Review: The Fruit Medley series has been hella juicy so far so we're glad another edition is ripe and ready for picking to kick off the label's 2025 season. This one features all newcomers starting with Cromie's 'Timereite', a chubby and clubby tech pumper with full throttle rhythms. Wilba's 'New Recipes' has lush synth smears over grinding low ends that echo early West Coast tech, and Darren Roach then gets a little deeper on the percolating 'Brettski Colectski'. Lazer Man's 'Time Of Ghosts' closes down with a mid-tempo, off-kilter house cut with steely drums and distant alien activity.
Review: The Paris-based producer pulls in a tight circle of remixers, each putting a distinct spin on a few of his recent tracks for his own Bass Culture label. Darren Roach's remix of 'Money, Honey, Monday' stretches the original into a spacey, progressive journey. The atmosphere is thick with delay and synth haze, but it still hits with the steady pulse of a house record built for peak time. Sweely steps in on 'Nu Bass' with a funkier approach. It's playful and full of bounce, guided by a deep bassline and flecks of disco that make it hard not to move. Melodic without getting sugary, it's a proper mood lifter. Side-B leans into the deeper end. DJ Deep's version of 'Nu Bass' goes darker and more hypnotic. It's tracky, minimal and slick, perfect for long, late-night times where you want to lose yourself. Hostom wraps it up with another take on 'Money, Honey, Monday'. This one built around a rolling bassline and polished production that gives it a bit of a restrained punch. A solid pack with plenty of replay value.
Review: Dashiell has been road testing these two tunes in his sets for a while, and they have always done a job. They finally arrive on wax courtesy of Foul Play and are sure to get dropped all over the place this summer. 'dfuse all the tension' is the right mix of driving tech but wonky minimal. The bassline is drunk and all over the place while the lead synth has a retro video game feel, and some crisp melodies and refracted vocals finish it well. On the flip, 'da nastiest' is faster and more direct with some turbocharged and bass-driven tech house characterised by another sleazy vocal and phased synth lines that bring a playful twist.
Review: REPRESS ALERT!: In case you didn't know, Reliance is yet another label from man like Burnski, the UK powerhouse who is almost single-handedly spearheading a sound that fuses garage, house and tech into something irresistible for the club. He invites Job de Jong to step up for the label's second outing and 'Dub House' is a great opener with just the right amount of bounce, melody and heart. Kepler remixes it into a percussive stomper with siren stabs and dusty perc. 'Emergency' is a trippy melodic workout that bends space and time and 'Don't Wanna Stop, Dub Stop' chucks a killer vocal into the mix over sleazy drums and garage drums that are always going to get big reactions.
Review: Job De Jong's latest release for PIV Records delivers a four-track exploration of deep, groovy house with a touch of underground flair. 'Move' opens with a driving bassline and crisp percussion, setting the tone for what follows. 'Undercurrent' takes a slightly darker turn, with layered synths and a hypnotic rhythm, while 'Wonky' introduces an experimental edge, pushing the boundaries of the deep house sound. Closing with 'Our Sound,' the EP rounds off with a warm, soulful vibe that's both refined and captivating. Throughout, De Jong showcases a masterful understanding of the genre, crafting a release that'll appeal to house heads and underground enthusiasts alike.
Manuel De Lorenzi & Freddie Wall - "Sun-Rise" (6:15)
Fichs - "Find Yourself" (6:35)
Manuel De Lorenzi - "You Already Know It" (7:08)
Manuel De Lorenzi & Giacomo Silvestri - "The Big Apple Community" (7:09)
Review: Monday Morning is back to roll out some more lush house depths with a second EP, this one featuring founder Manuel De Lorenzi in the company of his pals Giacomo Silvestri, Freddie Wall and Fichs. 'Sun-Rise' is a nice gritty but vibey opener with percussive skip and dry hits. Fichs's solo cut is a loopy workout with nice bulbous synths and a pared-back rhythm that gets ever more inescapable while De Lorenzi then offers up the radiant synth warmth and dubby undercurrents of minimal house shuffler 'You Already Know It.' With Giacomo Silvestri he then closes on the more percussive loops of soft house soother 'The Big Apple Community.'
Review: Deadbeat, the Montreal-based dub techno maestro, returns to Echocord with a trio of immersive and hypnotic tracks. 'Pressure Double Down' showcases Deadbeat's signature sound, a blend of dub-infused techno and minimal aesthetics that has captivated listeners for over two decades. 'Too Much Pressure' is a 15-minute odyssey through intricate percussion, dubbed-out stabs and psychedelic vocals, its subtly unfurling layers and nuanced dynamism creating a captivating sonic experience. 'Double Bubble' follows with a delicate interplay of chord melodies, sub-bass tones and a crunchy analogue rhythm section, its hypnotic groove drawing the listener into a world of sonic exploration. 'Rattle The Roof Down' closes out the EP with a heavy dose of dub reggae bass, its spacey delays and murky swells adding a layer of hypnotic depth.
Review: Obliq Records presents its second release, a sonic journey crafted by four talented Italian artists. Desai's 'Low Noise' sets the tone, its hypnotic groove and subtle textures drawing the listener into a world of understated beauty. Leo Benassi's 'Distorted Reflection' adds a touch of psychedelic flair, its swirling melodies and warped soundscapes creating a sense of otherworldly intrigue. Gbigga's 'Retro Acid' injects a dose of old-school rave energy, its pulsating rhythms and squelchy acid lines guaranteed to get bodies moving. Avenir's 'We Are Holder Humans' closes the EP with a contemplative atmosphere, exploring deeper, more introspective soundscapes. Together, these four tracks create a great listening experience that showcases the diverse and vibrant landscape of Italy's electronic music scene.
Review: Not to be confused with the heavy Dutch electro hero of the same name (he of Klakson Records fame), Dexter was the early-to-mid 2000s alias of UK tech-house producer Matt Royall. Sushitech Records recently released a retrospective of his work, Past Moves, and now German label Repeat has decided to reissue 2004's Size Counts EP. A-side 'Break It Down' is deep, druggy, chuggy and pleasingly off-kilter, with delay-laden spoken word snippets and echoing hand percussion hits rising above a driving bassline and hypnotic, locked-in drums. The pace and intensity increases on flipside 'Once Again', a kind of Hipp-E & Halo style West Coast tech-house workout rich in trippy female vocal snippets, ghostly chords and dubby bass.
Review: A punctual reissue of a rare Eye 4 Sound tech-acid house party starter from 2004, this Repeat version of Dexter's 'Paradox' stays faithful to one of many EPs in UK artist Mat Royall's regal flush of technical itches to last from 01 to 06, spread across labels like Beat Code, Random House and, in more recent years, Real Deal and Bosh Records. 'Paradox' is subset by the fun-loving 'Ychtm Acid' on the B-side, and while we can't claim to be so clever as to be able to decode this standout track's strange titular acronym, we can vouch for the sickness of its eccentric percussions and atmosphere, a fine case of what we call "mood design".
Review: Dark tech house's current Olympic torch-bearer, Inermu, present the seventh edition in their very own vari-prod vinyl series. A polysemous production outfit whose guises vary, this new one from Dexter James and Dominic Aquila presents a hard-nosed heater from the lockoff London crew. With most of their releases having been housed on black labels so far, this one is an exceptional whiteout, with lemni-skating delays and conga-happy tribal drives resounding across 'Tougher & Darker' and 'Music For Dark Rooms'. 'No Other' completes the record with a downtime B-side, with subtle pad swirls and taciturn talking drums working well as substitute basslines.
Review: DIGWAH marks its tenth release in style, maintaining its signature mystery while delivering two standout cuts that embody the British label's underground ethos. Side-A's 'Wayside' is a clutch tech-house banger that has finesseiclean, classy and an irresistibly groovy. A crisp breakbeat underpins a funky rhythm, while a strong vocal hooks you in, giving the track a timeless yet fresh feel. This is underground house at its best, effortlessly balancing sophistication with dancefloor heat. On the flip, 'Demeanour' leans into ghetto tech-house territory, with a weighty bassline and infectious r&b vocal samples. The groove is deep, the funk is undeniable and the track's raw energy makes it an instant mover. Another essential release from DIGWAH - stripped-back, hypnotic and built for those who know.
Review: A tech house release that offers the perfect balance of groove and melody. 'Hold Me Tight' opens with a melodic, addictive groove, blending deep house elements with tech house energy. The track's strong production and underlying melodies build an irresistible vibe. The DOP remix of 'Hold Me Tight' on Side-2 takes things in a raw, techy direction, offering a dub version with deeper grooves and a more stripped-back feel while maintaining the vocal elements. 'She's Got Nowhere To Go' closes the release with catchy vocal samples and a soulful, fun melody, making it a great dancefloor anthem. The track is both playful and infectious, ensuring it will keep the energy high. Overall, a dynamic fusion of melodic depth and tech house vibes, perfect for any set.
Review: DJs Concret and Inigo Vontier unite as a duo, The Diyeis: a crocodilian-simian fusion of primeval sound, uniting mammal and reptile. Their mission is to harness "the primal, tribal effect of ecstasy on the dancefloor" - this is, of course, a target which many producers shoot for, and yet whose tiny red bullseye few are actually able to hit. 'Ritmo' and 'Skat' opt for a different, rather minimal approach to achieve the same "primal" effect, contrasting the usual cliches of hide-taut hand drum and nighttime ghost-dance chants. The Diyeis don't need to abide such tritenesses; their claim is that the tendency towards primordial dancing always already exists in us, without requiring evocation in style. 'Muevelo', in fact, entirely upends anything we'd expect of a "primal, tribal" release, bringing digi-redux hats jacked to high, clipped heaven, and weird FX, which reach a similar, and yet more unconfined head on B2 'Lo Que Pasa'.
DJ Bistro Schulz - "Disco Loves You" (AKeeM Dans Op De Deel remix)
AKeeM & 4-Takte - "The Sermon" (2024 edit)
Review: Sometimes a tune comes along that you just know is going to come a bit of a cult classic. We have the feeling that will be the case with the opening gambit on this new series, Musik For Pet Lovers, from the Memory Believes Before Knowing Remembers imprint. It is the work of AKeeM Dans Op De Deel who remixes DJ Bistro Schulz's 'Disco Loves You' into a languid, grubby groove that slowly but surely does great things with scattered percussion, radiant synths, minimal rhythms and plenty of mood shifts, not least when the classic vocal sample drops in. On the flip is AKeeM & 4-Takte's 'The Sermon' which is another slow-motion but high-impact sound with spoken words, dub drums and yearning pads.
Review: Chicago has many legendary figures, but one who stands proud among many is DJ Deeon, a low-end legend and widely considered to be the true Godfather of ghetto house. He dropped this EP originally back in 2013, and it is one of many that soon became classic, which is why it gets this remix from Chiwax. 'Happy' perfectly summarises Deeon's sound - booming and heavyweight kick and drums, smart samples looped perfectly and big hooks. 'The Truth' speeds things up and brings that Ghetto sleaze, and 'R U Sure' is a more minimal sound that still bangs like a heavyweight. 'Gigabytes' is full of caustic synths and blending melodies that bring sheer chaos to the club.
Review: Australian DJ and producer DJ Life's offering twists through the space between deep rhythm and intricate detail. Opener 'Bring the Beat Back' locks us into a steady, almost mechanical groove, setting a quiet but resolute tone. By the time 'Focus Beam' rolls in, the sound broadensirolling rhythms and subtle textures layering into a deeper, trance-like pulse. Each track weaves together smooth basslines and darker atmospheres, a quiet contrast to the pulsing energy beneath. Closer 'Flusong' rounds out the journey with its deeper, more percussive edge, crafting a moment of focused tension. It's a masterclass in rhythmiunfolding with relentless fluidity and immersion.
Review: 'Unreleased Stuff Part 'I dives into the rich vault of Charles Webster, a revered name in UK house with a career spanning over three decades. This release brings out three hidden gems from his archives that capture the depth of his skill in minimal and tech house production. Side-1 kicks off with 'The Same Thing (instrumental mix)', a refined deep house track with a tasteful nod to 90s acid influences. Over on Side-2, 'Halftoo' delivers a melodic deep house vibe that feels fresh despite its 1997 origins. Rounding out the collection, 'FYU' combines smooth, classy production with that unmistakable 90s touch, creating a sound that feels timeless yet distinctly of its era.
Review: Mark Grusane presence on Disctechno brings with it a compilation of five unique house tracks from Chicago and Detroit-based producers, as you will probably have guessed from the title. The A-side features DJ Slush's synth-driven 'Memory Blank' and Deon Jamar's bass-heavy 'AYYYO' which offer different but both killer sounds. The B-side opens with Jordan Zawideh's reverb-drenched 'Axolotls' followed by Grusane's intense, atonal 'The Recoil' and concludes with Thomas Xu's groovy 'School Street.' All of these are the sort of off-kilter sounds you would expect of these revered and enduring electric hotbeds. Raw, stripped-down and authentic, this is the contemporary Midwest underground.
Review: He's the original (and maybe only self-proclaimed?) house gangster and he is back in 2025 and sounding as good as ever. Puerto Rico by way of Chicago's DJ Sneak makes beats as raw as the meat he likes to chuck on his BBQ grill and UK house legend Nail must be a fan cause it's his label he lands on now. This is a solid four-tracker that ticks all the boxes with its killer grooves and smart loops. 'All I Need In Life' is a playful opener, 'Das Gud!' gets more intense and trippy with its bleepy melodic refrains and 'Help Me Somebody' then sinks back into loose and dusty, disco-tinged drums with classic cowbell hits. 'What You Expecting From Me' is a sweaty and gritty warehouse banger to close with aplomb.
Review: Original Chi-Town bad man DJ Sneak shows up with his latest selection of loop-driven house jams, serving up five floor-focused cuts on the 'Disko Dialogue' EP. A key figure in the second wave of Chicago house, his prolific career has seen him explore acid house, disco cut-ups, and hypnotic, tracky realms. Much, if not all, of that is on display here. The title track features looped strings and echoing vocals over a pounding kick and skippy snares, while 'Kick Da Flow' follows a similar trajectory, albeit with a slightly more restrained mood. 'Bottom Acid' ups the energy with pulsing 303 gliding over piercing drums, while 'Acid Wunders' dives into trippier territory, with its nocturnal groove endlessly undulating. The rolling rhythms of 'Elements' cap a fine EP, with DJ Sneak proving he's lost none of his big-room bravado or production swagger.
Review: Oozing with slippery sound design and euphoric exudate, Andrey Djackonda, Etzu Mahkayah, and TooRare team up for a next-gen talent demo in EP form, well and truly showing any other upstart how trancey-prog-minimal house is and should indeed be done. Said to have been designed to create a feeling of uplift and positivity - and yet in our opinion, the record touches on relatively more neutral and trancier moods, ones which could go either way - the likes of 'Que Le Jour Se Leve' and 'Sunrise In Amsterdam' are highly maximised, entelechic tech-trance progressors, highlt reflective of the verve and dedicated so far enshrined in the work of Saint Petersburg label MixCult.
Review: After taking a hiatus to focus on side projects, DJENA returns with a new solo EP that artfully collides house and breakbeat while showing off his passion for eclecticism. The title track, 'In Motion,' is a hypnotic breakbeat piece with deep pads and tribal vocals that stir up raw emotion. Frenchman DJ W!LD's remix transforms it into a dancefloor anthem with a house-driven groove. On the B-side, 'Thrust' builds deep, tech house rhythms into an intense, peak-time surge and the closing track 'Veer' offers a sublime after-hours vibe with bouncy bass and haunting vocals. Welcome back DJENA.
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: Re-United nobly unveil their second release, 'Shock', a sharp, stylish repossession of the talents of one Paolo Driver and Alberto Bof. A perfectomundo blend of classic trance tranches and modern jam-house, the release also houses a remix by Niki B on 'The Spring', with profound implications to follow. Said closing remix is especially swarthy and down-under, evoking catlike slinks down alleys in the night with its slower-burning, electrostatic moves.
Review: Detroit Assembly Line kicks off with a powerful statement of intent, delivering four tracks of raw, intense techno from two key figures in the Detroit underground scene. A-side, Drivetrain opens with 'People!'ia relentless track that drives forward with uncompromising energy, followed by 'Notech,' which layers intricate rhythms with a futuristic edge. Over on the B-side, Antwon Faulkner brings the deep, dubby feel of 'The Dub,' before turning up the heat with 'Cyber War,' a hard-hitting track that packs all the urgency of Detroit's signature sound. This is the first release in the Detroit Assembly Line seriesia collection built to showcase the unfiltered, authentic noise of Detroit's techno legacy. It's a no-nonsense manifesto, made to remind the world of the city's continuing influence on the global underground.
Review: The second offering from the Infrequent label comes from the assured and esteemed mini man Dubtil. This limited 12" kicks off with a silky mix of dubbed-out but paired back minimal tech drums with watery synths and loopy swirls that lock out into the moment. 'II' is clean and perfect for cruising along to thanks to the supple and succulent kicks that are oversized and delicious under the balmy synth smears. 'III' cuts loose with a more warped lead motif and snappy, militant tech house drums below and last of all 'IV' gets freaky with some bubbling and tightly programmed kick and bassline combos. Serious stuff, for sure.
Review: Spanish producer Ducados dips toes in adjacent pools of progressive house and straight-up trance here on this latest release for Cupula, impressing with four high-NRG enjoinments. Also their first ever release, the likes of 'Mimi' and 'Calada' are bowler-overers indeed. Smoothened out by scaped preset synths and flirtatious sampled reminders of the energy in the room, the openers give rise to a less scrupulous mood on the B, which works more as the dark side of the disc: 'Estrella De La Mort' and 'Synth Popper' dance with death and chem-sexuality respectively, bowling ever further down cosmo-sonic dust belts.
Review: Formerly known as AI Robot, Calin Dumitrescu refound his human side under his own surname as alias, having found residence in local labels Atipic, Particular and Unutrei since 2020. His debut for Myriad Records finds the third EP in the UK label's catalogue, with the headshaking chords and feverish acids of 'Acid E' helping synthesise a pharmaceutical drug we didn't know could or should exist, while 'Lucid Dream Gone Fucked Up' implies the necessary disturbance of a dream we'd never want to wake up from, by the intrusion of mechanic breaks, spy-vs-spy basses and creepazoid pads. The final two, ending on the perc-heavy 'Play Pause', contrast the A with a celebratory mood.
Andrea Bertoli & DJ Bogdan - "Extremely On Line" (5:36)
Review: Exxtra Beats Records backs up its commitment to pushing things on with a new four-tracker of minimal and tech cuts. Edo Ecker's 'Extraluxxo' has warped synth lines that encourage introspection while the snappy beats make you move physically. Leff's 'Future Problems' has hazy and positive arpeggios that toot away over sustained chords and move at a nice inviting pace. Little Sea offers the snappy drums and gurgling acid lines of 'How I Wanna Feel' while Andrea Bertoli & DJ Bogdan's 'Extremely On Line' is a snappy and upbeat cosmic tech cut with wonky lines adding the charm.
Review: Inspired by "cosmic vibes and alien sounds", Cut Line Records is a freshly minted imprint founded by New York-based producers Majak and Diego Knows. Wisely, they've decided to set their stall out via a multi-artist EP that offers more than a few hints about what we can expect to hear in the months and years ahead. Naturally, they contribute, rounding off the EP via the collaborative 'Electrik Funk', a smooth, spacey and sub-heavy slab of tech-house funk marked out by cut-up vocal snippets, intergalactic-sounding motifs and rubbery beats. There's plenty to set the pulse racing across the rest of the EP though, from the acid-flecked tech-house funkiness of Pedro Goya's 'Celeste', to the star-fall haziness of Digital Pimps electro roller 'Warning Bells', via the electro-goes-breakbeat shuffle of 'Alien Vision' by Frankula and St Xose.
Review: Focused on artists from the great anatine peninsula that is South America, Mirror Vinyl Series reflects the techno-house multi-talents of many an artist from Argentina to Bolivia to Ecaudor to Peru to Suriname to Uruguay to Colombia to Venezuela to Brazil... there are simply no limits on locale, except for the featuring artists' ancestries themselves, and that to hail from SA is a must. Here, after a stellar set of digitals recently from Sofia Duz, Zolbaran, Atemporal and Marcos Coya to name but a small few, we're now heard hearing the Uruguayan ur-builds of Marcos Coya ('Sabes Que Si'), the chord-smeared minitech funk of Colombian boheme Donnie Cosmo, and/or the hoarse breaks, seedy acids and "what do you wanna take tonight?"s of guileful Brasiliera, Guile.
Review: Freerange's City To City series returns with its second edition, this time spotlighting Lisbon. Known for its stunning views, beautiful beaches and vibrant nightlife, perhaps one of the city's best-known hotspots is the iconic Lux Fragile, which has shaped the city's sound since the late 90s. Longtime resident DJs from Lisbon are now gaining global traction; to butterfly-net the essence of the coastal metropolis, this new mix LP hears six original tracks from local talents, chief among whom are Megatronic, progressor and ambassador for the city, and Yen Sung & Photonz, two names closely tied to the circuit's deeper-underground corners.A
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