When we started this audio-only series, one of the many advantages was the appeal for artists who are a little camera-shy. Now, the shadowy ItaloJohnson boys have featured on Boiler Room before (one of the few times you’ll ever catch a less-than-HD image beamed from our Berlin hub) but were nonetheless one of the first names on our hit list for Upfront. As #008 proves, our reasoning was sound.

The problem with ItaloJohnson is that they are almost too good. With scant promotion and an aesthetic stripped down the absolute barest of bones - as you can see behind you - consistency can breed complacency. And consistent they most certainly are—their punchy, non-nonsense jams are never short of brilliant. Everyone’s got a catalogue favourite; at a push, mine’s the AA1 off 04, but it could have just as easily been a handful of others.

Cuts from ITJ09 can be found in the mix here, alongside more forthcoming bits from a similar coterie of artists who are evidently most content simply getting on with it: Mr G, Mosca and recent Parisian debutant DJ Gregory (aka Point G) amongst them. Pearled with unreleased goodies, and as warm and well-rounded as you’d expect, it gives you an exact replica of watching their flawless crowd control on a packed dancefloor. There’s even a sneaky divergence into some junglist territory at the end.

In short: underground house music of the highest order.