Another week and another Osunlade release...the original version of Native Tongue was released on Osunlade's own Yoruba label, but it gets re-worked for the second release of this interesting Canadian label. The Osunlade/Jaffa mix comes this time with some great saxophone by Liam O'Neil and Fender Rhodes by Jaffa and with some added percussion by Gordon Clay this is really a good remix. On the flipside there's a remix by Canadian DJ/producer Nick Holder that puts the emphasis more on the percussion with less warmth and charm than Osunlade's remake.

Good to see the Pound Boys releasing a vocal house song again after some more mediocre sample based discoid house tracks. Ok, this is sort of modern disco too but it's got a nice melody, a fine singer with Yvonne Brown and 4 mixes to choose from. There's the fine Main Mix by the Pound Boys and the equally good Joey Musaphia Remix and I really can't make up my mind which is the better version.

Finally one of the best songs from the Bossa Jazz II compilation is available on a single 12". Julie Dexter is just one of today's most talented singers and adds her soul to Thomas Naim's music. There are just two versions here, the great original and the also great Tech Jazz Mix by Mkl vs. Soy Sos that creates a nice contrast between Julie's warm voice and some electronic longue-like beats.

Another release by Soul Central (who also released Soul Music with Jenny B.)...this time they recorded two songs that are more in the house vein with a lot of soul and feeling by Diana Waite...Faith reminds me a little of Diana Brown's Love In Return with it's tempo and the voice of her namesake's. Memories is equally good and makes this 12" a value for money record.

Smokin Beats had some good releases some time ago but in recent months their releases always lacked something in my opinion. But with Easy To Love everything is there, a nice male voice by Christopher Hall and some good music that works best in the Smokin Beats Deep Down Club Mix.

Restless Soul is another nom de plume for Phil Asher (who also relased an album as Focus on Versatile recently). This time he releases a song on one of house music's best kept secret labels Clairaudience. If you know Phil's work with Nathan Haines (Earth Is The Place or Right By Your Side) you know what to expect from Peace in My Life, one of those nice house songs with flutes, oboes and soulful vocals by Maiya James...anyone who says that house has no soul should buy this record!

Jody has really made something of a metamorphosis in recent years from dance diva to a singer/songwriter who records really good music and has some kind of coolness about her. Whenever is taken from her album Midnight Lounge and is a real soulful song with some reminiscences of the Naked Music sound...and surprise, surprise there's also a Dave Warrin (who also records as Central Living for Naked Music) remix of Photographs on the flip side. Nice 12" and I can't wait for the Midnight Lounge album to be released outside Japan.

With E-Man as featured artist here you know it's more spoken words than singing. And so E-Man speaks about his love for music and his thanks to God for it. This is best in the Suedo Jazz Mix on the flip side. I'm not so sure about the Main Mix that got some annoying sound effects but the Jazz Mix is really worth the money spend on this record. With it's 9 minutes of swinging rhythm, bass, saxophone and late night feeling it just oozes class.

Diaspora is a fine label from London (UK) that releases gem after gem. They have released music by Peven Everett or Alma Horton so far. With Ministrel Speak they release a deep house groove combined with a thought provoking poem, written and spoken by Rich Medina. There are two mixes here, the Kemeticjust Mix that's dark, moody and my favourite version. And then there's the Sweet Abraham Mix that's more influenced by West London's broken beats but it got some nice background vocals by Alma Horton. Interesting release.

Although there have been numerous 10" releases in the last years, a 10" still has something special to it. If you're lucky the same can be said about the music that's on this piece of vinyl. And in the case of La Noche Y El Dia that's certainly true, it's something different from your everyday house and soul represented on most pages of this website. Susana Baca was born and raised in Chorrillos, a seaside barrio outside of Lima. It was there that she was steeped in the cultural legacy of Africans brought to Peru by the Spanish slave trade. "I come from a culture and a place where music is natural," she says. "And since I was young I was always curious about the origins of songs we sang." With remixes by Koop and Ananda Project this is more for the open-minded ones of the longue music crowd. But it's a nice experience to hear a Spanish sung version of Afro Blue.

Another value for money 12" with 3 different songs and 3 winners. One of them is Mateo & Matos and Wozniak ft. Sam Lopez' Move Your Body, a driving uptempo house track with a nice underground feeling and soulful vocals by Sam Lopez. The other of my favourites here is Patrick Green ft. Big Brooklyn Red with I Got Sunshine, a traditional house song that reminds me of better Smack and Blaze productions, really worth searching if you're into deep house with no gimmicks. Savapie ft. Jeanine Lopardo with Tropical Hurricane is the most catchy and fastest song here but pleasant enough. This winter sampler makes me curious about what Inner Vibe will do in the spring time.

Good to see a label like Yoruba still releasing records, but it looks like label owner Osunlade switched the distribution since this release is distributed by Soul Jazz Records in the UK (the label that also released Osunlade's Paradigm album). New Day is another very good song by Osunlade with nice flutes, saxophon, handclaps and vocals by the man himself. Deeper than deep and another winner.

The lovely Ronnell Bay sung So Thankful from Bobby's overlooked album Here I Am gets the overall remix treatment. And what was in its original version more a late night jazz song now comes along as a house song that works best in the Sunday Morning Remix. Great remix that adds something new to the original. But it still has the great male vocals and a nice female background with a strong gospel feeling.

Their recent album Spiritual Speaking was released on Slip'n'Slide but there are still some unburied treasures on their Natural Blaze album for Life Line Records. So we get a remix of Better Days, that's more instrumental with some nice scatting and as the real winner the Lovely Shelter Voc Mix of Lovely Ones, that's not so far away from the original album version but than who will argue with the Lovely Ones?

And another Blaze release...strange that they are always are the same week. This time it's the second part to the already reviewed first part. Again Alexander Hope sings and What We Need Is Love sounds like one of Blaze's Earth, Wind & Fire inspired songs on their Spiritually Speaking album. Sign Of The Time is done in a similar vein with some spoken vocals by Palmer Brown. Part II is definitely the better part of A Moment In Time.

I always refused to buy a release by Everything But The Girl, the group Ben Watt was a part of, but finally I got my hands on a Ben Watt release (ok, I have his remix of Maxwell's Lifetime and Sade's By Your Side too). Lone Cat is a nice house groove with some male spoken vocals and a sample that somehow sounds familiar but I really have no clue, who done it. Nothing earth-shattering here but pleasant enough although I don't understand the fuss about the bootleg.

That's more in the Lone Cat vein, only a little slower and deeper. A pleasant house groove with a spoken male vocals on top telling us that it's time to be free and to come together. Best Mix is the Deep Yroco Mix that's, er, deep and nice and that hasn't the slight disco influence of the Jazzclub Mix.

From Tom & Joyce's album for Yellow comes this nice little song that's transformed into something of a dancefloor monster by Next Evidence with a a faster tempo, percussion, flutes and even guitars. Although it left out most of Joyce vocals except for some badadadoos it's quite enjoyable. And for those who missed the album there's even the original version of Partir on the flipside.

With house music's flirtation with afro grooves a remix of Mali born Salif Keita by french DJ/producer Martin Solveig isn't really a surprise. The only surprise may be that Madan contains more original modern african sound than your average afro house track that usually digs deep into the 70ies afro sound. Nice song!

With a label like King Street, a singer like Stephanie Cooke and remixers like Dennis Ferrer you really know what to expect: another winner for all those garage/house music lovers. And that's just what we get. There's also a good Jay J's Moulton Studio Mix here. Love it!

I first heard Miss Concha Buika singing on Rawsoul Orchestra's Everyday and she has such an impressive voice that fitted perfect to the depth and soul of Everyday. Perfect Place in it's DJ Chus & David Penn's remix is done in the same way with a nice house groove with Fender Rhodes and warmth and depth (despite the party- and let's-have-fun-lyrics). Looks like Flamingo is one of Spain's best house labels.

I'm just a fool for those house records with a good lead singer that are done in the more classic deep house/garage vibe like this one. Featuring veteran singer Taana Gardner It's You I Need works best in it's Deep Jazzy Mix with some tingling piano, a muted trumpet this just oozes class. And for those who like it more straight 4 to the floor there's a Bobby D'Ambrosio Remix on the flipside.

Subliminal Soul has become another label that's delivering good garage/house records with no backlash so far. Do You Feel Me is a little faster than previous releases but still good soulful with vocals by Charlie C...reminds me of better Jazz-n-Groove releases on Soulfuric.

Another Kenny Dixon Jr. aka Moodyman production with some repetitive vocals telling us 'I'm doing fine by myself' and 'I'm gonna find someone else' inbetween there's a sample of Syl Johnson's Is It Because I'm Black...all done in Moodyman's relaxed late night style house music. Really tasty!

Finally an Afroart release I find hearable again. The winners here are the two songs on the flipside Hummer and Coco. Both includes lots of percussion and have a nice afro feel to it (especially Coco) with Hummer featuring some male vocals talking about the rhythm of life. Batucada Ostinata comes along a little arbitrary and replaceable.

From Jephté's Voyage Of Dreams album comes Spiritual Life's recent single. Deep as every other release on this label with mixes by Joe Claussell and Jephté himself. Favourite mixes are Jephté's Borboleta Vokal Mix, the Piano Interlude (with over 6 minutes length) and the percussion ridden Tèt Kale's Black Pearl Jam.

I really loved the original version of the obscure We Lift Our Hand At The Sanctuary and on this 12" we get Ron Trent's Shelter Mix of We Lift. Ron uses less of Una's original vocal and his mix is more of a deep, late night instrumental affair, but nice nevertheless. And there's also the 95 North remix of Te Quiero that's not so far away from Ron's mix. And finally there's the percussion driven Not E-Nuff remixed by Sundiata O.M. Really a gem for those in the know about deep, deep house.

Now that's an example of bad timing, Summer's really over and the long and cold winter is almost with us. But then Rochelle Fleming can really make the sun shine with this record. After recording records with First Choice there's an solo 12" every other year. This time Rochelle teams up with Joe T. Vanelli & Luis Radio for a piece of Italian house that's more US-American than most American releases itself these days. The best mix is the Luis Radio & The Black Roosters Vox Mix, although the Soul Reles Mix has a nice saxophone on top...mmm..good record.

One of the best songs from D-Influence's Divaz album, the old Ashford & Simpson chestnut Taste Of Bitter Love, gets the remix treatment and is reborn as a house song. Forget about the, er, messy Messy Boys Remix and head straight for the Ruff N Rumble Remix #2 that's the winner on this 12".

It's always good to hear one of house music icons singing...and Robert Owens was there from the early days with Larry Heard' Fingers Inc. and recorded the wonderful Tears. Never Too Late is best in the Essence Vocal Mix that adds some more depth to Robert's vocals. There's also a dark and moody Victor Simonelli Mix on the flipside.

You may remember Paula Lima as the voice of Mondo Grosso's Life from the MG4 album (although there were some different versions available with Bird as singer). But she has done more than that. Paula started singing in 1992 in Sao Paulo as part of the band Unidade Movel, then she became a background singer for Jorge Ben. Later she joined the soul music band Zomba and then the funk big band Funk Como Le Gusta. And now she's preparing for her solo career. The first single from her soon to be released album Diva Paulista is a real teaser. The flipside is an instrumental swinging uptempo song that features some fine scatting by Paula while Quero Ver Voce No Baile (such a pity I don't understand Portuguese) is a funky midtempo track with all the right ingredients like Fender Rhodes solo, horns and percussion.

There's certainly a heaven for deep garage records and Soulshine has been there and brought this little gem to us on earth. Pure vocal magic sung by Reggie Watts and one of the best vocal house records this year. Get it!

Like the label and the band name suggests this is more of a drum ridden track but what really makes this record worthwhile is the Color Mix that turns Guadalupe into a nice afro-inspired song with some fierce saxophone on top.

Nothing really new with this Naked Music release...just another quality release of what has become their sound over the years. The Petalpusher track is produced by Miguel Migs and features Lisa Shaw on vocals. But the real winner here is Kaskade with Brighter Day sung by Joslyn.

They are no longer with Dome Records but with Gut Records. This 12" is a bit of a mixed affair with the Mushtaq Refix being heavy influenced by some Asian rhythms (this may be big in London or elsewhere but I'm not so sure what to think of it). Luckily for all the purists out there there's the James Yarde Remix on the flipside that's more like Hil St. Soul as we know and love them. Can't wait for the album :-)

Finally one of the funkiest tracks from Martin Solveig's album Sur La Terre sees the release as 12" single...and to make sure that everybody will notice it we also get a remix by Kenny Dope as if Martin's own remix isn't good enough. Still very good but it really should've been released in the 2 weeks that we called summer this year :-)

Finally a real good single by Roland Clark's Urban Soul again. This time with a Blaze remix that turns the original into another vocal gem and a must have for garage lovers.

Like Kerri Chandler Osunlade is another of those producers/remixers/songwriters that hardly can do wrong in my opinion. On Pride he teams up with Nadirah Shakoor again (remember Tree Of Life?) for one of his best works today...deep, meaningful and just great!

We all know the pros and cons about cover versions but if they are as good as this record than there's really nothing wrong with it. This 12" is of course a cover version of Jon Lucien's Listen Love...but what a great tribute it is. Sung by Jeffery Smith I really can't make up my mind whether I like the original version more or Osunlade's Yoruba Mix. My favourite cover version of 2002.

Another great Osunlade production just like Pride with Nadirah Shakoor or What Is Love for Vivian Green...On Rock With You we get Erro on vocals again (remember Don't Change from some years ago?) and it's another fine example how Osunlade combines soul with some uptempo house rhythms. And this 12" also features The Jazzy Jeff Remix of Love Of Da Game (ft. Raheem, V and Erro)...real value for money.

As if some of the above records weren't enough for all Osunlade fans here's another remix by the man...this time one of France best house musicans get the Osunlade treatment. Together with the original version another good song for vocal house lovers.

I first heard Alma Horton's voice an various Silk 130 songs and I must admit I really like her voice. On this release she teams up with Sweet Abraham to tell us all about Lies. The Extended Version is soulful garage as it should be done and the chorus is just so easy to remember...lies, lies, lies, lies....

One knows what to expect with a name like Blaze and a record label like Shelter on the record...straight ahead garage/house. The winner here is the wonderful sung So Thankful with Alexander Hope on vocals and its vibes towards the end of the song. In comparison the flipside Closer is a rather meaningless instrumental but who will argue with such a good A side.

Never heard of Lugo before but he certainly has all the right ingredients to make a good record. From the forthcoming Lugo CD Good To Go comes this tasty 12". But the real winner here is the flipside with Swerve On which is just a nice and simple soul song.

It's been ages since I've heard something from Leena Conquest (you may remember 1994's release of Boundaries with it's social conscious lyrics and sampling of Average White Band's Stop The Rain). The orginal version from the Cafe De Soul Vol. 1 compilation is featured on the flipside. But the remix is even better and you also get Roy Ayers Gemini Remix with no Leena but more of Roy's vibes.

Those who know Cafe De Soul Vol. 1 won't be disappointed with this appetizer for Vol. 2. Corey D. Abrams' Til Forever Ends sounds a little to 80ies like for my taste, but the Edward Perry Project's Last Night is just like the aforementioned Lugo Swerve On a nice soul song with some uncredited female background singers. Looks like Cafe De Soul has found a nice niche for themselves.

Very nice 12"...just go for the original version, sounds like your Diana Brown & Barrie K. Sharpe or other early 90ies retro/acid jazz bands may sound if they were to release a song in 2002.

From the forthcoming Dome album 'Street Troubadour' this adds further proof to Dome's reputation as the home of UK R&B. Although the original version is fine this 12" features even better versions with the Cool Breeze Mix that's more reduced to the vocals or the Juke Joint Mix with a nice retro feeling.

You may know Peven from his work with Roy Davis Jr. (Gabrielle or Red Hot), his remix for Terry Callier's Love Theme From Spartacus or his solo efforts like I Can't Believe I Loved Her on King Street. And surprise, surprise this 12" isn't house music but soul music that would make D'Angelo turn green with envy, it's that good. And there's also coming an album soon.

Value for money with 4 songs on this 12" single. Produced by the overlooked Don-e (who sank into oblivion after his two Island albums and doing some production work for the likes of Deni Hines) we get some fine songs like the ballad So Caught Up and the midtempo songs Living For The Day (Livin') (my favourite here) and What About You. The only more mediocre song here is Into The Blue.

That's a real good, deep and more late night kind of house record with some spoken words from Dynamax with a nice flute on the Full Mix and some fine percussion on the, erm, Percussion Mix.

Well, with a line up like this and a title like Praisin' His Name you know what to expect. A gospel house song that takes you back to church and makes you believe even if you're an atheist. There's two mixes to chose from, the 12" Vocal Mix and the more driving Deepah Vocal Mix.

Another Phil Asher aka Restless Soul production. But the real grower here is the flipside The Bass That Don't Stop, co-written by Mark De Clive Lowe who also plays piano on this track: a nice instrumental bass and piano ridden track with some fine percussion.

I may not be the best person to judge any Kerri Chandler contribution because he can hardly do wrong in my opinion. So certainly Matrix is a must have for die-hard fans like me but it won't do nothing for the unconverted. Over a typical Kerri Chandler an uncredited male talks about getting out. And forget about the horrible Silk Machete mix on the flipside.

It may be a little late for the Summertime Blues but with some warm days ahead in October we all can pretend that it might be summer again. Such a pity this song wasn't released earlier because it just oozes summer with scatting by Alana Bridgewater and sax and flute by Miles Raine. Another quality release from the label that says about itself it's releasing 'soulful music for funky people'...and they just did that.

Who would have thought that Jody would ever make such good music when she emerged on the music scene with Lookin For A New Love? Good to see a musician evolve over the years from throw-away-dance to more soulful songs. Photographs is taken from the album Midnight Lounge and unfortunately the original version isn't included on this 12". But with excellent remixes from Phil Asher/Restless Soul and East West Connection who wants to hear any originals? One of the best singles this year.

A very good, laid back record featuring the sultry vocal of Diva Blue (who also sang on Silk 130's first album). Not only the vocal version is good but also the dub version that reminds me of some of the deeper Sade bootleg mixes. Miss this 12" at your own peril.

What a pleasant surprise...there's real deep and soulful housemusic produced in Germany. Fits perfectly to the mood of D'Jema Project ft. Diva Blue or Dino & Terry's Sumertime Blues. Dark, moody and good in it's original version...the Brooks mixes on the flipside really can't compete with it.

Of course everybody knows by now who Femi is and who his famous father was...continuing with the idea of getting his songs remixed by some of the better remixers (like Mateo & Matos, Kerri Chandler, Joe Claussell or MAW) Traitors Of Africa gets re-done by King Britt doing a great job and transforming it into an afro-house monster that could have been easily be on his Obafunke album on Karma Giraffe.