Review: Given her current popularity, it's no surprise to see all-conquering house hero Maya Jane Coles mixing the latest instalment of !K7's long-running DJ Kicks series. The diminutive DJ/producer is in fine form, too, mixing up typically atmospheric house cuts and clandestine deepness with saucer-eyed late night faves and forgotten B-sides (see Bozzwell's surprisingly emotional "In My Cocoon"). As a mix it's as deep, melodic and groovy as you'd expect, with a strong vocal theme running throughout. As it progresses, it tiptoes further into bleary-eyed darkroom territory, via stand-out cuts from Marcel Dettmann, Caribou (his thrilling remix of Virgo Four), Gerry Read and T Williams. Available digitally as individual tracks or one continuous mix!
Review: Following up a great release by renowned actor Idris Elba, Doorly's Reptile Dysfunction (easily contender for the year's best label name!) now bring you more cheeky house shenanigans by the legendary Carlos Souza aka DJ Sneak. The Windy City Don now dwells in Toronto, but his roots will always be heard in his signature sound. He teams up with Russian wunderkind Tripmastaz (Plant 74/Dance Mafia - Chelyabinsk) for the second time in 2017, following up a great EP for Ovum. "Booty Ho" is a cheeky 'percolator' style jack, calling to mind the classic Chicago hard house sounds of the mid '90s - popularised by Relief Records and DJ Rush. There's something more familiar of Souza next up on the boompty disco loops of "Sneak Attacks" and equally so on the smoothly hypnotic edit of "Beat Phreakin" by Tripmastaz himself. These guys are such 'House Gangstas' - what more can we say!
Review: It's a big week for Russian producer Tripmastaz, who has two big collaborations hitting Junodownload: another studio hook-up with old pal DJ Sneak and this rugged effort alongside sometime Crosstown Rebels, Cuttin' Headz, Desolat and Defected regular Guti. "R U Happy" is an energetic, mind-altering workout that wraps wonky, acid-influenced electronic motifs, looped vocal smippets and warehouse-ready synth stabs around a rhythm track that sits somewhere between tech-house hypnotism and old school Chicago jack. D'Julz superb accompanying remix adds heavy sub bass, chunkier and looser beats and some seriously trippy high-register electronic noises, while Guti and Tripmastaz's EP-closing instrumental mix is arguably even more trippy sounding than their brain-melting original take.
Review: Previous guests on on Nikita SISOV's Berg Audio aren't always known for their exploits in the niche genre of dub techno, with tech house scene stars such as Traumer, iO (Mulen), Priku or Derek Carr recently showing us the diversity within their sonic repertoire. Similarly, when one thinks of Berlin-based Russian Andrew Guyvoronsky aka Tripmastaz's sound, it's a kind of groovy, bass driven and swing-fuelled style of house as opposed to dense, glacial and cavernous techno. That being said, ''The Archives' demonstrate that he's certainly capable of such. From the dusty, greyscale stomp of opener "Ooh! Dub" and its tunnelling 303 bassline, to the reductionist factory floor machinations of "Satellites" reminiscent of material on Germany's Fachwerk, and the hypnotic roller "Prisoners Of The Moment " which is more familiar of the Plant 74 boss' regular output - this one's infectious!
Review: Jonny White's No.19 Music has been doing some great stuff in recent years, such as by fellow Torontonian (and former partner in crime in Art Department) Kenny Glasgow, label co-head Nitin and the legendary Satoshi Tomiie. It's now over to Russian tech house hero Tripmastaz, who follows up great releases on Ovum, Unique Trax and his eponymous imprint with more adventures in swing on the While U Pretend, We Make History EP. Featuring the heads-down back room dub of "Dimaggio's Black Hole", the deeply hypnotic bounce "Mr Ohh" or the super trippy shuffle of "Dreezy Benz Dubb" which reshapes classic garage rhythms for today's dancefloors so effectively.
Review: St. Petersburg's Tripmastaz has come a long way. Releasing on the who's who of labels, from m_nus and Cecille to DJ Sneak's I'm A House Gangster. If that wasn't enough, he runs his own imprints Plant 74 and the new Tripmastaz vinyl series. But this time it's some surefire grooves for Loco Dice and Martin Buttrich's Desolat. Starting with the dusty and steady bleep grooves of "Wax Mania" and "Taped Chrome", he proves he's a got a knack for creating some superb hypnotic house. Love those claps on the kick too! He ups the ante on "Till Melted", a rolling main room techno cut that you could imagine Richie Hawtin thrashing out at .ENTER, while "Ride Heights" closes the EP out with the sound more typical of Desolat; minimal and funky tech house with the right amount of dancefloor dynamics.
Review: It's been another great year for Catz 'N' Dogz's Pets Recordings imprint. If you missed any of the Polish imprint's many essential releases, fear not, as help is at hand via this top-notch round up of their biggest cuts of 2019. There are naturally plenty of contributions from the label's popular head honchos, with highlights including Andhim's evocative, acid-sporting vocal remix of "Would You Believe", a suspenseful contemporary dream house rework of "There" by Terr and a deliciously retro-futurist house take on "New Love" by Gerd Janson. Elsewhere, top picks include the warehouse-ready throb of Truncate's "Pressure", the pitched-down darkroom chug of "Rattlesnake" by Psychemagik and the drowsy deep house/UK garage fusion of Black Loops' "Keep A Secret".
