There’s something beautifully audacious about starting a release with a ‘wish the world a miracle’, no less. But that’s exactly what Mood Therapy, the soulful alter ego of UK underground stalwart Stephen Slade, dares to do with his latest outing on JuJu Muzik. And remarkably, he gets pretty close.
“Wish The World A Miracle” arrives as both a deep house devotional and a percussive plea for hope, unity, and love. At its core, this is music with a message – wrapped in radiant pads, buoyant drums, and that trademark UK swing that keeps it rooted on the dance floor, even as it gazes skyward.
The Mood Therapy Original kicks off with a hypnotic loop, the kind that subtly evolves rather than explodes, setting the stage for a hooky bass-line, nimble percussion, and a gently persuasive vocal that delivers its refrain like a morning mantra: “wish the world a miracle.” This is deep house that remembers its roots in soul and jazz, but also in the warehouse – meditative yet undeniably danceable. Think Ron Trent meets Attica Blues, with a slice of summer optimism.
Tommy Dee’s Hornsey Dub, from ChilliFunk and Reel People’s Tom Davidson, slinks in with raw, heads-down energy. This one’s built for basements, not beaches. Shorn of excess, it distills the track’s essence into something tough, dubby, and driving. You can almost hear the sweat on the walls. It’s London soul, stripped bare and rebuilt in minimalist form.
The JuJu Muzik Dub Harmony remix switches gears into breaks territory, trading the deep shuffle for crisp, broken rhythms and sun-kissed melodic flourishes. There’s an early Reinforced or 2000 Black vibe to it – loose, musical, and refreshingly unfiltered. It’s not just a dub; it’s a reimagining that keeps the emotional DNA while shifting the body language entirely.
The bonus cut, “You Make My Day”, is a raw house jam featuring a tender vocal from Angel Coulby. There’s an innocence here – simple, sincere, and reminiscent of early King Street or Naked Music vibes, with just enough grit in the groove to keep it grounded. It’s the kind of track that DJs save for sunrise moments or intimate second rooms.
With “Wish The World A Miracle”, Mood Therapy taps into something rare in today’s dance music ecosystem: emotional directness without cliché, spirituality without pretense, and grooves that nourish both body and spirit. This isn’t just a four-track EP – it’s a small, radiant offering of hope on wax.
JuJu Muzik may have just landed one of its strongest releases for lovers of deep house, broken beat, and the kind of music that believes the dance floor can still be sacred.
Martin Madigan
★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
