Minimal / Tech House Recommendations September 2016

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: 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: Launched deep into December 2015, Hannover label Malonian returns here with a second release that dips into the mid-'90s production archive of Alexander Kruger. Known for numerous aliases, among them Dub Taylor and Tigerskin, the focus here is Kruger's work as Korsakow; specifically his deep house gem "Abduction". Released as the title track on a 1996 12" for BCC Music, "Abduction" has that timeless deep house feel to it with crisp drum machine grooves, luxuriant pads and some fine vocal samples. It feels just as vibrant some 20 years on and is complemented on this Malonian edition by two edits from Romanian producer Benone, the latter a beefed up version of "Sun of a Gun," another Korsakov cut from 1996.

Review: Following various releases over the recent years , Hamid launches H+ , home for experimentations and collaborations A.
With HPLS001 He delivers four hazy and intricate cuts .
All attempts share a similar touch but yet explore slightly different articulations of the genre .
Artwork : original drawing from Daniela HuertaA
Berlin 2016A

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: Barcelona-based tech house heroes Anthony Middleton and Luca Saporito are back. This time for Damian Lazarus' esteemed Crosstown Rebels imprint with "In The (Last) Moment". The track is equally esoteric as it is atmospheric in the tradition of the label's new sound and perfect for drifting. The woozy, journey like aesthetic is only intensified by Georgia Lewis' hypnotising vocal efforts. On the lip we've got added dance floor drama and cerebral stimulus courtesy of the master himself Robag Wruhme; who as always turns in an emotive and bittersweet epic on "In The (Last) Moment (Robag Ponk Pramen NB remix)" complete with his trademarks: glitchy sound design, beautiful string arrangements and the usual Midas touch for pure deepness.

Review: Fuse offshoot Infuse returns with a 12" transmission from Bivolaru Iulian, an increasingly influential producer on the Romanian scene under his IULY. B name. Arriving with a wonderfully evocative title, the three-track Harmonics EP impresses from the off with hazy lead track "Romance" pairing up warm and snuggly textures with deep, subdued bass and scratchy percussion. Things do get tougher on the flip with "Supersonic" dominating by a bold flighty synth Carl Craig would be proud of, whilst "Sine Harmonics" is a minimal-flavoured gem that wouldn't sound out of place on a Perlon record.

Review: Hungarian Jaffa Surfa aka Zoltan Pal is making a bit of a name for himself of late, appearing on esteemed labels such as All Inn, OFF, Tape Hiss and Bosconi. He is up next on new Brussels-based imprint Eating and has his work cut out for him considering the last release was by the mighty Mulen (iO). We'll be straight up with you, he indeed delivers the goods. On the A side there's the slinky yet tough main room maximalism of "Okota" plus the dark, rolling and downright cavernous broken beat of "Mook" which would make even Verrina & Ventura stand up and notice. On the flip is our favourite of the bunch; the Teluric mix of "Okota" which takes things down a deeper route similar to Romar or Varhat while "Aion's Dusk" continues on in a similarly emotive and subtle fashion. Tip!

Review: With releases on labels like Drumpoet Community, Innervisions and Kompakt, it is safe to say that Frankey & Sandrino have earned their rights to be on Japan's illustrious and highly respected Mule Musiq with their own release. "Leap" is a grainy, digitized-house beat that reminds us of Omar S's pacman style on many of his own FXHE releases, and the same goes for "Hubble", except that here the chords are heavier, more progressive and built for the big room circa 3am.

Review: When you need to get that massive and heaving tech house sound of Summer on The White Isle, you best look no further than Gruuv, Saved or indeed Material Series. Mihalis Safras' esteemed imprint now serves up Leeds up and comer Josh Butler (with Hauswerks) on "The Horn"; a huge and rolling effort which chugs away energetically with all the bump, shuffle and roll you need. "The Horn (dub)" like its namesake would suggest; goes for more of a hard and dubby techno rendition for fans of the Fachwerk/Colombage sound. On the flip "The Hottest Sound" gets back to the real business you were expecting; this one's a right party starter with sunny, hands in the air, party vibes rocking' out stylishly and diva vocals. Finally "Time Creeper" is druggy, peak time business with booming bass and dubby elements and all topped off with a huge drop to get those headrushes in full effect

Review: Champion of the Mannheim sound Federico Molinari is still at it, making it big around eight years ago on local imprints like his own imprint Oslo and London's Tsuba and collaborating with the likes of Vera and Guillaume Coutu Dumont. Despite its name, there's nothing at all trancey about "Tran-C" although there is one totally elevating and mental arpeggio driving this lush deep house track. On the flip we've got "Gom On" which keeps on with the weird track names and equally on the all analogue, back to basics minimal house sounds that he's been pushing of late. This bouncy and bleepy late nite jam will definitely appeal to stripped hardware house sounds in the vein of Cab Drivers or Run Stop Restore.