DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - July 2015

Review: Every year one of 'those' records comes along that you hear everywhere; big DJs drop it, small DJs cherish it, radio plays it. You get the picture. XTC by DJ Koze looks to be one of those records. The PAMPA boss is renowned for a talent at wrenching optimum levels of emotion from electronic music and "XTC" is a fine example of how well DJ Koze does it. Some eight minutes of deep house every bit as immediately consuming as, say "Beautiful Life" by Gui Boratto, are complemented by the appearance twice of a pitched down vocal (that sounds remarkably similar to Maggie Thatcher) discussing the popular drug that informed the title. Complementing this, Koze indulges in some superb cut up filter house with "Knee On Belly".

Review: Emotive tracks by two super producers who impressed Cartulis Day with their memorable sets. The collective invites Tommy Vicari Jnr and Anton Zap once again, this time to showcase their music for the label's third release.
Tommy Vicari Jnr brings us a deeply playful side A track, well suited for those special after hours. Anton Zap names his track after Crucifix Lane, Cartulis' "home" for more than 5 years before it was forced to close earlier this year. He recreates that stomping ground atmosphere with this B track, sure to keep a dance floor pulsating during the peak of the night.

Review: 11 years on from DJ Koze's one and only commercial mix, 2004's All People Is My Friends for Kompakt, the Pampa boss lines the 50th DJ Kicks mix, following high profile contributions from Nina Kraviz and Actress. This vinyl edition offers the best of both worlds really, featuring some 17 highlights of Kozalla's selection in their original form spread across two slabs of vinyl whilst !K7 have also thrown in a CD copy of the mix so you can hear how it's all done Koze-style. As you'd expect Koze presents one of the more far-reaching selections in the series, with Madlib-produced Freddie Gibbs nestling up alongside William Shatner, Boards of Canada remixes, Broadcast whilst the likes of Marcel Fengler, Session Victim and Frank & Tony offer some deepness.

Review: American DJ and producer Kevin Knapp steps up to Jamie Jones and Lee Foss's Hot Creations via Berlin, the man's current place of residence, and drops some of his bumpy, techy house vibes. "Heft" is all jittery and wonked-out thanks to its wavy vocals chops and swirling mutant low-end, whereas "Not Your House" is contains more of a classic house structure with a heavy succession of high hats, snares and a banging kick, to boot!

Review: Tijn AKA Martyn Hodgson appears on his on Worx imprint with some sleek tech house shenanigans. Title track "9090" with its infectiously bouncy bassline and shuffling rhythm just ticks all the right boxes, check it out. "Peeping Tom" is as sleazy as its title suggests, in the after-hours kind of way reminiscent of Robert Dietz productions a few years ago; and that's a good thing. The House Of Warez remix of "9090" on the flip is sexy slinky tech house, executed to perfection by none other than Music For Freaks Justin Harris, under a new alias. Lastly "Shake Dat" is a druggier style of deep house with warped and trippy vocals for added effect.

Review: Moscow Records boss Archie Hamilton appears this time on Enzo Siragusa's Fuse London imprint with these slices of rolling, Latin-infused tech-house for the beach party. This is the kind of stuff that lovers of Mindshake and Rawthentic will be all over. First up "Mind Blank" brings the tough yet sultry attitude that you could imagine playing peak time at Amnesia. "Works On Sunday" takes the tempo down a notch or two for something more suited to the afterhours, but just as sexy. There's also a remix of this on the flip by none other than label boss Siragusa with Seb Zito keeping the afterhours vibe intact but with a druggier, minimal take on things.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Ukrainian artist iO is the next to make his mark on One Records with
'Mir', including two intricate and sophisticated, rolling dance floor
tracks of the highest quality. On remix duty, the profoundly talented
Cab Drivers showcase their unique production style, as they too are
warmly welcomed to the label.
Part of the game for a number of years now, iO's successful releases
can be found on imprints such as Rejected, Noir Music, Area Remote,
Leftroom, VIVa, Highway Records and his own Mulen Records which he
started in 2012 and released his stunning debut album with on in 2013.
Aside from his skills in the studio, iO's talents as a DJ also see him play
regularly at the likes of Arma17 (Moscow), Studio 80 (Amsterdam) and
Boom Boom Room (Kiev), also appearing at events such as ADE, WMC,
Exit and Kazantip.
Hugely respected Berlin residents Cab Drivers aka ZKY & Daniel Paul are
well known for their distinguished productions and live showcases. Their
well established record label Cabinet Records holds an extensive
catalogue of quality music and places them even further within the
real elite of electronic music.

Review: Last year's Ballad of the Ice LP for I'm A Cliche seemed to open quite a few doors for Tel Aviv pair Dori Sadovnik & Niv Arzi with Red Axes appearances on Kompakt, Highlife, and Relish. The commencement of a new Shem series of records brings the Red Axes back to Cosmo Vitelli's label with a remit being tracks geared towards the dancefloor but always retaining the one-of-a-kind approach that it distils in all its productions. The four tracks on Volume 1 set the tone nicely, be it the Delia Derbyshire does cavernous acid house vibes of "Na Da" or the spectral "Balma" which features the Portuguese crooner Abrao. Best of all however is the effervescent jack track "Nu" which really exemplifies the talent of Red Axes to make club-ready tracks out of organic elements.

Review: Dial Records presents the new Lawrence release, "Pond". This release can be regarded as the essence of the new Lawrence universe. It is a homage to the first days of Chicago house.

Review: It's been a while since we heard from the Cobblestone Jazz boys and given their massive influence over contemporary house and techno, it's always a pleasure to listen to their truly singular take on dance music. The Matthew Jonson-led outfit return with an EP for the Itiswhatitis label, the original birthplace of Jonson's beats. "Northern Lights" is classic Cobblestone, where an ultra compressed kick meanders amidst calculated drips of sound pouring mathematically from every angle. "Drawn From The Side Of Crime" is a little more chirpy, its sounds bleeping away with greater intensity and freedom. It's a must have for fans of the group, recommended!

Review: Geeeman is arguably one of Dutch producer Gerd's better-known alternative aliases, thanks to occasional - but well regarded - EPs on Clone's Jack For Daze offshoot. Here he dusts off the pseudonym for its' first outing for two years, surprisingly popping up on Will Saul's Aus Music. The original version is a loving tribute to the glory days of ghetto-house, with chopped-up, pitched-down vocal stabs combining with a booming bassline, thunderous drums and sleazy synth-sax to create a sweaty, basement-bothering mood. There's a little more vintage Chicago swing to the bouncy Tribute Instrumental, before Clone veteran Alden Tyrell delivers two brilliantly intense and slamming ghetto-acid-meets-Joey Beltram style interpretations.