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After presenting Detroit Swindle’s sophomore album High Life in 2018, we felt it was the right time to serve you up a tasty selection of remixes from all over the world and all over the sound palette. We’ve got some dub and boogie from Australia and the Netherlands, classic deephouse from Detroit, dark and dreamy deephouse from the UK and some high energy house from Germany. This set of remixes comes from 5 artists we hold in high regard and have made a serious impact on their part of the scene; some recently and some already a long time ago.

We invited Dutch techno -plot twist alert!- legend Steve Rachmad to come up with a re-interpretation of ‘Yes, no, maybe (feat. Tom Misch)’. His Sterac Electronics remix actually has nothing to do with techno but is an uplifting modern boogie version of the already funky original. Glimmering electronics, some added harmonics and a tight 80’s groove is what this version is all about.

The A2 is reserved for Cinthie, who took the high energy afro funk track ‘Call of the wild (feat. Jungle by Night)’ and turned it into a full on house frenzy with solo’s all around and a groove that just keeps on going and going.

The A side is completed with a remix by Jura Soundsystem, who has impressed many of us with his balaeric influenced synth-boogie, and dub on his own label ‘Isle of Jura’. Here, he chose to remix ‘High life (feat. Lorenz Rhode)’ and has done an excellent job in re-imagining the track into a tamed down, dreamy dub.

On the flip, there’s Matt Karmil’s take on one of the album’s beatless tracks ‘Ketama gold’. He goes in deep with some dusty drums and an arrangement that keeps on building and building, keeping the chord sequence from the track’s outro as a main loop and adding subtle FX, toms and acid hits and a final delivery where electronic cowbells up the energy level by a notch or two.

We finish off the compilation with a moody deephouse re-interpretation of ‘Ex machina’ by Detroit legend Gari Romalis. The twisted machine funk of the original is craftfully replaced by a dusty house loop, dreamy pads and smart usage of the original’s drum effects to build momentum.

This remix package brings a lovely new chapter into the story of ‘High Life’ and we hope you’ll enjoy these reworks as much as we do.
Yours Sincerely,

Maarten & Lars.

Doktor Normal, the latest addition to Estonia's small yet buzzing funk scene backs its nerd hop/novelty rap with MPC beats and synths. The first compositions date back to 2008, original inspiration lies in the TV series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Without any prior knowledge of producing hip-hop, the starting point was humor. After a 10-year hiatus, Doktor Normal got around the record an album.

"World of Ham" is Doktor Normal's début LP released on vinyl (250 copies) and digitally. The 10-track album serves as a fine example of contemporary retro-hop and electro funk with an unusual additude. Child-like creativity, pure and unfiltered flow is further exemplified by the LP cover image, and texts filled purposely with grammatic errors. The essential mantra of Doktor Normal is: make your own rules!

Mule Driver presents: Rainshadow

Imagine yourself on a deserted bank of the dead sea, a day after the end of days, taking part in the RainShadow tribe’s ceremony, chanting and thanking the spirits.

On this new EP, Mule driver delivers four post apocalyptic tribal tracks with a dystopian feel, fusing obscure techno with dark spiritual rhythms, driven with crushing beats with a hint of disco.

Tel Aviv based Mule Driver / Harel Schreiber has been highly active in the underground techno / electronic scene of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for almost 2 decades with releases on his Los Jubilee & Confused Machines imprints, Parallax records and many more.

His full analog live shows are constantly evolving and are not to be missed.

Rainshadow is Mule driver’s ultimate treat to date and it was worth waiting for.

Over the last decade, we’ve come accustomed to Jason Letkiewicz releasing material under a dizzying array of aliases, each utilized to explore a different side of his multi-faceted musical persona. Now, some 14 years after he made his recording debut alongside Ari Goldman as Manhunter, Letkiewicz has joined forces with Into The Light Records to release his first album under his real name.

The Reflecting Pool sees Letkiewicz exploring the uncomplicated and uncluttered in the pursuit of pure aural beauty. While his recent album as Opposing Currents was dense, dark, urban and industrial, The Reflecting Pool is stripped back, quiet and melodious. The contrast between the two projects is marked, with The Reflecting Pool drawing more on Letkiewicz’s love of crystalline ambient, slow burn synthesizer soundscapes, early ’80s library music and the kind of obscure electronic new age music that has been a hallmark of Into The Light’s releases to date.

The set’s 12 tracks gently ebb and flow, with Letkiewicz making great use of dusty old drum machines, effects units and a range of vintage analogue and digital synthesizers. It’s a set-up that results in a range of complimentary mood pieces and interludes, from the delay-laden military drums and lilting lead lines of “Out of Body Experiences”, to the drowsy, sunrise bliss of “Sunspot”, the bubbling Tangerine Dream style shuffle of “Mind Awake Body Asleep” and the outer-space atmosphere of “The Kill Fee”.

Throughout, Letkiewicz showcases his seemingly intrinsic grasp of mood, atmosphere and melody. It can be heard within the glacial guitar motifs, occasional beats and elongated chords of “The Reflecting Pool”, the rhythmic bustle of “Numb Drums”, the glassy-eyed melancholia of “Arhythmia” and the cinematic paranoia of “Burning Off The Morning Fog”. It’s also evident amongst the classically beat-less ambient of closing cut “Weightless”, whose alien electronics, effects-laden pulses and opaque chords recall established masters of the genre.

With The Reflecting Pool, Letkiewicz has provided us with a much-needed dose of stress-free musical escapism, at the same time offering hope that in these troubling times, love may still save the day.

Zru Vogue is a two man post punk avant-pop group from Palo Alto, California, combining the talents of Andrew Finkle and Rick Cuevas.

The band began in 1980 as a four member group: Rick, Andy, Tom Sanders and Nancy Miller. Tom and Nancy left the group shortly after the first single, "Nakweda Dream", was released by independent San Francisco label Adolescent Records in February 1981. Inspired by rave reviews and heavy airplay on alternative radio stations, Andy and Rick went back into the studio, now as a duo, to record some new ZRU tracks.

The self-tilted LP was released on the band’s Zero Risk Records in 1982. It contains eight compositions blending African tribal and Middle Eastern rhythms, avant-garde rock, minimal electronics, and funk-rock guitars.

The duo’s sound is inspired by the art and anti-art movements of Dada and Surrealism. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each copy is housed in a replica of the original jacket, which features artwork by the group members, and includes the original 2-sided lyric sheet.

The album starts with 'St. Fabian Tower', named after the now demolished tower block in Chingford where Anthoney used to DJ for Rude FM. The track's lush detuned synths and syncopated drums are girded by stern low end frequencies. Drum and bass, jungle and hardcore are the touchstones here, but the forms he creates make no attempt to imitate the music of those eras. Take the rolling, bubbling, almost jazz-drummer patterns of 'Yeah, I Like It' and 'I Want You' where strange pops and bubbles seem to be forced through the grid almost like they're an effect of pressure. It's an odd juxtaposition next to the soulful vocals but an effective one. 'Edge Of Darkness' meanwhile, is an intense, rough ride of sliding rhythms and elephantine bass. Elsewhere, like on 'A New Consciousness', things are tempered into a more streamlined techno-like hybrid. He lets loose in the claps and kicks banger of 'Fi Di Gyal', but even here there are neat sonic tricks that sound like nods to minimalist composition.

On The Threshold is a balance of smart and energetic, non linear thoughtfulness and makeshift experimentalism that does away with boundaries, but is very much its own self contained world.

With more than 220 million cumulated streams in 2013, Poldoore is far to be unknown from international future-beat and hip-hop scenes. His new record, Mosaïc, comes back confirming to be the spearhead of a booming music genre, where beatmakers emerge from the shadows to the light, to assert themselves as artists in their own rights. Coming from Belgium, more precisely Louvain near Bruxelles, Thomas Schillebeeckx began to explore his parents record collection at age 5, when the family moved to the US. Since, the will to combine this musical heritage to his more modern surrounding sounds never left. Because Poldoore music has a credo: assembly the era with sampling, mixing the genres to create a new musical touch.

Since his beginning in 2013, with the album The Days Off, the young musician talents gave him the opportunity to perform for an international tour with famous venues such as Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival, Dour Festival, or the giant Tomorrowland. Everything you need to create a huge fanbase, one that never let you down through your musical evolutions. At this stage, Poldoore is already ahead of his time, playing a music focused on the future, making his place among lasting artists by getting to the top sales on Beatport. Six years after, he's still here, more than ever.
The following of his career brings him to Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Greece, and developing remixes for international artists such as Selah Sue, Wax Tailor, Declaime or Talib Kweli.
He is also nominated at the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards in Belgium, for both Album of the Year and Best Newcomer of the year, mostly thanks to the hit: the remix of the classic Fugees song, Fu-Gee-La. Everything to set the stage for his second album, The Days Off in 2016. The natural identity of Poldoore music rings out more than ever, and allows him to sign several projects and EPs on prestigious labels: Chinese Man Records, Nowadays, Cold Busted or Darker Than Wax.
His forthcoming album Mosaïc is a pure exploration of genres. The offbeat hip-hop, beautifully embodied by the track Lessons About Life, the electro-funk with Darts Is Not A Sport, his beloved jamaïcan sounds on A Brand New Day (featuring ASM and Balkan Bump), or the break-electronic on Solace. But it's mainly his unusual ability to give a second groove to 70s soul samples and epic strings, that makes this record truly essential. The whole tracklist is haunted, whether on the excellent Walking Through A Sunlit Forest or on Melatonin, last of the 13 tracks. Always seeking to marry different musical periods, always linking the past and the future. With Mosaïc, Poldoore is not only showing us his talent, but takes the listener through out Time. And isn't it what the music is supposed to do














 

his time with rapid-fire synths and dance beats that worm their way into your brain and get stuck there. Keeping it Cyberpunk and dance-able, he surprisingly tops himself once again. We can just spew more praise but let's let this album speak for itself, along with his amazing collaborators.

Scottish producer Alex returns to Playmaker Media Records after his previous album ‘X’ was released through the label last year. After a few releases through New Retro Wave he’s becoming a house hold name in the alternative synth scene with his unique mix of dark synth and cyber pop".

For Against Fascism Trax 006, Auntie Flo takes us to Brazil, a country that is dealing with having a bona fide fascist president, with an EP recorded in Rio De Janeiro. I’m going to shut up and let Afonso Marcondes from Sao Paolo take it from here -

In a world in which culture policies (incl. music) win nationalist tones, Brazil has lessons to give with the catastrophic failed experience of the last government and the teletubbies talk on Culture from the current one.

As one sometimes feel as if one is on a time-warp from time to time, most often taken there by music, songs like March of The Berimbau here, could easy make for the perfect soundtrack for the political history of Brazil, country in which Auntie Flo got his inspiration and recorded this tracks.

From the military regime that gave Brazil bossa nova in the 60’s, the tropicália sounds of the 70’s to the pop rock era of the 80’s all the way from the rave scene of the 90’s to todays Bahia Bass, music in Brazil has always been instrumental in helping shape the political scene.

One thing about the Brazilian music ’scene’ is that rarely it lends itself to extreme political views, via lyrics or otherwise, after all, carnaval must be kept a happy time! The number of different cultures living in peace, side by side in Brazil has strenghten the country disapproval of hate talk in music since I can remember growing up in the interior of São Paulo state.

As per wiki: Fascism is a form of radical ultranationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition… Children bedtime reading if you follow the past 15 years in Brazilian politics and the rise and fall of Brazil’s Labour Party, together with its disastrous polices on culture and synergy with de definition above; including the views of a important cultural Party branch that continuously 'preached' that Authors should need no rights over their works. That couldn’t bit music in Brazil.

Fast forward to the first 5 months of government of an unfortunate retired army officer, whose every word sounds like Trump, and whose views on culture is to extinguish the Culture Ministry and cut low the state incentives to the sector, that, so far, is not bitting music in Brasil.

Hope that Auntie Flo’s music inspired everyone as the place where it was made and recorded inspired music in Brazil, as a beacon of light against any hate talk darkness.

As a visual artist and ambient composer, Tor Lundvall's work often recontextualizes the familiarity of everyday life through abstraction and space. Starting with the snapshot of a moment, Lundvall extracts its underlying complexity of the seemingly mundane and gives sleeping suggestion a presence and purpose. Mainly working sans vocals, Lundvall returned to voice exploration for 2018's A Dark Place, a somber, dark synth album that merged his mastery of textural ambience with traditional pop structures.

Rescued from old DAT tapes A Strangeness In Motion: Early Pop Recordings 1989-1999 are some of Lundvall's earliest completed synth pop works which have remained unreleased until now.

Though Lundvall's work throughout the collection has the recognizable ambient bones and sensibilities he has refined throughout his career, many of the tracks call back to the synth-driven pop of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, The Human League and New Order, with the common thread being the sparse density and mood created by reservation and the lonely impulse to twist convention, not to rip it up and repurpose it. Rather than 10 disparate ideas, Lundvall's curation of A Strangeness In Motion: Early Pop Recordings 1989-1999 feels like excerpts from a broader work, allowing the listener to fill in the holes and ladder up to his larger themes and concepts, perhaps coloring his prior works in new hues and tones.

'For years I dismissed these songs as naive and youthful relics, but I've grown much fonder of them in recent years along with the memories they evoke,' he says of the decade spanning collection of tracks, many of which were sketched out in his duo with Drew Sullivan, After The Outing. 'Original One', 'Procession Day', 'The Clearing', and 'The Melting Hour' are present here as solo reworkings, originally culled from his sessions with Sullivan. The remaining songs were ideas originally considered for Passing Through Alone (1997) and its proposed follow up, provisionally and playfully titled Femalamania.

'The title was summing up my girl problems at the time and also a silly word spin on Robyn Hitchcock's Fegmania!' he says. 'Sadly, the project was abandoned—a rare decision for me and perhaps the only time I've scrapped an album entirely.'

Repress

In 1981, Alexei Borisov, a history student at the Moscow State University, formed his first band "Prospekt (Avenue)", drawing inspiration from kitchen table talks and new wave music coming from the West. They broke up in 1984 and a year later Borisov joined forces with Ivan Sokolovsky, an electronic music enthusiast and a connaisseur of rare synthesizers, to introduce the new and "updated" version of the band. By becoming Notchnoi Prospekt (Night Avenue), Borisov and Sokolovsky started moving towards industrial music and viscous, psychedelic synth pop.

In 1986, after a few conceptual, revolutionary albums as Notchnoi Prospekt, various solo projects and collaborations, the duo reunited in the studio to record their only instrumental album "Kurorty Kavkaza" (Resorts of the Caucasus). Built around the hypnotic meshing of afro-caribbean drum machine percussion and vintage Soviet and Italian synthesizers' vivid sonic palette, the resulting record was something that was absolutely different from Borisov and Sokolovsky's dark signature sound and wasn't well received both by the public and underground scene.

Until now, these tracks were never released and Notchnoi Prospekt never performed them live. Shortly after the recording session the duo focused on a return to their industrial roots that resulted in a number of monumental albums including "Kisloty" that became an instant underground classic.

"Kurorty Kavkaza" lay dormant and forgotten decades, and thirty three years after its recording, it gets the deserved official release.

Berlin based trio Keller Crackers collective likes to shape haunting esoteric sounds, in which self-built instruments dance with ritualistic synthesised rhythms, field recordings, psychoacoustic drones and poetical spoken silhouettes.

After a self-released MC and a mesmerising tune called “Anem” out in February 2019 on the custom-made Kashual Plastik 007 double-vinyl compilation, now they give birth to their own debut record “KC”, a four track EP resulting from various improvisational studio sessions, a bag full of spontaneous visionary DIY sound fashion that melts meandering serialism, foggy ‘Chris & Cosey’-ness, exoticism and freely expressed emotions. Some pieces are given time to evolve, being dragged through long arrangements and slow transitions, while others are playful and short. To close up the magic circle, the release includes a tripping Tolouse Low Trax signature remix.

The opening tune “Specialised” swings on a trance-like hypnotic bass line, while a self-made kalimba played through a tape delay and overtones from a DIY circuit bended device inject dynamics and colour to the composition. Out of the sonic depth, the spoken words of Sylvana Wickman emerge enchanting and unreal, naming a series of technical terms, assembling a deep notion on the specialised society we live in.

“Cow Tongue” follows, a fleeting composition of crackling electronic clicks jumping off a micro-modular device. They got overdubbed again by Sylvana’s voice, delightfully reciting phrases from a recipe of regional delicacies.

The A side of KC`s first strike finishes with a spaced-out synth bass and the lo-fi beats of a Yamaha RX15 drum machine. They are the gripping foundation of “Aithouses Anamonis“, which means “Waiting Rooms”. It describes the scene of a man sitting in a waiting room observing the consumerist behaviour by the folks around him.

The B-side opens with a Tolouse Low Trax remix of “Specialised”, elevating the original with the bass line of “Aithouses Anamonis“, while melting the all into a dark nebulous Tolouse Low Trax signature stripped down funk for endless nights in neon lights.

For their final track “Colours”, Keller Crackers invited a steady free member of their live shows to record with them: free jazz musician Robert Würz. He tuned his flute enthralling over a suspenseful bass line formed in a whirlwind of synth-sounds. The whole frenzy gets divine through sliding chords that rise from a self-built guitar.

A musical bouquet for open spirits, that value charming minimal wave zones, undefinable post-industrial psychedelics and hallucinogenic poetry reflections on the current state of our mechanical times.

Pelican, the instrumental quartet whose singular vision of heavy music eschews classification, have announced their first full length in six years, Nighttime Stories, is due June 7th via Southern Lord Recordings.

The eight-song set marks the band’s first release written front to back with guitarist Dallas Thomas, who took over guitar duties upon founding member Laurent Schroeder-Lebec’s departure in 2012. In the process of writing the album the quartet endured a slew of realisations, tragedies, and glimmers of optimism that guided the creative process to the most potent work of their nineteen-year career.

Though the new material veers towards the darker tone characteristic of Pelican’s early songwriting, it’s hard to imagine a previous incarnation of the band writing songs as meticulously crafted and detail-oriented as those within Nighttime Stories, where the compositions recall everything from the triumphant call-to-arms of classic Dischord, to the vicious troglodyte battery of the Melvins, to the dynamic interwoven melodies of bottom-heavy indie cult heroes Chavez.

Nighttime Stories was an album title initially proposed for Tusk, the hallucinatory art-grind band that included Pelican members Trevor Shelley de Brauw, Larry Herweg, and Schroeder-Lebec, in addition to vocalist Jody Minnoch. The writing of Nighttime Stories was instigated shortly after Minnoch’s unexpected death in 2014, and some of the dissonant viscera and dark psychedelic structures that were characteristic of Tusk’s sound began to unconsciously inform the album’s direction. In homage to their departed colleague, Pelican applied the previously discarded title and pulled many of the song titles from notes Minnoch had sent to inspire the direction of the unrealized album. As the writing of Nighttime Stories progressed Thomas also experienced a heavy loss with the passing of his father, to whom the album pays tribute on opening track “W.S.T.” (on which Dallas performed his guitar parts on his father’s Yamaha acoustic).
 
Pelican have always excelled at vacillating between the savage sounds of various niches of metal underground and the more delicate and nuanced sounds of Midwest’s cerebral indie community, proving that they can make either end of the spectrum more vibrant and compelling through the art of contrast. With Nighttime Stories, the pendulum has swung back to the angst and ire of their younger years while delivering it with the nuance and wisdom that’s come with nearly two decades of writing and performing. Pelican head out on a ten date US tour in June with more dates in the works for later in the year (see dates below).

“Style” can be defined as that special ability to watermark every track with an instantly-recognizable identity. Local Suicide, aka Munich’s Brax Moody and Greek-born Vamparela, has it in spades. And following releases on labels such as Bordello, My Favorite Robot, Multi Culti, Roam, Duro and OMBRA, it only made sense that the duo would eventually find its way to Lumière Noire. After all, “black light” (as per the meaning of Chloé’s label’s name) could describe the way Local Suicide’s music flirts with the more troubling zones of the listener’s psyche, where danger roams and aural comfort is no longer a guarantee. The EP’s two tracks set a dark, shifty sonic tableau, in which German-American multidisciplinary artist - and a unique personality of the Berlin underground - Nicki Fehr comes to blend his voice with Vamparela’s. With its swerving bass slithering over a slow tempo, Leopard Gum is the perfect slow burner, a slice of comatose disco that will find its way to the darkest corners of nightlife - and haunt its DJ sets. The synths that come crashing across the track’s Smagghe & Cross remix add their saturated signature that provide a different kind of hook through its breathless nine-minute run. The same measured tempo is found once more on the more ethereal Already There, where Local Suicide affirm their adherence to the more captivating signatures of new wave and post disco. Permanent Vacation stalwarth Lauer adds a surprizing electro pop shimmer to the track. With Leopard Gum’s opaque and impenetrable atmosphere, Local Suicide have released one of their strongest efforts to date.

Following on from big recent releases from Neue Grafik & Oliver Night, CoOp Presents Sivey, with an all-new double-header of heat, 'Nobody Else' and 'Somebody Samebody'.

For those that don't know, Manchester-based Sivey became a player in the future beats scene a couple years back, releasing music with the LA-based collective Soulection, as a solo artist and via collaborations with Evil Needle, which came to fruition after a series of online beat battles, as well as releases and remixes with labels like Astral Black and Ninja Tune.

His last wave of output was greeted with enthusiasm by fans of soulful beats championed by artist collectives such as HW&W and Darker Than Wax, and saw Sivey subsequently spinning at events across the UK, and perform shows as far afield as Los Angeles and Tokyo.

Rooted in hip hop production, Sivey's largely instrumental tracks have brought together elements of millennial R&B, neo-soul, UK garage, jazz and 80s funk. In the few years since his previous releases, Sivey has continued to experiment with new ways of exploiting his diverse influences in his productions. As his listening habits became increasingly orientated around jazz and obscure 70s fusion records, his own productions began to reflect the shift.

The recent resurgence of the broken beat movement was something that also inspired him, admiring the balance between musicality and danceability of the genre. He made his first experiments with bruk in 2017 and found that it mixed perfectly with what he'd already been creating. Eager to share the results with the world, it made perfect sense for his first offerings of this ilk to find a home here with us at CoOp Presents.

These two tracks exemplify the ever-evolving progression of Sivey's sonics; the familiar deep keys and synth sounds of his previous productions are there, but nestled alongside more uptempo grooves, and the lush rhythmic complexity of bruk. Tied in with his love for jazz fusion, 'Somebody Samebody' sees Sivey reinterpret a late 70's track by Japanese guitarist, Kazumi Watanabe; this one also enlisting the help of Trian Kayhatu on keys. As well as the original tracks, prolific Selectors Assemble crew member Danvers adds in his own tasty heads-down version of 'Nobody Else', and label co-founder IG Culture (who recently received a Worldwide Award for 'lifetime achievement'!) provides a dope bruk-funk flip of 'Somebody Samebody' to close out the set.

A product of the transformative power of dance music, Ede moved Berlin after he experienced something magical while dancing to Ame at
Berghain. So enchanted was he by the pivotal moment that he set his sights on making music to be released by Innervisions… And that happened
three years later when his track ‘Jenny’ made it into the label’s ‘Secret Weapons 11’ compilation. Ede’s dark, new wave style has also
piqued the interest of Jennifer Cardini, who signed his music to a V/A on her Correspondant Music label recently. Now the producer joins the
TAU family for a full EP, featuring four original cuts.
‘Raum’ jumpstarts the collection with menacing allure. Whirring analogue forms the core of this deadly track, keeping it tight in the low end
while various layers of synth fizz and snarl. An urgent riff joins the fray, adding depth and energy. Across almost 10 minutes Ede showcases his
ability to create a dark atmosphere and imbue his music with spinetingling theatrics. Fans of the riff will be pleased to find a beatless version of
‘Raum’, which will be useful for creating dramatic moments during DJ sets no doubt.
On side B, ‘Zeit’ brings the pace down slightly. A melancholy synth line evokes feelings of sorrow, while the beat pumps along. Ede uses the full
8 minutes of this track to really build the tension, finally unleashing it halfway through. This could easily be used on the soundtrack for a cyborg
action movie set in the future.
Last up, ‘Unendlichkeit’ is a further demonstration of Ede’s love of futurism, new wave and film noir circa 2080. Here he tells a story with the
machines, each one adding their contribution to the narrative which gets more and more chaotic as the tune progresses.
A very impressive EP, and we’re sure you’ll agree it’s something quite special.

Reissue of the Birds Of Passage collaboration record with Leonardo Rosado from 2011. A minimalistic, cinematic, experimental dark pop trip.

After the highly respected debut full length Without the World' and her first european tour in 2011 BIRDS OF PASSAGE ( the new rising star of experimental minimalistic dark pop') from New Zealand has released her second act in fall 2011 - a cinematic concept album she has recorded together with LEONARDO ROSADO from Portugal.

DEAR AND UNFAMILIAR is a technicolor soundtrack that traces a vivid path through darkened desolate dunes. Stories of forgotten tragedies and unrequited love liberate the journeyman from reveries of misery and guide the wanderer through contrasting landscapes of dysphoria and ecstasy.'

Mastered by NILS FRAHM the album equally should please fans of Cocteau Twins, Portishead or Zola Jesus.

Italian electronic music mastermind ABYSSY and the Marseille underground hero DONARRA, share for the ALLEY VERSION's 4th release the split E.P. "CLOSE".

ABYSSY aka Mayo Soulomon has, over the years, released records of great interest for Mathematics, New Interplanetary Melodies and many other labels, marked by Detroit and Chicago influences reworked in his personal complex cut.
DONARRA comes to ALLEY VERSION after two beautiful E.P. for Skylax Records and La Chinerie, and recently spotted with its synth-dark-industrial-punk moniker Cardinal & Nun, on L.I.E.S.

The opening ABYSSY's "Close To Me", an obscure rough track totally jacked with the legendary rhythm sampler E-MU SP1200, is an instant cult.
In the following "Lower Michigan Ave", a hypnotic dark plot of analog synthesizers runs on a leftfield rhythm cut, while a whiny female voice condenses the air.

First track of DONARRA's side, "Nostalgie Futuriste", is a surreal sound voyage where are merged Chicago House and Zen atmospheres.
In the culminating Detroit style banger "Rivières Lumineuses", the trippy movements of percussions and synthetic melodies are pure magic.

Exclusively on limited 12" vinyl.

Compilation from British post-punk/Futurist group Ghosts of Dance formed in North Devon in 1981.

The members were Yvette Norris (vocals), Kevin Maynard (drums), Daryl Hunt (bass), Mark Butcher (keyboards), and Pete Heaton (guitar). Ghosts of Dance took their name from the song 'Ghosts' by David Sylvian which appeared on the first Japan album. After playing an early gig in Barnstaple, a gentleman in the audience named Richard Newman expressed his interest to start a record label and release their music. Richard scheduled a recording session for the band at Otter Studios in Georgeham with producer Harry Williamson, son of Henry Williamson, member of progressive rock band Gong. The debut single ‘Ghosts of Dance’ was released in 1982 on Plastic Canvas Records to mixed reviews as it was very different from anything being released at the time.

This compilation includes their debut single along with 9 bonus tracks recorded between 1981 and 1983 on vinyl for the first time. The band call themselves “Vocal Trance Music” on the 7” sleeve credits and it’s accurate. Melancholic pop with gloomy atmosphere and dream-like melodies. The final track shows the band moving in a New Romantic direction with Mark taking over the main vocals. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each copy is housed in a jacket featuring original artwork by John Hurford and includes an insert with photos, lyrics and liner notes by Pete Heaton.

Pontchartrain's second release on home label Lovedancing dives deep into his Detroit roots with two big house tunes that nod to his motor city influences.

1515 Broadway Revisited is a sparkling, chord-heavy track featuring local vocalist Larry Love, made for peak-time play.

Javonntte is up on remix duties with a dark groaning version for the true afterhours feel. On the flipside, 'Head Up' pays tribute to the late queen of soul with a classic house vibe that feels right at any time, but an ending that'll keep you saving it for just the right moment.

French modern-classical quartet astrïd return on May 10th with the first part of a new release entitled A Porthole.

Conceptually the two records work in unison, focusing on portholes into the abyss, with part one delving into the depths of the deep sea. The tracks are named after various strains of seaweed, the artwork depicting dark waves and uncertainty. Part two will follow in a years time and will turn its attention to the night sky and constellations.

A Porthole continues astrïd’s signature style of billowing guitars, strings and woodwind. Each element intertwined with another, linked perfectly together through restrained jazz-tinged percussion. 2017’s highly-acclaimed release ‘Through the Sparkle’ with renowned pianist Rachel Grimes (of Rachels) set the bar extremely high for this release but astrïd have matched the depth, melody and quality of that record here.

Part one of this journey features some sublime compositions with Cyril Secq’s expressive and bold guitar playing carrying the pieces into chamber music territory, joined seamlessly by a variety of other instruments that swell and soar and fit perfectly into the story being told. Everything seems to have its place, nothing is overplayed or out of step here, there is an organic nature to the way this quartet plays and interacts with one another as melodies circle back and fade away in the same beautiful breath.

A Porthole is a deeply charming record, exercising glorious, nuanced refrain and offering a sort of hope rarely found in music these days.

• Aqua blue vinyl - limited to 300 copies w/ download code

• The album was mastered by Harris Newman (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tindersticks etc)

• The artwork is extracted from an original one of a kind monotype print by Gizeh overlord Richard Knox.

Released on CD by Aurora Borealis back in 2010, we're overjoyed to finally see this on vinyl.
- limited edition of 300 copies - 180g black vinyl - reverse board heavyweight sleeve - includes download code and printed insert - mastered for vinyl by James Plotkin - cut at The Carvery, London
An ode to the Lovecraftian lore of Shub Niggurath, 'Black Goat of the Woods' was conceived as "the soundtrack from some lost low budget horror movie, rediscovered on an old and faded VHS cassette found mouldering in a deserted house in the depths of the woods".
The one man project of J.R Moore, Black Mountain Transmitter has released several albums, all to great critical acclaim, and the quality of his work speaks volumes. The original AB 'Black Goat of The Woods' CD version was the first official release and a reissue of the long sold out and much sought after limited CDr.
On describing the recording, Moore said: "The music was certainly very much influenced by that certain breed of 70s horror films. Things like the soundtrack to the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", Giuliano Sorgini's atmospheres in "Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue"; Carl Zittrer's soundscapes in "Deranged", "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" and "Dead Of Night", and of course people like Fabio Frizzi in Italian horror and the BBCs Radiophonic Workshop's electronic sounds in something like "The Stone Tape" and countless creepy old TV productions..."
An excellent, macabre and psychedelic release that spans electronica, soundtracks and experimental genres in its 40 minute playing time, 'Black Goat of the Woods' pays perfect homage to the dark denizen of the nocturnal glades, and is a true paean to backwoods horror.

One year after his debut album "Intraverso", Fabrizio Lapiana is back on his own label with the new "Rash" EP. Four techno tracks in his mesmerizing signature style, exploring the subtle line between mental and physical. Suitable for any dark dancefloor.

After a gap of a few years in between his latest releases (on Terminal M among others) Mar io focuses his attention on his own productions rather than sticking to remixes. He unveils a wonderful EP on Form & Terra Records which kicks off with the title track "Through The Night", a very special acid house smasher which will put every dance floor to a test. Then comes Max Cavalerra who puts the track through some secret alchemical processing and turns it into a dark and more techno-driven tune which is sure to make mind and body move even at 6 am in the morning. In addition, techno legend Patrick Lindsey celebrates his brilliant vinyl comeback with an irresistibly grooving remix which demands your attention with unprecedented drive and gets to the heart of Mar io´s original message "This Is What We're Living For". Last but not least, Mar io himself tops off this extraordinarily versatile EP with a grooving vinyl-only remix.

After The First Wave Of Artists That Have Broken The Ice With Their Way Of Combining Contemporary Symphonic Music With Electronica And Jazz On The European Side (olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Max Richter) - Now There Is A New Generation Of Young Musician Breaking Boundaries On A New Level. Especially In Germany There Is A New Wave Of Artists That Bring The Thing On A Whole New Level. These 20 - 25 Year Old People Don't Just Imitate What The Bigger Names In The Scene (the Fathers) Have Done But Develop The Style To A Totally Different Level And Add New Ideas Instead Of Just Copying What The Older Guys Did. This New Wave Of Artists Have A Huge Musical Knowledge, Have Studied At The Best Music Academies, Learned To Play "classical" Instruments And Know How To Improvise On A Very High Level. They Have Been Raised In 2 Different World: Studied The History Of (contemporary) Classical Music And Also Been Influenced By What's Happening In Electronica Evolution Of The Last 25 Years. Ralph Heidel Is One Of These New Kids In The German Scene. Coming From Munich, The 25 Year Old Extremely Talented Musician Studied Saxophone And Composition At The Munich Academy Of Music (known For Being The Best Music School In Germany. Think Julliard Or Berklee). He Graduated In 2018.leering Everything About The Music Of 20th Century Composers (charles Ives, Alfred Schnittke, Giöyrgi Ligeti Etc). At The Same Time He Grow Up With The Music Of Electronic Producers Like Alvo Noto, Boards Of Canada, Jon Hopkins, Jan Jelinek, Four Tet Since Early Days. And: He Comes From A Jazz Musicians Family And Has Grown Up By Listening To The Jazz Collection Of His Father. Studied Saxophone Since Age Of 12 With A Big Passion For The More Advanced Jazz. In His Own Music All This Comes Together. "moments Of Resonance" Are Seven Compositions Full Of Brilliant Little Ideas, Harmonic Complexity, Unheard Music Surprises, Clever Citations, Dramatic Evolutions, Big Explosive Moments, Meditative Moments And Euphoric High Points. This Album Is An Extremely Emotional Work Of Art For Strings, Saxophone, Drums, Bass And Electronics. Ralph Heidel And His 7 Piece Ensemble Homo Ludens Connect Contemporary Chamber Music With Electronica, Ambient, Post Rock And Avant-garde Jazz. On A Highest Possible Musical Level - Without Getting Too Abstract And Incomprehensible. Everything Is Composed And Improvised. Nothing Is Sampled. You Find Wild Punk-jazz Parts That Recall John Zorn Or Mahavishnu Orchestra And Romantic Passages That Make You Think About European Impressionistic Composers Like Ravel Or Debussy. But Nothing Is Imitated, Everything Gets Broken Up Through An Expressive New Way Of Using Harmonization And Melodic Composing. Sometimes The Band Flies Through An Ambient And Drone Universe But One Moment Later The Music Evolves Into An Explosive, Impossible To Describe Musical Moment. One Of Heidel's Biggest Ability Is To Melt Electronic And Organic Elements Into A New Unheard Sound.

Next up on First Word Records, we welcome the return of Don Leisure, with an EP of beats that see his two alter-egos go head-to-head, 'Shaboo vs Halal Cool J'.

Probably best known as 50% of Darkhouse Family, along with Melange label boss Earl Jeffers, they released their acclaimed debut album 'The Offering' in 2017 and subsequent remix project last year, featuring DJ Spinna, Kaidi Tatham and more. The duo are coolly establishing themselves as Cardiff's very own Mizell Brothers, recently producing Kamaal William's latest work, featuring on Kutmah's recent Izwid compilation, and collaborating on the Chicago x London project 'Where We Come From', featuring Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Nubiya Garcia, Theon Cross and First Word label-mate Quiet Dawn, amongst others.

'Halal Cool J' appeared originally in early 2017 with 'An Ottoman Excursion' on our sister-label, Excursions. A series of edits born out of a decade-long love of Turkish music, and some record-digging expeditions in Istanbul, something Don Leisure did the very day after 'The Offering' release party, prompting another series of beats. Ahead of an all-new full-length Halal Cool J album, here we have two tracks to give you a taste, 'Kazakh Honey' and 'Kaymak'.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' on the flip-side, with a track of the same name, and 'Mango Season'. 'Shaboo' was the name of a beat album that came out on First Word in 2017, inspired largely by Don's Bollywood actor Uncle, Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwani, and by memories of journey's with headphones hurling out Hip Hop, fused with the sonics of his Mum's interruptions, and her favourite Asian radio station. 'Shaboo' featured in several end-of-year album lists, with Piccadilly Records calling it "the best album of it's kind since Dilla's 'Donuts'. Unmissable."

Both prior projects got love from DJs and selectors far & wide, including Tom Ravenscroft, Lefto, Huey Morgan, Rob Da Bank, Om Unit, Simbad & Mr Thing. A truly global affair, the beat battle of 'Shaboo vs Halal Cool J' takes us on several short, sweet hikes across a variety of Eastern climes.

Join in the journey once again on 7" vinyl and digital on April 5th.

Darkmatter Inc. is an overlay network that can only be accessed with specific mindstep, configurations, or authorization, often using non-standard communications protocols and ports. 'Stamina' is the 4th release that comes to surface after long development in the hidden spots of the internet.

Transversales Disques presents KSHATRYA, (The Eye Of The Bird), never released before
recording by french avant-garde electronic composer Igor Wakhevitch, who composed a bunch of
major experimental albums in the 70's such as Logos, Docteur Faust, Hathor, Les Fous d'Or,
Nagual and Let's Start.
During this 10 years period, Wakhevitch was close to Jean-Michel Jarre, the Pink Floyd, the Soft
Machine, and legendary choreographer Maurice Bejart having with him many conversations around
dance and music, human body and soul, spiritual path, collective life, new society, human evolution.
As a composer Igor Wakhevitch collaborated with Salvador Dali, Carolyn Carlson, and Terry Riley to
name a few. He's considered as one of the first French composer using synthesizers like Synthi
AKS, ARP2600 or Moog modular systems.
After spending almost 30 years in India, Igor Wakhevitch dug in his archives this unreleased work
recorded in 1999 on his 'Mysterious Island 88' system. Esotheric, sacred and cosmic, KSHATRYA,
(The Eye Of The Bird) is the logical follow up of Igor's early works and a monumental piece of
electronic music. A must!

(12 EP, edition of 200 copies) This is what happened when Enfant
Terrible label boss M. and Roberto Auser went to work on some music
together. All tracks on this EP were tracks or sketches Roberto Auser
created for ET but went a different way after some studio sessions
together... so they created Silver Age People as a project and ended
up with a mix of elektro, post-techno, post-industrial with touches of
(dark) ambient... the music is much more subtle as the VEKTOR
project by M. and for sure darker as Roberto Auser has ever sounded
before... from pounding beats with a flirt to EBM to hypnotic dark
ambient pieces... it is all here on this debut EP...

The wondrous rarity that is Hipnotic 'Are You Lonely' gets the rework treatment form four masters of the re-edit, each with their own trademark sound.

First up to the operating table, Opolopo increases the tempo edging up to the 118-mark adding a characteristic juiced up bass synth that oozes smoothness and swapping the flute melodies with cosmic synth lines that sparkle in the darkness.

Greg Wilson & Che Wilson tackle edit duties next in classic Wilson style. Again, opting to move into peak-time tempo territory, they begin with a stripped back, spacey intro that sees elements added one by one from a bumping bass and panning pads to rough snares and crisp claps. It wouldn't be a Wilson edit without a double dose of tape delay, the duo dropping the vocals and synth lines expertly in and out for maximum dancefloor flavour.

Back down to the original pace on the B side, The Revenge offers up a slick, late-night redub treat. Only a handful of components are involved as he chops and changes the bass and synth lines to provide a mesmerizingly chuggy groove whilst dropping in choice vocal echoes that makes Hipnotic, even more hypnotic. Last up, Yam Who brings those strutting guitars further forward in the mix whilst adding some delicate piano touches that offer an elegant enhancement to the original.

Four new interpretations of a much loved and sought-after funk fuelled, boogie gem.

Black Friday LP now made a regular catalogue item. When it comes to authentic, ride-or-die hip-hop, few crews have as much resonance as Mobb Deep. Featuring two double-threat MCs who also produced - Havoc and the sadly-departed Prodigy - the crew changed the hardcore rap game in 1995 with their sophomore classic The Infamous, and went on to rule the dark corners of hip-hop for the second half of the 90s and well into the 2000s. After multiple Mobb Deep platters in the '90s, Prodigy entered the 2000s as a solo artist with force, rolling over a stomping, piano-freaked backdrop laced by producer The Alchemist, with Keep It Thoro.' It has held up over time, proving itself as an anthemic classic that the streets and clubs still respect. Flaunting a smooth-but-menacing flow, Prodigy's no-nonsense lyricism on Keep It Thoro' is prototypical modern age brag rap. Countless MCs have followed his flow, from Fabolous to Joey Bada$$. The song is short and sweet, clocking in at just over 3 minutes. There are no wasted verses, just hardcore rhymes that stay with you. But Thoro' was the tip of the iceberg on what proved to be one of the more coveted rap full-lengths of the era. The album boasted other charting singles, including Rock Dat Shit' and Y.B.E.' (featuring B.G.), but it can be argued that the album's real gems are buried deeper. Genesis,' What U Rep' (featuring Noreaga) and Three' are all sinister yet pensive. Wanna Be Thugs' and Delt With The Bullshit' are strong and evocative Mobb Deep cuts, featuring production and vocals by Havoc. And alongside other standouts, perhaps the deepest cut of all - especially in light of Prodigy's way-too-soon passing due to complications from Sickle Cell Anemia - is You Can Never Feel My Pain,' which details the health issues and challenges this talented MC and producer had been facing his whole life. H.N.I.C. was Prodigy's first solo album, but it is perhaps his best. Among fans he will never be forgotten, for his skills, his storytelling and his no-B.S. approach to the art of MCing.

After a pleasing start to the New Year, 2 same night sell outs on lathe cut 45s and a single afternoon sell out of the recent Gabe Knox LP, Polytechnic Youth continue their relentless release schedule with 2 more awesome full lengths. In their own ways, both totally unique but very much befitting the tried and trusted synth / electronic PY blueprint.

First up is the fabulous 'Where comes the Dark' debut full length from shadowy, underground producer The Slow Engineer. 'An album of sculpted synthsonics and Eldritch electronics originally released on a limited run, blink and you'll miss it cassette which sold out in 24 hrs. Heavy on basslines, with driving rhythms and tweaked synthesisers, it's a record which openly acknowledges it's nod to horror scores and the work of the Radiophonic Workshop whilst pulling off something uniquely and freshly new, with an assembled array of wayward equipment stored at his Analogue Hades base.'

British horror actor Laurence R. Harvey adds suitably menacing narration in places, and across 10 fabulous tracks this is a richly, deliciously diverse electronic record which comes hugely recommended to fans of John Carpenter, not to mention label mates The Heartwood Institute and Dream Division.

A one time pressing of 300, destined to sell out pretty swiftly.....

Man Power's Me Me Me signs up long-time friend Ian Blevins for his long overdue label debut. Blevins's originals are backed by stellar remixes from Austin Ato and Kiwi.

Blevins hails from the North East of England and has released on ESP Institute, Futureboogie, Not An Animal and Culprit. The prolific producer was a long time resident of the legendary We Love Space in Ibiza and is an enduring favourite on the UK scene with plenty of musical tricks up his sleeves.

'Both tracks on offer showcase the mongrel sound that I hear coming out of the North East region,' Says Man Power. 'Partly tough, partly playful, not simply techno, not simply house, and certainly nowhere near the most common contraction of the two words.'

Innovative opener 'The Serpent' is a suitably snaking, slithering groove with acid twitches, rubbery drums and raw percussive energy. It pings about in dynamic fashion and really keeps you on edge. First up to remix, Austin Ato makes his return to the label after his huge 'The Sound Of' EP in summer 2018 and gives further credence to Man Power's suspicion of his impending super stardom. He takes the 'The Serpent' on a luscious and deep trajectory that would make Larry Heard proud.

The second standout original is 'Unse', a dark stomper with cosmic rays that strike right to the heart of the dance floor. It's menacing and absorbing music that is steely and unlike anything else. To remix is 17 Steps regular Kiwi, who is responsible for two of Man Power's favourite tracks of 2018. Here he continues his run of astounding form while taking 'Unse' in a tougher and more robust direction that will really make you sweat.

As ever this is a brilliant and stylistically diverse package from Me Me Me.

Musique Pour La Danse is thrilled to present its latest "Collected" anthology, the label's most ambitious release since it released an extensive anthology of music produced by New Beat pioneer Ro Maron back in 2015. Side A is a reissue of the highly sought after Disdain EP from 1988 by White House White. Side B contains three previously unreleased tracks in a similar spirit to WHW's sound with a dark and sleazy atmosphere.

Keysound Recordings are excited to present three very unique cuts from Scratcha DVA x Gage: 'FLYTNURSE,' 'PIFFD' and 'FLYTNURSE (DARQMIX)'. Dark, euphoric, weighty, and somewhat restless, they defy obvious categorisation. Gage has made himself a formidable reputation by releasing some of the most forward-thinking darker dance music in the last three years, predominantly on the ever-quality Crazy Legs imprint. 'Telo' was a standout dancefloor moment, equal parts impactful and experimental, quickly followed up by the "Mercury EP," "2017 STAY PARO" and his banger-collab with Kevin Jz Prodigy, "Bad Bitch." Scratcha DVA first appeared on Keysound 66 releases ago with the explosive dread grime anthem 'Bullet A'Go Fly' featuring Badness, Riko, Flowdan and Killa P. But in truth he has a lengthy production back catalogue both before and after that 12', with albums on Hyperdub, his new 'Interludes' project and a track on the recent landmark Kode9 & Burial Fabriclive 100 CD.

Audiophile reissue, lacquered directly from Axelrod's original EQ'ed master tapes at Capitol Records by Ron McMaster, housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket. 'Songs of Experience was supposed to have a different feel than Song of Innocence. You see, music is a great outlet. And regardless of what the titles say, and as close as I wanted it to be to William Blake, what was going on in my life took precedence.' - David Axelrod. Songs of Experience is visionary composer/arranger/producer David Axelrod's second album; it was recorded after the death of his beloved son Scott. Experience is an ominous affair, an album concerned with mortality and spirituality - the solitary, pastoral musings of William Blake set to the urban bombast of a full Los Angeles orchestra, with Wrecking Crew vets grounding the proceedings with dark funk. This is the next Now-Again issue in a series of reissues centered around Axelrod's Capitol Trilogy - Song of Innocence, Songs of Experience and Earth Rot - which will see release through 2018. LP Contains oversized, 28 page booklet that delves into Axelrod's incredible life and music, replete with never before published photos and an interview with Axelrod by Eothen Alapatt and Wax Poetics' Brian Digenti. (CD 32 page booklet) 'There are very few people who see the Grand Picture of the Universe and understand the Nothingness that it all comes from. There are even fewer who can express these ideas through music - David could do it all.' - T-Ray.

This is the first release of Original tracks from 12tree's new label, Hot Piroski. Produced and recorded by 12Tree at his studio in Barcelona.

The label is a boisterous mix of Space Disco, Deep Funk edits and Balearic Beats.

Hot Piroski Hp001features :
'Lazers' - A warm melodic electronic opening layered with with analogue Delay morphs into a deep house bassline driven groover.
'Gamma Ray' - A Deep dark Disco workout for fans of Todd Terje and Disco Bloodbath..
'Swamp Love' - Cajun Voodoo vibes on a Ninja Tune tip
With support from
* Pete herbert,
* Chris Todd/Crazy P
* Ursula 1000
* Agoria
After mixing and releasing tracks with disco dons Pete Herbert, Payfone, Tim 'Love' Lee, Phil Mison, Richard Fearless, and Balearic legends Jose Padilla and Bubble Club, this is the first Original release on 12Tree's own imprint. Enjoy!

Zodiak Commune Records presents the fifth release of the White Cyclus serie. This is also the 2nd edition of the KORE serie called White Cyclus V EP.

After when his first album The Butterfly Effect LP got released back in June 2018, our label resident 1NC1N (NL) is back with 2 Acidcore/AcidTekno tracks. We also introduce 2 new talents in the scene. AboutBlank (FR) has already released a high energetic EP on Obs.cur's Future Frequencies, now we are infected with his Acid frequencies! The last track is dedicated to the young Gelbkreuz (AU). Member of the Multiplan Kollektiv and with his first solo EP on Violent Cases, this time it's our turn.

1NC1N - A Kind Of Mental Accord
A total new chapter from 1NC1N's Acidstory. Turn the pages to understand this mental accord.

1NC1N - The Alchemyst
Deep spiral Acidtekno. The only person that can brings you back from the netherworld, is The Alchemyst!

AboutBlank - Kyubi No Kitsune
Very nice uptempo Acid! He has been proven that the Nine-Tailed mythology is alive.

Gelbkreuz - Deamons Breath
Dark and mental Acid from Gelbkreuz. Don't look straight into his eyes. Never let him catch his Deamons Breath!

'For The Colleagues Of Ubu & Their Authorities' is the brainchild of Vienna based vinyl enthusiast, DJ & producer The Reboot Joy Confession. What once started as a series of mixes has been expanded into this compilation, on which he brings together diverse genres of music like electronica, modern minimalism, folk, post-rock, avant-garde or modular music, which also reflect his own versatile musical taste. 'As I stopped thinking in genres, my attempt was to merge my musical taste in the most fluent way possible onto one record. There are mesmerizing songs from some of my favourite contemporary artists - I feel a timelessness in their music, I can ´t get tired of. With the compilation I wanted to create a contemplative, fictitious, surreal world, merging those different styles together. Giving it that title, I wanted the listener to be able to imagine a tale that is building up with each song. I am really happy about the outcome of this compilation and hope that many other listeners can feel the magic.' The compilation includes the surreal work of Swiss producer Dim Grimm (also known as Dimlite), as well as a collaboration between Merz & Julian Sartorius Drum Ensemble who radically altered the original version of 'The Hunting Owl' into a monstrous percussive live version. Taken off the debut album from one of Poland ´s most interesting musicians at the moment, Waclaw Zimpel & Kuba Ziolek, 'Wrens' is a fusion of folk, jazz and modern minimal music. Experimental pop musician & filmmaker Tujiko Noriko appears with an emotional piece that challenges the paths between pop and avant-garde. Gerhard Zander, whose musical work started on the outskirts of experimental pop music in the early seventies in Germany, delivers a modular synth masterpiece with unique sounds, textures and a far-out synth choir. Rock and ambient influenced musician Helen Money (also known as Alison Chesley) is a Los Angeles based cellist and composer who appears with a massively dark post-rock song called 'MF', which was recorded at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago in 2009. Often compared to Frank Zappa and known for their richness of ideas, Liverpool's a.P.A.t.T. contribute the hypnotic 'Young Free & Parasite', with references to British glam, post-punk or synth rock, but in a fresh and obscure sounding outfit. SSELLF, the moniker of New Zealand ´s Christoph El Truento, inspired by post-punk and noise. 'Visitors' is simple and simply in your face, with lo-fi drums, distorted synths and raw vocals by Christoph himself. After a few seclusive years, The Reboot Joy Confession returns with a new, crispy and soulful track. Cinematic strings written by Martin Riedler, arranged by Flip Phillip, and recorded at the established Vienna Konzerthaus, based on a properly arranged drum outfit and played by a villain named Gurlimu. Both strings and drums are guiding through the whole song and culminate in Glockenspiel and Rhodes melodies. Oceaneer aka Japanese pianist Oneechan Nanashi completes the compilation with her beautiful and profound composition 'The Sea, Forever'. She describes her music as 'improvised instrumental underwater music from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, played with broken instruments, directed by the spirit of drowned people who are talking through the hands of the pianist. It's lonely and bleak music for the dead.'

Released on CD by Aurora Borealis back in 2010, we're overjoyed to finally see this on vinyl.
- limited edition of 300 copies - 180g black vinyl - reverse board heavyweight sleeve - includes download code and printed insert - mastered for vinyl by James Plotkin - cut at The Carvery, London
An ode to the Lovecraftian lore of Shub Niggurath, 'Black Goat of the Woods' was conceived as "the soundtrack from some lost low budget horror movie, rediscovered on an old and faded VHS cassette found mouldering in a deserted house in the depths of the woods".
The one man project of J.R Moore, Black Mountain Transmitter has released several albums, all to great critical acclaim, and the quality of his work speaks volumes. The original AB 'Black Goat of The Woods' CD version was the first official release and a reissue of the long sold out and much sought after limited CDr.
On describing the recording, Moore said: "The music was certainly very much influenced by that certain breed of 70s horror films. Things like the soundtrack to the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", Giuliano Sorgini's atmospheres in "Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue"; Carl Zittrer's soundscapes in "Deranged", "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" and "Dead Of Night", and of course people like Fabio Frizzi in Italian horror and the BBCs Radiophonic Workshop's electronic sounds in something like "The Stone Tape" and countless creepy old TV productions..."
An excellent, macabre and psychedelic release that spans electronica, soundtracks and experimental genres in its 40 minute playing time, 'Black Goat of the Woods' pays perfect homage to the dark denizen of the nocturnal glades, and is a true paean to backwoods horror.

Vaal announces the release of debut album 'Nosferatu' via new label Pale Blue Dot.

A dark, cinematic triumph, title track 'Nosferatu' was the first song to be released from the record, following a huge few years of touring and underground releases, including one of 2016's most ubiquitous tracks 'Wander To Hell' and 'Monument' on Afterlife.

Vaal has established a sterling reputation as one of the key members of the Afterlife family. Steadily cultivating a strong identity and sound, merging a crossover of techno and breaks, traces of 'Bachian' melodies and UK rave culture.

Midday Moon is a survey of ambient and experimental music that emerged from Australia and New Zealand between 1980 and 1995. These recordings are sourced from a rich variety of micro-labels, private pressings, theatre soundtracks and artists' personal archives. Curated by Melbourne based DJ and archivalist, Sanpo Disco (a.k.a Rowan Mason), the collection delves deep into the world of outsider music that emerged in Australia and New Zealand in the latter half of the twentieth century, as synthesisers and early workstations began to enter the consumer marketplace. The record is an odyssey in itself, a journey that takes listeners into the unsung world of Australian new age composers. There are stories abound within this volume, from the mysterious disappearance of Helen-Ripley Marshall after the release of her 1988 album 'Green Chaos', to the journey of American-born, Perth based blues/rock guitarist John Heussenstamm, who unexpectedly turned his finger to 'ambient' music in the late 80's; and again from Melbourne based Ros Bandt, who made a series of recordings exploring the resonance of a hollow concrete cylinder 5 stories beneath busy Collins Street in Melbourne's CBD. Compiled by Sanpo Disco / Mastered by Mikey Young . '(Ambient music is) a surrounding influence that induces calm and a space to think... it can accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular.' - Brian Eno / 'A richer and more diverse ambient genre began to form. Music that crafts a unique cultural geography of landscapes and atmospheres: real and imagined, natural and man-made. Some artists turned their attention to the singular acoustic ecologies of overlooked spaces around the country. Others fostered interests in non-Western music cultures and instruments. The common thread is their use of new technologies to conjure interior and exterior regions, through acoustic and synthesised sounds.' - Sanpo Disco

Black Rain returns with Computer Soul: the final part of a sequence of Blackest Ever Black releases that began with 2011's Now I'm Just A Number: Soundtracks 1994-95, and a first glimpse of the project's richly imagined future. For this outing Stuart Argabright (Ike Yard, Dominatrix, Death Comet Crew) is joined by BR founder member Shinichi Shimokawa as well as more recent recruit Soren Roi and Zanias (vocalist on 2015's Dark Pool) - making for the most most group-oriented iteration of Black Rain since its earliest days. Sonically too, there is a sense of evolution but also of coming full circle: the cyberpunk techno of Argabright's celebrated William Gibson soundtracks (compiled on Now I'm Just A Number) and extrapolations of Dark Pool's neuromantic yearning cut with glimpses of the thrash and industrial rock energies that animated Black Rain's incendiary live shows - and sought-after tapes for Kombinat and TPOS - in the early 90s. More than ever, Black Rain is propelled by a powerful science fiction impulse, whether responding to the themes and characters of Gibson's Sprawl or the Blade Runner universe (particularly K.W. Jeter's spin-off/continuation novels which extended its mythology, and timeline, further). It's not news that many of these works' most powerful predictions and prophesies have come to pass - the replicants are already living among us - so Computer Soul projects further into several possible unforeseen futures, its events 'set' in the second half of the current century, fifty or so years after those of Dark Pool. The hyperpopulated metropolises of Dark Pool are no more; the apartments are empty, haunted by ghosts of AC current, devices and machines running lonely without their owners...a melancholy internet of things. Where has everyone got to Gone but perhaps not gone. Oblivion beckons - always does - but on the other side of that, something else... another time, another place, a river....and a new way of living.

Hungarian producer Giash has been on Metroline Limited radar for quite some time. It took a while to get him on board but the wait is finally over: the misteriously titled Sen_d_Ingo Ep is here and it is super-tasty!

An expert crafter of minimal beats and hypnothic grooves, Giash career has spanned over 10 years with his productions being released on wax through seminal labels such as Archipel, Plaisir, Why So Series and many more.

The opening track, Brunc_hc-_h, give us the first shot of underscores and a high dosage of machine funk minimalism. It's a full on/slow-mo industrial churning groover with sci-fi licks and lush pads work!

The second cut on the A side it's the beatiful Imagin__ary and it's deep minimalism at the highest level. It's a great mixture of new and old as far as reduced jacking grooves are concerned.
It could have easily fitted in the late 90's Perlon/Playhouse era but it surely sounds as current, fresh and forward thinking now.

Side B is solely occupied by the tripped out grooves of Sen_d_ingo. Close your eyes, imagine yuorself in an East London basement at the darkest of after-parties, this track is the perfect fit for that particular moment.
Over 13 minutes of dark and hypnotic beauty, the track is crunchy and punchy with a wigglesome broken rhythm, some subtle synth variations and plenty of dark and deep atmoshperics!

Working with artists like David August and Daniel Brandt, Frieder Nagel is known for managing projects in venues ranging from theatres to clubs, for concerts to audiovisual experiments. He finally signs his first solo work Distract Robots to be released on January 18 on InFiné and invites his listeners to get lost in an universe that spans from euphoric to devastating excitement. - mastered by Zino Mikorey, the magician behind Nils Frahms latest album.

Frieder Nagel invites his listeners to get lost in a universe that spans from euphoric to devastating excitement. He is known for managing projects in venues ranging from theatres to clubs, for concerts to audio-visual experiments - working with artists like David August, La Boum Fatale and Daniel Brandt (Brandt Brauer Frick). The first time he appeared on stage, in 2016 at Berlin's infamous Radialsystem V, armed with several synthesizers, effects, drum machines, one grand piano; and backed by the German Symphony Orchestra (DSO). This critically acclaimed debut was streamed by Boiler Room later and led to further collaborations with Philharmonie Essen or his ensemble show at Reeperbahn Festival.

Now finally Nagel Žs first solo work Distract Robots will be released by French label InFineŽ. This 12" has become an album in miniature with a final polish by mastering guru Zino Mikorey known for his work for Nils Frahm Žs All Melody. This EP offers up a mystical world, full of warm synths and detailed sound clusters morphing into each other to form utterly dark and dystopian ballads. Nagel gets lost in obsessively endless sessions with his instruments. He isolates himself and spends night after night drifting away from reality. The result is that his tracks carry moments of utterly deep relief and deliverance, as well as despairing sadness and stoical escapism.

Pete 'Bassman' Bain, one of the founding members of the UK cult psych rock band Spacemen 3, formed Alpha Stone after Spacemen 3 and his other band The Darkside split up in the mid-nineties. In 1996 the band recorded the album 'Stereophonic Pop Art Music' and it was released on Bomp! Records on Compact Disc. The album hasn't had a 'proper' vinyl release until now, 2018, when Hoga Nord Rekords continues their collaboration with Pete Bassman by releasing the album.

You can clearly hear that Pete Bassman was the driving force behind Alpha Stone; fuzz, synthesiser -sweeps, programmed drums and processed vocals are the cornerstones in Alpha Stone's sound. Raga-like mantras, heard in Farmer C, lies track to track with more percussion driven grooves and psychedelic pop oriented songs. The album's sound has obviously survived the 20+ years shelved in obscurity and proves the 'Drugby' sound still vital!

It's always hard to sum up a bands particular sound in a few words, but you could say that if you put guitar and bass, synthesisers, a drum machine, and Julian Copes record collection in the hands of an alien, you've got Alpha Stone!

Domestic Exile are proud to present the devastatingly deplorable and malevolent recordings (that are sure to corrode yet electrify your ears) by Glasgow's very own KLEFT.

KLEFT aka Vickie McDonald is rooted in and has actively propagated the underground DIY radical queer punk and feminist movement here in Glasgow. Their projects have included the skull crushing sludge doom of Cartilage, the unflinching and infamous multi- membered hard core stars that were DIVORCE and the sacrificial, druid drone glitch of MOURN. Alongside these projects they have uncompromisingly disrupted, motivated and facilitated collective endeavors to take down the capital power structure of the dominant system of patriarchal club venues and abhorrent fuckers in this town.

For this record 'H+ Sexualis', KLEFT explores the neo-modern space where flesh is left behind. Negotiating, analyzing and tearing to shreds the relationship and balance between flesh and technology. KLEFT's expansive and palpable sonic offerings delve into themes of transhumanism and body hacking and seep into our collective skin begging the question; can flesh ever be created digitally. Does a lack of physicality alienate human experience in a post transhumanism society Are we all destined to be skinless yet digitally connected Will the body become superfluous Toward "the utopian dream of the hope for a monstrous world without gender," as stated on Donna Haraway's essay ''A Cyborg Manifesto.'

From the opening track 'Ossein' the listener grasps a foreboding lethargic build up, lurking out of the spatial ritualistic shadows into a sea of suffocating nothingness. A void where there is no gravity. Skeletal and brittle shattering rhythms which echo DMZ / Skull Disco dubstep alongside the more frozen, glacial ominous explorations of grime are often felt proving KLEFT is an artist whose inspirations run deep and wide and generally exist in the darkest recesses of our subconscious. These fearful, disjointed rhythms are set against weightless atmospheric oscillated synths, as if roaming through bleakly opaque, claustrophobic narrow corridors on a first person survival horror video game such as Resident Evil.

Moving through to 'CMBR', KLEFT's dissonant, degrading soundscape ferociously ascends. The resilient kick drum is propulsive and pulverizing akin to 'ardcore tekno - or intense gabba if you have the guts to adjust the tempo up to +8 - aesthetics that overwhelm and agitate finally revealing it's grotesque biological / amorphous bio structure. Elevating the repetitive 4/4 kick to a destructive, distorted banger of a track as layers of converging atonal noise and sound design simultaneously further enhances the sense of imminent radioactive contamination.

Next is 'Writhe, Squirm, Broken' continuing the convulsive, nauseating permutations of the prior track but reconfigured like a mangled, gruesome Cronenberg-esque parasite that has infiltrated an open wound, excruciatingly feeding off of the inner anatomy of it's hosts body from within. Repulsively reformulating the shape and dimension. The intro is akin to a panic stricken bouncy ball contracting and expanding, the spring reverb building momentum and traveling further away in distance and speed.

'Hackfleisch Deluxe' is a muuurrderous stomper and is one of the more grime / bass orientated tracks that deconstructs and disrupts the tempo familiar to sub-low producers on Black Ops / Jon E Cash / DJ Dread D. The crawling, plummeting frequency of the synth is a nauseating rush of coagulating blood to the heed; a deep throbbing sensory depravation in sharp, paradoxical contrast with the driving harmony layered on top which proves to be infectiously addictive. Furthermore are splintering programmed vocal samples that gives a sense of artificial disorientation, mind over matter, a possible hint at our evolving sentient cognition within a nightmarish simulated, augmented reality

Second to last we have 'Keratin' which is filled with the near fatal dissolving thud of Djax-Up acid that gives the impression that you're a biologist peering through a microscope into a petrie dish and witnessing the rapid and furious genetic cellular replication of bacterial and viral organisms.

Culminating in 'Bruised and Bleeding Hands' where the squashed density of a deflated and depressurized helium filled balloon and elastic umbilical cords, barbed wire and copper wires grind n' coil around the lens of a zooming camera. Taking no prisoners, this is a punishing grime weapon. A phat, surgical kick drum bulldozes its way thru causing carnage, syncopated punching snares after every rave stab and dizzying third beat. It won't be long until ye hear this on Silver Drizzle's youtube channel in the near future.

This record transports us to the hyperkinetic mutation scene on the cult cyberpunk film Tetsuo The Iron Man where the organic flesh / mechanical rust of the Iron Man metamorphoses with the Metal Fetishist during the rebirth sequence and we say 'LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH!''.

Dark Entries is honored to release a 4-track EP by Swiss musician Carlos Perón, founding member of Yello. Carlos was born in 1952 in Zurich and began collecting music at a young age. Inspired after attending a concert of Karlheinz Stockhausen in the 1960s, he began to compose Musique Concrete pieces using a 4-track reel to reel and found sounds. In 1979 Perón founded the trio Yello with musician Boris Blank and vocalist Dieter Meier. Yello released their first album in 1980 and the following year Carlos released his first solo album 'Impersonator'. In 1983 Carlos left Yello in order to pursue a solo career and released the soundtrack to Die Schwarze Spinne" and 1984 his second solo album Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted'. In 1988, Belgian label LD Records released a 4-song EP of instrumental tracks from 1984 that predated, influenced and became staples in the New Beat scene.

Dirty Songs' is a collection of songs from Carlos Perón recorded between 1980 and 1986. The recordings were made with the core set up of an ARP 2600, Roland's Drumatix, TB-303 and TR-808. Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted (Instrumental)' recorded in 1984 is a slow burner with dark, gloomy atmospherics, presented here in an extended version with a bonus intro. The song was inspired by William S. Borroughs' Naked Lunch' and paints a bleak futuristic landscape. Breaking In (Instrumental)', from 1984, is a crossover of electronic body music and pitched down Chicago acid house featuring overplayed snares by hand though an Ovomaltine Box. Originally featured on the soundtrack for Die Schwarze Spinne', the song is about breaking into a large pharmaceutical company to steal drugs. On the B-side is A Dirty Song (Instrumental)', originally recorded in 1986 and released by Play It Again Sam in 1988. The song uses one of the earliest Roland SH synthesizers, the SH-1 A, as a solo instrument and is strikingly aggressive with percussive rhythms. Et' was recorded in 1980 on a 4-track and later and remixed to 8-tracks in 1984 for the Frigorex' EP, which is where this extended version comes from. Featuring eerie, cut up vocals and Dadaist lyrics by Isa Nogara atop a proto-Techno beat.


All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket features a never before seen black and white photo of Carlos taken in 1988. Each album includes an double-­sided postcard featuring the cover art from the Frigorex' EP. Prepare to make your own movie to the Swiss John Carpenter soundtrack vibes of Carlos Perón.

Bendik HK is now launching his debut EP “Depot” via Oslo based label Mutual Intentions. The EP boasts Bendik HK’s futuristic approach in the realm of techno, house and ambient. His progressive production revolves around melodic structures, rhythm and soundscapes. On all four tracks Bendik HK uses an atonal percussion instrument called “Sixxen”, brought to life by the Greek contemporary composer and architect Iannis Xenakis. On “Depot”, this instrument is fused with more classic synths, in an attempt to “challenge” the club genre and invite something new; not only through rhythm and production, but tonality as well.
Vital sales points:
Bendik HK (Bendik Hovik Kjeldsberg) is best known for being one of Norway's most skilled and sought after drummers, playing alongside acts such as Charlotte Dos Santos, Ivan Ave & Gundelach.
He also works regularly with the internationally renowned composer/producer Pantha Du Prince, touring the world and playing events and venues such as Berghain, Sonar, Mutek, and Boiler Room.

Following releases from Mituo Shiomi / Drum Machine and Takeshi Kouzuki, Italian imprint Alley Version is back courtesy of their third release, the split E.P. 'Parallel Journeys'.
This time about, the label welcomes Sähkö Recordings man Nasty Boy to the fold alongside the label owners, FLML. Opening the release is the sounds of Nasty Boy's thrilling 'Give Up'. A slow tempo dexterous and exotic deep house track. Nasty Boy's other original cut here is 'Touching the void', a more raucous track with a heavy emphasis on drum patterns and sharp, simmering synths.

The B side kicks off with FLML's 'Oblivion Street', an analogue-heavy cut deep house jam that's perfectly suited to those dark, colder nights. Culminating matters soon after is FLML's 'Bouncy Dream', a good-time house record whereby FM piano-laden vibes cause havoc from the get-go. Limited vinyl only.

Returning to Giallo Disco after a 2 year absence is the mighty Ketsueki Sakuru. Trademark arps and low-motion rhythms collide this time with the sleaze of a different era. Taking cues from the book of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk the Snuff EP imagines itself as the video game remake directed by Hidetaka Suehiro. Carrying itself with the confidence of a gigalo, not even wearing a smile, the Snuff EP lurks in dark drones, distorted snares, new beat grime and retrosynth moods. Art by Eric A Lee. Mastered by Brassica. Limited to 200 Copies.

'1929 - Das Jahr Babylon" marks Thomas Fehlmann's third full length release of 2018 and presents what appears to be a creative peak in his career that spans beyond his solo career to his early days in Palais Schaumburg, collaborating with Moritz von Oswald as 3MB to his long time work with The Orb. Having left The Orb in late 2017 has set free unforeseen energies in Fehlmann's studio.

A departure from his recent dance floor-friendly album "Los Lagos" (KOM388, KOMCD148) released in September on Kompakt, Thomas Fehlmann's '1929 - Das Jahr Babylon" is a film soundtrack from the documentary that aired on ARD network on September 30, 2018 and is now available as a podcast series.

To compliment the internationally lauded TV series "Berlin Babylon", German director Volker Heise has created a documentary about 1929, the fateful year during Germany's "Weimarer Republik" in which "Berlin Babylon" is settled. Heise's stirring documentary portrays Germany's sizzling capital that is faced with radical changes by the dark forces whom are about to toss the world into the abyss we know as World War II.

This marks the second time that Fehlmann is partnering up with Volker Heise after 2010's marathon documentary "24 Stunden Berlin" which was released as "Gute Luft" (KOM211, KOMCD81) in the same year. Fehlmann's composition for "1929" consists of sample material taken from the era and thwarts the exaggerated lust for life with threatening undertones that anticipate the dawn of mankind's darkest chapter so far. Although all the sounds breathe yesterday's atmosphere this soundtrack bursts with modernity. Fehlmann accomplished the daring feat to musically render the unsettling resemblance between the political situation 90 years ago and our current time.

We at KOMPAKT feel that Fehlmann's score has turned out spectacular enough to give it proper release on limited vinyl and CD as well as on all digital platforms.

Mit '1929 - Das Jahr Babylon" legt Thomas Fehlmann schon seinen zweiter Longplayer innerhalb eines halben Jahres vor und dokumentiert damit eine kreative Hochphase seiner überaus stattlichen Musikerkarriere. Die Trennung von The Orb scheint bei ihm ungeahnte Energien freizusetzen.

Anders als auf dem cluborientierten "Los Lagos" tritt Thomas Fehlmann auf "1929" musikalisch einen Schritt zur Seite. Und das aus gutem Grund: Analog zur international gefeierten Fernsehserie "Babylon Berlin" entstand unter der Regie von Volker Heise der Dokumentarfilm "1929 - Das Jahr Babylon" - ein ergreifendes Sittengemäde Berlins während des Schicksalsjahrs der Weimarer Republik. Wie schon zu Volker Heises vorangegangener Berlin-Doku "24 Stunden Berlin" (2010 erschienen als das Album "Gute Luft" auf KOMPAKT) hat Thomas Fehlmann auch diesmal den kongenialen Soundtrack beigesteuert. Basierend auf Klangmaterial des Jahres 1929 hat Fehlmann eine beeindruckende Musik geschaffen, in der manchmal die übertriebene Lebensfreude und Dekandenz jener Zeit aufflackert. Eine Musik, deren Stimmung jedoch unterwandert ist von den bedrohlichen Strömungen, die Deutschland kurz darauf in seine dunkelste Epoche stossen werden.

Thomas Fehlmann ist damit ein wahres Kunststück gelungen. So sehr die Produktion den Geist einer vergangenen Zeit atmet, so modern mutet sie an. "1929 - Original Filmmusik" klingt somit wie die zu Musik geronnene Erkenntnis, dass sich Gestern und Heute auf erschreckende Weise ähneln.

Wir bei Kompakt sind der Ansicht, dass Thomas Fehlmanns Filmmusik zu "1929 - Das Jahr Babylon' so spektakulär geraten ist, dass wir sie nun als limitierte CD und Vinyl-Auflage, sowie auf allen digitalen Plattformen verfügbar machen.

THIS IS NOT A REISSUE. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS AMAZING MINIMAL SCORE HAS BEEN ISSUED ON VINYL

This is the first time the complete score to The Conversation has been released on vinyl. The film itself was originally released in 1974 and a 7' demo of the theme was sent out as promotional material by Paramount (PAA-0305), but a USA stock edition was never issued. In Japan the same music was also issued on a 7' at about the same time (JET-2273), with a picture sleeve, but until now nothing else has ever been pressed on vinyl.

Jonny Trunk's little obsession with this music began after I'd caught the film, late night, sometime in the mid 1990s. Musically it's an exceptional example of the 'new minimalism' in film music of the period, marking a departure (for some) from big scores to smaller, more economic ensemble sounds.

The film was written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and is still a thrilling journey into sound, mind and murder. Heavily influenced by Antonioni's Blow-Up (and not, as some thought, by Watergate), Coppola wanted to fuse the concept of Blow-Up with 'the world of audio surveillance'. The story centres around Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a mac-wearing professional wire-tapper and clandestine bugger who gets unusually consumed by a conversation he's been paid to record. Caul is a loner, an obsessive-compulsive character with numerous neuroses that play out brilliantly throughout the film. And as he slowly pieces together the conversation fragments and forms his own story around it, his world falls apart.

Sonically this movie - all about sound - is groundbreaking in many ways, with actual 'sound Design' Provided By The Legendary Walter Murch - The Man Who Actually Invented The Term In The First Place.

For The Music, Coppola Wisely Chose A Young David Shire, His Brother In Law. Shire's Deceptively Simple Piano Theme (composed Because Of No Budget For Big Orchestra) Is One Of Tragic Beauty, Brilliantly Capturing Caul's Loneliness, His Slightly Disturbed Nature And This Trip Into Darkness. The Melody Has Both Sweet And Sour Tones, Feeling A Little Like A Slow Ragtime, Which Both Develops And Retreats Throughout The Film; There Are Even Trips Into Avant-garde Territory With Electro-acoustic Flourishes And Concrète. The Solo, Agitated Figure Of Caul, Wearing His Distinctive Transparent Mac, Is Made All The More Raw And Poignant By The Score - The Sparse And Curiously Emotional Compositions Are Unlike Any Others I Can Think Of From The Period.

The Soundtrack For The Conversation Proved To Be A Major Break For Shire, His Career Really Taking Off From This Musical Point. His Next Score Was To Be The Underground Classic Taking Of Pelham 123, Followed Up Later Ironically By All The Presidents Men - A Thriller About The Watergate Scandal.

The Conversation Went On To Win Several Awards And Nominations, And Has Become A Classic Of The 'new Hollywood' Movement. Hopefully Now This Music May Become Part Of The Renewed Interest In Old Film Soundtracks.

Lunatic is back! After an almost three year hiatus we arise and bring you the five track debut EP of EN DIRECT. A true beacon for those who know and care. Five tracks of inbetween stuff: dark, bright and sincere.

F*CLR are hugely excited and honoured to present Moscow producer/DJ Mutenoise aka Alexander Bannikov and his masterful 'Midnight' EP - available on digital and limited 12 Inch, the vinyl has the bonus track, 'Northern Lights' is a Vinyl exclusive!

But meanwhile, back to the EP - kicking off with Mutenoise's original version of 'Midnight', rooted in the deep tradition of jazz dancers, has a toughness that crosses over and aligns itself to modern house with a warm, soulful vibe. On the remix tip, Ashley Beedle ramps up the drums with a nod towards the classic sound of 90's New York and MAW releases and along with the 'Stripped Back' + 'Mixers Delight' edits, he adds an extra element of remix goodness for the heads. 'Rules of Monopoly' is proper late night tunage, perfect for those 5am sets, with its crisp handclaps + percussion, rising chords underpinned by an unwavering bassline - house music at it's very best. And just to tease you - 'Northern Lights' (bonus vinyl only track) - another jazz soaked house track with beautiful chords, ephemeral vocal samples - echoes of downtown Moscow after dark....

Originally from far flung Western Siberia, Mutenoise gravitated towards Moscow and became an integral part of the vibrant Russian electronic dance scene rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lay Far and fellow F*CLR artist, Stan Serkin. Mutenoise has released on such labels as Raw Underground Records (UK), Vesna (UA), Underground Sources (TN), Smile for a While (DE).

Drama were the Canadian duo of Eric Simpson (Vocals, Bass Guitar, Guitar) and Don Stagg (Keyboards). Formed in in Mississauga, Ontario in 1978, the pair had previously played together in progressive psych bands Majik and VIIth Temple. Almost every Saturday, Eric and Don would record one song on a TEAC 4 track tape recorder after a couple of takes with very little over dubbing. The pair were influenced by what was playing on the radio during the recording sessions. Everyone else at that time was in a rock or pop band yet Drama were making electronic music. The pair released their debut LP 'Loneliness' on Psycho Records in 1979. There were 500 albums made and about 200 ended up in the garbage as band members shuffled from apartment to apartment. This was followed by a 4-track 7' later that year featuring live drums and additional guitar.
Seance Centre says it best, 'On Loneliness, the pair traded in their velvet and chord charts for thin ties and a cheap drum-machine. The LP still carries a whiff of patchouli, but the sound stings of solder and electricity, and inhabits a nascent zone somewhere between krautrock and new-wave. The vocal cuts are all clustered on the A-side, starting with an ode to the inefficiency of the Toronto Transit Commission - some things never change! The dystopian sci-fi themes are par for the League, and highlights are the love ballad 'Anna King' and the charming 'Feable'. The instrumentals on the B-side feel decidedly more Teutonic, and have a certain CBC charm that sounds like JP Decerf recording for Parry Music. It even opens with a slinky stoned Pink Panther.' For this first time vinyl reissue we've expanded to a double LP with a bonus album of the 4 songs from Old Hollywood 7' and 9 previously unreleased tracks and demo versions. All songs are remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in a jacket with original photo by Don Stagg taken from his apartment rooftop overlooking Toronto of a young teenager sniffing glue and includes an insert with photos and liner notes by Drama.

One year after his debut, the label Hidden Tapes is proud and pleased to present CMBM 'cosmic microwave background radiation' by Dark Division, a 2×12' inch gatefold in stores on 12 November: a techno experimental project that range from ambient dimensions to more dark and industrial techno. The release features 8 new tracks including 2 astonishing remixes.

In this new release Dark Division reaches a more abstract dimension with emerging cosmical and spacial feelings, swirling and deep sounds obtained with dark pads, disruptive deep basses, with ever present echoes and focused distortions: the entire projects sound pleasant and challenging.
It's a small journey, lasting 8 tracks, that envision a unique point of view on the scientific theory about multi-universes. His primary and essential sounds blend with other rhythmic elements. The result are rich dynamics and a unique metric structure. It takes multiple listenings to discover a complex blend of sonic fluxes.

On each record there's a remix: the first one features PRG-M, and the second features Matter. Both artists enhance Dark Division's music making this double vinyl an extremely interesting release...

The demons of night are out again: Seoul's one-stop shop creative collective Byul.org returns this fall with its third international album, entitled Nobody's Gold, out via Alien Transistor (worldwide) and the group's own Club Bidanbaem imprint (South Korea). Comprising 14 new songs, it's a dizzying, haunting affair that channels the group's manifold influences and references points (from post-punk to Stockhausen and back via club culture) and yet sounds intriguingly coherent.

Moving in and out of the shadows, Nobody's Gold breaks forth as pure sonic landscape - a universe of its own, folding and unfolding into both more experimental patterns, yet also with occasional hooks and dark catchy structures, gracious build-ups flickering among the hazy roar and thunder. After the screak and squeal of 'Lamb with a Wolf Mask,' the foreboding sounds of 'The Museum of The Two of Us' segue into a synthesized party tune about a missing friend being chased by police ('Nari Yuko Yin'), one of several vocal tracks with a sinister edge. Taking things up another notch, 'Friendly Enemies' is probably the closest this group will ever get to creating a stadium-ready anthem. On the other end of the spectrum, 'The Place Where Designers Go To Die' is a magnificent void with an immense and irresistible undertow...

Never too jolly (not even while 'Day Drinking at a Seaside Town' or during takeoff via epic pop tune 'Bats We Are'), Nobody's Gold compiles soundscapes with a very tangible, corporeal presence - iridescent sonic sculptures placed in unlikely settings (e.g. outer space, see: 'Dirty Dirtiness'), born at the fringes where night blends into day and vice versa.

Inspired by everyday life, half-remembered drug/club experiences, Pascal Quignard's disturbing La haine de la musique, Stockhausen and Bill Evans, the new LP sees the collective remain true to its DIY foundations while repeatedly questioning our listening habits and 'the exaggerated love for the concept of love,' as they put it.

Founded around the dawn of the millennium as a group of poetry-loving friends who'd occasionally meet for drinks, Byul.org has long become an extremely prolific and versatile collective within Seoul's scene: Main song-writer TaeSang Cho and his mates Yu Hur, Jowall, YunYi Yi, SuhnJoo YI, HyunJung Suh, and SoYoon Hwang went from publishing to recording, from releasing tunes to design, art direction and more. Although their list of clients includes Atelier Herme`s and the Venice Biennale (they did the Korean Pavilion twice), the group still remains a drinking circle of close friends at its core: Pals who simply like to create and carouse and dream and live and perform and play tunes together.

This is the second release from the Parisian label Aperçu, which has uncovered European producers for this compilation featuring 4 titles.The story of this compilation came about gradually, with one thing leading to another as the artists involved met up all over Europe and their musical affinities became apparent. Two years after their EP Stara Zagora,Metshka and Roman Delore are issuing the second release of their label, Aperçu, promoting three producers well deserving of attention. Ben Kaczor, the resident DJ at the legendary, intimate Elysia Club in Basel, Switzerland has his own label, KCZ, and is an adept of dark, sharp-edged sounds such as in 'Navel,' which plays out like a hypnotic, melancholy adieu but with well-defined kicks.Temiri, a native of southern France having spent time in Berlin, now lives in Switzerland as well. With the Swiss mountains and Geneva's rave parties shaping his sensibility, he created 'Love Intentions' - a soft gift to the world. HiromaKeo, a Lisbon-based French producer, champions a wide-ranging, contemporary approach to electronic music. After three years spent comanaging the collective and label ESITU (between Lille and Brussels), he has started a new project in Portugal: Vilamar. In 'SonheiContigo' we find his signature precision and the Japanese influences he likes.
Last but not least, Metshkaand Roman Delorecontinue to appear at parties and events in Paris and to work on hybrid events through their Pauza collective. At the crossroads of techno, ambient and experimental music, here they give us 'Ocre,' a work of slow violence.

"In 2016, 21 years after Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. were founded in Osaka, Japan, there was a major shift in the line-up and "Next Generation" was added to the bands name. We now view the first 20 years of the bands career as chapter one in our story, and we are now turning the page to start chapter two. In 2018, it's time to re-record our classics with this new line-up, we just opened the door to the next stage!' (Kawabata Makoto 2018)
 
Twenty four years into their existence, Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. have circled the globe at least a few dozen times, released over 100 albums in their various guises and played thousands of shows.
 
In recent years, they've experienced seismic line up changes which has given them yet another new lease of life ... or a rebirth if you will. Original members Kawabata Makoto (guitar, speed guru) and Higashi Hiroshi (synthesizer, noodle god) are now joined by Jyonson Tsu (vocal, midnight whistler), Satoshima Nani (drums, another dimension) and Wolf (bass, space & time) and as anyone that has seen the new line up live will testify, things have gone even more cosmic ...
 
'Reverse Of Rebirth In Universe' sees the band return to their old label Riot Season for the first time since 2012's 'IAO Chant From The Melting Paraiso Underground Freak Out' (CD still available). Both label and band have gone on some wonderful journeys during that time apart but both felt the stars were finally correctly realigned to renew their partnership in all things weird.
 
Long time AMT fans will immediately recognise some of the song titles listed on the album sleeve here. But the songs themselves have been reworked and transformed far away from their original versions. New boy Jyonson Tsu's quiet, almost whispered vocals bring a whole new aura to proceedings, despite the familiar riffs hidden in the depths below them. It's so laid back in places it's practically horizontal, with only occasional trademark piercing guitar squeals threatening to destroy the peace and calm. The whole of side two is taken up with the twenty minute epic 'Black Summer Song' .. and if this is an indicator to where the AMT mothership is heading going forwards we're all in for another fucked up and magical ride.
 
If you stepped off the AMT ride over the years, possibly overwhelmed by the amount of releases they were once firing out ... it could be time to step back on it and check out where they're currently at. In a world that's more messed up than ever, we could all use a little break away from the norm, and nobody takes you as far away from the norm as possible as Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
 

Keysound Recordings are proud to announce the unearthing and release of a collection of lost deep tech dubs from Hugo Massien. After releases on labels such as XL Recordings, E-Beamz, Tectonic and Audio Rehab comes a 12' of tracks that date from 2014 -2016. Dark, percussive yet catchy, the productions originate from the peak years of London's underground deep tech scene, at a time where the movement bubbled with an abundance of energy and creative possibilities. Massien was one

vailable on 7-inch red vinyl single (includes free digital copy on MP3). Vinyl is limited to 500 copies.

Les Disques du Crepuscule presents All Through the Night, the first of two of newly recorded 7-inch coloured vinyl singles by The Passengers, the late 1970s new wave group from Brussels who subsequently became cult Factory/Crepuscule band The Names.

In 1978, with the Brussels scene still in the grip of raw punk, The Passengers offered a fresh, pop-oriented sensibility, mingled with the darker accents of later post-punk. This was young music in every sense, with none of The Passengers older than 22, shaped more by American than British influences, notably the Velvet Underground, whose radical style was in turn echoed by late Seventies bands like Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Talking Heads and Television. The presence of Isabelle Hanrez on vocals also made comparisons with Blondie inescapable. 

With their first gigs in the five-piece quickly became a local sensation, and in March 1978 won a battle of the bands known as the 'First Belgian Punk Contest' - only to reject the prize (a one-off single deal) as a cynical commercial ploy. Instead, the band chose to tape All Through the Night for Brussels punk imprint Romantik Records, only for the label to fold before this came to pass. 

The Passengers parted company soon after, with Michel Sordinia, Marc Deprez and Christophe Den Tandt becoming The Names on Factory Records, while Hanrez formed own pop-punk outfit, Isabelle et les Nic-Nacs. Four decades on, the original Passengers quintet decided to record and issue the singles denied a release at the time, recorded and played as if it were still 1978!

Cover portrait by Eric de Merkline. Design by Atomluft.

Available on 7-inch clear vinyl single (includes free digital copy on MP3). Limited to 500 copies.

Les Disques du Crepuscule presents All Through the Night, the first of two of newly recorded 7-inch coloured vinyl singles by The Passengers, the late 1970s new wave group from Brussels who subsequently became cult Factory/Crepuscule band The Names.

In 1978, with the Brussels scene still in the grip of raw punk, The Passengers offered a fresh, pop-oriented sensibility, mingled with the darker accents of later post-punk. This was young music in every sense, with none of The Passengers older than 22, shaped more by American than British influences, notably the Velvet Underground, whose radical style was in turn echoed by late Seventies bands like Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Talking Heads and Television. The presence of Isabelle Hanrez on vocals also made comparisons with Blondie inescapable. 

With their first gigs in the five-piece quickly became a local sensation, and in March 1978 won a battle of the bands known as the 'First Belgian Punk Contest' - only to reject the prize (a one-off single deal) as a cynical commercial ploy. Instead, the band chose to tape All Through the Night for Brussels punk imprint Romantik Records, only for the label to fold before this came to pass. 

The Passengers parted company soon after, with Michel Sordinia, Marc Deprez and Christophe Den Tandt becoming The Names on Factory Records, while Hanrez formed own pop-punk outfit, Isabelle et les Nic-Nacs. Four decades on, the original Passengers quintet decided to record and issue the singles denied a release at the time, recorded and played as if it were still 1978!

Cover portrait by Eric de Merkline. Design by Atomluft. e

After his acclaimed debut album in late 2017 and his explosive live set in Sonar festival this summer, Red Bull Music Academy discipule Clip debuts in Stale with a journey of powerful analogue textures straight from his modular. Clip offers uncompromising techno club weapons on Grip and Sand, while Detail focus his darkest and deep nightmarish trips. Falling Ethics boss P.E.A.R.L. completes the record with a brute and super effective rework for Grip, ready for shake the most vigorous club walls.

Andy Rantzen, Sydney, Australia.
This one is a special for us as we love dub and lo-fi music and also love the experiments of Andy Rantzen like "Rain in the Morning, Sun in the Afternoon / Dark Sea".
The more interesting part of the story is, that both tunes are written and recorded nearly 20 years ago by Andy - 1999-2000. But definitely still hot and vibing our sweet and sour DIY motto. We like!!!
A must in your collection!

Reclaiming her original moniker of Kittin, electroclash pioneer - formerly known as Miss Kittin - presents Cosmos, a continuous twelve-track LP of organic, leftfield electronica due 2 November on Dark Entries. Throughout her illustrious career, Kittin has carved a considerable niche for herself, assimilating references from New Wave and 90s techno to form an inimitable sound that resonates with electronic music fans the world over. Despite being most recognizable with 'Miss' before it, Kittin was in fact her original artist name - the prefix often added without her consent at promoter's will and eventually becoming the norm.

Cosmos is her most spiritual release yet, influenced by her time in the French countryside after a bout of touring exhaustion. She gives up any formulas from her past; verses/chorus, pop or club beats, to come to the essence of chords and textures, peeling away the non-essential to find joy in music yet again. In retrieving her chosen name from more than 20 years ago, Kittin also returns to the essence of her musical journey. By liberating herself from the constraints of formal structure she opens the door to a new set of aesthetics, exploring her influences without restraint. Sonically, the voice acts a central instrument, whilst the album drives continuously forward with no breaks, paying homage to her love for ambient and electronica whilst wandering calmly into the unknown. 'With Cosmos everything is energy. We go back to the core with curiosity and freedom.' - Kittin

Dubstep veteran Sukh Knight kicks off his brand new DAKU imprint in style with an EP featuring much sought after tracks by himself and a remix by Dubstep O.G Kromestar. All 3 tracks have gained much support over the past year by many dj's including Mala, Coki, N-Type, Hatcha, Kromestar, Chefal, Sleeper and many more.

The EP starts with the sci-fi sample laced dubby roller 'Moonrunner' which takes you on a journey through the galaxies, before going to the flipside for Sukh's trademark Bollywood influenced dancefloor smasher 'Paid Off' and ending with Kromestar's hypnotising 'Dark Of The Moon' remix of 'Moonrunner'. DAKU001 is essential in your record collection with all 3 tracks guaranteed to cause destruction on soundsystems and dancefloors. Prepare yourself for many more exciting releases from this brand new label.

Raw formed during the summer of 1990 in Athens, Greece when keyboardist Giannis Papaioannou and percussionist Makis Faros started composing music for imaginary waiting rooms. They combined the traditional cut-up technique of tape-loops, the industrial timbres of musique concrète with the harmonics of world music, all filtered through digital sampling and computer programming. Their first recordings generated an 8 track demo, which was freely distributed among friends and the local underground press. After 6 months of work and several sessions with guest musicians on acoustic and electric instruments, Raw self-released their first album 'Land' in December 1991 on Elfish Records. In 1992 they recruited the band's sound engineer, Coti K., as a third member, both on stage and studio sessions. 'City' was their second album fully inspired by the mechanisms of their home town. Presenting a different electronic face of Raw, manipulating rhythms with analogue synthesizers and harsh sampling to evoke the atmosphere of Athens. 'City' was released on CD only by Elfish Records in 1994. 'Fragments' is a collection of 4 songs from 'City' presented on vinyl for the first time plus bonus track recorded during the 'City' sessions previously released on a compilation in 1992. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each copy includes a double sided postcard with photos and notes.

The neon lights that decorate a dive bar's window cast a vivid reflection in rainwater on the pavement outside, as steam rises from deep beneath the ground. A slow pan across the scene, past alleys cast in shadow, twilit corners & glass doorways streaked with the mist of humid bodies fuming inside: the camera catches the denizens of an unnamed city, studying faces heavy with secrets too sad to bear. Cut to the motorway. Sleek cars barrel through the night. Sirens moan. Engines rev. You're behind the wheel, over the edge as the credits roll.

This film does not exist — but the soundtrack does. Symmetry is Johnny Jewel & Nat Walker, & Themes For an Imaginary Film is their two-hour cinematic opus pokus, a sprawling score for a movie that screens only in your mind. A 'conceptual tangent between Glass Candy, Chromatics, Mirage, & Desire's more abstract sides,' as Jewel himself describes the project, Symmetry is a vigorous, electric, restless exploration of ideas on the bleeding edge of instrumental sound. Analog synthesizers roll and crest, drums collide, keys cascade clear & crystalline. These themes evoke the phantasmic images that inspired them: urgent and ethereal, sinister & romantic. It's a neo-noir epic of pink fog & femme fatales hidden behind rain drenched windshields after dark.

Produced By Johnny Jewel & Nat Walker

David Holmes was drawn to DIE HEXEN by their 'magical sensibility that has both shades of dark and light, which is something that always appeals to me in music'. After featuring in his edition of the famed Late Night Tales compilation with a take on the original suicide song 'Gloomy Sunday', DIE HEXEN returns to expand upon their dark ambient journey towards transcendence with an eagerly awaited debut album.

DIE HEXEN's genre eschewing synth driven compositions draw inspiration from the disturbing beauty of Hieronymus Bosch's artwork and several brushes with death, evoking a spirit who traverses realms of the underworld to bring forth knowledge of an Ancient past and in doing so, to reveal the not so distant future.

The Garden of Unearthly Delights transports the listener through strange visions of darkness, beauty, creation, destruction, death & rebirth. An exorcism of body, gender, tribe towards a place of ultimate transcendence.

Somewhat of a polymath, DIE HEXEN has already shown their prowess with live performances part music/part performance art spectacle, as an avant-garde filmmaker and as an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, sound designer and film scorer.

DIE HEXEN's divergent interests from Japanese Butoh theatre to Wiccanism, Shamanism, celestial mysticism and time travel informs their method, as they explain themself; 'The compositions I write are not written, at least not by me. They appear to me as audio/visual hallucinations. I can hear, visualise, and feel the whole composition before me. My hands know instinctively what notes to play and like a stream of consciousness, voices emerge. Having suffered severe head trauma that resulted in a heightening of the senses, the theme of death is an increasingly present theme in my work. With this, my perception of death and what is beyond changes as I contort between this world and the next physically and mentally, musically and visually. Working with music or film, my vision is one. The calling to express these auditory hallucinations is inevitable'.

With a knack for crafting up-front, jacking house music, Danish producer Niles Cooper proves he's right at home with the Super Tuff family. Just after his first release on his own Pale Springs imprint, his follow-up EP for Brooklyn's Super Tuff appropriately pays homage to its NYC influences. The title track "House Gospel" is a heartbreaking peak hour track full of old-skool NYC garage flavor. It is impressively followed by a remix from Berlin's Black Loopsia certified deep house belter. On the B-side, "Floor Juuc" is a rolling early morning chugger with a bassline reminiscent of "I Get Deep." Rounding out the record, Cooper shows his versatility with "If We Try We Can Start Anew" jumping into darker DnB territory with well-cut breaks and moody ambient chords reminiscent of Burial. Welcome home Niles!

After releases on Kompakt, Innervisions and Bedrock this year Marc returns to his mothership and elivers his first solo EP on his own imprint in three years.

While - Moonface' represents the melodic and spheric shade of Romboy´s works, - Zukunft' represents the dark and deep side of his skills. Pure synthesizer LFO pulsating madness.

Kalita Records and CC:EDITIONS (a new venture by
Australia's CC:DISCO) jointly announce a 12' EP
comprised of four of Nana Tuffour's greatest electronic
burger highlife tracks, accompanied by interview-based liner
notes. Here, in partnership with Nana, we select two highly
sought-after songs from his 1993 release 'Genesis', namely
'Sikyi Medley' and 'M'Anu Me Ho', and pair them his with two
lesser known yet equally deserving tracks 'Asamando' and
'Jesus' from his 1997 CD-only release 'Highlife Tropicana'.
Hailing from Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region in Ghana,
Nana Tuffour is by far one of the most important exponents of
modern highlife music. He studied piano at college and cut his
teeth in the '70s as an organist and vocalist for the incomparable
Kyeremanteng Atwede and Dr. K Gyasi's Noble Kings Band.
Fast forward to 1981 and Ghana was at the apex of its golden age
of music. This era was brought to an abrupt end by political
upheaval when the military took over the government and as a
result a restrictive dusk to dawn curfew was imposed between
1982 and 1984. This resulted in a total obliteration of the country's
night life, and Nana just like many other prominent musicians
including Pat Thomas and George Darko left Ghana for greener
pastures, the most popular destinations being Nigeria and
Germany. The Rheinklang Studio in Düsseldorf run by a young
inimitable German sound engineer Bodo Staiger and another
'exiled' Ghanaian musician Charles Amoah played a crucial role
for those musicians who had chosen Germany. This studio
became the focal point for Ghanaian musicians and the birthplace
of a new sound, now known as 'Burger highlife' - traditional
Ghanaian highlife infused with the more up to date electronic and
disco sounds of the West. It is arguable that Nana has played a
crucial role in Burger highlife and developing the sound of
traditional Ghanaian highlife more widely to what it is today, with
his innovative use of electronic accompaniment pushing its
boundaries to its creative extremes.
It is Burger highlife's transcendence of traditional musical
boundaries that helps make it so accessible to listeners,
appealing not only to Ghanaians back home but now highly
regarded and sought-after by those in the West interested in
more occidental disco and electronic sounds. We hope that you
enjoy the four songs offered here, each chosen to demonstrate
Nana's singular influence on the development of Burger highlife.

Leifur James will release his debut album in October through Late Night Tales' artist label Night Time Stories.
A Louder Silence is the London-based producer and multi-instrumentalist's first proper release; his two earlier singles feature on the record, after gaining support from Gilles Peterson's Worldwide FM with a live airing and interview in 2017, plus continued backing from XLR8R, Stamp the Wax, and BBC Radio 6 Music DJ's.
The album is both spacious and thought-provoking, energetic yet restrained, brimming with nuanced electronic instrumentals, dubby synths, and jazz breaks — creating an array of rich textures, complemented occasionally by James' own soulful vocals.
While James' early unreleased work was singularly electronic, A Louder Silence focuses on analog synths and warm acoustic instruments, all played by his own hand. It's the product of a two-year spell in James' home studio, with additional live drums recorded with Jim Macrae at London's Old Paradise Audio.
James' rich musical influences are laced through the release. Encouraged by his mother, a classically trained pianist, he learned to play the cello and developed adeep understanding of rhythm and melody that informs his approach to writing electronic music. James playsthe piano he grew up listening to in 'Mumma Don't Tell' and samples an indefinable percussive element to drive forward 'Suns Of Gold.' 'Night and Day' sees cello plucks and long melodic strokes interlink with a grooving synth line. He also field records the atmospheric Moroccan sea in 'Red Sea.' Inspiration stems from the experimentation of modern day electronic producers, fused with the Jazz, Classical, Blues, and Soul music that soundtracked his youth.
Central to the album is the idea of space. James recalls the early advice of his uncle, a jazz guitarist, who features on 'Uncle Blue': 'I remember him saying to me: "What goes in comes out' James says. 'Every detail should be a worthy detail; sometimes nothing is better than something.' Moments of blissful, structured intensity are juxtaposed with stillness and near silence — dark and light; loud and quiet. This also forms the foundation for the album title: A Louder Silence reflects the dichotomy of finding pockets of stillness in a noisy world.
The result is 10 distinct tracks delivered as one coherent and well-structured long-player debut, set for release on LP, CD, and digital, on 5th October 2018.
Live dates follow a debut live show earlier this year at the Jazz Café with Yazz Ahmed, including an album launch at London's Ghost Notes in October.

After two cassette releases for the likes of Tokyo's Solitude Solutions and Barcelona's Angoisse, Motion Ward is happy to present the debut of Kouhei Fukuzumi's Ultrafog project on the vinyl format. "How Those Fires Burned That Are No Longer" weaves through sliding metal timbres, textured air abstractions and wistful mallet sequences. This record, like all of Kouhei's work, is a take on sound as a representation of memory. Light and translucent, each song aims for a temporal snapshot that will inevitably fade into the well of thoughts and experience.
-
a dream I see with one eye open
if, about the fire I've witnessed
I could tell you what it illuminated
the place where you even lose your final
shade of darkness
may it at least be golden
may it at least be grand

'they've quietly found themselves elevated into the psych scenes premier league.' Drowned In Sound 
 
'when they go pedal-to-metal it rarely fails.' Mojo Magazine
 
'The Lucid Dream are rapidly becoming major players in an ever-increasingly crowded psych scene..utterly seductive.' The Quietus
  
'one of the most enthralling bands in the UK.' Far Out Magazine
 
 
The Lucid Dream return in October with the release of their 4th album, 'Actualisation'.
Driven by fans raising £10,000 to help replace all equipment robbed after a Paris show in early 2017, a new album became the instant focus in the summer of 2017 for a rejuvenated The Lucid Dream.
 
'Actualisation' is soaked in the influence of acid house, amalgamated with dub and kosmische. It will again see them acknowledged for venturing into pastures new, setting themselves apart from 'genres', 'scenes' or what any other act are currently doing. 
 
The album was penned over the summer of 2017 by Mark Emmerson (vocals/guitar/synths), using only the classic Roland 303/808 synths, bass and vocals as tools for writing. Inspiration for the writing was formed via continuous listening to the Chicago to UK acid house works of 1986-1992, the focus predominantly on the groove.
Several months on from those writing sessions and The Lucid Dream have completed their 4th album in 5 years. A record made for the dancefloor.
 
 
Recorded at Whitewood Studios, Liverpool, with Rob Whiteley, the album is produced alongside long-time collaborator Ross Halden (Ghost Town Studios, Leeds), with mastering via Dean Honer (All Seeing I/I Monster/The Moonlandingz).
 
The confrontational techno-punk of 'Alone In Fear' opens the album, a 9-minute attack fuelled by the frustration and anger spawned by Brexit, government and a realisation of what 2018 Britain currently is.
Recent single 'SX1000' (the first work from the album, unveiled via 12' vinyl in April this year) is the band's first move into pure acid house. The acid house fusion runs throughout the record, represented furthermore by 'Ardency', a track already praised by live critics when aired live for the first time earlier this year as 'even on first hearing, would've raised the roof of The Hacienda'.
 
The 2-part opus of 'Zenith' follows, commencing with a space-dub/house instrumental groove before building into a track that will go for your head as much as your hips. Only 'Breakdown' harks back to sounds of old for the band, a little reminder of the skull-crushing impact they can make when stripped to the bare bones. 'No Sunlight Dub' closes the album, a dark-dub that invites the classic acid-house tool (Roland 808) into the dub. The track makes a stop-off into drum 'n' bass/jungle along the way before rounding up in a manner suited to Lee Perry, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo and other Jamaican greats.
 
 
The Lucid Dream formed in Carlisle, Cumbria, in 2008. A string of sold-out 7s was followed by the debut longer player, 'Songs Of Lies and Deceit', in August 2013. The initial vinyl pressing of the debut album (500 copies) sold out within 2 days, and was backed by a main stage slot at Kendal Calling, and supports to Death In Vegas and A Place To Bury Strangers (full UK tour).
 
The bands 2nd album ('The Lucid Dream') was released in March 2015 to further acclaim. This included 2 BBC 6 Music sessions and plays across most shows on the station, as well as plays from BBC Radio 1 (Huw Stephens) and BBC Radio 2. Further press followed from Uncut, The Skinny, Louder Than War, and Drowned In Sound, who named the album #7 UK album of 2015. Supports to Clinic and A Place To Bury Strangers also coincided.
 
 
3rd album, 'Compulsion Songs' was released in September 2016, on Holy Are You Recordings. The vinyl pressing of the album sold-out within a day, prompting an immediate 2nd press, with pre-sales of the album topping 1,000 before release. The album was backed by a headline UK tour, and a main slot at Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia (for which they were singled out for major plaudits from The Quietus, The Skinny and Drowned In Sound). The album again received acclaim from the likes of Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock Magazine, BBC Radio 2 (Huey Morgan) and across the board on BBC 6 Music (Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley, Tom Ravenscroft, Gideon Coe, Stuart Maconie).
 
 
 
'Actualisation' is released on 19th October 2018 (CD/download/ltd red vinyl/standard black vinyl), via Holy Are You Recordings.

'they've quietly found themselves elevated into the psych scenes premier league.' Drowned In Sound 
 
'when they go pedal-to-metal it rarely fails.' Mojo Magazine
 
'The Lucid Dream are rapidly becoming major players in an ever-increasingly crowded psych scene..utterly seductive.' The Quietus
  
'one of the most enthralling bands in the UK.' Far Out Magazine
 
 
The Lucid Dream return in October with the release of their 4th album, 'Actualisation'.
Driven by fans raising £10,000 to help replace all equipment robbed after a Paris show in early 2017, a new album became the instant focus in the summer of 2017 for a rejuvenated The Lucid Dream.
 
'Actualisation' is soaked in the influence of acid house, amalgamated with dub and kosmische. It will again see them acknowledged for venturing into pastures new, setting themselves apart from 'genres', 'scenes' or what any other act are currently doing. 
 
The album was penned over the summer of 2017 by Mark Emmerson (vocals/guitar/synths), using only the classic Roland 303/808 synths, bass and vocals as tools for writing. Inspiration for the writing was formed via continuous listening to the Chicago to UK acid house works of 1986-1992, the focus predominantly on the groove.
Several months on from those writing sessions and The Lucid Dream have completed their 4th album in 5 years. A record made for the dancefloor.
 
 
Recorded at Whitewood Studios, Liverpool, with Rob Whiteley, the album is produced alongside long-time collaborator Ross Halden (Ghost Town Studios, Leeds), with mastering via Dean Honer (All Seeing I/I Monster/The Moonlandingz).
 
The confrontational techno-punk of 'Alone In Fear' opens the album, a 9-minute attack fuelled by the frustration and anger spawned by Brexit, government and a realisation of what 2018 Britain currently is.
Recent single 'SX1000' (the first work from the album, unveiled via 12' vinyl in April this year) is the band's first move into pure acid house. The acid house fusion runs throughout the record, represented furthermore by 'Ardency', a track already praised by live critics when aired live for the first time earlier this year as 'even on first hearing, would've raised the roof of The Hacienda'.
 
The 2-part opus of 'Zenith' follows, commencing with a space-dub/house instrumental groove before building into a track that will go for your head as much as your hips. Only 'Breakdown' harks back to sounds of old for the band, a little reminder of the skull-crushing impact they can make when stripped to the bare bones. 'No Sunlight Dub' closes the album, a dark-dub that invites the classic acid-house tool (Roland 808) into the dub. The track makes a stop-off into drum 'n' bass/jungle along the way before rounding up in a manner suited to Lee Perry, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo and other Jamaican greats.
 
 
The Lucid Dream formed in Carlisle, Cumbria, in 2008. A string of sold-out 7s was followed by the debut longer player, 'Songs Of Lies and Deceit', in August 2013. The initial vinyl pressing of the debut album (500 copies) sold out within 2 days, and was backed by a main stage slot at Kendal Calling, and supports to Death In Vegas and A Place To Bury Strangers (full UK tour).
 
The bands 2nd album ('The Lucid Dream') was released in March 2015 to further acclaim. This included 2 BBC 6 Music sessions and plays across most shows on the station, as well as plays from BBC Radio 1 (Huw Stephens) and BBC Radio 2. Further press followed from Uncut, The Skinny, Louder Than War, and Drowned In Sound, who named the album #7 UK album of 2015. Supports to Clinic and A Place To Bury Strangers also coincided.
 
 
3rd album, 'Compulsion Songs' was released in September 2016, on Holy Are You Recordings. The vinyl pressing of the album sold-out within a day, prompting an immediate 2nd press, with pre-sales of the album topping 1,000 before release. The album was backed by a headline UK tour, and a main slot at Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia (for which they were singled out for major plaudits from The Quietus, The Skinny and Drowned In Sound). The album again received acclaim from the likes of Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock Magazine, BBC Radio 2 (Huey Morgan) and across the board on BBC 6 Music (Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley, Tom Ravenscroft, Gideon Coe, Stuart Maconie).
 
 
 
'Actualisation' is released on 19th October 2018 (CD/download/ltd red vinyl/standard black vinyl), via Holy Are You Recordings.

Blackfilm is an anonymous Hungarian artist who introduced himself with his self-titled debut in 2008, sold out in a few months and later reissued on both CD and vinyl format via Denovali in 2010. His debut has garnered widespread attention - "Evolving from downtempo electronic music to orchestral paroxysms and, insanely, passing from down-pitched nothingness to frozen urban landscapes, it becomes inevitable to resist." / "Dark and brooding, Blackfilm envelopes you like a thick fog creeping off a cooling swampland." (Headphone Commute) - and is still a classic.

Since then, he has relocated to London and released the collaboration master-piece - Along the Corridors' with Italy's heavy dub producer Eraldo Bernocchi in 2010. After eight years of silence Denovali now proudly presents his second solo album - Zero One Seven', in line with a re-issue of - Along the Corridors' on vinyl for the first time.

On - Zero One Seven', Blackfilm merges tracks spanning across drum and bass, dub and electronic. The sounds on the album are built from the ideas on the original Blackfilm - S/T' and - Along the Corridors' and progress to a sound built on new ground mixing modern production techniques and influences while at times referencing the Blackfilm sound we know from his previous releases.

The album maintains a consistent focus on atmospherics, beats and heavy bass ranging from darker dub and drum and bass influences to vocal tracks and complex ambient soundscapes. Production wise, the familiar Blackfilm style incorporating the use of synthetic sounds mixed with samples enables the album to create an intriguing, shifting atmosphere as the album progresses. A dystopian journey through haunting vocals, hypnotic drum patterns and complex sound design.

Brassfoot Makes His Dba Debut Following A Number Of Appearances At The Dba Presents Parties. Since Breaking Through With His Apron Ep On Funkineven's World-leading Label In 2015, Brassfoot Has Turned Heads With Releases On Uttu, Paul Du Lac's Bio Rhythm, And His Own Seminal Nca Recordings. On The Indentured Servitude Ep Brassfoot Showcases His Own Unique Stepping House And Techno Flavour Across Six Tracks, With Time To Meditate And Reflect Between The Party-starting Peak Timers Also Included.

"blinds Down, Crouched Over My Desk, I Switch On My Machines. Whatever The Final Result Is, I Wouldn't Even Bother Unless I Was Having Fun First. Sometimes There's Just One Tiny Portion Of Magic After A Long Recording Session, But It's Always About The Enjoyment First. It's Dark Inside And It Influences The Mood Of The Music. It's Also Dark Outside And It's Obvious Where That Leaves Its Mark." (brassfoot, 2018)

Solipsism is an archival release of music from Mike Simonetti's
tenure as owner of Italians Do It Better Records, spanning from
2006-2013. During that time Mike wrote a lot of music. Some of it
was used for films, some for TV commercials, some for fashion
shows and he even released a record or two.
Influenced by the intersection of 80's arena rock bands like AC/DC and Judas Priest, glam rock/dance bands like Rockets and Supermax, and especially the underground Italian producer Piero Umiliani - the album is chock-full of atmospheric rock-inspired arpeggiated riffs. The mixture of metal and chugging dance music makes for a unique listening experience. Every song has a riff, every song is heavy and dense. Only one song goes above 118 BPM. These are heavy chuggers that make for a tense emotional experience that exceeds your standard, easy-to-write-off 'soundtrack' fare, mainly because it was never written with that in mind. It was meant to be a fist-pumping arena rock inspired thumper! You can hear that in the one two punch of 'A Prayer For War' into 'Illusions", which is an outtake from his "The Magician"
sessions. Other songs like 'Solipsism' showcase the airy melodies
of that were to come with his other project Pale Blue, but that is
not typical on this album. If you listen closely, you can hear how
Simonetti's music and dark vibes inspired his then label partner
Johnny Jewel to take his own bands Chromatics and Glass Candy in a different, more cinematic direction.
This was written and recorded years before the Drive soundtrack and all the hoopla around the sudden soundtrack resurgence. In
2011 Mike was asked to submit some songs for a soon to be
released Hollywood remake. He submitted most of the songs from this album, and they were slated for release on the soundtrack,
but the project fell apart, and the film went in a different direction
and changed producers. Soon after, because of all the drama and foolishness, he left Italians Do It Better to start over with 2MR and Pale Blue. This is the nail in the coffin. Godspeed.