Review: Forteba's last solo single, July 2021's Harmonia on Batvia, cannily combined tough tech-house drums and weighty, moody bass with ultra-dreamy chords and other musical elements borrowed from deep house. The Hungarian producer edges closer to classically warming, dubby deep house while retaining his trademark tech-house drums on 'I Need My Scooter Back', the opening track from his first EP on Plastic City. He opens the curtains, admires the sun and then casually strides towards the beach on Balearic-tinged mid-tempo deep house delight 'Funky Business', before wrapping a sparse, dubby micro-house groove in enveloping chords and slow-burn melodies on EP highlight 'Tabella'.
Review: Next up on Plastic City is newcomer Youen from Bern, Switzerland. He's no stranger to the Mannheim-based label though, having had several releases thus far including last year's great long player Sugar Space. Here we have the intense minimal/tech house journey of "Svalbard" that is guided by its strong dub techno influence throughout. The emotional weight of those dub chords are even more prevalent on the moody next offering "SvalRak", a cavernous and glacial excursion into the deep.
Review: Late last year, Tom Bucher returned to Plastic City for the first time in nearly eight years. Following the release of a trio of quietly confident singles, the German producer is now ready to deliver his debut album, Restart. Beginning with the gorgeously intergalactic, mid-tempo deep house twinkle of 'Lost in Space, Bucher offers up a mixture of attractive and melodious deep house workouts ('Samantha', 'Lipstick', the All Day I Dream style 'Drumdrop'), colourful and emotive fusions of tech-house and bubbly nu-disco ('Restart'), warehouse-ready rollers ('Jupiter'), nods to Orbital's mid 1990s work ('Hymless') and stunning, string-laden peak-time treats ('Stellar').
Review: While he may not have received all that much press attention over the years, Jean Frank Chochois has released a wealth of fine material over the years, most of which can be placed at the classier end of deep house. His albums - and there are quite a few of them - tend to be a bit more eclectic but still rooted in deep house, and that's the case with his latest high-quality effort, Kingdom Come. Over the course of 12 tasty tracks, he sashays between locked-in late-night hypnotism (the odd but excellent, dubbed-out quirkiness of 'Love and Forgive'), drowsy deepness ('Struggle With An Early Love'), rave-inspired retro-futurism (the swinging, organ-sporting eccentricity of 'GOD Is Justice'), ecclesiastical ambient ('In Christ Alone'), ultra-deep post two-step ('Kingdom Come') and much more besides.
Review: Tojami Sessions is a collaboration project of native Frankfurters Tom Bucher, Jacek Darnowski and Michel Niepenberg, and together represents the diversity of house music. Michel and Jacek have been producing together since about 1992. Following up great releases on Raum.. Musik and Dessous, they're back again on the ever reliable Plastic City with their new one : the sensual late night deep house of "Feel Love" with its come hither vocal and its velvety dub chords over smoothly clipped rhythm programming. Second offering "Yoko" is a slinky and hypnotic deep house journey through the late night.
Review: Longstanding German label Plastic City return with Radio Show Season Eight, featuring boss man Terry Lee Brown Jr doing what he does best on the evocative dub house journey "Lightseeker" (a remix of the artist Phable), while more Basic Channel inspired tracks come from Alex Connors & Hardy Heller, whose remix of Maxie Koenig 's "Buddhas Breath" explores similarly cavernous and glacial territory. Elsewhere, pursuing more quality standards are: Gabriel Sordo (Mex) on the bass-driven late night deepness of "Lunario", Smalltown Collective with the funky and acid washed tech house of "Nobody" and Rene Onze with the sleazy afterhours minimal bump of "Schnurz".
Review: Bern, Switzerland-based Youen has fast become a staple of long running German imprint Plastic City, and who better to present his debut album in the form of 'Sugar Space'. Featuring 11 examples of finely executed mood music, with highlights not limited to: the sensual late night vibe of "Lift Off with Patrick Podage, the hypnotic dub techno influence of "Midnight Blue" featuring Mastra, to the slinky and hypnotic "Solstice" and it's strong Detroit influences through to the utterly evocative "Junice" - another collaboration this time featuring Bird. 'Sugar Space' is quite an impressive debut by this young ascendant producer.
Review: Belgians Anthony Spallino (Bonzai/Am Strand /Alveda/Naropa/Yuna Beats) and Aurelien Stireg aka Dj G-Traxx (Cosmic Love) team up once again for some proper deep tech house on the ever reliable Plastic City with the track "Night Shift". Get stoned into the groove on this infectious tribal workout, which receives a bunch of terrific reworks. From Jules Wells' soulful Motor City influenced perspective, Southsoniks main room dancefloor drama, Familie Electro boss Dan Corco's exhilarating version was a definite highlight, and for something a bit different we have Danny K7's fun loving remix - bridging the gap between nu-disco and electro house.
Waynes World (Tobi Neumann remix) - (8:40) 127 BPM
Review: Wayne's World, party time, all the time, excellent. Legendary German producer Guido Schneider hooks up with Tonio Barrientos, an illusive artist (embedded deep within the minimal and tech house landscape) and Wayne Childs who features vocal-wise here waxing lyrical about an all-time experience in da club. Spoken over trippy percussion, shuffling basslines, a dabble of acid and some techno, Tobi Neumann's mix keeps it essential with a phat bassline, hotly swung groove and deeper, shimmering waves of synths to add the slightest of progressive touches to a deeper, twinkling and synth kissed version. Schwing!
Review: Ever reliable German label Plastic City welcome back British producer Jadele with her new EP. As a producer, she has caught the attention of respected German labels such as Exploited, Heinz Music, 303Lovers and Natura Viva in recent times. On her new one entitled "Telempathik" she serves up an irresistible slice of dancefloor drama that's equal parts moody and mesmerizing and sure to pique the energy levels.This is followed by "Potion" which clearly has the peak time in mind with its rumbling Reese like bassline powering away above hypnotic synth textures and powerful rhythm arrangements. Jadele takes care of everything very well here, and thrills us all with her enormous talent.