Billy W - U Just Don't Know

For those that DON'T remember, back in the early 90s there used to be a label outta Detroit – I think Terrence Parker was involved quite closely in some way – called Serious Grooves. They specialised in raw, sparse house trax with raw, sparse, mostly sampled vocals, put out on limited-edition coloured vinyl, often on 10-inch pressings. Highly collectable at the time, those singles are among the most prized items in my record collection to this day.

Why the history lesson? Because on hearing the original mix of U Just Don't Know, I'm transported back to those days instantly. Like the original Serious Grooves releases, this won't be for everyone – dedicated 'real deal' househeads only need apply! But if that's you, the combination here of vintage Mr Fingers-style deep synths and raw, echo-y fem vox is gonna suit you down to the Jacksons' proverbial ground.

Sean Thomas's Drumsong Dub recasts the track as a more contemporary-sounding deep/tech house throbber, and TBH might be the rub that gets more club plays in the current climate… but the original's the one for me. And the fun isn't over there for us oldies, either, as bonus cut Intuition revisits the "dabby doo-dah-dah" scat vocal from The Hypnotist's rave classic House Is Mine, teasing it in slowly over a midtempo deep house groove with prog/Balearic touches. Which is, indeed, a bonus.

With three strong cuts and evidencing a strong sense of house history, this EP is pretty much a must.

Out: Yesterday (14 Feb)

About: Both Billy W and Sean Thomas hail from Philadelphia, but this comes on leading Canadian label Nordic Trax – here's their website and Facebook page.