Repeat Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Repeat continue their exploration of Mark Ambrose's imperious tech house legacy with another double pack that will delight diggers and dismay sharks in equal measure. 'Harmony (Sun Mix)' is a truly dreamy cut that will go down a treat as we head towards sunnier dancefloor moments across the Northern Hemisphere. 'My Soul Your Soul' has a deadly broken beat edge to the drum programming, while 'Destiny Angel' creates a starry-eyed disco-house fusion that has to be heard to be believed. The quality and ingenuity spilling out of every one of these tracks is a marvel, and as a collection this release helps cement Ambrose's position as one of the finest artists to emerge from the mid 90s UK scene.

Review: Tech house might be a much-maligned genre these days but once upon a time it was seriously hot shit. That time happened to be when Terry Francis was at the top of his game back in the mid-90s. The UK pioneering very much helped to shape the early sound of the genre as a producer but also a DJ with his legendary sets at Wiggle and Fabric. This ongoing compilation series is now up to a fourth volume of hits from the main man and the quality remains as high as ever. This part focuses on his work from the mid-90s to the early 00s, and all of it is class as they mix up tech, acid, house and more into pure dance floor fire.

Review: The 90s East Coast house scene owes a real debt to John Howard. He was a pioneer of the era who led the way with his mix of groove, soul, jazzy rhythms and fresh breaks. His best work has become the subject of a new series of reissues from Repeat who kicked off with his Scianloic 12" and now drop this hand-stamped double 12". Shessions is packed to the brim with innovative early house grooves that are up there with your favourite artists from Chicago and Detroit - or at least should be. Our pick is the shimmering late night glow of deep house delight 'Can't Need Sunlight'.

Review: Jay Tripwire's My Life With The Machines compilation series is doing a terrific job of showcasing some of the umpteen early noughties gems buried in his catalogue and archive of unreleased jams. This is volume four (the first three instalments dropped in 2022) and features seven more slabs of intergalactic, wide-eyed, dub-fired tech-house treats. He begins with a sumptuously spacey and loved-up rework of Mothersole & Haris's 'Dumbek', before adding echoing sax sounds and dubbed-out organ lines to a heady early morning groove on 'What Kind of Voodoo Do You Do?', an alternate take on one of his most admired tribal-tinged tracks from 2002. Other highlights include the ultra-deep after-party excellence of 'Smoothin' It Out', the heads-down excellence of 'Smooth Swimmers (Swag Unreleased)' and the warming shuffle of 'Geometry'.