Since Simon Dunmore at Defected re-opened the doors to Strictly Rhythm, we’ve been blessed with a constant outpouring of New York house from the legendary label. As Dunmore himself said when taking on the imprint, “The label was the starting point for anybody who is anybody in today’s scene, be it as a producer, a DJ or a collector; Strictly Rhythm has left on them an indelible mark.”

This track on Strictly Rhythm by the Bingo Players and Chocolate Puma is a classic dollop of house. The vocal hook is infectious and it has a great thick bassline going right through the middle. The break represents a smashing insertion into the ethereal realms of house, building and building until the bass comes slamming back. That’s the original mix! If you casually step over there’s a Dub mix also included, which would suit our deeper brothers and sisters.

The Bart B More Remix is more representative of beeps and bleeps that are big in club land at the moment. Harder edged electro piano stabs accompany the vocals with a deeper bassline, developing into a softer sound with superb reverb. It’s an excellent rerub of the original and will do well on a lot of floors. The instrumental mix is next up, and it is what it is. The Dub version would have been enough to include on this release, and I can’t really see why an instrumental was also added.

Then, for the ultimate pleasure of days long since past, we have the vintage mix included. A brief interlude of hard stabs from the early 90s greet the listener. There’s not a great deal of bass, as it mostly consists of driving tribal rhythms and vocal variations, but if you listen closely you’ll be rewarded with a trip back in time. I loved this release, but then again this is Strictly Rhythm and there is no denying quality when you utter that name. This will match with any soulful house dancefloor down to a tee.