Hey world, what happened?

Well anyway, Touch From A Distance is still here. Scratching our heads in awe of the ever-changing standstill of the past three years, we managed to get the ball rolling again with the help of Melbourne brothers extraordinaire Donald's House who have honed their skills during lockdown downunder to achieve the impossible: They got even better while pivoting towards a slightly different sound: Determined and muscular, yet trippy and playful. Juggling classic Acid and Progressive House tropes coupled with their prowess for perfectly balanced arrangements and catchy melodies, both „Bassian Plain“ and „The Isthmus Of Kra“ epitomise Pete's and Jim's peak time powers to fullest. The same goes for Alex Kassian's remix of „Bassian Plain“. Like Donald's House, Alex has been a core member of the Touch From A Distance family as one half of Opal Sunn from the start. He used the reset brought on by the pandemic to establish himself as one of the fastest rising stars of today's nightlife striking home with a slew of hit remixes and inspiring dj sets all over the world (keep your eyes peeled for a meeting of DH and AK in Australia soon). More

When talking about the sheer quality of dance music coming out of Melbourne, it’s often commented that there must be something in the water. And with their second EP on Nick Höppner’s Touch From A Distance imprint, the Melbourne based duo, Donald’s House, are doing everything they can to prove that statement right. Continuing on with their signature 90s house meets Paradise Garage era disco sound, the Rainbow Gelato EP is a homage to their love of sweet treats, and their mother’s prowess with an ice cream machine. Starting off the EP is Rainbow Gelato – an M1 banger that’ll get even the most discerning house head moving. Featuring an irresistibly groovy bassline, piano hooks that unite dance floors with jiggling fingers, sax solos, and an almost obnoxiously long drum break down – Rainbow Gelato is beautifully familiar in its sound pallet, yet completely original in its composition. Slowing things down on the A2 is Cosmic Sorbet, an 80s boogie sounding track that tugs on emotional heartstrings with its sax work, Rhodes chords, arpeggiated flutes and tom rolls. Flipping over the record, you’ll find Pseudo Affogato – a more hypnotic number with lush chords, euphoric noodles and a plucky bassline. To finish off the EP, the duo goes back to the dancefloor with Piano Parfait. A punchy little weapon with dramatic chords, keyboard slides, and a horn section that’s reminiscent of a Latin big band. By channelling their musicality and their love of the 80s tinged drums, Donald’s House has delivered another quality EP, that’s destined to get people’s hips wiggling for quite some time to come. More

After providing Touch From A Distance's inaugural release not even one year ago, the mighty Desert Sound Colony is returning to Nick Ho¨ppner's label for another round on the bouncy bounce, his bubble gun at the ready! It's no exaggeration to say Desert Sound Colony smashed it on all fronts in the past year: He put himself firmly on the map by pushing his own label Holding Hands with a fresh take on beloved tropes of UK club music. His number of gigs also increased dramatically and he popped his Panorama Bar cherry earlier this year at the first TFAD label night, where he unleashed a joyous assault of beats and bass whipping the crowd into a frenzy. His new EP for Touch From A Distance is an algamation of all the good stuff we've come to expect from the London based DJ and producer: Opener „Zenome Archetype“ is a retrofuturistic joyride across mountainous bass and funked up syncopation. „Taking It Out For A Rip“ then couples a thumping 4/4-UKG-Beat with a cheeky vocal sample, while „Walrus Rodeo“ slows down the tempo and cranks up the folly for a slice of weird dancefloor fun Desert Sound Colony does so well. „Al Gore Rhythmic“, a collaboration with Guava, closes the EP channeling classic 2-Step and golden era HipHop vibes. More

Opal Sunn are Hiroaki Oba and Al Kassian, two expats from Japan. Al arrived in Berlin 2013 after studying in London. He also makes music as a solo artist and has released on Love On The Rocks and Utopia Records. Hiroaki is a 2010 RBMA alumni and divides his time between the German captial and Tokio. After releasing two eps on their own Planet Sundae label, they're offering their follow up on Nick Ho¨ppner's new label. Here they continue to refine their style which displays and exquisite sense of space , melody, movement and groove. Opal Sunn's music straddles the line of body music and stimulation of the mind always bringing this contrast to fruition with their tracks. At the heart of the energetic opener „Parallax“ lies an arpeggiated synth sequence that constantly shifts shapes and bounces off the syncopated percussion and beat marrying the technical with the organic. „Aura“ rides an equally undeniable groove, but turns its misty-eyed gaze inwards, focussing on creating that oceanic feeling powered by emotive strings and textures. Over on the flip side „Mirage“ folds into the haze of a sweaty dancefloor hitting the sweet spot of minimalism, melodic content and physical propulsion. „Phantom“, the final track, drops the 4/4 in favour of an Electro beat occasionally kissed by the legendary „Think“ break. The vibe is decidedly deep and mellow rounding off an EP which oozes understated confidence and longevity. More

When talking about the sheer quality of dance music coming out of Melbourne, it’s often commented that there must be something in the water. And with their second EP on Nick Höppner’s Touch From A Distance imprint, the Melbourne based duo, Donald’s House, are doing everything they can to prove that statement right. Continuing on with their signature 90s house meets Paradise Garage era disco sound, the Rainbow Gelato EP is a homage to their love of sweet treats, and their mother’s prowess with an ice cream machine. Starting off the EP is Rainbow Gelato – an M1 banger that’ll get even the most discerning house head moving. Featuring an irresistibly groovy bassline, piano hooks that unite dance floors with jiggling fingers, sax solos, and an almost obnoxiously long drum break down – Rainbow Gelato is beautifully familiar in its sound pallet, yet completely original in its composition. Slowing things down on the A2 is Cosmic Sorbet, an 80s boogie sounding track that tugs on emotional heartstrings with its sax work, Rhodes chords, arpeggiated flutes and tom rolls. Flipping over the record, you’ll find Pseudo Affogato – a more hypnotic number with lush chords, euphoric noodles and a plucky bassline. To finish off the EP, the duo goes back to the dancefloor with Piano Parfait. A punchy little weapon with dramatic chords, keyboard slides, and a horn section that’s reminiscent of a Latin big band. By channelling their musicality and their love of the 80s tinged drums, Donald’s House has delivered another quality EP, that’s destined to get people’s hips wiggling for quite some time to come. More

Following 30 million steams for their previous album, sold-out headline gigs in Manchester and Percolate in London, supporting Chic and Chaka Khan, plus shows for Bluedot, Festival No 6, Love International and Boiler Room in Bali, the Nottingham/Manchester band are more in demand than ever. Fans of Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel, Grace Jones, Arthur Russell, Jam Hammer, Prince and Bobby O will find much to like, but this is clearly modern music, where heavy clubs beats are layered-up with perfectly-placed arrangement, ace playing and stratospheric soundscapes. Musically, Crazy P's breadth of studio and writing experience shines brighter than ever, and 'Age Of The Ego' has their unmistakeable stamp of quality, but is now augmented with a broader palate, and - like many - a feeling of upset with the state of the world. More

After providing Touch From A Distance's inaugural release not even one year ago, the mighty Desert Sound Colony is returning to Nick Ho¨ppner's label for another round on the bouncy bounce, his bubble gun at the ready! It's no exaggeration to say Desert Sound Colony smashed it on all fronts in the past year: He put himself firmly on the map by pushing his own label Holding Hands with a fresh take on beloved tropes of UK club music. His number of gigs also increased dramatically and he popped his Panorama Bar cherry earlier this year at the first TFAD label night, where he unleashed a joyous assault of beats and bass whipping the crowd into a frenzy. His new EP for Touch From A Distance is an algamation of all the good stuff we've come to expect from the London based DJ and producer: Opener „Zenome Archetype“ is a retrofuturistic joyride across mountainous bass and funked up syncopation. „Taking It Out For A Rip“ then couples a thumping 4/4-UKG-Beat with a cheeky vocal sample, while „Walrus Rodeo“ slows down the tempo and cranks up the folly for a slice of weird dancefloor fun Desert Sound Colony does so well. „Al Gore Rhythmic“, a collaboration with Guava, closes the EP channeling classic 2-Step and golden era HipHop vibes. More

Long time house and disco devotee Dave Lee comes through on Z Records once more with a sampler from this years ZR Essentials collection. It features two of his masterful reworks starting with Jamiroquai's 'Little L'. He flips into a funked up cosmic delight with plenty of the original's synth flourishes melodic hooks and orchestration all present and correct but with added slap bass, replayed rhodes and beefy new drums which make this a surefire dancefloor winner pretty much anywhere. On the flip comes Dave Lee's Disco Fantasy mix of Shelia & B Devotion's 1979 hit 'Spacer' which has a more retro disco sound thanks to the masterful original work of Chic. Additional clav, new string parts and solo-ing keys give 'Spacer' the extended DJ mix it never had at the time of original release. More

Wax’o Paradiso Recordings continues its dive into the extraordinary canon of contemporary Antipodean psychedelia with its second outing on vinyl, four spacious and soaring balearic cuts from local duo Donald’s House. More

At long last: Andres returns to Mahogani Music with dope new LP with a full picture sleeve. All done with his trademark production finesse, the album feature 8 soul drenched and funk heavy house tracks . More