Freerange HHV Records 10 Items

After 5 million Spotify plays for Turn Me On, 2 million for Move & the first press of the record selling for over £100 on Discogs. Demuja's Move EP was well overdue a repress .. so here it is!

On Demuja's Freerange debut, the Move EP offers up four original tracks, each with their own distinct flavour. Opening the release we have title track Move spring into action with simple Rhodes chords floating across a crisp, driving up-tempo groove showing off the deeper side to Demuja.

Next up B.O.O.M offers us a simple yet captivating, dancefloor-focused affair with a lone, repeating piano stab hooking us into the action.

Flipping over we have Into My Brain which brings some acid-tinged Italo vibes and a jacking beat to proceedings whilst the closing track Turn Me On cuts up a much loved Paradise Garage classic for a warm, soul-infused slice of classic, bumpy house music.

Aroop Roy’s star is deservedly in the ascendancy! As one of London’s most exciting selectors, he’s managed to position himself in the sweet spot of being the DJ’s DJ and causing wild scenes wherever he plays, with headline grabbing sets at Defected Croatia, We Out Here, Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide and many more.

As a producer, musician and label owner, he continues to excel, armed with a vast knowledge of outernational sounds, from rare African disco, jazz, funk, to house, UKG and seemingly everything in-between. His open-minded approach has led to brilliant releases and remixes for labels as diverse as Soundway, Heavenly Sweetness, Permanent Vacation, Club Bad, Delusions of Grandeur, Atjazz Recordings and his own Vive La Musique imprint.

Having played a few gigs together, it was only a matter of time before Jimpster convinced Aroop to get an EP together for Freerange and the resulting Re Bulele EP couldn’t be any more satisfying!

Leading the charge, 'Mama Mwana' captivates with entrancing thumb piano loops and a traditional African vocal all propped up by a subtle yet chunky house beat to lock the dancers in.

'Re Bulele' features the hypnotic vocals of Botswana native Fox Meropa. Aroop masterfully combines a deep, techy Afro House groove with glassy synth pads to form a stripped back instrumental with the vocals front and centre. Seemingly disparate elements shine on this wonderful alternative to the deluge of maximal Afro House tracks being released these days.

Moroccan producer FNX Omar delivers the goods with a sublime remix of Re Bulele. Creating tension with layers of looping vocals along with a rolling, percussive groove. Like the original, this remix transcends genres and will create special moments on the dancefloor, whether it be in a dark, sweaty basement or daytime festival in the sunshine.

For the second edition of our City To City series we arrive in Lisboa. A city with a rich heritage of electronic music born from a strong affinity to authentic, underground dance music culture. Institutions such as Lux Fragile have carried the sound of Lisbon since it's formative years in the late 90’s. Its long-standing resident DJs now deservedly receiving global recognition and in return, introducing a wider spectrum of appreciation for the sound of the city. Some of which are included on City To City: Lisbon. Here on the second instalment of City To City we introduce six original tracks from seven artists currently making waves in Lisbon.

Kicking things off we have Lisbon native, label owner and someone whose name has been firmly integrated with the city for 20+ years, Kaspar from Lisbon AKA DJ Kaspar. With releases on esteemed imprints such as Clone, 4Lux, Stripped and Chewed alongside various works on his own Percebes Musica, we're proud to have Kaspar lead the charge. Mereces provides a raw, hypnotic groove layered with chopped vocals and synth lines which creating an analogue and spontaneous feel which Kaspar has become renowned for

Next up, and picking up the pace we have DJ Honesty and his peak time club track Jazz Mutant. Thumping kick drum, choppy b-lines, intricate drums and a perfectly placed vocal at the end of the first break-down create the foundations for dance-floor pleasure. The German native and long-time Lisbon resident has previously graced the likes of Sonar Kollektiv, Compost & Cabinet and is a welcome edition to this stellar line-up of talent.

Closing out the A side we have another Lisbon native, Lux regular and label / record shop owner Jorge Caiado. Jorge is a staple on many a line-up across the city and now internationally flying the flag for the deep-house sound of Lisboa. DJing far and wide from Chicago and Berlin to Beijing and Toronto, Jorge can be heard pushing his minimal deep house sound through his sets and releases on Carpets & Snares, Groovement and the sister label of Chez Damier’s Balance Recordings, Inner-Balance. Jorge has provided the beautifully crafted Good Days for this release which see him layering up the textures, floaty synths, soulful vocal chops & melodic top-lines providing something which truly nourish the soul. Proper deepness!

Flipping over we have UK born & Lisboa based Megatronic. Having recently released on labels such as Razor n Tape, Feedasoul and The Remedy Project, Megatronic has firmly established herself as a global artist. A maverick tour de force, she brings her infectious energy to the release via a bumping vocal house track with touches of Bruk vibes entitled Casey Screams.

Next up we have Lisboa local and someone who has their feet deeply-rooted to the culture of the city, Moreno Ácido delivering a track entitled Until The Break of Dawn. Mario is diverse in his productions with previous output ranging from tougher, jackin’ tracks such as 100 Controls from his Trash/Treasure EP on Call To Action through to deep, intricate late night moods such as Until The Break Of Dawn.

Closing out this special release we have two names most synonymous with the underground sound of Lisbon and more specifically the institution of Lux Fragil; Yen Sung & Photonz. The duo have previously worked together on projects such as Angel Rights on their own imprint Alphabet Street Music and we’re excited to have them provide a thumping track, heads down groover to close the EP. Changes is straight to the point. Rolling bassline, in your face stabs and a heavy dose of kick drum. Something you’ll hear at Lux on any given weekend and a fitting close to a brilliant VA representing all corners of the deeper side of Lisboa.

Detroit Swindle continue their incredible run of form with a cracking new EP for for their Freerange follow up, suitably entitled Unfinished Business. It’s pretty fair to say that the Dutch duos 2012 Freerange debut helped cement their reputation as one of the most exciting young house music acts to emerge in recent years. Their relentless tour schedule and stream of quality EP’s for the likes of Tsuba, Dirt Crew and their own fledgling label Heist are testament to their success. Remixes for the likes of Waze & Odyssee, So?war and Medlar all did the damage as did their immense Boiler Room takeover session which sealed the deal for any skeptics. Turning to the fresh stuff, we see DS delivering three brand new originals plus we have a hard as nails (by our standards anyway!) remix from the enigmatic Crue.

New Zealander via Berlin Philippa is a producer and DJ whose passion for house music, tireless commitment to her craft and ear for what makes a dance floor tick is slowly and surely starting to pay off. With her recent release Rainy Nights on Slothboogie and Things I’d Like To Be for Razor n Tape getting a lot of love Philippa continues to deliver the goods and has led to remixes for Fat Freddy’s Drop (The Drop) and Roach Motel (Faith).

Here on the Latent Magic EP we’re treated to three new tracks which highlight Philippa’s deft touch and musical approach to making interesting and left field house music. Opener Hold sets the tone with lush orchestral strings, crunchy drums and a bouncing analogue synth bassline which drives the track along perfectly.

Latent Magic uses a similarly wide-ranging sound palette, mixing up the electronic and organic, but goes heavier on the epic, arpeggiating synths for a spacious and uplifting genre-defying track to lift the spirits.

Closing out we have There It Is which has hints of Mr Scruff with looping horn stabs, live drum groove and rolling electric bassline. All in all another mighty fine Philippa release which reminds us of the early days of Freerange when artists such as Square One, Shur-i-kan and Jimpster were melding live musicians with electronics to make a refreshing, UK-centric take on house music.

Freerange regular Simbad is back with a new 4 track EP following on from his 2021 Peaceful Revolution EP which got big support from Ron Trent, Gilles Peterson, Osunlade and Horse Meat Disco to name a few. Having based himself in Cape Town the last 5 or so years, the French born producer and DJ is one of the most prolific artists in the scene having notched up countless EP’s, remixes and production work for labels like Apron, G.A.M.M. Faces, Hyperdub, Atjazz, BBE & Brownswood. His association with Gilles Peterson and Worldwide runs deep, hosting regular shows on Wwfm as well as traversing the globe delivering his unique and eclectic sets from Africa to Asia and beyond.

Lead track Nuphoria kicks things off in typical Simbad genre-bending style, sitting in a sweet spot between the Baltimore house of Karizma, the epic, uplifting techno of Laurent Garnier and the UK-centric rave sounds of Bicep and Kieren Hebden. Not an easy track to pigeon-hole but one that can’t fail to grab the dancers attention if dropped at the right time on a discerning dance floor.

Up next we have Dream featuring SA native Sanele who delivers a beautiful, raw and intimate vocal performance which fits perfectly with Simbads’ roughed-up drums and chiming Rhodes chords.

Flipping over Simbad delivers an alternate Pretoria Mix of Nuphoria which slows the pace of the original, adds a more rhythmic bassline and spoken word sample. A deeper alternative to the original which retains the euphoric quality thanks to its epic synth line and chords.

Closing out the release we have Wake Up featuring Frederick of Fifty Fathoms Deep who contributes to a bright and breezy house track with soulful chords and bouncing square wave bass line.