The biggest name on this volume takes up the least space: Demarkus Lewis signs 'Feed My Vibe' as a 3:37 radio edit, the shortest cut of the six. The Dallas producer has more than 1,500 credited tracks, has run his own Grin Music label since 2005, and belongs to the generation that discovered deep house in the early nineties with Marc Kinchen and Larry Heard as its compass. Nor is he a one-off signing: he already passed through HOUPH in 2021 with 'Funk City'. That a catalogue this deep gets condensed into three and a half minutes at 124 BPM says a lot about how economically this sixth Late Spring Vibes is built.
The other confirmed veteran is Ricky KK, Italian producer Riccardo Lippi, owner and A&R of HouseBeat Records since 2010, with stops at labels like Kittball and Trax Records. His 'Inkunzi' (5:23 at 125 BPM, A minor) is also a return visit: back in 2020 he left 'Beat Drop' on this same imprint. That is how HOUPH operates — a series of themed compilations (Summer Vibes, Halloween Vibes, Positive Vibes) where names rotate and some put down roots.
The rest of the bill
Around those two anchors, the volume works as a talent pool:
- Johnny Deep opens with his re-work of 'My Intentions', the longest (7:11) and slowest (122 BPM) cut, in A-flat minor: the most atmospheric way into the set.
- Fulvio Perniola and Aulic co-sign 'Moozik', which at 126 BPM sets the tempo ceiling of the record.
- Manuel Kane is the only remixer here: his take on DJ Feevos' 'So Sweet' stretches E minor across 6:44, the second-longest track.
rawBeetz closes with 'Take It Back', in G minor like 'Moozik': the whole record moves in minor keys within a range of barely four BPM. The names supply the hierarchy; the tempo supplies the glue.
Sources: Untitled Music · Essential House · Traxsource · Beatport
