Lea Lisa returns to Favorite Recordings with the second volume of ‘Many Shades Of House’, digging through eight cuts that explore house music well beyond a single sound.
There’s something increasingly refreshing about a compilation that simply begins with somebody’s record collection.
For ‘Many Shades Of House Vol.2’, French DJ and selector Lea Lisa once again draws on decades spent digging, collecting and playing records, pulling together music that represents the different places house has taken her along the way.
And the title is important here. This isn’t eight variations on the same groove.
Across four sides of vinyl, ‘Many Shades Of House Vol.2’ moves between deeper, funkier and more cerebral corners of the genre, with tracks from Korsakow, Ian Pooley, Cab Drivers, Fred Quest, Chateau Flight, Funk Force Project, Leonel Castillo and Colourful Karma featuring Terra Deva.
There are some serious records amongst that lot.
Ian Pooley’s ‘Flatlet’ brings the kind of beautifully understated deep house groove that has made his productions endure for so long, while Cab Drivers’ ‘Backside 50’ heads into that stripped, hypnotic territory where seemingly small changes can completely alter the movement of a track.
Chateau Flight’s ‘Welcome (Full Lenght Meex)’ adds another dimension entirely, while the second half continues to dig rather than simply reach for obvious crowd pleasers.
But our pick lands at the end of side C.
Funk Force Project – ‘Funk In NJ (Original Mix)’.
This is exactly the sort of house record that tends to stop us in our tracks.
There’s funk running through its bones, but rather than laying everything on thick, ‘Funk In NJ’ lets the groove do the work. It’s loose, warm and ridiculously easy to fall into, sitting in that sweet spot where deep house meets the jazzier and funkier end of the spectrum.
It also makes perfect sense within a collection like this.
Lea Lisa describes ‘Many Shades Of House’ as being about more than simply choosing strong records. These are tracks connected to nights behind the decks, dancefloors and the quieter influence certain pieces of music leave behind over the years.
That’s ultimately what makes Volume 2 work.
It feels less like somebody assembling eight tracks that conveniently fit together and more like being handed a small section of a DJ’s record collection and being told: these are worth knowing.
For us, ‘Funk In NJ’ is the immediate standout, but there’s plenty here worth digging into.
And really, that’s the whole point.
‘Many Shades Of House (Selected By Lea Lisa) Vol.2’ is available via Favorite Recordings from 25th September 2026.
TRACKLIST
A1. Korsakow – Sun Of A Gun (Original)
A2. Ian Pooley – Flatlet
B1. Cab Drivers – Backside 50
B2. Fred Quest – Only On The Condition You Call Me Esteban
C1. Chateau Flight – Welcome (Full Lenght Meex)
C2. Funk Force Project – Funk In NJ (Original Mix)
D1. Leonel Castillo – 1974
D2. Colourful Karma feat. Terra Deva – For The Music (Mandrax Dub)
Release Date: 25th September 2026, buy it here.
Label: Favorite Recordings
Catalogue: FVR206
Format: Gatefold Vinyl 2LP