Cerca:amba

New LP from French beat-makers La Fine Equipe featuring Illa J, T3, 20Syl, Mr J Medeiros, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Fakear ...

Let's be clear: La Fine Equipe is a band. The numerous hats wore by its four members are so various that it could mislead one's. Indeed, surrounding Blanka, oOgo, Chomsky and Mr. Gib, there are recording studios, collaborations, lives, side-projects... There is also and especially a whole universe built during the past ten years around their passion for beatmaking, embodied by the release of « 5th Season », new album.
So yes, La Fine Equipe is a band, but it's also much more than that.

Since their creation in 2006 and their first album « La Boulangerie » two years later, the four producers became inevitable when you think about a new scene breaking the barriers between musical genders. Hip Hop is at the heart of their craft, corner stone of their musical background and inspirations where the paths of J Dilla, Madlib, Flying Lotus, Kaytranada and the turntablists A-Trak, C2C and Birdy Nam Nam are crossing ways. Two things gather La Fine Equipe and those big names, the constant need of collaboration with other artists, and this thirst of discovery, main feature of the digger.

From 2008 to 2014, La Fine Equipe mastered its craft with the « Boulangerie », compilation gathering 34 beatmakers on 113 tracks. They also work on the creation of the label Nowadays Records (Fakear, Skence, Unno, Clément Bazin, Leska, Douchka...) and released more than 75 EPs and LPs in five years.
With an outrageous number of shows across the world, tour in Asia, South America, collaborations with several international artists... Their success changed the game: Whereas many producers coming from this environment where isolated, La Fine Equipe federated a growing scene and became its reference.
After years spent paving the way for other artists and creating a structure that could support the growth of a musical scene, they decided to go further and launch a new era with « 5th Season ».

Because the band works with eight hands and four brains, there's nothing surprising in the fact that the album sounds like a condensed of each and everyone inspirations and experiences, from hip hop and sampling, to electronica, jazz and Latinas inspirations. If homogeneity is the new trend, La Fine Equipe isn't ready to sacrifice its wishes to fit the mould.

« 5th Season » is also a glance at the world looking over our planet's current state, the cosmos, the vegetal and these things that are greater and stronger than us, and the things and behaviour that could led to our loss.
It's an almost apocalyptic vision of our future, but full of optimism at the same time. There is something solar and cinematographic in this album, a format that goes beyond the one chosen before, closer to playlist and compilations such as the three Boulangerie opuses remind us.

Loyal to their status of ambassadors, the four beatmakers keep on inviting other artists to complete their universe. Illa J and T3, respectively brother and partner (Slum Village) of the late J. Dilla, make the connection between a glorious past and the future embodied by La Fine Equipe on the track « The Source ». With « Aurora », it's the solemn and mystical voice of Madjo that take this electro-pop track to another level. The American rapper Mr. J. Medeiros on the boom bap anthem « What Eva », the Montrealer ZeFire on « Typical », each and every artists brings its stone to the edifice of « 5th Season », giving to the album a limitless and freed musical richness.

But to release an album isn't enough. In parallel, each member of La Fine Equipe continues to fulfil its multiples tasks and work on a new concept live show bringing a scenic and visual show in addition to their music. It is what the artists looking toward the future do, and La Fine Equipe is looking straight ahead.

_________________________________________________________________________

TRACK BY TRACK

AURORA (Ft. Madjo)
Already remixed by the quatuor on the beautiful track « Choose The Heart », it's Madjo's turn to be invited by La Fine Equipe for a collaboration. Her mystical voice, which fragility paradoxically seems to strengthen its power, turns the track into an epic pop anthem.

NOBU (Ft. Grems & 20syl)
The association of these three names seems obvious, like a family reunion. Grems did the visual of the anniversary box of La Boulangerie, 20syl (C2C, Hocus Pocus) was one of the beatmakers who took part in the project.
This time, the two big brothers are side by side behind the mic, for the first French speaking collaboration of La Fine Equipe.
On this trapy/footwork beat, the two rappers ring the alarm before it's too late to save our house, the earth.

THE SOURCE (Ft. T3 & Illa J)
In the family of Hip Hop jewels of 5th Season, here is one coming from the USA. Fans of J Dilla and Slum Village since the first hour, La Fine Equipe pays its respects to its influences by inviting T3 and Illa J. Respectively member of Slum Village and brother of the legendary Detroit producer, these two MCs build a bridge between the eras and let their sharpened flows confuse our perception of time.

5TH SEASON (Ft. Fakear)
A second collaboration with their little brother from the Nowadays Family, Fakear. Eponymous title, it represents the universe of both entities, true road trip through Fakearians melodies and La Fine Equipe's funk declined in five seasons.

TYPICAL BOY (Ft. ZeFire)
With « Typical Boy », La Fine Equipe express its love for House music with chopped rhythms and a heavy but swaying bass line. The freed track oscillate between power and lightness. A beat that quickly becomes ZeFire's playground. The Montreal singer, already heard on Her's tracks, brings a missing r'n'b touch to create the perfect chemistry.

“Le Lisse et le Strié is a new work by french composer François J. Bonnet, released under his project name Kassel Jaeger. Based in Paris, Bonnet is the Director of INA GRM. He is also a writer and theoretician (The Order of Sounds, a sonorous Archipelago and The Infra-World have been published in english by Urbanomic). As a musician, Bonnet has been collaborating with artists such as Stephen O’Malley, Oren Ambarchi or Jim O’Rourke and most of his recent work has been published by Editions Mego.

Le Lisse et le Strié has been conceived as an exploration of the two antagonist concepts of “smooth” and “striated”, applied to the realm of electroacoustic sounds. If the “smooth” is linked to “nomos” as an open space of organic distribution, the “striated”, on the contrary, is associated to “logos”, as an enclosed space defined by a grid.

Elaborating a dialogue between these aspects, Kassel Jaeger draws here an intermediary space where pulsations become textures and layers, and where rhythmic elements are found in the qualities and bodies of sounds instead of being functionnalised, pre-determined sound objects, abstracted and frozen onto a temporal grid. The concept of “striated” is made audible only through the sonic landscape it inhabits, like the stripes of the camouflage fur of wild animals only exist as such in the woods and long grass, disappearing into a potentially uselessness in a desert plain.”

Lapsus Records proudly presents the first solo material from Scottish artist 'Brick Reds, Black Mauves', and is due for release at the end of April. Behind the Brick Reds, Black Mauves pseudonym is producer Alex Ander, better known as part of the renowned duo, Dalhous, one of most interesting projects to emerge from London label Blackest Ever Black.

Together with cohort Marc Dall, the Edinburgh pairing immediately achieved international recognition thanks to releases including "An Ambassador For Laing" (2013) and "Visibility Is A Trap" (2014), which subsequently led to their participation at the first Lapsus Festival in 2014.

It is not the first time that Alex Ander has collaborated with Lapsus Records. In 2016 Dalhous formed part of a dual release with Pye Corner Audio entitled "Run For The Shadows", demonstrating the strong sound connection shared by both projects. Alex Ander returns in 2019 to present his new adventure Brick Reds, Black Mauves.

His debut release for Lapsus Records is a four-track homonymous EP that could be considered as a soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic feature film, full of exuberant ambient and melodies in constant motion, somewhat reminiscent of names like Demdike Stare or even Scottish band Boards Of Canada. On the EP's excellent fifth track, remix duties are expertly performed by Dalhous, giving "Cabochon" an even more introspective and experimental atmosphere, if that were deemed possible...

The "Brick Reds, Black Mauves EP" is, without a doubt, one of Lapsus Records' most exciting debuts to date and will be released at the end of April. Once again, the Basora studio has been vgiven the task of designing the artwork for this EP, which will be released on both vinyl and digital formats.

* Five years have passed since the first release of Nowadays Records.Launched with Fakear's signature (seen on Ninja Tune), the label founded by oOgo and Chomsky from La Fine Equipe has seen the growth of many projects such as Clément Bazin, Everydayz, Phazz (who produced for Travis Porter, did remixes for Soulection, Interscope and Mad Decent), Leska, Jumo and many others, all of them carried by the irreplaceable quartet of La Fine Equipe.

Five years during which Nowadays Records released 75 EPs and LPs, toured in and outside of France, and generated several hundred millions stream plays.With its heart in the right place, its eyes on the emerging scene and its ears open on the world, Nowadays built itself a singular and racy identity through the time. Fed by inspirations like Stone Throw, Ninja Tune or Warp, the label places itself as an ambassador of a fast growing scene, defending it through its shows, releases, and events like the two Boiler Room shows in Paris and London.Without sticking itself to a musical gender, Nowadays keeps on widening its horizons by working with foreign artists and mixing the inspirations through its releases, driven by its sound and visual trademarks and aesthetics.

In order to celebrate those five years spent defending as many projects as musical crushes they had, and to thank its community made of more than 150 000 followers around the world, Nowadays unveils the 'Nowadays V', double album with a digital and physical release on November 30th.Through this compilation, Nowadays gathers on one side the tracks that marked its history and, on the other side, unreleased tracks that sometimes lead to collaborations such as the one between Clément Bazin and Leska, or the one between Fakear and La Fine Equipe.

Johnny Clarke & King Tubby & Dillinger & Prince Jazzbo feat. Tommy McCook & The legendary Aggrovators & The Mighty Diamonds - Soul Jazz Records presents Bunny Lee: Dreads Enter the Gates with Praise - The Mighty Striker Shoots the Hits!

Soul Jazz Records presents this new collection featuring the heavy 70s roots reggae of Bunny
Lee - a living legend, one of the last of the great Jamaican record producers who helped shape
and define reggae music in the 1970s from a small island sound into an internationally
successful musical genre.
From teenage fan to young record plugger for Duke Reid, Sir Coxsone and other early
pioneering Jamaican musical entrepreneurs, Lee has spent his whole professional life inside the
Kingston music industry. In the 1970s he rose up to become one of the major record producers
in Jamaica alongside Lee 'Scratch' Perry and the other 'small axe' producers who broke the
dominance of the 'big tree' producers that had ruled Jamaican music in the 1960s.
Featuring some of the heaviest Jamaican artists, including Johnny Clarke, King Tubby, Dillinger,
Prince Jazzbo, Tommy McCook, The legendary Aggrovators (featuring Sly and Robbie), The
Mighty Diamonds and more, the album is a rollercoaster ride of rare, deep and classic 1970s
roots, dub and DJ sounds.
During this era, 'flying cymbals', crashing reverbs, dark echoing thunderclap gunshots and
other 'implements of sound' filled his record productions as Bunny Lee explored the outer limits
of dub with his friend King Tubby in the mix on wild versions that accompanied any 45. A
Bunny Lee record provides a creative and mysterious hidden guide to reggae music itself, a
double-sided three-minute intangible history lesson etched in wax.
Bunny Lee was one of the first Jamaican producers to travel to England in the late 1960s, at
the beginning of the nascent British reggae music industry as record companies such as
Trojan, Pama and others began licensing Jamaican music in the UK to supply the expanding
West Indian communities living up and down England. Lee encouraged other Jamaican
producers to do the same, including Lee Perry, Harry J and Niney The Observer and also
became a conduit between the British music industry and numerous younger Island-based
producers - a frequent flyer reggae ambassador, a musical courier exchanging tapes for
royalties.
Bunny Lee's first recordings in the late 1960s were mainly rock steady but as the 70s
approached the music soon began to mutate and slow down into 'reggae' as the sound became
heavier, more rootsy and the sound itself began to change with the explosion of dub.
Lee was at the forefront to this dramatic musical shift into roots reggae and by this time had
become a major producer, capable of working with whoever he chose as world-famous singers,
DJs and musicians lined up to work with the charismatic man. Lee also employed a fluid but
stable set of crack session musicians who he named The Aggrovators.
Most of the recordings featured here come from the mid 70s, a time when Bunny Lee was
definitely in the zone, releasing heavyweight singles at an almost unstoppable rate. Bunny
Lee's career stretches over five decades and he has upwards of 2,000 production credits on
vinyl.
This album comes with extensive sleevenotes, an interview with Bunny Lee and exclusive
photography. The album is available as a CD pack with 24-page booklet, massive triple LP vinyl
with digital download code, house inner and full notes, as well as digital album.

For The Best Part Of Two Decades Now, South London Afro-dub Dons Soothsayers Have Been Preaching Their Politically Charged Good Vibrations To A Growing And Loyal Fan Base. Their Live Shows Are Legendary And Vary From Off-the-cuff Community Friendly Gigs In Brixton, To Festival Headline Slots And Tours Across Europe And Beyond. Having Recently Filled London's Jazz Caf To Much Acclaim, And In Anticipation Of Their New Album, Tradition, Out On Wah Wah 45s In June, Soothsayers Unleash The Second Single To Be Taken From It. It's A Double Header Of Sorts That Shows The Band's Knack Of Reinterpreting A Cover Version Or Two For The Dance Floor.

Sleepwalking Is A Take On Fela Kuti's 1971 Classic Black Man's Cry. It's A Chant Of Frustration Aimed At Disenfranchisement From The Process And Features Afrobeat Ambassador Dele Sosimi On Guest Vocal Duties.

It Questions If We Are Sleepwalking Into The Abyss, And Is A Revolutionary Song About Taking Power Back Into Our Own Hands! Although It's Challenging To Do Justice To A Bob Marley Cover, On Natural Mystic Soothsayers Cradle The Spirit Of The Originator And Turn It Upside Down, Transforming The Familiar Into A Journey Back To Africa Via Their Trademark Groove.

Spiritual Jazz Flutes And Percussion Combine With The Floating Vocals Of The Mighty Cornel Campbell, While The Song's Main Melody Is Emphatically Reproduced By Soothsayers Horn Section To Stunning Effect.

Vercetti Technicolor's ficticious soundtrack to the 1972 Munich Massacre, is a bleak, cold and somber work. Partly inspired by the 1999 Documentary by Kevin Macdonald, Vercetti creates a tense and brooding approach to this, the most darkest of subject matter. This is far from dancefloor material, this is doom-electronics at it's most frightening. Giallo Disco is proud to present our first LP, Vercetti Technicolor's Black September, closer to minimal wave than moroder and all the better for it. Remixes come from Mexico's PLAYTONTO and Creme Organization signing's Francesco Clemente.
Limited to 100 copies, first time on cassette for our very first LP by Vercetti Technicolor. Pro duplicated with re-edited artwork by Eric Adrian Lee.

Last February, We Had The Delightful Surprise To See Dominique Dalcan On The Victoires De La Musique Stage (main French Musical Award). The Elegant Singer Received The Award For The Best Electronic Album For His Project Temperance, An Album In English Full Of Reliefs, Dense And Splendid. We Are Delighted To See Today That Dominique Publishes A Second Volume Of Temperance. The First Albums Of Dominique Dalcan Came Out In The Early 90's, Especially On The Belgian Label Crammed Discs. He Is Considered One Of The Ambassadors Of The New French Pop, Combining Electronic And Orchestral Arrangements. At The Same Time, Under The Name Of Snooze, He Immerses Himself In Electronic Music And Creates Soundtracks For Cinema And Contemporary Art. In 2013, He Switched To The English Language And Adopted A New Artistic Identity: Temperance.

The Project Moves Away Freely From The Format Of The Song To Dive Into A Vast Electronic Palette. In Temperance 2, We Hear Contemporary R & B Ballads Full Of Artificial Strings, Collisions Of Textures, Even Balinese Sounds But Nothing That Never Steals The Show With Dominique's Voice And Lyrics. The Temperance Repertoire Addresses The Confusion Of The Human World And A Wild Nature. There Is Also A Question Of Fusional Love With Pop And Soul Songs. This Gives An Album That Rushes Against Each Other Joy, Fury, Despair, Desire Or Pleasure, Without Them Ever Contradicting Each Other, And That Moderates With Art And Temperance, In Short.

Limited Edition of 500 handnumbered Box Set including 4LPs (180g), 1 CD, Download Coupon and a high quality 120 page booklet. NOTE: BOX IS SHRINK-WRAPPED BUT WILL BE OPENED FOR SHIPPING TO AVOID SEAM-SPLIT.

Black Truffle Together With Bernhard Rietbrock And Zhdk Are Honoured To Reissue This Stunning Boxset Celebrating Alvin Lucier's 85th Birthday Celebrations Which Took Place In Zurich, 2013.

Alvin Lucier Is One Of Most Important Figures In More Than A Half Century Of Avant-garde And Experimental Sound Practice. He Has No Equivalent. He Is Among America's Most Important Composers - A Towering Pillar Of Intellect, Creativity, And Beauty Realized Through Sound. His Singular And Unparalleled Body Of Work, Focused Around Acoustic Phenomena And Auditory Perception, Which Included, Among Many Others, The Groundbreaking Works Bird And Person Dyning, Music On A Long Thin Wire, And I Am Sitting In A Room, Each Quietly Shifting The Understanding Of What Music Could Be - Deceptively Discrete Gestures, Laying Their Mark On History And The Expectations Of Nearly Everything To Come, While Radically Expanding The Field. It Is Such A Life, Defined By Such Striking Accomplishment, Which This Release Celebrates Across The Four Lps, Cd, And Book Which Make Up The Lavish Illuminated By The Moon Release.

Recorded In October Of 2016 At The Alvin Lucier 85th Birthday Festival At The Zurich University Of The Arts, The Box Gathers A Remarkable Range Of Performances Of Works From Lucier's Life In Music, From The Iconic To The Lesser Known. It Begins With Wonderful Stagings Of I Am In A Sitting Room And Music For Solo Performer Performed By The Composer, Before Presenting The Work Charles Curtis Performed By The Cellist For Whom It Was Composed, And Double Rainbow, A Recent Work, Performed By The Incredible Joan La Barbara. Over The Course Of The Set's Many Discs, We Encounter Works Ranging From Nothing Is Real (strawberry Fields Forever), Braid, Two Circles, Hanover, Step, Slide And Sustain, And One Arm Bandits, Performed By Oren Ambarchi, Stephen O'malley, And Gary Schmalzl, With Further Contributions By Charles Curtis And Many Others Involved In The Celebrations Of Lucier's Life And Work. The Collection, By Offering An Expanse Of Material Otherwise Unavailable In The Composer's Discography, Opens A Rare Window Into The Breadth And Range Of Territory Which He Has Approached, As Well As Into The Unique Humor Which Has Quietly Bubbled Through His Entire Career. It Is A Singular Recording Event, The Likes Of Which Are Unlikely To Be Repeated.

A Worthy Tribute To One Of The Last Century's Most Important Composers, Offering Insight, Recognition, And Critical Investigation, Long Overdue And Lovingly Produced. Including An Extensive, Lavish 120 Page Book, With Numerous Unseen Images. Pressed On 180 Gram Vinyl, This Limited Edition Of 500 Individually Numbered Copies Is Unquestionably One Of The Most Beautiful And Important Releases Of 2018.

Key Selling Points: - Limited Edition Of 500 Handnumbered Units From Legendary Electronic Music Pioneer Alvin Lucier

- Lavish Box Set Including 4lps, 1 Cd, And A High Quality 120 Page Booklet.

- 180g Vinyl

- Incl. Download Coupon To Redeem All Tracks

- Over 190 Minutes Playtime

- Remarkable Collection Of Performances Of Works From Lucier's Life In Music, From The Iconic To The Lesser Known.

- Mastered & Cut By Helmut Erler At Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.

The music on this EP was conceived in China, between 1989 and 1993. The original tracks were mixed to DAT in real time, in a small neighbour-proof studio inside my apartment in Macau, a 19th floor with a view to the hurricanes. There's a small, unexpected or improbable story behind each track, some little magic fused with the local atmosphere, certainly guaranteeing their lasting authenticity 25 years later.

TAIPEI DISCO
Late 80s Guangzhou was an exotic city where the traditional past coexisted in harmony with the present and even already with the future.
I'd rather spend my weekends in Guangzhou than diving into Hong Kong consumerism - as most ex-pats in Macau did. I took a cab at the border and travelled 150 Km through chaotic roads with family and friends until reaching the hot, humid, mega South China metropolis.
We ate on street joints in the evenings, went on to a karaoke bar and ended up at Taipei Disco, the only proper club in town. All the others were inside hotels and played generic music or they were seedy, sleazy, smoky cabarets.
Taipei Disco used to be a cinema and played cantonese pop music and anglo-saxon pop/rock (that was new). The spacious dance floor was generously lighted, the atmosphere was airy and modern. Boys and girls were in the habit of dancing in pairs, one in front of the other, observing a respectful yet sensual distance. When the girl took a few steps back, the boy went along and vice versa. With legs and feet (more than the upper bodies) synchronized with the music, they never exceeded in extroversion. Cool.
I always carried a MicroComposer and a portable DAT recorder in my travels through China and weekends in Canton. Any spontaneous musical idea was imediately recorded and memorized. The MicroComposer allowed multitrack recording, which was very handy on the road. Based on the emphatic choreography of Taipei Disco's dancers, i started to compose a rhythm track while sitting at a table, with headphones, listening to Cantopop in the background. As if by magic - not a rare occasion in music - everything began fitting together. Odd as it may seem, the track ended up sounding more germanic (Kraftwerkian) than Cantonese pop.

The story ends in a circle: the cantonese DJ at Taipei Disco, whom i used to ask to play certain records, wanted to play my music at the disco when it was basically only just a rhythm track and little else. From a cupboard under his set up he took out a battered keyboard (unrecognizable brand) and invited me to play over the track with the available sounds on the keyboard. The circle was complete, with Cantonese clubbers happily dancing forwards and backwards, as if it were another Cantopop hit.
I didn't get payed but the house offered us free ice cream cups in which little Portuguese flags were sticked.
The track would be finished later, in studio, with vocoder strings ensemble and synth solos.

TAIPEI DISCO (LIVE)
The live version of 'Taipei Disco' was recorded during a live set at the China Pop venue, in Macau, 1993. China Pop was a rock club built in the ample space of an old fishing warehouse, located in the labyrinthic Inner Harbour area. It was decorated with large Mao Zedong and Cultural Revolution posters and memorabilia and had a unique atmosphere, fusing Pop Art with film noir. We began our performance at 1AM, pretty early for Macau's nightlife standards. We were lucky. An audience showed up. And in Macau there were always several friends among the audience, which tranformed a musical performance into a relaxed party.
The atmosphere was particularly surreal on that night. The front row was dominated by French Crazy Horse dancers, a sort of Oriental Moulin Rouge. The girls had finished their last performance of the evening at the Crazy Horse and were still energized from their show. During our performance, right in front of us and perfectly synched, we could hear the famous irreverent screams of can-can dancers. You always had to expect the unexpected in Macau.

RED MAMBO (IMPROMPTU)
I was familiar with the Portuguese-speaking African countries well before having lived in China. I found myself returning several times to one in particular, always attracted by its magic and very distinct, identitary culture and music: Cape Verde.
During the early years of DWART a lot of the inspiration for drum machine rhythms (Roland's TR series) came from African music, especially from new musical trends that gained full autonomy with Cape Verde's independence from Portugal, as was the case with funaná.
I had the privilege of having known and befriended some of the greatest Capeverdian composers, musicians and singers during the 70s and 80s, such as Bana, Luís Morais, Cesária Évora, Paulino Vieira, Chico Serra, Tito Paris, and historical bands such as Bulimundo (ambassadors of funaná) and Os Tubarões (great innovators of morna, coladera and funaná, with the sonic impact of an afro-beat big band).
When Luís Filipe de Barros began playing Os Tubarões for the first time on Portuguese radio, that was the turning point for African music in Portugal. The 'Tabanca' album was so widely heard and talked about that it quickly got a Portuguese release through one of the big labels of the time.
The mystic of this band from the Santiago Island would reach the East. Os Tubarões played to a packed room in Macau in 1992, and after the bombastic gig we arranged a dinner and party at my place.
We ate and drank generously and the moment came for a jam session at the small studio on the 19th floor. Because Os Tubarões didn't all fit in the studio, we recorded an impromptu with only three of the musicians: Tótó Silva (electric guitar), Mário Russo Bettencourt (bass) and Zeca Couto (piano). And there we were improvising without barriers, suddenly detached from cultural roots, labels and constraints, a truly unique moment. The track is now being released exactly as it was recorded, imbued with the real communion between the musicians. And it could only be titled 'Red Mambo'. I wish to dedicate it to the memory of Ildo Lobo and Jaime do Rosário, founders of Os Tubarões, sadly and too soon departed from the land of music.

Markus Fix & Dorian Paic - Crawling EP - Housewax
RAWAX welcomes Markus Fix & Dorian Paic to the artist Family!
We as Frankfurt based label are happy to present you on the 25th release two real Frankfurt Ambassadors!

Dj Rou & Lite Orkestra Proves To Be One Of Those Original, Eclectic And Interesting Projects For The Musical Research Of The Current Scene.

They Got To Know Each Other In The Summer Of 2014 And A Character Affinity Was Born Immediately, Later Transformed Into A Very Strong Artistic Empathy, So Much So That In The Immediate Future They Decided To Meet Often Between Bologna And Verona For Jam Sessions, Sharing Ideas.

In The Summer Of 2017, Cognitiva Records, Label Runned By Sofatalk, Became Aware Of The Project And Decided Without Hesitating To Press 1,2,3, Original Tracks Of The Release the Ambassador's Way Ep'.

The Compositions Are A Combination Of The Electronic Drums Of Dj Rou (mpc, Korg Electribe And Other Gears), The Contrabass And The Guitar Of Lachi + Thomaspizzini, Better Known As Lite Orkestra.

The Result Is A Hybrid Exuberance Between Jazz, Afro And The Experimental Flow That Derives From The Roots Of The Jam Sessions.

Face Time is the second release from the trio of Oren Ambarchi, Kassel Jaeger, and James Rushford, following on from their 2016 debut Pale Calling. Recorded at the GRM studios in Paris in June 2017, the record immediately returns to the idiosyncratic sound-world of the trio's first release, a simmering stew of electronic smears, pitched-down animal moans, and mysteriously emotive microtonal organ chords. But before long the record takes an unexpected turn, as sounds that initially enter as occasional percussive pitter-patter build to a halting rhythm. Equally reminiscent of Basic Channel-style dub techno and the sound of a microphone loose in a pocket, these stumbling rhythmic figures provide the framework for the remainder of the record's two sides, occasionally receding into the background to allow squelching electronics, chiming bells, distorted autoharp, inchoate grunts and the sound of a Cristal Baschet to take centre stage, but each time returning with the inevitability of a an idée fixe.

Eschewing any clear sense of form, the two side-long pieces move seamlessly through episodes with the organic flow of improvisation, embracing the happy accidents of events conjoined by chance and lingering on liminal moments. Gradually washing out into a cavernous roar, the record's final moments are suddenly enlivened by shimmering metallic percussion and a sequence of woozy synth chords, combining with the muted rhythms and a distant thunderstorm to become a sort of oneiric tribute to the work of Wally Badarou. Bringing together three of contemporary experimental music's most individual voices, Face Time is an essential slice of outsider electro-acoustics. Cover design by Stephen O'Malley. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin.

Record Kicks Celebrates 15 Years In The Business With A Collection Full Of Exclusive New Singles. Available In Ltd Edition Double Clear Vinyl Lp, Cd And Digital Download. Side By Side With Similar Outfits Like Daptone, Truth And Soul, Freestyle Or Timmion, Under Its Motto "the Explosive Sound From Today's Scene" Milan-based Independent Label Record Kicks Has Been Pitching The Contemporary Funk & Soul Scene Since Day One.

With Over 200 Releases Under The Belt, Rk Has Released Bands From All Over The Globe And Earnedthe Support Of Vip Fans Such As Kenny Dope, Jamie Cullum, Craig Charles And Not Least Jay-z, Thanks To Which The Label Has Recently Received A Grammy Nomination For Hov's Use Of Hannah Williams' "late Nights And Heartbreak" As Backdrop For His "4:44". The New Instalment "record Kicks 15th" Coming Out Next May 18th On Double Clear Lp, Cd And Digital Download, Celebrates 15 Years In The Business With A Collection Full Of Exclusive New Tracks And The Very Best Of It's Roster.

The Album Kicks Off With Rk's Latest And Youngest Signing:
From Chicago, Heavily Inspired By The Impressions And Leroy Hutson, We Are Proud To Present You "the Devonns" With Their Super Soulful Debut Single "come Back", An Appetizer Of Their Debut Full Length Expected To Land On Rk Next Autumn. Another New Signing To The Label Is Men Of North Country's (acid Jazz Records) Side Project "the Faithful Brothers", Here With Their New Single "one More Time".

Other Exclusive Tracks Of The Comp Are "this Strange Effect", A Coverup Of The Hooverphonic's Single From 1998 Brought To You By Dutch Northern Soul Disciples The Tibbs, "love You Back" From Detroit Deep Funk Outfit Third Coast Kings, "the Sort" By The Buenos Aires Mod Reggae Kings The Crabs Corporation, "top Dog" By British Funk Combo The Hook & Slingers And Straight From Down Under "you Don't Know Me" By The Always Great Dojo Cuts.

Along With These New Exclusive Cuts, Dig On Some Label's News Singles And Heavyweight Classics Such As Dj Shadow's "this Time" Taken From Baby Charles Debut Lp, "don't Throw Your Love In The Garbage Can" By James Brown's Original Funk Diva Martha High Feat Japanese Funk Ambassadors Osaka Monaurail, "psycheground" The Brand New Afro-funk Single By Calibro 35 And Then Portuguese Tnt Dynamite Marta Ren & The Groovelvets, Toronto Soul Queen Tanika Charles, Uk Funk Ambassadors The New Mastersounds, The Diplomats Of Solid Sound And The Already Mentioned "late Nights & Heartbreak" By Hannah Williams & The Affirmations.

Finally Copenema drops on vinyl. This special limited edition vinyl EP especially for those summer beach bar vibes.
The EP includes the much loved Te Faz Bem which became a Balearic classic in Ibiza last summer after DJ Harvey regularly played it at his residency 'Mercury Rising' at Pikes . This caught the attention of Pete Tong who played it on his BBC Radio 1 show multiple times.Deixa Música Tocar (Let The Music Play) on the B side is the second single (currently unreleased) and carries on the same classic Balearic vibe from Te Faz Bem.
Super strong remixes from Riccio & Kenneth Bager complete the 12' nicely. The single representing 'the other side of Ibiza' is receiving strong support from Pete Tong, DJ Harvey, Ruf Dug, Peaking Lights, Alfredo, DJ Pippi, Phli Mison, Jon Sa Trinxa and other Balearic inspired DJs and echoes a renewed interest in Latin and Brazilian inspired sounds across the beach bars of the Mediterranean in summer 2017. Copenema (Copenama = Copenhagen Vs Ipanema) is a collaborative project between artists from Denmark and Brazil with the album partly recorded in the living room of Brazilian star Rodrigo Sha in Rio Di Janeiro, and finished at the legendary Volmers studio in Copenhagen.

Copenema is the latest incarnation of Music For Dreams' label boss Kenneth Bager in collaboration with artists and friends Rodrigo Sha, Danish composer Troels Hammer and producer Thomas Schultz from Ambala. The lead single 'Te Faz Bem' was the last track recorded during the sessions and will be the first single released on Music For Dreams this autumn.

Tint is the first new solo recording from Joe Talia in over a decade. Australian-born but now based in Tokyo, Talia is known to many listeners as a drummer (frequently collaborating both live and in the studio with artists such as Oren Ambarchi and Jim O'Rourke) and as a recording and mixing engineer responsible for dozens of releases across the fields of contemporary experimental music, wayward pop, and jazz. Alongside James Rushford, he is also responsible for one of the most legendary releases in the Kye records catalogue, the creaking electronic morass of Manhunter (2013).

Lovingly crafted over many months in his tiny Tokyo studio, Tint is an album-length electroacoustic suite that brings together Talia's expertise as percussionist, studio engineer, and performer on analogue electronic instruments (primarily modular synth and Revox tape machine). Ranging from minimalist austerity to kosmische lushness, Tint refreshingly refuses the dark and moody sonic palette of much contemporary electroacoustic music in favour of an airy, at times almost weightless sound-world of gliding tones, skittering percussion, and burbling field recordings. Drawing inspiration from Jean-Claude Eloy's epic concrète love letter to Tokyo, Gaku-No-Michi, Talia makes extensive use of his own recordings of his new home, but removes any sense of audio verite, abstracting them into transparent glosses of outdoor ambience or unidentifiable chimes and creaks. Flowing seamlessly between distinct episodes, Tint is compositionally controlled while retaining a sense of played spontaneity, eventually building to a maelstrom of analogue synth zaps and tape manipulated percussion that reflects Talia's deep engagement with the relentless yet constantly shifting dynamics of free jazz.

R.a.n.d. Muzik Began In The Mid 90's As A Collective Of Like Minded Music Lovers And Labels. One Of Those Labels Was Science City Which Ran From 96 Until Being Discontinued In 2006. In 2000, 100 Promo Copies Were Produced Of An Electro Record Called 'dr. Strangelove' By 'dead Leaf' (aka 'marvin Dash'), Unfortunately, Due To The Insolvency Of The Label's Distributor At The Time No Finished Copies Were Ever Produced... Until Now.

Raw Ambassador steps in again for Mannequin Records series "Death Of The Machines " with a veritable feast of 80`s industrial and primitive EBM bangers. Four trax of Mutant Industrial music designed for spreading disease and bringing disorder in every dance floor around the globe.

Black Truffle is pleased to make Oren Ambarchi's Grapes from The Estate available once more on vinyl. Originally released on CD on Touch in 2004 and reissued on Southern Lord as a limited double LP in 2006 during Ambarchi's tenure as a member of Sunn O))), Grapes from the Estate was a landmark release for Ambarchi, seeing him expand his sonic palette beyond the clipped, bass-heavy electric guitar tones he was known for at that point. Incorporating subtle layers of strings, keyboards, percussion over a bedrock of his signature guitar tones, in retrospect this album can be seen as the beginning of a broadening and evolution in Ambarchi's work that would lead to his acclaimed, densely layered epics for Editions Mego, Quixotism (2014) and Hubris (2016). Beginning with the shuddering pure tones of opener 'Corkscrew', which looks back to previous guitar-only releases such as Suspension (2001), the album's next two pieces show a progressive broadening of the instrumental palette and a corresponding move away from textural abstraction and sustained tones towards more traditional notions of musicality. This reached its high point on the album's third piece, the fifteen-minute long 'Remedios The Beauty', where guitars, both acoustic and electric, strings, piano, and bells build from a murmur to an interlockinging web of repeating melodic patterns over gently swinging brushed snare and cymbals. The epic closer, 'Stars Aligned, Webs Spun', returns us to a space populated only by the electric guitar, but unlike everything Ambarchi had produced up until this point in his career, the piece has a liquid, psychedelic edge that looks forward to the shimmering harmonics of his more recent work. As Brendan Walls wrote at the time of the original release, this is 'another outpouring of personal, intimate and enduring music from Oren Ambarchi'. Presented in a stunning gatefold sleeve featuring the original artwork and design by Jon Wozencroft. Redesigned by Stephen O'Malley Remastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin.

Autoreply begins its 10th year with a 12" from one of the scenes favourite ambassadors, Dana Ruh. Equally happy co-running Brouqade and her own Cave Recordings, dropping LP's for Underground Quality or stepping up to Ostgut Ton & Cocoon, hers is a story of emotive, reduced floor-theory. The "Round 2 Reel EP" delivers three such movements kicking-off with an undeviatingly playable A-Side displaying her prowess for swinging, stripped-back house complete with discreet sound design and compulsory bass. The B-Side concentrates on the deeper, dubbier aspect of her sound displaying unparalleled levels of warmth and texture. Written & produced at Polynomstudio, Berlin, recorded to tape for your listening pleasure!