- Minilogue have been producing house music since 2000, but they really came to prominence with the release of 'Girl From Botany Bay' in March of this year. An edit-heavy piece of sky-scraping, melodic techno put out on Treibstoff offshoot WIR, the track led London's ever-on-the-money Crosstown to commission this three-track EP, 'Hitchhiker's Choice'.
While none of the EP's three tracks outdo the stone-cold classic 'Botany Bay', this is nonetheless an incredibly strong release. The title track is a bouncy minimal-house number, driven by a chicaning bassline and irresistible swing reminiscent of Loco Dice's 'Seeing Through Shadows' – processed funk of the best kind. 'City Boy' is a less subtle, techier number, but the production is so rich and energetic as it snaps, crackles and pops to its Vitalic-esque breakdown, that it will make all but the most staid of dancefloors go nuts.
The clipped trancey elements of B2 'Small Town Beauty' make it suitable 7 a.m fodder, but really it just seems to taxi round the runway without actually taking off. Still, it doesn't detract from what is, overall, an essential addition to your box.