Review: A Klang Elektronik Release on top of the pop charts? Heiko MSO and Michael Laven between Kanye West and Rihanna on MTV?
Well...I have to admit, this scenario would be realistic in a world a little more righteous than the one we have here. But to say the truth,
'Reach', the new Laven & MSO single has deserved it for sure. After all the two Producers from Frankfurt put so much pop-appeal into
the vocal-mix feat. Malte (Does anybody remember Tiefschwarz's 'Schmetterlings¬flügel' or Losoul's 'You know'?), that colleagues like
Fischerspooner should prepare themselves. But: Don't get me wrong! Vaporise it to four or five minutes and you'll get a fine (electro)pop
hit. But the whole gorgeous ten minutes of 'Reach' have enough power to atomise every nightclub into dust. Everybody who can take
another one after this should listen to the b-side, 'Reach' as 'Alte Schule Acid Instrumental' (old-school acid instrumental - pretty self-
explanatory, isn't it?)
Review: Lawrence's Epiphany Remixes, a release from the German record label Giegling, presents four distinct interpretations of the title track. Each remixer brings a unique approach to the original piece, resulting in a diverse and captivating soundscape. Zoe Polanski's version transforms the track into a crystallized melody, creating a cold yet beautiful atmosphere. Lowtec's remix explores deep techno, delivering a smooth and dreamy ambiance with a touch of sadness. M Pittman Ladder's interpretation adds a gritty, chunky bassline, while Tobias' remix elevates the tempo, creating a pulsating and mechanical percussion elements. These remixes showcase the versatility of Lawrence's original composition, demonstrating how different artists can reinterpret and reshape it to create new and engaging experiences.
Review: Short Attention Records makes a welcome return here with a new drop of wax that fits the label head into its roots in deep techno sound worlds. This one takes the form of a various artists' EP crafted with an intake feel for cosy floors and who better to kick off in that vibe than the revered Lawrence whose 'Hawser' is a groovy and melodious track. Next, New Jersey don Joey Anderson sets a slow and deep tone with 'Human Kind' which has moody vocals and Japanese artist Takuya Matsumoto follows with 'Three Flowers', a more potent and driving cut with a fine acid bassline. Rounding off the EP is 'Desired Spring' by R/K, a loop-driven deep house gem designed for both listening and dancing.
Review: Damian Lazarus and JOJO ABOT's work here is a powerful collaboration that pushes the boundaries of what we expect from the Crosstown Rebels label. On the surface, it's a pulsating dancefloor track, but there's so much more lurking beneath the surface. Built on a foundation of driving rhythms and intricate textures, the track weaves JOJO ABOT's bewitching vocals with hypnotic grooves and subtle amapiano influences, creating something that's both immersive and unpredictable. The Major League Djz remix elevates the energy, turning up the intensity with a deep, groovy progression that feels like it could keep the party going for hours. Meanwhile, Raxon's rework introduces a darker, more atmospheric edge with his signature off-kilter bassline and sharp, rolling percussioniadding depth while still maintaining the track's core essence. Warrior Dance shows Lazarus' unerring ear for talent and his ability to curate soundscapes that speak to both the mind and the feet.
Review: La Zic is an alias of Cristina Lazic and it also means 'music' in French slang. She is Italian-born, London-raised and blends minimal, deep tech and melodic house on labels including Crosstown Rebels, Moan, Bondage Music and TBX. Her own stable is a place for her finest work and is also a platform to champion fellow women in the scene. This EP is a great window into her world where supple drums and sublime synths all make for elastic, gooey, trance inducing rhythms underpinned by nice warm bass. The Nu Zau remix is a particularly fresh take on liquid tech house here.
Review: Contemporary tastemakers Geilgling return with a set of remixes of material from Leafar Legov's recent album, Mirror. First up it is German minimal maestro Isolee who flips 'Fade' into some of his signature sounds - smeared synths and abstract designs all weave together over a minimal beat to make for something seductive and late night. Polish loop master Jan Jelinek then flips 'Fade' into a slow motion shuffle with bright, celestial shards of melodic light and downbeat, melancholic vocals over a chugging beat. Last of all is a mix of 'Jing' that is all broken loops, chopped vocal fragments and hallucinogenic synths.
Review: Paddy Lee's PICNIC 009 on Picnic UK delivers a stellar showcase of progressive house infused with trance, synth wave, and disco elements. On Side-1, 'Drive By' stands out with its terrific laser gun bassline and melodic breaks, maintaining a high-class trance vibe reminiscent of Oliver Lieb's work as L.S.G. Side-2 begins with 'Zero Control,' a bassline-driven mainstage anthem that echoes the grandeur of Funk D'Void's Heavenly Mix of 'Diabla,' packing a powerful punch. 'The Goodbye' concludes the release with a futuristic take on progressive house, blending trance, techno, and EBM influences into a cohesive and sophisticated sound. Paddy Lee demonstrates a masterful command of genre-blending and production prowess on PICNIC 009, making it an essential addition to any progressive house enthusiast's collection. Picnic UK continues to deliver quality releases that push the boundaries of electronic music.
Review: Japan's Thinner Groove flesh out their distinctive aesthetic with every new release. This time around, they welcome none other than Lemmi Ash, KOOLMFL and Sonic Weapon for a collaborative three-track EP of lowercase minimal tech and textural vignettes. The aim of the game is best encapsulated in the label's commentary: "each track can add a distinctive touch to the night, as like completing your cocktail with lemon and/or lime". Each track indeed sounds to the ear akin to how a fruity garnish tastes, with Ash's 'Presence' bringing tart citrine breaks notes to a gracefully held glass vessel. KOOLMFL's 'Atonbow' is drier bitters, barely availing itself of its trembling chords and sampled vox after an ultra-snappy initiation featuring a mere bass and kick-clap. Thinner Groove know all too well that good music is like an excitation of the flavour palate, and that minimality is the thing that lets such flavours sit.
Review: Having previously taken on trips to imaginary 'Lost Moons' and the 'Island of Being', Yaroslav Lensyak is now our tour guide through Trippy Land - an aural, club-ready soundscape that combines his love of undulating acid lines and glitchy tech-house beats with sun-splashed melodic motifs, enveloping pads and off-kilter basslines. The sonic sightseeing begins with the gorgeous-but-weighty 'Yupi', before taking in panoramic views and shuffling breakbeats on the alternately picturesque, raw and sleazy 'Flicker'. Title track 'Trippy Land' boasts motorik bleeps, jagged analogue bass and sharp TB-303 tweaks, while the excursion-ending 'Sirius' is a deep, low-slung, early morning jog that's as rhythmically driving as it is sonically mind-altering.
Review: Edmonton, Canada-based Nathaneal Orlesko's own Zbroyi Records label keeps it deep with its fourth outing brimming with minimal grooves courtesy of Yaroslav Lenzyak. After an intro comes '7th Floor' which is a metallic, hurried sound that urges you to move with its slightly wonky rhythm. 'Unison' brings more off-balanced good next with chopped and screwed chords and smeared pads. 'Klausel' then brings some nice bright and psychedelic colours to the party and 'Sphere' shuts down with some dubby, late night sounds complete with lovely wet hits and subtle ghoulish voices.
'Sissy' means scaredy-cat, coward, or chicken, but Italian DJ and producer Leon fully reclaims the term on his latest EP for Cecille here. Channelling raw garage house, hip house and early vogueish city-bustle moods, listening to 'Sissy' is like casting one's ears partially back in time, but not fully forgetting the sound of the contemporary dance music world either. This is a neat, albeit headsier follow-up for any fans of Leon's earlier hit 'Rain In Rio'.
Review: The eagle-eyed out there might have spotted Lepaya making a debut appearance on Sanguina back in 2021 s part of a VA split release, but now they step out with a release of their own on burgeoning label Mormorio. Minimal tech is the order of the day here, but other forces are at play such as the subtle pop melancholia in between the broken beat of 'Freeway'. 'Social Disdancing' is a more classically stripped back rhythm workout for the DJs to get tricky with. On the remix front, Traumer has a fine time shuffling up 'Freeway' in his sleek, distinctive style while Giorgio Maulini gets into a trippy tech-trance frame of mind reworking 'Social Disdancing'.
Review: Lew Lewis is an artist who first rose up through the ranks back in the 1990s. He has his own labels Poodle Recordings and Nu Poodle Breaks back when UK tech house was right at the vanguard and never sounding better. He debuted himself in 1999 on Swag and now a couple of gems from that time have been found in his archives that never got released back then. They sound right on point with their elastic baselines and metallic drum textures all combing for a punchy, bumpy sound that will get you in a sweat in no time.
Review: Belgian-based producer Ilario Liburni brings some great sophistication to this new blend of techno, acid and bass. 'Tivoli' has a polished aesthetic - an air of serenity exudes from the bouncy drums and sleek synth pules that bring to mind the crisp Alpine air of the European Alps. 'Agree' is another smooth but not overcooked sound with more sonar-like synth pulses, dusty hi-hat adding a counterpoint and rubbery drums propelling things on. 'Wonderful Transmission' has a grubbier acid line and wonky leads while 'Haunted' is dubby, fulsome house with techno futurism and daubs of molten melody.
Review: We've been doing some housekeeping and found this first release on the Soco Audio label hidden deep in our warehouse. It is the work of Hakan Lidbo and was first related in 2001. It opens with the 'Sinful Sadie' title track which is drenched in loved-up synth warmth and has a steamy female vocal coo floating above the shimmering deep house beats. 'Kung Pa Klubben' has more twisted synths and a vocoder vocal that brings a futuristic vibe and 'Scrubber' then closes out with some tight and percussive tech funk that still sounds as good now as ever.
Review: First released in 2001 on the German label Phono Elements, this classic dreamatic house rendition from Christian Linder leaves us just a stone's throw away from the sea. Just two tracks - whisking, psyching, yearnsome sonic washes - yarn a careful narrative thread of beatifics and intellect, marking out a sexy sixth outing in the equally impressive discography of the Dusseldorf producer. A-sider 'Ultramagnetic' polarises things as much, through piezoelectrically pressurised yet still hair-let-down trance arps and faint vocal cries. 'Dirtyification' adds grit to the cauldron, carefully and tastefully interspersing low gated vocal grunts and synth design reminiscent of waka-wah guitar, to produce a psychic mixed message.
Review: Christian Linder Essential Elements is a new label from Christian Linder that will serve up the essential elements needed for late-night dancing, so you can't fault its name. The first EP sets out its stall in fine style with two versions of the same cut. 'Circular Motion' (Emotional) is a mix of amped-up and slick drum loops that are detailed with some alien sound effects and a rising sense of synth warmth that brings a subtle sense of euphoria. 'Circular Motion' (Vivid) is a gentle tweak that has more bright pads and a more driving but still dubby and smooth groove. Two different sides to the same coin that will work in many different settings.
Review: French producer Lingo launches their imprint Lingo Tools with a decisive helmer, 'Lingo Tools 001'. Landing somewhere squarely between breakbeat, hip house and jam-out acid propulsions, we're first met with 'Push Da' System' - which brings a finger-on-the-button, Beastie Boys-styled vocal line to a stabbing rave blow-cutter - while 'Never Say Never' moves straighter and buzzier. B-sider 'The New Sound' finds confidence in transitory quadruple claps and injunctions to usher in the new sonic world order; finally, 'Moonwalk Like Me' prostrates itself on an astral geyser of sound, with a central arp-ing, melodic tessellation showering off the tune like meteoric detritus.
Review: Liquid Earth is an alias of new school underground house hero Urulu and he's dropped fine beats on Kalahari Oyster Cult, Butter Side up and Small Hours. He has also recently started his own self-titled label which is where he arrives now with four more fresh and well-infused cuts of spaced-out breaks, electro, house and minimal. This one starts with 'The Breakdown' (Charms Of Gaia mix) which has fast-paced trance-techno overtones. The Trips & Skips mix of the same tune is more dark and on the flip are the whacked-out acid-laced breakbeats of 'The Closer' and 'Cobblestone Stomper,' a white knuckle tech house thriller.
Review: Since 2019, Taylor Freels - best known for his work as Urulu - has used the Liquid Earth alias to explore the more psychedelic side of his dancefloor influences, frequently doffing a cap to 1990s acid, breaks and progressive house. This time round, you'll hear some of those inspirations, but also nods to the early days of UK garage. For proof, check 'Handy Boy (Casa de Mama Remix)', where cut-up r&b vocal snippets and mind-mangling electronics ride am Armand Van Helden style 'dark garage' groove, and the psychedelic acid-goes-4/4 UKG madness of 'Big Nik's Speed Garage'. They heady and intoxicating hybrid flavours continue on 'Lick of Life (Just A Little Mix)' - all weird noises, odd samples, acid lines and speed garage drums - while 'Clubber's Exit' sits somewhere between weighty Detroit electro and nu-skool breaks.
Liro is Larry Sebastian Peters Leal, a producer from Santiago, Chile. He follows up a couple of great releases on local label Cumpa Limited with this new one for Italians Re.Face on their limited Koi series. Be hypnotised by the arcane minimal techno sounds of 'Yujuuu' taking you deep into the exotic with its majestic arrangement, receiving a trippy afterhours minded rework by Ukranian Silat Beksi. Over on the flip, be drawn into the ebb and flow of the ethereal journey that is 'Perdido Cuatro Efe'.
Review: Liro's sound is as creepy as minimal comes thanks to the combination of slight sounds, deft tones and ghostly vocals. 'Vias 19' blends all that with a rolling minimal tech groove that sounds like it is flapping in the wind. 'Transportation Base' has an even more otherworldly feel with balmy pads adding a cosmic scale to more raw but dusty drums. 'Whistling' continues to operate in an alien world with wispy sci-fi sounds off in the distance as the drums and hits roll onwards. Closing things out is 'Vias 19' (Cosmic Clap remix) which i amore quick and has a weird sense of dark and playful funk to it.
Review: Eight further sonic spirits are conjured on the seventh edition in Damian Lazarus' annual compilation series. Emphasising deep house and techno grooves with a hypnotic flavour, the procurement here is exemplarily brooding; Dino Lenny's 'I Have Sampled Father' marks a sure turn away from the openers' cleaner-cut mesmerisms with a smoky, funk-inflected haze, bringing rhythm guitar and paternal murmurations to a surreal montage. The monologuing mood continues on the equal highlight that is Upercent's 'Where Are You', whilst Enamour's 'Jackpot' rounds out the show with the record's only brightly-lit minimal triller. The record is marked by sensuous, distant, familiar voices throughout.
Review: Aussie minimal house man Litmus turned heads with his outing on Up The Stuss last year and now is likely to do so again with another fresh offering, this time via the Aesthetic label. His sound taps right into what is hot right now - spaced out breaks, tech and minimal. 'Round & Round' is a vocal laced broken beat tech cut with slamming drums. 'Profiterole' keeps it tightly coiled with infectious and bouncy drum funk and 'The Rippers' then slips and slides with all the evasive skills of a master boxer. 'Talkie Walkie' closes out with a more busy and trippy mix of synths and percussion.
Review: LOCKLEAD's Kemickal Affairs EP delivers four tracks designed to ignite dancefloors with an electrifying blend of house vibes. Side-1 kicks off with 'Zero's Delight,' a spirited and slightly jackin' house anthem that sets a fun and sexy tone. Following up is 'State Of Peace,' delving into a more techy and minimal groove, perfect for those seeking a deeper, more introspective vibe. Flipping to Side-2, the title track 'Kemickal Affairs' takes the listener on a journey through a deeper groove, reminiscent of 90s era house sounds but infused with a contemporary energy. Closing out the EP is 'Morning Krew,' characterized by its pumping bassline and seamless fusion of house and tech elements. With its dynamic range and infectious rhythms, Kemickal Affairs is destined to work well on any club floor.
Review: We'd have never guessed that the (originally) dubstep producer Loefah would land a release on the principally juke and footwork label Teklife and decide, of all things, to give them three acid techno tunes. The linkages aren't as tenuous as it sounds, though: anything more than a cursory listen will unveil the unmistakable Chicago house influences on this otherwise London-born burrer. With the 197 bus to Croydon held firmly in mind, both 'Jump Start' and 'Nines' lay down respectively riveting fidgets, and recall lost fantasies of juke competitions in deep South London community centres, that in reality never happened - though we still know, feel, that deep down there is a more primal dialogue at play between the two cities. On track 3, this dialogue is extended with an official collab with ghetto house pioneer DJ Deeon, whose overt displays of sample-vocalled sexuality put the genre on the map; here, though, he rerubs Loefah's A-side, tubing his acid line through a veritable warp-sped drive, and causing the track to take its fullest flight.
Review: Logidy is a Berlin-based artist commonly found rolling with the O Mato crew, and he follows up on impressive releases for Home Again and Mellow Rec with this ear-snagging drop for Dutch label Unsilenced. There's a hint of the cheeky synth flair you might expect from Eya and other such labels orbiting the minimal scene, with 'Heat Check' in particular having a whale of a time with catchy lead lines. 'Logi Tech (Club Mix)' is an equally crafty affair, albeit striking a seedier tone in its melodic make up. 'Rocket Science' has a warmer, soul-spirited energy and plenty of musical chops in its arrangement, while the 'Beach Mix' of 'Logi Tech' heads towards fittingly sunnier climes without losing that instinct for ear-catching nooks and crannies in the production.
Review: Giuliano Lomonte is something of an Italian veteran. He shows off his deep-seated understanding of real house dynamics here with a new EP on Re.Face Limited that offers up some shimmering sounds. Drawing a delicate and refined distinction between house and tech, he kicks off with the bubbly synths and snappy drums of 'Glasshaus' which are run through with some muttered spoken words and will get an outdoor crowd going if laded through a nice festival sound system. 'Opportunity' is deeper, with striped back drums and molten ads making for a more heady experience.
Review: Will Long's 'Behind The Times' delivers a refined minimal tech-house experience, blending smooth jazz elements with deep house vibes. The title track on Side-1 is a laid-back, melodic journey with a low tempo, incorporating subtle jazz influences into its minimalist structure. Its gentle, flowing rhythm creates a serene atmosphere, perfect for immersive listening. On Side-2, the 'Bassline Mix' elevates the track by introducing a powerful bassline, giving the smooth composition a darker, more groove-oriented feel while maintaining its minimal aesthetic. Long's ability to balance intricate jazz influences with house and techno elements shines throughout this release, making 'Behind The Times' an understated but captivating entry in the minimal/tech house genre.
Review: Modeight's ever growing roster welcomes Loopdeville for this classy new Incase EP which mixes up fractured vocals, buoyant breakbeats and ghostly tech house with plenty of acid. 'Incase' opens top with alien vocal sounds and bouncing kicks next to a soulful vocal plea to make for something full of beguiling contrasts. 'Cleansing' is a smooth and deep one with muted neon chords and a coating of vinyl crackle that is warm and alluring. 'The Bounce' is just that, a nice loose mix of rubbery bass and whirring synth tones with lively drum funk making you shake your limbs.
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