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Steeped in house history it was only a matter of time until the next next generation of Chicago House artist came to the forefront of the genre. Luckily we're friends with them.

'Classic Music Company presents Chicago Nouveaux' brings together the new-breed collective of exceptionally talented Chicago-based artists on a single release. Shaun J Wright & Alinka contribute 'Wang's On Broadway' and 'Matters Of The Heart' - the latter coming with a remix courtesy of Smart Bar's own The Black Madonna while Chrissy drops 'Join Me' with Miles Bonny on vocals, complete with a re-edit for the one & only Rahaan.
This is about as Chi as it gets.

Vinyl Only!
Anyone who followed the development of house music made in the usa in the last decade will certainly have met the art of Fred Peterkin aka Fred P aka Black Jazz Consortium.

His musical set phrase isn't following new trends. Fred is often simply melting shuffling percussions with elementary melodies. but he does it in a sense that the heavy used and abused phrase "deepness" finally gets a fresh truthfully new meaning.

This new project is directed by Miho in collaboration with Robert Drewek, the owner of respected label RAWAX. It is a special edition 'RAWAX - AIRA EP vinyl series".

Concept and mission will always be, to connect and invite great musicians who produce and create "essence of the real music', not following the trend but let the music speak itself with groove, melody, vibe, energy and soul....

Roland has made evolution in dance music all over the world in 80's, Music needed those machines, and machines needed those creators of music. AIRA are not rehashing of the legendary original TR or TB, But respecting those great machines from the past, AIRA continues to evolve toward into the future simultaneously, newly developed, new generations tools to keep the music alive and to bring more possibilities for the future.We seeks out this exciting movement of dance music history, as the music lover who has actual experience the flow of this evolution, and connections between musicians and machines to make their musical pieces on this project to inspire listeners and to challenge the genres they represent by each series.

Don't be mislead from the name, the enigmatic M. Zalla, is one of the numerous alter ego of the italian maestro Piero Umiliani. Umiliani, during his period of fascination for psychedelic and electronic atmospheres, starts to compose a good number of musical portraits dedicated, as the title reveals, to the problems of his time. We are at the beginning of '70 and italians are worried by mafia, terrorism and social conflicts: so it has sense that the music choosen to represent this anxious problems has a sperimental nature, dark and disturbing a sort of unicum in the long and extremly productive Umiliani career.And if, in 2015, titles as Mondo in Crisi', Problemi Sociali', Azione Sindacale' and Mafia Oggi' sounds still sadly actual, it's even more surprising find that the music of Problemi d'Oggi' (Today Problems) is projected on the future, sounding still alien and uniques.
The record presents various styles: from Pink Floyd atmospheres (or Braen's Machine if you prefer...) to compositions characterized by a great use of drum machines and synthetizer (MOOG and Sinthy). We just have to listen the begginning of the opening track Produzione' to give sense to the words of Sean Canty (Demdike Stare) that defines the music the first techno/trance track of the history, but between the grooves of this vinyl it's easy to find intuitions that many other artist and musicians - from Residents to Aphex Twin and Four Tet - will be able to catch during their carrers.

Releasing under the moniker Misanthrop since 2002, Michael Brauninger's music reflects a foreboding sense of darkness, something that has been prevalent in his previous releases with the likes of Critical Recordings, Neosignal and Subtitles. Misanthrop has utilised unfamiliar ways to push the envelope of his twisted, sinister sound for new EP 'I Need More'

The automated refrain on 'Capitalism' reflects the stark coldness of Misanthrop's work, before unleashing an onslaught of off-beat breaks to display Brauninger's deft, often unpredictable production style.

'Rock'n'Roll', a more familiar tear-out drum & bass track, bolstered by pummelling percussive flourishes and flashes of distortion throughout.

Gaining support from the likes of Skrillex, Goldie, Skream, Alix Perez and more, Misanthrop has spent his 13 year career carving a sound that is wholly realised in this latest release. Brutal, uncompromising and inherently forward thinking.

The enigmatic Amara Touré from Guinée Conakry finally getting a well deserved compilation showcasing all of the 10 songs ever released between 1973 and 1980. Cuban influenced music of a different kind featuring amazing spaced-out guitar works!! Analog Africa compiles a complete collection of Amara Touré's Afro-Cuban compositions, originally released between 1973 and 1980."Lamento Cubana and Temedy are the two finest Afro-Cuban compositions ever recorded. As if they were played in a smokey, poorly lit ballroom where dark rum was sipped ever so slowly" - Vikram Sohonie - Ostinato Records
Analog Africa to release a compilation by Amara Toure, the enigmatic Afro-Cuban musician from Guinea-Conakry, showcasing all of the 10 songs he ever released between 1973 and 1980.
"Latin music, is it really foreign to us Africans I don't think so. Listen to the drums, to the rhythm. It all seems very close to us - it feels like it's our own culture," declared enigmatic singer Amara Toure. It is the late 50s, and Senegal is going crazy to the groove of Son Montuno and Patchanga. Brought to West Africa by Cuban sailors in the early 40s, these styles were immediately adopted by a flourishing music scene that did not hesitate to embrace the Caribbean sound, mixed it with their own Folklore, and, in the process, created something new. Through the unique cultural fusion of West African and Caribbean influences, Latin music took on a new and unique sound - the format was reinvented. Producer Ibra Kasseì and his Miami nightclub acted as the spearheads of this movement. They brought a breath of fresh air into Dakar's nightlife, further energising one of West Africa's most exciting cities. The demand for ballroom parties and live acts exploded, attracting numerous musicians from surrounding countries. One of the musicians who answered this call was percussionist and singer Amara Toureì, from Guinea-Conakry. Spotted by Kasseì while performing with Dexter Johnson, Toureì was asked if he would like to be part of a new project. Little did he know that this project would become a phenomenon.Immensely important for the development of Senegalese modern music, Le Star Band de Dakar, led by Mady Konate, became a sort of musical incubator and workshop, where many musicians learned and practiced their trade before moving on to become stars in their own right. Toureì's talent on percussion was undeniable, but it was his powerful and raw voice that captivated the producer. The fascinating way Toure interpreted Cuban music was unparalleled, and it was this feature that encouraged Kasse to recruit the unknown artist.
Although already brimming with incredible talent, Amara Toure's joining of Le Star Band de Dakar in 1958 began the band's meteoric rise to the top. The band quickly became Dakar's number one orchestra, and it cemented the reputation of the Miami nightclub as the hottest spot in the country. The place was packed nightly, and Dakar was boiling.
Amara Toure's Senegalese adventure lasted for ten years when he received an irrefutable offer and in 1968, joined by a few talented Senegalese musicians, headed to Cameroon and immediately formed the Black and White ensemble. Many live gigs later and it was time for the first songs to be recorded. A total of three singles were produced between 1973 and 1976. These singles, representing the first six songs on this compilation, fully epitomise and distill the essence of what Toureì had learned during his career. His Mandingue roots fused with the Senegalese sound that he had mastered - the perfect foundation for the Toureì's Cuban interpretations.
If Toure's intention was to create the most sensual music ever recorded in Africa, he might very well have reached this goal. The musicians on the recording sound like they are playing in a smokey, poorly lit juke joint, where dark rum was sipped ever so slowly, and the pulse of the music took up a life of its own. How many couples have danced, swayed, and melted together to the distinct sound of Amara Toure Nobody can say for sure ...
Amara Toureì's success poured across the borders of Cameroon, and in 1980 he went to Libreville, Gabon, to team up with the powerful Orchestre Massako. Toureì recorded an LP at that time which is hailed by many music aficionados as one of the very best African albums. The songs from that LP are the last four on this compilation. It took only ten songs for Amara Toureì to become a legend. These ten treasures, representing Toure ìs complete discography, have been carefully re-mastered from original session tapes and vinyl records, and will be released by Analog Africa on 22 June 2015. After the release of his LP in 1980, Toureì seems to have disappeared. Apparently he was last seen in Cameroon but it is unknown if he is still alive today. His music though is definitely alive.

2015 Vinyl reissue incl CD

Speedy Ortiz is proud to announce their sophomore album, Foil Deer, which will be released via Carpark Records on April 20th.

'Major Arcana' released in 2013 won them glowing reviews , features and several UK tours (highlights below):

- 4 PAGE NME FEATURE

- 9/10 LEAD REVIEW IN NME: 'One of the reasons 'Major Arcana' works so well is because it's addictive and fun. The guitars and bass sound incredible, like the last Deerhunter album without the Yankee Doodle Dandy'

8/10 Drowned In Sound : ' Speedy Ortiz are way too euphoric and glorious to suffer for their artfulness. Stripping away the frills, at heart Major Arcana is a mournful treasure that asks to be celebrated.'

*NME RADAR FEATURE: 'What's miraculous, though, is that Major Arcana doesn't sound at all self-pitying; it's torrid Slint-meets-Pavement rattle bolsters Sadie's relished words so that yelling along is an exercise in gleefully exorcising your own demons'

8.4 ON PITCHFORK: : 'There's the squalling, guitar-on-guitar carnage of Archers of Loaf, the grungy mysticism of Helium (Dupuis lifted the title Major Arcana from a book she was reading on black magic), and of course the deadpan wit of vintage Liz Phair ('I was never the witch that you made me to be,' Dupuis tells a burnt-out old flame on 'Plough', 'Still you picked a virgin over me').

Standard LP is gatefold, single black LP with chapbook, plus digital download card.
Deluxe LP Is as above but with metallic gold coloured vinyl, and sticker.(200 ONLY FOR UK)
CD comes in digipak with a folded poster approximating the chapbook in the LP.

Speedy Ortiz said they would get the flowers themselves. What a lark! What a plunge!

When considering Massachusetts' Speedy Ortiz, that line from Virginia Woolf comes to mind. Not only for the obvious echoes to DIY, a form and function that's characterized the band's nascency, but in the proto-feminist undertones driving much of their sophomore album, Foil Deer. "I'm not bossy, I'm the boss," Sadie Dupuis sings on "Raising the Skate," invoking in spirit one half of the Carter-Knowles clan and echoing the other's wordplay. And wordplay makes sense, considering Dupuis-the band's songwriter, guitarist, and frontwoman-spent the band's first few years teaching writing at UMass Amherst. She's drawn to the dense complexity of Pynchon, the dreamlike geometry of Bolaño, the confounded yearning of Plath-all attributes you could easily apply to the band's 2013 debut Major Arcana, which fans and press alike have invested with a sense of purpose and merit uncommon in contemporary guitar rock.

The group, including Mike Falcone on drums, Darl Ferm on bass, and new addition Devin McKnight of Grass is Green on guitar, have spent the last year on an almost endless cross-continental touring jag, tagging along with the likes of The Breeders, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, and Thurston Moore. That shift into full-time musicianship brought with it an attendant reordering of priorities when it came to songwriting, and the band members' lives in general. They would get the damn flowers themselves.

Dupuis wrote much of Foil Deer at her mother's home in the Connecticut woods, where the songwriter imposed a self-regulated exile and physical cleansing of sorts, finding that many of the songs came to her while running or swimming alone. "I gave up wasting mental energy on people who didn't have my back," she says. "Listening to our old records, I get the sense I was putting myself in horrible situations just to write sad songs. This music isn't coming from a dark place, and without slipping into self-empowerment jargon, it feels stronger." Many of the songs deal with a similar sense of starting over, editing out the unnecessary drama. "Boys be sensitive and girls be, be aggressive," she sings on "Mister Difficult."

And while their debut album was recorded on the fly, Speedy Ortiz spent almost a month in the studio on Foil Deer. Falcone's drums are taut, mechanistic; Ferm's bass ranges from the aggressive rattle of an AmRep classic to smoother, hip-hop inspired lines. McKnight, meanwhile, lends spacier, textural riffs to complement Dupuis' wiry, melody-driven guitar style. "The demos for our songs have always had tons of small details and production experimentation, but we never had any money to pay for more than a couple days in the studio, so the songs came out very live-sounding and guitar heavy," Dupuis says. It was recorded and mixed at Brooklyn's Rare Book Room with Nicolas Vernhes (Silver Jews, Enon, Deerhunter), with the record mastered by Emily Lazar (Sia, Haim, Beauty Pill), lending a more polished sound and a pop sensibility that will stand out to existing fans and new converts alike. For all the lyrical complexity and guitar-based excursions Speedy Ortiz have built their reputation on to this point, Foil Deer has a sense of light-footed fun. What's the point of doing things yourself if you're not going to enjoy the trip

Standard LP is gatefold, single black LP with chapbook, plus digital download card.
CD comes in digipak with a folded poster approximating the chapbook in the LP.

2015 sees the return of Welsh psychedelicists White Noise Sound with their second album 'Like a Pyramid of Fire'.After honing their craft across the UK and through Europe - with the likes of Super Furry Animals, The Warlocks, Spectrum, Mark Gardener (Ride) and members of Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and The Brian Jonestown Massacre - WNS completed their debut album in 2010 with the assistance of Pete Kember (Spacemen 3 / Spectrum / E.A.R) and magician Cian Ciaran (Super Furry Animals). Released by cult California based label Alive Records (whose back-catalogue includes releases from The Black Keys, Beachwood Sparks, Iggy Pop and James Williamson and The Soledad Brothers) in 2010 (US) / 2011 (UK), the eponymous debut was greeted with widespread critical acclaim and WNS toured through Europe in its support. 'Like a Pyramid of Fire' sees the band take their trademark wall of sound - at once relentlessly pulsating and blissed-out - and conjure from it a sonic palette with range and depth. WNS worked closely with producer / DJ Phil Kieran and again with Cian Ciaran and the result is a metronomic and hypnotic onslaught of melody, groove and exploration which goes beyond the standard tropes of psychedelia.

White Noise Sound will be playing a special London show as part of the Convergence Festival on Monday 16th March 2005 (with label mates Eat Lights Become Lights and guest DJs Andrew Weatherall and Ben Osborne)

Supporting Jesus & Marychain in Cardiff on 22nd February.2015 sees the return of Welsh psychedelicists White Noise Sound. This single is taken from their second album 'Like a Pyramid of Fire' out in April 2015.After honing their craft across the UK and through Europe - with the likes of Super Furry Animals, The Warlocks, Spectrum, Mark Gardener (Ride) and members of Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and The Brian Jonestown Massacre - WNS completed their debut album in 2010 with the assistance of Pete Kember (Spacemen 3 / Spectrum / E.A.R) and magician Cian Ciaran (Super Furry Animals). Released by cult California based label Alive Records (whose back-catalogue includes releases from The Black Keys, Beachwood Sparks, Iggy Pop and James Williamson and The Soledad Brothers) in 2010 (US) / 2011 (UK), the eponymous debut was greeted with widespread critical acclaim and WNS toured through Europe in its support. 'Like a Pyramid of Fire' sees the band take their trademark wall of sound - at once relentlessly pulsating and blissed-out - and conjure from it a sonic palette with range and depth. WNS worked closely with producer / DJ Phil Kieran and again with Cian Ciaran and the result is a metronomic and hypnotic onslaught of melody, groove and exploration which goes beyond the standard tropes of psychedelia.
White Noise Sound will be playing a special London show as part of the Convergence Festival on Monday 16th March 2005 (with label mates Eat Lights Become Lights and guest DJs Andrew Weatherall and Ben Osborne)

Deep and heavy cultural modern roots coming in a vintage Lee Perry / Black Ark analog style.
* Vocals from the lesser spotted Istan Black (aka Hugo Blackwood) who recorded with Perry back in the mid-1970s, most notably on the tracks `Reggae Music' with Dr. Alimantado and `Vibrate On' with Augustus Pablo.
* A brutal but subtle dubwise cut on the flip from the Lost Ark crew.
* Fresh roots reggae sounds coming from the ever on-the-ball Partial Records.

Mathias 'SHOW-B' Schober makes his Pooledmusic debut with the Arps EP. A talented producer & engineer, Schober has been releasing under his SHOW-B alias since 2007, since when he has had EP releases on Poker Flat & Compost Black Label, an exclusive track featured on La Fleur's Watergate 16 compilation, and a release on Delusions of Grandeur with Milton Jackson as Pattern Select. The Arps EP sees SHOW-B blending his various talents in the A side 'Arps To Heaven', a heady deep house track with a swirling melody that recalls the trippier end of Strength Music and Deepblak's respective outputs. On the B1, Ian Pooley follows up his huge Innervisions EP 'Floris' and the Rejected re-issue of his anthem Chord Memory by fusing the original's psychedelic elements with a classic, irresistible Pooley groove. The B2, 'Isifuba', sees Schober focusing on a swinging house beat structure for the early hours dancefloors.

There are many ways to move forward as an artist. You can reinvent yourself, keep track of fashions, or try bold new things. Tom Trago has spent the best part of 10 years pushing his sound in impressive new directions. Yet on his new album, the well-regarded Amsterdam-based producer has done things slightly differently. This time round, his influences come from much closer to home, and he has admitted to being inspired by the dancefloor-focused style with which he made his name.

Welcome to The Light Fantastic. We're sure you'll enjoy the trip.

Trago is an old hand at this kind of thing. Back in 2009, his debut album, Voyage Direct, impressed with its warm, disco-centric blends of full-throttle deep house and boogie-influenced synthesizer funk. He cast his net wider on 2011's Iris, choosing to work with a wide variety of international collaborators on an album that laid bare his myriad of musical influences.

On the Light Fantastic, he's decided to 'step back to move forwards' with a warm, involving set that puts the simple pleasures of the best dancefloor moments at its heart.

'I tried to go a bit back towards the style I was doing on Voyage Direct, so dancefloor beats with deeper impact,' Trago admits. 'I was trying to male tracks that work on the dancefloor, but also move your heart.'

In some ways, The Light Fantastic is Trago in 'back to basics' mode. Partly inspired by his ever-increasing travels around the world to DJ, it melds together a range of influences - deep house, vintage synthesizers, classic boogie, disco, Chicago jack, acid house, and even a dash of full-throttle rave revivalism on the raw funk of 'The Elite' - on a set that sounds like it was painted in vivid colours by an artist at the top of his game.

'I'm like a professor in a lab, trying to make little ideas work,' Trago enthuses, warming to the theme. 'The tracks are all there in my head, like a puzzle, and I have to make all the pieces fit together.'

The 'back to basics' theme extended to his choice of collaborators. Whereas Iris was notable for featuring an impressive cast list of international singers, musicians and producers, The Light Fantastic is more of a homegrown affair. While plenty of people lent a hand during the recording process, they were trusted locals from the Dutch electronic music scene, rather than outsiders.

'This time, I thought 'whoever walks in the studio can get involved',' he says. 'If they walked in, they could sing, play some synths or do some mixing. A lot of people came to hang out and ended up lending a hand. It's a much more fun way of working than sending your track to somebody across the other side of the World.'

There are many collaborations on The Light Fantastic, but listen out for contributions from Steffi, Ben Westbeech, 'studio neighbour' San Proper, Makam, vocalist Holly Wood and, most surprisingly, a local club owner who just happened to swing by the studio. 'Using my friends was a big part of the process,' Trago admits. 'One of the points of the album was using people who were close to home, part of the family almost.'

It's an approach that definitely paid dividends. Certainly, this celebration of Amsterdam's blossoming electronic music scene adds a little extra frisson of excitement to The Light Fantastic's impressive vibrancy.

By the time the rush-inducing positivity of 'The Wrong Right' gives way to the mutant alien funk of album closer 'Desire', you'll be ready to listen to it all over again. That's the thing with The Light Fantastic - it's a trip you'll want to take again and again.

*A pure slab of noise... a ruckus on vinyl! A limited edition piece of wax featuring remixes by the Circus Records superstars Funtcase & Genetix.

*Funtcase has been producing since being inspired by d&b as a kid growing up in Bournemouth. In 2009 he created his dubstep alias Funtcase and released his first single on 4:20 Records. The following year he signed with Circus Records and released the killa 'So Vexxed/Matress Punch'. He is also known for his standout remixes, including mixes for Plan B, Camo & Krooked, The Wideboys & Skizm.

*For this remix Passenger organised Spyda (Pendulum 'Black Tarantula'/Knife Party 'Fire Hive') back into the vocal booth to lay down some fresh vocals for the remix. A former Passenger vinyl buyer, Funtcase is no stranger to the sounds of the label and adds his own nod to its history by flipping some breakbeat twists and turns to proceedings to create what many are saying is his best remix to date!

*The flipside remix is from fellow Circus Records crew members and Bournemouth badmen Genetix. Following a similar path to Funtcase, Matt & Rich started off making d&b before switching the tempo and laying down some filth at 140. With regular appearances on the MistaJam's radio show, guest mixes on KissFm for Hatcha and Crazy D and remixes for the likes of Bassline Smith & Drumsound and Kelly Clarkson, to name a few, these guys are continuing a south coast tradition of bass noise and terror.

*With the label instructions to 'make it as heavy as you can, Genetix took the vocal of Sporty-O, recorded at DJ Lethal's (House Of Pain/Limp Biskit/La Coka Nostra) studio in LA back in 2007, and brought it up to speed with a track that flips from militant dubstep into some proper 808 trap biz.