Back in stock: Minimal/Tech House

Review: Innervisions bosses Frank Wiedemann and Kristian Beyer return as Ame, and present their first full length entitled Dream House - described as a home listening styled journey. The German duo spent three years working on the LP and it features collaborations with legends of German electronic music such as Roedelius and Gudrun Gut, as well as Bolivian singer David Lemaitre and Jens Kuross - who was a member of Wiedemann's other venture The Howling, with Ry Cuming. Highlights include their dramatic collaboration with Matthew Herbert "The Line", the upbeat disco number "Blind Eye" (featuring Planningtorock), the chill balearica of "Positivland" and the evocative/melodic dreamscape of "No War".

Review: DDS has tapped up the mysterious and enigmatic Japanese dub techno stylist Shinichi Atobe for another album. Discipline is his seventh for the label and each of those has been as faultless as the next - happily, this keeps up that impeccable run which started with a debut on the Chain Reaction label in 2001. The eight cuts on the record offer up delay-laden steppers, swaggering 909 rhythms, plenty of evocative pads and subtle backlit synths that bring a future feel to the soulful, authentic grooves.

Review: Bushwacka deserves any plaudits that come his way. He was there at the birth of acid house and went on to foment his own take on tech house. He held a legendary residency at the End in London and of course dropped countless seminal tunes alongside Layo, not least their epic 'Love Story' mash-up. Now the acclaimed but still relevant UK veteran dives back into his roots to serve up the sounds that came before tech house with highlights that would have been heard at the time at parties like Heart & Soul, Release, The Drop, Vapour Space, and at venues like Heaven and The End. Skippy, dubbed garage and driving house all feature in a fine collection.

Review: Before his work became reduced to a fine slither and he shifted into experimental, concept-driven realms, Jan Jelinek dropped some of the finest early doors micro house as Farben. Originally released on Klang Elektronik and now reissued by Jelinek's own Faitiche label, Textstar is a masterpiece of glitchy sample-based electronics with a subtle, implied funk. In some ways the sound has dated - it's very much of the late 90s-early 00s era it was first crafted in. But it's a sound that still engrosses and intrigues, reveling in microscopic detail and subdued moods while retaining a groove that comes through the best on eternally magnificent cut 'Beautone'.

Review: The sixth opus to be released by the Positive Future label is upon us. Here French producer Gab Jr invites us to penetrate a deep forest, and to listen eagerly to a collective fungal song. A rather large eight-track EP, 'The Mushroom's Ride' themes itself after mushrooms and their enduring influence on the human psyche, musical or not. In fact, it would seem that the entire Positive Future label is themed after fly agaric, wavy caps and/or other magic mycelial options available to the hallucinogenically disposed raver; it's only convenient that such fast-growth electro-house mycotoxins as 'KCFF', 'Positive' and 'Your Movement' should end up so infectious at the dead root, bringing foraged elemental choices such as electric guitars and wow-ing synth hits to the substrate floor.

Review: Berlin via L.A. based Acid Test has a new one out this week on their Avenue 66 sub-label, which is focused more on leftfield electronics. It comes from esteemed German producer Jens Kuhn aka Lowtec, known for his releases on Out To Lunch, United States Of Mars and Playhouse who presents some rare and unreleased cuts from the vaults on Easy To Heal Cuts. As expected, there's dusty and understated fare aplenty on this one; from the contemplative night moves of 'Going Nowhere', or the low-slung mood music of 'Red Sparrow' (another alias of Kuhn's) to the bittersweet minimalism of 'Nature Thinks For You' and the sun coming through the blinds on Monday morning vibe of closing cut 'From Moment To Moment' - we're sure glad these tunes saw the light of day.

Review: The Orb's 13th album is a carefully crafted collection of tracks that are couched in minimal techno and ambient house. The first half embraces so-called 'Schaffel' rhythms, while the second half explores classic Orb sonic landscapes and features guest appearances from Schneider TM and Ulf Lohmann. The likes of 'Captain Korma' are warmly infused melodic jaunts with shimmering vocals, 'Cool Harbour' is a lumpy, dubby and off-balance workout and 'Kompagna (Zandic mix)' is a raw, experimental blend of harmonic tones, smeared samples and ambient bliss. This one, then, continues The Orb's legacy of genre-defying music which started in the late 80s when they pioneered chill-out and ambient house.

Review: Anders Trentemoller was the noughties' greatest crossover star. From his humble beginnings releasing sleek tech house on imprints like Naked Music, Audiomatique and of course Berlin's Poker Flat - who released his modern classic The Last Resort in 2006. It gets a much deserved reissue here. Trentemoller went on to form his well received In My Room imprint, and go on to headline festivals and pack out stadiums with his acclaimed live show since. The Danish producer's debut album is actually appearing on vinyl for the first time here on a triple disc gatefold and featuring all 13 songs. The album received fantastic acclaim from both fans and journalists around the world and made it into the top-lists of the month, year and decade - alongside an array of awards for best production or best album.

Review: UNTZ Anthems is a wild ride through some of dance music's biggest dancefloor moments. There is absolutely no restriction in terms of genres, eras or artists which makes each one a real selection box of sound. This third volume for example takes in the timeless house classic 'Move Your Body' as reworked by Solar, but also the pop dance of Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding's 'Miracle' and jump up jungle of Sub Focus & Dimension's 'Desire.' CamelPhat & Elderbrook's GRAMMY-nominated 'Cola' brings a touch of house depth while Riva Starr's Paradise Garage club mix of 'Hey Hey' reworks the house anthem into something more strobe-lit and energetic.