Let's go back to 2002 for a superb slab of premier league deep house from Lars Bartkuhn for Anthony Nicholson's Clairaudience label. By the time this was released the Frankfurt producer had already been making waves with the Needs crew, honing a brand of sumptuously produced and lavishly musical house that could go toe to… Continue reading Needs present Laurentius – Reminiscence
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Pod – Northern Lights
Back to '92 for an absolute peach by Kenny Larkin, from the Vanguard EP on Belgium's Buzz label, who also released the seminal Virtualsex compilation. It's a strong record all-round - the title track is a beauty too - but Northern Lights really steals the show for me, and it's a reminder that Larkin really deserves… Continue reading Pod – Northern Lights
Headspace & Emoticon Retrospective
So here's something I've been meaning to do for a long time - a mix of tracks on Headspace and Emoticon, the labels I ran with Raeph Powell from 1996-2006. Since the whole operation kind of predates the internet as we now know it - none of this stuff is available digitally, and probably never… Continue reading Headspace & Emoticon Retrospective
Last Session – Sometimes I Feel Like
This blog's been a bit techno-heavy when I've managed to write anything over the last year or so, so here's a choice slice of house - from the mid-90s Chicago dream team of Ron Trent, Chez Damier and Alton Miller - to redress the balance. Featured on 1995's Collected Sounds of Prescription compilation, it was… Continue reading Last Session – Sometimes I Feel Like
Model 500 – Pick Up The Flow
It's hard to believe this Juan Atkins masterpiece is 22 years old when it still sounds more futuristic than 99% of techno released today. Recorded solo and released on Metroplex in 1993, it neatly foreshadows the immense Sonic Sunset and Deep Space material he recorded for R&S with Moritz Von Oswald, with a super-clean, otherworldly… Continue reading Model 500 – Pick Up The Flow
Elegy – Flights Of Fantasy
Here’s a slice of classic British techno soul from the golden era that’s the perfect warmer for an icy winter evening. On the fourth and final Likemind EP, Kirk Degiorgio is at the controls of this spaced-out groover which would easily pass for a lost Carl Craig masterpiece. The drums are killer - a classic… Continue reading Elegy – Flights Of Fantasy
Convextion – Premiata
Gerard Hanson's Convextion project is arguably most famous for the pair of mid-90s 12"s on Matrix that still fetch silly money on the Discogs market, but for my money his finest work has appeared elsewhere. A case in point is this cut from his self-titled 2006 album on Down Low, a timeless slice of techno… Continue reading Convextion – Premiata
69 – Microlovr
Nothing obscure or hard-to-find about this, just a stone-cold classic from Carl Craig’s golden period. No disrespect to one of the all-time greats - and for a long time I’d have put Craig among my top three producers - but it’s kinda hard to square today’s peddler of pedestrian tech-house with the creative genius behind… Continue reading 69 – Microlovr
Oniero – Experimental
The sixth and final release on Derrick Carter’s consistently ace Blue Cucaracha imprint (I’ve already written about the penultimate EP from Joshua) is one of the underrated gems in his sizeable back catalogue. It dates from 1995, the same year he launched the Classic label with Luke Solomon, and the period when he was fast… Continue reading Oniero – Experimental
Aroy Dee – The Planets
An epic slice of widescreen sci-fi techno from Dutch DJ, producer, architect and all-round dude Steven Brunsmann, first released on Newworldaquarium’s NWAQ label back in 2003 and revisited a few years later.There's been a huge amount of brilliant music from Amsterdam's Aroy Dee/M>O>S/NWAQ/Delsin camp over the past 15 years or so, but this is one of… Continue reading Aroy Dee – The Planets
Nothin' But Magic 