Back catalogue: Minimal/Tech House

Review: Inimeg Records label boss and general underground don Joey Anderson has always operated on the fringes of the deepest house and techno sounds. The New Jersey mainstay returns now with the Vanish EP on Obia Records while owner Wendel Sield also pops up with one tune. Anderson's trio ranges from the dusty, smoky basement dub of 'Vanish' to the ticking and glitchy minimal menace of 'Masked Ones' via the intense synth dystopia of 'Escape'. Sield's 'Cultivate' is a smeared, spacious cut with meandering pads and prickly percussion that zones you out for days.

Review: Henri Bergmann and Wennink's Guardian Angel marks an impressive debut on Crosstown Rebels, delivering a track that expertly fuses melody with depth. Bergmann's knack for sculpting rich, atmospheric landscapes is matched by Wennink's haunting vocals, creating a piece that feels both expansive and intimate. It's the kind of collaboration that hints at a shared vision without ever losing individual identity. The original track opens with textured percussion, slowly unfurling into an emotive soundscape as Wennink's vocals hover above like an ethereal guide. There's a melancholic undertone, but it's balanced by an uplifting drive, showcasing their ability to blend light and dark seamlessly. The remixes take Guardian Angel into uncharted territories. Stimming strips things back, opting for a more minimalist approach that sharpens the focus on rhythmic intensity, while his subtle use of effects amplifies the track's ethereal quality. It's a remix that feels lean but still full of intent. Hardt Antoine, on the other hand, plunges deeper into the shadows, pushing the bassline forward and letting synths stretch into eerie, sci-fi realms. His reworking is darker, stranger, and ultimately a satisfying close to the EP. With this release, Bergmann and Wennink add another strong entry to the Crosstown Rebels roster, proving that their partnership is one to keep watching.

Review: "Right, OK!" Worm Records offer up their second various artists release for 2024, coming just a neat two months after September's inaugural release featuring Ruf Dug, Wallace, The Mole and Gallegos. Now the label turn their hand to a completely different league of artists, convoking Boulderhead, Wooka, DMX Krew and Jorg Kuning for yet another star-studded audio-strudel, spanning both chilled and heated ends of the spectrum. Boulderhead's A1 is the ludic highlight among the four, a charming Valley Girl voice peppering the vocal track with exceptional backhandedness; we hear talk of floating on clouds and an affect of casual acceptance behind the glitch-science, suggesting vibes of bounciness and breeze. Wooka goes sillier speed garage on 'Make Yourself Comfortable', a challenging charge given the track's otherwise rather jagged jam; Krew and Koenig close things off on a comparatively calm note, the former's B1 opting for a set of bruk-en beats and wet synth yaps, and the latter's 'Imbolc' quiescing with clement Rhodeses and homely drum machines.

Review: The Fruit Medley series has been hella juicy so far so we're glad another edition is ripe and ready for picking to kick off the label's 2025 season. This one features all newcomers starting with Cromie's 'Timereite', a chubby and clubby tech pumper with full throttle rhythms. Wilba's 'New Recipes' has lush synth smears over grinding low ends that echo early West Coast tech, and Darren Roach then gets a little deeper on the percolating 'Brettski Colectski'. Lazer Man's 'Time Of Ghosts' closes down with a mid-tempo, off-kilter house cut with steely drums and distant alien activity.

Review: Kommuna marks its tenth year of activity with this new dancefloor-focused record from various artists whose music "reflects the glimmer of hope that music provides during these dystopian times." Fabricio's 'Collateral Effect' opens with a strident nu-disco sound and retro-future chords that get you moving. Charleze's 'Rage Power' is another chunky disco stomper with some nice cosmic melody and Wooka's 'Tirty Dalk' hits harder with mechanical beats and churning bass. Mooglee's 'Things I Love' brings a more dreamy synth sound but still club-ready beats.

Review: Toolroom's 'sampler' series, which rounds up previously digital-only releases and sticks them out on action-packed 12" EPs, reaches its sixteenth instalment. Given the format, you'll be unsurprised to discover that there's plenty of bona-fide peak-time heat on show, starting with Mark Knight and James Hurr's excitable, filter-heavy, string-laden disco-house bomb 'You Take Me Higher'. Friend Within offers a scintillating blend of heavy acid bass, glassy-eyed female vocal samples, weighty beats and subtle disco samples on the superb 'Chain', while Martin Ikin and Winnie Ama opt for even heavier drums, warped bass, creepy electronics and dead-eyed spoken word vocals on the sweat-soaked 'Control It'. To round things off, we're treated to the tech-tinged funky house bounce of Flashmob and Raumakustik's percussion -rich 'Club Talk'.

Review: 'Fix The Pitches On Your Old Turntables To Improve Quality Of Life' on Mud Trax Russia delivers a dynamic and immersive experience in the world of minimal and tech house. The first side opens with Kirill Matveev and Wiklauri's 'Ioli (Kirill Version)', a track that offers a strong, late-night tech house vibe, filled with a driving techno sound. Ataneus' 'Napolitaner' follows, a deeper, chord-based piece with an atmospheric quality and fast-paced tech house elements, designed to energize the dancefloor. On the flip side, Genning's 'Red Lights' brings a fusion of dub techno with flighty, melodic techno sounds, building energy through airy, atmospheric layers. Etzu Mahkayah's 'Cs-13' closes the compilation with a melodic tech house track that introduces trance-like elements, offering a spacey, progressive soundscape. Each track expertly balances depth with dancefloor energy, creating an album that is both atmospheric and immersive, perfect for fans of techy minimal beats and progressive grooves.

Review: Limo Trax wind down the tinters and shoot us a knowing look through the Wayfarers, as their latest procurement in slick minimal house and techno blares out the limo stereo. This latest addition to their colours series comes in verdant green, and corrals the talents of Milion, Exonym, Dombee and Wodda, all of whom lay down a clacking sonic technic each. 'Tuin Van Bret' exposes the vibe with beeping chords and an injurious party-starting film dialogue sample, as swarthy, silly excitable funk ensues. 'Hagring' marks the A2 with a "gimme dem" sample and moody swells, while 'Brixton' pays homage to the legendary Lambeth area with a speed garage distributary, reminiscent of Serious Danger's earliest movements in the sound. 'Dark N Stormy' perfects this speedy trend, adding expulsive breaks and oozing licks between the four-by-fours.

Review: Born less than an hour from Chicago but now based in Detroit, Rick Wade cut his DJ teeth in Michigan's Nectarine Ballroom in the 80s and early 90s, at the same time as a certain Jeff Mills was also making giant strides at the venue. Wade's sound is more rooted in deep house but, as this four tracker demonstrates, there's a cosmic spirituality and otherworldliness to his music that it shares with the best of UR and other notable Detroit greats. We kick off with 'Groove Tool', powered by a beautifully pliable, funky bassline and embellished with floating chords and subtle bell sounds way up in the high frequency range. 'Pimp Prophecy' boasts a little more disco swagger, with its niggling guitar riff and some excellent bongo bashing. 'Jazzy Tears' revolves around a sturdy kick and a processed, timestretched vocal refrain, played off against jazzy guitar chords and strings ascending to the heavens. 'Ooo Ahh' is probably the catchiest of the lot, with a shuffling beat undercarriage and an infectious hook, all wrapped up - as all four tracks are - in some understated but still lush musicality. 'Deep Incantations' indeed.

Review: wAFF is a part of the big room techno future at this stage. The UK artist has been rolling out effective tracks to lock in large crowds for many years on a range of labels. It is Nature where he finds himself here and once again he sticks to his usual formula - well designed drums that are chunky but warm, with burrowing synths up top and some effects and vocals to bring them alive. 'Leaving You' starts things at a slick pace, 'Underbite' is a little more minimal and loopy and 'Fat Couch' brings a classic r&b sample to the tech beats for even more crowd-pleasing effect.

Review: Techno House Connoisseurs return with a fresh VA, packed with five top-tier acid and tech house tracks. Kicking off the A side is Los Angeles duo Warehouse Preservation Society with 'Fugitive Funk', a bass-heavy, breakbeat-infused slammer that captures the essence of hypnotic West Coast vibes. London's Flash Mitra makes a debut with a moody, percussive acid house gem. On the B-side, THC regular Praus delivers 'Magnetism', an acid chugger with warped vocals and 303 grooves, while Space Ace and Sherman C team up for 'Just a Dream', a relentless acid banger destined for peak-time sets.

Review: Shimpei Watanabe's latest release is a slick blend of acid house and dub, with 'No Cab Around Here' leading the charge. The track serves up a deep, pulsating 303 bassline paired with atmospheric dub chords that anchor its infectious groove. On the flip, 'Yamate Ride' takes a more mellow approach, offering a smooth, rolling rhythm that keeps things groovy without losing energy. The Stikdorn remix of 'No Cab Around Here' adds an extra layer of depth, stripping back some of the original's intensity to reveal its hypnotic core. An engaging exploration of Watanabe's versatile production style.

Review: Wave Particle Singularity takes charge of the first release on Groove On The Carpet and shows off his fine house music credentials. This trip begins with 'Zarbeeya' which is a soulful sound filled with Saharan chords and chants by the artist's best friend's wife, Sabrina, who hails from Algeria. The next track tells the story of the carpet manufacturing process and on the B-side, 'Ghardaia' delves into micro-minimalist grooves with desert-like harmonies while the final track is a nice dubby groover that ties the EP together and links the Algerian Sahara to Berlin's electronic scene.

Review: Harry Wills, known for his classy and distinctive house productions, returns with the 'Heads & Volleys' EP on Salty Nuts, offering four varied tracks perfect for different moods and times. With each track, Wills shows his unique ability to craft sophisticated yet groovy soundscapes. The title track, 'Heads & Volleys', sets the tone with a deep, minimal groove featuring a demented piano line and an ominous house vibe that builds tension. It's a late-night groover that'll keep dancers locked in. Next, 'Cruisin'' delivers a big, driving bassline paired with a mellow keyboard atmosphere, creating a smooth yet energetic track ideal for winding down or starting a set. On Side-2, 'Encounters' brings a catchy vocal loop that gets stuck in your head, riding atop a groovy, classic house foundationiperfect for peak-time moments. Closing out the EP, 'Gliderite' shifts gears with a wicked acid house influence, featuring a rolling bassline that's edgy, addictive, and full of attitude. Each track on Heads & Volleys delivers something different, proving once again that Harry Wills knows how to craft house music for any occasion with depth and style.

Review: In the formative years of his career in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ricardo Villalobos frequently utilised a handful of alternative production aliases - first Minta Spacew (one EP way back in 1993) and then more frequently Richard Wolfsdorf. Tia, first released way back in 2000, was the Chilean minimal maestro's second outing under that alias and has become a sought-after EP in recent times - hence this Rawwax reissue. A-side 'Echt Rot' is typically Playhouse-era Villalobos, with cut-up vocalisations, odd noises and spaced-out electronic snippets riding a crunchy minimal-house beat and looped, mind-mangling TB-303 bassline. Title track 'Tia' features simmering orchestral samples clustering around a typically wonky, stripped-back beat, while 'Feurwasser' sounds like the blueprint for many of his later minimal techno workouts.

Review: While their output has understandably become less frequent in recent years, Kyiv-based Artreform continues to do its best to showcase a new generation of Ukrainian producers. Label boss JOSS is at it again here, offering up a debut EP from previously unheard local talent Wonkie. In its' original form, 'I Meet Somebody' is a ten-minute slab of mind-mangling tech-house complete with fizzing TB-303 motifs, ghostly pads, distant-sounding melodies and deep, evocative bass. Kyiv scene stalwart Io Mulen remixes, wrapping choice elements of Wonkie's original around a shuffling, breakbeat-goes-tech-house beat. Turn to the flip for something rather unusual (but pleasingly good) - a stretched-out tec-house interpretation of Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells', where flashes of the famous melody bob and weave around weighty bass, trippy electronics and crunchy beats.

Review: The Worm burrows deep with this evocative new outing on Deep Cub label, which continues to turn plenty of heads before it has even got to release number 10. '12 Days Of Squirm' is dubby, mid tempo and slow motion techno for early evening warm ups. 'Lisa' brings a more cid laced and percolating sound to up the energy levels and '808 Verb Talk' is darker, more heavy, with bright acid leaving a menacing mood in its wake. 'Pytch1' is another deft and atmospheric wedge of slow, purposeful techno.