Juno Recommends Minimal / Tech House: April 2022

Review: UK-based producer Ted Amber continues his working relationship with Botanic Minds, moving from the minimal label's Sunset Series to a new EP which further rounds out his sound beyond that golden hour vibe. There's still a certain amount of balmy magic to his productions, with 'Looperman' carrying a steadfast tech house undercarriage through ample flora and fauna, implying some equatorial surroundings. 'Terula' has a more intricate, subtly pumped up atmosphere thanks to interlocking beats moving in twitchy unison, but it's still ultimately defined by the hazy, organic vibe Amber permeates his tracks with. Barut comes on board for a remix of 'Terula' and makes a tastefully dubbed variation on the original without losing that dancefloor sensibility.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Jade Seatle met Jane Fitz at tech-house haven Kerfuffle in Brixton around 2005 or 06 (they don't remember). They bonded that day over records, and a strange story about a pebble. Disillusioned with parties in London, rather than moan, Jade and Jane decided to make their own. Night Moves was born in 2012, after they visited Jenifa Mayanja in Connecticut in summer 2011 and promised her a party to play in London. What then evolved was a journey in music, gatherings and friendship - and a lesson in how a community can evolve from a dancefloor. Night Moves spawned Day Moves, Field Moves, a B2B partnership, and many ridiculous parties in a range of wonderful locations. The records on this release not only represent the sound of Night Moves - all are tried-and-tested NM greatest hits - but also the sound that brought Jade and Jane together, and informed what they do now, where they've been and where they are still to go. For Those That Knoe is proud to invite Jade Seatle and Jane Fitz to present the Sound of Night Moves - only available on vinyl!

Review: Berlin native and Rubisco label head Nick Beringer lays down some serious rolling beat science for Mosaic's 5th LTDX edition. The EP kicks off in style in the shape of 'Intercity': straddling a square 4/4 house rhythm with an 'Art of Trance' spirit - all brought together in contemporary style. Layers of subtly filtered melody pulsate their way throughout, rising and falling as minimal elements collide for maximal sonic impact.Switching to more familiar territory, 'Time Shift' reins things back a notch as tight 909 beats swing to well rounded bottom end, carrying the warm layers of evolving synths and chorded elements with precision effect. Ending on the introspective mood of 'Counterclockwise', Beringer displays an even defter touch, heralding the light fantastic as the spectre of night passes by.

Review: Given that it was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the 2021 Stephan Bodzin album that shares its name, it is genuinely great to see 'Boavista' finally get a single release. Nestled here on side A, Bodzin's original version is utterly gorgeous - a smooth, life-affirming slab of picturesque house bliss full of rising and falling synthesizer lead lines, trippy mid-range motifs, drowsy chords and crispy drums. Innellea wisely chooses to focus on the more hypnotic and uplifting elements on the accompanying flipside remix, wrapping elements of Bodzin's original version around a trance-inducing groove. Throw in some bold, rush-inducing, progressive trance style riffs, builds and drops, and you have a genuinely terrific remix.

Review: Three distinctly outer space-themed cuts from Greece's Alex Celler, each with a linear minimal/tech skeleton that has other, interloping musical influences draped elegantly and classily across it. 'Ancient Astronuats' has the weird, wired mystical stirrings of early Black Dog about it, complete with melting, bendy electro notations that coax it along and add a psychedelic dimension. 'Stargate To Cosmos' has a playful, Drexciyan feel to it, with crunchy, organic drum beats flirting alongside the more rigid electrics. 'Object In The Sky' is the most minimal of the pack, sleek and stalker-like, but still contains enough action - mainly floating around up there in the ether - to hold and build attention.

Review: Second time around for Nina Kraviz's key early single Pain In The Ass, a two-tracker that was originally released on Rekids way back in 2009. This edition has been pressed to brilliant white vinyl, though otherwise it's the same as the original 12" release. That's no bad thing though, because the title track is a particularly druggy, wonky and out-there chunk of after-hours sleaze, with Kraviz layering ghostly electronic stabs and her own spoken word vocals over a sparse-but-heavy tech-house groove. Original B-side 'I'm Gonna Get You' is a slightly dreamier affair, with Kraviz singing over squelchy synth-bass, sustained deep space chords, chiming melodies and more stripped-back beats.

Review: Pressure Traxx Silver Series hits its 15th release with the help of MMM LTD. They serve up three tracks of twisted tech house and stripped back minimal that is made from a steely palette and has plenty of rich sound designs. 'Splif' is a flappy groove with hi hats like spinning plates and silky bass down low. 'Provizoriu' then grinds a little more with plenty of brain-burrowing sine waves and crispy snares. 'Blat Pufos' is the most textural and abstract of the lot with its sheet metal hits and daubs of synth colour. It all adds up to a nicely left of centre EP.

Review: Berlin's iconic Watergate club will always best be known for the LED ceiling it has above its main dance floor, as well as its position on the snaking river in the centre of the city. But its label has always done a fine job of serving up fresh tech house, not least in the form of its ongoing mix series. It is Gorje Hewek who steps up here with various collaborative singles with the likes of LostDesert and Nikolai Briar. The sounds are deep and meditative house with ambient pads and a fresh, organic aesthetic that will lock you in and zone you out equally. Our fav is the deep soul of 'Ocean' by Hewek, Lost Desert & Marvin The Sun.

Review: Following up that great inaugural release with 4D and Krunky earlier this year, Liverpool's Humanoid Recordings returns with its second edition this week courtesy of DMC, with four old school techno cuts on HMND 002. From the bleepin' and funkin' space transmissions of 'The High Rip' and the emotive Detroit-ish vibe of A2 cut 'Afternoon Snacker', turn over and are treated to the neon-lit euphoria of 'Vallyrie' and the low-slung house groove of 'Same Way As The Stars'.

Review: London based producer Nick Gynn is best known for his work with Superlux Records but lands here on Highpath with is signature tech sounds. 'Pull Up' (Rough & Ready Acid mix) opens up with a slinky grover and rasping bass that pumps any party. 'Bumpin & Gurnin' cuts loose on a trippy vibe with withering synth lines over chunky house funk and 'Pull Up' (Lover Erotica version) then slips into a deeper vibe, with taught and pinging kicks and razor sharp hi hats. 'Acid Drops' is last but might be the best with its more atmospheric and organic sounds.

Review: It's time to get to know Club Magnus, a new label that launches with Moonlight 001, a various artist collection that brings together some fresh contemporary talents across three forward thinking cuts. Jay Tripwire opens up with his scintillating tech house sounds embellished with all the usual acid and after party freakiness. Magnus Asberg then keeps you on your toes with his nimble drum work and the cyborg electro funk of 'Sunset' (vs Sound Of The Suburbs) while Microman closes with the more dark, involving and intense techno convulsions of 'Inga Aviseringar'.

Review: The first volume in MOXY Muzik's Editions series of multi-artist EPs was an all-star affair, presented on glow-in-the-dark vinyl and released to celebrate the label's third birthday. This sequel is not such a grandiose affair but is every bit as alluring. Label founder Darius Syrossian handles side A, offering up the rave riff-sporting, warehouse-ready peak-time hedonism of 'Mercy Me' (very late 1990s - we approve). This comes backed by an excellent Jordan Masters remix that re-frames the track as a chunky slab of low-slung, bass-heavy deep house/tech-house fusion. Over on the flip, Reelow takes over. The more sparse, minimalistic, funky and acid-flecked 'Daft Prunk' appears first, swiftly followed by Mahony's Isolee inspired micro-house revision.

Review: Inaugural vinyl from new London-based minimal/tech house label Outpunkt here. After a series of digital releases, they are proud to present to you their first release on wax. It features the ever reliable Silat Beksi from Ukraine serving up something a bit more dubby than usual on the atmospheric groove of 'Roundup', followed by Romania's Direkt who delivers the hypnotic and ethereal bliss of 'Friyay'. Turn over to side B and you have Pierre C with the emotive and bass-driven main room action of 'Fragrance' and closing it out with the rolling drama of userUNKNWN & Soyro's 'Rndm'.

Review: Houseonwax prefer to murmur about their new releases rather than shout about them, with this new one being "inspired by the early white label house music releases," and nothing more. Clearly, this is a plea for us to hear their 20th V/A EP out on its musical merits alone, a request which we'll happily oblige. Four fresh names and label associates are brought to light; Dominic Aquila delivers Rhodesy deep house undulations on 'Daily Briefing', while Lootbeg offers simple kicks n' claps together with barely-heard ice synths on 'Memories'. A dreamy new effort from the Slovenian label.

Review: Rowlandz' imprint Rowle is 'a mysterious label with the purpose to bring the music back to its role on the dancefloor' and its eighth release comes from DJ/producer Romar - who heads up the brilliant ODE label. This new EP features all the elements of the Swiss producer's distinct sound, as heard on the ethereal deepness of 'Backward Thinking' incorporating somber pads and droning synth textures underpinned by a backdrop of clipped, broken beats. The remix over on the flip by Rominimal stalwart Nu Zau takes the track down a groovy microhouse route that's perfect for the after hours, while another original offering comes in the form of the soulful and emotive 'Moments Away' once again featuring a hazy and atmospheric melancholia, swirling around Todd Terry style beats.

Review: Well, there have been a fair few dancefloor re-rubs of Jefferson Airplane's classic 'Somebody To Love' over the years, and here comes Ben Kim with his own tech house take. In the breakdowns, he really lets the 60s psych soul of the original come through loud and clear in the mix, making for an artful contrast with the slick thump of the drop. Gorgon City then take up remix duties on the flip, turning the track into a trance-arp monster with analogue synth snarls and a constant motorik forward momentum. The deployment of Grace Slick's vocal is a bit subtler, but no less effective.

Review: UFO Series starts 2022 with a high quality and intergalactic EP from a revelation artist called Moy On Wire. Emotional focused music that can remind us of many classic, warm and extra terrestrial sounds,crazy secuences even in fragments of the EP you can start making memories of the incredible space duo daft punk.

Review: Tech house bros Planet Orange return for their latest V/A EP, delivering on the dubbed-out minimal sound that has tided them over since the beginning of last year. This one expands slightly outward from the most tried-and-true tech house sound, though; Flashback Homer's 'The Ledge' is straight up techfunk, while Burge's 'Obscure Monsieur' touches on new beat and ambient trance.

Review: NTFO are Fechete Danut and Robert Petraru, a duo from Romania dealing in minimal tech house with a mellow, melodic appeal which stands apart from the trippier tendencies of many of their compatriots. You're more likely to see these guys on Diynamic or Djebali, while last year they dropped a single on Constant Sound. Now they appear on Bondage with this sophisticated selection of swirling, sensitive club cuts, comprising three compatible groovers from the duo themselves and a deft, broken beat revision of 'Paran' by the ever-excellent Nu Zau.

Review: Eight years after their last single release 'Tatischeff, Innervisions co-heads Ame explore a more Detroit techno oriented sound on their latest release (the 100th in fact) for the Berlin-based label and The Witness is quite the milestone. The title track's style of hypnotic stomp on the A side takes its cues from Jeff Mills' seminal Purposemaker sound with its chiming melody, while the blip, blurp and bleep of B side cuts 'What The Hell' and 'Pink Elephant' are more indebted to the minimal sounds of Daniel Bell. Despite their prominence within house music, IV100 noticeably combines the unique sounds of Wiedemann and Beyer's solo performances - as live act and DJ respectively.

Review: More oddball grooves from the always reliable Multi Culti camp out of Montreal. Thomas Von Party has curated another fine collection of tracks on the second installment of Axial Tilt: Solstice featuring Philadelphian duo Zillas On Acid giving the remix treatment to Sheila Chandra on the slo-mo psychedelia of 'Raqs', while Mexico's Inigo Vontier goes global, incorporating didgeridoo, sitar and world beats on the entrancing 'Timbale' (Makale mix). On side B, Sababa 5 & Yurika provide what's undoubtedly the stand out track on here with the uplifting 'Nasnusa' (Kino Todo & Danelz remix) and Golden Bug goes down into the cosmic hole on the druggy and low slung 'Toro'.

Review: Straight from the renegade minds of Italy's DUB (District Underground Bastards) - whose parties deal exclusively in untrodden, alternative locations not normally inhabited by DJs and crowds - comes 'Bersekr', the newest collab cut from Vadim Oslov and Denis Andreev. Together, the dark, minimal techno powerhouse deliver two back-to-back cuts of only the purest cleanliness and snap. 'Toltec Snippet' and 'Alexandra Snippet' expose themselves minimally but confidently, as Minilogue jerks and dub echoes unfurl across as dancefloor-taming 6 minutes.

Review: Frankfurt deep house veteran Sascha Dive is back with a new release on Cologne's Minimood label, which further explores his penchant for moody and percussive after hours sounds. The result is 'Stressed Out' with its spooky horror film sample repeating over a foreboding bass and clipped rhythm programming. It's definitely more techy and minimal than his previous work, but still great all the same. The choice of remixes were quite surprising. Mancunian producer Black Merlin delivers a tunneling reduction in the vein of his Karamika moniker, while Mexican dark disco experts Zombies In Miami go for a typically neon-lit Italo vibe.

Review: The Stoned Pilot label kicks off with French minimal house mainstay Shonky teaming up with Otis (previously spotted on labels like EYA and Partisan). The newly formed duo lean in with some effective, finely sculpted tech house that starts with the full-bodied 'Humanizer' before the more adventurous and playfully executed 'Milka FM' takes your head somewhere else altogether. 'Time Span' is a punchy workout for the peak time with plenty of power in the emotive synth lines, and 'Creative Solutions' explores a broader set of drum machine sounds and synth textures for an end result which touches on electronica as much as house.

Review: Astonishingly, almost 14 years have passed since "hard, grooving" techno and house fusionist Olivier Ducreux released his debut album as Shonky, Time Zero. On The Run, then, is well overdue. Those accustomed to his particular brand of tech-house funk will feel right at home, while those still unfamiliar with his trademark sound - all bold bass, bustling beats, far-sighted electronics, cut-up samples and intoxicated intent - will no doubt be impressed by the eight tracks on offer. Our picks of a very strong bunch include the slipped tech-house psychedelia of 'Prime Time', the bubbly and intergalactic warmth of 'Danse Macabre', the ghostly chords and hard-wired TB-303 motifs of 'Trompe Loeil' and the dubby, locked-in hypnotism of pleasingly wonky closing cut 'Kombattant'.

Review: Ionu? Arapu is better known simply by his surname. He is at the heart of the minimal scene from his base in Romania and over a decade after his debut he keeps on pushing at the boundaries of the sound. This solid two tracks marks his first outing of the year on homeland label UVAR. It firstly offers up the 11 minute opus that is 'Mode,' a warm and bubbly groove that never stops moving, with underlapping drums, trippy motifs up top and rugged synth textures adding the flesh. The flip side is much more playful, with funk-fuelled drum loops and more feel good piano chords.