Back in stock: Minimal/Tech House

Review: Amsterdam's Makez bring their old school unfused house sounds to Adeen Records in collaboration with Balance Alliance on this fresh new 12" which also features a remix from UK mainstay Mr G. 'Do It' brings super smooth chords and a prickly deep house beat that will get any floor going. Then comes 'Close 2 Us' which is even better - lush and lazy chords are draped over pent-up deep house dynamics with gorgeous vocal coos and jazzy keys also bring extra heart and heat to the mix. 'Beat Of Life' is a more busy percussive sound and then comes 'Love You More' as remixed by the don Mr G who brings his signature smokiness and basement house vibes.

Review: DJ Sneak is in a great run of form right now, which is all the more impressive given that he has been turning out his signature house sounds for more than 30 years now. The self-declared House Gangster recently impressed on Dam Swindle's Heist Recordings label and now makes this way to the always-assured Toy Toncis outlet. He offers up four cuts that veer away from his loop, filter-heavy house into more edgy and late-night minimal and techno but with the robust sound design and compelling sense of underlying groove that you always expect from the man.

Review: Dojo Zone is said to be "a local lurker of the backstreets of Santa Catalina" as well as being a deep digger with a fine vinyl collection and a penchant for taps. He has knows a thing or two about crafting some nice fresh minimal sounds, as evidenced here for the Santa Cata label from Spain. 'Mediterranean Express' is as frictionless as they come, with nice jacked drums and balmy pads, then 'Houdini's Hauz' gets more playful with some blurting synths and smeared pads under nice percussive patter. 'Encuentro Tropical is a steamy and cruising groove with irresistibly warm bass and 'Viaje Del 23' (Isla mxi) shuts down with some topical cosmic vibes.

Review: E.T.I might not be the best-known act to emerge from the breaks and acid-loving San Francisco scene of the 1990s, but their slim catalogue is nevertheless full of gems. The people behind AGT Records are clearly fans, because they've decided to reissue one of the trio's most potent singles, 1999's 'Lookout'. What we get is the same two mixes featured on the hard-to-find original release: the chunky, funky bass-propelled, breakbeat house masterclass that is the 'Tha Luv Bomb' mix (listen out for the wonderfully drowsy, loved-up synth riffs), and the pacey, P-funk-influenced 'On Tha Fly' mix, where short vocoder vocal snippets, crispy funk guitar licks and boisterous bass catch the ear.

Review: Purple Print's musical universe expands once more here with a ninth outing on wax and a fine various artists selection to mark the occasion, with Minube appearing on each of these collabs. It's a wonky and afterparty-tinged minimal jaunt from him in solo mode to open up with as 'Zaha Zhivai' gets you locked into a slinky groove. He then inks with Rebreanu for the marching bleeps and squeaks of 'Bro Disch Tut' and with D I N he makes 'Wormhole', a dry and dusty final tech shuffler before a fine work with Andrey Djackonda in the form of the abstract funk of 'Can't Stop The Time' shuts down.

Review: The Dutch folks at Kalahari Oyster Cult sure like to serve up music that melts minds at 5 am, or they do if this new one from Olsvanger is anything to go by. It is a futuristic techno exploration with 'Grand Slamming' opening up with a mix of sleek linear drums, pulsing sonar synths and supersized hi-hats that bring the energy. 'Paranoweed' is a pure and unadulterated looper that undulates with a subtle funk and 'Bubble Toy' brings some deft sound designs and minimal synths to sci-fi effects and more sweet rolling beats. 'Quadi B' closes out and sounds like a tense and paranoid underwater search for malevolent aquatic life forms.

Review: Soon as you drop the needle on PH Project's opener 'Blue Yellow Twist' here we guarantee you will be twisting your face in mock disc guts. The bassline is a filthy and old-school gem with organ chord stabs and spoken word snippets adding the irresistible sense of naughty house funk. DMA then bangs the box with cosmic synths and hints of 90s post-rave, Pilot System cruise on a chunky bit of bass-driven house and Frozilla & TJ go deep on far-sighted chords and bubbly bass. This is unpretentious, functional but fun house music from a small but already well-formed label.

Review: Esteemed French producer Franck Roger lands on the Duck It label for the first time here. It is an imprint dear to him because of his Algerian originals and he cooks up a nice warm house vibe as a result. 'Pumpkin' is all balmy pads and trippy synth leads with a hint of Pepe Bradock. The tune is chunky and deep, with nice deft vocal sounds up top to bring the soul. RSlane remixes with a more contemporary and bumping tech house sound but still keeps plenty of the stylish cosmic melody in place. A tidy two tracker for sure.

Review: Sweely is one of the strongest producers in the European house scene for almost a decade now. This house wizard from Lyon, France has made the rounds on some of the most acclaimed labels during that time. In late 2022 he released his first album Closer Energy. The album is still consistently wowing people and even peers of Sweely. So much so that this EP is now here with key tracks from that release being mixed by artist friends who also are loving the album. Included is the killer, club rocking David Garrett remix of 'Security'. Huerta also gets in on the fun and offers his standout remix of 'Call Me Tonight'. Not to be outdone, OCB's remix of 'Not Part Of It' might be the sleeper of the bunch while Gene On Earth relievers a nice house remix of 'Minilook'. Fans looking for strong club music, look no further than this busy EP

Review: tINI has always been at the forefront of tech house, often with her own party brand, as well as killer productions and engaging sets at some of the scene's most tasteful parties. Here she steps up to the fledgling Mood Waves label for The View, and EP that finds her stretching herself into all new territory once more. 'Welcome Luz' is crunchy, stomping cosmic tech with sci-fi motifs. 'EX-PECT' has whimsical pads paired with more silvery and metallic drum sounds and after the more mechanical grace of the a-side, 'What's Her Name?' gets loose with rubbery bass and bendy synth leads while '2020' shuts down with some downtempo post club trippiness.