Juno Recommends Minimal / Tech House: May 2023

Review: As Soul Capsule, Baby Ford and Thomas Melchior made some of minimal techno's most accomplished records. It has been many years since they stopped turning out new material - sadly - but their archive tracks are still in hot demand and undeniably relevant. While 1999's 'Lady Science' might be their most famous offering, this EP from 2001 on Aspect Music is no less vital and it will currently cost you well over L250 on second-hand markets. It is Ford's Trelik label who reissues it here in all its glory: the entirety of the a-side is taken up with 'Law Of Grace,' a delightfully deep and breezy minimal dub house roller with pensive chords draped over the frictionless drums. 'Meltdown' has a more experimental feel with brushed metal drums beneath a wordless vocal musing. The cult 'Lady Science' (Tek Mix) is also inched with the whole package being remastered by D&M to make this one utterly essential.

Review: Following on from his remixes of Robert James' LP Battle Of The Planets, Berlin-based Klix goes in for the kill with four examples of club-friendly grooves that are big on dancefloor dynamics but also boast a delicate sensitivity to melody that's often left behind when it comes to the minimal/tech genre. Check, for instance, the distinctly understated acid undertow to 'Just Tell Me', balanced beautifully with lush, New Order-esque pads, or the almost imperceptible trails of flute left across the landscape of 'Satisfaction'. Best of all is probably 'Squanchy Thoughts' featuring Shibafu No Baga, the vocoders and synth lines rendering it like a post-rave Kraftwerk.

Review: The highly politicised Los Angeles collective Ultra Red re-released their superb A16/A17 12" last year. Both tunes were produced entirely from field recordings made during street protests against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington April 16 and 17, 2000 and became secret weapons of DJs like Ricardo Villalobos & Craig Richards. Now, 'A16' gets remixed by underground titans Losoul and The Mole into two club-ready groovers. Losoul goes first with a dry and minimal take that is textured and deep with plenty of absorbing atmosphere. Next up, The Mole goes for a more propulsive sound with glistening tech house drums and icy pads. Both are artful reworks that take you on a mental trip.

Review: It's all about the early 90s vibes on this 12" from Fauvre as four underground anthems from the era are revisited. Forty Wings Dynamo's 'Inversion' has a dubby, dreamy progressive house feel, its epic outlook and echoing percussion inevitably bringing Leftfield's first handful of 12"s to mind, before 'Raveolution' (Acid mix) brings a more jungle techno feel with sliced up breaks skittering around the four-to-the-floor kicks. Pedro Bertho's 'TOITOI' starts side two, nodding to Jaydee's 'Plastic Dreams' with its soulful keys creating magic over a simple, banging techno framework before COEO's 'Vertigo' gets to work with its proto-breakbeat beats and one utterly orgasmic breakdown. Well worth a step back in time.

Review: If you're looking for some minimal tech house with serious pep then Rossi has got you covered on this new drop for Homegrown. If you check label like Eya then you're going to love the vibe Rossi puts across, leading in with the subby 90s house strut of 'Honey I'm' and continuing apace with the cheeky acid bump of 'Fly'. Keeping the pace up and ensuring the sounds are fat and warm throughout, 'Knock Knock' lays down some chunky b-lines and 'Wildcard' slips into a trippier, broken beat arrangement for the consummate B2 experience.

Review: With acid sounds once again being all the rage, Running Back has decided to launch a new series featuring previously unreleased, TB-303-heavy cuts. The versatility of the machine - which, after all, was initially designed to create basslines - comes to the fore across the EP, from the throbbing, acid bass-propelled techno-jack of DVS1's 'Lower Wacker Drive' and the low-tempo early morning creepiness of I:Cube's 'Folie Noire', to the excitable acid house funkiness of 'Go Kart' by Marko East and Jordi Chu's, and the colourful dreaminess of 'Meet Chu In My Dreams'. Best of all though is Prins Thomas's remix of Like a Tim's 'Wonderline 1', whose TB-303 squelches ride a cowbell-rich disco-not-disco groove rich in the Norwegian's usual loose-limbed, live-sounding drums.

Review: Ascendant London talent Joshwa returns with the latest release on the ever reliable Hot Creations for this very limited vinyl release. Following those amazing edits and remixes of Florence & The Machine and Aussie funky house duo Madison Avenue recently, he delivers his next dancefloor bomb for 2023 in the form of 'Bass Go Boom'. Wait for the drop of course, and then that massive b-line underpinned by a swing-fuelled rhythm and a stuttered vocal for maximum dancefloor potential. Over on the flip, another similarly minded surefire tech house jam optimsed for the peak time exists in the form of the infectious 'Supersonic'.

Review: Janeret remains a leading light in the realm of minimal tech house, having graced labels like Rutilance, Finale Sessions and Up The Stuss with subliminal club wares for lengthy parties. It makes perfect sense to see the French DJ and producer landing on Fuse, and these four tracks add plenty of flair and functionality to his repertoire. If you value sophistication in the mix with those all important grooves this record has more than enough to keep you shuffling well past the dawn.

Review: The latest addition to what was once pioneered by Underground Resistance and what is now known as "spoken word techno", this new split single comes courtesy of Melchior Productions (Thomas Melchior). Melchior's various stints as a DJ at transgressive techno clubs like Panorama Bar and Saule have helped cement his revolutionary take on techno, which now gives rise to 'The Ideology...' The words we hear spoken on the track are given ample room to breathe, as we are reminded that "we are the good manners of vampires" in a scathing muscal, anti-capitalist critique.

Review: Dubtil has only very recently launched his own superb new label Infrequent. He did so with a top new EP but has clearly been hard at work in the studio because this outing on Ruere is another doozy. It comes on nice spattered vinyl and has four untitled tunes. The first is a warm one with pads swirling round to bring colour to the tech beats, then the second has a more urgent mission through the cosmos with its wispy pads and tight, twanging bass and prickly drums. On the flip is the more stripped back and minimal roller of track three and then the compelling rubbery rhythms and futuristic pad work of the final cut.

Review: Cowbeats continue to 'milk the cow' that is acid trance, effectively skying the milk that pours forth before regurgitating it in pasteurised, mastered form. Innershade, Rizzi, Falsini, Manipulate and Lapucci all contribute to this rather weird and boundary-pushing trance selection; 'Proximity Field Music' sounds like trance from the next planet over, while 'Love Me Too' proves that even microgenres as snappy as speed garage can be tranceified.

Review: After debuting on Incienso in 2019, Pavel Milyakov brings Buttechno back to the label for another grip of the sneakily titled Minimal Cuts. Quite what the idea behind the title is, don't enter thinking you're going to hear sleek, stripped down tech house or abstract, reductionist fare. In fact, this second volume opens up with the buoyant, 90s-soaked thump of 'Green' before swerving into the oddball groove of 'Disko June'. There's something a little trance-y about 'Funk 33' and 'New Pnk' offers some slightly twitchy melodies, getting about as close to 'minimal' as can imagine, but still resoundingly defined by Milyakov's unique approach.

Review: Following a pair of collaborative EPs alongside fellow Vancouver resident Sophie Sweetland, Olivia Meek returns to Plush with her first Regularfantasy release for some time. The A-side sports two takes on 'Call Me When You're Done': her own hypnotic, heady, thickset deep house mix as Regular Zen (an effects-laden, early morning treat and then some), and an even more hallucinatory, acid-fired rework from Priori. Over on side B, she creates spaced-out club electro-pop gold by combining Italo-disco-bass, crunchy beats, acid tweaks and echoing Aqua vocal samples on 'Life In Plastic', before reaching for raw analogue bass, sweaty beats and delay-heavy organ riffs on 'Sucks To Be You (Plush Edit)'. To round things off, Meek goes all melodious, dreamy and spiritual on the luscious, sunrise-ready 'Sweet Emotion (Bonne St Jean Mix)'.

Review: Plucky Londoner Kawaii San's 'Behind The Waterfall' is an enchanting release, mixing breaks, lo-fi aquatics, and a feel perhaps borrowed from the victory music found in oldschool Mario Kart editions. But casting aside influences for a sec, Magic Carpet's eleventh EP hears the producer weave through playful kick-clappers, flutelike hikes and crude deluges. The closer 'Dreamscape' is a real neat highlight, showing the producer has much more up his sleeve than the first three tracks might indicate. The synthwork is sublime and unique - not to mention its bass, which is blistering.

Review: Unisson is Romanian duo Alex Draghici & Teodorescu Nicolae who head up UNS Records. Its latest release is a split EP with Rominimal scene hero Funk E and is jam packed full of hypnotic tackle. On side A, Unisson capture the main room with the rolling and etheral tech house adventure of 'Freeler' followed by the slinky bounce of 'Kelly Watch The Stars By Air'. Over on the flip, a similar vibe continues where Funk E gets a bit of assistance from Ogeid on the lean groove subtlety of 'Harrypoppers' followed by the glacial back room dub of 'Pink Freud' which is aimed squarely at the afterhours dancefloor.

Review: Purple Print are making some moves within the minimal tech house scene, having launched with Sepp last year and following up with Delaj and Bisharat earlier in 2022. Now they widen the net with a VA disc which shows their allegiances and sonic interests, leading in with Snad & Ciphr's swirling trip monster 'Green Acres' before sliding into the subliminal gurgles of RQZ's hypnotic masterclass, 'Rachael Lights Her Cigarette'. Pheek & Kike Major keep things light and airy on the breaksy roller 'Little Tiff' and Penny closes the EP out with an ear-snagging slice of freaky micro-funk in the form of 'Groove Maniac'.

Review: When it comes to excitable club fodder rooted in club sounds of the late 80s and 90s, the Tone Dropout crew consistently delivers the goods. They're at it again on their 11th multi-artist extravaganza, which giddily sprints between acid-fired breakbeat house with glassy-eyed melodic motifs and spacey bleeps (Sween and Alphonse hook-up 'Downfall'), trancey early progressive house revivalism ('Odyssey T3D' by XOTR), intergalactic electro-bleep fusion (the punchy, Kraftwerk-on-pills excellence of Samuel Padden's 'Teslas Still Alive') and classy bleep and breaks nostalgia (Kostas G's pleasingly sub-heavy, funk break-driven 'Spectrum').

Review: We hold our hands up here and admit we don't know much about The Don, real name Marvyn Don. He dropped this EP of swaggering tech house back in the early 00s and its a classic for those who know. This reissue brings it back to life and all four of the cuts still sound right on point. There are singing leads and whistles to the scintillating drum work of track one, then track two gets a little more dark and edgy, with scattered claps and a mysterious bassline. The analogue machines get worked hard throughout this EP, with the punchy drums and shimmering hi-hats of track three and distorted sleaze of track four proving that point again.

Review: Following releases on Windmuhle, Playedby and HAZE, Romanian producer and DJ Alin Crihan returns with his latest EP which comes out via Alsi's Elements imprint. There's three quality tracks on the Recurring Figures EP; the majestic and fantastical production of "Periodic Arrangement" will have you in awe by way of its mesmerising soundscape underpinned by elaborate polythyrhms. Over on the flip, go deep into the Transylvanian woods on the brooding twilight deep of "Regular Intervals" and finally something strictly for the afterhours dancefloor on the arcane trance induction of "Again & Again".

Review: Few artists are as reliable as MR G, who also happens to be a super nice dude and a positive presence in anyone's life - just follow him online and you'll see. The long-time underground stalwart releases a ton of music on a ton of labels - but here on his own Phoenix G he serves up a healthy dose of unreleased dubplates. As always they are rooted in deep house with heavy, firmly rooted and rolling drums, grainy pads and just the right amount of girt and grime to keep you locked in and zoned out. Another essential 12" in a career full of them.

Review: Constant Sound co-owner James 'Burnski' Burnham delivers a stonking pair of garage-flecked house tracks that offer up no nonsense dancefloor attitude in spades. 'Shout' is all about its monster rhythmic framework, with economic splashes of synths on the side simply maintaining the flavour and a properly full on old skool breakdown. Flip track 'Remember' leans a little further towards UK garage with its sugar sweet female vocal snippets, but the central groove hustles and bustles along with maximum weightiness, making it suitable for any number of differing dancefloors.

Review: The label at the helm of the Minimal ship, Mindhelmet, is back with another dazzling release. Never has an artist's name so well reflected their sound - Velvet Velour's production is exactly as you might expect: smooth, effortless, yet party ready. The first track, 'The Waltzer' has an undeniable zero-gravity quality, zooming through the cosmos, encountering meteoric fields and spacious, star-studded vistas. 'Khaosan Rodeo' rushes through aqueous landscapes, embellished with water-muffled vocals, and oxygenated bubbles, this is a buoyant track for flowy, dancefloor moments. 'Wave Wizard' offers a broken, breaksy view into the Velvet Velour sound world. An excellent example of restraint from the producer - this track holds the perfect balance between substantial percussion and airy atmospheres. A mind-melting release from a standout label in the minimal scene.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Trelik returns with a repackaged edition of one of the catalogue's most treasured releases. "Overcome" and "Lady Science (NYC Sunrise)" need little introduction, and now come sporting the new TR11:11 matrix number. Written and produced by Thomas Melchior and Baby Ford aka Soul Capsule, these tracks came from one of the many sessions recorded at the West London Ifach Studio in 1999. On the A Side "Overcome" is stripped back and energetic, driven by rolling and shuffling garage style beats, tight bubbling bass and atmospheric synth pads. The intermittent vocal samples and the release's signature organ set you up for the flip, "Lady Science (NYC Sunrise)". Possibly one of house music's most emotive pieces, the track builds slowly with the introduction of each part building a story of soulful optimism based around a sparse palette of deep synths, uplifting keys and warm analogue bass. The understated beauty of the main vocal riff never seems to grow old or tired with the track lending itself perfectly to either main room, peak-time play or after-hours sessions alike. Remastered by Rashad at D & M.

Review: Fresh from releasing the third and final part of the Oldivibes trilogy of EPs, Mulen Records co-founder Io (real name Aleksandr Voznichenko) offers up some aural 'Ecstasy' to get tech-house dancefloors moving. The EP-opening title track is a retro-futurist delight, with the Ukranian producer peppering a tactile, turn-of-the-90s warehouse groove with raw hip-house stabs, whispered vocal snippets and spacey synth sounds. The old school flavour continues on 'Deep In My Soul', where a 'Bombscare'-inspired lead line combines brilliantly with an organ bassline, smooth beats and swirling electronics, before Voznichenko reaches for psychedelic TB-303 style motifs, rolling drums, funky stabs and glassy-eyed riffs on 'Edge of Infinity'. Finally, 'Air Gap' is an attractive mix of bold, ear-catching bass, heady organ riffs, mind-mangling electronic motifs and loose-limbed peak-time drums.

Review: Stop the press and cancel your calls, the mighty Cobblestone Jazz have returned. Has it really been eight years since we were last graced by the elevated musicality and marvel of Mathew Jonson's ensemble group with Danuel Tate and Tyger Dhula? Time flies and it feels like we're in comfortable territory even as the Jazz take us to some wonderful new places on this collaborative EP with fellow Wagon Repair alumni The Mole. The keys sound ever more expressive and exquisite, while Jonson's unmistakable touch on the programming is as inspired as ever. This band-spirited approach to deep house never fails to deliver sparkling results and Cobblestone Jazz sound like the soul-enriching tonic we all need in our lives. Welcome back.

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: Legendary Detroiter Marcellus Pittman is in a surprisingly forthright mood on 'Facid Trunktion', the title track of his latest three-track excursion. While the deep and woozy touches we've come to expect are present - albeit in smaller doses than usual - what catches the ear is the fluctuating TB-303 bassline, the restlessly jazzy but driving drums, and the overall sweat-soaked feel of the whole thing. You'll find even more acid wizardry on B-side opener 'Sanskrit Body Rock', a hypnotising machine jam, while 'Ask It Acid' is a pleasingly stripped-back and mind-mangling jack-track.

Review: Emerging as a notable name in the UK house scene, Alisha made 2022 her year with standout tracks on Eastenderz and performances at renowned events like Warehouse Project, INPUT, and Amnesia for Jamie Jones' Paradise. Now gearing up for an even bigger year, she drops her latest single 'Changes' on Hot Creations, with a classy remix by house music icon Mike Dunn. With tough kicks, rumbling low-ends, and squelchy synths, 'Changes' warps and drives, anchored by a hooky and infectious vocal sample. Mike Dunn's remix delivers a soulful, swirling journey with rich chords and delightful house music.

Review: In celebration of their tenth birthday, Selador marks the occasion in style with a four-track collaborative EP, featuring tracks from 3D, Robert Owens, Olivier Giacomotto, Quivver, Dave Seaman, Hernan Cattaneo, Argia, and Jepe. The opening track, 'Known Love', is a deep, pulasting house tune that feels like an instant classic, perhaps thanks to the soulful, pop-tinged vocals - think LCD soundsystem meets Four Tet. 'Snailblazer', the second track on the EP, takes a much darker turn, with a chugging, EBM-esque feel. Full-bodied and complete with obscured vocals, this is the kind of track to pull out your bag when it's time to really get stuck in. On the B-side, 'Napkin Knowledge' draws on the glistening synths of eurodance, yet still securing the melodies to a grounded bassline and rhythm section. 'Salitre' is the perfect closing track, rising up in a gleaming, ecstatic melody, before delicately returning to ground level. A varied yet firmly cohesive collaborative release - the perfect way for Selador to kick off their 2023 catalogue.

Review: Minibar's endless quest for the freshest kinds of minimal continues with this collaboration from emergent partnership Max Jacobson & Snad. You would have previously spotted the pair on Lowris' AEternum Music in 2021, and they're continuing to come up with the goods on this crisp and classy four-tracker. 'Mohugan' thrives on the knotty, tracky grooves you expect at least somewhere on a Minibar release, while 'Br2' cools things out with some elegant pad tones atop those snappy beat patterns. 'Truthers' takes things even deeper down with its whispers of melody, while 'Morning Du' gets back to business good and proper with a freaky after hours workout that will never let you down.

Review: House-master, Matthias, is the latest producer to debut on the iconic Scottish Minimal/Tech house imprint, Craigie Knowes. Delivering a class EP injected with originality and outright funk, this will be a no-brainer purchase for a long list of DJs and home listeners. On the A side, 'Tube Star' arrives with a throbbing bassline, honey-sweet synths and glinting percussion. For the A2, growling electric guitar melodies meet darkened synthlines and bludgeoning kicks to produce a powerful dancefloor-ready track. On the B-side, we have Ultra Bass on remix duties, offering a bass-stroke-acid-stroke-garage take on Matthais' signature sound - this is undoubtedly a peak time track for those out-of-control moments. Closing things up, 'Wires Around My Neck' slows to a patient pace - a duet of circling synth melodies and chugging drums give this track a delectably wonky, spaced-out vibe. A wonderfully varied release that is surely set to be a favourite for this year's circuit of festivals.

Review: Psychedelic dance technicians explore the recesses of weird emotion with their latest release with Latrec. The original 'Kutika' is like a pocket calculator gone rogue, blending an electrified MPC-style jam on the beat with dubbed-out vocal samples and an oddly resonant bass synth. Paranoid London member Quinn Whalley crops up on the B-side, together with Matt Cowell under the name The WC, for a remix - the toilet humour is apt, since this version of the track does sort of sound like it's sloshing around in a washbasin, with its verbed-out delays on the bass. Remotif, meanwhile, throws a driving trance curveball on the B2.

Review: The Vuo label's Elemental Mood Series hits a fifth volume now and still the goods keep on coming with no dips in quality. Modernism opens up with 'Computational One', a deep rolling minimal house cut with dub warmth and deft designs. Sibling brings a little more texture to 'Soundscapes' with its frosty chord work and TM Shuffle's 'Skyline' then explores the bottom of the ocean with its nice icy hi hats and liquid rhythms. Submoon closes down with 'Remote Viewers', a far sighted and cosmic-tinged dub tech roller.