Back in stock: Minimal/Tech House

Review: The fledgling WEorUS label rolls out more stylish, minimal and tech here from a trio of artists. Andrade goes first with 'Kubernetes,' a driving minimal house cut packed with hefty groove. It is followed by 'Content Security Policy' which is a slick, rhythm-forward roller that locks you into its flow. Flip to side-B and get swept into Dragosh's 'One Way,' a deep, hypnotic workout that's all tension and release and rounding off the trip is Fabrizio Siano's 'Control Your Emotions,' a poignant, late-night burner that delivers introspection through rhythm.

Review: Tom Carruthers returns with a fresh drop on Syncrophone Records, comprising the fresh analogue jams 'From Within', 'Zone', 'No Frequency' and 'Malfunction'. All hitting hard with an old-school, sequencer-happy flavour, one which requires no second-guessing, our faves here have to be the basal FM roller 'Zone' and the brash, trashyard B-fronter 'No Frequency', both of which make deft use of the same bassline, yet each to drastically different effec.

Review: Pretty much does what it says on the tin, this one. Classic Tyree Cooper productions in all their glory, plus some remixes of them from fellow US greats. Cooper was, of course, an early pioneer of what was known as hip-house - a raw mix of hip-hop and house that was short-lived, probably because the man himself perfected it and few could ever do much more with the blueprint. 'Hardcore Hip House (Tony Humphries mix re-edit)' is dusty, raw, piano-laced house excellence, 'Acid Over (Mike Dunn edit)' is a more frenzied 303 workout and 'I Fear The Night (feat Chic - vocal mix)' is a jack track for dark and strobe lit floors. 'Video Crash' shuts down with a coarse and textural collision of drums, synths and crashing hits.

Review: The Space Trace label keeps quality high with this fourth outing on wax. Eric Os is on the button for this one with 'Underworld' first to lure you into its world with gently broken bets and moody pads setting an eerie tone. 'Stereophysical' is more jacked up with fizzing synth lines and warped pads over future house beats and 'Elusive' bringing some trance energy to its flashy, bright synths. 'Electrodreammachine' is a wonky electro workout with withering sci-fi motifs, puling synth sequences and raw hits. 'Feeling Real' and 'Cherry Red' complete the EP with more blends of house, electroclash and sleazy guitar riffs.

Review: Sardinian duo Enrica Falqui and Claudio PRC bring their respective signature sounds to this new collaborative EP on the Swiss label Adam's Bite. The two experienced studio hands kick off with 'Synapse', which has an enthuse, throbbing low end that forms the foundation for expressive synth craft. 'Amygdala' is named after the mass of grey matter in our brains which is involved in the experiencing of emotions and pairs deft, curious melodic waifs with chunky tech drums. 'Receptor' sinks back down into a moody, heads down and dub tech roller and 'Lucid Dreams' brings the sort of synth colours and low-end tension that will keep you awake all night.

Review: Fred P's latest release 'Singular Point of Focus' EP feels like a late-night journey into the heart of the dancefloor, a space where euphoria meets introspection. From the opening track, it's clear that Fred is steering us toward something deeper than a simple collection of club-ready cuts. His use of augmented vocals adds an otherworldly quality, with tones that feel familiar but are impossible to place. The EP is a masterclass in controlled tension, with each track building in intensity without ever losing its groove. Fred's voice, subtly manipulated, dances through the layers of deep house rhythms, creating a sound that's both timeless and distinctly now. There's a sense that this is music for those who know, for selectors and dancers alike who understand the unspoken rules of the floor. The richness of the sound design - thick basslines, textured pads, and sharp percussion - draws you in, while the overall vibe remains firmly forward-thinking. This isn't just an exercise in nostalgia; Fred P has crafted a record that speaks to the future of house music while honouring its roots. Each track offers something different, from the floor-shaking opener to the more introspective closing cut, making it a perfect addition to any discerning DJ's crate.

Review: The SEVEN label has an 'in-between house and techno' ethos and next to tap into that is Berlin-based Tal Fussmann with some 90s-tinged prog house that radiates feel-good energy. Blending genre fluidity from the off, 'No Disco' is percussive and freewheeling but with a rebounding low-end and a clear dancefloor focus. 'Release' taps into driving techno territory and is infused with shimmering machine soul warmth, 'Sunset Falling Down' is a clubby broken beat with real poppy intensity and 'Is It Real?' Is a buoyant, arms-in-the-air house closer. The 12" is elevated by a standout remix from Swiss maestro Deetron, who brings some trademark depth.

Review: Get A Life! The second limited edition record from the label brings us slippery, dreamy forward-stases in sound, not credited to any one artist except for remix-edits by Hessa and Alvaro Medina. Between utility and uselessness lie 'Honey Ball' and 'Da F... Out', both of which foremostly serve the floor through their essential functions of central, best-foot-forward beats and mono-ised basses; yet the tracks' also provide a sublime value with their xtra FX: piscid hat slips and indignant voxxes. 'Loco' beams with a similarly "perc-alicious" vocal sample.

Review: London's leading dance distractors Lirica Archives relive a hallmark of the house music catalogue from Jewellery, the zircon brainchild of the late brilliant Murdoch Matheson and an unnamed collaborator. Matheson's death is said to have left a wanting gap in the music world, and the fact that this was his sole release under the Jewellery name only adds to the mystery. The early 1993 record 'Voices' was a singular gem in its own right, crowned on the equally flash girdle that was Aeoniokinetic Records - in the words of one Discogs digger, "deep and melodic early progressive house on an obscure label with only a single release." For those who like their gems so rare as to be thought investment-grade, listen no further.

Review: Features the original Maurizio mix plus the classic Carl Craig remix. Berlin and Detroit combine with some amazing results. Timeless stuff.

Review: Ninja Records looks to build on the success of its first outing with a new outing from Miroloja who are brothers and key players in the Parisian underground with great credits already to their name on Berg Audio, Tzinah Records and OLO RECORDS. Their stripped-back but tight sound is laid bare on opener 'Linkblow' with its warm house kicks and wet clicks soon to make you move. 'Morgan' is speedier with some space-tech vibes and a snappier low-end. Closer 'Krazyteora' then explores a creepy late-night urban landscape with some cyclical drums and synths moving things onwards.

Review: A clearsighted modern interpretation of the central Detroit clubland comes by way of Mister Joshooa, an emerging figure in the city's new underground, already known for his dual talents as DJ and sound engineer. Haunting local strait spots like TV Lounge and Lincoln Factory, and having already featured on Carl Craig's Detroit Love compilation, Joshooa's razzly retrovision of Detroit techno, given enough time and effort, could easily qualify him as a modern classic craftsman, should he continue to play his cards right. Elastic basslines, tactile percussions, and moaning, flexed vocals typify 'Settle Down', 'Snake Oil' and 'Step Up', the last of which closes the day on a super weighty machine funk automatism.

Review: Long-serving Italian producer Marco Passarani continues his newly minted Studiomaster label project with its second instalment, serving a quintet of typically floor-focused jams on 'The Temple' EP. Arguably best known for being one half of the looped-up disco duo Tiger & Woods, Passarani is also known and loved for the more techno-tilted offerings he turns out from his hometown of Rome. His latest work sits somewhere in between his two trademark sounds, starting with the throbbing sleaze of opener 'The Empty Temple', with its purposeful bass, paranoid synths and dirty vocal whispers. The fierce, snare-driven rhythms of 'Night Walker' power grubby bass and glistening synths, while the descriptively titled 'Rotten Disco' offers a brilliantly wonky glimpse of future Italo. The distorted percussion and jagged bass of 'Dirty Hands' are aimed squarely at the floor, while the storming closer 'Cheater's Smile' bangs as hard as nails to complete a suitably stirring and tightly produced set.

Review: Detroit-raised, London-based Demi Riquisimo assembles a dynamic mix of label favourites and fresh talent on Love State, the 22nd release from his Semi Delicious imprint. This six-track V/A hears offerings from Demi himself alongside Clint, Swoose, Lulah Francs, Dukwa, Anastasia Zem & Asa Tate, blending club modernity with classic analogue dance influences, sampling every sonic cate from Italo to tech house. Best among the bunch has to be Swoose's 'Re/Vision' and Anastasia Zems' 'Eternal Beauty', which bring together wasted electro, Italian new beat and trance for well-measured tinctures of dreaminess.

Review: It's the return of 'Phunk'! Nearly twenty years after its original release on her own Intacto Records, Shinedoe brings back the track under her Innersphere alias, this time remastering, revitalising, and reissuing it on her own label, MTM (Music That Moves). Shinedoe has done a lot since, having gone mostly independent after an electrocuting Bpitch Control release in 2013. Yet this throwback dropped earlier in 2005 and came bolstered by rustproof remixes from Steve Angello, Ricardo Villalobos, and Mark Broom; 'Phunk' quickly gained cult status for its fluttery, stimulant stab lead, reminiscent of janky direct current. The 2025 edition retains its infectious, hard-edged drive but lands with even greater clarity and punch, a hypnotic, groove-led recut subliminally sculpted for maximal ear-brain-body hijacking.

Review: The eponymous Soultape keeps their label moving nicely in its early days with another colourful offering of minimal and stylish techno. It is an alias of Denis Kondraschenko, who has been producing for almost 20 years, and shows his class on the hooky melodies, zippy leads and well designed sounds that bring such life to 'Plastic Pop Memories'. 'Body Control' is more dark and unsettling for those trippy back rooms and 'Tounan City Breakers' rides on an impossibly deft, funky rhythm with neon pads and a gurgling bassline. Last of all is the glitchy, dubby tech house of 'Not My House' which has real force in its drums.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: It's reissue time for one of the most in demand records from the Trelik catalogue, featuring Baby Ford and Thomas Melchior under their Sunpeople alias. The flip side's opening track 'Check Your Buddah' is probably the best known of the four tracks here, with its spacious echoes, mantra-like voices and heads down beats, but there's plenty to be said for the other three. 'Lovers Eyes' is an equally dubby techno affair, but pinned down by sturdy, infectious beats, 'Sungods Wedding' is blessed with churning, warm bass action and just a smidge of cowbell and 'Make It Right' is properly hypnotic 3am gear that's a dream to mix and draws in the listener with its imperceptible builds and three note bleep magic. Worship the Sun!

Review: After almost three decades, Kompakt Records is set to deliver its' 500th release - a ridiculously impressive landmark that few electronic labels have previously achieved. To mark the occasion, the Cologne-based imprint has decided to deliver an anniversary compilation featuring (mostly edited) versions of some of its most iconic club hits, underground gems and early obscurities. It does a terrific job in explaining, via music, the label's contribution to European electronic music culture - think 'maximalist' minimal, off-kilter tech-house, ambient pop, synth-heavy hypnotism and twisted, off-kilter nu-disco. Naturally, all of the label's most significant contributors are present (Superpitcher, Justus Kohncke, Robag Wruhme, Gas, The Orb, Jurgen Paape etc), alongside artists you probably didn't realise had released on the label.

Review: DJ Balduin's Mountebank Scientific label tells us that VICARI is "a child of Sheffield's iron hymns and scientist of the subconscious dancefloor." The music he serves up on this new EP tell us he likes stripped-back minimal and tech for the wonky we hours of the morning. 'Freefall' is a skippy rhythm with pulsing synth modulations, 'Pipe Dreams' cuts loose on chunky house drums with off-kilter percussion and 'Dontlikewhatyoudointhere' is another roughshod, dusty and deep house jaunt with a mix of glistening digital melodies and muffled bass. 'Serious Misintentions' is the most trippy and electronic of the lot - a late-night collision of controlled chaos.

Review: 'Celestial Dance' is Tommy Vicari Jnr and Loopdeville's latest, collaborative contribution to new label Foxtail. 'Go Again' and 'What Kind Of Love Is This' draw on the slung-down timbral strength of amapiano's log basses for reuse in crowd-busting house groovemanship: we hear giggly knock hits stiffening otherwise angelic house ambiences, making for staunch low-end scaffolds. Loopdeville's B-side is the real hoot, meanwhile, as crowd murmurs and restless rhythmic petri cultures heard to come to life across 'Los Pollos', before the r&b inflect 'Do You', which samples what sounds like Miguel, closes on a potent tearjerker.