HAROLD HEATH — Cheap Gear (part 2)

Harold Heath – Cheap Gear (Part 2) arrives on Helix Discs as catalogue HLX005, a 12-inch vinyl that continues the deep-house/tech-house dialogue begun earlier this year. The record gathers four unreleased cuts recorded between 2002 and 2006, completing the two-part, vinyl-only series that began with Cheap Gear (Part 1). Within Helix Discs’ recent output the release follows the label’s 2025 LP Writing Records Entertains Nobody by Wink (HLX002) and directly succeeds the first installment of the Cheap Gear series (HLX004). The label’s focus on archival deep-house material places this EP as a bridge between its earlier experimental LP and the ongoing exploration of early-2000s house aesthetics. Side A opens with “French Tune”, a track that evokes a late-night lounge vibe while maintaining the rolling groove typical of Heath’s deeper productions. It segues into “Going Down”, which picks up the momentum, offering a tighter rhythmic pulse that complements the preceding cut and prepares the listener for the darker turn on the flip side. On Side B, “Subterranean” drops a more subterranean, shadow-laden atmosphere, its title hinting at the deeper, more introspective side of the session. The record closes with “FKF (Main Mix)”, a final statement that consolidates the EP’s tech-house edge, delivering a compact, dancefloor-ready climax. Harold Heath’s recent catalogue includes the later 2026 12-inch Aretha’s Reign on Curated By Time (BYTIME016), suggesting a continued interest in vinyl releases that explore both soulful and kinetic facets of house music. Cheap Gear (Part 2) therefore serves as a retrospective complement to that forthcoming work, offering DJs a glimpse of Heath’s formative productions from the early 2000s. For DJs, the EP supplies two solid deep-house grooves on the A-side that can be layered into warm-up or early-set moments, while the B-side provides darker, more driving material suitable for peak-time transitions. The concise four-track format makes it easy to cue and mix, and the unreleased nature of the cuts adds a rare element to any set. The record is pressed as a 12-inch vinyl, matching the format of its predecessor and aligning with the label’s commitment to analog releases. Harold Heath – Cheap Gear (Part 2), Helix Discs, catalogue HLX005, 12-inch vinyl, four tracks. Tracklist: A1. Harold Heath – French Tune A2. Harold Heath – Going Down B1. Harold Heath – Subterranean B2. Harold Heath – FKF (Main Mix)