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- 1. LEONCLARKSONleonclarkson.promos@gmail.com djmag.com 095 QUICKIES TECH-HOUSEREVIEWS Ashworth Braun EP PosterboyRecords 8.0 Ashworth’sascentduring2015 istestamenttohisinventive production.Thiswastypifiedonce thesophisticated'Grain'LPdropped, anessentialdancemusiccollector's piece.ForthisEPonPosterboy Records,titletrack‘Braun’offers uprightandsoulfuldeephouse, whilst‘Plinth’stirsandrollswitha littlemoretech-housesensibility, yetkeepsitscool.‘Lizard’iswhere, youcouldsay,Ashworthletsloose. Theangstandsearchingbassrhythm firesoffoneverytwo-barsunder anembryonicsynthandpercussion ensemble.Don'tletthispassyouby. Jägerverb Baseliner Safer At Night 7.5 Jägerverb's'BaselinerEP'onSaferAt NightRecordsmarkshisreturnfrom alengthyhiatus,andit'sarecord ofdelicatemanoeuvres—astark contrasttohisusualelectro-filled techyhouse.Infact,thecontrastis suchthatsynth-wrapped‘Flowyk’ isallbutvoidofanypercussion andalmostemulsifiesintothe ChemicalBrothers'‘StarGuitar’. Theslower,broken-beating‘Amber’ usesabirdsong-likesynthcombo thatwouldn’tseemoutofplaceina Shaolinmonastery.‘Baseliner’ups thepacewithabrooding,plucked andprogressiveloopedsynththatwill workwondersonthedancefloor. Locked Groove 'End/Scherzo' Locked Groove Records 8.0 Sincehisdebutin2012,Locked Groove'son-pointproductionshave matchedhisfrequencyofoutput. ‘End/Scherzo’isnodifferent, andalthough‘End’isalittlemore progressivetechnoforitsinclusion here,‘Scherzo’justaboutshapes uptomakethecut.Employinga beautifullymutatinghi-hatlineto controltheenergy,itallowsforan emergingatmosphericsynth-loopto buildtension,allthewhileplotting someseriousbottom-endgoodness downbelow. Okain Forward Talman Records 7.5 Here'saquality,no-frillsdebut releasewithcrosshairsaimedstraight onthedancefloor,arrivingviaOkain’s newly-formedTalmanRecords.The ‘ForwardEP’offersupthedeeply hookyKerriChandler-styleorgan lineon‘DeltaStreet’tothebounding bassline-ledandpercussionroller, ‘Southampton'.Titletrack‘Forward' nodsto808State's‘PacificState’by wayoftheenchantingkeyed/padtop- lineandworksatreatoverOkain’s infectious,upfrontbottom-end groove.SolidbeginningsforTalman. Moodtrap Make It Better EP Lower East 8.0 AfterbeingdraftedintotheLower EastfiveyearV/Aafewmonthsback, theygrabthemselvesawholeEPin 'MakeItBetter'—and,better,itis. Thegroovingandairy'MakeItBetter' receivesare-workingfromGerd,who offersrough-edgedwarehouse-ready filteredstabsforhisthumpingdub mix.CozzyD’sincludesadeeprolling bassline,adding909percussionto goodeffectforanotherexpertremix, whilst‘EthosOfLove’,whichexudes acertain'80s/‘FrenchKiss’quality,is deep,techyandbumping. Kuo Climax Work Solid Grooves Records 8.0 KuoClimaxandhisimpressive'Phase EP'isyetfurtherevidenceofthe excitingA&RgoingonbehindSGR. It'sallabout‘Work’anditsinsatiable basslinegroove.Asoundsteepedin housemusic'spioneeringeraduring the'80s,andaprogressionthat audaciouslykeepsonrolling.Thisis hands-in-the-airpeaktime—the DJneedsatunetorepresentthe previous15minutesofset-building, otherwisethiswillhaveallbeenfor nothing—fun.TheEPconcludes nicelywith'Badboy'(includingOkain remix),and'Jump'. Danny Serrano Paragraphy EP Intec Digital 8.5 Followingonfromhis(fantastic) albumreleaseduringthesummer, ‘Paragraphy’isanexcitablereturnto formforDannySerrano.Thisisbig roomtech-houseatitsbest,offering intricatepercussionstructures, trippy—notsing-a-long—vocals andinventivearrangement.It’s clap-happy...butit'sclassilydone. Thezonalandbassresonating‘Seven Notes’isawelcomecounterweight ontheEP,butitlosespointsforthe incessant,dry,squarewavestabs throughout‘Everytime’,sendingan inkyshiverdownthepage.Twooutof threeisgoodenoughforus,though. Various 10 Years Of Leftroom Leftroom Records 9.0 Leftroomcelebratestenyears strongwiththispart-forward thinkingandpartre-jigged retrospective.ThreefreshMatt Tolfreycollaborationskick thingsoff;hisandRoute94's funk-edgedandswinging‘Get Down’;theinsanelypeculiarand bass-heaving‘CanYouControl It’withHeartthrob;andonto thealteredstateatmospherics on‘Infizero’,withGuit.Theself- revisedAudiojacktrack‘Robot’isa reminderofjusthowmuchdance music—fortheUKunderground, atleast—hasbeenrefined.In fact,thesamecanbesaidfor Tolfrey/Simko'ssharper2015mix of‘GoOnThen’,comparedtothe laid-backoriginal.JayHaze,Laura Jones,JasperJamesandSignal Flowroundthissuperbcollection up.Tenyearsisaremarkable achievement,andthisisasgoodas anyV/Aoutatthemoment. 01. ART DEPARTMENT ‘Crazy (Jamie Jones Remix)’ No.19 “Been closing most sets with this since we got it — absolutely in love with it.” 02. 12 STORIES ‘Night Obscure’ Hot Creations “This track goes OFFFF, the synth-line kills it.” 03. MAX CHAPMAN ‘How We Work’ Snatch “Max back on form with this, works every time we play it.” 04. “LEFTWING, KODY CERA ALBA ‘I Got One Way’ Hot Creations “Our debut on the mighty Hot Creations, really proud of this record — made with a good friend.” 05. ROSS EVANS ‘Superskanks (Cuatero Remix)’ Saved “Proper roller from Cuatero, works a treat.” 06. VIDALOCA PIEM ‘Lullaby (Josh Butler Remix)’ Lost Records “Solid remix from Josh, this one is a club banger, for sure.” 07. WALKER ROYCE ‘Seventeen’ Pets Recordings “Love the glitchy vibe on this tuff track.” 08. LEFTWING KODY ‘What You Do To Me’ ViVA Music “A new one from us that’s out on the ‘3 Point 0 EP’ on ViVA.” 09. ALEXIS RAPHAEL ‘Helter Skelter’ Hot Creations “Old school rave brought bang up to date.” 10. GEDDES ELI ‘On The Street’ Truesoul “Love what Richy’s done to this monster.” LEFTWINGKODYLOSTRECORDS Jori Hulkkonnen Quick To Judge, Slow To Execute (Balcazar Sordo Remix) My Favourite Robot 8.0 Syncopatingbassand low-punchingpercussion provideaseriousgroove togetdowntoo.Eerie atmosphericsanda hauntingvocalofferabrief andwell-timedrespite beforeheadingbackfor more.Aninfectioustune! Vidaloca Piem Lullaby Lost Records 7.0 LostRecordscontinuewith theirrelentlessrelease schedulingwithanother boldtech-houseEP.Josh ButlerandMaxChapman bothturninusefulremixes. Paul C Paolo Martini Striptease EP Gruuv 7.5 Thispaircontinueto providethegoods,and the'StripteaseEP'isfull ofnon-stopbassrhythms —andtrippingpercussion istheirforte.ThisGruuv outingisworthyourtime. Dusky Infinite Libido 17 Steps 8.5 TheUKduoreleaseon their17Stepsimprint, theawesome‘LydiaEP’, butit’sthedriving,muted cowbellpercussion—it’s agoodthing,honest—of ‘InfiniteLibido’thatlight thisoneup. DJ552.tech house.indd 95 13/11/2015 11:07