HH MIX #044 - MARCELLIS

Untitled B1 - Marcellis [Workshop]


Marcellis re-emerged on Workshop Records last year with a solo 12" and a contribution to the various artists' release WORKSHOP15. An element of psychedelia revolves in his productions and also in the exclusive mix he kindly sent over. Immerse yourself for 65 minutes and look out for more material and potential DJ appearances from Marcellis later this year.

HH MIX #044 - Marcellis [download]

Featuring DELSIN

Delsin Records celebrate an incredible 100 releases with a run of five limited EPs featuring various artists. Seventeen years on from their first release, the label has pushed quality music from the likes of Hush House favourites Redshape and Mike Dehnert.

The first limited 12" comes in transparent white, and kicks off with 'Fighting the Blind Man', a driving but spacious effort from Manchester's Claro Intelecto. Up next, Gerry Read provides a scuffed cut of house titled 'Granny Bag', featuring flangey synths and bustling percussion. In keeping with the atmospheric but dancefloor prepped theme, Siberia's Unbroken Dub offers the machine workout 'Spacing', with thick synth chords and prominent drums.

All five EPs can be bought as part of a boxset, and future contributors to the series include Delta Funktionen, John Beltran, Conforce and Herva.

100 DSR/VAR 1 – Claro Intelecto / Gerry Read / Unbroken Dub [Delsin]


Check out Delsin's vast back catalogue of amazing music, and buy the limited 12" at Juno.

Featuring TAZZ

Underground Quality certainly lived up to its name on its 26th release back in 2010. Canadian producer Tazz (and Bacanito on keys & bass) takes care of things on the A-side whilst label boss Jus-Ed steps up on the flip. The title track, 'Acid Love', sees sultry acid tones juxtaposed with warm piano chords while 'Underground 11' is a solid, no-nonsense house cut that provides a solid groove throughout. Jus-Ed's rework delivers ten minutes of hypnotic and therapeutic synths with just enough momentum to keep feet shuffling on the floor.

Acid Love – Tazz [Underground Quality]

The record is still available at Redeye and is going cheap on Discogs. It would be rude not to.

Introducing STELLAR OM SOURCE

The new album from Christelle Gualdi (AKA Stellar OM Source) entitled Joy One Mile is one that defies categorisation. It would be difficult to classify the album solely as techno in the traditional sense, as Gualdi's knack for programming and harmonic abstraction push the album into the realm of the experimental. This being said, most of the tracks do rely on steady rhythms to propel them forward, which places the album into a grey area between conventional dance and the avant-garde.

Joy One Mile (Preview) - Stellar Om Source [RVNG Internationl]


'Polarity' opens the album with a mixture of percussive elements and a throbbing bass synth. Kick drums chop in and out throughout the track, giving the track a wobbly unsteadiness, a theme that recurs throughout the album. 'Par Amour' then follows with its rave like synth stabs and a vocal that sounds like it could be from an old Inner City track. The heavy use of 909 and 303 sounds on this album nod to classic Detriot techno, as well as Chicago acid, but these elements are mutated through the abstractions in programming. 'The Range' provides listeners with what appears to be Gualdi's take on contemporary bass music, whilst 'Trackers' is a study in hyper synth arpeggio that eventually gives way to cool pads and 303 sounds towards the end of the record.

The single from album 'Elite Excel' stands to demonstrate the concept of the album best, constantly morphing, twisting and is really several small compositions in one track. 'Fascination' begins with an airy, cosmic synth line and a few percussive elements, before it gives way to a heavy, albeit stuttery, 4/4 bass kick. Almost every track on the album has some kind of redeeming quality, and also serves to push our own perceptions of what is and isn't right for use on the dance floor.

It should be noted that Gunnar Wendel (AKA Kassem Mosse) was a collaborator on the album and his remix of Elite Excel is included on the CD / digital version. If you decide to pick up the vinyl, which you can do from Juno, then it's advised you download the Kassem remix via the code included with the release.

1. Polarity
2. Par Amour
3. The Range
4. Trackers
5. Elite Excel
6. Fascination
7. Natives / Most Answers Never Unveiled
8. Elite Excel (Kassem Mosse Remix) (Bonus Track)

Digital is available for download from Bandcamp.

Featuring PEV & HODGE

Hodge has been busy recently, having dropped his debut album with Outboxx. However, he has found time to link up with fellow Bristolian Peverelist for a two-track EP on Punch Drunk, which you may have heard in Kowton's excellent XLR8R mix.

Both tracks centre on the chiming bell synth but have distinct characters which should please both house and dubstep fans. 'Dream Sequence' features the distinct bell melody filtered eerily over a single kick drum and flurry of hi hats, whilst 'System Mix' has Pev's dubbier spring-reverbed percussion and swung beats over the delayed chimes. Both tunes are around 120 bpm but this pace adds to the hallucinogenic tone of the EP. Recently, Punch Drunk's output has highlighted the sense of Bristol camaraderie, and hopefully these two will work again soon.

Grab it now, directly from Punch Drunk.

Featuring LEON VYNEHALL

After a slick collaboration with Christian Piers last month, Leon Vynehall returns solo with the fantastic Brother/Sister EP on Will Saul's Aus Music.

He gets things started with a well layered, dance floor mover in "Brother" which builds into a groove highlighted by a few well placed piano stabs. "Sister" in contrast is a slower and smoother affair, focused more on the after hours than the club but still retaining the vibe laid down on the flipside. All in all a top notch release from an artist that continues to grow and impress with all of his recent material.

[AUS1348] is out now on Aus and is available from Juno.

Featuring STEVEN TANG

Steven Tang has arrived with his first LP, 'Disconnect to Connect', filled to the brim with spaced-out jams and percussive house.

'Interstice' starts off the LP in a laid-back fashion, with sweeping deep chords joined by shuffling drums that echo throughout the rest of the record. Title track 'Disconnect to Connect' starts off similarly, the percussion creating a tough groove to contrast with the blissed-out synth and deep bass line - there's something otherworldly about this one.

'Some Solace', 'Heat Burst', and 'Sunspot' explore the acid side of things a bit more, although in different ways. 'Some Solace', very much in the same vain as 'Disconnect to Connect', is chilled-out and bursting with layer upon layer of atmosphere. 'Heat Burst' on the other hand takes acid head on, with Tang using complicated drum patterns and tight 303 programming to create a dark and intense stomper. 'Sunspot' lies somewhere in between the two, this time the percussion taking a bit more of a backseat, instead letting the deep, almost dubby kick do the talking.

Disconnect to Connect LP – Steven Tang [Smallville]

'It's Perceived as a Sound' is similar in ways to 'Interstice', this time the chords accompanied by a lazy but great sounding broken-beat. 'Potential Light' carries the LP rather nicely to 'Brink of Dawn', which rather fittingly rounds off the LP; bleached out and heady, this one is best left for the end of the night.

[SMALLVILLELP 07] will be available 15th July, from Juno.

Featuring UNKNOWN ARTIST

Idiosyncratic Norwegian label Sex Tags and its various offshoots rarely disappoint. This one accredited to 'Unknown Artist' is an absolute stunner, so simple but so perfect. C2 is a beaut as well. If you've got a spare 50 quid you can grab the record on Discogs. No audio for the flip side on the internet but i would bet my house on it being just as lovely.

Preview ECHO FESTIVAL 2013

Summer is finally upon us, and what better way to kick things off than Echo Festival on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. Each year, the Echo crew bring some of the finest talents in electronic music to the Istrian region. With a focus on forward thinking house producers from the UK and elsewhere, this team has gone above and beyond to assemble what must be some of the finest names in the business for this event. Echo has posted up some imagery of the site on their facebook page and it looks absolutely ideal for an intimate beach-side festival.

Returning for our second year, we're hosting the Thursday night stage featuring the talents of Smallville recording's Christopher Rau. If you caught him play at our Echo Festival warm-up in Leeds, you'll know that the man can deliver the goods in the form of his unique brand of deep and eclectic house. Also playing on the night is another producer and DJ who we've featured at our nights in the past, Bristolian native October. He's been hard at work in the studio as of late and we're looking forward to seeing what he pulls out of his bag on the night. Last but not least, we'll have warm-up support from our own Dylan Thompson, Nathan Brush and R&J to make sure the night gets started the right way.



There's so much talent lined up for the rest of the festival, that it becomes difficult to do it all justice here in this write-up. Throughout the rest of the weekend, revelers will be treated to a diversity of sounds, from the rhythmic concoctions of Kassem Mosse, to the deep atmospherics of Fred P. We're also anticipating Ostgun Ton boss Nick Höppner's set, as well as sets from Redshape, BLM, Madteo, Outboxx and many others. Echo have started releasing details about who is playing when on their facebook fan page, so be sure to check it out there. If there's any doubt in your mind about making the last minute arrangements necessary to attend this event, then hopefully we've convinced you that the festival will be a special experience and one that may be the highlight of your summer or year. We'll see you there...