Review: There's a different swagger to Chris Stussy's latest release, a tracklist that's as confident as it is infectious. From the opening beat, you're drawn into a pulse that never quite lets up, carrying you through layers of deep bass and slick rhythm. It's clear this is music made for the dancefloor, but there's something else to it i a subtle energy that goes beyond the usual house formula. You can hear the growth in the artist's sound, a new level of clarity, groove, and precision that feels fresh without abandoning its roots.
Everything (No Statues) (previously unreleased version) (5:03)
Don't Do It Like That, Do It Like This (feat Donna Black) (5:56)
Crazy For Your Love (previously unreleased Recording) (4:18)
Together (6:53)
Sycologic PSP (5:09)
Self Hypnosis (previously unreleased mix) (5:37)
Silicon (live At The Brain club - previously unreleased version) (4:11)
Review: The Nexus 21 'Mind Machines' album finally sees the light, bringing the shelved UK techno classic to eager fans. Originally recorded in the early 90s, these tracks capture the essence of Detroit-inspired UK techno, fusing raw energy with British flair. Standouts include 'Nexodus' and 'Everything (No Statues),' with Motor City talent Marc Kinchen and Anthony Shakir lending their touch. While only two tracks saw official release back then, this album unearths unreleased gems and alternate mixes, showcasing the duo's groundbreaking sound that influenced both Nexus 21 and their rave-alter ego, Altern 8. A long-awaited landmark.
Review: People Pleasers is a brand new label that kicks off with the first sounds of a new project, Shep, by respected veteran producer Jay Shepheard. It is house music which underpins these but plenty more goes on up top. 'Peach Buzz' shows that from the off with some nice airy pads and emotive vocal stabs that will make any floor take note. 'Trust Your Nose' is a deep, warm cut with shuffling drum and humid 90s organ stabs while 'The Bell Curve' has a late-night feel thanks to the pulsing synth sequences that roam about the mix. 'Higher States Of Nonchalance' shuts down with the most heady sound of the lot and a persuasive dub feel that is perfect for back rooms.
Review: French electronic icon Laurent Garnier returns with the FABRICLG4 EP to celebrate the 25th anniversary of London's legendary club. This release showcases Garnier's signature range and opens with 'Playing with the Low-End,' a fierce 2-step track that nods to the heritage of UK club sounds. The journey then shifts to techno with 'Resonances from the D' barrelling along with great force and then on the flip side, 'Odyssee Maison' features deep house grooves with Dan Diamond and last but not least 'On the Way Home' rounds out the experience with ambient sounds. This one comes with "augmented reality artwork" by Atelier 14 and is another doozy from the already untouchable Garnier.
Review: The Soco Audio label was a vital one for tech house lovers at the turn of the millennium and that is when genre pioneer Eddie Richards stepped up with this EP. It's one we have found while digging around in our warehouse and it features four superbly crisp and still-contemporary sounding cuts. 'd.comm' pairs snappy metallic hits and tightly programmed kicks with an expressive vocal stab then 'Xtrk gets more deep with wispy pads and a smoky late-night feel. 'Someday' is a more physical and jacked up groove but still one with a sleazy vocal element and last of all is a remix of 'Sinful Sadie' that is more weighty and dubby.
Review: Job De Jong's latest release for PIV Records delivers a four-track exploration of deep, groovy house with a touch of underground flair. 'Move' opens with a driving bassline and crisp percussion, setting the tone for what follows. 'Undercurrent' takes a slightly darker turn, with layered synths and a hypnotic rhythm, while 'Wonky' introduces an experimental edge, pushing the boundaries of the deep house sound. Closing with 'Our Sound,' the EP rounds off with a warm, soulful vibe that's both refined and captivating. Throughout, De Jong showcases a masterful understanding of the genre, crafting a release that'll appeal to house heads and underground enthusiasts alike.
Review: Gideon Jackson and Eddie Richards are bona fide tech house titans who have more than helped to shape the genre since day dot and the All Rise EP sees three of their finer past glories gathered together and remastered and pressed on lovely red wax. The excellent 'Biscuit Barrel Blues' opens with exactly the sort of compelling drum work you would expect and it is imbued with some prying synths and sultry vocals. There is an irresistible glitch and dryness to 'Pull Tab 2 Open' and its smeared pads that make it perfect body music then 'Crying' (Gideon Jackson remix) brings a more heavy tech house sound with extra dub weight. Perfection.
Review: French house innovator DJ W!ld has roamed through many different stylistic terrains over the years and now finds himself in stripped-back minimal mode for the excellent Trelik. 'The Night Owls' opens up with tight drum loops and off-grid synth daubs that hypnotise while making you move. 'Drunkin' is a kicking cut with well-designed drums enveloped by sub-bass and topped with swirling and smeared chords. 'Fashionistas' is another perfect bit of stripped-back body music with low slung kicks and little else but they are enough to keep you locked. 'Comment On Baise Dans Le Hardcore' closes out with another mix of physical kicks and heady synths.
Review: Only Music Matters keep it real once more with another superb EP from an unknown artist featuring loads of untitled tracks. And those tracks all operate in the world of minimal and tech house with fresh ideas and forward-thinking sound designs. 'AAA001A' is a dark one with paranoid vocals looped over churning beats and steely metallic hits. 'BBB001B' is more smooth and free-flowing with a dubby undercurrent and bumpy pads over a deft rhythm. 'BBB002B' adds a third and final different look - a more warped and elastic rhythm with some brighter melodic touches that will help shift the floor up a gear.
Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Admirably no-nonsense house duo Dungeon Meat kick off a new label here, Slabs, which aims to serve up only the chunkiest hulks of wax aimed squarely at the club. Borren takes charge of the first platter and is the latest fast-rising talent to emerge from the ever-fertile Dutch scene. He has come up on a diet of Bret and Slapfunk parties and that shows in the tunes he presents here. 'Up Next' is heavy but silky, with gliding grooves and splashy cymbals next to cut-up vocals that will amp up any party. 'Beat My Shit' is another no-frills hardcore house assault with drums that have just the right amount of swing under old school chords and busy melodies that never rest. A fine first release.
Review: PVC bring a fresh and energetic wave of electronic sounds, anchored in deep grooves and immersive atmospheres. The A-side opens with pulsating beats and hypnotic synth lines that build in intensity, drawing the listener into its swirling rhythm. As the track progresses, subtle layers of percussion and airy melodies emerge, keeping the energy flowing without losing its depth. On the B-side, the mood shifts slightly with a more driving bassline, while maintaining the same attention to sonic texture. This pink vinyl release highlights a refined production style, with each track inviting you to lose yourself in its captivating sound.
Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Baby Ford is back being reissued again and we couldn't be happier about it. Few have ever matched the matter levels he achieved when it comes to deep minimal and tech house fusions. This latest on his own Trelik takes the form of three classic cuts from two much sought-after EPs - Built In and All That Nothing. The title cut is a shimmering and sublime fusion of rubbing low ends and icy hi-hats. 'All That Nothing' then picks up the pace with more dub influences and swaying drums and 'Plaza' has a tech house edge that makes for more driving grooves.
Review: Satoshi Tomiie and Tomoki Tamura present their latest EP 'Dream Sketches' for Berlin's Abstract Architecture label. A surreal blend of rattling dub echoes and beat crabs, the pair are seen sat in a recollective room of strange patterns, their skin greyed but facial expressions confident, matching the uncanniness of the EP, littered with both sonic funky foliage and dubious demurrals. 'Dream Sketches' and 'Bounce 60' sound like CAD explosions transposed into abstract sonic space, but theirs is an impossible architectural project, which makes cool noises nonetheless. 'Lost Keys' and 'Bahnhof 120' do rigidify things somewhat, but do not lose that trademark surrealism, that sense of jank.
Review: The mighty Rawax has now put out more than 100 releases and they are all as timeless and useful as the next. Sublee steps up for this new slab of sound and kris off with 'v' which take sup the whole of the A-side but enervating outstays its welcome. It is a progressive house cut with a driving low end, plenty of grit in the percussion and pads that circle round to bring scale and a sense of cosmic adventure. 'Simple Two' slips into a deeper, more silky tech house vibe with lovely melodic patterns raining down from above. 'Hey Brother' shuts down with some dark breakbeats and mind melting synth leads that are pure peak time, post-rush fodder.
Review: This briskly titled new EP from Jesse Maas has already received much proof-copy DJ play from a posse of esteemed artists, and only now does it come your way as the minimal tech come piano house selection you didn't know you were waiting for. Maas is a new signee of the 2020-inaugural Key Records imprint, who then set about the humble goal of promoting and releasing music by their favourite producers, pure and simple. After 25 digital releases out so far, and of all the piano weapons on their market stall, this one the titanium-sharpened piano halberd, its titular 'ODD' penetrating even the jitteriest dancefloors with its huge eighth-note triads. The EP then inflates the stakes much, rounding out on the fatally sadistic engine-whisperer 'Green Stone', which abounds in maundered vocals which seem to offer but one ultimatum: dance, drive or perish.
Review: Demi Riquisimo's Semi Delicious reaches a significant milestone with its 20th release, unveiling a four-track EP from the ever-impressive Leeds producer, Kepler that's a stellar addition to the label's expanding repertoire, 'Step Up' launches the journey, a sub-bass-driven escapade that intertwines pulsating grooves with squelchy acid lines, encapsulating the label's ethos. 'Swoon' arrives next, blending a playful FM-bass lead with staccato vocals and warm pads for a vibrant dancefloor allure. The B-side's 'Acid Flow' faithfully channels classic 303 vibes, while 'Separation' pays homage to vintage US house, tweaked with Kepler's unmistakable UK tech-house stamp. It's a veritable feast for discerning dance music aficionados.
Review: Sasha is back with another standout release on his own label, Last Night On Earth, this time joining forces with Jody Barr. After recent collaborations with Super Flu and Sentre as well as his solo hits like 'Florian Drift' and 'How to Wear Raybans Well', Sasha remains a leading figure in the melodic house and techno world. Jody Barr, with releases on Krankbrother, among others, brings his rugged, hardware-driven sound to the mix. Their track 'Phaxon' is an elegant, emotive affair, while Einmusik's remix adds a darker, club-ready edge.
Mass Digital - "The Need In Me" (feat Katherine Ellis) (7:20)
David Orin - "Downpour" (feat Hannah Noelle) (8:01)
Budakid - "Promised" (6:51)
Alejo Gonzalez, Barklas - "Ten Days" (7:11)
Review: All Day I Dream is a deep house lover's dream - a factory line for interesting, quirky and most importantly effective grooves from a worldwide spread of artists. They have a thing for offering up seasonal compilations of their sounds and now, though rather late, we get the Summer Sampler 2024. It's a treasure trove of sounds to get lost in and mentally escape with - rolling drums, wispy pads and airy melancholia all deftly designed and nothing to mind, body and soul. Mass Digital, Double Touch, David Orin and Raw Main are all new names to us, but they all impress.
Review: The mighty Lempuyang label returns with its annual compilation series, again this year split over two superb 12"s. Both of them feature a remastered track from the vaults and in the case of this EP that is the hotly in-demand 'Dubby Plug' by W Moon which is a potent, kicking dub techno cut freshly remastered for 2024. ElsewhereHydergine's 'Ultraviolet' is soulful Detroit-inspired machine music and Dubrovnik UK's 'Waves' fizzes with static electricity. Merv's 'Unity' is the vast, cavernous opener and might be the best of the lot
Review: The Kolony Gorky label hits release number four just a year after debuting last summer. This one again comes from DDrhode and opens with 'Ghoroob' which is a super nice and icy deep dub roller with smeared pads and heady ambient vibes. The dub slows things down and adds even more bottomless dub depths. 'DD2' (Sohrab dub) is a warm, peaker number but still very much a late-night and backroom jam and the Down The Rhode version of the A1 is a conscious classic with deep meaning and deeper rhythms.
Review: Courtesy Of Balance is the tasteful house label run by Brawther and it was back in 2019 in Lviv during an underground warehouse party that he first made contact with Laconica label founders Ocean and Sasha Pervukhin. They all hit it off and so were invited to showcase the deeper side of the house sounds of Western Ukraine, and the results make up this new EP with the artists taking one side each. Ocean T's opener is a psychedelic, trance-infused cosmic trip while 'What If' rides on crisp beats with some lush dubbed-out synths. On the flip, Pervukhin's 'I Hate This DJ' is balmy, heady deep house from up amongst the stars and 'TR 18 Blues' is a nice kinetic, lithe minimal house cut.
Review: Portuguese label Bosom Ltd invites us back in with a new EP from Paul Neary that gets deep into some abstract minimal and tech sounds worlds. 'Lemonade' opens up with ghoulish voices and grubby basslines topped with modulated synths and Villalobos style keys. 'Lizard Lounge' is just as much from the underworld with its dark sounds and freaky FX marbling a weird vocal, then 'Hotels & Jam' rides on detuned and off-grid chords, warped beats and underlapping bass. A Leanca remix speed things up but is no less out there.
Review: 'The Dome EP' by Dojo Zone is an exhilarating exploration of sound, featuring four tracks that transport listeners to another realm. On Side-1, 'Dome Addiction' stands out as a peak-time techno anthem, characterised by its addictive, bouncing bassline and atmospheric melodies that seamlessly bridge the dancefloor and introspective listening. The track's retro 90s vibe enhances its infectious energy, making it a sure-fire crowd-pleaser. Following this, 'Titanium Reality' dives into progressive house territory, layered with dark, sci-fi elements that create a mysterious and captivating atmosphere. Flipping to Side-2, 'Forcefield One' captivates with its otherworldly soundscapes, blending tribal rhythms with melodic undertones for a unique listening experience. The cool beat invites movement while maintaining an ethereal quality. Finally, 'Chop Chop' closes the EP with an unsettling, alien vibe that feels both disturbing and intriguing, challenging listeners to embrace the unexpected. Overall, 'The Dome EP' is a dynamic collection that showcases Dojo Zone's talent for creating immersive techno experiences, perfect for dark moments on the dancefloor.
Review: EEE is many things - a huge part of Yorkshire dialect, a rather fun party prescription (apparently) and also the name of a low key but high class label that deals in hand-stamped 12"s that pair fun with function. This 16th such outing is another testament to that. The A-side is a nice deep and dusty tech house cut with cheeky samples that hook you in, and the A-side also has just one track on it and it is built on a chunk y low end, peppered with hits and looping bass and topped with classic vocals Missy samples that you can imagine will do damage in Ibiza the summer.
Review: &Me and Black Coffee make for something of an Afro house dream team here. The latter has long been this sound's pin-up and has gone from playing in South African townships to producing with Beyonce and winning Grammy Awards over the last decade. Now deep in his latest Ibiza season, he unveils collaborative track 'The Rapture' (Pt III), a deep rolling cut with spine-tingling chords and a rich atmosphere. &ME then goes solo for 'LIFE', a shuffling percussive groove with spoken words and enchanting chords to make for a classy two-tracker.
Review: Just when you think you've heard the last of Covid in music, along comes this Covid 2020 EP from Yotsume Music label head Saki Hiroaki, indicating that it was written during those most weird and dark times, specifically in the city of Kurashiki. 'I Say' (part 2) is a seriously silky deep house with wispy and liquid chords rippling out to an infinite horizon as the persuasive drums get you into the groove. 'Improvisation' is a more crisp tech cut but is still unhurried and detailed with nice deft synth curlicues and the trio of escapist gems is completed with 'TRAP'. This one again sinks you into a pillowy and gentle groove with muted chords drifting up top like clouds.
Review: The late, great Detroit mainstay Mike Huckaby had one of the most distinctive sounds in deep house. His always smoky tracks did the basics exceptionally well so never relied on gimmicks to win the attention of DJs and dancers. Never was that more evident than on his standout genre-study, 'Baseline 88-89' which served up a pair of smoky basement tracks with iconic basslines. We have found a few old copies of this cult EP on his own Synth label and it kicks off with 'Baseline 88' with its languid synth bass drunkenly falling about beneath buoyant and dubby kicks. 'Baseline 89' has a darker bassline and loopy drums with a little more edge and bite. These are two perennial favourites amongst underground heads.
Review: First released by Snuff Trax in 2015, but potentially recorded much earlier, 'U Won't C Me' is one of Mystic Bill's most potent cuts - an analogue-rich hybrid Chicago deep house/acid house cut which sounds like Larry Heard jamming with Adonis circa 'No Way Back'. This Nu Groove reissue naturally features the long-serving producer's original mix, the original bonus track 'Like a Dream In The Night' (a moody, low-slung chunk of warehouse-ready, late 80s style Chicago deep house) and two reworks of the title track. Stefan Bratz ups the acid house factor, reaching for driving drums and mind-mangling TB-303 bass, while Jake Savage's 'Acid Re-Rub' is a jacking, sweat-soaked affair smothered in red-raw acid lines, cut-up spoken word snippets and a ghostly melodic motif.
Review: Brian Leeds is the US outsider behind the well known Huerco S project, and also behind other alases like Royal Crown of Sweden, Pendant, and Loidis. One Day is a new album from that last moniker on the revered Incienso label and it taps into minimal, dub and tech in stylish fashion. These often dusty and perfectly undercooked beats have heady pads and locked in grooves that travel to the cosmos on 'Wait & See', subterranean worlds on 'Wait & See' and to breezy open air dances on 'Sugar Shot'. It's a smooth and seductive work.
Precious Times (feat Prince Morella - Roots version) (6:55)
Review: Bluetrain is one of our favourite artists in any genre and a real dub techno don. He often drops his own work on his own label but here steps up to Kontakt with a couple of killer jams. First up he serves up a special edition dub of 'Frozen Rose' that is a signature sound for him: ice cold percussion and rolling east with watery, liquid, rippling chords disappearing off to an infinite horizon while shimmering vocals add extra layers of depth. Flip it over and you will find 'Precious Times' (feat Prince Morella - Roots version) which is another brilliantly heady back room sound.
Review: Spanish imprint AGT continues to unearth cult classics and slept-on gems to reissue. This time round, they take us back to 2005 and the final outing of Christian Llopis (so far, at least) as Llopis. A-side 'Lobster Tan' is dark, driving and lightly acid-flecked, with spooky noises, mind-mangling motifs and echo-laden percussion fills riding a weighty tech-house beat and a deep, driving bassline. 'Stimulation' explores the more dubby, atmospheric and foreboding end of the mid-00s tech-house spectrum - think Berlin clubs on Sunday morning, rather than the UK deep-tech sound - while 'Back In The Days' is glitchy, percussive, sub-heavy and deliciously druggy, with only some sparkling, progressive house influenced melodic motifs breaking the hypnotising, early morning spell.
Review: Acusmouse and Ab Show's collaboration on Line Conductor offers a deep dive into the intricacies of minimal and tech house. While grounded in familiar rhythms, the EP brings forward an unpredictable flow, with each track layering textures that evolve with each listen. Acusmouse's 'Topass' anchors the release, its unyielding pulse driven by a hypnotic bassline, allowing the surrounding elements to form fluid, almost organic movements. Ab Show's side introduces a more cerebral take, with 'Subminimal Message' building tension through sparse percussion and unsettling atmospherics. Together, the two push the boundaries of the genre, never fully conforming but always offering something compelling, fresh, and deeply engaging.
Review: SEGUIM Records is back with its second release, 'SEGUIM Edits Vol. II', navigating the many nostalgisms of the 80s through to the vivid reimaginings of the 90s. This time the imprint also doubles up as artist, bringing four mix versions of an untitled cut to the fold. The 'Visible' and 'Invisible' mixes first provide parallactic shifts on the same tune, with basslines and guitar licks shifting between the foreground and background, giving way to each other's various constitutive elements, like the forced perspective of a playing card. Meanwhile, the 'Al Ajillo' and 'Cardiac' mixes move into much ravier territory.
Review: Known in Tokyo's underground for filling her DJ sets with an enticing blend of house, new wave and disco, Mayurashka's Studio Barnhus debut is - as the label point out -full of sonic illusions: immediately accessible and enticing tracks which are nevertheless filled with quirky sonic details. There's plenty to admire throughout, from the breathlessly dark and driving peak-time jack of 'Cool Stop' and the lightly disco-infused peak-time tactility of 'Cosmic Rising', to the percussive, wildly pitched-down chug of 'Fatties' and the effects-laden, tribal house-on-the-moon insanity of 'Mountain Pads'. Throw in the low-slung dystopian dub disco madness of 'Appex' and you have a genuinely brilliant label debut.
Review: Pressure Traxx secures the sounds of acclaimed minimal master and Romanian mainstay Dan Andrei on this fine new 12", Clockworks. The title track opens up and is coarse and rich in texture, with slapping hits taking centre stage while languid guitars slowly garner your attention. 'Theme For What' is another unusual one, this time with trippy melodies and tumbling drum loops, while 'Geek Groove Odyssey' layers up pulsing bass and bleeping sonar synths into a serene cosmic trip. 'Out Of Mood' is another tense tech cut with edgy synths keeping you in suspense as the dark drums march on.
Review: Classy dancefloor-slaying action on 10" vinyl no less from West Norwood Cassette Library, combining a thumping four to the floor beat with nifty percussion, a fairly well known snippet of hip-hop vocal and ravey stabs. The results are as hard to resist as they are to classify, except to say it leaves absolutely zero prisoners. "This one had been previously doing the rounds as a 'dubplate only' exclusive," WNCS told us, "cut especially for the Futurepastzine tenth anniversary bash just on the cusp of lockdown ... so it seemed only appropriate to ask FPZ head honcho and fellow Cassette Librarian, Rawtrachs, to attend to remix duty." So flip it over for that equally excellent reworking from Rawtrachs and stand well back - we predict not only a riot, but an awful lot of spilt beer too.
Review: Noreen is a cult name for those who know - a producer who had his own unique take on minimal and dropped some real low-key classics. Nearly two decades after its initial release, his album Our Memories of Winter now gets reissued so you can relive its blend f early 2000s electronica with Norken's unique mix of minimal techno, house and British IDM. Featuring all 12 original tracks, plus the inclusion of 'Df23' and 'Flirt', this is the first complete vinyl version of the album. Lee Norris's sound evokes nostalgia and warmth with atmospheric emotional techno. Influenced by luminaries like John Beltran and Autechre, this one remains a real gem.
Review: OLO Records returns for its eighth edition with a powerful collaboration between Miroloja and Reboot, delivering three distinct tracks that span minimal, electro, and techno influences. The A-side kicks off with '9 Ufo's', an otherworldly minimal cut that keeps things deep and atmospheric. On the flip, 'Drip' leans into a more driving electro sound, while 'Daddyswing' closes the EP with a groovy techno touch, blending rhythmic sophistication with a dancefloor-ready energy. With early support from Ricardo Villalobos, this release is one to watch for those craving variety and quality in one package.
Review: Back in 2022, James Burnham aka Burnski started a White sub-series of his much-hyped Instinct label and the first one sold out as quick as a flash. Now he is finally back with a follow-up that will likely do the same. This limited one-sided 12" slab of sonic filth features just one tune, but what a tune it is. '02' is a house cut with elements of garage percussion, old-school dirty bass, and even some trance-infused chords that chime with what's going on in the dance world right now. Some return horns at the breakdown really send it into overdrive and it's not hard seeing this one blow the roof off many a club this summer.
Review: Beretta Music has long been a breeding ground for new talents emerging on the Detroit scene. It has platformed the likes of now global stars such as Seth Troxler and Ryan Crosson and it carries on that fine tradition here with new music from 313 native John "Zoetic" Briggs. He has already landed on the likes of Atjazz Records and here offers the Spirit World EP, which blends funk, jazz, techno and house. 'This Spirit World' is a vibrant and colourful jumble of Afro drums and percussion with fleshy synth bass. 'Innerspace' brings more worldly melodies and dusty deep house beats and label co-founder Ryan Sadorus remixes 'This Spirit World' into a smooth and dubby cut before 'Para Dice VII' shuts down with a late-night sound imbued with some pensive synth work.
Review: German producer Sidney Charles likes his beats chunky and his grooves heavy. He heads up the Heavy House Society which is named in reference to that fact and that is where he steps up now with a new 12", Reso Riddim. The lithe title cut gets things underway then 'Objection' offers up super smooth and irresistible rhythms run through with deft synth work and nice swirling cosmic overtones. 'Rawline 98' taps into a throwback house sound for all passion and sweatiness and last of all 'Charles List' is an all our jacker with snappy snares, yelping vocals and Boo Williams-style house heat that will get any floor going.
Review: Cristian Sarde (aka. Mamosato, Samo) teams up with fellow techno tussler Bakked for an off-piste non-label release, sharing inverse sides of a single furtive black label record. Veering minimal, moving, and moribund, both staples of the Italian dance musical underground share what is implied to be their deepest, darkest and most exclusive thoughts, strictly for heads only; 'Love Tea' is an unusual track, fusing an almost early-noughts dubstep wriggle against an otherwise taut house groove; a move we don't see coming. Bakked meanwhile brings 'Effect171', on which a raw MPC-style jam - pleated with analogue rimshots and backsliding chords - is sown as the underlying field line onto which a dreamy sampled vocal admission, "I don't mind talking about it", may be heard. Both artists sound to have indulged a weirder side to their crafts, hence the labelless aside, and we love to hear it.
Review: A captivating exploration of minimal and tech house, delivering a smooth blend of breezy melodies and lush grooves. The title track, 'Mai Tai', kicks off Side-1 with effortless charm, offering a melodic, laid-back tech house vibe that feels perfect for open-air settings. 'Talei' follows, elevating the mood with its chord-driven, lush textures, embodying the essence of quintessential tech house. On Side-2, 'Just Let You Be' nods to Drexciya's 'Let Me Be Me' with a groovy, minimal approach that feels both nostalgic and contemporary. The EP concludes with Sakro's remix of 'Mai Tai' which transforms the original into an upbeat, dancefloor-ready anthem, adding energy while maintaining its melodic core. This EP is a good in balancing minimalism with rich, inviting soundscapes.
Review: LOCKLEAD's Kemickal Affairs EP delivers four tracks designed to ignite dancefloors with an electrifying blend of house vibes. Side-1 kicks off with 'Zero's Delight,' a spirited and slightly jackin' house anthem that sets a fun and sexy tone. Following up is 'State Of Peace,' delving into a more techy and minimal groove, perfect for those seeking a deeper, more introspective vibe. Flipping to Side-2, the title track 'Kemickal Affairs' takes the listener on a journey through a deeper groove, reminiscent of 90s era house sounds but infused with a contemporary energy. Closing out the EP is 'Morning Krew,' characterized by its pumping bassline and seamless fusion of house and tech elements. With its dynamic range and infectious rhythms, Kemickal Affairs is destined to work well on any club floor.
Review: Dimmish is one of those names making himself ever more a part of the tech house firmament and he deserves the acclaim as this new EP on Easternderz proves. It is high grade tackle with several different stylistic nuances. 'Orbit' is a warm pumper with funky bass rotations and well designed drums under balmy pads. 'Lemon Life' ups thence with more high speed, high power but always funky grooves and lithe synths, and 'Singularity' rides on a wave of subtle melody that takes you ever higher. The closer 'Dissolve' with its more colourful and playful melodies might be the best of a great lot.
Review: This is a cheeky single-sided affair that contains a gently tooled-up, rolling and rearranged version of a Marlena Shaw-sampling jazz-house classic that is rightly considered something of a dancefloor classic. The edit itself is undoubtedly rather good, subtly adding a little more bottom-end grunt whilst making a little more of the original's snaking sax parts, much-loved vocal sample and groovy jazz percussion. You can decide or not whether the re-edit was needed; certainly, the mystery re-editor has done a rather tidy job on the rework.
Review: Manchester-based producer Pach, who you may remember from his much loved 'Pull Up & Dance' anthem on Darius Syrossian's popular Moxy Muzik label last year, produces a generously proportioned four track EP for the Aesthetic stable. Take note of the title, as it dictates the contents, with the A-side's two tracks, the title track and '21 Bump Street', proving to be the definite uppers, both adding a delirious feel of disco euphoria to a sturdy tech-house framework. The flip side features the slightly darker and more mysterious cuts 'Sticky Fingers' and closer 'Six N Switch', the latter featuring the sound of some rather decadent X-rated activities in full swing. Nice work if you can get it.
Review: Beeyou Records proudly presents False Promises, a captivating EP from Dennis Quin, a renowned artist known for his timeless, soul-moving house music. The A-side kicks off with 'Reactivate,' a high-energy garage track that immediately captures the listener's attention with its punchy basslines and crisp percussion. Following closely is 'Diamond Hunting,' a bumpy 4x4 track that is guaranteed to get any dancefloor moving. On the B-side, Quin offers a more introspective sound with 'Accidentally,' a track that blends classic house grooves with playful modern production. The EP's title track, 'False Promises (Original Mix),' is a standout, featuring a lovely vocal and vibrant house energy. Finally, 'Well Conducted' showcases Quin's versatility with its downtempo, chilled vibe. False Promises is a must-listen for fans of house music. Quin's talent for creating timeless tracks is evident on every track on this EP.
Review: Sushitech has always done a fine job of preserving and spotlighting the roots of house and techno and some of its key protagonists. This second volume of A Sillybration does that once more by bringing together some of the most sought-after tunes and vital classics from legendary UK talents Terry Francis, the late Nathan Coles, Laurant Webb, Dave Coker and Justin Bailey aka Housey Doingz. Of these 16 plenty of them have only ever been released once so are pricey if you want an original, and some have never been on wax before, at all. They have all been re-mastered directly from the original DATs and make for a vital collection of dance floor heaters that have aged like fine wine.
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