It's been a while since the last column and even though the run up to Christmas and New Year is a time when people focus on spending their money elsewhere, this hasn't stopped labels dropping some fantastic material over the last couple of months.

Jason Fine is one of a few artists that first got his break on Omar S' FXHE label, and just like Jus Ed and Kyle Hall - moved on to other labels. In Fine's case it is the Swedish Kontra-Musik label, who've housed him ever since. After the brilliant remix double header "K-M-Mixes" featuring Heinrich Mueller and A Made Up Sound (that I reviewed previously), Fine finished off last year with the "First Thought" album, which was split up into 2 Eps.

There is a large spread of styles across the 2 Eps from brooding electro, high tech funk to techno and house, with no 2 tracks sounding similar, bar an obvious Detroit influence coming through on the arrangements and musical inflections. At times he's not afraid to keep the BPMs up, which is a nice respite from the current trend of keeping things slow and deep. Multi-faceted and as enjoyable to just sit back and listen to without wanting to step up to mix around with, 2010 should see Fine move on to even bigger and better things.

Omar S also capped off another excellent year with the "Here With Me" 12' which he released as Alex Smith. "3 Blind Rats" starts off as a mellow piece of minimal house before some shuddering percussion suddenly appears, driving the song in a much more aggressive and danceable direction. "Running Around" is barely a formed track, little more than a beat less jam with a throbbing low-end bass. As strong as "3 Blind Rats" is, this release belongs to the b-side. "Sign and Drive" & "Here With Me" pretty much work as one single track. It starts off with a few minutes of creaking ambiance before a warm, deep electronic bass arrives, to be joined in succession by lilting female vocals, a piano and rhythm section with acid lines sneaking up in the background before the strings appear in the distance. It echo's the likes of Smith's earlier "Just Ask the Lonely", a sparse and melancholic piece of affecting house music.

A surprise hit from last year was M Pittman's Unirhythm Green release which sold out in a flash, even though his earlier work had never caused a similar furore. It already costs a pretty penny to buy second hand. His latest on new imprint Fit, "Erase the Pain" comes across as that little bit more un-accessible than the last, so it will be interesting to see how it is greeted by his new fan base. It is a dark, rugged lo-fi release for the most part, the title track and "Sync" designed for only the darkest of house and techno dancefloors, with eerie banshee vocals thrown in on 2nd cut. He slows it down and adds a lighter touch on "Illa 5 Ella", closing the release off on a soul tip.

Rounding up all things house for this month is the Scotts; Ferguson and Grooves. On Ferguson's "Revolution" on his own Ferris Park imprint we get two treatments of the title cut, which carry a retro-ish funk idea with a flute refrain and a heavy, near tribal groove before some keys bring it back into the now. Like Pittman, he slows things down on the closing "Evolution of a Revolutionary" and while its deeper grooves may not grab one's attention like the other songs, it's an equally satisfying adventure into American soul music. Scott Grooves delivers a double pack this time which is a follow up to his Coco Brown/La Riddum 12 on Clone from 2008, titled simply "Riddum Collection", which leans heavily on African and tribal inspired rhythms. As of late Grooves has focused heavily on percussion and rhythm in his music, bringing it to the forefront in a fresh and exciting manner, and yet on the likes of "Coco Brown" or "Flute Riddum" can accompany the beats with some superb harmonious touches.

Next : More new Italo from Kenny