New releases last four weeks: Minimal House/Tech House

Review: Outside In return to the fray with a fresh EP from rising star Strange Haze, whose recent contributions to the minimal techno have earned him much credo of late. 'Temple Of Truth' is no less out-of-this-world than EPs prior, with each of its tracks seeming to evoke a mystical acid outerzone, with the likes of 'Mystery Traxxxx', 'Outer Body Experience' and 'Nihilistic Sedation' drawing on ideas of spacetime, space navigation and opiate hallucinations.

Review: UK mainstay Subb-An makes a welcome return with this fresh new EP on Aesthetic. It finds him in great form with opener 'Seeing Colours' heading off down a nice liquid minimal route with crisp tech drums and twinkling synths up top to bring the magic. On the flip side is 'Plants', a rather serene and sublime cut with more rolling drums and plenty of deft synth designs that bring a certain celestial charm to the fizzing leads. Snad's remix then shuts things down with a more driving sense of tech house rhythm to complete a tasteful EP of heady sounds.

Review: This is a special purple version of a new 12" from Danish label Tech-Nology, and when you spot that Prince is the face not he label and the EP is called House of Prince there are no prizes for guessing why they went with that colour. This tech house offering draws inspiration from the legendary funk innovator and comes with expertly crafted beats, Prince vocal and trumpet sounds, and more. Seamlessly blended into the mix, these elements create a dynamic and lively atmosphere that is both playful and energising, without ever crossing into kitsch territory.

Review: The EP is called House of Prince and the Purple One's face is peering back at us from the centre of this new 12" on Tech-Nology which means only one thing - it's tech house music inspired by the legendary funkster. And it is well executed tracker too with vocal samples, trumpet sounds and much more all chuckle into the mix over a range of betas that are playful and party starting but also effective and never kitsch. 'Grindhouz' is our favourite for just how warped and weird it sounds.

Review: The creative partnership between Tiga & Hudson Mohawke expresses a mutual love of "hardcore romance," a liminal state where the bounds between euphoria, melancholy and the raw power of friendship disintegrate completely. Recorded in Los Angeles from 2019-2023, these commonalities ebbed and flowed through various recording sessions, culminating in their debut album - L'Ecstacy - the sounds in which "all come from the same place, the same musical universe," in Hudson Mohawke's own words. Referencing the album's locus of bouncy elasticity and cinematic gloss - "we're building a particular kind of zone where it all fits together. A place lost in time." With guest appearances by luminaries like Abra, Channel Tres, and Jesse Boykins III, as well as album artwork by Wolfgang Tillmans, the result is delivered with "no apology, no cynicism, no irony, no winking."

Review: The Off Grid label outta Germany serves up its third 12" here and opts for a four-tracker from various artists. TINI's 'WHAT WHAT' kicks off with a bumping house cut that's wired up with some spaced-out pads and warped synths. Rickie then gets all wonky and loose with his off-balance 'Explosion' which has blurts of bass and snappy low ends and GNMR's 'Controlled By Mefistofele' gets more wonky and textural with smeared and smudged sounds and a nice acid bassline. Session 4000 shuts down a high-impact and fresh EP with the astral and speed-out tech with 'C'est Wild'.

Review: The latest Discotech release finds tech house stalwart Jay Tripwire stepping up for a batch of potent party starters. 'Jaybee Loves Old Shit' is precision-tooled workout for those who need a driving beat track laden with bouncy congas and a throbbing bassline. 'For Nathan' lets a little more synth work into the mix with some distant, dubby chords and analogue bleeps, but they're managed carefully. 'The Omen' is where things widen out more with cascading pads and strafing, low-end monosynth action creating a haunting, late-night mood which Alex Arnout jumps on to cast off into swirling, funked up after hours territory.

Review: Wiremu popped up back in 2018 on Pathway Traxx, and now the wriggly minimal upstart is back with another crafty workout for those who like their stripped-down club gear a bit on the wonky side. 'The Subtle Hustle' has a springy, playful funkiness which calls to mind the mid-00s era of labels like Trimsound and Minibar, where there was space for a little jazziness in the miniscule samples darting around the drums. It's a quality which follows through the whole of this standout EP, which is teeming with detail and soul in equal measure.

Review: Kiria Records is back here with the fifth release by Zenk, which is a melodic but sci-fi tech house EP that starts with the jittery beats of 'Oniromantic'. Rigid synth sequences and slivery metal hits give it a future feel while 'Khubaba' gets more tight and kinetic and abstract. The more tough and pumping 'Nefertiti' is another carefully interwoven mix of sinewy synths, hiccuping effects and warped bass that is topped with a sensuous female vocal and 'Nefertiti' (Costin RP remix) then gets zoned out and trippy with a more balmy sense of synth soul.