STEVE BUG — Let’s Work

Steve Bug – Let’s Work Steve Bug returns to the legendary New York house imprint Nu Groove with Let’s Work, a four-track 12-inch that connects one of Berlin’s most enduring house and techno figures with the label’s distinctly deep, raw and groove-focused tradition. Released as NG174 in May 2026, the EP marks Steve Bug’s first solo release for Nu Groove and places his production style within a label lineage built around classic New York house. The title track, Let’s Work, opens the record with a buoyant, late-night house groove. Piano figures, jacking drums and suspenseful synth textures give the track a distinctly metropolitan character, balancing the physical movement of classic house with the controlled, spacious production associated with Steve Bug. The arrangement is functional without feeling stripped down, with the rhythmic framework providing enough momentum for the track to work comfortably in an extended DJ set. Mr Wonders shifts the emphasis toward deeper territory. Its rhythmic construction is central to the track, with the groove carrying the arrangement while the electronic details gradually build tension. The production reflects Bug’s long-standing interest in the relationship between deep house, techno and the darker side of club music. The track also nods toward the New York and Chicago house traditions that have historically informed Nu Groove’s catalogue. Not The First Time continues the EP’s heads-down approach. Rather than relying on large melodic gestures, Steve Bug works through repetition, subtle shifts and carefully controlled tension. The result is a late-night club track with a hypnotic quality, allowing the groove to remain the primary focus while the surrounding electronic elements create depth and movement. Nu Groove’s distribution description specifically positions the three solo tracks as late-night hypnotic grooves built around deep electronic elements. The closing Whispers In The Dark introduces Los Angeles artist Juliet Mendoza. Her spoken-word performance adds a human and atmospheric dimension to Steve Bug’s brooding electronic production, creating a contrast with the instrumental tracks that precede it. The vocal is not treated as a conventional house topline; instead, it becomes another textural element within the groove, reinforcing the track’s darker, nocturnal character. The sequencing gives Let’s Work a clear internal progression. The first three tracks remain focused on Steve Bug’s solo production language, moving between bouncy house, deep electronic grooves and hypnotic late-night rhythms before Whispers In The Dark introduces Juliet Mendoza’s spoken word. Across the four tracks, the emphasis remains firmly on groove, tension and club functionality rather than maximal production. The release is also significant in the context of both artists. Steve Bug has been a central figure in European house and techno for decades, while his Poker Flat imprint has played an important role in his wider catalogue and curatorial work. Nu Groove, originally founded in New York in 1988 by Frank and Karen Mendez around the Burrell Brothers’ output, was relaunched in 2021 and has since continued to work with established underground house and techno artists. Let’s Work is therefore a natural meeting point between two complementary traditions: Steve Bug’s precise, European approach to deep electronic club music and Nu Groove’s foundational New York house aesthetic. NG174 delivers four tracks designed for DJs who value rhythm, tension and atmosphere, with enough variation across the EP to move naturally from warm house territory into deeper and more hypnotic sections of a set.