DAN PIU Vinyl & CDs

Review: Operative since the early 1990s, Dan Piu is one of Switzerland's most storied deep house and futurist techno producers. His regular EPs are rarely less than excellent, and even those that slip under the radar tend to be solid if not spectacular. The good news is that Piu is in prize form on this Spacebased Recordings released five-tracker. Check first sumptuous, Needs (Not Wants)-influenced deep house number 'Times' - a masterclass in mood and melody - before admiring the bleeping, intergalactic excellence of spacey deep house gem 'Dorsey'. He opts for a more energetic, warehouse-ready early 90s house/techno sound on 'Monitor Body Process 101', doffs a cap to stargazing Motor City techno on 'Flying Dolphins', and showcases a spoken word vocal from Roger Versey on the atmospheric, turn-of-the-90s Nu Groove style brilliance of 'Another Day'.

Review: The brand new Hyperdrive label kicks off with a mix of the old and the new - some tracks made recently, some that date back to the 90s, all of them top quality. Liquid Earth opens up with the spaced-out synths and electronic house sounds of '1_HP_D' then Art Of The State gets a little more tranced out and cosmic on '2_HP_D'. Dan Piu's '3_HP_D' is a tech house exploration with wispy sci-fi leads and a playful rhythm then Luis Malon & Seb G combine for the turbo-charged tech of '4_HP_D.' The legendary Freddy Fresh closes down with a high-speed sound on '5_HP_D.' Says the label, "Hyperdrive is dedicated to preserving the rich history of electronic music," and on this evidence, it will do so expertly.