Minimal / Tech House Recommendations November 2014

Review: The Untold Stories record series, a new project steeped in spirituality, shares its first offering: a double 12" collection of single works by artists in moments of much magic, featuring: Easy Changes, Jonas Sella, Marteaux, Cesare Marchese, Howl Ensemble, Laurine Frost & Andrey Zots, Rainer, and DoubtingThomas. 8 tracks aflush with strong primal rhythms and distinct spirit, sure to enliven and move. A shared tone of natural warmth exists throughout this release of bold character, beginning with the jaunty groove of 'Aralon' by Easy Changes, followed by DoubtingThomas with a more mystical story of love lost in 'Adelaide'. B1 by Jonas Sella; is the simply irresistible 'Le monde de six lances'. Followed by Marteaux with a laid back and confident vibe, traversing through a dream filled state in 'Let it float'. The second record begins with a Laurine Frost & Andrey Zots track filled with trade mark touches of brass, rolling percussion, and futuristic bursts giving release, all in an unusual and satisfying mob style. Then 'Sixes & Sevens' by Cesare Marchese, a momentous rhythm of strong stances, with serene moments amidst a tribal percussion. The collection comes to its end with two mysterious, and slightly darker works by Howl Ensemble (Giovanni Verrina, Germano Ventura, Gabriele Carassio) and Rainer.

Review: Emerging from the lively Romanian broken minimal scene, Emi Nescu first came to light on a Raresh Fabric mix, and now enjoys the run of this release on Contur with space to unfurl a classic line in fractious rhythms playing out stripped down hypnotic mantras. "Simfru" takes hold on the A side with a complex arrangement of drums that piston pump their way around fragile swells of string while a whole lot more subtlety works away in between. "Sinius" on the flipside is a more hazy affair that gets into a steadier groove and lets wraiths of synth and samples flirt around the groove with an ever undulating intensity.

Review: Last year's debut on Nick Curly's 8Bit label was seen as something of a breakthrough for Spanish producer and DJ Carlos Sanchez, and this 12" for the emergent Electronique label should contribute further to his ascent. From the off Sanchez employs the sort of hypnotic textures one expects from a contemporary minimal production, but "K15" also shows the Spanish DJ is not afraid to add some weight to his cuts and there's a nice touch of jack present too. "Carpet" is just as chunky, throwing some flex into the mix too with the results decidedly funky. On the flip the title cut is remixed twice, with Jef K going deep and Detlef adding some murky low end to the groove

Review: In an interesting move, Bass Culture have decided to reissue two previous Mr G jams on one record to give them a fresh airing. "Got That Swing" originally surfaced as a digital-only bonus to the G's Spot! EP from 2011, and it's more than worthy of the wax space. With its sultry chord stabs, discofied bassline and steamy vocal lick it hits all the right spots for a purposeful and workable late night cut. On the flip, "JB's" previously aired on the Extended Pain EP, and here it gets another chance to sink under your skin with its hypnotic throb, from the sensual pad to the stripped down beat, all capped off with a funky stab that sounds seismic in the slender surroundings.

Review: You'd perhaps expect a collaboration between veteran dub disco eccentric DJ Spun and one-time Spacetime Continuum man Jonah Sharp to be a particularly spaced-out affair. By and large, this first 12" under the collective Loose Control Band moniker is, with the deep ambient dub-meets-808 electro of "It's (NOT) Just An 808" sounding like one of Sharp's own productions from the late '90s. There's a similarly intergalactic feel to the tougher, chunkier "Warehouse Mix" of the same track, while "Bent" is a prime chunk of muddy, early Dubtribe San Francisco deep house crossed with Spun's usual dub disco grooves. Best of all, though, is "Lose Control", an unflinchingly positive chunk of breezy jazz-house complete with cymbal-heavy percussion and gentle electronic builds.

Review: As the name suggests, this new 12" from The Rabbit Hole label deftly showcases the cream of the minimal crop in both Romania and Japan, with two production units from both countries housed either side. Livio & Roby have the sort of reputation to call shotgun here, and "Debug" is one of the well known Bucharest duo's trippiest productions and complemented well by the more outright DJ tool that is "51" from Dumitru Dragos Gabriel aka Cally. Holding it down in the Japanese corner is talented newcomer Yudai Tamura, whose relative lack of output doesn't really show on the brisk, skipping Perlonisms of "Subterranean", whilst Yoshitaca adds a sense of B Side vintage with the deeply textured "Philadeligation".

Review: Having established himself through running Aeternum Music out of Paris, Lowris appears on Crazy Jack with some dynamic minimal techno that harks back to the glory days of Cadenza et al with plenty of found sound fun and games injecting oddball imagination into seriously reduced situations. "Apollo" weaves a haunting flute-like tone through the stripped down beat while there's plenty of space for occasional percussive hits. By way of contrast "Apie" goes in heavy with the off-kilter sound arrangements and so tumbling drum hits meet with crisp mechanisms for a truly psychoactive experience. Ion Ludwig delivers a remix of "Apollo" for the B side that livens the track up into a propulsive and utterly immersive beast cantering off into the wild frontier of dubby house music

Review: The Premiesku trio have been quiet since the release of their debut album, Indirect, on Desolat in 2012. They re-emerged as a troupe this year with a 12" on the busy Vakant operation and now they surface on the Apollonia operation fronted by Shonky, Dan Ghenacia and Dyed Sondorom. "More 4" is built of loops which athletically repeat on themselves for a cut of super techy but lean house music, while "Real" rises from the murky deep for something a little lighter and skippy. "Despre Ei" is the real gem though, as it's full of funk, while remaining moody but up beat. Killer 12".

Review: FarFromNormal are happy to announce that the first vinyl release will be by the fantastic up-coming producer ZefZeed. To help set (FarFromNormal) at high standards he has come up with 3 original tracks with a atmospheric deep techno vibe. ZefZeed has also produced records for two of the most respected underground labels around "Body Parts" & "All Inn Records" and has a lot of support from some huge artist. This is the beginning of something great for FarFromNormal. (Modul 1) Is full of crazy spaced noises with a fantastic echo rhythm. (Modul 2) Is packed with dark instruments with a huge rumbling flow great for a midnight build up. (Modul 3) hold's a heavy kick with a rhythmic bass line and is partnered with some chords that gives you a sun set vibe

Review: Having dropped releases for the likes of Pictures Music and Ghostly International, it's no surprise to find Dauwd sidling up to Kompakt with his warm and fuzzy minimal styles. His offering is a solid two-track affair, with the title track dealing in mournful warbles of synth and rounded bass for the most contemplative of moments in a calmer part of the night. "Moiety" on the B side is equally thoughtful, working with the same kind of intensity albeit in a different key that lends another kind of emotional impact. It's an effect that fits in perfectly on Kompakt, which tells you all you need to know about the quality of this release.

Review: Papa Vath is 50 and what better way for the Cocoon boss to celebrate than open his archives and let the highly respected Ame and Tuff City Kids remix two Sven classics. The fact that many Cocoon fans these days were probably too young to remember "L'Esperanza" or "Harlequin: The Beauty & The Beast" at the time of their original release is an irony that won't be lost on Vath and perhaps those unfamiliar with his early '90s work will be moved to investigate after hearing these remixes. As you'd expect Ame are on suitably epic form with their take on "L'Esperanza" but don't gloss over Gerd Janson and Lauer's bumping refix of "The Beauty & The Beast" cos it's got some great space style fx amidst the thrusting throwback rave vibes.

Review: Marking their first outing in collaboration, Chilean producer Felipe Valenzuela has linked up with regular Raum roustabout Dorian Paic to drop this three tracker of energetic minimal house tracks brimming with inventive energy. "Almost There" positively leaps out at you with its crafty drum machine programming and dynamic spread of percussive noises accenting the snaking groove, before "Minuten" ups the funk while keeping things equally playful and also managing to work in some mystery with a choice line in pads. Michael Melchner delivers a remix of "Almost There" that happily darts out into leftfield territory with a dreamy choice of synths and plenty of minute sonic detail.

Review: 

Dub is one of the most overused words in dance music.

The word is usually used to mean an instrumental mix with perhaps the odd delayed vocal thrown in. But the rich history of dub has it's roots as far back as the 1960s when Jamaican pioneer King Tubby started to create stripped down versions of songs using just the 'Riddim' tracks with heavy use of echo and reverb effects units. Since then dub has had an impact and influence on every worthwhile form of dance music including House Music.

The Lost in Time series continues the story with its' own dub pilgrimage for the third release on the imprint. Heavy research into the techniques and methods first employed at Tubby's by co-creator Ralph Lawson led to a series of live dub sessions at Unblock Studios, home of Italian producer Tuccillo with Carl Finlow on additional keys. Recorded in live takes with all hands on deck using vintage analog gear and effects units the trio took inspiration from Dub Techno pioneers Basic Channel and the sublime Round series created by Maurizio and Chez Damier to attempt to produce new cutting edge electronic music in a dub style.

Three cuts all squarely levelled towards discerning underground dance floors continue the journey for dub as it finds an outlet in house and techno landscapes...

Review: The fourth installment in the Vekton Black label's Everlasting Treasuries series features another selection of deep-diving minimal maneuvers from some up and coming talents. Ferro gets the run of the A side and with good reason, as the soothing waft of "City People" spreads itself out with a meditative mantra fleshed out by sweet melodic tones and cyclical rhythmic patterns. Nyma and Daniel Madlung join forces on "Hidden Secrets" and keep things as lean and tracky as a minimal techno track can be, before Pelle rounds the record off with a more slender affair using just the slightest of beats and light touches of synth where it counts.

Review: Operating in the fertile Romanian minimal scene, it's been a strong couple of years for Sepp since first appearing with Nu Zau on UVAR and BP Mind Series. Both tracks on the Zenit Nocturn EP are loaded with subliminal drums and subtle slithers of atmospherics, finding their groove and sticking to it like glue. "La Inceptuil Serilor" falls with a delicate poise, letting the finest traces of melody leave the soul hanging in the background of the track so the drums can do their thing uninterrupted. On the flip "Cetind Pe Baudelaire" gets just a shade chunkier although the beats stay firmly in the softer end of the production spectrum, calling out to the most patient and poised of DJs to get deep on these long form tracks.