House | Deep House 380 Items

Italian DJ and producer Francis De Simone debuts on Lee Foss and Jamie Jones' label Hot Creations with London Bass. Having built a solid back catalogue in recent years, his first Hot Creations release embodies the dynamic sound of the Palermo-born artist, channelling chunky tech house and disco-flavoured melodies.

De Simone explains his creative thinking behind the EP. "These tracks fully express my devotion to music. I ranged a lot, trying to remember an 80's sound up to a more raw and synthetic groove with Latin vocals to embrace the different ethnic groups." Reflecting his thoughts to a tee, the title track rumbles with a massive bassline and chopped-up vocals that add an instant burst of energy. Things get weird on Saludos A Todos, as thumping kickdrums collide with a trippy melody and even trippier vocals, creating a wavey atmosphere. The ideal club curveball. On Off White, De Simone delivers a pacey number packed with burbling beats and clicky percussion, complemented by dreamy vocals. The hint is in the name on closing track, This Is Undergound. A big room delight, De Simone drops a stripped-back banger, where the lyrics do the talking in tandem with a driving bassline. An excellent addition to the Hot Creations discography.

Based in Palermo, Italy, Francis De Simone stems from a family of musicians. Having played the drums from age two, the versatile artist can make anything from rock, pop and jazz, but these days, De Simone pens electronic music. His father worked as a bouncer for various local discos and exposed De Simone to dance music from a young age, later inspiring him to produce house and techno with an uplifting tint. Releases on Glasgow Underground, LW Recordings and Realm Records have helped shape the profile of this flourishing artist, with plenty more to come further down the line.

A meeting of the minds between two Israeli DJs and producers. Adam Ten & Mita Gami release a combined two-tracker in September on Crosstown Rebels, dipping into dark and hypnotising waters while maintaining a club-cut aesthetic.

The pair pen a slow-burning chugger on the title track, merging tones of tech house, progressive house and techno. A high-pitched vocal weave’s throughout, in tandem with a distorted synthline and oddball sound FX—one for a wavey dancefloor. On the flip, Night Shift glistens with emotion as tribal-tinged percussion collides with long, drawn-out piano notes. A cosmic creation that blurs the line between melancholia and warmth.

Adam Ten is a Tel Aviv-born producer and resident DJ of institutional club The Block, located in his home city. Ten is a key artist on the Israeli scene, recognised for his all-night sets that blend a myriad of moods in electronic music. He’s played worldwide, spanning stints in Miami, Cape Town and Mykonos, amongst several other regions, and he’s channelled his compelling sound on labels like Diynamic, Multinotes, Disco Halal and Selador. As a co-founder of the event series Terra, Ten curates some of the finest nature-orientated parties in Israel. Mita Gami hails from Tel Aviv. A multi-instrumentalist from a young age, he goes beyond the trope of entertainer. Instead, Gami invites his audience into immersive and almost trippy journeys during his performances via a hybrid set-up and enticing energy on-stage. Releases on Realm Records and Diynamic display his metaphysical approach. Beyond producing, Gami co-runs the label Blue Shadow Records and the Sunrise Kingdom area in Midburn Festival, based in the Negev Desert in Israel.

A collaboration between two talents who initially broke through on the White Isle several years ago, Jamie Jones and Darius Syrossian deliver the We Bring It EP on Jones’ seminal label Hot Creations. It’s not the first time the duo have co-produced together, with previous releases like Rushing and Eyes Of The Night displaying their dynamic approach. Their latest release brims with bright melodies and club-driven energy.

The title tune unfurls with chunky kickdrums and a chopped-up, speedy vocal sample that winds between a thwacking bassline. A touch of tribal percussion bounces throughout the track, reflecting the Balearic vibe for which Jones and Syrossian are celebrated. On The Best Thing, a stabby synth-line breaks up a wavey and tripped-out soundscape. A vast bassline dominates, with a rave-ready feel that shimmers throughout the track.

Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’ label Hot Creations will deliver a combined EP by Aix en Provence-based DJ and producer Malikk and Marseille-born duo Chicks Luv Us in August. Bridging chunky tech house with dub techno, Can We Dance displays their collective love for bright and playful beats.

On the title track, the producers work in symbiosis to create a club-driven chunker with chopped-up vocal samples and a squishy bassline. Bouncy ‘til the last beat. On the B-side, Chicks Luv Us drop a Balearic-flavoured banger with Makelene. High-pitched vocals pulsate throughout the track, as huge kickdrums and playful sound FX amp up the energy. Malikk offers a quirky closing track on Walkie Talkie, packed with punchy drums, bleepy percussion and techy vocals—perfectly aligned with Hot Creations’ colourful aesthetic.

Chicks Luv Us are two Marseille-born pals with a penchant for groovy house and minimal techno. Their back catalogue echoes the textures that bring them together as producers, with releases on Loco Dice’s Desolat, Steve Lawler’s Viva Limited and many more. They cut their teeth in DJing during their residency at Spartacus Club in Cabriès in the south of France from 2009 and 2018. Today, the pair continue to grow a legion of international fans while finessing their craft in the studio, and soundtracking dancefloors worldwide. Malikk is an Aix en Provence-based artist whose early appreciation for 80’s disco, funky and soul still occasionally seeps into his current club-focused music. Previous releases on Hot Creations, Hottrax, Toolroom, and Solotoko display his multi-dynamic palette, nodding to several genres and moods. Having played in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and his native France, Malikk’s DJ sets reflect his fun and explorative approach, marking him as one of Aix en Provence’s finest exports.

Kiko & Popof link for a high-impact debut on Watergate. The talented French artists both have a discography that goes back to the ‘90s. Kiko a veteran of 500+ releases, highlighted by his 1998 cut ‘World Cup’ that was continued a minor techno classic at the time. He’s gone through many sonic incarnations since then and is currently turning heads with superb production on labels including Diynamic and Afterlife. Popof, meanwhile, is a genre flexitarian, just as adept at releasing on Cocoon and Truesoul as he is Hot Creations, and now of course – Watergate Records. ‘Night Sky’ is a big, bright dancefloor pummeller, made for peak-time moments and driven by a stirring chord sequence. ‘Love Triangle’ is a shimmering nu disco beauty, propelled by a sharp tech underbelly. Fresh from her much-loved ‘Raver Girl’ EP, Yulia Niko contributes a slick re-rub of the title track, retaining the original’s glistening melodic lead, while giving it a punchier bottom end. Rounding out the package strongly, rising UK duo Mia Mendi give ‘Love Triangle’ the remix touch, re-fashioning it into a sublime breakbeat gem made for early morning on the Waterfloor.

Radio Slave & Dustin Zahn team up as Radio Zahn for ‘Berlin Sessions Vol. 1’.

Joining forces for the first time, Radio Slave and Dustin Zahn launch their collaborative works as Radio Zahn with a set of colourful, groove-laden techno tracks inspired by the sound of mid-90s New York on Rekids this May. Across all three mixes of ‘Twilo’ and ‘Power Muzik’, the duo deploys chunky, hard-hitting drums alongside building arrangements and masterful use of synths and dubbed-out FX, with the former featuring vocals by Toy Tonics member Kosmo Klint. A dream for fans of intricate, dancefloor-friendly techno, the release showcases why Radio Slave and Dustin Zahn are two of the most consistently exciting artist in dance music.

Responsible for some of the most recognisable tracks in the genre, including ‘Grindhouse’, ‘Don’t Stop No Sleep’, ‘Another Club’, and other timeless cuts, Radio Slave aka Matt Edwards’ work with Joel Martin as Quiet Village and solo work as Rekid has received critical acclaim, and he remains one of the most in-demand and consistent remixers around.

Since the late ’90s, Zahn’s hypnotic and driving techno has consistently caught the ears of top DJs and labels worldwide, best exemplified at his legendary marathon sets at Berghain. His vital work with Intellephunk includes the nearly two decades long running Communion after-hours events, cementing his invaluable contributions to the Minneapolis techno scene and beyond.

At its best, music is a feeling. Even before the first note hits, the experience is already alive; dropping the needle onto a new record for the first time, the room’s dust particles serenading you through the silence of the run-in groove. And then, all in an instant, immeasurable change. At its best, music isn’t really worth talking about–it seems somewhat futile not to just be listening, drinking it in. DJ Counselling’s Caring EP is an ode to these unbound frontiers of music. More interested in atmosphere than narrative, more concerned with the celebration of sound than the promotion of a style, the record transports its listener to the sonically singular world of DJ Counselling from the moment the stylus rings out the record’s first note. While this record shies away from no emotional depth, it refuses the allure of sadness. And while this record covers vast expanses of the musical landscape, it holds to a joy situated in starry heights. The music ultimately seeks to strip everything else away so there are only two things left: you, and the song.