Featuring RICK WADE

Chi-house legend and Harmonie Park founder Rick Wade makes his debut on Leeds’ very own Fina Records with the ‘Sweet Life’ EP. The EP brings Wade’s characteristically sunny, disco-tinged sound across three new cuts, backed with a Mr. Beatnick remix and a collaborative rework from Tom Taylor and Simon Morell.

The EP opens with ‘Sweet Life’, where sweeping violin melodies play out alongside acoustic guitar licks. Everything here is kept organic and natural and there’s a genuine sense of warmth to be discovered - a great way to open proceedings that Don’t Be Afraid contributor Mr. Beatnick contradicts slightly with his remix. In this treatment, ‘Sweet Life’ is primed more readily for the dance floor, with a heavier drum-track pushing through and echoes of a dubby synthline that creeps subtly to the surface.

Sweet Life (Mr. Beatnick Remix) - Rick Wade [FINA]


The flip side begins with another new and original Wade cut, ‘The Chateau’. The title of this particular track seems rather fitting; there’s a looping Afro-French vocal that carries its way over those by-now familiarly lazy drum patterns. This one’s got a massively summertime feel to it and it's easy to conjure up images of the hypothetical Chateau Wade makes mention of in the title, nestled somewhere on the Côte d'Azur, with the sun beating fiercely on its roof and the cool sea breeze blowing gently through its windows. Many elements of this track seem reminiscent of classic French house - think old Pepe Bradock, I:Cube or Trankilou.



Wade’s final offering on the EP is ‘Jazz Militia’, a track that switches the formula a little by brining a harder, more driven track that’s the most heavily dancefloor-centred tune on the record. Though the drums kick out with more ferocity and urgency than before, the tune isn’t without any of the analogue warmth and goodness found in both ‘Sweet Life’ and ‘The Chateau.’ It’s just that now Wade is determined to get feet shuffling, gently upping the tempo a notch.

Sweet Life EP - Rick Wade [FINA]


Finishing off the EP, and found only on the digital release, is a remix from label co-founder Simon Morell and Tom Taylor. The dubby twanging chords of the Mr Beatnick remix seem to make a return here; filters are put into good effect all over the place, whilst the percussion elements shuffle slightly more urgently around the track to give the version a more-uptempo feel.

'Sweet Life' EP is out very soon both digitally and on 12". You can grab the latter at Juno.

Featuring DELSIN RECORDS

Delsin wrap up their centenary EP series with a fifth selection of cuts from BNJM, Delta Funktionen, Herva, Bleak and John Beltran.

BNJM's opener operates solely as a prelude, a delicate snippet of ambience that builds towards Delta Funktionen's 'Petrol'. This one's a heavy, bristling affair with a heady kick thudding between metallic percussion and space-age synth drones. It's the sort of industrial, electro-soaked techno that Delsin do so well, so it makes complete sense for it to feature within a celebratory series of releases that aims to encapsulate the dutch imprint's particular and specific vibe.




Herva's 'Radio's Mutterings' keeps proceedings deep - the feeling amongst all the tracks on this release is as much underwater as it is underground. A sonar bassline crawls through the depths whilst rippling melody echoes around it, soaking in reverb.

Following from that, one of Sweden's finest, Bleak, takes the buttons with 'Keep Me Close'. This one's driving and direct, with a elastic, tungsten-coated melody that loops across the duration, rising and dipping amongst frenetic drum-sounds and isolated vocal stabs. (Check out HH Mix #032 from the man himself.)



Finishing the release is John Beltran, who presents 'Return to Nightfall'. Harmonic pads sound out into the murky nothingness whilst hi-hats jostle amongst a thick, padded kick.

100DSR/VAR5 - V/A [Delsin]


a1. BNJMN - Dive
a2. Delta Funktionen - Petrol
a3. Herva - Radio's Mutterings
b1. Bleak - Keep Me Close
b2. John Beltran - Return To Nightfall

100DSR/VAR5 rounds off Delsin's 100th release celebrations and is available later this month on 12" at all good record shops. Additionally, the label have released an unmixed 2xCD to cap the 100DSR series, available at Juno.

Featuring MIDLAND

If you were to ask me what I considered the most important record of 2013, it would be Midland's 'Trace'. If you were to ask me what song would be least likely to get a good remix, I would probably say the same thing. For the latter, I was gladly proved wrong. Almost a year after the original AUS Music is set to release the 'Trace Remixes EP', a timely reflection on how far the label has come in recent years.

Listening to these remixes, it's hard to imagine another way in which they could have been tackled. Using just the basic skeleton of 'Trace', Grain (aka Artwork) - known back in the day for his tribal techno - takes the most intricate elements that formed the original and proceeds to chop and twist them around a faster, yet subtle beat. The track follows a similar structure to the original, however this time Grain wishes only to tease the vocals. A departure from Midland's distinctive production, Grain chooses to have the instrumentation blend in and out from start to finish. The pay-off being a new build up of sliced synths resonating around a warehouse atmosphere.

De-constructing the original, Leon Vynehall's take on the B-side 'For (Yacht) Club Use Only' follows on from the rough and ready style seen on his previous AUS release. The rigid hi-hats from Midland's original have been shuffled around to create a loose and moody sound-scape and the warm synths have been manipulated to create a slight unease before melting back into the beat.

[AUS1456] will be released on 10th February 2014 via Juno.

Words by: Stephen Daniels

Featuring IKE YARD

The works of the early 1980s American post-punk/industrial outfit Ike Yard have become remix fodder for newer artists who create similarly harsh, post-punk influenced techno. The third instalment of remixes is a welcome addition to the genre, with previous entries from Regis, Monoton, Tropic Of Cancer and Arnaud Rebotini.

Powell's opening remix of Half A God takes apart the very straightforward original and reassembles it into something that sounds like it may fall apart at any minute. The drums are shuffled and gated, the synth stabs and guitar loops are fractured, the vocals are sparse. Bandshell's remix of NCR turns it into noise-techno, everything becomes distorted, with added radio scanner hiss panning around the mix. At one point everything else fades out leaving just the hiss, which fades out to almost silence before everything rushes back in, jolting the listener.

The original 1982 version of 'Cherish 8', from their debut on Factory America, is a throughly unnerving post-punk piece, with a military drum groove, out of tune synths and vocalist Stuart Argabright commandingly repeating his perverted intentions without passion ("I watch where you go, then I follow you home...you're so young, you're so chic"). The KVB's version retains much of the original vibe, with the drums now more restrained and distant, with the occasional firing-off of rapid 808 claps. The synths are more orchestral, the guitars looped quietly, more as part of a bed of sound and less highlighted in the mix. Vessel's remix however, takes the track to an even darker place. The vocals become growled and menacing through the flanger, the drums burst through with ferocity and retreat immediately into silence, and added feedback pierces through.

Cherish 8 (The KVB Remix) - Ike Yard [Desire]


[DSR100] is available from Desire and Juno. Limited to 300 copies.

Words by: Jason Rule

Featuring PRESK

After an almost nine month hiatus, Doc Daneeka's Ten Thousand Yen imprint returns with its first release of 2014 from Dutch producer Presk.

His first output since 2012, the Saluki EP pulls together an array of styles to create four very distinct and well produced tracks, which highlight Presk's love of techno, garage and even a little funk. The title track is getting all the love from the club circuit at the moment but the standout track for us is 'Rais', a late night gem reminiscent of early A Made Up Sound.

[TTY011] is out on the 27th January via Juno. And don't forget to check out his stellar contribution to our mix series.

Featuring FALTYDL

After impressive releases on Rush Hour, Planet Mu, 50 Weapons and Swamp81 over the last few years Drew Lustman, aka FaltyDL, returns to Ninja Tune with a pair of new tracks.

Danger is the follow up to last year's 'Hardcourage' 12" (not to be confused with his LP of the same name), again coming in the '93 era sleeve. Although it explores different territory it feels like a natural progression, really delving back into the roots of today's music scene as a whole. 'Danger' is definitely anchored in early breaks and jungle and feels like LTJ Bukem with a garage shuffle. On the flip 'King Brute featuring Shanghai Den' explores FaltyDL's more experimental side, a definite towards the work of Drexciya if you ask us.

[ZEN10377] is available now via Juno.

Featuring EARTH TONES 5

Every year, Fred P puts out a compilation EP on his very own Soul People imprint. Featuring big names such as Move D and Levon Vincent, the cuts also showcase lesser-known artists to complete the atmosphere-orientated 12"s.

Brendon Moeller's 'The Spark' kicks things off with a disjointed bassline that cuts through building spectral pads. Esther Duijn and Lapien offer up similar sandy rimshot workouts with sporadic eerie pads, but Fred P's 'Purple' is the real standout. Fred showcases his jazz and soul infused style of house with an attentive groove underpinning subtle synth moods. Whilst these tunes follow a chilled and atmospheric theme, there's enough in this EP to keep listeners interested both at home and on the dancefloor.

The Spark – Beat Pharmacy [Soul People]



Earth Tones 5 is available now at Juno.

Words by: Nick Jesson

Introducing HANNE & LORE

Steffen Neuhaus and Stefan Helmke collaboratively produce a brand of unique, disco-flecked deep house under the Hanne & Lore alias.

Their latest release, 'Blah!' comes from their own label Heulsuse. The pair appear to have their eyes firmly set on warmer seasons - the dreamy vocals of the EP's title-track are accompanied by the funkiest of guitar loops, the kind of which wouldn't sound out of place on a Soundstream record. Despite the vibe being bright and sun-soaked, there's enough weight in the drum track to ensure that this one works as effectively in the basement as it does on the terrace.

Blah! - Hanne & Lore [HEULSUSE003]


Second in line is 'Be Good', which adopts a similar feel to the opening track whilst being more direct in its approach. The vocals here are more sultry, the bassline is more grizzled and the percussion far more conventional in structure. As before there's clear soul & disco influences but where 'Blah!' seemed pointed towards sunset, 'Be Good' is more concerned with after dark.

The EP is rounded off with a pair of remixes of the aforementioned track. The first treatment comes from Andhim, where the mood remains very much focussed on peak-time. The vocals are twisted and warped and the drums are glossed in darker coatings. Finishing proceedings is the second remix, this one from 7 Days Awake. The tempo's taken down a notch and the sleazy slap bass of the original version comes to the fore.

Blah! is available at Juno now.

Words by: Matt Woods

Featuring EVIL FRED

"To call me a techno-visionary is not just exaggerated, it's plainly wrong. My so-called visions just come from visions other people had twenty years ago...I think it is very difficult to have new visions (these days)."

Without trying to point out the obvious, Rene Pawlowitz has a penchant for both aliases and 90's revivalism, exhibiting exactly that on his latest and second release for H2 Belgium. This comes following Head High remix duties last year for Zigg Gonzaless's 'Music'. With 'Get On', Pawlowitz exhibits his affection for effectively recycling the sounds of raves gone by.



The alias may be unfamiliar, Pawlowitz operating under the newly-birthed guise of 'Evil Fred', but the sound is floating unmistakably in Head High territory on the opening, self-titled track. Here, Pawlowitz's clock is set firmly to 'peak time', as crisp drum patterns are smashed all around the heaviest Berlin kick - all the while, a looping vocal hit reverberates throughout. The pads are classic 90's stylings wrapped up tightly with clean and expertly crafted sound-design straight from 2014. Everything here is given just enough space to breathe as Pawlowitz demonstrates his powers when he finds himself in full-on dance slaying mode.

Flipping over, it's again the kick that grabs you and hits where the sun doesn't shine - Pawlowitz's talent in crafting these is not to be sniffed at. This powerful, driving kick drum beats out through an old-skool piano melody. As with before, there'll be no prizes for tunespotters picking this one out in clubs as the work of Shed - both tracks encapsulate what Pawlowitz does brilliantly. If anything, 'Back Out' seems more akin to previous work under the Wax moniker, with an unfussy arrangement that knows exactly what it wants to achieve - and does so with aplomb.

'Get On' is available on H2 Beligium from Juno - grab it here.

HH MIX #049 - PERSEUS TRAXX

Since 2010, Perseus Traxx has been playing analog hardware and creating grooves that resist digital trends. Not only having released music on labels like Bunker, MOS, Photic Fields, Chiwax, Sequencias, and Future Flash, the producer is also known for his elaborate live show setup, which features a mountain of vintage and analog gear. He describes his work as 'electronic soul music' and is heavily influenced by the sounds Chicago and Detroit. Get some proper acid down ya, none of that fake shit floating around these days.

Poseidon's Monster - Perseus Traxx [MOS Recordings]


This mix sees Perseus Traxx hitting the decks to show us some material he's been feeling lately. A mix of classic Chicago and Detroit-infused house music, with touches of acid and some of his own productions to boot. Catalogue numbers are tracklisted below.

HH MIX #049 - Perseus Traxx [download]


01. Acidicted_0.0
02. Rawax 10.6
03. HSEA9002
04. Muscle 003
05. PONR-1301
06. MATH-050
07. Acidicted_0.2
08. FC001
09. EMP 011
10. CGTX001
11. RST-017
12. SUN-2773
13. MX 017
14. CHC004
15. CREME JAK X05