Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Brazilian minimal house experts Stekke are back with Cosmopolitan, which inaugurates new label Chez Panthere. Two typically understated afterhours minded cuts are featured on both sides. On the first is the paranoid, heads-down contemplation of 'Disco Jukebox' which is perfect for Sunday morning (no earlier than 9:00), while over on the flip we have another deep and hypnotic offering in the form of 'Mix-O-Lydian', with atonal sounds underpinned by clipped rhythms that's is the kind of tackle you'd expect Thomas Melchior or Rhadoo would drop on Monday morning.

Review: Hamburg's Martin Stimming resurfaces with his first 12" in some two years, aligning with Koze's well respected Pampa Records for a two track release that "magnify the opposing sides of his studio psyche". Given Stimming has graced the likes of liebe*detail, Terminal M and Diynamic with his considered grasp of dancefloor dynamics, this Pampa debut is a smart move and shows he's lost none of his production panache despite the aforementioned absence. Lead track "China Tree" betrays a spikiness that will suit the dancefloor perfectly, with the primal bassline and raw, unpredictable drums really getting a grip on your attention. Those seeking some melodic sweetness from Stimming will be all over the B Side "Southern Sun" where Piper Davis's subtly affected vocals are woven into the very fabric of a woozy, kaleidoscopic production.

Review: Studio 1's 'Schwarz' EP, brought to life by minimalist maestro Wolfgang Voigt, embodies the essence of 90s minimal techno. Originally crafted in 1997 but released only in 2019, it features three entrancing cuts: 'Schwarz 1,' 'Schwarz 2,' and 'Schwarz 3.' The Studio 1 series, starting in 1995, made waves for its unique formula of monochromatic sleeves and no-nonsense, untitled tracks. This aesthetic not only refined the genre's visual identity but also its sonic minimalism. 'Schwarz' remains a masterclass in stripped-down techno.

Review: Romania has been hotbed of techno producers in the last handful of years. One of the important figures that is leading the charge is Sublee. Mesmerizing Fields is the newest original work for the producer and it finds a home at the Italian label Hashplant. The upbeat 'Spinning' starts the program off with a club stomper that is full of tension and tech. Then the title track completes the A-side with a broken electro workout that ultra-futuristic and funky. On the second side, we really like the ability 'Itsmyb' has to keep the peak time going along with some really cool electronic sounds. 'Your Coldness' just might be our favorite of the bunch. We love the anticipation, beauty and spacey style. Goosebump material. When you take into account the entire EP, you realise you have a lot of great varied techno here!

Review: First released in 1999, Swayzak's 'Floyd/Doobie' shook the British duo's catalogue. Though it wasn't 'Bueno' or 'Fukumachi', this deep house cut was the next best choice for followers of the then burgeoning tech house circuit. Swayzak were already favourites on this and the deep house scene, and had clawed in acclaim for their involvement in both as early as 1993. One particularly prolix bio deems them the incipients of "1st wave 2000-era progressive deep minimal", which is too analytic even for us manic categorisers. No, we prefer to take these two big-hitters as they are: brimming with enthusiasm for a gadget-packed future, 'Floyd' fizzes and twitches with the pulsing blurts of a saw synth, as if to suggest constant magnetic stimulation from above. 'Doobie', meanwhile, hears our protagonist disrobe the techno utility belt, returning to a wireless home, so to gaze out over a subtly detuned chord landscape set to munching percs.

Review: "Inside" is the rallying cry of many a pirate radio hypeman, and we're just as readily apt to stay locked in, not least after hearing this new one from Manchester-after-Berlin producer SY, debuting for Slump Recordings. An eighth escapade for the label in the vein of trippy cheek and nostalgia, this fresh plate of pluperfect pulses is a real sure-starter. The titular 'Inside' leads with organic diatones and surreptitious squelches, while Baldo's rework is a heftier hurl through additive breaks verging on acid trancebreaks mayhem. 'Perceptions' brings up the rear side through classic house synthwork and slippery percs, while the eminent Baby Rollen abstracts said mix with an alien hand, also throwing in compelling "hup" samples for good measure.

Review: Toothpick aka Swirl People step out with their newly entitled label Lost In The Swirls, which they have distilled to the more simple name L.I.T.S. Records. The Belgium-based project is an alias of Dimitri & Raoul and they bring fresh house sounds here even though this is a reissue of some classic 90s material. The title track has lush and bright summer pads over driving, tight kick drums. The opener 'May The Funk Be With You' has a classic UK flavour to it with woodpecker-like hits and dusty drum loops under some smart chord work. Last but not least is 'Naked Speedway' which has a warm bassline meandering below expansive chords that bring an early morning vibe. Good stuff.

Review: One Eye Witness rounds up another four acts for their periodic V/A series, spewing forth four breaks-driven whooshers crossing into progressive techno territory. The Hague duo Young Adults nod to a 1997 Loveparade anthem with 'It's Only Temporary', while breaks and kick implants converge on Christopher Ledger's 'Change That', a track which sounds like the starting firings of an interplanetary expedition pod after years of disuse. Joely brings cosmic chug on the cocooning B1 'Transitional', while the Samesame closer 'Novel End' is just that, traversing a noxious atmosphere with a flexoskeletal electro beat.

Review: This is Freestyle free from any style.
There is no need for the disembodied voice telling you THIS IS HOUSE.
It is simply felt and known.

{Every kick.
Every arpeggio.
Every bass note.
Experienced through the prism of now.
Ribs rattle from the heart center to the endless reaches of consciousness.}

The racks are stacked high beyond the heavens as the Filter Queen speaks of love without words.
Bound to no earthly constructs, beholden to no laws.
This is the joyous sound of overground resistance.