Juno Recommends Minimal / Tech House July 2019

Review: Madonna, Depeche Mode and Kelis - what do East End Edits have in store for us next? This seventh instalment harks back to the charming deep jazzy house of their inaugural release - think of the legendary St. Germain and that should give you a fairly good idea. The track's smoky, late night jazz bar vibe is complemented by a rolling bass and swinging rhythms that should appeal to the likes of Rhadoo or Petre Inspirescu - legends of the Romanian scene who themselves have lent their deft hand to the French producer's work as remixers in the past, too.

Review: UK tech house hero Burnski has been serving up some serious heat of late under the Instinct alias, channelling that old school UK vibe of drum & bass, speed garage and 2-step. His exploration into these styles bring about this sixth instalment of his eponymous series with 3 cuts set to cause havoc on dancefloors this year. A side cut "Overthrow" rides on a slick tech house groove before moving into a swing-fuelled rhythm and razor-sharp sub-bass and it's business as usual. On the flip, shadowy stepper "Phased" fuses Artful Dodger's classic swagger with the dark sci-fi aesthetic of Ed Rush & Optical. Finally, put your lighters up for the furious junglist roller that is "Free Life".

Review: Constant Black continues its superb string of releases with this latest outing for the imprints close affiliate Michael James. The label run by Burnski and Jon Woodall hands things back to James for an outing of deep minimal grooves. "Bosh!" starts things out just how you would expect with a title like that, strong punching swinging rhythms ready to sway any party. "Pol" and "Hallucinate" keep the momentum going with sleek minimal works, which are sure to be utilised across the globe this summer!

Review: Kiwi brothers Chaos In The CBD return to Mule Musiq with their third EP for the long running Japanese label. They are in fine form throughout, offering up cuts that combine great ideas and intriguing musical motifs with just the right amount of serious dancefloor grunt. They're in full on saucer-eyed mode on A-side "Hydrate", a breakbeat-sporting deep house roller whose extended ambient intro, swirling chords, whispered vocal samples, gentle acid lines and early '90s U.S garage stabs combine to create a suitably loved-up vibe. Flipside "Searching For Signal" is similarly inclined but sounds a touch more psychedelic, with trance-inducing electronics and heady chord sequences catching the ear above another shuffling breakbeat-driven groove.

Review: Reductionist house masters Thomas Melchior and Fumiya Tanaka team up once again to provide some choice basic trance inductions on this terrific new EP for Perlon. This follows up 2017's amazing "The Warmth" on Melchior's Aspect Music and likewise will hypnotise you into submission with its deep and afterhours vibe. On the A side we have the ultra-smooth bounce of "Soa" with its disorienting vocal cuts ups, sparse keys and immaculate rhythm arrangements, altogether making for an intoxicating late night vibe. On the flip, go further (and weirder) into the late morning with the classy minimalism of "I Believe I Need" which reaches near psychedelic levels.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Sideway Invisibility Theory are already well versed in the Romanian minimal scene both individually and as a duo - on top of their releases on Do Easy and Amphia, Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia represent two of the most prolific operators in the second wave of Bucharest-based dance music. With a mammoth wedge of music delivered to Sushitech in the form of two double packs entitled Invisibility Chapter I & II, this single serves as a pint-sized distillation of those records for the DJs with less time on their hands. "Alternate" is right at home on Sushitech, all elegant beat programming and huge, billowing clouds of dub chord. Label regular Steve O' Sullivan is right at home on such smoky ground, although his remix on the B-side blows the vapour away to deliver a tightly woven tool for the heads down crowd.

Review: Lauren Lo Sung's star continues to rise as the talented minimal house producer and DJ partners up with the mighty Lazare Hoche. This four track EP is packed with bombs, from the shimmering, metallic deep house finery of "Running" to the cheeky acid wriggle of "Dusty Pink". Things take a darker, deeper turn on the fierce "Fixate," and then lift into fluttering after hours tones for the sublime and ever so slightly trippy "Lara's Dub". Now firmly entrenched in the cut and thrust of the European minimal house scene, Lo Sung's talents spill out in abundance on this assured pack of highly workable and versatile floor filling 4/4 burners.

Review: London's FUSE returns with more expertly curated tech house by two of the scene's major players: label staple Rich NxT and Eastenderz honcho East End Dubs. A side houses the tripped-out, tough rolling bounce of "E3" with its squelchy stabs, booming sub bass and swing-fuelled rhythms while on the flip, a fierce banger in the form of "Bubbles" which will no doubt get the crowd moving with its heady 303 acid, airy chords and locked-in drums. Note: drop at 7AM for maximum impact.

Review: Times have changed since Jake Williams first donned the Rex The Dog alias for Kompakt in 2004, but his ability to deliver ear-pleasing, synth-heavy dancefloor cuts has never faltered. "Vortex", the lead cut from the producer's first EP on 2019, is a particular potent example of his art, with Williams building and releasing tension via sparse, spacey lead lines, new wave style synth chords, matter-or-fact techno beats, trance-inducing motifs and some suitably mind-altering breakdowns. It's arguably his strongest club cut for years and certainly the most alluring. Over on side B, "Elektromekanik" sees Williams brilliantly alternate between moments of loved-up, rush-inducing dreaminess and thrillingly angular, hard-wired modular electronics.

Review: Matt Anderson has been surprisingly quiet of late, with this tasty four-tracker on Tresydos marking the tech-house producer's first solo single for almost two years. It's also one of his best to date, too, with each of the four tracks offering up a slightly different twist on the tech-house template. Opener "Description" is spacey, bass-heavy and undulating, with subtle melodic motifs and tipsy electronics rising above a swinging, sub-heavy groove. "Small Talk" is warmer with hybrid electro/two-step beats and sun-kissed instrumentation, while "Gangsta Vox" is a bombastic affair heavy on crunchy drums, mind-mangling acid bass and ghostly chords. The American wraps things up nicely via the dreamy bounce of "Inside A Neutron Star", whose hazy chords and bubbly electronic motifs are underpinned by suitably dubby bass and hypnotic beats.

Review: London-based, Greek minimal tech house aficionados Holdie Gawn & Micawber return to present the tenth edition on their beloved Sylphe imprint. It's a limited edition affair as per usual, so don't sleep on this one. On the A side, Gawn (aka Kreon) serves up the tripped-out early morning reductions of "Gleech Huis"- the sort of oddball groove you could imagine the likes of Rhadoo playing at an ungodly hour of the morning. On the flip, it's over to Micawber, who is otherwise known as Alex Celler - so you know you're in for a treat courtesy of this true master of the art. His boompty minimal funk jam "Parsec Telemetry" is much more upbeat and less abstract than his usual work, and channels the early vibe of classic Daniel Bell.