Suche:almost

Pitto is not one to flood the scene with new music considering he’s only released two ep’s in the last three years. He takes the time to let ideas evolve and it’s clearly noticeable on last year’s EP on ‘Something Happening Somewhere’ sublabel ‘Ooshaa’, where his feel for an almost poppy hook is perfectly combined with his love for darker electronics. On the ‘Baila baila EP’ –his return to Heist after his last ep in 2018- he explores this path further. The EP is filled with live percussion, a dark and rolling acid line, chopped beats and catchy piano riffs. The three originals are accompanied by a remix courtesy of Pete Herbert that has ‘summer’ written all over it.

Opening track ‘Sammie’ has a beautiful sense of melancholy to it, where an emotional piano riff is combined with some 80’s tinged vocals and loads of live percussive elements for a smile inducing experience.

‘Discko’ takes a darker approach with a deep and ‘dubby’ low end and a guitar riff that wouldn’t be out of place on a Caribou track. The horn section and synth lead give it a real crossover appeal and it’s the kind of track you imagine working just as well on a summer festival as in a dark basement.

On the flip, there’s the title track ‘Baila’, a proto inspired acid stomper with a nice wink to early 90’s dance music vocals. An acid line gives the track its backbone, but it’s the combination of Pitto’s chords and instrumentation that give this track it’s unique edge.

The EP finishes off with Pete Herbert’s remix of ‘Sammie’. Pete’s version has that full-on summer appeal with his recognizable style of modern day island disco. He adds a bit of drama to the track with some big breakdowns, changeovers in the piano riff and turns the Balearic vibe up a notch with an added dreamy solo.

We’re happy to have Pitto back on Heist and this unique and diverse EP is one we hope will create a lot of smiles on the dance floor in the coming months.

Yours Sincerely,
Lars & Maarten

Outta Sight’s collectable ‘Classics’ series continues with two real heavyweight’s of the rare soul scene, face-to-face for the very first time. Together, these two icons helped define, not only Northern Soul, but the soul music genre… and now, almost sixty years on, they go head to head.

In the blue corner is former commercial artist and amateur heavyweight boxer Mr Roy Hamilton who set the dancefloors trembling across the North of England when his 1962 “Earthquake” was finally unleashed on the Northern Soul scene. Hamilton was already a huge star in America scoring two R&B No.1’s in 1954 and ’55 with the standards “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Unchned Melody”. But, he will forever be remembered in the U.K. for his Northern anthems “Crackin’ Up Over You”, “The Panic Is On”, “You Shook Me Up” and the explosive “Earthquake”.

In the red corner is the multi-talented actor, pianist, arranger, producer, songwriter and singer Mr H. B. Barnum who’s early belter “It Hurts Too Much To Cry” belies its 1962 recording date. Barnum also scored on the rare soul scene with “Three Rooms With Running Water”, “The Record” and the awesome “Heartbreaker”.

But his contribution far exceeds his personal output with writer, producer and arranger credits on a slue of floorfillers inlcuding Judy Street’s “What”, Earl Wright’s “Thumb A Ride” and The Magnificents’ ”My Heart Is Calling You”, to name but a few.

1970’s best-kept Bossa Nova secret. Surrounded by mystery for nearly 50 years due to its obscurity, this is one of the most honest, personal and unpretentious albums of it's genre.

A selection of 12 exquisitely crafted songs supported by measured, subtle arrangements. The list of musicians born or raised in the Tijuca district of Rio de Janeiro is long and illustrious and includes names that have shaped Brazilian music: Tom Jobim, Roberto Carlos, Tim Maia, Milton Nascimento, Jorge Ben or Erasmo Carlos – to mention but a few.

We can now add to that list another name: Werther. In 1970, a man by that name recorded an album unique in its personality, its honesty, and its lack of pretense. In a time when Bossa Nova had become a global phenomenon and its main characters were already household names in Brazil, Werther assembled a collection of songs that uncannily – almost naively – remind us of the time when Bossa Nova was just a group of youngsters making music. His songs are about simple things: bohemian life, the sea, love.

Despite Werther and his friends being only in their teens, without any previous experience recording music, those working behind the scenes were not equally amateur. Producer Peter Keller had already worked with Aloysio De Oliveira in the quintessential Bossa Nova label Elenco, and was also an initial partner in Roberto Quartin’s cult label Forma.

Studio owner Bill Horne was a very loved character in the Rio jazz scene who had regularly taken part in the legendary meetings in Nara Leão’s apartment and befriended some of Brazil’s most respected musicians. Some of these musicians were, for example, Naná Vasconcelos and Edison Machado, who provided small contributions to Werther’s album.

Lisbon pals Photonz and Shcuro are two of the city’s most active DJs and music makers, sharing a penchant for a moody yet electrifying brand of dance sonics. They’ve created Shermanworx together in the studio, recording machines live using an ethos of improvisation while relying on their fine-tuned dancefloor intuition. The Sherman Filterbank was the go-to piece of equipment, appearing in every track and eventually naming the EP. Tribal techno swirls menacingly backed by dark melodies in the opening track, a hypnotic yet vivid peak-time belter that could go on and on. A synth so textured you can almost touch it is the centrepiece of Sherman2, another driving club beast complete with modulated arpeggios and industrial-tinged percussions. The record comes to close with a dreamier exercise in Sherman3: a dubby electro beat conducts melodic mutant synth lines and pads to achieve a slow-burning, expansive euphoria.

The Devonns dust off the golden age of 70's Chicago Soul with their self-titled debut album on Record Kicks. Straight from the streets of Chicago, Illinois, The Devonns (pronounced "De vaughns") are the brand new soul outfit and the latest addition of the Record Kicks' family, whose self-titled debut album that drops April 03, is an assortment of influences taking us back to the heyday of soul.

Drawing influences from bands such as The Dramatics, The Isley Brothers and Leroy Hutson, yet bringing in their own unique modern twist, influenced by artists such as Jamie Lidell and Raphael Saadiq; singer Mat Ajjarapu explains how unintentionally, the rich heritage of Chicago's history with soul music influenced him.

"The city was at the epicentre of a lot of good music back in the 50's all the way to the 80's, a lot of the labels specialising in soul were based in the Chicago and we even had our own sound known as "Chicago soul". Through several years of crate digging it surprised me how many songs I loved were recorded in this city, for example one of my favourites is this great little song by The Natural Four, produced by Leroy Hutson 'Can This Be Real', and released via Curtom Records."

The band started in 2016 after multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mathew Ajjarapu dropped out of med school and found himself unemployed and drifting. Listening to music constantly at the time, he found inspired to put a band together and create his own music. Pairing up with some of the best musicians Chicago has to offer, he founded The Devonns: the rhythm duty is entrusted to Khalyle Hagood (bass), Ari Lindo (guitar) and Khori Wilson (drums).

Originally he wanted to focus on 50s style doo-wop, similar to The Flamingos; rich in reverb and vocal harmonies, but in the first initial practise they had it was evident the band clicked on their love of soul music from the 70s, so their music took a natural turn towards that sound, with tracks such as the Wilson Pickett-esque single 'Tell Me'.

The release took almost two years to complete as Mat explains "I am a perfectionist, I had a very specific vision in my head about how it should sound and I wasn't going to rest until I achieved it."

"This is a definitely a throwback soul record, as well as being drawn to lush and intricate arrangements of Motown, I was also inspired by the more lo-fi works of smaller labels such as Chess and Capsoul, and I wanted to capture the magic they had in those recordings in our record, as everything feels too precise nowadays" clarifies Mat.

It was thanks to his engineer Mike Hagler, who introduced him to Paul Von Mertons (Mavis Staples, Paul McCartney, Elton John) who arranges and conducts for Brian Wilson's live touring show and after a 45 minute phone conversation about what Mat wasn't keen on, on the album, he realised Paul totally understood where he was coming from.

After a few months wait for Paul to get back from touring they entered the studio with "Paul's players" and as soon as they hit record, Mat explains "I was getting chills up my neck, it was one of the happiest days of my life, and finally we had nailed it!"

Tracks such as 'Come Back; which Mat wrote in ten minutes on a $300 Daneelectro Singlecut guitar initially, came to life, with Paul's rich string arrangements and features guitarist and percussionist Ken Stringfellow (R.E.M.).

It still took a few months to get the recording process finished but finally after a torturous nineteen months they album was finally finished.

The result is an album filled with lavish arrangements and catchy melodies which take us on a nostalgic musical journey inspired by chic 70s soul, yet the band don't hesitate to add their own unique and elegant contemporary stamp to the record.

Nina Simone was an exceptional artist. She was gifted with a precocious talent and she played music at home and in church. Nina originally counted on becoming the first black female classical pianist ; her plans were thwarted and that frustration no doubt permeated almost her entire career. Yet she became a diva capable of combining the jazz world with those of the classics and soul, and among other titles she recorded are some of the most vibrant and moving performances of Wild is the Wind or You Can Have Him, I don’t Want Him.

She was one of the greatest artists of her time, and her fervour and rigorous demands concerning the quality of her music took her to the highest summits, whether in her compositions or in her vocal and piano performances. For all that, she never forgot her condition as a black woman in the America of the Sixties, and her active commitment to defending the rights of the black minority was exemplary - and at times even excessive, for which she was often reproached.

She has left us some of the most beautiful chapters in jazz and soul music, among them the 23 titles that appear in this album.

Originally recorded in 1977, following a limited release in 1979, Ghédalia Tazartès debut album, Diasporas, introduced listeners to the surreal, mysterious and truly unclassifiable statement of Tazartès and his out-of-time place in the French avant-garde canon. Born in Paris in 1947 to Judaeo-Spanish parents of Greek descent, Tazartès spent his early career as an autodidact utilizing his knowledge of repetition and collage, coupled with his Ladino linguistic heritage, to create some of the most unique recordings of the late 20th century. Interest in the works of Tazartès truly sparked when artist Steve Stapleton included his follow up album, Tazartès' Transports, in his famed "Nurse With Wound List," thus adding endless curiosity to the folklore behind Tazartès and his mystical entrée.

From the onset of Diasporas, looping incantations seemingly pile up at the behest of Tazartès. In almost a prayer-like decree, Tazartès chants to the gods in an undefined whail that is both haunting and spiritually divine. Tazartès unique use of tape loops to capture the disappearing traditions of his family's past creates an atmospheric texture that unexpectedly complements his cut-up, manipulated vocal experiments. While contemporaries within the French avant-garde maneuvered academic theory and rigid tradition, Diasporas strays away from these boundaries, working in Tazartès' invented practice of 'impromuz', a method in which he endlessly records for hours and edits only the moments that display any sense of spontaneous enlightenment. Further emboldening the obtuse nature of Diasporas are the seemingly random recitation of poet Stéphane Mallarmé and the traditional 'Parisian-style' piano accompaniment of experimental composer Michel Chion.

Since its initial release over 40 years ago, both Dais Records and Alga Marghen have released reissues of Diasporas in various formats, all of which quickly fell out of print. Dais Records presents an official reissue, newly remastered by Josh Bonati, utilizing the original artwork of Diasporas in its sole album form, for the first time in over four decades.

The landmark 1980 album, representing a period of consolidation for Patrice Rushen. Her studio reputation as a go-to pianist and arranger among other artists and musicians was well established and was growing exponentially. Although never originally planning a career as a solo artist, she had built this side of her work through three Prestige albums and two sophisticated soul and disco albums for Elektra, 'Patrice' and 'Pizzazz'. "I was lucky to have a group of musicians that I knew well by the time of these recording sessions," remembers Patrice. "I had my pick of really incredible players because of all of the studio work I was doing. I also played with Lee Ritenour, Harvey Mason and others almost on a weekly basis at The Baked Potato club in L.A." Tracks include the singles 'Don't Blame Me', 'Look Up!' and 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. "'Never Gonna Give You Up' came out of playing ideas at home. Bassist Freddie Washington was living with my family while he tried to get a foothold in L.A.'s music scene and that groove came out of those jams. With 'The Dream', I had been listening to Minnie Riperton's 'Come To My Garden', one of my favourite albums. With Charles Stepney's arrangements, I saw that he didn't have to use large instrumentation to be orchestral in his approach. So, 'The Dream' was a homage to that kind of writing." "After 'Posh', we had a much better idea from the performance side what was important in our music and that informed my next album, 'Straight From The Heart'. We took a little break after 'Posh' was released, although I was still writing and working regularly on scores for film and TV. That had always been my main focus in my music."

Fronted by ex-Hüsker Dü vocalist / guitarist Bob Mould, Sugar burst on to alternative rock scene in 1992 with their debut album Copper Blue. Includes the singles ‘If I Can’t Change Your Mind’, ‘Changes’ and ‘Helpless’ along with fan favourites such as ‘Hoover Dam’ Along with reaching the top ten in the UK albums chart, Copper Blue was voted the ‘1992 Album Of The Year’ by the NME and has continued to receive acclaim and a cult following almost three decades later.
For the first time, the album is presented on heavyweight 180g clear vinyl.

Kicking off 2020 – Great Circles takes a step away from the dance floor with the release of the monolithic new work from Philadelphia-based artist Radere, ‘I Do Not Want What I Have.’ This long-in-gestation set of slow burning electronics and shadowy drones is part of the label’s growing selection of releases dedicated to deep listening, following on from the 2017 Prefix Moniker LP.

Radere is the ongoing project of Carl Ritger, who has worked under the nom de plume since 2009 and has deep ties to the Great Circles family. He played some of his earliest shows at Inciting HQ, the recently shuttered, label-affiliated venue, and invited Justin Gibbon AKA Westov Temple and Great Circles label founder to contribute to some of his earlier recordings. While he started out as a more straightforward ambient guitarist, Ritger’s work developed into more experimental textures as he explored modular synthesis and processed found sounds.

Ritger’s releases from his time spent living in Denver, CO c. 2011-2018 are marked by a particular strain of east coast nihilism and an angular aesthetic that keeps the listener off balance. Now back in his native Philadelphia, the two long-form pieces that comprise ‘I Do Not Want What I Have’ represent a perhaps more nuanced meditation on pain and loss. “Spitty Kisses,” the 15-minute album opener, takes aim at the listener with a brutal salvo. It is almost sadistic in its sonic intentions – acerbic modular sound and abrupt stuttering in the material leave a listener personally affected. “You’ve Been A Ghost Your Whole Life,” on the flip, delivers a salve for the A-side’s wounds and resolves its masochistic tones.

Written through a period of intense personal trauma as a means to seek comfort and solace through creative action, it’s clear that the puerile humor of nihilism is gone and grown out of in Ritger’s work.

FFO: taking long walks off of short piers, the legend of the monk Kelpius living among the trees of the Wissahickon, traditional creation and destruction stories in polytheistic faiths, and John Coltrane.

The record is accompanied by a digital-only series of remixes by friends of the artist and regular collaborators, including new works from Borne and Shivers, as well as Great Circles alums Westov Temple, Chaperone, and WOLF DEM.

Back in 2018, Lumière Noire celebrated its first anniversary with a compilation featuring thirteen exclusive tracks by an eclectic group of electronic musicians – a family portrait of sorts. A few months later, a second volume of From Above, compiled by the label's artistic director (and DJ) Chloé, once more brings thirteen established acts together with promising upstarts. The first compilation was the embodiment of the label policy advocating for both artistic excellence and a widening of electronic aesthetics – bopping from deviant house music to adventurous IDM and to the rigor of dancefloor techno, among other electronic explorations. Some of the artists featured are now closely associated with Lumière Noire, while others were more established performers such as Benedikt Frey, Lauer, Jonathan Fitoussi, Il Est Vilaine, Dave e Brun (half of Swayzak) and Frank Agrario, as well as upcoming artists such as C O N T R A (a side project by none other than Iñigo Vontier), Sutja Gutierrez, Théo Muller, Markus Gibb, Bajram Bili, and a sprinkling of UFOs circling the genre (Suuns' Ben Shemie, Drvg Cvltvre, and electro-acoustic combo Lumi). This group photo laid down a number of paths for a label in perpetual evolution.

Since then, the Parisian entity has continued to grow within the international electronic scene, releasing Local Suicide's Leopard Gum EP, Iñigo Vontier's first LP, and planning another slew of releases for 2020. The lineup for this second volume of From Above is once again equally intriguing, offering a crescendo-like track listing over a double LP format, which is a feat of sorts for a "Various Artists" compilation.

Marc Mélias' fascinating, unsettling Permanent Waves gets the proceedings going with a contemplative track that provides a serene opening to the odyssey on which From Above will be taking the listener. Pletnev continues on with the playful, hooky Marco O’Polo, a fundamentally techno track built over a seductive 90s-inspired breakbeat. Douglas Greed (whom Chloé remixed on BPitch a few years back, and had himself remixed track from her album Endless Revisions featuring Ben Shemie’s vocals), supplies Vancouver, a slice of ambiance à la Boards of Canada, supported by a gripping breakbeat. The rhythmic arpeggio of Israeli producer's Middle Sky Bloom makes his contribution a hypnotic, disconcerting slice of dark disco. Thomass Jackson, a safe bet in the new wave of the Latin-American electronic music blowing its sometimes hot, sometimes cold wind, proposes Mithra, a dancefloor incantation to the Antiquity's bull god. With Bells, Goldmoon delivers a track that is both melodic and nostalgic, tinged with rhythmic samples, Moog basses and solar backgrounds. Longtime friend of Chloé, Krikor, who has released two albums on L.I.E.S. Records (Pacific Alley and Saudi), offers a moment of respite with Sally Hardesty (a nod to fans of horror movies), a heavenly and bewitching track that, paradoxically, hints at the highly energetic second half of the compilation. Discovered with Confidences EP released on Lumière Noire, the young French producer Morgan Blanc asserts himself here with Werde Der Du Bist ("Become who you are"), a song with luminous chords and midtempo rhythms to start the second half of the compilation by raising the tension. Galician producer, DJ and designer Cora Novoa continues the rollercoaster's ascent with her Virtual Aesthetics, which once again brings those acid tones – this time without the vertigo. Equally corrosive, but tenser and more percussive, the uncategorizable NSDOS' AL-G attempts to give order to a chaotic electronic world full of violence and danger. Rebeka Warrior (half of the duo Kompromat alongside compatriot Vitalic), takes on a more nostalgic vibe with Ich Komme Zurück, a French/German techno chant evoking a secret dream of a track from a bygone era. Three years after the release by Lumière Noire of Moderna and Theus Mago's stroboscopic Dog Is Calling You, Theus Mago makes a solo comeback with Idealistic Stone, a most acid of club tracks, rattled by the modulations of the inevitable TB 303. French electro-rock saltwarth Yan Wagner's dancefloor alter ego The Populists' Prehistoric Lemurs gives an almost Orientalizing twist to Kraftwerk's techno-pop. To close things off, the collection's last track, the appropriately-named Instant Track by impromptu encounter between Hervé Carvalho (Acid Arab), Jacques Bon (Smallville) and Demian (Kompakt) Acid Love Triangle, releases the pressure with a long, bittersweet reverie that leaves the listener, at the end of these thirteen musical adventures, to rest languorously on an artificial and welcoming shore.

Max Graef and Julius Conrad are Ratgrave. ‘Rock’ is their
second album - ongoing transmissions of Electronic PFusion from Earth. It follows a stellar debut on Funkineven’s imprint Apron. The duo’s sound palette draws inspiration from 80's funk, soul, rock and electronic but through a contemporary lens from two versatile multiinstrumentalists.

 In their own words: “Rock is the essence of energy and
vibration we felt in different styles of music, almost like a
parallel component connecting all things we like. In the
process of recording the new album we kept coming back
to this essence no matter what style the original idea was.
There was the raw and brutal energy of Jazz-Rock, a lot of
video game influences that somehow adhered this essence
just as well as quieter Pop and Psychedelic passages that
we recorded. Among other things we absorbed a lot of
heavy music during the time of the recording like Blue
Cheer, Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa or Jimi Hendrix and
realized while writing our own music how much impact
they had even on quieter songs. This is why ‘Rock’ felt like
the perfect title although the music ranges from P-Funk
and Spiritual Jazz to various styles of Pop and beyond.”

 Max Graef has previously collaborated with Glenn Astro on
records for Ninja Tune and both artists have previously
released on Tartelet.

 This marks the fourth official album on Black Focus, a
London label founded by Kamaal Williams.

 4pp digipack. 180g vinyl LP in reverse board printed sleeve
with 3mm spine and digital download card.

MPX 2 features 3 cuts of blisteringly linear, apocalyptic techno from A Saggitariun, fresh from the release of his recent album on Running Back. The record also features a remix from Mor Elian (Fever AM, HyperColour) who reimagines "No Drama" as an almost sub-aquatic dub-excursion.
MPX is both a new vinyl only label from Man Power that explores raw forms of Techno, as well as also being an alias for the producers own occasional technoid excursions.

Matt Karmil's fifth album is a meditative collection of woozy loops and soft focus house. STS371 is the follow-up to IDLE033, - - - -, ++++ and 2018's acclaimed Will. Matt Karmil is British born - growing up in the rural town of Salisbury, near Stonehenge. Suffering a prolonged illness as a child, he spent much time indoors whiling away the long hours by playing with a classical guitar. Eventually he was well enough to see the world that had almost left him behind, and he spent his early twenties as an international traveller, DJing, record collecting and working as a producer-engineer in London, Paris, Stockholm and Berlin. In 2012 he decided to settle on Cologne âÇ" a city famed for its excellent club scene and ultra-minimal take on techno via the collective of artists and producers around the Kompakt label. With a studio established in Cologne, Matt made his LP debut with the well received (but hard to Google) "----", combining dusty samples and elegant tape hiss with scuba-diving grooves and minimalist vibes. In the same year he released the jubilant club anthem 'So You Say' on Tim Sweeney's Beats In Space label and remixed John Talabot and Axel Boman's (Talaboman) single 'Sideral'. Recent years have seen a raft of new releases from Matt, remixing XPress 2 for Skint, the albums idle 033 and ++++, as well as 12"s for YumAc Records, Idle Hands, Endless Flight and Studio Barnhus, received with great reviews in publications from The Wire to Resident Advisor and beyond. 2016 also saw Matt much in demand for his skills in engineering, mixing and mastering, working extensively with Matias Aguayo for Crammed Discs, Kornel Kovacs for Studio Barnhus and Talaboman for R&S, among many others. At the invitation of artist Christine Sun Kim, Matt composed a sub-20Hz piece for Bounce House at Sound Live Tokyo 2015, while his video collaboration with Boston's MIT Media Lab, Time Moods, was premiered in late 2017.

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

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

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

Ferrum is a large-scale exploration of inharmonic timbres, oscillating between brutal grinding textures and intricate percussive singularities, created by digitally transforming recordings of various metallic objects.

Susanne Kirchmayr's new album takes a close personal look at the spectral richness of iron and other metals, in various shapes and sizes, recorded, processed and arranged to a carefully curated selection of musical miniatures. Some of the results are an obvious nod to her Electric Indigo DJ alias, music that could be played on the dance floor of an alien cargo ship, both highly familiar and foreign at the same time. Others offer almost steady-state like meditative qualities, vibrations from deep within, on a sub atomic level, full of light and motion on the tiniest possible scale. The limitation in material opens up a seemingly unlimited world of colours and rhythms, oscillating, resonating and highly immersive.

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

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

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

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

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

La Sabbia is a group of friends who share the passion for music. In the last five years we succeeded in building and developing our own studio, where nine people are working and researching. We see music as a universal language to connect people, telling stories and creating new life shapes and patterns accessible to everybody, without boundaries of any kind.

Voltage Controlled Fingerz is Alessandro Paolone's first album, the synthesis of his trip in the various forms of electronic music. From the obsession for the Yamaha DX7's and Roland 707's raw sounds, through the complexity of jungle drums and poly-rhythm, to an almost maniacal analysis of the '70s progressive rock scene, you will taste these classic ingredients mixed in the new recipe of Doc Pavlonium.

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

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

Salsoul opens the vaults once more to today's top editors and remixers. This incredible 12" sees those PBR Streetgang dudes take the reigns to great effect.

Digging in the vaults for those lesser spotted gems, the PBR crew have tweaked up 2 absolute Tom Moulton related killers here for our enjoyment. Side A is a finely tuned, lovingly fondled version of David Christie's LP cut 'Back Fire' from 1978. A sleazy, almost Euro feeling good timer that does the biz. On the flip, is the Destroyers mammoth 'Lectric Love', another lowdown cruiser of a track, nice cosmic FX and leather vibes for the late night prowl! Both edits are brilliantly done, and with a knowing and respectful nod too, one for the heads right here.

Fully licensed, sanctioned and released by Above Board distribution and Salsoul Records, 2020. Accept no imitations!