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DB 089
16 Apr 13
Played by: Low Slung, Eric Sharp, Mat Cant, S-File, Diplo, Aka Tell (A.g.trio), Carl Cox, Xpress 2, Trevor Vichas, 2 Good Souls, Caserta, Groove Armada, Resident Advisor, Nice7, Tocacabana, DJ Hell, Sister Bliss, Phuturelabs, Umut Akalin, Ntfo
Review:
Ben Westbeach's Breach alter ego continues to frolic wildly in the lush pastures of low-end house music with "Jack". The bassline swings like an acid house pendulum while the beats shuffle nonchalantly in the background and a sultry staccato vocal delivers concise instructions on how to unleash the sexual potency of the groove. "Let's Get Hot" continues the timeless less-is-more jack magic but does so with much more of a techno twist. Getting hot is not an order... It's a promise.
UY 070
13 May 13
Review:
KiNK has deservedly won a reputation as one of the finest modern interpreters of Chicago house and on My Space, he takes his understanding a few steps further. In its original format, My Space is a deep, pulsing affair with more of a swinging rhythm than some of his previous releases. However, what it may lack in forcefulness it compensates with its use of ponderous vocals. The 'Hardcore' remix is more psychedelic sounding and sees spacey synths unfolding over broken beats, while the Black 80s Home Studio version sees the collaboration go back to KiNK's more typical, bass-heavy, jacking sound. The Luna City Express remix pares the arrangement back without losing sight of the original's melodies.
K7 306DTM
29 Apr 13
29583
20 Feb 12
Played by: Shadow Dancer, Borgie, Juno Recommends Electro House, Juno Recommends Electro, Hxdb, J-Wow (Buraka Som Sistema), Simon/Off, Mike Hindle - Immersed Audio, The Integrals, Rocky Horror
Review:
A very strong release from Sound Pellegrino, as French producer Maelstrom follows up big tunes for Dirtybird and Boys Noize Records with this trio of electro-bass gold. "USSR" is a deliciously warped mix of huge industrial kicks matched with shifting acapella shots and some charging synth work, while "House Music" ups the bpms a little and rocks a minimal booty bass beat and hazy Detroit stabs. Staying on a Miami tip, "Pool Chicks" recalls recent tunes from Mele and Canblaster with a delirious set of arpeggiated leads married to a thick minimal bassline and kicks.
SYST1006-6
10 May 13
Review:
It appears that Systematic label boss Marc Romboy and his Chicago veteran old pal Blake Baxter have got lost on a road trip. We can just see them now, in a Delorean and struggling with maps and compasses before exiting the vehicle to find themselves in Paris circa 1998. Yep "The Art Of Sound" sees the normally jack-obsessed producers explore the whole French touch sound, and it largely works - the main version being faster, vocal and less retro. Version 2 though is all about looping and filtering those disco samples to within an inch of their lives!
880319 619113
06 May 13
Review:
The wilfully eccentric pushes in a new direction with this compilation. It starts off with Carisma's "Muerte Instrumental", a stomping house affair with a heavy, acidic bass and noisy filtering, sounding like an acid rocker has decided to engineer himself some Chicago jack. Gladkazuka's "El Untitled" is an adventure in Terrence Fixmer-style techno, with grinding EBM basslines and a doomy sensibility prevailing, while Matias Aguayo's "El Transatlantio" is based on a humming bassline and insidious bleeps. Alejandro Paz restores some semblance of normality with "El House", a clap-heavy acid groove with typically nonsensical Spanish lyrics.
PAMPA 013
15 Feb 13
Played by: Visti, Kisk, Chris Coco, Henri Kohn, Alkalino, Lusty Zanzibar, Dairmount (Room With A View Recs), Juno Recommends Deep House, Juno Recommends Minimal/Tech House, Dominik Eulberg, Audision, Ramon Tapia, X-Press 2, Sasha, Rodriguez Jr, Resident Advisor, Inigo, Nice7, Ada
Review:
Amazingly, it's 15 years since Isolee first tickled our fancy with the deliciously hypnotic and pleasingly melodic micro-house anthem "Beau Mot Plage". He's tried many things in the years since, from stripped-back minimalism to semi-organic loop techno. "Allowance" his first full solo EP for nearly three years, has echoes of his glory days. The darting, fluid "Wobble", for example, employs similar synth stabs of shuffling grooves, while "You Could Do Your Memories" is as heart aching and emotion-rich as any of his Playhouse-era classics. Best of all, though, is "Allowance", a sparse but beautifully appointed slice of deep-tronica underpinned by a loose but sturdy groove.
MB 012BP
06 May 13
Review:
Having previously appeared on Grizzly with the decidedly tough and breathless "Work That", Odysseus pops up on Jaymo and Andy George's Moda Black imprint with three tracks of sultry, late night house. "Hit It Again" kicks off proceedings by offering bold, grandiose electronic chords, cut-up vocal samples, garage-influenced drums and more drops than your average game of rugby in the middle of winter. The loose and languid "Over You" - all military drums, hypnotic stabs and spinetingling chords - offers a deeper alternative, while the brilliantly titled "Drug Fool" is six minutes of revivalist '90s Belgian techno disguised as 21st century rave. Which, in our book at least, is a very good thing.
SCHOOL 002D
20 May 13
MINUSMIN 2
24 Apr 13
Played by: Juno Recommends Minimal/Tech House, Sean Danke, Resident Advisor, Timo Maas, Troy Pierce, DJ Hell, 2000 And One
Review:
Richie Hawtin's label has long been associated with the minimal sound, but this release frees itself from that sound. The title track is stripped back, but it serves up a new take on classic electro thanks to its shuffling 808s and woozy, reflective synths. Tale of Us return to a more conventional approach on "Discochord" but they still avoid hiccupping mnml sounds and the squelchy acid line is accompanied by atmospheric synths. Finally, "Lost City" is more grimy and nocturnal, but again the menacing 808s and reflective synths make it sound a million miles away from the label's trademark sound.
091012 259166
14 May 13
OVM-229
07 May 13
Review:
Balls is Wink's first single in many, many years, and it sounds like he is playing homage to his pure techno roots. The "Big Mix" is as its title suggests, a jacking, wiry rhythm festooned with analogue yelps, trancey - with a small 't' - riffs and a grinding, aggressive swing. The 'Groove' version is also inspired by older sounds, with a ravey siren riff and rolling percussion, reminiscent of Masa's "Basscharger", prevailing. The third version - "Groove mix - No Synth" - calls to mind the recent Function reshape of Planetary Assault Systems, with its crashing snares and epic riffs, while the confusingly titled "Big Mix - Radio Edit" revolves around a noisy, acid-soaked breakdown that would indeed require balls to be played on daytime radio.
TS 72-4
14 Dec 12
CORL P030
20 Jun 12
Played by: Technasia, Luke Marsh, Pezzner, Carl Cox, Magillian, Tura, M.a.n.d.y., DJ Assassin (Recode Recordings), Massimiliano Guaiana, G Rom, Resident Advisor, Manhattan, Green Velvet, Marco Bailey
Review:
Possibly inspired by their summer season in Ibiza, this latest Cocoon collection is noticeably breezier and more melody-driven than previous outings. Sure, the shuffling beats and floor-friendly rhythms remain, but there's far more emphasis on quiet beauty. Take Of Us and Visionquest's opener "Equillibrio" sets the tone, delivering soft-focus chords and touchy-feely beauty. The first half of the collection largely follows suit, before Christian Smith, Guy J and Mark Reeve up the tempo, beefing up the drums and dropping in rave-friendly elements in true techno style. It's pretty much what you'd expect - bar the mad, stomping jazz-house of Adam Port's "Black Noise" - but the quality threshold is high. Cocoon will get few complaints from DJs.
50WEAPONS 027
17 May 13
Review:
In the shift from minimal to deep house there were always going to be winners and losers, and it sounds like Carsten Aermes aka Phon O ended up on the right side. On Schn33, there are echoes of his minimal past, as loose drums form the basis for the title track, but the German producer is in a different place thanks to the use of building chords, icy synth lines and the sweetest strings this side of Derrick May. "Go" is also indicative of his shift towards deeper climes, but the repetitive vocal sample intoning the track title, coupled with billowing chords mean it is a more tracky, toolish affair
NK 42
29 Apr 13
TINKTWICE 015
06 May 13
COR 12103DIGITAL-X
22 Apr 13
COR 12102DIGITAL-X
11 Mar 13
Played by: Alexander Robotnick, Joseph Capriati, Juno Recommends Minimal/Tech House, Pan-Pot, Brisboys, Jay Lumen, Karotte, Tom Wax
Review:
Paganini drops a heavy, functional EP for Sven Vath's label. The title track sets the tone for the release, a dark, slamming affair characterised by heavy, concrete beats and hissing percussion. A similar approach applies on "Fire In My Arms", but here the central riff drones like a strike craft moving in to drop its deadly payload.
"Polyester" is more straightforward, as a rolling groove drops and builds again, powered by metallic drums. "Hot" sees Paganini revisit the approach on the title track with insistent vocal samples littered in the arrangement, while "Parallel" features a vocal snippet intoning "I'm stretched" over a belching acid line.
ECB 365JX
06 May 13
Played by: In Flagranti
Review:
It's been nearly three years since we last heard from former 'next big thing' Rex The Dog (aka producer Jake Williams). His career has stuttered somewhat, following a string of well-regarded singles on Kompakt, Kitsune and Compuphonic. This, though, is an impressive return. While hardly groundbreaking stuff, there's something irresistible about the Moroder-on-pills groove and Jamie McDermott's spinetingling vocal (think Anthony Hegarty meets Sylvester meets Donna Summer). Yes, it sounds like a modern update of "I Feel Love", but its been lovingly rendered by Williams. It also sounds like a big hit in the making.
880319 617829
13 May 13
Review:
There's remarkably little information available online about Clockwork, though the fact that he's part of the growing Life & Death family should offer enough clues to his identity and sound. BOATS (Based on a True Story) continues the Italian label's journey into deep tech-house territory, fusing the wide-eyed shuffle of the Visionquest family, with the semi-organic goodness of Pillow Talk and prog-leaning downtempo electronica. The result is a crackly, atmospheric album full of pleasant surprises, from the plucked jazz guitars and Nicholas Jaar-ish rhythms of "One Way Ticket", to the bleary-eyed deep garage of "Places".
FMD 004
22 Apr 13
Played by: Adam B (Homegrown Music/Palooza), Roberto Rodriguez, Tom (Shur-I-Kan) Szirtes, Juno Recommends Minimal/Tech House
Review:
The fourth Faux Metier release serves up a range of influences. "Unstoppable" is based on a stepping, metallic rhythm, its spiky beats underpinning a foreboding bass and menacing robo vocals as well as psychedelic chords and rasping cowbells. It takes the esoteric elements of Detroit techno and unites them with classic deep house. "Slab" is more moody thanks to its slithering bassline and rasping percussion, while "See It Feelingly" features noisy broken beats. But the underlying narrative here is a deep, hypnotic sensibility, as heard on the dreamy "NP". There, lush synths and rickety percussion play host to the most seductive flutes since Bobby Konders.
REKIDS 070
29 Apr 13
Review:
Rekids signal a change in focus after the raft of Nina Kraviz related remix releases and instead turn to a classic from the archives of label boss Matt 'Radioslave' Edwards for a pair of fresh remixes. It would be hard to find two more diverse remixers than Mr G and Prins Thomas, but both turn in superb reworks of the 2008 Radioslave bumper "Tantakatan". Mr G calls shotgun and his self styled Nighttime Dub is a wonderfully dirty analogue groover that takes Edwards' original production into notably darker territory with those deep dubby chord stabs overshadowed by rumbling bass. Naturally Prins Thomas takes a different approach, implementing an acoustic guitar to replay the stabs and using live drums for a loose, laid back groove. There's a notable dose of reverb and delay used throughout that lend this Diskomiks a real druggy feel.
PFR 137
25 Mar 13
SFR 036
06 May 13
GU 2014
11 Mar 13
807297 532517
21 Mar 13
ONE 021
15 Apr 13
CRMCD 022D
18 Mar 13
HYPEDIGCD 03
14 Jan 13
Played by: Ambivalent
Review:
2012 was arguably a vintage year for Hypercolour, who know find themselves riding a particular colossal wave of popularity. Hypercolour Patterns 3 is something of a time capsule; an accurate reflection of what tickled the dancefloor fancy of many house DJs in 2012. It's all here; the garage-influenced, Bashmore-ish synth boldness of Huxley, the Mood II Swing revivalism of Mosca, the bassy deepness of Last Magpie, the fashion-chasing rebirth of Groove Armada and the cocaine house shimmer of Maya Jane Coles. There are also some delicious remixes, too, with Larry Heard donning his Mr Fingers moniker to take Alex Jones deep into Chicago jack territory and Matthew Herbert brilliantly slicing his way through Maxxi Soundsystem's so-so "Regrets We Have No Use For".
TR 11:11
07 Jan 13
Review:
Trelik returns with a reissued edition of one of the catalogue's most treasured releases. "Overcome" and "Lady Science (NYC Sunrise)" need little introduction, and now come sporting the new TR11:11 matrix number. Written and produced by Thomas Melchior and Baby Ford aka Soul Capsule, these tracks came from one of the many sessions recorded at the West London Ifach Studio in 1999. "Overcome" is stripped back and energetic, driven by rolling and shuffling garage style beats, tight bubbling bass and atmospheric synth pads. The intermittent vocal samples and the release's signature organ set you up for the accompanying "Lady Science (NYC Sunrise)". Possibly one of house music's most emotive pieces, the track builds slowly with the introduction of each part building a story of soulful optimism based around a sparse palette of deep synths, uplifting keys and warm analogue bass. The understated beauty of the main vocal riff never seems to grow old or tired with the track lending itself perfectly to either main room, peak-time play or after-hours sessions alike.
TR 13
19 May 08
FGR 083
19 Mar 13
SAVED 096
25 Mar 13
Played by: Alexander Robotnick, American DJ, Resident Advisor, Hot Since 82, The Martinez Brothers, Yousef
Review:
Burnski (aka the distinctly less exotically monikered James Burnham) is actually approaching a whole decade in this game called dance music. This could make one feel old, but who cares, it's all good! There may be only one original track on here, but with "Lost In The Zoo" clocking in at just over nine minutes, we don't need another tune: it's all about long, linear good time house, based around a Professional Widow-style bassline and lots of filtered cheering. The Martinez Brothers go for clippitty-clop beats with deep, dark tech-house business on top.
826194 257194
18 Feb 13
COMEME 021
01 Apr 13
Review:
Comeme is one of the most brilliantly unpredictable labels and Beating PC shows why it is held in such high esteem. "Puqui" unfolds with psychedelic chords drawn out over a low-slung groove, the synths veering into the realms of tripped out. The title track sees loose drums combined with a languid funk guitar, while there are further surprises on "Eat Me", where a dubbed out bassline and lost vocal intoning 'what are you doing here' is fused with dreamy synths. It's a similar situation on "Voy a Ver", where darker guitar riffs chimes in over a groovy disco rhythm. Maintaining its unpredictable edge, "Berberecho" is a faster, jacking affair with a rubbery bassline and squelchy bleeps.
PH 23D
01 Apr 13 |
