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COMPILATION OF THE MONTH
Various:
In Yer Third Ear 01 (Third Ear Recoding)
In their 10 years in business, Third Ear, one of Detroit’s more cherished imprints has never released a compilation of the label’s highlight moments, until now. The two-disc compilation includes a broad selection of electronica, spacey Detroit techno and warm deep house vibes. Split over two CDs, disc one takes in broken and breakbeat cuts from Ebz, Brendon Moeller and Ricardo Jefferson set against the lilting jazzy vibes of tracks like Dubble D ‘Rope Trick’, Bichez by Detroit’s own Wbeeza and the minimal strains of ‘Holding On’ by Kelli Hand. The second disc kicks off with a trio of downbeat gems from Theo Parrish, Mike Clark and Demetrio Giannice then ties together a slew of atmospheric Detroit techno mood moments from the likes of Kyle Hall and Recast.
4/5
Highlights
Ricardo Jefferson ‘A Brutal Truth’
Kelli Hand ‘Holding On’
Theo Parrish ‘Falling Up’
Kyle Hall‘Ghosten’
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TUNE OF THE MONTH
Huxley
Let It Go (Hypercolour)
Check out the bass-loaded Eats Everything release. The original is mix from UK talent Michael Dodman, aka Huxley, is a solid cut of no-nonsense tech-house. Pulling together stripped techno, warm house music and bass, it’s up to Bristol’s secret weapon Eats Everything to remix this into a uranium-tipped neutron bomb of a track. In a similar vein to Julio Bashmore’s standout ‘Battle For Middle You’, Eats Everything harness deep sub-bass to underpin the strong vocals in a way that manages to pack punch and emotion in equal measure.
5/5

Martin Dawson & Glimpse
Wildlife (Leftroom Limited)
Catchy pop hooks and low-slung basslines. For their first outing on Leftroom Records offshoot ‘Leftroom Limited’, long-time collaborators Martin Dawson and Glimpse provide a slab of jacking goodness, with some catchy pop hooks and low-slung basslines. The EP is all about ‘Wildlife,’ which comes complete with instrumentals, acapellas and an acid dub to play with. A notable remix on from label boss Matt Tolfrey and Italy’s Sam Russo, which turns vocals from poppy to haunting, with a generally deeper vibe.
4/5
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Merveille & Crosson
DRM Part 1 (Visionquest)
Unique chime-infused late-night jams. One quarter of globetrotting techno-pop group, Visionquest, Ryan Crosson teams up with London-based French producer Cesar Merveille, to unleash three late-night deep-techno jams. ‘DRM’ is the favourite, an almost 13-minutes epic, chugging along off with its meandering bass patterns and chiming overtones. The almost as lengthy ‘Orca’ is a similarly off-kilter number with a huge swarming breakdown. Final track ‘The Day You Left’ is a blissful, ambient dream to top off a strong release from VQ HQ.
5/5
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Micha Klang and Kuroneko
Anytime You Please EP (Adult Only)
On point chunky techno. Recent collaborators Micha Klang and Kuroneko lay down their first release on Chris Carrier’s Adult Only Records. Lead tune ‘Anytime You Please’ comes complete with alluring vocals and chunky basslines, alongside B-side ‘Faith’, a jacking old-school track from the German pairing. More interestingly, on the remix front, Freak N’ Chic Frenchman, Shonky, turns the A-side into a trendy, moody groover that wouldn’t be out of place on the DC10 Ibiza terrace.
4/5

Subb-an
This Place (Saved)
Solid basslines and jacking percussion. Following last month’s Tune of the Month for his take on Noir & Haze ‘Around’, Subb-An returns with some original material on Nic Fanciulli’s Saved label. This, Ashique Subhan’s first release on the label, is in his trademark style, which has made his tunes popular with the techno heavyweights. ‘This Place’ delivers in trendy basslines and jacking hats. The aforementioned label boss adds in some bleepy synth stabs in a more techy affair on the other side of the 12” while playing a lot more on the vocal sample.
4/5
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Sable Sheep
Painting My Fur (Be As One Imprint)
Clattering drums. Be As One Imprint mark the end of the year with their 33rd release. The label, based in Israel, brings out this release for mysterious German underground techno producer Sable Sheep. Each track is unique, with interesting drum patterns and clattering drums. A-side ‘Painting My Fur’ is the strongest, with a shivering synth throughout. Also, if you’re of the digital persuasion, a Beatport exclusive track is available as a bonus.
3/5
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Paul Mac & Mark Broom
Essex Acid EP (Beardman Digital)
The Only Way is … ACID. Mark Broom’s imprint BeardFace releases this strong four-tracker of squelchers this month for the fifth instalment on the label’s digital arm. The first two tracks are a collaboration with label boss and fellow Essexian techno big hitter, Paul Mac. ‘I Don’t Know’ is the pick, with reverberating intermittent vocals, 808 claps, raw jacking drums and the classic acid sound permeating through it. Paul Mac completes the release with two solo efforts, ‘Knocker’ and ‘A Certain Era’ . The whole EP is a massive throwback to 20 years ago, with vintage sounds from classic hardware, albeit with a slight modern take.
3/5
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Guti & Fosky
Step EP (Crosstown Rebels)
Deep and low slung. Guti returns for his second Rebels release, following his collaboration with Dubshape in 2010. For ‘Step’, he substitutes Dubshape for fellow Argentine, Fosky. The aforementioned ‘Step’ is a deep low-slung number, grooving along with the occasional ‘step’ vocal sample and bongo drums. Fosky goes it alone for B-side ‘Jealous Guy’ and takes it deeper, with warm pads and dreamy synths, without taking anything away from it’s strong dancefloor potential.
4/5
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Lee Van Dowski
On (Rekids)
Classical techno cuts. Lee Van Dowski weighs in with a strong two-track release for Radio Slave’s Rekids imprint. A-side ‘On’ is the more punchy of the release, taking in strings, horns and strong bongo percussion that you could almost call classical techno. B-side ‘1977’ follows a similar pattern, albeit more stripped back, making it definitely one for the after-hours …
3/5
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