DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - November 2014

Review: It's been a little while since a fresh injection of refined minimal techno was issued from Vlad Caia, but now the Romanian stalwart is back with a fresh pair of subtle gems for Amphibia, with whom he dropped the Projections EP back in 2012. "Voluspa" is a cyclical workhorse powered by undulating bass synths and swirling pads with a decidedly cosmic flavour to them, working just enough dubby flourishes into the mix to keep things fluid and warm. "Behind The Black Meadow" by contrast takes a slender funk to task with the finest slithers of percussion and a yearning line in melodics as expressed through heavy doses of filtering for a truly subconscious slice of micro house.

Review: The Premiesku trio have been quiet since the release of their debut album, Indirect, on Desolat in 2012. They re-emerged as a troupe this year with a 12" on the busy Vakant operation and now they surface on the Apollonia operation fronted by Shonky, Dan Ghenacia and Dyed Sondorom. "More 4" is built of loops which athletically repeat on themselves for a cut of super techy but lean house music, while "Real" rises from the murky deep for something a little lighter and skippy. "Despre Ei" is the real gem though, as it's full of funk, while remaining moody but up beat. Killer 12".

Review: With a prolific surge of output in the past few years, Lady Blacktronika has firmly positioned herself in the upper-tier of US deep house producers, with her productions spreading in scope and landing in all sorts of places, like here on D'Julz's ever trusty Bass Culture imprint. She's in a refined and simmering mood here, with "Learn Me Baby" in particular keeping the mood bubbling just under the surface thanks to a brooding piano lick and distant vocal hits. "All In Vain" might be a livelier track but it's still thoroughly smart in its merging of distinct and feverish elements to create a dense but smoothly delivered peak time jam. "Lord Knows" is equally cunning in its ways, dropping in something like a classic house approach without losing that clamouring intensity.

Review: You just can't argue with the classiness of Mr G's output, not least when he's giving himself free rein on his own Phoenix G imprint and this new double-pack of goodness is brimming with the kind of sublime, dub-tinged tech house the man has made his legend on. "Faith!" comes on in blue shades of techno-fuelled tension, while "Life Riddimz" keeps things equally fraut and moody. There are warmer moments as on soulful vocal jam "Hip Flexer" and easy-stomping piano worker "Dad?", and there's a healthy amount of weirdness from fractured percussion-baiter "Haze", bt really whatever shade of G you like there's something to enjoy here.

Review: Surprisingly, it's been some three years since Art Department (AKA Kenny Glasgow and No. 19 label boss Jonny White) last joined forces with globetrotting DJ/producer/bbq chef/record label hoarder Seth Troxler. "Cruel Intentions", then, should be essential listening for anyone who enjoys the trio's trippy, clandestine blends of tech-house rhythms and off-kilter pop savvy. The winding, '80s-pop influenced original - blessed with a typically evocative spoken word original - is joined by a solid trio of remixes. First up, Jerome Sydenham adds a little extra toughness to the beats and a cavalcade of intergalactic noises on his Deep Space Dub. On the flip Fred P delivers a woozy, organ-laden "Reshape" (complete with superb, Afro-influenced drums) and a chunkier, stripped-back Beats Edit.

Review: The next EP on Holic Trax, limited coloured vinyl, is a collaboration from Running Back & Desolat man Robert Dietz and Ibiza based house talent Tuccillo complete with a edit from Frenchman and Apollonia member, Shonky.

Review: Romania's Stomping Ground label seemed to have survived the pitfalls of inaugurating a label and provides the world with a second various artist release. Jay Bliss, who supplied the first 12" with its A-side, does the same again with a floating slice of linear house music. Sharing the A-side with Bliss is S.A.M who delivers something stripped of fuller atmospheres, instead focusing on blips, bleeps and the occasional vocal. Vlad Radu's first official production, "Dedianinte", also sees the light of day after an unreleased track of his made it on to Rhadoo's recent Fabric mix - a name to watch out for!

Review: The sketched eyes of what looks to be a scornful Amadeus Mozart (or is it Johnny Depp?) adorns the label of this sixth release from Project London, an imprint slowly making itself known for releasing a deep array of minimal beats, clicks, pops and grooves. Posh is a newcomer to us, but evidently has production skills on the basis of the two tracks here with A-side "Deblow" possessing soundtrack qualities reminiscent of older Crystal Method thanks to that synth work (the classic "Keep Hope Alive" comes to mind). Flip to the B-side and "Jouyeche" provides something that's equally cosmic as it is sub-aqueous with some scratchy jazz drums and percussion thrown in.

Review: While it may still be relatively early days for Patrick Klein he has already made an impact with his collaborative appearances on 87 and his own Traffic Records, and now the Berlin producer gets to spread himself across his own EP on Sensual Rec, which seems a logical home for his tender and engaging minimal house sound. "Intermood (2014 Version)" uses a stout breakbeat pattern to power the drums, but still the overall feel of the track is a mellow one thanks largely to the swirling swathes of pads that drift around the mix. "Mellow Amber" is more typically minimal in its use of gently ticking percussion arranged into a crisp shuffle, while the melodic content continues the theme of strung out serenity. Dario Reimann steps up for a remix of "Intermood" that runs with the cosmic, meditative tones and digs even deeper in the process.

Review: Huntleys & Palmers commitment to showcasing new producers from around the World is admirable. Here, they give a debut "proper" to Family Affairs resident Mehmet Aslan, who previously impressed with a string of reworks on the imprint's Highlife Edits offshoot. Lead track "Mechanical Turk" - a rework of a little-known 2011 cut from Romanian artist Karpov Not Kasparov - is pretty impressive, with Aslan peppering an exotic, off-kilter house groove with spiralling Byzantine scales, heavy Arabic percussion and lashings of vintage synthesizers. "Hidden" flips the script, delivering a woozy, atmospheric, analogue-sounding house track, while "New Africanism" is a little more fragile and poignant than the title suggests, with bittersweet chords and mid-range synth melodies riding a delay-laden, extra-percussive groove.

Review: Party promoters-turned-DJ Agency Toi Toi Musik have decided to launch a record label. This debut release comes from British techno and tech-house stalwart Mr G, a man whose career stretches way back to the turn of the millennium. As you'd perhaps expect, there's a tracky, no-nonsense feel to much of the material on display, with the distorted, bass-heavy "Mango & Rum" (and Daze Maxim's snare-heavy interpretation of the same track) leading the way. Ironically, though, it's the more melodic moments - particularly the jazzy deep US house bounce of "Slide Swing" that most impresses. Best of all, though, is the dreamy deep house of "Freefall 7", which eschews his usual intense hypnotism in favour of yearning chords and classic vocal samples.

Review: Making a rare excursion outside of his Perlon familiarities, Ricardo Villalobos contributes to Einzelkind's Proper Traxx imprint with two upfront groovers that keep the energy levels up without compromising on the minimal maven's hyper-focused attention to detail, not to mention his love of a cheeky sample or two. The rhythm stays consistent on both sides, shuffling in a micro house arrangement for lovers of twitchy funk everywhere, while the oddball speech and licks from recognisable disco classics keep things interesting in the midst of the extended grooves. This is as DJ-friendly as you could ever wish contemporary Villalobos to be, and it should keep stripped down dancefloors shaking long into the morning.

Review: In classic Baby Ford style the A-side opens with "Mystery Falls" a deep melodic housey workout with shuffling percussion and sublime top line strings.
Meanwhile on the B-side, shaker hustlin' "Spooked" conjures up a more stripped down moody grooving chordal affair.
Both tracks cut at 45rpm for maximum quality and effect on the floor.

Review: Emerging from the lively Romanian broken minimal scene, Emi Nescu first came to light on a Raresh Fabric mix, and now enjoys the run of this release on Contur with space to unfurl a classic line in fractious rhythms playing out stripped down hypnotic mantras. "Simfru" takes hold on the A side with a complex arrangement of drums that piston pump their way around fragile swells of string while a whole lot more subtlety works away in between. "Sinius" on the flipside is a more hazy affair that gets into a steadier groove and lets wraiths of synth and samples flirt around the groove with an ever undulating intensity.

Review: Rocking up to the Slices Of Life imprint in fine fettle as always, John Tejada drops this sturdy three-tracker that draws on his classic floor filling approach as exercised on Playhouse et al over the years. "Times Like This" shivers with a minimal twitch, but the sounds come through full-bodied as playful synth hits and freaky samples make for a prime cut of micro house goodness. "A Slice From The Past" packs a more dubby outlook, with aqueous chord reverberations forming the core of the track around which slender rhythms unwind, while "From A Slice To A Draw" gets into a deeper kind of house throwdown with moody stabs and a crisp beat that will find favour with all manner of spinners.

Review: Last year's debut on Nick Curly's 8Bit label was seen as something of a breakthrough for Spanish producer and DJ Carlos Sanchez, and this 12" for the emergent Electronique label should contribute further to his ascent. From the off Sanchez employs the sort of hypnotic textures one expects from a contemporary minimal production, but "K15" also shows the Spanish DJ is not afraid to add some weight to his cuts and there's a nice touch of jack present too. "Carpet" is just as chunky, throwing some flex into the mix too with the results decidedly funky. On the flip the title cut is remixed twice, with Jef K going deep and Detlef adding some murky low end to the groove

Review: Papa Vath is 50 and what better way for the Cocoon boss to celebrate than open his archives and let the highly respected Ame and Tuff City Kids remix two Sven classics. The fact that many Cocoon fans these days were probably too young to remember "L'Esperanza" or "Harlequin: The Beauty & The Beast" at the time of their original release is an irony that won't be lost on Vath and perhaps those unfamiliar with his early '90s work will be moved to investigate after hearing these remixes. As you'd expect Ame are on suitably epic form with their take on "L'Esperanza" but don't gloss over Gerd Janson and Lauer's bumping refix of "The Beauty & The Beast" cos it's got some great space style fx amidst the thrusting throwback rave vibes.

Review: "What Is House Music?" It's a question that has been asked since the sound and style was first invented back in mid '80s era Chicago, with acid house don DJ Pierre posing the quandary himself on the 1994 track "What Is House Muzik" under his Phuture Scope guise. It's not clear why Get Physical have decided to commission Ricardo 'How Much Time Do You Have' Villalobos to remix the track but when it comes to the Chilean and remixes few people seem to care for the why when you can focus on the wow. At 32 minutes over the two sides, this isn't the longest production Villalobos has done - his 2006 single "Fizheuer Zieheuer" shades it by a good five minutes - but the Chilean has managed to retain the bounce of Pierre's original whilst implementing the kind of sound design he's renowned for.