House tunes 1990 to the present day. Here you will find some of the best underground cuts from the era. To listen as a real audio stream click on the links to ‘play’, alternatively you can download the tracks and play them directly from your hard disk, to do this click on the ‘download’ links.

50 Cents

Crunch

1993

Six Foot Six

More progressive house, this time quite a bit harder. A few ravey influences going on here with those hardcore sounding synths and techno riffs. However, this is quite slow and very deep with an awesome (yet short) breakdown. I don’t imagine that this is a full length mix but it’s worth checking out anyway.

Apollonia

BM eX

1992

Disco Magic UK

I don’t know much about this one other than that it’s a superb tune. I think this is the Sasha mix or possibly an Italian remix, but I could be mistaken. I remember hearing a different mix of this tune being played a lot on Pete Tong’s Essential Selection back in ’92 so I’m assuming that that was the original. Cracking pianos and synths all round. Uplifting UK/Italian style oldskool house!

A Man Called Adam

1990

Big Life

Has to be my favourite tune from 1990 and there were plenty of extremely worthy competitors around at the time so that's definitely a major credit to this masterful production. The track was probably one of the first ,along with late 80s/early 90s classics by Sterling Void, Kym Mazelle, N-Joi and Inner City, to bring a more refined emotional vibe into dance music. Silky smooth Balearic house style production blends seemlessly with the gorgeous, powerful vocals & lyrics of Sally Rodgers (lead singer behind the band). Sensual, uplifting and full of nostalgia. Ibiza, turn of the decade, this was what all the fuss was about!

Be Good To Me

Hypnotone

1992

First Love

As far as I know Hypnotone were more into producing the more ambient side of house with tracks like 'Dream Beam' but this one is your typical 1992 style handraiser. Superb flow and production, the vocals fit in perfectly with the piano & string melodies going on making this one a great piece of Italian style house in the same vein as tracks by 'Jinny' and 'FPI Project'.

City Grooves Vol. 1

1992

City Grooves

Yes sir! I remember Pete Tong caining this one on his essential selection back in '92, always hit the spots for me with the quirky bleeps on the intro, classy Amercan style groove and massive piano breakdown. I'm sure that this was a big dancefloor hit in 1992, if not then it deserved to be! A few nice disco influences in there with the vintage sounding string section and that banging, rolling breakbeat which was also used in 'Alex Lee - Take It' (see below).

Brothers & Sisters

2 Funky 2

1993

Logic

As you might have guessed by now I do love my piano tracks! This is the sort of tune that will send you through the roof, totally euphoric oldskool house which has been sampled by just about everyone since it was released. A similar version was done by JJ Tribute, it got re-released for '94 and had several hardcore tracks use the main piano break. The version by Liquid Crystal called 'You Got Me' is even better if you like your breakbeat.

Deeper Love (Missing You)

Ultra Nate

1991

Warner

One of those classic, intense Ultra moments from 1991. Pumping kicks, rolling percussion, moody strings & driving synths compliment Ultra Nate's powerfully soulful voice and the result is a perfectly packaged house anthem. It's a shame that I could only find a shortened radio mix of this tune otherwise I would've put up the full length mix, but this should give you a taste of some sweet classic house nonetheless.

Difference (Steng Mix)

Djum Djum

1990

Rhythm King

Cool, tribal progressive house here from way back in 1990. I’ve no idea who Djum Djum was (or were) but I know that this track was actually produced by Leftfield. For a track released in 1990 this was way ahead of its time. Lots of African style chanting and percussive rhythms with an extremely phat bassline. Very progressive.

Do What You Feel

Joey Negro

1991

Z Records

Awesome uplifting house track produced by the man currently behind ‘Jakatta’ who had a big hit with ‘American Dream’ in 2001. That was a good track, this though IMO is even better. Extremely catchy and bouncy with a wicked groove and gorgeous, wailing vocals courtesy of Deborah French. Dave Lee A.K.A. Joey Negro made several great tunes back in ’91 and ’92 others including ‘Enter Your Fantasy’ and ‘Love Fantasy’ but this one’s my favourite, brings back some memories.

Forever On

Zoogie

1992

FFRR

More classic ’92 piano house on the FFRReedom division of FFRR records. Yet another big track back in the day which stirred up chaos on the dancefloors and was sampled in a few hardcore tunes of the same period. Very simple in structure and composition yet very effective when it comes to creating that uplifting oldskool piano buzz enjoyed by so many. NB. Samples in this include a vocal from 'Sterling Void – It’s Alright' and a vox loop from 'Bassheads – Is There Anybody Out There' previously taken from an old Afrika Bambatta tune.

Found Love

Double Dee

1990

ZYX

Another classic uplifting vocal house number from way back in 1990, a huge anthem in the UK at the time it was released this one has to go down as an classic early house cut. A slight jazzy feel and a well used funky drummer breakbeat give this a cool, light good-time vibe. Unbelievably I heard this played out the other night at a fairly well known bar down here in Bristol and the crowd couldn't resist leaping into action, the true test of a classic tune!

Gonna Let You Go

Greed

1992

D-Zone

Time for some sample spotting now in this classy piece of uplifting oldskool house. There were quite a number of hardcore tunes which sampled this one in 1992 and '93 although it could be possible that the vocals in this were actually sampled themselves from an earlier house track, any ideas? Still I'm totally feeling this tune with it's smooth groove and cool main piano riff. Gotta check out the remixes as well as they're supposed to be just as good.

Hold Back the Night (Joey Negro 12" mix)

KWS

1992

Network

Don’t be put off by the artist name, (remember KWS who produced all those cheesy commercial dance tracks?). This is a smooth uplifting house mix of an early 90s pop song, thanks to the talented long-time producer Joey Negro. Quite soulful in places, this borders on US garage but has that distinctive Joey Negro vibe which he was so famous for in the early 90s.

Hold On (Tighter to Love)

Clubland feat. Zemya Hamilton

1991

ZYX

Steve 'Silk' Hurley on the mix of a huge dance anthem from 1991. Gorgeous vocals from a singer who deserved more success than the two hit singles she had with the group back in '91 & '92 and superb smooth piano and synth work courtesy of Jan Ekholm, the Swedish producer behind the group's original set up. For me it was tracks like this one & Joey Negro's 'Do What You Feel' which summed up the true vibe of fresh sounding house music happening back in '91.

Holdin' On

DSK

1992

Bull & Butcher

This was the follow up the to better known 'What Would We Do' from '91 and certainly held its own on the UK dancefloors; it's not hard to see why. Very funky, extremely smooth and has that upbeat early '90s groove and those Italio pianos that we all know and love so much. Probably the kind of thing which would've been huge with Djs like Alistair Whitehead & Graeme Park at the time for its light yet solid groove. If this one doesn't make you dance then I'm not quite sure what will (unless you're 'ardcore that is).

Honey (Rollo & Sister Bliss Blunt Edit)

Moby

1998

Mute

A more recent offering now from the extremely talented Moby. Rollo & Sister Bliss, the people behind Faithless, have given this tune a superb remix making it an Ibiza anthem in the process. Bouncy, calm and uplifting all in one go and extremely well put together. Love that bassy drop out and those smooth synth melodies. A big summer anthem from '98.

Hyporeel

Metropolis

1992

Union City

Wicked little underground progressive tune from 1992 on the then famous Union City Records. This uses a reworked version of a classic piano line later to be sampled for the excellent 1994 anthem 'Mr. Roy - Something About You'. Dreamy ambient pads kick this one off then the tune pumps away to full effect with a few more jazzy house organ riffs complimenting that wicked chorus. Production is not great but the tune itself certainly is!

I Got It

Yo Bots

1991

RCA

An early Sasha style handraiser, before he moved over to the more progressive sound. It's gotta be the vocals that do it for me on this one although I've no idea who they are sung by. Interesting use of that '2 Bad Mice - Bombscare' style rave organ as well, seems to work perfectly with house and rave alike. Nice 'n' happy!

I'll Be There For You

House of Virginism

1993

Clubvision

Big club anthem from back in '93, deservedly so as well! Some of more uplifting tracks around the time this was released were taking on a more commercial sound but, while this one is very much a catchy, lively piece of UK house, it is in no way cheesy. Total beauty of a tune in my opinion with a good combination of funky oldskool stabs and punchy pianos. Anthemic oldskool house!!!

Intoxication (Clubfield Remix)

React 2 Rhythm

1992

Guerilla

More ’92 style progressive house from the excellent yet sadly deceased Guerilla Records. Bouncy 4/4 breaks and killer percussion drive this one along insistently and it has one of the deepest pad breakdowns imaginable. Watch out for the quirky piano section in the latter half of the track, very innovative and original. If you can, check out the Justin Robertson mix of this for a harder, more trancey progressive vibe.

I've Got The Music In Me

Mount Rushmore

1993

Clubstitute

Being much more funky than most of the tracks in this archive this one is more along the lines of classic US house & garage. A tune that has definitely grown on me since I first heard it, very bouncy, skippy rhythms and lovely uplifting vocal lines. In some ways this reminds me of stuff from the same year by 'Roach Motel' and a few of the tracks which came out on Azuli Records during that era.

Just Can’t Help Me

2 Examples

1992

Disco Magic UK

Classic Italio house vibes from ’92. Very catchy yet ever so slightly deep in nature with a cool ‘hands in the air’ breakdown. Disco Magic were a pretty big label back in ’92 & ’93 and were putting out some fantastic tracks at the time and this one of them. You can probably still get hold of this one if you look hard enough because it was a big anthem at the time it was released. Definitely worth tracking down.

Let Love Shine

Amos

1995

Positiva

Excellent, original uplifting house tune with a strong & valuable political message courtesy of the timeless voice of Martin Luther King. I think that this was the first ever dance track to use the MLK vox in it's entirity and it deserves plenty of credit for that alone not to mention the fact that it's a strong, pumping piece of melodic house music which builds and builds towards that climactic piano chorus. It's a shame that they don't make more house tracks like this one nowadays.

Let The Whole World Know

Rhythm Foundation

1992

BCM

A raucous, uplifting slab of heavenly piano breakbeat house which seems to be very popular among the oldskool house following at the moment. It's tunes like this that make me wanna go and buy a pair of glowsticks and hunt down another one of those smiley face T-Shirts that everyone was wearing back in the day (and that's saying something)! Infinitely catchy and guarenteed to rock any crowd in a good mood. Kind of does my head in after I've listened to it about 20 times over but it has a high addiction potential, be warned!

Liberation 2

Liberation

1993

ZYX

The mighty follow-up to the quirky yet contrived ‘Liberation’ released in ’92. Even better than it’s predecessor this one is a serious house anthem from ’93. Cool piano breakdowns and energy fuelled synths coupled with a catchy sample from the famous speech by Martin Luther King make this tune one to be remembered. I first heard this on a wicked oldskool dance music TV programme called ‘BPM’ (remember it?) and fell in love with it straight away.

Love Makes it Easy

Orca

1993

Unknown

Another act more famous for their hardcore tunes. This is very different from ‘4am’ but brilliant in its own right. Being from early ’93 this is very progressive in style with a hint of spacey ambience, superb production and sweeping synths make this a tune well worth listening to. Quite trancey for the time it was produced but the distinctive bouncy rhythm makes it very much a house tune.

Love Rush

Decktition

1992

Trade

This is what hard house sounded like back in the early '90s, almost like a 4/4 based rave tune in some respects. Very stomping and uplifting using the techno bass riff from 'Gat Decor - Passion', plenty of pianos and monster hard house stabs. Apologies for the poor quality real audio, for some reason the tune goes slightly off key in places due to a bad recording.

Make You Whole

Andronicus

1992

FFRR

A beautiful UK house groove from 1992 here. Quite an anthem at the time, this one tore it up in the clubs and made it big in the national dance charts. A tune like this cannot be forgotten that easily and although it doesn’t conform to the current house scene it should get some kind of revival as a classic oldskool cut. Beautiful (harp like) synth arpeggios combine with a slammin’ groove and pumpin’ bass, and then those strings come in…. need I say more. Essential listening.

Desert

1995

Vulture Vinyl

Although progressive house was never quite the same after 1993, it's tracks like this that go to show that the classic 92/93 vibe has never really died out. Real Sasha house/trance with some spicey basslines, dreamy vocal sequences and soothing pad and piano combos. Full of subtle yet distinctive beauty, far from the blatant transparancy of modern disco house and the cheesiness of chart trance. This is what it's all about as far as I'm concerned, have a listen and will all become clear.

Movin'

Marathon

1992

Ten

I'm pretty sure that this is Joey Negro on the mix here, it certainly sounds like a tune of his calibre. Lots of 1970s disco influences intertwined with 90s piano house in a classic Dave Lee style. Sounds quite slow by today's standards but it thumps along nicely with the Phase II style vocals rounding off the main melody. A happy, optimistic sounding track with plenty of body, mind & soul!

No More

Unique 3

1991

Ten

Better known for their hardcore stuff Unique 3 turned out a blinder of a house track with this one. A typical ’91 hardcore/house hybrid with plenty of pianos and emotional vocals and a tougher ravey section which comes in in the latter half of the track. To start off with it’s quite dark but when those pianos kick in you can’t resist the urge to put your hands in the air. A bit hit back in ’91.

Nush

Nush

1992

ZYX

Most of you into uplifting house will probably know the classic screamer 'U Girls' with the piano from 'Feels So Good' by Vibes & Wishdokta but this is one of their earlier works which came out at the start of the 1992 progressive house boom. Although this is not purely progressive it does combine elements of the varied mish mash of house music styles which were doing the rounds at the time. A real landmark tune from the summer of '92 which started a trend towards the more innovative prog. sounds and away from US garage and UK hardcore. Instantly recognisable and truly memorable.

Open Your Mind

Last Rhythm

1992

Disco Magic

If you ask me this is equally as good as the better known track ‘Last Rhythm’ from the same artist; and similar in vein too. Beautiful, uplifting house with plenty of flowery, bleepy, fly-away melodies and a slick, flowing rave line. A bit of rave, a bit of trance and a bit of progressive house all rolled into one. Fantastic composition and production give this one a timeless, anthemic mark on dance music history. It’s tunes like this that totally disprove statements that dance music is ‘unmelodic and non-musical’.

Passion (Original mix)

Gat Decor

1992

Effective

The original progressive house anthem! This got a nasty vocal remix some years after it was originally released but this original version is the absolute bizness. Just about everything in here, a bit of piano, a few gorgeous pads, a driving chunky bassline and classic piece of percussion work. One of the best house tunes ever made IMO and I'm not alone on thinking that. A timeless tune which is still played out in clubs to this day!

Rapture

Soul Odyssey

1993

Rumor

Spacey, trancey progressive house on Rumor Records back in 1993 when the scene was at its peak. Another huge tune with Sasha & Digweed during their days at Renaissance and I can see why. The flowing trance chorus with melodic pads and undulating arps is what makes this such a great tune in my opinion. Almost all early progressive house was full of variation and this is a perfect example of how it's done. Watch out for the harder rave lines as well!

Reach

Rising High Collective

1992

Rising High

Most tunes on Rising High were heavy hardcore stormers but this one's really quite different (although I think a breakbeat version was released). Quite soulful and uplifting with some lovely vocals and piano melodies. Rising High Collective or RHC as they were known had another big tune out in '91 called 'Fever Called Love' but this is better IMO, progressing from being uplifting to quite dark and eerie and yet fitting together perfectly all the same. A proper P.L.U.R. tune for the original oldskoolers.

Rejoicing (Basement Boys Mix)

Ultra Nate

1991

Warner

I'm not really into some of Ultra Nate's more recent offerings but tracks like this from back in the day were deep, soulful and always uplifting. The unique American gospel choir influences are strongly present in this one with Ultra's superb vocal talents. Produced and mixed by 'The Basement Boys' tracks like this one and the anthem 'Deeper Love' were all massive tunes in the early '90s.

Rescue Me (Crazy About Your Love)

Debbie Malone

1992

Pulse-8

Big, pulsating Pulse-8 house anthem with tons of pianos and wailing vocals. I've heard this one over and over again since I first got hold of it and although I'm kind of tired of it now the piano at 2:16 still makes me wanna jump up and down and shout 'tune!!!'. I always did like the way though that Pulse-8 were not afraid of putting out both uplifting house and tuff hardcore at around the same time where in many respects the styles go hand in hand.

Rhythm of the Night (Luv Dup Burning Bush Vocal Mix)

Corona

1994

Robyx SRL

The best mix of a well known commercial Italian club stormer from 1994. This version ditches the cheesy eurodance feel of the original and instead opts for a more soulful, uplifting house vibe while still using those awesome vocals from Corona. To me the main piano line (bar a few chord changes) sounds a hell of a lot like the one used in the oldskool anthem 'Liquid - Sweet Harmony' but it does seem to work so i'm not complaining. Classic Clubber!!!

FPI Project

1990

ZYX

Good old bouncy Italian piano house from way back. Yeah, ok so this is a tiny bit cheesy but I don't care, it brings back some happy memories for me. Typically flambouyant piano melodies and vocals which you can't keep still to and those catchy hip-house 'wooo' & 'come on now risky' samples. Will they ever make a tune like this again, sad to say I don't think so, but by all means listen and reminisce to this perfect snapshot of Italian sunshine house music.

Schmoo

Spooky

1992

Guerilla

Another top progressive tune with a weird name! Obviously an anagram of 'smooch' or something like that I'm guessing. Anyway, this is smooth as silk and very catchy, the kind of tune which sticks in your head for days and drives you crazy. I wish there were more house tunes like this one around today, catchy without being commercial. Wicked main riff and bassline! Tune!!!

Schtoom

Havanna

1992

23rd Precinct

Pioneering '92 style progressive house which came out on the 23rd Precinct division of 'Limbo Records' based in Glasgow, Scotland. Along with 'Shift' and 'Ethnic Prayer' this was one of Havanna's most prominent tracks when Billy Kiltie launched the label back in '92. I'm definitely going to be putting up more tracks from Limbo as they've got to be one of the best progressive house labels around, still being at the forefront of the scene a decade on. The ultimate in progressive house!!!

See The Day

Ann Consuelo

1992

Big Beat

If I could use one word to sum up this track it would be ‘classy!’. Italian pianos with a vintage American house vibe. Produced by legendary Dj/Producer/Remixer StoneBridge and with vocals courtesy of Ann Consuelo everything in this tune seems to come together perfectly, the strings, the pianos, the chunky phat bassline and that lovely soulful voice which makes this one such a tune. Once that bass and piano kicks in you know you’re onto a winner!

Shoot

Way Out West

1993

Terra Firma

I believe that this is Way Out West’s first ever tune. Released in the latter half of ’93 this was a classic underground progressive cut. Apparently this is very hard to come by these days and quite sought after which is not surprising considering it’s sheer quality and extremely catchy riffs and melodies, plus the fact that it was made by Jody Wisternoff (the other half of hardcore duo Sublove) and Nick Warren, (which means it’s an instant classic). Way Out West have moved more into trance these days and are still producing fantastic stuff but this will always be one of their best in my eyes. Samples 'Dance Conspiracy – Dub War (Chapter 1)', classic oldskool breakbeat anthem.

So Much Love

Malaika

1992

A&M

This sounds very much like the kind of style which Ce Ce Penniston was creating during the same era. Her tracks were also released on A&M and the similarity in voice quality in uncanny! However this is no bad thing as what you have here is a cool, soulful American house cut that has a great main hook to the vocals and melody. Uplifting and optimistic in vibe and heavy on the pianos and backing strings (another reason why I like it). Definitely a track for the ladies to sing along to.

Stars (Motiv 8 Mix)

Dubstar

1996

EMI

I can't believe that I'm into this tune as it's the sort of style which I'd rarely go for, very bouncy, commercial and eurodance sounding. However, I always loved the original downtempo version of this tune and so went out and bought the single only to find that it was loaded with fresh new house mixes. It was a bit of a toss up as to whether I should go with this one or the Way Out West mix, but it had to be this version due to it completely preserving the structure and vibe of the original while giving it a more uplifting house edge. Actually, maybe I should have gone with Way Out West's version after all, but what the hell, this is a great tune anyway even if the hardcore heads out there might not think so!

Straight Up House

Underground Posse

1992

Bad Boy

Rave or house? Hard to say because although this one’s very housey in vibe it uses some classic hardcore breakbeats as opposed to the normal 4/4 arrangement. Quite a stand out track from ’92 which was later sampled for the full on hardcore track ‘Quarter to Doom’ by Bay B Kane. I’m not so keen on the rap vocal but the main drop out is incredible. I imagine that this is pretty rare these days as well.

Take It (Vital Ital Version)

Alex Lee

1991

React

You've gotta know this one, another massive 90s house anthem with a number of different remixes including a few wicked hardcore versions including 'SMD Vol. 2' and 'Yeah Yeah Yeah' by 'The Joker'. This mix is slightly different than the original with a few ruff techno synths thrown in alongside those classic piano riffs and vocals. Everything remains intact in this 6 minute long extravaganza.

Take On Higher

Jennifer Lucas

1991

ZYX

Serious piano bizness from the ZYX stable, very Italian in style although I don’t know where this one originally came from, I believe it could be German but I’m not sure. Not quite sure what she’s singing but whatever it is it certainly puts a smile on my face. Unfortunately the real audio file is not brilliant in terms of quality but I’m sure it won’t spoil your enjoyment of this very uplifting piece of piano house.

Te Amo (Caliente Remix)

Sultana

1993

Virgin

The original mix of this is, I have to say, pure cheese! With its dodgy Spanish guitar riffs and annoying formulaic style. However, this ‘Caliente’ remix turns a naff eurodance number into a beautiful, haunting piece of progressive house (whoever said remixes ruined original tunes?). The sad, melancholy pan-pipes, strings and vocal wailings will give you goosebumps and bring tears to your eyes while the pounding progressive rhythm drives the tune along forcefully. A powerful piece of classic house music if there ever was one.

The Brothers Love Dubs

1992

Stress

Mighty, epic progressive house produced by the commercial house duo Brothers in Rhythm under another alias back in '92 when UK house was on the rebound. Starts of with those trademark percussion loops and aggressively builds into a deep, tribal groove before climaxing with wailing chants and intense organ riffs. Had that totally unique creativity of British house of the period and has stood the test of time with several remixes circa 2000, (although they don't come anywhere close to the energy of this one). Even my cat seems to like it!

The Question

7 Grand Housing Authority

1993

Olympic

A very bouncy, skippy Roger Sanchez style tune with infectious wailing vocal snippets repeated throughout. I'd love to sample them as they would fit with so many types of tune (gotta get them in a 160 bpm breakbeat mashup)! Although the hook to this is absolutely wicked I do think it could do with a few more changes and the main riff is repeated one hell of a lot, but I'm still in love with this one despite my nit picking. Light, bouncy sing-a-long house music.

Van Basten

1996

Brute

A slow, thumping, mechanical prog houser from some years back on the classic underground house label Brute Records. Ruff, acidic bass and moody percussion makes up the majority of the tune but the darkness is cleverly offset by a sly background synth voice which adds that dreamy, mystical element required of good progressive house music. A very good tune on all scores, great for hearing in a club when the mix is building up to full steam.

We Can Be

Well Hung Parliament

1992

Cowboy

Very deep progressive house which came out on the late Cowboy Records back in 1992. This one was produced by the legendary UK Dj Paul Gotel and was one of the first under his 'Well Hung Parliament' project (cool & funny artist alias)! The best bit of this track for me is the ending where the heavy, gloomy prog vibes descend into a cascade of lush pads and spine tingling pianos. The 12" continues the breakdown on for much longer a version which I'll have to track down. A true stunner of a tune!