Soul Stage lands another essential chapter with Soulstage 002, a seriously classy and deeply authentic statement from the one and only Orlando Voorn. Carried by the unmistakable spirit of Detroit, this release is the kind of record that reminds you why true house music never loses its power, timeless, soulful, effortlessly cool and full of authority.
Deeply rooted in dub techno but reaching far beyond genre routine, weight, atmosphere, restraint and absolute emotional pull. This is dub techno at a truly exceptional level, elegant, deeply absorbing and crafted with the kind of vision that separates strong releases from genuinely unforgettable ones. A massive record with real staying power, and another stunning transmission from Notta Records.
Two foundational releases from Toronto's Strobe Records get a well-deserved reissue on the Clone Classic Cuts series, spotlighting a pivotal moment in North American dance music. While often overshadowed by the Detroit and New York scenes, Toronto's underground in the early '90s was brewing its own potent blend of house and techno - and these tracks are prime examples of that cross-border synergy.
The Hayden Andre Project's contributions sit at the perfect intersection of tribal house rhythms and the emotive, machine-driven pulse of early Detroit techno. There's a raw elegance here - a sense of deep groove layered with just the right amount of percussive tension. It's no surprise that these tracks became staples in the crates of DJs both then and now. The production feels timeless, with hypnotic arrangements that still command the floor over three decades later.
On the flip, Kingdom Come, another alias of Ron Allen, delivers lush, blissed-out house music that channels the soulful energy of New York's golden era while adding a uniquely Canadian sensibility. Allen's piano work, layered with warm pads and swinging drums, gives these tracks an unmistakable vibe - equal parts deep house ecstasy and garage swagger. It's the sound of 3 a.m. euphoria, of packed dance floors and emotional peaks.
i 9Overworld (Battle) original Soundtrack Version
[j] 10Battle (Shrine) [original Soundtrack Version]
[i] 9Overworld (Battle) [original Soundtrack Version]
[j] 10Battle (Shrine) [original Soundtrack Version]
[i] Overworld (Battle) [original Soundtrack Version]
[j] Battle (Shrine) [original Soundtrack Version]
Deep and dance EP by American sound-producer Coral O'Connor marks the first vinyl release of Farmat label
Best known as one half of KIASMOS alongside Ólafur Arnalds, the Faroe Islands born, Reykjavik based producer Janus Rasmussen has consistently refined an elegant sound that marries sonic precision with emotional depth. Over the past decade, he has built a wide-ranging body of work through collaborations across multiple genres as a producer, songwriter, musician, and mix engineer.
As a solo artist, Janus has crafted compositions that balance immersive sound design, subtle melodic shifts and rhythmic drive, drawing on his diverse musical appreciation and studio experimentation. These experiences have shaped a creative identity that now comes into sharp focus on his most ambitious solo project to date - Inert.
The album marks a bold step forward, thematically exploring the act of breaking free from inertia through embracing creative freedom. With his new work, Janus incorporates his own vocals more than ever, weaving them seamlessly around intricate electronics as he expands his sound into new territory, while retaining the subtle restraint that has defined his output. Drawing inspiration from the dance music spectrum, Inert reflects a renewed sense of momentum, vulnerability and adventurousness in his sound.
As we celebrate 30 years of Ten Lovers Music our first offering of the year is a Various Artist selection called Frisson EP Part 1. Frisson is a medical term for the response you get from listening to music, often referred to as goosebumps or a skin orgasm which is caused by the dopamine released in the brain’s reward centres.
Kicking off the A side we have Sound Signals featuring flautist Han Litz, a superb opener. Following on are Future Jazz Ensemble and Don’t Be Afraid, another track from them oozing quality. Onto side AA and Mike Perras is back with another live track featuring keys, drums, bass and a battling flute and sax on Sweet One. Rounding off side AA is Stefano De Santis with Simple Things, an aptly named track for this music that gives us Frisson.
Billy Wooten's 'In This World' is a long-overdue gem from the golden age of soulful jazz-funk. Originally from his cult 1972 album, this P-Vine reissue makes it available on 7" wax for the first time ever, and Wooten's vibraphone magic is brought to life in full analogue warmth. Channelling that same mellow, sunlit energy as Roy Ayers, male-female vocal number 'In This World' drifts between blissed-out groove and spiritual elevation and is a track that feels like walking through light. Silky percussion, deep bass and those unmistakable Wooten vibes make this a wonderful winter escape to sunnier times and climes.
The name Ran is a new one to us and seemingly remains, for now at least, cloaked in secrecy, but when we see their influences range from Loefah, Photek and Carrier to Source Direct, Regis and Mika Vainio, we were instantly hooked. To this new EP on Gelassenheit, then, which speaks to a producer with a rough and tough analogue sound and love of bass-driven techno. 'Violence' is gritty and heavy as it pounds out a groove with eerie pads in the distance, 'Minus' has punchy broken beats that come at you through a murky fog, and 'Closure ' then ducks and dives with a post-dubstep nimbleness as spooky background details suggest there is an oncoming threat. 'Manoeuvres' is a sparse, heavyweight and soot-black dub with crispy hits that demand a physical response. Early support from Carrier!
JNJS are Jay Nortown and Jacobo Saavedra, Ibiza residents and a dynamic duo who have made moves on the likes of Dias De Campo, Nothing But and UVAR. This time out they land on the influential Politics Of Dancing with three crisp, twisted takes on tech house. 'Between Us Two' is an easy to latch onto groove with fleshy bass and lithe chords darting about up top. 'Infection' has a swirling and rapping lead that brings more off-balance movement and 'Go Back' shuts down with some psychedelic leads smudged and smeared across the sky as the fulsome drums work down low. A Terence :Terry: remix brings bigger drums and more swag to this effective EP.
Kompakt is ringing in the New Year in style! ‘Freeze’ is a collaboration between Joyce Muniz and Andre VII, a beacon of Mexico City’s nightlife . This powerful hi-NRG track is reminiscent of Bobby Orlando’s finest moments and would have set ‘80s dancefloors in Rimini alight. A collaboration that celebrates diversity, friendship, and the power of music as a bridge between cultures and communities.
With Greta Levska, Kompakt is welcoming a fresh new artist to the fold. Her sound is hard to pinpoint, which is an attribute we’re traditionally attracted to. ’Who’s Here’ is one of these late night tunes that take their sweet time to cast their spell – but when it does there’s no holding back. With ‘Lizard Lick’ Greta ventures in quirky Electro waters… When that proverbial elevator door opens we see Superpitcher and Mr. Oizo sharing a laugh and some Mezcalitos, obviously.
2026 Repress
&Me, the chunky critter, did it again! This hypnotic one-off was stoically crafted to be lifted into the next dimension with thousands of people. Where the hospitality of all-encompassing love and euphoria awaits with arms raised and eyes closed.
Mano le tough found the original Muddy Funster so boring that he ran out of cigarettes. Even as a non-smoker! With his congenial version of this evergreens, this deranged pig forces his cranky perception on us and takes us into a mystical world in which no two stones are alike, but whose unique construction represents an earthquake-proof pyramid of love whose dimensions have perfect relationships to the size of the earth and to mathematical laws. Illumination feat Roísín Murphy as Mano Le Toughs needs A Birra Light Remix persistently pulls us music-loving dance muffins under the disco ball with all the TikiTaka tricks in the book, only to let us go and spin gloriously free at the crucial moment. So beautiful, we dance, wow.
Vier Jahre nach ihrem gefeierten Debüt ,International Love Affair" kehrt Tigerbalm (Rose Robinson) mit dem aufregend kaleidoskopischen Album ,Bubblegum Discos" zu Ubiquity Records zurück. Als mutige Weiterentwicklung ihres global geprägten Nu-Disco-Sounds spiegelt das Album ein neu gewonnenes Selbstbewusstsein wider sowie den Wunsch, mit handverlesenen Musikern und Sängern aus aller Welt zusammenzuarbeiten. In lebhaften Klangfarben gehalten, präsentiert ,Bubblegum Discos" Tigerbalms zwei große musikalische Leidenschaften: die brasilianische Musikkultur und Vintage-Dancefloor-Hits vom afrikanischen Kontinent, angereichert mit Anspielungen auf Italo-Disco, Proto-House und Soca. Die erste Hälfte des Albums ist stark von südamerikanischen Einflüssen geprägt. ,Nayar", entstanden in Zusammenarbeit mit Giorgio Lopez aus Neapel, macht den Anfang mit leicht vom Reggaeton inspiriertem Nu-Disco, gefolgt vom brasilianischen Disco-Rausch von ,Diga Me" und dem luftigen Samba-Disco von ,Vera En Paraty". Robinson liefert ihren allerersten Leadgesang auf dem teilweise improvisierten Neo-Boogie-Track ,Coco Makoko". Das Album wendet sich dann Afrika zu, mit herausragenden Beiträgen von Andre Espeut, der in Montreal lebenden haitianischen Sängerin Waahli auf dem hornlastigen ,Do Da Soca" und dem Afrobeats-Sänger Idd Aziz auf dem körperbetonten ,Afro-Disco". Der Abschluss ,Conga" rundet das Ganze mit schweren, afrozentrischen Disco-Rhythmen und tiefem Dub-Bass ab. Actiongeladen und makellos produziert: ,Bubblegum Discos" ist der Sound einer Künstlerin, die ihr frühes Versprechen mehr als nur einhält.
Earth hat die moderne Musik maßgeblich geprägt - von Experimental Metal über Electronic/Ambient bis hin zu Stoner Rock - und Künstler von SUNN O))) über The Bug bis hin zu Godflesh beeinflusst. Die Geschichte von Earth wurde in der gefeierten Dokumentation "Even Hell Has Its Heroes" aus dem Jahr 2023 festgehalten. Das dritte Album von Earth, "Pentastar: In the Style of Demons" aus dem Jahr 1996, ist ein Klassiker der trägen Riff-Verehrung, der vor einer dicken, verzerrten Schmiere nur so strotzt, in der Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, Hendrix, Drone und Ambient-Musik miteinander verschmelzen. Das Ergebnis fühlt sich an wie eine lange, einsame Fahrt durch die Wüste, mit dem inneren und/oder äußeren Weltraum als einzigem Ziel. Als wohl rockorientiertestes Album der Band enthält "Pentastar: In the Style of Demons" die zeitlose ,Hit"-Single "Tallahassee". Diese 30-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe erscheint auf grünem Vinyl und enthält einen limitierten "Wraparound"-Kunstdruck mit einer Neuinterpretation des Albumcovers durch den zeitgenössischen Künstler Matt McCormick.
‘Perfect We Are Not’ the latest track from Soulwax, emerges directly from the band’s recent Abbey Road After Hours project - a unique collaboration with the iconic London studio that saw Soulwax take over the building for a series of recording sessions and a landmark live event.
Working across Abbey Road’s historic spaces - from Studio Three, to Studio Two, to Studio One - the band used all three rooms as a continuous creative environment, moving fluidly between them in pursuit of new material. It was within these sessions that ‘Perfect We Are Not’ was written and recorded with their full live band (including three drummers).
The track was cut using the studio’s vast array of analogue equipment before being pressed direct to vinyl and played as the opening moment of their 2manydjs set inside Studio One
Now released as a standalone single, ‘Perfect We Are Not’ carries that immediacy forward — a driving, full-bodied track that reflects the band’s instinctive, performance-led approach in the studio, and will also be released as a limited edition 12” via DEEWEE.
Berlin lo-fi crooner Der Assistent returns with "Ultramarin", a sun-faded suite of soft-focus pop, Balearic grooves and late-night yacht moods drifting between languages, moods and references – slightly surreal, and quietly melancholic.
Following the tropical haze of its predecessor "Amnesie am Amazonas", his third album makes a slightly bigger splash: classic late-80s digital pianos, downbeat grooves and flashes of dub-reggae intertwine with subtle soprano and alto saxophone lines that drift between lounge melancholy and nocturnal jazz.
Laid-back opening cut “Wenn der Scirocco weht” pays homage to Japanese lovers rock, while the dubby downbeat title track celebrates the color blue in French, English, Italian and German, echoing situationist slogans and painter Yves Klein’s idea of “the invisible becoming visible.” Lead single “Mann am Telefon” dives into hazy yacht-pop and lo-fi soul, gradually unfolding into an instrumental outro that recalls the early synth romanticism of Vangelis.
Across the album, Der Assistent traces a playful tale of split personalities – with subtle nods to Fight Club and Blade Runner – culminating in the lush closing 80s R&B ballad “Total Confusion”.
Written, recorded, produced and mixed entirely by Der Assistent, Ultramarin also inaugurates his new imprint of the same name.
RIYL: Fishmans, Eddie Chacon, The Zenmenn.
2026 Repress
Here's to a special one..
Ashtar Afterhours is Kenneth Graham - originally from Los Angeles, he has been a defining presence in electronic music ever since the 90s. Buying his first classic synthesizer, a Yamaha CS01, in 1984, he delved into music production at an early stage. Kenneth put out over 40 releases over the years- under his own name as well as stepping up under various aliases- Estelle Montenegro, KG Beat, Exit Strategy and many others. Kenneth also formed some super-groups together with friends, his Sun Children / Sunkiss project- together with David Alvarado- put out highly influential music on legendary Peacefrog Records.
Body Music was originally released on Plastic City in 2001 and it has been a Smallville favourite since a long time, so we are super happy to present this beauty as a repress, as always with a full cover artwork by Stefan Marx.
All tracks written & produced by Kenneth Graham, B3 w&p by Kenneth Graham & Gabriel Ortega
Vinyl cut by Helmut Erler at Lathesville
