Today Only: Minimal House/Tech House sale vinyl

Review: Dubtil finally launches his own label here and it's called Infrequent, which we hope won't be a case of nominative determinism. It's something minimal and tech house fans have long been wanting and this first drop doesn't disappoint. One of Romania's most accomplished DJs and producers lays out a fine vision here with the spaced out tech funk of 'I' kicking off with its dreamy pads and clipped beats. 'II' is even more out of this world with its wiry synths and aline life forms over heftier drums, then 'III' closes out with brilliant drum programming, pinging bass and the sort of smeared pads that bring real death.

Review: Akka & BeepBeep is a new label from the US that is dropping its first two EPs simultaneously on Valentine's Day. Joradesilver is behind one, and also feature sin collaborative mode on this other 12". It opens with 'King David', a hi-tek house sound with soul drenched pads and tightly programmed drums and bass. 'Mango Strut' slows right down to dubbed out house with clattering percussion and the sound of spacecraft, then 'June Buggy' gets funky with more twitchy cosmic synths and a nice organic house groove. 'Callin' Dybbs' is a deep and smoky closer for the backroom with a sublime sax line drifting throughout.

Review: Mole Music branches out for the first time to vinyl here and shows it has a great wealth of talent to call on with a various artists' EP that is presumably the start of a new series. Holy Guacamole Vol 1 kicks off with JHNS keeping it deep and lively with 'Nevermind' while Steve End and Colau hook up for 'Back Spin' and lay down some magnificent drum loops that are silky and infectious. El Funkador's 'Shame' brings some 90s New York vibes with lovely snare sounds and warm bursts of chords. On the flipside, Alben & Laje & Errat, Hot DLVRY and Craftsmanship all cook up more fresh fusions of old and new school house.

Review: Following up great efforts by the likes of Van Bonn & Luis Baltes, Unknown and Shadow-Area, here is the debut LP from Hamburg's Achim Maerz on Berlin-based Freund der Familie. Relief features a wide selections of moods and grooves; from the cavernous and glacial deep house of 'Black Hole', the contemplative ambient journey of 'Dream', plus there's more deepness of the emotive variety offered up on 'Changing Weather', the understated late night mood of 'Memories' and the mesmerising closer 'On The Way' awash in dazzling layers of rich synth tones in the vein of classic Chicago sounds. Mastering by Sven Weisemann.

Review: Last year Woody McBride's Minnesota label Sounds. reissued the Lovers EP, a 12" he originally released back in 1996 under his Modal alias. Now the remixes gets reissued to follow up, leading in with some Mariana trench depth charge gear from Roy Davis and DJ Skull. The Terry Mullan mix is a springy, 909 techno workout, while the Boom Box mix takes a lighter, drum machine jazz approach. There are so many old-school heroes involved here - Hyperactive, DJ Slip, Mystic Bill - but then what else would you expect from someone as invested in the scene and community as Woody McBride?

Review: Zach Murray is a fast-rising London producer who makes a great impression here with an ambitious and ultimately accomplished double pack on Oscuro. The title track 'Pieces Of The Puzzle' opens with sweeping ambient before 'Chill Pill' explores as glistening melodic world of futuristic tech and 'Can't Stop The Rain' has an old-school energy to its marching drums and rave stabs. There are also forays into acidic electro like on 'Keep Chasin'' and rugged breaks on 'Phase Me', elastic house sounds on 'Dubmotions' and cosmic turbulence in the trippy 'Dreams,' all of which show off this producer's versatility in style.

Review: Secretsundaze, both the label and party, is now helmed by James Priestley alone. Here the long-time London staple embarks on a new journey with his first solo release which features a fresh pair of originals. The EP opens with 'Doesn't This Sun Feel Great' which is a slick, speed house cut that is pent up with joy and celebration and has some twisted vocal manipulations and superb percussive details. 'The Real Sun' is similar in that it features plenty of live percussion, some tropical bird calls and humid synth lines that will get big reactions in the club. On the B-side, Drua's remix brings a psychedelic tech-house edge, while Giraffi Dog closes with his '700 Lakeside Remix' which is a little more sundown and sultry.

Review: Columbus, Ohio DJ, producer and scene instigator Teakup aka Lauri Reponen is back with another EP that follows in the footsteps of local forefathers such as Titonton Duvante, Archetype and Todd Sines. His music blends perfectly the sounds of UKG, breaks, minimal and techno both past and present. 'Signal 23' is a quick-stepping dub tech cut with clipped and funky drum programming while 'Valve' is more rhythmically loose and playful in its elastic approach. 'Felopzd' has tightly wound melodic motifs and clattering percussion over a glitchy but swinging beat and 'Pad Thai Mystic' (feat Foi Oi Oi) closes out with some tense late-night minimalism.