Juno Recommends Minimal / Tech House July 2021

Review: The Eastenderz label continues to kill it and define its own micro-scene with each and every release. Fabe is very much part of this little pocket where tech house, minimal and electronic funk all coalesce into club-ready pumpers with plenty of personalities. 'Tape Type' bobbles along with nice off kilter hits and a rasping bass. 'Superbold' heads to the cosmos with its smeared pads and expansive feel and 'Playing Trigs' then dials it back to silky deep house sounds with lush neon pads. Closer 'Pivo's View' is another airy cut with well-deployed vocal stabs and a general sense of carefree cool that it's hard not to love.

Review: Chris Stussy is making real moves of late. The producer has hit on a sound that is a perfect meeting point between house, minimal funk and spaced out tech. His own Up The Stuss label is the home for his latest project, a collab with SAM on a bunch of hugely useful club tracks. Each one is aimed at the club, but different moments of the night. There is a lovely depth and warmth to 'Spaceship' that gets you in the mood, while the likes of 'Here To Catch You' are dreamy 5am joints and 'Sirine' is busy but balmy, with deft synth motifs and kinetic drum work that sweeps you off your feet. Lovely stuff.

Review: Welcome to Synkroniq, another brand new label hoping to make its mark in the world of tech house and minimal. When you have the legend that is Christi Cons helming your first outing then you're already off to a good start. He offers a pair of new school electronic house cuts filled with late-night neon warmth and punchy grooves. 'Autumn (Sunset mix)' has breezy kicks and gloopy bass with hallucinogenic chords that come together to both physical and cerebral effects. 'Midnight' ups the ante with a more night and melodic workout. A fine opening salvo, to be sure.

Review: This week in minimal tech house we have some wicked underground material courtesy of new label Syntaxx out of Leeds. If the tracks on Syntaxx Waxx Vol 1 are anything to go by, this crew are on to big things in 2021 and beyond. Features Mehlor with the hypnotic swing of "Wurk" reminiscent of local hero Jack Wickham, AWSI goes into UKG territory on the woozy "SPD" while over on the flip Parsec delves into druggy microhouse realms on the afterhours paranoid shuffle of "Error" and Nate SU delivers the mandatory Rominimal style track on the lean groove of "Trip".

Review: Monolink has been teasing his long-awaited new album Under Darkening Skies for a long time. Finally it is here and it ushers in a new chapter for the esteemed producer after two years of hard graft and plenty of "love and frustration" in the studio. It is an honest, vulnerable sound with syrupy synths and gentle drum grooves overlaid with folky acoustic guitars. The song writing is standout, too, with plenty of hummable top lines and memorable hooks hanging in the air over the pulsing rhythms. Many have tried to fuse electronic music with indie before now, but few have ever done it better than Steffen Linck.

Review: Mr G is a real badman. The UK great always goes in hard with this sets and tunes - they're smoky, grainy grooves that lock you in deep for hours on end. For this year's Record Store Day he serves up a third volume of unreleased gold from his vaults. This one kicks off with a heavy sample from 'I Need A Freak' reworked into a late night and trippy tech house framework. 'Untitled 8' ups the ante with punchy and gritty techno loops, 'Tears Of Joy' then twists in some acid and last of all is the best fo the lot. It is tantalisingly short at under four minutes but is a body-shaking broken beat rhythm with heavy bass that makes you move your body right from the off.

Review: Nick Curly is one of the men who helped bring tech house back in fashion around a decade ago. The Mannheim mainstay has always had his own loopy style, and most of it has come on his own 8Bit label. The former Mercedes employee locks into some sleek, late-night-on-the-autobahn grooves here with the dubby chords and smoky vibes of 'What If' really locking you in. 'Sunday Morning Call' has that sense of hope, promise and subtly joy that comes with dancing all through the night until sun up. It's soft and warm, with plenty of smart designs elevating the simple loops to a higher level.

Review: Belfast's EJECA is back on Shall Not Fade, following up last year's Polar Nation EP. This time round he explores his love of classic UK dance music on the Sunburst EP. It kicks off with the brooding warehouse techno energy of 'Stoke It' followed by the intense minimal techno rush of 'Faith' undoubtedly influenced by Robert Hood's Floorplan alias. Elsewhere, we could not help but notice the Orbital influence (not at all a bad thing!) on the saucer eyed euphoria of "The Basics". On the flip, the stand out track is 'Free From' but it is all about the remix from Beste Modus boss Cinthie who takes it into classic Jersey garage territory.

Review: Fresh from must-check outings on Constant Black and Pathway Traxx, Niko Maxen fires up his Maxen label for the first time this year and delivers a quartet of quality cuts on vibrant purple vinyl. He teases us in gently via the slowly shifting intergalactic pads, bumpy bass and crunchy drums of 'Aaaa', before opting for a tougher, chunkier and slightly sleazier tech-house sound on 'Bbbb'. Over on side B, 'Cccc' is a metallic and percussive slab of early morning tech-house funk, while 'Dddd' sees him get busy with retro-futurist Chicago bass, snappy snares, solid kick drums, ghostly chords and oddball vocal samples.

Review: **RAUM REPRESS** Although Ricardo Villalobos has already appeared on Raum Musik under the RiRom moniker together with Roman Flugel, the Baby EP is his first full release for the label. The title track sees a firm kick and wood block snares forming the backbone for a drifting piano chord and sensual vocals which lead to a climax of delightfully glitchy vocoder. On the flip, "hansup" takes on a tougher groove, as sprung bass and minimal house stabs are joined by ethereal chords and twisted vocal samples.

Review: Mark Romboy and Stephan Bodzin have one of the longest running bromances in dance music. The two pioneering techno producers come together once more here for a fresh techno platter that brings the best out of each. 'Atlas' is a tense builder, with a buzzing and blistering synth lead rising up and down over tech edge drums. It never boils over but perfectly keeps you locked for the duration. 'Hyperion' then ducks and dives, bobs and waves with a majestic mead melody that is curious and thoughtful. The scintillating drums ensure it all adds up to a fine trip.

Review: To be celebrating 20 years of Cocoon without any of the brand's famous Ibiza gatherings must be a sickener indeed. Still, the party goes on and this time out the second celebratory EP features a trio of talents closely associated with the label. Gregor Tresher's 'Nostalgia (Is The Enemy)' is a nimble house cut with quickened drums and subtle trance pads. Joseph Ashworth then serves up a more late night and angsty techno twister for big room thrills with his dramatic 'Eavesdrop.' Closing out the show are Pig & Dan with their big, warm techno roller 'Trauma.' Each one captures a little essence of the Cocoon label that has been so influential over the years.