The Melancholist – All This EP

Okay that's enough prancing about on the dancefloor like you were all young and carefree… now it's time to get melancholy!

Except it isn't. While these are undoubtedly far deeper, more introspective grooves than those contained on the two releases below, as late-night deep house cuts with influences from dub and from deep techno go, lead track Adjusting To All This is actually surprisingly sunny of disposition and upbeat of rhythm – one for the afterhours floors more than the sofa, then. On the B, Freefall is a more downtempo affair that, quite unusually, pairs carnival-esque (but non-frenzied) percussion with long, lingering pads and deep, resonant drops.

The latter's a solid-enough offering that will have its fans, but it's the A-side that does it for me here.

Out: This week

About: This comes on Sounds Of Juan, who can be found at the Endemic Digital Facebook page.

Helder Teixeira - Eco EP

Last one for tonight… this comes from Sounds Of Juan and sits somewhere between tech-house, deep techno and minimal.

There are three tracks. Dream Box is all stuttery rhythms, underwater noises and random synth stabs n' squiggles, with floaty vocal samples thrown in over the top every now and again. Eco Box itself is a militantly stripped-down, percussive techno cut with a very odd sampled vocal (some young girl addressing a green conference or something, by the sounds of it… which I guess would explain the title). But the standout here for me is Mysterious House, which moves closer to deep house territory with its muted jazz horns, tiny snatches of spoken vocal and nagging high-end percussion.

Mysterious House is definitely the one for me personally but the EP as a whole is a solid bet if you like your tech-house on the slightly more twitchy, experimental side.

Out: This week

About: You can find Sounds Of Juan via the Endemic Digital Facebook page.

Giuseppe Rizzuto - I Can't Go On EP

Once more we'll start the day's reviews with a nice easy two-tracker… this one coming from Sounds Of Juan and Giuseppe Rizzuto, who's but 22 years old and hails from Agrigento in Sicily.

The hype sheet cites the Detroit techno of Derrick May et al and the house music of Defected as key influences for Rizzuto, but it's definitely the influence of the latter that's more evident here. Not that this is in any way a retro outing, you understand: instead, the two tracks here – I Can't Go On itself and Moonlight – are textbook examples of the more tech-y end of the contemporary tech-house spectrum. I'd suggest there's hints of that East European techno sound, too.

As such, they're perhaps a little TOO techy for yours truly to get majorly over-excited about… but, being as percussive as they are, they'd make useful tools in a set for sure. And if harder, more techno-fied tech-house is your bag you should definitely check this.

Out: This week

About: Sounds Of Juan is of course part of the Endemic Digital stable… as I keep saying… 

d00sh - Nights Of Freedom

Happy 50th release anniversary to Sounds Of Juan! They're celebrating with a new release from label stalwarts D00sh, AKA Danny Oliver and Ian Cheshire, whose Sounds Of Juan EP at the start of 2011 launched the label.

As I guess befits the single's 'milestone' status, there's no shortage of mixes on offer… seven of 'em to be precise, so you'll forgive me I hope if I don't go into each one individually. But tech-house is the general order of the day, obviously, with rubs that veer from one end of that spectrum to the other and with some druggier, proggier rubs for good measure.

For those in search of the house vibes, I'd suggest label boss Wez Saunders' mellower, organ-flecked refix or Oki Noki's acid-wibblin' dancefloor workout are the first places to head… with more energetic/uplifting/Ibiza-friendly Original and In Plain Sight remixes also worth checking.

Out: This week

About: As ever, the place to keep up with all things Sounds Of Juan-related is at the Endemic Digital website.

Diego Metzer - Especies EP

Sticking with the techno vibes for a moment, here's some deep n' dubby thrills from Sounds Of Juan and Diego Metzer, neither of whom are any strangers to this blog*.

This time around, Diego serves up two moody and atmospheric afterhours cuts. Especies itself starts out being all about the big, throbbing, echo-y bass, but builds slowly over its ten minutes into a tribal-tinged dancefloor workout. On the B, Profunos Pensamientos is another muscular, bass-heavy throbber, this time topped off with rainforest sounds and muffled chants.

This is a little outside TIWWD's usual comfort zone, admittedly… I'm not sure, for instance, how I'd program it into one of my own DJ sets. But it's classy stuff nonetheless.

Out: This week

About: Sounds Of Juan is, as you must surely know by now, part of the Endemic Digital empire.

* You do know you can click the tags ('labels') below to see previous reviews, don't you? Oh, you do. Good.

British Lizard & Tavin Reiter - Ketamine

I'm not really entirely sure what they're trying to say with this track… it's got a sampled vocal featuring some chemist/biologist type talking about what ketamine does to your brain, and it's hard to tell whether it's meant to be warning you off the stuff, or celebrating its use. If it's the latter then I'm not sure it's something that should be encouraged*, but, y'know, it's only a record. And a rather good one at that.

It's also about as close to an out-and-out techno release as you're likely to find reviewed here on TIWWD very often, albeit I'd still say it falls into the tech-house arena, just about. But between the twitchy, space-y minimalism of the Arkay Remix, the bubblin' acid of the Deepmilo Remix and the housier, organ-flecked vibes of the Giuseppe Rizzuto Pump Up Remix – not to mention perfectly playable Original, Stefan K and Mason (!) passes – there's plenty for DJs and dancefloors of many persuasions to enjoy here.

Out: This week

About: This comes on Sounds Of Juan, which is of course the techno arm of the mighty Endemic Digital stable.

*Personally I'll pass on knocking myself out with horse tranquillisers thanks, I need what few brain cells the rave years have left me with :-)

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

Nick Robson - Logistics EP

Okay, so if I can just distract everyone from the Richie Hawtin/vinyl vs digital/Facebook storm in a teacup for one second… teehee… here we have two prime slices of what you might quite justifiably call 'tracky shit' from Mr Robson, aimed really at techno/minimal floors but – might I be so bold as to suggest – enough of a funky feel to appeal to house jocks too.

Logisticks, as the name suggests, is an out-and-out drum track, while One To Eight on the flip is as much about the pulsating b-line and as it is about the endlessly looping hand percussion. Neither's likely to be your favourite tune of the year or end up as one of your Desert Island Discs, but then they're not meant to. These are tracks designed purely for adding depth and texture to your DJ sets, and they'll do that job admirably. Fine work Mr R.

Out: This week

About: This comes atcha on those Essex-based techno stalwarts Sounds of Juan.

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.