DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - October 2016

Review: Italian hypnotic techno don Donato Dozzy originally released "Cassandra" back in early 2015 on Claque Musique and was well received for its typically deep and transcendental qualities. It now receives some killer remix treatment. First up are Swedish hardware mavericks Skudge, whose rendition stays true to the original but injecting some dusty analogue grit into the aesthetic. Next who better to accentuate the track's deep qualities than the man Fred P, whose version is quite different but tremendous in its own right. Finally it stays in New Jersey style going but over to Ed; Jus Ed that is! His remix is typically dusty and emotive as you'd expect; really feeling this one.

Review: "Deeper" was originally featured on Matthew Herbert's Part Two EP, way back in 1996. Since then, that particular 12" has become something of an in-demand item, with the lead cut naturally attracting the most attention. This issue of "Deeper" contains Herbert's original in all its glory - think loopy, low-slung, jazz-flecked hypo-house with woozy, early morning breakdowns - and a fresh remix from label-hopping producer Stuart Li under his familiar Basic Soul Unit alias. He subtly beefs up and speeds up the track, adding some Detroit-influenced keys and fizzing new percussion. The result is a tasty techno revision that pays due reverence to Herbert's thrilling original.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: After getting off to a strong start, ReSolute's DisDat sublabel noticeably raises the bar with a heavy hitting cast for its second edition. Thomas Melchior takes a break from his usual haunts to drop a track brimming with micro house flair, as "Hillbilly High" throws down an infectious run of goofy samples over a solid beat. Vincent Lemieux meanwhile takes a smoother route with the warm chord-laden atmosphere of "In Momo's Jeep", working crafty percussion impeccably in the deep surroundings. Rising talent Barac meanwhile gets fresh with the cheeky synth lines on his own offering, making this an EP of fresh variations on the minimal house sound.

Review: Berlin minimal hero Germann Nguyen aka Binh returns to Perlon for a full length LP, following up highly lauded releases previously for the label, as well as putting out some impressive grooves as part of Treatment (with Oner Ozer), collaborating with DJ Masda on his Cabaret imprint and with his own brilliant Time Passages label. On the Noah's Day LP, Binh shows us that he's one of the best at merging classic electro sensibilities with minimal house; a current trend that's sweeping the Berlin underground at present. Fast tempo rhythm patterns reminiscent of early Detroit and UK techno come into the fold, as well as obvious nods to the classic reductionist sounds of DBX and Pantytec. This guy's one of the most exciting producers of the moment and this could well be one of the year's best releases.

Review: Although James Burnham aka Burnski has been producing house by the truckload since the mid 00s, DNA is his first LP to date, and it lands courtesy of his own Constant Sound imprint. Across labels like Trapez, 20:20 Vision, and even Poker Flat Recordings, this dude has always stuck to what he does best regardless of passing trends or styles, and that is making quality, tech-driven dance music. Now, make no mistake, this album is still a collection of dance floor scorchers, but the nine tunes make sense next to each other, and they go way beyond the four-to-the-floor remit. There's some swinging garage blazers like "Another Source", hard and progressive house such as "Advanced Knowledge", and even a bit of dirty electro on bangers like "Cosmic Warfare". This is pure quality throughout, and makes for a big step up in Burnski's career. Dope.

Review: Exciting Bristol imprint Banoffee Pies are back with the second edition of their new Black Label imprint and we're certainly eager to hear what they have in store this time around. Starting off we've got Romanian Hansel! with "2-16" and it's everything you'd expect really: rolling, ethereal and hypnotic. Following up this, Unknown Artist delivers some dusty and smoked out breakbeat house on "Bet Your Life". On the flip, KOKO & Niccolo Borgi present some lush minimal house deepness on "Nor Girl" (which is reminiscent of Baby Ford) while Swede in Sydney Adam Stromstedt delivers oddly hypnotic sounds on "Rent" as similarly heard on his great Lyssna imprint of late.

Review: Making a first appearance with this highly developed, immersive release, mysterious artist Hephaestus is certain to turn heads with the intricate rhythms of Olympos 01. While this debut release certainly resides within the realm of minimal house and techno, there's a different kind of energy at work compared to the run of the mill sounds you might well expect. "Lavin" shivers and shakes with a broken rhythm and meandering synth tones that call to mind classic electronica, while "Dounai" employs stirring orchestral samples in the midst of a refined house groove to make for a distinctive dancefloor blend. It's a strong debut that should turn more than a few heads in the right circumstances.

Review: In the lead up to the release of their debut album early next year, Mandar has decided to out a trio of 12" samplers. This is the first of the three, and contains two fresh new cuts from the four-man outfit. On the A-side you'll find "La Bocca", which craftily works dub-influenced textures and fluid electronic motifs around a bold, bumpin' and bass-heavy groove. The inherent dreaminess of their productions can be further admired on flipside "Lawed Mack". It's notably deeper and hazier than its' predecessor, with a groove that shuffles, rather than bangs, but retains a percussive solidity that suggests it would sound fantastic over a decent sound system.

Review: Bristol's Banoffee Pies are back with their 11th edition. But as far it goes musically: this certainty ain't Bristol! Starting out with the smoothly reduced tendencies of local lad Christian Jay's "Rhotic" which sounds inspired by the sounds of Trelik, there's more of the same (albeit much dubbier and smoked out) on "Starry Nite Life" courtesy of Utrecht's Larry de Kat; very paranoid afterhour vibes on this one! On the flip we've got some more dubbed out fare courtesy of Christian Jay, again, who enlists a bit of help from Crump on the rusty and dust coated "GG3". All Caps artist Florist adds a touch of Vancouver to proceedings with the squelchy DJ tool "Blacky."

Review: Berlin's Cab Drivers are the real deal. If their extensive collection of classic Roland machines wasn't enough, they even sequence them all on an old Atari ST you don't get more purist than that. Paul and Augustowsky's new track "Correspondence" has all the hallmarks of their signature sound: bumpin', melodic, rolling and emotive. You know; the Cab Drivers sound! On the flip, fellow Berlin minimal techno legend Audio Werner steps up to deliver a more darker and emotive remix that strays on the dubbier side of things and we loved it: Tip!

Review: From a strong start on Robsoul to moving over to Apollonia, Alci is a young producer going places with his distinct variation on minimal house. The EP leads off with "Anotherone", a richly detailed groover with playful noises errantly pinging over a rock-solid undercarriage. "3rd Eye" meanwhile gets more skippy with its rhythms, but the emphasis is still very much on wayward (albeit subtle) synth sounds in the mix between the drums. "Floating" may indeed remain within this philosophy, but it still manages to be expressive in its own unique way thanks to some gorgeous touches of melody that chime through the sparse soundscape.

Review: Bringing that tough-edged Dutch bounce like only he can, Anil Aras returns to Slap Funk with another shipment of forthright deep house righteousness that packs in heads-down techy elements alongside the addictive shuffle of the drums. "Utr" is an unabashed tribute to Aras' hometown of Utrecht that rides high on a killer chord stab, while "Anbush 46" wriggles its way into more minimal territory without losing that hard-grooving spirit. Fellow label regular Malin Genie equally twists up that percussion into a bugging beatdown that harks back to the funkiest threads of the minimal era on his remix before "My Side Of The Street" diverts into sparse 2-step territory.

Review: Over the course of its four-year lifespan, the In Haus Wax label has served up some seriously solid tech-house and deep house, with Adam Shelton, Ekkohaus, Chris Carrer and Liam Geddes all making sterling contributions. Their ninth release boasts four tracks, and plenty of floor-friendly roller. We're particularly enjoying the trippy, late night hypnotism and bumpin' bottom end of Dan Fraserelli's "Daylight", and the darting, undulating deep house funk of Bolumar's "Enki", though there's little to fault throughout the EP. Many will naturally be drawn to the spacey tech-house shuffle of Funk-E's epic "Duffy Dutch", which opens the E.P in fine style.

Review: Florence based label Bosconi is back with 100 Hz aka UK legends Lee Renacre and James Chapman who have been around since the late eighties. This is their second release on the Italian imprint; their Mila EP was their first for the label back in 2009. On the A side we have a re-issue of their 1989 track "Shoot The Bar" a sturdy and cyclical house groove on the tougher side of things with a nice double bass holding the track above a tight rhythm and dreamy Rhodes piano. "Primary Colours" sounds more like minimal, but given more of an edge by all the dusty and lively analogue machines that power it along. Its bumpy bass and restrained synth stabs supporting some simplistic rhythms and works quite well. Finally "Oliva Funk" is more of a classic NYC house cut, those rapid fire cowbell strikes will help it bear even more resemblance to classic Kerri Chandler style vibes.

Review: Unblock label boss Tuccillo strikes again with another solid release with the EP Black Talk. This is the 5th release on this respected vinyl only imprint that has previously showcased talent such as Tomoki Tamura and Djebali but this time, comes from Tuccillo himself with his unmistakable signature sound.
Headlining track "Black Talk" has a great rolling baseline with plenty of swing with some subtle vocal snippets thrown in here and there.
"Ride on" has a tougher edge with some old school flavours driven by a rhythmic snare with lots of energy perfect for the height of club DJ set
Shopwork offers a more percussive sound over an infectious warm chunky groove, again with some cool short reggae influenced vocal snippets.
A timeless release that can stay in the box.

Review: Half Baked main man Robin Ordell is back, following up some great releases for Eklo and Finest Hour recently with the Breakfast in Arkham EP for Parisian imprint Discobar. It's the same analogue mini-funk he's renown for on A side, with the title track and the hilariously titled "Zephyr's Troubled Years" being reminiscent of that classic Perlon sound that guys like Binh and Spacetravel are bringing back, likewise. On the flip, things get even weirder with "22nd Of Sometimes" getting into some druggy and hypnotic after-hours business while "87%" is definitely the most dancefloor friendly track but still doesn't skimp on the heady business with its bumpy groove hypnotism.

Review: Since launching back in 2007, Innervisions' Secret Weapons series has been consistently impressive. Its' various EPs and compilations feature tracks that have been doing the business in the sets of label chiefs Dixon and Ame, some of which have never previously been released. Part 8 is the most expansive volume yet, with 13 tracks stretched across four weighty slabs of wax. There's naturally plenty to enjoy, from the cinematic creepiness of Mosca's "In This Life or The Next", and the dreamy, slow-building wooziness of Prins Thomas' remix of Fred Und Luna's "Im Klanggarten", to the undulating, soul-flecked goodness of "Blind" by David, and the late night, broken techno brilliance of Culoe De Song's "Judgement Day".