Juno Recommends Minimal / Tech House: May 2022

Review: The wonderfully curious Pampa Records boss DJ Koze never makes anything less than idiosyncratic sounds. His 2018 long player Knock Knock proved that point and now it gets pulled apart and remixed by a bunch of fine contemporary house talents. 'Drone Me Up, Flashy' is up first and is tackled by &Me, who layers in phased bass and steps synth sequences to make for a nice trance-inducing trip. Mano Le Tough's Fuzzy Munster remix of 'Muddy Funster' is a frayed-edge tune with innocent melodies that sooth the brain. He also adds his own spin to 'Illumination' and makes it into a sunny, melodic house cut with a breezy disposition.

Review: Gaetano Battista is back under his Mental Vibe
Construction alias for his best work to date.
The Italian producer is a House head through and
through, bringing together all the ingredients
necessary to create a classic Deep House 12". "Blue Jazz" starts the dance with it's hypnotic guitar arpegio and sparse pianos for a stratospheric ballad, pure bliss! A2's "Deeper" is a dubbed out chugger that funks hard and locks you as soon as the bassline comes in. "Red Blues" is another atmospheric jam with a more techno feel a la detroit, robotic and bass heavy. B2 definitely kicks some and shows Gaetano's wide randing abilities with this minimal jacker, which will take care of keeping them hips swaying through the night. Limited Supply, support the underground.

Review: Another pumping package from Politics Of Dancing, with original tracks from the eponymous label boss and Ray Mono, and a pair of remixes from Cab Drivers and Cuartero respectively to boot. You know what to expect - smooth pads, subtle acid squelch and wriggling, irresistible teccy beats, relentless and super-playable, but with an ear for detail that makes sure they stay fresh right to the runout groove.

Review: DJ and producer Tom Burford, aka. Contours, makes his debut for Slow Life in what is now his tenth EP to date, this time racking up a further 5 cinematic, live-tinged house tracks for all to take in. The Rhythm Section signee here strips back his normally overt emotive sound for a more dubious backroad, with lead 'Distant Memories' and 'Echoes Under Pass' traversing dubbier and more subdued territories than usual for the producer. Elsewhere, 'Kysuhu' and 'Projections' ease up the mystery for harder-hitting forays into electro slappage.

Review: Innervisions' brand of extra-deep progressive house fleshes itself out further and further with the promise of Jimi Jules' 'Plus', which, after lead singles 'Burning' and 'My City's On Fire', presents a clear theme. The Swiss singer and multi-instrumentalist works with label boss and producer Dixon here, delivering an array of sensitive, arpeggiating saws, live drums and beats. Reminiscent of George Fitzgerald or Jon Hopkins, every track flickers and burn away into deep tech oblivion. Watch out for this double LP; a personal story of enlightenment and the struggle for equality.

Review: Mulen Records' VOY offshoot has long been a stable source of floor-friendly tech-house fare, though the imprint's reluctance to detail who has produced each EP remains a frustration. Whoever is behind the label's latest outing clearly knows what they're doing though. Take opener '14 A' for example: while the spacey sounds and chunky grooves employed neatly fit the contemporary tech-house blueprint, the assorted bleeps and ear-catching organ riffs sound like a glorious hangover from an earlier, more naive age. The tactile, huggable 'retro-futurist' feel continues on the flip via the dreamier '14 B', where Korg M1 riffs (think classic MK) and tight TB-303 motifs work wonderfully with the shadowy producer's glassy-eyed chords and Serotonin-fuelled pads.

Review: Relikt is a vinyl only imprint based in Zurich, Switzerland that since 2019 has had a prolific output overseen by the trusted Yves Bonjour. RELIKT 014 comes courtesy of newcomer Mariche with the Familie EP. Like most others from the picturesque city, this artist knows a thing or two about deepness and that is the consistent undercurrent throughout the Familie EP. From the ethereal and rolling Rominimal bliss of opening cut "Mere" or the emotive mood music up next on "Pere", the B side keeps the quality vibes coming. The bass-driven, main room tech house of "Quatre" will suit those heads down moments on the dancefloor too.

Review: Following well-regarded EPs from And.re & Amir and Alci, in 2020 and 2021 respectively, RTC Series returns with its highest-profile release yet: a formidable four-tracker from long-established Romanian minimalist Mihai Pol. The talented producer opts for a deep and dreamy sound on opener 'Trip Pe Stupin', layering slowly unfurling melodies and opaque aural textures atop rubbery beats and glitchy electronics, before opting for a more acid-tinged sound on the equally picturesque 'Pretty'. B-side opener 'Shake a Leg' sees Pol make great use of elastic analogue bass, weird noises and woozy chords, while 'Oaia Verde' is a becalmed, two-step tech-house shuffler.

Review: R&S sublabel Apollo are back at it with a new release from Romanian composer and DJ Ada Kaleh, bringing four long-form trance movements to a singular slice of mind-body-unifying vinyl. Originally working in minimal and tech house, Kaleh here demonstrates a more recent spate of 'getting a bit more trippy with it', reawakening every moving part of his productions to produce a sentient, ambulatory sonic organism. There's not an 808 or a squelch-funk bass in sight; every minimal cliche is upended for spectacular, time-stopped visions. Also clock track 4, which opts for a metric modulatory mode and odd time signature. Clearly, whatever entheogen Kaleh has been ingesting, it's paid off.

Review: We've become relentless pushers of (albeit, only the best) minimal and tech house as of late, and who better to celebrate of all that the kickless king of minimal himself, Ricardo Villalobos, remixing a sick classic from Matias Aguayo? The k-holed festival go-to here unveils a wonderful remix of Aguayo's 2013 track 'El Camaron', which also gets a 2022 rerub on the A. Originally forming one part of Aguayo's album 'The Visitor', the original is a tribal, moody unfurler that leans into chanted broken beat. In true Villalobos style, his version is the slowest of burns, straightening out the beat into a 4x4 progression set to subtly inflame dancefloors the world over this summer.

Review: Next on Adam Shelton's One Records is French duo Yamen & Eda, who've had a great run of releases previously on Elephant Moon, Shotgun Records, and their own Maison Mere. The Infinite Diversity EP features "Joe Kerr" with Northen bleep style energy underpinned by Todd Terry beats. It receives a stomping rework by Youandewan up next that's perfect for those heads-down moments on the dancefloor. Over on the flip, things go down a minimal route on the afterhours minded title track and it too receives a remix, this time by Subb-an who takes it well into Monday morning with his trippy microhouse re-format.

Review: Planet Rhythm are back with a stellar new collab between glitch veterans SND and RTN; a vacuum-packed blitz of minimal dub and aerated space ensured by a trio of savvy spacemen. It's not the first time this supergroup have worked together, but despite that fact, it might just be their best work: 'Chain Reaction' pays homage to Basic Channel's now-defunct label of the same name, vocoded stabs pulsing below depth-charged kicks, while the chordal dub vibe continues throughout. 'Th.12.9' is like a stripped-back Barker bit, while 'Ice' and 'Locked' recall the clippy and atmospheric enviro-dub of GAS. '77' is the most fun, edging into swung, poppy territory.

Review: DJ Rocca is something of a musical chameleon: a producer, DJ, remixer and audio engineer whose work touches on a wide variety of dancefloor-focused sounds. Of late, he's tended to focus mostly on nu-disco and Balearic house, but on this EP he's opted for a darker, hazier and more electronic sound that draws inspiration from his tech-house productions of old. For proof, check opener 'Loren's Holiday', where oddball electronics, faintly foreboding riffs and effects-laden motifs ride a dark bassline and wonky drums, and the angular, Orbital style riffs of warehouse-ready jack-track 'Iron Exposure'. You'll find more Brown Album era Orbital style sounds on the Afro-cosmic-tinged trip that is 'Heartbreaker', while 'Fix Up Elgam' is creepy, psychedelic and mind-altering in the best possible way.

Review: Berlin-based Norwegian DJ/producer Alexander Skancke mans the counter at local haunt Bikini Waxx while heading up the Quirk imprint - presenting its fourth release here. 'Elevate' is a chugging, locomotive groove that's perfect for those heads down moments on the dancefloor. Over on the flip, you've got some rolling, bass driven tech house on 'Panic' (Don't Panic mix) and equally on the Rominimal tip is the early morning sunrise breaks of Lockmind' which follows. Tip!

Review: Brazil is not a label often associated with tech house but Oashi is slowly changing that. This third outing from the small but well formed label is a various artists affair that takes in everything from gritty tech to dreamier house. Direkt kicks off with 'Omnisphere' which is dubbed out and laced up with frazzled synths and Heek & Kike Mayor P's 'Sarandea' is a gentle and subversive goove with dreamy pads and lush samples. The flip side sinks into a smooth groover from Minube & Andrey Djackonda in the form of 'Silk' while Farid Odilbekov closes down with 'Mobile 5,' a nice leggy house workout.

Review: Hello to brand new London based tech house label Transient. It kicks off with a showcase of its label talent in the form of this various artists four-tracker. Daniel Broesecke opens up with a nice and heady, roomy tech cut with cosmic synths and swirling pads taking you up amongst the stars. Vern then offers 'Portal' which is squelchy electronic funk with rubbery bass and bendy synth tones.
VLF's 'Active Remote' is a deeper cut with a sleek and hypnotic drum line and frosty little synth details. Josh Wicks closed down with what might be the EP highlight, 'Time Trip.'

Review: The Juuz label appeared out of Hungary last year with a classy consortium of emergent minimal producers testing the limits of the scene with experimentation at the forefront of their craft. Now they're back for round two and the vibes are just getting deeper, kicking off once again with Erro and the strangely unsettling creeper 'Butterfly Effect'. Herck follows that up with the dislocated, jazz-inclined 'Clonex', while Leanca locks into a taut micro house groove on 'Yellow Traveller (Tribute To Mort Garson)'. Techu rounds things off with 'Pandha', creating a subliminal party rocker with a mean bass riff hidden in the reeds of the rhythms.

Review: Back in the late '90s and early 2000s, first-wave tech-house pioneers Swag (AKA Sheffield scene stalwarts Chris Duckenfield and Richard Brown) ran their own label, Primitive - a deliberately mysterious outlet for their own productions and uncredited collaborators. The catalogue is full of wonky, mind-melting dancefloor gold - hence this EP-length compilation of sought-after treats. Opener 'Vert (Ceremony)' is indicative of much of the label's output, with creepy melodic motifs, spooky noises and trippy lead lines clustering around bumping drums and raw, stabbing bass, while 'Urges Volume 4' is a pleasingly tribal-tinged, sweat-soaked beast driven forwards by a frankly filthy acid bassline. Throw in two breathless drum workouts ('Tools Edition 1' and 'Tools Edition 2') and you have a genuinely must-have package.

Review: Marseille based Rafael Cerato is known for his emotional techno sound that has been heard on top labels like Diynamic Music, Stil Vor Talent, and his very own Ritual. He's also become quite the staple on Marc Romboy's Systematic Recordings, which back in 2015 released his anthemic 'Sekater', a sublime expression in dancefloor drama which still sounds as good today. There's a 2022 Revisited version featured on here which is optimised for today's dancefloor, while the remix by Gruuv head honchos Audiojack over on the flip goes for a bouncy tech house rework.

Review: George Gavanescu (Floog) re-commands our attention with a new EP on Atipic, topping up their 'Lab' series with only the most experimental entheogenic vials and super-strength sonic serums. Bleepy, clippy and dealing only in near-impossible sound design, 'Enyo' and Priku's remix of 'Love Poem' are our highlights; unlike much tech house, every sound seems to have been plucked from an otherworldly panacea of sound, their snares and melodies sounding unusually contagious.

Review: Cosmoz Records is "a mutant program where minimal wizards link their magic to shape the future of dance music." First up is the pairing of Constratti & Techu across four Serengetis cuts of spaced out tech. 'Pulse' slithers its way into your psyche with its supple synths and drums glistening like metal. 'Ripple' is bubbly number with subtle funk in its rhythms and 'Quarks' keeps up the stylish sound designs but this time with a more paired back and dubbed out tech vibe. Last of all is 'Void', a a more spacious cut for the afters, perhaps.