Tartelet Records rounds out 2018 with ‘Minor Forms’ by Urulu, a bumping EP that winds up the label’s roster of ambitious releases to celebrate its tenth year in business. The California producer and DJ has made his mark this year with a string of standout releases on Kalahari Oyster Cult, Voyage Recordings and his own Amadeus imprint, showcasing his affection for euphoric nostalgia and tight grooves. Urulu stretches out with signature key changes and an elegant hustling tempo across four tracks, reflecting the diversity of touches and influences he has become known for. On ‘Minor Forms, he teases the straight and the breakbeat with elements of jungle, electro, ambient and old school, delivering a satisfyingly moody resonance amidst the dancefloor functionality. On title track ‘Minor Forms’, the sounds of the past and the future exist in the present. Reeling melody lines with hints of acid, dreamy pads and drops ensure that it all makes sense on the dancefloor.
‘Destino Tikal’ is all about the sensuous and mysterious ‘Cuerpo Pulsante’ mix, which suggests shimmering sex toy flickers and takes a percussive route across its insistent 4/4 bop, adding chops, keys and Vox for a big atmospheric strut of a groove. ‘DRM’ wraps deep and dubby minimal bleeps, rolling breaks and a straight kick into a louche swing and funk gloop, while EP-closer ‘Quasimidi’ starts with a breakbeat before the thump adds the backbone and the hi-hats speed up. Pads whirl and dubby chords underpin a high speed exit from 2018 into the future. Urulu follows Max Graef, Glenn Astro, Space Ghost and others in Tartelet’s 10th year, celebrating the label’s commitment to work across genres.

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Urulu returns from his travels to Namek with this warm and colourful sound-set for Voyage More

Taylor Freels has built quite a strong catalog over the years. His work under his Urulu moniker, is widely regarded as top quality deep house and 'The Banshee EP' continues in this fashion. The title track has a dreamlike atmosphere to it. 'The Banshee' is a work that will strike a chord with lovers of the ocean-influenced sounds and hazy atmospheres. A strong presence of strings and dubby sounds, create a certain laidback mood that is perfect for sun drenched days in the park. Chicagoan producer "Garrett David" builds on the hazy atmospheres of the original, while adding some melodic elements to his remix of 'The Banshee' where he cleverly shifts between scales and different moods. 'Quadrant Beat' is a warm track that is built around warm chords and fashionable drum sounds. Again, Urulu makes sure to weave some outgoing dub elements into this b-side opening track. 'Romance Track' is most likely one of the Berlin based producer's most melodic works to date. Beautifully executed piano hits flow together seemingly easy over a sturdy rhythm that serves as the track's backbone. "The Banshee EP" is a work of lush deep house and an excellent addition to both Urulu's repertoire and the SAFT label catalog. More

Brand new label South Street kicks off with everyone's favourite Californian homie, Urulu. Having previously contributed to Andy Hart's Voyage Label as well as Dirt Crew and Let's Play House he steps up and delivers four upfront house cuts for the labels inaugural release. A sublime start for this one to watch label. More

For some ageing producers, the nineties represent a lost land of hazy parties, forgotten nights and emotion-tugging tunes. But for the fresher-faced end of the dance music spectrum - such as the LA-based DJ and producer Urulu - those post acid house, pre-MP3 days are a neverland of the imagination, something to be relished vicariously through the mags, memories and music of 20-odd years ago. Two years back, Urulu - aka Taylor Freels - even released a single called '1991'. It might have made some grizzled club kids feel a bit old, but the love and euphoria in his music are there for all to hear. But jump right up to the minute, and Urulu is back in action for Sheffield's Shabby Doll label. His new EP, called 'Banshee Boardwalk', is an effervescent four-tracker that tingles with that gleaming, glitzy mid-nineties house sound, but that adds a tantalising 21st century twist to the mix. Snipped vocal clips, pulsing melodies and rattling build-ups crash over a compellingly crisp house groove, always with the ghost of disco dancing somewhere out back. The tracks 'Banshee Boardwalk' and 'Heaven Unlimited' both deliver a solid, pounding take on classic house, while 'BeforeHandMan' features a sumptuous vocal turn from Daj (New York's DeShawn Jenkins), before being twisted into darker, harsher remixed shapes by Shabby Doll labelmate James Welsh. Urulu might not have been there first time around, but with the nineties' house sound lifting hands aloft once more, he's giving it an original sheen that makes it matter all over again.ic. More

Fervent followers of LPH will immediately recognize this record as the second from Berlin-by-way-of-London-by-way-of-L.A. producer, Urulu, to grace the label. (If you want to get technical, yes, the first did arrive via LPH WHITE, an LPH imprint.) Where Left Coast-an ode to Taylor Freels' home state-was all high-octane, jacked party-ignitors, its follow-up, the provocatively and aptly dubbed Moon Unit, is a spacier, loopier, and looser offering. The title track is a dense, syncopated, seven-minute-long jam that assuredly, confidently builds to an organic and euphoric climax, thanks to the live feel of the drums, the nuance of the bass, and the improvisational vibe of the arrangement as a whole. "Moon Unit" is, uniquely, equal parts peak hour decimator of dancefloors and music for, say, cross-country drives or 10K morning jogs. "Sounds Like Sumo" feels like an epilogue of sorts. More noodling and melodious than the lead-in cut, "Sumo" finds Freels stretching out a bit. It's like a waltz composed by Esquivel for use on The Jetsons that's been edited and rejiggered for inclusion on this undeniably modern EP. "Lunar Larry," which kicks off the flip, is both the 12"'s most luscious and its most abstract. A fuzzy, woozy synth melody wafts through the whole thing. About halfway in, a theremin-esque line enters giving the entire piece a trippy, psychedelic tone. The record is concluded with Ben La Desh's remix of "Moon Unit," which is especially propulsive and trackier than the original without feeling hollow or soulless. If the three songs that precede it are explorations through alien terrains in outer space, Ben's remix is the explosive return trek-via rocket ship, of course- back home. More

A moment's respite during these trying times. LPHWHTE is the third—and, likely, final—installment in our series of to-the-point LPH WHITE compilations. Four tracks bound together by their high-energy ebullience and zealous joy. Jacques Renault's contribution is a full-hearted disco throwback with a smoky mystique; Kristy Harper comes correct with a pummeling acid belter; Laroze gives us a disco-house banger that zips by at a fast-forward, breakneck pace; and Keita Sano delivers a zoinked-out and looped-up rhythm boogie as the closer.
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We close the books on 2019 with a dastardly slab of techno shenanigans from DJ Mountain Dad, a new alias of Lobster Theremin’s chief, Jimmy Asquith. Functional, tool-y dance tracks that have been run through a blender and administered electroconvulsive therapy. Freaky-deeky rallying cries for end-time raves and lock-in house parties lit only by busted strobes. More

Finally, a grip of edits from the LPH extended family that have been circulating for years get to see the light of day! Vinyl day! The light of vinyl day! Jacques did one, Laurence Guy did one, Jesse Rudoy did one, Elvin Tibideaux did one, and Private Panther did one. Seriously, that’s all you need to know, so stop asking questions and just disco. More

Nother six­tracker for ya. ‘Nother beast. This one comes from Baldo Gallego, a stupid good producer from Spain. The vibes are strong with this one. More

We’re finishing 2015 with what is pretty much a mini LP by Borrowed Identity, an inspired producer based in Freiburg. There’s a lot here and we think you should just listen to and enjoy the record, draw your own conclusions, but what we will say here is the A is ballsy house and the B is tough techno that touches on trance occasionally. Get why it’s called T?he Contrast?? More

A newcomer joins the LPH WHITE ranks and we couldn’t be more thrilled! World, meet Leo Wo¨lfel, a prodigious producer from the heart of Germany! So in love with this fella’s sound are we that we managed to squeeze four stellar originals on a 12” a?nd flesh it out with a Jacob Korn remix. Talk about bang for your buck. More

LPH’s unpredictable sister label, LPH WHITE, is back with another juicy 12”, one that marks the imprint’s first foray into Japanese clubland. Atsushi Yano, a Kobe­based producer, serves up three—as the title indicates—chewy tunes, all doused with African rhythms and set ablaze with fidgety keys, chopped­up vocals, and groovy bass lines. Filling the release out is Jacques Renault’s no­nonsense, squared­up, lead­footed remix of “Stomping On the Verge.” More

LPH WHITE’s latest is another made­for­the­club sureshot winner from label co­founder and ­owner Jacques Renault himself. If you’ve caught one of his sets around the world sometime this year, you’ve most likely heard the house banger??and consequently gone nuts. It’s impossible to resist the temptations of the bombastic drums, fat bass, chopped up vocals, and dubby synth hooks included within. A shining example of Renault doing what he does best. More

Let’s Play House’s latest endeavor is a no-nonsense imprint, simply dubbed LPH WHITE, which, as the name implies, takes a cue from those mysterious, classic, unmarked dance records of years past. The debut 12” comes courtesy of London-based duo Waze & Odyssey, who, as is to be expected, deliver a couple of top-notch club bangers (the deadly “Feelin’ You” and deeper “Gonna Make This”) that will immediately shred any dancefloor to pieces. The one remix included in the package is by London-by-way-of-Southern California up-and-comer Urulu. (The second WHITE EP will feature four originals by the guy.) More