FEATURED RELEASE
Album released 13-10-2010 on Minus
Marc Houle cites the harsh Berlin winter as the major inspiration for his fourth studio album, 'Drift'. And indeed the veteran Minus producer has cooled down his variant of minimal techno considerably, while at the same time introducing a more organic feel to it.
This is not necessarily a contradiction in itself - cold, industrial soundscapes and endless echoes are complemented by strung guitars and hushed voices, which add a human touch to the album and distinguish its nine tracks from the artificial sterility so often encountered in minimal techno productions.
Marc Houle is a master of classic Minus-style basslines, which carry tracks like the 'Inside', 'Drift', and 'Melting'. In other moments, such as on 'Sweet' or 'Hammering', Houle relies on looser elements, such as plucked string sounds to create eerie and melancholic moods.
The album comes as a Video Edition exclusive to zero", including a 46-minute film by Polish visual artist Barbara Klein, which perfectly complements Marc Houle's organic minimalism with dreamlike, mystical images of shadowy figures and lone dark forests.
|
MORE TECHNO HOUSE ESSENTIALS
|
|
Maxi-Single released 12-10-2010 on Dolly
Brilliantly deep, house-flavoured techno by Jacob Korn on Steffi's Dolly label. 'Sundaysun' and 'Sand' are equally suited for reflective listening as they are for public crowd elation, and are complemented by two fine remixes coming courtesy of Dexter and John Daly. Highly recommended.
|
|
|
Lee Jones' mix-album for Watergate is not short of exclusives and edits by the prolific producer, known from his releases for Aus Music, Cityfox, as well as the MyMy project. Over half of the tracks carry Jones' personal hand-writing of deep and elating techno house. Recommended.
|
|
|
Ever since his releases on Versatile and his fantastic track on the Ostgut label we've followed Tony Lionni's output closely and hence highly anticipated his début album. So much we can say - he didn't fail to reach up to our expectations and delivers one of the most accomplished house albums this year.
|
|
|
Sleek, sexy and ever so slightly twisted, dOP's debut album arrives with chutzpah and hype aplenty - something they have knowingly tapped into by naming it 'Greatest Hits'. Think one part Matthew Herbert, one part Dave Aju and one part sexy French house and you have dOP. Highly original, essential album.
|
|
|
Album released 15-10-2010 on Suol
The debut album of producer / vocalist Fritz Kalkbrenner is quite a unique affair, combining a melodic Berlin-style techno flavour with his almost blues-like singing style. Love it or leave it, but definitely check his folksy single 'Facing The Sun' as well, which includes remixes by Sascha Funke and brother Paul Kalkbrenner.
|
|
|
Gavin Herlihy delivers the latest Cocoon record, which is probably among this years' highlights from Frankfurt's label of all labels. Pretty dry funk, but with catchy hook-lines will make this EP a regular in many DJ's crates in the next months to come. Check!
|
|
|
Album released 05-10-2010 on R2
With his pretty much unique take on all things afro-tech, this selection of tracks features deep bombs from Ron Trent & Chez Damier and Itamar Sagi. Black as ink and seriously grooving this is trance inducing, whilst being about as far away from 'trance' as you can get. 1h mix plus single tracks. Highly recommended.
|
|
|
A very special collaboration project on Innervisions: The music of award winning Sudanese musician Emmanuel Jal gets remixed by Henrik Schwarz and The Knife's Olof Dreijer. Highly musical club house by Schwarz, percussive electro by Dreijer - nice!
|
|
|
Surely one of the biggest set of tunes you can get your hands on this year, 'Vampire Nightclub' and 'Without You' have two Toronto veterans, Kenny Glasgow and Jonny White, team up for two twisted, bass-heavy, anthemic hits. Seth Troxler featuring on the mic as well. Get this quick.
|
|
|
Alex Flatner and Lopazz team up for a release on Poker Flat: 'Dinosaurs' is a percussive, shuffling DJ tool with spoken word vocals and a prolonged break-down. Paul Woolford adds his well-known modulated arpeggios in Green Velvet style, while Wareika's remix is a stoic and low-pitched builder.
|
|
|
Maxi-Single released 10-10-2010 on Rekids
Fine batch of remixes by Kenny Larkin and DJ Sneak for Mr. Radio Slave. Kenny Larkin puts his hands on 'I Don't Need A Cure For This' turning it into a rolling big room monster, while DJ Sneak adds his cheeky Chicago twist to 'N.I.N.A.'. Ace material.
|
|
|
Murphy Jax is backed up by Mike Dunn to deliver a time-less piece of anthemic Chicago house. 2010 or 1985? We couldn't care less. Comes with an instrumental version as well as remixes by Legowelt and Alden Tyrell, the latter an absolutely irresistible acid house version.
|
|
|
Album released 07-10-2010 on Basmati
The third release on Gabriel Ananda's own Basmati label, 'Charming & Alarming' consists of four shuffling tracks that combine bouncing house beats with great synth-work, especially on 'Trixini', which stands out with constantly modulating, syncopated hooklines. Gabriel Ananda just gets better and better.
|
|
|
Maxi-Single released 04-10-2010 on Areal
Areal's own Basteroid returns with a new single: 'Clavilux' is an 8-minute techno house epic of uplifting chords and dramatic string arrangements, while 'Thicket' is a more reduced stomper. Comes with a nice video of hand-drawn animations by Basteroid himself.
|
|
|
EP released 04-10-2010 on Infiné
Here's a release to restore some credibility to minimal techno, in the true sense of the word. Bruno Pronsato, Sinner DC (of Ai fame), and Manvoy De Saint Sadrill create beautifully reduced techno versions of Arandel's originals. Recommended.
|
|
|
Maxi-Single released 04-10-2010 on Soma
Hot on the heels of Hatikvah's debut album, 'Synchronicity', follows 'In the Spirit'. The single includes two Rod Modell / Deepchord reworks, which shine, as always, in all glittering dubtechno colours, with the bass-drum-less 'A Balmy Night Mix' particularly standing out.
|
|
|
Debut album from Examine, who has been catching the ear of those in the know for some time. Hailing from Croatia and only having taken up music production a few years ago, his alternate take on minimalist electronics and bare melodic structures provide a perfect sonic diversion for the coming winter months.
|
|
|
Hercules & Love Affair vocalist Aérea Negrot delivers an interesting mixture of acid house and queer, experimental pop on her debut for BPitch Control, 'All I Wanna Do'. Two sterling remixes, by Efdemin and tobias., complete a package that's well worth checking out.
|
|
|
Album released 05-10-2010 on BBE
BBE might not be the most obvious outlet for the minimal house of Bara Bröst, but then being signed to the prestigious British label is certainly a high accolade for the Berlin duo's music. 'Elephancycle' is their debut album, convincing with a fresh take on organic, contemporary house music.
|
|
|
Maxi-Single released 04-10-2010 on Immer
Michael Mayer unearths two fine nuggets by Losoul, the uncrowned king of the Rhein-Main House Posse, for his newly founded Immer imprint. 'Swing Ibero' is a 13-minute monster full of psychedelic soulfulness, 'Nuin' was recovered from a dusty DAT tape and sees it's release for the first time. Ace!
|
|
|
Yet another killer production by Berlin's prolific Mike Dehnert, 'Biface' perfectly lives up to its name. What starts out an a reduced dub techno track, employing a subtle vocal sample to great effect, drops all restraint mid-way, introducing energetic rides and modulating filter sweeps. Hit.
|
|
|
Maxi-Single released 04-10-2010 on Rekids
The single to James Teej's recent 'Evening Harvest' album, 'Seven Day Mend' is an uplifting deep tech house track, made unique by Teej's distinct vocal style. Rekids mainstay Spencer Parker adds an extra 5 minutes to the track's remix, for increased late-night compatibility. Nice.
|
|
|
Compilation released 15-10-2010 on Affin
A sure-fire hit on Joachim Spieth's Affin imprint, Little Fritter lets loose a percussive low-end bomb, skilfully remixed by Poker Flat's Simon Flower, who emphasizes the tracks rough and jacking qualities.
|
|
|
Album released 15-10-2010 on Trapez
More jacking Cologne techno by Roland M. Dill, whose 'Casino Capitalism' and 'The Hierarchy of Peeps and Booms' sparkle with funked-up, shuffling minimalism. Remixes come from Patrick 'Voodooamt' Lindsay, Michael Boenig, and veteran producer Justin Berkovi.
|
|
|
Tiefschwarz's recent album efforts get melted down into three, considerably hot, remixes by Guido Schneider, Sis, Ruede Hagelstein, and the Schwarz brothers themselves. Top notch, deep tech-house, with Hagelstein's drifting take our surprise favourite.
|
|
