Roots Go Deep Music is a brand new label out of South Africa created and directed by Sibusiso Ncongwane and Siyabonga Ngwenya whose objective is to shed light on the real deep underground house of South Africa - the labels debut release "The Rough Materials - Volume One" which features productions by Fred Buddah (Sibusiso Ncongwane), Ofuren (Siyabonga Ngwenya) and Soul Arab (Siyabonga Dube) certainly proves their point. Each of the four included tracks will take you on a journey to deepest territory, with the raw deepness created by utterly infectious rhythms, luscious melodies and sparsely used cool vocals creating a mesmerizing feel you can't resist to dance to. An ingenious release not to be missed by any lover of pure underground house music. We can't wait to hear more from this label...

What a musical treat we have here courtesy of Shines Records...  The DJ Soul and Tinbota (Andrea Fontemaggi) produced "House music was born" is a tribute to the music we all love and admire so much. The fabulous original mixes use laidback yet infectious percussive rhythms as playground for thehaunting spoken word poetry by Dr Feelx (Felix Imevbore) and delectable keys and chords, just to be taken to the next level by label head Gene King whose groovey 'Beautiful People Mix' oozes with heavenly melodies. This is followed by Daniel Guetta who contributes gritty 80's inspired synth fueled remixes and Phat Frank who enters deepest territory on his moody slightly dark workout. Highly recommended.

Washington DC's House of Soul released their wonderful debut album "Let's move" last year (check it out on cdbaby), now Phuture Sole Records have licensed the gorgeous "Every day" featuring sweet deeply felt vocals by Rochelle Rice which they will release soon with interpretations by Adam Rios & Johnny JM who rework the song into a Shelter anthem on their smoothly thumpin' remix laced with grand keys and killer organ, Chris Forman & Andrew Hogan who go laidback on their incredible deep'n'soulful yet spell binding rendition oozing with luscious melodies, and last but not least Giovanni Ikome who serves a hypnotizing workout featuring dramatic strings and synth melodies over gritty rhythms.

What a musical gem we have here courtesy of Adaptation Music and Mr A.L.I... Not many words are needed to describe "Cigars & cocktails", a phenomenal production that will stand the test of time and become an all-time classic in the years to come thanks to the timeless vintage soul/jazz/funk infused sound Mr. A.L.I and mastermind Vick Lavender are renowned for. "Cigars & cocktails" features a masterly orchestration including ingenious keys, gorgeous flute and gentle percussive rhythms, altogether creating a haunting vibe guaranteed to send shivers down your spine. The 13 minute extended version lets you enjoy this gem in its full glory, also included is an eight minute DJ friendly edit. A seminal masterpiece by no means to be missed...

Last year, Underground Collective blessed us with the delectable Cubanix & Tony Unique interpretation of Lem Springsteen's "Seize the moment", now the label brings us a masterly remix by Ian Friday who adds his beloved organic touch to the song, with the result being an amazing soulful and deep yet jazzy gem that has timeless written all over it. In other words: a masterpiece. Nuff said.

It all started back in November 2009 when we introduced you to the wonderful "All I can do" by Michelle McCain presents Marivent Soul, in said review we mentioned that a full length album is in the works. A few more highly acclaimed single releases followed since then, now gladly the wait is over and singer/songwriter/actress Michelle McCain will release her eagerly awaited debut album in August for which she joins forces with the likes of Gene Leone, Benjamin Kristof Rakun, Jonny Montana, Daniel Ambrojo Erasmo and Edson Bernardo to new just a few of the involved artists and producers. From the first to the last song, listening to Michelle McCain's refined voice and the masterly orchestration is sheer joy, and we must admit its really hard to pick a favorite as all are brilliantly arranged and produced...

Mastermind Andy Compton teams up with South Africa's own Jonathan 'Ziyon' Hamilton for "Take it easy", an outstanding soul oozing production featuring celestial keys, lovely guitar and sensitive r&b flavored vocals by Ziyon over a funked drenched mid-tempo four-to-the-floor groove. An impressive list of remixers contribute an amazing set of both mid-tempo and up-tempo interpretations - we are talking about the likes of Leighton Moody, Stephen Rigmaiden, Kojo Akusa, Pirahnahead and Vibration Lab who give you sheer endless options to work the floor with their phenomenal variations. A timeless gem guaranteed to make you yearn for more...

From the very first second you will be caught by the masterly "Linda", the second single taken from Ralf GUM's forthcoming long player "Never leaves you". Featuring Oluhle who sings in Zulu, "Linda" is an inspirational production fusing smooth percussive Afro inspired rhythms with the unmistakable Ralf GUM sound and the beautiful unrivaled gospel tinged vocals by Oluhle - to make it short, this is a slice of ingenious soulful house music guaranteed to send shivers down your spine. Admired South African producer Da Capo is the chosen one to remix the song, he takes you on a spell binding journey to deepest territory on his thrilling rendition where relentless afro-percussive rhythms serve as playground for the vocals and ethereal synth melodies. Essential, by no means to be missed.