Review: Nail is one of UK house music's most vital contributors. His raw sound pioneered a new style of tech house in the 90s and here he reappears under a different alias, AM Vibe. 'Vibe With Me' kicks off with nice loose drums and perc and jazzy keys adding the warmth and soul. 'I'm So High' brings some loopy and filtered fun and phased vocals for a sleazy feel, then 'Dried Fruit' gets more upbeat with lush synth swirls and effortlessly cool drums and rich r&b vocal samples. 'Powder' closes out with some thumping kicks and more tender vocal stabs. As always, this is brilliantly heartfelt and effective tackle from Nail.
Review: The second various artists EP from the Merkwurdig label is another tasteful collection of up front sounds from a clutch of inquisitive underground names. Body opens up with some nice cosmic tech powered by rasping bass and reverberating synths. Nate SU's 'Neutrino' is a busy jam with hooky synths and splashy cymbals that takes on a twisted sense of cyborg funk. OBG very much smooths things out with the heady house roller that is 'With The Wave' and Fabiano Jose shuts down with the rock solid kick patterns and subtly rising joy of his diffuse piano chords on 'Discotale.'
Review: ***B-STOCK: Warped, otherwise plays fine***
The second various artists EP from the Merkwurdig label is another tasteful collection of up front sounds from a clutch of inquisitive underground names. Body opens up with some nice cosmic tech powered by rasping bass and reverberating synths. Nate SU's 'Neutrino' is a busy jam with hooky synths and splashy cymbals that takes on a twisted sense of cyborg funk. OBG very much smooths things out with the heady house roller that is 'With The Wave' and Fabiano Jose shuts down with the rock solid kick patterns and subtly rising joy of his diffuse piano chords on 'Discotale.'
David Hasert/Nicone - "Wasting My Time With You" (6:11)
Review: Kompakt have billed their latest collaborative spiritual house release - three groove sandwiches shared between Deer Jade, David Hasert and Nicone - as an antidote to the all-to-prevalent late-winter blues and lack of sun, an affliction that seems to blight ravers in particular. Aside from canvassing for more outdoor and/or glass-roofed venues, all we can do in the meantime is weight the tonearm and jog-start the disc; 'Jukurpa' and 'Wasting My Time With You' are just the course of sonic vitamins us daywalkers need. The former is a deep, righteous blur of just piano tritones and circumscribed handholds around fires, as weighted knee-slaps and impacts evoke the feeling of a collective ritual come out-of-body experience. 'Cosmic Dream' returns to the very same rave spot at nighttime; at this point, it's all gone a bit lunar-psy, but the desert winds and temperate nighttime heat allow ample energy for continued soul flight.
Review: Fazack, Not Even Noticed, NairLess and Henrik Villard battle it out on the fourth Terrazzo disc, unleashing a contagious arsenal of acid and proggy tech house in the process. From the opening hip-swangs and filter-pinched laserblasts of 'Slung Low' to the more ecstatic midi-synth plucking ends of 'Zuzswang'; and last but not least, the more overt acidifications of 'Reflective Tears' and 'S11'; there's something on here for every raver.
Review: Emerging artist Jona, together with Nutownproject, release "Turning Point" on Resopal. Their upcoming 12" is so hot that this EP will almost melt the vinyl that it's pressed on! The rocking new double effort is pure house magic with micro-loop design. Both tracks reflect the past and the future at the same time. They are inspired by old school house but boast a modern, yet reduced techno approach into producing and editing. The deep basslines build and build along with the evocative chords to create tunes that will raise the roof on any club during the peak-time. This is music for the head, the feet and the heart.
Review: This week in minimal tech house we have some wicked underground material courtesy of new label Syntaxx out of Leeds. If the tracks on Syntaxx Waxx Vol 1 are anything to go by, this crew are on to big things in 2021 and beyond. Features Mehlor with the hypnotic swing of "Wurk" reminiscent of local hero Jack Wickham, AWSI goes into UKG territory on the woozy "SPD" while over on the flip Parsec delves into druggy microhouse realms on the afterhours paranoid shuffle of "Error" and Nate SU delivers the mandatory Rominimal style track on the lean groove of "Trip".
Review: Minimal electronic house tour de force here as Border Com's James Holden teams up with the UK's Jon Tye (aka Milky Globe) here on the A-side, while on the flip Nathan Fake and Milky Globe join forces for the Dusty Cabinets mix of "Lava Flow". The "Sun Spots" cut is a deep slice of electronic dub combining Holden's ever-shifting palette of abstract tones and crisp percussion. "Lava Flow" takes Nathan Fake's signature keyboard work and stretches it out over a sweet low-end groove.
3lias, Erick Navas, Clock Poets, Nagual - "Good Not So Bad" (10:06)
Triptease & Greg Paulus - "Dreg Gong" (7:25)
Fabrizio Siano - "Indahood" (5:49)
Review: Bulgarian crew We Or Us have assembled a fine various artists release here for their next 12". 'L'interpretazione Dei Sogni' features an opening cut from The Mole in the form of the loose -limbed 'Groovy Foodbag. 3lias, Erick Navas, Clock Poets & Nagual all combine for the brilliant 'Good Not So Bad' which is gritty minimal tech house, and Triptease & Greg Paulus offer the more organic depths of 'Dreg Gong' which is all busted bass and muffled vocal swirls. Fabrizio Siano's 'Indahoo' shuts down with some wonky rhythms invention, spooky spoken words and DIY percussive details.
Review: By their standards, Berlin twosome Nap92 have been positively prolific this year. Having previously confined their output to a sole EP a year, this 12" marks their second of 2024. It is, of course, rather good, with the pair once again offering a collection of retro-futurist workouts that blend early 90s house sounds and late 90s tech-house tropes with plenty of ear-catching samples and agreeable melodic motifs. You'll find plenty of fine fare amongst the five tracks on show, from breakbeat house style opener 'Most Perfect' (where a squelchy bassline, floatation tank synths and eyes-closed vocal snippets catch the ear) and Clav-sporting garage-house shuffler 'Track 3', to the organ-rich MK goes tech-house flex of 'Laurent' and the fiendishly sub-heavy 'Body Body'.
Review: For our money, Mike Grant's label Moods & Grooves is an underrated outlet from the Motor City. It has long been quietly going out its business, realising killer house 12"s from a mix of US mainstay and European greats. Nico Lahs is next up with this sublime offering. 'Always' is heavy, dusty, physical house for sweaty basements. 'Dimensions' gets you in a trance with its swirling pads and muffled vocal sounds and then 'Easy Going' brings some melodic wonkiness and loopy drum funk. 'Redemption' is a steamy end with pinging drums and layer up on layer of fuzzy sound.
Review: Double Trouble by Ninja Hagen and Niko S, released on Superpartyrecords, is a vinyl-only gem that is a fantastic retro visit to the realm of progressive house. The EP comprises four peak-time tracks that pay homage to pioneering technologies in sound engineering while infusing the dancefloor. On Side-1, 'High Fidelity' channels late 80s/early 90s techno with its vintage appeal, blending tech house elements with futuristic techno sounds. 'Nord Speed 2X' follows suit, offering retro techno vibes driven by machine-driven sounds. On Side-2, 'Samplexity' delves deeper into progressive territory with intricate sampling techniques, while Niko S's solo track "Choughacid" takes listeners on a techno trance journey. Overall, Double Trouble is a sublime example to the duo's creativity and their ability to push boundaries within the progressive house genre.
Review: Minimal and tech house fans have long been tuned into the sounds of Norken. The master studio craftsman knows exactly how many element he needs to make a deep, immersive groove and never does he use a single hi-hat more. His Southern Soul EP has been reissued a number of times before including by the likes of Delsin but now its title track gets remastered for this fresh serving on Only One. It is all wispy synths and cosmic motifs with bendy bass, then 'P Fox' picks things up with another rolling rhythm and dub kicks topped off with astral synths. 'Spring Time' closes with crunchier tech house drums and a more quickened groove but is still as deep.
Review: If you like your tech-house off-kilter, spacey and rich in quirky, glitchy percussion programming, we'd suggest checking out this collaborative EP from Italian tech-house star Yaya and fellow countryman Nacho Bolognani. Opener 'Flan' is high-grade early morning tech-house, with deep space pads and gaseous electronic textures floating across gltch-laden late-night drums and a fine analogue bassline, while 'Tastic' is a funkier slab of intergalactic tech-house warmth. Over on the flip we're treated to two rock-solid re-rubs. First Mahony gives 'Tastic' a slicker, smoother feel (it reminded us of late 90s, Wiggle style tech-house) before Steve O'Sullivan provides a tougher, darker and more analogue rich revision of the same track.
Review: It has been some years now since Nail came back from the wilderness after one of his early EPs was re-released by Fear of Flying. Since then he has turned out plenty of new material as well as digging deep into his vast and vital vaults to serve up the sort of lo-fi but kicking house sounds that made him and his Nottingham crew such a driving force back in the 90s. And that's what we get here on For Those That Knoe - no fewer than eight masterfully stripped-back cuts of deep house. Some are laced with dreamy melodies, some roll deep for days, some are raw and textured pumpers and some are jazzed-up bangers with charm to spare. Essential stuff.
Review: The Noodles label does not rush things. This is only its third release since launching in May 2020. Once again the eponymous production outfit or solo producer, whoever they, she or he may be, takes care of the sounds and does a fine job of bringing real character to minimal grooves. 'Track 1' is packed with detail, from swirling cosmic pads to a busy melody line and well-placed vocal samples that all bubble and brim with energy. On the flip, it's more stripped-back business with ice-cold and dry rolling drums and a seductive female vocal that gets stretched, smeared and teased throughout.
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