Hot Since 82 'Obsessions': First House Album in Six Years

When Daley Padley finished Obsessions, the new Hot Since 82 album due September 4 on his own Knee Deep In Sound imprint, he made a point of noting something that might sound unremarkable to anyone outside the production world: he handed it in on time. After two decades working the festival circuit and several years where the distance between ambitious intentions and finished albums kept growing, the fact that he closed the file without second-guessing the track listing felt significant. What that restraint sounds like in practice arrived June 12 with the album's first single, 'Shaded' — a funk-laden, sample-driven piano cut built on Shades of Rhythm's 1991 rave landmark 'The Sound Of Eden,' premiered exclusively via Mixmag's SoundCloud.

Why 'Shaded' Is the Right Single to Open With

Sample-flipping within house music carries specific freight. You can reach into the canon and come out looking reverential, or you can come out looking derivative. 'Shaded' threads it well: the original Shades of Rhythm record sits at the intersection of breakbeat and piano house, a UK rave artefact that gets name-checked more often than it gets played. Padley preserves the melodic core and rebuilds the low-end from the ground up — the result is a track he's already running in his summer DJ sets, which is the clearest possible editorial endorsement. A lead single that the artist is confident enough to drop in a live context before the album is even out says something about how well the music is translating from studio to dancefloor. Listen to 'Shaded' via Mixmag's SoundCloud premiere.

Six Years Is a Long Time in House Music

Hot Since 82's last album, Recovery, came out in 2020, a year that effectively suspended the dancefloor economy that his music is designed for. The years since have seen him release steadily — 'Wild' in 2024 on Knee Deep In Sound, 'Right On, Right On' with Silicone Soul via Armada Music, and a double-single 'Forever/Paper Walls' with Kuuda on Bedrock Records in March 2026 — but no full-length statement. Obsessions arrives not as a comeback but as a consolidation: nine tracks written across what Padley describes as "a period of constant movement, touring and introspection," with themes centred on self-acceptance. Whether that translates to a record that rewards repeat listening outside of a club depends on whether he can sustain the emotional register of a full LP, not just the groove of individual cuts.

What Knee Deep In Sound Brings to the Table

Releasing through your own label is standard practice for artists at this level, but Knee Deep In Sound has consistently functioned as more than a vanity imprint. The label has released records from artists including Sacha Robotti and Danny Daze, and its A&R sensibility runs toward the deeper, more textured end of tech house rather than the function-room floor-fillers the genre's mainstream has drifted toward. Releasing Obsessions here rather than shopping it to a major imprint signals that Padley is prioritising creative coherence over profile-chasing — a choice that should land well with the crowd that follows his extended sets rather than just his streaming numbers.

Where This Sits in 2026's House Music Landscape

It has been a strong year for house artists putting out albums that feel like considered statements rather than platform-optimised single collections. Honey Dijon's The Nightlife, Chris Stussy's Lost, Found & Forgotten..., and now Obsessions suggest a partial correction toward the long-form format in a genre that had largely abandoned it. The competition for attention is stiff, and Padley's challenge will be to make sure Obsessions lands as a complete listen rather than nine tracks that disappear into algorithmic playlists. 'Shaded' is a strong opening move. Whether the album sustains it is the question September will answer.

Hot Since 82's Obsessions is out September 4 on Knee Deep In Sound. 'Shaded' is available now on all streaming platforms.