Minimal / Tech House Recommendations November 2015

Review: Minimal techno auteur Thomas Melchior is back with some more of his sublime deepness for us. The artist known for his productions with Baby Ford and Zip steps out on his own this time on "Tracking The Psyche" for London imprint Lick My Deck. "Right Of Passage (The Induction)" is a slice of dreamy and utterly sublime deep house for early morning dancefloors. But it's more of the Melchior we know on "The Ritual" with its rolling chime-like melody and dark stabs giving momentum to a typically sparse composition. Finally "Let Go" gets all esoteric on us with this bright and hypnotic jam whose whistling melody and shamanic chant draws you in to the void ever so nicely.

Review: Having previously released together on other labels, friends and musical partners Tomoki Tamura and Tuccillo activate a new stage of their relationship with the unveiling of Doublet. Both a new production moniker and label, Doublet will act as a platform for the pair to channel their own music. Tomoki and his Holic Trax label have long been serving up solid house music whilst Tuccillo has conjured up numerous chart toppers on labels like 2020Vision, Visionquest and Holic Trax. The debut Doublet release takes shape as 202, a three track 12" that blends elements of classic house with future minimalism with the results undoubtedly stylish.

Review: Through labels such as Playhouse and Moodmusic, Germany's LoSoul has been releasing quality house and deep techno since the mid 1990's. His vision hasn't been polluted since then, and he's stuck to the art form that he's always believed in, something that we love to see in any producer these days. He lands on France's Karat with a pair of ultra-stripped back house bombs: the A side "Break People" flutters its percussion through deep forests of dubby melodies and intricate low-end twists, while "Catch The Fade" enters total abstraction thanks to its beautiful swarms of bass and glitchy beats. Hot and recommended! For the fans of Ricardo...

Review: Slinky, minimal tech house quite capable of rocking open air beach parties as it could an underground after hours affair and reminiscent of sounds from Dan Ghenacia's Freak 'Chic imprint several years ago. The Manchester duo have been doing their thing for a while now and give us their sixth release on their own imprint. Wet Dog" does bouncy basslines and high pitched toms with weird vocal samples as does "Esp". On the flip is the darker groove of "Old Fool" while "Tell Me" which gets funkier and uses the same samples from "Let No Man Put Asunder" by First class that their old Cecille label mate Butch did, a few years ago.

Review: Moff's catalogue was inaugurated earlier this year with a split EP from Bodeler and Juan Zolbaran - an excellent little trip down tech house lane - and this time it's up to newcomer Silat Beksi to deliver the goods for 002. Thankfully, the man delivers a hot and moody stomper in the title track "Rumble", remixed into a more driving floor piece by Nima Gorji. Over on the B side, Beksi teams up with Corsu for the more tribal-leaning "Sangay", and ends with a rolling punch of drums and sparse melodies on "Sleeve Jacket".

Review: Brothers Alex and Digby Smith (from the UK, now in Berlin) release for the first time outside of their own Flash As A Rat imprint to inaugurate The Night Wood. On the A side is "Crowhurst" possibly an ode to the East Sussex village; what their connection is.. is unknown, but what we can tell you? It's a sublime cut of hypnotic and tripped out minimal that fans of the Romanian sound will be all over like a cheap suit! Some seriously nefarious sound design on it, too. On the flip there's more where that came from: "Doris" is a druggy and sleep deprived groove, its rolling, paranoid funk is perfect for those afterhours moments where the daylight starts creeping in through the crevices and you're convinced you are telepathic.

Review: Acid Arab is a collaboration between Guido Minisky and Herve Carvalho, which seeks to unite the worlds of underground dance music and Middle Eastern tradition. In the wrong hands, this could have ended horribly, sounding like an advert for a package tour to Morocco. Thankfully on El Maghreb, for I:Cube's always essential Versatile, the pair manage to bring these two worlds together with great flair. The most functional track is "Mogador (club version)", where dense drums and spiraling horns create a fantastical, frenzied track. However, it's not hard to escape the notion that Acid Arab are capable of far more adventurous combinations and this is audible on the hypnotic, mysterious pipe playing and seductive pulses of "Hafla" and on "Amal", a slow-motion, dubbed out mood music piece.

Review: Damian Daley and Danny Dixon have been pushing their own singular brand of house music since 2013, appearing on various labels under the Odd Music moniker. Although their sound broadly covers the deep house spectrum, their tracks focus particularly on drum programming and minimal background sonics; much of their output is the perfect kind of stuff for long and late sets. This time they launch the new Tapes Of Old label with three new scorchers: an A side comprised of "Elemental", a dubby tech house swinger born for the floor, and the more wonky chords of the excellent "Vibrant Energy". The flip sees the duo enter a more tribal, more minimalistic mood in the form of "Ancient Remody". Quality trax.

Review: Swiss venue Zukunft Club Zurich made the logical expansion into a record label earlier this year with Zukunft Recordings, which was inaugurated in fine fashion by The Legendary Lightness, with Ripperton making the 12" all the more special thanks to his wonderful remix. Zukunft clearly felt there was further room to explore "Hey Ron" with two more remixes pressed up for their second 12" release. Up top Frank Wiedemann from Ame/Howling creates a hymn for the dancefloor, whilst the flip sees Kejeblos veering off into groovy disco territory on a revision blessed with early electro influences.

Review: Nick Curly's right hand man and main proponent of the Mannheim sound Gorge is back, on the former's 8 Bit imprint. The percussive driven grooves that he was known for previously have taken a turn for a more in vogue sound of the moment i.e. proggy tech house, but he does it rather well. On the A side is "Hadaya" a rolling yet atmospheric, pre peak time cut that rhythmically still bears a resemblance to previous work. The B side cut "So They Say" gets a bit more deep down and dirty on this driving, proper peak time killer with a razor sharp bassline and dirty high tech synth leads, guiding you to true dancefloor euphoria.

Review: Number 7 in Music is Love's sister label MIL arrives and throws the spotlight on rising Irish producer Chris Hanna, last seen impressing for Ejeca's Exploris label. Opening proceedings on Muscle House is "Drone", a rough and distorted track that is narrated by the constant synth buzzing above the heavy groove laid down by Hanna. Complementing this, "The Colonel" maintains a peak time mood with some furiously paced drums cannoning around the mix atop a heavily sequenced bassline. Title track "Muscle House" opens the B-side, offering Hanna the chance to show off his prowess at acid lines, whilst closer "UM9" veers off into epic, emotive territory without losing any of the rugged, rhythmic physicality shown throughout the 12".

Review: We all know by now that when it comes to minimal; Romanians do it better. Who better than local up and comer Funk E to take over proceedings. Half past gr8 is dark, hypnotic and mysterious. That tight and intricate programming on the rhythm front does all the work but just wait until those creepy chords come rushing in. On the flip is "Follow The Riddle" which sounds like St. Germain on drugs and sleep deprivation. With its shuffling, jazzy drums and the intermittent splashes of piano and sax beneath paranoid atmospherics this is definitely one for the afterhours. For fans of reknown local imprints ar:pi:ar and Understand: keep an eye on this label.

Review: Optimo Music's strictly dancefloor oriented sublabel cracks on with some killer new material from The Golden Filter and Morgan Hammer. "Heavy" doesn't really same as its name suggests, until the drop that is. Its simple but effective analogue groove reminiscent of Marc Houle's finer moments. "Outimacy" gets a tougher groove on complete with analogue squeals and washes of white noise for added effect. On the flip we have rising French producer Morgan Hammer offering us the charmingly titled "Arrogant Bastard" where an epic Italo disco style arpeggio rolls away beneath swirling synths and Hammer's own vocals; so hot! She also offers us "Killer Nighter" which keeps on with the Italo disco influences and more of her own vocals and it's all rather effective in a way than fans of Anton Malovvi and Giallo Disco will certainly appreciate.

Review: Launched late last year, the vinyl-only FarFromNormal label has really grown in 2015, opting for a quality over quantity approach. Continuing their focus on the up and comers, a fourth FarFromNormal 12" introduces Bucharest artist Julian with the Chorale EP his debut transmission in the vinyl format! Crisp sound design and punchy drum programming appear to be Julian's strengths on the basis of these three tracks, with opening track "Resorave" grabbing your attention thanks to some delightful little touches such as the supple piano, tripping vocals and psychedelic mood. Complementing this, "Grunge" suggests Julian to be equally adept at tumbling drum-filled DJ tools, whilst closer and title track "Chorale" is the trippiest production here.

Review: The DJ Kicks mix series has been rocking our speakers for years now with a hot selection of artists from all over the dance sphere. It was only a matter of time that US DJ extraordinaire Seth Troxler landed on their catalogue, and he's performed precisely to our high expectations. This vinyl edition is a delicious mix of all forms of house and techno; from the soulful house vibes of Vannessa McMillian's "Stay With Me", to the more vintage, crunchy sounds of Mood II Swing and master K Alex Shelby, and even an appearance from tech house king Butch, this has all the ingredients to rock out your Saturday night, or simply carry you along the day with some much needed dancing vibes.