The Art of Sound
Marc Romboy & Blake Baxter
Systematic

Nice to see this Dusseldorf-Detroit axis back in action, and in such belting form too. 'The Art of Sound' twists up a disco loop in the classic filter style, augmented with some rattling hats and tough beats. 'Version 1' teases the sax-heavy loop out deftly, where 'Version 2' goes all Cassius circa 1998, heaping on the compression to devastating effect. It's not new, but damn it, if this doesn't get a dancefloor oiled up, then it's time to consider jacking it in.

Balls
Josh Wink
Ovum

It takes balls to call a track 'Balls', and it seems that Mr Wink has them. Two, at least. This is his first release on his own label Ovum in four years, and it's ma-hoosive, as they say.

Say Something
Luke Solomon
Classic

Classic head boss man Luke Solomon lets Akufen loose on his latest, and the results are pretty ace. It's bumpy, sax-y, organ-y party mayhem, in fact.

Immediately Above EP
Marcin Czubala
Your Mama's Friend

The excellent Marcin Czubala drops some more solid, solid house music on his own imprint Your Mama's Friend, complete with a robust version from Audiojack.

Static EP
Justin Jay
Dirtybird

A Dirtybird release with a colossal bassline might not seem unusual, but this is unusually colossal work from Justin Jay. It really is very large indeed.

Changeling (youngTEE Remix)
Alison Moyet
Cooking Vinyl

Following a clutch of woozy and weird releases on World Unknown, Southern Fried and a couple of extremely solid vinyl-only bootlegs (his blissful Balearic re-touch of Rihanna's 'Rehab' in particular), south Londoner youngTEE dissects erstwhile Yazoo lady Alison Moyet and reassembles her almost unrecognisably to darken dancefloors. A thunderous, bowel-shaking, filling-rattling kick, pulsing Chicago bassline, organ stabs and clattering percussion propel this deep, moody anthem into earnest party territory. So handle it with care.

We Make Music Vol. 2
Oliver Achatz/Janis/Homeboy/Dynamodyse
House Is OK

A gorgeously, wonderfully Balearic thing here from the Zagreb/Frankfurt axis that is House Is OK, injecting purest vitamin D into our scurvy-racked systems. Oliver Achatz boots things off with the creepingly anthemic 'L.A. Cure', all innocuous synths, which breaks fabulously come the middle. Homeboy's 'Kim' is all bass slapped to within an inch of its life. The ethereal houser 'While You Were Dancing', by Janis, somehow ups the stakes of an already essential release. Well played there.

Uncertain Change
Footprintz
Visionquest

Immaculate synth-pop from the Visionquesters Footprintz, aka Montreal's enigmatic Clarian North and Adam Hunter. 'Uncertain Change' is yearningly melancholic, a spine-tingling seven minutes of near perfection. It's all warm pads, gently plucked Roxy Music guitars and then soaring blissfulness come the climax. Maceo Plex treats the original with respect, pumping it up a little for the clubs, but keeping its fragility intact. Meanwhile, Matthew Dear - in his Audion guise - makes it spooky and epic with his 'Loves You' mix. Class all the way.

Crying Wolf EP
No Artificial Colours
Madtech

Kerri Chandler's Madtech imprint is really taking out the trash of late. This latest from No Artificial Colours (Lewis Wright and Ryan Ellis) pretty much nails the sound that both Madtech and Chandler are currently extolling. 'Crying Wolf', with vocals from Alex Mills - she of Miguel Campbell's 'Something Special' - is pitch-perfect (US style) garage. 'Restless Souls', with Crosstown alumus Cari Golden, is bumpier, laden with 909 percussion under Golden's spooky vocal. 'Love', featuring Sheff, keeps the momentum burning. Very, very classy indeed.

State of Mind EP
John Dimas
Dame-Music

John Dimas returns for another outing on Bloody Mary's Dame-Music imprint, following his last appearance on 'Klub Klub Elite Vol. 3 EP', via recent releases on Claap and La Vie En Rose. 'State of Mind' is a straight jacker, layered with some subtly hypnotic arpeggios. Simple, but so very effective. 'Overthink' is a little more ambitious, boasting all the hallmarks of a Chi-Town classic. But produced in 2013. By a Greek. In Berlin. It's no mean feat.

Speicher 74
Weichhold & Namito pres HickHack
Kompakt Extra

Great Stuff main man Rainer Weichhold joins with old pal from the Kling Klang stable Namito for this two-tracker on Kompakt's spin-off imprint Kompakt Extra, joining a ludicrously impressive number to have released in the venerable 'Speicher' series. 'Hick' is pure hypnosis, weighed down with portamento bleeps, shaking percussion and a demonic bassline. 'Hack', meanwhile, ups the funk some, throwing in dirty disco horn stabs and enough cowbell to keep Christopher Walken happy for the rest of his days.