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

BLAYKE / THE WAVE EXPERIMENT / FRIENDS RAVE

We often hear about the underground scene in Naarm, but label and event series Friends Rave is here to show that Tarndanya in Southern Australia also has its own thing going on. The imprint launches with a 6-tracker from the boss, Blayke, which drifts between deep house, techno and experimental club music. All with traces of jazz, broken beat and trip hop woven into its unhurried grooves. The patience in these sounds demands full attention and rewards it with classy textures and slow-burning moods over instantly forgettable payoffs. Fans of deep maestros like Fred P and Larry Head will find a lot to love here. 

DIOGO STRAUSZ / DANCE PARA SI SALVAR / FAVORITE RECORDINGS

Brazil’s Diogo Strausz is now based in France, where he has hooked up with Favorite Recordings for a release, which is still very much couched in ’70s and early ’80s Brazilian disco-funk-boogie of legends like Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti. Every single tune here brims with life and sunny charm, jazz-funk sophistication and flair. There is life-affirming joy everywhere you turn, from the theatrical ‘Carnaval de Gringo‘ to the deeper, dubber ‘Ele e Artista‘, which glides smoother than silk. Even cuts like ‘Dance To Save Your Soul‘, which have a slightly less outwardly expressive feel, are still dance floor heaters thanks to the funky bass licks and irritable drum stomps. Strausz leads the way when it comes to reworking this classic Brazilian sound.

ARP FRIQUE & THE PERPETUAL SINGERS / ALPHA & OMEGA / COLOURFUL WORKD (RUSH HOUR)

Picking up where the album The Gospel Of Jesamy left off, Alpha & Omega delivers a thrilling rush of gospel-fuelled funk built for pure uplift and emotional release. The rhythms are inescapably high-energy – dense with supercharged guitar lines, relentless bassline power and a driving spiritual intent. Key to unlocking these cuts are commanding vocal performances from Brandon Delagraentiss, Mariseya and the legendary Rocq-E Harrell. Arp Frique’s love of classic disco, gospel and vintage synthesisers is front and centre, of course, but never to nauseating levels of nostalgia. This is devotional dance music at full throttle, so strap in and prepare to feel like never before. 

ANORAAK / GOLDEN HOUR REMIXES / JULIET RECORDS

Anoraak’s 2025 album ‘Golden Hour‘ was a sun-soaked journey crafted in Marseille that drew on the French multi-instrumentalist’s drumming roots. Fusing disco, Italo and electro pop into tracks that feel playful and expressive. Now, a selection of artists have picked their favs from it and have added their own spin. JKriv get underway with a leggy, cosmically mind and breezy flip of ‘Shikata ga Mai‘, then Diogo Strauz teases with funky bass and a groove that eventually explodes into a superb vibey disco-soul-street stepper. Art of Tones brings some classic dub disco delights to ‘Everything I Do‘ and also offers a Full Mix that dials up the cosmic funk to 11. Plenty of seriously joyful reimaginings. 

6TH BOROUGH PROJECT / THE DEAL / DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

6th Borough Project have long been the go-to for lovers of disco house that seamlessly marries old and new. Here they continue to explore dusty MPC jams, late-night mischief and low-slung grooves, showing off their signature analogue textures. Title track ‘The Deal’ rolls with plenty of pent-up promise and a teasing sax stab. It’s a late-night burner built for turning up the heat. ‘The Hertz’ brings dub-soaked chords over a dusty, lo-fi groove as an aching vocal drifts in and out. There is plenty of swagger and sleaze to ‘Let Me Know’, which strips back to clipped hats and distorted bass for a locked-in hypnotic effect. ‘For Life’ has a rueful feel, with its sustained chords and yet another expertly deployed vocal that injects subtle but significant emotional fire. 

SOUL CLAP / DROWNING IN YOUR LOVE / FREERANGE RECORDS

Jimpster‘s Freerange is 30 this year and continues its tireless quest for the deepest and most deliciously musical house music in the world. This new one looks across the Atlantic to Boston’s Soul Clap, and their grown-up sounds are a perfect fit. Shaun J. Wright‘s smouldering vocal on ‘Growing In Your Love‘ brings a dark sense of soul to a low-key groove. ‘EFunk Anthem‘ is pure Soul Clap – hardware production with knotted bass loops and dripping with party feels. Dub and stripped mixes dial things back to the raw essentials, making this a package that has it all. 

TOM ESSELLE / WOLFEP083 / WOLF MUSIC

Tom Esselle is half of the Yam Records duo, but here he reaffirms his relationship with WOLF with a new outing that follows his 2022 ‘Praise Bes‘ release. ‘Livewire’ opens with a UK garage-inspired groove that hooks instantly and never lets go. ‘Don’t Have To’, which is as artfully produced as all his material, layers lush keys and a tender vocal for peak-time soul. On the flip, ‘Small Talk’ rides a playful sample over a steady, irresistible rhythm, before ‘Spaced Out’ closes the EP with emotive chords that unfold gradually, keeping you tuned in close. Few have a grasp of house music that is this accomplished and effective. 

SYNAPTIC VOYAGER / HIGH RISE / CYPHON

Sheffield duo Synaptic Voyager got plenty of bodies moving with their last outing on Cyphon, and pretty much carry on where they left off. The follow-up is more intergalactic electro, cinematic and stylish, while nodding to both UK and Detroit heritage. The hardware-driven grooves range from the corrugated funk of ‘High Rise‘ to the more serene and mindful Airbourne Avenues. There’s a contrast between the tense bassline and rugged drum programming of ‘Nebula‘ and its lush chords, while ‘Deep Impact‘ brings a glistening synth shine, evoking a distant glowing metropolis. ’Robot Interlude‘ is heavy-hearted and downbeat with molten acid undulations. Pure machine soul brilliance. 

TURBOJAZZ FT. JAVONNTTE / EVERYBODY DJ / LAST FORVER

Turbojazz has been part of Italy’s fertile house scene for two decades, and this year he’s set to drop his second long-player. Ahead of that, he serves up a sumptuous teaser tune and third single from it, ‘Everybody DJ’. Detroit’s Javonntte features to amp up the authenticity of what is a timeless and smoky deep house sound. Ducking and diving on neat chords with Javonntte musing on the old school and the art of DJing. It’s stripped back to its bare bones but so well produced that there’s no way this one ain’t going to cut through with the heads out there who like it pure, simple and underground.

ALISTAIR COLLING VS TORTURED SOUL / WHEN YOU FIND YOUR LOVE… HOLD ON / RAZOR-N-TAPE

Back when downtown Manhattan was thick with record shops and DJs dug by hand, Satellite Records was one of the go-to spots. It linked local scenes with transatlantic talent, which is how young British producer Alistair Colling ended up being paired with writer John-Christian Urich and vocalist Sabina Sciubba for this gem. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Razor-N-Tape restores the original mixes and adds fresh reworks from DJ Spinna and Musclecars. An effortlessly cool house record that has a classic lineage but such well-crafted grooves, this goes from soulful to deep to jazzy and everything still sounds fresh now.