Category: house music

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Danny Waters Shares a Euphoric Remix of Volgin and Ertan Koculu’s “I Wanna”

Danny Waters is a Portuguese DJ, producer and founder and label head of Sonic Frequency Records. As a DJ and producer, Waters has crafted material across a wide range of electronic music genres and subgenres including house, deep house, deep tech, tech house, progressive house and techno — with a deep interest in protest and probing social questions.

Waters recently shared a remix of Ertan Koculu and Volgin’s “I Wanna,” turning a woozy, Ibiza-tinged deep house banger into a euphoric, tribal house-meets-Larry Levan banger that retains the summery, dance all night vibe of the original. House music all night long, y’all.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Boris Métreaux Shares Lush “Nena”

Boris Métraux is a Swiss-born, Playa Venao, Panama-based electronic music producer, whose sound and approach sees him drawing from and blending ambient music, tribal house, jazz, electronica and house music.

Back in 2023, Métraux delved into the study of plant frequency waves. These explorations led him to incorporate the cosmic and mind-bending sounds of plants in his music, adding an ethereal dimension to his work.

Métreaux’s latest single “Nena” is a slick blend of Afro house rhythms, twinkling keys and skittering beats serving as a lush bed for soulful vocals. The result is a song that showcases the Swiss-born, Panamanian-based artist’s ability to craft summery, club and lounge friendly material and a remarkably catchy hook.

“The inspiration came from a healing moment — the track tells a story of resilience and inner strength, echoing through tribal percussion and atmospheric synths,” Métreaux explains.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Delaware’s Bad Robot Returns with Club Banging “Offline”

Micheal Ricker is a Delaware-based electronic music producer and artist best known as Bad Robot. And over the course of the past year so, the Delaware-based artist has been wildly prolific, releasing a handful of attention grabbing bangers.

Ricker’s latest single “Offline” is a straightforward, crowd-pleasing, club banger reminiscent of Tweekend-era Crystal Method anchored oscillating synths and skittering beats that reveals the JOVM mainstays unerring knack for catchy hooks and enormous drops.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Gan Shares Flirty and Summery “Infinity”

Gan is a rising, French Mediterranean-born, New York-based electronic music producer and artist, who has received attention for bending modern beats and production informed by the New York scene with his French and Mediterranean heritage.

The rising New York-based producer’s latest single is a slick and flirty take on Jaymes Young‘s “Infinity” that turns the smash-hit into the sort of summery, house/Afrohouse take on the song that could simultaneously rock grown and sexy lounges, rooftop parties and the club.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: San DIego’s Franhaus Shares Breezy and Nostalgia-Inducing “No Puedo Ser”

San Diego-based electronic music producer, singer/songwriter and DJ Franhaus, who specializes in creating what he believes is a new wave of Latin music that combines lived-in, earnest lyrics written and sung in Spanish with slick, dance floor friendly melodic, deeply emotional house.

The San Diego-based artist’s latest single “No Puedo Ser” is a breezy, nostalgia-inducing tune anchored around glistening synths, tweeter and woofer rattling thump, skittering beats and bursts of squiggling guitar. The Ibiza-meets-Tame Impala-like production serves as a lush bed for Franhaus’ yearning delivery while showcasing an artist, who can craft a catchy hook.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Poppastep Shares Ebullient “Jumping For Joy”

Born Herman Hines, DJ Hines, a.k.a. Poppastep can trace the origins of his lengthy career to his childhood: Hines grew up in an intensely musical family. His mother was a soloist and his godfather was a pianist and organist at Staten Island’s St. Phillips Baptist Church. Several other family members played the latest soul music of the Civil Rights era, which led to a young Hines getting into disco, dance music, salsoul, the Philadelphia sound and more.

Hines started off as a drummer, playing in church, alongside his mother and godmother. His first official gig was at the Capital Lounge with his mother’s best friend, Harlem-based jazz legend Irene Reid, when he was just 12. That same year, he started spending summers in Wyandanch, NY, where he hung out with DJ Pleasure, who taught him how to mix on the beat.

Those summers in Wyandanch and his eclectic music taste allowed him to stand out in a crowded field. He was the first DJ to program hip-hop on a college station, Seton Hall‘s WSOU, where he was an instrumental in introducing hip-hop to New Jersey audiences. While at WSOU, he helped break Force MDs — yes, Force MDs. If you’re an old head, you know.

As a DJ, Hines is considered a legend in Staten Island: He made a name for himself as the only local DJ to perform with Grandmaster Flash and the Funky Four Plus One at the Ritz Roller Rink. He also played with The Cold Crush Brothers at St. George Theater — and was the first Staten Island-based DJ to play Harlem World alongside DJ AJ and Jeckle and Hyde.

As the New Jersey house scene began to get attention globally, he added house music to his sets. Around this time, he began transitioning to production under the moniker Poppastep.

As Poppastep, Hines has made a name for himself in the underground for a sound that meshes elements of funk, soul and hip-hop that he has dubbed “Shaolin Hip-Hop Funk.” His Poppastep debut single “In This Together,” led to being named Artist of the Week in Belgium.

His latest single “Jumping For Joy” is a much-needed bit of ebullient, two-step-inducing, infectious joy that sees the Staten Islander crafting a slick, hook-driven production that meshes elements of classic, Larry Levan house with Soul II Soul-meets-Sounds of Blackness-like gospel. Listening to the track brought back memories of WBLS’s live broadcasts from The Shadow and other clubs across town.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: DJ Piscine Shares Summery “Born Again”

Maximillian De Vos, is a Brussels-based producer and DJ, best known as DJ Piscine. He’s a founding member of the Belgian DJ collective echte ra — and is also one half of The Haze.

De Vos’ latest DJ Piscine EP, Pray, Pt. 1 is slated for a June 27, 2025 release through SWIM Records. The EP reportedly sees the Belgian producer crafting a radiant fusion of club energy and emotional depth. The EP’s first single “Born Again” is a swaggering and slickly produced banger, featuring a big, coquettish pop starlet vocal paired with glistening Euro-house synths and rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses.

Although it’s a chilly Memorial Day Weekend here in New York, “Born Again” is a summery, Ibizia-styled banger with a playfully mischievous bit of 00s nostalgia.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Karo V Shares Lush and Hypnotic “Jack That Body”

Karo V is a Belgian electronic music producer and DJ, who specializes in a club-ready and emotionally resonant sound, anchored by lush soundscapes, intricate melodies and driving rhythms. Her tracks have been released through a number of Belgian and international labels, which have helped lead to a growing profile in the global electronic music scene.

As a DJ, her sets see her seamlessly blending several genres and sub-genres, of electronic music into a cohesive, emotional charged and dance floor filling experience.

The Belgian producer and DJ’s latest single “Jack That Body” is a lush and hypnotic track featuring a glistening synth arpeggio-driven melody, explosive finger snaps and skittering trap-like beats. Sonically recalling Tour de France-era Kraftwerk, Between Two Selves-era Octo Octa and JOVM mainstay LutchamaK, “Jack That Body” showcases a producer that effortlessly pairs lush and soulful production with remarkably catchy hooks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Berlin’s Shimizu Teams Up with Giorgia-May on a Euphoric, Feminist Anthem

Brazilian-born, Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Rafa Mura, initially relocated to Berlin when he was 18 years-old to study Computer Science. While in school, he built a home studio in his dorm room. After dropping out of his computer science program, he went on start his own recording project Shimizu. Shimizu sees Mura creating a sound that’s melancholic yet danceable while drawing from R&B, house, breakbeat and neo-soul.

Mura’s latest Shimizu single “BxbyGirl” features Giorgia-May’s self-assured and sultry delivery ethereally floating over a slick and euphoric club and lounge friendly production that draws from Larry Levan-era house and UK garage. Thematically, the song is anthem for female empowerment, touching on themes of feminine energy, women’s rights and bodily autonomy.

“I wanted to write a short R&B song that was to the point and felt somehow empowering,” says Giorgia-May. “As women, we don’t just get to feel safe in our bodies—it’s something we have to constantly learn and practice. We face rules and regulations that restrict us, society pits us against each other, we earn less than men, and we are continuously subjected to harassment and control over our autonomy.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: GR1FYN Shares Euphoric and Summery “Retro Future”

GR1FN is an emerging and mysterious American-born electronic music producer, who was extremely busy last year, releasing a batch of attention grabbing singles, including two I wrote about on this site:

  • “Underneath the Sun,” a Larry Levan-meets-French touch-like banger featuring dense layers of twinkling keys, skittering tweeter and woofer rattling beats and oscillating synths pared with euphoria-inducing hooks and a chopped up, soulful, mantra-like vocal sample. It’s the sort of summery anthem that you’d fully expect to hear rocking clubs from New York to Miami and from Ibiza to London and everywhere else in between.

  • “Nervous,” a flirty and summery house music track featuring glistening synth arpeggios, skittering, tweeter and woofer railing beats, a sultry and yearning vocal sample paired with some remarkably catchy hooks. It shouldn’t be surprising that this one has been receiving love in local clubs, because it’s an infectiously fun banger.

Released at the first session of this year’s Coachella, GR1FN’s latest single “Retro Future” is a swaggering tech house banger, featuring a soulful, old school house vocal sample, glistening synth arpeggios and the rising producer’s unerring knack for euphoria-inducing hooks. It’s a summery. dance floor filler, just as the weather starts to get a bit warmer.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: L’Eclair return with Trippy House Banger “VERTIGO”

With recorded output that includes 2018’s full-length debut, Polymood, 2019’s Sauropoda, 2020’s Noshtta EP and 2021’s Confusions, the acclaimed Swiss-based group L’Eclair, founded and led by Bulgarian-born siblings Stef and Yavov Lilov established a sound centered around mind-bending, cosmic grooves.

Along with two live sessions for KEXP, which amassed over 900,000 views combined, the Swiss-based group have built up an international following, while landing on the playlists of adventurous listeners and DJs seeking deep grooves.

L’Eclair’s fourth album Cloud Drifter is slated for a June 20, 2025 release through Innovative Leisure. Meticulously crafted over the last four years, Cloud Drifter is a decided departure from the group’s signature instrumental music, with the album’s material featuring vocal contributions from a wide array of frequent collaborators they’ve worked with over the past few years, including Pink Slifu, Girl Named GOLDEN, Gelli Haha, A Ghost Column, and more.

Having toured with The Cinematic Orchestra and W.I.T.C.H. — including writing and recording W.I.T.C.H.’s 2023 effort Zango and The Cinematic Orchestra’s forthcoming album this year, as well as production work with Varnish La Piscine and Maston, the Lilov brothers have assembled a vast network of likeminded musicians. And across the entire album, they keenly curate a cohesive vision incorporating many disparate contributions. 

Earlier this month, I wrote about Cloud Drifter‘s first single “ODESSOS,” which featured Phoebe Coco‘s and A Ghost Column’s ethereal vocals paired with twinkling and oscillating synths and a dub-inspired motorik groove. While being one of the most club friendly songs the acclaimed Swiss outfit has ever released, “ODESSOS” is a bold, sonic left turn that retains the group’s long-held penchant for crafting mind-bending, expansive grooves. And perhaps more than ever, the track manages to convey the freewheeling, improvisation-driven and infectious energy of their live shows.

“VERTIGO,” Cloud Drifter‘s second and latest single is synth-driven, deep house instrumental that sounds like a synthesis of the material off 2021’s Confusions, Larry Levan-era house and krautrock, anchored around the Swiss unerring knack for hooks and mind-bending groove.

Edited by VVIDEO, the accompanying video for “VERTIGO” is a mix of kaleidoscopic and fittingly hallucinogenic imagery and footage of the band performing the song lie — sometimes simultaneously.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay LutchamaK Shares a Glitchy Banger

French electronic music producer and JOVM mainstay LutchamaK continues to be remarkably prolific. His latest EP, the four-song Coming Back 4 U was released through RZ Muzik.

The EP’s latest single “Know Dis” is a swaggering club banger, anchored around dense layers of glitchy and energetic synth arpeggios and a futuristic, somewhat vocodered vocal sample. While continuing to showcase a producer, with an unerring knack for crafting catchy and enormous hooks, “Know Dis” is a subtle refinement of the song he has established over the past few years — with song nodding at footwork and other underground styles.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Augu Returns with a Sleek, Industrial Banger

Augu is a mysterious and emerging Lithuanian electronic music producer, who caught my attention with “Foreigner,” earlier this year. “Foreigner” was a slick synthesis of John Carpenter film soundtracks with deep industrial house and Kraftwerk-like minimalism into a dance floor friendly, club banger.

His latest single “Line” continues a run of a club friendly material that features elements of thumping industrial electronica, Kraftwerk and Daft Punk, John Carpenter soundtracks and deep house, anchored around the Lithuanian producer’s knack for big, catchy hooks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: RMA Shares Lush “Seyna”

RMA is a rising Turkish-German electronic producer and artist. His latest single “Seyna,” is a lush and soulful bit of deep house with a Middle Eastern-like vocal sample, strummed guitar, cinematic and soaring strings paired with shimmering synths and thumping beats.

“Seyna” reveals a producer and artist, who can craft hook-driven material that’s simultaneously club and lounge friendly.