Cerca:ad 2022

The return of Gaussian Curve - Gigi Masin, Jonny Nash and Marco Sterk’s much-loved trio are back for the first time since their 2016 sophomore album 'The Distance', presenting two new tracks entitled 'Winter Sun' and 'Fever Dream'.

Both tracks originate from recording sessions that took place in Amsterdam in 2016 for 'The Distance'. Despite not finding a place on the final album and being left as unfinished sketches for six years, the tracks represent an important part of the Gaussian Curve story which the band felt compelled to complete. Coinciding with the decision to perform a handful of live shows in 2022, they finally revisited the sketches, mixing and arranging them with the goal of giving them the full release that they deserve.

The trio’s trademark sound hits from first moments of 'Winter Sun'; a lush slow builder with all the classic GC ingredients; Nash’s airy and spacious guitar lines interplay with Masin’s warm rhodes, underpinned by Sterk’s subtle use of electronics and the minimal rhythm of a CR-78 drum machine.

On 'Fever Dream', the trio subtly expand their palette; a gently building 303 bass line and 808 rhythm form the foundations of the piece, with Masin’s vocals adding to a slow-burning intensity. Arguably a fuller sound hinting at new areas of exploration for the trio, but unmistakably Gaussian Curve.

There are two versions of the vinyl - classic black and triple-color limited Indie Shop edition.

Both have special insert inside with the bands bio and photos.

Generacja JAZZ is a project showing a fragment of the new wave of Polish jazz, treading its own path, creating, touring and jamming across Europe. Borders don't exist - especially musical - the new generation is engaging with nightclubs, festivals and playlists. The time has now come to show its broader perspective. We created a project which involves a handful of groups that have already racked up debut albums and festival wins, as they set out on their musical odyssey. The groups also have other things in common, like their passion, originality and, for the needs of the project, age - all the artists during the recording of this album were under 30 years old. This is the new generation - the Jazz Generation.

For the Jazz Generation record we invited five bands who had already released debut albums: Immortal Onion, Klawo, Rejoin, Twoosty Mayonez and USO 9001. We also reserved two spots on the compilation for the winners of our open call competition, whereby on the basis of the jury's choice (jury: Monika Borzym, Paulina Przybysz, Envee, Wojtek Mazolewski i Marcin Groh Grośkiewicz) we met the winning bands: Kosmos and quietet.

The sleeve artist is Kornelia Nowak, who won our open call for young designers and graphic artists. Here once again we could rely on the opinion of a prestigious jury comprised of: Beata Śliwińska Barrakuz, Bovska, Maciej Animisiewasz Grochot, Grzegorz Forin Piwnicki i Marcin Groh Grośkiewicz.

Generacja JAZZ LP is also a start of the new imprint - U JAZZ ME, which will be focused on jazz from Poland.

And here are the bands from the album:

1. Immortal Onion - A band from the Tri-City playing a broad spectrum of instrumental music.

Band members: Wojtek Warmijak (percussion), Tomir Śpiołek (piano, synths), Ziemowit Klimek (Upright Bass, synths).

The band Immortal Onion has already established itself as one of the most interesting projects of the new wave of Polish jazz, and is consistently being labelled as such abroad. After two well received albums ("Ocelot of Salvation" (2017) and"XD Experience Design" (2020) U Know Me Records) they released their third album "Screens" in 2022, which was recorded with the well known Tri-City composer and saxophonist - Michał Jan Ciesielski.

The inspiration behind the band's formation were such artists as: Esbjörn Svensson, Hiromi Uehara, Tigran Hamasyan and Tosin Abasi.

The group's guiding principle from the very beginning was the fusion of often disparate musical styles, which bore "post instrumental aggressive gay pop". Despite the stylistic discrepancies, between which they swim, the group has forged its own identifiable language, characterised by complicated rhythmical structures, energetic riffs and trance beats with lyrical melodies.

The trio has performed its original material at many venues and festivals around Europe and Asia.

2. Klawo - seven adventurous adventurers from Gdańsk, who were brought together by their love for music, halvah and throwing Frisbee. Their self-named début album, released in 2022 on the local label Coastline Northern Cuts, is an amalgam of the inspirations of each of the team members and played backwards contains tips on how to reach the Kashubian pyramids. After a win at the international competition Jazz in the Park, held in Cluj-Napoca in Romania, the band began work on their second album. Meanwhile, they were also travelling the length and breadth of Poland on a mission to infect people with the idea of Baltic Funk.

3. Kosmos is a Łódż based jazz quintet. It was formed in 2020 by Pianist Stanisław Szmigero, Saxophonist Iwo Tylman and Trumpeter Jan Ostalski. However, it wasn't until 2022 that Kosmos found its true form when Kamil Gużniczak (Upright bass) and Kacper Kuta (Percussion) joined the line-up.

Their compositions are influenced by Polish yass bands, electronic music and hip-hop. Kosmos music is a mix of lyricism, space, intensity and elements of experiment.

The band members are all eccentric characters possessing different means of musical expression - looking at them, one could even argue they are a group of oddballs. Despite this, for reasons unbeknownst to themselves, the members of Kosmos complement each other on stage and form a unified artistic vision of the world around them.

Kosmos officially released their début single "Ja" in June 2023. They regularly play concerts across Poland and recently were selected as distinguished artists at JAZZiNSPIRACJE (JAZZiNSPIRATION) - a competition held during the 13th Lublin Jazz Festival.

4. Quietet (formed at the beginning of 2023) is the result of meetings between five talented musicians with a deep passion for musical creation. Its sound is a unique blend of Jazz and classical music with a hint of hard rock. The band is inspired by the Scandinavian approach to making music, which brings a characteristic atmosphere and melodies to their work. Their music captivates listeners with its originality, refined improvisations and flawless technique. Both classical and modern musical trends feed their inspiration when creating passionate and emotional compositions.

Their works are full of sound experimentation, which equally surprise and expose new musical horizons. Through their compositions, "Quietet" aims to share their emotions evoked during performances, creating a musical journey that affects and inspires.

5. Connecting jazz with electronic music in fresh interpretations, six young musicians make up the group Rejoin. The group re-formed in 2020 after a four-year break, playing their debut concert at Lotos Jazz Festival Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa. The musicians in Rejoin have performed alongside such artists as: Urszula Dudziak, Krystyna Prońko, Marcin Masecki, Szczyl, Kuba Więcek and Paulina Przybysz.

Most of the members of Rejoin are students from the Katowice Music Academy, where they also develop their own projects. Rejoin was a recipient of the Fabryki Norblin Music Masterclass Foundation scholarship.

6. Twoosty Mayonez is something your grandad would listen to with his younger sister. The non-standard approach to jazz alongside a pursuit of strange sounds, culminated in the conceptual album entitled "Carmin". The material was created by Bartosz Wolerta (percussion) and Dominik Kaniewski (bass guitar/synths). "Triceradiplodocus" tells the story of a mechanical dinosaur that lives on the yet undiscovered planet Carmin.

A command across genres has distinguished Yasushi Ide’s work as a DJ and producer since emerging from the multiscene spawning big bang that was Tokyo’s highly influential club milieu of the 1980s. His productions draw variously from hip-hop, dub, house, punk, jazz dance, exotica and electronic music - and at their most expressive, synthesize sensibilities within a single track. The respect Ide’s earned is well evident in the impressive roll call of collaborators he’s accrued over the years - Masters At Work, Tom Verlaine, Don Letts, James Chance, DJ Krush, Pharaoh Sanders, U-ROY, and Bongo Herman, just to name a legendary few.



Now available for worldwide distribution from Love Injection Records in both digital and 7-inch 45 vinyl formats, the Yasushi Ide “A Place In the Sun (Kaoru Inoue Remix)” is paired with the equally gorgeous “A Place In the Sun (Dub).” On the former, Inoue’s treatment largely strips away the track’s beats, anchoring it to a subtle percussion pulse that emphasizes the composition’s irresistible melodic qualities. The latter finds Yoko Ota at the controls restoring and pushing reverb-soaked drums to the forefront of the mix, accentuating Ide’s affection for the sound system aesthetic while exercising just the right amount of spacial arrangement flourishes to inject some brawn amidst the beauty.



These serendipitously rediscovered renditions of a back catalog deep cut are just the latest examples of Yasushi Ide’s artistic reach. In addition to recording such acclaimed albums as 2020’s Cosmic Suite and its 2022 sequel (for which Love Injection has remixed a track), his work has spanned music supervision of some 200+ compilations for major labels, artist management, his Grand Gallery shop/gallery proprietorship, and books showcasing the depth of his archival sensibilities, including vintage t-shirt and ephemera curation. Perhaps most inspiring, however, is that Ide is still winning new appreciators and collaborators in unexpected ways four decades into a revered career that continues to evolve and expand.

Phoenix is Coco Bryce's third full length album in a single year and was made solely on a Teenage Engineering PO33 pocket sized mini sampler.

Recorded between 2018 and 2022 it features 11 tracks ranging from bleep techno junglism to crusty rap beats, via toned down minimalist juke to the wavvy house vibes of its title tune.

Subtropic Cosmos is the international debut album by Japanese artist Hitomi Moriwaki.

Composed and recorded at her Fukuoka home during the worldwide pandemic between 2020-2022, the album was produced by Hideki Urawa, who has also worked with Kikagaku Moyo and other musical acts on Guruguru Brain.
Hitomi Moriwaki is a multidisciplinary artist working with a wide range of mediums besides music, including: magazines, ceramics, digital art, and animation.

"Subtropic Cosmos" in particular is a wonderful work that conveys the "joy of making things" to listeners, as it is filled with various influences from her diverse activities.

As suggested by the album title, most of the songs were created under the unprecedented conditions of corona--and as a result, were inspired by the consciousness of traveling through imaginary foreign lands and nature. As if adventuring through the universe inside of her own mind, Moriwaki's versatility is best experienced through her fearless fusion of hip-hop, pop and experimental music. Through a lens of psychedelic production by Hideki Urawa, this album is a truly special, one-of-a-kind space experience for listeners to enjoy and embark upon.

Suburban Architecture continue their series of now highly collectible 4 track EP releases with their 5th offering, 'Turning Point'. Following in the footsteps of 2022's 'Exploration' EP, this new collection once again draws heavily on influences from the jazzier, atmospheric strains of mid to late 90s Drum & Bass. Putting their own spin on sounds rooted in this golden era of dance music, the Turning Point EP delivers more of the London duo's trademark warm atmospheric production and Jungle-adjacent drum programming at a variety of tempos.

Opening track 'The Drifter' pulls no punches - Jazz Fusion flutes and delicate arps float over dreamy pads before giving way to a smashing Amen track, creating a classic roller with enough punch to hold a dancefloor. Title track 'Turning Point' delves further into Jazz Fusion sonics: underpinned by lush Rhodes, intricate drum programming sets the scene for a rousing vocal refrain and an atmospheric blend of flutes and horns. 'The Believer' delivers a similar blend of instrumentation, this time adding muted horns to the mix, building to a motivating, Soulful vocal hook. Closing out the EP 'Memoriam' lowers the tempo with a slo-mo roller placing deep, atmospheric pads and unexpected subtle guitar licks over a punchy, rolling drum track.

‘Hardcore Jollies’ was Funkadelic’s ninth studio album and their debut on Warner Bros Records. Released in October 1976 and dedicated to “the guitar players of the world”, it showed Funkadelic was the heaviest black rock band since Jimi Hendrix’s Band Of Gypsies (even featuring Buddy Miles on one track). With lead guitarists Michael Hampton and Eddie Hazel dazzling, the personification of funk Bootsy Collins on bass, Bernie Worrell’s keyboard wizardry and many more, the album was helmed by the genius of George Clinton. Reaching no.12 on the US R&B chart, the album spawned singles ‘Comin’ Round The Mountain’ (US R&B No.54) and ‘Smokey’ (US R&B No.96) and a live remake of 1973’s ‘Cosmic Slop’ from the album of the same name. Recorded during rehearsals for 1976’s P-Funk Earth Tour, this version features a vocal introduction dropped from the 1973 studio cut. Over 45 years since its original release, ‘Hardcore Jollies’ is among Funkadelic and George Clinton’s best-ever albums and remains a masterful example of their creative genius. FUNKADELIC Masterminded by the larger-than-life figure of George Clinton, Funkadelic was a key component of his influential P-Funk empire. Funkadelic’s unique combination of Rock, Psychedelia, R&B & Soul led to the band crossing over to the pop mainstream & gaining a vast international following, becoming one of the most important & influential groups in music. On 6 May 1997, Parliament / Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame by Prince. To commemorate six decades of thrilling & delighting fans, George Clinton returned to the stage in 2022 for a series of concerts. To celebrate, Charly have reissued Funkadelic’s classic four albums ‘Hardcore Jollies’; ‘One Nation Under A Groove’; ‘Uncle Jam Wants You’; & ‘The Electric Spanking Of War Babies’ (originally released by Warner Bros during a golden period for the band between 1976-1981). Each album will be available as deluxe gatefold Digi-Sleeve CDs in PVC wallets + obi-strip & facsimile-edition gatefold LPs on 180-gram black vinyl & limited edition 180-gram coloured vinyl + 1970s-style obi-strip in a protective PVC sleeve. “They played a HUGE role in creating the future of music.” PRINCE

Repress!

Amazingblaze is the latest red-hot new talent to be signed up by Charlotte de Witte's KNTXT label. The Russian artist serves up four fierce techno weapons on his Venture EP, due for release on 25th February 2022.

Though a relative newcomer, Amazingblaze is already making big moves mixing up heavy-hitting hard trance and techno. He has a sound that combines old school influences with new school sound design, and it never fails to captivate the dance floor. On this first EP for KNTXT, all of the signature Amazingblaze essentials are here: weighty drums, massive synths and authentic atmospheres.

Says the artist, "The Venture EP was started when I was living in Saint-Petersburg and there was a pandemic situation. Experimenting with different shades of techno I created a pretty authentic sound which works very well on the dance floor. After leaving Saint-Petersburg I decided to move to Moscow, gladly the pandemic restrictions there were lifted and I became inspired by the new city and parties where I've never been before, I completed the EP adding some new bangers with an already experienced touch.”

Says Charlotte de Witte, “My eye fell on Amazingblaze for the first time during the preparation of my Tomorrowland Around The World Set, where I closed with his beautiful track "Stratosphere". A couple of months later, I fell head over heels in love with his track "Venture", which, I'm proud to announce, turns out to be the title track of the newest EP on KNTXT. Venture captures every crowd of people I’ve played it to, ever since I debuted it in my set at Exit Festival. The entire EP is an out of the box masterpiece.”

First up is the mighty 'Venture' with its pummelling drums and turbo-charged trance stabs. They are bright and bring the energy while a rapped vocal adds something utterly fresh. 'Inner Fire' ups the ante further with a diva female vocal straight from the classic trance era. She brings waves of euphoria and, after a spine tingling breakdown, the machine-gun grooves fire on. There is terrific turbulence in the synth stabs of techno gem 'Flashback' as well as industrial textures and walls of white noise that bring real tension. ‘Neutron’ closes down with the most fierce groove of the lot, this time rippled with cosmic psy trance chords and irresistible video game synths to take you into the next dimension.

Venture EP is a superb outing from Amazingblaze.

A blistering single 'Make You Freak' marks a welcome return to Drumcode for Eli Brown.

The Bristolian artist debuted on Drumcode in September last year with ‘Deep Down’, a summer highlight for Adam Beyer's label. His return 'Make You Freak' is five minutes of pure mechanoid techno, imbued with layers of acid, Brown's pin-sharp drums and a famous vocal sample. It's a thrilling cut that’s highlighted Drumcode's Warehouse Project party, Fabrik in Madrid and all across Eli Brown's 'Believe Tour' in 2022. ''This is a track I’m really excited about'' he shares. ''It features a sample of an iconic club classic in LFO's 'Freak', which I've been hammering in my sets for a while now. I think this could be the biggest techno track I've released yet and I couldn't be happier to be signing it to Drumcode.”

Symphony Orchestra is a new group from Maximilian Turnbull and Michael Rault. Both Rault and Turnbull are accomplished songwriters, performers and producers in their own right, with Turnbull leading The Badge Epoque Ensemble, playing with the group Darlene Shrugg, and once releasing records under the name Slim Twig and Rault having released several psychedelic rock & roll classics under his own name in the past decade. The pair have worked together in various capacities for many years, writing and recording together on U.S. Girls' In A Poem Unlimited, and contributing to each other's releases, but the debut LP from Symphony Orchestra (due out May 12th on Telephone Explosion) marks their first release as an official entity.

Needless to say, there is a potent creative chemistry between Rault and Turnbull and Radiant Music showcases the alchemy between their distinct skill sets. The album is an exercise in pure collaboration. After years spent focusing on solo projects and working as hired guns on other projects, the duo came together with no specific intentions other than to work free of boundaries and direction. Freeing themselves from the familiar pressures of deadlines and expectations, they found a sense of discovery through togetherness. Duties on this project were split between Rault acting primarily as a one-man rhythm section and lead vocalist with Turnbull bringing chord sketches and his trademark aphoristic lyrical musings to the table. Trading off roles on guitar and keys from song to song, the duo's deft approach to melody bleeds through their instrumental parts as much as it does through Rault's vocal melodies. The majority of this album was self-engineered over the course of three sessions in 2018, at Michael's Montreal studio. Dormant during the pandemic, Rault's move to Los Angeles and the birth of Turnbull's twin sons, work reignited in 2022. The latterly tracked instrumental 'Concerto' and ballad 'Unthink The Thinkable' provide a dynamic depth to the album perhaps attributable to this tumultuous pause. Mixing came courtesy of Steve Chahley & Tony Price (U.S. Girls, BÉE, Jane Inc, etc).

In all of their work, Rault and Turnbull have made a hallmark of elaborately precise production and arrangement, Radiant Music is no different, though its pared-back simplicity provides a streamlined directness. The pairing of Rault's soulful, elastic vocal with Turnbull's evocatively cerebral lyrics provides a thrilling sensation unlike anything else in their respective catalogs. With an explosive, groove-forward approach, kaleidoscopic walls of vocal harmony and technicolor displays of guitar work, these 31 minutes of music will most certainly stimulate the mind of any fan of classic pop rock and funk. The blown-out breakbeats, winsome woven vocal melodies and propulsive wah-wah guitars of the title track evoke memories of an after-school cartoon special that never really existed outside of a lysergic daydream. "Harp In The Wind" is a perfect moment of overcast melancholy complete with ribbons of weeping synthesizers and velcro-fuzz guitar that could rip a clean line through Kevlar. "Know Thyself" and the harmony-rich "Intersection" are standout tracks that find a kinship in Stereolab's space-age effervescence. "Concerto" is a slab of beaming, mischievous funk that nods to Billy Preston's extraterrestrial keyboard explorations.

Radiant Music, like the best pop music, is life-affirming, confectionary, and enticing. Symphony Orchestra have created an album that hits you right where you need it, anchoring heady, adventurous sonic ideas down to a solid foundation of masterful songcraft, virtuosic instrumental performances and undeniable groove. Not a bar, nor beat is wasted.

Following a massive 2022 which saw releases on three of Lee Burridge’s labels - All Day I Dream, TRYBESof and Tale & Tone - Jim Rider continues to build momentum, releasing his Two More Days EP. This EP showcases Jim’s expertise in crafting uplifting melodies across the four original tracks.

Inspired by a two day long train journey across the United States, the EP’s title track is a lengthy journey through multiple soundscapes. The track features dreamy synth notes, arps, and a wide variety of percussive elements- sounds which were staples of Jim’s DJ sets this past year.

Drumcode’s beloved A-Sides compilation makes a welcome return after a two-year absence, with a mammoth 25-track feast covering every shade of the techno spectrum split across seven, 12 inch parts. The project was devised in 2012 as a way of showcasing the wealth of strong material Adam Beyer receives each year, which due to Drumcode’s busy release schedule, might not otherwise find a home on the label. Since then, it’s grown to become an essential fixture on the techno release schedule and a marker for where the genre stands in any given year.

For part three, Tiger Stripes opens the A with an arp-laden, synapse firing bomb dubbed ‘Altar’ before Pig&Dan join forces with Gregor Tresher to produce an updated mix of their immersive trip ‘Granular’.

On the B side, Wehbba’s ‘The Next Stop’ marries emotion with power to a produce an ethereal firecracker as Nicole Moudaber closes out the EP with the sci-fi channelling powerhouse ‘Come to My Beat’ featuring Romina.

Introducing the first volume on the “Aquapelagos" series - a collection of split LPs where selected artists offer their own take into water surrounded cultures and communities. After the initial release of the Anthology compilation Aquapelago in 2022 (Discrepant ,CREP91) this first volume opens up the series with a sound journey inspired by the majestic and sometimes furious Atlantic Ocean. The music was recorded throughout special artists residencies held during the Keroxen Festival in 2020 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife where throughout a week each band recorded their own free vision of an aquapelagic Atlantic culture. Philip Hayward, the Australian researcher who coined the term Aquapelago also joins the proceedings with extensive sleeve notes.

Side 1 is provided by LAGOSS – a band comprised of Tenerife based veteran producers, Gonçalo F. Cardoso, Mladen Kurajica and Daniel García while Side 2 is provided by Banha da Cobra, comprising Lisbon-based musicians Mestre André and Carlos Godinho. Both ensembles have addressed aquatic themes in their prior work, LAGOSS having represented phantom islands on a series of vivid cameo tracks released as Imaginary Island Music Volume 1 (Discrepant, 2020) and Banha da Cobra having staged a performance within the Mãe D'Água reservoir in Lisbon in 2018, drawing on recordings of place and objects within it to conjure the liquid history of the city.

One of Drumcode's solid MVP's Wehbba comes strong with a sci-fi themed trio of tracks to kick off 2023.

The Brazilian enjoyed another stellar year in 2022, with highlights include the excellent 'Dynamo' EP on Drumcode in April, a contribution to A-Sides ‘The Next Step' and collaborating with Adam Beyer to remix the classic Planetary Assault Systems cut ‘In From The Night’.

He likewise played Drumcode's WHP, our NYC event at Avant Gardner and Drumcode São Paolo to round out the year.

His latest EP on Drumcode ‘Premonition’ is an atmosphere-rich, intergalactic-themed trip that plays out deliciously over three cuts. The title track is imagined as a kind of travel through space and time, propelled by sci-fi synths, Wehbba’s trademark full bodied basslines and a cleverly placed sample from a David Bowie interview.

‘The Message’ is a dynamic beast of a track driven by robotic synth stabs, a catchy melodic riff and memorable vocal refrain ‘Mars Needs Women’ sampled from a 1950s sci-fi film. It has all the ingredients to be another classic addition to Wehbba’s discography. ‘Inertia’ is led by a hypnotising riff that builds over six minutes.

“I love to play this track after a series of rave bangers to keep the energy levels up while taking people on a trip,” shares Wehbba.

Emerging talent Amazingblaze has unveiled his new EP ‘Can’t Stop’, out on 3rd March on Charlotte de Witte’s KNTXT imprint.

A four track release, the EP opens with trance cut ‘Can’t Stop’, an electrifying club record which is reminiscent of the 90s. Next up is ‘Got The Vibe’ following the theme of 90s raving, a pulsating, high energy cut. Combining heavy hitting techno beats, ‘Enter The Rave’ sets the tone of the EP, whilst the emotive ‘On The Grind’ closes off the EP with driving pummeling techno, laced with captivating hip-hop vocals.

“Can't Stop EP has a very individual vibe, this time I decided to go through some classic 90s trance & techno vibes and added some freshness by using hip-hop vocals.” Amazingblaze explains. “Each track has its own story. Here we got massive bangers for big venues and hard hitting tracks for clubs.”

Charlotte de Witte adds: “Amazingblaze is back on KNTXT with some truly magnificent tracks. Can’t Stop EP is filled with masterpieces that always turn out to be one of the highlights of my sets. His very distinctive sound just never disappoints. I’m very happy to have him on board for another massive EP on the label.”

Amazingblaze is a fast-rising newcomer on the scene who caught the attention of Charlotte de Witte with his unique talent and craft. Surrounded by music since childhood, Amazingblaze was intrigued by the mysterious vibrations of sound, which was his initial inspiration to produce electronic music. Arriving in St. Petersburg as a teenager, he met producer BMB Spacekid, who later became his mentor. Amazingblaze went onto releasing on Charlotte de Witte's iconic label KNTXT for the first time in 2022 with his ‘Venture EP’ that turned heads on a worldwide scale.

The ‘Can’t Stop EP’ showcases Amazingblaze’s meticulous craft as a fresh newcomer on the scene.

Dear listener,

On behalf of re:discovery records, it is with great excitement that we announce the release of Stryke – The Introspection Trilogy (1994-2022). rd011 features a track that is very close to my heart. My senior year in high school. I was heavily into chill-out music at the time. Labels like FAX, Instinct Ambient, Reflective, Astralwerks, em:t, Silent, Moonshine, Rising High, Warp, Exist Dance, Visible, Eye Q and others were giving me such a wide array of beautiful sounds of more subdued techno and rhythmic ambient music. I was buying every compilation I could at the time that looked remotely different based on the artwork, the unusual artist names or the tracks. I was soaking in everything I could under the chill-out style. That year 1994 I picked up the 2nd edition of Moonshine's 'United State of Ambience 2'.

It has so many good tracks on it. One track that always held a special place in my heart was Stryke's 'Introspection pt.1'. The simple but catchy melody layering. The easy atmosphere made me feel like I was floating in the ocean. The deep 808 bass notes (I hope one day you and I will hear this on an amazing sound system). The amazing strings reach a crescendo nearing the end. This track has so many simple but beautiful sounds on it. It's a great example of what I call sequencer-styled electronic music. At a time when producers layered tracks in more of a sequence then building or placing sounds. In 2021 I was able to get a hold of Greg Chin to see if he was interested in putting the track on my label and letting it breathe freely on its own side alone as the highlight of an EP. Greg was enthusiastic about the opportunity and told me that he always wanted to complete the trilogy he had in mind of a part 2 and 3. The ominous and eerie part 2 adds a terrific tension to the finale of part 3. The last being almost an updated part 1 really concluded the trilogy for me. Both parts melded together on side B pushing near 17 minutes. I want to thank Greg for letting us be a home to complete his journey.

- Tim Humphrey aka TIM aka errorsinspace

RAMZi's 'hyphea', the new album by Montreal based artist Phoebé Guillemot. It is her latest sonic quest containing 10 new tracks, of which some are versions of the score she made for a documentary about mushrooms called 'Fun Fungi' (directed by Frederic Lavoie).

Recorded between November 2021 and May 2022, writing 'hyphea' started off somewhat as an attempt to escape boredom and frustrations imposed by the severe restrictions during the pandemic. For Phoebé it was a way to reconnect with RAMZi who's spirit brought her back to mystical feelings and gave hope for future magical adventures after having felt disconnected for a while.

RAMZi is a wild spirit from the forest and refers to a parallel autonomous world that keeps evolving. In her own words: “The music remains as a doorway to that world. It has never been about me, I always see that entity bigger than myself. The process of writing 'hyphea' was rather intuitive. I don’t think about styles of music before producing tracks. Those are more like an adventure in itself, each one set in a different ecosystem.”

Artwork by Marinka Grondel.

Black Vinyl Repress!


For the first time, these exclusive extended versions of NJOI's seminal tracks are available as a 3 coloured disc vinyl-only release. Carefully lifted from their original early 90's live sets, these tracks have been re-crafted, extended and mastered to todays sonic standards and we're very proud to present 'Collected' on Food Music.

This project is much more than simply re-issuing the cream of NJOI's catalogue. As we enter 2022, we begin a year long journey with the duo, eventually unveiling 30 year old unreleased sought-after material for the first time ever, together with remixes from some of the todays finest electronic artists. It’s a privilege to complete the circle with NJOI and their timeless music.

Drumcode is excited to welcome back Rebuke for his first release of 2022 with the sci-fi inspired three-tracker ‘Dystopia’.

The Irishman has been a standout contributor on the label since his debut in 2019 with ‘Rattle’, a classic of the form. Follow up releases ‘Obscurity’ and ‘Wasp’ subsequently stamped him as an infallible go-to producer for Adam Beyer thanks to his ability to create powerful techno music with a memorable sound signature.

A dynamic cut made for 4am raving, ‘Dystopia’ chops and changes between an unsettling melody line and a barrage of buzzing synths as it builds towards a propulsive finish. No surprise it was a thrilling highlight when Beyer played it at Gashouder during Awakenings’ Easter programming.

‘Utopia’ is the lightness to ‘Dystopia’s’ dark. A superbly inventive and colourful track, it soars skywards with reams of euphoric techno energy and multi-layered sounds and stands as one of Rebuke’s most interesting tracks to date. Those in attendance at Circoloco @ DC10 when the Drumcode boss played in May got an advanced preview.
‘Presidio’, so named after the park in San Diego that inspired the track, is imbued with a distinct melodic character reflective of the West Coast music scene. The track is driven by a soaring chord progression and gritty rock-orientated sonics and makes for an exhilarating closing track.

It’s a new day – and 2022 marks a very special new chapter for Parisian producer Hugo LX, who delivers his latest sound offering on his freshly founded imprint Doma Music.

A collective adventure, « The Platinum Wave » sees the return of Hugo’s most frequent collaborators – trumpeter Hermon Mehari and guitarist Christopher Johnson, with the addition of pianist Tony Tixier – the four of them connecting, building and weaving their sonic textures over these five sound cuts.

A starting point in the Doma music catalogue, « The Platinum Wave » aims to propose a different sound in dance music, both a continuation of a certain musical legacy and an exploration of today’s boundless possibilities, as much as an intimate soundscape from four artists deeply involved in the Paris creative scene – and most definitely, a first taste of things to come on the label.

2022 Repress
Dear Friends,

25 years of KOMPAKT is no reason to get hysterical. Then again, it's a nice occasion to have a laid back look at the situation in electronic music today. Minimal techno in all it's varieties is now established as the worlds best dance music, as you may know. So far, so good. What's next Nothing. Dance on!

I've gain two essential insights with the passage of time. First off, that music which over the years only knew 'faster, better, stronger' and 'forwards ever - backwards never' can constantly repeat, quote and loop itself without killing itself. A music that suspends the meaning of time and eventually can set a parallel, better universe of fantasy against the twisted grimaces of reality. Again and again.

And secondly, that getting older living in/with this music is a quite relative term to which ideally a serenity of age can ring a bell. This shows that 25 years after 1993 so many protagonists, enthusiasts, DJs, musicians, relentlessly rave fighters - with all personal advancement - are still there and still celebrate, play or produce this/theirs music; and compete themselves and their music just with that.

Two such heroes of the neat and tidy bass drum culture are with no doubt T.RAUMSCHMIERE aka MARCO HAAS and REINHARD VOIGT. From day one, those two figureheads have given live-techno the glam of stage-diving rock 'n' roll, long before vodka and beer prevailed as alternative lube for ecstatic dancefloors.

Even better they both now raise the glass at the longest techno-bar in the world named KOMPAKT EXTRA/SPEICHER. With DREI MILLIONEN KO¨LSCH, Reinhard Voigt continues to establish his savvy 'way into sound', which he's pursued for a few years now on his many releases. He's turning genre cliche´s into a very personal take with his defiant mix of the deepness of a lonesome cowboy and his implicit faith in the dancefloor and gives the music a very personal touch of ennnoblement of the faith in itself. Technos dignity shall be inviolable.

For me, AUGEN ZU by T.RAUMSCHMIERE is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of bass-heavy 'Umta Umta' techno. A few strikingly brilliant vocal lines from the master himself, put through the machines and combined with a relentlessly sequencer that says it all. This cheers my heart and we will always need such tracks to remind us of ourselves. And to forget about ourselves. Smash hits of unreason! Or the prettiest declaration of love to a music which gets its magical moments from what's happening between the bass drum-beats. But only by this when the bassdrum remains linear and will do so forever. Both Marco Haas and Reinhard Voigt know that. Because after techno comes always techno.

Wolfgang Voigt - May, 2018 Wolfgang Voigt - May, 2018

25 Jahre KOMPAKT sind kein Grund sich aufzuregen. Aber dennoch ein schöner Anlass, einen gelassenen Blick auf die Lage der elektronischen Musik zu werfen. Denn der globale Minimal-Techno, in seinen unterschiedlichen Spielarten, hat sich bekanntlich längst als beste Tanzmusik der Welt etabliert. Recht so. Was nun Gar nichts. Weitertanzen.

Zwei essentielle Erkenntnisse haben sich bei mir im Laufe der Zeit durchgesetzt: Erstens - dass eine Musik, die über Jahre nur ein »Höher, Schneller, Weiter« oder ein »Forwards Ever - Backwards Never« kannte, sich ständig wiederholen, selbst zitieren und loopen kann, ohne daran zu ersticken. Die Bedeutung von Zeit und Vergänglichkeit im besten Sinne außer Kraft setzen und der hässlichen Fratze der Realität eine parallele, bessere Welt der Fantasie entgegensetzen kann. Immer wieder.

Und zweitens: dass »Altern in/mit dieser Musik« ein sehr relativer Begriff ist, dem bestenfalls Altersgelassenheit etwas sagt, Alter. Das zeigt sich immer wieder im schönsten Sinne, wenn 25 Jahre nach 1993 so viele Akteure, Enthusiasten, DJs, Musikanten, unkaputtbare Kampfraver, bei aller persönlichen Weiterentwicklung, immer noch da sind und immer noch diese/ihre Musik abfeiern, auflegen oder eben produzieren und sich und ihr Tun auch nur daran messen lassen müssen.

Zwei solche Recken der gepflegten Bassdrumkultur sind zweifelsohne T.RAUMSCHMIERE aka MARCO HAAS und REINHARD VOIGT. Zwei Rampensäue der ersten Stunde, die Live-Techno den Glam des Rock'n'Roll Stagedivings gegeben haben, lange bevor Vodka und Bier sich als alternative Gleitmittel eines ektatischen Dancefloors in der Breite durchgesetzt hatten.

Umso schöner, dass sich eben diese Beiden mal wieder an der längsten Techno-Theke der Welt, genannt KOMPAKT EXTRA/SPEICHER über die beiden Seiten einer Schallplatte hinweg musikalisch zuprosten. Mit dem Track DREI MILLIONEN KÖLSCH setzt REINHARD VOIGT seinen smarten »way into sound« fort, den er schon seit ein paar Jahren auf diversen Veröffentlichungen konsequent verfolgt. Mit einer trotzigen Mischung aus lonesome cowboyhafter Deepness und dem unbedingten Bekenntnis zum Dancefloor schafft er es, den Klischees des Techno eine sehr persönliche Note der Veredelung des Glaubens an sich selbst zu geben. Die Würde des Techno ist unantastbar.

Der Track AUGEN ZU von T.RAUMSCHMIERE ist für mich eines der schönsten Meisterstücke in der Tradition des oktavbassgeschwängerten Umta-Umta Techno. Einige wenige markant brilliante Textzeilen, vom Meister selbst in deutscher Sprache durch die Maschinen geschickt, gepaart mit einem Sequenzer der keine Gefangenen macht, lassen keine Fragen offen. Da geht mir Herz und Rucksack auf. Solche Tracks werden wir immer brauchen, um uns an uns selbst zu erinnern. Um uns immer wieder selbst zu vergessen. Smash-Hits der Unvernunft! Oder die schönste Liebeserklärung an eine Musik, die ihre magischsten Momente immer aus dem gezogen hat, was zwischen den Bassdrumschlägen passiert. Das funktioniert aber nur, wenn die Bassdrum gerade ist und es für immer bleibt. Und Marco Haas und Reinhard Voigt wissen das. Denn nach Techno kommt immer noch Techno.

Wolfgang Voigt, Mai 2018

2022 Re Edition

STAREAWAY is Markus Guentner from Regensburg, of Kompakt- and Ware-fame, and Heiko Badje from Hamburg, the man behind saudade-driven pop-band La Grande Illusion. Exploring the possibilities of combining Guentners critically acclaimed adventures in ambient scapes and Badjes melodies and distinctive singing, their track 'Baghira", as an early result, was selected on Kompakts 'Pop Ambient 6 compilation in 2005. Their first EP as STAREAWAY, called 'Learn How To Love Me", was released on Hamburg-based label Couldn.t Care More in 2011 including a remix by deep house icon Osunlade crossing all borders, yet feeling so natural, and the somewhat timeless electronic pop reference 'Unwise". Now STAREAWAY come up with their first album 'No Life In This Ghost Town' (again on Couldn.t Care More); seven sketches between song and track deliberately carved from a shimmering wall of electronic sound by guitars, spiritualized voices and subtle melodies. It.s caressing and thoughtful, but there is also a darkness that makes you shiver. Glowing embers in far away windows. STAREAWAY combine a vision of sound with multitudes of micro-organisms which take turns no one can forsee. And what may appear as a mere coincidence is in fact a concentrated search. They are seekers of the things lying underneath. STAREAWAY's 'No Life In This Ghost Town' is mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri. It will be available as Double Vinyl (+ Download-Code) and, of course, digitally. Layout by JL Prozess (Markus Guentner), artwork by Claudia Kugler.

The full moon of May 2022 brings the 6th Hypnus record by Birds ov Paradise.

Early support from Dorisburg, TM404, Brando Lupi, Abstract Division, Arnaud le Texier, Ben Buitendijk, Felix Lorusso, Mosam Howieson, Samuli Kemppi, Takaaki Itoh, Hydrangea and Forest on Stasys to name a few.

Love and light

Kerri Chandler’s Kaoz Theory kicks off 2022 with Mr. ID’s Language Of Jazz EP, featuring two remixes from the label boss himself alongside two original cuts.

2021 saw Kerri Chandler’s Kaoz Theory continue to move from strength to strength, unveiling material from the likes of Dutch rising star Chris Stussy and of course Kerri himself, here we see the imprint wrap things up with a new addition to the roster, Casablanca, Morocco-based artist Mr. ID.

Up first on the release is ‘Track ID1’, a collaboration between Mr. ID and Youssef Grirane featuring Rita Mdn. It’s a unique six-minute journey through jazzy pianos and organ licks, intricate organic percussion and mesmeric, textural atmospheres. Kerri gives it the remix treatment in style extracting all of the jazziness of the original and retwisting things with the classic Chandler authentic house feel. Next, Chandler employs his revered 623 alias for the ‘623 Again Mix’ version which strips things back to low-slung drums, bumpy stabs and emotive piano lines.

The flip side houses ‘Track ID1’ in all its original glory before ‘Track ID2’ closes out proceedings seeing Mr. ID join forces with Younes Akhraz, rhythmically shifting to a jazzy 4/4 drum groove while wandering keys and warm subs fuel the mystical vibe.

DJ Feedback:

Sasha – Tasty

Laurent Garnier – Love the whole EP

Jimpster – Jazzed up piano house heaven! Love It!

Lea Lisa – Lovely remix by Kerri

Mr. V – Kerri delivers the goods once again!!!

Anja Schneider – Great. Love It.

Archie Hamilton – Nice

Andrew Treagust - Man that's some crazy production – really like it!

Mike W - absolutely classic release. how on earth could you go wrong? the world needs more piano!

Fish Go Deep - All tracks sounding great here. ID1 is a lovely warm groove and Kerri's remixes inject a little dancefloor bump to proceedings.

Daniel Troberg – incredible music

Kiki Navarro – excellent single, loving all the mixes special ID1 and the Kerri Chandler Main Remix

Ben Lovett – Remix mastery from Chandler – wonderful meeting of piano and drum – fire.

Sergio – Excellent example of classic house with personality

Hector Samper – Amazing EP!!!

2022 Repress

In future times, culture historians will refer to Gabor Schablitzki aka Robag Wruhme as a creator of a singular techno sound, a rock in the murky sea of arbitrary musical dullness that befell mankind in the early 21st century.

Furthermore, a lesser known quality of Schablitzki will be praised and explored: He was a relentless wordsmith, a deeply passionate inventor of elegant idioms that enriched German language. Take ‘Freggelswuff’ or ‘Wemmel’ as shining examples.

It’s within this context that a certain cultural artefact released on a Cologne based record label called KOMPAKT (which towards the end of the 21st century made a hardly publicised turn to manufacturing CO2-neutral wall plug systems) that went by the sonorous title ‘Topinambur’ has to be mentioned. Legend has it that Schablitzki claimed to have created the word ‘Topinambur’, unknowingly that local farmers have been marketing a root tuber under the same name since it got imported from America in 1610 AD. The following tenacious copyright lawsuit between Schablitzki and a large agricultural consortium lasted for many years. It isn’t considered as a highpoint in Schablitzki’s turbulent life but it still serves a staircase wit that is passed on from generation to generation amongst Black Forest moonshiners.

Kulturhistoriker künftiger Generationen werden Gabor Schablitzki alias Robag Wruhme als Schöpfer eines singulären Techno-Sounds preisen, als einen Fels in der Brandung der im frühen 21. Jahrhundert vorherrschenden Beliebigkeit. Als DJ und Produzent war ein Meister des deepen Abrisses, werden sie weiterhin formulieren, obschon es weitere 136 Jahre dauern wird, bis die subkulturelle Bedeutung des Wortes 'Abriss' zweifelsfrei geklärt werden konnte.

Es wird aber auch eine weitere einzigartige Qualität Gabor Schablitzkis hervorgehoben werden: Er war ein unermüdlicher Wortschöpfer, der die deutsche Sprache um elegante Idiome wie Freggelswuff oder Wemmel bereicherte. In diesem Zusammenhang findet meist eine Veröffentlichung des Kölner Labels KOMPAKT (welches im ausklingenden 21. Jahrhundert einen wenig bemerkenswerten Wandel zum Hersteller von CO2-neutralen Dämmstoffdübeln vollzog) Erwähnung. Diese Veröffentlichung erschien unter dem klangvollen Namen "Topinambur" und die Legende besagt, dass Schablitzki behauptete auch hier der Nachwelt eine neue Wortschöpfung hinterlassen zu haben, nicht wissend, dass europäische Landwirte bereits seit 1610 A.D. unter diesem Namen ein aus Amerika importiertes Knollengewächs vermarkteten. Der sich daran anschliessende Copyright-Streit zwischen Schablitzki und einem mächtigen Agrarkonzern, zählte nicht zu den rühmlichen Episoden seines bewegten Lebens, sorgt aber seit Generationen als Treppenwitz unter Schwarzwälder Schnapsbrennern für viel Geschmunzel.

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome back Kaidi Tatham, with a brand new 12-track album entitled 'Don't Rush The Process'.

This is Kaidi's 4th solo album under his own name, following on from 'An Insight To All Minds' (2021), 'It's A World Before You' (2018), and 'In Search Of Hope' (re-pressed in 2020), all released on First Word, along with several EPs from 2017 onwards.

To bring you up to speed, Kaidi Tatham is a legendary multi-instrumentalist born in the Midlands and based in Belfast. Once dubbed "the UK's Herbie Hancock" by Benji B, he's a virtuoso on the keys and a true innovator in sound production as one of the original creators of the Broken Beat sound. Over the years his musical prowess has blessed numerous projects, recently with the likes of DJ Jazzy Jeff, Andrew Ashong and with longtime accomplice, Dego. This in addition to session and remix work for artists such as Mulatu Astatke, Slum Village, Marcos Valle, Amy Winehouse, Soul II Soul, Nubya Garcia, Rosie Frater-Taylor and Leroy Burgess, along with First Word label mates Eric Lau, Children of Zeus, Allysha Joy and Darkhouse Family. Kaidi is also a revered DJ known for rocking parties globally, whilst his solo catalogue spans tons of EPs and releases for labels such as Dego's 2000 Black, Alex Nut's Eglo Records and Theo Parrish's Sound Signature.

This new album 'Don't Rush The Process' opens with an intro of sweet strings on 'Mystery Solved', ahead of lead title track, which is on a mid-tempo boom bap vibe, before switching to a more uptempo boogie vein, with the assistance of The Easy Access Orchestra, who also appear on 'We Chillin' Out', which is on a similar boogie tip. 'All I Need' is some gospel flavoured hip hop, whilst 'Knocknee Donkey' steps things up in a jazz-funk fashion. The second half of the album takes on a very Brazilian flavoured stance, with a set of delicious latin flavoured grooves on 'Any Flavour', 'Runnin' Tru', 'What A Dream' and 'Sooretama', the latter featuring the additional prowess of pianist Robert Mitchell. There's a touch more of the hip hop beats thrown in via 'Funky Fool' and the album closes out in inimitable Kaidi style with a short message: 'Mind Yourself'.

A hugely prolific artist, here he adds to an already impressive catalogue, a body of work that falls within the cracks of jazz and dance music, exemplifying modern British black brilliance; uncompromising, innovative, groundbreaking, intricately sophisticated and deeply funky. His fanbase expands on every release and it's no surprise that that fanbase includes a diverse set of peers such as Madlib ("ahead of his time"), Gilles Peterson ("a key part of an entire movement"), K15 ("a limitless source of inspiration") and Kyle Hall.

'Don't Rush The Process' is released on vinyl & digital worldwide, July 2022 via First Word Records.

Spaceships on the Blade is the 2022 solo album from San Francisco legend, entrepreneur and rapper, Larry June. The 20-track album features the singles, “Private Valet,” & “In My Pockets,” and sees production from a wide range of producers such as, The Alchemist, Jake One, DJ Khalil, Cardo, DJ.Fresh, Chuck Inglish, Turbo & more. Enlisting the help from fellow rap luminaries such as 2 Chainz, Babyface Ray, Curren$y and more, Spaceships on the Blade shows that Uncle Larry always has an eye on expanding and diversifying income steams and will continue to do numbers for a long time. Good Job, Larry. 2xLP, Black Vinyl, Widespine Jacket, Printed Sleeves.