TECHNO / HOUSE ESSENTIALS
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Tokyo's Ken Sumitani releases his debut album after just three EPs since 2008, fitting like hand-in-glove on Don Williams' Mojuba records. His exquisite deep and jazzy house, oozes soul via classic Detroit in a Stereociti's brilliantly original and finespun tactile way. A true stunner.
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EP released 18-07-2011 on Dial
Efdemin and RNDM's collaborative project has always had a special feel, and 'Sunrise Industry' is possibly their strongest release yet. Reflective in scope, with deeply absorbing hues of 'Dirty Float' and 'Painting the Tape', the title track winding deliciously and 'Flip Over Pill' sparse and experimental. Stellar.
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Compilation released 04-07-2011 on !K7
After the stunningly tasty new material on 'L.O.V.E' EP, the prolific talent of MCDE proudly shows his influences in his much anticipated DJ-KiCKS mix. Opening with Sun Ra, mixing in Rhythm & Sound, Aphex Twin, Fred P (aka Black Jazz Consortium), Mr Fingers, Loose Joints - this is high grade soul food. Essential!
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Aérea Negrot gets it thoroughly right this time, contrasting her big gesture singing style with Tobias Freund's minimalistic house beats for her second EP for BPitch Control. 'Right Body Wrong Time' is reminiscent of Freund's collaborations with Cassy, or even the music of Trax Records' legendary Latin diva, Liz Torres. Ace.
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EP released 27-07-2011 on Minus
Loco Dice had gone a bit quiet on the release front lately, and his return to M_nus, 'Knibbie Never Comes Alone / Loose Hooks' is indeed his first vinyl outing since 2009. The single is a fine show of strength though, discarding '7 Dunham Place's house leanings in favour of major minimalistic dance floor damage.
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With an irresistibly cuddly cover artwork and four excellent deep house tracks to come with it Smallville has yet another winner on its hands. Uncanny Valley's C-Beams lead off the pack with an airy Detroit jam, followed by earthy grooves by Christopher Rau and trippy excellence by Benjamin Brunn. Brilliant.
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Detroit legend John Beltran gets reinterpreted by some of Germany's young bright talents - Kassem Mosse and Mix Mup delivering an blinding sultry percussive re-workout of 'Brilliant Flood' from 'Ambient Selections', and Sven Weisemann's tribute collaging Beltran in echoey melodic strides. Excellent.
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Compilation released 18-07-2011 on 6ONE6
Detroit's 6ONE6 crew has put together this excellent volume, the proceedings of which go entirely to Aaron Carl's family. Stand-out contributions come from Santiago Salazar, 'Trackman' Mark Archer, and Mario Massaro, while Aaron-Carl is represented with the great 'Justa Groove'. In many ways essential!
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Two mighty cuts from A Forest Mighty Black aka Bernd Kunz, 'In My Life' featuring Geraldine Roth on vocals gushes classic piano house feel-good grooves, updated in an irresistible Drumpoet style. 'The Far Side' warm and heady, teasingly sedate for early morning dancers. Ideal.
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Switzerland's Mirko Loko meets Detroit's Stacey Pullen with Pullen appearing for the first time on Cadenza. A fusion of these two distinct styles takes the form of 'Formulaic Mode', a drifting, thickly textured and bass-heavy mover and 'Tronic Illusion' an alluring, spacious shuffler. Ace stylish and intriguing tracks.
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EP released 11-07-2011 on OBJEKT
Berlin resident, Objekt (TJ Hertz), comes up in a big way on the second stunning release on his self-titled DIY label. 'CLK Recovery' is his warped, glitched-out interpretation of chord-driven thumping techno that is full of surprises. 'Unglued' is a real shocker with 2-step groove and one hell of a massive drop!
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Responsible for Pampa's first ever release, idiosyncratic club hit 'Blaue Moschee', Jakobus Siebels and Mense Reents return as Die Vögel to DJ Koze's label. This time they save the brass assault until mid-way through 'Fratzengulasch', while flip side 'Maikäferbenzin' spikes its minimal house with avant-garde jazz riffs. Genius.
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After decades in the music business, prolific collaborator and engineer Tobias Freund (nsi., Odd Machine, AtomTM & Pink Elln) drops his debut solo full-length as 'tobias.' via Ostgut Ton. Eleven reduced analogue techno templates combining minimalistic experimentalism with floor appeal. Highly Recommended.
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Album released 06-07-2011 on Minus
Barem spikes his minimal techno with a healthy dose of rolling percussions on his debut album for M_nus, 'After The Storm'. These grooving Latin flavours and a subtle use of vocals lend the album's eleven tracks a cool, laissez faire mood. Nice one.
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For 'Conspiracy Pt.2' Mike Levy's slows down his Kraftwerk electro / old-school rave cross-over down to a crawl, something which quite unexpectedly sounds intriguingly fresh. 'Viol' and 'Opr' are as menacing as they can get with barely 110bpm, while 'Conspiracy Origins' adds a touch of Pan_sonic bleeps. Ace.
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Maxi-Single released 11-07-2011 on Profan
One of Wolfgang Voigt's many guises, Sog represents one of the most fiercely avant-garde traits in a hugely versatile artist. This is minimalism executed gloriously, the tense stabs of 'Fremde Hände (1)' dart with dramatic grace, '(2)' is transformed with a bass drum and '(3)' a psychedelic whirlpool. Incredible.
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Finally some new material by Recloose and surprisingly we're treated to four club-friendly gems on his fittingly titled 'Saturday Night Manifesto'. Opener 'Electric Sunshine' maintains an electrified boogie vibe throughout, but for 'Parquet' and 'Tecumseh' Mr. Chicoine moves into soulful house and even techno territory. Great.
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Former Hacienda DJ Jon Dasilva surfaces on Rush Hour's Hour House series with his banging acid house anthem 'Love Is All We Need'. Braille (Praveen Sharma) contributes a more modern sounding remix using filtered dub chords, while Ultracity unleash those original Frankie Knuckles house flavours on their take.
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Chicago's Tevo Howard compiles his latest album 'Pandora's Box' for Hour House Is Your Rush following up on last year's 'Crystal Republic EP'. Tevo explores further into his trademark sound with 8 tracks evoking classic Chicago House and Acid, along with flashes of influence from New Wave and Italo. Essential House music.
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Sean Hernandez continues the MOS_DEEP series under the Chicago Skyway name, displaying his mastery of Roland vintage gear. Aroy Dee's edit of 'Bad Driver' harks back to early B12 material, 'Lager Nord' wraps its jacking toms into dense string layers, and Steve Tang's Obsolete Music Technology mix proves that these guys are anything but obsolete.
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Curle Recordings dish out their fourth release from Anthony Collins, his deep techno instantly clear and nonchalantly dance-ready as ever. The big treat however is the Roman Flügel remix which expands out into a glistening, jacking 9-minute epic, twisting and teasing its way through. Utterly dreamy.
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Virgo Four's 'It's A Crime' became a stand-out favorite even among dozens of exceptional tracks on the duo's retrospective 'Resurrection', recently unearthed on Rush Hour. Caribou adds his signature touch along with his voice to his jacking remix, while Hunee rises further into prominence with his bouncy, disco-infused interpretation.
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Aus Music continue augmenting their house roster with another artist from the genre formerly known as dubstep, George Fitzgerald. 'Silhouettte' bounces with dubby, warm stabs and a refined UKG agility, 'Reset' a hazier stepper with the real treat via Dial's John Roberts, a lusciously raw and twisted remix. Ace.
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Maxi-Single released 18-07-2011 on CLR
A second pair of remixes taken from Tommy Four Seven's impressive debut LP arrive on CLR, featuring well-established techno veterans Speedy J and Terence Fixmer. Speedy J ups the tempo for 'CH4' adding some punch and shuffle, while Fixmer masterfully touches up 'Sevals'.
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EP released 20-07-2011 on Plus 8
Barcelona's techno stalwart Paco Osuna takes it to Plus 8 this time around with a new release. Cut-up vocals and nicely edited breaks add individuality to the EP's four functional and percussive techno tracks. Recommended DJ tools.
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Maxi-Single released 10-07-2011 on Soma
Slicing and dicing a piece of techno history, Surgeon's 'Muggerscum Out' originally released on Soma in 1996 gets wrenched into 2011 with The Black Dog offering a punishing 'Sheffield' and a delirious 'Moseley' version, London's Perc and Glasgow's Alex Smoke updating the techno warcry admirably. Respect!
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Leeds meets Detroit when Delano Smith and Gavin Herlihy team up for the 'Krypton Factor EP'. Delano Smith leads off with techno groover 'Lost in Detroit', followed by his g-funk house take on the title track and Herlihy's trippy, funky and percussive original. Winner!
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DJ, BBC radio presenter and all-round don Heidi has been throwing Jackathon parties over the past few months, and now unleashes this treat of a compilation - all exclusive tracks from Soul Clap, Steve Bug, Juan McLean, Jamie Jones, Deetron & more. Hands-down essential mix for fans of modern jackin' house!
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The Cocoon stable still going strong keeping an eye on the techno house quality control, with 'Compilation K' they once more showcase their output. Opening with young talent David August, strong contributions from Matt John, Argy and Sascha Dive, Tom Trago, Butch and Minilogue deep and hypnotic. Sturdy.
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DUBSTEP / HIP HOP / ELECTRO ESSENTIALS
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Compilation released 18-07-2011 on Rinse
Arguably the most prominent figure to rise from the UK funky house scene, Roska compiles a massive 25-track mix for Rinse, showcasing his prowess as a DJ and producer along with favourites from his globe-trotting DJ sets. Including big tracks from Untold, Katy B, Seiji, Zed Bias and Roska himself.
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Ras G compiles his latest LP, 'Down 2 Earth', arriving this time on Ramp Recordings packed with 21 slices of raw, uncompromising hip-hop as can be expected from the acclaimed Brainfeeder-affiliated, LA-based beatmaker. Ras G is undoubtedly in a class all his own!
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Maxi-Single released 05-07-2011 on All City
'Falty' Drew Lustman delivers yet another winner, this time via Dublin's excellent All City imprint. 'Make it Difficult' and 'Jack Your Job' are two fantastic updates on the forgotten sound of early 1990s NYC house, complete with breakbeats, vocals, flute stabs and wild pitch notes. Highly recommended.
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California's production duo Nguzunguzu currently top the hipness scale with their original blend of Chicago footwork and UK bass music. Their 'Timesup EP' is yet another display of the pair's ingenuity, constructing a kind of tribalistic r'n'b from tuned toms and rolling percussions. Excellent.
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Maxi-Single released 24-07-2011 on Kapsize
Benga has been quiet so far in 2011 but you wouldn't have guessed with this heavy release on Joker's Kapsize. The techno-influenced 'Faithless' leads off featuring Benga's punchy beats, while 'Acid Lie' takes a trip to the 90s albeit with Benga's signature futuristic edge.
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Jam City follows up last winter's 'Magic Drops' EP with a fine five-tracker: 'Waterwork' shows off freestyle squarewave riffs and stop-and-go rhythms that are as much a take on 1991 Sheffield bleep as they are on modern day UK funky house. Another winner from the Night Slugs camp.
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Maxi-Single released 11-07-2011 on Tectonic
Photek drops in for his debut on Tectonic with 'Closer', the label's 50th release and truly something special: a brooding, dubstep-rooted, modern-day take on a style reminiscent of his most classic d'n'b recordings. Pinch on the flip delivers with his stepping remix. More to come from these two legends!
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'THIS IS CLUB MUSIC', Drums Of Death's official web page announces definitively. It's hard to argue with Scotland's Colin Bailey on that one, as his latest EP, 'Black Waves', virtually attacks the dancefloor with a curious blend of bass, rave, acid, and techno across four tracks driven to the maximum output on Civil Music.
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