New releases this week: All genres

Review: Berlin's 11:68PM sets up to the mighty RAND Muzik with four dub-infused tech house weapons. There is a nice grainy aesthetic to opener 'U Need (dub) ' which makes it perfect for gritty warehouses, where it booming kicks and ghostly voices will make for a perfect underground vibe. 'You Do The Talking' is faster and more freaky thanks to robust synth sequences which flutter about the mix. 'Assorted Goods' has a tighter groove and menacing bassline that really kicks you into action and 'Another Day Another Dollar' shuts down with the sort of trippy vocals and well treated synths that soundtrack the early morning moments when the first light begins to peak through the shutters.

Review: A decade after it was first released (credited, back then, to Detroit Swindle), Dam Swindle's 'Figure of Speech' EP returns on vinyl in freshly remastered form. It remains one of the Amsterdam duo's most respected and much-loved EPs, and for good reason. Opener 'Figure of Speech' is an infectious, rolling and impressively groovy workout which combines African vocal samples, layered percussion and tidy house breaks with warming deep house chords and tech-tinged electronics. 'Victoria's Secret' is a woozier and more analogue-sounding deep house groover with deliciously positive synth melodies and fizzing riffs, while 'Live at the Cosmic Carnival' is a more percussion-rich slab of jazz-flecked, Batacuda-inspired Latin house heaviness that could well be the EP's most potent moment.

Review: Kiria Records drops a sleek EP here from Romanian DJ and producer Direkt, who keeps it refined with minimal grooves and deep vibes. The title track, 'Vintage A,' opens with classy synth work and crisp percussion, setting a hypnotic tone and Cally's remix follows with a stripped-down, razor-sharp rework ideal for subtle transitions and after-hours sets. Flip to the B, and 'Best Kick Forward' lives up to its name and is driven by bold basslines and forward-moving momentum. Closing track 'Fragments' floats on airy textures and intricate rhythms, so it leaves a thoughtful and lasting impact. A polished, versatile EP built for selectors who like it deep.

Review: Three Es would be some trip, and EEE also symbolises guaranteed good times in the club. The mysterious label and eponymous artists keep on rolling out essential tech and minimal cuts that are smartly designed and authentic, but also with anthem potential. Maybe that's why each one is a one-sided 12", to really allow the tune room to shine. In this case, dusty drums with a hint of garage swing and shuffle are paired with melodic baseline motifs and colourful synth patterns. It's a good time groove with plenty of heart.

Review: South London's Tom Esselle returns with a standout EP on Rhythm Section that cements his place at the core of the UK underground. Building on past successes like 'Praise Bes' on Wolf Music and 'Lou's Groove' on Rhythm Section, this release shows off his wide-ranging house influences which have all been refined through collaborations with Chaos In The CBD. The A-side delivers club heat with 'Baddies' featuring a killer mid-2000s r&b sample, and the techy 'Plaything'. The flip is breezier as 'One Of These Days' shines with Dave Koor's jazzy keys, while 'Harmonise' closes things with dreamy warmth. A mature, versatile offering from a producer hitting his stride.

Review: Acid tests, in a scientific context, refer to metallurgic processes whereby the chemical composition of metals are analysed in order to determine their makeup. We can't place exactly when the term was co-opted by artists of the acid techno movement, but we can certainly attest to this acid test's besting of several other lesser litmuses in the micro-genre. ITWS have found a gem in Ilario Liburni, a mainstay of the Italian audio-alchemic underground: 'I Don't Tip' and 'The Acid Test' provide twin minimal acid, with psychedelic ad-libs sure to make even Timothy Leary blush, while isotopes from TIJN and The Wizzard heighten the base compounds' corrosive intensities. A well assayed assault on the ears, well suited for those hazarding another lysergic dabble.

Review: Big up to northern powerhouse Burnski for steering his Constant Sound label to the not-so-insignificant feat of release number 50. More importantly, the sounds remain as vital as ever and always evolve into subtle new sound worlds. The mantle for this one is taken by Locklead who brings some fine drum patterns to 'Backup' and pairs them with sliding hi-hats and bubbly synth motifs. It's garage-infused but utterly fresh. 'Wizzord' is a darker tech house with searching lead synths and plenty of pent-up energy, and 'Motherland' brings nice jazzy chord work and atmospheric samples. 'Pink Skies' is a bright closer with contrasting synths - some farting, some smooth - and more high-speed, catchy drums that span house and tech.

Review: Pilot is one of the many labels in the orbit of the irrepressible James 'Burnski' Burnham. Its next outing is from M High who perfectly slots into the label's classy minimal and tech sound world. Things open up with 'Same Routine' which is a turbocharged sound with frazzled bass and thumping kicks. 'On My Own Supply' has a touch of the old school to it with the unbridled joy of the dancing piano chords and big, bulky beats. 'Same Routine' then gets a space-tech rework from Wodda and Hatori's live Bass remix brings some lush cosmic synth swirls and bumping drums.

Review: AF1268 turns to the new talents of Nikol, a rising underground soundscaper from Manchester who makes a solid impression with this, his debut solo EP. Already somewhat known for singles on with MASS, his own label, and O.C.D., here he delivers a more fulsome four-track journey that blends modern minimal and electro. The EP features eerie, hallucinatory sounds with ghostly whistlings, acid stabs and hypnotic basslines perfect for more heady floors. It evokes a spectral atmosphere where Halloween meets tech-house while conjuring images of a damp, decaying club beneath a full moon. These evocative and unhinged grooves make bodies sway in slow motion, caught between dreamlike introspection and the rawness of the moment.

Review: With more than two decades of output behind him, French producer Okain continues to carve his own path through the deeper ends of dance music. On this latest EP, he folds elements of acid, sci-fi and Goa trance into a rich and forward-moving four-tracker. The experience leans much more toward interstellar techno exploration. 'Acid Spin' kicks things off with propulsion. It's not overly fast, but the drive is undeniable. Electric squiggles and sharp synth lines dart across a steady rhythm, giving the track an urgent yet sleek atmosphere. 'EPR Paradox' is just as tightly produced, letting its groove build gradually with layers of texture and restraint. On the 2nd side, 'Wavefunction' drops into a swirling, cosmic descent. It feels like tumbling through a wormhole, where the lines between gravity and sound begin to blur. 'Computing Force' rounds off the journey with a deft hybrid of Goa trance energy and techno structure. The melodies shimmer with a nostalgic rave glow, yet everything remains clean, spacious, and functional. Altogether, the EP is a bold statement from a veteran still pushing boundaries. It's deep, physical, and built for futuristic dancefloors. This EP could change minds when it comes to what psy-trance is...

Review: This new one from Stefan Ringer on his FWM Entertainment combines two distinct releases in one: 3 tracks from his 2021 Meta Music EP and his darker alias Black Sued's 'Rogue' EP. It's a yin-yang journey of sound that shows his range and quality. 'Monotone' pairs signature deep chords and soulful vocals and distorted bass with minimal drums, while 'New Plan' is a driving, rhythmic workout of persistence and groove. 'YIA' offers meditative chords and affirmations set against a thunderstorm backdrop and the flip, the title cut explores shadowy jazz textures with a mysterious groove, 'Maze' marches forward with urgency and layered rhythm, while 'Deep Dirt' closes with gritty, broken-machine chaos. Together, these EPs make for a powerful emotional and sonic contrast.

Review: Demi Riquisimo and The Trip join forces to launch Tessalicious, debuting a collaborative project, splitting partly off from the former artist's own Semi Delicious imprint. The new four-tracker evidences a shared talent by the pair for producing a twisting, winding dance finesser mood, blending melodiousness and functionality so that we almost can't tell the difference between them. Intended to captivate festival-goers, the likes of 'Don't Go Away' and 'Rock The House' offer sensorial and distant vocal samples, though their rare audible moments - "how do you say... you're gorgeous!?" - manage to leave us feeling all fuzzy inside.

Review: We're told that this EP is an archive of encoded human memories made to "survive the AI's purge." Anyone listening back to this years from now will be sure we had a good old time, because it's slick and charming, minimal and tech with real soul. Sweater's 'Front Street Strut' is a kaleidoscope of colours, Reyer's- 'Martian Law' brings some stripped-back but bubbly and rubbery funk and Poten's 'Coming Or Going' layers up whirring machines and pixelated synth sequences into something zoned out and warm. Lukey shuts down with the snappy broken beat tech of 'Spectrum' with its bright, singing leads.

Review: Bobby Donny's ongoing ACE series of vinyl releases has thus far delivered some genuine deep house treats. This is particularly true of the Dutch label's sporadic, compilation style EPs, which tend to showcase tracks previously released on digital-only EPs. There's plenty to set the pulse racing on EP number four, with highlights including two fine collaborations between label founder Frits Wentink and fellow Amsterdam scene stalwart Malin Genie (the sub-heavy peak-time bounce of 'Ambrosia' and the techno-tempo hypnotism of 'Exopaq'); the ultra-deep two-step house shuffle of 'Comet (Deep mix)' by ZZ Banks; the Italo-house influenced colour of Clovis Chilwell's 'Don't Let The Night End'; and the deep, hazy and dubbed-out brilliance of 'Slow Burn' by Rico Scott.

Review: This new split release from French label HT sees Yesca and HATT.D come together for a six-track session of pure dancefloor functionality. It's a brand new drop, and a fitting return to the format that helped launch the label back in 2018 i lean, collaborative and totally focused on club energy. Yesca opens with 'House It Up', a shuffling, feel-good roller that lays out his chunky, loop-driven aesthetic, before 'On My Mind' and its 'Groove Mix' variations push deeper into heads-down, vocal-led territory. There's bounce, but also tension i warm basslines cut against crisp hats and filtered pads, keeping things locked without ever losing swing. HATT.D takes the baton with 'House Party' and 'Aye', two punchy, tool-ish cuts with a distinctly jacking edge, while 'Get Down Like This' brings a looser, funkier swing to the table. A digital bonus version of 'House It Up' closes the set with a twist. Built for peak-time and full of upfront house pressure, this one's ready for summer bags and open-air sets i all killer, no filler from two rising names in the Happy House orbit.

Review: Phil Evans' second album follows a series of standout EPs on Blankstate, Sensual, Twig, Vigenere and his own Pager Records; the Frankfurt DJ and producer doubles as the Freizeit Records co-founder of Pager, helping set in e-motion the evolution of his local underground electronic scene. With minimality at its core, we hear on E Motinos a reserved and calculated three tracks per vinyl side, preserving optimal, skipless groove quality: 'Eazin', '<3', 'Hm' and 'Deep' prefer a near nonverbal titular expressivity, resisting any reference to the record's tricky, body-jacking movements in any capacity except through body language.

Review: Bucharest's SEPP brings his sleek, late-night minimalism to _NRV with three tightly built DJ tools that reward close listening. 'Feeling Ma' Bass' opens with a thick low-end throb and clipped vocal pressure, subtly layering loops that spiral into a locked-in hypnosis. 'Body Language' keeps the energy taut, working crisp drum hits and delayed FX into a taut, heads-down groove. Closing cut 'Do You Love Me' dips into a darker mood, balancing grainy textures with a filtered vocal loop that teases emotion without overstating it. There's a strong sense of restraint across all three-this is dancefloor material from a producer who knows exactly where tension lives.