IDEALIST Vinilo y CD

Review: Swiss label Idealistmusic return with another fine various artists EP: the first since 2015's edition which brought us great stuff from SCSI-9, Pablo Mateo and Idealist himself. For the label's ninth edition, they serve up some tough tribal deep house by fellow Swiss deepness purveyors Baaz of Office Recordings whose contribution "Burgundy" is emotive as ever. Thomas Wood's "Rough Road" is classic deep house informed by a healthy love of classic Chicago sounds by Larry Heard or Chris Gray. On the flip, Christoph Schindling's contribution "Most Important" is a summery and hypnotic groove awash in tape saturation and lo-fi aesthetics; its spanglish melodies working some real magic over its strict electro beat.

Review: Zurich producer and DJ, Idealist, has been quietly churning out magnetic shades of house and dub techno since 2012. Through his own Idealistmusic, along with a number of other below-radar imprints, we have been graced by a gentle yet penetrative sound that recalls the very best of the 90s Berlin scene. So much so, in fact, that he's been called upon by the excellent Echochord label to run the dub techno slayings across three cuts. "Flow" is a powerful, direct slice of techno that fades its deep basslines and synths out into the ether, producing a hypnotic effect that we're big fans of. On the flip, "Nucleus" slows the pace down but doesn't hold back on those prototypical dub chords in what makes for a real 3am kinda lick, while "Accumbens" pokes its head out of the depths and produces a tight drum roll backed by soothing, meditative synths. Class.

Review: There's something admirably breezy about the cascading, dub-influenced chords and rolling grooves at the heart of "Stage One", the opening track on this latest EP from Swiss producer Idealist. This faintly picturesque feel comes to the fore on "Winter Sun", which melds the melodious feel of immersive deep house with dub techno textures and unfussy dancefloor-focused rhythms. There's greater depth and a more hypnotic feel about B-side opener "Journey", which increases in intensity throughout sound to some relentless drum machine handclaps. Arguably best of all, though, is "Love Story", a fluid and lovingly toasty stroll through soulful, deep techno pastures.

Review: Berg Audio according to its online profile is "a dub techno oriented label finding its inspiration in the lost monuments of the soviet era". This various artists EP inaugurates the fresh imprint and what a great start. Man of the moment iO (Mulen) kicks things off on side A with "The Kingdom Of Darkness" which follows on with his breaks driven style and immaculate production standards as always; definitely much more dub techno than minimal house this time around. KW aka the man from Uranus Kris Wadsworth serves up the liquid groove of "Aquarius" complete with some serious 808 bounce. On the flip the man from Guestrow, Andre Kronert (who presents the label's next release) gives us the Fachwerk style dub techno of "The Architect" while Swiss producer The Idealist serves up the sexy and slinky deep house of "Starflow" which reminds us of late noughties grooves by Quarion or Slowhouse.

Review: Berg Audio's enigmatic message of releasing pieces of sonic arrangements from the Soviet area fits perfectly with this new collaboration from Diego Krause and Idealist. This is the first time that these two artists appear on the same record, but it certainly won't be their last judging by the calibre of this material; the combination of their loose techno sound is both refreshing and representative of a genre that is going through some soul-searching as of late. Krause steps up with two wonky, rough-house techno-not-techno steppers, the bleepy "Liberation", which is followed by an even bumpier remix from Cab Drivers. On the flip, Idealist's "Time Lapse" is a smoother, more suave house cut boasting a rugged tech feel, leaving Sven's Perpetual Night mix to stray further out into more dub-fuelled territories. Ace.