Various Artists: The Summer Soundtrack EP - Leftroom

Various Artists
The Summer Soundtrack EP
Leftroom

Leftroom sit at the top of the food chain when it comes to deep, funky, locks-onto-your-hips-and-won’t-let-go house music, and it doesn’t look like they’re planning on relinquishing that position any time soon. The Summer Soundtrack EP delivers what the title promises: a selection of dope house cuts perfect not only for sunny terraces and poolside beers, but also small, cosy nightclubs.

Don’t Undastand from Huxley & Russo combines minimal percussion, big sub bass stabs, a subtle, ever-building TB-303 loop, a lush old school R&B vocal, and a well-timed dose of the harpsichord, coming up with a tune that will have hips wiggling and fingers pointing at the same time. Matt Tolfrey & Maher Daniel’s It Ain’t Over Yet takes a slightly more well-worn route with its 90s-esque bassline and spoken-word vocal. On their own, these elements wouldn’t give the tune much chance to stand out from the crowd, but the freaky Detroit inspired synths and subtle marimba loop that come in mid-way through the tune elevate it from unnecessarily tracky to pleasantly groovy.

On With Me, Gavin Herlihy chops up vocals and classic disco stabs and layers them on a bed of jackin’ Chicago beats, smooth low end and bouncy chords and stabs to excellent effect, creating a tasty mid-set groover. Spanish born Julian Perez, who shares his name with a classic hip-house and acid house producer, offers up Tomaville Rocks. While the tune itself is a solid enough slice of shuffly beats, TR-909 claps, warm basslines and vocal loops, it feels almost unfinished in a way: a nice groove, but perhaps needing something more. Jack Riley finishes the EP on a very high note with Teach This, an excursion into the deepest recesses of late-night grooves, which is a great contrast to the funkier offerings that precede it. A classy blend of stabby, analogue bass, punchy drums, uplifting piano loops, guitars and washed-out dub chords, this might be Leftroom’s best track to date.

Overall, a great release of summer time vibes with enough solid tunes on it that most house music fans should find at least one gem in here to add to their collection. 

Tracklisting:
1. Huxley & Russo - Don't Undastand
2. Matt Tolfrey and Maher Daniel - It Aint Over Yet
3. Gavin Herlihy - With Me
4. Julian Perez - Tromaville Rocks
5. Jack Riley - Teach This