Tags: Minimal

Review: Steve O'Sullivan invites a trio of artists to lay down some serious head nodding beats for 'Rhythm Method Vol.4'. Calling on one of Canada's trusted talents and solid purveyors of deep grooves Jay Tripwire leads the charge with 'Mung Bean Medley'. There's simply no messing: pushing through a taught rhythmic workout, incessant toms and metallic tones etch deep into the mood - awash with dubbed out atmospherics and crafty touches that more than a give a nod to the dark house dubs of yesteryear. On the flip, 'Hidden Sequence' inject their creative flex, demonstrating the all important art of minimalist bounce with 'Synchro'. The kind of fully swung beats and tripped out twinges that brighten the groove more often than not when 7am comes calling. The svelte bustle and soothing tones of 'Makka' from Fletcher by contrast, soothe the mind and leaves plenty of room to kick back as weary limbs take their toll: a fine tonic indeed.

Review: It's time to get to know Club Magnus, a new label that launches with Moonlight 001, a various artist collection that brings together some fresh contemporary talents across three forward thinking cuts. Jay Tripwire opens up with his scintillating tech house sounds embellished with all the usual acid and after party freakiness. Magnus Asberg then keeps you on your toes with his nimble drum work and the cyborg electro funk of 'Sunset' (vs Sound Of The Suburbs) while Microman closes with the more dark, involving and intense techno convulsions of 'Inga Aviseringar'.

Review: There is a load of Jay Tripwire newness around at the moment and some of it is from his back catalogue and some of it is all new. Here the longtime minimal mainstay and Canadian scene-pioneer serves up a multi-volume collection of cult tracks of his from the early 2000s. They have a west coast tech house sound and are still future in design. The likes of Villalbos have long been banging these and they sit well with the days current underground sound. Acid, dub, tech, electronic soul and more all colour the grooves.

Review: Jay Tripwire has popped up a lot recently, which is always going to be good news for fans of those freaky late-night tech sounds that he is so well known and loved for. He kicks off Serenity's fifth release here alongside Jehr on 'Magic Man', a deep cut underlapping drum funk and lots of whirring machine sounds. Parisian space techno talent Cyberduck then takes care of both tunes on the flip - firstly 'Arzach', a deep and dynamic cut that hurriedly scans a vast cosmic world with silvery drums and lush melodies. Then 'Cerclon' gets a little more edgy, with dark and nagging baselines moving up through the mix as the crisp, well-swung tech drums power along.

Review: Jay Tripwire's My Life With The Machines compilation series is doing a terrific job of showcasing some of the umpteen early noughties gems buried in his catalogue and archive of unreleased jams. This is volume four (the first three instalments dropped in 2022) and features seven more slabs of intergalactic, wide-eyed, dub-fired tech-house treats. He begins with a sumptuously spacey and loved-up rework of Mothersole & Haris's 'Dumbek', before adding echoing sax sounds and dubbed-out organ lines to a heady early morning groove on 'What Kind of Voodoo Do You Do?', an alternate take on one of his most admired tribal-tinged tracks from 2002. Other highlights include the ultra-deep after-party excellence of 'Smoothin' It Out', the heads-down excellence of 'Smooth Swimmers (Swag Unreleased)' and the warming shuffle of 'Geometry'.

Review: Jay Tripwire and Christi Cons is a mouthwatering partnership for minimal fans. Both have mastered their own distinctive take on stripped-back tech sounds and here they pool their skills for two new cuts on the fledgling Witching Hour label. 'Boundaries' is a perfect cosmic excursion, with gurgling bass and twinkling synths building a vibe that eventually takes flight on a floaty groove. 'Phantom Zone' is a more tripped-out cut with plugging bass, ambient pads spiraling round the groove and molten acid. The stylish dub techno remix from Steve O'Sullivan closes out a top-draw EP.

Review: We're big fans of Canadian artist Jay Tripwire's leftfield take on tech and here he is back with more of it on Jamie Clarke's Either imprint. Tripwire brings his murky atmospheric style to the forefront on the title track which soon locks you in, then 'Workhorse' delves into haunting minimal realms with lush synth textures and glitchy bass, while 'Still A Raver' ups the energy with bigger synths and more driving drums. It's a track with killer subs and an ever-evolving sense of fluid rhythm that will have you shaking every limb in your body.

Review: A genuine meeting of minds here, as rising star (and Real Gang Records founder) Danny Miller joins forces with long-serving deep, dubby and techy house maestro Jay Tripwire. What's on offer is undeniably alluring: a three-track salvo built around deep, hypnotic, sub-heavy grooves and wonderfully wayward and wonky electronics. The trippy and mind-altering nature of the duo's combined sound is best exemplified by A-side 'Cut001', where lo-fi bleeps, echoing analogue electronics and ghostly chords wrap around crunchy machine drums and deep sub-bass. They opt for an even more sparse, druggy and dubbed-out tech-house sound on 'Cut002', before joining the dots between bleep, Paul Woolford's 'Erotic Discourse' and Tripwire's dub-fired house sounds on 'Cut003'.

Review: Minimal stalwart Jay Tripwire has been as prolific as ever this year, serving up the Narcotic Oscillator EP for The Other Side and collaborating with Cristi Cons on Witching Hour. Now it's time for the Canadian veteran to serve up some boss level beats to emergent label VRNT, holding true to the rhythmic demands of the stripped-down tech house scene while finding plenty of space for expression and innovation in the sound design. 'The Real Life Of John Merrick' is a masterfully sculpted workout, while 'Pleiadian Wavelength' unfurls exquisite melodic and textural synth forms around an understated groove. Herck completes the package with a crunchy, bugged-out version of the lead track which harks back to the crooked computer funk synonymous with Canadian minimal in the mid 00s.