Category: house music

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.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: LutchamaK Shares a Slick, Deep House Banger

French JOVM mainstay LutchamaK‘s latest EP, the four-track  Hybrid EP sees the prolific producer continuing to bounce around several different styles and genres of electronic music, all while showcasing an uncanny ability to make it cohesive.

I’ve managed to write about three of the EP’s singles:

  • EP title track “Hybrid,” a slick synthesis of joyous Larry Levan-like house, and glitchy, industrial-leaning Detroit and Berlin-like techno that slaps hard.

  • “Innsæi,” a swaggering banger that recalls Tour de France-era Kraftwerk and John Carpenter soundtracks paired with some glitchy, retro-futuristic synths. 

  • “Outside Observer,” a brooding and subtly menacing bit of house featuring skittering, tweeter and woofer rattling hook, atmospheric bass synths, glitchy oscillations and a spoken word vocal sample. While reminding listeners of the JOVM mainstays uncanny knack for sleek productions paired with razor sharp hooks, “Outside Observer” continues a run of remarkably cinematic yet club friendly material.

“What We Do” sees the French JOVM mainstay crafting a deep house-meets-Tour de France-era Kraftwerk production featuring stuttering boom bap, shimmering synths and glistening oscillations with a retro-futuristic vocal sample. Out of the EP’s four singles, “What We Do” may arguably be the EP’s most direct and straightforward deep house banger.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: LutchamaK Shares Brooding “Outside Observer”

French JOVM mainstay LutchamaK returns with the four-track Hybrid EP. Released today through Chicago-based Urban Kickz Recordings Special Series, the French JOVM mainstay’s latest EP sees him continuing to bounce around several different styles and genres of electronic music, all while showcasing an uncanny ability to make it all cohesive. 

So far, I’ve written about two of the EP’s singles:

  • EP title track “Hybrid,” a slick synthesis of joyous Larry Levan-like house, and glitchy, industrial-leaning Detroit and Berlin-like techno that slaps hard.

  • “Innsæi,” a swaggering banger that recalls Tour de France-era Kraftwerk and John Carpenter soundtracks paired with some glitchy, retro-futuristic synths.

“Outside Observer” is a brooding and subtly menacing bit of house featuring skittering, tweeter and woofer rattling hook, atmospheric bass synths, glitchy oscillations and a spoken word vocal sample. While reminding listeners of the JOVM mainstays uncanny knack for sleek productions paired with razor sharp hooks, “Outside Observer” continues a run of remarkably cinematic yet club friendly material.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: LutchamaK Shares Swaggering “Innsæi”

French JOVM mainstay LutchamaK returns with the four-track Hybrid EP. Released today through Chicago-based Urban Kickz Recordings Special Series, the French JOVM mainstay’s latest EP sees him continuing to bounce around several different styles and genres of electronic music, all while showcasing an uncanny ability to make it all cohesive. 

You might recall that I recently released about EP title track “Hybrid,” a slick synthesis of joyous Larry Levan-like house, and glitchy, industrial-leaning Detroit and Berlin-like techno that slaps hard. The EP’s latest single “Innsæi” is a swaggering banger that recalls Tour de France-era Kraftwerk and John Carpenter soundtracks paired with some glitchy, retro-futuristic synths. But interestingly, “Innsæi” may be the most cinematic track of the JOVM mainstay’s growing catalog.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: LutchamaK Returns with Sleek “Hybrid”

French JOVM mainstay LutchamaK returns with the four-track Hybrid EP. Released today through Chicago-based Urban Kickz Recordings Special Series, the French JOVM mainstay’s latest EP sees him continuing to bounce around several different styles and genres of electronic music, all while showcasing an uncanny ability to make it all cohesive.

The EP’s latest single, EP title track “Hybrid” is a slick synthesis of joyous. Larry Levan-like house, and glitchy, industrial-leaning Detroit and Berlin-like techno that slaps hard.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Chatom Shares a Sleek and Futuristic Banger

Chaton is an emerging electronic music artist, whose debut single “From the Future” is a melodic bit of hard-hitting deep house that may remind listeners 

a bit of Tour de France-era Kraftwerk and JOVM mainstay LutchamaK.

Fittingly “From the Future” is inspired by futurism, the aspirations to create technologies to enable a better life for all.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Sunglow Teams Up with Rachael Brianna on Rapid-Fire “figure 8s”

Daniel B. Lynch is a Savannah, GA-born, Chicago-based DIY electronic artist, best known as Sunglow. Lynch can trace the origins of his career in electronic/computer music back to when he was 12. Starting off with experimental, electronic songs, then gradually transitioning to weirdo pop, Lynch’s relocation to Chicago marked a return to his experimental roots.

His collaborations with Furious Hooves Records and Company Businesses Inc™ have led to some rather innovative sonic explorations, which have led to defining his unique “hypo-pop” style.

Lynch’s latest album, the recently released Chocolate, Strawberry, and Pistachio, a collaborative album that sees the Savannah-born, Chicago-based producer and artist working with a series of vocalists. The recently released album’s latest single “figure 8s” feat. Rachael Brianna is a rapid-fire bop anchored around squiggling and squawking electronics, twinkling synth arpeggios and skittering beats serving as a playful and sugary bed for Rachael Brianna’s sarcastic delivery. The song seems to say, when shit has gone dark, might as well make fun on of it.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Stimulus Teams Up with Swim Good and Taylor Bense on Deep House Banger “swiTCH”

STIMULUS is a rising Brooklyn-born, Berlin-based artist, DJ and event curator. His latest single “swiTCH” is a collaboration with Malik Work, Greg Paulus, Taylor Bense and Swim Good. Anchored around a lush club friendly production featuring woozily atmospheric synths, a supple bass line, skittering beats and soulful horn stabs paired with clever bars about the weird dynamics between social media and digital life and one’s real lived-in life. Sonically speaking “swiTCH” sounds a bit like a synthesis of Stereo MCs and C+C Music Factory with Larry Levan — but with a modern, self-assured swagger.

“The song is produced by jazz musicians who regularly sat in with Malik and I’s jazz/hip hop band The Real Show,” STIMULUS explains. “They eventually became well known as dance music producers and DJs (No Regular Play) on Wolf + Lamb Records and Kitsune.

“We wanted to combine parts of Brooklyn and Berlin in a way that made sense for both cities.

The lyrics talk about the difference between real life (irl) and its digital representation on social media platforms that’s extremely influenced by algorithms. We want to remind people to trust themselves and each other more than they trust algorithms. We also want to remind people it’s ok to keep parts of your life private and/or off of digital platforms.”