NU ZAU Vinilo y CD

Review: Romanian label Lok has described Nu Zau's first appearance on the imprint as a "cutting edge masterpiece". While that may be a touch on the hyperbolic side, it's true that the Bucharest-based producer has delivered a fine three-tracker in his distinctive "Ro-minimal" style. A-side 'Synthetic', a typically off-kilter slab of trippy minimal house marked out by surprisingly funky clavinet sounds, mind-mangling vocal snippets, locked-in drums and impeccable sound design, is our pick of the bunch. Elsewhere, 'Traumatised' sees Nu Zau make great use of mangled, warehouse-ready rave riffs, raw acid lines and crunchy drums, while 'Get Out' is deep and dubby in tone, with bursts of jazz fills, rubbery bass and woozy chords.

Review: Wiggly sonic content from Romanian newcomer Nu Zau, eschewing swing or novelty for some straighter, ultra-minimal light cuts. 'No Thank You', 'Over & Over' and 'Night Shift' change the tides on a track-by-track basis, subtly moving through each piece, each of which in turn lay down a locked, static, flow-zone mood. A musical alternative to taking a modafinil tablet, if you will, this is essentially a guaranteed dancefloor-bound flow state. 100% satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back. We're no surprise Modbox of its parent label Castanea agrees.

Review: London-based label Telum recently launched the offshoot label Aurum, that's into its second release which comes from Rominimal hero Nu Zau. On the A-side, you've got the groovy broken beat microhouse of 'Break Me' which is totally made for getting weird at the after hours, while over on the flip he goes for a couple more tunes which are more straight ahead. First up is the heady minimal funk of 'Everytime' which gets the job done in typically lean and subtle fashion, followed by the emotive Sunday morning sunrise vibes of 'R U Ready'. Tip!

Review: Nu Zau & Sepp return to Gettraum after previously featuring on the label's recent compilation, this time with more of their groovy tech house sounds. Sepp kicks off with 'Recognize That' which pairs acid-tinged synths with thumping drums and some nice analogue percussive clatter. On the flip, Nu Zau's 'I See You' is a balmy, breezy cut with dubby low ends, silvery tech drums and nice fractured vocals stretched throughout the mix next to happy melodies. The label head Traumer steps up to remix and flips this one into a deeper, more heads-down cut for the late-night hours.