TRAUMER Schallplatten & CDs

Review: There's no better way to kick off the newly formed Omakase catalogue than with a sizzlingly acidic minimal/tech house release from Antraum - the collaborative project from producers Anton and Traumer. On the A-side, 'Ichi' is a mouthwatering introduction to the project, exploring what happens when the details of a track are fixed to the backdrop - subtle flecks of vocals, instrumentation, and acid-hued gestures offered as a gift to the most attentive listeners. Flipping over to the B-side, 'Go (Le Porc Du Havre)', features expertly spliced vocal samples, paired with animal calls that sound either pre-historic or extraterrestrial - either way, they're out of this world. The final track, 'Ju', is the deepest of the three - cosy synths duet beautifully with the fragmented, bluesy vocal sample, riding the wave of the track's irresistible groove. Three distinct tracks tied together with perfection, this is a stellar first release for Omakase.

Review: Rominimal stalwart Cristi Cons and Parisian veteran Roman Poncet aka Traumer present the second installment of Fuse London's collaborative X Series. A-side track 'Stranger To No One' is exactly the kind of hypnotic, dub-laden rolling drama you'd expect from this magical pairing, followed by the highly engineered tech house of 'Apres Midi' on the flip, which incorporates sleek trance arpeggios into its deep groove. Finally, the moody minimalist cut 'Farside' is perfect tackle for those heads-down moments on the afterhours dancefloor.

Review: You don't get producers any more versatile than these two Parisian experts. DJ Deep and Roman Poncet team up once again to throw down some quality house music on new imprint Tatum. DJ Deep takes over the A side with some low slung and dreamy deep disco vibe on 'Batu', while Poncet takes over on the flip. It is business as usual under the Traumer alias with the hypnotic and bass driven minimal/tech house of 'Batu' (yes, same name) with Latin-infused elements throughout. Perfect jams for the warm-up or afterhours alike - tip!

Review: Jinger (aka. Traumer) presents his third release under the alias, breaking away from the Gettraum imprint for a more imaginative foray through his usual minimal and controlled house. 'Stoned', 'Jemape' and 'Days Like This' are more jungly, breaksy and have more going on, cramming each mix with deep pads, echoic drum spaceouts and offbeat synth pulses.

Review: Traumer's relentlessly productive run continues unabated as he slips into the Jinger alias for the second release on the label series of the same name. It's a space in which the accomplished and adventurous minimal-ish producer can explore other approaches, and it's testament to his skill and versatility it works so well. 'Yuzu' comes on smooth with a delicate arrangement of broken beats, pads and acid, while 'Alile' uses a slender 4/4 to carry pinging, shimmering melodic impressions geared towards the later hours of the dance. 'Legacy' once again lets the synths lead the way, as illustrious, interwoven formations cascade around the steady tick of the rhythm section.

Review: Although celebrated and much-loved for his work as Traumer, Romain Raynaud is no stranger to alternative aliases. Over the years, he's also released records as Brako, Redspecs and Marion Poncet. Jinger is his latest pseudonym, presumably chosen to signal a subtle change in direction. That's not to say that the three tracks here are wildly different to his work as Traumer, though opener 'Aquarola' does feature watery and fluid deep house elements (chords, gentle melodies etc) alongside his usual chunky, slightly glitchy tech-house beats. He pushes the boat out further on 'Specia', a warming chunk of deep house/electro fusion, before offering up an acid-powered chunk of tech-house jack that seems tailor-made for sweaty cellars and dimly lit warehouses ('Shadow').

Review: The Berg Audio label grows ever more vital with a second edition of their Horizon series. Like the first it is high class tech and dub for those who like to get lost at 5 am in cosy back room spaces.
Per Hammar opens things up with a fulsome dub techno roller with hi hats peeling off the flabby groove. Ada Kaleh & Jay Bliss lift their heads a little more with some dreamy but dynamic deep house and Brawther & Traumer combo for the brilliantly silky and stylish dub house cut that is 'Melted' (feat Prince Morella). Altitude closes down with the impossibly smooth and frictionless 'At The End Of Isolation.' Great stuff.

Review: Serial collaborator Romain "Traumer" Reynaud is at it again, this time joining forces with fellow Parisian producer Gregory "Point G" Dorsa for a three-track workout on INFUSE. The experienced duo predictably hits its stride from the word go, serving up some swinging rhythms, hypnotic sub-bass and Salt & Pepa samples on peak-time tech-house box jam "Push It". There's a more percussive and slightly glitchy feel to the bongo-laden "Modulation Tropique", while banging B-side "Locoliente" feels like the kind of bouncy tech-house floorfiller that Sheffield sorts Swag used to do so well in their early 2000s pomp.

Review: Gettraum's eighth outing is another high class voyage into sleek and seductive tech house. The ever prolific label boss Romain Reynaud AKA Traumer is once again the man in charge of the music and as always he manages to mine new ground. 'Express' opens with powerful tech house funk that is carefully detailed with breathy female vices so as not to get too abstract. 'Engage' is similar but a little more dark and likely to get those teeth gritted. Last of all, 'Quanta' explores headier sounds, with zoned out grooves and nice watery pads floating up top. These always sell out, so don't hang about.

Review: Roman Poncet really found his groove on the Traumer project, which now presents the fourth edition in the Gettraum Hors Serie. Features the rave energy of 'Last Minute' on the A side, followed by two versions of the sensual 'Madame' which are more familiar of the French producer's percussive tech house sound. The Main mix is ultra deep and dubby, and makes perfect tackle for the warm-up or afterhours alike, while the Rave mix does exactly what it says on the tin in classic Northern bleep style, infused with swing-fuelled rhythms.

Review: Following fine EPs from Martinesque and Ion Ludwig, up-and-coming Swiss imprint Adams Bite has turned to Traumer, one of the leading lights in the 21st century tech-house scene. The French producer has naturally brought the goods. He kicks things off in fine style via 'Diplo', a hybrid tech-house/deep house number that's most memorable for its bold, looped bassline, before opting for a more druggy vibe on the glitchy, off-kilter and sub-heavy sleaziness of 'Douce (Tripped House Mix)'. He continues in this on sludgy and hypnotic flipside opener 'Prima', while 'Plastica' sees him break up the beats a little and opt for a snare-heavy rhythm, smooth sub-bass and just a whisper of melody.

Review: Somewhat surprisingly, this four-track affair not only marks Romain "Traumer" Reynaud's first release of 2019, but also the first missive of his GETTRAUM label for 10 months. Happily he's in fine form throughout, flitting between the skittish, jazz-flecked tech-house drums and fuzzy, lo-fi synth melodies of insatiable opener "Full Service" and the sunrise soundscapes and hypnotic, glitch-fired, Yoyaku style drums of sublime closing cut "Whiskey Roll". Sandwiched in between is "Waiting For The Sun", a breakbeat-driven affair that strengthens Reynaud's reputation as one of the world's top exponents of fuzzy, body moving tech-house funk.

Review: Paris' Trauma is back and he means business, served in the most minimalistic of techno ways. This release marks the third release of his own label, the sleek Gettraum, and we have to admit that it's pretty refreshing to hear this sort of minimal techno being made right now, as the majority of the genre's output can so often sound stale and regurgitated. Luckily, tracks like "Lucea" or "Catimini" sound like Villalobos at his most intricate, while others like "Left Behind" are the closest we've heard minimal come to dub, and we just love that rootikal kinda stance from a dance tune...

Review: French dub techno engineers Berg Audio are back with this heavyweight selection of minimal/tech house's biggest talents on Horizons Part I. Homegrown talent and veteran producer Traumer kicks things off with the typically bass-driven, percussive and hypnotic groove of "Perspective" and Rominimal icon Cristi Cons follows with the cavernous and glacial main room stomp of "Hollow". Over on the flip, Floog has you covered for those heads-down moments on the dancefloor after 6:00 on "Nine Lights" and finally Atipic chief Priku serves up some more afterhours minded trippiness on the deep cut "Somaj Technics".