Re-issue of a Running Back classic. Originally released in 2003 as the second outing of the label, it is still a remarkable release in the catalogue. Now, carefully rescued from the original DAT tapes, re-edited by Gerd Janson and remastered by Lopazz, it’s available again in a clear and present portraiture of its original intent. Conceived by the rather elusive Mute, the Direct Cuts are a master class in heartfelt and understated timeless deep house. Influenced in equal parts by the still towering Prescription Underground and the New York singularity that was a young Bobby Konders, Mute managed to create a sound of his own. Marked by live arrangements, bedroom studio aesthetics, a love for dub music and a tempo that was more boogie than techno, it has not lost an inch of its charm. A proposition that probably led Leon Vynehall to pick the hypnotic “Never” for his Fabric mix. Along with “Ocha,” “Direct Cut,” and “Bensono,” Mute proves that iteration does not necessarily mates with deadly dullness.