Trelik Vinyl & CDs

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Baby Ford is back being reissued again and we couldn't be happier about it. Few have ever matched the matter levels he achieved when it comes to deep minimal and tech house fusions. This latest on his own Trelik takes the form of three classic cuts from two much sought-after EPs - Built In and All That Nothing. The title cut is a shimmering and sublime fusion of rubbing low ends and icy hi-hats. 'All That Nothing' then picks up the pace with more dub influences and swaying drums and 'Plaza' has a tech house edge that makes for more driving grooves.

Review: An ever-present name in underground house, Alex Celler is back once again on Baby Ford's cult Trelik label. This is his third and maybe best outing yet with 'Twilight Firedancer' being a long and extended dub tech workout with wobbly bass and off-balance drums topped with glowing chords that bring occasional relief to the pressure of the groove. 'Mescaline' is much more busy with abstract pops and squeaks, synth modulations and an urgent, tightly programmed minimal tech groove that you would expect of this label. It's high-class music for mind and body.

Review: Three distinctly outer space-themed cuts from Greece's Alex Celler, each with a linear minimal/tech skeleton that has other, interloping musical influences draped elegantly and classily across it. 'Ancient Astronuats' has the weird, wired mystical stirrings of early Black Dog about it, complete with melting, bendy electro notations that coax it along and add a psychedelic dimension. 'Stargate To Cosmos' has a playful, Drexciyan feel to it, with crunchy, organic drum beats flirting alongside the more rigid electrics. 'Object In The Sky' is the most minimal of the pack, sleek and stalker-like, but still contains enough action - mainly floating around up there in the ether - to hold and build attention.

Review: French house innovator DJ W!ld has roamed through many different stylistic terrains over the years and now finds himself in stripped-back minimal mode for the excellent Trelik. 'The Night Owls' opens up with tight drum loops and off-grid synth daubs that hypnotise while making you move. 'Drunkin' is a kicking cut with well-designed drums enveloped by sub-bass and topped with swirling and smeared chords. 'Fashionistas' is another perfect bit of stripped-back body music with low slung kicks and little else but they are enough to keep you locked. 'Comment On Baise Dans Le Hardcore' closes out with another mix of physical kicks and heady synths.

Review: Mystical dreamweaver Edward has previously brought out some of his classiest club-tooled gear for Trelik, with 2018's Rumours EP being a particular highlight in his glittering career in minimal. Breaking a protracted silence for Baby Ford's label, this new three-tracker once more takes us into the unique atmospheric zone Edward occupies with his productions. 'The Giver' has an unnerving, desolate quality but it's also rock-solid in the rhythm department, with subtle threads of warmth to balance out the eeriness. 'Memory Motions' is a spicier cut with a pronounced house jack to propel a tense set of sonic motifs, with a special mention to the wobbly organ-like chord line. 'Tuned' is the most upfront of all the tracks, using some processed piano hooks and a full compliment of nagging, funkified ingredients to make a certified, if left-of-centre, party starter.

Review: Edward's graceful take on modern house and techno is a perfect fit for Trelik, and the German producer sounds comfortable as he unfurls swooning threads of otherworldly music for the tripped out dancefloor. The "Ogermania Mx" of "Mikko" is a hazy, string soaked affair pitched somewhere warm and dreamlike, but there's plenty of energy churning away in the lower register. "Lottery" is a more twitchy affair for darker times, all moody bass bounce and looming drones around a shuffling set of percussion. "Groaning Ghosts" is the techiest of the bunch, and there's a whole lot of freaked out sound design swirling around in the mix as well. This is simply stunning, highly advanced dance music from a modern day maestro.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Few labels do minimal as well as Trelik and in terms of artists, Edward is also as good as they come right now. This perfect pairing opens up with the deeply alluring 'Time' with its woozy pads and smeared chords over warm and rubbery drums. It's a hypnagogic affair then 'Vacuum Tube' has a more menacing air thanks to the wispy and unsettling synth details and clunky hooks. 'Watch Out' brings a more spangled and rubbery rhythm that has colourful details peeling off the beats and last of all, 'Stream' ups the ante with some thudding deep house and widescreen ambient synth work.

Review: More commonly found lurking around on Ornate and People Are Looking At You, Jonno & Tommo make the leap to Baby Ford's legendary Trelik label with a diverse range of club tracks that highlight their flexibility in the dance. "Love Songs" may be packing a punchy rhythm section, but the dusty vocal sample injects a haunting soul into the framework of the track. "Bloc via Bow" meanwhile keeps things sprightly and notably tech-minded with its catchy lead chord stabs, before "Running Hammock" heads down into a mysterious, jazz-tinted abstraction of deep house, neatly rounding out a strong EP.

Review: The somewhat mysterious LD Nero debuts with a release on Peter Ford's venerable Trelik imprint. The Nights Out EP is dipped in the kind of glossy production sheen that one expects to hear from a seasoned producer, with opening jam "Nite Out (Dusk dub)" nailing that early 90s, stripped back house sound with effortless aplomb. The deep and hypnotic drum programming undulates next to neat organ stabs forming for a truly rhythmic dancefloor jacker. Flip over for the Dawn dub of the same track, with both name and sound suggesting this one's aimed squarely at those still standing and/or dancing come sunrise. This time a more ethereal atmosphere permeates, with a refreshing live and un-sequenced feel to the production.

Review: As one of the more distinctive minimal house operators in these times, Ion Ludwig makes for a snug fit over at Trelik towers, and with this three tracker it's not hard to see why his records are so highly prized these days. "46 LJ + Felix Ballad" is a refined groover with a fine balance between gritty low end chunk and gossamer top-end, working subtle hits of bass and illustrious string sweeps into the mix to great effect. "EM Carpet" meanwhile darts out into more obscure territory, keeping the beats to a minimum and focusing on warm and fuzzy synth tones cycling

Review: Dutch export Ion Ludwig's first offering for London's Trelik imprint is a lesson in stripped back, mechanical groove-funk. Title track "As The Reaction Followed I Knew My Feelings Were Right" is a rolling groover with nods to the KDJ and Theo school of deep house, with oven warm harmonies and vintage key sequences and lucid pads pushing the track along for its eight minute duration. Flip over for "L'sable", which takes things in a more hypnotic direction with insistent stabs, a funky bubbling bassline and one of those vocals that you'll be happily humming for days. Forget what people are saying about "old-skool" and "nu-skool" deep house; this is simply house music at its very best.

Review: Baby Ford's Trelik label is as revered as they come in underground circles. Ion Ludwig is not far behind when it comes to his productions and so the two are a perfect match who reunite once more here. This fresh 12" kicks off with the brain cleansing minimalism of 'A Beladen Date 4 Ever', a silky groove doused in harmonic chords, with swirling pads and rubbery bass all tightly intertwining. 'Transport Fighter' is a more punchy cut with thudding kicks and heftier bass, but still a nebulous eco-system of pads and melodies swirling around up top. Two killer cuts. no doubt.

Review: Minimal Man is the legendary studio partnership between Eon (aka Ian Loveday) and Baby Ford. They cooked up some of minimal's most essential tunes some 20-odd years ago and they have become expensive and highly sought after since. This EP is one of them and it features three killer cuts that will move a dancefloor as much today as ever. 'Make A Move' has a pent-up energy and forward drive that sweeps you up and keeps you locked amongst soft hi-hats and vamping chords. Part 2 is a little darker and more mysterious, with the drum loops a little edgier and the mood that bit more mischievous. 'Stay On' closes down with bubbling drum funk and swirling abstract synth world from deep inside some distant nebula in the sky.

Review: Och has been a regular fixture on Baby Ford's Trelik label in recent years, and he returns with the late night delights of the Love Unconditional EP sounding stronger than ever. "Sunday Love" is a warm and cosy bumper, keeping the keys bright and breezy while the beat skips away dutifully before the more heads down thrust of "More Journeys Into Swing". The real star of the show though is "Love Unconditional", a particularly gripping track that unfurls seductive synth licks and vocal licks across the whole B side on a one-way trip to nocturnal body jam perfection.

Review: Repress alert! Last year's Ricky Villalobos remix of Soul Capsule (aka Baby Ford, Tomas Melchior & Tim Hutton) gets a welcome repress on Baby Ford's revitalised Trelik imprint. The shaggy haired Chilean don turns "Seekers" into a sprawling, cerebral epic, stripping away the original's vocal elements in favour of some shimmering late night keys - typical Villalobos tackle and all the better for it. Flip over for the sweat drenched original version which ain't half bad either, as the competing vocal elements and sparse instrumentation lend the track a decidedly trippy vibe.

Review: As Soul Capsule, Baby Ford and Thomas Melchior made some of minimal techno's most accomplished records. It has been many years since they stopped turning out new material - sadly - but their archive tracks are still in hot demand and undeniably relevant. While 1999's 'Lady Science' might be their most famous offering, this EP from 2001 on Aspect Music is no less vital and it will currently cost you well over L250 on second-hand markets. It is Ford's Trelik label who reissues it here in all its glory: the entirety of the a-side is taken up with 'Law Of Grace,' a delightfully deep and breezy minimal dub house roller with pensive chords draped over the frictionless drums. 'Meltdown' has a more experimental feel with brushed metal drums beneath a wordless vocal musing. The cult 'Lady Science' (Tek Mix) is also inched with the whole package being remastered by D&M to make this one utterly essential.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Trelik returns with a repackaged edition of one of the catalogue's most treasured releases. "Overcome" and "Lady Science (NYC Sunrise)" need little introduction, and now come sporting the new TR11:11 matrix number. Written and produced by Thomas Melchior and Baby Ford aka Soul Capsule, these tracks came from one of the many sessions recorded at the West London Ifach Studio in 1999. On the A Side "Overcome" is stripped back and energetic, driven by rolling and shuffling garage style beats, tight bubbling bass and atmospheric synth pads. The intermittent vocal samples and the release's signature organ set you up for the flip, "Lady Science (NYC Sunrise)". Possibly one of house music's most emotive pieces, the track builds slowly with the introduction of each part building a story of soulful optimism based around a sparse palette of deep synths, uplifting keys and warm analogue bass. The understated beauty of the main vocal riff never seems to grow old or tired with the track lending itself perfectly to either main room, peak-time play or after-hours sessions alike. Remastered by Rashad at D & M.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: The first Soul Capsule release gets a timely reissue - certainly if the silly prices it's reached of late on the second hand market - as well as a getting a loving remastering courtesy of D&M. All three parts are swampy, sweaty tech workouts that bump along with an almost indecent willingness to tempt you onto the floor and a groove with way more sexy swing than the minimal genre usually has contact with. Part two is traditionally the most celebrated of the three if internet chatter is to be believed, but some wonderfully subtle go-go percussion makes part three the most immediate of the bunch, with part one's distinctly darkside atmospherics and snippet of female gospel voice clearly wield an air of the classic.

Review: "Check Your Buddha", originally released in 1998 as part of TR09 "Sunpeople EP", was produced by Baby Ford and Thomas Melchior.

Review: It's reissue time for one of the most in demand records from the Trelik catalogue, featuring Baby Ford and Thomas Melchior under their Sunpeople alias. The flip side's opening track 'Check Your Buddah' is probably the best known of the four tracks here, with its spacious echoes, mantra-like voices and heads down beats, but there's plenty to be said for the other three. 'Lovers Eyes' is an equally dubby techno affair, but pinned down by sturdy, infectious beats, 'Sungods Wedding' is blessed with churning, warm bass action and just a smidge of cowbell and 'Make It Right' is properly hypnotic 3am gear that's a dream to mix and draws in the listener with its imperceptible builds and three note bleep magic. Worship the Sun!