Coming off the back of an appearance at London’s SW4 festival, Playaz returns to the capital at the 02 Academy Brixton this New Year’s Eve for the brand’s biggest ever event. Headlining what may be one of London’s biggest New Year’s Eve shows are Hype & Hazard performing a back to back set.

Kölsch is set to perform on the Eiffel Tower in Paris today. The Danish producer’s exclusive DJ set for Cercle Music will be streamed live and direct from 1800 CET - 1915 CET on his Facebook page. Apparently over 15 million viewers are expected to tune in to enjoy a sunset show, with magnificent views across the French capital from the iconic Parisian monument.

Bridging the gap between ‘Stronger Together’ - his late summer Beatport #1 and this month’s delivery of his eighth artist album, Paul van Dyk recently served ‘From Then On’’s final single. 

Noisia’s Thijs De Vlieger’s debut solo release ‘Tetris Mon Amour’ is a studio version of a score he wrote for a commission by the Dutch contemporary dance collective Club Guy & Roni. The video for the project was recently released via Noisia’s YouTube channel (163,000 subscribers). The visual accompaniment to Movement I is a collaboration between Thys, filmmaker Lex Vesseur, and choreographer Roni Haver.

Gabriel & Dresden’s brand new partnership with Anjunabeats kicks off with ‘This Love Kills Me’ feat. Sub Teal, the debut single from their first artist album in over a decade. The progressive house track marks the first single off their album, which was funded by fans on Kickstarter and apparently exceeded more than double the support initially asked for. 

Working in stylistic new areas, penning and co-penning many of the tracks’ lyrics and delivering a disc’s worth of acoustic versions were just some of the ways in which ‘Watch The World’ changed perceptions of Markus Schulz last year. Bringing that to its natural conclusion this October, the German musician signs off on the long-player with its criterion edition. 

Defected Records recently announced their return to the Ministry of Sound on New Year’s Eve. Having made stops around the globe in Dubai, Ibiza, Croatia, Belgium, Amsterdam and more, the party returns home to London on 31 December for a huge end-of-year celebration. This has been a good year for Defected, seeing the second instalment of Defected Croatia and their return to Ibiza with a residency at Eden. 

2017 has already been a decent year for rDutch DJ/producer Alessandro Diga, with the release of his ‘Figments Of My Imagination’ debut artist album on Paul Hazendonk’s Manual Music label. Showcasing Alessandro’s deeply melodic, diverse attitude, one of the album’s highlight tracks, ‘Standing On My Feet’, has just been released with a remix by German duo Danito & Athina, and a bonus brand new track, ‘Panic Mode’.

UK house and techno artists, Dusky, return to their 17 Steps label with the classic house indebted ‘Square Miso’, picking up where this summer’s ‘Cold Heart’ EP left off - the lead track an ever present in Gerd Janson’s summer DJ sets. Apparently recognisable to many from Dusky’s festival sets as well as Jackmaster’s recent Circo Loco terrace recording, the track draws on the swing of classic NYC house with soulful, cut-up vocal samples and tightly programmed beats.

True to tradition, around New Year, the Gashouder on the Westergasfabriek terrain in Amsterdam will once again be the venue of Awakenings New Year. New for this event is the introduction of a day programme during the coming edition of the New Year celebration. On Saturday 30 December doors will open at 12 midday for the New Year’s Special By Day, featuring Joris Voorn, Richie Hawtin and Chris Liebing, among others. The party will end at 10pm. 

With musical trends always changing and evolving, it’s good to see The Shapeshifters sustaining a successful career in house music for over 10 years now. Think we actually gave them their first, or one of the first, UK press coverage when we edited M8 Magazine and were sent the instrumental of 'Lola's Theme' via Paul Farris' FourFour Promotions.

Robin Schulz recently released his ‘Uncovered’ album, which is out now via Atlantic Records. Spanning 18-tracks, the album is possibly the German’s most cinematic and complete work to date. Setting the tone for the 18-track opus, ‘Intro’ is an orchestral composition, with tension building strings and a staccato piano melody that denotes a sombre mood. Transitioning into crisp percussion and soft chord progressions, ‘Unforgettable’ features the dulcet tones of American singer/songwriter Marc Scibilia. The track is the third single from the album. The melancholic tone is turned on its head with the arrival of the David Guetta & Cheat Codes collaboration 'Shed A Light,' the chorus and string-laden summer track that has been streamed over 250 million times online.

‘Fall For U’ is the latest single from Dublin born producer Jay Pryor, demonstrating the 22-year old’s penchant for the breezy, melodic crossover house that is apparently popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Featuring vocals from Jack McManus and Jon Green with loose keys and a post-summer vibe, the track aims to light-up the airwaves and dancefloors.

A name synonymous with electronic music, Erick Morillo is part of the generation of DJs that were formative of the house music revolution. With a career spanning several decades, Erick has possibly remained one of the most in-demand and instantly recognisable producers in the world since launching Subliminal Records in 1997 with Harry Romero and Jose Nunez.

British duo CamelPhat release on Lee Foss’s Repopulate Mars this October, featuring three possible dancefloor ready house cuts. A busy touring schedule has seen the duo play some of Europe’s most renowned venues including Fabric, Rainbow and Amnesia Ibiza to name a few, as well as top festivals such as Hideout, Creamfields, We Are FSTVL and Tomorrowland. 

Soulfuric is possibly one of the most well-renowned labels in house music worldwide. As production duo Jazz-N-Groove and Urban Blues Project (UBP), Brian Tappert and Marc Pomeroy released records on classic labels including Sub-Urban, Strictly Rhythm and AM:PM, even cueing up the first ever release on Defected Records (and a UK chart no.8) with Soulsearcher’s 'Can’t Get Enough'. In 1996, the two founded their own label Soulfuric Recordings which eventually included sub-labels Soulfuric Deep and Soulfuric Trax. 

Young Austrian D&B artist Mefjus, aka Martin Schober, takes the helm of ‘FABRICLIVE 95’, the newly announced instalment in the electronic mix album series. The album will be released on CD and digital via Fabric on 17 November, rounding off a year that’s seen contributions from Daphni, Preditah, and beyond. A hybrid artist and DJ mix album, it features only Mefjus’ own productions, remixes, and collaborations across the 29-strong tracklist. Exclusives include ‘Untitled (Dub)’, while the mix features originals such as ‘Mirage’, ‘Far Too Close’ (his 2012 debut), ‘Chaos Theory’, ‘Blitz’, ‘Suicide Bassline VIP’, ‘Dissuade (Emperor remix)’, ‘Saturate’, and others, plus his remixes of Ivy Lab’s ‘Sunday Crunk’, Noisia’s ‘Exavolt’, and Emperor’s ‘SMPL’.

Ministry of Sound’s Autumn/Winter season with see performances from the likes of Louie Vega, Fritz Kalkbrenner, Klingande, plus a special 26th birthday with DJ Harvey, Session Victim, Harvey Sutherland, In Flagrante and Justin Berkmann. Look out too for its anything goes flagship residency Glitterbox which continues to serve up plenty of surprises. Already this year, Marshmello made his UK debut at the club back in February and Jonas Blue also played a headline slot.

To mark the release of his eighth artist album, Paul van Dyk is set to bring audiences a one-off live experience. One week ahead of ‘From Then On’’s release, Paul will marry album preview and album retrospective as one. Programmed solely for the night of Friday 14 October, Paul’s extended set will passage from his earliest album moments to his most recent. ‘45rpm’ to ‘From Then On’, and all points ‘Out There And Back’ & ‘In Between’.

Hardwell recently claimed two top spots at this year’s ‘DJ awards’ ceremony, held annually in Ibiza to recognise those that have left the biggest impression on the White Isle each year. Firstly, he celebrates a big year by retaining his ‘Big Room House’ title, having been pitted against the likes of David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki and The Chainsmokers. 

Defected and Classic Music Company touch down in Amsterdam on 20 October for this year’s double-header ADE party taking place at Air. Keeping in touch with both labels’ ‘family’ ethos, the line-up consists entirely of artists who have releases on Classic, Defected or one of the sub-labels this year. 

‘High Drama’ sees SONNS & Phil Kieran team up to drop four leftfield cuts on Hottrax this next month. Stretching 20 years, Phil’s career includes working with artists like Green Velvet, Peter Hook and Gary Numan, remixing Depeche Mode, as well as working closely with David Holmes on numerous projects. Meanwhile, his solo discography features appearances on labels like Hotflush, Yoshitoshi, Soma and Skint, not to mention albums on Cocoon and last year’s Hot Creations debut.

This November, Get Physical release the first ever album from Chicago house luminary DJ Pierre. Before that, they drop one of the singles from the LP with a remix by Zombie Nation. Pierre, by anyone’s standards, is a pivotal character in the story of house music. 

UK DJ/producer Hauswerks releases on Sunderland based label Haze Records this November, featuring two original productions and a remix from Apollo 84. Having possibly put himself on the map with releases on Hot Creations and VIVa LIMITED, recent years have seen him release on Moon Harbour, ElRow, Material and Avotre. 

Stepping up to continue Defected’s In The House tradition is DJ Haus, a decidedly untraditional DJ, producer, originator and DIY label innovator. Recognised among the underground house community as apparently being at the cutting edge with his imprints Unknown To The Unknown and Hot Haus Recs, his kaleidoscopic eclecticism and refreshing lack of ostentation makes him, in Defected’s opinion, an ambassador for the future of house music.

Cologne/Berlin duo Andhim return to their own Superfriends Records once again for their new EP 'Huso'. Apparently climbing to uncharted heights of dance-music popularity, they have been releasing their distinguished style of sample-heavy ‘Super House’ since 2010, reaching the ears of the masses on various music labels.

Above & Beyond chose the occasion of possibly the biggest weekend in their history to unveil plans for their fourth studio album, performing to almost 35,000 clubbers at two U.S. shows. Following a sold-out headline show at Red Rocks, Colorado on Friday the band moved on to host ABGT250 at The Gorge Amphitheatre the next evening, where Jono, Tony and Paavo revealed that the album will be titled ‘Common Ground’ and is set for release in January 2018. 

Avicii recently shared the official video for his new single ‘Lonely Together’. Taken from his current EP ‘AVĪCI’, the track features British pop singer Rita Ora, who performed the song live on the first episode of the 2017 series of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing on the 9th of September. 

As the season begins to draw towards a close, Hï Ibiza recently announced the first official closing party. Taking place on Sunday 8 October, the closing party features a line-up of Ibiza favourites, including Jamie Jones, Loco Dice and Guy Gerber, residents Steve Lawler, Andrea Oliva, Nic Fanciulli and Kölsch, plus many more! 

Last year apparently saw over 2,200 artists and 500 speakers descend on the Dutch capital for five days of world-class parties and the conference at the Amsterdam Dance Event. To coincide with the event, the ‘Defected Amsterdam’ compilation series gives a sneak preview of the tracks that might blow up at the event and dominate sets across the week and beyond.

Steve Angello recently released the video for his track ‘Rejoice’. The experimental fashion film was curated by Angello himself, and serves as ‘an interpretation about heaven and hell’. These are themes central to his forthcoming album of three acts ‘Genesis’, ‘Inferno’ and ‘Paradiso’. The video blends CGI and haute couture, set against the track’s sermon, delivered by USA preacher, T.D. Jakes. Unlike anything he’s done before, the new music goes into a much darker, artful direction inspired by Steve’s own spiritual awakening.

Under The Influence is a new club concept hosted at Underground Ibiza, a venue that set out to retain an authentic approach to Ibizan clubbing and aims to reflect the original philosophy of the island as a place for all to party. Underground is apparently a club that values quality music and an honest, inclusive clubbing experience over the ever-increasing prevalence of VIPs and fast-growing commercialism. It aims to bring together DJs and producers that have had a direct impact and influence over each other’s respective careers. 

Hot on the heels of debut single ‘Fix Me’, Richard Judge lands on The Bearded Man with another one of his outings. With ‘Kinda Love’, the up-and-coming talent builds on the slew of singles from his hand and kicks his potential rise to the top into overdrive.

Kerri Chandler recently announced he’s taking the reins of the DJ-Kicks mix series, with a digital, CD and vinyl release set for 20 October. The album will be accompanied by a tour across the UK, Europe, and America. Peace, love, and admiration is well-known as Kerri’s sign-off on messages to his fans, and this album is born of that spirit and this mix takes him out of the club and through a world of influences and inspirations. 

This month sees Oliver Lieb drop his first official L.S.G. long-player for 15 years. Something of an album recluse since 2002’s ‘The Hive’, as its title infers ‘Double Vision’ is a sonic demonstration of the two halves of Lieb’s musical mind.  Throughout its frontend, the album moves through glacial grooves, zephyr-ish melodies and soundscapes. The second half sees him shift focus to the club floor, supplying the album with drum punch and floor verve through its 11 4/4-based tracks. 

On 30^th September, one night after the closing party in Ibiza, Glitterbox takes on Zurich with sets from Joey Negro, Simon Dunmore and Aston Martinez, as well as performances from Hot Heels. Joey Negro is a mainstay of contemporary disco, with a career spanning as far back as 1988, he has a discography that could arguably rival anyone in the industry. 

Bristol’s Eli Brown makes his debut on Repopulate Mars with four cuts in his ‘Hysteria’ EP this month. With early releases on labels such as Steve Lawler’s VIVa and Skream’s Of Unsound Mind, Eli’s arrival onto the scene has possibly given him a reputation as a rising talent. 

ON IT Recordings welcome Funk D'Void to the label with his new single 'Feels So Good'. A hypnotic journey into melodic techno, he uses a classic ’90s vocal sample laid over synths and bass underpinned by driving percussion to work the floor. The package also includes remixes from Tuff London, who inject an arpeggiated synth line that builds with thick strings. Brett Gould's remix journeys between techno and progressive, armed with a rolling bassline, driving percussion and a melodic synth hook. 

Released the same day as Glitterbox closes its 16-date summer season at Hï Ibiza, Glitterbox – ‘Disco’s Revenge’ captures the hedonism of the party’s extravaganza. Spread over three mixes which have been selected and curated by founder and label boss Simon Dunmore, the album gets to the very essence of ‘dance music’ in its truest sense; music which moves your body and your soul. The standout tracks are a mixture of brand new funk-laden cuts, all-time house classics and rare disco treasures.

This week will see Visionquest return with Alexi Delano’s ‘Water Colors’ EP, accompanied by a remix from the Persuader aka Jesper Dahlbäck. Chilean born, Swedish raised, New York adopted and Amsterdam based producer and DJ Alexi has a back catalogue dating back over two decades and featuring releases on labels such as Laurent Garnier’s F Communications, Richie Hawtin & John Acquaviva’s Plus 8, Ghostly International’s Spectral Sound and M_Nus.

Kiwi AKA Alex Warren is apparently enjoying a studio purple patch with previous EPs and singles having surfaced to strong acclaim via Futureboogie, Correspondent, Moda Black and Optimo Music. ‘Marmora’s Theme’ EP marks his debut on Dusky’s 17 Steps – a label formed in 2014 that counts tracks from Velvit, Lo Shea, Skream and Alan Fitzpatrick among its discography – offering three originals sat next to a remix from Tuff City Kids aka Gerd Janson and Lauer. 

Following from ‘Catch The Beat’ featuring Cakes da Killa, ‘Look Ahead’ is the latest single taken from Honey Dijon’s forthcoming album ‘The Best of Both Worlds’. Given its world premiere by Honey in her Essential Mix, the track apparently quickly became Classic’s most sought-after record with various DJs looking for upfront copies.

Patrick Topping, Kerri Chandler, Catz ‘N Dogz, Alan Fitzpartick and more. The list goes on as Yousef’s Circus reaches a historic milestone with his label, Circus Recordings, bringing together a selection of artists for a 15-track compilation album. A year in the making, each artist has been handpicked by Yousef himself and the album will celebrate each artist’s own long-standing relationship with Circus – everyone involved has performed at Circus a vast number of times since its inception in 2002.

Probably one of the most addictive records of summer 2017, CamelPhat & Elderbrook’s ‘Cola’ may have become a defining musical moment of the year. The track had barely touched the ground when tastemakers’ ears were pricking up across the board and it was quickly snapped up by Danny Howard as his Hottest Record on Radio 1 and is currently on rotation by the likes of MK, Solomun, Kenny Dope, Claptone, Roger Sanchez and many more. 

Relentless Beats recently announced phase one or their lineup for Decadence NYE, apparently Arizona’s largest music festival - a two-day New Year’s Eve celebration taking place at Rawhide Event Center in Chandler, Arizona on 30 and 31 December 2017. Presented by Relentless Beats and Global Dance, the fourth annual festival will include two main stages, with possibly some of electronic dance music’s biggest artists, including: in the Diamond Atrium:  Armin Van Buuren (AZ festival debut); Black Tiger Sex Machine; Borgore; Crywolf; Galantis; Louis the Child; Medasin (AZ debut); What So Not; Zedd and Zed’s Dead.

Saturday 4 November will be Defected London’s first event since the end of the Ibiza season, which has seen Defected taking over Sundays at San Antonio’s, Eden, for 20 weeks. Bringing the party home to Ministry of Sound to fill the Box, the Loft and the 103 with house basslines and 4/4 beats are Sam Divine, Low Steppa, Ninetoes, Mat.Joe and Dario D’Attis.

Global Underground recently announced a tenth release in its Nubreed series, which focuses on electronic music’s rising stars. ‘Nubreed #10: Oliver Schories’  is released on Friday 27 October 2017 on 2XCD CD, digital and stream. The German DJ and producer joins alumni of the album series including Steve Lawler, Sander Kleinenberg, Lee Burridge, Satoshi Tomiie, and, most recently, Habischman.

When you’ve been around the House block as much as Junior Sanchez has, you’ve probably witnessed everything from the baby steps of the scene to its years of prosper and world-changing effect on electronic music as a whole. Combining all of that with the defining influence of the likes of Masters At Work, Mood 2 Swing, Armand van Helden, Todd Terry, Daft Punk, Kerri Chandler and MK, Junior Sanchez has come up with an 11-piece album that can only be regarded as a tribute: ‘Under The Influence’.

Following the success of this year’s Creamfields, where an apparent sell-out crowd of 70,000 flocked to Cheshire to attend one of the biggest festivals of the summer and witness some of the biggest electronic artists perform, the team behind the festival recently announced the return of the Steel Yard to Liverpool waterfront this November.

Brighton Music Conference (BMC18) returns to Brighton Dome and other venues in Brighton for its fifth year from Wednesday 25 April to Saturday 28 April 2018, following its most successful year to date in 2017. Super early bird tickets are now on sale for the two-day music conference at The Dome on Thursday 26 April & Friday 27 April, priced at Academy £16.60 and Professional £75.90.

Mid September will see SoSure Music co-founder Hollis Parker return to the label with his ‘Identity Crisis’ EP, a three-tracker from the London based artist. New York born Hollis has carved out his own contemporary twist on sample heavy house, solely releasing material via SoSure Music and debuting in 2015. 

Watergate Records returns next mont with Kerri Chandler’s ‘Checkmate’, accompanied by remixes from Cinthie and Steve Rachmad. New Jersey’s Kerri has possibly been one of the most respected figures in electronic music and a purveyor of authentic, underground house music as both a DJ and producer. 

Dokta is the London-born electronic music artist newly signed to 20/20 Vision Recordings. His debut release, the ‘2nd Nature EP’, is currently being supported by Ben UFO, Midland, Roman Flugel, Seth Troxler, Craig Richards, Danny Tenaglia, Laurent Garnier, Anja Schneider, and many more and he recently signed to live agency, LittleBig, home to Aphex Twin, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Autechre.

2017 will see Maya Jane Coles release her second album, ‘Take Flight’, on her own label I/AM/ME via Skint Records/BMG. The album is her most substantial body of work to date and is the follow up to her debut album ‘Comfort’ (2013) and her ‘Nocturnal Sunshine’ project (2015). The album has been preceded by the EP ‘Won’t Let You Down’, which is apparently receiving worldwide support from DJs in the clubs and on the radio - Pete Tong made the title track his “Essential New Tune”. 

Just over a year ago Cassy embarked on her largest and most personal project yet, her debut solo album ‘Donna’, released on AUS Music. Since then, she has put out a string of remixes on Powerplant, Turbo, Echoe and Watergate, plus a track on Muna’s latest VA. 

Celebrating a big Ibiza season which saw Defected returning to the island to host possibly San Antonio’s most popular residency, ‘Most Rated Ibiza 2017’ assembles some of the biggest house records that have made an impact on the party capital this summer. 

For the fourth year in a row, Armin van Buuren has turned to the White Isle for the latest edition of his ‘A State Of Trance’ mix album series. Through ‘A State Of Trance, Ibiza 2017’, the five-time number one DJ in the world, who’s been in charge of the Wednesday nights at Hï Ibiza this summer, pushes the trance genre forward.

With a legacy in dance music in the USA, author Michael Tullberg delivers a book of essays about being a raver and the common threads that bind them all. The various authors of the book reveal their personal experiences and deliver poignant revelations on just how life-altering and important the rave scene was, and still is, for them. Titled 'The Raver Stories Project', the book reveals the rave scene as it really was and is, compiled and edited by apparently one of the ultimate US rave insiders—dance music photojournalist Michael Tullberg. 

Greek producer and Material Music founder Mihalis Safras makes a return to Repopulate Mars with a two track release named ‘Phenomenon’ next month. Born and raised in Athens, Safras has possibly been on an upwards trajectory for over a decade, both as a producer, DJ and label owner of Material. 

Boy 8-Bit returns to Eton Messy Records with a single titled ‘Want You’ featuring a remix by Mason. Debuting back in 2004, Boy 8-Bit aka David Morris has had a substantial career that includes an Essential Mix in 2010, being tapped to remix Florence and The Machine, La Roux, Armand Van Helden, Eric Prydz, and Bookashade, not to mention contributing music to video games such as Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto and Midnight Club series.

The ultimate record collection, as chosen by Glitterbox DJs, is to be auctioned for charity with all proceeds going to the Ibiza Preservation Fund. Last week it was announced that Ibiza’s newest club has joined forces with Friday night residency Glitterbox, to curate the ultimate record collection which will be auctioned for charity at the end of the season. 

As anticipation continues to grow for their festival-scale show in London this weekend, elrow recently announced they are bringing a huge indoor festival to Scotland for their debut in Edinburgh, as the location is revealed for elrow Halloween Haunted House on Saturday 28 October. 

Amsterdam’s Mason prepares a four-track release designed with all night sets in mind on his Animal Language label titled ‘Chronology’. Founding Animal Language in 2009, the label has been Mason’s main platform for releasing his productions when he hasn’t been making appearances on Defected, Bunny Tiger, Island Records and Kittball. 

Skream is back with his back-to-basics 'Open to Close' tour after last year's apparently successful, sold-out run. This year has been a decent and eventful year for the London-based producer, hosting his Skreamizm show at Eastern Electrics' Bigger Top stage, alongside Dennis Ferrer, Butch, Solardo and Jon Jose & Celino to a crowd of 4,000-strong. He has also enjoyed a good Ibiza season with 12 shows under his belt so far.

Creamfields, The 10,000 Hours Foundation and Warrington Borough Council recently announced their partnership in support of the local community. The partnership sees Creamfields recruiting festival loving volunteers to throw a mini-festival style ‘Cream’ tea & dance for elderly people - aiming to break loneliness in the elderly community and introduce young people to volunteering. 

DJ/producer Steve Angello returns with two brand new songs ‘Breaking Kind’ and ‘Rejoice’. The two tracks are the first of several songs that will be released monthly from Steve’s forthcoming album ‘Almost Human’ due out later this year via Kobalt. These two new songs mark a stark turn for the producer. ‘Rejoice’ features a sermon by U.S. preacher T.D. Jakes (dubbed “one of the nation’s most influential & mesmerising preachers” by The New York Times), who deeply impacted Steve’s own life. ‘Breaking Kind’ features Paul Meany, the lead singer and keyboardist of U.S. rock band Mutemath.

Before he releases a debut album later in the year, Chicago’s DJ Pierre is serving up a revised version of one of his most classic cuts, ‘Generate Power’, along with a remix from Blondi:sh. The ‘90s was a special time for techno music as it went from birth to a worldwide mainstay in a short space of time. One of the culprits for the rise was apparently this track. Originally released in 1991 on Strictly Rhythm, DJ Pierre has revisited the track and given it a facelift for 2017. 

Erick Morillo recently announced the relaunch of his deep house imprint Subliminal Soul. The label is a division under the umbrella of his flagship label Subliminal Records alongside Sondos Records. Focusing on soulful, funky, deep house releases, the relaunch of the label will include projects from the head honcho himself. 

A highlight from the trio’s headline shows at Ultra Miami and Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas this year, ‘Tightrope’ looks like a return to the heartfelt songwriting that has won Jono, Tony and Paavo (Above & Beyond) many fans around the world. 2017 has already been a good year for the band, with the release of ‘Alright Now’ (alongside longtime collaborator Justine Suissa), ‘1001’, the brooding ‘Balearic Balls’ and piano-led ambient moment ‘Surge’, lifted from the ‘Inspired By The Ghost In The Shell’ soundtrack.

Out now, ‘Woke’, continues a big year for Tiga. Premiered by Annie Mac on Radio 1, the electro-leaning new single from the Canadian artist was co-produced by Tiga, Jori Hulkonnen (with whom Tiga created the ubiquitous ‘Bugatti’), and Clarian North, and mixed by Mark Ralph. Remixes will come from Justin Cudmore, Patrick Topping, and Eduardo de la Calle.

Get Physical co-founders M.A.N.D.Y. continue to rework and remix their recent LP ‘Double Fantasy’ LP and this time round it’s ‘Rabbit Mountain’ which gets two interpretations from the duo and another from Gerd Janson. Up first on the package is the ‘Rework’ version of ‘Rabbit Mountain’ which sees M.A.N.D.Y. deliver a smooth and melodious take on the original, laying down seven minutes of metallic percussive chimes, rumbling subs and emotive string melodies.

Born from the friendship between Luke Solomon and Derrick Carter, Classic is above all else a “family” label; an assembly of diverse artists who refute convention but share in the motivation to satisfy only their own artistic intentions. Fulfilling their desire for a platform to share their left-of-centre house selections with the world, Classic began in 1994 as a vinyl imprint, starting at catalogue #100 and counting backwards to zero. Once at zero, Classic retreated briefly before coming back stronger, wonkier and with extended family in tow.

Jeremy Guindo AKA Bambounou, is one of only two Frenchmen to have worked with the now defunct Berlin-based label 50 Weapons (run by Modeselektor). The producer of over seven EPs and two albums (2012's 'Orbiting' and 2015's 'Centrum', both on 50 Weapons), Bambounou announced himself as one of the major acts in the French and European, house and techno scenes. 

Still in his celebratory 20th year, Chicane is currently working on his next studio album on an island off the British coast, but in the meantime he releases this track. Co-written by Spanish-born songwriter, chantress, DJ and fashion blogger Barbarella, ‘How Does Your House Work’ saw its release today on Chicane’s own label, Modena Records. 

Fresh off the release of his album ‘Steve Aoki Presents: Kolony’, which apparently debuted as the #1 Album on the iTunes US Electronic Chart, Steve Aoki recently premiered the second official music video for ‘Kolony’ for his track ‘Night Call’ featuring Migos and Lil Yachty.

Liverpool Music Week recently announced that disco legends Chic Featuring Nile Rodgers will headline the 15th Anniversary Year Opening Night Party of the Liverpool-based music festival on 26th October 2017, in a performance at the Liverpool Echo Arena. LMW was recently crowned Best Metropolitan Festival at the UK Festival Awards 2016, and the opening night party will be their first show in the city in over four decades. 

Around four months before he will perform, according to Hardwell’s press team, over 125,000 people have apparently already registered to get on his guest list for his United We Are at the ‘World’s Biggest Guestlist Festival’. After the World’s Biggest Guestlist event held in December of 2015, this year’s event’s World’s Biggest Guestlist is set to close on Monday 14 August 2017 at 5pm.

Over the past eight years, Drumcode Halloween has aimed to cement itself as London's definitive Halloween Party. Returning to the ancient burial site of Tobacco Dock, the label recently revealed the first artists confirmed for the party. Adam Beyer heads things up, presiding over the Great Gallery, where the Drumcode boss promises a visceral and cerebral rollercoaster. Also confirmed is Amelie Lens from Belgium and Drumcode Halloween regulars, Dense & Pika. 

Techno artist Monika Kruse recently launched an online merchandise store, which features male, female and unisex garments, alongside a selection of autographed vinyl and CDs from her own private collection. A labour of love five-months in the making, all designs were overseen by Monika and feature the unique ‘M’ logo matte print design across a range of jumper, t-shirt, vest and dress designs.

Showtek are back with the release of two tracks off their new ‘Amen EP’ out now via Skink/Armada. Included are the title track ‘Amen’ featuring Freetown Collective, whom Showtek worked with previously on the 2016 track ‘Believer’. Taking a stance with their music, the track is a Caribbean inspired track, while ‘Don’t Shoot’ is a more traditional Showtek release filled with heavy bass and drops. Written in conjunction with vocalist GC in the midst of the recent protests against police violence, both Showtek and GC have provided statements concerning the inspiration and reasoning behind their collaboration on ‘Don’t Shoot’.  

After working with a long list of major acts like The Kills and Moby and writing songs together with Dave Gahan for the latest two Depeche Mode albums the Swiss-born New Yorker Kurt Uenala emerges as a solo artist under the name Null + Void, with his debut longplayer ‘Cryosleep’. An album of contrasts and tension, where darkness is pierced by blinding light, and where moody new wave bleeds into stark electronics. In one moment, joyful memories give way to isolation and regret, and in the next, it explores the catharsis of crowded dancefloors.

elrow recently announced their debut CD, released through UK label Cr2, giving a true representation of the soundtrack that fuels their parties delivered by their residents. To get a feel for the elrow experience think mega parties full of bursts of light and colour, trapeze artists soaring through the air as a flood of confetti pours from the sky, eclectic props and inflatable toys, elaborate set design, stilt walkers towering above you, Elvis Presley rocking to techno with thousands of revelers dancing to the beat of house and techno.

Festival promoters Creamfields are set for a busy year having recently announced their international festival schedule for 2017. With a series of 10 shows planned until the end of the year, including new territory for the festival brand - China - they also have events taking place in Hong Kong and Taiwan this year and another show scheduled for mainland China in 2018.

‘Night Gallery’ is the sixth studio album from possibly one of the UK’s finest electronic music artists, High Contrast (aka Lincoln Barrett). Enjoying increasing crossover success, his last three consecutive tracks, ‘Questions’, ‘Remind Me’, and ‘Shotgun Mouthwash’, have all hit daytime radio playlists, and with two apparent sell-out live performances at Brixton Academy and Electric Brixton under his belt, major festival shows this summer include Reading & Leeds, Creamfields, SW4, and NASS.

2017 marks the 20th anniversary of Optimo (Espacio). Twitch & Jonnie Wilkes could never have imagined that what started out as a small gathering of like-minded freaks on Sunday nights at The Sub Club, Glasgow back in 1997 would flourish and endure two decades later. They felt this was something that deserved celebrating, so to mark this event the duo have decided to put on a one day festival / party in conjunction with their friends at SWG3.

Bargrooves is possibly a compilation series for the truly discerning house music lover. Defined by carefully-curated tracklists and programmed DJ mixes, this latest instalment from Bargrooves features a collection of soulful and laidback house grooves.   

Following the release of ‘Modulations: EP 1’, contemporary pianist James Heather presents his debut album - ‘Stories From Far Away On Piano’ on 18 August via Coldcut’s Ahead Of Our Time who say: “We highly recommend that you tune in for a journey into an emotive piano landscape.”

In addition to the sold-out opening weekend, headlined by LCD Soundsystem, and the Welcome To The Warehouse double-header, Manchester clubbing brand The Warehouse Project recently revealed the line-ups for the full 2017 season. 

Glitterbox is now six weeks into its season at Hï Ibiza and every Friday it’s bringing Ibiza’s brand new destination to life in extravagant style. The club night features a line up of its resident DJs this Friday 21 July, including Dimitri From Paris, Roger Sanchez, Todd Terry, Simon Dunmore, Aeroplane and Mr Doris.  

Following the release of his ‘New Day’ LP in 2015, Satoshi Tomiie assembles a number of producers for remixes, including Maayan Nidam, Fred P, Ron Trent, Dj Sneak, and more. Reflecting on a longstanding career and accolades that make him well-known within house music, Satoshi could easily rest on his laurels, however the Japanese producer continues to make music. 

After coming forth with ‘You, I & The Music’ as the first single of his forthcoming tribute album called ‘Under The Influence’, Junior Sanchez releases the album’s second single, ‘Back To House’. The track features the vocals of French singer-songwriter SoShy and is out on Junior’s own label, Brobot Records.

Duo Amine Edge & DANCE get set to release two tracks demonstrating their low-end house sound. Hailing from Southern France, the duo have built their own musical empire, namely a burgeoning label called CUFF. 

Native New Yorker David Morales goes back to his disco roots, unleashing a cover version of the late-70s Debbie Jacob's track, 'Don’t You Want My Love'. Having recently created an edit of the original, which he dropped on the dancefloors of Glitterbox and beyond, David decided to recreate the song from scratch under his The Face moniker. Enlisting the soulful vocals of regular Def Mix cohort, Nicki Richards, David has crafted two slabs of authentic disco that aims to radiate the dancefloor.

Chicago born producer, composer, pianist, and DJ Kate Simko is bringing her project with London Electronic Orchestra to London’s The Jazz Cafe. Kate and LEO’s biggest London show of the year, the night will feature a quartet of harp, violin, and two cellos alongside Kate on keyboards and London-based vocalist Alex Marshall. With a pop-soul vocal style, Alex has featured on numerous electronic, folk, and house tracks with artists like Mac Elliott and Billie Marten.

A seminal record of the mid-80s New York radio and club scene, ‘Nobody’s Business’ was originally a 1920s blues standard by Porter Grainger, sung and recorded by many, including another Billie – a certain Ms Holiday. Boyd Jarvis took the hook and changed some of the lyrics, turning the song into an uplifting house anthem. 

Dave Clarke Presents will be back at ADE 2017 for its 13th edition with a line-up featuring Boys Noize, Gary Beck, James Ruskin, the comeback of British Murder Boys (Regis & Surgeon), a performance by Lady Starlight and some of the low countries artists including Estroe, Mirella Kroes, Charlotte de Witte and Mr. Jones. Headlining this edition is DJ/producer/label boss Alexander Ridha aka Boys Noize, who merges various styles with influences of hip-hop and disco roots as well as heavy noise and electro house sounds.

2017 will see Maya Jane Coles release her second album, ‘Take Flight’, on her own label I/AM/ME via Skint Records/BMG. The album is her most substantial body of work to date and is the follow up to her debut album ‘Comfort’ (2013) and her ‘Nocturnal Sunshine’ project (2015). The album has been preceded by the EP ‘Won’t Let You Down’, which is apparently receiving worldwide support from DJs in the clubs and on the radio - Pete Tong made the title track his “Essential New Tune”. Featuring remixes of Won’t Let You Down’ from Catz ’n Dogz and Paride Saranceni, album track ‘Cherry Bomb’ plus ‘Round In Circles’, the EP’s various tracks saw premieres with Wonderland, Mixmag, Complex, Grooveand Huffington Post. A further EP ‘Weak/Werk’ will drop imminently! 

Pepe Rosello and Carl Cox recently got together with local media and specialised electronic music press for the inauguration of the new Space Warehouse, a multipurpose space that is open to the public. Space Warehouse is a museum, where visitors can admire historical pieces of Space the club, buy official merchandising and pay tribute to the history of the most awarded club in the world.

20 year old Ghetto Vanessa aka Sönke Oberschmidt is the young Dominican Republic-based producer possibly making some of the freshest club sounds you’ll hear in 2017. Imagine dancehall with the pop experimentalism of PC Music and you get close to Ghetto Vanessa’s take on Caribbean music, favela beats and Dominican Bachata. ‘Yuh Live Nice’, now signed to Ministry of Sound, could well be his breakout hit.