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Circle Vision proudly presents the anticipated debut album of Copenhagen producer and label head RDG aka. Ruben Nielsen.

"Planetary Sound Fiction" marks the Danish label's 10th release with a subbed-out panoramic trip deep into the current state and future of bass music, with sound allies Killa P, Rider Shafique, K Man, Ill Chill, Monti and Yaa Aisin all complementing the hands and ears of the accomplished Danish producer throughout the album.

Drawing on experience from decades of DJing, musical production, sound engineering and intergalactic excursions, RDG has thoroughly matured his undeniable skill of orbiting and perfectly blending the dimensions of jungle, dubstep, techno, DnB, experimental, leftfield and downtempo music into a coherent and captivating sonic journey.

Following more than 25 EP releases over the past 10 years, "Planetary Sound Fiction" is by far RDG's most exhaustive work to date and presents a sound, encompassing anything else released by the Danish producer so far.

‘Visions’ is a new collaborative album from BADBADNOTGOOD co-founders, Matthew Tavares and Leland Whitty. The Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum producers have been performing and writing music together for 10 years. They have achieved international acclaim with BADBADNOTGOOD and Tavares’ recent solo single ’Self-Portrait’ has been championed by tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson and Benji B. ‘Visions’ is the latest upshot of their incredibly fruitful partnership.

Recorded in Toronto, it was produced by Tavares and Whitty - with Tavares also mixing the album and arranging strings. After a three-week writing period it was played in its entirety in one continuous studio session; almost all the tracks on the album are the first take. Tavares is on piano and guitar, Whitty on saxophone and flute. The rhythm section of Julian Anderson-Bowes on bass and Matthew Chalmers on drums completes the players. They make an impressive collective and are performing at the peak of their powers.

Conceptually the album is a canvas for a combination of composition and group free-form improvisation. Tavares and Whitty are the sole composers, but with some tracks collectively improvised, there is also a group dynamic running through the album. The outcome is a sublime melting pot of modern jazz, impressionist classical music and Arthur Verocai-esque arrangements. It is a sound that is hard to date; it is certainly of the now but is also reminiscent of a lost classic. Similar to the process of its creation, the optimal listening experience for ‘Visions’ is in its entirety. As a coherent body of work it draws the listener in with waves of intensity and crescendos that release back into tranquility - there is both darkness and light in the album’s narrative arc. There is also rawness and honesty to the music, which makes it feel like an intensely personal and intimate offering.

Wildflower (Leon Brichard, Tom Skinner, Idris Rahman) continue to explore areas of groove-based improvised jazz on their 2nd album. Taking a slightly freer approach to the writing process, simple but effective melodies and bass motifs are explored to to create fully realised pieces with dynamic extremes that bring a full range of emotion. Recorded over a two day session at Fishmarket Studios in London, the band sounds relaxed and at ease, giving space to explore intricate improvised interplay and dialogue fully whilst at the same time building to fiery powerful climaxes and emotional peaks. Skinner is on fire here whilst Rahman and Brichard trade riffs and push the harmonic and rhythmic boundaries. Rahman’s use of clarinet and bamboo flute plus additional layers of woodwinds, Skinner’s unique approach to stripped-down use of his very personalised kit, and Brichard’s use of both acoustic and electric basses make for a sonic landscape that is both unique and highly approachable. Touching on heavy spiritual vibes whilst taking in dark alternative grooves and delicate folk-like tunes, the overall sound remains instantly accessible



Sax, Flutes and Clarinet: Idris Rahman
Electric and Double Bass: Leon Brichard
Drums: Tom Skinner

Clear Vinyl

Detroit Underground label head Kero returns to his sonic roots with the first of the Detroit Map Series originally featured on the limited DUTT-181 Series functional record player designed by Neubau Berlin. As a kick-start, Kero reveals Highways—a 5-track extended player of (abstract) electronics that is cleverly pulled together with a downbeat flow and tracks aptly sub-titled as major freeway arteries of the Motor City.


"Davison" commutes through glitch bits, bobbles, and broken beats flickering back and forth as it eventually opens midway through the traffic jam and hopscotched potholes with a synthesized melodic stream. Fisher displays its minimized techno flurry and rumbling low-end growl tempered by subtle blips'n bleeps and clinical precision. Southfield busts apart with modular maneuvering and heavy percussion showcasing an opportunity for Kero to cruise in the passing lane as the piece gradually mutates into a crunchy experimental electro epic. Lodge ebbs and flows with The Detroit Escalator Company-styled minimalism felt many miles away from its source. Chrysler expands and contracts with its 7-minute acid-electronic sprawl—here we see Kero carefully downshift to allow an ambient undercurrent to traverse a moonlit sky in the late night hours creating perhaps the finest soundtrack to (minimal) Detroit-inspired techno of yesteryear with a thumping heartbeat. ~PDS

James Ruskin & Mark Broom are back as The Fear Ratio with their third album ‘They Can’t Be Saved’.

180G 2x12"

The duo, who are long-term collaborators have created their own signature style with abstract synths, heavy basslines and experimental soundscapes that fit somewhere in between IDM, electronica and ambient.

Their acclaimed debut album ‘Lightbox’ was initially released in 2011 on Ruskin’s Blueprint Records, featuring remixes from Warp aficionados Plaid and Deadhand. Soon after they formed a long-lasting relationship with cult Manchester based label Skam, with the follow-up album in 2015 ‘Refuge of a Twisted Soul’.

2018 saw a four track ‘Live EP’ release made up of exclusive versions of their Autechre supporting slot at the Great Northern Warehouse in Manchester, Several years and various solo productions later, The Fear Ratio return with an album that solidifies their reputation as experimental producers.

From the ethereal opening bars of ‘Sender’ slowly twisting into a brooding dub breakbeat, to the staccato, bugged out atmospherics of ‘Grey Code’, ghostly electronics of ‘Small World’, tripped out, schizophrenic hip hop haunting bass of ‘Game Plan’ and sun-dappled keys of ‘The Final Vision’ Broom & Ruskin flex their techno muscles ever further beyond the floor.

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.

Luz Azul is a group started by LA-based vocal and performance artist Anna Homler (aka Breadwoman) together with musicians Marcos Fernandes and Robert Montoya in 2007. On this record they compose their own mesmerising cosmic universe where the hypnotic speaking in tongue voice of Anna Homler blends mesmerising together with the sound of her found toys intensified by the shamanistic percussion of Marcos and the pulsating electronics of Montoya.

As fellow percussionists and sound artists, Marcos Fernandes and Robert Montoya's collaborations began in 1983 and ran the gamut from ambient to noise, rock to electronica to improvisation. Both were founding members of Trummerflora, a collective of creative musicians based in San Diego from 1999 to 2009.

All three artists were active in the improvised music scene in Southern California and met at Spring Reverb 2006, an annual festival of experimental music curated by the Trummerflra Collective. At the time, Fernandes was experimenting with processed percussion as well as phonography and samples while Montoyawas exploring improvisational possibilities on the computer.

Fernandes and Homler expressed their mutual interest in collaborating but it was not until the fall of 2007 that they performed a series of concerts together. Pleased with the results, they performed together again in the spring of 2008 with the addition of Montoya. There was chemistry and the trio promptly decided to enter the studio to capture their collective magic. The session yielded the music found on Luz Azul.

Anna Homler - voice, pocket theremin, sample sticks, whistles, assorted dry and squeaky objects, greeting cards, wood devil, tiny metals and motors and potato slicer
Marcos Fernandes - percussion & electronics
Robert Montoya - electronics

Lucindo signs the 6th release on Nexe Records with a 6 tracks EP which includes also a superb Umwelt remix. In this release, the Italo-Brazilian Berlin based artist explores two sides of his exquisite multiface production capabilities range. The first side consists of unconcealed thumpy techno, and the second one, leaning towards high class electro.
“Act_99” is a beat-less intro track to begin with an intense noisy drone which act as prelude of “Act_2000”, a mental, straight and driving tune. “Act_186” is closing the A side, an epic and melancholic broken techno, delicious for advanced dance-floors.
B side continues with a fascinating, melodic, electro track named “AG6”, which is the track remixed by Umwelt who developes his magic and elevates the original to a new highs. The punk “AG4” is the last track of this release, delivering a faster beat, providing a dark, refined electro touch. Definitely a marvelous piece of art ought to be on the bag of any precious vinyl collector.

Skalpel, internationally recognised ambassadors of Polish music, reissue their classic and best-selling album Highlight on limited purple vinyl.

For over two decades, Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudło have fused traditional Polish jazz with forward-thinking electronica. Their distinctive sound caught the attention of Ninja Tune, resulting in two critically acclaimed albums - Skalpel and Konfusion – followed by a Gilles Peterson Worldwide Award nomination, extensive international touring, and praise from NME, The Wire, DJ Mag and beyond.

While Transit marked a shift from sample-based production to virtual instrumentation, Highlight sees Skalpel at their most expansive and refined. Drawing on Miles Davis’ electric era, minimalism, and the legacy of Warp and Ninja Tune, the album balances deep jazz heritage with contemporary electronic textures.

A defining title in the band’s catalogue, Highlight remains both timeless and forward-looking - now available in a special purple vinyl edition.

After his last release on Dirt Crew in 2017 we are more than delighted to bring back the talented Harry Wolfman.
With impressive records on labels like Phonica, Omena, Outplay and Toy Tonics in the last years he has drawn up a fine new selection of music that spans across many genres and moods. This is also the first release for us in the new year after a lil break and it continues to explore the more eclectic approach we are following for a while now since the outings of artists like Dampé, S3A and Dan Only.

Harry presents an exciting opener for his new EP, together with vocalist Christian Crow he has made the blissful and breaks laden “poppy” good feel tune “A Way You Come Home to Me” that shines a bright light in these darker months. Followed by the deeper club tune “Step by Step”, building around yet another vocal recording. This time it’s Harry sampling his own voice and looping it into a repetitive piece of good feel House music.

We are getting deeper on the B side with “Speaking Raman”, one of these signature Harry tunes, a playful dusty lo-fi piece of music build around a piano theme and embedded in deep bass and driving beats, his sound trademark on all of these more floor orientated tracks on the EP. To close out the record we added two of his cinematic, ambient electronica works that we personally love so much. The haunting “Always 3” is a deep sphere that sucks you in a meditational and soothing womb of sounds. Ending with the electroid cut “Green Trees”, it’s broken and fragile and gives this indie-tronica track a warm and gentle touch.

We hope you enjoy these tunes and that they may be your soundtrack to the upcoming warmer months.

Deliberately breaking all the rules Mr. Hornby once famously outlined regarding the creation of homemade (tape) compilations, Saroos’ members indeed had the term “mixtape” on their minds while working on their latest full-length – albeit in the hip-hop sense: a sonic snack box, interconnected shots from the hip, something that just came together and immediately felt right.

Whereas hip-hop folks nowadays often use the vacuous term “project” in order to steer clear of the ontological debate caused by the almost synonymous use of album/mixtape, Florian Zimmer, Christoph Brandner, and Max Punktezahl, otherwise busy with The Notwist, Driftmachine & Lali Puna, stick to the classics: their new 16-track project “OLU” (Off Label Use) is, officially, still an album. But it’s wild and vibrant like a mixtape, interwoven like its cover: a seamless burst of ideas, impulsively combined to form a split-screen snapshot of recent moments and momentums.

Re-appropriating the term “Off Label Use” – which actually means: using prescription drugs in ways that aren’t mentioned on the instruction leaflet – in their own “off-label” way, Saroos never sounded more loose-limbed and elastic. Whereas the trio’s earlier releases were rather conceptual and homogenous, “OLU” indeed has a more loose, spur-of-the-moment feel, a spontaneous force at its core. Checking the weighty sci-fi inspirations at the door, they use that Bomb Shelter-type of freedom to reinvent themselves at every turn, chasing sounds that happened to emerge in the group’s triangular energy field.

Kicking it off “with a killer, to grab attention” (Hornby/Cusack, after all), the massive reverb-stumblin’ adjustment between beats and bass of opening track “Quarantaine” cross-fades smoothly into “Humdrum Rolloff,” an early hint at the group’s off-label practices: the underwater creepers floating around here were really voices (mostly). From majestically built oriental sound-pieces (“Looney Suite Serenade”), synth-based “End House Mario” and a triptych of speaker-boxxxing gas lamp experimentations entitled “Cord Burn 1-3,” Saroos have rarely sounded this playful and unrestricted: there’s a new energy at work that welds all the different sonic playing fields together to create one continuous 40 minute mix.

For the B-side descent, “Tatsu Jam,” at less than 4 minutes still the longest cut, billows over the kind of sizzling hi-hats you’d expect to hear on real trap tapes from Hotlanta. A prelude to a bunch of quicker-paced instrumentals (“Scratch Pets”, “24h Love Gumbo”) and ambient sun showers, until the next “Plateau” (Mo’Wax vibes!) brings the beats to the fore once again (“Tomorrow’s Kudos”), and the ultimate “Whirligig” sounds like a mix of Oktoberfest 2020 and Johnston’s “Casper The Friendly Ghost” coming apart at the seams.
Whatever you wanna call it – album, LP, mixtape, project, who cares? –, it’s definitely a double A-side tour-de-force.

Leagues Beneath is the first release immediately following Sleep’s long-prophesied, critically-acclaimed opus The Sciences. Recorded as a part of a series of songs for Adult Swim, this 12” single is a testament to what has made The Sciences such a success: bottomless tone, spacetime-melting riffs and a unparalleled aural experience from start to finish. Leagues Beneath is a full 17 minute plunge, now available to experience on black vinyl.

After the first classy, deep and aetherial 12" back in May 2019, B2 Recordings is back with it's second release, and here we see the labelowner Bengoa move things forward with a three-track EP of all original material following a five-year hiatus. Title-cut 'Forest Law' takes the lead with robust, organic percussion at its core while wandering subs, airy, circling synth lines and vocal chants ebb and flow throughout the groove to create a rolling, hypnotic groove. 'A Little More' opens the flip-side next, embracing a dub leaning feel with choppy stab echoes, crunchy drums and bumpy bass hits before 'Corponation' rounds out the release, laying focus on expansive voice murmurs, airy atmospherics and an acid tinged bass hook alongside loosely shuffling, jazz tinged drums.

»Alchemy« is the debut album from 22-year old singer-songwriter Tara Nome Doyle, following the singles »Heathens«, »Neon Woods« and »Mercury«. Doyle’s 2018 EP »Dandelion«, featuring her breakthrough-hit »Down with You«, has so far amassed nearly two million streams. Recently, two of her songs featured in Sophie Kluge’s feature film »Golden Twenties«. Doyle is a member of Kat Frankie’s choir on whose a capella EP she features.

»Alchemy« deals, in two songs each, with the four phases of development of the pre-modern natural philosophy, the alchemy. The album can be read psychologically or as a portrait of someone coming of age. Experience and reflection are closely entwined which is as beautiful as it’s threatening.

Doyle, whose middle name is pronounced just like »Naomi«, is from Berlin-Kreuzberg, her parents are from Ireland and Norway. She speaks (and sings) both languages without accent. Is it permissible to recognize the biographical background of these landscapes in her art? The stored heat and the fog from the Irish peat bogs, the magic of the the Norwegian forests?

The concept album was recorded in large parts with David Specht (bass player and producer of Isolation Berlin) and Doyle's newly founded band in Berlin. Specht remains reserved, keeping the band in check. It’s the interiors that we should hear – acoustically, but also thematically. The drums sound more like a knock on the window pane than the city noise outside the door, the guitar controls the harmony and not the power supply. The first instrument remains Doyle’s voice, which is always working and is looking for a way. Inward, outward. All songs were written by Doyle, for the arrangement for »Neon Woods« she worked with Max Rieger (Die Nerven, producer for e.g. Drangsal and Ilgen-Nur).

A unique album of outtakes from the classic ‘Songs
Of Praise’ and ‘In Pursuit Of Shashamane Land’
albums, compiled by On-U archivist Patrick Dokter
from the original tapes and expertly sequenced to
work as an immersive listening experience. A
companion piece to the acclaimed ‘Return Of The
Crocodile’ set from 2016 that took the listener on a
version excursion through the early years of the
group.
 These are the dubbier and more out-there
experiments mixed down whilst Adrian Sherwood
was shaping the sound of the albums. Bubbling
percussion lines skitter across the stereo spectrum,
ghostly voices echo inside the machine and
mangled guitar riffs beam down from Mars, whilst
staying rooted in the tough tribal rhythms that
form the bedrock of the AHC sound. This is music
for the head and feet, take heed!
 Mastered by King Kevin Metcalfe. Comes with
digital download card for full contents plus doublesided poster insert containing an extensive new
interview with African Head Charge mainman
Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, telling the story of his early
life.

Culled from the vast 90s archives of Brooklyn DJ and producer Adam X, these four tracks demonstrate the early experimentations of the 90s NYC acid rave scene. Tracks tailor made by the djs for the ravers, pushing acid extremes and decimating minds. A document of a time when experimentation and freedom reigned the scene.

This record includes four tracks exclusive to this 12 inch and not on the LP. Remastered at Dadub Mastering. One time pressing limited to 300 copies.

If someone had told me in 1992 that one day Kniteforce Records would be releasing music from such esteemed old skool artists as Sublove, Liquid, Hyper On Experience and Acen, I would have not believed it. To add NRG to that list is beyond anything I could ever have dreamed of, and with new music as well? What can I say?
This EP is not only NRGs first new hardcore in a very, very long time, it is also an amazing release which has all of the energy and sublime cleverness that you would expect from such a legendary artist. The first EP with more to come, this one contains four absolute winners. My personal favourite being I Love It because I love it, but Fire is also, well....fire. I am tempted to tell you to turn up Turn It Up and that Helpless will leave you helpless. All true, all amazing.

No Bad Days is back with the weird and wonderful sounds of the Korean tropics for Closet Yi’s debut release ‘Tam Tam Land’. Opening with ‘Honeymoon Junction’ we are greeted by the signature floaty yet punchy sound that often comes with a No Bad Days record but then around the halfway mark, an almost abrupt eeriness ambience washes over the track, letting us know: this isn’t going to be quite what you expected. ‘Circle Dance’ is next on the A side which is more of a functional club track in its structure to it’s predecessor. Birds tweet and a female Korean voice creeps in and out of the mix, luring us deeper into the depths of the island.

Hopping over to the B side we arrive at the climax of ‘Tam Tam Land’ with the thumping ‘Basalt (玄武岩)’. Closet Yi flexes her skills in producing a peak time acid-tropische-prog-banger and doesn’t disappoint.

'CYAN’ is the third full length LP from San Francisco Bay Area-based band The Seshen. Taking its name from a colour that is both strong and soft, the LP unravels the progression that has been made since 2016’s ‘Flames and Figures’, both as a band and as individuals; “Since ‘Flames and Figures’, a lot has been taking place both internally and externally.” Lyricist and vocalist Lalin St. Juste recollects, “we were on tour for the last album during the 2016 US election. There was an intense heaviness, a familiar one, one that extends generations and it just sunk in even further.”

The battle to overcome this heaviness, felt as a result of political and social issues and through Lalin’s own experiences with combating depression, fuels ‘CYAN’. “I was at the edge of myself,” she confesses. “This album is about pulling back the layers of who I am in order to push through sadness and grab onto what’s underneath”. From the opening lines of the LP on “Take It All Away”, these ideas are displayed - “I think it’s been too long that I’ve been your puppet / Cut these strings, I don’t want any of it”, she sings. Led by exposed yet bold musical endeavours from bassist/producer Akiyoshi Ehara, the album sees The Seshen delve into uncharted eclectic realms; “I think that there’s a lot more rawness on this record” Aki muses.

Anchored by Lalin’s sly, silvery vocals (which draw frequent comparisons to Erykah Badu) and cerebral yet playful rhythms from producer- bassist Aki, The Seshen’s music pulls from a deep well of electronic influences, R&B, and indie rock. Drummer Chris Thalmann, keyboard/synth player Mahesh Rao, percussionist Mirza Kopelman and sequencer Kumar Butler make the music three-dimensional, blending live and digital instrumentation for a mercurial, transportive sound. Since 2012, the Seshen’s live show has earned them critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase on multiple continents, as they’ve shared stages with the likes of Hiatus Kaiyote, Petite Noir, tUnE-yArDs, and Thundercat.

The Devonns dust off the golden age of Chicago Soul.
Straight from the streets of Chicago, Illinois, The Devonns (pronounced "De vaughns") are the brand new soul outfit and the latest addition of the Record Kicks' family, whose self-titled debut album that drops April 06, is an assortment of influences taking us back to the heyday of soul. "Tell Me" is the 1st single from their anticipated full length and sees the lights on limited edition 45 on March 06 and digital. Drawing influences from bands such as The Dramatics, The Isley Brothers and Leroy Hutson, yet bringing in their own unique modern twist, influenced by artists such as Jamie Lidell and Raphael Saadiq; singer Mat Ajjarapu explains how unintentionally, the rich heritage of Chicago's history with soul music influenced him. "The city was at the epicentre of a lot of good music back in the 50's all the way to the 80's, a lot of the labels specialising in soul were based in the Chicago and we even had our own sound known as "Chicago soul". Through several years of crate digging it surprised me how many songs I loved were recorded in this city, for example one of my favourites is this great little song by The Natural Four, produced by Leroy Hutson 'Can This Be Real', and released via Curtom Records." The band started in 2016 after multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mathew Ajjarapu dropped out of med school and found himself unemployed and drifting. Listening to music constantly at the time, he found inspired to put a band together and create his own music. Pairing up with some of the best musicians Chicago has to offer, he founded The Devonns: the rhythm duty is entrusted to Khalyle Hagood (bass), Ari Lindo (guitar) and Khori Wilson (drums).
Originally he wanted to focus on 50s style doo-wop, similar to The Flamingos; rich in reverb and vocal harmonies, but in the first initial practise they had it was evident the band clicked on their love of soul music from the 70s, so their music took a natural turn towards that sound, with tracks such as the Wilson Pickett-esque single 'Tell Me'.
The release took almost two years to complete as Mat explains "I am a perfectionist, I had a very specific vision in my head about how it should sound and I wasn't going to rest until I achieved it." "This is a definitely a throwback soul record, as well as being drawn to lush and intricate arrangements of Motown, I was also inspired by the more lo-fi works of smaller labels such as Chess and Capsoul, and I wanted to capture the magic they had in those recordings in our record, as everything feels too precise nowadays" clarifies Mat. It was thanks to his engineer Mike Hagler, who introduced him to Paul Von Mertons (Mavis Staples, Paul McCartney, Elton John) who arranges and conducts for Brian Wilson's live touring show and after a 45 minute phone conversation about what Mat wasn't keen on, on the album, he realised Paul totally understood where he was coming from. After a few months wait for Paul to get back from touring they entered the studio with "Paul's players" and as soon as they hit record, Mat explains "I was getting chills up my neck, it was one of the happiest days of my life, and finally we had nailed it!"

The Star Beams album is a bit of an enigma. When we first came across their epic dance-floor monster 'Disco Stomp’ it was on a Disco Calypso compilation, so we assumed it originated from the Caribbean. Years later we worked out how wrong we were and that this nugget was actually from South Africa and taken off an ultra scarce album on JAS Pride records from 1976. The next problem was tracking down an original copy and we don’t think we’ve ever seen our Bongo team member Gary Johnson as happy as the day he turned up clutching a copy under his arm. 'Play Disco Specials' was produced by Ray Nkwe who also worked with Mankunku Quartet and The Soul Jazzmen, with all writing credits on the album going to Ray, the recording credited to engineer Robin Ritchie and the artwork to Carol Knowles. Other than this, the personnel of the record remains a mystery, but sometimes a bit of mystery is a good thing. Aside from the disco-jazz-funk of 'Disco Stomp’, which has found it’s way into the DJ sets of Theo Parrish, 'Play Disco Specials’ will appeal to fans of The Star Beams South African contemporaries The Drive, Batsumi and Pacific Express.

Following on from Myele Manzanza's acclaimed 2019 jazz album, 'A Love Requited', we have a 2020 addendum to that project; an EP of remixes by a set of diverse musicians from all corners of the globe.

Detroit legend Theo Parrish starts off the proceedings. Theo & Myele have previously worked together on various projects over the years, such as with live outfit, The Unit, whilst Myele's 'Surgery Session' of Theo's track 'Moonlight' was picked up by The Vinyl Factory last Summer as well. On his remix of 'Itaru's Phone Booth', Theo maintains the tempo & structure of the original track, whilst tempering the horns and adding some spaced-out keys & a little low end theory to the equation, making this a flip seasoned with Theo's unique flavour.

Mark de Clive-Lowe follows with the most uptempo track on the EP, a delightful bruk refix of 'Big Deal'. Fellow New Zealander, regular collaborator (notably on Manzanza's sophomore album 'OnePointOne') and hugely respected musician in his own right, MdCL delivers a hefty groove direct for the clubs; heavy drums & sci-fi synths lead the way atop of the original's powerhouse horns, switching up with some MAW-esque 4/4 tribal business to close out.

Cardiff's finest, Earl Jeffers & Don Leisure, aka First Word label-mates Darkhouse Family, kick off the flipside with their take on the appropriately titled 'Family Dynamics'. Fresh from their solo & combined projects (producing for Kamaal Williams, running house label Melange, and creating beat-tapes like Halal Cool J & Shaboo), the duo turn out some punchy boom-bap vibes which pulsate throughout the track, accompanied by some sweet vocal hooks, transposing the original into a plucky heads-down neo-soul tinged stomper.

Borrowed CS is another New Zealand artist that's been bubbling away in the underground NZ electronic scene for several years now, as a DJ and a musician. He ends this selection of remixes, taking the original jazz components of 'Pencarrow' and transforming it into a synth-boogie lead piece of brooding broken beat - a 'Clear Path Depiction' even.

Released on Worldwide Award-winning UK label, First Word Records, the original album was also co-produced by another antipodean label-mate, Ross McHenry, who released a new album recently.

The son of a Congolese master percussionist, Myele Manzanza's roots in jazz and African rhythm are well established. Adding his long-time influences of hip hop and dance music into the mix, this EP exemplifies his approach to fusion, and his persona as an ever-evolving artist, drummer & composer. Since his days as part of Electric Wire Hustle, he had his debut release on BBE, has released three solo albums, and done tours & collabs with folks like Jordan Rakei, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Recloose & Amp Fiddler. Since moving to London from New Zealand late last year, he has already shared stages with Hiatus Kaiyote, The Bad Plus & Alfa Mist, rocked The Jazz Cafe & Ronnie Scott's, and ably demonstrated his DJ side-hustle chops at stations like Soho Radio, Worldwide FM & NTS, as well as behind the decks in a few danceries across the capital, and behind his drum kit daily.

Already hard at work on brand new material, expect to catch Myele Manzanza live at various shows & festivals across the UK & Europe this coming Summer.

'A Love Requited - The Remixes' is available on 12" vinyl & all digital outlets from March 6th 2020.

Another win for the Glowing Pin as Müller & Wandt drop a fresh new age groover on a killer club dub tip. Elsewhere Phazer Boys, Suzanne Kraft, Philipp Otterbach and River Yarra remix the pscht out of their favourite tracks from ‘Instrumentalmusik..’. Expect Goan hits, cosmic trips, loved up rave and chilled out wave on this flawless five tracker.

Growing Bin becomes Glowing Pin for the most anticipated rematch of the century. Back at the beginning of 2018, Wolf Müller and Niklas Wandt went head to head for a box office smash, throwing a high school percussion tray, wall of hardware and voodoo skull into the ring for the tribal trip of ‘Instrumentalmusik Von Der Mitte Der World’. Now the multi-instrumental duo face off once again, but this time it’s a royal rumble with Phazer Boys, Suzanne Kraft, Phillip Otterbach and River Yarra all bringing the noise to the Glowing Pin.

Müller and Wandt dominate the action on the A1, playing loose with sampler vox, serene pads and future primitive rhythms on the unreleased ‘Fun Dub’ of the also unreleased ‘Dub Dub’. Imagine Ferris Bueller’s trampoline tumble trading Chicago to the Weissenhof and you’ll sense the mood of this New Age groove. Germany’s number one party dudes, those freaky Phazer Boys take a break from dropping killer Candomblé cuts to reach for the lasers on the A2, taking ‘Ahu’ to another dimension. Dripping in neon body paint and armed with fire poi, the Düsseldorf duo power up progressive house sequences, didgeridoo bass and thumping tribal house percussion for a wall-shaking, speaker-breaking remix.

The B1 belongs to synth whiz Suzanne Kraft who revels in glistening, gliding glory on an expansive remix of ‘Auflösung’. Sleek, serene and futuristic, the track shimmers like Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, free from inequality and rendered with the 5D(ub?) majesty of a DMT breakthrough.
B2 hears Salon associate and serious talent Philipp Otterbach take over on a stripped back and psychedelic post punk dub of ‘Expedition’. Angular bass by Süne Große and a stuttering rhythm underpin astral flourishes and the hazy vocals of Lucas Croon before the African elements begin to move to the forefront.
Last man standing is Australian outlier River Yarra, who leads us into the Krautback with a chugging dub of ‘Weltraumsandalen’. Lent a lysergic sparkle by a percolating one-note bassline, this slow motion stunner masters perpetual motion amid the eerie echoes of the bush, organic percussion and electronic animal cries fading into the night. Let the pins glow again.

Patrick Ryder

3 leftfield offbeat techno cuts by Zane Reynolds aka SFV Acid ! CONGEE DISC is a new label from L.A.'s Tim Koh..expect great things!

The journey continues for Nuage as the Russian beat smith proudly unveils his superb debut EP on the coveted Microfunk Music. A sophisticated bouquet of audible delight from across the electronic spectrum, the "Romantic OD" EP is a 5-piece wonder showcasing Nuage at his very best. Featuring the Microfunk commander-in-chief Bop, expect a world of ambient-jungle crossed with lo-fi electronica with sprinklings of everything in-between.

Ubek returns. The mysterious Polish duo digs out a new collection of degraded echoes, salvaged from authority. Galvanised as if lost to the shock of formal experiments.

Ubek II revises the present and takes us back to other versions of actuality.

10” clear vinyl) Five years on since their last joint outing in Stroboscopic Artefacts Monad series, Speedy J and Lucy team up again as Zeitgeber on 'Seventeen Zero Four', a new three-tracker descending deep into the filthy, tenebrous outskirts of club music.

Five years on since their last joint outing in Stroboscopic Artefacts Monad series, Speedy J and Lucy team up again as Zeitgeber on 'Seventeen Zero Four', a new three-tracker descending deep into the filthy, tenebrous outskirts of club music. Torchbearers of techno as a life-affirming vehicle for human expression, as can be experienced through their multi-dimensional back catalogue of solo records and shared live performances at some of the finest clubs and events including Concrete, Goa Club and London’s E1, it's safe to say Jochem and Luca share a certain taste for taking things off the beaten path and into new perspectives. True to their bold approach towards production, 'Seventeen Zero Four' proudly continues the pair's tradition of chiselled floor-focused shifts and divagations outside the ringfenced domain of no-nonsense 4/4 mechanics initiated on their self-titled debut album in 2013.

Drawing first blood, the title-track 'Seventeen Zero Four' submerges us in a state of amniotic solitude as hell's all set to break loose around. Sonar bleeps drip and dissolve across invisible plateaux as thunder rumbles and roars in the distance, mirroring and shattering all linearity between the bars. 'One Zero Five' then implements a further straightforward groove, sequenced hats and kicks carving out a more familiar scenario for the dancers to appropriate, whilst maintaining that oddball, slightly off kind of minimal, dubbed-out blur. Rounding off the package, 'Twenty Zero Two' throws further jazz into the mix, letting its sine curves hula hoop into the upper layers of the outer-audio-space as a shrewdly engineered industrial swing drops the hammer for an epic last stretch.

The compilation "Celestial Birds" reveals and focuses on the widely unkown electronic compositions of the AACM founder and jazz pianist MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS. #5 in the Perihel Series, curated by zeitkratzer director REINHOLD FRIEDL.

Anybody interested in jazz knows that Chicago has always been an impressive hot spot for new talents – and still is. One essential landmark in the history and development of jazz was the founding of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) in May 1965. This non-profit organization was a melting pot (and starting point) for artists like ANTHONY BRAXTON, ROSCOE MITCHELL, GEORGE LEWIS or LESTER BOWIE and his ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO but one of its actual founding members is known only to the deep connaisseurs: MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS (1930 – 2017).
The autodidact pianist and composer left music school and university, deciding to learn music by himself.

From 1961 on, the EXPERIMENTAL BAND was his first ensemble, but it soon turned out that ABRAMS' interests went beyond jazz and that he was open to the avant-garde and new music and most of all: electronic music. Which led to a double problem: On the one hand, black musicians had almost no access to the rare electronic music studios located in and funded by universities or broadcasting corporations. On the other hand, there were strong reservations regarding electronic music in the black music community.

In his important book "A Power Stranger Than Itself – The AACM and American Experimental Music" GEORGE LEWIS writes that "the use of electronics … proved controversial and widely misunderstood in a world of jazz in which acoustic instruments became conflated with musical, and eventually, cultural and even racial authenticity." ABRAMS' response was to actually "hide" his electronic pieces on the B-sides of his albums, and this compilation focuses on some of his best electronic experiments: the 22-minute long epic "The Bird Song" from 1968 in its original version incl. the reverb that was removed on the later CD reissue on DELMARK, the synthesizer compositions "Conversations With The Three Of Me" (1989) and "Think All, Focus One"1995) plus " Spihumonesty" (1980) with a 2nd synthesizer played by GEORGE LEWIS and YOUSEF YANCEY on theremin.

"Celestial Birds" casts a new light on the underrated experimenter MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS, his innovative approach to composition and pieces that lay dormant for way too long!

At the turn of the 80's, a new generation of musicians appeared who saw synthesisers not as dehumanizing machines but as musical instruments that could be coaxed into creating modern, beautiful and decidedly emotional music. It was almost as if the musicians were intentionally creating this music to prove the doubters wrong. 

Compiled by Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, “The Tears Of Technology” celebrates this brief period when scruffy synth duos from the provinces broke through and took over British pop. Like mellotrons before them, synths could project a strange and deep emotion; listen to OMD’s ‘Sealand’, or the Human League’s ‘WXJL Tonight’, and it was clear that something in the wiring had an inherent melancholy.

In the 60's and 70's, the synthesiser had mostly been regarded as either a novelty or a threat. Tomorrow’s World warned us that the cold, heartless synth would soon make orchestras redundant. But by 1980, Korgs, Moogs and Rolands were becoming affordable for all, and post-punk had created a safe place for new groups to experiment with these new toys.

The influence of Kraftwerk – who had made a landmark appearance on Tomorrow’s World in 1975 – is all over this collection. Big names rub shoulders with obscurities by Turquoise Days, Electronic Circus and Illustration, all highly prized recordings among ‘cold wave’ and ‘minimal synth’ afficionados. There are pioneers like John Foxx and Thomas Leer, alongside unexpected synth sadness from Simple Minds and the Teardrop Explodes.

“The Tears Of Technology” celebrates an era of electronic melancholia, synthesized intimacies and insights – even Tomorrow’s World didn’t see that coming.

Though Al Gardner’s Detroit 60's soul classic ‘Sweet Baby’ was issued in France as well as on a now expensive Sepia release in Detroit, it has never had a UK 45 release until now. The flip is a terrific previously LP-only track by Jack Ashford – the producer and writer of both sides of this 45. Best known for his percussion work at Motown, Pied Piper and Just, he shows he has a good voice on this great, now popular, song.

Colored LP

'CYAN’ is the third full length LP from San Francisco Bay Area-based band The Seshen. Taking its name from a colour that is both strong and soft, the LP unravels the progression that has been made since 2016’s ‘Flames and Figures’, both as a band and as individuals; “Since ‘Flames and Figures’, a lot has been taking place both internally and externally.” Lyricist and vocalist Lalin St. Juste recollects, “we were on tour for the last album during the 2016 US election. There was an intense heaviness, a familiar one, one that extends generations and it just sunk in even further.”

The battle to overcome this heaviness, felt as a result of political and social issues and through Lalin’s own experiences with combating depression, fuels ‘CYAN’. “I was at the edge of myself,” she confesses. “This album is about pulling back the layers of who I am in order to push through sadness and grab onto what’s underneath”. From the opening lines of the LP on “Take It All Away”, these ideas are displayed - “I think it’s been too long that I’ve been your puppet / Cut these strings, I don’t want any of it”, she sings. Led by exposed yet bold musical endeavours from bassist/producer Akiyoshi Ehara, the album sees The Seshen delve into uncharted eclectic realms; “I think that there’s a lot more rawness on this record” Aki muses.

Anchored by Lalin’s sly, silvery vocals (which draw frequent comparisons to Erykah Badu) and cerebral yet playful rhythms from producer- bassist Aki, The Seshen’s music pulls from a deep well of electronic influences, R&B, and indie rock. Drummer Chris Thalmann, keyboard/synth player Mahesh Rao, percussionist Mirza Kopelman and sequencer Kumar Butler make the music three-dimensional, blending live and digital instrumentation for a mercurial, transportive sound. Since 2012, the Seshen’s live show has earned them critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase on multiple continents, as they’ve shared stages with the likes of Hiatus Kaiyote, Petite Noir, tUnE-yArDs, and Thundercat.

Hailing from Cluj-Napoca, Heion is a producer, DJ, songwriter, music production teacher and label head of Redolent Records. Throughout a career spanning nearly a decade, he’s shared bills with the likes of David Morales, Ray Mang, Session Victim and Kraak & Smaak, performed with the Hungarian Opera Orchestra and always stayed committed to being a true dancefloor eclectic.

Heion’s latest release is Make Believe, an energetic four tracker on his own freshly launched imprint. It blends a variety of meandering synth solos and quirky analog licks, all wrapped up in the programmed yet deeply organic rhythms that have come to define Heion’s sound.

The release also marks the birth of Redolent Records, a label dedicated to being a true home for sonic excitement while pushing boundaries and inspiring deliberate, well-rounded creations. It aims to pay homage to artists that paved the way musically and to the ones that still inspire across soul, funk and disco.

Four synth-heavy jams explore everything from gratitude and creative doubt to the bittersweet joy of balancing out different influences. Solid grooves and chunky basslines drive each emotionally colorful tune forward, whether it’s heard during a starlit night drive or a thumping warm-up in a large, darkened room.
Heion has spent the past three years composing and recording in several studios, all the while exploring new instruments and gradually leaving his comfort zone behind; you can hear the fruits of this labor in a swirl of modern funk, soul and disco that leaves you feeling refreshed and optimistic.

The first Be With foray into the archives of revered German library institution Selected Sound is one of our favourites on the label - the super in-demand Japan from Victor Cavini, originally released in 1983.

Rare and sought-after for many years now, this is one of those cult library LPs that never turn up. With Daibutsu the giant Buddha of Kamakura’s presence gracing the hefty front cover, this is a record bursting with dope samples for adventurous producers: it’s koto-funk madness!

Victor Cavini was the library music pseudonym of prolific German composer and musician Gerhard Trede. He was known for exploring instruments and styles from around the world (he played over 50 different instruments himself) and Japan is
his collection of 14 musical sketches painted with traditional Japanese wind and string instruments. These are the sounds of traditional Japanese folk music re-interpreted through Western ears, with the occassional contemporary twist. Contemporary for 1983, of course.

These “Pictures of Japan” are hypnotic, sometimes frantic, but always beautiful. The first twelve tracks offer airy explorations of koto and flute, with other strings and percussion being added and then given their own space. Indeed “Pictures of Japan XII” is just drums.

And then “Pictures of Japan XIII” seems to come out of nowhere. But the subtle sleaze of its full band sound still doesn’t quite prepare you for the towering climax of “Pictures of Japan XIV”.

This is Japan’s undoubted standout piece, completely and wonderfully at odds with the rest of the album. It’s the reason this has become such a must-have record. It keeps the traditional Japanese instruments but combines them with shuffling funk breaks, electric bass high in the mix and a Godzilla-sized psychedelic fuzz guitar sound that might actually be a traditional reed flute pushed to its limits. Whatever it is, it sounds awesome.

Recalling both Rino de Filippi’s Oriente Oggi and Giancarlo Barigozzi’s Oriente, the track’s a real head-nod groove for b-boys and b-girls alike that sounds straight out of a late 70s Yakuza film. Indeed, if you were told The RZA or Onra had cooked this up in the lab this century, you’d be convinced. It’s crazy that this dates from 1983.

The audio for Japan has been sensitively remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis to keep all the character of the original recordings. Richard Robinson has handled the careful restoration of the original Selected Sound sleeve. Essential.

At the end of 2019, label boss Juan Pablo Pfirter was talking about a busy year ahead for MindTrip and we know exactly what he had in mind. Fresh and new collaborative projects will debut on the label in 2020, starting with his powerful shared EP with Oliver Rosemann who is no stranger to our family.

Together they go as dark as they feel across 4 impressive cuts on their Alpha release, blending peak time intensity with Industrial grooves and dark side body music their own way.

Alpha becomes the first of a multiple collaborative concepts that will expand further over the year.

This is MindTrip!

The 11-track album titled “Needledrop” provides a suite of both uplifting and easy-listening moments, refined and understated individually yet cohesively crafted with the honest musicianship and inarguable credentials that we know of production duo Session Victim.

The German pair of Hauke Freer and Matthias Reiling are no strangers to releasing quality long-format albums and while rising through a discerning community of DJ’s have previously released three consecutive albums on tastemaker label Delusions of Grandeur culminating in 2017’s “Listen To Your Heart”.

Their latest and fourth studio album via the label Night Time Stories (the London based sister label to the coveted LateNightTales) marks a notable move towards the home listening dynamics of their career counterparts such as Nightmares on Wax and Portishead that have played such a strong influence in Session Victims variety of output over the last decade.

As accomplished producers, Session Victim have been intent on delivering a characteristic body of work for uninterrupted easy listening and with Needledrop have landed with significant inspiration from the engaging jazz and soul compositions that found their way into early 2000’s trip hop.

Fusing downtempo beats, smooth tones and hedonistic grooves via their intuitive sampling sessions, Session Victim’s fourth album succeeds in actively engaging the listeners mood and intellect in equal measure.

The albums clear stand out is "Made Me Fly” which presents a soothing yet expressive live vocal performance by singer songwriter Beth Hirsch, best known for her collaboration with French duo Air on their 1998 album Moon Safari.

As self-confessed semi-reclusive studio geeks, Session Victim have turned their 2020 album focus towards a large arsenal of dusty influences which has inspired them to rediscover the intuitive and playful side of their production personalities while also demonstrating their cherished music knowledge.

All producers on this timeless EP known for their contribution to NuDisco/Deep House Music. 1 Life records has enlisted the services of top talents. Deep house veterans Mateo & Matos wrap drifting deep spheres, lilting electronics & warm synth rhodes chords around a chunky groove on his fine beat interpretation for a brighter & breezier deep house vibe on a remix that benefits greatly from a squeezable synth bassline & some undulating TB-303 style acid motifs, while Rune Lindbaek deliver with Frisvold a driving chunk of dub-disco/deep house fusion rich in sparkling synthesizer lines, sun-kissed chords & his own rubbery post-punk bass. Studio don Vincent Inc bring unforgettable impressions & inspiration for mind, body & soul together with his remix. 4 tracks came together to tell music stories about hypnotic deepest stuff, depression, happiness, loneliness, love, miracles & magical experiences

For years, Rhythm Buro and Zadig have maintained a special relationship. The French DJ and producer (real name Sylvain Peltier,) became involved with the Ukrainian institution when he headlined their first party in Kyiv back in 2014. In the few years since, both Sylvain and Rhythm Buro have developed into strong international brands that have become well-known and trusted. They are thus ready to present another form of collaboration: Zadig's debut record on the Kyiv-based label. "Takara-machi" EP is the sixth release in Rhythm Buro's catalogue, following previous releases by Haze, Na Nich, Cyspe and a few VAs on the imprint.

RB006 is particularly notable for its sonic diversity. Zadig, often known for his uncompromising and hard-hitting techno ventures, explores a deeper musical side here, and delves into his wide range of influences and inspirations. A good example of this is found in the manga series "Amer Beton", with the excellent soundtrack by Plaid, hence the Japanese name for the record's title track. At least three of the six tracks on the record follow this influence precisely and are rather cinematic: these are A and B sides' closing tracks; "Shores of Sorrow" and "Kuro & Shiro". Both of which play to a certain dreamy ambient field. The title track on B2 exemplifies Zadig's passion towards an old-school 100 bpm-ish tempo.

And then there's the more dancey side of the record. The EP's opener, "No-face" on A1, and its following tune on A2, "What We Become" are both a clear take, albeit more modern, to classic Detroit techno. Rich with melodies and 909 patterns, both A1 and A2 are conscious in their reference to Detroit, and pay homage to the master minds that spawned the genre in their studios 30 years ago and started it all. The B-side's opening track is another dance floor friendly stomper, although in a different way: "A World of Children" may be best labelled as "slower-electro". Its synth-heavy, almost naive essence, describe its name perfectly.

Despite its aforementioned diversity of sound and tempos, Zadig's "Takara-machi" EP still possesses and maintains a unique commonality and voice across the spectrum. It is dreamy, it is soulful, it puts substance over form. In other words, it has something the vast majority of today's techno palette is missing. Rhythm Buro doesn't miss the mark in unearthing and releasing pure quality for those who know and care.

Istanbul based global record company Caz Plak proudly presents “KÜN”, the first solo album of Cem Yıldız, one of the preminent faces of the electronic-traditional hybrid music in Turkey.

Cem Yıldız known as one of the important musicians of past years
and has an impressive career; from his education in Istanbul Technical University Conservatory to the Orient Expressions band; from Montreux Jazz Festival to one of the world’s most esteemed music festival Sonar Barcelona, “İnsanlar” the band that he founded with Barış K, soundtracks of various TV shows and movies; the smash hit song called “STIL” which he composed and read on the Musique de France album of Acid Arab and made a tremendous impression all over the world.

Kün album, in this respect, is the first solo album of Cem Yıldız and represents a new phase of hybrid music retaining his signature sound, blending traditional, electronic, psychedelic music and Anatolian philosophy.

“Kün” has recorded in Istanbul, mastered in Los Angeles and produced by Caz Plak in 12’’ LP format in limited numbers.

Any botanist will extol the virtues of cross-pollination, and musical hybrids are a Growing Bin speciality. For the latest release Parisian outfit Maât splice jazz with Balearic, dub, house and Afro to create a free thinking LP dedicated to world fusion fore-runners Codona.

If Singu found calm amongst the chaos of Tokyo for ’Siku’ (GBR017), then Maât map out a Sunday stroll through the sun dappled streets of the Parisian banlieue on ’Solar Mantra’. Humming reeds converge into a pre-dawn chorus before dewy sequences and drifting syncopation signal sunrise over La Vilette, a perfect place to start ‘The Walk’. Skirting the Périphérique, the Parisian ensemble pick out a street percussionist by Boulevard d’Algérie then detour to Pré-Satint-Gervais to draw a bassline out of the Metro Area, adding an Environ cool to the uptempo ‘Jaki & Bryn’. With icy bells, brooding guitars and melancholic vocals, ‘Feuglace’ transports Miko’s garten to the 20th arrondissement while the polyrhythmic patter and micro-tuned guitars of ‘Solar Mantra’ see out the A-side with a fourth world hymn.

Chakras cleansed and ready for a B-side rebirth, Maât take us dancing through Père Lachaise via organic house bomb ‘Quetzal Pacino’, an emotive exploration of rhythmic mallets, dreamy pads and propulsive bass, which moves like the Innerzone Orchestra re-arranged by Jon Hassell. Rest comes with the soothing pianos and swelling sine waves of the pastoral ‘Clarière’, a hazy homage to the noon sun on a clearing. Circular motifs, limber grooves and dubby bass mean we’re on the move again, slipping into Montreuil with the echo-drenched scat and firm back beats of ‘Mount Beuvray’, before ‘Llomé Dub’ takes us home in time for a cool beer and much needed smoke on the balcony. Acoustic guitar, lilting piano and a gorgeous female vocal ride the punchy bass and clattering drums to perfection, keeping us company until the day fades into a contented haze.

Patrick Ryder