Various
Various Artists Vol. 5

‘R U Happy’… A simple question. But is there a simple answer? Allow Guti and Tripmastaz to look you dead in the eye and find out once and for all. Their first ever collaboration – conjured in a rare real life, real time, real vibe collabo scenario in Tripmastaz Moscow studio – this fact alone should be a reason for happiness. The music seals the deal furthermore; a bubbling analogue bass, relentless jacking beats, filters set to their juiciest coordinates and that insistent loopy vocal sample, there are some serious strong tones of Chicago in the blend. The sharpness of early Trax, the fatness of early Classic and that rolling vibe that captures the essence of house like no other city. If your happiness status relies on more of a French lift then allow D’Julz to take your hand with his remix. Still just as jacking, but with a little more beef in the bass, more dynamic strip-backs and several new layers of funk-riddled filters, if you’re not happy by the time this kicks in, you need to consider some of your lifestyle choices. With the Pets guys and Guti both fresh from big album excursions and Tripmastaz enjoying a rich vein of form on the likes of Tatouffe, Bass Culture and No 19 already this year, all parties are kicking with vitality on this one. Are you happy? We certainly are…

Label Boss Emmanuel opens 2020 with a full-length work that represents one more time the evolution of his own sound over the years. "Time is Relative" is a composition that has the ambition to reach many souls with different tastes all at once. All the four tracks are produced and selected in different time zones, after a long craft in the studio/dancefloor and produced to give the maximum result on any floor in the world.

The record’s concept reflects Will’s enormous skill and knowledge as a DJ, and as its title suggests, “represents what I play in a club if an 8 hour set was condensed into 10 tracks.” Having held residencies and made regular appearances at some of the world’s finest clubs including The End and Fabric in London, Panorama Bar in Berlin, Trouw in Amsterdam and Robert Johnson in Offenbach, Saul is uniquely qualified but this refreshingly straightforward approach. Eschewing the lingering, almost cliched expectations for a dance artist to create an album “that sounds good at home, as well as in the club”, ‘Open Too Close’ instead draws on the timeless futurism at the heart of the music that drew Saul into electronic music culture. Simply put, futuristic, melancholic sci-fi soundscapes meets stripped back raw sample driven house music, all executed with the precision and panache of an artist who truly understands how to move a dancefloor.