DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - June 2016

Review: DisDat is the new brainchild of New York's infamous underground party, ReSolute. For their first release, they showcase three different sonic interpretations of their iconic warehouse mornings that stretch out far into the afternoon.

Leading the release is S.A.M. (of Oscillat and Delpahine notoriety) with the aptly named "Brooklyn Nights" - a driving track made for the dancefloor, with its acid-tinged bassline complimented by S.A.M.'s trademark emotionality.

French duo Zendid provide the pulsating "Ws3", whose scattered kick drum underlines euphoric and fluttering elements.

Matthew Burton & Bangladesign, together as Mikisderek, bring the release to a close with the subtle and introspective "Sump1", as equally suited for the beginning of a night as the early morning after

Review: London's Archie Hamilton breaks away temporarily from his usual home of Fuse London to throw down some fine hi-tech minimalist grooves for prolific Frankfurt imprint Pleasure Zone. When considering that they've previously offered up the likes of Vid and Ali Nasser, you can appreciate the Romanian influence on this 12" too; Hamilton's sound is really developing well. On the A side "Some Kind Of Arrangement" has the funky and cyclical hypnotism that could have him likened to the likes of Barac while on the flip "First Refusal" is more deep down and drugged up; perfect for the morning set with its paranoid and low slung groove.

Review: No one does minimal house quite likes Koos Ludwig. The man from Devanter is back with more of his trademark sound: rolling subterranean grooves that will no doubt rock the underground this Summer and beyond. Always the prankster, what would an Ion Ludwig release be without absurd track titles and get a load of this one "Now On The Ocean Sky Only Knows Back In The Mountain Is Where It Goes"; which is as rolling, bass heavy and dark as you'd expect. By comparison, the title track is more uplifting with its dreamy synth leads and infectious syncopation in its rhythm department getting the job done nicely. Finally on the flip "Fizmo Theme" hammers the message home in dark and dubby fashion, getting that spooky trance inducing vibe happening just as well as any Melchior Productions track.

Review: Berlin's Beste Modus is run by local stalwarts Cinthie, Diego Krause, Ed Herbst, stevn.aint.leavn & Albert Vogt. For the third edition of Beste Freunde, they have onboard some of the biggest names in tech house at present and they're all throwing down some wicked grooves. On the A side Birmingham's Subb-An gives us the raw, stripped and jacking "Feel For You" which beats that 808 good and hard with some familiar samples over the top. Next, the stripped dub techno of Walker's "Confessions" lends some variety to the release; fans of the Fachwerk sound will dig this one. On the flip, London's The Willers Brother gives us the rolling and minimal deep house of "Can You Get Up?" which is perfect for afterhours hypnotism and finally back into the jackin' house side of things courtesy of Frenchman Julien Sandre with tough yet sexy groove of "Ordinary Madness"

Review: Florence based label Bosconi is back with 100 Hz aka UK legends Lee Renacre and James Chapman who have been around since the late eighties. This is their second release on the Italian imprint; their Mila EP was their first for the label back in 2009. On the A side we have a re-issue of their 1989 track "Shoot The Bar" a sturdy and cyclical house groove on the tougher side of things with a nice double bass holding the track above a tight rhythm and dreamy Rhodes piano. "Primary Colours" sounds more like minimal, but given more of an edge by all the dusty and lively analogue machines that power it along. Its bumpy bass and restrained synth stabs supporting some simplistic rhythms and works quite well. Finally "Oliva Funk" is more of a classic NYC house cut, those rapid fire cowbell strikes will help it bear even more resemblance to classic Kerri Chandler style vibes.

Review: You can never have too much Point G right? Self-professed 'long-time galaxy traveller' and all round French production legend Gregory Darsa is never shy when it comes to putting out music, be it fresh cuts, alternate takes on classic or unreleased gems from his personal archive. This Classics & Unreleased Jams double pack is the latest in a long line of Point G releases in multiple platter format and will have the selectors out there salivating. Issued on Cabanne & Eric V's Minibar label, the seven cuts featured canvas punchy house workouts to deeper tracks and more minimally-minded groovers. Do check Cabanne's own edit of "Mister Dallas" in particular!

Review: Established back in 2011, Singapore's Midnight Shift label has grown to reflect the diverse bookings across the house and techno spectrum that pepper their associated club nights. For example, the past four 12"s from the label have spanned Andreas Gehm, John Heckle, Eduardo De La Calle and Portuguese producer Kaspar. Up next it is Colin 'Mr. G' McBean whose Ternasek 12" arrives amidst a rich vein of killer singles from the man widely regarded as genuine UK house royalty. According to Midnight Shift, these three tracks were made after McBean was struck with inspiration on a visit to the Singaporean city of the same name, with aural markers of his time there sunk deep into the pulsing functionalism of the productions. As with the majority of Mr G material, this are prime club grade tech-edged house rollers.

Review: Next up on Constant Sound is Berlin based Diego Krause. This time there are no remixes, just 3 solid club tracks from a producer who is really on form.

Review: Fresh off unleashing the superb You Find The Key LP by Fumiya Tanaka, Zip, Markus Nikolai and Chris Rehberger's cult Perlon label coax some fresh material out of Margaret Dygas. Perlon is of course a label Dygas has been aligned with throughout much of her celebrated career, though she's only put out a handful of 12"s and an LP on the label. The two-track Even 11 is a welcome sight then and the title track finds Dygas tunnelling deep into a rich groove of expert percussive detail and tripped out effects atop a thick and luscious bass line. Complementing this, "Wishing Well" is one of those trademark Perlon B-side trippers, suggestively hinting at acquiring a stable groove whilst all manner of intricate, leftfield sounds help gently push the track forwards.

Review: Brescia's Francesco del Garda has finally received his dues after a long time of Djing around the north of Italy. Teaming up with Eklo label boss Seuil on the Bubble EP, he presents four cuts of reductionist house. On the A side "111" is definitely in line with the labels M.O. on this glitchy and quirky mini-funk excursion. On the flip things get even better such, as on the the slightly electro leaning "222" with its tough and snappy 808 beat supported by a funky bassline and emotive pads. Equally "333" is just as emotive and soulful, it's beat is as lovely and broken and definitely as funky!

Review: APOENA get his tracks played by names such as Delano Smith, Luke Hess, Agoria, Baby Ford, Jus Ed (etc...) since his first record out. Known to bring groove into deepness, the brazilian producer may be showing his stronger record so far with "Intense EP". The A Side provides prime driving stuff while B Side take the mood to a more profound level.

Review: After previous travels through space in the minimal constellation on records for Binh's Time Passages and Vera and Alexandra's Melliflow label, Berlin-dwelling Italian producer lands himself an impressive debut on the mighty Perlon. Fresh off a new Fumiya Tanaka LP and that superb Margaret Dygas 12", Perlon are operating on all cylinders at the moment and this debut Spacetravel LP is a fine addition to the label canon. Some eight tracks deep, the cannily-titled Dancing Therapy already sounds like a future Perlon classic, breezing from hypnotic reduced house ("Kill Divas") to haywire techno deviations via stripped down minimal DJ tools. Dancing therapy indeed!

Review: Some new material from Englishman Lee Norris, an underrated producer who's been around since the late 90s with sporadic releases for the likes of Delsin, Hydrogen Jukebox and Combination Records. The Fragile EP is presented by Lisbon's Assemble Music and is a fine return to form with four cuts of emotive and soulful minimal house with a classic late nineties feel for fans of the likes of Theorem, Swayzak or Donnacha Costello. Starting out with the dusty and emotive ambient house of "Fragile" it's then onto the dark and hypnotic groove of "Neat Buzzl" with its bleeps working against a funky broken beat. On the flip "DF-23" and "Ride" are deep space grooves with a nod to 313 style futurism and hi tech soul aesthetics with some gorgeously emotive strings and lot of funk to boot.

Review: Bristol's Banoffee Pies are back with their 11th edition. But as far it goes musically: this certainty ain't Bristol! Starting out with the smoothly reduced tendencies of local lad Christian Jay's "Rhotic" which sounds inspired by the sounds of Trelik, there's more of the same (albeit much dubbier and smoked out) on "Starry Nite Life" courtesy of Utrecht's Larry de Kat; very paranoid afterhour vibes on this one! On the flip we've got some more dubbed out fare courtesy of Christian Jay, again, who enlists a bit of help from Crump on the rusty and dust coated "GG3". All Caps artist Florist adds a touch of Vancouver to proceedings with the squelchy DJ tool "Blacky."

Review: Pierre Codarin has been hitting the underground circuit for the past few years releasing material on respected labels and his own eponymous imprint. On the A side Awaken" is the kind of rolling and hypnotic minimal house for big dancefloors that Mulen and Djebali fans will admire. "Neve Nudes" is more stripped back and loopy with its infectious funky bassline and swing fuelled rhythm, Finally "Under Me" ends things on a deep house notes on this classic 90's Chicago vibe which is very convincing.

Review: Leeds (UK) label Midnight Social Recordings is now coming to its 4th birthday..... and what better way to celebrate than to do a limited 100 vinyl release?

Hailing from the hotbed of deep house that is Leeds, Carlo Gambino's Midnight Social Recordings made an immediate impact on the scene, both in its hometown, nationally & internationally. With a strong history of being involved within the house scene for 20 years, Carlo's reach into the house community has given MSR automatic kudos, showcasing both established names alongside introducing new acts, all selected for the quality of the beats rather than the 'coolness' of the artist. The label has gone from strength to strength since it was launched in 2011 and has gained some fans along the way including Mark Jenkyns, No Artificial Colours, Terry Francis, Moodymanc, Justin Harris, Inland Knights, Audiojack, and Rob Mello to name but a few.

With artists including HNQO, Denney, Tim Weeks, Al Bradley, Ceri, RJ Fletcher, Luke Gibson, Dudley Strangeways & more not to mention plus Carlo himself already released on the label, the MSR roster is already busting out of the speakers with fine artists & is ready to unleash more as the label strides into 2015/6 and beyond.

Review: Australian techno royalty Carmelo Bianchetti has put out a lot of music under the Late Night Tuff Guy alias with his 2007 tweak of Roland Clark classic "I Get Deep" among his best work. Originally released through the short lived TBot's All Nite House Party label, the track is given a timely reissue through Bianchetti's own Tuff Cut label in newly remastered form. Clark's classic vocal would be arguably be a hit over anything with a 4/4 groove, but there is something satisfying about this grimy arrangement from LNTG. Complementing this is a fresh take on the track from Sydney's Cassian.