Z@P Vinilo y CD

Review: The Alt label hits its second record with a sterling cast of wayward techno bods in tow. Things fire up in a tough and trippy manner as Delta wrings all kinds of tricky noises out of his gear and keeps the bass brooding in the low end, but hold tight for a perfectly 90s chord progression in that pad line. Cabanelas has a bleepy mission on 'Sambu Y Los Morsas' which flits between creepy passages of tension and acid tweaking drops. Z@p keeps things melancholic while adhering to the record's over-arching old-skoool outboard vibe, and then Justin Drake and Quinn Whalley sign the record off with a slice of proto trance for the deepest of 90s-tinted dancefloor reveries.

Review: One Eye Witness made a great debut featuring some fine minimal house and techno flavours and now it has assembled another crack team of talents for round two. It is veteran Robert Dietz who kicks off with the cryptically entitled 'EMQU EMJAY,' a deep space trip on silky drums and watery chords. Z@P takes things down a much darker path with rigid drums stomping beneath mechanical chord work. On the flip, Kasper Marott's 'Bleep' gets busy on a microcosm of nebulous synth details and chunky tech funk, and lastly New Members serve up 'The Dink' which is a 90s-tinged bit of electronic house with plenty of lush colours.

Review: Since launching last year, the Opia label has yet to put a foot wrong, serving up two must-have 12" singles full of quality cuts from rising stars and scene stalwarts. The label's latest compilation style offering is equally as good. TC80 has the honour of kicking things off via the bubbly acid lines, stomping beats and gentle synth melodies of "Exile", before Abstract Tune joyously joins the dots between bleep techno and dreamy deep house on the rich positivity of "1996 Shoots". Audri's "Acid Rain" is a raw and intense jack-track, while Omar's "Techno Victims" a bustling, minor key electro box jam. Rounding things off is Z@p, whose excellent "Different Ways" sits somewhere between early Motor City Techno and 1990s British tech-house.

Review: After a couple of wicked EPs on local imprint Melliflow, Berlin-based Uruguayan Fernando Zapico returns to Japanese imprint Cabaret to follow up 2019's Mayday EP. Ravey, all analogue, old-school inspired jams are the order of the day on this one, with Detroit being a strong influence on the A side of the Extension EP. From the Daniel Bell inspired minimal techno of opening cut 'Nothing But', to the Drexciyan electro shenanigans of 'Kaos Designer'. Then flip over to the B side and you've got the title track, an acid infused epic sure to elevate you to a higher state of consciousness.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Uruguay's finest house and techno export Z@p continues his welcome return to active service - at the freakier end of the scene - with this spot on Cartulis Music. "Tracid" has a clue in its title, and it doesn't take long to detect the brazen 303 baiting taking place through the core of this peppy workout. It's an effective weapon used in just the right way that should get bodies wriggling with approval. "That Break" meanwhile diverts into a kind of braindance territory with the titular drums matched with more wobbly synth leads and spooked out pads, and then "Acid Rhytms" rounds the EP off with a more reflective cut for calmer moments in the dance.

Review: Fernando 'Z@p' Zapico returned to action last year after a near seven-year absence, delivering the rather good Sonic Utopia EP on Melliflow. Here, his revival continues via a four-track EP on Traffic. He starts confidently, fusing vintage bleep techno motifs, heavy bass and off-kilter tech-house rhythms on "Sendas". The track that follows, "Basement", is a darker and slightly more angular late night workout, while "S_t" sees the Uruguayan show off his collection of vintage synths and drum machines. Closer "PTN2" is a foreboding and slightly creepy affair, with ghostly chords and IDM style electronics tumbling down over a pitched-down electro groove.

Review: Uruguayan producer Fernando 'Z@p' Zapico has been active since the tail end of the noughties, releasing his own brand of sticky tech-house and stripped back techno via labels including Immigrant, Traut Muzik and Une Label. His latest four-track salvo - a Melliflow label debut - is pleasingly varied. So while opener "Atomos", is a pleasingly hazy, late night tech-house shuffler, the cut that follows, "Diamante", draws inspiration from vintage Dutch electro and woozy electronica. This trend continues on the flip, where the Detroit and Chicago influenced futurism of "D-04" is followed by the melodious, IDM inspired electro dreaminess of "Dauphine".

Review: Ibiza-based Vinyl Club Recordings welcomes two brilliant newcomers from the incredible merging scene
from South America; Z@p and Edunetto from Montevideo, Uruguay with their new ep, 'Palvince'. These
two young and talented producers are part of the South American net-labels Ouzo music and GRHK.

Review: SATZ is a brand new label out of Georgia which is set to shine a light on the local scene and a wealth of its most impressive minimal and tech explorers. It is the already celebrated Z@P who opens up with a future sound full of sci-fi motifs and sleek synths over hard edge drums. Gio Shengelia & Toke then join forces for the stiff tech and industrial tinged groove of 'Supermarket on Mars' while Do Or Die spin out of the cosmos and into a turbulent universe of angsty synths, twitching modulations and wild acid. Closer 'Manmachine' is a firmly rooted and motorik groove to drive you late into the night.