Review: There's seemingly no end to the mind-blowing vaults of UK tech house titan Mark Ambrose. Even after the extensive three-volume run of reissues on Repeats, Rawax have found more of the South Coast legend's late 90s material that hasn't been reissued yet. Sharks be damned, the Cat Groove 12" is back within reach and remastered to bring the best out of the tracks. The title track is one of those artfully squashed, funk loop-riding jams that turns the heat up without any need for studio showboating - just the right ingredients. 'Floating Around' is a heady tripper crying out for the morning, while 'Hook Up' finds another soulful lick to place at the centre of a groove so crunchy it just has to come from an MPC. Hold tight for 'Warehouse Blues', which injects some nasty, pumping techno energy into the mix with a metallic bassline that comes on like Mr Fingers dipped in chrome.
Review: Interplugreaction is a track from Beroshima's 2007 album Real To Reel, but it's wasn't until 2023 that we (now get to) hear the cream of its reinterpretations. If only every track in the world could hear a remix from the likes of Marcel Dettman and Rodhad! Perhaps this calls for an entirely new industry - in fact, let's lock the artists in a room just so they can churn out the music and nothing else. Actually, a whopping four techno heavyweights (also including Frank Muller and Henning Baer) to reinterpret the classic track, with the new mixes ranging from stuffy and oppressive to airy and stark. Certainly not one to miss.
Review: Since making his debut way back in 2007, Christian Burkhardt has amassed an impressive discography - including numerous releases on such high-profile imprints as Cocoon, Eastenderz, Raum:Musik and Oslo. Here he returns to wax for the first time in four years via a rock-solid EP on Rawax. The German producer begins with 'Dice Pop', a tactile and spacey nod to formative, mid-90s tech-house with added sonic dreaminess, before reaching for shuffling breakbeat-house beats, ghostly electronics and raw analogue bass on 'But What'. Burkhardt opts for a bass-heavy, spacey and hypnotic flex on 'Bee Gees', while 'Twofour' is a druggy and mind-altering minimal house roller.
Review: Lefferis Kalabakas may have been making and releasing music as Lee Burton for the best part of 14 years - largely for labels like Raum Musik and Up The Stuss - but this tidy EP still marks his first outing on German giant Rawax. He starts in confident mood via energy-packed peak-time workout 'Party Crusher', where acid licks, Yorkshire bleeps and piano riffs rise above an early LFO-inspired groove, before opting for a mid-90s-MK-goes-psychedelic flex on 'Nismo'. Over on the flip, 'VOT' is a rolling, acid-flecked, organ-sporting slab of rushing dancefloor positivity, while 'Zero G' is a raging, TB-303 heavy acid-breaks roller.
Review: Cold's 'Strobelingt Network' feels like a deliberate exercise in creating a mood that shifts imperceptibly, track by track. 'Strobe Light Network' leads with a hypnotic, pulsating bassline that anchors the track while the layers of synths flicker above it, creating a sense of steady forward motion. It's a track that seems to take its time, building an atmosphere that's both immersive and intense. 'Hyper Experience' builds on this, with its murkier, more intricate textures, and the 2024 edit adds a deeper, almost industrial undercurrent. The track's groove doesn't change much, but the added layers make it feel more expansive. It's a masterclass in subtlety: Cold's production keeps things moving while maintaining an air of suspense, suggesting that the next step could take the music somewhere completely new. The EP ultimately offers a refreshing depth, pushing techno further while remaining firmly in its roots.
Review: The mighty Rawax empire has always got just the right record for whatever occasion. It is Bucharest's Costin RP who steps up now with two expertly designed minimal gems for cultured dancefloors. 'Arai' is a nearly nine-minute trip that's built on a fluid, rolling tech groove but is masterfully embellished with watery droplets, echoing vocal whispers and deft little sci-fi motifs. 'Everyday I Am Thinking Of You' goes even longer and is one of those sounds that utterly immerses you in your own thoughts and amongst dreamy synths and wavy grooves that you never want to end.
Review: Robert Drewek and Tomie Nevada worked together a fair amount around the mid 00s, delivering a punchy kind of electro-techno hybrid which was very much of the era. They scored a partial hit with 'Done In 2 Days', which cropped up on the popular Nightdrive mix album by Slam and now the original EP that track was from is being reissued by Rawax. The music has aged well, sporting a certain spiky attitude which should land well with a fresh crowd in modern times and the rest of the EP is just as satisfying, from the rubbery acid wriggles and bumping groove of 'Follow Me' to the nervy tech of 'More CPU Please'.
Review: Robert Drewek vs Tomie Nevada's 'Time 4 More' EP was originally released on Unleash Records in 2005. Nine years on and Rawax are reissuing it on black wax and the tunes sound as good as ever. 'While He's Away' is a slick blend of garage-infused house drums and warm synth pulses with catchy vocal samples that bring a hint of old school. On the flip is 'Down With the Bass' which flips the script with a stripped back and militant but silky groove, dubby pads and a head's down vibe that really hypnotises.
Review: The classical-inclined RAWAX crew looks back to another great retro EP here and reintroduces Orlando Voorn under his FIX alias. His superb Flash 12" was originally released on KMS Records in 1992 and this new pressing of it features the original plus bonus tracks 'Face' and 'Players Anthem.' As you would expect given the heritage, these are all timeless outings. 'Flash' is the most well-known with its wonky lead hook and coarse drums and perc. 'Dope Computer' brings some zippy motifs and electro-funk-inspired drums and 'Face' then gets more smooth and seductive with a garage-tinged groove. 'Players Anthem' is a bright, visceral, off-balanced rhythm that sounds like little else before or since.
Review: Classic alert! This tasteful reissue by Raw brings back to the fore some essential tunes, including the brilliant 'Players Anthem' which was on the 2003 Electrofunk reissue of this EP. It is notable overall for being possibly the first ever time P-funk was sampled in techno and for that reason it has remained an ever-green favourite. To be specific, it was the P-Funk Stars Allstars's 'Hydraulic Pump' which made for the bedrock of Flash, while George Clinton's 'Man's Best Friend' is the sample that defines 'Dope Computer'. Brilliant stuff that still tears up any party.
Review: Back in 2020, hip-hop, breaks and electro stalwart Freddy Fresh decided to turn his hand to vintage-sounding house and techno, self-releasing a set of tracks called The Harvest online. Rawax were impressed, with the popular label deciding to put the pick of the cuts out on vinyl. Title track 'The Harvest' sets the tone, with the veteran producer wrapping a house-tempo, post-electro groove in sustained organ chords, spacey synths and bubbly electronic melodies. 'House-Spanner' sees him doff a cap to The Middle of Nowhere-era Orbital (seriously, it's very reminiscent of the Hartnoll brothers' late '90s output), while 'Misunderstood' is a woozy, delay-laden chunk of early morning U.S deep house. Elsewhere, the deep house dreaminess continues on the interestingly swung 'Twain', and clonking, TB-303 speckled 'Horlywagon'.
Review: Having previously reissued Fresh N Low's sublime debut 12", a deliciously deep double A-side, Rawax has once more dipped into the UK deep house artist's back catalogue and come up smelling of roses. Originally released, like its predecessor, in 1995, this three-tracker offers more hypnotic, intergalactic and effortlessly tactile early morning fare. Check first 'Interact', where yearning pads, hypnotic riffs and intergalactic electronics rise smooth deep house beats and an undulating bassline. Over on the flip we're treated to two takes on 'Get Up', the chunky East Midlands free party deep house-meets-formative tech-house flex of the 'Rise mix' and the more sparkling, wide-eyed and warehouse-ready 'Shine mix'. Classic UK business that should be in any discerning deep house head's record collection!
Review: Rawax Germany is set to relaunch Fresh and Low's enduring classic, Wind On Water. Originally dropped in 1996 on Chicago's Guidance label, this seminal deep house track struck a chord that resonates to this day. The reissue is a loving tribute, bringing together emotive pads, tight beats and infectious basslines that defined a generation. Carefully re-mastered, Wind On Water captures that iconic atmosphere while feeling exceptionally relevant for today's dancefloors. A quintessential addition to any serious vinyl collection, it's an essential find for lovers of deep house sophistication.
Review: During the mid 1990s, Fresh & Low - then a fresh-faced trio from Glasgow - were, alongside the more lauded Charles Webster - at the forefront of the emerging UK deep house movement. Naturally, they found favour with Nottingham's DIY Soundsystem collective, who released their debut two-tracker on their Strictly 4 Groovers imprint in 1995. It's the two tracks that made up that EP which Rawax have decided to reissue here. It's a wise choice. A-side 'Rack Up' is properly deep and chunky, adding a mid-90s deep house free party sensibility to grooves and sounds inspired by early Prescription Records releases and DJ Pierre's tracky and heavy Wild Pitch productions. 'Interlude' is deeper and hazier, with subtle disco guitar loops and plenty of touchy-feely sonics and loved-up intent.
Review: Rupert Hartick made quite an impression with his debut release on Pleasure Zone in 2022, and the eagle-eared out there might have copped his drop on Konfus last year. Now he's graduated to the unstoppable Rawax with a four-tracker of sophisticated tech house for the discerning dancer. 'Sweet Dreams' has a meandering, hallucinatory quality helped no end by the amorphous synth tones shimmering over the top of the slinky, shuffling beat. 'Wiggle System' is an entirely different proposition marked out by snaking electro with a mellow demeanour. 'Smokin Kims' is also electro in its construction, but there's a very different flavour to the synths, which warp and writhe through some exquisite sound design. 'Leftback' maintains the thoughtful, original approach Hartick takes across the release, all while offering a different slant to his productions focused more on brittle percussion and FX tweaking.
Review: RAWAX welcomes Janeret to their artist bank, also delivering the EP 'Muba' in the process. From the entrancing, tropical greens of 'Kan' to the agri-synth undulations of 'Huk', Janeret paints a distinctively future-organic sonic picture, in which posthumans speak in monosyllabic tongues (as of the track titles) whilst biomech bots handle the entire food commodity production process, from tilling to threshing to logistics to stocking. The music here is like the minimal-tech scrimmage call of a bird of paradise to its flock, all of whom together find themselves happily locked, but still aviatory, inside one of many of these future greenhouses. 'Yubu' and 'Muba' soothe the soul further, the latter especially with its abstracted funk, its synthetic gazes outside casements, through to the world outside.
Review: Jordan GCZ is having a hell of a year. He's already delivered two sublime albums (his debut solo set and one created in collaboration with Detroit legend Terrence Dixon) and here drops another must-check EP, his first for Rawax. 'Making Me Dizzy' sees the Amsterdam-based producer add gorgeously ambient lead lines, lilting TB-303 motifs and funky bass to a classic Motor City techno groove, with the accompanying 'Dub Mix providing a heavier, sweatier and more intoxicating alternative version. 'Tongue Twister' is jazzier and even more intergalactic, sitting somewhere between blissed-out Move D deep house and melodious techno. The dub that accompanies it is pleasingly deep, out there and effects-laden, escorting us even further into deep space. Tip!
Review: Johnny Kick's Come On EP on Rawax Germany is a vibrant homage to the early 90s rave sound. On Side-1, things kick off with 'Burnin,' a track that blends classic house and techno with strong melodic stabs, reminiscent of MK or Nu Groove. 'Come On' follows with a fun and clever UK breakbeat style that echoes the energy of 808 State. On Side-2, 'Alright,' is a perfect recreation of the early 90s techno rave sound with classic samples. Closing the EP is 'Everybody,' a breakbeat dancefloor destroyer with keys that pay huge respect to Outlander's 'Vamp.' Each track captures the nostalgic essence of the rave era while delivering a modern punch. Massive!
Review: Anton Kubikov is a regular presence in the underground and now he makes his debut on equally long-established RAWAX. 'Jet Jet' opens up with some super seductive and silky deep house with deft and soulful chords over nimble beats. 'Outback Deep' is another hum sound this time with slower beats and dubbed-out bass. '3 Magic Words' picks up the pace with a soft acid line lashing about the arrangement with humid chords for company. 'Mister R' is a hip-hop swinger that oozes late-night cool and rounds out a sophisticated EP.
Review: Buoyed by the profile boost provided by Running Back's expanded reissue of his 1996 classic 'Open Door', Peter Kremeir AKA LoSoul brings his unique brand of dusty and hypnotic house to Rawax's RX series. He begins in confident fashion with 'Outer Signal', where squally flash-fried funk guitar notes and subtle synth tones get locked into redlined beats, dark stabs and looped bass. He flips the script on 'Art Form', offering for a pitched-down groove, fuzzy analogue bass, mind-mangling modular loops, trance-inducing house drums and echoing, soundsystem style bleeps. Basically, it's another top two-tracker from one of Germany's most singular-minded house producers.
For several years Luciano was one of the kings of the underground. The Swiss-Chilean rode the crest of the minimal wave and had his own distinctive Latin edge that marked him out in a class of one. Now he is back to DJing - often with his equally heralded brethren Ricardo Villalobos - as well as producing. Rawax has the latest goods from the man in the form of this suitably epic two-track EP. 'Assanti Sana' is all subtly shifting grooves and stringy percussive lines with some textured, expressionistic synth lines. 'In Xs' is deeper, and warmer, with ever-evolving rhythms and lots of stringy lines all woven together in an intricate fashion.
Review: Germany's workhouse Rawax label is the sort of imprint that provides busy DJs with just the sort of tools they need to do their job. This latest drop veers away from the more traditional house it most often deals in to dip into sleek minimal territory. Giorgio Maulini is the man in control and 'Night Roads' is just like a nocturnal cruise down the motorway, with wispy neons flying past like headlights and a linear groove extending out below you like miles of tarmac. The rest of the EP remains just as heady and well-designed, with supple grooves and deft synths colouring in the small hours of the morning.
Review: Rawax call on some contemporary big dogs for this new EP which features two Wareika tracks, both of them made in collaboration with various other artists. First up it is Lost Souls of Saturn aka Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa who step up with 'United'. It's a dubbed out cut awash with glistening and cosmic electronics and a funky minimal rhythm that has a cool vibe. It is perennial underground minimal favourite Sonja Moonear who then appears on the flipside joint 'That Conga' which is busier and more indebted to decor with its shimming synths and crispy rhythms.
Review: Standout Romanian producer makes a welcomed visit to the Rawax camp. The 'Metaphor EP' is a sublime example of superior primetime house music. 'The Wine Glass' is most optimal for dense crowds not worried about a little sweat and perhaps not enough foot space on the dancefloor. In fact, they love that! This is that kind of house music where you get happily drawn to the floor. 'Heal Dealer' adds a bit of acid and a beautiful underlying melody that is perfect for eyes closed listening moments. 'Doremi' is the ideal B-side as the deeper side to things, then the title track finishing off in style. Ali brings a great balance of techno and house to his sound. Rawax puts out a lot of music it seems like and when it's of this calibre, we just say bring us more!
Review: Teased right at the start of the year, keen ears have been awaiting this collaboration between Imprints boss-man Riccardo and Slow Life soldier Saverio Celestri since the summer. Now, fresh from quarantine, the stunning 'Area' is all yours. Bubbling electro breaks with added steel drum charm and harmonies from heaven, it's an outer planetary first smash from Planeters. Flip for two solo pieces from Saverio; the dark alley arpeggio and moody jacks of 'Entrance' and the widescreen electro / radioactive bounce of 'Sintesi'. Bumping.
Review: Sakro's sound has always been expertly designed a perfect blend of form and function. Now in collaboration with Max Jacobson the same can still be said on the evidence of this new three-track offering on Germany's constantly excellent Raw imprint. It kicks off with 'Walking Into Mirrors' which is a full-throttle tech house cut with nice rubbery kicks and busy melodic patterns swirling about the mix. 'Planet Arium' sinks into a deeper, more heady atmosphere with the kicks still driving but the synth work here is more muted and late night. 'Chapter 16 - Remember To Go Home' is an almost ten minute B-side trip to the stars.
Review: Rawax first released John Selway's Real EP back in 2020. It has aged well and is still an in-demand 12" following the sell-out of its first run. As such the German label reissues it now just as it was the first time around. The title cut is a tribal and chunky house number with thumping drums offset but tender and barely-there whispers. 'Sliders' is a twitchy technoid stomper with a sleazy vibe and the urgent, hurried grooves continue through 'Wraecca', this time overlaid with swirling solar winds and busy synth modulations. Proper tackle.
Review: The mighty Rawax has now put out more than 100 releases and they are all as timeless and useful as the next. Sublee steps up for this new slab of sound and kris off with 'v' which take sup the whole of the A-side but enervating outstays its welcome. It is a progressive house cut with a driving low end, plenty of grit in the percussion and pads that circle round to bring scale and a sense of cosmic adventure. 'Simple Two' slips into a deeper, more silky tech house vibe with lovely melodic patterns raining down from above. 'Hey Brother' shuts down with some dark breakbeats and mind melting synth leads that are pure peak time, post-rush fodder.
Review: First released in 1999, Swayzak's 'Floyd/Doobie' shook the British duo's catalogue. Though it wasn't 'Bueno' or 'Fukumachi', this deep house cut was the next best choice for followers of the then burgeoning tech house circuit. Swayzak were already favourites on this and the deep house scene, and had clawed in acclaim for their involvement in both as early as 1993. One particularly prolix bio deems them the incipients of "1st wave 2000-era progressive deep minimal", which is too analytic even for us manic categorisers. No, we prefer to take these two big-hitters as they are: brimming with enthusiasm for a gadget-packed future, 'Floyd' fizzes and twitches with the pulsing blurts of a saw synth, as if to suggest constant magnetic stimulation from above. 'Doobie', meanwhile, hears our protagonist disrobe the techno utility belt, returning to a wireless home, so to gaze out over a subtly detuned chord landscape set to munching percs.
Review: Way back in 2002, in the midst of his rise to global recognition, Ricardo Villalobos delivered a one-off EP for Linear as Termiten - though at the time his involvement was not widely known. It has become something of a sought-after minimal techno classic, with copies of the original 12-inch changing hands for serious sums - hence this Rawax reissue. It remains a fine record. A-side 'Why Did I Love My Wife' is Villalobos at his most propulsive - the kick-drum is pretty sturdy - while still reliably trippy, out-there and intoxicated. 'Nordhorn', a deeper affair in which melancholic melodies seemingly hang in the air over a typically wonky and loose-limbed drum track, is also superb, while 'Frank & Hennes' is a lolloping dab of downtempo psychedelia featuring samples from a heady old folk-rock jam.
Review: Rawax lock in a new one from TIJN that adds three more functional but fresh house tracks to their already estimable catalogue. This one kicks off with the silky and seductive, bendy and elastic neon synth sounds of 'Lost Language' which has rock solid drums bringing the drive. 'Keep The Peace' is a fresh one with upright drums that bring a militant march as molten melodic colours are dripped in from above. 'Fable' then spins out on trippy synths and wispy motifs that are perfect for the more intimate afters out there.
Review: Vid remains one of the most prolific and inspiring artists operating in the Romanian scene these days, able to turn his hand to forthright groovers as much as more experimental, subliminal sounds within the minimal blueprint. On this record for Rawax he's seeming particularly open, bringing a bugging kind of funk to consummate club tool 'Genesis' before flipping the script for an airy, resplendent broken beat excursion fittingly titled 'Captain Hope'. It's an achingly melodic piece which does away with club moodiness to reach somewhere more explicitly emotional instead. 'Time Shuffle' resets the co-ordinates back to the heart of the night, unfurling one of those elegant, finely detailed grooves Vid makes his own.
Review: Originally released in 1998, the title track is a hypnotic, rolling groove that helped shape the genre's future, its deep, pulsating rhythm and intricate layering exemplify Villalobos' signature style, making it a crucial piece in minimal's evolution. The Mood Mix on the flip stretches 'Heike' into a 13-minute odyssey, pushing its elements further into hypnotic terrain. Subtle shifts in percussion and melody build an entrancing, underground energy, capturing the essence of late-90s minimalism. This version transforms the track into a slow-burning, immersive journey, reinforcing why it became a staple in underground sets. Both cuts highlight Villalobos' early genius, demonstrating his ability to craft intricate, groove-heavy compositions with an enduring appeal.
Review: First of all, wow, how did this one already turn a quarter of a century old? It still sounds as wildly inventive now as it did back then and is fully deserving of this reissue. '808 The Bassqueen' is a truly mesmerising sonic journey that pushes the boundaries of electronic music with Villalobos's trademark blend of minimal techno and experimental soundscapes. He crafts a hypnotic and immersive mix of intricate rhythms, pulsating basslines, and deft synth textures that defy categorization and showcase Villalobos's mastery of groove and his ability to captivate listeners with subtle yet powerful sonic manipulations. This is the sound of a true visionary at work.
Review: Following the skittering, syncopated arrangements and left-handed excursions of 'Aslohop' and 'Detrant' back in September, Ricardo returns to Rawax with two more broken rhythms. 'Neunachi' is a classic Villalobos wonky shuffer with off-grid kicks and a rainbow of wet, cavernous noises. Take away the demonic reverse vocals and you're in microhouse territory. 'Detrant' is a much more driven affair, up-tempo and thicker, electro kicks off-set by a far-away chant. Each cut going the full nine yards; if ever we've had time to truly lock in to Ricardo's famously enduring grooves, it's right now. Neun out of ten.
Review: Ricardo Villalobos wasn't always the cult figure he is today. At the start of his career he was an underground producer still finding his feet and fomenting his own sound. It was in the first decade of his career that he cooked up this tune and had what is about as close as he will ever get to a techno anthem. 'Heike' rides on big drums with detuned synth lines layered up next to female vocal coos, pixelated synth modulations and prying bass. Its a mental workout as much as a physical one and still bags today, which his why it gets this reissue on Rawax alongside the Mood Mix on the flip which is more dubby and dialled back into to deeper beats.
Review: The always rock-solid Rawax delivers once more here with a new addition to their family in the form of Vinyl Speed Adjust, a top duo with fresh sounds. 'All About Us' is their label debut and it pens with the percussive clatter and plunging, low-slung bass of 'Spill The Beans'. 'Psykovsky' is more stripped back and eerie with deft pads and sub-bass making for a cavernous and inviting sound and 'Chasing The Dream' then brings snappy snares and rugged bass funk. 'Where The Fields Never End' shuts down with menacing low ends and haunting atmospheres for marching dancefloors.
Review: When this superb double-pack was first released in 1996, Bandulu had already spent four years finely tuning their trademark sound - decidedly spacey and subtly percussive take on techno that offered nods aplenty to Motor City minimalism and the dub-fired end of the Berlin techno spectrum. As a result, the eight-track set became the North London trio's standout release - an album in all but name that remains the purest and most finely crafted expression of their distinctive take on techno. Now reissued on vinyl for the first time since (and in remastered form to boot), its many highlights including the pounding deep space techno of 'Serial Operations', the dub techno masterclass 'Episode 7', the Regis-esque hedonism of 'Paranormal Channels' and the restless, delay-laden riffs of 'Advirus'.
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