Vocal house has been the focus on Spirit of House all year, and tunes such as this one here are a prime example why we love this music so much... On "Happy days", UPZ joins forces with the one and only Stephanie Cooke to bless us with a timeless soulful masterpiece - old school inspired rhythms together with Stephanie Cooke's inimitable vocals and grandiose keys are guaranteed to send shivers down your spine. Avi Elman turns up the heat for prime time action on his deep'n'moody truly hypnotizing remix, Cuebur's excursion to deepest South African house territory oozes with celestial melodies, and last but not least Sir LSG contributes a groovy rendition on a laidback tip laced with delightful keys. By no means to be missed...

There ain't no stopping for young South African based label DeepForestSA which is going from strength to strength, blessing us with nothing but the best in soulful South African house music. The wonderful "One more try" by Katlego 'DJ Fortee' Tigele is sheer musical bliss, featuring deeply felt vocals by Komplexity and Akhona alongside heavenly melodies over deeper than deep, truly infectious yet smooth rhythms. ZuluMafia gives the song a groovy feel on his thrilling workout laced with luscious keys, next DJ Fortee teams up with Tebogo for a timeless soul oozing interpretation guaranteed to make you yearn for more... A musical gem by no means to be missed...

Japanese producer/DJ Tomo Inoue and KingStreet give us a marvelous compilation complete with a masterly crafted continuous mix guaranteed to bring warmth to your heart (desperately needed here in Switzerland as it turned freezing cold this week) - nineteen tunes handpicked from the unrivaled KingStreet / NiteGrooves / StreetKing catalogue are smoothly blended together for a delightful journey through deep/soulful/tech-house. Stephanie Cooke, Kenny Bobien, Urban Soul, Chris Forman, DJ Vivona, Joi Cardwell, Heather Johnson, Franco De Mulero, Dominic Dawson, Eric Powa B. - these are just some of the artists featured. Highly recommended to be checked out...

There ain't no stopping for CyberJamz Records as their latest offering, the marvelous "Bar talk" by Soul-Cat, proves... Phenomenal enchanting spoken word poetry put to perfection by the likes of Soul-Cat, ElementsSoul, DJ General Slam, Maminstrumental, Tier Ra Nichi, Tayo Wink and DJ Eddie-Ed all adding their distinctive deep soulful sounds, giving you plenty of tantalizing choices to work the floor at any given time of the day, not to forget to mention it is next to impossible to choose a favorite version... Make no mistake and don't miss out on this soulful underground house music gem which has timeless written all over...

Tel Aviv based group Asymmetric Soul return to Adaptation Music for their single "Let your love come down", featuring vocals by Shavakeyah and Ben Khesed. "Let your love come down" is a timeless soulful slice of house music oozing featuring outstanding deeply felt vocals and classy jazzy keys over spell binding funk soaked rhythms - a gem guaranteed to send shivers down your spine. On remix duty we have the team of DJ Spen & N'Dinga Gaba whose breathtaking remix combines the vocals with sublime jazzy keys and monstrous rhythms. By no means to be missed...

To this date, many of the legendary Strictly Rhythm classics are only available on heavily sought-after vinyl as only parts of the massive, truly unrivaled back catalogue from the label have been made available in digital format. Ten more of these unforgettable, ground-breaking tunes are now being released in digital form for the very first time, including the uplifting truly fierce yet soulful vocal anthem "Bring back the love" (originally released in 1998) by legendary Washington DC based production duo 95 North (Doug Smith & Richard Payton) and songstress Laura Harris, as well as "Just us" (originally released in 1993) by Joey Washington featuring The Mens Club which oozes with the beloved underground-esque, timeless B.O.P. (Brothers of Peace aka Bryan 'Shank' Thompson and Paul Scott) sound.

Not many words are needed to describe this jewel which has timeless written all over... Renowned producer/DJ Neil Pierce and songstress Taliwa are pulling out all the stops on "A better place", an eternal masterpiece by no means to be missed - the smooth yet infectiously thumpin' rhythms,sublime keys and not to forget to mention Taliwa's inimitable deeply felt vocals are guaranteed to send shivers down your spine... The remix is courtesy of Ziggy Funk who contributes a fabulous funked-up interpretation which slightly relaxes the feel yet keeps the overall vibe infectious - simply breathtaking. To put it into a few simple words: without any doubt, one of best soulful vocal productions of the year... essential.

The latest offering on Tony Humphries' critically acclaimed label is courtesy of Italy's dynamic duo Souldynamic who join forces with soul music icon Angela Johnson on "Love", an utterly soulful production showcasing the incomparable vocals of Angela Johnson and Souldynamic's love for spell binding rhythms and glorious melodies. Besides three equally fantastic versions by Souldynamic, there are remixes by Chicago legend Terry Hunter who adds his signature soulful touch and man of the moment N'Dinga Gaba who takes the song to deepest grounds on his mesmerizing workout. It is next to impossible to choose a favorite version, each one is guaranteed to make you yearn for more...