Minimal / Tech House Recommendations Best Of 2013

Review: Canadian producer The Mole, or Colin de la Plante to friends, has been in fine production fettle so far this year, gracing labels as varied as Red Motorbike, Slices Of Life and his own Maybe Tomorrow operation with his distinct brand of tongue in cheek mutant house. History Of Dates marks the long overdue Perlon debut for The Mole and it's celebrated in style as Zip's venerated label call in DJ Sprinkles on remix duties! The title track and "Lockdown Party" line up on the A Side with the latter track a particularly cheeky production, as playground chants sit deep beneath an insouciant house groove. It's this track that Sprinkles remixes, implementing some subtle production additions such as handclaps and playful filtration on the vocal samples which lend the track a different energy as Thaemlitz deftly builds up a killer contemporary disco groove.

Review: Baby Ford and Zip need little introduction and debut on Trelik as "BFZ" featuring co-conspiritor Thomas Melchior. The trio originally appeared on the 1999 "Perlondon" 12" for Perlon with Ford and Zip re-uniting for the "Glidin' Along The Riverbed" release then 2010's "Clean Hands" on PAL SL. Thomas Melchior recently appearing on [a:rpia:r] and his own Aspect Music kicks off the 12" with a floor friendly up-beat 9 minute "Melchior Productions LTD" edit remix of "Uff". An "Uffapella" closes the A-side featuring abstract sound design and textured vocals. Side-B's "So They Say" creates a feeling of space and unhurried rhythmatics whilst the title track "Uff" combines deep instrumentals, chord and haunting vox with subtle bass and modulating kick. Recorded in London and Berlin. Mastered at D & M.

Review: XDB makes a welcome return to Sistrum with Frocks, a 12" offering that demonstrates quirkier side to the Greek producer's palette than Espac, his 2008 debut for Patrice Scott's label. Lead track "Frocks" commences with some wonderfully angelic chords and unintelligible vocals before veering into a hypnotic tunnel of droning bleeps that touches on infinity before those chords re-emerge in unison with some rigid claps. Just as your senses become adjusted to this about turn into dancefloor territory, XDB elects to end the track in all too abrupt fashion. On the flip "Modula" opts for a more stripped back approach, with some insidious acid licks dominating proceedings whilst Patrice Scott adopts a reflective mood himself on a seductive remix of the title track.

Review: The final vinyl volume of tracks from Ricardo's Dependent & Happy LP arrives and like the previous three releases, demand will surely outstrip supply. Adhering to the adage "let's save the best till last" Perlon cull our favourite two tracks from the album here in "Precox" and "Two Kids Set Off", the former's bassline takes on a cat purring quality as Villalobos locks into a stripped back groove that seems to dip into infinity before taking a pleasant deviation towards mid point obscurity. On the flip, the taut double bass strings and strange televisual sampling present the Chilean at his most willfully adventurous. Already prey to the Discogs vultures - don't sleep on these!

Review: German house abstractionist Isolee makes a welcome return, surfacing on Pampa with his first new material since dropping his album Well Spent Youth on Koze's label back in 2011. Creative batteries recharged, Isolee is in familiar form on the three track Allowance 12"; the title track adopts his trademark bare bone approach with soothing lines of melodic intoxicants gently pulsing with intent over the soft edged house groove. This hypnotic opener hogs the A Side, leaving the chiming minimalist rhythmics of "You Could Do Your Memories" to duel for your attentions with the far too playful "Wobble".

Review: As label statements go, the Textures series from Concrete has been superbly successful in transferring the ethos of their increasingly legendary Sunday boat parties to a label format; the diverse approach to DJ bookings matched by a wonderfully far reaching spread of artists across the three Textures 12"s. Previous instalments have seen contributions from Abdulla Rashim, Jared Wilson, Bleak, Sampling As An Art and Awanto 3 and this final record of the showcase series demonstrates Concrete's willingness to embrace the techier fare. Telegraph's Jean-Guillaume Cabanne hogs the A Side and represents Concrete's desire to embrace local talent, whilst Club der Visionare resident Binh offers a stripped down but smudgy highlight in the form of "Hufer". Priku ends the series in requisite style with "Mare Mirare" and his presence demonstrates Concrete is aware of Romania's current status within minimal circles. It remains intriguing to see what Concrete have planned next after such an impressive start.

Review: Ever since they took on the slightly daunting task of reworking material from the ECM catalogue, the names of Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer have appeared together in numerous label shaped places, mostly in a remix capacity. Perlon collar the first original music from the pairing for the Turbo Sematic 12" and both tracks here find Ricardo and Max working with vocalists. Chilean vocalist Camilo Castaldi a.k.a. Tea Time lines "Mas Profundo Que Mis Pies" whilst New York based spoken word artist Azeem vocalizes "Ambivalent". Despite Perlon claiming this is the pairing getting all "independent and rappy" both tracks bubble away with the minimalist class you'd expect, and the vocals add a palpable element of tension.

Review: After the storming success of the Sushitech reissues of classic Mosaic and other O'Sullivan material, the label turns to a host of artists to deliver respectful reinterpretations of the timeless dub techno material for this fulsome double pack. Delano Smith kicks things off with a stripped down ride through "Where's Burt?", while Mike Huckaby gets heavy on the bongo thrum when he tackles "Moving Forward". Thor gets a slender funk on when he takes on "Where's Burt?", but it's positively chunky compared to the minimal tones of Rhauder tackling "Don't Rush The Dub". That leaves it to Exos to reduce "Stripped" down even further into atomised dub matter of the finest standard.

Review: Pitting previously overlooked jams against the artists that first supported them in the dance is an inspired move, and so its no surprise that the Hell Yeah posse struck gold with these two remix commissions. Justin Vandervolgen has a whale of a time playing with Alexander Robotnick's "Undicidisco" track, maximizing on the warm and quirky melodic attributes of the Italian stallion and pushing the cut into ever more effervescent territory. Doc Martin meanwhile brings a sweaty clamour to Florian Meindl's "Flashmob" which results in delirious basslines, feverish vocal processing and some nasty synth rubs all placed with deadly accuracy to set the place on fire.

Review: Detroit master of Technosoul Eddie Fowlkes shows us that he can still surprise us with his original beats. Influenced by soul music, in love with dance music, this powerful track is a perfect combination of his inspirations. And it really makes you want to dance and feel the music go into your ears until "Something E special" gets stuck in your head for good. Bringing you catchy lyrics, vibrant beats and a great kick. Who else than the legendary Eddie Fowlkes can declare war on dance music? Well, not me. The only thing to do is to follow the hypnotizing beats and sounds of this track and let our bodies go crazy. And when the backbeats hit us, it transports us to a new level where we definitely join Mr Fowlkes on his trip to become his allies.

Review: Hot Creations boss man Jamie Jones resurfaces on the Crosstown Rebels label with his first 12" transmission of the year, the rather fruitily titled Moan & Groan. Filled to bursting point with all the typical Jammy Jones production points - think bouncy groove, irresistible drops and hushed deviant vocals - "Moan & Groan" arrives just in time for the summer slog on the Croatian coastline. It's complemented by two remixes of "Tonight In Tokyo" - one of the secret weapons Jones included on last year's Crosstown Rebels album of sorts Tracks From The Crypt - from Breach and Cassius. Ben Westbeech's darker alias teases out some deep basslines for his rework whilst veteran French duo Cassius are on altogether more epic form.

Review: Amygdala, the forthcoming LP from DJ Koze holds the dual title of being one of this year's most keenly awaited long players as well as the album with the most bizarre cover art. Quite why the producer is riding a reindeer hasn't been made clear yet, but this two track 12" does clue us in to to the possibility the album will hold up to such high expectations. "La Duquesa" is one of the few tracks on Amygdala not to feature a collaborator and stripped bare of any outside distractions finds Koze on sublime form; equal parts tender, refined, casual, serious, deep and euphoric. When those strings hit is a joy to behold. In contrast "Burn With Me" is dark, druggy, delicious and decadent.

Review: Sometime Guy Gerber cohort Clarian (also to be found in deep house duo Footprintz) makes a first release proper with this expansive EP on Visionquest, embracing a rich spread of styles but all driven by a love of warm, harmonious melodics. "Claire" is a link-up with Gerber, resulting in a sun kissed deep house cut full of plaintive piano and soothing synths, while "Destroy She Says" finds a curious position in between ambient techno and Detroit electro. "Renaissance" is a more mournful kind of deep house, working on minor chords and reaching for a full-on vocal turn, signalling a progression in the EP further towards vocal pop tracks. "Remove Control" has a touch of Italo about it, mixed with romantic strings and more perfectly processed singing, while there's a measured acid throb to "Through Your Mind". Rounding the EP off on a moody progressive tip, "U (Unfinished)" presents perhaps the clubbiest of all the tracks on this six track bumper addition to the Visionquest stable.

Review: A label still in its infancy and carving out its sound, Dutch label Karton brings forth a selection of fresh faces with a spirit of adventure in their take on deep house, favouring DJ Qu style hypnotism over anything too smooth and safe. Mike Trend concocts a tense and immersive sound world through his samples, while at the same time working an effective loop ethic into the organic melee. Patrice Meiner and Archie Hamilton have a more focused drum workout on their hands, maximising on tonal hits of percussion for a stripped down tool, but VID & Cumsacde soon plunge back into the murky depths of haunting melodic content, economy of production and subtlety favoured over showboating. Ferro rounds things off with a minimal shuffler that bumps on a Perlon-ready funk.

Review: Often a worthy wildcat amongst more play-it-safe deep house pigeons, Axel Boman can now be found prowling to Hypercolour with an EP brimming with originality and vitality, taking the less trodden path through house music. "Television People" heads into a nervous state of uneasy synth lines, oddball speech and gently simmering drums, while "Cubic Mouth" goes straight in the opposite direction with a light and breezy refrain revolving around carefully treated piano chords. "Look What You've Done To Me" is a more sombre affair, but still boasting some developed dynamics to move the track, and then "Klinsmann" switches up altogether with a heartfelt, epic vocal track that gradually builds into a measured acid psych-out.

Review: Phoenix G surface in style in 2013 with the appropriately titled Frenetic EP from label boss Mr G that brandishes a rather potent remix from Ben Sims. There's an inherently old school tone to "Bounce" with the looping vocal hook imploring you to do as the title says over a stylish arrangement of firm, deep kick drums and lengthy, echo laden chords. In contrast "Red Line" locks onto a murked out techno groove that ripples with percussive intensity, which goes some way to preparing you for the onslaught of floor wrecking excellence that is Ben Sim's remix of "Bounce" with the UK techno veteran squeezing all the life out of those chords.

Review: Last seen on Ostgut Ton back in 2011, the wonderfully monikered Dinky resurfaces on Visionquest with the Fallen Angel 12" which precedes next month's release of Dimension D, her fifth studio album which has been mixed and co-produced by Matthew Styles. Visionquest press notes claim the forthcoming long player sees the Chilean DJ, producer and vocalist evolve into a fully fledged singer-songwriter and performer, which makes Dimension D a perfect fit for the label. As a taste of what's to come, "Fallen Angel" excels, with Iglesias's ethereal vocal the perfect foil for the dark, rippling techy groove. Kudos to Visionquest for the remixes too, with the aforementioned Styles further finessing the original's darker intricacies whilst Pepe Bradock completely rewires proceedings in his own inimitable style.

Review: Engaged within the fresh wave of minimal artists and labels bringing a sense of vitality the long-beleagured scene, Vid is back on Anjdromeda with another pair of austere tracks that delve into the depths of micro-production. Where Vid and similarly minded artists differ is in their handling of texture to inject some interest into their music, and Vid has plenty of that on this record. "Lignum" in particular hangs heavy with distant strings of a classical nature adding an eeriness behind the cavernous echoes and near-field pops and squiggles of the sonic toolbox. "Unnormal" is more mechanical in its demeanour, a slender breakbeat of sorts marching out under the faintest wraiths of melody and plenty of insectoid musings.

Review: Last year saw computer music pioneer Laurie Spiegel's 1980 debut The Expanding Universe reissued, making this the ideal time for Junior Boys producer Jeremy Greenspan to rework her track "Drums". Released with Spiegel's permission on the JIAOLONG label run by Daphni and Caribou man Dan Snaith, "Drums&Drums&Drums" as it has been named, opens with the unadulterated minimalism of Spiegel's original, slowly evolving with a steady 4/4 kick and pulsating analogue arpeggio which have the label's expected mixture of colourful psychedelics and no-nonsense rhythms, all building up to a hypnotic crescendo. On the flip is "Sirius Shake", a Greenspan original production whose abstract, brittle nature actually sounds considerably more Spiegel than his preceding rework.