DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - February 2016

Review: Constant Sound founders Jon Woodall and Burnski helm the label's latest 12" under their Constant name, with Dub Life featuring remixes from Blackhall & Bookless, S.A.M and A Scott. "Dub Life" is a slithering, slippery and frictionless house roller with tunnelling percussive patterns, restless drums and myriad synth smears that really pull you down into a seductive groove. Subtle vocals add character and ensure this one will keep 'floors locked for days. Jaunt pair Blackhall & Bookless then step up with a fired up, peak time techno leaning bomb with barrelling kicks, ravey stabs and Detroit referencing pads that really grab your attention. The S.A.M. reshape then offers up elastic, spaced out deep house vibes with airy hi hats, lots of height in the drums and plenty of feeling in the slithering synth lines that lace up the track. Closing out the package is a remix from returning label artist A Scott, whose fine remix is a lovably flabby and cavernous track with oodles of reverb, rattling train track like grooves and atmospheric pads that swirl all around you as you drift in his air beats.

Review: In the space of a few months and two releases, the anonymous Hostom label has swiftly built up a cult following amongst the minimal-favouring cognoscenti, no doubt helped by the likes of Rhadoo and Raresh caning the cuts. Both the previous Hostom 12"s sold out at Juno and we don't expect this third edition to remain in stock for long! Both tracks here are impeccably produced, offering a perfectly judged balance of crisp rhythmic construction and subtle, deeply melodic touches, with the simply titled "Track 1" just edging it for us.

Review: Techno legend Colin McBean aka Mr G presents to us young Birmingham producer Jayson Wynters and what a debut this is! Starting out with the minimal and atmospheric dustiness of "Momentum" that's reminiscent of Fred P's finer moments, he gets stuck in with "Unfamiliar Territory" which explores the soulful techno sounds of early 90's Detroit; very nice indeed. On the flip he delves deeper with the bumpy yet emotive "Science" while "More" hammers the message home in even more emotional and bittersweet fashion, calling to mind the classic sound of Prescription Records. Tip!

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Trelik returns with a repackaged edition of one of the catalogue's most treasured releases. "Overcome" and "Lady Science (NYC Sunrise)" need little introduction, and now come sporting the new TR11:11 matrix number. Written and produced by Thomas Melchior and Baby Ford aka Soul Capsule, these tracks came from one of the many sessions recorded at the West London Ifach Studio in 1999. On the A Side "Overcome" is stripped back and energetic, driven by rolling and shuffling garage style beats, tight bubbling bass and atmospheric synth pads. The intermittent vocal samples and the release's signature organ set you up for the flip, "Lady Science (NYC Sunrise)". Possibly one of house music's most emotive pieces, the track builds slowly with the introduction of each part building a story of soulful optimism based around a sparse palette of deep synths, uplifting keys and warm analogue bass. The understated beauty of the main vocal riff never seems to grow old or tired with the track lending itself perfectly to either main room, peak-time play or after-hours sessions alike. Remastered by Rashad at D & M.

Review: Frankfurt and Amsterdam joint venture Low Money Music Love is really doing the business at the moment with their sick underground house grooves. Following up great releases by Aztech Sol and Ol'd Dog, it's time now for Frankfurt legend and Boogizm main man S-Max. This underground hero has been releasing since the late 90's and is back after a brief hiatus with the Dropping Acid On Your Astro Turf EP. First track "Occupying Orange (We Deal With The Spirit)" is the kind of stripped and tripped out minimal house that you'd hear Zip playing up at Panorama Bar, it's that good. "It's More Than Black" is sombre and dubby in a really spacey way, this is afterhours house music for martians! Finally on the flip we've got more of the same on "Divine.Geometry.Forms.Yuri" more oddball minimal house for fans of Melchior Productions or Rhadoo.

Review: For Those That Knoe is proud to present some of the freshest and timeless sounds the UK has to offer from Numonika, sounding as good now as they would have done when recorded ten years ago. Three tracks from the original demo CD have been selected, compiled, re-mastered and pressed by For Those That Knoe onto a special 12" for collectors and club DJs alike.
In true Knoe fashion, release 4/1 is a compilation of tracks unearthed from a CD squirrelled away for a decade in a dusty loft. The CD in question was loaded with unreleased and untitled material from the owners of and producers for two of the UK's rarest and sought after tech house labels rinsed by DJs such as Craig Richards in the late 90s.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Consistent in his output since 2006, London-based Alex Celler has carved a reputation recording on highly esteemed imprints such as Tuning Spork, Contexterrior, Broquade and All Inn to name a few. Now he turns up the heat for an impressive two-track debut on Trelik.

The A-Side "Haz" kicks off with tight, dry drums moving emotively with warm bubbling bass, subtle house stabs and soothing, mysterious vocals. Drops and licks of percussion build and fall over the 9:19 duration with the aid of cleverly scattered piano keys this forward thinking arrangement stands-out perfectly.

"Pacificon" on the B-side strips things back to the bare-essentials, a highly playable cut that takes on a more techno-orientated approach featuring persistent bass and metallic vocals creating a deadly effective backdrop of space and tension.
Consistent in his output since 2006, London-based Alex Celler has carved a reputation recording on highly esteemed imprints such as Tuning Spork, Contexterrior, Broquade and All Inn to name a few. Now he turns up the heat for an impressive two-track debut on Trelik.

The A-Side "Haz" kicks off with tight, dry drums moving emotively with warm bubbling bass, subtle house stabs and soothing, mysterious vocals. Drops and licks of percussion build and fall over the 9:19 duration with the aid of cleverly scattered piano keys this forward thinking arrangement stands-out perfectly.

"Pacificon" on the B-side strips things back to the bare-essentials, a highly playable cut that takes on a more techno-orientated approach featuring persistent bass and metallic vocals creating a deadly effective backdrop of space and tension.

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: French label La Vie En Rose is run by legend of the Paris/London scene Terrence:Terry, so you can trust the DJ in this case! Moreover, Ibiza-based Brits Acid Mondays sure are on a roll right now and they're serving us with another selection of slinky tech house beats to soundtrack White Isle hedonism on "Garaldo". Greek producer John Dimas steps up for a remix which is pretty good; minimal, broken, bumping and emotive in a style reminiscent of those Stablo records a few years ago. On the flip the second original track "Machette" is dark, main room tech house with tribal drums and a monster bassline that's perfect for the pre peak-time or sunrise set alike.

Review: Jennifer Cardini's Correspondant imprint is back with a split EP by Italian nu disco whiz Massimilliano Pagliara and emerging producer Benoit Gagnon. Story has it these guys met a few years back, with Gagnon sending these tracks to Pagliara for nothing more than feedback. Pagliara ended up loving these tracks so much that he added his personal touch to the tracks and here we have it: Correspondant 40. "In Spirals" is deep funky disco with a Balearic touch. "Agamous" is a rusty acid house jam that sounds like it was made in '88. On the flip we have "Go South" which sounds more like the Pagliara we know on this epic synth-disco odyssey and finally "Don't Push Me" uses live drums and soaring Arp leads effectively on this uplifting little gem.

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: Repress of well received new Lisbon label's first release. This various artists 12" features some pretty big names in minimal techno and got the label off to a flying start which has since released the likes of local artists Altitude and Activ Analog. On Assembling 1 EP they give us the slow burning but funky reductionism of Canadian Mike Shannon and his offering "Pimp Limp", Voigtmann and his cold, shuffling hypnotism demonstrated on "Muffshuffler" and Swiss young gun Nicola Kazmir who serves up the delightfully paranoid after-hours shenanigans of "Reductive Ford". Deep!

Review: Ben Sims on D'julz' Bass Culture imprint? You better believe it! The Hardgroove head honcho and all round techno legend delivers three cuts of bangin' and dusty house that's full of attitude under his new Ron Bacardi alias. "Rock Your Body" features massive drums and a cavernous bassline this side of Shed or Special Request plus mysterious, crooning vocals; it's wicked! "First Effort" is jacking, funky and a downright loopy workout reminiscent of classic DJ Sneak. "The Money" is more like the Sims we know on this tough and tribal DJ tool that delivers all the funk and 'oomph!' so typical of his sound.

Review: Moscow minimalists BodyParts are back everyone: look out! This time around they've drafted Eric to take up the baton. Who's Eric you say? From what we've found out he's Dmitriev Ernest. a Ukrainian DJ/producer/promoter, based in Odessa and this is his vinyl debut. It's not bad either. Opening up with "Zabava" a deep and percussive bass driven groove for the after-hours (or peak time: minimal style!) he goes ultra deep on the dreamy atmospherics of "Spogad" which is utterly sublime. On the flip, the first track gets a remix by Romanian royalty in the form of SIT aka Vlad Caiu and Cristi Cons, whose deep reductionism works a treat on their club mix of "Zabava" while the dub mix up next is reminiscent of the sombre, stripped back hypnotism of masters such as Baby Ford or Thomas Melchior.

Review: For the seventh instalment of the Birdsmakingmachine series, some anonymous minimal artists get down to business in impressive style. "Deaf Crows" is led by a rusty analogue drum machine groove, backed by some sombre pads on this fierce and jacking house groove. "Black Midget" is a dark, deep and grinding groove, more suited to to sleep deprived, paranoid after hours shindigs. On the flip also is "Primos" which is a bit more uplifting on this quirky minimal funk excursion, quite reminiscent of the early Perlon sound.