Mint Condition レコード& CD

Review: Mint Condition is relentless in its mission to serve up carefully chosen reissues of house and tech classics from days gone by. It is now fast approaching a 60th EP as its strides into 2023 with UK tech house pioneers Terry Francis and Nathan Coles aka The Delinquents next up. This one came on their own Wiggle label back in 1998 and is perfectly indicative of their sound. 'Break & Enter' has warm liquid rubber bass, crispy snares and kinetic drum funk that makes you bump. 'TDA (To Dance Alot)' has chunky clicks and heavy drums that make you march and 'GBH (Groovy Bouncy House)' has a more far-sighted cosmic vibe.

Review: Following the sad passing of UK tech-house pioneer Nathan Coles earlier this year, this Mint Condition reissue has taken on an extra layer of emotional resonance. Co-produced by Coles and long-term creative partner Terry Francis, Discfunktional first surfaced on the pair's Wiggle label 23 years ago. It was their last release as The Delinquents. It remains a terrific record. A-side 'Disc' is a hypnotic, mind-altering and surprisingly tough peak-time delight - all short, sharp TB-303 lines, spacey synth riffs, tight piano stabs and breathless acid bass. The mind mangling early morning vibe continues via the similarly acid fired 'Funktional', whose foreboding sub-bass, winding TB-303 lines and crunchy drums are as infectious as they are addictive.

Review: Terry Francis is a tech house OG. He's one of the earliest fabric residents and of course was half of Wiggle, a vital party and DJ pairing that helps shape tech house's earliest forms. He has a fine solo catalogue too and it is that which Mint Condition, the fine reissue label, digs into now to serve up his classic Dubtown. It opens up with the watery dub-tech and liquid grooves of 'Hannah's House' then gets a more melodic dub. 'As You Cry' is an irresistible groove with wobbly bass, sharp hi-hats and that kinetic sense of drive that a good tech house always has. Last up is another Rub N Tug classic, 'Reggae's House'.

Review: For those who either weren't around or not alive in the late 1990s, Housey Doingz was an all-star collective of British producers - including scene stalwarts Terry Francis and Nathan Coles - who helped codified the then emerging tech-house sound via a string of EPs and a superb debut album, "Doing It". This EP from reissue specialists Mint Condition mines that album, offering up four of the most sought-after and timeless tracks. Check first the electro-flavoured late-night intoxication of "Curly Wurly" - all rugged acid lines, twinkling lead lines and stabbing bass - before admiring the more breakbeat-flavoured classical tech-house purity of "The Poets". Elsewhere, shuffling, tech-tinged beats nestle beneath dreamy deep house chords on "Ambidextrous Left", while "Flying Saucer" is a creepy, all-action affair bestowed with a genuine sense of forward momentum.

Review: Mint Condition is exceptionally good at reissuing genuinely buried treasure, with their frequent vintage UK deep house and formative tech-house selections being particularly potent. They've hit the spot once more here, too, raiding the vaults of legendary UK tech-house imprint Oblong and returning with a killer 2002 single from Spincycle (AKA Dave Clements and Andy Davies). A-side 'Making Faces' is a great example of London tech-house from the period - all starry, echoing synthesiser motifs, dreamy chords, smooth bass and hypnotic beats - while flip-side 'Twister' sees them reach for bowel-bothering hoover bass, speed garage-influenced drums and undulating, Swag-style melodic motifs.