Geometriae – Subtransformer EP

We stay in Denmark, and stay on a very deep tip, with this three-track EP from Danish producer Geometriae.

"Dub-based techno and deep ambient soundscapes," is how the hype sheet describes Geometriae's style, and they're not wrong. Dubbermann is a bassy, spacey dub techno excursion, Strings Of Space is a sparser, more cinematic/atmospheric ride, while Subtransformer itself is slightly more 'dancefloor', but no less deep n' dubby for it.

Lights out, lay back and enjoy. Nuff said.

Out: This week

About: This comes on a label I don't think have featured on here before, CPH Undersound. Find 'em on Facebook and Soundcloud.

Anton Lanski – Kill Me

Liverpool's masters of all things deeper than deep serve up a fine remix package here.

Anton Lanski's original version of Kill Me operates in downtempo/chill-out territory, but the rest of the EP is made of more floor-oriented remixes, which are the winners of a remix competition run by the label earlier in the year. Forteba gives us lo-slung, sleazy nu-disco/slo-mo, Insect O takes us into dub techno territory, Jedd's mix comes on like the very sparsest and most minimal of two-step, while What About U's rub is the closest to the sumpuous original, just with slightly beefier kicks.

The Forteba and Insect-O mixes stand out for me but it's an impressive EP all round – given that the remixers involved are competition winners and hence presumably relative newcomers, doubly so.

Out: This week

About: You can find Etoka Records at their website or on Soundcloud.

Alec Sonite feat Henrik Skanfors – Dub Elegy

Let's start out nice n' easy with this one tonight… nice n' easy cos it's a pretty darn mellow affair and nice n' easy cos there's just two, quite similar mixes.

The clue's in the name, obviously. Think Leftfield with Earl 16, think Dreadzone in their mellower moments, and you'll get the idea with this one. The b-side remix action comes from Zoo Brazil, and has slightly housier beats and a little more of the vocal… other than that though they're two peas in a pod.

No great reinventing of wheels going on, then, but there doesn't always need to be… these are warm-up/post-club/home listening vibes in classic, familiar form and your ears will welcome them as such, trust.

Out: This week

About: This comes to you courtesy of John Henry Records, who I'll confess I've not come across before… and I can't seem to find out much online, either. I think they're German but that's about as much as I can tell you, so here's Alec Sonite's Facebook page instead.

Hans Berg – Machines

Gratifying to see Fullbarr Digital finally starting to get the recognition they deserve… this latest offering from Hans Berg won't hurt their cause any.

The EP consists of five rubs of the title track plus bonus cut Space Arp, and as ever with Fullbarr the very deepest of techno is the order of the day. Don't thinking bangin' tunes for squat parties… think complex, involving rhythms, dub-informed bass throb, tons of space in the production and an overall late-night, toker-friendly vibe.

The original of Machines sounds like a night on mushrooms with some hot female psychic-warrior replicants and as such definitely demands your attention… the remixes are pretty cool too and include two fine rubs from Ed Davenport, but if pushed I'd have to plump for the sparse, twitchy Detroit-isms of the Immer Remix.

Out: This week

About: Fullbarr Digital are based in Bradford, which is where TIWWD grew up dontchaknow, and can be found on Soundcloud, on Facebook or at their own website.

Nick Robson – Sheltered

Five tracks of industrial-sounding deep techno here from Germany's Lucidflow.

There are two mixes apiece of Diving Bell and Under Shelter, and one of Approaching Cloud. Expect cavernous production, static noise and ominous atmospherics, house-paced (as opposed to relentlessly banging East European-paced) beats, a spaced-out overall feel… oh, and on Klartraum's mix of Under Shelter, the tiniest of female vocal snips, which is all that's needed to bring a little light and make this the most househead-friendly track here and the standout for me, with the dubby and the brooding, moody Approaching Cloud a close second.

Out: This week

About: You can find Lucidflow at their website, on Facebook and on Soundcloud.

Kaua – Spuma EP

Some serious deepness here from Switzerland's ever-excellent Acryl Music and Japanese producer Kaua.

The title track Spuma itself is the most obviously dancefloor-oriented of the three tracks on offer, a deep n' moody groover topped off with dreamy, floaty, proggy twiddles. Next up, Abelia is a late-night, sofa-surfin' kinda thang with ambience galore, periodic injections of fat squelchy bass, mournful brass and glitchy broken/two-step beats.

But while those are both very cool, the killer to these ears is Owni, which is as fine a slice of heavy dub-inspired deep house/deep techno bizniss as you'll hear all week. In fact it's probably closer to straight-up dub than anything… but that's by no means a problem, obviously. Crucial vibes, seen?

Out: For a couple of weeks on Beatport, but getting a full worldwide release this week.

About: Find Acryl Music at their website, on MySpace and on Soundcloud.

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.

Dahu - Deep In The Woods EP

Sticking with the very deep vibes, here's the second offering from new Berlin-based label Steyoyoke.

It's a simple two-track affair. Deep In The Woods itself is a melodic, melancholic and at times slightly menacing meander through those murky shadowlands where deep house and deep techno collide and fuse into interesting new shapes. On the B, those deep and dubby techno influences come a little more to the fore on Falun, with some tripped-out sax insertions in there as well, making this an EP that's "4 da headz" for sure.

But then that's you, is it not? If so, you should love this!

Out: This week on vinyl, you'll have to wait till 13 April if you want to buy it digitally.

About: Here's the usual links for Steyoyoke, then… website Facebook Soundcloud

Do It Proper - Dubtronic

You never quite know what you're gonna get from Do It Proper, AKA US-dwelling Brit producer Lee Jarvis. Do It Proper tracks and mixes to cross TIWWD's radar to date have ranged from the deep to the techy to the discofied… and now Lee throws us another curveball with a slab taking its influences primarily from dub techno and, well, straight up dub.

Three mixes to choose from. The Original is a tad more jerky and experimental, making me think – just a little bit – of vintage sonic explorers like Gang Of Four (though you'd still want to file this generally under techno/tech-house). It's interesting stuff, but doing it more for me are the Tronic Dub from Daniel Allen, a smoker's delight in the finest Basic Channel tradition, and the far housier Deez Raw N Deep Mix from Demarkus Lewis, which ups the dancefloor ante considerably.

Like I said, you never quite what to expect from Mr Jarvis… but you can generally rely on it being quality stuff, and this is, no matter which mix you go for.

Out: This week

About: This comes on San Francisco-based Headset Recordings… here's their website, Facebook and Soundcloud.

Owen Howells – Zipped Up EP

Fans of deep/glitchy/minimal techno step right this way, as Owen Howells serves up this three-tracker for Zipped Records.

I'll be honest and say the Stanky Remix of Deptford isn't for me – too glitchy by half I'm afraid. But never mind, because you also get Bam, which somehow manages to infuse its spastic techno rhythms and disconcerting (backwards?) vocal samples with something of the spirit of classic b-boy electro. And more importantly, you also get It's All Kicked Off Now.

Easily overlooked if you don't give it a chance to linger, the latter turns out to be as fine a piece of sparse, dubbed-out deep techno as you'll hear this week. Skin up, sit back and enjoy…

Out: This week

About: You can find Zipped Records on Facebook, and you can currently HEAR THIS on their Soundcloud page

Neil Browne - Watch Dis

Okay, so just in case you were thinking the Wagon Cookin' track was a bit poppy – which admittedly it is, but I still like it all the same – let's move on next to this (or should that be dis?) which is as resolutely underground an affair as you could ask for.

It's good value for money, too, cos there are no fewer than six mixes of Watch Dis to choose from, representing a range of styles. The Original, d00sh and Darren Flecta mixes could all basically be filed under the 'tech-house' banner, but they do vary: the Original uses eastern sounds and crisp beats, d00sh's has more techno-fied lo-end rumble while Darren Flecta's is a bit more tripped out in a plinky-plonk kinda way. All are playable but I think the Original wins out for sheer originality in its sound palette.

There's also a darker and more overtly techno mix from Glen McArdle, but perhaps of most interest to TIWWD readers will be the rubs from Echofusion and Moojah. Echofusion's Deeper Remix is, unsurprisingly, a deep house refix and perfectly tailored for very, very late play, with one of those spoken vocals you either love or hate: "the vibe, the groove, the music… house music… this is deep house", you know the deal! Some might find that off-putting I guess but I'm a sucker for those kind of vocals so this mix is working just fine and dandy for me. And then finally, we come to Moojah's rub… a deep as in 'deeeeeeep' dub/minimal techno affair that's surprisingly upbeat while at the same time pushing the 'less is more' ethos to the max.

It's the last two rubs that are my picks, as you might have guessed, but just generally, this is one for the proverbial 'proper heads' for sure.

Out: This week

About: Yep, it's another gem dug up by those ever-prolific Endemic Digital boys…

Maya Jane Coles - Don't Put Me In Your Box EP

Now to an EP that's sure to get a lot of attention, coming as it does ON one of the hippest labels around and FROM one of the scene's current hottest names. Lucky, then, that the EP's plenty strong enough to warrant the kind of attention it's likely to get.

Parallel Worlds kicks off the EP, a lovely deep house groover that sounds a bit like Lidell Townsell's All I Wanna Do reinvented for 21st century Berlin. Dub Child is up next, a more chilled-out slab of deep dub house/dub techno, and the gentle, introspective mood continues on Something In The Air, which has echoes of both progressive house and a whole bevvy of ambient/experimental artists, before the EP comes to a close with Parallel Worlds, which takes us back to the dancefloor.

It makes me chuckle indulgently to see the dance press getting their designer scanties all in a twist over Maya Jane right now, giving that she was getting big props on this very blog a whole two years ago! But she deserves it for sure – and on the evidence of this EP, her talents are still only maturing.

So the soon-come artist album should be worth looking out for, eh?

Out: This week

About: Find out all you need to know about the uber-hip Hypercolour here. One of them's called Russell so they must be cool, innit? Even if he has only got it as a surname. It's the thought that counts.

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

Steve Foulds - Yue-Laan EP

And the quality deep vibes keep on a-coming, this time courtesy of Hong Kong-based Scotsman Steve Foulds, who's previously cropped up on Stripped Recordings.

There are two tracks making up the Yue-Laan EP. Moth is a VERY deep dub techno affair and best suited for home listening, while Wet On Twilight is more in a tech-house vein, albeit with those dub techno influences still writ reasonably large.

Whatever you want to call it, though, this is quality: drifty, cerebral late-night vibes that probably won't appeal much beyond the connoisseurs, admittedly… but who cares when it sounds this good?

Out: This week

About: Hype Muzik is yet another label coming under the Stripped/Endemic umbrella. Based in that global epicentre of all things house-related – Westcliff-On-Sea in Essex – they don't seem to have a website of their own but here's a brief write-up on Resident Advisor and here's the MySpace page for Stripped as a whole.