DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - Most Charted In August 2012

Review: We can always rely on Ornaments to deliver the best in quality house music and 2012 was another important milestone for the label. Their last EP sees label favourite, Rhauder go head to head with on of the most charismatic voices in house and techno - Mr.Paul St Hilaire, famously known for his work with Rhythm & Sound and its sub-label, Burial Mix. The original is actually reminiscent of the Basic Channel tradition, with those long, sweltering chunks of percussion flowing so neatly along side St Hilaire's enigmatic voice. The dub version is even deeper and indulgent in its delay tradition - exactly what we want to see here! The Pop-a-dub mix is an absolute gem though, allowing those drums to release themselves from the torrent of reverb and tape echo and grind their way to the sound of those gorgeous dub vocals.

Review: There are few who manage to nail restrained but genuine funk quite like Mr G. With a minimum of fuss but careful attention to detail, Colin McBean (to his folks) can create a real sense of wonder out of a simple drum pattern, the odd wisely placed sample and a straightforward melody. This latest offering for Monique Musique is no different, as the title track neatly exemplifies with its bongo-enhanced disco roll and direct chord stabs. "Heavy Gal" is a rougher prospect, working a measured garage shuffle over a growling, unending bass line and coming up with gold once again.

Review: Senor Woolford has joined Loco Dice, Bug and Troxler in the small but well respected band of producers to contribute to NRK's compilation series The Lab, which is thankfully rolling on despite Nik Harris' recent decision to close down operations at NRK HQ after 15 years in the game. This four track vinyl sampler gives you a well judged taste of the double CD which presents Woolford at his most wilfully eclectic. The A Side has two titans of US House in Chez Damier and Terrence Dixon, while the flip sees Skudge turn in a typically gripping remix of Iron Curtis and Edit Piaf's Achterbahn D'Amour next to "Berlin Sunrise (Die Dammerung)", Daniel Wang's stunning electronic disco turn for the Ghostly label.

Review: Although there's always been a sense of momentum driving Daniel Avery, those gears have switched up a notch or two this year, possibly linked to his decision to quit recording under the name Stopmakingme. His arrival on Erol Alkan's Phantasy Sound imprint seems so natural it's strange that it's only happened now, and means the Bournemouth lad done good has essentially worked with his two teen idols in Alkan and Weatherall. The Need Electric EP arrives just as Avery has let slip his commission to complete a Fabric Live mix and the four tracks have him working fully with a vocalist for the first time. The title track pays homage to Avery's formative Electroclash years, bringing the attitude of Miss Kittin and The Hacker up to 21st Century scratch as the stripped down groove twists itself ever tighter around the detuned analogue core. "Taste" and "One In The Wave" will mess with peoples expectations (in the best way possible) whilst "The Eagle" shows Avery has learnt plenty since joining Weatherall's Scrutton Street mafia.

Review: Having impressed many with his excellent M for Megamix LP as I:Cube, Nicolas Chaix returns to the Chateau Flight operation he mans with Versatile Records boss Gilb'r for their first original material in over 12 months. It's pretty hard to describe "Kounka" in genre specific terms, with the track seemingly overloaded with rhythmic and textural twists and turns over the course of its duration. Commencing in some sort of ascendant cosmic Italo strut, "Kounka" embarks on the first of many swerves as the grubby kick mainlines into action and veers off into weirdo Gallic bleep. Pick yourself up off the floor and flip the record over and you have the added treat of not one but two Steve Moore remixes, with the LIES and Future Times artist on typically rich and hypnotic form. Somehow harnessing the unbridled sonic chaos of the source material, Moore invites us into the deepest recesses of endlessly building, multi layered dancefloor intoxication on the first remix, while the self styled "Off-World" version pitches down into the realm of luxuriant cosmiche.