REVIEWS – Richard Coombes – Prog House/Breaks – Zone Magazine Issue 049

Welcome to my Progressive House & Breaks review column for Zone Magazine. I began DJ’ing across the South West of England in the early 2000s, inspired by legends such as Sasha, John Digweed, Nick Warren, and Paul Oakenfold, as well as the immersive sounds of producers like Slacker, James Holden, Quivver, and BT.

Through my DJ’ing style of progressive electronic music, I like to take audiences on an aural adventure, blending genres and uplifting melodic beats. Here, I share reviews of music at the forefront of the scene, carefully reviewing hundreds of promos each week to highlight standout tracks from around the globe, that you need to know about.

Send Promos to – r.coombesmusic@gmail.com

10/10 – TOP RELEASE –

Sentre & Of Norway “This Feeling” [Last Night on Earth]

Sentre’s Dave Gardner and Dennis White return to Last Night on Earth, after last appearing alongside label boss Sasha in 2024 for the mind melter that was “Glastacy” which was initially debuted by Sasha for his incredible Glastonbury set in 2022 (well worth seeking out if you’ve not heard it!).

Here the guys from Sentre join forces with Of Norway production duo Vegard Wolf Dyvik and Carl Christian Steenstrup, after Sentre remixed Of Norway’s “I Miss You” for Bedrock’s Futuro Remix Album which released towards the end of 2024.

Together they combine to deliver “This Feeling” which arrives with two fantastic versions. The original is a light melodic, groove laden affair with lush vocals and sweeping pads that give the track a delicate emotive, yet euphoric vibe. The Italo Mix is a more dance floor focused version of
“This Feeling” that retains many of the elements of the original, but with a more up beat tempo, tightened arpeggiated synths and glitched out vocals to give the tune a slightly more textured feel.

Both mixes are excellently crafted to guarantee some special moments on the dance floor.

9/10 Recommended – Frankey & Sandrino “Please EP” [Rekids]

Having had a string quality releases on prestigious labels such as Innervisions, Kompakt and Diynamic, the German-Romanian duo Frankey & Sandrino return to Radio Slaves Rekids imprint with the classy “Please EP”.

Kicking things of with the title track “Please” Frankey & Sandrino craft an excellent piece of electronic synth house that has a distinct retro 80’s Depeche Mode-esque vibe about it. “Please” starts off with an infectious bass line that gives the track a nice bouncy feel, before introducing the cool 80’s style synth line and Dave Gahan-esque vocals. Very cool stuff here!

Next up is a slightly deeper track called “Genie”, here the duo produce an eerie and more atmospheric track that builds from a deep acid tinged bass line that gradually introduces some subtle techno style synth stabs and percussion.
Finally we have Greek DJ and producer Echonomist who is on remix duties for the title track “Please”. The Innervisions and Exit Strategy artist strips the original back, transforming it into a dark, hypnotic, thumper. This is an EP that is definitely worth checking out.

8/10 – Unpaved “Take Me Home” [Hooj Choons]

Anyone who knows anything about Progressive House/Trance/Breaks will tell you that the self proclaimed “occasional providers of half decent house” AKA the seminal Hooj Choons label ran by Red Jerry has been at the forefront of quality electronic music for over 30 years. Home to a host of iconic tunes such as Energy 52 “Café Del Mar”, L.S.G. “Netherworld”, Trancesetters “Roaches” and Pete Lazonby’s “Sacred Cycles” plus a whole host of gems that formed the backbone of many of the legendary Global Underground mix series.

So it’s fair to say when a new Hooj release lands it is definitely worth checking out! Here we have LA based producer Kevin Alves AKA Unpaved deliver a really cool two track release.

First up is the title track “Take Me Home” which starts off with a really nice driving bass line and arpeggiated chord rhythm that leads to a dreamy celestial breakdown with floaty pads and gated vocals.

Next up is “Switch” which takes a slightly more acidy/techy/electro route with some really cool filtered synths and haunting vocals that sit atop clean kick drums and crisp percussion.

Two very cool tunes that offer some unique progressive sounds.

9/10 – Abstrakt.Digital – Shadow [Dissident]

Abstrakt.Digital returns to Dissident with “Shadow” a dark atmospheric slice of Progressive House (as the name would suggest) set to release in time for Halloween.

Abstrakt.Digital’s Original set’s the tone of this cool release package, with a cool dark brooding groover that is packed full mystic chants, layered atmospheric pads and menacing synths that culminates in transporting you to a supernatural aural realm.

The prolific Gai Barone is first up on remix duties. Gai strips this one back and takes things to an even deeper and darker place while keeping the haunting qualities of Abstrakt.Digital’s Original track.

For me though the stand out tune from this package is Dissident label boss Noel Sanger’s classy progressive breaks remix of “Shadow”. Noel gets the perfect blend of light and dark sounds just right, sitting atop of a dirty, sub shattering bass line that takes this to the next level. Quality package all round here!

8/10 – Because of Art “Falling For EP” [Anjunadeep]

British DJ and producer Alex Grover AKA Because of Art returns to Anjunadeep in fine form, after kicking off 2025 with a remix of Karyendasoul’s iconic track “B27” and his awesome “Fired Up EP” of which the title track became one of my favourite tunes of the summer. Alex has also had great releases on Stress Records and Sasha’s Last Night On Earth Label with his “Queens Park EP”.

The “Falling For EP” is a quality three track EP that is packed full of subtle textures and uplifting melodies. Starting off with the title track, here Alex kicks things off with some delightful floaty vocals, uplifting melodic arpeggio’s that are sat on top crisp 4/4 kicks. The break down has a subtle melancholy yet uplifting feel and has an overall fresh feel to it.

“All I Need” is next up, this track features upbeat driving kicks, crisp percussion and ethereal sounding vocals that lead to a really nice breakdown that features some cool filtered synth stabs.

The final track of the EP “Through The Intentions” had a deeper feel to the other tunes and uses a warm sub bass that is countered with a light synth pattern, here Alex uses the subtle light and dark sound design textures to great effect. Really nice EP that is well worth checking out.