DJs: Most Charted - Minimal / Tech - July 2011

Review: Cesar Merveille first joined the Cadenza team in 2009 with the Descarga EP, produced alongside fellow artist Pablo Cahn. For his debut solo release on the label, Cesar presents "Maayancholy", a beautiful and heart wrenching record, showcasing the delicate and fiercely musical palette of the French producer. Shimmering open cymbals splash sporadically, casting light over delicate Steinway piano keys and stabbing muted chord sequences. As the ascending chords rise, they dance magically alongside the pitter patter of percussive drums in a stripped back and raw demeanor. Luciano picks up the remix duty for with an epic 16 minute interpretation. As condensed cymbals and piano chords are electronically warped, urgency prevails and a groove sets in, marking this twisted version as the perfect companion for the simplistic original.

Review: For their 86th release the might, mighty Perlon bring on board Margaret Dygas with a self titled EP. Working her way through sparse and cosmic minimal spirals as we expect, "Missing You Less" shows her delicate edge with light piano keys and muffled strings giving a feminine touch to her otherwise driving style. "Soon" reverts to Dygas as we know her, with hitting drum patterns and reverbed tech goodness from the start. "Country Way Of Life" on the second disk is meandering and spooky, with indecipherable vocals popping up intermittently as a heavy kick and syncopated drums rise from below. "Ocbinh's Groove" meanwhile is dark and moody, as pads swoop and samples howl. Diverse, quality, pure minimal techno... Perlon live on.

Review: Emerging in 2001, Aybee has spent more than a decade gathering respect from all corners of the electronic music scene. Releasing music under a wide range of monikers over the years, Aybee's versatility is genre defiant and seamless in its quality. Tsuba score a coup here, coaxing him to remix "Reflexions" from Ethyl & Huxley not once but twice. The dub mix plays with a lonesome but bad ass bass loop and organic hand claps - coupled with the electronic melody Aybee shows us that simplicity is key. His second remix gets deeper and warmer as stretched synths roll and elegant wind instruments flitter along the top line. On the B-Side we have Ethyl and Huxley's "Slims"; dark, evolving and intense, the track is strewn with eerie recordings, chopped shakers and a creeping and spooky bass roll.

Review: Art Department and Crosstown Rebels seem to have taken the house world by storm in the last two years. Kenny Glasgow and Jonny White's "We Call Love" has been picked apart carefully put back together again by the legendary Balearic beardo DJ Harvey for a limited one sided, hand stamped, hand numbered white label. Slow burning and downtempo, "We Call Love" plays with the original's raw electric guitar melodies, piercing key sequences and chopped vocal snippets. Sensual and lethargically bouncy, it's a late night house track made in typical modern and blase style from the CR camp. Be quick!

Review: Rarely do we see producer Matthias Meyer stray from the comfort of his label home of Liebe*Detail. Props then to Cecille Records who have managed to capture the German artist and release his More Or Less EP. The title track prowls with low slung, dubby beats that roll rhythmically over warm pads and repetitive vocals in a sexually charged and late night affair. B Side "Grass Roots" exudes a charm that we so often see from Meyer; proud techno that stands tall in its identity yet bizarrely manages to drip with the groove and funk of modern day house music. Its heavy techno kicks and bass are fused with tight hats that nod directly to the techno pit. But, as vocals breeze with summery flair and float over subdued harmonic swoons, a house tune emerges and their partnership simply works. A similar charm is used on "Crystal Rain" as warm Balearic breezes and sun bathed tones shine through.

Review: It's quite natural in the face of expectation that preceded the launch of the Visionquest label, the music hasn't quite appeared to justify it. But this says more about the current ADD climate that punctuates how people gestate electronic music and the endless cycle of hype than the quality of their output. The latest release from Berlin dwelling North American duo Tale Of Us follows a similar sonic path to the first two Visionquest releases, presenting a somewhat introspective excursion into the deepest spectrum of house. It also serves further notice of their burgeoning talent which was most recently seen when they beat Michael Mayer to the bragging rights on Who Made Who's Every Minute Alone release. Opening with "Dark Song", Tale Of Us merge fragile vocals with an arrangement that starts off click house before dropping in the most satisfying house bumps. This is matched by the rougher textures of "Circle Of Love" whose smudgy subaqueous melodic elements are complemented by the haunting yet sensual refrain of Fadila. The duo discard with the vocals for "Valiant", a track that mutates from simmering deepness into an epic concoction of increasingly unstable acid bubbles, gut punching percussion and cloudy pads.

Review: DJ Koze's label Pampa Records proudly present Gabor Schablitzki's long player Thora Vukk. Created in six short months and riddled with field recordings that range from his own drunken vocals to the sound of the summer rain, slamming drawers and even his nostrils whistling unintentionally, "Thora Vukk" is not quite as you would initially expect from the ex Whighnomy Brother and techno fuelled party animal. Its seven beautiful and varied tracks are separated by bridges - the album forming a story all of its own as it plays from start to finish. Whether it be from the groggy but intricate minimal basis of "Bommsen Boff", the wispy ethereal touches within "Tulpa Ovi" or the endearing choir wails on "Ende"; Robag Whrume's album is a standout of and we highly recommend you listen to it on repeat!