I've had a handful of people email me offlist asking about some things along the microhouse path, so here's one of my replies, slightly edited. Delete it if you think it's OT or sacrilege, love me if it isn't. Correct me if I'm wrong and fill in the many gaps you'll find. I am not an expert, I'm a junkie. Thanks and have a nice day. Carry on.
jeff (I do more than post FA notices :-)
np: Rumbazumba 1 (Lorber/Sikora)
When this track opens up, it's deadly.
<snip>
Okay - fresh in at my desk and not quite awake yet (and since I've been up 4 hours, there isn't much chance I will be today!), but here goes...
Lets's get the "givens" out of the way first, which Im sure you're up on.
Perlon- virtually eeverything on the label. They've pretty much written the book on microhouse, which you can read clearly after the first few releases. Klang (ran by Alter Ego guys, Flugel & Wuttke) also contributed (with the qualifier that they're usually more minimal and idm leaning) as did Playhouse (usually more housey) and certainly Kompakt, but Perlon is the giant and most consistent in the field. Raum...musik is sotra between Playhouse and the micro thing, but I see they have recently released some new things I haven't heard. They used to be one to watch. Perhaps the old Thule label stuff had something of an influence as well - icy, often minimalist techno. Perlon certainly took cues from Detroit, and specifically the now defunct 7th City label (ran by Dan Bell). Of course, when you mention Dan Bell, you invoke his old partnership with Hawtin and Minus has been a player here too (the THX series, the new "Minimize to Maximize" comp, Matthew Dear's "False" moniker,to name a few instances). It's easy to hear Detroit behind a lot of this, as well as Germany.
Some more 'standard' labels would include Sub Static (I'd highly recommend the "Odd Pieces" 12"s), Trapez (the "Selection" CD series are great samplers) Dial (anything Lawrence touches, although he can move into a dark housey mode, it's always a great ride). Onitor, Sender, Triebstoff, Platzhirsch, Boxer deserve honorable mentions, although the styles vary - Traum would be in this list as well. An often overlooked and excellent label is Morris Audio.Ware is another which has some choice tracks.
A few hot 'newcomers' (at least in terms of not being as well known yet) would include Scheinselbstandig (love the Brant 12"), Echocord (usually dubby stuff), Karloff, Italic, Boogizm (watch out for this one), Freude Am Tanzen, Mule (Dublee is on this one), Festplatten, and the brand new Clone offshoot, Frantic Flowers. Spectral Sounds (Ghostly sublabel) has shown that they can play this game as well with releases by Matthew Dear and Jamal Moss (Hieroglyphic Being - deep house, but excellent and a tech edge. I am not a deep house hater, btw. There may be some bad house, but there is some really, really good house).
I didn't mention the French input above and I should have, as they are also crafters of the sound - especially vis as vis Cabanne, who has releases on 7th City, Perlon, Karat and Telegraph. The last 2 are major French movers/shakers here; check out the Post Office comps on Telegraph and track down the latest Krikor and Krikark (= Krikor + Ark) on Karat. I will buy anything by Cabanne, Ark or Krikor.
Canadian stuff is had to get lately - dunno what's up with distro for them. Mathew Jonson is someone else who's output is entirely 'must-have' - he has releases out on too many labels to count, and his Wagon Repair label (as well as It Is What It Is) material is diffcult to get.I haven't heard the tracks on those 2 labels, but I have them ordered - finally. You'll find stuff by him on Perlon, Minus and a host of others. Speaking of Canada, the Mutek label is another which has gone scarce and has a lot to offer...the new Marc leClair (aka Akufen), Deadbeat, some Brinkmann (all 'must have' artists, I'm sure you know) included.
Other than the things I've already mentioned, some other artists I buy on sight include Luciano, Fym, S-Max, Benjamin Wild, and Rene Breitbarth. That's what comes to mind this second, but it's morning :-) Hopefully this is helpful and will give you some fodder for thought. There's so much music these days - it's impossible to keep track of a little corner. Like any other genre, once "inside" you can hear the variation - "outside" you mainly hear the repitition. And like any techno oriented genre, I find that it works best "mixed in" with other styles or for a particular kind of flow once a set gets moving. It's nice because it has elements of a lot of different styles and can make for good transitions.
jeff