New releases last four weeks: Minimal/Tech House

Review: Per Hammar and Berlin-based label Sushitech are a match made in heaven as both have long since proven their credential in the world of dub techno. As the label turns 20, it kicks off its year with an album that has been two years in the making and features a top-quality array of dub techno sounds. Malin Genie features on two of the more kicking and propulsive cuts, while Jannik Jivung adds an organic touch to two more. In between those sounds are percolating slow-mo jams like 'Representant Dubb' and more kinetic sounds like 'TX Files' with its fresh kicks and rolling bass.

Review: The now 20-year-strong Sushitech have been working on this one for two years and finally it drops - a new album from cultured dub techno don Per Hammar. This is a seriously deep journey into his signature sound that melds the genre's most classic side with a fresh modern twist. Cuts like 'Generation Drive' have a nice crisp sense of motion as well as lovely warped pads, while 'Juvial' brings a sense of curiousness with its undulating drums and bass. 'Defender' leans into sleek techno styles and will have you cruising in no time. An instant classic album, for sure.

Review: Peverelist stands as a defining figure in UK electronic music, shaping the intersection of bass-driven sound system culture and forward-thinking techno. Emerging from Bristol's fertile underground scene, his work as a producer, DJ and label head has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of UK dance music. Closing out his long-running series, he distills his signature sound into four meticulously sculpted tracks. 'Pulse XVII' bookends a skeletal, stepping groove with shimmering synth strings and crisp chord stabs, injecting a dose of Motor City euphoria into his typically weighty framework. 'Pulse XVIII' strips things back to bare essentials, constructing a taut, jacking house cut from pulsing low-end and precisely placed percussionia masterclass in restraint and impact. The energy escalates with 'Pulse XIX', where dub techno textures are reworked into something sharper and more urgent, its rolling momentum underpinned by a driving rhythmic core. 'Pulse XX' then flips expectations, shifting into leftfield steppers territory with elastic bass motifs and alien hooks, recalling the producer's earlier experiments while pushing his sound into fresh terrain. It's a fitting conclusion to a project that has consistently balanced dancefloor functionality with a forward-thinking approach.

Review: The Pittsburgh Tracks Authority crew prides itself on serving up fad-free, no-frills, authentic-only house music that will stand up to the tyranny of passing trends. For their next outing, they veer into tech territory with 'Tech 97', a tune that embodies just that, a bit like, a no doubt subtly named in reference to, Micke Huckaby's Bassline 87 tune. It might sound simple, but effective, but that's really not an easy trick to pull off. The manic mix allows the synth more room to roam and rumble with more raw percussion, and the Calm mix is a smooth, dubbed-out but still nice and pacey rework. Very useful tools.

Review: We hear distant soul croons, and lyrical talk of silver linings, on this latest EP from Pornbugs and Frink, as the pair draw another heat on the EPs game after 2023's 'See Through My Eyes'. Striking while the rod is still hot, these two've releases through the likes of Spielgold and Sublease since 2006, which have surely informed on this rippling release, which keeps one foot in the chillout vault and the other in room one. But both moods are held in impossible superposition - we feel relaxed and upbeat at the same time. 'Keep It Down' especially impresses with its distant use of a vocal line that might otherwise be put to more focal use by less patient producers, proving the compatibility of lyricism and soundscape.

Review: Wordlessly issued by the 2022 launched label Different Times, this minimal-trance-breaker from Shjva and Stereometrix (Ukraine) follows after the former duo broke from their shared Plan alias formed in 2021. They now operate separately but on a single record; sometimes collaborative chemistry works best when it goes hand-in-hand with individual creativity. Three A side inductors by Shjva kick the record off through a range of tensile tools, from velocity sensitive e-drum primers to sweeping mini-dub-trance workouts, reducing the listener to a puttylike state. Then comes Stereometrix's sole contribution with 'No Need To Squeeze', which deserves its singular B-side status as the digging inquisitor's choice, with its flexuous melo-arps, distant silences and sample-and-held counterpoints: truly a melodic masterstroke.

Review: Swayzak's role in establishing minimal makes them one of the scene's greats. Their meticulously compiled discography has many treasures, and plenty of them are hard to find and expensive. That has long been the case with this EP, originally from 1998, but now reissued by the back-cat boffins at Rawax. 'Lokal' has it all across 11 immersive minutes, from the deft, loopy drum programming that floats above the floor to the wispy and synthetic melodies and churning synth hooks. 'Yardarm' is another majestic minimal symphony, though this one hits a little harder and might well be the best of the two because of it. It's a perfect mix of dreamy mental escape and irresistible body music for the wee-small hours.