Juno Recommends Minimal / Tech House August 2019

Review: Having demonstrated the breadth of his artistic vision with the excellent One Against Time album last year, John Dimas returns to Half Baked with a focused 12" of dancefloor heaters that keep the vibe varied but the beats ever-present. "5putn1k" is a cheeky, boxy workout with plenty of swing and some wriggling bassline flex. "@L5d" takes a trippier route through spaced out synth lines and a subliminal rhythm section for maximum lock-in, and then "5p@c3 T@lk" heads skywards with a gorgeous tapestry of melodious expression strapped to a rock-solid groove. "@rkyn" completes the set with a snagging 2-step funk and plenty of the space in the mix for the meditative crew to get all eyes-closed to.

Review: Following releases from Huerta, Mandar and Makcim & Levi last year, Oscillat kicks off 2019 with an assured, brooding club 12" from long-serving producer Matthew Dekay.
Since surfacing in 2001, Dutch producer Dekay has put out a formidable body of work under a variety of aliases and in collaboration with producers including Lee Burridge and Maher Daniel. His sultry tech house approach has graced labels as highly regarded as Innervisions, Cecille, Aras and Maeve, and now he comes to Oscillat with "Spellbound," a track that finds him diving deeper than ever before into hypnotic, swinging rhythms loaded with atmosphere and longing.
On the B side, Oscillat bosses Mandar (Lazare Hoche, Malin Genie and Samuel Andre Madsen) take Dekay's original and inject it with an infectious peak time energy, creating a straight-up, acid-flecked workout that sits in neat contrast with the immersive shuffle of the original.

Review: There's a certain air of buy-on-sight mystique around EYA Records, somewhere between the low-key presentation of the music and the cult artists they're calling on to realise their particular vision of deviant dancefloor business. This is unabashed freaky party tackle, from Manuk & Oli Silva's delirious B-movie jack track "Nevermind The Crispies" to the uneasy electro snarl of "Verdico". Meta 4 has equally nightmarish moods to share on the graveyard acid of "Urnammu" and Jorge Gamarra seals the deal with the schlocky braindance horror of "Dypac". It's the kind of record that you'll be reaching for come Halloween, trust.

Review: Aesthetic got off to a strong start with a various artist release from rising talents Nick Beringer, Niko Maxen, Stevn.aint.levn and Sy. Now they return with a solo release from LOY, who's previously been spotted on labels like Minim and Laate. You can expect sleek and refined minimal house grooves of the highest order, warm and dubby but equally honed for the more energetic hours of the party. "Dubdiver" is especially immersive with its shimmering ripples of brain-massaging melodic content, while "Blind Trip" takes things in a more brooding, emotive direction for duskier moments in the midst of the endless house shuffle.

Review: EYA Records branch out with this crafty, wriggling slab of freaky techno diversions on new imprint Lonewolf. Meta4 twists all kinds of gnarly subversion out of "Four Body Centers," where the funk of foundational Detroit techno collides with the rampant machine messing of UK acid for stunning results. There's an eerie ghost train vibe hovering over Jorge Gamarra's "Pact", while "Langan" by Twophaseu drops a fresh UK twist on electro. Meta4 returns to bookend this ear-snagging EP with the equally catchy oddball trysts of "666blank", another devilishly deviant slice of underground party music for the ghoulish crew.

Review: Miami-based label Fake Society return with their third release, this time a various artist EP featuring four servings of sublime minimal tech house - all rolling, ethereal and as hypnotic as you like! They haven't been shy either, tapping some of the scene's biggest names at present such as Romanian heroes like Lizz (who provides the mesmerising Sunday afternoon bliss of "Destruct") or Bucharest wunderkind Sublee - sounding a bit different than usual on the breakbeat driven "Found Jazz". In between is label boss Camelia on the bass-driven groove of "Protostar". On the flip, ascendant producer Los Bastoneros delivers the blissed-out dub of "La Joaca".

Review: The 110th release from Kompakt Extra comes from Extrawelt, a long-serving electronic band from Hamburg that has previously impressed via albums and singles on Traum Schallplatten, Border Community, Darkroom Dubs and Cocoon Recordings. They naturally hit the ground running with "Pink Panzer", a bustling affair that mixes live drum breakbeats and tough machine percussion with moody, booming bass, creepy strings and evocative, ever-building tech-house electronics. Flipside "Argonaut" is an altogether sleazier and heavier affair full of thrusting, non-stop distorted bass, redlined post-electro drums and all manner of mind-mangling electronic effects. It's effectively the Yang to the A-side's Ying and, like its' predecessor, very good indeed.

Review: Berlin scene veteran Diego Krause serves up the seventh release on his Unison Wax imprint and doing what he does best: deep and dubby tech house that's best served at the afterhours. Kicking off with the lo-slung tribal groove of the title track, Krause goes deeper into the morning hours next with the swirling and hypnotic minimalism of "Phenomena". On the flip, things get off to a bouncy start with the tripped-out and swing-fuelled house shenanigans of "The Company You Keep" followed by "Lost Tribe" which will draw you in with its entrancing and infectious bass-driven attitude.

Review: Long before he settled on the now familiar Jimpster alias, Freerange Records co-founder Jamie Odell released a handful of tracks and singles under a variety of now forgotten aliases. One of those was Loxodrome, a one-off pseudonym utilized for a now in-demand EP of techno and house fusions on Jumpin' & Pumpin'. Now reissued for the first time since, the 12" has lost none of its intergalactic charms. Check first the spacey ambient synths and post-bleep UK techno grooves of "Heavy Ride", before turning your attention to the deep space Motor City vibes of "Blue Skies". The bleeps return on the warm and dreamy tech-house jam "Red Society", while "Avenue T" is a deep, drowsy and sun-kissed chunk of "Artificial Intelligence" era electro/tech-house fusion.

Review: Since 2015, Jacob Chenaux has been serving up singles made in collaboration with fellow Offenbach resident Martyne. Here he goes solo for the very first time with a four-track outing on Traffic. He eases us in gently via the crunchy techno-funk of "Frostnach" - all bouncy drum machine beats, rumbling bass and minor key organ melodies - before heading to deep space via the sci-fi bleeps, supersonic noises and robust drums of "Challenjour". Flip to the B-side for the wayward early morning techno throb of "Jericho" and the rubbery goodness of "Wrath", where Motor City style chords and chiming melodies rise above unfussy machine beats and a squelchy analogue bassline.

Review: Crisp Recordings is a record label and production company founded by legend DJ Ra-Soul and Chicago by way of Memphis' Don Crisp. Black in Time is the moniker used by the pair which has resulted in three previous collaborative releases on the label, and they're back with the fourth after a long hiatus. Now they present the politically charged "Democracy Is Hypocrisy" with its powerful narrative fuelled by a groovy minimal acid arrangement. Comes with a handy instrumental version on the flip, in addition to a rough and ready acid dub that's perfect for getting weird at the afterhours. Much crossover appeal anticipated on this little treasure -tip!

Review: Romanian Native Bog has had a great run of releases of late on some of electronic music's most compelling labels, including Crosstown Rebels, Bedrock and Diynamic. He has steadily forged his reputation as one to watch. Following his contribution to Adana Twins' Watergate 25 compilation, he returns to the esteemed Berlin label - this time teaming up with exciting new vocal-led French trio LKF Project (Sapiens/Atlant). "Her Song" is a pop-inflected and evocative deep house anthem for the main room - you can expect to hear this a lot in 2019. This is backed up by the tension and suspense of "Discrete Class" that's sure to fuel those heads down moments under the strobelight.