Review: Earlier this year, Latvian label Micronica Records made its debut on wax after years spent serving up digital-only delights. Here the Riga-based imprint delivers a second limited-edition vinyl sampler. Blurring the boundaries between deep house, minimal house and tech-house, all four cuts are well worth checking. Costin RP sets the tone with 'Kiss This', where sci-fi bleeps, modem noises and spacey synth sounds rise above a chunky, hypnotic tech-house groove, before Yansima delivers a tougher and more thickset tech-house workout in the shape of 'Jisula'. Venda's 'Underwater' is a deep, dubby, head-soothing minimal house box jam, while DIN & CKB's 'Duby' brilliantly blurs the boundaries between dub techno, ultra-deep house, and smooth European tech-house.
Review: Satya deals in a certain brand of deep house that is dreamy and organic. It's perfect for the cosier dancefloors out there, the more heady crowds who don't need big drops and samples to get their musical thrills. If you are one of those people then get your ears around this superb new various artists 12". YokoO & Zone+ offer one of the standouts with 'Once I Had It"]' which pairs subtly swirling pads with cuddly deep drum loops. Hermanez has his kickstand with a little more weight but they are no less hypnotic, while Moya (US) brings some enchanting strings and yawning vocals to 'Meliora' and Electricano keeps it nice and warm and liquid with the supple loops of 'Universal Language.'
Review: Purple Print Records Compilation 3 is a rich exploration of minimal and tech house, bringing unique textures and groovy rhythms to the forefront. Side-1 opens with He Did's 'Mientras Tanto', a fun and infectious groove. The track's deep, rolling bassline and lively percussion make it an instant mood-setter. Following is DeWaal's 'Iceshade', a bouncy, upbeat track that balances playful energy with a steady, deep tech groove. Side-2 moves further into introspective territory with Raz's 'Rora', a smooth and melodic track that drifts along effortlessly, blending subtle harmony with a deeper bassline. Yama Music's 'In My Space' rounds out the collection with a broken beat approach, delivering techy, spacious vibes that add depth and variety to the mix. Altogether, this compilation is a refined showcase of tech house cuts that'll resonate with dancefloor times.
Review: Freerange's City To City series returns with its second edition, this time spotlighting Lisbon. Known for its stunning views, beautiful beaches and vibrant nightlife, perhaps one of the city's best-known hotspots is the iconic Lux Fragile, which has shaped the city's sound since the late 90s. Longtime resident DJs from Lisbon are now gaining global traction; to butterfly-net the essence of the coastal metropolis, this new mix LP hears six original tracks from local talents, chief among whom are Megatronic, progressor and ambassador for the city, and Yen Sung & Photonz, two names closely tied to the circuit's deeper-underground corners.A
Review: Yoi keep it fresh with a new 12" that comes on a rather nice picture disc. More importantly the music is of a quality that merits the extra attention on the packaging with four artists all coming through with compelling takes on minimal. Mariche's 'Haunted House' is awash with nice bubbly synth phrases that are full of colour and charm, then Sbruf's 'That Think' gets funked up and kinetic on lively drum programming with lots of hooky synth details and sci-fi flourishes. Watsche's 'Bsmtgrvs' is another glossy hyper-real sound with polished melodies and a restless sense of groove and Yogi P keeps it deep with the soulful pads of 'Vickies Groove.'
Review: Five years in, are we any closer to working out who exactly is behind Yama Music? All we know for sure is they deal in reductionist grooves with one eye on the Berlin after hours scene, and beyond that it's all down to the music. The eighth drop in the series deals in some absolute gold, leading in with the freaky, finely chiseled beat track 'Monomeros' which sounds like it was carved from a huge tree stump and set to work propping up the dancefloor. 'Oddies' meanwhile deals in smudged and surreal sounds from the outer edges of minimal house, with some cheeky synth flex adding some colour in between cloudy pads in the middle distance and plenty of dirt on the drums. 'Hide & Seq' slips into something slinkier as a comparatively crisp, bouncing beat worms its way into your subconscious accompanied by faint wisps of late morning melodies - true magic for discerning heads at the roll-on.
Review: TRMNL takes you to the end of the line once more with a barrage of high impact tech house from Yaya. Title cut 'Para Siempre' opens up this red slab of wax with irresistibly fulsome and bouncy kick drums under raw perc. 'Umbrella Corps' is another funky thumper with a smattering of congas and toms tumbling down loosely up top. It's a sweat inducing cut that will lock in any hungry crowd. On the flip is a tightly coiled and bubbly Fabe remix that is full of liquid synths and elastic bass and a Vito remix of 'Umbrella Corps' that is prickly, and kinetic future tech.
Review: If you like your tech-house off-kilter, spacey and rich in quirky, glitchy percussion programming, we'd suggest checking out this collaborative EP from Italian tech-house star Yaya and fellow countryman Nacho Bolognani. Opener 'Flan' is high-grade early morning tech-house, with deep space pads and gaseous electronic textures floating across gltch-laden late-night drums and a fine analogue bassline, while 'Tastic' is a funkier slab of intergalactic tech-house warmth. Over on the flip we're treated to two rock-solid re-rubs. First Mahony gives 'Tastic' a slicker, smoother feel (it reminded us of late 90s, Wiggle style tech-house) before Steve O'Sullivan provides a tougher, darker and more analogue rich revision of the same track.
Review: Ilkay Yeler serves up a debut EP that explores a fresh house sound that is perfectly suited to the Mood Waves house sound. Up first is 'Donations Feed' which is a kicking tech cut with wispy synths lashing about next to snappy snares. 'Ghost House (Dyson dub)' then gets deep and freaky with a marching beat and meandering pads that bring a ghoulish vibe. There is more kick to 'Space Lounger' but no less depth with more cavernous pads and a turbocharged bassline. Last of all is the more sci-fi leaning 'Wait A Minute' with eerie cosmic energy and a grubby, unrelenting bassline.
Review: Clommunity is a label from the good people of Kyiv club Closer, which is one of the most revered and respected in Europe right now. This third outing deals in the sort of deep and intimate sounds you can expect to hear in the club on any given night and it comes from Closer resident Yone-ko, who is a techno maestro from Japan but currently based in Berlin. There is a melancholy to thee tunes, with their wispy pads and dreamy chords, while the rolling, scuffed up drums lock you into a state of trance. Minimal in design yet maximal in impact, this is high-grade stuff.
Review: Youandme has been around and turning out the dubbed-out sounds for seemingly decades. He lands now on the equally long-standing Rhythm Cult label with a limited and splattered new 12" that delves into the depths of minimal tech house. It features lead cut 'PPPPP' - a smooth, frictionless masterclass in hypnotic sound designs and feathery grooves with occult synth motifs. Berlin's Ian Pooley then offers a moody basement house mix, Cinthie gets into some flailing and dusty breakbeat action and Yotam Avni remixes with a more melodic sound laden with lush bells.
Review: Young Adults hails from The Hague and is a dizzyingly good new talent with a sound that blends breaks, and electro, techno and house into something that has been sent back from the future to make you dance. 'Healing Paradox' is an irresistible one to start - silky neon synths and scurrying bass with kinetic drum kicks. 'Gabagabagool' gets more twisted with its rumbling drums and warped leads while the David Motor City rework of 'Healing Paradox' ups the ante and is constantly shifting. The epic eight minute closer 'Therapeutic Tool' is a gargling, gurgling mix of gritty synths and raw snare patterns that never lets you settle.
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.
Get Fucked - "Time For A Quickee" (On The Kitchen Counter edit) (7:14)
Get Fucked - "Momentum" (The Smart Alex dub) (5:28)
Green Eyed Monster - "All Gone By" (6:07)
Strange Weather - "Infinite" (6:31)
Review: Laurant Webb, Dave Coker, Justin Bailey, and Dave Pine were the key figures behind Strange Weather Studios, which was a creative hub in Southeast London that helped shape the very early sound of tech house in the capital. Collaborating with friends and partners on several projects, they produced a number of influential records that defined the genre including under aliases such as Housey Doingz, 7th Voyage, and Space Bunny. This release on Sushitech, which always does a fine job of offering up the best tech house past and present, pays tribute to the studio and its collaborators with representative tracks carefully selected by Laurant Webb and label head Yossi Amoyal. Restored and remastered from rare DATs and pressed up to no fewer than six sides of vinyl, it's a great look at a significant moment in the evolution of tech house.
Get Fucked - "Time For A Quickee" (On The Kitchen Counter edit) (7:14)
Get Fucked - "Momentum" (The Smart Alex dub) (5:28)
Green Eyed Monster - "All Gone By" (6:07)
Strange Weather - "Infinite" (6:31)
Review: Working with various collaborators, Laurant Webb, Dave Coker, Justin Bailey, and Dave Pine produced influential records under aliases like Housey Doingz, 7th Voyage, and Space Bunny at the influential Strange Weather Studios. Those records very much helped to define the early days of the tech house genre. This Sushitech release comes on clear vinyl and honours their legacy, with tracks handpicked by Webb and label founder Yossi Amoyal. They have all been remastered from rare DATs and across three slabs of wax make for an essential deep dive into an important phase in the earliest days of tech house.
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