Summer Sessions: House

To close out the summer, we have two bumper house playlists, full of instant classics and soulful melodies. The house session comes in two flavours: the peak playlist deals in shiny, fist-pumping bangers, while the deep playlist is dustier, more analog, packed with after-hours sounds from some of the scene's top producers. The deep playlist is a more typical White Noise list, but we aim to please, and there are countless scorchers on each list to keep the sun shining out of your speakers well into the colder months.

Make sure to check out all of our summer playlist series, and to follow White Noise on Facebook and Twitter!

Summer Sessions:

Classic House

Hip Hop
Chill

Bass
Funk and Soul

Peak House Playlist

Tracklist:

Krystal Klear - From The Start

First Choice - Love Thang (Genius of Time Re-edit)

DJ T. - City Life (Maceo Plex Remix)

Scuba - Everywhere

Sophie - Nothing More To Say (Dub)

C.R.S.T - Monster Munch

FCL - Let's Go

Capracara - Ronin

Bicep - Vison of Love

Classixx - Into the Valley (Julio Bashmore Remix)

NY Stomp - The NY House Trak

Paul Woolford - Untitled

Medlar - Can't Stop

Floorplan - Never Grow Old

Kyodai - Breaking

Lone - Airglow Fires

Simian Mobile Disco & Bicep - Sacrifice

Todd Terje - Strandbar (Disko Version)

Teengirl Fantasy - Cheaters (John Talabot's Classic Vocal Refix)

Crazy P - Heartbreaker

Deep House Playlist

Tracklist:

Floating Points - Love Me Like This (Nonsense Dub)

HNNY - For The Very First Time (Dirtytwo's Midas Touch Remix)

Nicholas - Things Of The Past (NY Club Mix)

Anthony Naples - Mad Disrespect

The Phantom - Vogue Dub

Chesus - Special

Damiano von Erckert & Funkycan - Symphonie of a Brother

Wbeeza - Billy Green Is Ded

KMFH - Down!

Session Victim - Good Intentions

October - String Theory

Andres - Jack City

Motor City Drum Ensemble - Raw Cuts #6

Last Magpie - (Who Knows) Where Love Goes

Nitetime - Teddy's Jam

Trevor Deep Jr - Keep On!

Omar S - The Shit Baby

Wil Maddams - Stand In For Love

Mosca - The Way We Were

Space Dimension Controller - The Love Quadrant

Tito Wun - The Way U Do It

Theo Parrish - Solitary Flight

Arkist – Never Forgotten

Label: Halocyan

Although Bristolian producer Arkist built quite a name for himself with the fizzing warmth of his 140bpm rollers, it’s been a couple of years since he’s released any standout material. The producer's best tracks have always tied authentic dance chops to likeable pop sensibilities, and now he’s taken to LA-based imprint Halocyan for his best release in years, bringing along a who’s-who of Bristol’s scene for the ride.

All of these tunes play with the skipping formula of garage, making each original cut a taut and propulsive affair. But Arkist has never been one to get too sombre, and on A-side Addict, a collaboration with Appleblim, a series of upbeat descending house chords cut a stark line through the syncopated percussion and boogie basslines. It’s a warm and effective opener, but the best this EP has to offer is nestled on the B-side. 

23 Summers

Arkist first comes up gold with 23 Summers, which could be seen as a follow-up to the producer’s classic Fill Your Coffee. It’s a big, generous helping of colourful synthwork, intoxicating vocal chops and huge bass bounces, guaranteed to bring out smiles in the crowd. These key elements are set in an intricate - but never dense - collage which pays out as much as it builds anticipation, thanks to the bubbling melody and the lush detail of the arrangement. For his final original piece, Iron Oxide, Arkist goes deeper, calling out to both breakbeat and his dubstep roots with a darkened stepper where only the echoes of that bright synthwork remains among the menacing bass throbs.

Remix duties are offered to another pair of Bristolians, the first being rising star Komon, who gives a housey rework of Addict. It’s an efficient track that adds a big 4/4 stomp and straightens out the synth work in the process, but it feels like it lacks the original’s flighty charm in the process. Dependable analog-fiend October offers a more impressive remix of 23 Summers, the original’s dayglo appeal swapped for a jackin’ mashup of acid stabs, ghostly vocal loops and an industrial-sized kick. It’s a healthy-sized package from Arkist with a few real standouts, hinting that the producer’s best work may still be ahead of him.

7/10

Best Tracks of 2012: 101-76

Year End Coverage

* Best Albums of 2012

* Best EPs of 2012

* Best Labels of 2012

* Best Breakthrough Artists of 2012

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 101-76
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 75-51
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 50-26
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 25-1

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It's been a big year! We'll end the festivities with a countdown of our favourite tracks of the year. All of these are great tunes, and the order is somewhere between deliberate and arbitrary, so bear that in mind. So many that got cruelly cut out of the list, but I reckon this is a solid roundup of what has been a great year for dance music. Enjoy!

 101 – MikeQ – Let It All Out 2012 feat. Jay Karan

Vogue is back.

100 – Pablo Nouvelle – Be True To Me

One of the few non-Dance tracks on here, irresistibly simple. EP Review.

99 – Four Tet – Lion (Four Tet Remix)

Huge vibes and slick atmospherics from The xx’s mastermind.

98 – Pangaea – Majestic 12

Breakneck darkness from a real master.

97 – Jimmy Edgar – Sex Drive

Just one of many brilliant moments of Edgar’s sleaze-fest.

96 – George Fitzgerald – Child

One of the year’s bounciest, most satisfying House tunes.

95 – Ejeca – Horizon

Massive House tune. It really does sound like ‘dinnertime’.

94 – Goodfoot feat Didz & The Organ Grinder

Utterly intoxicating piano House throwback from one part of CRST.

93 – Fantastic Mr Fox – Yesterday’s Fall feat. Alby Daniels

Strange, bassy, neo-pop from the inimitable Mr Fox. EP Review.

92 – Mista Men – Forget U

Muscular Garage workout from one of the UTTU crew’s very best.

91 – Body Double – Be Strong

(This is the audio for the A-side, What You Need)

Some weird House-pop from the 100% Silk camp.

90 – Jeremih - Fuck U All The Time feat. Natasha Mosley

This track was everywhere this year. Sensual, addictive, and filthy.

89 – Trikk – Jointly

One of the finest examples of the intersection between Techno and Bass. Absolutely kills on the dancefloor. Definitely big things to come from this Portuguese native. EP Review.

88 – The xx – Chained

Although Coexist was nowhere near as good as the band’s debut, this song perfectly encapsulated the powerful vibes of The xx at their best. Album Review.

87 – Maddslinky – Compuphonic

Super-stripped club track from Zed Bias, was doing the business in clubs up and down the country since its September release. EP Review.

86 – Alden Tyrell – Touch the Sky feat. Mike Dunn

Powerful Acid from a real legend coming out of the Clone camp. Top vocals.

85 – October – String Theory

Super-chilled House track from one of the scene’s unsung heroes. Totally unique, works great in the mix too. EP Review.

84 – Fracture feat. Dawn Day Night – Get Busy

Terrifyingly strong DnB / Footwork fusion that sets the floor on fire. Check out Dawn Day Night’s debut EP.

83 – TNGHT – Higher Ground

A bit too much? Definitely. Unbelievably large? Without a doubt.

82 – Shadow Child – 23

A late-December entry, this is not your average House tune. Excellent vocal build-up leads to one of the dirtiest drops this side of the New Year. Essential.

81 – 5kinandbone5 – Reset

Don’t you wish there was a button we could reset? Bassline brilliance from the UTTU camp.

80 – Funkineven & Fatima – Phoneline

Unbelievable genre-defying hybrid feat. Fatima’s gorgeous voice and Funkineven’s slick production, all from one of White Noise’s favourite labels, Eglo.

79 – Bwana – Baby Let Me Finish

Sounds like your average sugar-sweet Bass track until the percussive madness following the drop. Blissful addiction.

78 – Koreless – Lost In Tokyo

One of the Bass scene’s brightest stars only issued one release this year. It was 3 minutes long, and it wasn’t really dance music. Still, undeniably gorgeous so who really cares. EP Review.

77 – Bo Saris – She’s On Fire (Maya Jane Coles Remix)

Unexpected brilliance from one of the scene’s most consistent female producers (not nice that we have to say that, eh?) Twinkling midnight Garage, lush piano and moody vocals.

76 – Elsewhere – Trippin’

 

The darkest of the dark creeping out of your speakers from the Mindset camp. Huge, nasty, a real dancefloor killer. EP Review.

November Roundup

You know the drill by now, all of November's top tunes in a tasty Youtube playlist. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

Chesus - Goodfoot feat. Didz & The Organ Grinder
Jessie Ware - No To Love (George Fitzgerald Remix)

Ejeca - Horizon

Swindle - Mischief

Gerry Read - Be Pushin (She)

Artifact - Turtle Flight (October release)

Ballistiq Beats & Jamakabi - Concrete Jungle (Yardman Riddim)

MPIA3 - Ridge Way

Also, here are some links to some of our top mixes from the internet and the real world in November:

JETS Fact Mix

October's RA mix

L-Vis 1990's NSMix

T. Williams' Rinse Mix

March Roundup

It’s been 2012’s biggest month yet, so here’s a selection of March’s finest tunes for anyone who missed a few or needs a catch-up.

We kick off on the brighter end of Dance tracks, with some warm House and Bass courtesy of Krystal Klear, Lorca and DJ Q, as well as Aaron “Fit” Siegel’s stunning House epic Tonite. Next up Pearson Sound delivers a predictably brilliant new single and we move to darker Bass tracks from the likes of Duct and Trikk. Things get a bit frantic with Machinedrum and Om Unit’s Dream Continuum collaboration, fusing Jungle with Footwork, and Boddika keeps up the pace with his thrilling Acid Jackson. Akkord and 2562 offer a couple of deep, dark percussive workouts before Romare and Midland slow the pace with some fresh and intriguing tunes from the brilliant EPs both released last month. The final few tracks are less dance-orientated, with some excellent vocal workouts from Bondax and Doc Daneeka, all topped off by Anenon’s achingly beautiful Acquiescence.

Tracklist:

Krystal Klear – From The Start

Omar S Presents Aaron “Fit” Siegel feat. L’Renee – Tonite (Detroit Mix)

DJ Q – Brandy & Coke

Lorca – Can’t See Higher

October – String Theory

Pearson Sound – Untitled

Duct – Love Crazy

Trikk – Jointly

Dream Continuum – Giv A Lil Luv

Boddika – Acid Jackson

Akkord – The Drum

2562 – Jerash Hekwerken

Romare – Down The Line (It Takes A Number)

Midland – Tape Burn

Burial & Four Tet – Nova

Bondax – All Inside

Airhead – Wait

Doc Daneeka & Abigail Wyles – Tobyjug

Anenon - Acquiescence

October – String Theory

Label: Simple

Will Saul, of Aus Music fame and one of the finest DJs I’ve had the opportunity to see this year, discontinued his Simple Records label after the milestone of 50 vinyl releases last February. The story goes that after hearing Julian Smith’s latest creation as October, he decided to pull the label out of retirement just to release these fine cuts of off-kilter House music. It’s a nice background but only worthwhile if the music is up to scratch, and after listening to the two original cuts on String Theory it seems to me that Saul made the right move.

String Theory

Title cut String Theory is a perfect example of sunny-day House vibes, purpose-built for chilling and dancing outside on a summer’s day. Rich percussion lend the meandering track a lazy but clear momentum, paving the way for sampled bird calls and a satisfying bass loop. As the track gets under way these features are joined by a fantastically jazzy Rhodes sample that steals centre stage and makes this track a rather unique proposition, not to mention an essential listen. The second original cut, Tension Point, harks back more to October’s Bristol roots, with a much darker edge to the kicks and beats. The looped vocal sample – ‘I need to get away from all this tension’ – conjures a strong mood before being swept away by a striking bass bounce, later supplemented by smooth synth twinkles accenting the sound to lovely effect. It’s a great set of original cuts, each presenting a different mood while remaining mature, well-crafted and exciting.

 

Tension Point

On the flipside are two remixes courtesy of Danny Wolfers, under two different aliases. The first, under his most famous Legowelt guise, is more faithful to the original, pushing it into spacier territories with a strong synth loop establishing a nice groove. The second, as Polarius, is a much darker Techno cut, referencing moody Detroit sounds with strangely-treated synths rendering the original recognisable only by its beat and bird sounds. Both are interesting takes on the original, and while neither quite tops it, the first is a worthwhile listen in my book. If you check this EP out, it’ll be for the two great original cuts, the first of which will definitely be topping my plays when summer finally comes.

8/10