DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - November 2015

Review: London's Dele Soismi was former keyboardist for the late great Fela Kuti's live ensemble but nowadays leads his own Dele Soismi Afrobeat Orchestra. His track "Too Much Information" gets the remix treatment, first by Hamburg's Mr Raoul K who gives the track a brilliant transformation complete with a kickin' four to the floor beat and swirling synths, but still keeping all the original afrobeat groove intact. Former Joe Claussel collaborator and Tet Kale label boss Jephte Guillame gets onboard also to deliver a sweet remix which stays closer to the original's afrobeat aesthetic but injecting some of his own signature flavour.

Review: Having previously showcased his fluid brand of techno and deep house on Suena Hermosa and Beste Modus, Diego Krause decided to launch the Unison Wax label as a vehicle for his productions back in 2013. Here he returns with a fourth volume, seemingly keen to wring maximum atmosphere and deepness via a quartet of smooth, well-produced cuts. He opens with a subtly starry fusion of techno hypnotism and quiet deep house warmth, before concentrating on groove with the late night tech-house throb of "Track 2". Flip for the bass-heavy, stripped-back groove science of "Track 3", and the typically Germanic afterhours pump of "Track 4".

Review: Roman Flugel has stayed at the top of his game for nearly 20 years because he possesses the uncanny knack of reinvention. On this release for Hypercolor, he manages to stretch that diversity out over the course of six tracks. From the glorious melodies of "Teenage Engineering" through the rolling 808s of "Church of Dork", the gushing acid tones of "Make it Happen" into the sublime deep techno of "Picnic for Players", this release covers more ground than an Argentinean scrum-half. Monday Brain is one of the most well-rounded and stylistically assured records that the veteran German DJ has released to date - and that's really saying something.

Review: Dutch minimal oddball Ion Ludwig is back, doing his thing on his third full length, his first in five years since Free K. Loudwiggle in 2010. It's any wonder, considering his enormous yearly output but he really comes through and delivers the goods on this rather cohesive and ultimately; quality effort. Starting things off with the strangely hypnotic "Date The Save" he soon gets down to business on the tough, rolling and druggy jams "Maternity Album Church" and "After Ysle" which will appeal to fans of the Romanian minimal sound. There's also some totally lush deep house music on offer too in the form of "Alpha Changes" and "Quattro Sur Lac".

Review: Ben Sims on D'julz' Bass Culture imprint? You better believe it! The Hardgroove head honcho and all round techno legend delivers three cuts of bangin' and dusty house that's full of attitude under his new Ron Bacardi alias. "Rock Your Body" features massive drums and a cavernous bassline this side of Shed or Special Request plus mysterious, crooning vocals; it's wicked! "First Effort" is jacking, funky and a downright loopy workout reminiscent of classic DJ Sneak. "The Money" is more like the Sims we know on this tough and tribal DJ tool that delivers all the funk and 'oomph!' so typical of his sound.

Review: Although only a few months have passed since Constant Sound was first minted, the label run by Burnski and Jon Woodall is now ready to unleash its fourth EP. Entitled Raw Moments, it features a hot original by Paolo Rocco and is backed with accomplished remixes from the legendary Nail as well as boss man Burnski.
Canadian Rocco is well known on the Montreal circuit for his broad and energetic DJ sets, whilst he has also cracked the Beatport charts with his own tunes, namely 'Move Body, Move Forward' on Klasse, as well as with follow ups on Real Tone. He impresses once again here with 'Raw Moments', a track that does exactly what it says on the tin.
The whole track is built upon rock solid kick drums that bounce and bobble about as curious bird sounds and gloopy synths dart about next to cow bells and hi hats. It's expertly lively and robust.
First to re-imagine the track is Burnski, who injects some seriously fat bass, a subtle sense of shuffle and infectiously crafted grooves laden with dub motifs and rich reverb. It's perfectly designed for no frills and non stop dancing, frankly.
Last to remix is DIY Discs man, Classic Music Company associate and all round house tastemaker Nail. His Smoke Dub is a bulky house jam with buffed metal melodies, squelchy drums and sci-fi synth sounds that is deep, stays low and is perfect for back room basements.
This label might only be on its fourth release, but already it has announced itself as a go to outlet for fans of fresh intelligent sounding house, and this release only confirms that.

Review: Acid Arab is a collaboration between Guido Minisky and Herve Carvalho, which seeks to unite the worlds of underground dance music and Middle Eastern tradition. In the wrong hands, this could have ended horribly, sounding like an advert for a package tour to Morocco. Thankfully on El Maghreb, for I:Cube's always essential Versatile, the pair manage to bring these two worlds together with great flair. The most functional track is "Mogador (club version)", where dense drums and spiraling horns create a fantastical, frenzied track. However, it's not hard to escape the notion that Acid Arab are capable of far more adventurous combinations and this is audible on the hypnotic, mysterious pipe playing and seductive pulses of "Hafla" and on "Amal", a slow-motion, dubbed out mood music piece.

Review: Daniel Paul and Jens Augustowsky have been steering Cabinet Records for twenty years now, establishing the label as one of Berlin's most reliable outlets for techy, housey fare and contributing their own weight in productions under various aliases. Cab Drivers is one of their longest-running collaborations with Playroom their 11th 12" release under the name in those two decades, and their studio understanding is quite evident in the productions. Both the ten minute title cut and "A Less Complex Situation" are understated but wholly effective DJ tools with the subtle acid modulations of the former just edging it.

Review: Acido is undoubtedly one of the more intriguing labels to releases music that - at a stretch - falls under the banner house and techno. Dynamo Dreesen and SVN, who make up the Dresvn combo, have been collaborating under this moniker since 2009 for labels Sex Tags, Wania and SUED - all of which are loosely connected. This EP is their fourth for Dreseen's Acido and it finds the duo in equally stellar and oddball form once again. Dripping poly-rhythms of tabla drums glop like thick glue over static snare hits in "Track 1", while a gloaming "Track 2" is downtempo and jazzy. "Track 3" accommodates something a little more straight forward; the vocal however, is a different story, which could be said about "Track 4" too, which blurs the line between ambient music and charming minimal house.

Review: Dan Ghenacia and Chris Carrier, two kingpins of the contemporary French house scene, team up for a collaborative EP on their native Adult Only label, specializing in deep, funky beats since the late 1990's. The duo serve up title track "Just A Sin" as an appetizer, a seriously pounding and head-first house banger tailor-made for the club, followed the main dish "The 2nd Degree", a deeper, more subtle DJ tool boasting a mean percussive edge. The dessert comes in the form of a remix of "Just A Sin", whipped up by Diego Krause in what the Germans would describe as being "effectively waxed". Powerful tools for the powerful deejay.

Review: We have said it before but we'll say it again; when it comes to minimal: Romanians do it better. But many would agree that at the moment, no one quite does it like Barac does. For the second release on his own imprint, the Bucharest producer delivers another release of quality hypnotic groove but surprisingly more straight ahead. He focuses more on dancefloor dynamics rather than the usual abstract tendencies this time around. It's still trippy enough though, take the A side for instance. "Moment Of Clarity" uses sublime chords and dreamy pads on top of a driving funk bass and a tough enough beat. On the flip is "Sun, & Following" which has peaktime at Sunwaves in mind. Utilising a fierce and intricately programmed rhythm beneath sombre, immersive chords and a muted guitar lick providing the melody. It's killer.

Review: Romanian minimal: often imitated, never bettered. Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia team up as SIT: this is one dream team if we've ever seen one! After the mesmerising and exotic intro of "Assemble" it's business as usual on the bumpy and deep workouts ''Permissive" and "Bootcamp" which of course come complete with mind bending and paranoid sound design that works a treat at those Sunday afterhours moments. Other highlights include the darkside sci-fi electro vibes of "Brooklyn: and the bouncy and downright epic 15 minute closer that is "Come Around" which features one seriously wonky bassline that'll wrap your brain in a knot; check it out! Tip!

Review: London institution Half Baked have been putting on secret warehouse parties for over ten years in the capital and started their in house label in 2013; releasing tracks by Birdsmakingmachine, Mike Shannon and Robin Ordell. Ordell is back on HB 007 as Pap Inc. a collaboration with Parisian minimal auteurs Seuil and Le Loup. It's as quirky as you'd expect really. "Busty Car Wash" is a bumpy, boompty reductionist groove with loads of random voice samples looped endlessly. The funky break on "Brack Bit" treads along tirelessly amidst sinister sound design and dark strings and more creepy voice samples; are they from movies? "Cigam" crosses over nicely into deep house territory with a swing fuelled beat and melancholic pads while "Meet Me At The Cosmic Parade" ends things in glorious fashion; a mini-funk groove that revels in all its micro-sampled absurdity.

Review: Minimal techno auteur Thomas Melchior is back with some more of his sublime deepness for us. The artist known for his productions with Baby Ford and Zip steps out on his own this time on "Tracking The Psyche" for London imprint Lick My Deck. "Right Of Passage (The Induction)" is a slice of dreamy and utterly sublime deep house for early morning dancefloors. But it's more of the Melchior we know on "The Ritual" with its rolling chime-like melody and dark stabs giving momentum to a typically sparse composition. Finally "Let Go" gets all esoteric on us with this bright and hypnotic jam whose whistling melody and shamanic chant draws you in to the void ever so nicely.

Review: Frankfurt up and comer Dario Reimann makes the kind of dark and mysterious deep house influenced by the likes of Mountain People or STL and we're seriously digging it. "Orange Beam" is a lonely and melancholic groove, made in isolation exactly for those kinds of lonely dancefloor moments while "Night Sky Observations" (on the flip) is the kind of dusty and sombre cut you could imagine hearing in a warm up set at Robert Johnson. Finally "Orange Beam (Malin Genie Remix)" is other sound of Frankfurt: rolling and slinky tech house for peak time dancefloors

Review: Default Position's latest offering is 'Gasworks' by Terry Francis.

Review: After over 26 years at the forefront of Parisian nightlife, Rex Club expanded their remit in 2015 with the launch of an eponymous record label; typically, it was inaugurated with a dash of Gallic flair by a 12" sporting the collective talents of D'Julz, Phil Weeks and Trus'Me (the latter on remix duties). Fast forward to 2016 and Rex Club present their second 12", turning to one of the most respected names in deep house, Mr Fred P. Last year was perhaps the most productive so far for Fred P, and this creative drive continues apace on this Expressing Dark Matter EP. Holding it down on the A-side is "Wave Patterns" where a restrained groove plays second fiddle to some delightful pads and oh so deep chord work. The B-side pairs up the loose percussive "Continuous Sensations" with standout cut "Unbroken Circle". Vintage Peterkin through and through.