From Chicago to Dublin, Glenn Davis procures music for the soul and this new EP ‘To Believe’ on MATE delivers in style.
Spanish label MATE has carved out a reputation as a home for house music that is deep, refined, and drenched in soul. Their releases never stray into throwaway filler. Instead, they carry a certain timelessness, nodding to the golden eras of Chicago and Detroit while still sounding current. For their latest outing, they’ve invited Dublin’s Glenn Davis, a producer who has been quietly but consistently earning his place among the most respected voices in deep house.
Davis’s story is one steeped in authenticity. A DJ since the early 90s, his roots stretch right back to Ireland’s underground scene, where his sets bridged classic US house with the emerging European sounds. When he turned his hand to production, his music immediately resonated with the purists: warm, analog-driven grooves that carried the lineage of Larry Heard, Ron Trent, and early Prescription Records. Releases on labels like Deeper Grooves, F*CLR Music, and Yore Records have underlined his credentials. Tracks such as Space And Time and Special revealed an artist who could craft house music with both deep introspection and an undeniable dancefloor pull.
On To Believe, Davis steps up to MATE with four tracks that embody everything both artist and label stand for.
The title track To Believe opens the EP with real intent. A hushed, gospel-tinged vocal glides over bubbling basslines and shuffling percussion, instantly recalling that spine-tingling, soulful energy of early Chicago house. It’s a track that could slip seamlessly into a Ron Hardy reel, yet it still feels fresh in 2025.
Reality Check follows, offering a warmer, more meditative journey. The synths are painterly and atmospheric, stabs keep things driving, and the overall feel is both soothing and subtly insistent. This is the kind of track that creeps up mid-set and completely locks the floor into its groove.
Davis then changes gears with True To Yourself. Here, the broken beat framework brings a looser, head-nodding flow, while piano chords straight out of a 90s Italo house record bring a nostalgic shimmer. It’s playful yet classy, proof that Davis is not content with staying in one lane.
Closing track Don’t Be Misled is the deepest cut of the lot. Spacey pads, glowing chords, and feather-light acid lines combine for a cosmic house excursion that floats along with pure elegance. It’s restrained but hypnotic, the kind of tune DJs reach for in the early hours to lift a room into a dreamlike state.
With To Believe, Glenn Davis and MATE deliver an EP that ticks all the right boxes: deep but danceable, classic but forward-looking, soulful yet understated. It’s another standout in Davis’s growing discography and a release that fits seamlessly into MATE’s catalogue of timeless, musical house.
The ‘To Believe’ EP is out now, you can buy it on Juno here.
