Tags: Tech House

Review: Nathan Coles and Nils Hess dropped a couple of LPs and a tidy run of 12"s as Get Fucked in the late 90s and early 00s, and now Repeat are taking us back to one of their finest moments. Their debut LP Dot To Dot is a quintessential demonstration of tech house at the turn of the millennium, shot through with a wonky humour which pointed to the impending minimal boom, but still rough and ready like the UK sound which had proliferated around parties like Wiggle. There's also a dash of the Viennese jazz twist you'd associate with labels like Cheap, and more heads down grooves than you can shake a nose bag at.

Review: The late, great Nathan Coles is rightly hailed as UK tech house royalty - an originator in the scene who embodied its headsy, underground energy in the long and winding years before the sound broke through to its ubiquitous popularity it enjoys now. Of the many projects he turned his talent to, Get Fucked found him studio sparring with Nils Hess around the turn of the millennium on labels like Eukahouse. Now leading tech house reissue label Repeat have gathered together the best of the singles, and as you might well expect it's heavyweight, rolling gear for the late night marathon crew, crafted masterfully with grit and groove in equal measure.

Review: Repeater's latest reissue takes us back to 2001 and the formative years of the UK tech-house scene. Get F***ed was a (sweary) alias of pioneering producers Nils Hess and the late Nathan Coles, utilised by the pair between 1998 and 2005. Wet Dreams, their sophomore album, first appeared in stores in 2000 and has become hard to find on vinyl in recent years. This edition not only boasts remastered tracks but has also been expanded to three slabs of wax in guarantee a louder pressing. Largely funky and spacey, utilising a mixture of far-sighted synth sounds, deep chords, boisterous house beats, chunky basslines, futurist intent and subtle nods to early UK garage, the album's ten tracks arguably sound as fresh now as they did when they were first unleashed on dancefloors at the dawn of the century.

Review: Ray Colino's steady hand on the tiller at Kalahari Oyster Cult has led to it becoming one of the finest, most distinctive labels operating in the wider techno-sphere. Notching up its 40th release in only five years, the collective energy of the cult doubles down on its spiritually-charged trance leanings with this righteous 18 track sermon featuring an impressive cast from close family members to headline acts. Whether it's the acid bubblebath of Volodymyr Gnatenko or Maara & Priori throwing down some deadly hand drum tech for the peak time, your sets are about to get a serious re-up of wiggy wonders. At a time when the early techno-trance sound has become so en vogue, Kalahari's clarity of vision and commitment to the vibe marks it out as a true scene leader.

Review: Deep house pioneer and Balance label head Chez Damier has recently got back into the scene having had his creativity reinvigorated. He has started a new label House of Chez as a way of sharing it with the world and now comes a bumper collection of all the early releases. He has made his with Ben Vedren as H2H and it's fair to say they are some of the standouts here. Elsewhere, Mosis impresses with the delightfully deep 'Pick It Up' and Damian Rausch remixes Sista Sista's 'Baby Don't' into a super low slung and dusty late night beatdown. The legendary Giorgio Morderer even appears with the diffuse synth magic of late night cruiser 'Engery.'

Review: Frost and Einzelkind's Pressure Traxx captures the evolution of minimal tech house over the past ten years, as the rigour of functional 4/4 gave way to different rhythms and motifs from the wider dance music lexicon. It was a smart move which helped reinvigorate the scene, and while they didn't do it on their own they absolutely fuelled the fire. Ten years in, their label is certainly due a retrospective which stretches out over eight sides of next-level workouts for long blends and marathon sets. The cast of characters hardly needs explaining - from Tobias and Villalobos to Edward and John Dimas, the quality never lets up and in one smartly arranged box set you're going to be gifted with the finest minimal in recent circulation.

Review: Alex Font is charged with serving up the MINIMALER Factory label's first release and an ambitious one it is too - Cross The Limits: Chapter 1 (we wonder how many chapters there might be?) is a minimal and tech house triple pack that offers a wealth of club-ready sounds. They are embellished with all manner of abstract details and creeping sound designs, from trippy pads to whispered vocals. Each one is intricately designed and carefully arranged to be in a constant state of flux that very much keeps you locked from start to finish. A trio of fine remixes from Dubtil, Franco Cinelli and Alexis Cabrera add further gravitas to this strong album.

Review: Anja Schneider has been at the heart of the Berlin underground for decades. Famously she headed up the Mobilee label which was a powerhouse of, well, house, and now she revisits her sizeable back catalogue for a bumper triple album of remixes, works and updates. If nothing else this collection shows what great range she had as all styes are covered from dark and driving tech to more blissed out deep house. The likes of 'Turning My Head' show great percussive flair and 'Dubmission' (Julian Muller remix) is quick and slick, stripped back minimal. Vocal delight 'Rain' is a real classic amongst many here.