Back to house...

I mentioned getting more and more into my deep house having moved to Australia. Maybe it's the weather, or something in the water - who knows. So I've turned my attention back to an old friend - the Resident Advisor Podcast - and found another former music companion in Solomun, who recently recorded a mix for them.

As if reliving a past life, I reverted to a habit I used to exercise weekly, sometimes daily, and jumped into the podcast comments to dig out the tracklisting from the ever-present trainspotters. It was great to hear that distinctive Solomun sound again with some new twists (Kate Bush on an RA Podcast anyone?!). The mix was more commercial than the style I'd remembered him for, but it figures as I've since learned that Solomun is pretty much dance music royalty now, having secured two major residencies in Ibiza this year. He recently featured on the front page of Mixmag - safe to say he's come leaps and bounds since the early days as an undercover minimal house producer.

What I was surprised at, however, was the amount of negativity and abuse towards him in the forum. I'm all for healthy debate, but the level of criticism seemed extremely harsh for someone who's produced countless quality tracks championed by such world-beating DJs as Dixon and Âme. It's just a shame that the house scene clearly continues to be 'dominated' by haters, which is a great shame, and part of the reason I got out. It's sad that people get more caught up in the scene's politics than the the music. Is it just me? Am I completely out-of-touch? Maybe it's my age talking - after all, I've gone from playing in dark, dank basements until 6am to spending my weekends listening to neo-soul and funk records...

Anyhow, I digress; personally I enjoyed the mix and it got me thinking back to five years ago when I was heavily into minimal. So here are a couple of highlights from Solomun's RA mix, a personal favourite via his Diynamic label from 2007, plus a wicked 4-hour Boiler Room mix by Dixon and Âme from October last year. Loving the return to house - like an old friend, it never fails.

Clark & Pudell - Zashu

(Viper Strike Beats & Bass Edit) (Pole Position, 2013)

[Buy at Juno Download]

The Rapture - Sister Saviour (DFA, 2010)

[Buy at Juno Download]

Solomun & Stimming - Eiszauber (Diynamic, 2007)

[Buy at Juno Download]

Boiler Room - Dixon & Âme 4-Hour Mix

Various - Based On Misunderstandings Vol. 1 (Sonar Kollektiv)

Throughout my 14 years of music fanaticism and frantic record collecting, no label has shaped my eclectricity more than Sonar Kollektiv. Like an old friend, it carried me through as I made that difficult and somewhat uncomfortable journey from my 4/4 comfort zone into the realms of more soulful broken rhythm and future beats. The ‘Based On Misunderstandings’ series was a turning point for me, coming at a time when I was becoming jaded by wave upon wave of non-specific deep house, looking for something fresh and exciting.

At the time I was playing at venues like Ministry and the Horse & Groom, playing pretty much any track I could find championed by the likes of Innervisionaries Dixon and Âme. That sound just seemed to have an edge in its ability to frame memories in my mind, a quality that insisted repeated listens, something that I’d not been able to find since that most delicate of transitions from vinyl to pure digital DJing. Maybe it was my age, but everything sounded, well, samey. As such, I’m hugely excited to hear that label stalwart and Jazzanova soul-pusher Alex Barck will be releasing a new compilation to celebrate what has become a hugely successful sub-label for Sonar.

The album is a fascinating compendium of future house, spanning everything from chillwave through nu disco to the deep, dubby, quality cuts SK has become so famed for. Personal faves are the first and last tracks from the album – a somewhat choppy, sample-happy nu soul cut on Vect’s ‘Soulful’ and a crunchy, lo-fi jazz rip on Phil Gerus' 'Votre Voix, Vos Mains, Vos Lèvres'.

Across a spectrum of sounds, be it razor-sharp square leads, funky samples or warm, moody atmospherics, this album has it all. Expect everything you’d expect of Sonar Kollektiv, and expect nothing at all. As the press release says, ‘almost none of the tunes here have anything in common. Just the fact that they all please Alex Barck’s ears’. If you’re lucky enough to have ever heard anything by Jazzanova, you already know you need this. Go buy!

'Based On Misunderstandings Vol. 1' is out on 29th April via Sonar Kollektiv when you can purchase the digital release here. | sonarkollektiv.com