DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - August 2016

Review: For the second release on Masanori Nozawa's Medium imprint we have the Four Perpetual Waves EP where he teams up with Tomi Chair for a split release. On the A side it's all about Nozawa and his sublime deep house journey "Siki" full of swirling and emotive layers of pads and energetic rhythms. The remix of it up next by The Backwoods aka DJ Kent is pretty nice as well, continuing on in even more reduced, deeper and emotive fashion. On the flip we have Tomi Chair's "Heat Haze" a serving of dark house with dusty beats and sombre elements while the remix by Sofa Talk gets on a more tropical and balearic kind of vibe adding quite a nice perspective to the track indeed.

Review: Next up on Constant Sound is Berlin based Diego Krause. This time there are no remixes, just 3 solid club tracks from a producer who is really on form.

Review: Jack's House Recordingslaunched by long serving island resident DJ and producer Clara Da Costa, is a new label born out of Ibiza, which also boasts a successful weekly prime time live radio show that focuses mainly on exclusives and vinyl releases, broadcasted on the award winning Ibiza Sonica. Jack's House also hosts parties at the worlds most famous club, Space for Carl Cox. This first release comes from the talented and well respected, Alex Arnout from Dogmatik Records. Alex has had numerous releases over the years on many other respected labels such as One Records and the Fuse imprint. He is also known for launching, nurturing and finding good talent. This 4 track EP fully demonstrates Alex's versatility in the studio by offering 4 distinctive quality productions which can only be described as true house, and underground house music, made with integrity.

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: Berlin's Beste Modus is run by local stalwarts Cinthie, Diego Krause, Ed Herbst, stevn.aint.leavn & Albert Vogt. For the third edition of Beste Freunde, they have onboard some of the biggest names in tech house at present and they're all throwing down some wicked grooves. On the A side Birmingham's Subb-An gives us the raw, stripped and jacking "Feel For You" which beats that 808 good and hard with some familiar samples over the top. Next, the stripped dub techno of Walker's "Confessions" lends some variety to the release; fans of the Fachwerk sound will dig this one. On the flip, London's The Willers Brother gives us the rolling and minimal deep house of "Can You Get Up?" which is perfect for afterhours hypnotism and finally back into the jackin' house side of things courtesy of Frenchman Julien Sandre with tough yet sexy groove of "Ordinary Madness"

Review: He's back! We really don't know how Alexandr Voznichenko finds the time to sleep when he's releasing a couple of absolute killers every month, not to mention running the hugely successful Mulen Records, Mulen People and MOi imprints. This time it's for Overall Music run by spanish artists Javier Carballo and Hanfry Martinez as part of the Overall Limited Series. On the A side, the absolutely infectious stomp and roll of "For My Dreamz" has all the energy and winning power of his recent hit "Stick Out" and will equally destroy dancefloors for the remainder of the year. On the flip "Open Mind" has all the dreamy and hypnotic layers of pads working gloriously throughout the track, his other trademark and perfect to play as the first beams of sunlight hit the crowd at a Romanian open air.

Review: Here is one artist who has always stuck by what he does best. Ricardo Villalobos is no ordinary house or techno producer; he's a man with a simple vision who has preferred to carry on stripping techno down to its bare essentials. This new collaboration with Argenis Brito for the Melisma Limited label is Villalobos at his best: "Amnesia" rattles its bubbly, complex beat structure over diluted melodies and a Hispanic vocal sway, whereas "Amnesia Beats" acts like the dub-not-dub mix, a tribal dance structure with little care for big pads or storming chords. What these guys do best is work with as few elements as possible and take them to their very limits.

Review: Paris producer Terence Terry is still about and doing his thing. While former close collaborator Dyed Soundorom has risen to stardom as part of Apollonia, Terry has continued to plough away at his craft, as always giving a nod to classic house sounds as heard on his own La Vie En Rose imprint and it's he who steps up for this release entitled Coney Island. Starting out with the slinky, sexy and deep grooviness of "Zipolite", he then returns to the minimal style that he made his mark with as a producer on "Nugati" while finally the title track is possibly the best example of what Paris sounds like after midnight on this sexy and ultra deep groove.

Review: In the three years between Perfume Advert's cassette debut on 1080p and their return here with the label's latest 12", the UK pair have been around the blocks. Releases on Opal Tapes, Where To Now? and Seagrave complemented by collaborations with M/M, the odd compilation appearance and departing their native Teeside for Salford. Four tracks deep, Big Gete Star finds our fragrant friends Aaron Turner and Tom Brown wholly embracing the demands of the dancefloor be it the tightly-wound "Mirror Shield" and "Destiny Bond" or the dreamier house haze of "Single White Junker." Best of all perhaps is closer "Gown", a low-lit saunter through murky house that could be mistaken for an Actress cut!

Review: Peter Kremeier has been releasing micro house and textural techno under the banner of LoSoul since the late 1990's. He's been an integral member of the Playhouse stable, home to some of the most pioneering four-to-the-floor since the turn of the millennium, and he's showing no signs of stopping his invaluable contribution to the house scene. This time, however, he's up on the more contemporary Tardis label, out of Zurich and Berlin, with the glitchy, minimalistic groove "Soda Island" at the helm of the 12". The tune is one for the fans of the Perlon-Villalobos connection in a more immediate sense, but it will also surely appeal to fans of bass scientists like Shackleton. On the B-side, "Sparkling Please" is similarly murky, minimal and swamped in its own pool of shady sonics, except the groove is looser, the bass higher, and the sounds a little more party-centric.

Review: Following a strong cast including Myles Serge, John Barera, DJ Skull and Hakim Murphy, Mentha continues its strong run of form with a various artists 12" that broadens the horizons of the high-grade deep house label. Michael Lovatt keeps things groovy and understated on "Tides", while Kareen Ali gets into a slow and trippy mood on "Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez". Anaxander's "Unspoken" brings some neo-soul synth lines to the table, and Michael Zucker turns out a brooding, introspective workout. Each track may have its own traits, but the whole record hangs together as a fine next step for a promising label.

Review: France's Varhat is back after some great tracks on Crocus and Aku but who can forget that killer edit of Stablo he did last year. This guy's is on a roll and one to watch, which says a lot considering the amount of talent coming of Paris at the moment. This time it's for Ukranian wunderkind Mulen's imprint and it's a as deep and as rolling as you'd expect. The whole EP is great as a whole but really shines on "Track 2 " with its pitched down acid bassline and those sweet immersive pads. "Track 3" is properly deep with its smooth bassline, tight rhythm and those swirling and hypnotic synths working a treat.

Review: Ukraine's iO Mulen is back and he's really killing it at the moment. Not content with running the Mulen and Mulen People imprints he's launched a third label Moi (get it?) which is up to its fifth release. We can't really tell why he started it and what makes it different from his other outlets but to be honest we're not complaining when his output is this good; the more the better! "Track 1" has a tough and rolling groove comparable to his recent hit "Stick Out" on Cardinal; real sleek. On flip "Track 2" gets some funky cyclic groove happening that's hypnotic as much as it is infectious. As with all of this guy's releases they're hot and limited so get in quick.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Groovepressure is back by popular demand after a 13 year hiatus and kicking things off with re-releases and new productions from the original Groovepressure artists. Taking influence from original UK techouse and techbreaks, Detroit techno, Chicago House, electro, deep house and 90's electronica, Groovepressure is about keeping these influences fresh whilst looking towards the future. Releases will include new music plus re-masters and remixes of sought-after Groove Pressure classics. Groovepressure came from the underground and had support from legends like Laurent Garnier and Andrew Weatherall with recent support from the newer school including Onur Ozer and Raresh. A² (aka Andy Panayi and Alec Stone) are London bred artists who originally appeared on Groovepressure in 2001. Their tracks will form the first comeback release on Groovepressure. "No Mistake" and "Rebirth" are both re-mastered Groovepressure classics in their own unique tech-breaks style whilst "A² Groove" and "Real Thing" are new releases taken from the vaults and keeping the same vibe.

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: APOENA get his tracks played by names such as Delano Smith, Luke Hess, Agoria, Baby Ford, Jus Ed (etc...) since his first record out. Known to bring groove into deepness, the brazilian producer may be showing his stronger record so far with "Intense EP". The A Side provides prime driving stuff while B Side take the mood to a more profound level.

Review: Surfacing in 2014, Bihn's label now reaches a fourth release with a four-track EP by Onur Ozer. Dig a bit deeper and you'll find Ozer is one half of Treatment with Bihn, and this is his first record since the duo's self-titled LP which intriguingly fused Detroit electro with Romanian minimal - how about that. The electro influences can be heard most on A2 "Nomadie" and B1 cuts "Oddrunn", while there's groovier house styles - think less abrasive Analogue Cops - on the EP opener. And for some extra artistic flair, "Fairlight" is kooky, and do we dare say electro swing? Nah. Get bent.

Review: Detroit Wax presents the first EP of a series of three from the Godfather of Techno Soul, Eddie Fowlkes. This first EP DW/0011, deep and classy, is a perfect introduction to the new direction Eddie wants to take. Four tracks that will bring you further into the groove, from a sweaty nightclub to a poetic walk in the woods. Side A is designed as a wonder that starts with the perfect spell, SideA.(1)"No Worries", which creates a unique mood you want to listen to more and more. The second track SideA.(2)"Oriane" is hypnosis itself like a long journey where dance lead to transe. Side B is about dancing, first with SideB.(1)"Stella" where the sound remind us of the classical French Touch sound with the irresistible voice of Eddie on top of that. The last track SideB.(2)" Imva" is going through your body instantaneously and makes you want to let yourself carried by the music. A complete EP, which shows the versatility of the Detroit artist, and will make you chilling as much as dancing!