Freerange Vinyl & CDs

Review: Greg Paulus is a noted trumpet player who rose up through the ranks alongside the likes of Wolf & Lamb and Soul Clap. The American has genuine chops which he shows off once more here on an EP with Taylor Bense for the UK deep house dons at Freerange. 'Heat Makes Sense' is a leftfield sound with curious melodic motifs and off-grid bass notes next to funky whistles. 'Switch' (feat Stimulus & Malik Work) is then a more blissed-out and summary deep house groove and 'Marino' (feat Big $exy) comes alive with Paulus's trumpet licks bringing the playful and sun-kissed energy. Last of all is a nice stripped-back and dry tech cut, 'Do You Love Me?' (The Martinez Brothers edit).

Review: New Zealander via Berlin Philippa's passion for house music, tireless commitment to her craft and ear for what makes a dancefloor tick is slowly but surely starting to pay off. With her recent release, 'Rainy Nights', on Slothboogie and 'Things I'd Like To Be' for Razor n Tape getting a lot of love, Philippa continues to deliver the goods, further lending remixes for Fat Freddy's Drop (The Drop) and Roach Motel (Faith). Here on the 'Latent Magic' EP we're treated to three new tracks highlighting Philippa's deft touch and musical approach to making interesting and leftfield house. Opener 'Hold' sets the tone with lush orchestral strings, crunchy drums and a bouncing analog synth bassline, while 'There It Is' umums hints of Mr Scruff with looping horn stabs, live drum grooves and rolling basslines. All in all, another mighty fine Philippa release recalling the early days of Freerange when artists such as Square One, Shur-i-kan and Jimpster were melding live musicians with electronics, for a refreshing, UK-centric take on house music.