Chiwax Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Chiwax welcomes Andrew Red Hand here for his third outing on the revered house label. We're told it is one of his most intimate and personal releases and there sure is plenty of deep and pensive energy to 'In The Cemetery (part III)' with its snappy electro rhythms but long-sustained and introspective chords. 'Summer Nostalgia' is raw, punchy techno and 'Autumn Nostalgia' gets more banging with a brazen bassline and celestial synth glow. 'Sorrowful Joy' closes down with a celebratory air in the happy chords but the betas remain heady.

Review: Despite a sizable, high-quality discography that stretches back to 1994, Boo Williams has never been as hyped or celebrated as many of his Chicago deep house peers. Perhaps it's time we gave him some love because the Natural Service EP - his first solo 12" on Chiwax since 2014 - is undeniably excellent. Check first opener 'Ambushed', where twinkling electronics and sumptuous pads ride jackin' drums and a brilliant bassline, before turning your attention to 'Echoes of the Dance', an acid-flecked journey through dreamy, loved-up deep house that's as picturesque as they come. Flipside 'Zone' is even more hypnotic and trance-inducing, sitting somewhere between classic deep house and the techier end of Omar-S's output.

Review: Frankfurt's Chiwax welcomes Italian veteran Stefano Curti aka basiC realitieS to the label. A great artist who has been delivering timeless music since the early '90s under other aliases such as Bio Muse, Running Man and Moody Boyz Vibraphone Productions. Four cuts are featured on the Integrated Love Signals EP: the sublime and Balearic tinged deep house of 'Clouds 2020' and the hypnotising journey of 'Reflections' on the first side. The B-side cuts channel classic Chicago; the emotive 'Bubbly Devil' being very much reminiscent of Larry Heard while the rough and ready jack of 'Multiverse Journey' calls to mind Trax Records.

Review: This new Cyberpunk outing throws it back to the early bleep techno days. It's twitchy and riddled with the anxiety of having one too many amphetamines. 'Pushback' is jacked up on blistering drums and bass with rich textures and squealing leads. 'Blip' is a corrugate and funky bumper with twitchy electronics bringing it to life, and 'Jurisdiction' is a Chicago house slammer re-wired for 2025. 'Departure' shuts down with a quick-stepping techno groove and more frenzied synth modulations.

Review: D'Julz is one of those producers who you can always rely on to do the business. His sounds are made for DJs and dancers - they establish a raw groove then keep you locked without any fads or cheap drops. This latest outing on Chiwax is another gem from the Frenchman with the stripped-back and lo-fi chunky of 'Murky' kicking off before 'Ruff' brings scuffed-up and well-swung drums. 'Jackie' is an old-school sound that nods in the direction of original Chicago house and 'Raw' keeps it deep and tight with a moody bassline and plenty of eerie melodic touches.

Review: It was 1993 when Chicago's DJ Skull first released these four face-melters, and we can only imagine the faces of the dancers hearing this for the first time, amid a frenzy of other, softer variations of house. Be warned: this is still a frightening prospect on the dance floor today, as it was almost 25 years ago. The Southside DJAX affiliate re-drops the never-ending tunnel of a tune that is "Stomping Grounds", followed by the more minimal, stripped-back percussion shots of "Don't Stop The Beat". On the flip, "Stomping Grounds 2" ups the tempo and chucks in a layer of hypnotics round the lower tones, while "The Kissing Game" reduces the tension and aggression of the previous tunes down to a softer, more soulful house swing guided by that dusty drum machine programming that makes it signature Skull material.

Review: There is not much more to say about Chicago's Gemini apart from the fact that he was a true house legend who, until recently, remained largely in the deep underground of the city's music, and has inspired a new generation of producers. Sadly, although he's still kicking about somewhere in the States, the man doesn't make music anymore. However, it's difficult to say whether he could have done much more these days, given how futuristic and cutting-edge his music-making was back then, and how fresh and it still sounds today. For these reasons, Germany's Chiwax have reissued a number of his EP's by now, and Shadowlust is the latest in the series. Much like the previous instalments, these four cuts are classic Gemini delivering the pure house magic - from "Log In" to "Motion", the beats are swinging, the chords heavy and pads climactic. If you've copped the other recent reissues then this is a must, if you haven't even heard of Gemini then please do yourself a favour..!

Review: The long-time preservers of house heritage at Chiwax welcome Nacho Marco for more timeless sounds that arrive perfectly for sunny days. Opener 'Cherry On Top' has a nice gentle Balearic feel with vocals off in the distance and supple piano chords in the foreground next to more widescreen synth smears. 'Tequila Sunrise' brings organ lines to the fore with a 90s New York feel while more Balearic energy comes from the lead sax. 'Black Velvet' is more strident and textured for the nighttime club sessions and 'Twinkle' closes with a joyous sense of celebration, old school bass and unbridled piano happiness.

Review: Hardcore trad house devotees Chixwax keep it nostalgic once more here with a new EP from Nacho Marco that ticks all the boxes for party start house without ever getting trite. Each one makes bold use of the celebrated Roland 909 drum machine and so they all come with booming low ends and punchy drums. None more so than the chord laced and bumping opener 'File 1.' 'File 2' brings dreamy pads and soft focus xylophone melodies Roy Ayres would love and ' File 3' taps into a 90s New York sound. 'File 4' brings a low slung and more dubby rhythm topped with Detroit chords.

Review: Shacklo doesn't appear on wax too often but when he does it is worth hearing. His latest outing comes on Chiwax and brings some fresh ideas to the world of house and tech. The title cut is a serene seven-minute worst that comes with hints of Balearic magic in the warm retro chords and shuffling drums, gentle whistles and hedonistic vibes. 'How Deep' nods to the dreamy Italo house of the 90s, and 'Summon' has some classic New York chords over stuffing drums and deep bass. This most cuddly and loved-up of EPs closes with the Be Cosmos D style lo-fi sounds of 'Dreem', another blissed-out groover.

Review: Well here's something no one expected from the annals of house music history. Back in 2000 a chance link up took place when Steve Bug invited the legendary Chicago producer Spencer Kincy, aka Gemini, to his studio in Berlin. Two tracks were laid down, and now after all these years they're finally seeing the light of day as Chiwax got the blessing from all relevant parties to press them up for our grooving pleasure. They're crisp, unfussy tracks which are perhaps less wild than a lot of Gemini-related projects, which no doubts speaks to Bug's well-known style, but there's a whole lot of vibe in these cuts whichever way you look at them.

Review: Daniela La Luz is no stranger to Rawax's stable of labels - she's previously released on most of them at different points over the last decade- though Global Transformation marks the first time she's appeared on any of them as Vanilla. The Berlin-based artist sets her stall out with the raw, punchy and occasionally sparkling title track - all woozy keyboard riffs, weighty electro-meets-house beats, tipsy chords and heavy bass - before opting for a deep, druggy, acid-fired and percussively propulsive vibe on 'The Last Window of Time'. Elsewhere, 'Animal Queendom' sees her wrap echoing, dubbed-out and reverb-laden synth riffs around a tough and locked-in beat, while 'All Together' is built around the twin attractions of sturdy, slightly off-kilter machine drums and jazzy electric piano motifs.

Review: Chiwax are back this week with a more than welcome reissue of Wax Fruit's one-and-only release Whispers from 1994. This was one of many aliases sussed by Toronto-based producer Ron Allen, who some of you may know for his seminal work as one half of Psyance (with Hayden Andre Brown) who released on Plus 8, as well as his work under the names Aztech, The Apache Project and The R.A.S.E. The late night mood music of the title track is a true zeitgeist from the period in which it was released, while the looped-up disco sampling deep house of 'Just A Party' or 'Mindgames' over on the flip were equally as trendsetting as anything fellow Torontonians like Nick Holder or DJ Sneak were making at the time.