Various

DNH Records main man Nick Holder takes us for a walk on the house side, travelling through a number of sounds and styles: from deep, Latin and jazzy to funky, edgy and pumping. With subtle, supple mixing, Holder keeps his transitions smooth rather than showy. The exploration kicks off with Rob Mello's slow-burning "Scared of Losing You" then layers into "Rise," a deeply soulful, percussive Giant Step classic by Richard Worth. Here, Holder allows the keys to transport us, understanding that it's not about mixing every two minutes. Things stay deep and sweet with the rich house flavours of the Rurals' "That Feelin," which moves fluidly into the sophisticated Brazil-ified smash "El Ray," by fellow Toronto locals Nöel Nanton and Sandi Flores. Layers of sound are stripped away as Nick continues on the DNH tip with two of his own tracks then takes it into more tech-y territory with Funk D'Void's hypnotic "Barnabeats" and Dirty Gringo's ruff Jinxx release "Circus Freak." Just as we begin to worry about a tempo rut, Nick kicks the gritty, samba and disco-fied business of Joeski's "Hustler's Revenge," comes back to the quirky deep side with Wam Kidz' "Maria," and rounds it out with the trippy, appropriately titled "Mushrooms," featuring the vocals and story telling ability of one Marshall Jefferson. Surprisingly, Nick then fades out the house vibe and leaves us with one of his personal faves, Jazzanova's "Fedimes Flight," a percussive nu-jazz classic that seems to somehow hint at where Holder may go with his own work next.