Juno Recommends Minimal / Tech House: August 2023

Review: Three nicely varied offerings from the Constant Sound label's co-owner James 'Burnski' Burnham, headed by the ridiculously catchy and unashamedly party-stoking 'Where Are You?', where hyperactive, clipped vocals add a new dimension to the sturdy, garage influenced house grooves that have become one of his trademarks. 'Stop' is cooler and calmer, jazzy vibraphone tinkling making way for nudging keyboard stabs, and delay-heavy reggae vocals and brass flavouring the irresistible shuffle of closer 'The Way''.

Review: &Me and Black Coffee make for something of an Afro house dream team here. The latter has long been this sound's pin-up and has gone from playing in South African townships to producing with Beyonce and winning Grammy Awards over the last decade. Now deep in his latest Ibiza season, he unveils collaborative track 'The Rapture' (Pt III), a deep rolling cut with spine-tingling chords and a rich atmosphere. &ME then goes solo for 'LIFE', a shuffling percussive groove with spoken words and enchanting chords to make for a classy two-tracker.

Review: Swayzak have long been held dear by tech house lifers, and that's especially thanks to albums like Snowboarding In Argentina. As a duo fusing the sleek uptick of minimal techno with the emotive synthesis of classic Detroit, David Nicholas Brown and James S. Taylor could have been lumped in plenty of scenes but they retained that sense of a classic British dance act with indie tendencies to match all the club nous. After a somewhat fragmented original release, Lapsus now present the full album plus some bonus tracks, with plenty of the original masters edited for clarity by Swayzak themselves.

Review: Munir Nadir has been a resident of the Turin club project Outcast Planet for many years - since day one, in fact - so he is a perfect producer to embody is sound as he now steps up to contribute the fourth release on the label. He has a superbly robust sounds with 'Dream Team' soon locking you timo a tight, punchy groove with playful female vocal and sci-fi designs. 'Roast-Beat' is another industrial cosmic-tech banger for sweat inducing sets, and 'It's Time To Kick Ass' has roaming bass grinding away beneath crisp tech house hits. Two further tough tech outings close down this useful EP.

Review: Legendary minimal - and acid house before that - pioneer Baby Ford very much set the blueprint for the genre back in the late 90s, both solo and with The Ifach Collective, who featured Ian Loveday, Mark Broom and Thomas Melchior (amongst others). Now they are reminding us of the greatness of that work with the first in a series of reissues coming in 2023. These tunes were originally put out back on the legendary Klang Elektronik in 2000. First up is 'Tea Party' by Eon, M-Core, and Baby Ford, an ice-cold rolling dub. 'On The Floor' with Mark Broom gets more percussive and then comes a solo cut from Baby Ford, 'The Healing' which is as heady as can be and finally 'Word For Word' featuring Cheru Amadi layers up slithers of silvery percussion and cuddly bass into dubbed-out tech heaven.

Review: Is there anyone in the game that has been turning out such essential club sounds in so many different styles for such a long and consistent run as Burnski? Whatever he has on his cornflakes, we want some, because he's done it again here, this time with pal Kelper. 'What I Want' takes up the whole of the a-side and is mix of everything from deep house to minimal to Chicago jack. It's a busy, restless tune with a hooky vocal that keeps you locked. 'This' is a more tripped-out 5AM groove with warped deep space sound designs and airy drums that float. 'Lucid State' taps into a dreamy 90s tech house vibe that is utterly compelling.

Review: Bushwacka deserves any plaudits that come his way. He was there at the birth of acid house and went on to foment his own take on tech house. He held a legendary residency at the End in London and of course dropped countless seminal tunes alongside Layo, not least their epic 'Love Story' mash-up. Now the acclaimed but still relevant UK veteran dives back into his roots to serve up the sounds that came before tech house with highlights that would have been heard at the time at parties like Heart & Soul, Release, The Drop, Vapour Space, and at venues like Heaven and The End. Skippy, dubbed garage and driving house all feature in a fine collection.

Review: Terry Francis is a tech house OG. He's one of the earliest fabric residents and of course was half of Wiggle, a vital party and DJ pairing that helps shape tech house's earliest forms. He has a fine solo catalogue too and it is that which Mint Condition, the fine reissue label, digs into now to serve up his classic Dubtown. It opens up with the watery dub-tech and liquid grooves of 'Hannah's House' then gets a more melodic dub. 'As You Cry' is an irresistible groove with wobbly bass, sharp hi-hats and that kinetic sense of drive that a good tech house always has. Last up is another Rub N Tug classic, 'Reggae's House'.

Review: Six years after Youandewan christened the Brane label with a now impossible-to-find EP, the imprint finally returns to stores. This time round it's a split affair, with his tracks on the A-side and two by Velvet Velour on the flip. Youandewan first delivers 'Cheap Lust', a lovely combination of ultra-deep and dreamy pads, warped bass, locked-in house drums and tech-tinged noises, before opting for a sleazier and wilder flex on the breakbeat-driven, garage-influenced 'On A Hired Sofa'. Those garage-influences come to the fore on Velvet Velour's 'OK' - think shuffling, loose-limbed 4/4 drums, mutant UKG bass and sparse melodic motifs - while 'I Need Juice' is a bouncy slab of UKG/tech-house fusion.

Review: Matt and Mark Thibideau have been quietly issuing plush, melodious strains of minimal house and techno for a long time now. While they may be more of a cult concern for those in the know, the quality of their productions remains an enduring delight that works magic on a dancefloor. Look no further than this new record for Berg Audio, which leads in with the swirling synthesis of '5 Stage Development' in a masterful display of dubby techno before the delays get ramped up even further for 'Slate Range'. Balancing the meditative pulse of their synths with a crisp line in drum programming, they delve into further realms of dubbed out 4/4 perfection with 'Serge 5.0 (rework)' and bliss out in style for closing cut 'Monumental Change'.

Review: Yoruba has always done tech house with a difference - a genuine sense of spiritually and Afro groove permeates the music it put out. A prime example of that is this new collaboration between Oveous and Don Kamares. The former lays down spoke-sung lyrics that muse son legacy and being true to yourself. They're stream of conscious and never stop as the production from Kamares shines. It's a deep house cut with lithe drums and shiny synths that move about the mix and grow in stature. If you prefer to keep it more striped back, a flip-side instrumental will do the trick.

Review: Buoyed by the profile boost provided by Running Back's expanded reissue of his 1996 classic 'Open Door', Peter Kremeir AKA LoSoul brings his unique brand of dusty and hypnotic house to Rawax's RX series. He begins in confident fashion with 'Outer Signal', where squally flash-fried funk guitar notes and subtle synth tones get locked into redlined beats, dark stabs and looped bass. He flips the script on 'Art Form', offering for a pitched-down groove, fuzzy analogue bass, mind-mangling modular loops, trance-inducing house drums and echoing, soundsystem style bleeps. Basically, it's another top two-tracker from one of Germany's most singular-minded house producers.

Review: They say that death and taxes are the only sure thing about life, but Rawax serving up high functioning house is another. This 20th such EP comes from William Caycedo and he nails a groove from the first time you drop the needle on the record. 'Cuban Linx' is speaker busting house that is heavy and dusty with plenty of dub swagger. 'Steppin' Razor' again shows a great swing to the drums but this time a more airy vibe pervades. 'Roasted' gets tough with slapping hits and off-balance kicks then 'Dirty Dancing' closes with warm, humid basement sounds for the heads.

Review: The last few years have seen Jhobei burst onto the trance-tech-house scene with gusto, dropping singles on Picnic, Locked-In and Nuances De Nuit. Now comes his fourth singles for Mood Waves, and the wigged-out quality just keeps on coming. The Bond-referencing title of the EP is something of a clue - head straight to the A2 (called 'M-I-Sex' no less) to hear a cheeky-as-hell workout threading your favourite spy motifs into a 90s-styled joint. There's some tougher stuff to sink into on 'Contami-Nation (Raw Mix)' and downtempo delights on 'PsyFunk (No T Dub)', making this a versatile EP for those who love that revivalist trance sound.

Review: The always tasteful Half Baked crew looks to one of their own for this fresh slice of delicious minimal. Sam Bangura was a new young resident for the party back in 2018 and since then has really honed his own sound. It's laid bare here across four fine cuts, with opener 'Range Finder' serving up bristling drum machine grooves and cheeky basslines overlaid with cosmic chords. 'Axel's Limp' is a brilliantly vibrant melodic overload with scintillating drums and plenty of neon colours. 'Bugbear' gets more gritty with a standout bassline powering forwards rugged tech house and 'How Are U Feeling?' then gets spaced out and slick.

Review: Hot Creations has now been rolling out the club friend, crowd pleasing jams for over a decade and well over 200 releases. But still they manage to unearth new names and potent sounds to keep people going back for more. It's Jay Farina and Quinzi who combine on two slammers here. First up is 'Pumpin The Junk', a fat-bottomed house cut with robust drum wallops, raved up horn stabs and a sleazy vocal. On the backside is a more tribal cut. 'The Buzz,' which layers up the percussion with steamy and sizzling summer intent next to a potent vocal that has got summer Ibiza classic written all over it.

Review: Ray Mono's journey started as a redirect DJ for Leeds party Mono_Cult but in recent years he has branched out into production with plenty of success. He has a slavishly minimal sound, rooted in UK tech house and so far coming on labels like Darius Syrossian's Moxy Muzik. He takes a trip to OGE here with an EP that starts with brilliantly bubbly tech loops and bulbous melodic tumbles. After that is the more gritty and linear 'Our Thing' and dry, dubbed out and jazzed-up sound of 'Unwind Your Mind.' CHKLTE's Peace Of Mind remix is a tasteful thumper.

Review: Cologne's Hoove label makes a welcome return here with more fresh and contemporary house offerings from a range of interesting names. The always reliable Kolter is up first with 'U Make Me Feel' - a nice and inviting, well swung and mid tempo tech cut with some astral pads. J. Feierabend & Rami's 'OK, Captain!' is just as smooth a cruise through space and Thalo Santana then offers something a little different with a more drum led sound - 'Duradura' has pristine kicks and snares with incidental melodies unfurling up high. D&J's lovely 90s throwback deep house sound 'So We Danced' might be the best of the lot.

Review: Tbilisi-based party crew Pluto's Plan have been bringing a sharp blend of mischievous fun and serious club gear to our turntables since 2020, and now they step up with another essential split disc of trance-slicked minimal house. Man/Ipulate is up first with the quintessential wig-a-thon of 'The Gain' before Marcos Coya twists up an iconic sample on nervy roller 'Street Life'. Existencia Pasajera & Mati F team up for 'Paraiso Island', an unabashed bliss out calling back to the glory days of chart baiting Balearic house. Lorenzo Slider switches things up for the last tune, offering a cheeky, boxy slice of squidgy synth house to get you wiggling.

Review: Ukrainian mainstay Silat Beksi offers up three calmly techy new tracks for minimal label Sous-Vide, which is one of the labels at the forefront of pushing only the best of Ukrainian tech talent at present. 'At Your Fingertips' a keen tune; super lush pads hit like psychic realisations, while the of 'Hawking Points' is just as tricky and flicky.

Review: Frenchman Rodriguez Jnr moved from his native Paris to the sunny climes of Miami not long after the pandemic. He had already started recording the music that features on this new album before he left, and finished it off in the US. You can hear the influence of both settings as he cuts more loose than ever before. His signature synth craft and elegant melodies remain, but there are also collabs with hip-hop's Stereo MCs, his own partner Liset Alea who is an esteemed vocalist, and Giorgia Angiuli. It adds up to a super smooth and sophisticated album with plenty of earworms.