DJOKO Vinilo y CD

Review: Politics Of Dancing continues celebrating its fifth anniversary with a cast of crucial house warriors keeping the flame burning bright. First up on this 12" is Chris Stussy, who whips up an especially funky concoction with the bubbling "Monday 8th", before DJOKO and T Jacques dub things out in style with the swirling but thumping "Directions". The ever-prolific Michael James appears on the B-side with "Solstice", a mystically tinged deep house bumper laden with zippy sound FX and sprinkled with subtly swung groove. Jamahr completes the set with "Underwater", a deep immersion bath of sound that edges towards classic techno while keeping the groove on the straight and narrow.

Review: Perhaps one of the most prolific producers on the tech house scene at present, Cologne-based Johannes Kolter is back with a new one on Berg Audio - where he's become quite the staple it seems. The Endless Explorations EP features some properly ice cold slabs of dub house as you'd expect from the French label, such as the rolling, funky and swing-fuelled action of 'Light Way', followed by the blissed-out and hypnotic 'Rominimal' vibe of 'Constant Time' (a collaboration featuring Dutch up and comer Chris Stussy) in addition to the deep and sensual mood music of B side cut 'Always Wondered' that's perfect for the warm-up or afterhours alike.

Review: French label Rutilance reaches across Europe to sign their first ever German artist in Djoko. He comes with a well-regarded CV and established tech house sound that is party ready. 'Holding Onto You' immediately makes its mark with nice bumping drums and a wailing vocal that will make you screw up your face. There is also some fine jazz stylings on 'Daylight' that brim with soul and then more turbo-charged peak time tackle in 'Step Han', a tune that manages to be both dynamic and slick. 'Lesson' rounds out with a twisted cyborg funk that will carry you through the night.

Review: Up The Stuss is the still young record label from American Chris Stussy. It is carving out its own niche in house music with a spaced out but funky electronic style that nods to the 90s but very much looks forwards. This fifth EP is a split between Djoko and Kolter, and all the tracks are destined for plenty of high profile deployments this summer and beyond. Djoko's trip of tunes include the silky and seductive depths of 'Unknown Territory,' bumping beats of 'My Bad Your Fault' and crisp, kicking future house of 'My Dog Never Barks.' Kolter's 'Your Love My Pain' closes out with a nice airy breakbeat and rubbery bass goodness.

Review: After some great ones by Debussy, Simon Shaw and Antss, Cologne style tech house represents on the Doppelleben EP - the latest on Okain's Talman label. Under his more well known alias of Djoko, Johannes Kolter serves up a dubby and hypnotic sound reminiscent of a certain Detroit techno classic on opening cut 'Solaris' (followed by a nice remix by Morocco's Kosh) until a hip-house influence becomes quite abundant on the funky, block rockin' beats of 'Keep It Clear'. On the flip he appears under his birth name, and it's all about the new school breaks of 'Tendo' featuring some Super Mario Kart samples from Nintendo 64 for good measure.

Review: The latest collection of wayward floor heaters from Nuances De Nuit takes us once more into a colourful headspace where the possibilities are wide open to make house music with personality. Californian shining star Liquid Earth is up first, although he's better known as Urulu. 'X-Form' is a bubbling metropolis of futuristic synth squiggles with starry-eyed wonder in its heart and vintage techno smarts up top. Huerta follows up that sterling start with the enchanting electro incantations of 'Legwork', which build wonderfully on the sound laid out on his recent debut album for Voyage Recordings. On the flip, DJOKO brings a smart shuffle and some shimmering synth work to the forefront for a seriously smart twist on the tech house template, while T. Jacques opts for space age machine funk with a splash of boogie poured in for good measure.

Review: Politics Of Dancing Records is an ever expanding and ever evolving and ever excellent label that has recently grown to include the P.O.D Cross sublabel. This next vital two tracker is a split with Politics of Dancing the artist on both sides, with a different producer on each. It is Djoko with whom he links first for a spaced out tech cut that spins you out into the cosmos on warm pads and metallic drums. On the flip is the more rubbery and bass driven dubbed out and deep offering from Politics Of Dancing x Lowris. Both sides bang.