simon Finnegan and Marcus Harris` original on the flip also still hits ALL the right spots! Best of 2022 lists surely await this very fine package.

MR FLIP / HIT DIFFERENT / YORUBA RECORDS

Bronx-born rapper, Mr Flip, has hooked up with Yoruba high priest, Osunlade, to release, Hit Different. Since his debut on Yoruba – Dance Circle – Flip has been busy completing his first full length excursion, Next Level Shit. This new single sets the tone. Remixes come from underground royalty, DJ Kemit of Arrested Development, NDATL frontman, Kai Alce, Atjazz protege, Afefe Iku, and Transmat’s Kevin Reynolds. Does it get any bigger, and stronger, than that?  While the original kicks off with sultry stabs, Afro / Soca beats and Flip’s mighty flow, DJ Kemit’s hypnotic ‘Rebel Mix’ dubs us out. The pick of the pack here for me, though, is Kevin Reynolds` deep and dirty Detroit revision. Proper SLEAZE.

NENOR / TAKE MY TIME / RAZOR-N-TAPE

Israeli producer, Nenor, drops some serious dancefloor weapons on his Take My Time E.P., for on Razor-N-Tape’s Reserve. One half of the Rabo & Snob duo, Nenor has previously released on Strictly Rhythm, Heist, and the hallowed Mahogani Music. This 12 contains four highly polished productions that kick off with the feel-good How Can I Be Free. Do You Remember moves in to deeper house territory, reminiscent of the textures of Larry heard. The E.P. closes with the basement banger Work That, which wouldn’t be out of place in the hands of Harvey. One pukka package!

THIRD ATTEMPT / THE NOVEL SOUND / BEATSERVICE RECORDS

Norwegian wonder boy, Third Attempt, continues with his fierce release schedule and stellar output on The Novel Sound – hosted on Norway’s Beatservice Records, which seem to be his long-term label of choice. This album showcases another side of Third Attempt, in contrast to his deep house swagger and warm electronica, he moves in a more jazzy and funk fuelled direction on this ten-tracker. Each cut is crafted with high skill, and complimented by precision mixing and mastering, further endorsing Third Attempt`s studio agility and ensuring his certain rise to the top of his game. Highlights include the soulful, break-driven, My Girl. Sunbeam Symphony travels comfortably into Fila Brazillia territory, while the album closes with the cinematic windscreen sunset soundscape of Last Winter of My Childhood. Third Attempt drops another solid album, and he’s still only 23 years of age.

CASBAH 73  / LET’S INVADE THE AMAZON / BOOGIE ANGST 

Oli Stewart is Casbah 7 and he’s been trading records, and digging for vinyl gold for twenty years. Well known in collector circles, he’s been providing hidden gems and record crate obscurities to some high profile players for two decades. Born in the USA, he now resides in the sunny climes of Madrid, where the delightfully playful Sun Ra-inspired track, Let’s Invade The Amazon, was conceived. Oli’s released previously on Glitterbox and Lovemonk, and his extensive experience is evident in this gloriously groovy piece of live musical wizardry, with a cracking vocal to boot. Pale Splash Of Blue, on the flip shows off the outfit`s skills on Moog, Rhodes and Hammond to damn fine effect! There are two remixes due on this soon, from Yoruba Soul`s Osunlade, and Brooklyn’s finest JKriv.

AFTERLIFE / MAHALO / SUBATOMIC

Something has happened to the creative genius Steve Miller. It’s as if he’s been furiously rewiring and reconfiguring his electronic impulses to push the envelope further still. Mahalo sets pulses racing with a twisted collection of cool chords, shuffling drums, and a heady dose of improvised attitude. The downtown chug of Sundrops follows as sentiments of a soulful yesterday inform this finely crafted slice of Larry Heard-inspired sonics. Floating melodies blend with shimmering arpeggios, alongside the harmonised vocal. Liberty Cap is a transcendental anthem in the making that`s covered in pinpoints of sound, the equivalent of a bright starry night. 

SOUL OF HEX / MYSTIC / DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

Tijuana-based brothers, Soul Of Hex, here conjure up deep house odysseys, drawing on both the raw sensuality, and restraint, of classic house and techno, while incorporating jazz flourishes and colourful shifts in tone, rhythm, and texture. This Mexican duo were always destined for big things – their debut release was remixed Larry Heard. In 2021 they featured on Harvey’s Mercury Rising collection, and this year they’re limbering up for a release on Underground Resistance no less! The Mystic E.P. is their fourth outing on Delusions of Grandeur, and this time they add Italo disco grooves to their musical melting pot. Love Is In Control features the vocal of Steve Lucas – of If Only I Could fame. Sure to boost any low mood, Soul Of Hex deliver the 24 carat goods once again.

Selections from all these releases can be heard on Saturday – 8 til 9PM Japan time, currently 12 noon GMT – when The Insider will be my very special guest on The Remedy, care of FM Karuizawa 77.5 MHZ. Following broadcast, the show will be archived on Mixcloud.