Thank you everybody who wrote in reply to my asking for new and innovative house music out there, but I must in fact ask another more abrupt question to get seemingly where I want to go. First off some details:
Like Ani I work in a record store and I'm responsible for ordering techno, house, minimal and lounge. I'm looking for innovative fresh sounds. I currently own almost all of the Klang/Playhouse/Perlon backcatalogue and I've listened to every Glasgow/Paper/GU release. Like everyone else I'm a huge Herbert fanatic, and really dig most stuff that sounds like him. My current problem with house is the lack of innovation right now (with a few exceptions). Not just in use of sounds but presentation of sounds. The advent of organic sounding house (ie. sampled drums and noises) has left no clearly definable frequency space in the music. While this creates a nice flow to the music as all the frequency ranges seem to just gel together, it leaves no room for any individual sound to breath, and thusly mixing these types of tracks together sounds muddy but warm, or as I like to call it 'a comfortable distraction'. In opposition is the dry/minimal approach, giving each sound far too much room to breath. There may be a groove but it seems that upon closer inspection the sounds just bleed themselves dry with little to no interaction. This is usually deemed 'boring'. The current dilemma I'm facing is that labels like GU/I records/Paper etc. are either getting just far too wanky (ie. instrumental solo after solo on and on), or like Perlon/Klang etc just to absorbed by things like quick edits and breakdowns to remember that a groove needs to be created (I call this 'wankin the rhythm'). Mix these to things together and you get abstract electronic music equivalent to fusion jazz, not bad to listen to once an a while but definetely not something to dance to. So to rephrase my question I'm looking for some good house/minimal akin to the last Hakan Libdo release on Paper. I want to hear about those most solid records with great sounds and smooth edits (not the typical reverse crash cymbal to piano/guitar/vocal/ambient that TOO many house producers are knocking hard on right now). I'd love to hear about all the great local labels that people know about on this list that don't get major distribution (like Delsin for example; great label especially that last Lee Norken release, can't say much for the Peel Seamus stuff though not my cup.) The last couple of Planet E's have really kicked it all up a notch (the new Ibex and the Herbert rmx of Recloose). I really hope to hear some great responses here Cheers todd
