Stockholm’s Parkway Records’ subdivision, Parkwest, launch a new series of club-ready tools, titled Housewerks, with a 4-tracker from label founder, Mark Seven.

Volume 1, subtitled Back II Basics, finds Mark, characteristically, celebrating several different shades of “Disco’s Revenge”. Referencing and updating, mixing and matching, select points in house music’s history. 

Breezin’, for example, features a chorus of melodic, pop, vocal treatments, worthy of an `80s Shep Pettibone Madonna rework, while its catchy, faux sax is a flashback to the `90s Italia of tunes such as Alex Lee’s Take It.  

This sax shows up again in Elements, where it’s countered by a deeper, muted hook. The track, tougher, with a harder kick, more insistent hats. Give U Evrything also draws on a similar sonic palette, but adds piano and a disorientating looped diva to its express train of a rhythm. 

The highlight, however, is The Message (Remains), where what I suspect is some very clever cutting of a chart-topping late `80s soul smash, pertinently, begs us to believe – against all current odds – that “love is gonna save the day.” Keys, synths and subtle uplifting strings underline this heartfelt credo, and the tight, sophisticated production, in this case, doffs its cap to New York legends Blaze and Pal Joey. The bass, a total Deee-Lite. A very Loft-y piece of pumping, properly programmed positivity, vibes-wise Adeva and Paul Simpson, as always, are ever present Seven touchstones.

Mark Seven’s Housewerks Vol. 1 is out any minute now on Parkwest, a subdivision of Parkway Records. You can take a listen and preorder copies at Juno, Phonica, Vinyl Underground, and HHV.