Silent is a deep and immersive house music journey from legendary Chicago producer Glenn Underground, an artist widely respected for blending soulful grooves, jazz influences, and underground dancefloor aesthetics into a distinctive sound. Released on Unified Records, the album showcases his refined approach to deep house through extended compositions filled with hypnotic rhythms, warm basslines, and intricate percussion. Each track unfolds gradually, emphasizing atmosphere and groove rather than commercial formulas, creating a listening experience that feels equally suited for late-night clubs and focused headphone sessions. Tracks such as “Negro Music,” “Abstracts,” and “What Glenn Thinks” demonstrate his mastery of layered arrangements and fluid rhythmic structures, while “7 Minutes Of Funk” and “Thoughts Of Groove” highlight his connection to classic funk influences within a modern house framework. The album’s smooth transitions and spacious production give it a timeless quality rooted in Chicago’s underground dance tradition. Silent remains an essential release for fans of sophisticated deep house and groove-centered electronic music.

Coming 15 years after he dazzled the world with his jazz-house album Tourist, Ludovic Navarre returned to his St. Germain moniker with this self-titled 2015 effort, the self-titling being a signal that the project was reborn. It is, at least partially, as rare groove jazz has been replaced by music from Mali, West Africa, along with blues and funky jazz guitars from around the world. In the case of the highlight "Real Blues," it is a Lightnin' Hopkins sample that supplies the blues, while Navarre does his usual - and intoxicating - light house shuffle underneath. Many of the cuts here sound like an Amadou & Mariam release that's constantly segueing into a Naked Music 12" from the house label's heyday, save the dissonant "Hanky-Panky," which suggests that St. Germain, like the equally slow-moving Kraftwerk, has grown fond of layers upon layers…

Jonah Sharp's second proper album keeps much of the atmospheric beauty of Sea Biscuit intact, but the material usually works only as an introduction to devastating beat work on tracks like "Kairo" and "Funkyar," both of which recall the chunkier side of jungle and electro quite convincingly. All in all, Emit Ecaps is a fascinating fusion of hard and soft.