Next up on Falling Ethics' sublabel Moral Standards is the young and promising Uncrat. The "Exclaim EP" is a perfect example of how techno is constantly evolving and shows us where it's going. With touches of trance and a seriously hard remix by P.E.A.R.L. this slice of contemporary techno will surely find it's way into many a record bag.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Antonio L. Newton AKA Tony Newton (born 1948) is a multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, MI who began his professional career at the age of thirteen, playing bass guitar with blues legends like John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker. Discovered by Motown executive Hank Cosby while playing the Detroit blues circuit at the age of 18, he became the touring bassist with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the famed 1965 European ‘Motown Review’ tour. Within two years, Newton became the Miracles’ musical director.
Tony Newton also toured and recorded with other Motown artists such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5…and countless others. Earning the nickname “the Baby Funk Brother” he left his trademark of solid, hard-driving and deftly clever grooves on such timeless hits as “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Stop In The Name Of Love,” “Nowhere to Run,” “ABC,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” and many others. Next to his impressive body of work for Motown, Newton can be heard on several hit singles from labels like Invictus-Hotwax and Stax. Later, Newton gained recognition as a member of both the acclaimed jazz-rock fusion group: The New Tony Williams Lifetime (headed by Miles Davis’ drummer Tony Williams) and the British hard rock group: G-Force (with veteran guitarist Gary Moore).
Tony Newton also recorded several solo albums during his impressive career, including the two total classics: ‘Mysticism & Romance’ (1978) and ‘Novaphonia’ (1987).
On the album, we are presenting you today (Novaphonia from 1987) the listener is treated to something UNIQUE (and this is not an overstatement). Newton really puts the ‘multi’ into multi-instrumentalist, playing the synthesizers, the electric bass and the drum machine. Experimental is the keyword here, sounds vary from psych/trance (almost like a soundtrack from a space movie), to funk, fusion, rock, R&B, soul and jazz. Novaphonia has both elements of Tony Newton’s impressive musical past and his vision for the future.
Spacious synths, unusual instruments and an all-around cosmic approach make this an ‘out of this world’ and VERY intriguing album. Resonant, sonically rich, sonorous, colorful, mind-expanding sounds are what one should expect from the 20th century Novaphonic sound developed to its greatest extent. These harmonies are innately pleasing to the human ear, mind and nervous system.
Explore new musical frontiers intended to catapult the listener towards new dimensions…this is an album that just begs for a special place in your record collection!
Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first-ever vinyl reissue of ‘Novaphonia’ since its release in 1987. This rare & private-pressed album (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) complete with the original artwork.
With his seventh studio album, Shapes of the Fall, Piers Faccini, pursues his passion for the kind of cross-cultural dialogues that have long been heard on Mediterranean shores throughout the centuries, bridging southern Europe with the Near East and Africa. Although the songs are written and sung in English, the musical influences in Shapes of the Fall draw heavily on Faccini's own Mediterranean ancestry, creating a musical voyage whose geography varies from song to song, crossing multiple frontiers with his voice over the course of the journey, from the snow tipped anglo-american Folk registers of songs like Paradise Fell or Together Forever Everywhere to the eerie desert blown notes of Middle Eastern or north African modes in tracks like Firefly or Dunya. Ruin or repair and hope or despair are the album's parallel narratives and if shapes of the fall are the myriad endangered forms that make up the mosaic of our environmental collapse, the descent, Faccini sings, is of our doing or undoing. ''Bring me my home back'' the chorus of the album's emblamatic opening song They Will Gather No Seed is not then, the singer's personal cry for a home but the animal lament of innumerable species on the brink of extinction. Faccini who has previously collaborated with cellist Vincent Segal for their 2014 duo album Songs of Time Lost has collaborated over the years with musicians far and wide in search of musical dialogue such as Ballake Sissoko, Ibrahim Maalouf or Jasser Haj Youssef. Two exceptional voices feature on the album; Californian singer-songwriter Ben Harper, a collaborator from his 2005 album, Tearing Sky and Moroccan singer and master of the trance traditions known as Gnawa, Abdelkebir Merchane. The album was co-produced by Piers Faccini and Fred Soulard.
After making a name for itself through acclaimed reissues of forgotten gems, Lyon’s Tunnel Vision Records is back, this time with a previously unreleased cult EP from the Serbian underground: InnVision’s Lake produced by Welljam aka Velja Mijanović, one of the pioneers of electronic music in Serbia and host of the legendary “Liquid” show on Yu Radio.
While it is fairly common these days for tracks to reach cult status after being uploaded to Youtube and picked up by its recommendation algorithm, the story of the Lake EP is truly unique.
Picture this: it’s the summer of 94 in Serbia and despite US sanctions, something was going on in the country’s musical underground with open-air parties on lakesides and other natural locations, fuelled by a feeling of freedom and creativity. At the time, InnVision was a 26-year-old producer inspired by the likes of The Orb, Brian Eno, Underworld, and Spooky. Unconcerned with adhering to trends or finding ways to make commercially-viable music, he created the tracks on this EP with Cubase running on an Atari computer and several synths fairly common at the time.
But the result was beyond anything common or ordinary. Described by its creator as “organic (ambient) house, but you can call it trance”, LAKE is rapture in its highest form. Pure enthusiasm seems to be driving this uplifting track, with an abundance of heavenly arpeggios and positive energy, along with masterful arrangements that make it even more grandiose, while retaining a light and dreamy quality (perhaps it is no coincidence that Lake in Serbian evokes weightlessness). It is one of those rare tracks that have a deep impact on body, mind, and soul and for which the repeat button was created. While adhering to a central theme, it never feels stale and this is explained by the fact that it was arranged live, with InnVision muting and tweaking everything in one go, which makes this track a “deskmix”, to use dub terminology. In fact, the producer remembers jumping around and shedding occasional tears while he recorded the final take.
On the flipside is another previously unreleased track, the forward-thinking NIGHTY. By no means filler, this is a timeless track with a subaquatic feel. With lush pads and elements doused in delay and reverb, you’d think this is a purely ambient cut, but it’s much more than that. Subtle melodic and rhythmic elements are engaged in a dialogue, and distant breakbeat samples can be detected in the background, enough to induce movement but never overtaking the vibe carefully created by InnVision. The result is a track that is at the same time featherlight and impossible to listen to without some sort of movement. Once again, truly unique music that transcends time and place.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Following their debut compilation last year, Accidental Meetings are back with their first album by Vancouver-based artist, wzrdryAV aka Kelly Nairn.
The tape is a tale of two sides, one beats, one beatless. Using field recordings, audio collage, sound object manipulation, synths & samples, Nairn explores his extensive repertoire.
"`To take two of my worlds and put them in one place as an experiment in contrast"
Side A explores the groovier, rhythmic side of Nairn. While deliberate melodies are uncommon, repeating fragments of chords and foggy loops combine in a pulsating way. Touching on Detroit techno & Jamaican dub throughout, Nairn creates trance-inducing mini jams from start to finish. Side B leans more on Nairn's granular synthesis side. With fragments of field recordings scattered over drones & layered tones that manifest themselves in the most unexpected ways.
“I'm putting together and playing back sounds for the audience that I find evocative for my own escapism”
Luca Yupanqui was not yet born when she recorded her debut album. The music on the aptly titled Sounds of the Unborn is the expression of life in its cosmic state _ pre-mind, pre-speculation, pre-influence, and pre-human. It is the first album created by a person while they were still inside the womb, the expression of a soul that hasn't yet seen the light of day nor taken a single breath of air. It is a message that comes from a different realm, a sublayer of our existence. Sounds of the Unborn was made with biosonic MIDI technology, which translated Luca's in utero movements into sound. With the help of her parents, Psychic Ills bassist Elizabeth Hart and Lee Scratch Perry collaborator Iván Diaz Mathé, Luca's prenatal essence was captured in audio. They designed a ritual, a kind of joint meditation for the three of them, with the MIDI devices hooked to Elizabeth's stomach, transcribing its vibrations into Iván's synthesizers. They let the free-form meditations flow without much interference, just falling deeper into trance and feeling the unity. After five hour-long sessions, the shape of an album began to emerge. Elizabeth and Iván then edited and mixed the results of the sessions, respecting the sounds as they were produced, trying to intervene as little as possible, allowing Luca's message to exist in its raw form. This cosmic soul summoning created new sounds, striking into uncharted territory for Elizabeth and Iván as musicians. A new language was being created, a new form of communication. It was a music without intellect or intentionality behind it, with no preconception or attempt to create any specific sound or melody. Every note on Sounds of the Unborn occurred naturally. It is human nature to wonder what life is like inside another human being's consciousness. How does it feel? What does it sound like? All these questions became stronger and more important to Elizabeth and Iván while they were waiting for Luca to come into the world. At a certain point the questions turned into, What would she say if she could speak? How would she react to the outer world? And ultimately, What kind of music would she play if she was able to? This album is an attempt to answer those questions. RIYL: Brian Eno, Mort Garson, Kaitlyn Aurelia-Smith
With 'BREAKOUT', Echoes of Zoo push their adrenaline fueled jazz sounds to thrilling new levels. Rarely did one single word capture an entire musical atmosphere this accurately: the gates of the cages fell open and won't ever be shut again. 'BREAKOUT' celebrates breaking loose and is constantly
seeking for unexpected and exciting encounters - both culturally and musically. Infused with an eclectic range of western, oriental and African influences, Echoes of Zoo let their psychedelic and energetic jazz roam the streets in all freedom - much like an animal that has just stepped out of his cage and looks you straight in the eye. Meeting is direct, barriers are gone, the adrenaline and energy are rushing high. The band takes a deep dive into the musical melting pots which the world's biggest cities are today:
Balkan ornaments meet Brazilian rhythms
Gipsy scales meet fuzz guitars
Beninese grooves meet Turkish makam
Bass guitars meet Sufi rhythms
Rage riffs meet Kurdish trance
Indian raga meets western guitars
Romanian drums meet swing riffs
Tallava meets drum 'n bass
...
Echoes of Zoo are profoundly inspired by the endless variety of animals and musical genres. Join them on their trip through the city in all diversity, victory and freedom. BREAKOUT.
Echoes of Zoo is a band with a unique sound, under the high tension of Middle Eastern rock music with the striking complexity of West African percussion and a few Dub flavors, all in the service of psychedelic jazz played with a punk attitude. For this project, Nathan Daems (sax) is accompanied by Bart Vervaeck (electric guitar), Lieven Van Pee (electric bass) & Falk Schrauwen (drums), musicians you probably know from other projects they are part of such as Black Flower, De Beren Gieren, Sylvie Kreusch or Compro Oro.
After releasing a first self-produced EP - 'First Provocations' - in January 2019, the group was well received by both the audience and professionals in the sector. Supported and followed by some pioneering organisations and festivals, Echoes of Zoo has already been invited to Brussels Jazz Festival, BRDCST Festival (AB), Brosella Festival (carte blanche guesting Pantelis Stoikos), Leuven Jazz Festival, Amok Festival (KAAP), Recyclart, ...
Electro master since the beginning Noisebuilder, is not just Σam... Is not just Junky Robot... He is an artist diggin' damn detailed frequencies. Alsways hidding the melodies in the SUB-bass.
First side brings quiet hi-tempo electro-techno rave tunes. Very musical and dancefloor in the same time. A pretty rare fact.
The flip offers a different view with a downtempo (well a normal tempo actually...) super progressive classic techno tune, peacefull at trance frontier as well as electric and acid-core... Finally the ep finish your brain with a vocoder electro bumper ! MASSIVE !
Cut At The Exchange Mastering with luv !
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Luca Yupanqui was not yet born when she recorded her debut album. The music on the aptly titled Sounds of the Unborn is the expression of life in its cosmic state _ pre-mind, pre-speculation, pre-influence, and pre-human. It is the first album created by a person while they were still inside the womb, the expression of a soul that hasn't yet seen the light of day nor taken a single breath of air. It is a message that comes from a different realm, a sublayer of our existence. Sounds of the Unborn was made with biosonic MIDI technology, which translated Luca's in utero movements into sound. With the help of her parents, Psychic Ills bassist Elizabeth Hart and Lee Scratch Perry collaborator Iván Diaz Mathé, Luca's prenatal essence was captured in audio. They designed a ritual, a kind of joint meditation for the three of them, with the MIDI devices hooked to Elizabeth's stomach, transcribing its vibrations into Iván's synthesizers. They let the free-form meditations flow without much interference, just falling deeper into trance and feeling the unity. After five hour-long sessions, the shape of an album began to emerge. Elizabeth and Iván then edited and mixed the results of the sessions, respecting the sounds as they were produced, trying to intervene as little as possible, allowing Luca's message to exist in its raw form. This cosmic soul summoning created new sounds, striking into uncharted territory for Elizabeth and Iván as musicians. A new language was being created, a new form of communication. It was a music without intellect or intentionality behind it, with no preconception or attempt to create any specific sound or melody. Every note on Sounds of the Unborn occurred naturally. It is human nature to wonder what life is like inside another human being's consciousness. How does it feel? What does it sound like? All these questions became stronger and more important to Elizabeth and Iván while they were waiting for Luca to come into the world. At a certain point the questions turned into, What would she say if she could speak? How would she react to the outer world? And ultimately, What kind of music would she play if she was able to? This album is an attempt to answer those questions. RIYL: Brian Eno, Mort Garson, Kaitlyn Aurelia-Smith
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
ANMON was born from the collaboration of French producers DJ Saint Pierre and Ténèbre. Through rearranged recorded live jams, their music is a series of fast-paced experiments at the fringe of the techno spectrum. Built for the stage and trance-induced listening experiences, Anmon summons a renewed tribal spirit - an unexpected resurgence of the sonic aesthetics of freeparties via their very own interpretation.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Elmo Sarpaniemi (El Mono) and Roope Karhunen (Kaltstam) met at a local Helsinki radio station in 2005, and linked up soon again in 2018 at an afterparty. Fueled by their mutual passion towards only the best genres ever they squeezed out a blend of goa trance, techno, electro, breakbeats and sort of IDM. This steamy session gave birth to the track, “Positive”.
The other ER original ”2G”, sounds more like traditional goa trance, but still… it hardly is. Clocking the rhythm around 140 bpm like the opening track, it kicks in the club doors with a robust bassline, enchanting the cultured dancer with its peculiar melodies, leaving the purists absolutely cold evicting them for a cigarette. Because who gives an oink about purists, right?
This record is also fortunate enough to be blessed with two spectacular remixes. Neri J’s approach is a more dancefloor friendly, yet aetheric version of “Positive”, but don’t get it twisted. It still possesses something very psychedelic and raw. Ilev Luna wraps up the release nicely with his touch, that sounds like an interpretation of modern techno, but in fact this just could be a journey deep into your psyche. BOOM! This slaps.
Mastered by Gabriel Markus
Cover art by Wezardo
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Electric Jalaba comprises six accomplished musicians with an empathy thatfeels telepathic and a groove that immerses. In Arabic, the mother tongue ofMoroccan-born singer and guimbri player Simo Lagnawi, a leading practitionerof Gnawa music in Britain, they call this indefinable quality, "El Hal" - "Thefeeling". "It's the feeling that comes when we're playing and totally forgetting where weare," says producer and bassist Olly Keen. "The feeling of being grabbed by themusic and lost in the groove." 'El Hal / The Feeling' is the new third album fromElectric Jalaba and their first release in five years. It's a multi-faceted work thatfinds the band tighter than ever, deploying a vast cache of influences across ninetracks improvised and developed in their south London studio then deftlyproduced by Keen. Some tracks pay homage to the origins of Gnawa music,whose repertoire of Arabic-language praise songs contains remnants of WestAfrican dialects - Bambara from Mali, Fulani and Hausa from the Sahel region -that point to a centuries-old migration. "The trance-inducing effect of Gnawa was what hit us first. It was visceral, heartstopping," continues Olly, whose siblings - producer / keys player Henry Keen,guitarist / multi-instrumentalist Nathaniel Keen and singer / multi-instrumentalistBarnaby Keen - make up Electric Jalaba alongside revered Anglo-Italian kitdrummer Dave De Rose and Simo on vocals, krakeb and guimbri. "Simoselected the chant from the traditional song suites and, as a band, we extendedthese short pieces of ceremonial music and experimented with sound andstructure," explains Olly. Tracks include the Juno-led dancefloor single 'CubailiBa', 'Agia Hausa', a multi-layered wig-out that partly takes its inspiration fromSenegal's fiercely percussive mbalax rhythms and 'Daimla', a gloriously dubbyode to Allah and iconic maalems including the late Mahmoud Guinea. "There's avery strong rhythmic element within the band but because of our differentperspectives but the melodic components are really unique as well," says Henry.That feeling of being outside of yourself but totally within yourself at the sametime... That's what all of us, collectively, are striving for."
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
"Fantastically dark as it fuses slo-mo hip-hop and distorted trance its scare comes in how seductive if it is." Loud & Quiet 9/10
WHITE RING release their sophomore full-length SHOW ME HEAVEN, due out on Rocket Girl on 22 Jan 2021. This album arrives two years after their debut album 'Gate of Grief' which came after their benchmark EP, 'Black Earth That Made Me'. Swerving from aggressively abrasive to beautifully ethereal; musically they draw from a varied and challenging palette.
From 'Black Earth That Made Me' to 'Gate of Grief', 'Show Me Heaven' completes the story of loss and acceptance." Asking Bryan about the new album, he explains; "This album is about the consequences of darkness.
WHITE RING were originally formed by Bryan Kurkimilis and Kendra Malia, before they were joined by Adina Viarengo in 2017.
In October 2019 while writing this album, Kendra passed away after an on-off struggle with drugs and schitzophrenia. She was slated to be involved but didn’t get the opportunity to contribute before her death. Thematically, Show Me Heaven focuses on the aftermath of grief and is dedicated to Kendra Malia.
With their DIY ethos while dwelling on the outskirts of pop music, WHITE RING have developed a unique style while pushing the boundaries of accessibility and musical genre. They have created a piece of art that is brimming with symbolism and underlying tensions, that seduces, scares and comforts in equal measure.
LP COMES WITH A DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CARD
"With their distorted synths, gunshot claps and ghoulish diva... evoking a horribly claustrophobic atmosphere." Uncut
"Less shoegazers-on-codeine, more Fuck-Buttons-go-mad-in-a-crypt." Time Out
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Following on from the likes of Goat, Josefin Öhrn, Hills, Flowers Must Die, Centrum and GÅS - VED continue to be among the wonderful plethora of Swedish bands to release their exploratory music on Rocket Recordings. With 3 albums, 3 EPs (including one on Rocket), a compilation on labels like Höga Nord and Adrian Recordings already behind them this Malmö 5 piece are famed for creating trance inducing, repetitive, psych. Their ever evolving sound has always taken in many global influences, from Middle Eastern to African to the monotonous explorations of composers like Steve Reich and Terry Riley. Rhythmically driven like the jittered ecstasy of a Post Punk band covering a Oriental Surf a track, “Ett visst fängelse” (translated as ‘A Certain Prison’) establishes a pulsating
clink clack shimmer that is as hyper actively addictive as CAN in full animated instrumental groove. “The Embrace Of The Oarfish” the lead track, advances the propulsive pummeling to a more aggressive sound centred around a repetitive single bass note that masquerades like an menacingly deep percussive outlaw. The looming ribbon like nature of the track slithers like the giant sea serpent the title alludes too - some say the Oarfish can forecast earthquakes themselves, maybe its the resonance of the bomb shelter in
Malmö that is the bands rehearsal space that imposes itself tremor like through their oscillating work. The firewood that is VED’s work has reminiscent echoes of the primal work of UK act Snapped Ankles, but VED’s journey is a wholly unique controlled burn where rapid oxidation devours any listener into a blaze of restorative enchantment.
In this, his inaugural release, LAW334 welcomes the listener to his musical language through four tracks.
Arco and Wire Hangers are two synth dominated techno cuts that bookend a more experimental offering in Veils; an abstracted exercise in audio processing bassoon samples. In the closing track Panspermia, Choronzon takes the wheel to LAW334's engines in an ecstatic trance through a distorted desert landscape.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Italian House Music and their perception for underground sound was always a big thing for us at Imogen Recordings . With bringing true pioneer Don Carlos in backcatalog of Imogen , now we inject fresh blood with St.David - A Touch Of Deep Ep
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Until Now, Jilala has been a much sought-after phantom in relation to their better-known musical and spiritual contemporaries, The Master Musicians of Jajouka. Culled from three and a half hours of 1965 recordings by writers/artists/poets Brion Gysin and Paul Bowles, the first batch of Jilala recordings were released on a 1965 LP that was scarce even upon its initial release. The second batch of Recordings, which this LP has drawn from, came in the form of a CD by Baraka Foundation in 1998, which is also now long out of print. The Jilala brotherhood -- like the better-known Jajouka culture -- has pre-Islamic roots in Sufi mysticism that span across northern Africa from Morocco to India. Jilala shares the kinds of small, portable instruments historically favored by nomadic cultures. Even among the more ardent aficianados of "world music" these recordings have seldom been heard. In the original liner notes Ira Cohen provides a breakdown of the Jilala ensemble: "The instruments used are the shebaba, a long transversal cane flute, which leads the way; the bendir, a handheld drum resembling a tambourine without cymbals; and the karkabat which is a double castanet made of metal. On this record there are usually three flutes, six drums and one pair of castanets." In conjunction with the qraqaba -- an iron analog to the wooden castanets featured heavily in the Flamenco music of the Roma people that also flourished over the centuries mere miles to the north in southern Spain. These bendir drums provide a range very similar to that covered in contemporary popular music by the bass drum, snare, and cymbals that make up standard drum kit. The Trance-inducing grooves were major influences on such bands as Led Zeppelin, Agitation Free, Can and the Rolling Stones. The collective rhythms are often reminiscent early hip hop. oFirst time these tracks appear on vinyl - Pressed on 180 Gram Black Vinyl o Recorded by Brion Gysin & Paul Bowles in Morocco 1965 o Limited Edition of 300 Copies - DMM: Direct Metal Mastering o New Liner Notes by Peter Wetherbee o Contains insert of original liner notes from 1965 Jilala LP o Long out of print in any format for over 20 years.
Henriette Motzfeldt und Catharina Stoltenberg, alias Smerz, kombinieren für ihr Debütalbum „Believer“ Einflüsse ihrer Jugend in Norwegen mit den düsteren elektronischen Soundsphären einer Metropole, ihrer Wahlheimat Kopenhagen. Inspiration ziehen sie dabei aus allem: aus ihren Erfahrungen von Chor- und Tanz-Proben als Jugendliche, Winterurlauben in kleinen Hütten in der unberührten Natur der norwegischen Einöde, Musicals, klassischer Musik, aber auch von R&B-, Trance- und Hip Hop-Musik!
Während “Believer” sich wie ein innerer Dialog einer intimen Freundschaft vor dem Panorama der norwegischen Landschaft anfühlt, befassen sich die Songs mit Problemen, die die beiden Musikerinnen umtreiben: der Kontrast zwischen seinem Selbstbild und wie einen andere sehen, die Schwierigkeiten mit jemanden zu kommunizieren, mit dem man zuvor intim war und dem nie endenden Kampf zwischen Selbstbewusstsein und Selbstzweifel.
out of Stock
Last delivered 9 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Kuldaboli returns to bbbbbb records, this time with a 6-track EP on which his idiosyncratic sound of icy, cryptic electro fully emerges. BBB015 being the second release of Kuldaboli on bbbbbb records is destined to be a historical release for the Icelandic dance music scene and a very important one for Kuldaboli’s legacy. The EP title ‘Ekkert nema ískaldur veruleikinn’ roughly translates to “nothing but the ice cold reality” and that is exactly what is delivered across the six tracks laden with poetic lyrics and spoken word.
In the opening track ‘Ég er bara ég’ Kuldaboli’s signature sound of uncompromising electro is overlaid with haunting vocals recited in Icelandic saying “I am only me and you are only you, people exchange words measuring each other out, trying their best at discerning life’s riddles’’. It is easy to say that Kuldaboli knows how to capture the listeners with deep reflections on subjects that most people are aware of but hardly ever speak of.
A2 ‘Ískaldur veruleikinn’ or ‘the ice cold reality’ is the most bouncy dancefloor track of the EP with the openings lyrics saying ‘’Are you telling me the truth? If I were to guess you are lying cold to my face’. The power of word play in this release is by far the most interesting poetic turn for Kuldaboli to date, where he shows great insight to the subconscious and human behaviour.
The smooth sounds of possessed Italo disco on A3 ‘Finn innri frið’, along with the funky bassline and trance like synths has perhaps the most positive vibe to it if you are not familiar to Kuldaboli, along with the playful opener of B-side ‘Afi kenndi mér íslensku’.
Following B2 no-bullshit-electro-track ‘Kuklari’, the final track B3 ‘Fönix úr ösku’ shows the haunting dark depth of depressurisation that vocal and electronics can create, where melancholic lyrics convey images of lost dreams of former lives.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
A fixture on Copenhagen's music scene for nearly two decades, Nikolaj Jakobsen, aka Sugar, has to date thrived on concentrating - usually to the point of obsession - on one type of music at a time. Early on, it was punk: from his mid-teens he lived in the legendary squat and artistic community Ungdomshuset, toured worldwide with punk and metal bands, and was completely immersed in and dedicated to the city's DIY punk and metal scene.
Then in 2012 he set foot in a techno club for the first time, and his laser-like focus turned in that direction. Jakobsen began producing fast techno under the Sugar alias, and co-founded Fast Forward Productions, an agency and party that has gathered together the city's previously disparate band of fast techno and trance producers, DJs and collectives. Fast Forward has been instrumental in launching the careers of the likes of Schacke, Repro, Funeral Future and Rune Bagge, as well as Jakobsen himself.
Now Jakobsen is launching a new label that, even down to its name, is an open challenge to himself to focus on multiple musical styles at once. Perfumery, of which the Eyes Cream EP is the inaugural release, will be a home for his productions under the Sugar name and other aliases, as well as collaborative efforts with others. The label's open remit defies definitive categorisation of is to come, but its second release will be an abstract, atmospheric album by the cimbalom and tuba player and composer Anders Bo Eriksen, aka OPICA. On that record's heels will be collaborative projects with D.Dan and HVAD, as well as an experimental-minded debut LP by Jakobsen as Sugar.
Though Perfumery will be a platform for the exploration of new musical territories, Eyes Cream comprises four fast-techno hardware jams in Jakobsen's signature style. As well as showing off his knack for punning in a second language, opener Bright Side Of The Spoon is a classic Copenhagen splicing of darkness and light, with insistent, ominous bass waves leavened by twinkling synth textures. On the surface the middle two tracks, Eyes Cream and Try Me, are harder, flintier, Detroit-referencing tools. Just beneath, however, lurks the texture and warmth that is one of Copenhagen techno's prime calling cards. Perhaps the greatest treat of the EP is saved for last: Once And For No One is a gorgeous, gauzy, end-of-the-night banger that packs a hefty emotional punch.
All proceeds from physical and digital sales of the first EP on Perfumery will go to Sea-Watch.Org, a German NGO dedicated to saving migrants trying to reach Europe on stricken vessels in the Mediterranean.
out of Stock
Last delivered 18 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Raver's Guide VA features russian underground with top-notch names again. There is a heavy & classy intro by Gemüt, the crusader of Moscow's Monasterio. Then you get trapped in a warehouse honey banger by Melier Avenue. And also here is a hypno trance atmo delivered by Disco Morato. Embodied in the thick black vinyl.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
This warm and welcoming first serving of Berlin based label Candy Kingdom is sure to add some sorely needed sweet, happy and dreamy vibes to the start of 2021.
The label and its driving act Candy Kingdom Synth Orchestra are a concept project that delivers melodic and emotional dance music loosely associated with house, but unashamedly flirts with electro funk, UK bass, old school trance, wave and psychedelic disco to name a few.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Horace Andy's voice is an instrument that once heard is never forgotten, regardless of whether you first hear it on one of the numerous Jamaican reggae singles that he recorded during the 70s or - like most people - on one of the Massive Attack albums he collaborated on as a vocalist. His falsetto and his characteristic slow-motion vibrato breathed life into tracks like "Spying Glass", "Cuss Cuss", "In The Light", "Skylarking" or "(You are My) Angel", ensuring that they still continue to resonate deeply with listeners. His vocal style influenced countless root singers and the combination of his timbre with Massive Attack's spartan hip hop beats still inspires legions of fans and copyists all over the world. Echo Beach has now picked up on this tradition - and the much older tradition of versioning - by asking friends of the label to rework Horace Andy's classic tracks in their own sound outfit. But this time the label hasn't trawled old Studio One tapes for historic vocal snippets - that would sooo nineties; no, Horace Andy personally put in an appearance to sing new versions of his classic tracks on top of timeless and contemporary riddims. Age may have deepened his voice, but it is by no means weaker, as can be heard on this album, on which Echo Beach welcomes old friends and new faces: there's Rob Smith, who as part of More Rockers and Smith & Mighty was just as crucial for Bristol's musical reputation as Massive Attack or DJ Krust & Roni Size. Today, he ensures continuity by working under the label and producer name.
Move D has seen a massive career over the years, starting with his early days as a German pioneer of House Music. In 1993 this was one of his first 12“ records on TIME UNLIMITED which was mostly known for Trance and Hard Trance. This surely is a cult record and has become highly sought after over the last ten years. Its unique style of sampling comined with an uplifting, basement style production is still mindbending and timeless. This reissue was remastered by David's long-term friend LOPAZZ for a full range sound experience.
out of Stock
Last delivered 12 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Digging deep through old and new, Basso captures arcane woodland fusion, serene electronic suites and wide eyed Balearic bliss on this first Growing Bin compilation.
This collection celebrates those precious records which land in your life on their own terms. Even the most advanced digger will admit that chance is the secret ingredient in any successful haul. Sure, it helps if you know where to look, but if you arrive a day early at that secluded second hand shop, or an hour late at the convention, you might miss out on a rare sight of sound. But there are still ways to skew the odds in your favour. Even in the most crowded urban environment, a solitary tree soon becomes a nest, and Basso's fostered an abundant garden in his Hamburg hometown. A decade on and the Growing Bin is a safe haven for those exquisite sounds crowded out of the mainstream, the rare birds with the most striking song.
'Coffee' comes right after cocoa in the bin's headquarter, though start your morning with One Tongue and be prepared for a different kind of day. A witch's brew spiced with a hint of Durian and the early bird, this 1990 composition could be the blueprint for the Teutonic trance dancers beloved by the Salon set. A more meditative magic flows through the A2, a smooth blend of fusion guitar, softly syncopated drums and counterpoint keys from one time art-rockers Inandout. This Growing Bin favourite from their '93-95' LP sounds right at home beside the majestic melodies and spheric bass of Matthias Raue's 'Brücke am schwarzen Fluss 2'. Taken from the soundtrack to a TV drama filmed in Mali, this digital homage to African rhythm shimmies in step with New Age dancers from Mkwaju Ensemble and Louis Crelier. The A-side ends with the unbridled optimism of Kosmische maverick Hardy Kukuk. The synthesist hit the studio with friends Karsten Raecke and Andreas Schneider in 86, coalescing crystalline electronics and gentle guitar into tender chord progressions suited for sun bathing beside the Sea of Tranquility.
The second side slinks into motion with the deep beauty and sincere spoken word of Frank Suchland's 'Schnee', a subtle body in a cocoon of reverb which takes Sade's 'I Never Thought I'd See The Day' to another level of placidness. Melancholic Germans Die Fische met in Cairo for the first time, and 'Conversation Of Everyday Lovers' could be the theme for that great city. Underpinned by primal percussion and a restrained groove, the track twists and turns between a trio of ineffable motifs, eternal combinations to the catacombs of Abusir. From there we go sublime, soaring skywards with a ten minute triumph from Hugh Mane. Balancing concentric sequences and space age synth riffs atop an irresistible breakbeat and bubbling bassline, the British producer finds a sensuous sweet-spot between fellow Growing Bin affiliates Krakatau and Singu.
Lucky are we who hear the Bin's sounds.
Patrick Ryder
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Originally released in 2010, Mirage is the fourth studio album by renowned Dutch trance DJ and producer Armin van Buuren. Widely regarded as a astaple in Van Buurens impressive career, Mirage peaked at number 3 in the Dutch Album Top 100, as well as reaching the top 5 of the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums. It contains the popular single ‘Not Giving Up On Love’, featuring British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. As the record lasts nearly 80 minutes total, it is released as a double LP. It is pressed on red coloured 180 gram audiophile vinyl. The package includes a gatefold with spot varnish and lyrics, as well as an insert with pictures and credits.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
For the first outing on Dream Dancing, upcoming producer Joe Moan presents two cuts for different moments in the dance.
'Interreality' holds a mixture of glacial atmospheres and a warm flowing undercurrent, gently moving and evolving... The floating dub chords and driving bass line ride along stripped back, hypnotising house rhythms throughout this dreamy tale.
Flip for 'No Control' - A stripped back breaky affair, heavy on the flow... Warped synths, trance inducing tripped out chords, firmly glued together by the rumbling Reese bass.
250 hand numbered copies only.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Coma World is a new collaboration between Maxwell Hallett, a.k.a. Betamax (The Comet Is Coming/Soccer96) and Pete Bennie (Speaker's Corner Quartet) bringing together their potent chemistry in an intoxifying debut LP. Betamax drives the duo with his signature 'rhythmadelic' drum rapture as Pete elegantly pummels bass tones into an assortment of wonky pockets. Both layer on a blanket of electronic dark matter to create a sonic womb-like world laid out for the brave listener to explore. This is dub and jazz reduced to the raw fundamentals of experimentation, trance and spontaneity. Inspired by a friend's recollections of being in a coma, the duo delve through the mysteries of consciousness and return with a striking array of colourful sound artefacts. From Cosmic flushes that wouldn't sound amiss on a record by Byrd Out collaborator the late, great Andrew Weatherall, through to drowsy groove meditations and explosive eruptions, the album plays by its own rules but demands attention. The two artists sling their dirty funk through cold clouds of darkness leaving psychedelic trails of bleeping fractal spillage. The sonic experimentation is distilled through analogue studio relics followed by a rugged 'all hands on deck' live mix down performance from 1/4" tape. The result is a spontaneous collection of sonic debris that will be administered to willing participants through 12" vinyl format.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
"Awaken the Legacy" is the first EP to be released in early September 2020 on the Berlin Techno Label INHERIT. The four-track release spotlights two original tracks from the founders of INHERIT Daniel Heinrich & Disguised as well as two remixes by MORBECK & YA.
The original tracks "Awaken the Legacy" & "Power" perfectly demonstrate why Daniel Heinrich & Disguised decided to take their collaboration to the next level and to found INHERIT at the beginning of 2020. The sound of both original tracks is straightforward and shakes your body to a melodic mix of trance tunes combined with hard drum sessions.
MORBECK from Berlin, founder of "Code is Law" & "Low Life Club" brings with his first and unique driving remix a death melody interpretation of "Power" to the EP. The re-mix stands out with a playful and forward-driving rhythm and can be called the most danceable track on the EP.
YA from Paris, founder of Mainmise Records and Pulse perfectly completes the first release with his remix of "Awaken the Legacy'. His typical YA sound, as well as the mix of trance & hard techno elements, energizes you and lifts off the track to a different level. No time to rest, this remix should be part of every driving DJ set.
out of Stock
Last delivered 2 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
"Over the years, I have had the absolute pleasure of meeting countless wonderful people in every corner of this beautiful planet, and a lot of times these music enthusiasts have expressed a very similar-sounding story. That our presence – whether it be via a studio recording or our ferocious show – is capable of transporting them to a better place and washing away all earthly worries. Doesn't this sound amazing – especially during these challenging times?"
This gentle voice belongs to the vocalist-guitarist Jonne Järvelä, who happens to be the creative force behind the unique Finnish ensemble KORPIKLAANI. Having experienced multiple triumphant years within the inner circle of folk-influenced heavy metal, Jonne now acknowledges his position as one of the most recognisable artists ever coming from the land of a hundred thousand lakes.
KORPIKLAANI – preceded by Jonne's own project SHAMAANI DUO (1993-1997) and the band SHAMAN (1997-2003) – was founded somewhere deep in the primeval northern forests in 2003. Ten celebrated studio albums, numerous world tours and hundreds of millions of digital streams alongside multiple other releases, have established KORPIKLAANI’s status as one of the leaders of innovative heavy music. For their diehard legion of fans, they are known as Folk Metal Superstars.
"I have always been fascinated by ancient Lappish/Samish culture and the infectious melodies of aged folk songs. However, that's only one side of the coin as I have loved rip-roaring metal since I was a frantic kid looking for some rebellious sounds. My butt was kicked by the likes of MOTÖRHEAD, IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST", says Jonne.
"Since the early 2000s, KORPIKLAANI has combined these elements as we have tirelessly attempted to pump new life into the ancient tales of joy and heartbreak, and added the enormous energy of current heavy metal into that folk metal melting pot.We have always been on a mission to create something new and unprecedented."
Here and now, KORPIKLAANI’s fearless journey continues on – and this time, the journey is powered by rather serious subject matter. Their eleventh full-length studio record "Jylhä" (which has no direct translation but can be described as majestic, or wild and rugged in a beautiful way) brings all the well-known and essential ingredients to the table: heavy-duty guitar riffing, rhythmic folk melodies and more.
What about the tales of the wilderness then? The fascinating and miscellaneous tales have always been a crucial part of KORPIKLAANI’s journey within the realms of unspoiled Finnish nature, ancient Scandinavian myths, shamanistic voyages and beyond. "Did I already mention that "Jylhä" offers some new angles?", the singer/guitarist laughs. "Well, lyrically, there are definitely some previously unknown passages – such as fables connected to the infamous Lake Bodom murders in Southern Finland in early 1960s."
KORPIKLAANI’s long-time lyricist Tuomas Keskimäki – the renowned Finnish poet and author, comments: "When I am coming up with narratives, interesting wordplays and other ideas for KORPIKLAANI, I often feel like I am diving into some absorbing fantasy world. I would describe this state of mind as some kind of a deep trance", says Keskimäki.
"As a whole textual piece, "Jylhä" is rather widespread. For example, there are stories about the fragility of life, revealed by using nature metaphors. ‘Miero’ is one of these tales: after all, it's a fact that the lifetime of a human being is just one blink of an eye compared to the eternal aeons of the cosmos."
"On the darker side, there are several murder songs - I wasn't really planning these rather untraditional lyrics, they just happened... One of these is ‘Kiuru’, and that story is inspired by a famous Finnish double homicide case, which took place in the small village of Tulilahti in 1959. In these lyrics, the character called Kiuru – Skylark in English – acts as eyewitness and a prophet, but at the same time, this creature also functions as an allegory of many things... All in all, I am really happy with the lyrics and all these new themes!"
When asked about his current sentiment regarding the new KORPIKLAANI opus "Jylhä", the commander of the forest clan sighs and smiles. "Using "Jylhä" as our solid steppingstone, we are able to reach completely new heights. For me, it's crystal clear that KORPIKLANI has never been better."
It is a fitting album for our dark times, summed up well by the song ‘Huolettomat’ (The Careless). It talks about living in the present moment, alongside a story of joy and celebration. Today is today, tomorrow is uncertain.
Close is the debut album from American Dreams Records founder & ONO member Jordan Reyes.
The album is comprised of six songs composed on modular synthesizer working in a rhythmic ambient, electronic realm - songs like ‘Quicksand’ are glacial and melodic while others like ‘Lost Machine’ skew to the kinetic.
On this album, Reyes mused on idea of sobriety, endurance, and being in a state of trance - wading deep in the patch cords of the eurorack synthesizer allowed him to reach a state of non-attachment, similar to running or biking a long distance. This kind of tunnel vision allowed him to perceive himself fading from the day-to-day and exist wholly inside the machine, becoming a more cybernetic organism.
EMS Hallucinations was crafted as two magnetic side-long compositions
that gurgle, hiss, bounce, and invite - the first consists of Buchla 200
recordings, and the second the Buchla in conjunction
with the Serge Modular.
Following Naucke’s tracking, he painstakingly arranged stems in his home studio across seven months. Within the side-long tracks are shorter songs that
transform into each other. For album teasers, Naucke edited two sections from
side one into singles - kinetic electronic nuggets that suggest trance, house, and
other forms of floor-ready music, while showcasing cascading synth lines and
rich analog tones.
There are few genres in which German artists play such a central pioneering role as they do in electronic music, be it techno, electropop, trance or rave. At the frontline for many years were Kraftwerk and U96, two absolute trailblazers of this musical direction. While Kraftwerk wrote international music history mainly in the 1970s with cult albums such as Autobahn (1974), Radio-Aktivität (1975), Trans Europa Express (1977) and Die Mensch-Maschine (1978), U96 had a profound influence on the global pop music, rave and techno scene of the 1990s with hits such as ‘Das Boot’, ‘Love Sees No Colour’, ‘Night In Motion’ and ‘Heaven’. Transhuman, scheduled for release on UNLTD Recordings on 30th October 2020, will feature a spectacular collaboration between U96 (Ingo Hauss
& Hayo Lewerentz) and Wolfgang Flür, Kraftwerk’s drummer in the years between 1972 and 1987 and therefore involved in the most seminal albums by the group from Düsseldorf.
This remarkable cooperation was first announced and implemented by two joint numbers on U96’s 2018 offering Reboot. Transhuman sees U96 and Wolfgang Flür develop their creative exchange across a full album, creating fascinating sonic worlds. The title song ‘Transhuman’ and an updated version of ‘Zukunftsmusik (Radiophonique)’ will be released as lead singles, including, as we’ve come to expect from U96, experimental video clips. That New York record label Radikal Records immediately secured the rights to the album for the US and Canada points to major interest in this project, not only on these shores but also across the Atlantic.
“Transhuman is a stylistic mélange of our different histories,” describe Wolfgang Flür and U96 masterminds Hauss and Lewerentz an offering that is spectacular in many respects, featuring, along with typical U96 tracks such as ‘Clone’ and ‘Specimen’, numbers such as ‘Transhuman’, ‘Planet In Fever’ and ‘Sexersizer’ that are inspired by Flür’s past. Notably, the content has been reduced to the sheer basics, in other words: sparingly used associative statements with deep, but at times also playful and mysterious messages that the listener feels rather than consciously registers. The lyrics are about the transformation of people through technology and our massive interference in life on our planet. Hauss: “Pieces like ‘Zukunftsmusik’ and ‘Transhuman’ don’t tell a story in the classic sense, they articulate emotions and associations in very few words, bringing to mind recordings such as Radio-Aktivität, Autobahn and Die Mensch-Maschine. In addition Transhuman, features a number of melodies created on the basis of computer algorithms, in other words fractal music which takes us even further back in history, to Klaus Schulze, Stockhausen, the electronics laboratories of the fifties and sixties and the musique concrete compositional technique.”
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Deep Hard Techno, Acid and psychedelic.
A side brings 2 mental tribe bangers, minimal and kind of classic in the style... Acid shouting under pressure !
The flip opens with a massive crossover Hardcore/tribe and Trance tune from Paradox, quiet an unusual sound !
Folowwed by another tune in the same vein from Pablo SHK.
In his essay ‘The Meaning of My Avant-Garde Hillbilly and Blues Music’, Henry Flynt talks about how his music should be analysed as an intellectual tribute to the music of the autochtone, setting aside plain folk references, but adopting academic insights to mold the music one makes as a folk creature. Much of Flynt’s discourse applies to the music of Glen Steenkiste’s Hellvete. Over the past twenty years he has been thoroughly investigating both the ethnic musical language of various regions as well as the contemporary pioneers that preceded him as a drone musician, internalizing concepts such as e.g. deep listening or just intonation. Casting off any redundant ideas or sounds, and stripping down the focus to develop singular concepts, his working method lead to pieces such as ‘Droomharmonium’, in which he shapes the endless variations on a theme, emphasizing detail and nuance rather than multitude. The Indian harmonium here serves as the main device to worship ancient ghosts and masters, and to preserve a continuum in a tradition that touches both folk and avant-garde culture. The materialisations are sustained tone compositions which become a means of appreciation of the people and cultures that paved the way for forms of mutual escapism. This might well be the core of what Hellvete’s music is about. As much as it is a form of self-entertainment – like folk music in the old days – it also invites the listener to a shared experience of sonic reverie, it is a casual gift to the community.
This is certainly true for the pieces presented on this album. They were first presented in a smoke filled and darkened art space in Ghent, Steenkiste surrounded by only a couple of candles and just enough stage light to see him erratically moving to the rhythm of the piece, occasionally twiddling the knobs of a Doepfer synth that processed the prerecorded harmonium tracks. Unlike most of his other performances this piece embraced the audience in a trance that was similar to that of an old-school rave club. Flynt writes: ‘The music should be intellectually fascinating because the listener can perceive and participate in its rhythmic and melodic intricacies, audacity of organization, etc. At the same time, the music should be kinesthetic, that is, it should encourage dancing.’ ‘Voor Harmonium’ does exactly that; it builds on the artistic ideas that have long been established in Hellvete’s oeuvre, but the ecstatic nature of these pieces merges the usual spiritual transcendence with one of determined physical bliss. It encourages both mind and body to step into the sound, to be enraptured, to celebrate.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Skylax Armagnac's darling who released his first EP just a year ago, which had an international resonance with rave reviews from Resident Advisor, Bicep, Chaos in the CBD, Peach or even soul clap. Rightly some saw it as a resurgence, a modernized version of 90s New York house, silky and elegant in the Bobby Konders, Mr Fingers way. For this new EP, with fantastic remixes of the brilliant Simoncino, our French prodigy is inspired by the beginnings of trance on the title song (and title of the ep by the way) "The world as we know it (masterclass mix)", UK dub and rave influences, as on some Nu Groove releases (notably the first joey beltram) - the lead vocal sample comes from a speech in which Noam Chomsky describes the United States as a violent country and hard. According to the author "If this piece says something, I believe it is that the music and the party should not serve to forget the problems of the world, but rather to find the strength, the resources, the inspiration to solve them." On "Oh La Musique" Armagnac used the sound of his neighbors as a voice sample ! Indeed, during this incredibly complicated period that we are living in, confinement due to the devastating effects of covid 19, one of his neighbors played music really loudly and for 20 minutes ignored the other neighbors who were screaming "oh oh, the music" through the window. "Turning this moment of irritation into a sample to the glory of the music strikes me as pretty funny." Still according to the author. On B1, it’s a house masterclass lesson by the phenomenal & ultra prolific Simoncino, but do i need to remind you how much italians are masters in their way of paying homage to all the best house music that has ever been created & produced ? Good taste is often on their side ! The red zone club is a tense and incredibly effective mix that can be enjoyed either on a house or techno dancefloor, it is clearly a banger. B2 saw the italian master offers us a beautiful ambient mix. And to conclude "On My Own" is according to Armagnac "a title that speaks of the trust that one can place in one's fellow human beings and of emancipation." A superb EP that adds to the long list of must-haves from Skylax Records.
out of Stock
Last delivered 3 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Ever since his early teenager days Kareem El Morr has been working on tracks in the studio. Techno was and has always been the basis. Dirty, raw and in a positive way escalating are his sets, which he has been playing since the mid of the noughties. Not being limited when playing in the clubs or producing in the studio makes him undisputedly one of the most versatile artists in Munich. How multi-faceted he is, is now being shown on his latest RFR release.
“Supersonic” throws the gate open wide to electroid sceneries. Not a few will be reminded of I-F’s “Playstation” by the first sounds of the decently wobbeling bassline. Sick bassline variations, breaky drum parts and a pinch of Neo-Goa – any questions? „Quake“ portrays Morr’s infinite and unconditional love to Techno. Reminiscences of Detroit’s High Tech Jazz are floating relentlessly through widely varied rooms, which we absolutely adore since the Basic Channel era.
On the flip Morr expands his driving functionality by a melodic component. “Blaze” kicks in with a lot of delay, distorted bells and Highspeed drums. This ain’t no dance, this is a ceremony! „Trance with Benefits“ marks the ending of the “Supersonic EP”. Pictures of wafts of mist, whose intensity is being ruptured by the first rays of sunlight penetrating the club on an early Sunday morning. Happy people lying in each other’s arms, unified by the principle that Techno would be nothing without Trance.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Floofy - An ear-bugging flute, a huge Moog bassline and cosmic synths, what more do you need for an ecstatic club anthem?
Charlize - Let’s add a “Spacer Woman” style handclap towards the lush pads. Rex club dance floor approved.
Lezaki - Inspired by a fond memory of a one-time festival at the polish seaside, a fusion between disco and trance elements. Long-lasting friendships will develop while you get lost in the song.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
“The earth shall rise again...”
AMOR/LEMUR finds the Glasgow quartet AMOR in partnership with Norwegian improvising ensemble LEMUR to hopeful and ecstatic effect. Conceived before the onset of Covid 19 but finished during spring lockdown, their eponymous EP is the most loose, alive and elevated recording in AMOR’s catalog. AMOR/LEMUR takes the template of throbbing avant disco expanded upon on previous recordings for Night School and lifts it into new
territories, with new tonalities and unexpected turns on the journey. More than anything, the expanded, near- cinematic expression of human connectivity feels like a lightning new energy to grasp in the dark.
Following a revelatory concert in Glasgow in January 2020 wherein the two sets of musicians met and performed together for the first time, a recording session was arranged the following day, resulting in the most elevated permutation of AMOR’s art to date. Each track was built upon a rhythmic bedrock of percussion and drums performed by Paul Thomson and samples/synthesizer by Luke Fowler. Thomson used bamboo Javanese gamelan (most notably on For You) and scrap metal, as well as traditional percussion and drums while Fowler incorporated processed ambient field recordings recorded in enclosed acoustic spaces around Glasgow. Singer/pianist Richard Youngs contributes some of the most bright and mindful work of his career. Acoustic bass player Michael Francis Duch, whose lush playing as ever provides the elastic spine to each song, scored the string parts for LEMUR on piano at home in Norway. The addition of swelling strings and drones fills out the AMOR sound significantly, lending a sonorous tone to 8 minute, epic closer For You or an ascending melodic introduction to Stars Burst that feels like a new morning dawning on a world saved from certain death. With the circumstances of lockdown forcing the musicians to work differently, a thread of optimism and utopia grounded in the moment weaves through these tracks. Unravel reveals a spine tingling vocal from Youngs. It’s a song about the simultaneously grounding and ecstatic effect of love, feeling connected to others. It’s a simple message, “I’m finding myself in your smile, always unravels me” speaks of ego death, the dissipation of the material into a nirvana of pure energy, the power of surrender. This isn’t a quasi-religious message, this is the power of each other, a love song to connection in a temporary age of isolation. Stars Burst is a play on the inner and outer cosmos, with narrator Youngs exploring wonder to a pounding galloping rhythm and snake-charming synth. It’s an open dance, with the group locked in together for the wild ride. Fear is the centerpiece of the record, starting with drones and scraped overtones before swirling synth notes filter upwards to meet reverberating minor chords. Over 8 minutes of tight but loose playing, Youngs is the shaman instructing us to use Fear as a celebration of the moment, embrace it and jump into the unknown. The only way to overcome your fear is to feel it, use it as an energy. The use of the studio as an instrument throughout side 2 is particularly important, with the dubbing and mixing prowess of engineer Paul Savage (who mixed unattended due to lockdown restrictions) and tape manipulations performed by Jason Lescallet coming into play. For You closes out with a largely instrumental, evolving composition that uses many of the abstract and novel aspects of this permutation to aid the trance. It’s massive, an unfurling creature with unexpected tonalities and serious heft.
Four albums in, the convenient and generalized catchphrase for Here Lies Man’s erudite sound — if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat — might seem a little played out. But Ritual Divination is perhaps the best rendering of the idea so far. Particularly on the Sabbath side of the equation: The guitars are heavier and more blues based than before, but the ancient rhythmic formula of the clave remains a constant.
“Musically it’s an opening up more to traditional rock elements,” says vocalist/guitarist/ cofounder Marcos Garcia, who also plays guitar in Antibalas. “It’s always been our intention to explore. And, as we travelled deeper into this musical landscape, new features revealed themselves.”
The L.A. based band comprised of Antibalas members have toured relentlessly following their breakout 2017 self-titled debut. Their second album, You Will Know Nothing and an EP, Animal Noises, both followed in 2018. Third album No Ground To Walk Upon emerged in August 2019. All of them were crafted by Garcia and cofounder/drummer Geoff Mann (former Antibalas drummer and son of jazz musician Herbie Mann) in their L.A. studio between tours. Ritual Divination is their first album recorded as the full 4-piece band, including bassist JP Maramba and keyboardist Doug Organ.
Ritual Divination continues with an ongoing concept of HLM playing the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, with each song being a scene. “It’s an inward psychedelic journey, the album is the trip,” Garcia says. “The intention and purpose of the music is to create a sonic ritual to lift the veil of inner space and divine the true nature of reality.”
Likewise, musically and sonically, the album is self-reflexive. “On this album the feel changes within a song,” Garcia says. “Whereas before each song was meant to induce a trancelike state, now more of the songs have their own arc built in.” Similarly, the guitar sounds themselves herein eschew the fuzz pedals of previous recordings, going for the directness of pure amp overdrive and distortion using an interconnected rig of 4 amplifiers. And, here, the well-versed live band is able to record as a unit, giving it much more of a live and dynamic feel.
Rough Trade named the band’s self-titled debut in their prestigious Top 10 Albums of 2017. BBC 6 & Classic Rock Magazine deemed it among the year’s best, as well as countless other press outlets singing its praises. Each subsequent album furthered the band’s reputation for genre-smashing rhythmic experimentation, topping many year-end lists as well as earning features from countless metal and indie rock outlets, plus cover stories in weekly papers.
“We’re very conscious of how the rhythms service the riffs,” Garcia explains. “Tony Iommi’s (Black Sabbath) innovation was to make the riff the organizing principle of a song. We are taking that same approach but employing a different organizing principle: For Iommi it was the blues, for us it comes directly from Africa.”
Ritual Divination will be available on LP, CD and download on January 22nd, 2021 via RidingEasy Records.
Four albums in, the convenient and generalized catchphrase for Here Lies Man’s erudite sound — if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat — might seem a little played out. But Ritual Divination is perhaps the best rendering of the idea so far. Particularly on the Sabbath side of the equation: The guitars are heavier and more blues based than before, but the ancient rhythmic formula of the clave remains a constant.
“Musically it’s an opening up more to traditional rock elements,” says vocalist/guitarist/ cofounder Marcos Garcia, who also plays guitar in Antibalas. “It’s always been our intention to explore. And, as we travelled deeper into this musical landscape, new features revealed themselves.”
The L.A. based band comprised of Antibalas members have toured relentlessly following their breakout 2017 self-titled debut. Their second album, You Will Know Nothing and an EP, Animal Noises, both followed in 2018. Third album No Ground To Walk Upon emerged in August 2019. All of them were crafted by Garcia and cofounder/drummer Geoff Mann (former Antibalas drummer and son of jazz musician Herbie Mann) in their L.A. studio between tours. Ritual Divination is their first album recorded as the full 4-piece band, including bassist JP Maramba and keyboardist Doug Organ.
Ritual Divination continues with an ongoing concept of HLM playing the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, with each song being a scene. “It’s an inward psychedelic journey, the album is the trip,” Garcia says. “The intention and purpose of the music is to create a sonic ritual to lift the veil of inner space and divine the true nature of reality.”
Likewise, musically and sonically, the album is self-reflexive. “On this album the feel changes within a song,” Garcia says. “Whereas before each song was meant to induce a trancelike state, now more of the songs have their own arc built in.” Similarly, the guitar sounds themselves herein eschew the fuzz pedals of previous recordings, going for the directness of pure amp overdrive and distortion using an interconnected rig of 4 amplifiers. And, here, the well-versed live band is able to record as a unit, giving it much more of a live and dynamic feel.
Rough Trade named the band’s self-titled debut in their prestigious Top 10 Albums of 2017. BBC 6 & Classic Rock Magazine deemed it among the year’s best, as well as countless other press outlets singing its praises. Each subsequent album furthered the band’s reputation for genre-smashing rhythmic experimentation, topping many year-end lists as well as earning features from countless metal and indie rock outlets, plus cover stories in weekly papers.
“We’re very conscious of how the rhythms service the riffs,” Garcia explains. “Tony Iommi’s (Black Sabbath) innovation was to make the riff the organizing principle of a song. We are taking that same approach but employing a different organizing principle: For Iommi it was the blues, for us it comes directly from Africa.”
Ritual Divination will be available on LP, CD and download on January 22nd, 2021 via RidingEasy Records.
The Begotten is the brainchild of Jürgen De Blonde (Köhn/de portables) and Brecht Ameel (Razen), who initially performed a number of shows and released a CS under the moniker 'Kohier' - gleefully referencing the absurdity of Belgian tax systems and institutions.
On their debut LP "Temidden Laaghangende Wolken" they are joined by percussionist and improv-veteran Dirk Wachtelaer (Pablo's Eye/Vanishing Pictures), who locked with De Blonde and Ameel's post-reality continuum during a recording session at Les Ateliers Claus in Brussels. In this new trio format, The Begotten weaves a stripped-down set of after-hours, trancey observations on keys, baritone guitar and drums. Neon-lit bars are named Le Kheops or 60 Moons, streets are soaked in sheets of rain, people are staring at tax sheets and comets pass by unnoticed. Dub with tears; "Temidden Laaghangende Wolken" is the perfect backdrop of a strongly medicated game of Manillen during a 'Derrick' rerun.
Modern House Quintet present their debut album, an LP featuring their vision of what electronic music has to offer. This record sees the duo explore the various sounds and influences that make them what they are. Presented in two separate LPs, this first is a vibrant mix of inspirations, ideas and sounds. From deeper soulful music, to more upfront and synthetic and all the way through to pieces that incorporate instruments you might not always hear in this kind of music.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
This album could easily have turned top-heavy. After all, here’s a record which, in just under 40 minutes, covers anything from Arabic scales to Japanese sounds, from free jazz references to concepts by Finnish pianist Kari Ikonen’s favourite painter Vasiliy Kandinsky.
To realise his vision, Ikonen even personally developed a device allowing him to play micro-intervals on his piano. And yet, things turned out differently: If anything, the results sound dream-like and mesmerising rather than stodgy and severe.
The album’s genesis may serve to explain this paradox. In August of 2019, Ikonen suddenly found himself with a month of free time. Without thinking twice and as if in a premonition of the Covid-lock-down, he recorded ‘Impressions, Improvisations and Compositions’ at his own home. His only companion was his beloved Steinway, captured by a personal selection of high-end microphones. Just a few days after the final session, the pieces landed on the desk of ECM- and Blue-Note-engineer Johannes Lundberg who mixed the album at his Gothenburg Epideminstudios. Clearly then, the music is spontaneous. But it’s also refined and deep. The influence of Kandinsky inspired
Ikonen to write some of his most complex and monumental pieces.
Utter presents the debut album ‘Taiyō’ by Vādin, a new collaborative project from Lucie Štěpánková (Avsluta) and Christian Duka.
They describe the record:
“Vādin is a shapeshifter formed through sound, a seismic energy. ‘Taiyō’ is Vādin’s first word. It was improvised and recorded in the Welsh wilderness over three days within a makeshift yurt studio using analogue and digital synthesizers, voice, location field recordings and amplified objects. ‘Taiyō’ is an entity emerging from the process of opening up, inviting, curiously exploring and being vulnerable; it is inspired by the flow of life in all its finite magic, intangibility and imperfection.
The album opens with the drizzling drone scenery interweaved with shivering whispers of ‘The Seven Laws’ followed by the disintegrated rhythms and warm ripples of ‘First Contact’. ‘Merging’ is a multi-layered organism of spiralling undulations, astral droplets and hypnotic pulsations while ‘The Forest’ narrates a sensuous connection with the world where the suggestive monologue and extra-terrestrial pearls float atop galloping liquid rhythms. ‘Sufi Trance’ is a slow-burning cyclone, an ecstatic rite, a hypnotic pilgrimage into the centre of the Sun - ‘Taiyō’ - which brings the journey to a stirring climax with its morphing drops and electrifying trills.”
out of Stock
Last delivered 82 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Joshua Abrams’ first album Natural Information from 2010, superb avant-jazz, newly remastered at Dubplates & Mastering.
In his book Powershift, published in 1990, writer and businessman Alvin Toffler predicted that the century ahead would be defined by speed and that time itself is destined to become our most valuable commodity. When Joshua Abrams recorded Natural Information, originally released by Eremite in 2010, he was reacting against such commodification of time and the diminishing attention span that accompanies it by offering music with an irresistible groove, rooted in the sinuous rhythms of the human body and the full play of our senses.
At the heart of this music is the sound of the guimbri, a North African three-stringed bass lute, which Abrams started to play following a visit to Morocco during the late 90s. Traditionally the instrument has a key role in mystical healing ceremonies. Abrams, already a well-established figure in Chicago’s vibrant musical communities, had no desire to repackage tradition. He recognized however that the involving, springy and percussive sound of the guimbri was just the right voice to communicate vital data, to relay the natural information we all need in order to get back in touch with the pulsating continuities of a world we all share.
With Natural Information Abrams entered a new phase of his musical life, extending an invitation to the trance, where time intersects with timelessness. He carried with him a wealth of playing and listening experience. As a bass player he had worked with a host of notable musicians including guitarist Jeff Parker and percussionist Hamid Drake, and had been a member of back porch minimalism outfit Town And Country and the improvising trio Sticks And Stones.
The guimbri is a shaping presence on this remarkable recording, but Abrams also plays bass, bells, kora, sampler and synthesizer. Sympathetic friends including guitarist Emmett Kelly, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and drummers Frank Rosaly and Nori Tanaka join him for the project. They set out not to contrive some neat hybrid but to enable coordinated energies and enriching influences to pulse and flow through living, breathing music. Ten years further into a century seemingly dedicated, as Toffler foresaw, to the survival of the fastest, the deep involving groove of Natural Information seems still more relevant, more illuminating, more vital.
The release consists of dense floor slammers from Bionoid, modular synths enthusiasts based in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Every track is recorded at once during a jam session on analogue setup. They do not bear any signs of 'rave' or 'trance', but the cyclic and raw sound with minimalistic groove typical for Detroit techno.
All these pressed onto a thick 180gm crystal clear tasty piece.
out of Stock
Last delivered 17 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
3 x LP - Live in Sharjah Box Set + Booklet. designed by Lorenzo Mason Studio.
If you’ve ever travelled to Egypt and wandered through its crowded streets, you probably ended up buying a cassette or a CDR of popular synth based music heard in most cabs, cabarets, or alleys around town: the almighty Shaabi.Raed Yassin and Paed Conca based their project PRAED on research between Shaabi and Mouled (traditional trance music from Egypt) and the hypnotic structures of both these genres. Repetitive beats, loud Mizmar and loads of energy, with a strong influence from psychedelic rock, free jazz and electronica.
During the years in which the duo produced 4 albums and performed on an endless number of stages around the globe, PRAED started working on anambitious expansive project: an orchestra that could transpose this study of rural and popular culture into an immense, iconic work. In autumn 2018, supported by the Sharjah Art Foundation, PRAED Orchestra! premiered “Live in Sharjah”, interpreting new material merged with some of the band’s iconic pieces. The composition process started with the choice of musicians: the line-up consisted of some of the most innovative artists coming from a wide spectrum of musical practices. Each musician was chosen for a defined role, and the common denominator was their capacity to interpret written material, and their ability to improvise effortlessly. Each role was clearly set to work in unison with the rest of the group, while simultaneously sustaining a centrality in the choir. Solo parts masterfully drawn over the structure as a fil rouge connecting every piece of the entire concert; massive and powerful orchestral sections leading to a breathtaking trance-like state of mind; all of this material ultimately coalescing into an Egyptian Operette that narrates the sorrow, love, and deeply rooted culture of this urban music called Shaabi.
Paed Conca: Clarinet, Electric Bass, Electronics
Raed Yassin: Synthesizers, Vocals, Electronics
Alan Bishop: Alto Saxophone, Vocals
Nadah El Shazly: Vocals, keyboard, Electronics
Christine Kazarian: Electric Harp
Hans Koch: Bass Clarinet, Soprano Sax
Martin Kuchen: Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Sax
Maurice Louca: Keyboard, Organ
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh: Buzuk, Vocals, Modular Synthesizer
Sam Shalabi: Electric Guitar, Oud
Ute Wassermann: Vocals, Mouth Harp, Whistles
Khaled Yassine: Drums, Percussion, Darbuka
Michael Zerang: Drums, Percussion
Recorded live at Calligraphy Square on November 3rd, 2018 in Sharjah, UAE by: Sudish Suman & Shuaib Ahmad Poonthala
Edited by: Rabih Beaini at Morphine Studio, Berlin, Germany
Mixed by: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at Hotel2Tango Studio, Montreal, Canada. Mastered by: Harris Newman at Grey Market Studio, Montreal, Canada.
Artwork by Lorenzo Mason Studio.
Project manager : Simsara Music
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Having previously released a slew of tapes on labels such as Clan Destine Records and Live Adult Entertainment, Penelope’s Fiancé lands on Hypermedium for his vinyl debut. Hailing from Stavroupoli, Thessaloniki, Penelope’s Fiancé has been keeping over the past few years a fast pace of work, constantly producing tracks and releasing new music, having shaped a unique sound that drifts across the borders of lo-fi, post-industrial and fuzzy techno. The Cutting Edge Of A Knife is the culmination of all these previous excursions, a solid display of his ability to craft emotionally intense tracks, merging a ghostly, gloomy grandeur with squelching percussive patterns. Opener ‘Lethe’ emerges from the haze with its cryptic atmosphere, moulded in lethargic drones, scattered vocalisms and sparse yet piercing beats and rhythmic build-ups. A panic-fuelled, 160bpm ravey epic, ‘Futile Endevours’ brandishes an ecstatic, pumelling rhythm over recurring trance- flavored melodic phrases and unnerving vocal samples. ‘I Wasn’t Always There’ is a seductive, dark elegy whose melancholic and lush synth melodies wash over chopping kicks and ice-cold hi-hats. ‘Anxiety’ sounds like a slow techno roller, where frozen metallic percussion meets a cavernous bass, right before the off-kilter, cacophonous buzz of ‘The Lie Closest To The Truth’. Closing track ‘The Cutting Edge Of A Knife’ is an intoxicated oriental-stepper, soaked in vaporous middle-eastern percussion and muezzin-like chants.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
‘The Other Side’ sees musical styles woven together into a lyrical tapestry of sound, blending improvisation with co-created original compositions. A truly unique ensemble in compositional process and performance style. On 5th June, Quest Ensemble will release their sophomore album ‘The Other Side’. With nods to influences as broad as the contemporary minimalism of John Adams and Steve Reich, the experimental melancholic textures of Radiohead to the progressive jazz precision of Brad Mehldau, ‘The Other Side’ inhabits its own soundworld somewhere in the gaps between chamber, jazz, folk and contemporary classical music. From the emotive ‘Moments’, the elasticated melodies of ‘Pendulum’, to the fluid lines and compelling urgency of ‘The Boatman’ and ‘Pedal Down’, Quest Ensemble’s compositions fuse layered melodies and rhythmic patterns to create contrapuntal webs of sound. The process involves sharing improvised ideas, building up layers of music on each instrument to create a patchwork of musical themes with a rich vein of surging Reichian rhythms underpinning each. Fusing their backgrounds in western classical, Indian classical, jazz and improvisational technique, Filipe Sousa (piano), Tara Franks (cello) and Preetha Narayanan (violin) are all graduates of the Guildhall School of Music Leadership Programme. In May 2014, Quest Ensemble released their much-lauded debut album ‘Footfall’, a collection of part-composed and part-improvised original compositions, steeped in the sense of place that inspired the sound and imagination of their stories.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Trends come and go, but our SPEICHER series has never been shy of releasing futuristic, renegade TRANCE. Though the hallowed grounds we inhabit may be on pause, we are always slaves to the rave.
Welcome the debut from SYCUM. An alias from a legendary Berlin musician who needs to remain faceless in order to let the music speak first. So let us dive in….
“The Dream” whispers to the early days of UK rave. Ecstasy encoded transmissions are sent via a galactical groove, set out to space amid a constellation of euphoric sounds that make shapes. “Decoded” is built on the foundation of relentless progression – layered with synth built sorcery of the most profound kind.
Trends kommen und gehen, aber unsere SPEICHER-Reihe hat sich nie davor gescheut, futuristischen, abtrünnigen Trance ans Tageslicht zu bringen. Auch wenn die heiligen Stätten, die wir normalerweise unser Zuhause nennen, zurzeit geschlossen sind – wir bleiben dem Rave Untertan.
Wir heißen das Debüt von SYCUM willkommen. Es ist das Pseudonym eines legendären Berliner Musikers, der gesichtslos bleiben muss, um zuerst die Musik sprechen zu lassen. Tauchen wir also ein…
"The Dream" flüstert von den frühen Tagen des UK-Raves. Ecstasy-codierte Übertragungen werden über einen galaktischen Groove gesendet, der sich inmitten einer euphorischen Klangkonstellation in den Weltraum begibt und dort Form annimmt. "Decoded" steht auf dem Fundament unerbittlicher Progression – Schicht um Schicht baut es sich auf einer Synthesizer-Zauberei der tiefgründigsten Art auf.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Tramp Records continues their pilgrimage to the soulful fringes of spiritual jazz and progressive rock and funk with their 3rd and 4th volumes of their "Peace Chant, Raw, Deep and Spiritual Jazz" series, and the world could not be more ready.
As we turn together on this tiny blue ball hanging lonely in space, and as we together face existential threats ranging from climate catastrophe, the rise of brutal authoritarian regimes, the breaking of the industrial storm and the imminent collapse of empire, not to mention the raging covid-19 crisis and the continuing racial and social struggles across the globe, we are thrust into a society-wide grand awakening that has been in the making for a very long time. Of course, our musical teachers have trod this path before us, and have worked out solutions to these problems, the songs of the Peace Chant series ring out loud and clear as our ancestors' proof of concept. They say history repeats herself, maybe it's because we weren't listening the first time. Thanks to Tramp Records, we have been granted another opportunity.
Today, the musical and spiritual truths enshrined within the spiritual jazz diaspora seem to be more and more sought-after, and crucial at a time when we as a society seek higher and farther for those bold truths. With each generation, that truth doesn't change, and the artists featured in the series speak those truths along a continuum that ranges from the late-60s up to the present day.
Volume 4, the second LP opens with a gorgeous and lush Wurlitzer-oriented big band piece that among its many treasures also features the 17-year-old visionary-saxophonist-to-be, Steve Coleman in his alleged first recording! The contributions of Brother Yusuf Salim and Bus Brown, figures who should be very familiar to Tramp Records aficionados, are consecrated here with a live recording of Freedom from one of Brother Yu's last public performances. One of the two European contributions to the comp, Attitude, by Organic Pulse 'onesemble', reads like a double entendre, the word "attitude" meaning simultaneously one's disposition or state of mind, and also one's orientation relative to the horizon. The Peace Chant series continues to touch all the sacred meridians: more devotional music with James Scales & All Stars' Ser-Vi-Tude, trance music of non-dominant traditions with Donn Preston Group's Ghana-Cha!, a modal and blue organ trio offering from Tommy Jones, and closing with a rich and righteous ballad, Quernemoen, from the Wayne Powell Octet.
Peace Chant is the center of the mandala, representing the nucleus of the post-bop, modal jazz, avant-garde, transcendental, spiritual, ethnic, and freedom music universe without necessarily suggesting anything immediately identifiable as any of the above. This is the soundtrack to the raising of human consciousness and the salvation of society's very soul.
We give thanks to Tramp Records for leading our thirsty hearts to this rich fountain.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
To accompany the 18 track, 2 x CD Planisphere – Atmospheres release, we’re delighted to present another duo of vinyl for the purists. Atmospheres 2 x 12” Vinyl Album Sampler will feature 5 remastered originals alongside the brand-new Atmospheres. George and Laurent continue to click in the studio, and as the excitement built over the last few months, we just knew they were going to create greatness once again.
Vinyl 1 will house the main track Atmospheres. Taking up Side A, this hybrid groove encapsulates that Planisphere sound beautifully. Theatrical, cinematic, melodic and intriguing. Ambient sequences join a tight breaks pattern before a more driving bassline takes over along with 4x4 beats, leaving us thoroughly gratified and wanting more. On the flip, we have two gems. B1 has So Many Ways, a track that found its way into sets from the bedroom to the mega-party and beyond. A real epic, progressive trance groove filled with swirling, captivating pads and a melody that juts melts into your soul. B2 hosts Lektrophony, a solid breaks track that locks you in with its hypnotic charm and 303 lines. A relentless groover, the breakbeats are so addictive and the acid lines give it a real nice touch. Another epic smasher that never disappoints.
Vinyl 2 features the mighty Deep Blue Dream on the A side. With its relentlessly powerful bassline and dreamy melodies, this one remains a go to track to keep the groove solid. Besides the epic flavour of the track, the break on this is huge. Descending into slow moving pads, the arps never really fades before it all builds and builds into a wonderful climax, revealing powerful, sweeping strings and pads. Over on the B1 slot we have Cyborganic which intros with a Pete Namlook-esque arpeggio sequence alongside a deep droning bass before punchy kicks and huge synths take over. A proper peak time slice full of energy and drive. Rounding up this must have vinyl set in the B2 position, we have the impressive The Lost Planet, which was originally found in a superb two-part release, Sounds From Outer Space back in 2000. This one has everything, a Balearic groove with a spacey vibe. Undertones of 303 lurk as sweet, dreamy pad melodies allow us to drift.
This 2-part sampler is a must have for all vinyl enthusiasts, with limited quantities, keep an eye out for pre-order on our website and socials.
out of Stock
Last delivered 22 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Our first release, VA001, is a compilation of artists that have previously played at our venue Colour! Our primary goal with this record was to showcase the diverse range of sounds that make the venue so special to us- from jazz to fusion to early morning trance. Additionally, we're trying to raise money to keep the venue afloat and get artists paid while they can't perform.
On the orange side, you'll get the late-night live music style we push upstairs, and the blue side would be the early morning dance music, plus more experimental electronic music takes. Every element of the club, in one stunning 12" liquorice pizza!
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
After being summoned from Ohio to London by Adrian Sherwood, Nick Riggio and Rebecca Magnetic have brought their Midwest musical experience to the South London electronic music scene with a unique creative vision. Fusing elements of techno, post-punk and psychedelic rock they explore spiritual connections and transcendence while Rebecca Magnetic's introspective vocals set against a tough backdrop of Detroit influenced rhythms and vibrations leave you in awe.
Their superb single 'My Future' is a brilliantly cosmic exploration of spaced out and spacious grooves. Crashing hits bring an edgy mood, while lurching drums drag you forwards.
Molten acid synths and the strained and pained vocals from Rebecca add further layers of intrigue to this most adventurous electronic trip.
First to remix is Oosh! man Dan Wainwright, and his version is laced up with sci-fi chords and echoing vocal sounds. The downtempo drum rotations are superbly heavy and trap you in a trance.
Next up, Retroforward is Al Mackenzie's solo remix/music project named after his successful Birmingham night.
Al is one half of Field Of Dreams. His 'No Future' remix is an airy and atmospheric remix that takes the track to the farthest edges of space on smooth, hypnotic grooves and beautifully astral melodies.
Lastly, Richard Sen has already been getting support for his remix from ALFOS man Sean Johnston, and he goes for a superbly rugged yet slow motion chugger that is dubbed out and expansive thanks to the arching guitar riffs that ring out to the heavens above fat-bottomed drums.
Whether experienced on the dance floor or in metaphysical states, this music is medicine for the mind and body.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
One of the most quietly influential underground artists of recent times, Yamaneko returns with Spirals Heaven Wide, his fourth full-length album. Since breaking through in 2014 with his cult debut album Pixel Wave Embrace, Yamaneko has been one of the key artists re-contextualising ambient music for a new generation, crafting fragile compositions that draw as much from the angular shapes of grime, techno and keygen music as they do the soothing soundscapes of new age cassettes, ambient records and video game soundtracks. Written during Yamaneko’s last winter in London before relocating to Tokyo, Spirals Heaven Wide is his longest and largest-sounding release to date, combining some of his most evocative long-form pieces with the kind of haunting miniatures that made his early music so distinctive. The majority of the tracks were written after Yamaneko's first run of audio-visual shows at the end of 2018, and so are rooted in the same kind of live workflow and production methods that he explored with those sets. As with last year’s Afterglow EP, Spirals Heaven Wide is underpinned by a underlying influence of euphoric dance music, with distant trance and hardcore signifiers - both key influences on Yamaneko from an early age - visible through the album’s thick blankets of wind and fog. These influences come fully to the forefront on ‘This Spring of Love' and 'Fall Control’, two of the most outright spine-tingling tracks Yamaneko has released to date. Elsewhere, the album explores his love of emo music’s bittersweet melancholy, a fascination with constellations and the cosmos and an increasing love of writing extended, long-form compositions: a side of Yamaneko first explored on 2017’s Spa Commissions collection and continued on his contribution to respected ambient series Longform Editions.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Available on vinyl for the very first time: the 1992 album "Apocalypse Across The Sky" by the legendary MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA. Produced by BILL LASWELL, remastered for vinyl by HELMUT ERLER at D&M Berlin and according to Songlines one of the essential recordings of the ensemble.
No matter if you consider the MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA a "4,000 year-old rock'n'roll band" (WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS) or even "6,000 years old" (ORNETTE COLEMAN) – without doubt, the music of the ensemble in all its incarnations over the centuries is deeply rooted in Sufi mysticism, paganism and the cult of the goat-god Boujeloud. According to a myth, many centuries ago Boujeloud appeared to a shepherd called Attar, an ancestor of today's ensemble leader BACHIR ATTAR, and till today every year at the end of Ramadan a fire in honour of the goat-god is ignited. This pagan root aside, the music performed in several hour long rituals on traditional instruments like tebel and tariyya (drums), ghaita (a woodwind instrument), lira (flute) and gimbri (stringed instrument) reveals hypnotic, trance-inducing qualities and is considered to have magical and healing properties.
In the 1950's, BRION GYSIN along with PAUL BOWLES were among the first westerners to witness such a ceremony, and it was GYSIN who invited the MASTER MUSICINS OF JAJOUKA to play in his restaurant in Tanger, and who later (in 1967) brought BRIAN JONES to the small village of Jajouka where the ROLLING STONES guitarist recorded the ensemble for what became the first "world music album" and that raised interest in the MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA in the western world. Since those days, a wide number of creative minds like WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS, ORNETTE COLEMAN,MARC RIBOT, FLEA, TALVIN SINGH or the ROLLING STONES have worked with THE MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA who are now performing regularly outside Morocco.
In 1991, iconic producer BILL LASWELL also embarked on a trip to the small village of just 800 inhabitants in the Rif mountains to record the group for his AXIOM label - "Apocalypse Across The Sky" is, unlike other LASWELL projects that bring together different cultures and genres, a pure document of the ensemble, raw and unpolished but exquisitely recorded, and ranks according to the world music magazine Songlines among the essential recordings of the legendary MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA and is now available on vinyl for the very first time!
out of Stock
Last delivered 3 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Meda Fury is so gassed to welcome Silvestre back for a virtual hug and a 5 track EP of new jams and remix fire! The Lisbon boy done good has been enjoying some well earned praise for his last few releases - his '...is boss EP' on Secretsundaze, 'Girar' on Diskotopia, and 'Yeah' via yours truly. Gigs in Amsterdam, Bristol, Porto, London and Lisbon followed - including his debut on Boiler Room. For this new EP we are served 3 brand new Silvestre tracks and 2 huge remixes from one of the most respected labels in Lisbon - Príncipe! 'Todos Bem' starts as an organ led scratch-fest, with a tight auto-tune vocal from Silvestre himself, before mutating into an anthemic/hedonistic 303 acid and whistle banger! This euphoric string-laden track equally at home in Ibiza or Notting Hill Carnival! 'Paga O Que Deves' is up next; Joao's love of grime and UK bass culture is evident from the drop, twisted synths and breaks recall everyone from Eastman to Wiley. On the flip we find serious remix pressure from Silvestre's friends and contemporaries - the Lisbon crew of Príncipe! DJ Firmeza is up first, pushing the tempo way up on 'Yeah', turning it into a banging kuduro rave monster, propulsive batida drums upping the temperature. DJ Lilocox follows with an intense remix of 'Demónios Na Cabeça', converting it into a percussive trancey big-room bomb. Layers of mixed afro/gqom drums follow a strict samba-like rhythm forcing hands and possibly the ceiling higher.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Enigmatic producer RNDTXTR debuts on Rekids with a deep techno three tracker entitled‘Random EP’ this September.
“Some tracks just stick with you. They never leave your box, or in this case USB, and I’ve been playing these tracks from RNDTXTR for well over two years. Everywhere from Tokyo to Berlin. These have a universal appeal, being hypnotic and just the right balance between pushy club sounds and spatial melodies” - Radio Slave
Shrouded in murky atmospherics, ‘RND009’ opens the package with rigorous drums, shuffling shakers, sweeping pads and scintillating synths. ‘RND007 (Dub Mix)’ continues with a similar cantering rhythm as various rattling percussive elements work alongside clever automation for a tracky cut designed to lock listeners into a trance. Concluding matters, ‘RND004’ is the wonkiest number on the package with its syncopated groove and otherworldly melody.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
‘Evolve’ is the first full length album from composer, music producer and violinist Vito Gatto, a concept album that guides the listener on a one-way journey through the various phases of an imaginary evolutionary process. Gatto graduated in Violin from the Milan Conservatory of Music, his research starts from the unconventional application of a classical background into both making music in the studio, and live performances. For this work, Vito decided to put himself in a restricted composing and technical environment; all the arpeggiated sounds on the album are made from one single violin note that Vito sampled. He transforms the same note throughout the entire album, using the different treatment of this micro sample and the arpeggiator programming as the construction of a mutating and evolving structure. The album is Instinctively executed, almost improvised, and elements like distorted bass lines, hardcore inspired percussions, whistles and alienating string melodies represent unexpected alterations. Vito decided to keep these instinctive additions clean from excessive control as a representation of the beauty of the unpredictable. The album track list is an expression of evolutionary phases. From the minimalistic piano piece ‘Decomposition’ to ‘Quiete’ which expresses the state of calm after a shift has occurred, ‘Nostalgia’ and ‘Stasi’ represent a hazy trance like state. Vito challenges the listener to ask questions like ’am I in the right place? Is this who I set out to become? Do I have to keep evolving, or should I try to regress?’ ‘Evolve’ creates continuous connections between traditional and experimental music, creating dialogue between classical instruments and industrial techno, ambient, noise and de-constructed sounds. The Album will be released in both digital and vinyl formats via NeMu, a fresh new label founded by Vito Gatto himself. The label will focus on experimental projects based on the exchange between acoustic, concrete and electronic sources. The Artwork is part of ‘Jewels’, a series of ceramic sculptures by Benni Bosetto, courtesy of the artist and ADA Project, Rome
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The wind of change is blowing strong again in late 2020. Wich statement fits such worldwide transformation? We don ́t know, but we keep blending & interacting different cultures. One 7“ vinyl, two sides of the story. El Mago from Greece is hooking up with south american native ceremonials. The Berlin/Thessaloniki based ritual master (down)beats all strains of cultural appropriation with smart style and groove straight outta subcultistan. Followed by Mettabbana from the divided states of America, editing sahrawi classic on liberation, hope & vision. Seductive repetitions, subtle as the saharan sands, riding on trance- inducing guitar loops, arabic percussion & harmonies. This vinyl will last longer & will survive our thoughts and needs. For any queries: the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
A 38 minutes exorcism, dionysac sexyness fueled with romanticism, made of mechanical incantations mixed with spectral vocals of forgotten imaginary tribes, words from a physicist (Incomprehensible Image), and mystical breathings… To remind you that music is demanding your soul and body, fully.
A master irritator, disclosing this talent all the way, down to every chosen title, for the album itself and all of its components (would you put Milk in Water ?). As repetitive or minimalist music may already make some of you feel nervous, it seems more accurate to talk here about primitive music – notwithstanding a non violent anarchism. But those are only words and vain attempts to attach TLT to a region or a family. Neither the burden of classical European music legacy, which eventually lead to pop music, seemed to interfere with his wild mind, and if it is no surprising to hear Bach in German electronic music, there is here a clear statement that you are out of this sirupy prison…
For D.W. is a sorcerer. He’s been empirically learning the speaking of trance with years of touring and experimenting with all kinds of audience and venues, from clubs to museums, from Mongolia to Brazil, from his performances with his bands Kreidler or Toresch to solo ones, sustained by a steady limited set up, as the one used when he’s recording : one MPC, rudimentary synths, few effects and a mixer. No sound engineer on stage as only he knows his secret language… Raw dubmaking, leaning towards hip hop, indubitably underlining here a significant distanciation from his previous industrial inspirations. The bewitchment of this record is operating with no warning from the very first seconds until the last epiphany of Sales Pitch.
He is using his knowledge of techno, psychedelism (Inverted Sea), UK bass (Jumping Dead Leafs), only to bring you out of it. We all tend to be slaves, without even being conscious about it, and a balance must be existing between being a slave and showing off. Mr. Weinrich’s answer is unsettling because it is an utter call to this balance, in our world of black and white and political correctness. There is no morality in music… Don’t expect anything else than an unaccountable liberating immediate experience. Don’t expect any kind of music because you are already in the past or the future… From his recording technique mainly relying on one takes, his adoration of mistakes and jeopardy, to the core essence of repetitive music, it is all here about being in the present. No ears no glasses.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
At the forefront of the Irish electronic music scene, Sligo-born Berlin-based duo Brame & Hamo, aka Tiarnan McMorrow and Conor Hamilton, announce their hotly anticipated fourth EP, 'Celebrity Impersonator' out on the 29th October 2018 via their own imprint, Brame & Hamo.
The title reflects the duos personality and playful energy, nodding to their love of celebrity impersonators whilst growing up. 'We have a bit of a soft spot for impersonators as it is a pretty ridiculous way to earn a living. A bit like DJing! Our favs were those of Tom Cruise, Bill Gates, Gordon Ramsay and Johnny Depp'.
Opening with 'Midnight Express', the rolling melodics nod to the early sounds of prog house and Italo, acting as a transitional opener to their signature trance via techno scores. On the B-Side, title track 'Celebrity Impersonator', is a moody four four that edges into the darker realms with their love of breakbeat shimmering through, resulting in a club ready anthem. Melting down into a rolling trance groove with a late night heady feel, 'Request Rhythm' closes the EP.
With an impressive discography of EP's behind them on their own imprint - Trants, Club Orange and the DJ favourite, Limewire, as well as bookings worldwide the Irish pair are set to propel onwards from Sligo to Berlin and beyond.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
‘Alterity’ is compilation of fifteen warped, experimental and deconstructed club music tracks featuring artists from almost every continent. It pieces together shared sounds that connect disparate scenes across the globe. The music is fuelled by a desire to dissolve borders and transcend perceived norms to promote the existence of alternate viewpoints, lifestyles and identities.
The listener travels to a parallel plane through amorphous techno wormholes, caverns of industrial beat science and colossal panoramas of glistening hyper-stylised trance. Each creation espouses local sounds and adapts global musical styles creating a singular, holistic map of modern dancefloors that champion diversity and inclusivity.
The cover art of a manipulated city shows an ordinary urban landscape remodelled as another world. It hints at an endless, borderless macrocosm concealed within.
The gatefold double LP is pressed on yellow vinyl and comes with a digital download code and printed inner sleeves.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
- 2020 black vinyl repress / comes in Flatlife sleeve -
This is the 2nd in the Acid Compilation Vinyl Series. Fat Acid only! On this compilations; Jack Wax is presenting 4 different styles of Acid Techno on 1 vinyl.
The first track is an excellent pounding London UK acid techno track of Austin Corrosive that is well-known from his Corrosive Records label. The 2nd one is a deep acid track of Android (Cluster / Apex) & Shainsky. The 3rd is from Jack Wax; acid techno trance that brings you back to the early 90's scene! Mr. Gasmask from Belgium brings this release to the top with this tekno goa-ish acid track!! One of Flatlife finest releases!! 200 copies repressed on black vinyl specially for the acid heads!!
out of Stock
Last delivered 2 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Les Ya Toupas is a band formed in 1976 by Bopol Mansiamina (Bass - Success Mode, 4 Stars ..), Manuaku Waku (aka Grand Zaiko Wawa) and Ray Lema (Piano, Organ and Guitar) Between 1976 and 1978, they recorded several 7inches including the famous title “Je ne bois
pas beaucoup” (1976) compiled on the series of Sofrito (Tropical Discotheque ) in 2011. In 1978, they recorded this unique and unclassifiable instrumental album, Les Ya Toupas du Zaïre, produced by Gérard Akueson (founder of Akue Records and Abeti's producer). The LP is composed of minimalist Afro Jazz rhythms and Deep Funk grooves that are close at times to a tropical trance, all played by musicians who used to offer more classic Rumba rhythms.
It is their only album before the departure in 1979 of Ray Lema for the United States and then France. Ray Lema's departure follows a violent disagreement which opposed him to the dictator Mobutu then in place in Zaïre. Let's not forget that the album was released in 1978 and can be seen as their last musicial project
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Following the last Ma.to's EP we joined forces with two artists taking care of music and artwork on the 4th release. The first one delivered by the infamous Italian legend Miki 'aka' Major Hypnotic Key Institute. His resume and collaboration's list are known and long enough to establish him as a pioneer and precursor of electronic and rave music since the 80s. 4 tracks ranging from slower hypnotic rhythms to speed-up marched techno/trance.
And for the occasion on the artwork we collaborated with friend and genius Conxi at Ivvoki Studio, the result speaks beautifully for itself. Proudly presenting this 4 track Ep with included a repress of an old work from Miki on Interactive Test and a Re-Edit of miki and 2Volt of an early work from the Italian synthpop electronic band A.T.R.O.X.
Well balanced music, techno / trance / minimal spreading pure 90s vibes from both sides but sounding so contemporary.
A Must! have.
out of Stock
Last delivered 3 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Bing & Ruth, the ever-evolving project helmed by New York composer David Moore, has announced details of a new album, scheduled for release this summer. Entitled Species, the 7-track, 49-min record will be released via 4AD.
While on a surface level, Species is an exploration of the sonic possibilities of the Farfisa organ, aided only
by a clarinet and double bass (played respectively by
founding members Jeremy Viner and Jeff Ratner), the
title Species is a nod to both humanity and humility –
a devotion to the godly intuition with which we are all
endowed, and the humbleness required of us to
perceive it. It’s also about suspended time and trance;
not just a steady movement from A to B, but as
something that flows, meanders and eddies, like
water.
Species, and the transcendental state it embodies,
was inspired by two recent loves of Moore’s: the
desert and long-distance running. Briefly relocating
from his New York base to Point Dume, between the
Pacific Ocean and the desert, Moore was able to
indulge in both passions, which in turn provided
stimulus for new work. He says, “I’d found myself in
places unfamiliar enough that I could easily lose all
sense of direction, size and, more than anything, all
sense of time. The music I was making became a kind
of reflection of these intentional detachments - and a
place to mirror that feeling of trance that had pushed
them out in the first place.”
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The man in the crowd is a wonderer with relaxed habits. In him the course of things and movement of the city is reproduced. The Düsseldorfer Detlef Weinrich is such a man in the crows. Some one who is constantly listening to future winds through rushes of the past. He loves the night for its free will. And his music tells stories about it. You might know him as a member of the band Kreidler. As a solo artist he goes under the name Tolouse Low Trax. And he's already got three Eps and two albums under his belt. His first solo album „Mask Talk“ thrives on a feathery beat frequency and cool new-wave-strength. His recently released piece „Corridor Plateau“, which appeared as a limited edition to accompany the exhibition „Corridor Plateau“ contains percussive electronics and Industrial sounding like its from the second industrial revolution. His third album „Jeidem Fall“, is also not from here. It sounds like music brought down to earth from the heavens. But its a dark cosmos in which there are only fleeting glimpses of light. All eight tracks were composed in a short space of time over the period of just a few months and fit together perfectly atmospherically. With a musical expressiveness that undoubtedly twists your emotions, „Jeidem Fall“ attacks the subconscious and clouds the mind. The drums have more movement that on „Mask Talk“. Along with the constant tapping of drumsticks goes melodical arpeggios dancing dark and dirty. At times longing vocals drift abstractly through the room, as on „Sa Seline“ or „Geo Scan“, without telling any obvious story.
To sound like stylistic cross references from the present and past is all just speculation for nothing on „Jeidem Fall“ really sounds like anything that has gone before. You could compare the dark minimal timbre of the drum computer aesthetic with Craig Leon's first reductive album „Nommos“. There is also a hint of the minimallist industrial of the Spanish band Esplendor Geometrico in the bubbly textures. But Tolouse Low Trax is still looking from the present into the future and filter and filters all his personal preferences through his MPC and his small synth setup to make them come alive here and now in a new way. Again Tolouse Low Trax has created a truly mysteriously vibrating drum computer music which offers hypnotic magic for the shadowy dance floor. Only a little light should illuminate the whole thing and the bodies that move above them should have no fear from threatening percussion which are displaced into a misty trance. A dark swaying shadowy mass, ideal for a journey at the end of the night and all those non-places where longing sleeps and the last romantics dance while getting drunk.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Artist previously known for his work as “Mirage Man” returns as “Kaltstam” presenting a three tracker of techno and electro jams.
The streamlined yet gloomy opening track “Reach 4 the heat only if you’re bustin’” sets an energetic tone for the release to start with. This should cater your needs easily if you’re into dancing in the more aggressive manner.
“The Divide” interprets nordic melancholy in the form of trancey pads, echoed stabs and a distorted bass drum. An observant listener might pick up some classic breakbeat vibes from the drum section as well.
“Cattle prod” is the oddball of the trio. Is it nu school breaks? Is it electro? Does it bang? ... Find out by listening to the title track of the record. - Play it fast or slow, it’s your call.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The new project of Point G records A straight forward Limited cut seriesSoundtrack for the worldwide famous Theater festival that takes place in Avignon the old south of france city decicated to Art in motion Deeply Moving , Fully energetic ,a trance for the dance .
Fusing dexterous hand-percussion, hypnotic guitar riffs & soaring melodies, Waaju rise from London’s rich cultural palette with their latest album ‘Grown’, proving UK Jazz doesn’t have to sound the way we expect it to. Led by drummer and percussionist Ben Brown (Alfa Mist, Dizraeli, Ashley Henry), the band comprises percussionist Ernesto Marichales (Jordan Rakei, Sigala), guitarist Tal Janes (Nubiyan Twist, Bahla), Sam Rapley (Fabled, Maria Chiara Argiro) and Joe Downard (China Moses, Judi Jackson), each with their own strong presence on the UK’s extensive music scene. Waaju’s refined and divergent sound connects the dots between the likes of Ali Farka Touré, Alain Peters, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Oscar D’Leon and Beth Carvalho. Waaju formed as a means of exploring music’s hidden connections, from trance-inducing Moroccan Gnawa to Caribbean carnival music, and embracing them to reflect different shades of London’s own musical culture. It was the band’s love for Mali’s folk music – and Ali Farka Touré’s stylistic prowess in particular – that first set the project in motion. London’s Jazz Cafe invited Waaju to reinterpret classic tracks from Farka Touré’s catalogue to sold-out audiences in 2018 and 2019. According to Brown: “Ali’s one of the best. He has such a unique sound. His playing is so gnarly. His spirit and attitude are things I always think of when making music.” Waaju (meaning ‘to urge, inspire or influence to take action’ in Malian language Bambara) blends pulsing Latin polyrhythms, psychedelic Malian blues licks and cinematic textures. Following the group’s 2018 self-titled debut record, Grown presents a group more unified and distinctive-sounding than ever with six fresh, bold compositions. The record begins with Moleman, a potent reminder of the intricacy and energy Waaju’s become known for. Gritty, clattering metal defines the landscape for sizzling builds, hinting at rave culture styles like Bashment and Jungle. Listening Glasses follows and it’s clear why this is the album’s lead single – its Afrobeat-like energy and joyful interplay between guitar and tenor sax lies somewhere between Tony Allen’s grooves, Chimurenga guitar and Headhunters’ funk. On late night jam Rollando, Joe Downard’s skulking bass frequencies rule and wonkiness reaches new heights as heavy dub grooves almost tear themselves apart. Time’s Got a Hold was co-written by Waaju and Jordan Rakei for a show together in November 2018. Kicking off side B, this version features special guest vocalist Will Heard over bouncing triplets evocative of 1970’s Sega from La Reunion. A kind of looseness found only at night, the quiet drive of Wassoulou is sparse yet purposeful. Pulling back the tempo and dimming the lights, cavernous percussion fills each corner of the room, springing back as spectral reverbs. The title and final track shows the many dynamic sides of the outfit’s far-reaching sound, with its expansive harmonies and explosive psychedelia, spanning Yoruba Andabo to Hendrix, signing off an exciting and energetic second LP from Waaju at their most scintillating.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
It's no big secret: The elements of trance music have always played a vital part in the music of Prins Thomas. In fact, there are scholars who argue that these stylistic attributes were the ramp that shot his disco into space. But let's not pour hot coffee onto the cold one. When the king they call Prins sent a loose bunch of tracks to Gerd Janson to get some sort of feedback, it was like an epiphany: the calling for the missing link between "Logic Trance" compilations of yesteryear and the honey for the strobe light bees of today has finally been answered. Naturally, it's not all ice cannons and glow sticks, endorphins and euphoria. The private and poetic Prins stands just one step behind the sweaty one - in alphanumeric track list order. If there has ever been something like thinking-(wo)mans-trance, this is the album for it.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
As a long-time admirer of his work, R&S/Apollo boss Renaat has signed up Italian craftsman Nuel for a stunning concept album that finds the artist becoming "my own imaginary band" after ten years of personal growth and exploration. Nuel has been revered in underground techno circles for many years. He is a meticulous sonic sculptor who has made some of the most meditative and hypnotic electronic grooves of the last decade on labels like Semantica, Kontra-Musik and Sublunar. He also put out cult classic and highly sought after album 'Trance Mutation', which found him playing all the sounds himself on a wide array of instruments. 'Fantasia' is physical, dance-able music but crafted from unfamiliar sound sources that make it as suited to a campfire gathering as an experimental club setting. It's expertly assembled and utterly unique.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
"On this seven track album we hear MinaeMinae (alias Bastian Epple) playfully scurry through his dense soundscapes on a tightrope. The sounds lying somewhere on the crossroads of psychedelic trance, exotica, ambient and melodic dance music – veering further off orbit with nontypical rhythms and dystopian percussive patterns.
MinaeMinae understands musical material similar to documentary footage which he would cut up, repitch, and rearrange freely. Most of his tracks are a mix of analog, synthetic sounds and recordings of ethnic percussion and guitar. Recently Bastian began experimenting with modular synthesis and self made tape echoes - seeking a more reduced and minimal composition style compared to his earlier quite whimsical tunes.
Growing up in a small village in southern Germany, Bastian was never interested in kitschy folk sounds that everyone would mindlessly clap and sing along to, rather he took solace in the time he would spend delving into patterns and repetitions that pleased him. His guitar strumming and what sounded to his mother like a young Philip Glass on a cheap Casio keyboard encouraged little Epple to continue on this self-taught path of developing his musical language. He then started to experiment with a tape recorder and layering sounds with non-musical samples, which his former village friends found too weird – then to eventually working with a small freeware DAW. Bastian went on to study Media Art at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe – initially enrolled in music but the frustration and doubt of not being able to produce the music he wanted led him into film and documentary media. During his studies, Bastian was living with Florian Meyers (Don’t DJ) for several years where they would philosophize life and music into the wee hours – he encouraged Bastian to start sharing what he’s been quietly working on all these years and slowly emerge from this anonymity which eventually led to his first release on Human Pitch last fall.
Disproportionate forms, color changes, backdrops weaved into the foreground, all lay the dense earth for Gestrüpp through Benjamin Kilchhofer’s artwork."
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Funnuvojere's latest instalment, Minority Resist, comes from Czech Republic and it's signed by Martin Ku?ka under his moniker Goodbye Mirage. Martin has been performing and producing ambient and synthy compositions under his real name for many years, releasing a few LPs for the US cassette labels Sacred Phrases and Origin Peoples, mostly influenced by writing, drawing and photography, as well as by the rhythms of village life.? Funnuvojere's new ethereal EP interweaves nostalgia for the past and reflections on the present. The EP is imbued with Martin's memories of discovering Berlin's Love Parade, the golden cradle of 90s trance and progressive house. Emotional tension and unexpected polymeters characterise the EP, with minimalistic notes rippling back from a distant future. Careful design produces a unique sound and grain that will blissfully envelop those lucky enough to hear it played.?
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Kenton Slash Demon return to Tartelet Records with Zstring + remixes by Urulu and Kasper Marott + 12' comes in vintage Tartelet sleeves circa 2009-2010. Limited Edition 400 copies. It's been ten years since Kenton Slash Demon landed on Tartelet with their debut EP Khattabi followed by the much-celebrated The Schwarzschild Trilogy singles - Sun, Matter and Daemon all released 2009-2011.Ten years have passed since our first release on Tartelet and with this record it feels like we've gone full circle. It's a beautiful thing.'Zstring marks their return to Tartelet - but it's also a precursor for things to come within the next year. With talks of a full-length album, the KSD project is now being given the attention it deserves.
Kenton Slash Demon have always had an affinity for uplifting melancholic tunes - and Zstring cements their ability to create just that. The track oozes with dance-floor euphoria, offering up a distorted arpeggio bassline, lush pads and layered melodies, all built around a tight and ever- changing groove. There are clear references to Italo disco, early techno and trance, but it's hard to pin down the exact style - if that even matters.On remix duties, man of the moment and label collaborator, Urulu, delivers a fresh take in his signature early 90s style, while local hero and close friend Kasper Marott of Monkeytown fame comes through with an obscure melodic techno workout of the finest sorts.
To further advance the concept of 'full circle,' the 12' comes in vintage Tartelet sleeves circa 2009-2010, salvaged from three different releases - which have been in storage since being produced.Zstring will be available April 12 th 2019 on vinyl and April 26th on all digital platforms.
Siegmar Fricke has made a name for himself in the tape culture since 1981 - with a mixture of Musique-Concrète and Post-Industrial. As a former label owner of "Bestattungsinstitut" he released numerous works that went beyond EBM, Electro, Techno and Ambient. In the heyday of the netlabels he focused mainly on his own productions, which he then made available as free downloads. Since 2002 Siegmar has been active with clinical sound experiments under the pseudonym "Pharmakustik". In 2005 he started his collaboration with Maurizio Bianchi from Milan, who has dedicated himself to "industrial decomposition" since 1979. For his Time Compression EP on Infoline, Siegmar Fricke has unearthed compositions from the period 1992-1994 and curated them anew. A phase in which he listened to the radio day and night and connected his sampler to the stereo to record material around the clock. He listened to many radio shows from England or Holland, which often broadcasted techno, trance and acid. At that time those sounds were new territory for him. He recorded inspiring sequences at first go, edited them and then let them flow into his own productions. The result was "future-pop collages mixed with sequencer-controlled trance and sampled voices", to put it in the words of Siegmar Fricke.
out of Stock
Last delivered 22 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Mr Gazmask pure style... with a nice melt of minimal trance and acidcore, acid techno and a bloody Secodn Rebirh kind of remix:) again after the Acid Night 03:)
out of Stock
Last delivered 10 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The HEX series explores the more clean side of the spectrum with a common denominator called acid influenced elements in all it's possible forms.
BPM, structure, form, styles can and will all be switched up held together by that wobbly origin called acid :)
The HEX series (based on the hexagons as you can see in the design) comes in a clear plastic outer sleeve with a big double-sided printed thick inlay card where the information about the record can be viewed. The records itself are all clear/silver mixed so every record is unique in its own way.
The first release by Prime features 4 different approaches to the genre ranging from trance influenced acid techno to electro and anything in between with the most RAW of the 4 tracks on the B1 which is dark and unwelcoming. The perfect opening record to start with broken beats going into a raw 4/4 frenzy later on.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Rising Irish star SHEE makes his debut on House of Disco with a diverse four tracker full of bright ideas, multiple genres and unquestionable talent.
On the A side ‘Our Love’ takes the first spot, an acid-laden deep house cut with enchanting vocal wanderings, before ‘Forgotten’ lets loose, a swirling saxophone disco house heater, shaken not stirred.
Flip it over to find ‘Jiraya’ bringing a touch of trance to proceedings, as arps upon arps suck you in. Finally, ‘Funk, Nah’ comes full circle unleashing the acid once again but this time with a more late night heads down tinge.
out of Stock
Last delivered 2 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Fantastic first album of Tunisian producer Azu Tiwaline, melting psychedelic dub, industrial and hypnotic techno deeply rooted in her berber culture, supported by Lena Willikens, Nicola Cruz, Toma Kami and Violet, to name a few!
Azu Tiwaline is a new name for a new spirit: one of a producer inspired by the need to explore her origins, rooted in the Tunisian Sahara. The Call to a different sound, organic and raw, vibrating in the great spaces of the African desert where trance music resonates... Ecstatic ritual.
Her first album, Draw Me A Silence, conceived as a diptych, reveals the multiple facets of her identity. Uniting the bonds that connect Berber music, dub culture and techno hypnosis, Azu Tiwaline invites us to refocus on our senses and our Nature. She knows how to use contrasts between light and the invisible, exploring the complexity of our emotions and the mystery that emanates from them, in a polyrhythmic chiaroscuro that runs through each one of her tracks, and of which we discover, as we go along, all the outlines.
Draw Me A Silence Part. I (to be released in February 2020), delivers the most hypnotic variant of her music, centered on dark percussive rhythms and a skillful use of repetition; each of the 5 tracks ineluctably carrying the listener into a trance. Two major tunes particularly illustrate the artist's imagination: "Itrik" and "Berbeka", perfectly synthesizing the heritage of Berber trance music and her techniques derived from minimalist and repetitive electronic music.
The continuation, Draw Me A Silence Part. II (to be released in April 2020), gives prominence to a deep heritage drawn from the dub culture and its numerous bass music filiations. This second part thus gives a new breath in the use of sound space, exploited in a much broader way, leaving all their space to complex syncopated percussive lines, supported by massive basslines dedicated to the best sound-systems. Omok, the first of the five tracks of this Part II is the perfect demonstration of this, playing here the essential role of a bridge to the darker waters of this album's end.
Each of these two parts exist as an Entity, and it is only when they are united that they will reveal their full meaning. Thus, in May, Draw Me A Silence will find its final form in a double-vinyl unifying them. Listening to this album in its entirety offers us a wide panorama of the sound landscapes visited by Azu Tiwaline, who seems to breathe primitive sounds of a faraway desert into a music with modern tones - and vice versa. A resolutely hybrid sound and a singular experience, playing with contrasts and nuances to catch the listener in vast and so far unexplored territories.
out of Stock
Last delivered 16 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
This 3rd of the Motordiscs opens with a slow and delighted beat by The JuanMacLean, which turns into an electro mesmerizing track. Is it slow trance or is it some kind of house ? Are we early in the night or late in the after party ? Are we still dreaming ? A2 « Mark 211 » by Javi Redondo takes the energy level up with some acidy synth and punchy snares, proving that the power of a track does not necessarily lies in its speed. It is now time to flip the disc, Naduve takes us later in the night, bringing a murky vibe, thanks to haunting pads and low frequency instruments, picturing a proper underground club. The sun now starts to rise on the Seine river, the last track sounds like an ode to the dawn, where voices and shiny synths will emerge and open the crowd’s eyes. It was « Peppi » by Fairmont. This was a night at Garage
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Known for his grainy, analogue dance floor hits, Hungarian artist Norwell has returned with a powerful and transcendent 4-track EP, releasing through Fanzine Records. "In Between" EP is a drum-heavy, intricate series of grooves and soundscapes that draw the listener in from the beginning. While remaining faithful to the tendencies of techno, this record brings something of its own to the table in the form of acidic basslines and retro Kosmiche synth parts, resulting in a stunning array of textures.
"Eastern Echoes" is the opening track on this EP, and it deserves that spot. Combining an intense, Aphex-esque drum beat with hazy, dreamlike Middle Eastern inspired vox and pads, this track is a pumped-up monster of an introduction to the EP. This is immediately followed up with "Evaporate Yourself", a dark and brooding beat with a serpentine bassline that creeps its way through the track and combines with the lush, ethereal ebb and flow of the detuned synths and horror-themed vocals. This track is as cosmic as it is industrial, and sits on the fence between the two in a very unique way. "Model 244" on the other hand utilises a much more 70's modular sound reminiscent of early Kraftwerk hits adapted to the modern age. The track builds layers upon layers of left-field percussion that dance around the central arpeggiated bass in a very pleasing way, and Norwell doesn't leave out his signature glitchy, mechanical soundscapes, which give the track its glorious tension and release. The EP is rounded off with "Repetition Void", potentially the most experimental of the four tracks. Flanged hi-hats dance around the listeners ears and hazy analogue keys induce a hypnotic trance, exacerbated by the almost Papal choir vocals that fit seamlessly into the background.
As Norwell's first release through the Fanzine Label, this EP is dark, it is foreboding, and with the unexpected turns the rhythm takes, it doesn't care about your feelings. If you're ready to be punched in the face by this sci-fi horror listening experience, watch for the release of this EP, Fanzine latest addition to their roster of tasty electronic jams.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Much like its associated club, Live At Robert Johnson not only features seasoned veterans, but likewise emerging talents and those already paving their way with quality productions. Victor’s production style tells much about his ongoing collaborations with one of bespoke veterans, Gerd Janson, providing countless remixes and edits as a tag team on labels such als Running Back and Permanent Vacation.
Taking their inspirations from a sonic array of UK Synth Pop, Balearic beats and Italo Disco, Victor Shan’s LARJ debut 4-track EP reveres nights spent at the Robert Johnson club: from the dancefloor to the studio. Lush detuned synths, deep basslines sometimes lingering down below, and upfront beats—they all catch the vibe of a wooden dancefloor to be found at Nordring 131 in Offenbach.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
This Spring, Life And Death hits a half century of releases with a suitably standout album from leftfield innovator Autarkic. Terms and Conditions is a 10 track window into the Tel Aviv artist's rich, wildly-infused electronica.
Critical acclaim has followed Nadav Spiegel's every move since he debuted in 2015. He is impossibly hard to pin down, and brings real songwriting ability to club tracks that colour far outside the usual lines. Weird dub, psychedelic rock, all forms of wave, sideways pop, swampy techno, Middle Eastern subtleties and plenty experimental in-between sounds all inform his work. It defies convention in ways many cannot, and has come on labels like Disco Halal and Turbo, as well as Life And Death with the Heavy Dreamer EP in 2018.
2016 and 2017 brought his first two albums, Can You Pass The Knife? and I Love You, So Go Away, both on Disco Halal. Both were full of intensely emotional wave, synth and lo-fi sounds that fizzed with innovation. Says the artist of its follow up, "Terms and Conditions was created to celebrate the moment in time that is now. The moment we became peasants in a new digital-feudal world, happily giving away our privacy for the privilege of owning a smart phone."
Terms and Conditions is a unique melting pot, a reimagining of familiar sounds in unfamiliar ways, and is another standalone record from Autarkic.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
GLOK is the electronic solo project from Andy Bell of shoegaze legends RIDE (formerly of Oasis/Beady Eye/Hurricane #1). His debut album under the moniker, Dissident, was originally released last year on a limited edition cassette by Bytes, an offshoot of Ransom Note Records. That sold out in 24 hours, and was followed by a vinyl pressing of 500 copies, on transparent green vinyl, sold via Bandcamp and two online shops. However, with that edition now sold out pretty much on word of mouth, due to popular demand, Dissident is being repressed and is this time being made available to a wider audience via a partnership between Bytes and Republic of Music/K7. The name GLOK is a misspelling of the German word for Bell. The German connection fits well as there is a strong Krautrock influence in the music, especially on the title track, 'Dissident', an epic clocking in just shy of the 20-minute mark, which blends synthwave, minimalism, trance, Detroit techno and John Carpenter soundtracks, with Andy even dropping in some killer John Squire-esque guitar licks.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
2011 album available on vinyl for the first time. Master percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah joins forces once again with dubmaster Adrian
Sherwood at the controls and a whole host of guest musicians, including contributions from dancehall pioneer Jazzwad and electronics from Adamski.
All the elements of a classic African Head Charge album are present: spaced out dub, tribal chants, ecstatic trance but updated with a rugged sound system undercarriage. Arguably some of the hardest hitting AHC rhythms laid down in the studio to date.
Cut as a double LP for maximum dynamics by King Kevin Metcalfe. Includes digital download card for full contents and double-sided poster insert containing new interview with Bonjo on the making of the record.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The sickest French band, a trio called France, drums, bass and amplified hurdy-gurdy. They only performs live, in the middle of the audience - turned in to face each other - full on smoke machines and strobes. And they play only one ‘song’ for the duration of their hour-long set. And it’s the most transfixing live experience of intense physical and mental focus, and there is something of early rave too, the togetherness, the energy, the euphory. The distorted hurdy gurdy plugs France’s sound into the country’s history of folk music and popular festivities, of communal trance and immersive pleasure. The rhythmic basis is pretty much the same throughout the whole live. One doesn’t need to actually be tripping balls for the auditory illusions to start coming thick and fast. Those who’ve stayed for the whole duration of their performances know they’ve shared something. However disparate the phantom forms each might have discerned in the midst of the howls and groans. Gigs like this you leave feeling you’re not quite the same person who went in, even though you’d be hard-pressed to pinpoint precisely what has changed. Far Out Far West was the band’s first gig outside of their usual comfortable friendly circle and thus was perceived as a somewhat hostile environment. This was where they met the fellows of Les Potagers Nature who will later release France’s debut untitled album. One certainty remains at least, that there is still a France we can believe in. David McKenna (The Quietus). Sales Points: - New album from trio France - All previous releases now sold out and sought after - For fans of drone, rural trance, stoner, psychedelic - 131st release on Mental Groove Music, home of WRWTFWW
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
UPSIDE DOWN SMILE WAS RECORDED AND PRODUCED BY EWA JUSTKA AND BY SELF-DESIGNED, SELF-MADE, SELFSELFSELF, ODD LOOKING SLIGHTLY DYSFUNCTIONAL SYNTHESISERS AND BY A TRANCE PURPLE KILLER ROLAND JP8080 AND BY HIS BROTHER VIRUS AND SOME OTHER ROLAND BROTHERS NO SISTERS INCLUDED DURING THE TIME WHEN EWA JUSTKA WHO CURRENTLY LIVES IN GLASGOW, GOVANHILL, ALLISON STREET, WHERE RECENTLY HER PASSPORT WAS STOLEN DUE TO THE BURGLARY, WHERE SHE LIVES IN JOY, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES THE FLOOR GETS WET DUE TO THE LEAKING WINDOWS AND SOMETIMES ONE CAN FIND DEAD PIGEONS LAYING ON THE STAIRCASE BUT IT'S NICE AND COSY AND EWA JUSTKA HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL PERSON IN THE DEEP DARK TRANSISTOR LADDER CIRCUITS LIVES SINCE SHE IS STUDYING PHD AT EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART WHERE SHE THINKS A LOT ABOUT IMITATION IN SYNTHESISER DESIGN AND FILTERS AND VCOS AND FORMANTS AND ACID AND HARDCORE MUSIC AND TWIN T FILTERS AND OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS AND SHE TURNS KNOBS AND THINKS AND THE UPSIDE DOWN SMILE ALBUM WAS MADE IN THE DEPTH OF THOSE THOUGHTS QUITE OFTEN SAD THOUGHTS UPSIDE DOWN SMILE IS A BIT OF A CYNICAL SMILE BUT AN HONEST SMILE CYNICAL BUT HONEST UPSIDE DOWN SMILE IS A SMILE THROUGH TEARS BUT TEARS OF JOY SCOTTISH JOY UPSIDE DOWN SMILE IS UPSIDE DOWN ACID ONE COULD SAY UPSIDE DOWN SMILE COULD BE INTERPRETED AS A SAD SMILE BUT IT IS A SMILE IN THE END OF THE DAY
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Self proclaimed "DJ from the sticks in Ireland", Ceili breathes diabolical energy to unforgiving imprint, Techno Is The Devil's Music. Following his "Rough n Ready" release on Obscuur, and a heap of killer sets - many at Techno institution, Jaded - Ceili's discerning ear, honed skills and sense of self shine through in this release. TITDM02 blends hardcore club vibes with melodic, euphoric elements for a sound that's heavy-hitting, yet fresh and exciting.
TITDM002 drops March 13th, via Techno Is The Devil's Music. Frantic opener, "Stern Morning Shake", is a transcendental thumper - booting off hard with an ethereal overlay, note Ceili's tempting dancers into a trance whirlpool. "Straight Off The Plane" offers tripped out acid lines upon ominous rolling thunder. On the flip, "2000 and Ded" goes far beyond the rabbit hole. Rounding out the EP, "Time Is No More" is hard hitting, with little room for respite despite Ceili's mesmerising, robotic interludes. Strobes, dark corners, incentive to dance - TITDM02 is for the ravers.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
There was a terrible egregious shift in vibration the day the transmission arrived. It came to me in a dream, as was natural for these particular occurrences, and left no time for preparation. The sound was unmistakable, a low baritone that echoed wildly and reeked of ancient fumes. A deeply monumental and monolithic apparition stood before what appeared to be a crowd of hexagonal beings. The vibrations worked through them in an apparent communicatory way, though would be impossible to translate in any logical linguistic fashion. I don’t know how but I knew they were aware of me, though their disposition was imminent of their consciousness as being collective, rather than individual; and were largely unbothered by my presence.
Once the transmission had finished it was clear that there had been a tamper. The kind of which Id seen before, and had resulted in definite yet undefinable change in the fabric of reality.
I initially stumbled upon the odd and highly dangerous musical practices of Perhaps while on an assignment in Bermuda. There had been rumors of a local tribesman partaking in occult practices, of which I knew was native strictly to the Goat Bleeding Bad Men of the Congolese jungle. These rumors intrigued my journalistic nature, so I took the afternoon off in the hopes to possibly glean something that would be an easy pitch to a tabloid back home.
Upon arrival it was clear there was a strange foreign intervention within the community of the tribe, which was largely uninhabited upon first glance. Much of the surrounding foliage had been strung with the entrails of various animals and there were several disturbing fixtures composed of bones and various organs lining the commune. I managed to track down the tribesman, who appeared to be in some deep trance and was entirely unable to communicate, though seemed to be fixated on a single task: the drawing of a peculiar symbol. My researching the symbol resulted in only one hit, a piece of musical literature by a band Perhaps, who I later found to be recording in the area just weeks before.
It didn’t take long for me to become fully fixated on Perhaps, who were anything but coy about their whereabouts and metaphysical practices. Wherever they went a small commune followed, which was typically composed of deranged acid freaks, occultists, and Norweigian dairy farmers who had sold all their assets to follow the band after “hearing their music speak from the mountains”. After managing to crack into one of their camps that was stationed in an abandoned motel, I spoke with Jim Haney of Perhaps regarding their cultish practices, who gave little in way of detail but claimed to be working towards a deconstruction of reality through a linguistic utilization of vibration.
My stint with the cosmic beings through the telekinetic transmission had lead to one conclusion; that Perhaps have been in the works on something new. It seems as if they may have landed on the result which Haney had mentioned years ago. Through my continued interest I’ve procured the names of other members of this current project, which include: Sean Mcdermott, Tom Weeks, Ricky Petraglia, David Khoshtinat, Ben Talmi, Makoto Kawabata, Lucas Brode, Isiah Mitchell, Olivia Kieffer, Tyler Skoglund, Chang Chang. Though I can’t say exactly what is to come, it seems as if the ideas that were proposed during my initial meet may have been surpassed. Perhaps’ plans have begun to surface, and we are all at risk, for whatever that means. The great column and the vibrational prismic beings have shifted their attention to earthly matters, it would be foolhardy to not heed their warning. Though, self-preservation may be an impossibility.
Sam Hailstone Dec 24/ 2019
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Nantes-based Australian drummer and percussionist Will Guthrie returns to Black Truffle with Nist-Nah. Like his previous solo record on the label, the abrasive hip-hop concrète of People Pleaser 'BT027', Nist-Nah finds Guthrie branching out in a new direction, this time in a suite of six percussion pieces primarily using the metallaphones, hand drums and gongs of the Gamelan ensembles of Indonesia.
The music presented here is grounded in Guthrie’s travels in Indonesia and study of various forms of Gamelan music, from the stately suspended temporality of the courtly Javanese Gamelan Sekatan, to the delirious, thuggish repetition that accompanies the Javanese trance ritual Jathilan, to the shimmering acoustic glitch of contemporary Balinese composer Dewa Alit and his Gamelan Salukat.
However, far from an exercise in exoticism, Nist-Nah develops out of Guthrie’s extensive work with metal percussion in recent years (as heard, for example, on his 2015 LP for 'IDEAL', Sacrée Obsession), where gongs, singing bowls and cymbals are used to build up walls of hovering tones and sizzling details.
Though Guthrie is broadening his palette to explore Gamelan instrumentation and pay tribute to his love of this sophisticated yet elemental percussion music, the pieces presented here are equally informed by Guthrie’s interests in free jazz, electro-acoustic music and diverse experimental music practices, exploring long tones, extended techniques, and non-metered pulse.
'Nist-Nah' presents a variety of approaches across its six pieces, from the crisp, precise rhythmic complexity of the opening title track to the droning textures of ‘Catlike’ and ‘Elders’.
On the epic closing ‘Kebogiro Glendeng’, Guthrie offers an extended, layered rendition of a Javanese piece belonging to a repertoire primarily used for warmups, beginner’s groups and children first learning Gamelan, elegantly gesturing to his own amateur status while using the piece’s insistently repeated melody as an extended exploration of the hypnotic effects of repetition, falling in and out of time with himself to create woozy, narcotic effects until the piece eventually dissolves into a wavering fog.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Lazy Harts Club man Evan Baggs is not one for keeping up a regular release schedule; in fact, his last single of note appeared way back in 2015. This first appearance on Time Passages has arguably been worth the wait, though. The Neu Rochelle EP offers a quartet of contrasting cuts. For example, compare the rough-and-ready, bass-heavy Drexciyan space electro of "UTL", the rolling, acid-flecked old school tech-house of "Neu Rochelle", and the melodious machine jam that is closer "Still Breezin". Best of all, though, is "All Question All Answers", which comes on like an unlikely collaboration between 'Pure Trance' era KLF, bleep types Sweet Exorcist, and late '90s tech-house jams.
out of Stock
Last delivered 11 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Spencer Clark is back with a futuristic eco-friendly record. It’s life on earth as you never heard it.
The story goes like this: Spencer wanted to do a soundtrack for the yet to be made “Avatar 2”. And if you know Spencer’s work, you’ll know that he engaged on this mission reading material that influenced the rich and crazy imaginary world of “Avatar”. If you think about it a little bit, something like “Avatar” could have really come out from the mind of Spencer Clark.
But it didn’t. So, he dwelled around the idea of that soundtrack, working on what is now known as “Avatar Blue”. The record we now release is a selection he made from the 2CD released last year on his own Pacific City Sound Visions.*
Like many of Spencer’s other alias or incarnations, Star Searchers introduces the listener to a new world. Besides making sounds/soundtracks for alternative realities he cares about making a world for his music to live in. It’s never superficial or dedicated just to the act of imagination, Spencer creates sounds that sustain the reality he imagined. That’s why they’re so rich and consequential in the realization of music as a medium.
“Avatar Blue” is music but also literature. And cinema. Star Searchers’ sound creates an absorbent sound about what’s happening in aquatic life. It goes beyond the perception of what we’ve seen or what we’ve known, it’s a neo-future aquatic life, with a world building structure and sounds and narratives that go along with it.
All done with a sound-aesthetics that could be described as slowed-down-trance, that fits 1980s synth nostalgia and dreams of sci-fi to come.
*Note: The 2CD version is available as a digital download with a purchase of the album on selected stores.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Ryan Crosson takes care of the fifth EP on tastemaking Detroit label My Baby Records with a fantastically forward-looking four-track vinyl offering. Ryan Crosson is a complex artistic creature who has roamed far and wide in his storied career. His always innovative music has come on groundbreaking labels including Wagon Repair, M_nus, Spectral Sound, and of course his own Visionquest. Each time he explores a new sound world and draws on things as diverse as musique concrète, Downtown New York funk, and East African jazz. Now he cooks up more beguiling brilliance on this fresh new EP. Opener ‘Speaker Dubs’ is a deep, bubbly rhythm track with dub chords rippling out to infinity. It’s a stylish track full of far-sighted reverence and supple groove that locks you in a trance. ‘Ogilvie’ is a piece of absorbing ambient with found sound recordings of muffled voices that sounds like you’re in an underground station. B-side opener ‘FutureTheory’ is another minimal masterpiece with glitchy sound design and eerie chords peeling off a tight, kinetic groove. Ghoulish voices add more late-night atmosphere and the whole track grows ever darker and more consuming as it unfolds. The excellent ‘OortCloud’ takes you back to the heart of a dance-floor with futuristic menace: the smooth drum loops are militant, the voices are dehumanised and the searching synths speak of a desolate landscape. It’s heady, brilliantly bleak stuff that is utterly infectious. This is another hugely inventive EP from one of the underground’s most consistent talents
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The music of Clan Caima´n is primitive and hypnotic. It is located in the pre-rock era and from there, it proposes a different evolutionary path for music from the 1950' s to present day. Like a different musical development in a parallel timeline. Gamelan, Hawaiian music, surf, exotica, rainforest or aquatic; these elements make up the palette which constructs a mystic and profound music that seeks ancestral connection.
Formed in 2016 by Argentinian musician, composer and producer Emilio Haro, looking to create music generated by group dynamics, Clan Caima´n differs from his past two solo albums ( 'Panora´mico' in 2007 and 'Estrambo´tico' in 2012, both on Radiaciones Armo´nicas) in that these were studio works and not meant to be played live.
The quintet's enigmatic sound is built upon the kalimbafo´n, an instrument created by Haro using several kalimbas, Diego Voloschin's wild and hypnotic percussion (no cymbals, no snare), Gonzalo Cordoba's lap steel and baritone guitar, Facundo Gomez's psychedelic guitar tones and Claudio Iuliano's dry and percussive bass sound. This debut album contains eight anachronistic and oddly familiar compositions that range from introspection to trance, tracing their own sonic landscape.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
UNCAGE label is back with a bang thanks to a various artists release featuring Stojche, Luca La Rocca, Eric Axelsson, Vincenzo Maurice and Module One.
Macedonian rebel Stojche is first up with his pummelling drum programming and sleek synths peeling off a high tempo groove.
It is dubbed out and propulsive techno of the highest order.
Luca La Rocca - Focus is darker and more stripped back, an eerie final cut that packs a real punch, then Eric Axelsson offers a deep atmosphere with icy electronics dancing above rooted kicks that get you in a trance.
After a twitchy acid banger from Vincenzo Maurice is a digital only cut from Module One that is cavernous, mysterious and hypnotic. This is another high impact techno Ep from the ever reliable 'UNCAGE'.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
From the moment of its release, Iñigo Vontier’s El Hijo del Maiz has become one of the most gripping albums of the moment. With South American and Middle Eastern sounds and his conception of music as ritual, the Mexican DJ keeps electronica in check as a valid mix of influences. The EP El Hijo Del Maiz (Remixes) marks the end of an episode which started, in good company, last autumn on the Lumière Noire label. The second track of his album, Bo Ni Ke, is distinguished by its original - almost implausible - universe, with a Japanese-inflected vocal filter and oriental flutes taking the beats into a crazy trance. Leaning on the 4/4 rhythm, Simple Symmetry’s remix of the track is also very playful (Iñigo Vontier recently remixed Nar for Simple Symmetry). The Moscow duo, noted in particular for the brilliant EP Plane Goes East released on Disco Halal (the Moscoman label which makes the link between east and west), pulls the track over to another - less terrestrial more psychedelic - universe, in their well identified ethno-underground style.
The remix of Bo Ni Ke by Nicola Cruz, French-born Ecuadorian producer, enlivens the track by playing on the sounds of voices and South American percussion. Also present in his fascinating album Siku released a year ago on the ZZK Records label, they overlap with the demonological whims of Iñigo Vontier but also those of Nicolas Jaar, who was revealed to him as he was starting out.
The inaugural track of the album Xu Xu (subject of the previous EP, only released as a digital version) has been remixed by Roman Flügel, allowing a vinyl release of this incredible track. You could pick out the science of this headliner in a million. Flügel has been on the electronic scene since the early days, learning the ropes under the aegis of prestigious labels Playhouse, Dial and Klang.
He has recently enhanced some emblematic tracks signed Daniel Avery, Koze, Âme, Radio Slave and C.A.R. and here once again the pioneer of techno is working miracles to create a more cerebral version of this track.
Concluding the EP with Thomass Jackson, his co-founder of the label Calypso Records, who we will soon be able to find on the compilation / family portrait of the label Lumière Noire From Above Vol. 2, Iñigo Vontier offers up a genre-busting version of the title Marijuana, like an ataxic play time, deliberately smoky for an explicitly licentious title.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
New year, new you, new crew! Another rising star from France, Marina Trench, joins the WOLF Music family, following up an inaugural EP on DJ Deep's highly acclaimed Deeply Rooted with this accomplished and diverse four tracker of house goodness.
Absorbed by house music from an early age Marina Trench is already proving herself to be a humble, yet highly talented, force to be reckoned with. Waterside EP is case in point. The title track is summertime ecstasy through and through. Undeniably catchy and packed with a club-ready punch, Trench sets off at pace, revolving the track around a pinging techy bassline as layers of percussion, echoing pads and delicate vocal refrains from Marina herself glide on through. Peak time, earworm business that bangs.
Get up, ‘Get In’. Moving through the downright ethereal to some tough, dancefloor darkness. Sweeping pads and glitching arps ease you in before the breakdown leads to an unleashing of brooding bass chords and reverberating top end counterparts that marry with a mean acid bassline. Tough, tactile and firmly focused on the club.
On the flip, ‘Train Call’ is a chopped jazzy deep house roller. Heavyweight piano stabs intertwine with deft twinkles as crisp hats dance around thumping kicks before ‘Straight’ eases you off into the depths of the night. A sumptuous little slice of deepness - meditative, trance-like calls from the ocean and pensive pianos provide a perfect soundtrack for the early hours.
out of Stock
Last delivered 19 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Completing a red hot trio of remix EPs of Calm’s By Your Side album is this final part with Lucas Croon, Cantoma and Gallo and Yuri Shulgin all serving up expansive and mind altering new versions.
He doesn’t release often but when he does you need to listen to Lucas Croon. His unique take on ‘Before Landing’ is a proper dance floor heater to get you on your toes. Once you're there, a gentle rush of rave euphoria tases over you and sends shivers down your spine as old school breakbeats and glowing pads complete the trip.
Elsewhere, long time Balearic pin up, scene hero and all round blissed out boss man Phil Mison has a new album corn gin the spring. Before that, he becomes Cantoma for a timeless version of ‘You Can See The Sunrise Again’ that has bright blue skies and jaunty chords making you move.
Regular label artist homie Gallo is in the form of his life right now - he's resident DJ at Hell Yeah's weekly Balearic night Buena Onda in Berlin, has a growing reputation for being one of the best eclectic selectors in the game and is currently working on compiling the forthcoming BUENA ONDA comp with label head Marco. He gets long legged on his deep cut remix of ‘Sky Color Passing’ which is another killer that slowly but surely works you in a slow motion acid trance.
Completing this most exquisite outing is Yuri Shulgin, a multi-instrumentalist music producer from Tajikistan with credits on Cocktail d'Amore Music. His spellbinding take on 'Ending of Summer, Beginning of Autumn' is a fusion of jazz, leftfield and electronica will have you in a spin and your head lost in the clouds amongst the twinkling stars and cosmic pads.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
4 techno tracks with rave and '90 trance sounds, wisely mixed with modern ones. Lucretio in the A side with an industrial digital track; same taste for Dove Quiete's track. The B side is characterized by two melodic and trance tracks from Albanish People and Stic.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Multi-instrumentalist and composer David 'Dijf' Sanders combines a broad mix of styles with a boundless approach full of multicultural blends. The Ghent based artist has always been working on various projects, collaborations or productions at the same time - lately he worked with Warhaus, Sylvie Kreusch, Mattias De Craene's MDC III and Wim Vandekeybus (Die Bakchen - Lasst uns tanzen), to name a few - but that did not keep him from releasing successful solo records as well.
Dijf, who was a member of the (synth)pop bands Teddiedrum and The Violent Husbands, already raised excitement with the exotica-oriented 'Moonlit Planetarium' (2016), an album that created an experimental clash between percussive, ethnic sounds and rather Western beats, occasionally topped off with his mysterious vocals.
After the acclaimed eclectic gem Java (2017) for which he recorded in Indonesia, Dijf Sanders sets off on another musical adventure to another part of the world. This time it is a world infused by Nepalese, Tibetan, Chinese and Indian culture. Dijf traveled to Nepal, and used his field recording and impressions to create a new universe together with drummer Simon Segers, Saxophone player Mattias De Craene and sitar player Nicolas Mortelmans.
Expect a sound trance where monk chanting, eclectic beats but also mantra style techno will be fused. Namaste!
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Kali Malone presents a quietly subversive new album featuring almost two hours of concentrated, creeping organ pieces governed by a strict acoustic and compositional code. It’s a major new work with ultimately profound emotional resonance.
‘The Sacrificial Code’ takes a more detailed approach to ideas first sketched out on last year’s ‘Organ Dirges’, which featured canon exercises spontaneously captured without much prior technical planning. By contrast, the recording of ‘The Sacrificial Code’ involved the more careful micing up of several organs in such a way as to eliminate acoustic impurities as far as possible - essentially removing the large hall reverb so inextricably linked to the instrument. The pieces were then performed free of gestural adornments and without expressive impulse - an approach that
flows against the grain of the prevailing musical hegemony, where sound is so often manipulated,
and composition often steeped in self indulgence. The question posed; can this strict methodology still speak to the listener in meaningful terms?
The answer is both obvious and entirely surprising; with its slow, purified and seemingly austere qualities ‘The Sacrificial Code’ guides us through an almost trance-inducing process where we
become vulnerable receptors for every slight movement, where every miniature shift in sound becomes magnified through stillness.
As such, it’s a uniquely satisfying exercise in transcendence through self restraint - a stunning realisation of ideas borne out of academic and conceptual rigour which gradually reveals startling
personal dimensions. It has a perception-altering quality that encourages self exploration free of signposts and without a preordained endpoint - the antithesis to the language of colourless musical platitudes weíve become so accustomed to.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Ever since dropping her critically-acclaimed debut LP Online Dating through Central Processing Unit back in 2017, Tryphème (Tiphaine Belin) has marked herself out as one of the more unique voices in contemporary electronica. We mean that literally - Belin's productions are characterised by frequent use of vocals, either processed to provide atmosphere or deployed high in the mix as passages of singing/spoken word. When these are wedded to her typically deft electronic productions the results are lush, atmospheric and moving.
Two years on from Online Dating and Tryphème has returned to CPU with the six-track Aluminia EP. While Online Dating leaned into a range of rave styles, Aluminia is more painterly, with Belin putting greater emphasis on timbre and texture. 'Lava', 'Fey' and 'Cry Silent Cry' are some of the most innovative tracks Belin has produced to date.
While another producer would allow listeners to luxuriate in such warm synth tones, Belin doesn't let you get comfortable, constantly surprising you with innovative structural choices or unexpected sounds. The way in which 'Lava' is agitated by chattering voices and processed singing recalls both the uncanniness of Holly Herndon and the maximalism of A. G. Cook, while the synth line that snakes through 'Cry Silent Cry' nods to Lorenzo Senni's recent trance deconstructions. Beats and bass take precedence in Aluminia's midsection.
This is the portion of the record which most closely recalls Online Dating - 'Eedyu' and 'X-Ray Mantra' are more settled than the other cuts on Aluminia, and it's here that the 90s electronica influences that so often inform CPU's output are most keenly felt. Those who enjoyed Bochum Welt's recent Seafire full-length - itself another CPU drop - will be able to get behind these tunes.
The two sides of Aluminia are combined in penultimate number 'In A Cyber Spiral'. The track's eerie beginning, with its ghostly vocals and nagging drums, is reminiscent of Hype Williams. Soon things morph into a leftfield digi-dub replete with speaker-crushing sub. Halfway through Belin wrong-foots us again, cleverly flipping the drums from half-time to a kind of fluttering breakbeat. It's the most diverse and unique production in a record full of them, drawing on everything from IDM to Eskibeat, and a track which furthers Tryphème's status as an exciting new artist on the European electronics scene.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
HOUSEWAX presents Kolja Gerstenberg - Jizzle Jam. This release is a fantastic debut for Kolja on the 10 inch series! His passion for electronic music is part of a Gerstenberg family tradition. Breast-fed Rhythm & Grooves galore. Kolja's dad was touring with legendary Trance live act „Afrotrance“ during the early 1990s, releasing on R&S, Harthouse, etc. Guess what: he was the percussionist, drumming up legendary clubs like „Dorian Gray“ or OMEN in Frankfurt.
out of Stock
Last delivered 10 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
TRIP presents 'Locus Error', a new double vinyl concept album. Moving beyond the scope of the traditional, arbitrarily compiled VA, TRIP's conceptual approach brings together a range of artists around a uniting theme, supplying a sense of cohesion and narrative thrust. Like Noel Saavedra's accompanying artwork, the narrative is vibrant yet nightmarish, a vision of classic trance music, including it's psy side, refracted through TRIP's fearless, oddball aesthetic.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Amadeo Savio is next up on Vigenere, the label that has thus far presented a whole host of unknown names in the field of minimal techno all bound together by a shared classiness in their production style. Savio's approach is deep and dubby on opening cut "Isolat", one primed for the after hours. "Trance Later" has a slightly more forthright approach, but there's still plenty of mellow delights to be found in the synth department to keep you chilling. "Encor" heads into more typically minimal pastures, while "Kassion" explores broken beat patterns and fragmented samples with scintillating results.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
After their first issue focus on Benga, a Kenyan musical movement, FLEE is proud to present its new project: «Tarantismo: Odyssey of an Italian Ritual», available on 2LP Gatefold and as a bundle with 2LP Gatefold and a 168 pages Book.
Please note that the book only is not available
Dedicated to Tarentism, this project tells the story of a centuries-old choreo-musical ritual from Southern Italy, mobilizing frenetic rhythms and maniac dances, to exorcise women of a mysterious evil caused by the bite of a spider. Trans-disciplinary, this effort of documentation and artistic re-interpretation of one Europe’s most mysterious trance phenomenon is comprised of a double LP vinyl compilation including original recordings from Italian Maestro's Carpitella, Lomax and De Martino with reinterpretations from Don't DJ, Bottin, LNS, Bjorn Torske & Trym Søvdsnes, KMRU, Uffe and a hardcover Italian/English book.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
RAVE026 is a double hammer of blitzkrieg gabber and seething acid trance/schranz from Service
Animal (Vereker) and Crime Unit, featuring material previously issued on impossible-to-find
tapes by the cult, DIY label; Live Adult Entertainment
The punkish reputation of Live Adult Entertainment precedes them as one of the underground’s
keenest yet elusive operations to emerge in recent years. Based in Thessaloniki, a port city in
northern Greece, they’ve released some 28 tapes, CDR’s and lathe cut vinyl of musick ranging from
psy-trance to industrial noise and concrète since 2017, and always in editions ranging from zero
to 20 tops, leading to feverish and frustrated reactions from those listeners who’ve chanced upon
their YouTube videos before they get taken down. Finally, this 12” features the first readily available
and properly mastered LAE material on a physical format.
On the A-side, Endangered Species label boss Oliver Vereker adopts his gabber alias Service
Animal for his first outing proper since appearing as Renoir on his label’s 2017 CD, ‘Death Always
Follows’. Revolving material originally available on tape in edition of 20 copies, it boots off with
the 12-hp hoof and dive-bombing drones of ‘Core Of Reality’ next to the evil Arcardipane styles of
‘F.T.W’, which are both produced with the same, powerful conviction in charred black metal, noise
and hardcore techno that made his 2015 releases as Restraint and Grace so vital, only with added
acceleration and syncopation.
The B-side follows with a pair of seething workouts from the ‘Cyber Afterbirth Vol.1’ mix by
LAE co-owner, Crime Unit. Hearkening back to a sound that was ubiquitous between Hackney
Warehouses and small-town UK/European techno clubs in the late ’90s/early ‘00s, they are
ravenous examples of the LAE aesthetic, applying scuzzy DIY principles to gnashing German
schranz and adrenalising acid trance with ruthlessly direct results that pack one of the meanest
breakdowns you’ll hear this year. Trust they will mercilessly sort the dancers from the posers.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Redshape – Whoever is behind the masked face, he always has something else to say. This guy simply understands sound. And here we get the standard Redshape treatment. A no-nonsense chugger, a cold kinda-subby-but-not baseline, a nod to the break and away we go. We take no prisoners.
Eduardo – Reminiscent of the golden days of Jam and Spoon, gas-masks and fluorescent nights, trance seems to be back in the house. And what can we say but welcome it back into our hearts, minds and onto our floors. And for that we have the mighty Spaniard, Eduardo De La Calle, to show is how it’s done. Trance 2.0.
Undo – Undo trying not to piss off old people even more after Hell and Italo Brutalo? Well, good luck with that one, cause we’re pissed off. Pissed off cause we want to be young again, dancing with the Elephants, having fun. Fuck it, age is only a number, no? Alors on danse!
XDB – The sweet purr, the glacial strings, the subaquatic, the wink to the greats. A chiller on a hazy morning. A gentle awakening.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
A key player in the New York scene and boss of her own Dusk & Haze label, it was Francis Harris' Kingdoms that initially released Sophie Saze's standout two-part album, and that is where this forward looking package of highly original remixes lands. First up is German artist Roman Flügel, who’s responsible for a myriad of musical aliases and just as many different sounds. Here he is in experimental electronic mode and reworks 'Cure' into an elongated groove with twisted synth lines layering up over the shimmer, shadowy beats. It's a ghoulish track with a creepy atmosphere.
Swede Anthony Linell makes tripped out, heady techno on Northern Electronics, always with a stylish aesthetic. That continues here as he reimagines 'Aliens' as an absorbing cosmic soundtrack. Supple, rubbery drums bubble down low while broad pads and astral motifs colour the airways above and sink you into a state of trance. New York beat maker and Blueberry Records boss FaltyDL then steps up with a remix of 'Self'. It is a typically off-kilter groove that seems to float on post-jungle drums while distant synth details make for a dreamy atmosphere. Closing out this killer package is Saze's original track 'Dreams', an intense techno cut where coarse textures peel off the industrial clatter of the drums.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Contagious is a solid blending of avant-garde experimentation and electronic music. Formed by two innovative voices from the Improvisation scene of Berlin (Andrea Neumann and Sabine Ercklentz) and Mieko Suzuki, a well-crafted and creative DJ and musician who’s operating in Berlin venues and festivals since a long time.
Contagious is one of the most forward thinking, mind-melting projects to hit the electronic music scene. Intense and powerful, yet rooted in a tradition of crafting and sculpturing of in the most creative ways, all this building up within a solid structure of instant composition and improvisation. The trio plunder each other’s musical spheres, appropriate them and switch roles. Andrea Neumann on her infamous Inside Piano, an instrument she pioneered and crafted, is applying the most creative feedback processing to simple piano strings and sending them occasionally to Mieko Suzuki’s processing rig, who also uses her own pre-recorded sounds and her skills on turntables, while Sabine Ercklentz’s trumpet sounds blast through her processing system and altogether the three musicians communicate into logics of composition and futuristic structures, where fragile sound textures and pulses become monumental.
Contagious is also the debut album recorded and produced by Rabih Beaini. The Trio wanders in new aesthetic areas, sound is a texture where the processing rigs are constantly developing new forms and evolutions. Structures and grooves implode in noisy fragments, growing into a deep trance state.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The modern, avant synth/dance-pop frolics of ‘Moi’ catch Steven Warwick (Heatsick) at his impish but droll best for PAN. Returning to PAN six years after his standout Re-Engineering album,
Warwick returns to similar zones of enquiry as 2016’s ‘Nadir’ - the first release under his birth name. With ‘Moi’ (which we definitely hear enunciated with a playful pucker), Warwick further emphasises the personal, playful nature of his work with 10 melodic, danceable and pop-tart arrangements accompanied by a range of vocal personas; from his naturally droll singing voice to more alien and leaned-out styles, plus a guest platitude by Turner Prize nominee, Jo Pryde.
Bubbling up with the pickled 2-step and Lolina-esque lilt of ‘Open Fire Hydrant’, Warwick clearly draws upon a UK dance music heritage - and its Afro-Caribbean and US inspirations - with the
freshest, exceptional style that percolates throughout the album, strongly informing its biggest dancefloor highlights such as the warped trancehall bumps of ‘Salvation’ and the crooked crankshaft of ‘Kaleidoscope’, along with the the brittle boned shimmy of ‘Rush’ and the hard but elegant drive of ’Silhouette.’
But they’re only half the story, which really comes together with contrasts in the fizzy downstroke of ‘Kind of Blue’, on the Black Zone Myth Chant-like psychedelic daze and blunted vocals in
‘Consolatio’, and the album’s standout ‘Danke’, which revolves around Jo Pryde’s gentle utterance of the title weft into ominous ambient clag, connoting a sort of humility that knowingly becomes
both less and more meaningful with each reiteration
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
While during the 1990s - higher, faster, further! - the straight bass drum has been shooted around the globe, there arose a number of variations of more or less contemplative slow- and sacred music from all kinds of corners at the same time. In a sense, it’s the other side of the medal: Chillout, Lounge, Easy Listening, Trance, Muzak and elevator music, electronic music and intelligent techno… and of course and in particular: Ambient. In classical and new variations.
Beside the constant pushing forward of the so called „Sound Of Cologne“- Minimal Techno in the home of Kompakt, there was also a strong faible for ambient sounds. Not only because of the labels origin and its operator’s preference for the pop music of the 70s and 80s, there was evolving a variety of ambient music, that added the aspect of pop to the confusing diversity of genres during that time. Not pop in the sense of actual classic pop music: Pop in the sense of subculture, of Pop Art and, first and foremost, in the sense of pop as an attitude. This was how Pop Ambient was launched and the way it established its own authentic music with a high recognition value. Pop Ambient is indulging the beauty and the timelessness. Pop Ambient is a sonic cosmos of attitude for itself and has no fears of contact with adjoining genres nor with kitsch, art or carnival. It’s ambient if you do it nevertheless. ^
Während sich im Laufe der 1990er Jahre die gerade Bassdrum immer höher, schneller, weiter einmal um den gesamten Planeten geballert hatte, kamen parallel dazu etliche Spielarten mehr oder weniger kontemplativer Erbauungs- und Verlangsamungsmusik aus allen möglichen Ecken auf. Gewissermaßen die andere Seite der Medaille. Chillout, Lounge, Easy Listening, Trance, Muzak und Fahrstuhlmusik, Elektronika und Intelligent Techno… und natürlich und vor allem Ambient. In altbewährten und neuen Variationen.
Auch im Hause Kompakt gab es neben dem steten Vorantreiben des sogenannten „Sound Of Cologne“ - Minimal Techno ein starkes Faible für ambiente Klänge. Nicht zuletzt aufgrund ihrer popmusikalischen Herkunft und einer besonderen Vorliebe für die Popmusik der 70er und 80er Jahre, kristallisierte sich bei den Kompakt-Machern ab dem Jahr 2000 eine Spielart ambienter Musik heraus, die den vielschichtigen, unübersichtlichen Genres dieser Zeit den Aspekt des Pop hinzu fügte. Nicht Pop im Sinne eigentlicher, klassischer Popmusik. Pop im Sinne von Subkultur, von Pop-Art und vor allem von Pop als Haltung. So wurde „Pop Ambient“ aus der Taufe gehoben und etablierte eine genuine Musik mit hohem Wiedererkennungswert. Pop Ambient frönte hemmungslos dem Schönen und der Zeitlosigkeit. Pop Ambient ist ein Klang- und Haltungskosmos für sich, und hat dabei keinerlei Berührungsängste, weder mit angrenzenden Genres, noch mit Kitsch, Kunst oder Karneval. Ambient ist wenn man’s trotzdem macht.
out of Stock
Last delivered 9 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Ross Ferraro is a seasoned producer from Australia that has been making waves as 1/2th of The Posse, - after a Posse remix on the Pulp side of things, Ross Ferraro now presents his first outing as Rosario on the Saft mothership. "Keep On EP" contains three originals and a remix by Adam Feingold's under his Ex-T moniker.
The title track is a breezy affair that combines crazed synth swirls with oddball disco FX and a tight section of drums which serves as the perfect opening track for this overall outgoing record.
"Ex-T's Phunqy Mix" starts off in a more timid way, but as the name suggests - quickly gets more extrovert and freakish. Vocals and experimental sounding blips and blops take over and cleverly come together in an original fashion.
"Lo" revolves around an tribal sounding chant, chord hits and an array of fx, and quickly becomes - while remaining quite stripped down - the most euphoric track in this collection. The chords sit beautifully with the bouncy drums and evolving arpeggiator that floats on top.
"Follow Me" is a silky smooth work with a soothing vocal and piano sample that work as the main sounds. Rosario is constantly altering the bass sound throughout this cut and creating a modern boogie ambience. The trance inducing synths suggest a relaxing evening atmosphere and cause for "Follow Me" to be the perfect farewell cut.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Sam went into an almost psychotic state when making music. He wasn’t himself. He was immersed in the creativity to such an extent that it was almost like a psychotic trance. Here’s an example. He found all this giant kelp down at Western Port bay and he would bathe himself in it for weeks. He would replenish the water and put salt in the bath, but leave the kelp in there. I used to ask Julie, his partner and wife, “How’s everything going?” and she’d say, “Just go and have a look at the bath.” - Tony Rogers
Sam Mallet could have pursued a career as a French literature professor in Paris, but decided his true calling was to remain in Australia, dedicate himself to his music and find the plateau; a word he used to describe the sensory worlds residing in music. Under the influence of Eno, Jon Hassell, Arvo Pärt, John Coltrane and Robert Fripp, Sam explored a wide variety of musical styles and put them to service soundtracking the time based works of his peers. He crafted spatial ambience, somber jazz, and drum computer driven rockers for short films and experimental video works, television shows (including the original Australian Wilfred series), feature films and live theatre. The avant garde Anthill Theatre, known for its departure from conventional staging practices and having a keen eye for talent, enlisted Mallet to provide soundtracks for approximately 40 productions throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
Sadly, Sam passed away in 2014. A crucial piece of his legacy is undoubtedly the body of work he produced during his life, and the archive of recorded works is vast and deep. Sam seemingly saved everything, from fragments to finished pieces; and often repurposed previously released tracks by collaging them into new pieces. He self released a small number of cassettes and CDs from the mid 1980s onward, the contents of which were culled from soundtrack work and original pieces, but the majority of his music was experienced only within the ephemeral live performances.
Wetlands is the product of countless hours spent with this archive by Rowan Mason (Sanpo Disco/Recurring Dream) and Tony Remple (Musique Plastique), offering a dynamic survey of Sam’s work, and housed in a jacket evoking the minimal design and colour palette of his earliest cassette releases. Two selections of Sam Mallet’s music were featured on the compilation Midday Moon (also produced by Rowan), released last year by Bedroom Suck Records. Along with Left Ear Records’ Antipodean Anomalies, Midday Moon has served to highlight outlier musics and scenes from Australia and New Zealand, and Wetlands plunges deeper into the catalog of this obscure yet groundbreaking artist.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Influential Spanish artist Coyu is stepping out on his own Suara label with a long overdue debut album entitled ‘You Don’t Know’ that is going to shatter all conceptions about him. Due for release this September 23rd, the 16 track affair showcases his broad range and takes in collaborators like Moby, Lazarusman, The Horrorist, Thomas Gandey and many more.
Coyu quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the most prominent names in underground dance music. The Spanish man famous for his love of cats has established his Suara label as a go-to outlet for the most essential house and tech tracks, as well as releasing his own expressive grooves on Cocoon Recordings, Diynamic, Bedrock Records, Turbo Recordings and MORE. Now he really stretches his legs across a fantastic full length album that goes way beyond the dance floor and shows many new sides to his sound. The artist has been working on it since 2012 and aims to show people that whatever they think about him is wrong.
Says the artist himself, “the album is named ‘You Don't Know’ because many people have a preconceived idea of who I am. Until now, maybe I wasn't smart enough to show them my roots, what I love and what I can offer to the music. I'm not just a DJ or a producer who can play or make grooves – I love many different genres and many different kinds of music. With this album I want to change that preconception.”
The album kicks off with a dramatic spoken word from legendary vocalist Lazarusman before exploring low slung and sleazy grooves on ‘The Three Chimney’, floaty light melodic and dreamy house on ‘Out of The Pain’ and more club focussed but just as dreamy fair on ‘We All Try’ with Mike Leary.
Proving he can do everything from poolside gems to peak time techno, ‘Fear Is Gunna Be A Player In Your Life’ is one to get you in a trance with its sonar like synths and rolling deep space drums. Thomas Gandey aka Cagedbaby then steps up to guest on ‘1+1’ which is a hands in the air piano anthem to pump the party, and ‘Wanna Do Right, Wanna Do Wrong’ is a techno cut with brilliantly energetic drum programming and a big, perfectly placed vocal sample.
Switching up the vibe is ‘I May Be Dead, But One Day The World Will Be Beautiful Again’ with none other than dance legend Moby. It is a heavenly track with break beats, angelic melodies and a celestial feel that leaves you refreshed. The second half touches on raved-up drum & bass, gurgling minimal techno and harder techno with mind melting acid synths. The Horrorist contributes to the banging ‘My First Pill’, while the techno journey continues with ‘Unite’ featuring Gabriella Vergilov before the album finishes on the fluttering ambient track ‘Insania’, with mad church bells and manic percussion all bringing things to a close in style.
This is a broad, adventurous album that covers plenty of music ground and takes you on a true electronic trip from one of dance music’s most accomplished names.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The “Under Frustration” project takes stock of the contemporary Arab electronic scene, and highlights its astonishing diversity, by deconstructing Western clichés that are still fantasizing about a culturally homogenous Arab world.
In a context of post-revolutionary disillusion, this ambitious trilogy sets itself as a manifesto of a new, futuristic, underground wave that aims to uplift the Arab voice, once again. With this new release, Arabstazy allows the listener to walk among Shiite, Shaabi or Stambali lands - revealing new mystical sounds, reserved for trance ceremonies and ancestral rituals; all vivid in the eyes of the collective members, musicians, producers, videographers and photographers, nowadays, scattered between the United States, Tunisia, Germany, France, Sweden, Irak, Lebanon and Poland.
Vol2 includes unreleased tracks of Dj Haram, Praed, Hello Psychaleppo, Okydoki and many more.
Curated by Arabstazy, produced by Shouka, published by InFiné.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
James Murphy’s DFA heralds the return of Montreal electronic duo Essaie Pas - who include Marie Davidson, who found success last year with her solo hit single ‘Work It’ - with a brand new single. ‘Earth’ is a deliberately retro-sounding collision of Nineties trance and techno, released with another new track ‘Corps E´tranger’ and a Marco Passarani remix of the title track.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
A1: Madness blasts through the front door, armed with obscure effects and a gnarly acidic bassline. Severe Chicago percussion massacre in the middle, followed by a soothing synth finale. Cum on, you know that’s how Dj RFR does!
A2: Munich mesmerizers Rhode & Brown at their best sonic behaviour. May we call this acid trance wave?
Sure, ‘cos Boys Do Cry.
B1: Born in Romania, raised in London, now Munich’s her home. Oana Leca delivers a fusion of two of her most beloved styles- Minimal House vibes in a blue shimmering Detroit coat.
B2: No-holds-barred for Nik Wookward. The long time Munich affiliated producer drops a sneaky brain intruder. Minimal Deep House with a psychedelic twist, just what we like. So please don’t latch the club gate before…forever.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Sarah Benabdallah and Alexis Lebon are a very 21st century musical coupling, absorbing their metropolitan surroundings while tapping into a rich cultural heritage, not unlike fellow countrymen PNL or the Dutch band Altin Gün. A Paris-based duo set for greatness they might be, but it’s fair to say Mauvais Oeil are operating under a misnomer: while their name means “evil eye” in French, you’ll only experience enlightenment when you lay eyes (and ears) upon them. Mauvais Oeil are set to release their debut EP Nuits de velours, a magical melting pot of musical shibboleths and contemporary grooves. On opener “Mes nuits de velours”, we’re transported in the land of 1001 Arabian Nights, with the music every bit as smooth and alluring as the subject matter. “Afrita” is a trance-inflected musical acclamation evoking all
the madness and gayety of a midsummer souk. Sung entirely in Arabic with delightful blasts of strings, it’s a North African-influenced banger with a delicate wistfulness. “Asha” meanwhile is in a reference to Asha Vahishta, the middle-eastern concept of truth
according to the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. Sung again in Arabic, it features catchy Phrygian guitar manoeuvres played over ambient analogue keyboard strokes. The E.P. is completed by “Constantine”, a song of longing, dedicated to the home of Sarah’s forebears. Having met in the arty northern faubourgs of Paris, Sarah and Alexis soon developed a musical telepathy and a shared sonic agenda, mining their own histories for the profound
cultural roots that underscore Mauvais Oeil, while absorbing the ubiquitous sounds of the suburbs, where Turkish, Armenian and Ethiopian music ring out. The band’s moving and melancholic chansons are delivered with a delightful French pop sensibility, making Mauvais Oeil one of the most exciting and musically diverse prospects in 2019.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Slam City Jams is back with its sixth release and welcomes a new face to the label: the
mysterious producer, Westcoast Goddess, with his „Soul Out Of Time” EP.
After releases on Shanti Celeste’s Peach Discs (under his Videopath moniker) and Canada
based Heart To Heart Records, this guy caught our attention with his amazing analog take
on house music.
Written and produced between 2002 and 2018, this record contains everything house music
heads could wish for:
Sweet chords and strings, topped with heavy 909s, plus a cheeky little vocal shot on
„Satisfaction & Clarity”. Title track „Soul Out Of Time” sounds like a late night drive with the
top down. Meaning - shiny bells, swinging 80s drums, a funked up bass line and Balearic
breaks. The B-side kicks things off with “Open Heart”. A sample-based house tune, heavy on
the low end and super sweet on the tops, with Rhode pianos and catchy guitar licks. The EP
comes to an end with „In Search Of Darryl P”: A perfect track for the late hours, when those
trancey synths and euphoric strings go on and on... till the first rays of dawn!
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Dance floor ready remixes of selected tracks from Kornél Kovács' Stockholm Marathon album.
Robert Dietz sending Rocks on a trance trip, D. Tiffany getting all deep & bubbbly with Purple
Skies. Paradise Alley perform their sing-along cover version of Marathon, Butch butchers Baltzar
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Zodiac, a new collaboration between Brendon Moeller and Monty Luke, present a heady brew of sci-fi dub and deep rhythms on a full-length album, ‘Serengeti By Night’.
With meditative roots music at the very heart of ‘Serengeti’, experimental ideas are excavated over ten tracks. Vivid atmospheres are conjured up, as tribal trance, voodoo dub and otherworldly electronics are deployed over rock steady rhythms.
With influences that lie in the musical endeavours of African Headcharge to Rhythm & Sound, Public Image Limited to Cybotron, Zodiac keep the flame burning for exploratory dub-leanings, and deliver an album from the space station above that administers sophisticated braindance sounds that will command repeat listens...
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Occasionally prodigal, but ever-prodigious, Elliot Thomas AKA Etbonz weaves an 80-s/early 90's sci-fi cinema sound into a total recall of scattered memories.
Childhood play with starcom and Gobots. Soaking in cult classics like Robocop, Predator, and Big Trouble in Little China on VHS. DJing in spacey laser-lit rooms draped with sound-dampening curtains.
Side A leads with 'Blue Drink,' which is carried perfectly on melodic motifs designed for trance inducing, with a steadily crescendoing & irresistible rhythmic mantra.
Following this, 'Curtainbox Space World' flips the 'Jerry Garcia finds a 303' switch and accidentally opens a portal to some deep shamanic release.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Inner atmos and next time – rain into rivers, rivers to rain.
Sequence is subjective, irrelevant – it’s where we stand. Out of order, we dissolve and reform, coming together to come undone. There is no first, no now, no next – just precision points in the wide deep sky.
Another bang, another – it’s the reading which is important. Repeating in parallel, the natural loop is healing; repair, resonance, return. We live in a fragment; soft light and clouds drift like dreams into memory, showing movement in the mirror.
“Here the performer becomes free like the playful clouds high above the world of pain, suffering, happiness, ecstasy, disappointment, greed and ambition of human life”
In this present, we are touched to have unreleased business from Memphis. In unlocking the stoic DAT tapes we open a direct channel from 1993 to this now; three tracks which are meditative, essential rhythm with direct, organic charge. It’s Dream Night Dance Music and Osram 509, with RHK, En-Trance, and Microgravity.
More poetry in remembering our first release was also Memphis. Big complex loops and inner paths. Who’s been here before? All of us, one of us, none of us.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Moon Boots a.k.a Pete Dougherty returns with his second studio album ‘Bimini Road’ on September 6 via Anjunadeep. An ambitious and evocative follow-up to his acclaimed debut First Landing, Bimini Road combines delectable club-ready grooves with soulful songcraft into a seamlessly organic whole. Inspired by notions of mysterious lost civilizations, ancient magic utopias and the sci-fi landscapes of the mind, ‘Bimini Road’ is a joyously celebratory listen that builds off the ‘deep textures and funky melodies’ (Mixmag) of his album 'First Landing', a disco house masterpiece supported by KCRW, Annie Mac and others. Featuring familiar faces KONA, Black Gatsby and Nic Hanson among the featured vocal talent, ‘Bimini Road’ also includes new collaborators like rising US talent Niia, Kaleena Zanders and notable British sing-songwriter Little Boots. OutJuly 9, ‘Tied Up’ is the first single off the album, a sexy slice of deep house pop sure to ignite dancefloors and bedrooms alike. Moon Bootsembarks on his Live Bimini Road Tour this Fall, with dates across North America and Europe. Born in Brooklyn, Moon Boots’ musical obsession started not long after he could walk. His early love of piano lead to a passion for keyboards and synthesizers. Teenage nights lost in the work of Daft Punk, ATribe Called Quest and Herbie Hancock followed. Inspired by legends like Frankie Knuckles and Derrick Carter, he moved to the house music epicenter of Chicago, where he tirelessly passed out demos to local DJs and scoured the web for like-minded people with whom he could share and expand on his sound. Heplayed in a synth-pop trio whose demo caught the attention of Lupe Fiasco, and after a stint touring alongside the hip-hop icon, Dougherty went back to DJing with a renewed focus. The stars aligned when he had a chance encounter withPerseus, founder of an adventurous label, French Express. A fellow junkie and fan of French House and R&B-infused dance music, Perseus became a friend and mentor, the Splinter to Boots' Donatello. The label eventually disbanded but Boots has stayed true to his mission of making dance tracks that can’t be confined to one style. Pete blends the music he loves --jazz, house, funk and soul -- into songs that last longer than their runtime. Songs not just for DJs, but for everyone.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Juan MacLean and Man Power debut as Juan Power for Life and Death
Life and Death continue to serve up brilliantly unpredictable releases with a new one that brings together American DFA stalwart Juan MacLean with the UK’s Me Me Me label head Man Power, plus an edit from the boss, DJ Tennis.
Juan MacLean is a multi-faceted artist who has a history of everything from playing in post hardcore bands to producing some of DFA’s most celebrated releases. He does classy house bangers with synth pop and disco layers like no one else. Man Power, meanwhile, is someone who is fantastically eclectic in what he does on all fronts as a DJ, label boss and producer. He’s made corrugated acid, hands in the air house and machine disco and plenty in between on his own label, but also cult outlets like Correspondent and ESP Institute. The coming together of these two undoubted studio wizards, then, is a fascinating prospect.
And so it proves right from the off: opener ‘Crescendo’ is a nine minute masterpiece with rickety house drums making you move while the shuffling percussion builds the pressure. Gorgeously warm chords eventually join the fray and have a blissful effect that sets you off dreaming and keeps you in a trance until the end.
DJ Tennis himself then steps up with an edit of ‘Excuse Me Daddy’ that is deep and cavernous. Next to the suspensory pads is an intricate synth line that takes you in on yourself in perfectly melancholic ways.
Closer ‘Praise The Toad’ then picks up the pace with more live sounding drums and a sparkling lead synth that rises and falls to cosmic effect. Drawn out over the full length of the track, and in amongst some chattery claps and smart effects, it makes for a journey to the stars that will cast a real spell on all who hear it.
This is an innovative collaboration between two masters of their craft.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
TV Victor was one of the first artists of Tresor Records where he became legendary with several of his ambient and trance productions including Trance Garden 1-3 and Trancecology Chapter 1. In 1989, he launched his first solo project: Moondance - The Magic Sound of the Moon, where he lay foundations for later explorations with experimental sounds fused with pop elements and anticipated an ambient excursion to be had in the future.
In the following decades TV Victor created impressive solo works that traversed between ambient and trance, he collaborated with artists like Moritz v. Oswald, Max Loderbauer, Ari Benjamin Meyers, Paul Browse and Tobias Freud. Contrary to common mainstream tendencies he created a very unique interpretation of both genres. In recent years Victor has concentrated on creating experimental and abstract sonic spaces for escaping reality, spaces that live through the imagination of the listener. Each piece, a segment of a larger musical movement; stands alone to create new sonic continuums. Otherworldy music that is in its own sphere.
30 years after the release of Moondance and 50 years after the first landing, Lullabies For Insomniacs revisit TV Victor's musical roots with 'Back To The Moon'. The previously unreleased works were carefully selected from his vaults and restored by Berlin based engineer Brett Olke (B Ashra), the album offers a glimpse into the future by creating a soundtrack for mankind's settlement of beyond in a conceivable hereafter.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
In the early eighties, Edmond Mondésir, professor of philosophy and Léon Bertide, trade unionist, founded the Bèlènou group. They were actors of the great agricultural strike of 1974, which resulted in the death of two workers (Ilmany and Marie-Louise) and left many wounded. Activists of the patriotic movement Asé Pléré An Nou Lité (Stop crying, Fight), they were part of the identity and the cultural affirmation la revendication identitaire et culturelle of the time. Like the Guadeloupean musician Gérard Lockel and his work on the Gwo Ka, they put the Bèlè, in its traditional form, back in the spotlight during Swaré Bèlè (Bèlè nights).Minimalist and spiritual, a true rural ancestral art from Martinique, the Bèlè combines dance and music from responsorial monodies, which is a choir that responds to the lead singer (Respondè / La vwa dèyè), on codified drum rhythms and ti-bwa (2 sticks that hit the back of the drum or a piece of bamboo). It comes in a series of collective choreographies, working up into the trance. The texts are simple, short and tell the story of everyday life and struggle. While preserving the emotion and the drum’s central place, the fundamental contribution of Bèlènou is to keep the traditional form of Bèlè while adding a modern instrumentation: bass, guitar, saxophone, drums...
Emosyon Tambou-a (Emotion of the Drum) was released in 1990. This third opus of the band expands the musical spectrum in harmonies, arrangements and influences to create a contemporary music anchored in the Bèlè matrix, while keeping the beat, the energy and ancestral roots of music. Bèlènou adapts some classic rhythms: Bélya, Gran Bèlè, Bèlè Pitjé or Ting-Bang rewritten here for an orchestra.With the appearance of long couplets and a complex harmonization of the choruses, Bèlènou's music brings a form of modernity, it opens notably to jazz territory as well as to other forms of music and grooves. Also, Bèlènou leaves the musicians with space for improvisation: not only on the saxophone or the guitar, but also with the drums (cleverly adaptating traditional rhythms to the drums).
The texts sung in Creole are of a social nature, appealing to the solidarity and self-denial of the people (Bélya pou péyi-a, Tout pèp-la sanblé), to the struggle for political emancipation towards a new democracy (Wi ny ké rivé, Ni dé jou, Démokrasi); land protection (Sové tè-a); finally, to the vitality of the Bèlè culture ... (Emosyon Tambou-a, Dansé Ting-Bang)...Culture participates, according to the expression of Aimé Césaire, as "Miraculous Weapons". Bèlènou sings a project of a new and united society. A precursor group, experimental in the its early years, Bèlènou reconciles with talent tradition, modernity and cultural identity.
'There's a lot of serendipity involved in wrestling grooves out of these awkward machines', says Richards about the process behind the record. 'A large part of the composition is making the machines and the patches. They define the limitations of the pieces coming together. Then the performances are happy accidents - found using intuition and practice.'
Made up of two studio sessions and one live recording, PINK NOTHING reflects the unusual space Richards inhabits musically. It's partly informed by his background as a PhD student at Goldsmiths, where he re-imagined and built the Mini Oramics machine – a 'drawn sound' instrument first conceived by electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram, and finally realised by Richards in 2016.
But Richards is also an autodidact beat-maker, and much of the structures and sounds on PINK NOTHING derive from dance music, while his influences also include ritual trance, Ghanaian drum choir music, and the cellular rhythms of Steve Reich. 'It's polyrhythmic abstract electronica' – and he emphasises – 'listening music'.credits
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Colombian Techno powerhouse Gotshell unleashes a barrage of his signature, twisted, bone-shaking, analogue techno bombs for 'The Draft EP' on Suara with remixes from label head Coyu and Argentinian producer Flug.
Firstly, the A side houses ‘Pears Cosmic’, a swell of glitches, thunderous kicks and rave stabs at a fever pitch pace and secondly '19 Caracteres’ a sci-fi blitz, comprised of killer drum programming, modular bleeps, zaps and urgent surges.
Flip it over to find Coyu’s reinterpretation of ‘The Draft’, reworking the drums, adding rapid-fire claps into the mix and leaving the trance stabs out for a more heads down approach. Finally, Flug takes on ’19 Caracteres’ focusing his remix around an atmospheric echoing synth line, punctuated and interspersed by the original’s glitchy sounds.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
As spring dawns, Rhythm Section International go from Local Artist to a pair of very 'local' artists - Peckham's very own Chris Watson + Chris Coupe; otherwise known as FYI CHRIS , who present the 'Back In The Millennium' EP as the labels 5th offering.The EP was born after a rather hazy late night listening session at Rhythm Section HQ, where bossman Bradley Zero was instantly beguiled by the Duo's hypnotic and rhythmically complex arrangements.The record begins abrasively with the trance-inducing mechanical stutter of 'back in the millennium', before shuffling into downbeat number 'Jeru' and then picks things up with the peak time groove of 'need i say more' before bringing us back down to earth with the melancholic acid bump of 'dedication'. Early support from Osunlade, MR.G, Ryan Elliott & Damiano Von Eckhert
Ready for Club Use..
Yeketelale is the third album from Franco-Ethiopian group uKanDanz, combining a heady brew of rock energy, saxophone zigzags and Ethiopian melodies, all fronted by veteran singer Asnake Gebreyes grooving harder than ever.
In Ethiopia, sons follow fathers and, together, their names tell a story. Some discographies are the same way. After Yechelal (''It's Possible''), Awo (''Yes!''),here's Yeketelale (''It Continues''), the third album from Ukandanz.
The adventure that links Damien Cluzel (guitars) and Lionel Martin (tenor sax), the two founders of the group, with the Ethiopian singer Asnake Guebreyes continues and, with this album, takes on new colors and a new dimension. It is a polished synthesis that keeps the rock energy of their first recordings and gives even more space to the subtle vocal ornamentations that mark great Ethiopian singers. Add to that a groove that is more danceable than ever, carried by Adrien Spirti's synth bass and Yann Lemeunier's drums, and you have the magic formula of Yeketelale.
This came about slowly over the course of a dialogue that began in the early 2000s when Damien Cluzel, arriving with a circus in Ethiopia, met up with the occupant of the next room in their hotel. A stroke of luck: this was Francis Falceto, high priest of the Ethiopiques collection (Buda, 30 volumes to date) which had introduced to the West the treasures of swinging Addis, the capital that vibrates to the sound of big brass orchestras. With him, he dives into the capital's nightlife and meets a galaxy of musicians. The singer Asnake Guebreyes is among them.
Recruited by the famous Police Orchestra at the tender age of 16, he already had all the power, energy and class of his role model, Tlahoun Guessessé ''the Ethiopian James Brown''. He began his solo career at the beginning of the 1990s with several major successes, most famously an explosive duo with the singer Fekker Addis.
This experience made a big impact on the French guitarist. Having learned how to blend in with a uniquely Ethiopian groove, he was now ready to take it to other places and in other directions. In his old friend Lionel Martin, he found an ideal partner to engage in such experiences. But they needed a singer. The idea of Asnake Guebreyes was mentioned. Then Francis Falceto called and suggested going to see him at the Addis Music Festival. Ukandanz, a rock version of Ethiopian groove, was born.
Some pieces, like the disturbing Yene Hassab, call to mind Herbie Hancock's experiments in the seventies, as well as the Juju guitars of the Gulf of Guinea. Others, like the dark Fetsum Deng Ledj Nesh, allow Asnake's voice to soar above the synthetic waves, like a siren song for a freighter in distress. Dance and trance are not left out, with inspiration from the inexhaustible Ethiopian traditional repertoire. In a nod towards Asnaké's first album (Ahadu, also reissued by Buda) Ukandanz returns to its track Ajiré, transfigured by the guitar, claps and synthetic bass and takes us back to the glory days of breakdancing. Listening to the two versions gives the key to understanding the unique touch of Ukandanz and of the rich musical colours of Yeketelale (''It Goes On''), a fusion musical journey that brings the electric spark of the Frendj (Westerners) to Ethiopian lyricism.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Shimza, one of South-Africa’s shining talents, makes his return to Cadenza with ‘Eminence’, a burning compound of profound percussions and late-night rapturing synths. This Gauteng-born artist is one of the most celebrated African electronic musicians and has garnered the reputation of the “Effect Master” and “Vinyl Assassin” for his technical prowess and intricate mixing abilities. The vibrating drums and persistent arpeggios of ‘Eminence’ make for a captivating peak-time anthem, offering the nostalgic essence of Detroit’s late-nineties splendour. As the EP journeys to ‘Dancefloor Keeper’, the slick trance-inspired stabs and permeating bassline expose its ominous nature as it swells to a seismic drop. On the B-side, Shimza expresses his creative flare with ‘Kunye’; a hypnotic cut that blends the spirit of futuristic synthwave with the soul of African tribalism. ‘Warrant For Arrest’ is a charged number, driven by a snappy compressed kick drum and chiming sequences. As its percussive forces fall away to the second break, a monstrous siren and obscure vocal cuts take focus, guiding it to its summit. The penultimate offering ‘MSC’, is a euphoric gem that flows with expressive phrases and evolving synth pads. The EP’s digital-only bonus track ‘Mirrors’ shuffles effortlessly with a funk-tinged riff, maintaining a high voltage pace, closing the EP in an emphatic manner. Shimza has been on a mission to make 2019 his biggest year to date. Launching his One Man Show concept in Soweto in 2009 to help raise funds for underprivileged children, the project has now matured into an annual event that draws in over 25,000 people each year, hosting some of the country’s most in-demand artists, such as AKA, Black Coffee and Black Motion. The show has seen international editions in France, Spain and Portugal and has helped position Shimza as one o
out of Stock
Last delivered 18 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Having discovered electronic music at the end of the 90’s, Thomass grew up going to raves where trance was one of the main styles played at this massive partys. The influence it had on him was planted deeply into his DNA and this EP is the interpretation he has these days of the genre. He moved on to different pastures soon after but the style was already in him. Thomass now takes the old fashioned elements he still likes and takes them to new directions. Fueled by gated chords, dreamy arpeggios, trippy vocals and percussions this tracks are destined to take you back into the past and bring you right back to the present. Forget what you learned. Trance not trance.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
he second instalment of Nachtbraker's new label features four new original tunes from the Nachtbraker kitchen. Expect his signature deep grooves and inventive arrangements with moody synth melodies. Leonardo Ceviche is built for the dance floor, a "lean back" groove with a trance vibe to it. One (For Mom) is tailored for the warm summer nights, a steady baseline and snap-py snares supporting the lush and sweet synth melody. Flip the record for two versions of Havel. With the first one taking on a classic deep house guise, the Trip Mix of Havel takes us on a journey beyond your imagination.
Mastered and lacquer cut by Simon (The Exchange) Davey.
out of Stock
Last delivered 3 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Detailed, smart, commanding, groovy. These are just a few words to describe the Assorted Pieces 2 compilation. This strictly in-house production by Friendship & Decadence contains tracks from such producers as Kade, Mirage Man, Poly Sone and Waltteri. Which is a intriguing mixture indeed.
Poly Sone’s “Home killing is taping music” is a rugged and fast paced take on nordic techno. As the track was recorded on a four track cassette recorder the saturation on this cut is immense, yet pleasant. Definitely not your everyday cheapo lo-fi tune.
Deep, quirky and playful bottom heavy roller, “Calm” by Waltteri has a hint of spanish roast in its blend. Waltteri’s debut on the imprint can be perfectly paired with a fun loving crowd during midnight or even around early mornings. Psychedelic multipurpose tool.
Kade’s raw and unconventional track “Sanko” is a treat for the adventurous mind. Haunting arpeggios and vocal chops will give you the creeps, while the unrefined saturated rhythms will sooth you into a trance. Eccentric and hypnotic dance music.
“This track never starts” by Mirage Man lives by its name as it is a slowly unraveling and cinematic number. Regardless of its thick lower end, in the club environment this track might send the restless to acquire a beverage from the bar, but for the grounded minds who enjoy ambient this just might be the ticket. Play it yourself and see what happens.
Limited press of 150 pcs. 12” record includes a download code.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
“Acid Sensible EP” released by Johnkôôl Records is a compilation of tracks composed by french producer Botine (already seen on Acid Avengers Records) along those formative years. It is truly the fruit of back-and-forths between the stage and studio environment from 2013 to 2016.
The term Acid Sensible first appeared in Clément’s graphic work as he developed his musical adventures. It’s a tale in which pets, organized in a micro-society produce music that will free them from humans and their alienating lifestyle. Acid Sensible is how they name that musical genre they created and that Botine appropriated himself. Built on a complex mix of influences, Acid Sensible is a careful and melodious pop balance between new-beat rhythms and meditative sounds sourced from IDM, Braindance, Psychedelic Rock and Krautrock.
Most of the tracks on the EP were composed on analog devices. The recording was done in one take only, thus preserving its powerful esthetic sourced from the live environment.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Rotciv is the Brasilian born, Berlin based man behind Mister Mistery records. This prolific producer has been out there for quite a long time and you might remember "The Rimshooters", the long lasting collaboration with Massimiliano Pagliara himself. Now it is time for Rotciv to offer a piece of his synthesisers' craftsmanship to Funnuvojoere Records. This five tracker EP expresses Rotciv's skills with harmony and music progression. A1 AWAKENING starts off with a piano house arpeggio and slowly evolves into a trance acid-tinged explosive motive. Organic feeling drums develop giving it a disco touch that will put a smile on the crowded dance floor. A2 GOOD SPELL combines a pure cosmic style with a New Beat-like dissonance and uplifting vocals. B1 KNOW THE UNKNOWN keeps the experimentation levels high with distortions and an 8bit dialogue that drifts into a progressive-kind of sound. Deeper than the rest B2 puts on stage a dark landscape that reminds of a black and white vampire movie. B3 INTERMISSION follows up and gives the final ambient touch to this delightful EP.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Juan Ramos and Trent AKA Greenvision are back for pENE d'Amore part 2, a collaborative release between Berlin's Cocktail d'Amore Music and Ene Tokyo. This precious 12" follows Rambutan, the duo's offering to Los Angeles' ESP Institute. The cover is made by visual artist Giulia Munari and reminds of the melting pattern of a Murano glass, referencing indeed the abundance the listener is soon to discover putting the needle on this record. A multitude of acid lines tinged with a touch of trance and a carefree melody roll over an almost off-beat groove in Mountain of Madness, taking over A side. On the flip, the didgeridoo-based Rolling2joints takes the listener exploring a mystical forest on a distant planet. Again disorienting, psychedelic and explosive, Greenvsion's productions sound like riddles to be solved, puzzles to be composed. Their unique sonic layering philosophy results in an almost unclassifiable music genre ready to please the thirstier dance-floors.
Worst records is proud to present the third release of its growing catalogue. Unlike his
alias could evoke, Christian Coiffure is not so much specialized in online hairdressing
tutorials but has a fierce passion into brushing serious quality tracks. « Un Nouvel Âge
Réminiscent » hits hard with its progression into sharp and colorful forms, never bound to
redundancy. From slow EBMish , industrial tainted marching anthems of « A New New
Hope » and « Slowly Merging Into One » to synth-infused acid railroads built for futuristic
Trance Europe Express trains in « Révolutions Synchrones » and « La Dernière Volonté
des Atlantes », everything functions as a toolkit for imagination. Add to this a breaky
andrefreshing post-dubstep turn on « Biosphere is Reborn » alongside a delicious
headshot surprise on digital bonus with « Pouvoir Lacrymal Renforcé », and you will
never see the word « coiffure » the same way again.
out of Stock
Last delivered 5 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Berlin based trio Keller Crackers collective likes to shape haunting esoteric sounds, in which self-built instruments dance with ritualistic synthesised rhythms, field recordings, psychoacoustic drones and poetical spoken silhouettes.
After a self-released MC and a mesmerising tune called “Anem” out in February 2019 on the custom-made Kashual Plastik 007 double-vinyl compilation, now they give birth to their own debut record “KC”, a four track EP resulting from various improvisational studio sessions, a bag full of spontaneous visionary DIY sound fashion that melts meandering serialism, foggy ‘Chris & Cosey’-ness, exoticism and freely expressed emotions. Some pieces are given time to evolve, being dragged through long arrangements and slow transitions, while others are playful and short. To close up the magic circle, the release includes a tripping Tolouse Low Trax signature remix.
The opening tune “Specialised” swings on a trance-like hypnotic bass line, while a self-made kalimba played through a tape delay and overtones from a DIY circuit bended device inject dynamics and colour to the composition. Out of the sonic depth, the spoken words of Sylvana Wickman emerge enchanting and unreal, naming a series of technical terms, assembling a deep notion on the specialised society we live in.
“Cow Tongue” follows, a fleeting composition of crackling electronic clicks jumping off a micro-modular device. They got overdubbed again by Sylvana’s voice, delightfully reciting phrases from a recipe of regional delicacies.
The A side of KC`s first strike finishes with a spaced-out synth bass and the lo-fi beats of a Yamaha RX15 drum machine. They are the gripping foundation of “Aithouses Anamonis“, which means “Waiting Rooms”. It describes the scene of a man sitting in a waiting room observing the consumerist behaviour by the folks around him.
The B-side opens with a Tolouse Low Trax remix of “Specialised”, elevating the original with the bass line of “Aithouses Anamonis“, while melting the all into a dark nebulous Tolouse Low Trax signature stripped down funk for endless nights in neon lights.
For their final track “Colours”, Keller Crackers invited a steady free member of their live shows to record with them: free jazz musician Robert Würz. He tuned his flute enthralling over a suspenseful bass line formed in a whirlwind of synth-sounds. The whole frenzy gets divine through sliding chords that rise from a self-built guitar.
A musical bouquet for open spirits, that value charming minimal wave zones, undefinable post-industrial psychedelics and hallucinogenic poetry reflections on the current state of our mechanical times.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
With such a raft of quality music coming across the Summer from NuNorthern Soul, we thought we would put together an EP of some of the tracks featuring across the upcoming months...
We have taken our favourite tracks from various digital releases and present them on one vinyl 12" EP On the A side we take Nick J Smith's 'Waves Take Hold' from the Waves Take Control EP'
'Waves Take Hold', is a kaleidoscopic, life-affirming exercise in late 1980's style Italian Dream House, that's so warm and rush-inducing that it's likely to get the hairs on the back of your neck standing to attention.
Full of ricocheting drum machine hits, sun-bright lead lines, elongated chords and rich bass, it sounds like it was tailor-made to soundtrack sunrise in Rimini...
Bonnie & Klein 'Ocean Leap' taken from the Ocean Leap EP
There's a deeper and dreamier feel to the 'Ocean Leap' track, whose bubbly melodic motifs and synthesizer panpipe flourishes offer subtle nods towards 1980's Greek new age electronic composers such as Vangelis Katsoulis amd Dimitris Petsatakis.
Bonnie & Klein's synthesizer-heavy melodiousness comes accompanied by dub disco strength bass and undulating, off-kilter drums, but retains the rush-inducing bliss associated with the pioneering work of their Greek predecessors.
AA is given up to the 10 minute + track from Mirage: 'Endless Ocean' taken from their Reflections of the Sun EP.
'Endless Ocean' is a slowly building masterpiece. After a hushed, atmospheric opening, the track bubbles away on waves of hazy bongo beats, lapping water sounds and seductive chords before rushing skywards in a swarming swirl of trance-style synthesizer lead lines, echoing electronics and picturesque piano motifs.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
A beautiful simplicity, a foundational allegiance to the House blueprint, but rendered in a sonic spectrum that's entirely futuristic.
These hypnotic workouts suggest an efficiency of intent that's impossible to resist at high or low volume.
This is trance dance baby, but without the tie-dye
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
As a winemaker hailing from the Palatinate, Florian Hollerith understands a thing or two about vintage. It's something that also comes through when you sample his music - rich, full bodied with just the right level of acidity. 2018 was already a good year with Ohrenzirkus featuring on both Sven Väth's Sound of the 19th Season mix CD as well as this year's Dots and Pearls vol. 5 compilation. Florian certainly announced his arrival on the scene in style, so it's only fair that he gets the chance to demonstrate his full range of skills on his very own Cocoon Recordings release. 2019 however, has a darker, more complex flavour...
Florian certainly knows a hookline when he finds one. On the EP's title track Perlas, he's working from the inside out with complex layers creating a vortex of sound. This dense sonic mesh is playful yet dangerous, with ethereal voices and jagged chants adding to the disorientation of the opening exchanges until the congas and skipping bassline give us something to hold onto. The dance floor melts under our feet as a raw, tripped out groove takes hold before the bass suddenly morphs into a brassy acid line that spreads its wings and soars. It's music for the headstrong, a celebration of the timeless tribal ceremonies that have come to define us.
Love Summer adds a contemporary twist to the melodic joys that drenched the early nineties in pure ecstasy. The soulful vocals soothe the mind as horn stabs punctuate the sensual groove, generating power and passion in equal measures. It's a straightforward approach, revolving around a familiar yet eminently seductive riff that just keeps on rolling, propelled forward by the force of its own momentum. There's no need to fuss when you hit on a winning formula like this.
More retro futurism abounds on Electro Indianer as arpeggiated bleeps usher in another vast, sprawling soundscape designed to induce a collective trance on the dance floor. Whistling, circular effects wash back and forth increasing the tension notch by notch as we're led deeper into the wormhole. Finally, the track deconstructs slightly, creating enough space for classic Casio-style bleeps and percussion to embellish a beautiful blissed out ending that trails off into the sun rise, as ancient Native American pipes pick out a haunting melody in the distance.
out of Stock
Last delivered 3 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Collocutor to release new single ‘The Angry One’, announce gigs at Jazz Cafe and We Out Here Festival
Tamar Collocutor is back with her Collocutor ensemble for On the Corner’s first 7”
’T.A.O’ is a rage, a visceral expression of what gathers within, and the counter-reaction to our times. Verve, distorted psych guitar in combat with a flaming, rolling, discordant, flowing barrage of horns. This single is the anomaly from Collocutor’s forthcoming third album. Rooted in personal loss, it is a scream of bewilderment that builds to encompass the social, political and environmental crisis of our times.
The flip sees Tamar and Magnus P.I. (ex-Collocutor) sparring in an in-the-moment sonic Rumble in the Jungle. Lunging off of T.A.O’s bass line, Tamar tares hard up-river to follow the calling of ancestral drums into a cacophonous parade. Trance inducing rhythm and screams. Across winds of wood and brass Tamar’s voice weaves a rich vein of quality throughout the resurgent UK jazz/instrumental music scene.
The forthcoming LP (autumn 2019) is Tamar’s most personal yet, a reflection about grief. Artistic vision stewed in an emotive concoction. Loss, life changes and ‘Continuation’ paralleled at the macro level with unimaginable political malaise.
The record is an attempt to give voice to the (sometimes surprising) emotional states of being experienced, coloured further by the discordant machinations of our times.
From the inner microcosm of self to the (macro) overarching societal crisis Tamar has fulfilled her vision ‘of writing music that wants to be written’ with her ensembles third LP.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Following the release of their short film 'The Awakening' and its accompanying single, Lost Souls Of Saturn share the first remix in 9 years by revered musician James Holden. Over thirteen minutes of crisp, stratospheric elegance, Holden’s rework is both slightly mad and simultaneously blissful – like a trance-state reached through frenzied, spiritual ritual.
“I believe in serendipity: if the universe presents you with something that seems right, you should go with it”, says Holden. “When this record hit my desk was one of those moments. Recently I'd been thinking a lot about rave utopias, the pan-global fantasy painted by the early days of Future Sound Of London etc, and listening to LSOS's Jodorowskian ceremonials I felt like they'd caught the same winds. And so, although I thought I'd finished doing remixes for this lifetime, here it is; some kind of dream of a memory of a rave, the spookiness of the original slightly eclipsed by my warm feelings about Seth's good energy!”
The original version of ‘The Awakening’ begins as a serene ambient spacecast, before an ancient alien rite of tribal frenzy starts to emerge through the phosphorescent stardust – sonically somewhere between Demdike Stare and classic Orb, by way of Don Cherry.
Primarily LSOS are Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa, plus further opaque participants congregating to combine music, imagery and storytelling into an inextricably linked whole, all wrapped-up in a philosophy of their own making.
Attempting something creatively that’s above-and-beyond, LSOS explore new ways to open doors of perception and challenge the reality vs. simulation paradigm, whilst capturing the spirit of Philip K. Dick, Sun Ra and the KLF within their music, live experiences and films.
These spiritual, psychoactive aural vibrations resonate for a long distance, all the way back to something deeper and more enchanting than the prosaicism of modern life:
“We have been sent synchronistic signs from a metaphysical plane. We are the glitch-seekers, exposing the Holes In The Holoverse. We are Lost Souls Of Saturn.”
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Faitiche releases a new collaboration between the Japanese sound artist ASUNA and Jan Jelinek: the album Signals Bulletin brings together joint improvisations and compositions made over a period of three years in Berlin, Kyoto and Kanazawa. ASUNA’s meandering organ drones merge with Jelinek’s pulsating synthesizer and field recording loops to create dense superclusters that span broad harmonic arcs.
"Watching the Japanese sound artist ASUNA playing the organ, some people might be surprised. ASUNA is no virtuoso flying over the keyboard in a rage. Instead, with the calm gestures of an office worker, he cuts strips of adhesive tape to the correct length before sticking them onto the keys of his instrument. In this way, large clusters of keys are held down, creating a dense and sustained range of frequencies, while the sound artist continually prepares further sets of keys or removes tape again. I have rarely seen a more convincing performance concept, with such a power to fascinate.
I first met ASUNA when we both gave a concert at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, his home city. He performed the organ drones as described above and I immediately knew I wanted to collaborate with him. Six years and five meetings later, we completed Signals Bulletin. The album includes both joint improvisations and compositions, recorded in Berlin, Kanazawa and Kyoto.
Whether using prepared organ, Casio keyboards or mechanical plastic toys, ASUNA creates rich textures of sound that barely change over long stretches of time. It is a music without breaks. For a while, I was unsure how my loops made using modular synthesizers and live sampling fitted here – until I realized the role I had to take in this duet: I would provide the rhythmically pulsating foundation over which his dense continuums could unfold.
The result is harmonically drifting superclusters that put us into a meditation-like state. It can perhaps be compared to Automatic Writing – a mode of creative expression floating somewhere between concentration and distraction. Both the structure of our pieces and our approach to our instruments allow a similar “absence”: we let the machines play and repeat themselves – while we, in a mild form of trance, adopt the role of observers, intervening only occasionally.
It is no coincidence that ASUNA owns a collection of Doodle Art – drawings jotted down during conversations or while talking on the phone. It is said that works made like this point to the unconscious and reveal pet motifs – because a doodler always inadvertently returns to his or her favourite themes. The artwork for Signals Bulletin features pictures from the collection, in this case sheets of paper from the pads provided in stationery shops to test out pens. The special quality of such doodles is that the jumble of drawings is the work of a collective whose individual members do not know each other. Layer by layer is added, by someone different each time – until it becomes a dense cluster of lines and symbols ..."
Jan Jelinek, Berlin 2018
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Schmer Schmer has been looking for the next Prototype 909 since 1995. While they may never be found, we have instead found a few artists that with the same spirit of adventure have taken electronic music to new frontiers of unimaginable creativity. Primary among them is Lena aka Galcid aka Lenacid.
Lena's electrifying live performances utilizing eurorack modular synths with vintage and modern machines follow three simple 3 rules:
NO PCs, NO Presets, NO Preparation!
She has been called Jeanne d'Arc of modular because her style her appearance and her fearlessness.
For Schmer, Lena has created an EP made for the melting of your mind, if it doesn't first melt your speakers.
Lena uses her electronics in the most effective way possible. The classic acid machines are deployed to establish the themes the modular synths bring in sounds that take these tracks to another level. The eponymous track will hypnotize you into the state of focus necessary to allow you to go deep inside. Then the Acid Police show up! A funky drum machine rocker sure wake you out of your trance. Steel Vein has the intensity to rewire your modular mind. bpmf provides an hard driving aggressive take on Melting to help us turn on the switch.
Legendary DJ and producer Hisashi Saito has been making acid and techno since the early 90s. Using his unique
skills this EP has a rare clarity of sound not often heard on such ambitious recordings. Lenacid “Melting EP” opens up a new frontier for acid, for Schmer and for Lena that you are invited to explore with us this spring.
As Galcid, she has played alongside world renowned artists such as Nina Kraviz, Daniel Miller, Oval, DJ Nobu, Isao Tomita, Takkyu Ishino, Ken Ishii, G-man (LFO) among others. In 2016, she was invited by the Japan Media Art Festival to play at the special exhibition, held at the Eyemyth Media Arts Festival in Mumbai, India. Her 1st album “Hertz" received a worldwide release in digital format on the Detroit Underground label. The release attracted the attention of Karl Hyde (Underworld), Chris Carter (Throbbing Gristle) among other well-known musicians the world over. Shortly thereafter, Galcid played at "Boiler Room Tokyo". In July 2017, she embarked on her first EU tour playing shows in Barcelona, London, and Madrid, after she came back, she participated in Iron Island Festival and Mutek Japan garnering high praise in the media. In December 2017, she was invited to headline Future Mix's 20th Anniversary event and workshop in Shenzhen where she performed and held a talk with techno pioneer Mijk Van Dijk.
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Compilation from British post-punk/Futurist group Ghosts of Dance formed in North Devon in 1981.
The members were Yvette Norris (vocals), Kevin Maynard (drums), Daryl Hunt (bass), Mark Butcher (keyboards), and Pete Heaton (guitar). Ghosts of Dance took their name from the song 'Ghosts' by David Sylvian which appeared on the first Japan album. After playing an early gig in Barnstaple, a gentleman in the audience named Richard Newman expressed his interest to start a record label and release their music. Richard scheduled a recording session for the band at Otter Studios in Georgeham with producer Harry Williamson, son of Henry Williamson, member of progressive rock band Gong. The debut single ‘Ghosts of Dance’ was released in 1982 on Plastic Canvas Records to mixed reviews as it was very different from anything being released at the time.
This compilation includes their debut single along with 9 bonus tracks recorded between 1981 and 1983 on vinyl for the first time. The band call themselves “Vocal Trance Music” on the 7” sleeve credits and it’s accurate. Melancholic pop with gloomy atmosphere and dream-like melodies. The final track shows the band moving in a New Romantic direction with Mark taking over the main vocals. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each copy is housed in a jacket featuring original artwork by John Hurford and includes an insert with photos, lyrics and liner notes by Pete Heaton.
See Through is a new collaboration between Aidan Baker (Nadja), Faith Coloccia (Mamiffer, Mara, Sige Records) and renowned percussionist Jon Mueller.
The project was brought to life through Baker exploring textural rhythms created by sampling small, sharp and abrupt sounds on the electric guitar and then sequencing them in a drum machine to form the bedrock of the tracks. Mueller then added his particular, signature brand of intricate, hypnotic percussion to the mix and the compositions began to grow and take shape. The pair agreed that the pieces needed a more human touch and Coloccia was invited onboard, contributing processed vocals via looping, tape manipulation and microphone feedback.
The result is an other-worldly record that seamlessly flows from beginning to end, immersing the listener in waves of ambient movements and soporific beats. There is a trance-inducing aspect to this work, deserving to be consumed in one sitting and allowed to manifest itself for the duration. The trio have crafted a piece of work that stands up to the quality and integrity of their combined back catalogues and indeed adds something completely new for fans to discover and devour.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Originally released in 1993 by Hani AlBader on his first label Super Doppler Communications. It was primitively programed on 8track sequencer then recorded on a 4 track tape machine in his spare bedroom studio in Denver, Colorado. Only 300 hundred copies were pressed initially. It was not an easy record to sell to distributors at the time due to the various genres & sounds on it. Mailed out few promos to a handpicked list of names. One of them was dj Dubfire whom at the time was starting as Deep Dish. One morning in spring of 93' Hani received a phone call from Ali Shirazinia aka Dubfire who was full of compliments & requested similar tracks for his label.26 years later Hani's name became internationally known & till this day continues to produce & remix under many aliases while running his own label Soterios Records. In 2017 Hani started receiving several purchase requests from seekers of this record. Thanks to Discog they were able to find out who to contact.Jeep Warehouse Beats Vol:1 is now in high demand among techno / rave fans and some deejays are offering up to $110 per copy. Unfortunately it's out of stock. Due to the serge of interest by deejays and collectors, SDc is back! Repressing of this highly sought after piece of vinyl are ready to ship. Hani have also found buried deep in the vault an unreleased Jeep Warehouse Beats Vol:2 plus an extended version of the mainly requested track 1 on B-side called Vector Selector that will be released on future Jeep Warehouse Beats Vol: 1.5 with some help from Synchrophone in France.Here's a quote from the info sheet included in all promo mail-outs back in 1993. 'The Super Doppler Communications laboratory is the brainchild of Hani - technics technician extraordinary Hani takes no shorts on the beats. He deals with compounds and elements from the periodic table of dance. House, techno, trance, garage, and funk groove can be expected to oose from the test tube. SDc has been experimenting with the innovative styles of Burrito revolution, veggie tracks and the erotic magic of Miles Blacklove. SDc is a mile above sea level. All music is the property of the universe. Adults need not be present during lab because they just would not understand these
out of Stock
Last delivered 2 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Long time kept in the pipelines, we are proud to welcome the discreet, although agitated newcomer Legion 808 conveying his debut vinyl release on the label. Composed while stuck in some kind of hallucinated trance, his mind and body cemented behind the four walls of his Parisian apartment, the Frenchman ultimately unleashes a scathing first entry into his discography. Taking the shape of a vicious six track mini-album, long brewed with ruthless humor, oozing fever and nervous breakdowns, 'Tombouctou Crisis' feels as vigorous as a slap in the face. Making up for some of the best industrial bedroom music we've heard as of late, he always manages to find his way back to the surface throughout the many layers of bizarre grooves and caustic humor, zealous snare attacks and strange nursery rhymes. Only to uncover a depressurized atmosphere of sorts; from which a strong smell of burned asphalt never gets off your clothes.
The latest addition to the James Holden archive is an album of solo synth work originally written to accompany the critically-acclaimed documentary 'A Cambodian Spring': fourteen tracks of pulsing melancholy, foreboding drone and even the occasional burst of beatless trance in the form of the uplifting arpeggios of surefire album highlight 'Solidarity Theme'.
Picking up where his classic 2013 album 'The Inheritors' left off (and giving album closer 'Self-Playing Schmaltz' a new cinematic airing) Holden's debut soundtrack project combines the sound palette of his beloved Prophet 600 with a cranky old Hammond organ to showcase the full breadth of his musical tastes across the epic documentary format.
Includes download code and sleeve notes by 'Imaginary Cities' author Darran Anderson.
out of Stock
Last delivered 7 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability