Nothing But... Stripped-Back Minimal, Vol. 13

Three minutes twelve against seven thirty-six: 'Like That' by TYGE opens the record as the shortest of its twenty-four cuts, and '345' by Olivier Romero closes it as the longest. That arc — from lean tool to hypnotic journey — is the best map for reading this thirteenth volume, one instalment among the several parallel series Nothing But uses to organise its catalogue, from Deep & Minimal to Peak Tech House.

The most violent contrast lies in the tempo. Almost the whole record breathes between 124 and 134 BPM, with 'Ufo' by VISAINT setting the ceiling, yet two cuts desert the dancefloor: 'Strange but Funny' by Caso collapses to 67 BPM and 'Open Night' by Conrad Product floats at 94. Amid so much functionality, those two broken tempos work as air vents — proof that a booth-minded compilation can also afford to stop.

On the long-form side, 'Endorffeine' by Alexis Cabrera rules: 7:36 at 128 BPM. The Buenos Aires-born producer — conservatory-trained, with a live act built on modular synthesizers, co-founder of Fun Records and stops at labels like Mindshake — is the most seasoned name of the pack, and it shows in how he manages the running time without dressing it up. Nearby orbit 'Hypnotic Circuit' by Gabu (DZ) and 'Silent Circuit' by Andu Simion, two near-twin titles sequenced back to back: 7:07 and 7:03 of the same circular idea told with different accents. In the opposite corner, the express tools: 'I Wanna See You' by EEKS and 'GTFU' by Wal (UK) make their case in exactly 3:48 apiece.

The final contrast is tonal: twenty-two cuts in minor keys, with A minor repeated six times, against only two major-key exceptions, 'Ritmo Tropico' by SEKO and Octave (RO) and 'Kanji Grooves' by Lascu. Two windows of light on a deliberately dim record; perhaps there, more than in any BPM, lies the true character of this volume.