COMPILATION REVIEWS
COMPILATION REVIEWS
QUICKIES
6.0
9.0
Oliver Huntemann
5unf
Various
Present Tense
Techno and more techno
Present and correct
Ideal Audio
Various
Kitsuné 15
Touchin’ Bass
Kitsuné
Compost
Bass Culture
9.0
Family D’Julz
THE French are running tech house at the minute.
Ears tired of people sticking an r&b vocal sample
over a funky bassline and calling it ‘deep house’
found themselves digging a bit deeper last summer.
Led by Gallic selectors Apollonia, especially, DC10
was dominated in 2013 by classier, more traditional
forms of deep house and techno sounds picked from
across various scenes over the past 20 years — NY,
Chicago, San Francisco, Berlin, Paris and London —
up to the present day.
One memorable slot at Circoloco in particular was
from D’Julz. Spearhead of rusty, melodic imprint
Bass Culture, his DJ sets pull out functional,
strimmed down 4/4 magic also of the more priceless
variety, indicating that Apollonia’s French touch
is no anomaly. There’s the likes of DJ W!ld and Phil
Weeks too. And here’s the rub. D’Julz has been doing
it for over a decade now. Both as a resident for Rex
Club (where Bass Culture started as a club night in
‘97) and as a producer for labels such as 20:20 Vision,
Dessous, Poker Flat and Mobilee.
To celebrate four years of the label that’s birthed
demure cuts from the likes of Mr G, Alex Picone
and Anonym in recent years, this mix encapsulates
everything the man, the imprint and his fellow
countrymen now stand for. Obviously seduced by
a chunky, clattering beat with a hypnotic, headswishing top-line or a woozy vocal sample — the
drawn-out type that makes mixing in key even more
crucial — D’Julz’s astute tune selection, combined
with adherence to keystone dancefloor rules —
mood, tempo and harmony — is what makes this
steady, undulating set so immersive. Plus, three
exclusive cuts — including a collaboration with Cassy
available as a separate EP — give this extra value,
making it very much the real deal. Adam Saville
In just 5unf years, Oliver Huntemann
has established his Ideal Audio label
as a consistently reliable outlet for
main room techno that deals in the
art of hypnotic tension and release
like few others. Based in Hamburg but
now with an international reach, the
label has released tunes from the likes
of Dubfire, Extrawelt and The Glitz and
here offers up a