Tags: Minimal

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: It's been a hell of a long time since Kieran Hebden released a full-length album; Sixteen Oceans and Parallel both came out in 2020 and made for twin final inculcations of his twinkly, stellar dance sound. Three, by contrast, comes a full four years later and promises a return to a relaxed space for the artist, recalling the woodside studio space that facilitated his inauguration as a meme. Not quite abandoning the EDM bent, 'Daydream Repeat' recalls those earlier projects, but the likes of 'Three Drums' and 'Loved' are by contrast much more measured, soft-breaksy constructions in sound, recalling a more radical return to hip-hop than house.

Review: Route 77, the third album from Mirror System, Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy's chillout project, offers a serene sonic journey through spacious, dreamy soundscapes. A mellower counterpart to their work as System 7, Mirror System's music blends soft tech-house rhythms with lush electronics and Hillage's signature guitar. With a travel theme inspired by the vast American Southwest, Route 77 is rich in atmospheric grooves. The album features contributions from The Orb's Alex Paterson, Dan Donovan and Marv Brookes, adding to its laidback yet intricate vibe. Standout moments include reimaginings of Manuel Gottsching's 'Sunrain' and Ry Cooder's 'Paris, Texas', which fit seamlessly into the album's flowing textures. The closing track, 'Sonora Desert Edge (The Abyss)', incorporates a poem by Allen Ginsberg, creating a vivid, immersive auditory experience. Route 77 is an engaging blend of ambient trance and chillout music, perfect for deep relaxation or reflective listening.

Review: Ten year anniversary? Has it really already been ten years since Recondite's sophomore album 'Hinterland' came out?! Recondite almost single-handedly was responsible in many peoples eyes for the resurgence in techno during the early 2010s. After beating down the doors of Ghostly International for many years, the fans finally get their wish in the shape a new, shiny reissue. Coming on smokey black vinyl this time, nobody has a reason to not have this record in their collection. Included are legendary tracks like 'Stems', 'Clouded' and 'Leafs'. Many think that not only is this the best Recondite album but one of the best techno albums of the year 2013.

Review: Will Long aka Celer, Mississippi-born but now permanently resident in Tokyo, intensifies his investigation in personal house music with the fourth edition in his Long Trax series. A quartered circle of evolving textures of at first seemingly diminutive character, this manifest impression is dashed once we learn that each track on the record is given its own side, allowing each ample space to unfold within an economically restrained formula: dry drum machines, subtle chords, hygge bass. Clearly an ode to productive limitation: 'The Right Choice' tosses us the first chord against gambolling percs, while 'You Cannot Reform A Sin' brings marching, DC-offset acid. The release redresses historic wrongs too, using carefully extracted, recorded samples of key voices in the Afro-American civil rights movement.

Review: Arutani's third album Who We Used To Be is a meditation on times passed and alternate lives lost, filtered through the decorative lenses of deep, minimal, tech and dub. As if to paint a character portrait of the artist himself, this is a measured, calm, light, mindful and modest album, replete with bulging concave chord undulations and synaptic percussive snaps for balance. Everything from electro's usual dotted rhythmic pattern to progressive house's woodblocky felicities are checked off here, plus the glissando'ing lead on 'In Case You Wondered What I've Been Doing' is a special highlight.

Review: Robert Witschakowski has been a man on an electro mission (as well as many other side mission, to be really quite honest) for as long as we can remember. His furtherment of electro knows no bounds and it has often come in association with Dutch label Clone and its offshoots, though here he has his They Arrive EP reissued by fellow Dutch label Creme Organization. It landed first back in 2011 but has aged like fine wine and sounds as good as ever - there are a mix of creepy and atmospheric pieces, sick dancefloor rhythms and plenty more to enjoy here.

Review: Zurich's Project Indigo imprint has admirable aims, with the proceeds from the sales of all its singles going to reforestation initiatives around the world. It helps, of course, that the material they release is usually on-point and undeniably enjoyable. That's certainly the case with this four-tracker, a label-debut from rising star Hame. The producer's previous releases have frequently blurred the boundaries between electronic and acoustic sounds, as well as tech-house, deep house and more besides. There's a similar approach here, with the spacey, loose-limbed deep tech-house dreaminess of 'Everyday' being joined by the ethereal deep house melancholia of 'Hope', the enveloping, lo-fi electro beauty of 'Lo-Fi' and the bona fide early morning deep dancefloor hypnotism of 'Stick Together'.

Review: Sometimes we get some wonderfully enigmatic notes with new releases and this is one of them. Rather than share them all, enjoy this one line - "Protecting the past by projecting it into the future, preserving identities, encouraging conversations across generations, and above all, safeguarding the island of Procida's vast intangible cultural heritage from extinction." Now you can ponder the meaning of that while getting lost in a collection of global grooves that span dub, downtempo, ambient jungle, Balearic and more with plenty of humid atmospheres, whimsical melodies and a general sense of mystic aura that will keep you coming back for more.

Review: Since delivering his debut album on PNN a decade ago, Matt Kent AKA Matt Karmil has proved adept at adapting the club-focused sound of his EPs to the long-playing format - as his inspired and wonderfully atmospheric sets for Idle Hands and Smalltown Supersound prove. He continues this notable run of form on this Studio Barnhus released set, crowding ultra-deep, dusty grooves in opaque chords, cut-up sample snippets, lo-fi crackle, hazy ambient textures and nods towards a myriad of ear-pleasing electronic styles and sounds. Highlights are plentiful, with our picks being the dubby, mind-altering late-night hypnotism of 'Still Something There' and the becalmed, meditative ambient deepness of superb closing cut '15 Mins' (which, confusingly, is just 13 minutes long).

Review: Gjidoda Music returns with its long awaited third release. It's another various artists affair featuring some right heavy hitters and newcomers alike on the minimal scene. Opening up the first side is US veteran Bruno Pronsato with the typically arcane microhouse cut 'When You Ran Away From Home', followed by some late night mood music by Iljir on 'Ziiik Zaaak'. Over on the flip, Nikdo takes you into a cavernous and glacial realm on 'Confusion' and finally label chiefs (presumably!) Gjidoda & Gjidoda Jr go deep on the swing-fuelled groove action of 'Wish To Be A Movie Star'.