Juno Recommends Minimal / Tech House April 2020

Review: Attention all DJs seeking that crowd-rocking curveball to get the people freaking out. This cheeky one-sided 12" from Digwah is guaranteed to fly out thanks to its canny sampling of Destiny's Child's "Jumpin' Jumpin'". These iconic hooks are strapped to a rolling minimal tech groove with pattering machine drum beats and a mean bass synth that gets right under your skin. Fun on top, serious underneath, this is one of those unmissable club 12"s that will always do the damage when you want to liven up the party.

Review: Six months ago Laidlaw and Jamie Mannion launched a new offshoot of their beloved Beeyou imprint, Subee. The sub-label's second release showcases cuts from not one by two little-known producers. B0n is at the controls on side A, first delivering the colourful, bassline-driven house bounce of "Bitch Face", before reaching for the squelchy electronics, ear-catching synths and booming sub-bass on "What's That". Over on side B T3x3 delivers two funky fusions of UK garage, tech-house and deep house. "Mother F*cking Sh*t" sees the producer pepper a snappy two-step beat with deep analogue bass, dubbed out tech-house riffs and quirky electronics, while "Baganoush" sounds like an unlikely collaboration between Chez Damier, MJ Cole and Sheffield swingers Swag (look 'em up, kids).

Review: Matthew "Bushwacka!" B may not be as high profile a producer as he once was, but it's worth remembering that he was once one of the leading lights of both the early UK tech-house movement and the recently revived breakbeat house sound. The two tracks featured here touch on both styles in a roundabout way, and were first released way back in 1997. "Traffic Jam" is an insatiable, funk-fuelled peak-time workout that sees the London scene mainstay pepper a vintage, electro-influenced breakbeat house groove with UK garage style bass, fizzing scratch sounds, warm deep house chords and selected vocal samples. "Bus Stop" meanwhile is jaunty and melodious, with chiming, ear-pleasing riffs riding crunchy house drums and the kind of booming bassline that was all the rage in London at the time of recording.

Review: The Mountain People have a cult status amongst minimal house heads for good reason - their approach feeds the scene's finest parties, but they always retain a certain kink in their tracks that deviates from formulaic genre studies. So it goes on this latest drop on their own label, which leads in with a stunning long form track that packs a nuanced groove into the low end and plays with a limber acid line over the top, holding the filter down low and only opening it up at the choicest of moments. There's also some bouncier, swinging monosynth machine funk to be enjoyed, all executed with originality and subtlety - essential ingredients for the best minimal house.

Review: Lisbon-based Frenchman has been one of house music's pin up boys over the last decade. Both solo but also as part of Apollonia, he has toured the world non stop, bringing more tasteful sounds to the masses than you might expect from a DJ of his reputation. He's been busy in the studio cooking up some rare treats for the third release from DDS. "Cosmoscats" is glitchy, twitchy, minimal styled and throwback tech house from the golden era of Terry Francis et al, while "Life In Thundera" is a more direct and tripped out late night house groove.

Review: 2 veterans of UK techno are present on the latest outing on Barcelona imprint Subwax's sub label Subwax Excursions. It's all about the journey within electronic music on this offering with no fixed genre or style. On the A side we have Westmeath's finest stalwart Derek Carr who presents his idiosyncratic style of high fidelity techno soul on the funky "Land Of Oz". On the flip, Cheshire's Antonio Velazquez aka Spin Fidelity provides a good dose of Motor City influenced electro-funk on the futuristic vibe of "Orion". Hand stamped transparent yellow vinyl 12", limited to 200 copies.

Review: The debut release of Be Told Lies has finally landed, featuring 4 suspects doing what they do best. First up is Adam Pits of Wex and Holding Hands affiliate, who serves up the bouncy tech house energy "Spooka Troopa" followed by Urulu: the Californian producer is no stranger to the scene and his contribution "Sidecar" further explores his newfound penchant for classic rave and bleep techno charms. On the flip, Anderson sends us into freefall on the evocative acid epic "Julip" while Yushh goes totally off-kilter with the oddball groove of "I'm Fraam Laandaan M9". Be Told Lies, because no one's keeping record.

Review: Shanti Radio has released some incredible music of late, much of it towards the more melodic, atmospheric and positive end of the tech-house spectrum. This four-tracker from MOS neatly fits into this narrative, offering up warming, dreamy and picturesque tracks that effortlessly blur the boundaries between deep house, tech-house and progressive flavours. Opener "Gerda Kay" simply swells with sun-kissed beauty and enveloping melodic intent, as bright lead lines and swirling pads tumble down over a tactile groove. The Afro-tinged "Jalebi" offers stirring strings, toasty chords and locked-in grooves, while "Kama" bubbles along on waves of toe-tapping percussion, choral samples and fluid piano motifs. Rounding things off is "Kauri", another immersive chunk of dancefloor hypnotism rich in positive chord progressions and heartwarming bass.

Review: Following releases by Cuartero, Christian Burkhardt and label chief East End Dubs, it's over to Berlin's favourite son and head of Unison Wax: Diego Krause. As you'd expect, "ENDZ 034" features some surefire main room tackle that rolls tough: from the lean boompty funk of "Fierce", the moody afterhours tech house of "Mere Mortals" - the latter similar to his recent release on Mulen Records to the tripped-out vibes on the utterly hypnotizing "Essence" and the ethereal, sunny afternoon bliss of "Leaving Home" which hammers home the message in a Sunday-at-Club Der Visionaere fashion.

Review: Gottwood residents Krywald & Farrer have been slipping out some choice club wares on digital for a fair few years now, not to mention running the Persies label among many others. But now they make their first appearance on wax for none other than the mighty, prolific Constant Sound. "Landing On Mars" blows open the creativity of these two fast-rising producers in spectacular style, fusing taut drum machine propulsion with loose percussion and cosmically charged synths. "Olympus" is a fair contrast with its gnarly acid line and peppy tempo, while "Pulverise" makes use of a breakbeat to weave something spooky and sinuous in equal measure. "Bump Strasse" finishes things off with some tasteful, dusty deep house for the late morning crew.

Review: Detroit's music history is littered with artists who never got their due props, and Mike 'Agent X' Clark is certainly one of them. His back catalogue is mighty, packed full of gems and rarely aired. Fortunately No Speakers know what's what, and they've invited Clark to drop some serious Motor City firepower on us, leading in with the aptly named pimp-chat-laden slow burner "The Heat". After the stunning original, label boss El Prevost steps up with a crooked drum funk take on the track before Ben Sims slams down a formidable techno jacker of a remix. Peter Rocket completes the set with an acidic breaks version for the wig-out crew.

Review: With some great releases in recent times by Tonnovelle and Robert Dietz aka DJ Disciple, Frankfurt label Osman is back with a serving of retro techno shenanigans by hometown hero Martyne: head of the revered Traffic collective and label out of neighbouring Offenbach am Main. The "EFX/SFX EP" features some solid gear; the tempo of "Loopy Schneider" channels the vibe of late '90s UK breaks by way of electro and acid techno, while the bouncy bleep techno of Berlin's dancefloors can be experienced via "Make My Day" and the neon-lit robot funk of the title track will take you deeper into the afterhours.

Review: This rock solid EP marks a welcome return to action from Pale Blue, a collaborative project featuring Italians Do It Better founder Mike Simonetti and vocalist/artist Elizabeth Wight. In its original form, title track "Breathe" is raw, ghostly and mind-altering, with Wight adding part-sung, part-spoken vocals to a sparse-but-weighty backing track. Lauren Flax brilliantly re-imagines it as a wayward chunk of sparse, off-kilter, acid-flecked deepness, while Olive T delivers a more jacking, forthright take that makes the most of the duo's weighty bassline. Over on side B, clanking machine jam "I Walk Alone At Night" comes accompanied by an even wilder "I Walk Alone With Acid" re-make. The lyrics are wearily on point, with Wight reflecting on a world in which violence towards women is sadly on the rise.

Review: Le Loup makes a debut appearance on the mighty CABARET with some slickly executed rave-indebted workouts. Tightly clipped breakbeat roll, moody stabs and a wriggling acid line all make for party manna on "Real Talk" - certain to be a hit in all kinds of situations. "Digital Whisper" is more Detroit than UK, reveling in a shower of sumptuous synth lines tailored to maximum machine soul expression but with plenty of funk in the programming. "Acropoloup" brings the acid back and ramps up the boompty house vibes for another smart banger to work across the spectrum from minimal house nights to twisted acid sessions.

Review: With promising material emerging in recent years on labels like Mayak, Irenic and Daydream, Dublin-based Noah Skelton is certain to make 2020 his year with the sophomore effort on his own Amour imprint. On the A side we have the dusty jazz bar beats of "Impolite" which somewhat channels that classic St Germain vibe, while the flipside houses the heart warming deep house groove of "Two Truths" skipping along with that sense of swing, boompty bass and some emotive chords for good measure. This one is perfect afterhours tackle which will mix well with anything from the more ethereal side of minimal house by the likes of Joule, Rora or ODE - tip!

Review: The ever reliable German imprint Bondage returns, following some great releases by Sascha Dive, NTFO and Philipp Gonzales, with a killer EP by Ljubljana's Alex Ranerro (Simma Red/MyHouse YourHouse/Blind Vision Dubs) who gets a wicked groove going on "Aura". It's a rolling and heady affair that will appeal to fans of the Rominimal sound, while the warm and ethereal swing-fuelled business of "One To Many" will surely call to mind comparisons to iO (Mulen) or Djebali - but not at all a bad thing! On the flip, the Politics Of Dancing crew inject a good dose of swing into their remix of "Aura", until Ranerro explores the deeper shades of UK tech house on the wonderful closer "Triangular".

Review: Sevensol, Map.ache and Bender's new Leipzig-based venture Long Vehicle presents its inaugural release here entitled "LV 1X". Featured are Harry Wills (Osman/Entity London) who serves up some groovy analogue minimal funk on his contribution "Sloshed", while A2 comes from local up and comer Tim Schlockermann (aka U.S. Coin Map) who gives us the utterly infectious "Locked" which you won't be able to get out of your head. On the flip, Mbius of Ethernal fame serves up more of his distinct blend of mesmerising deep house on standout track "Helge Nuch". Good first impressions of the label - tip!

Review: Francesca Mackay is fast becoming a rising star in the underground scene of London. A favourite amongst promoters and DJs alike, her eclectic style and a passion for digging well beyond her 20 years of age has also led to her first release. The cold winter months was the perfect inspo for 'The Inside Out', where broken rhythms and sub bass culture sounds merge with minimal/tech house grooves. Best heard on the hypnotic breaks of "Nine Tens", the electro influenced futurism of "Tao" and the emotive, acid-inflected IDM of "Perelandra" - an impressive debut.