John Manhard – Weekend At Raymond’s Place (BSU012)

Butter Side Up’s 12th release, Weekend at Raymond’s Place’ comes from San Diego’s hotly tipped John Manhard. A densely textured and unpredictable six-track EP whose languid groove and swing will sound equally sweet warming up a dancefloor or late into the following day.

Based in LA and resident of cult party V:isions, John’s been on a roll of late, with releases on the likes of Mui Mui, Perfect Timings & InTheBagg (alongside Dylan Payne) cementing him as a singular producer with an impressively broad reference board.

The EP’s first track, ‘Shake Your Body’ immediately gets under the skin, a bouncy groove and synth-line pulling you under its command. Over the next 30-odd minutes the spell doesn’t lift – deep house tropes twist and turn playfully over shuffling breaks and swinging basslines, reminiscent of West-Coast house’s finer moments. Manhard’s studio-craft and ear for the unpredictable give a fresh perspective to a much revered and distinctively Pacific-coast sound.

This is music for the fuzzy margins either side of peak time. It’s fitting that Hamish first met and heard John’s music at a hazy afters in LA back in 2022, drawn to a selection of tracks which were largely his own. Two years later these ideas have refined to form another stellar release on BSU, complete with original artwork from Max Binski and scheduled for release in early October.