FLETCH makes his Hard Times Records debut with four cuts of rolling, groove-led house that continue an increasingly impressive run for the Manchester producer.
We’ve been keeping a close eye on FLETCH for a while now.
Previous KOTT reviews of his “All Night” and “Flexin” EPs on Music For Freaks (read here) caught an artist steadily developing his own take on groove-led house, and the releases that have followed suggest plenty of other people have been paying attention too.
Music has since landed through Circoloco, Three Six Zero and ANOTR’s No Art, where his Play House EP topped the download charts. Now comes another significant step with his debut for longstanding UK house institution Hard Times Records.
After playing Hard Times‘ sold-out Miami Winter Music Conference showcase, conversations about FLETCH’s longstanding appreciation for the label eventually led to him sending over some music. Hard Times signed the tracks on the spot, and “Lift You Up” is the result.
The title track is a slow-burning late-night floor filler. Wobbly acid-tinged bass tones roll beneath female diva-like ad-libs before big breakdowns open the track up, introducing shifting bass patterns and those unmistakable old-school house organ stabs. There’s plenty happening, but everything is given room to breathe and the groove remains firmly in control.
“Stand Up” gets its head down and pushes harder. Fiery drums and a low-slung bassline provide the momentum while more 90s-flavoured organ stabs give it an appealing old-meets-new character. It’s uncomplicated, functional house music, but executed with real purpose.
“Touch Me” heads deeper, stripping things back into another straight-up rolling groove. Again, FLETCH draws upon ideas rooted in 90s house without simply recreating them, folding those influences into a cleaner, contemporary production.
Finally, “1000 Years” takes the EP somewhere slightly rougher around the edges. A stripped-back 4/4 foundation becomes increasingly busy with layers of percussion, sharp drum fills, spinbacks and rudeboy vocal touches, closing the record with plenty of personality.
Across all four tracks there’s a noticeable respect for house music’s past, but FLETCH isn’t treating those influences as nostalgia. Acid tones, organ stabs, swung drums and vocal snippets are instead worked into records designed very much for today’s dancefloors.
From those earlier Music For Freaks releases to a Hard Times debut, FLETCH continues to climb the ladder.
And “Lift You Up” sounds like another rung firmly negotiated.
Release Date: 21 August 2026, exclusive digital release on Beatport here.
Label: Hard Times Records
Catalogue: HTRE024
Format: Digital