DJS: MOST CHARTED - MINIMAL / TECH - MOST CHARTED IN AUGUST 2013

Review: Canadian producer The Mole, or Colin de la Plante to friends, has been in fine production fettle so far this year, gracing labels as varied as Red Motorbike, Slices Of Life and his own Maybe Tomorrow operation with his distinct brand of tongue in cheek mutant house. History Of Dates marks the long overdue Perlon debut for The Mole and it's celebrated in style as Zip's venerated label call in DJ Sprinkles on remix duties! The title track and "Lockdown Party" line up on the A Side with the latter track a particularly cheeky production, as playground chants sit deep beneath an insouciant house groove. It's this track that Sprinkles remixes, implementing some subtle production additions such as handclaps and playful filtration on the vocal samples which lend the track a different energy as Thaemlitz deftly builds up a killer contemporary disco groove.

Review: After making themselves known as a unit through a well-steered label, a focused party brand and a Fabric mix, Apollonia are now making their first steps as a production outfit, on their own imprint of course. Dan Ghencia, Dyed Soundorom and Shonky already share a passion for reduced, late-night strains of house music heavy on rhythm and atmosphere, but expressed through controlled arrangements and measured sounds. "Trinidad" more than steps up to this state of affairs with simple approach, a powerful bassline and a steady rolling beat, while "Visa Americain" follows suit with a nagging loop just itching to burrow its way into the collective unconsciousness of clubs such as DC10.

Review: Given that Australian label Contemporary Scarecrow kicked off proceedings with a release from house legend Boo Williams, you'd wonder where they could possibly go next. A release from one of the most prolific and respected producers in the game certainly isn't a bad move; this self-titled EP from veteran producer Mr G more than matches up to the rest of his output. The appropriately named "Potent" sees rolling drums carry staccato chord blasts and a thick, resonant bassline with all the appropriate force, while "Dancefloor" takes things into deeper, trippier territory with its breathy vocal moans and high octane pace. The flipside sees two tunes for the later hours, as "Tune In" and "Seapuss" both taking things into dark, dubbed out territory.

Review: Volume four of the Vanguard Sound series from Anunnaki Cartel label sees Amir Alexander and Chris Mitchell once again open the invitation to the East Coast house innovators. This time it's Plan B pair DJ Spider and Dakini9 who line up alongside the label founders with Amir Alexander setting a rough and rugged tone on opening track "Cypher". Rasping kicks and a killer bouncing analogue bassline drive the track forwards as Alexander gradually weaves in a searing synth tone which increases with smudged incandescence until a vocal sample offers some brief politically tinged respite before the synth tone kicks back in. Mitchell is in equally bullish mood on "213 NL" a straight up drum track that ratchets up into full blow acid filled psychedelia as the final third hones into view. On the Plan B side, Spider drops one of his trademark lurching rhythms, with skittering drums traversing the gritty lower frequencies of "New World Resistance" which is filled with the sort of vocal samples that justifies the title. "Rollercoaster To Nowhere" from Dakini9 is just as impressive, retaining the murky mood yet driven by it's own almost drunken percussive swagger.

Review: If you're looking for classic deep house reissues, the Apollonia crew are doing an ever increasingly great job of turning out the truly sought after gems amongst the chaff. Kerri Chandler's Night Moves EP that originally put out "Sunday Sunlight" is now fetching silly prices elsewhere, but it's not hard to see why when you wrap your ears around the swinging deep house master at his very best. From the warm, bubbly bassline to the life-affirming chords to the sweet, distant vocal hook, it's everything you want from the man. To round the package off in fine style, Delano Smith slides in for a remix that dubs the track out with a soft but effective touch.

Review: Autoreply do the record buying public a favour and give Baby Ford's Tin Of Worms 12" another repress, this time on yellow wax. Baby Ford has been making electronic music since the late 1980s and is regarded by most as one of the key players in the nascent UK acid house scene. His entry into the Autoreply stable is a classy, versatile two tracker. The title track showcases crisp, tight linear drum programming - with ribcage shaking sub bass and supernatural synths which undulate over its eight minute cycle, displaying the original principles of minimal techno alongside forward thinking sound design. On the flip you'll find "Westway", originally recorded on Ford's now defunct hardware set up and mastered from DAT. This track conjours images of smoky late night jazz clubs with its smooth piano chords and strings that seem to float in an out of the mix- set starter, nightclub techno lesson, afterparty showpiece; the choice is yours...

Review: Londoner Midland has become one of the more consistent producers to emerge out of the post dubstep swamp in the last few years, with a respectable clutch of record label releases and collaborations in his discography. Apparently mindful of the pitfalls of spreading himself too thin by continuing this approach of signing records to interested labels, Midland has founded Graded, his own label which is aimed as an outlet for all his future 12" productions. Archive 01 sets the tone for Graded brandishing two typically weighty house productions from Midland recorded to tape; the title track has a wonderfully clomping beat whilst the fizzing bass line and ghostly vocals really benefit from the fuzzy edge the recording process gives them. Complementing this, "Realtime" demonstrates Aguis is equally happy to delve into weirder territory, crafting a groove from odd vocal ticks and searing bass tones.

Review: Combine Jean-Guillaume Cabanne with Guillaume Berroyer and you get Copacabannark, a French minimal production duo with two early noughties releases on Perlon and another 2006 release on Minibar. The 10" Mindisc EP is their second release for the aforementioned Minibar and it sees Copacabannark return to a quirky and minimal squirt-effect aesthetic. "Cave" softly throbs to the sound of a tonal bassline muffled by woofy filters, as a three dimensional scope of trippy sound bites circulate the background like a confusing dream. On the flip is the stripped back and funky groove of "Grenier", narrated by discombobulated vocal samples of the late Gil Scott-Heron.

Review: Life's Changing Face finds Mr G in similar form to the tracks that made up Still Here (Get On Down), last years album for Rekids. Relentlessly driven by bass it may be, but beneath there is a fragile musicality and a soulful edge. This is captured perfectly on "For Those Who Feel (For Lex)" which pounds at your senses with raw , industrial thrust of rasping kicks, hi hats and bass drums but gradually draws out a haunting refrain of soaring pads and vocal loops that flush the track with real emotion. On the flip, "Raw Emotionz" takes a darker turn, drowning a heavily delayed sample deep beneath menacing synth turns and an ever changing surfeit of layered percussion. "Be Free" ends on a lighter note, filled with Mr G's repeated titular refrain, heavenly chords and a bubbling undercurrent of acidic bass.

Review: What began as a record shop in Munich founded by Marvin & Valentino now becomes a record label as the duo inaugurate Public Possession with a 12" under the Tambien project they share with compatriot Bartellow. As you'd expect from the title, the Robusto / Sexalitat EP occupies the robust end of the techno spectrum, offering up two cuts steeped in analogue fuzz but still powered by a desire to make people move. With support from the likes of Joakim, Tim Sweeney and LIES boss Ron Morelli, the wonderfully hollow sounding "Robusto" rips and bounces in all the right spots whilst "Sexalitat" nearly boils over with intensity and shimmering white noise. Sehr gut!

Review: Fresh off the back of a killer 12" for Jared Wilson's 777 label under his given name, Mr Todd Osborn adds an 'e' to his surname and returns to Ghostly offshoot Spectral for the equally good Hold Up. Commencing with sparse kicks, "Hold Up" is soon taken somewhere else by the instantly recognisable vocal harmonies of Hot Chipper Joe Goddard and the spindly acid lines and spectral keys that take turns in the spotlight. It's a wonderfully insouciant slice of classic house and is totally catchy - just what you'd expect with the involvement of Mr Goddard. Accompanying this is a self explanatory dub version from Goddard, whilst the flip holds further original Osborne gold in the shape of "All Night" which itself is blessed with a killer Tuff City Kids remix.

Review: ## Repress from the Acid Test dons ## LA techno imprint Absurd start 2011 with a brand new series focusing on contemporary strands of acid tinged danceteria from an international cast with the Austrian producer Tin Man at the helm, plus a remix from Donato Dozzy adding an extra flavour of desirability. There's a restrained, melancholic and yet still very trippy brilliance to "Nonneo" which separates the track from the usual 303 fare - the acid lines are teased out with real nonchalance over ever so slightly jacking programming whilst the growing crescendo of synth patterns add some real depth. "Accumulated Acid" transfers you even deeper into psychedelic bliss, a slow mo throbbing acid excursion touched delicately by stripped down metallic stepping syncopation. Dozzy holds court on the B Side with a remix of "Nonneo" that gloriously twists the track towards a more narcotic, reverberant exercise in hypno-house. Comes in a rather neat hand sprayed sleeve with a code to download the tracks!

Review: Hailing from the new and mysterious Vara label, this four track double pack makes a bold statement about the intentions of the label, offering a decidedly ambitious product for a second release populated by relatively unknown producers. Lucky then that all the tracks on the release are worthy of their own side of wax as they plumb the depths of minimal tech house with fearless abandon. Arapu keeps the beat twitchy as he lets globulous sub bass design provide the warmth in the track, while Dubsons get into a lighter frame of mind with a breezy beat and atmospheric swirls of chord. Faster brings things back to a darker context with that fearful clang of church bells and plenty of decay and reverb around to fill in any untoward gaps, leaving it to Costy & Gerardo to finish the deal with a stoutly stripped down, cyclical burner for the deepest of dancefloor contemplators to get lost in.

Review: A considered classic in the canon of Minimal Wave tracks, "Flying Turns" by Philadelphia trio Crash Course In Science is opened up to a whole new audience here with a 12" reissue on Pressure Traxx complemented by remixes from label founders Einzelkind and Frost as well as Mr R Villalobos. Given that "Flying Turns" is a favourite of numerous DJs - from James Murphy to J Rocc to Funkineven - you should be familiar with the corrugated synth lines, proto-techno rhythms and the urgent vocals of the track which sounds remarkably futuristic despite it's first appearance dating back to 1981. Frost & Einzelkind focus on that degraded sound for their remix whilst Villalobos turns in two typically stripped back revisions of which the self styled 'Mac Hawking' effort is wonderfully boompty.

Review: In advance of his forthcoming album Beautiful Rewind, Four Tet drops this limited white label offering a hint of what's to come. "Kool FM" is the producer's ode to pirate radio, constructing a stripped back club track bolted together with junglist breakbeats, a hyperactive MC sample, a full-bodied bassline and copious in-built rewinds. On the flip, the "Bliss Mix" strips out the beats and bass for a eerily serene version leaving only wispy pads and spectral vocals. As always with these surprise Four Tet drops, supplies are limited...

Review: Joining forces with producers outside his Visionquest hometown, Ryan Crosson showcases a pair of collaborations that further tap into the sleek and sexy funk of the label he runs. "Angel", penned with the Tale Of Us boys, is an urgent mover with peppy drums and searching dashes of synth clipped into dynamic and ear snagging arrangements. "Head Above Water" reaches for the moody vocal talents of Aquarius Heaven, going for a techy construction that keeps the beat minimal while the melodics come in subtle pulsing tones that create a deeply hypnotic concoction perfect for the blurry end of the night.