The Truth (feat Bella Hardcover - acappella) (3:41)
Review: The Kwench label is back with more tasteful and timeless house and techno fusions here as Ad & The Persuader link up for The Truth EP. The title cut opens up with some lazy, wavy, dubby grooves with heady pads and then a dub version makes it even more fleshy and horizontal. 'Strolling' keeps things classy and deep cut with pillowy kicks toped with starry-eyed melodies and some glitchy perc. An cappella closes out the EP for DJ use. This is a quietly excellent 12" that oozes quality.
Review: Pleasure Zone continues to be an inspiring force in the European minimal tech house scene, and they've really pulled the stops out with this essential new release from Boutiq.808 and Tom Marvin. We're not hip to who these cats are, but their music says it all as they skip through snappy rhythms and bold synth forms with the kind of flair you might find on a Spacetravel record. If you appreciate your quirky minimal played out with a live immediacy and some of that Perlon-esque sauce, this record will be well up your street.
Coal In My Chest (Frankey & Sandrino remix) (5:36)
Review: Frankey & Sandrino go together like tea and cake, like clubbing and expensive water, or like DC10 and v-neck t-shirts. They are an accomplished pair who know exactly what they are doing in the studio and how to get the biggest reactions on the dance floor. For this new outing, they find themselves on Sum Over Histories with three more tech house cuts full of tension. 'Der Sprung' is cold and steely, the abstract sounds making for an austere listen while 'Libelula' has a more empowering feel on chunky marching drums overlaid with confident synths. 'Coal In My Chest' is a cinematic ambient piece.
Review: IKAKO and The Cap Boy's collaborative EP, 'Split the Lark', offers a fusion of electronic textures that blends house, tech, breaks and acid elements into a seamless whole. Their distinct styles converge to create a release that reflects the pair's deep understanding of dance music's roots and future directions. The EP highlights IKAKO's Georgian touch on raw, deep house grooves, balanced by The Cap Boy's Spanish flair for breakbeats and acid-infused rhythms. The result is a sound that feels both familiar and innovative, making it perfect for late-night sets. It's a solid release that pushes boundaries while keeping the dancefloor firmly in mind.
Review: Toolroom share the seventh instalment of their label Sampler series, bringing together four new ones from six artists in their roster; Martin Ikin, Raumakustik & Tony Romera, Low Steppa & Crusy, and Eden Prince. These are huge, ravey, deep techy numbers for the big-room-inclined; we're rhythmically and vocal-samply implored to oscillate at a nigh-militant frequency, though the impulse to dance doesn't come without its shuffles and wonks. Our highlight here is the beatless breakdown in 'BFG', on which that delicious chord stab truncates all expectations thereafter.
Review: The debut release on the all-new Theresipolis label comes with a cryptic note that "Obscurity is giving way to visibility. Amidst the human dissonance, those who hear will follow the beckoning sounds of Theresiopolis." Make of that what you will, or simply skip to the sounds. Lowres opens up with 'Otpusk' which is a mix of sharp, bright, futurist synth lines and dusty, low-key house drums. TipToes locks you into a nicely intertwined blend of congas, chords and drums on 'Same Old Sausage Chicken' and on the flip Swales keeps it dynamic but loose with the acid-laced space tech of 'Release. Armless Kid's 'Oui Oui La France' has jostling breaks urging you to get stuck in.
Review: Your latest acid extraterrestrial jive comes in the form of this four-track EP V/A from Planet Orange. With tracks by Velvet Velour, Mitch Wellings, Tom Frankel, and Planet Orange boss Pete Melba, this second release retains all major aspects of the label's signature sound. Bursts of alien percussion pepper luminous beats, textured by light and shade as fleeting melodies wax and wane.
Review: Endell Street returns with a strictly limited 10" that features some rare gems that were originally produced back in the early 00s by Timmy S. Plenty of heads will know these have been expensive to cop on the second-hand market but now they have been restored and remastered by Yossi Amoyal in collaboration with Eukahouse's Nils Hess. Deep tech house doesn't get more authentic than this with the slick, driving drums and nocturnal pads of 'Wake Up' and the more percussive darkness of 'A Trip To London' both sounding superb.
Review: Edition 8 from Bread & Butter Recordings is another sophisticated outing into the world of minimal and tech house from four fine artists. Modebaku's 'Kindred' is the kinetic, waify, wispy opener that gets deep under your skin and Primarie then gets more zoned out on curious and nebulous pads on 'Euforie.' Techu's 'Storytelling' then rides on super warm and smooth-cruising beats with supple synths laced throughout. It is the sort of tune you want to hear as the sun peaks through the blinds at the afters, while Ted Amber's 'Snozeer' is another colourful and diffuse tech house charmer.
Review: Italian house lover Fabio Monesi returns to his Wilson label - named and styled after that unforgettable volleyball in Castaway - with a collab EP next to Tom Carruthers. It's rooted in traditional tropes from the 90s and US scenes starting with the kicking, retro flavours of 'Mi Amor' before 'The Bass Theory' brings on, yep, some more heavy bass-driven grooves. Last of all is the more synth-laden 'Killer Fruit' which is a triumph in drum programming that will enliven any crowd.
Review: This compilation is a sonic tapestry woven from the threads of diverse electronic soundscapes, each track carefully crafted to evoke the liminal space between dreams and reality. It's an invitation to immerse oneself in a world of intricate textures, hypnotic rhythms, and evocative melodies, where the boundaries between genres blur and the music takes on a life of its own. Jonny Rock's 'Legenda' sets the tone with its purposeful groove, its driving energy balanced by a sense of introspective depth. Thanksmate's 'Take A Chance' adds a meditative touch, its gentle melodies and atmospheric textures inviting contemplation and reflection. Dobao's 'Oceano' plunges into a deep, liquid dimension, its swirling synths and hypnotic rhythms creating a sense of weightless immersion. Giammarco Orsini's 'Whirlwind' picks up the pace, its pulsating energy and infectious groove propelling the listener forward. Hiver's 'The Frontier' explores the tension and release of electronic landscapes, its dynamic shifts and evolving textures keeping the listener on the edge of their seat. Sam Goku's 'Lucid Oscillation' closes the compilation with a sense of ethereal beauty, its airy melodies and floating notes leaving a lingering sense of wonder.
Review: Iceland's Thule offshoot label 66 Degrees was a vital label back in the day. After a 20-year hiatus, it came back strong in August and now follows up quickly with a second superb EP. This one is a carefully curated various artists collection that pulls together some local house anthems new and old. Ozy's 'Sequential Dub' is a super smooth deep house number with lush chord work. Sanasol brings heavier, more raw house drums and grinding bass that will get floors in a sweat. Oz Artists mixes up a raw, mechanical groove with balmy, dreamy pads up top to make for something utterly compelling on 'Atomox; while last of all Terry Cummingz pays homage to dusty Windy City house on his perfectly lo-fi 'Cherry Bon Bon. Classy business for sure.
Review: Circulo Cerrado's second album, Circular Economy, features four more tracks that explore a range of rich textures, all of which are unified by their distinctive timeless qualities. Rindeau, an Argentinian artist from Strain Collective, delivers 'Machine Soul' to kickoff with and blends electro-techno and EBM with expert precision. Galdar's Aniano crafts a house track with funk and psychedelic influences in the form of 'Encadenado a la Realidad' and Javier Carballo and Aniano offer 'La Furnia,' a dark, high-energy mix of breaks, IDM, and acid house. Tom Joyce closes with a hypnotic, minimalistic track featuring trippy motifs and 909 drums.
Review: The second Abstract Cuts release is an EP split four ways, but with new, unconventional approaches to the dancefloor at the heart of each submission and all using vintage drum machines and samplers. The Robot Dance Connection's 'Powers Of Ten' (R2d2 live edit) kicks off side one, shiny high frequency polish played off against a gorgeously stubborn techno beat, before the slinkier and smoother 'Gold Saucer' by Brunzi offers an equally danceable but less angular counterpoint. Flip it over and Tomska's 'Lethal Overdose' (Touch dub 2022) offers rushing sonics, off kilter snare damage and four to the floor thump, before Emile's 'Jeu Froid' completes the set in grimy basement style.
Review: CULTED return in trademark force with five wild psych-bangers from luminaries Simple Symmetry, Thomass Jackson, Orchid, Ayala, and Multi Culti boss Thomas Von Party teamed up with Oltrefuturo. A sense of weirdness exudes from these tunes, refusing the common pitfalls of twee chord progressions or underproduction hidden behind rawness; these ones are as high-qual, watery, poured-over as can be, yet also bring with them a real sense of exploration and eccentricity of mood. The utmost case in point is Thomas Van Party & Oltrefuturo's 'Kookoo', a chugging machine-elven carnival of doffed conical hats and gated cute vocals.
Review: It is a mystery who is creating the tracks for the German label Telum. We are now given the 12th release in the catalogue and we still aren't any closer to discovering much about the artist or the label. The A1 takes the classic 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' sample and fuses it to their deep house groove and you have an instant winner. The B1 track almost updates the cologne style dub techno sound and injects it with some house attitude thanks to the addition of the singing. B2 is another great blend of techno and house for the late-night audience. Each of these tracks are sultry and for the deeper heads while still not alienating any house or techno fans. Another strong release from the Telum camp!
Review: Way back in 2002, in the midst of his rise to global recognition, Ricardo Villalobos delivered a one-off EP for Linear as Termiten - though at the time his involvement was not widely known. It has become something of a sought-after minimal techno classic, with copies of the original 12-inch changing hands for serious sums - hence this Rawax reissue. It remains a fine record. A-side 'Why Did I Love My Wife' is Villalobos at his most propulsive - the kick-drum is pretty sturdy - while still reliably trippy, out-there and intoxicated. 'Nordhorn', a deeper affair in which melancholic melodies seemingly hang in the air over a typically wonky and loose-limbed drum track, is also superb, while 'Frank & Hennes' is a lolloping dab of downtempo psychedelia featuring samples from a heady old folk-rock jam.
Review: Boasting much DJ play by the likes of Avalon Emerson, tINI and DJ Dustin in recent months (if you're looking to sell your records, the social proofs trend-set by big names are sure to be boons), the dubplate version of the latest Tibi Dabo, Cubemod and Joe Davies release on KANN gets a full mastering and issuing. The German label have a bleeding eye for design, with a scribbly dystopian chaos adorning each record seeming to offer a precise German counterpart to the Midlands monstrosities outputted by the UK's Sneaker Social Club. But their sound is less bass-led and certainly tends towards moody house minima, and not mascu-step machinery; B-sider 'Cutty Sark' is especially impressive for its clicking sterns and gussets of chord and shifter SFX, laid down in dialogue between two helmsmen.
Silence Of Love (feat Jesse Boykins III - Reznik remix) (7:05)
Review: Tiga's stripped-down electronic funk and Hudson Mohawke's bold beats share a common threadian idea Tiga dubs "hardcore romance." Recorded in Los Angeles, their collaboration evolved across various tracks that ultimately shaped their debut album, L'Ecstasy. Turbo revisits the project with a series of club-ready remixes featuring Keinemusik's Reznik, Montreal duo Priori & Patrick Holland as Jump Source and Berghain regular Quelza. These hard-hitting remixes are pressed loudly on a striking 12" picture disc featuring iconic imagery from renowned photographer Wolfgang Tillmans.
Review: Rawax lock in a new one from TIJN that adds three more functional but fresh house tracks to their already estimable catalogue. This one kicks off with the silky and seductive, bendy and elastic neon synth sounds of 'Lost Language' which has rock solid drums bringing the drive. 'Keep The Peace' is a fresh one with upright drums that bring a militant march as molten melodic colours are dripped in from above. 'Fable' then spins out on trippy synths and wispy motifs that are perfect for the more intimate afters out there.
Review: The captivating journey that is US-based house legend Satoshi Tomiie's 'Magic Hour' album on Abstract Architecture persists here with Magic Hour Disk #3: Wave Dub, its third dancefloor-focused instalment. This latest addition comprises four tracks, further enriching the compilation that embodies three years of Satoshi's artistry and commitment. The house sounds are the and elegant, with deft synths and cosmic melodies doing the colour and emotion to his effective grooves. Additionally, the release features two remixes by DJ Honesty, who adds an extra layer of depth and variation to what is a nice and deep, dubby EP from Abstract Architecture.
Review: Sub Basics is back on his own fledgling label Temple of Sound - but under a new alias. As Tommy Basics he leads into a fresh house sound but still serves it up with plenty of his textbook bass-heavy low ends. 'Latitude' is a bubbly groover with dusty drums and fleshy basslines that get you moving and warmed up. 'Longitude' is even deeper, with smeared dub chords and woody percussive hits peppering the laid-back and inviting groove. Two stylish sounds from this versatile producer.
Review: Tommy Vicari Jnr and SlapFunk is a match made in heaven, and finally they're crossing paths after years keeping innovation and flair alive in minimal tech house. This 12" promises to be the first in a series, and it sounds like we're in for a treat. 'Not Knew' is a flamboyant display of cut-up, sample-based house spliced with freaked out synth elements which give everything an alien finish. There's plenty of space for wonky atmospheres and meditative passages, but Vicari's music is about impactful sound design and a mischievous mood first and foremost.
Review: Toothpick aka Swirl People step out with their newly entitled label Lost In The Swirls, which they have distilled to the more simple name L.I.T.S. Records. The Belgium-based project is an alias of Dimitri & Raoul and they bring fresh house sounds here even though this is a reissue of some classic 90s material. The title track has lush and bright summer pads over driving, tight kick drums. The opener 'May The Funk Be With You' has a classic UK flavour to it with woodpecker-like hits and dusty drum loops under some smart chord work. Last but not least is 'Naked Speedway' which has a warm bassline meandering below expansive chords that bring an early morning vibe. Good stuff.
Review: Hendriks Toth steps up with a debut full length here on the Slovakian label Sofa Movements Records. The artist reports that part of this record was recorded on the streets of Kolkata, India, and also in Tbilisi, Georgia. "Travel is closely connected to my music," he adds and there is some great cultural diversity hinted at in the sounds. 'Subcontinental Wind' for example blends string sounds and smeared vocal coos with kinetic minimal drums. 'Mr Solomons' is a hopscotch of bulbous synth daubs, wired lines and clipped vocal fragments that make for a bubbly rhythm and 'Future Funx' is just that with a driving low end.
Review: Six dance tracks skillfully blending old-school vibes with contemporary sounds, spanning acid, breakbeat, electro and house, inviting listeners to dream of underground raves and enigmatic gatherings where ethereal battles against soulless algorithms unfold amid nocturnal dance. Highlights include Trabuco's 'Happy Spliff, a vibrant mix of New York house and early 90s-inspired techno, setting a nostalgic yet fresh tone. Trabuco's 'Signals' follows, delivering a spacey techno experience that feels both futuristic and retro. Yepecc's 'UFO Camp' seamlessly combines electro and acid for a sci-fi romp that transports listeners to otherworldly dimensions. Kevin Kendall's 'Volca Three' stands out with its rich analogue bass, adding depth and warmth to the compilation. The album closes with Victor Reyes' 'Inspired By Nature,' which offers a cool, bouncy finale that leaves a lasting impression. Overall, The Sciences of the Artificial is a refreshing take on retro styled techno and it is perfect for those seeking a blend of nostalgic and fun.
Review: Tuccillo is an Ibiza-based groove maestro who turns out functional house that is never lacking in charm. And that's exactly what he does here on the great Koas label headed up by Kerri Chandler. 'Sundown' is pure vibes with its warm waves of rising chord loveliness and subtle sense of Balearic magic. 'Holding On' has a more choppy, garage-inspired groove with some nice muted horn leads and splashy finger clicks. It's a luxuriant sound that leads into the equally blissed out and smooth 'Whatever' before 'Velvet City' closes down with a super sweet bassline and more heartfelt house vibes.
Review: The Belgian underground scene holds plenty of hidden gems and Miracle Wax, owned by Twelve Clouds, is one of them. Though often working behind the scenes, Twelve Clouds' productions have earned him a well-deserved reputation and this release is likely to gain him even more allure. 'Clear Up' is wonky and full flavour tech with nice rubbery bass and 'FF' thin brings a more heady and warming melody-infused sound. The package closes with a remix from the legendary Snad whose expert touch enhances the track, with fresh depth.
Review: Uruguay's Two Phase U have been crafting electro rhythms since the 90s and are early pioneers of their national scene as a result. They have since made their make on the wider underground and once again bring some class here for System Terror. 'Teru' kicks off with lithe rhythms and the sound of seagulls adding an organic edge to the crisp drums. 'Comprando' pairs a poppy, playful sense of melody with glitchy perc and acid stabs for something effective yet fun, then 'Single Phase Flow gets a little more serious with acid stabs and crispy electro before 'Direxion' is a dubby, dynamic electronic sound that is sprinkled with cosmic detail.
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