Back catalogue: Minimal House/Tech House

Review: Third part of the compilation celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Milanese record shop. This collection is entirely composed of previously unreleased music, exclusively produced for the occasion by many artists of great relevance in the worldwide music scene, who supported the store over the last ten years. The artists who produced the music for this compilation are Egyptian Lover, Ellen Allien, Thomas Brinkmann, Neil Landstrumm, JD Twitch, Matias Aguayo, San Proper, Tolouse Low Trax, Jay Glass Dubs, Dj Marcelle, Jorge Velez, Tamburi Neri, Fabrizio Mammarella, Heith, Itinerant Dubs, Timeslip89, Kreggo and Intersezioni Ensemble. The entire work is composed of 4 x 12", plus a bonus EP.

Review: Released just days after their Reflections tour, I Jordan and Sherelle link with club institution Fabric and their new label Fabric Originals. Both artists currently working on inspiring stratospheric levels, their energy is captured here across the two unique tracks. I Jordan rinse us up and down the highways and byways of the UK with their high impact 'M1 / M3' while Sherelle goes full-on techno with 'Getoutofmymind'. Intoxicating stuff!

Review: Miami native Idana is still a fresh face, but their sonic aesthetic is more than well-defined. 'Swing No. 2' is, counter-intuitively, the first four-track EP to be released under the name, and spans lively vistas of both deep and shallow sound, intensely packing sci-fi and sacred-geometric FX into its chillout mixes. Each tune is like shooting down an organic waterslide; squelch, wibble, bubble and bloop all make themselves known within the minimal house playbook.

Review: Santiago-based Drumma label is back in full swing with its first release in a couple of years. Before the pandemic they had releases from scene heavy hitters such as Luciano, (iO) Mulen, Barac and Livio & Roby. For this one they've chosen Miami-based up-and-comer Idana who presents the immersive and multi-layered minimal techno experience of 'Cantan Los Pajaros Modulares' featuring an array of atonal blips and bleeps underpinned by clipped and hypnotic polyrhythms. Over on the flip, the mesmerising energy continues on the wonky breakbeat-driven roller 'Telepatic'.

Review: The iconic North London dance music duo Idjut Boys are famed for their nostalgia fueled offerings of dub, disco and house and join forces again for this 4 track single featuring 4 completely different takes on the track 'Speedball'. The 'Full Whip' version is an 80s powersynth with powerful kicks and synth perfection, an authentic use of a commodified sound used in the past couple of years. 'Severe Itching' takes the party downstairs into an acid techno rave, the liquid bass seeping through your ear canal into your skull - an utterly extraterrestrial experience. 'Strip Off Dub' is just that: a stripped back dub version of 'Full Whip'. Focusing on the heftier synths and bass, with the rushing wind effects that compromised 'Full Whip'. 'Whizbang Mix' invites you back into the bassment for another slice of acid house pie, the meeting point between 'Full Whip' and 'Severe Itching' that feels like trying to listen to the former after the laters aforementioned liquid has blocked your eardrums. This one's for the messy afterparty.

Review: As Toolroom only puts out a small percentage of their releases on vinyl, those given the wax treatment tend to be anthems in waiting. Martin Ikin's 'You', featuring some seriously loved-up, glassy-eyed lead vocals from Chenai, certainly sounds like a future classic. Shamelessly positive and life-affirming, 'You' is a turn-of-the-90s style piano house workout with added 21st century weight, a few disco-house style filters and a raw, stabbing bassline. The cheery vocal version (side A) comes back by a quite different Dub mix. This opts for a darker, chunkier big room sound - all wobbly riffs, pulsing electronic noises, cut up vocal snippets and mind-mangling motifs - that should delight all those who love Toolroom's trademark sound.

Review: Jumpin' & Pumpin' looks back into the seminal archives of The Future Sound of London here to reissue their fantastic The Pulse EP from 2008 which also featured tunes from Manchester pair Indo Tribe. It is they who start with 'Bring In The Pulse' which features some Happy Mondays hallelujahs, mad rave whistles and bristling electronic breaks. 'In The Mind Of A Child' (First Born mix) is then a bouncy techno cut with more visceral synth and acid lines and The Future Sound Of London kick off the flipside with 'Hardhead' (Frothin' At The Mouth mix) which is an assault of breaks, congas, whistles and rave signifiers. 'Pulse State' (831 AM mix) is that perfect tune to zone out to on a late night drive on the motorway.

Review: Juan Atkins released some of the funkiest, dreamiest techno of his imperious career as Infiniti. a collaboration with Orlando Voorn,. 'Game One' originally came out on Metroplex in 1994 and it's since become an essential part of the Detroit techno canon. On this release for Kontakt we're treated to some visionary remixes of the track from trusted experts, leading in with Steve Rachmad's pumped up, springy rendition on the A-side. It's a version which upholds the machine soul sensibility of the original, paying all due respect to the blueprint Atkins laid down as a Detroit techno pioneer. On the flip we get treated to two contrasting versions from Santiago Salazar, with his first take heading into interstellar electro territory before casting adrift on the deep house-tinted 'Sci-Fi Xicano Remix'.

Review: Using the Turkish psychedelic project Insanlar as a jump off point, Honest Jon's have enlisted Ricardo Villalobos to turn out one of his grandiose remix projects that gels so naturally with more exotic sound sources. The original of "Kime Ne" is already an enchanting, Moog-infused groover rich with traditional vocals, and then Mr Villalobos locks the ingredients in for a typically cosmic ride into stripped and hypnotic house territory, letting the lutes intertwine with dusty reams of percussion using that alchemists touch that could only come the man himself. The remix spreads itself over two sides of wax, leaving one side of the double pack free for a fetching etching as well.

Review: The classy work of Etui continues here with Insect O bringing a unique dub techno perspective to this latest marbled vinyl 12". 'Sandstones' is a classic of the genre - the fathom-deep bottom end, the rippling chords that gently make their way across the face of the tune before disappearing to an infinite horizon and the oversized hi-hats adding more scale. 'Volca Dub' is more textured and slower, with melodic motifs sinking in deep next to icy hi hats and 'Everlasting' ups the ante with some sleek, dynamic minimal techno that is again dubbed out to perfection.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: James 'Bursnki' Burnham aka Constant Sound label boss and garage head Instinct is showing no signs of running out of ideas despite having put out such a high amount of high-class club weaponry in the last few years. He goes big once more with this latest 12" which subtly features the iconic vocal cries from Moby's 'Go' but repackaged in a shuffling and banging garage groove with dark synths and wonky bass. On the flip is pure grade bassline track, 'Bassline Track.' It'll take you back to the days when this northern take on garage was all the rage, and why not?

Review: Ukraine's tech house champ per excellence iO (Mulen) is back in action, following up on last year's first instalment of Oldivibes with some more chunky, playful workouts for the floor. Given the title of the release, it's no surprise to hear some trancey flavours threaded through lead track 'Join Me', but they're framed by a tough, pumped up house backbone to get you jacking with approval. 'What I Want' is a dirtier affair, but the spirit is very much the same. 'Hey Hey!' takes things in a trippier direction without dipping the energy and then 'Outgoing Song' completes the set with the standout track - a seductive and spooky groover with the perfect slithers of female vocal to draw the crowd into the palm of your hand.

Review: Mulen main man IO has been surprisingly quiet this year following a stellar 2019 in which he released a quintet of must-check EPs. The good news is that the Meuse EP was worth waiting for. The A-side title track is a terrific example of the more robust, peak-time-friendly end of his style, with addictive riffs, spacey electronics and ricocheting percussion hits riding a storming, beefed-up tech-house groove. He begins the B-side with a deeper, loopier and hazier (but not less rhythmically driving) excursion - the disco-tech jack of 'Flirt', before reaching for swinging drums, alien-sounding motifs and warming chords on hypnotic closing cut 'Response Profonde'.

Review: It seems like Iron Curtis has been around forever now - always in the underground, never getting the acclaim he deserves but never falling out of favour either. This latest outing takes him to Chiwax for four more finely tuned and club-ready offerings of seductive and deep tech. 'Schweben' is a nice elastic rhythm with slowly undulating chords that melt the mind, while 'Push Push' (live At Passagen) is a more steamy and intense bit of cosmic deep house with drive and intent. 'Factory' (Sheffield Danse mix) is a warehouse-ready tune with bright strobe-lit chords and 'Weather Report' closes with more deny acid and melancholic chords that get you in a daze.

Review: Enigmatic Berlin collective Italojohnson are back with their first release this year, with more 'simple body soul music' on its 15th release. Three tracks on this one; the A side cut is a right stomper that's perfect for those heads-down moments on the afterhours dancefloor, then over on the flip we've got a dark, trippy DJ tool. Then, it's all aboard the acid express for the 303 induced shuffle of B2. The release's press sheet states "It ain't that deep, fam" and that's true but, still - Tip!

Review: Romanian renegade Iuly.B is back with more of his widescreen, synth-rich constructions for the minimal-not-minimal brigade. This time he's bringing his wares to Italian label Modvlar, who were last spotted releasing Valentino Kanzyani back in 2021. The whole Crystal Cave EP is brimming with invention as the techno synths come cascading down around the snappy house beat on the title track and 'Vital Expansion' lets expansive sweeps of pads and charged arps shape out the sound before letting the drums rip. 'Traffic Jam' is just as ear-catching thanks to its low-down bassline and metallic, rhythmic signal processing, giving Nobodi plenty to work with for a liberally dubbed remix to close the record out.

Review: Breda, Netherlands-based Memoria Recordings returns with a very special release this time by staple Ilario Liburni from Belgium, who's no stranger to the label, together with label chief Izaakson, This is their debut EP after working together in the studio and they deliver three solid tracks on the Operator EP. On the first side, the title track is a proper back room dub that's perfect for those heads-down moments, followed by the rolling and bass-heavy minimal tool 'Get Around'. Over on the flip, the pair head to the afterhours on the acid-laced microhouse of 'Look At The Line' which ends things on a more playful note.

Review: Lukea and Illan Niccian combine their own respective sounds into this fresh EP on Dulceata. It kicks off with a track made by both, 'Pyrus', which is a wigged-out tech house cut with snaking bass and silvery drum sounds while a mysterious didgeridoo-style lead brings an original touch. Each artist then goes solo, with firstly Luka offering the low slung and late night depths of 'Providenza'. Illan Nicciani's 'Spiraea' is then a deep and spiritual closer with Mediterranean melodies washing over you as the liquid grooves and squelchy bass roll below.

Review: Gjidoda Music returns with its long awaited third release. It's another various artists affair featuring some right heavy hitters and newcomers alike on the minimal scene. Opening up the first side is US veteran Bruno Pronsato with the typically arcane microhouse cut 'When You Ran Away From Home', followed by some late night mood music by Iljir on 'Ziiik Zaaak'. Over on the flip, Nikdo takes you into a cavernous and glacial realm on 'Confusion' and finally label chiefs (presumably!) Gjidoda & Gjidoda Jr go deep on the swing-fuelled groove action of 'Wish To Be A Movie Star'.

Review: Two And Half Records make the decision here to try and rid the A and B-side distinction on records that we are all very familiar with and instead they refer to each face of their latest 12" as 'dance' and 'listen.'' It makes sense frankly and is often how things go anyway. Swiss duo Quismi kick off this one with twitchy and narcotic tech house with an old school bent. French artist Groenogen then gets wild with bright melodies and grinding synths, r&b vocals and high speed tech funk on 'Twinkle Dance' while ILyes offers the tech silkiness of 'Starting Now.' On the flip is a trio of less direct, more experimental sounds that sure do offer plenty to get lost in on headphones.

Review: Making no bones about his sources of inspiration, Rotterdam-based DJ and producer Mitchel Polderman directs his Tafkamp alias to a wholesale ghetto house / Dance Mania aesthetic right down to the centre label. Tracks like 'Twerk Dat Shit' and 'Drive Me Crazy' have all the moves you'd expect from some proper Chicago early 90s gear, but Polderman's sound has a slicker modern finish which sets it apart from the OG material. There are six tracks on this release, and they all channel legends like DJ Deeon et al, with a pitched down sample of Peaches thrown in for good measure.