DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - August 2011

Review: Emerging in 2001, Aybee has spent more than a decade gathering respect from all corners of the electronic music scene. Releasing music under a wide range of monikers over the years, Aybee's versatility is genre defiant and seamless in its quality. Tsuba score a coup here, coaxing him to remix "Reflexions" from Ethyl & Huxley not once but twice. The dub mix plays with a lonesome but bad ass bass loop and organic hand claps - coupled with the electronic melody Aybee shows us that simplicity is key. His second remix gets deeper and warmer as stretched synths roll and elegant wind instruments flitter along the top line. On the B-Side we have Ethyl and Huxley's "Slims"; dark, evolving and intense, the track is strewn with eerie recordings, chopped shakers and a creeping and spooky bass roll.

Review: After almost 15 years in the world of electronic music, Marc Romboy felt the urge to start the Systematic label as an outlet for fierce, pumping and forward-thinking house music. Since that decision, he has stuck to the plan with a long and impressive list of vinyl cuts now decorating the label's discography. Marc Romboy vs Paris The Black FU's new cut "Dark N' Lovely" has Detroit smothered all over it with its determined and thumping kick, stabling key sequences, rapid hi-hats and sultry spoken vocals. Old school and classically pounding, the original gets full points and is playing on a loop here at Juno HQ! On the flip, legendary producer/not so legendary stand-up comedian Kenny Larkin gets to grips with a remix. Equally banging, Larkin builds the atmosphere with ascending keys lifting and lowering with suspense to the bouncing rhythm. This is real tech house - go get!

Review: Soul Capsule aka Thomas Melchior and Baby Ford follow up from last year's "Seekers" with two deeply infectious trade mark cuts. Recorded at Thomas' "Deepsoundtherapy" studio "Deep Dawn" features what will be one of the most unmistakeable basslines of the summer season. The A side track is a peak-time floor filler. On the B-Side "New Day Dawn" is a deeper work out which has an equally distinct bass combined with loose shuffling 808 drum patterns and a spookier take on the vocals. Mastered by Rashad Becker at D&M.

Review: "Solid Session" was originally released in 1991 under Orlando Voorn's then alias Format #1, and is one of the more significant Dutch electro tracks of the time. Given its age, it still sounds surprisingly fresh, and is here given a reissue with remixes from Legowelt, Vince Watson and Voorn himself. Legowelt adds a slightly dubbier touch to the track, whilst treating the melody to give it that slightly otherworldly quality that only Legowelt can, whilst Watson's remix adds some synth strings that give the track a deeper Chicago house flavour. The most interesting of the reworks is the beatless remix by Voorn himself which removes the thumping rhythms and highlights the trance like quality beneath, sounding very much like a lot of the ambient synth revivalists of recent times. But really it's the original that is the essential track here, with its clattering hi-hats and synthetic piano stabs that still sound big today.

Review: Nick Hoppner is one of the key figures in the Ostgut operation, but isn't noted for putting out a lot of music. Clearly favouring quality over an excessive release schedule, the former My My member draws on the classic sounds of house and techno for Peck. The title track is the more current-sounding, its heavy drum shuffled accompanied by weighty claps , a soft-focus filter and a lost 'aaaah' vocal sample. "She Parked Herself " is a totally different proposition; featuring the kind of emotional strings that featured on classic progressive house records by artists like Jaco and Slam, its plunging bassline and rattling snares sound like the deep house of 90s producers like Jamie Read. "Swivel Flick" meanwhile is less derivative but also makes a play of that era's propensity for atmospheric pads and resonating bass riffs. Excellent stuff.

Review: Lovebirds and Leif share the honours on this split twelve for the Liebe Detail imprint, with the former winning in the contest for most aptly titled track. It's pretty hard to refer to "The Beast" in anything other than monstrous terms with Lovebirds aka Seb Doring building an epic array of snaking modulated chords over gloriously loud drums. Coincidentally it also packs quite the Balearic punch at 33rpm as we mistakenly discovered upon first listen. On the flip Leif serves up "Almost Invincible" which combines neat, dusty swinging 2 step rhythms with delightfully melodic keys and sweetly soulful vocal layers for a completely different but equally worthy production.

Review: InFine boss Agoria returns with three versions of "Panta Rei". Opening proceedings on the A-Side is the decidedly trippy Balearic version, which skips along with shimmering keys and shuffling, unobtrusive rhythms. Next up, French dandy Danton Eeprom turns in a tweak that reaches for the stars, adding an extra sheen of hedonism to those twinkling arpeggiated synths. It's left up to Eduardo De La Calle of Analog Solutions to restore some grit to proceedings with a rubbery techno interpretation that adorns the B-Side.

Review: Autoreply offshoot Stuga Musik picks up where it left off with another three tracks of deadly effective, club-friendly madness. Having held a residency at Berlin's legendary Bar 25 club and recording for high calibre labels such as District of Corruption, Thema and Little Helpers, Beaner is welcomed into the Stuga family. He serves up "Miles Then McCoy", a nine minute epic that effortlessly fuses tight linear drum programming with freeform sound design and loose instrumentals that thunder along towards an exciting climax. Patrik Skoog aka Agaric is undoubtedly one of Sweden's best loved techno exports - he's responsible for the world famous We Are series not to mention the fact that his "Who Made Up The Rules" on Ovum is currently holding Groove Magazine's esteemed #1 album chart slot. Here he re-works Beaner's track into a peak time, sub-driven sweaty dancefloor bomb. Taradise completes the package with smooth deep house vibes, lush vocals and infectious piano riffs. A diverse and solid release.