Back in stock: Balearic/Downtempo

Review: French producer Antoine Bourachot returns with his third release, delivering a trio of original tracks that blend his sharp ear for melody with a clear affection for groove-driven pop and club sounds. The warm, percussive edge of his productions hint at late-night sets and sunlit afterhours, bringing a jaunty mutant disco. Myd, Diogo Strausz and Art of Tones each offer their own take on the material, turning in remixes that stretch from laid-back funk touches to punchier zoomings into the floor. Bourachot's ability to sit comfortably between radio-friendly hooks and crate-digging sensibility makes this a record with plenty of replay value, balancing polish and playfulness in equal measure.

Review: Five years on from their debut collaborative EP 'Frisina Meets Toco', modern Brasilian dance artists Gerardo Frisina and Toco return for a second faceoff, this time with liaising artist Luzia Dvorek serving as ringmaster. Centring on samba-infused jazz and deep house with mystical and folk influences, "deixa passar" translates from Portuguese to "let it pass", though the mood is certainly not outright passive. This delectably quartered slice of carnivalesque dance music is rather rich in sonic papaya juice, charting sustained vocal contrasts between Toco and Luzia against smoky and furnaced beats. Aperient track 'Deixa Passar' leans heaviest on languid piano, whilst dozier mists emerge on the B-side in the form of 'Ile' and its rework by Gerardo Frisina, bringing pan flutes, strings, breathy vocal counterpoints, cabasa shaker, and subtle bass undercurrents.

Review: Hilarity ensues with Miles J Paralysis and his new 'Folktronic' EP. Brought to the Leeds-based label Crying Outcast, this is an authentic crock of real dancefloor experimentations by the debuting artist, furthering our sense that this West Yorkshire city's contribution to dance music history an indelible one. Here, one can really hear the admixture of humour and attention to detail gone in, with dark-comedic label name matching tongue-in-cheek-microgenre-used-in-title, which mocks the Four Tet populariser style. We were surprised to hear, then, a relative lack of dulcet arp twinkles set to tricky fidget-tech house here, as is the "folktronic" sensibility. Instead, 'Still Waiting' and its corresponding Brian Not Brian and Piers Harrison dub bring a much headsier, erudite, lettered sound, with trippy didgeridoo design marking the opener and wonkier speed-plods following on the remix. 'Eavesdropper' plays on the Leodian favourite that is chug music, with reverso-yearny pads alternating away in the back, while 'Always Liked Scarecrows' makes titular use of the kind of offhand, fieldside observation many daydreamers like us often use: uncanny mock 303s, dubbing martial arts.

Review: Luca Trentini's third release on Blessyou delves deeper into his disco sample-based dancefloor enhancers. This expertly crafted club-oriented toolkit, created by a seasoned DJ, reveals Luca's secret weapons. Side-1 bursts forth at an uptempo energy with driving momentum and acid touches, perfect for peak-time main room sets. 'So High!' slows down just a touch, offering a more playful sampling approach. Side-2 presentes a downtempo chugger with jungle vibes, featuring a chorus of Kookaburra, big cat and other animal noises. A release with something for almost every DJ's arsenal.

Review: First released back in 2007, UR's 'Hi Tech Dreams' is widely regarded as one of 'Mad' Mike Banks' most perfectly formed EPs - in part because its blend of optimistic techno futurism with dancefloor darkness offers a neat summary of the 'dreaming of utopia, living in a dystopia' message at the heart of Underground Resistance's militant ethos. But analysis aside, it's simply a terrific record - as this timely reissue proves. A-side 'Hi Tech Dreams' lives up to its promise, with far-sighted melodies, tactile riffs and soulful vocal samples rising above a loose-limbed Motor City techno beat. In contrast, 'Lo Tech Reality' is a moodier and more melancholic chunk of breakbeat-driven techno, while 'Hold My Own' is a murky, hip-hop influenced downtempo head-nodder.