Minimal / Tech House Recommendations September 2010

Review: Modern day Detroit legend Omar S takes a break from promoting his line of Omar S Ice Cube trays to lend his mixing skills to this two track EP from Detroit native Luke Hess. Produced on murky blue marble vinyl, Michigan Central Station contains the type of glacial dubby techno you'd expect from an Echochord Colour release. The disconsolate song titles are more than matched here by the melancholy nature of Hess's productions. "The Problem Of Decay (Greed Affects Us All)" sees chords echo and bounce across the desolate soundscape of gentle pads and kick patterns that drop into the mix with intermittent ease. Over on the other side "Corridor's Solution (A Plea For Change)" goes deeper still, ramping up the bass some and indulging in more cavernous chord patterns.

Review: Laboratory Instinct unveils the second of a quartet of wax releases that will make up the vinyl version of A Guy Called Gerald's recent album, Tronic Jazz: The Berlin Sessions. On the A Side you are treated to the sinister orchestral acid wobble of "Nuovo Alfa" and the cleaner punchy techno of "Flutter". On the B Side the legendary producer drops "Wow Yheah", which flips a vocal snippet of a mid nineties hip-hop classic over growling bass patterns and a jacking metallic rhythm.

Review: 20:20 Vision unleash some more tech house pumpers from label mainstays Audiojack. "Motion Sickness" flips skipping drums and vocal edits over a driving bassline that throbs with warmth, whilst "Shakedown" is all about the piano riffing with the Freerange era Switch drums. Love the 20:20 brown paper bag too.

Review: Dutch imprint 100 Pure hit their 60s in style but show no sign of retiring with Riva Starr holding hands with Butch on PURE 061. Butch goes for the deep bass crunch on the A Side, teasing us for several minutes before the XTC vocals drop. Riva Starr goes for the peaktime jugular on the flipside, cutting up the vocals from the off.

Review: Kann and Mikrodisko both share a side of this four track EP of mesmerizing deep house cuts. Kann honcho Map Ache offers up two cuts himself with the simple yet intricate melodies of "Carnival" captivating from the off.. On the flip Nike Boredom lays her distinctly breathy vocals over a melodic minimal arrangement that grows some brilliant acid undertones. Kassem Mosse teams up with M Mup for the brilliantly off kilter dubby deepness of "We Beat That Thang".

Review: Great driving techno thumpers from Mannheim's Nick Curly on the always impressive 8 Bit imprint. "Aymara" locks into a hypnotic druggy groove before dropping in soaring synths and odd overdubbed vocal samples. On the flip "Tigua" adopts a winning bass heavy percussive shuffle which soon drops into a crescendo of killer throwback rave stabs, whilst "Lemba" opts for a minimal sub aquatic creek.

Review: Canadian producer Colin de la Plante aka The Mole returns with the From Villeneuve To Damerow EP on German imprint FT. Subtle atmospherics abound in A Side "I Want Castles", which sees the Mole's trademark deep and soulful minimal house sound riding atop disembodied vocals and droning atmospherics. Flip over for "Joe & The Indian" which has some nice junkyard percussion and a bouncy, rolling groove, while "T-Strings" winds a fine 12" off with a sombre, beatless outro.