Low Steppa - Raw Cuts Vol. 1 EP

Low Steppa is a name that should need no introduction on freshdrops, as we have featured a number of his tracks already.  And there's a good reason for that - he is a producer that continues to kill it, track after track. He has been teasing that he would be doing a free download through his Facebook and Instagram accounts for the past while, and followed through yesterday with three banging house tracks that feature the signature Low Steppa bass/house/garage style. 

There's really no need to wax on about this little EP, just dive in there and listen to it, and hit the download button on all the tracks either before or after... It really doesn't matter, since it's pretty much inevitable that you'll be downloading them anyway.

- KJ

Honest - ?????

"I know that you've got everything but I've got nothing here without ya." Honest brings some authentic lost-love house and garage vibes to this untitled (or titled ?????) stomper that was uploaded about a month ago. 

Working off the pre-chorus vocal sample from Ariana Grande's single One Last Time, Honest brings what will sound familiar to many following the top 40 scene, and twists it into fitting into this vibey house jam, producing a catchy club tune with some crossover value that sounds fresh and very different from the source of the sample. This is a solid and creative rework of the sample, and overall a great bit of production work that only gives the faintest tinge of guilty pleasure.

There doesn't appear to be anything hinting to any official release, and this one isn't looking downloadable at this time.  Settle for the stream, and stream the hell out of it - it's that good.

- KJ

MORRT - Realize

MORRT is back with another free EP that he is gradually releasing on Soundcloud over the next few weeks. If you have been following him on any of his social media, he's teased some material that he's been working on, and the first track he's put out here is the end result. Realize is the first track from the EP, which was uploaded on Monday and has a dreamy house and garage club vibe all the way through. The sound is along the same lines of his arguably slightly poppier recent release Dive Right In, and in the same stream of particularly high quality music that he has been releasing.  We're looking forward to hearing the rest of this EP as it slowly rolls out. If you're feeling this, grab the free download through the shopping cart link in the player below, or just click here.

- KJ

Low Steppa - So Real ft. Kelli-Leigh [Simma Black x All Around The World Records]

In case you didn't know yet, I'm a pretty big fan of Low Steppa.  We've featured a fair bit of his work in both posts and mixes in the past, and have been following his work for much longer (like, back to when he was producing electro under his given name, Will Bailey... did that just date me a bit? Ah well...) In any case, his label Simma Black in conjunction with All Around The World Records just put out two separate remix EP's for Low Steppa's So Real, which was just released in the UK on the 20th.

There are some really great remixes along with the radio and club versions of So Real on the EP's, so definitely have a listen to all of them. If you're looking for something a little on the heavy and interesting side, the Lokate or Mandal & Forbes remixes will get you there.  If you want something a bit more bouncy and garagey, there's the Mike Milrain remix. If you want to stick to slightly more traditional house roots, there's the Sam Divine & Curtis Gabriel remix.  Really, there's something for most dance style tastes in this one. Don't miss it!

You can check out the Remixes One and Remixes Two packages on iTunes. Currently the remix packages are only out in the UK iTunes store, but the North American release is set for June 28th so keep an eye out for that!  In the meantime, we have the full club mix available to stream below, we hope you enjoy!

Also in case you were unaware, Low Steppa is in the middle of a short North American mini tour. If you were at EDC in Las Vegas, we hope you caught his set there. However, if you missed it and happen to be in one of the following cities in the next little while, all is not lost! Make sure to check out one of the other dates on his mini-tour before he heads back to the UK.

June 26th, The Gorge, Washington

June 26th, Vancouver, BC

June 27th, New York, New York

- KJ

Middle - Shapes EP

Middle dropped a new free EP a little over a week ago, and we happened to stumble across it just a little late.  Following up on their success with Girl, which has racked up 50k plays on Soundcloud, the Shapes EP retains much of the Garage/Deep House vibe that seems to be becoming Middle's signature sound. Our favourite track from the EP is What You Did, which is very reminiscent to Girl - vocals that at times are included in full, and at other times chopped to add to the percussive elements, all surrounded by the recognizable synths. If you're looking for an artist comparison, I would say Middle is producing a sound reminiscent of NVOY.

The other two tracks on the EP are also definitely worth checking out - Give is a slightly more laid back track, while Take Off moves a bit to the heavier side, but both remaining with the same deep house and garage sound, keeping the EP quite consistent throughout.

Keep an eye on this French duo, as there is likely more quality work coming down in the future. Follow their Soundcloud here.

- KJ

Fresh Drops Vol. 4 - Kris Jones Extended 2 Hour Mix

This month for Fresh Drops we ended up not having in a guest, but Kris dropped an extended 2 hour mix.  The vibes on this range from Nu Disco to Deep and Future House and some Garage influence for good measure.  A few of these are out as free downloads, a couple are forthcoming on some great labels, as well as some already released heat.  Make sure to check the tracklisting below. This is a summer vibe mix throughout, we hope you enjoy. 

And in case you haven't seen this feature before, we have a monthly show that we stream live on Underground Sound Canada's Mixlr channel.  We are just one week, but there are new mixes every Sunday night.

Tracklist

1. Shine (The Jane Doze Remix) - Years & Years

2. Karma, You Got Owned - Tep No

3. Found My Light (Pakem Remix) - She Said Disco

4. Don't Let Go (Vhyce Edit) - Tony Orlando

5. It's You ft. River (Purple Disco Machine Remix) - The Shapeshifters // Defected Records

6. Talk Talk (Moon Boots Remix) - George Maple // Future Classic

7. Premonition (Espada Remix) - Machine For Dreams // Dimentique

8. A Quiet Mind (La Rose Remix) - Furdak // Forthcoming on DeepWit Recordings

9. Dreamer - Beatsession, Glitchko

10. Prints of Whales ft. PB Kaya - TÂCHES 

11. Attracted - Kartell // Roche Musique

12. Holding On ft. Gregory Porter - Disclosure // Island Records

13. The Act (Extended Mix) - Camelphat // Spinnin' Deep

14. Tryna Shake It (Original Mix) - Motez // Sweat It Out

15. Come On (Original Mix) - Platform 19, Unknown Associates // Unknown Records

16. Arabella (Original Mix) - Camelphat // Great Stuff Recordings

17. Holding On (Original Mix) - Billon, Nu:Tone // Rinse

18. Deep Inside (Low Steppa Remix) - Hardrive //Strictly Rhythm

19. 7Days - Ste Haley

20. Mr. Sunshine (Original Mix) - Moji, Michael Mandal // Get Twisted Records

21. Future - Golf Clap // Country Club Disco

22. All I Want (Dosem Remix) - UMEK, Mike Vale // 1605

23. You Know It (Original Mix) - Defunct! // Audiophile XXL

24. Turn Me (Original Mix) - Howson's Groove // Fat! Records

25. Miles Away (Demarkus Lewis Remix) - Agent Libre // DeepWit Recordings

26. Be The Same (Original Mix) - Vhyce // Food Music

-KJ

Kartell - Attracted [Roche Musique]

If you're feeling the new Disclosure single from this week, you'll likely be down with Kartell's newest offering - Attracted. A bit more laid back house and garage jam, the percussion and synths work off of each other really nicely to keep the track moving along, and the vocals are smooth throughout.

The lyrical content is relatable, documenting the feeling of mutual attraction that just hasn't yet moved into something tangible.  The vibe on this matches well with that concept and feeling, with the buildups never really dropping into anything too heavy, but still thoroughly enjoyable. To me, this would be a perfect track to throw into a set where you want to start building up without losing energy.  

Attracted is available on its own as a single, or as part of Kartell's newest release Tender Games, available for pre-order on iTunes here.

- KJ

Golf Clap - Country Club Disco Vol. 1 (Free EP Download)

The guys from Golf Clap have been working on their new label Country Club Disco for a little while now, and have put out a ton of content for free - which we have posted about before. Golf Clap have come back to release a full 5 tracks in their brand of house music through the label just a little over a day ago, and once again, this is a free EP. Check out the previews in the embedded player below, and decide for yourself if the download is worth it (hint: it is).

There is a nice amount of variation within the EP, with a full vocal house jam in Show You, to house tracks that simply make good use of a vocal sample or edit, such as Future and Only One. Pop It and To The Jaw have vibes that would be at home on a Dirtybird release. All in all, this a varied and enjoyable free house EP - make sure you check it out and grab it today.

- KJ

Kartell - Genie In A Bottle

This is a throwback for Thursday in more ways than one... First of all, Kartell uploaded this about 10 months ago, but it is also a rework of Christina Aguilera's Genie In A Bottle.  And damn, this is a hell of a rework. Kartell brings the upbeat house and garage flavour here, with really tight production and attention to detail.  Things never get too busy, and there are well placed spaces in the sound throughout.

Uploaded by HW&W recordings, we've still been unable to track down a download, whether released as a free or paid download. If anyone has a line on this one, we'd appreciate a link, as this is too good to let go of without adding to our music library.

- KJ

Wynter Gordon - Dirty Talk (Them Next Door 2015 Remix)

London based Them Next Door have launched their Soundcloud account with their first track, a remix of Wynter Gordon's Dirty Talk from a few years back.  For the first track, it's gained a lot of early traction, and for good reason - it's a great remix!  Wynter Gordon's original vocal sounds virtually untouched aside from some chopped and looped bits in a couple areas - but the majority is still very much recognizable as Dirty Talk.  Them Next Door then drops a nu school throwback dance vibe on the remix, and the rest is history. If you liked the original back in 2010, it's likely a safe bet you'll enjoy this remix.  Them Next Door made it easy to pick up as well, releasing this as a free download for following their new Soundcloud account.

- KJ

Huxley - Freebies (Blurred Demos)

UK producer Huxley released his full artist album Blurred back in late October of 2014, but just recently tossed a full setlist of demos from the album for free download up on his Soundcloud page.  From Huxley's description of the playlist: "here are some demos that never made it onto my album, Blurred. none are finished, mastered or mixed. but i hope you enjoy! feel free to play, listen or delete at will."

Those of you who have heard of Huxley know that the man produces quality house music.  One of my favourite tracks that still occasionally makes it into my sets is Box Clever, along with the rest of the Out Of The Box EP, released back in 2012.

The recent upload is pretty much another full album, for free download.  There is a range of styles in this, ranging from deep house tracks such as Halloumi V3 and GenericWybes, to borderline bassline and grime on Roll It, to D&B vibes on Inst 14 Nbb.

These are all downloadable directly from Soundcloud, so all that's keeping you from adding these tracks to your iTunes is a couple clicks.  Get clicking!

- KJ

Country Club Disco - Free Downloads

This is another label spotlight and free downloads playlist, coming courtesy of Golf Clap's Country Club Disco. This playlist of 11 tracks brings a nice variety of deep, old school and garage flavours to house music, and they're all available for free download. I also featured a few of these tracks on my last mix for Underground Sound Canada, so if you were looking for anything from that mix, this is a good place to start. Make sure to check Country Club Disco's Soundcloud page for more quality releases.

- KJ

Favulous - No Diggity

If you've been waiting for something higher energy, but still familiar this week, we've got you covered today.  Favulous published a Future House bootleg of the Blackstreet classic No Diggity last week.

This bootleg mostly preserves the instantly recognizable vocal from the original, but pitches it down slightly while starting out with an old school synth.  The bootleg then drops into a build and moves fully into Future House territory just past the one minute mark. This is a quick, high energy rework, perfect to try and convince a couple of those folks standing on the wall cause "I don't know this music" to make their way onto the dance floor without completely sacrificing your "artistic integrity" and dropping an original pop mix. It's made even better since it's released as a free download.

If future house isn't your scene and you still want a version of No Diggity to rock to, never fear: here's another free one, a House and Garage version from Phonetix that was released on Riddler Records not long ago and is available here. This one is also a great rework of the track that I've played out a number of times, plus Phonetix is just a legit dude (and sent me a promo copy a while back when I just couldn't wait - thanks again for that by the way!).

- KJ