Dawn Again dream of drinks with friends. Carlo celebrates the leap year. Slowaxx shares a set of jazzy shorts. JKriv also explores downtempo terrain. Max Essa and Eddie C team up for Razor-N-Tape. Nebraska reimagines an `80s Neapolitan dancefloor. Tom Trago blends classic disco and house. Kirk Degiorgio translates his timeless techno into modern big room bangers for Cyphon. 

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

DAWN AGAIN / EVERY DOG’S HOTEL / HELL YEAH 

Every Dog’s Hotel is a make-believe perfect pub on the sea, imagined by Dawn Again. It’s a place where nothing is a problem, where the pints, and crisps, are free. Nick Verwey calls his music ‘Pubwave’. His break-driven down-tempo excursions were crafted in the pandemic, when he and his mates were missing their usual drinking holes. Lo-fi sounds and laid-back moods, inspired by the Heights of Abraham and Pork Recordings, adorn this sonically sumptuous 6-tracker. Made to massage minds and sooth souls, Every Dog’s Hotel will wash over you like warm summer sun, raising a smile, while gentle blue waves lap up against your sandy feet.  7/10

CARLO / TODO BIEN / BISIESTO

DJ / producer, Carlo, hails originally from Malaga but has now been adopted by the city of Berlin, his home for the last decade. You’ll know his deep house label, Aterral, which has blasted out some killers, including many of his own productions, and those by in-demand artists such as Liz Sarroca, Hugo LX, and Italian innovator, Black Loops. On Todo Bien (“it’s all good”), Carlo is on a more introspective trip, with a set of  jazzy, hip hop, trip hop shorts. There are collabs with Black Loops on drums in percussion mode, Piek, and man of the moment Intr0Beatz. It’s all presented on Carlo’s new label Bisiesto, and out on 29^th February – leap years day. The label promises to release just once every four years. If you took DJ Shadow, put him in a smoke filled room and threw in some Mushroom Jazz (oh yes… ), sprinkle a bit of Nightmares on Wax, and loads of cartoon samples, and then give it a whirl. That’s what this is. If only the tracks were longer doh.  8/10

SLOWAXX / SHAPES INTERFURSION / BROKEN DISTRICT 

Bordeaux-based imprint Broken District bring more off-centre goodness.  Never afraid to take a risk, never following trends, the Shapes Interfusion E.P. is another glorious example of the label’s confident A&R choices. This time they enlist Tuscan producer Riccardo Chiarucci aka Slowaxx, who blends home studio productions with live sessions, incorporating mind warping electronica with lo-fi hazy jazz. Recorded with a host of musicians, and featuring rapper, A.M.A who gets ‘spicy’ with his lyrical flow. The track Femmes is my pick, with spoken words by Emily Watson that’ll slap you in the face, as a powerful and timely tribute to the battle of gender equality. Electronic jazz sessions, deconstructed samples, 90s drum patterns, and acid grooves play out on this essential E.P.  7/10

JKRIV / WITHIN / LEISURE GROUP RECORDINGS

Razor-N-Tape co-head JKriv surprises us with some sweet sounding, warm and thoughtful vibes on his new E.P., Within. Out on fresh imprint, Leisure Group Recordings, Jason Kriv steps away from the house and disco that we associate him with, and moves into more lo-fi, mid-tempo, Balearic territory. Jason is a well-schooled musician, he’s had conservatory jazz training, has played in many live bands such as Escort, and was a founding member of Tortured Soul. A DJ, a producer, he runs one of the most consistent labels out of Brooklyn, so it isn’t a surprise that there’s a further dimension to this multi-talent. Every note on his E.P. has been played by Jason himself. Blending acoustic instruments and electronic production, he arrives at this sonically stunning collection. Shimmering, understated, hopeful, meditative. Mr. Kriv has devoted all proceeds from this release to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and HEAL Palestine. Top release. Top bloke.  10/10

MAX ESSA & EDDIE C / WE LIVE IN THE HILLS / RAZOR-N-TAPE 

Eddie C and Max Essa team-up to release We Live in The Hills, and together they turn in some exquisitely produced, chilled, electronic gear. Showing us how it’s really done, in expert style, these four songs cover a wide sonic palette. Moody melancholic pads, shimmering synth work, and acid lines. Like old friends, the four tracks get along so well, exuding nothing but joy through these elegant harmonies from two very special producers. This is quality music made for maximum daydreaming and nightclub magic –  a sweltering slab of downtempo disco of the highest order.  10/10

NEBRASKA / SENZA PAROLE / FRIENDS & RELATIONS

Senza Parole is one of those tracks that once you hear it, you’re gonna have a ton of trouble getting it out of your head. London producer Nebraska is so comfortable in his own skin – he doesn’t make music to ride trends, he simply makes the music he feels, when he feels it. Here, he transports you back in time to an `80s Napoli disco, and explores that retro Italo feel with lashings of synth and new wave influences. The song seems so familiar that it could well be a long-forgotten classic getting a reissue! Nebraska’s playful use of machines brings an almost analogue texture, the melody filled with Mediterranean nostalgia. While the Dub Coda provides a more energetic cosmic explosion, the whole release is coated in gold dust.  10/10

TOM TRAGO / PEARLS FOR PLEASURE VOL.1 / TT 

Out on his own TT imprint, Dutch artist Tom Trago, brings three tried and tested tracks that are reminiscent of his early works, where disco samples were central to the plot. He’s obviously a don at blurring the lines between house and disco. From the triumph of opening track, Hotballs, with its silky strings, swing-soaked rhythm, and diva vocal – all topped off with laser beams – and the total bomb that is All Right – which plays with everyone’s favourite bit of Gladys Knight on loop. What’s not to like about that?! From the Roy Ayers flip to the Italo-inspired Take A Chance, this is some absolute fire for the dancefloor! But then you wouldn’t expect anything less from Tom Trago. This record is a buy on sight. 10/10

KIRK DEGIORGIO / LIVING ON THE FRAYED EDGE / CYPHON RECORDINGS

Newish label Cyphon Recordings was born out of the Freerange and Delusions of Grandeur camp and is already on its ninth release inside a year. This time exceptional British artist, and scene stalwart, Kirk Degiorgio, brings some hi-tech jazz magic, with his Living On The Frayed Edge E.P.  Techno veteran, DJ, composer, producer, and notorious jazz lover, Kirk is an IDM futurist who’s long served the underground scene with a slew of highly accomplished works. This E.P. is a rich house exploration with a tendency toward the deep and melodic. Both timeless and tasteful, it’s expertly arranged and faultlessly executed. 10/10