Review: An enviously sick, fidget-dub-minimal-tech blastoff from Into The Woods, the London imprint whose efforts to push the genre, in a city where it may indeed need more force behind it, are admirable. The first V/A of a new series, ITW have hand-picked an impressing array of artists here; choose your fighter: Crihan, Jay Tripwire & Miller, Vlad Arapasu, and the fast-rising T.Na all feature. First up, it's Vlad, with 'Hidden In The Chaos', whose title invites us to decipher the message coiled about the technical scytale: the track's so-said "chaos" betrays its mad method, its impish persona portrayed through random-modded bass pitch bobs set against a fizzing backbeat. Tripwire and Miller add much texture to the proceedings, sweeping our ears unto a journey into what sounds like frayed cabling and clairaudient voices; then T.Na seriously impresses with truly, properly balanced beat and bass elements, with evil demonic gurgling and laughter aplenty, on 'Nicky'; and finally, Crihan rounds things off on a note of gruff, grit-laid wizardry with 'Hocus Pocus'.
Tides (feat Bajka - Toto Chiavetta edition 2022 remix) (8:18)
Tides (feat Bajka - Art Department Roxy Blue remix) (15:13)
Tides (feat Bajka - Ripperton remix) (10:03)
Tides (feat Bajka - C's Movement #1 - Carl Craig remix) (9:58)
Review: Classic deep house here by Beanfield, an outfit comprised of Compost Records chief Michael Reinboth with Jan Krause, Michael Mettke and Tobias Meggle, who released one of their biggest tracks 'Tides' with vocalist Bajka back in 2004, taken from the album Seek. Featured is the timeless Beanfield Chant Mix and of course Detroit icon Carl Craig's now legendary rework, as well as Swiss deep house hero Ripperton's impressive perspective. Providing newer reinterpretations is veteran of the Toronto scene Art Department, and Italy's Toto Chiavetta who injects the track with his signature brand of high tech soul.
Review: Rising Boorloo artist Beltrac shows why he is so well thought of here with five tracks that deliver a dynamic collision of sleek, dub-infused minimal rollers reminiscent of the late '90s and early 2000s tech-house but paired with high-energy drum-driven explorations. After the bubbly synths of 'Tek Code' comes the more direct and crisp 'VIP Section (Otherworld mix)', then Side B features a standout remix of 'Echo Response' by Eora's dub master Command D who transforms the wonky bassline of the original into a hazy, after-hours dub techno gem. The meticulous production really elevates these irresistible grooves.
Review: Bohm is next up to bring his own minimal and tech house perspective to X Masters and does so with a stripped back yet effective style across a quartet of real bumpers. 'Land Of Lost' kick off with a bobbling bassline and old school 90s house chords that bring some intrigue. 'Most Of It' is a little deeper and warmer with a hint of garage skip in the drums and 'Finest Touch' then rides on another nice old school house bassline with with a future cosmic twist in the synths. 'Operator Select' closes out with a nice jumble of percussion and diffuse chords a sublime deep house closer.
Review: Acid Cuts Greece does exactly what it says on the tin right from the off here with its first album. It comes from Boy Disco and kicks off with twitchy, club-ready weaponry with clipped oval samples and bright flashes of 303 that make your eyes water. 'All Night Long' manages to be at once twitchy and acid and ready for a rave but also deep and soulful thanks to the pads and vocals. Elsewhere there are more hypnotic acid lines on 'Moozique', then stripped-back warblers like 'Pumped' next to percussive jams like 'Jack That Body.'
Review: Alta Ripa signifies a seismic shift in Ben Lukas Boysen's artistic journey. It revisits the foundational impulses of his youth, shaped amidst the serene beauty of rural Germany: a bucolic backdrop where his creative palette flourished. However, it was his move to Berlin in the early 2000s that electrified his sound, infusing it with the city's pulsating energy and diverse cultural influences. Playing on themes of transience and movement - of both of the locality of the individual and of history on a macroscopic level - this is Boysen's fourth album under the name, bringing magnanimous Latin to the continual plods and progressions of high-spec cinematic techno. Boysen specifically aims for controlled chaos: keeping to the progressive tech backbone whilst providing bays and nooks in which both harmonic and discordant blurts might nest themselves.
Review: Cult minimal label Cabinet is back with another vital two tracker, this time from Brudan. It kicks off with the glitchy beats and silky, warming, machine soul of 'Time 2 Play' with its silky grooves soon to lock you into a heady vibe. On the flip is the more stripped back 'Music Makers' which is a little more minimal and abstract in its designs but is just as much of a seductive sound that worms its way deep into your brain. Both of these are tasteful tools for discerning selectors.
Review: Fantastic Friends reaches out to welcome us into its inner circle once more with another tasteful tech house outing. this time a various artists affair with some tasty talent. Christian Burkhardt opens up with 'Rytm Mod' with its wide vocal sounds and chunky, funky low end. Chris Llopis's 'Dubster' us a bubbly number with fluid bass and liquid rhythms and Nils Twachtmann's 'Space Odyssey' get cosmic with a spaced-out and late-night ambient vibe. Filou shuts down with 'Sophe' which is a skittish number with dubbed out and rolling low ends.
Review: Melbourne's Eden Burns has been publishing their 'Big Beat Manifesto' in vinyl form for a good while now. We'd'n't've predicted a musical style popularised by Norman Cook warrants manifesto-penning on a level of the Dadaists, Futurists or Stuckists, but hey, we won't complain, cos the music is sick. And it hardly sounds like your typical 'big beat' either. Nah, this is more a tricksy, comical clubsploitation hat-trick, verging - if you must tease a genre name - dubby tech house, moving into locomotive techno. Andras and Eden Burns' 'Wrangler' begins on a recondite note, with a faint vocal sample suggesting ideas of wanting to be in on an impossible joke. Desire turns to 'Obsession' on the A2, pon which a central monotone resounds like the toot of a steam train, while the B1, 'Calvin Klein' blithely indulges the tech house underwear brand sponsorship deal through chuggy womps and further, sultry vox cutups.
Review: Following years spent serving up sounds on a wide variety of underground labels (Into The Woods, Atipic and Infuse included), Alexis Cabrera renews his productive partnership with Raum Musik - a label he last appeared on four years ago. The EP highlight is unquestionably A-side 'Dreaming of a Silver Future', a sparkling and positive-sounding affair in which spoken word snippets, shimmering stabs, jacking drum fills and tight TB-303 tweaks rise above a chunky bassline and restless drums. Flipside opener 'Your Name On My Arm' is a rugged and decidedly moody affair in which blackened electronics, trippy samples and dystopian sonics, cropped vocal samples and short TB-303 tweaks ride a charred bassline and chunky tech-house beats, while 'Do You Wanna Wonder' is a hypnotic and lightly intergalactic European tech-house roller with notably crunchy drums and a few nods to Twilo-era Danny Tenaglia.
Review: The Acid Cuts label has pressed up this superb new album from Cleon in super limited quantities: just 50 arrive on limited and numbered vinyl and they are sure to shift. Let's Do It is a characterful work of techno brilliance with the title cut opening up. It's got zippy pads, big, unbalanced kicks and fat bass that all make you move. 'Can U Feel It?' harks back to the classic acid house of the early Chicago days and 'Hot Iz The Rhythm' then rides nice elastic and rubbery kicks with some molten acid. Elsewhere 'Hoopla' gets more raw and 'C'Mon' closes with a bang.
The Emanations - "Rhythm Is Easy" (feat Janet Planet - Che Luca Lucid Rave mix)
Review: The fully mixed version of Confidence Man's debut Fabric mix record is here on CD. In contrast to the selectors' LP version - also sold by us - this full version is a seamless, singular slab of optical laser-read musical licence, espousing the central vibe-theme of Confidence Man's message: have confidence. Well, except for want of a receiving ear, we find ourselves tentatively able to confide in Confidence Man's Fabric mix ("better than therapy" joke happily dodged) as a substitution in the meantime; for it too shows us that real, authentic, and boundless confidence can, believably, indeed, be found in bouncy dance exclusives available on CD only. Among these are Patrick Prins' kitsch chipmunk banger 'Fiesta Conga' and Cygnus X's steezy-cheesy trance stutterer 'Positron'03'. With both many a throwback and a present promo in tow, Confidence Man dice up and dole out a small slice of their huge stash of their patented auricular confidence dust.
Review: YOIONWAX celebrates its tenth anniversary with a special record featuring stunning zoetrope artwork by Alex Mikheev. Guided by the talented Donnie Cosmo, this musical journey starts in a tropical forest with 'Jungle Juice' then 'The Man From Planet X' leads into another mystical experience with lithe and silvery tech house and trippy synth work. 'Mystical Journey' is another spaced-out tech sound with kinetic drums and a smorgasbord of sci-fi motifs, then 'Prepare Your Soul' serves up another transformative adventure with steely drums and watery droplets, otherworldly designs and a groove that never quits. Super artwork on this one, too.
Review: Dan Piu is a master of minimal sounds whether leaning more towards house or techno. For this latest one on Birds out of Chile, he opens up with some nice balmy pads and hip-swinging claps under tiny 80s keyboards. It's whimsical and dreamy then 'Late Night Beef' picks up things a little with some more driven drums but plenty of celestial synths and 'Ganas De Verte (feat Natalia)' is another balmy and spaced-out minimal house sound for hi-fidelity systems. 'Kammgarn' shuts down with the most direct sound of the lot and some nice dub undercurrents.
Review: Minimal heads will be chuffed to see that the third volume of the Dis Chronicles series has now arrived on Repeat. It is another stylish collection of Grant Dell beats starting with a cut as Chicago Transit Authority. 'Emotive' is a perfect blend of jazzy keys and skipping garage drums with deep house vibes and swirling pads to add extra heat. On the flipside, Dell links with Jay Tripwire for 'Cosmic Kebab' which leans more into tech house territory but as the title suggests has nice starry synth work and to close out, Dell goes it alone on 'Rhythmic Science' which looks you into his precise beat work and diffuse late night chords.
Review: Second-wave Chicago house mainstay DJ Sneak has been around for years but is currently at the top of his game after an almost decade long hiatus. He nods to that in the title of this new EP, 'Still Jackin'', on In The Future. It kicks off 'Going Back To My House' and with some underlapping bass and nice roughshod kicks while industrial metal hits up top bringing some balance. 'Still Jackin' has reverb-drenched drums and crispy hits that make for perfect mid-tempo body music and 'Can I Get Ahhh Feeling' brings some more diffuse, soul-infused vibes and late-night warmth. 'String Me Up' shuts down with a blend of textured stabs, winky beats and uneasy atmospheres.
Review: The sublime minimal sounds of Atipic are enough t melt the minds of anyone when heard on the right sound system at 5am. Dumitrescu is next up to take the baton for the label and his contribution is up there and is as good as any of the previous 18. '019 1' marries grinding grooves to smeared sci-fi pads and spoken words from a spacecraft's tannoy system. '019 2' is more balmy with some colourful synth motifs and gurgling basslines bring the snappy beats to life. '019 3' rides on deft and dusty breakbeats with sustained synth swirls adding plenty of cosmic energy and closer '019 4' has a more playful side but still plenty of zippy synth work.
Review: Duowe's latest offering, 'Coldharbour Sidewinder', delivers four cuts of tightly stripped drum grooves, hypnotic basslines and crowd-controlling vocals designed for peak-time club and festival moments. Paying homage to the techy electro scene of the past while carving a fresh path forward, this release blends moody ambience with electro-tinged melodies that grip the imagination. Each track is crafted to send crowds into a trance, capturing the energy and intensity that Duowe is known for. It's a journey that nods to the roots of electro while keeping eyes firmly on the future.
Review: The Edge of Me series operates in the shadows, offering a mixture of sample-heavy cuts from a producer (or producers) who wish to remain nameless, and unauthorised (but often rather good) remixes of familiar and lesser-known cuts. Volume four in the series is, like its predecessors, another mysterious beast containing four untitled tracks. Opener 'Track 1' wraps a well-known hip-hop/r&b acapella around a deep, drowsy, bongo-rich tech-house-tinged groove, before 'Track 2' opts for a more druggy dancefloor take on an analogue-rich, synth-heavy cut of unknown origin. Over on the reverse, 'Track 3' is hypnotic, deep a d trippy with added r&b vocals, while 'Track 4' is dreamy, shuffling and pleasingly sunrise ready.
Review: Tom Ellis' Grounded EP seamlessly blends minimal house with soulful elements and a touch of tech, creating a collection of tracks that are sure to energise the dancefloor. Released on the Onysia label, this EP highlights Ellis's ability to craft sophisticated, danceable grooves. Side-1 opens with 'Moving Target,' a track that exudes classy deep house vibes, setting a refined yet rhythmic tone. Following this, 'Grounded' introduces intricate minimal sounds, showcasing Ellis's knack for subtle yet engaging production. On Side-2, 'Next Year' delves into a deeper minimal groove with tech influences, delivering a sick, immersive listening experience. The EP closes with 'Process Trust,' a soothing and peaceful track that incorporates minimal and glitch elements, offering a serene conclusion to the collection.
Review: The undeniably wonderfully named Chippy Chasers label return with a neat selection of four very playable, friendly-on-the-ear cuts from four undeniably wonderful artists. Fedo's 'Tunisian Rex' leads the chage, with a solid house shuffle liberally peppered with nicely trippy effects and bonkers vocal snippets that give it heaps of personality. Andrey Djackonda & Ovil's 'Lui Lui' is a little more stripped down and a little more soulful, with an old jazz hand muttering atmosphercially on top. Legit Trip's 'Skripi Daddy' is the most loop-laden of the quartet, but its ebbing and flowing brass samples and high frequency tweaks keep it interesting, before Firesc's 'Left Or Right' closes things down with the kind of polyrhythmic funkiness and space jazz trimmings that made Cheap Records so essential back in the day. Well worth Chasing down.
Review: Suena Hermosa has been serving up house sounds for a decade now and to mark the occasion it now stars a new vinyl series. FOG is in charge of this installment and brings his minimal blueprint to four club-ready cuts. 'Savage Harmonics' rides on waves of synth that rush through you as the steely beats prickle along. 'Only If I Say No' has broken drum patterns that bring a sense of unease and edge until some lush ambient pads arrive. 'Friction' then has a loopy feel with rumbling dub chords and 'Walk In The Park' closes out with a gritty, more textured tech house sound.
Review: In the write-up for this admirable label debut by newcomer Framboisier, Gestalt has promised "a new kind of club sound" based on the foundations of "tech and hardgroove". So what does that mean in practice? Well, title track 'Buffout Trax' is a brilliantly bouncy and breathless affair, where rave-igniting riffs, bassline house style organ bass motifs and UK garage samples ride a beefed-up house groove. 'Orbit Reflex' sees the producer lean more into glassy-eyed rave-era nostalgia - all stabbing bleep techno style bass, hybrid techno-house beats and fizzing melodic motifs - while 'Flex-o-matic' is a more rolling concoction that puts retro-futurist fun at the top of the agenda. Closing cut 'Holodisk Data', meanwhile, is an all-action fusion of past and present dancefloor tropes with extra lashings of TB-303 psychdelia and nods to early progressive house.
Review: Fred P continues to be a prolific driving force in deep house, with his own Private Society label carrying a huge amount of his work these days. On this latest single he maintains one of his other close working relationships with Parisian institution Synchrophone, delivering three cuts of his refined, endlessly immersive music. 'Dance Of Rhythms' is a driving, sharply defined cut with a lot of action occurring in the lower register while the higher frequencies have acres of space to stretch out in, all the better to keep your head mellow while the hips sway. 'The Beauty In The Sound' is a more pattering affair and 'Vibe Science' favours a nagging drum pattern which nods towards jazz funk as much as techno. This is quintessential Fred P mastery, through and through.
Review: Jorge Gamarra's 'Exercise In Futility' EP is a striking exploration of sound from start to finish, showing his unique flair in the minimal and tech house genres. On Side-1, 'Rigor Samsa' sets the tone with an epic soundscape that merges futuristic and dramatic sci-fi elements. Its heavy, brooding atmosphere is both catchy and dynamic, making it a standout opener that invites listeners on an adventurous journey. Side-2 introduces 'Angular', a track infused with trance elements that create a romp into the future of techno sounds. The seamless blending of rhythms and melodies elevates the listening experience, highlighting Gamarra's ability to craft engaging soundscapes. Concluding the EP, 'Petrichor' is our favourite of the three. It delivers a stunning fusion of 80s darkwave aesthetics with techno influences, with lots of emotional atmospheric and depth with rich textures, evoking a nostalgic yet fresh vibe. All in all, a masterful record.
Review: Chicago underground legend Mark Grusane drops new heat in the form of 'Take Me' on his label Disctechno and this one features DJ Saucy Lady, Boston's so-called 'Disco Queen.' The track drives a deep, groovy bassline with infectious synth fills, filtered arps and pads that all add up to a high-energy disco vibe. Saucy Lady's seductive, dubbed-out vocals echo the mantra "just take me" and are layered with mesmerising harmonies. On the B-side, disco maestro Rahaan crafts his own typically excellent 'Psychedelic Dub' rework with machine-funk synth sweeps and surreal tweaks. Dub Instrumental and Acapella versions complete this dancefloor-ready gem.
Review: Italian label Roof Club aims to raise both ceilings and roofs, and continue to do so with their latest EP from Guile. Mixing a contemporary minimal approach with classic 90s sounds, this one's a neat fusion of progressive house and trance, with sprinklings of cheesy freestyle and acid thrown in for good measure. The jokingly titled '90's Generator' is the real highlight, with its orchestral hits and licky leads.
Review: Priku is the acclaimed Romanian DJ and producer also known as Adrian Niculae and here he brings his signature deep, minimalistic soundscapes to the forefront with an exceptional remix of 'Mayon,' the first track of the first EP on the new Menikmati label. Homebase is behind the original which is a deft and intricately assembled minimal sound with thudding kicks and glitchy hits next to ghoulish vocal sounds. 'Layton' shuts down with a more airy mix of heady synths and dusty drum loops that get your head up and your ass moving.
Review: ICEBERG, MSM, PACH and Nature Boy team up for Ink Around & Find Out Vol 1, bringing four expertly crafted club tracks straight from the Squid US crew. This vinyl-only release delivers everything you need for the dancefloor, from deep grooves to high-energy rhythms, all wrapped in the unique Squid-verse vibe. Whether it's ICEBERG's icy precision, MSM's smooth flow, PACH's infectious energy, or Nature Boy's raw edge, this package offers a little something for every kind of set.
Review: Revered Japanese house producer and DJ Kaoru Inoue has been making his mark since the late 90s with releases music through his label Seeds and Ground and others like Mule Musiq and Groovement. Originally released in Japan in 2013, this newly reissued album blends world music, field recordings, ambient and electronic elements into an immersive and widescreen sound. It opens with the minimal gamelan ambient track 'Malam' followed by the Afro-Brazilian house of 'Selva' which is reminiscent of early Luciano and Villalobos. The album also features electric jazz fusion house, avant-garde tribal breakbeats and Balearic slow house. Closing with the melancholic new age piece 'Healing Force,' it's a timeless delight.
Joy Kitikonti & Hamsa - "Tricks Of The Time" (5:51)
Hamsa - "Overthinking" (Farfa Re-Touch) (6:24)
Francesco Farfa & Hamsa - "False Cruelty" (5:39)
Ubik - "Command You To Lie" (Hi-Ryze remix) (5:49)
Review: Musek deliver a fresh V/A comp in the varicose veins of lively progressive house and dilly acid trance (ish), cycling through three originals whilst closing things off on a reimagining of a classic. First there's Joy Kitikonti and Hamsa with 'Tricks Of The Time', a burgeoning journey packed with metallic clanks and scraping basses; next it's Farfa's retouch of Hamsa's 'Overthinking', which does an impressive job at depicting overthought with rabbit-hole filtercut arps and manic calculative leads. Farfa and Hamsa return for the comparatively brooding 'False Cruelty', which peppers its on-a-mission pluckstabs with the odd spaceship UI blurt; and finally, the classic-remix in question is Hi-Ryze's brutal rendition of his Ubik alias' 'Command', the original version of which was released in 1991, and to which Ryze multiplies its deathly yet seductive vibe through madhouse chirp leads and doomy diminished chords.
Hot Mess (Mike Dunn Deep Messy instrumental mix) (6:26)
Review: Radio Slave's Rekids remains right at the forefront after decades in the game. That is no doubt in part down to great recruitment of new talent who keep updating its signature sounds. This time out Hilit Kole makes a debut with 'Hot Mess,' a raw and jacking house cut with rugged drum loops and a sleazy vocal that turns into an epic wail. An Even Hotter mix brings more libidinous vocal overtones and then the one and only Mike Dunn remixes. Firstly he keeps it smooth and seductive, then pairs back the vocal to allow his lithe synths to shine. A nice varied package from all.
Review: Kompo is the man charged with taking care of the fifth EP from the Pachinko label and its a nice and colourful minimal and tech workout for sweaty floors. The opener 'My Mind Is Going' is a slapping bit of raw tech with twisted vocals and sheet metal synths, 'Case Of Sunday's' is a real head wrecker with acid pressure and crunchy drums then 'To The Four' is speedy industrial tech with tripped out lines and naughty bass. 'Eyes Closed' shuts down this most textured and in your faec EP of maximal minimal sounds with more coarse beats and sci-fi motifs.
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