Freerange Records continues its 30th anniversary celebrations with the fourth instalment in its five-part series, bringing together Dam Swindle, Rocco Rodamaal, Andy Ash, Black Loops, L.D.F. & Trinidadian Deep and Greg Paulus & Krol.
Thirty years is some achievement for any independent label, but perhaps even more so for one which has remained so consistent in its musical identity.
For its anniversary celebrations, Freerange has assembled 30 exclusive tracks from 30 artists, spread across five EPs before culminating in a specially curated box set. Volume 4 once again explores the deeper, soulful and more musical corners of House music which have become synonymous with the label over those three decades.
Dam Swindle get things underway with “I Met Her Last Summer”, and for us it’s the standout of the EP.
Warm, euphoric chords meet a loose disco groove, gradually building without ever forcing the issue. There’s a lovely understated quality to it, the sort of House record which sounds deceptively simple until you start noticing just how much is going on underneath. Classy, warm House music and Dam Swindle doing exactly what they do best.
French producer Rocco Rodamaal follows alongside Oliver Night on “Body & Soul”. Unsurprisingly, things head towards the deeper and more soulful end of the spectrum here. Rodamaal gives the vocal plenty of room while warm musical touches and a steady groove keep everything firmly aimed at the dancefloor.
Liverpool’s Andy Ash turns in “Bailey”, built around crunchy drums, a looping filtered vocal and soaring synth work. It’s another one which doesn’t need to shout particularly loudly to make its point. Rolling, hypnotic and full of those subtle details that tend to reveal themselves properly on a decent system.
Flip the record and Black Loops delivers another of our favourites with “Body Frequencies”.
Swinging drums, chopped samples and a seriously effective low end give this one a noticeably rawer feel. Stripped back but never short of funk, it’s a first-class club track and one of those records that doesn’t overcomplicate matters. Get the drums, bass and groove right and let them do the work.
“African Dream” brings together L.D.F. and Trinidadian Deep for one of the record’s deeper excursions. Percussion-heavy rhythms provide the foundations while rich synth textures slowly unfold around them, taking things into a more hypnotic and spiritual corner of the EP.
And then things get interesting.
Greg Paulus and Parisian producer Krol close Volume 4 with “Waitin’ (Krol Mix)”, perhaps the hardest track on the EP to put neatly into a box.
Raw House drums sit underneath live trumpet, piano and Paulus’ own vocal, giving the track a loose late-night feel somewhere between House, Jazz and something altogether stranger. It’s a brilliant way to finish a record which, despite moving through several different shades of House music, still feels remarkably coherent.
Four volumes into its anniversary series, Freerange isn’t simply looking backwards.
“I Met Her Last Summer” is our pick of Volume 4, with Black Loops’ “Body Frequencies” running it very close, but there’s quality right across the six tracks.
Thirty years of history is worth celebrating, but perhaps the biggest compliment is that Freerange still sounds like a label interested in what comes next.
Thirty years in and the quality control remains firmly intact.
TRACKLIST
A1. Dam Swindle – I Met Her Last Summer
A2. Rocco Rodamaal ft. Oliver Night – Body & Soul
A3. Andy Ash – Bailey
B1. Black Loops – Body Frequencies
B2. L.D.F. & Trinidadian Deep – African Dream
B3. Greg Paulus – Waitin’ (Krol Mix)
Release Date: 25th September 2026, pre order here.
Label: Freerange Records
Format: Vinyl / Digital
Cat No: FR319