Mulen Germany Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Ukraine's tech house champ per excellence iO (Mulen) is back in action, following up on last year's first instalment of Oldivibes with some more chunky, playful workouts for the floor. Given the title of the release, it's no surprise to hear some trancey flavours threaded through lead track 'Join Me', but they're framed by a tough, pumped up house backbone to get you jacking with approval. 'What I Want' is a dirtier affair, but the spirit is very much the same. 'Hey Hey!' takes things in a trippier direction without dipping the energy and then 'Outgoing Song' completes the set with the standout track - a seductive and spooky groover with the perfect slithers of female vocal to draw the crowd into the palm of your hand.

Review: Hot on the heels of his rather good - though not particularly sub-heavy - Beast In My Bass EP on Automatic Writing, Sweely pitches up on Mulen for the very first time. In keeping with his evolving style, opener 'Super Deep' sits somewhere between deep house and tech-house, with warming, fluttering chords and whispered female vocal snippets riding bumping, US garage-influenced drums and heavy, chunky bass. 'What's Wrong' employs similar beats and bass but sees Sweely opt for jazzier chords, glitchy electronics and spacey stabs, while 'Underwater Adrenalinn'[sic] is darker and creepier in tone whilst retaining his usual funky drums and deep bass. Closing cut 'Against Your Idea', meanwhile, doffs a cap to late 1990s UK tech-house while being framed for 21st century dancefloors.