December in Tech House (Part 1)

Robert Babicz - Pink Trees (Bedrock)

‘Pink Trees’ hits the new-school prog vibe to perfection with the dubby darkness Babicz is known for and some ethereal synth work straight out of a Vangelis-style soundtrack. Will go down well with Pappa/Digweed/Warren fans. The alt track, ‘Percofonik’, is actually the ticket here, a more housey percussive idea with borderline classic Reece style synth action and a grinding low end. It’s not Babicz’ absolute best but definitely smack bang in the middle of where modern prog is at. Buy 'Pink Trees/Percofonik'

Various Artists - Selected Works For Winter (03 Records)

03 Records dishes out a selection of remixed and unreleased tracks by DkA, Ecco, Secret Groovers etc which doesn’t disappoint. DkA ‘Verticalité’ remixed by Ecco is a dubby groove with stark percussion and morphed vocal samples while the Andras Bader remix of Caldyn ‘Combination 001’ goes for an similarly dow-key approach – also using morphed vocals over a sparse groove and some well arranged stabby synths. Norton White & Select’s ‘Home Sweet Home’ is turned into a dope prog number by Thomas Sari who takes it weird with cool used of an old school bass sound and big-room synth. Listen/Buy 'Selected Works for Winter'

Denis A - Remixes Vol 3 (DAR)

Moscow based label and artist Denis A drop the 3rd remix pack with a stunning cameo from longtime progsters Spooky. They take a quite housey angle with their remix of ‘Beholder’, adding pulsing delay effects on the main samples. The base track is quirky and the overall result is a really quirky groove which works really effortlessly. The ‘Heroin’ remix by Scotty.A is also dope. His long-term love of the prog vibe is apparent - you can see why in 2009 he won the Global Underground ‘bedroom producer’ competition and turned a few heads with his entry. This is solid stuff worthy of any self respecting prog DJ’s collection. Listen/Buy DAR releases

December Tech & House Top 10

Something is in the air with the resurgence of progressive sounds. Spooky, the original prog legends from the early 1990s return with a dope remix of rising Russian talent Denis A on his own DAR imprint. Agoria is set to drop his new album early next year and 'Speechless', a collaboration with Carl Craig, sounds like an A-class listen already. On a more manic percussive tip is the Rissa Garcia remix of Freddy Parisi & Marco Soave.

Rob's December House and Techno (via Wikileaks)
1. Denis A - Beholder (Spooky Remix) (DAR)
2. Agoria ft Carl Craig - Speechless (InFiné Records)
3. Estroe - Re-Chord (Ludovic Vendi Remix) (Snejl Recordings)
4. Freddy Parisi & Marco Soave - Don't You Moving (Rissa Garcia Movin Dub Mix) (NightChild)
5. Disco Deciders - Secret System (Lemon Popsicle FSOB Remix) (Ready Mix Records)
6. Viana & Miguel Garji - The Black Mountain (Original Mix) (Seamless)
7. DkA - Verticalité (Ecco Remix) (03 Records)
8. Norton White & Select - Home Sweet Home (Thomas Sari Remix) (03 Records)
9. Berny & Guru - Will You Be Mine (Open Bar)
10. Ryan Van Blanken - Untitled Render (Saytek Remix) (Elektek Recordings)

Classic Pic: Watergate - Lonely Winter (Deep Dish Records, 1994)
Super early Deep Dish making jammy, jazz-inspired house. Sharam's Blue Dub is one of the coolest moments in Deep Dish's long history.