Juno Records @Junorecords

Vancouver-based instrumentalist Kutcorners pays a fine tribute to the legendary jazz-funk king Bob James at the same time as showcasing his fine edit skills on this fresh 7" for The Freshest Recordings. Opener 'Full Circle' swirls with immediately recognisable melodies from James that have been used in all sorts of records over the years. They're carried by a mid-tempo house groove for a breezy late-night sound. On the B-side is a 119bpm funky and broken beat house number, 'DiscoPlanetBob', with more familiar references and playful drums that will get any floor vibing. Listen here: juno.co.uk/.../kutcorners…

Volume 2 of the Ricardo Villalobos-curated Sun Ra remix compilation brings Baris K, Mini Bashekim and Tara Middleton to the fore of a glistening string of collaborators, with techno icons Underground Resistance hooking up with Saul Williams. Made in homage to the Alabaman Afrofuturist's lesser-known pieces and much-ignored influence on dance music culture, Chile-born selector Villalobos now hopes to bring the works of this poet, sound cosmologist, free improvisor, and jazz assembler to artificial life. Istanbul musician and foodie Mini Bashekim meets fellow DJ Baris K on the dancefloor for an after-hours Afro-disco version, while one of two Villalobos remixes of 'Earlier Than Late' also surface. . Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/ricar…

St Germain's Marlena Shaw-sampling jazz-house classic 'Rose Rouge' has been reworked plenty of times over the years, with new Jersey garage-house crew Blaze providing the best-known rubs. Arguably superior though are Andreas Saag's takes, which started life as unofficial, digital-only rubs way back in 2009. Here they finally land on wax - and not a moment too soon. The A-side 'Jazz Perspective' take is a genuine beast - a near 13-minute workout that effortlessly moves from dusty jazz-house to piano-powered, warehouse-ready house hedonism as it progresses. The accompanying - and equally as epic - 'House Perspective' version removes most of the jazzier elements, instead foregrounding the Swedish remixer's hands-aloft pianos, chunky beats and tech-tinged, late-night motifs. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/st-ge…

French duo and Get Physical, Rekids and Definitive Recordings regulars Boogie Vice & N-You-Up cook up some silky deep house magic here with the one and only voice of Chicago house past, present and future, Robert Owens. 'Blessing' highlights their creative synergy while Owens' timeless and ever soulful voice delivers a message of gratitude. Nenor's remix adds a sweaty basement house vibe with organic textures but also hazy intensity. These are two tasteful tunes for the real heads who like it super deep. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/boogi…

The agenda-setting Sushitech has a just as influential sub-label, Pariter, which welcomes the one and only tech house instigator, Terry Francis, for a rare and essential reissue. Francis was there at the birth of original tech house with his killer Wiggle parties and fabric residency and now kicks off what will be a limited series that digs into his archives. These first offerings were originally released on Eukahouse 25 years ago, with opener 'Notice Board' bringing a thumping low end and wiggling bassline that is topped with smooth chord work. 'Hello, Acid Dathera' (unreleased retake version) is a busier sound with a tribal edge and restless drums and bass with acid daubs and crisp hi-hats, making it a full body workout. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/terry…

REPRESS ALERT!: French DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist Olivier Portal sadly passed away in January, aged 65. His best work came as Playin 4 The City and this EP is one of his most sought-after on the Plastik People label. It features two tracks originally released on the 'Backshop' EP on Tropism Records in 2002 alongside one newer sound. Opener 'Minor Track' is a brilliantly aloof deep house cut with swinging, dubby drums and cute chord stabs that do enough to keep you moving. 'Backfire' is just as breezy but a little quicker with some sleek synths and nice claps moving things on with a cosmic edge. 'Backside' rides a nice, chunky, tumbling rhythm with more subtle but seductive synth work. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/playi…

Originally released at the turn of the century, this reissue revisits a track that ruled the superclubs progressive house music dancefloors. Known for his remixes and strong progressive house music, Rui Da Silva was name synonymous with quality late night sounds. Not new to dance music production, this was his first release under this name which became the one he was most known for. 'Touch Me' is led by the powerful vocal that work terrifically with the upbeat progression. The sultry vocal lifts the dancefloor to another level as the groove builds to a smooth peak. For the B-side, the remix is a bit reserved in parts favoring to highlight the vocal, melody and main keyboard hook . 'Touch Me' is a track that still works as well today as it did 25 years ago. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/rui-d…

This new Radiohead release reanimates one of their darkest albums with truly dark and visceral energy. Where the studio versions brood with intricate gloom, these performances, which were captured across London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires and Dublin, have a raw urgency to them. Songs like '2+2=5' and 'Myxomatosis' erupt into chaotic catharsis, while 'There, There' transforms into a communal uprising fueled by thunderous drums and a roaring crowd. The album highlights Radiohead as conduits of unease rather than direct protest while channeling early-2000s dread into something instinctive and alive. It's not a call to arms, but a stark reminder of just how precarious the present feels. Listen here: juno.co.uk/.../radiohead-…

Originally released in 1993 and finally being reissued now, this techno gem stands as a bold and exploratory debut that merges the pulse of Detroit techno with the UK's rich multicultural sonic landscape. The UK trio Jamie Bissmire, Lucien Thompson and John O'Connell channeled the spirit of early techno pioneers while weaving in dub, tribal rhythms, trance atmospheres and UK rave culture, creating a distinct, genre-defying sound. Tracks like 'Messenger' and 'Pacekeeper' shows their rhythmic intensity, with rolling basslines and echo-laden percussion that nod to both dub and techno traditions. 'Revelation' floats into ambient techno territory with celestial synths, while 'Earth 6' hints at what Goa trance might have sounded like had it taken cues from Detroit rather than industrial sounds. 'Better Nation' has a mesmerising rework from none other than Carl Craig, lending his Detroit touch to Bandulu's already genre-fluid sound. The album's opener, 'Guidance', blends tribal percussion, progressive structure and a mammoth bassline into something uniquely its own. Though the production bears the unmistakable marks of early 90s UK techno with its raw and experimental sounds, it's precisely this era-specific charm that gives Guidance its enduring appeal. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/bandu…

REPRESS ALERT!: It was only in 2018 that New York techno mainstay Joey Beltram revealed that he was the man behind 'SW37', a record which had been an underground classic since it first started doing the rounds in 1998. It remains an evergreen favourite almost 30 years on, which is why Damon Wild's Synewave is reissuing it here. The A-side is gloppy, dubby techno with impish percussion darting about the mix and drunken hits bring an off-kilter edge. On the flip, 'SW37B' is stripped back to pure deep techno serenity with deft ambient pads and a sense of unrelenting meditation that locks you in the here and now. Listen here: juno.co.uk/.../joey-beltr… @JoeyBeltram

It's a while since we got a repress of Aphex Twin's 1995 compilation Classics, a must-have round-up of his early, largely dancefloor-focused works for R&S Records and the Exeter-based Mighty Force imprint. It's the Cornish maestro at his most forthright and dancefloor-ready, with the thrillingly demented and psychedelic free party anthem 'Disgeridoo' micking off a collection of unsettling, acid-propelled techno ('Flaphead'), twisted dancefloor IDM ('Isopropanol'), breakbeat-driven wide-eyed brightness ('Polynomial-C'), loved-up brilliance ('Analogue Bubblebath', which remains one of his most endearing cuts) and some industrial-strength early remixes of early German hardcore hero Mescalinum United's 'We Have Arrived'. Oh, and a suitably mental live take on 'Didgeridoo', recorded live in Cornwall in 1990. Listen here: juno.co.uk/.../aphex-twin…

Gordon Chapman-Fox returns as Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan with Public Works And Utilities, his sixth album for Castles In Space. Where earlier releases mapped the architecture and social fabric of Britain's post-war New Towns, this one zeroes in on the decline of public infrastructure since the 1980s. Chapman-Fox's synthscapes are wired with frustration at how water, power and rail were stripped for parts, reshaping everyday life into profit extraction. The music reflects his live sets over the past year, built for volume and motion, with a rougher edge and a surprising drive to the floor. Side two is dominated by 'The People Matter', a longform piece that underlines his argument with both urgency and scale. Listen here: juno.co.uk/.../warrington…

Richard D James was only 21 when he made this R&S release and its energy still feels startlingly futuristic. 'Polynomial-C' is the obvious stand-out, its cascading arpeggios lifting rave intensity to near-mystical heights, a track that cemented itself as an enduring part of his canon. 'Tamphex (Headphuq Mix)' channels chaos into pounding distortion and a warped sense of humour, while 'Phlange Phace' splices serrated breaks with strange, mutating textures. Closing cut 'Dodeccaheedron' dives deeper into ominous territory, brooding synths riding eerie, broken rhythms that hint at James' instinct for tearing up the dancefloor rulebook. Three decades on, it remains a vital early signpost of where he was headed - uncompromising, playful and way ahead of its time. Listen here: juno.co.uk/.../aphex-twin…

A fog of biographical mystery surrounds Torpedo is, but according to the slim write-up accompanying the second salvo in the artist's ongoing edit series he or she is a "don of the UK house scene over the last 30-plus years". The production is certainly tight, with our publicity-shy hero cannily combining elements of multiple classic cuts in a thrillingly shameless bid for peak-time domination. Check first 'Blinded', where a glassy-eyed, mid 90s acapella rides chunky beats, organ bass and sweat-soaked sounds aplenty, before admiring the fizzing synth stabs echoing diva vocals and driving grooves of 'David'. 'Fake' is a 21st century big room makeover of what sounds like a turn of the 90s pop-dance hit, while 'This Is House' is a thickset, breakbeat-clad, insanely bass-heavy slab of warehouse-ready rave revival with an Armand Van Helden twist. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/torpe…

First released in 1999, this remains one of those rare records that feels timeless as if it were assembled from memory rather than sound. The interest in Susumu Yokota's is at an all time high currently with the amazing box set that Lo Recordings currently have unveiled and, along with that, we get each album pressed individually as well. Listen here: juno.co.uk/.../susumu-yok…

"I saw something... a flower... blown from nothing..." Or maybe we misheard the sample. Enigmatic producer Burial conjures a festivity of fear and catharsis on 'Comafelds / Imaginary Festival', his latest split release for Hyperdub and yet another bluely lit, cavernous alternate vision of hedonistic unfuture. True to form, it clocks in at another glorious ten minutes a side; the catatonic suspension of 'Comafields' sacrifices any overt crackle for a drifting nebula of square-toned trance, as downpours of cathartic vocal recall the early 10s vacua of 'Loner'. An abrupt caesura at the end of the A-side surfaces on a relatively muted, breathless note, giving rise to 'Imaginary Festival', hearing a return to classic Burial beat science and a broken-down admissive refrain: "I'll never tell you..." Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/buria…

Berlin based producer and trombonist Youarei (Uri Selinger) and producer/instrumentalist Wandara (Idan Amos) team up on this increasingly unmissable label's third release, a slow motion dark disco affair that rumbles like stormy skies, complete with eerie pitched down vocals giving it a truly chilling edge. Flip it over and you'll find 'Mangal Remangaled', the remix from Ma Ze regulars UV & Nenor, adding more hypnotic chug to its atmosphere and some 'live voodoo drums' without compromising an inch of the original's spooky charm/menace. Bad juju, but of the very best kind. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/youar…

The Juks offer up their own unique cover of Ronnie Foster's 1972 cut 'Mystic Brew,' which has long been a go-to for samplers and beatmakers. This version transforms the jazz-funk classic into a deep cut and slow-burning reggae roller with slowly unfurling harmonica leads, reverberating bass and a liquid rhythm infused with swirling psychedelic guitar textures. 'Ummh' on the flip side is just as laid back, with gentle melodies rising out of them, wah-wah effects, noodling organ lines and a jazzy hint of cosmic playfulness in the keys. Two intimate sounds for cosy sessions. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/mukat…

Who doesn't love a bit of sophisticated soul? We certainly do and it's always good to hear some reworks of the soul great's finest cuts for the dancefloor. And that's what we have here on a new 7" that opens with a disco version of 'Nothing Can Come Between Us' and doesn't go hard, instead building in some gentle drums and lo-fi melodies, swooning vocals and a mystical late night sense of romance. On the flip, we get a lovers rock version of 'Cherish The Day' which adds plenty of lovely guitar lines to bring that island vibe while the shuffling drums lock you in gently. Listen here: juno.co.uk/products/sophi…