Various Artists - Summer Soulstice 2021 Compilation (Uniting Souls Music)

Seattle’s house music mainstay Uniting Souls Music has queued up another of its anticipated label samplers to add to the heat of the summer months. The Summer Soulstice 2021 Compilation offers a state-of-the-label overview, featuring cuts from familiar names from the label’s vast discography as well as some inspired newcomers. There are too many highlights to spotlight among the compilation’s ten tracks — top notch deep house and west coast flavors abound. NY-via-Italy producer Alicia kicks things off with the hypnotic “Meraki’a,” followed by the crisp deep sound of Build It Records’s Bello. Seattle is represented by essential tracks from Snapdragon, Tony H, Gruv1 (AJ Sorbello), and FunkTonix (Jackson Mindt & James Nocchi), all prominent DJs and producers from the city. And, rounding out the other points in the nation (and the world) there’s Mikey "Lil'T" Tello, Jake Beautyman, DJ Sulli, and Anthony Zmoda. The Summer Solstice 2021 Compilation excels in vibey sounds for lockdown-liberated dancefloors — give ‘em all a spin.

Cohuna Beatz (B.A.B.A. Records) – “I love these grooves. Summer may come!”
Lönya (Asymmetric Recordings) – “Good stuff here.”
Jon Lee (Tilted Records) – “Outstanding work on this. Very solid tunes.”
Dean Facer (Resident Advisor) – “A truly fantastic release throughout.”
Snooba (Radio Panik) – “Infectious. Great and dope house music!”
Harry Avers (NOICE! Radio show) – “A very nice collection of music.”
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Radio Show) – “Another very strong release from USM.”

Available Now From: Beatport, Traxsource, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Patchen - Night Skies (Harmonious Discord Recordings)

Harmonious Discord artist Patchen is back at the controls with a peek at his long-anticipated album Southwest Passage, out later this year. Patchen is resident sound designer and longtime contributor to the HD catalog since the release of Pale Blue Dot in 2007. A key track from the forthcoming Southwest Passage is “Night Skies”, a lovely serenade to stargazing. To help celebrate this single, HD boss PointBender, resident space-traveler KiloWatts, and bright and budding star 1981US provide their unique takes on the expansive night sky.

The original is a synth-driven slow burn that carefully tempers sound design with classic synth arpeggiations. Warm 8-bit melodies dance around the four-on-the-floor construction, carefully building momentum with periodic rises and reprises. PointBender ups the tempo and takes things deep with woody percussion, live bass licks, and mounting layers of atmosphere. KiloWatts breaks the beat and propels the piece into epic territories with light arpeggios broken up by processed bass notes. 1981US goes subterranean with tinges of urban tones and natural accents on a proper deep garage take on the original. Be on the lookout for more bites from the upcoming album as well as the full length available this fall.

Jon Fugler (Fluke) – “Really enjoying this. Simple, infectious & very funky. It's a close call between the original and the Pointbender mixes for me, and the other two are worthy opponents as well, lovely.”
Joe Silva (Purespace Recordings) – “Stellar and varied collection of beautifully executed music.”
Nick Warren (The Soundgarden) – “Excellent release.”
Sean Johnston (Hardway Brothers) – “Lovely stuff, original, will give the Kilowatts and 1981 spins.”
Igor Marijuan (ibiza Sonica FM) – “Wow!”
Taigo Onez (Bang Le' Dex) – “Beautiful release! The warmth here is amazing. Full support.”
Mason Rothert (Below Zero Radio) – “All of these are great - really love the original.”
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Radio Show) – “4 Masterpieces - cant wait to spin these..So cool. Thanks guys.”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Joe Silva - Late For Lunch (Purespace Recordings)

Where is he? He's late again. Probably caught in traffic. Why can't he leave on time? I'll just order another moon tart. 'Ting!' What's this? Oh cool, a new Purespace Recordings release. Lemme check this out. First track, “Late For Lunch”. Okay. Joe Silva playing some spooky flute sounds over a deep jazzy house groove. Nice. This'll kill some time.

Next a remix of the above by Andrew Duke (Van Czar Series, Nice & Nasty, Colour and Pitch). Hmm, bouncy house beats with buzzy ‘80s funk bass and what sounds like an approaching steam locomotive. I can get into this.

Another remix, this time by GabeReality. Never heard of him. Must be new. Harder sound on this one. Going for that deep-tech vibe I guess. They take that loopy flute sound and mash it nicely around some dark drops and builds. Hypnotic and darker. Keeper for sure.

The last track “Returning Soon” is back on the deep house vibe. Crunched vocal snips playing off a main vocoded voice riff that I can't quite make out. No flute, but seems interspersed with occasional guitar or ukulele plucks, I can't decide which. Pretty dubby overall. I'll have to listen again.

And there he is, finally. Ten minutes late. "I'm over here!" Mmm, moon tarts.

Artwork by Chris Mulligan Design.

Rory Hoy (Super Hi-Fi) – "Really lovely and chilled - Great stuff!”
Esette (Substation Recordings) – “Love the mood on Returning Soon.”
Taigo Onez (Bang Le' Dex) - “Returning Soon is truly beautiful! I'll definitely be playing this.”
Greg Norwood - “Loving all of the mixes but Late For Lunch is Str8 Heat!”
Wilbour Craddock (Groovewest) - “Lush layering of sounds that keeps building in complexity with a stellar baseline groove. Just pure deep house goodness.”
Alejandro Ramirez (Plimsoll Records) – “Definitly vibin' to 'Returning Soon'. Nice track.”
DJ Firefly (Couch Dancing) – “SO deep & sexy!”
Salah Sadeq (The Crate Radio show) – “Very nice release. Will be playing these.”
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle radio show) – “This is magic - Andrew Dukes remix steals the show for me. Class!”

Available Now From: Traxsource, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.

The Self Help Group - Temple OS (Colour and Pitch)

Brighton alt-folk band The Self Help Group's touching and unique song “Temple OS” gets the remix treatment from Gavin Boyce, Grottoes, Rosko & Sumsuch, and Eric Shans.

The original song, written by Brighton musician Mark Bruce, founder of The Self Help Group, is inspired by the strange and tragic story of Terry A. Davis. Davis began programming the ‘Temple OS' computer operating system in 2005 after a series of visions in which he claimed God had instructed him to build ‘the Third Temple.’

Reunited for the first time since their 2009 low-key underground hit “Latenite Bypass” on Urban Torque, Rosko & Sumsuch turn in an acid-tinged, string-laden, extended rework of the song, putting Mark's powerful vocal out front and dubbing the song out in the second half.

Off-kilter electronic music hero Q-Burns Abstract Message unveils his brand new Grottoes alias for a meditative, ambient Reversion of “Temple OS”, layering guitars over airy synths to build up a densely textured soundscape.

With an album coming soon on Nordic Trax, Irish producer Gavin Boyce delivers the potent and haunting house-fueled 2MB Distro Mix of “Temple OS”, sure to provide many a transcendental dance-floor moment when the clubs finally re-open.

Colour and Pitch regular and 3Bridge Records co-owner Eric Shans stays true to the original version, adding subtle electronic melodies and shimmering chords to delightful effect.

Finally, The Self Group provide an alternate rendition of “Temple OS”, transforming the song into a languid and warm synth-pop gem.

DJ T-Bird (Los Chicos Altos/Something Else!) – “That Gavin Boyce mix is rocking my world! Love the bass on Rosko & Sumsuch's version. Definitely getting played on radio.”
Nick Warren (The Soundgarden) – “Cabin fever and Grottoes mixes for me.”
James Rial (Audiojack) – “The Original is great. The Grottoes reversion is really nice too.”
Kanedo (Personal Belongings) – “Amazing... Eric Shans remix for me!!! Thank you for your quality releases guys.”
Andrew Duke (Andrew Duke In The Mix) – “Incredibly hard to pick a favorite amongst this glorious package of contributions.”
Jon Wesley (Music Goes On Radio Show ) – “I love this. The Rosko and Sumsuch remix and the Eric Shans remixes are favorites. I'm sure I'll play them all eventually.”
Hober Mallow (Mighty Reel) – “Beautiful remixes, love the diversity on offer here.”
Jon Fugler (XLNT radio show) – “This is a great selection, every base covered. Outstanding."
DJ Di Costa (MoodyLushious Influences Radio Show) – “This is a super surprise release on CAP but a wonderful one. Full support for the whole package. Totally in love with it!”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, And Beatport.