Crosstown Rebels Vinilo y CD

Review: The Crosstown label is now one of the elder statesmen in the scene but it still manages to serve up surprises. This new EP from Davi falls into that category as it explores dark, heads-down house and tech for the dead of night. 'Nosferatu' is heavy with the same sense of doom that you might be filled with should you meet the vampire from which the track takes its name. 'Mirage' is awash with pixelated cosmic melodies that light up the skies above a rolling house beat. With this EP Davi makes another good impression.

Review: New to Crosstown Rebels' 12"s encampment is producer HoneyLuv, who impresses on her debut release for the Damian Lazarus-run label with the fresh heat that is 'Right Spot'. Corralling remixes from Dennis Ferrer and Byron The Aquarius, HoneyLuv's palette is watery, polyrhythmic, hip-housey and fast-moving, channelling every smart move from transitional 'wubs' to tambaleironautic drum progressions, which back up the beats firmly, and move so fast that they could probably snap an ossified hipbone if played back loud enough. The track's central vocal is also an original vocal, pleading with the listener that they meet HoneyLuv at the correct rendezvous, aka. the 'spot', in order to catch the right rave-wave.

Review: Jonathan Kaspar returns to Damien Lazarus' Crosstown Rebels for another round of captivating and melodic techno by way of his latest EP 'We Come'. Already having graced the discographic annals of Cocoon and Kompakt, Kaspar's sound is now well established; his pushes and pulls adeptly between big room, dubby trance and broken-down electro and house, never quite placeable in the intermediary spaces between them. One could call it progressive house, but that would be underselling it; 'Flash Point' is the highlight here and the case in point, making masterful use of ducking and distortion to really flesh out the central syncopated stab as a focal point of the track. Nor should Paul Brenning's version of 'Transposed Sky' be missed for a second.

Review: If you ever doubted that Crosstown Rebels put out a genuine eclectic range of underground electronic sounds than check this one out - Lunar Disco bring some sleazy indie disco vibes to this one. 'Devil's Hand' has filthy bass and bumping drums with steamy vocals from singer-songwriter Kate Elsworth. DJ and composer Nicolas Blistene is behind the beats and a host of remixers add their own spin. The standout is from Swiss-Chilean master Luciano who does his textbook string and percussive thing. AudioFly's Anthony Middleton remixes with a more late night tech feel.

Review: Irish man Matador has become a new school minimal techno champion with his own label Rukus part of the vanguard. Here he makes a move across the street to Damian Lazarus's Crosstown Rebels. He kicks off with 'My Yellow Coat' which is a brilliantly atmospheric cut with rolling drums and indie vocals that come over like a confessional. It's intimate and tender and perfect for late nights in a back room. On the flip is a remix from New York's techno terminator Levon Vincent who flips it into something bulky and raw, with scratch claps and grainy kicks all powering through a late-night urban landscape.

Review: 'Together Alone' is the latest flagship emoter from Pale Blue, a recent Crosstown Rebels signee and musical duo comprising Elizabeth Wight and Mike Simonetti. Wight's vocals on this neat slice of gut-wrenching wax glide across the mix in an honest fashion, recalling the muted serenity of trip-hop legends like Martina Topley-Bird or Tracey Thorn, but set to a minimal techno backing. Kolsch backs up the B with the 'I Have You' remix, which eschews the vocals for glitzing builds and a groovier bassline.

Review: Harry Romero returns to Crosstown Rebels as he links with vocalist Shyam P for 'Mind Games'. With a catalogue as rich as any and continuing at the top of his game two decades after his emergence within New York's fabled nightlife scene, Romero continues to serve up his own take of Latin-inspired and percussive-driven house music via a long list of the industry's leading imprints. Crafting a slick and heady groove before launching into a hypnotic haze accenting by a bubbling bassline, 'Mind Games' is an infectious and vibrant house cut as Shyam P's alluring vocals take hold amongst emotive builds and breaks. 'Mira', after, is a classic Romero offering as the focus shifts to crisp organic percussion arrangements, carnival-esque whistles and hooky Latin vocals for a bustling terrace number, before 'Analog Bugz' takes cues from its title as crisp drum shots and sharp stabs unite to create a no-nonsense builder made for the main room.

Review: Damian Lazarus's Crosstown Rebels continues to serve up top tech tools for jobbing DJs with a new one from Ben Sterling. It's very nearly the label's 300th release and one that does damage from the off: 'Don't Truss' (feat Caitlyn Scarlett) may or may not be referring to one of the shortest-ever prime ministerial chapters in this country's rich history, but what it does do is lock you into the steamy and sweaty drum funk and melt your heart with its superbly angelic vocal. On the flip is 'Bring Me To The Surface' which is a more wonky workout with whirring machines, beeps and squeaks over a punchy tech beat.

Review: Tibi Dabo unveils his long-awaited full-length 'Vista' on Crosstown Rebels, with the kaleidoscopic nine-track album showcasing his diverse and rich sound-palette, centring on a chillout, colourful minimal house mood recalling the likes of Herbert or Eliphino. Born in Barcelona but steadily working his way into a Europe-wide infamy, Dabo has slowly grown in stature to become a Crosstown Rebels favourite, further bolstered on this dreamy eight-tracker which demonstrates a particular knack for making minimal and deep house sound personal and homely, not just 'deep'. Elegant and diffuse, bouncy and serene, this isn't an album you'll want to miss if you've a keen ear for detail.

Review: Many congratulations to Crosstown Rebels, a pioneering tech-house and big room dance music imprint that this year celebrates its 20th birthday. To mark the occasion, founder and creative force Damian Lazarus has dipped into the archives and come up with a collection of rarities and previously unheard remixes. Starting with his own Jem Cooke collaboration 'Into The Sun', an atmospheric, deep tech-house excursion smothered in twinkling pianos and trance-inducing electronics, Lazarus offers up an enticing mix of chunky goodness (Art Department remixing Jamie Jones), percussion-rich after-hours wonkiness (Dennis Cruz reworked Pier Bucci), pulsating neo-trance (Audiojack re-imagined by Michael Mayer), tech-tinged deep house hypnotism (Black Coffee tweaking Made By Pete vs Zoe Kypri) and saucer-eyed Ibiza anthems (Maceo Plex).

Review: Designed with a dual purpose - setting the label's agenda for the year ahead and introducing new signings - Crosstown Rebels' SPIRITS series has long been a must-check source of dependable tech-house tracks. Naturally, there's plenty of highlights to be found across this sixth annual edition. Our current favourites including the throbbing, percussion-rich, big room tech-house excellence of 'The Vision' by Cameron Jack; the acid-fired heaviness of Lauren Lane's 'Fair Game', with its wobbly sub-bass and echoing Latin drum hits; the crackling, mind-mangling tech-house psychedelia of 'So Deep' by Cristina Lazic and Leia Contois; and the fiendishly bass-heavy tribal-tech wonder that is Inigo Vontier's accurately titled 'That Trippy Sound'.