d00sh – Mystic

I'm a big fan of d00sh… this latest for Endemic Digital doesn't disappoint.

What I'm finding particularly non-disappointing about it, apart from the shuffling tech-house beats and soaring synths, is the bassline on the Original Mix, which nods towards the classic Expansions/Talkin' All That Jazz b-line without actually ripping it off… clever stuff that gives this tech-houser that crucial slightly funkier edge.

A brace of more heads-down, afterhours-style remixes come from Sean Danke and Squicciarini… neither tops the Original for me but both are plenty playable for sure, making for a very solid package all round.

Out: This week

About: Find Endemic Digital on Soundcloud and Facebook.

2 for 1 special! Tech-house/deep techno

Carrying on our whistle-stop tour of the week's best releases, here are a couple to suit those who like things a little techier…

d00sh is no stranger to this blog and I'm sure isn't to your ears either, his techno and tech-house productions having been a mainstay of the Endemic stable for some time. With Stablilos, however – coming atcha on Endemic's housier Unrivaled Music offshoot – he's really excelled himself. I generally like d00sh's stuff anyway but this could well be his finest work to date.

There are five mixes to choose from, too (plus bonus track Moshii Sounds), meaning this should appeal to a range of jocks… the Original sits right on that deep house/deep techno border, Spatial Awareness add some muscular 303 squelch, Ross Richards and Giuseppe Morena take us into slightly proggier territory while Thom Morton's rub is in a more classic techno vein. And all five are more than playable.

Out: This week

Next up, we come to another release from the ever-prolific Essex boys, this time on the Sounds Of Juan imprint, home as you know to more straight-up techno vibes. But while Giuseppe Rizzuto's One Call For My Friend does indeed sit in the techno camp, it's also got enough funk in its veins to appeal to househeads, too – certainly those who like it a little darker and more stripped-down. Mix-wise, Anton & Dani Tarantino add an insistent, pulsating bassline while Frank Martin pushes the fader marked 'spaced out and trippy' into the red and transforms the track into a late-night headnodder's delight. Nice.

Out: This week

Last week I wasn't around, here's what we missed

Okay, firstly a big apology that it’s been a whole week since I last wrote on here! What can I tell you, a combination of things have been conspiring against me: toothache, iDJ singles deadlines and, oh yes, actually going out on a Saturday night for once (to see Simon Lee from Faze Action play a killer disco/boogie set @ The Big Chill in Bristol). Which was nice (the going out dancing bit, I mean – not the toothache and deadlines bit so much)

But anyway, we’re back now, so let’s quickly round-up some of last week’s best releases…

B-Max

My Angel
A lovely little joint sitting somewhere between deep house and nu-disco, with remixes from Andrew Benson, Domestic Technology and (my pick) Claas Rosen.

Out: Last week

About: This comes atcha on Spring Tube Records, who from a guick web search would appear to be a prog-inclined label run by some Russians in New York. Can’t see to find a website but you can hear their radio show on Di.FM.

Tuccillo

Shell Obsession EP

A three-tracker featuring the cuts C'Mon Babe, Gold Curtain and Salty Shell. Think the kind of drummy, tech-informed house that comes from Berlin and works well in Ibiza, and you're definitely warm, but there are touches here and there (the acid squelches on Gold Curtain, the hint of Vasquez-ish NY tribal garage on C'Mon Babe) that elevate this EP above the purely functional.

Out: Last week

About: This is on Tania Vulcano and Tato's label Isgud Records. Find out more at the Isgud website or MySpace.

Tracks

Long Train Running
This early 80s take on the Doobie Brothers classic gets a housed-up refix from Misteralf (or rather three of 'em), in a suprisingly deep and non-cheesy fashion. Label boss Jamie Lewis provides a remix that's like synthy nu-disco gone all jackin', and that.

Out: Last week

About: Switzerland's Purple Music, Inc are of course one of Europe's longest-running providers of traditional vocal house and garage, so need little intro. But I should stress this is nowhere near as 'funky house'-tastic as you might expect!

D00SH

Sounds of Juan EP
Oliver in its Original form is more of the kind of rolling, tech house vibes that've been floating TIWWD's boat so enjoyably this past year or two: a proper dancefloor workout for those 'lost in music, in a basement, circa 4am' moments. I'd dig Rye Paw's slightly techier refix more if it didn't do frankly unnecessary things with a ring mod halfway through, while bonus cut Nights Of Freedom is also very playable, with a slightly proggier vibe.

Out: Last week

About: This is the very first release from Sounds of Juan, a new label under the Endemic umbrella which promises to cater for "all 'tech' from tech-house to hard techno". Well, hard techno isn't really TIWWD's bag, as you may have guessed by now, but good luck to 'em anyway!

Right, that'll do it for this evening I think – another quick 'last week' round-up thing tomorrow and then we'll be back up to speed.