We met Volen through a tip from our friends at Cyclone as a Los Angeles-based DJ who was also a natural with production. In 2021 we released Volen's Distortion mini-album on Rhizome Forms. Those heady productions stuck with us and we knew a vinyl would soon be ready. Four years later, with countless hours spent in his Arizona desert sound lab, we present four acidic dancefloor interventions on wax.
“Validation” is immediately lively with a cascading acid groove. Spinning through inversions, the vocal refrains frame the kaleidoscopic dance floor energy of the title track.
The record's a-side finds completeness with the twisted anthem “I've Got to Shower".
Wobbly chords simmer under that famous sample while a slick breakbeat delivers the rhythm.
Side-b arrives with swagger as "Left & Right” rolls in with a mental acid and breakbeat powerplant of a groove.The track's breakdown billows atmosphere while the lower frequencies growl.
Volen saves the starry ecstasy for the final track. “Pump Their Dump” is an upbeat and dreamy acid house journey evolving into a collage of ear candy samples that'll satisfy dancers looking for that positive vibration release.
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The Rituals series rises again, a fresh strike carved deep into black wax. RITUAL12 summons an international assembly of techno insurgents from the OMEN roster, each delivering their own sonic rite. Across two sides, the intent is absolute: raw, unfiltered power pulled from the shadows and unleashed on the dance floor.
RITUAL12 is not a compilation, it’s a convocation. Forged in analogue heat, drenched in distortion, and aimed directly at the heart of the floor, this record demands full surrender. Step in. There is no turning back.
SIDE A
Swarm Intelligence – Inexorable
Berlin’s Swarm Intelligence ignites the record with precision-tooled percussion and fractured basslines. Polyrhythmic tension winds tighter with every measure, industrial grit locking into a cybernetic march toward total hypnosis.
B.A.R.K – Shikijitsu
A bone-rattling invocation of distorted low-end and ceremonial drums. B.A.R.K drives forward like ancient machinery grinding to life, a Japanese primal energy sharpened to a deadly edge.
Axkan + Duellist – Resilence
Mexico meets Scotland for a brutalist assault: hammering kicks, serrated synth textures, and walls of analogue saturation. No safe passage here, only forward momentum into the heart of chaos.
SIDE B
EAS – Honored One
From Los Angeles, EAS delivers a tense, ritualistic construction where a subterranean EBM bassline pulses through metallic drones. Hypnotic, uneasy, and charged with controlled dissonance.
Ha†elove + Ogmah – Hanged Bodies
A dark ceremonial groove, heavy with ritual percussion and spectral synth chants. The layers rise to a fever pitch, blurring the line between transcendence and collapse.
Crystal Geometry + Axkan – Kratom
France’s Crystal Geometry joins Axkan for a militaristic strike of modular chaos and pummeling drums. EBM infused basslines drive beneath razor-sharp synth fire, rallying the midnight faithful to the front lines.
DJ Sakee’s debut solo 12″ EP “Gravitate” for Dance Data captures the energy that defines what people have come to expect from a DJ SAKEE all vinyl set. The title track is built around an infectious sample that demands your attention, embodying the irresistible pull of his live sets—once you’re drawn in, there’s no turning back.
Raised in the center of the Inland Empire in Southern California, Alek Tzul (aka DJ SAKEE) is one of the several DJs contributing to the vinyl-only act currently in Los Angeles. Known for initially playing DIY warehouse parties, and a few cities outside of California, anyone who has witnessed a performance knows he has a driving passion for his craft on turntables and within his music production.
His debut solo 12″ EP “Gravitate” for Dance Data captures the energy that defines what people have come to expect from a DJ SAKEE performance. The title track is built around an infectious sample that demands your attention, embodying the irresistible pull of his live sets—once you’re drawn in, there’s no turning back.
When it comes to Latin soul, Bobby Matos And The Combo Conquistadores 'Tema De Alma Latina', has to be up there as one of the heaviest tracks ever recorded. This much-loved Latin workout has been rocking dancefloors for years with its infectious, driving energy and pulsating rhythms. Released in 1968, the 'My Latin Soul' album on Philips Records now receives a welcome reissue on Mr Bongo. It’s a sheer delight throughout and a premier example of the Nu Yorican sound that was thriving in New York in the ‘60s.
From a young age, the Bronx, New York-born Latin jazz percussionist Bobby Matos found inspiration through the conga drum masters Mongo Santamaría and Patato Valdez (who he had informal backstage lessons with) and timbales legends Willie Bobo and Tito Puente. Bobby was drawn into New York's club scene and began playing in the vibrant ‘60s beat / bohemian Greenwich Village cafes, followed by stints in a wide range of different venues. These included Bronx dance halls and after-hours clubs in El Barrio, through to the elegance of Carnegie Hall, Central Park concerts, and off-Broadway theatres.
Later relocating to Los Angeles, Bobby played an important role in spreading Latin music far and wide. He became an inspiration to many on the jazz dance and acid jazz scenes in the ‘80s / '90s where his recordings were picked and played, becoming prized collector items amongst DJs. The track 'Tema De Alma Latina' was immortalised as a classic for many, after being featured on the Gilles Peterson’s Street Sounds Jazz Juice 5 compilation in 1987. A captivating listen from start to finish, the album features other treats such as the dynamic album opener ‘Nadie Baila Como Yo’, the blazing flute led 'Mambo Maxims', and the blistering piano shuffler 'Raices'.
A truly iconic Latin classic whether you’re being reunited with it like an old friend or discovering it as a fresh new find.
The Money Records 2” multi-track tape of ‘Sugar Love’ and ‘You Bet I Would’ revealed an unknown title ‘We’ve Reached A Dead End’. This turned out to be a beautiful Richard Cason-penned ballad which featured a lush, dramatic arrangement by Los Angeles musician Ray Jackson, complete with male backing vocals.
Cason co-produced the three songs with producer Hadley Murrell who licensed the recordings to Ruth Dolphin at Money. ‘Sugar Love’ only appeared on the flip of the second pressing of ‘You Bet I Would’, the instrumental was used initially. ‘Sugar Love’ is in itself in-demand as a dance track. Money 606 did not sell enough to warrant a further release and the track lay unmixed in the vault until now.
Interestingly the tape was dated May 1973, just prior to the two releases, and was described on the box as a rework of a tape from July 1971 - the music certainly wasn’t rushed.
SAUL WILLIAMS / CARLOS NINO & FRIENDS
AT TREEPEOPLE LP 2x12"
Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople is the first collaborative album from poet/vocalist Saul Williams and percussionist/producer Carlos Niño. The album was recorded live underneath black oak and walnut trees in Coldwater Canyon Park, Los Angeles, on December 18, 2024. The performance, which was organized by Noah Klein of Living Earth on the grounds of longstanding conservationist organization TreePeople, was the first of its kind for Williams and Niño, who have been friends since the late 1990s.
After the conceptual depth of "Parallel Traces of the Jewel Voice" (2021), dj sniff returns to Discrepant with a more direct and visceral document: Turntable Solos.
Composed from live recordings made during the latter half of 2024, Turntable Solos captures dj sniff’s improvised performances in their rawest form. At the core of his setup is Cut ’n’ Play, a software sampler he originally built in Max / MSP in 2007. Since then, he has continued developing custom tools and instruments that extend what Derek Bailey called the “instrumental impulse” — the tactile, responsive relationship between musician and machine that defines improvisation.
Following a summer 2024 tour of Japan with Gonçalo Cardoso, sniff was encouraged to document and release a selection of his live sets. Not long after, a performance at 20α (Alpha) in Hong Kong would become the emotional and conceptual anchor for the project.
In the liner notes, sniff reflects on the eerie parallels between recent footage of protestors in Los Angeles — assaulted by police using so-called “less-lethal” weapons, and civilians being abducted into detention centers — and the 2019 Hong Kong protests. A place once filled with personal nostalgia began to feel like a grim foreshadowing of what might unfold in Western societies.
In this turbulent context, 20α stands out as a space of resistance and renewal — a beacon for a new generation of experimental musicians, growing in defiance of increasing censorship and surveillance. "Turntable Solos" is both a personal statement and a public act of sonic resilience.
• We launch our Soul Harmony label with a fabulous tape discovery from Golden State Recorders. At the time of recording, 87th Off Broadway lived in the small town of Seaside, California and were based in Monterey. They wrote their own songs, four of which were recorded at an April 1972 session, arranged by Los Angeles Rene Hall. The tape lay dormant for decades. ‘Instant Replay’ is the final of the four to belatedly be issued; the others being funk released on Ace’s BGP label. The group morphed into another outfit called Welfare who had ‘What About The Child’ released (with a name change to Gold) in 1977 on the MRC label. This song is of the highest quality as are the intricate harmony vocals. Advance plays on the Lowrider scene have been very well received.
Released in 1979, "Tutti Fluti" is undoubtedly one of Teddy Lasry’s most unique and poetic albums.
Entirely centered on flutes, of which he is an undisputed master, this record offers a dreamlike dive into
ethereal jazz, naturalistic ambient, and subtle electronic experimentation.
Teddy Lasry, an original member of Magma, is known for his distinctive approach to wind instruments
and synthesizers. As a composer, performer, and texture inventor, he builds here a delicate,
contemplative, and timeless sound world.
On Tutti Fluti, flutes become voices, breath, wind, and a call to the imagination. Accompanied by
luminous keyboards and subtle rhythms, they shape an organic, soft, and introspective music—perfect
for active meditation or immersive listening.
A rare and atypical album, Tutti Fluti now finds its place among the great classics of auteur library
music, between spiritual jazz and the imagined soundtrack of a film never made.
Limited edition – A precious reissue for collectors, dreamer flutists, and sonic explorers.
MCRV019 – VA – Phase Drift. Passage is a graceful and emotionally nuanced four-track journey through modern deep tech house. Blending reimagined echoes of early 2000s deep sounds with forward-thinking production, the release moves between moods and textures with surgical control and quiet sophistication. It’s an EP that balances warmth and restraint, melancholy and motion — built for selectors who appreciate finely tuned emotional arcs.
A1. Stephano Franca – Arriving opens with a fluid, introspective piece. Gentle and melancholic, it glides with cinematic poise, drawing listeners into a state of suspended reflection.
A2. Dot – Distance Call introduces a percussive, tribal undercurrent — earthy and grounded, yet full of bounce. It energizes the space while maintaining depth and groove.
Flipping over, B1. Reenday – Last Call (Nicolas Barnes Remix) brings a refined sense of cold elegance. Dubby and atmospheric, it’s a minimalist piece that evokes distance and stillness — a cool breath in the night.
Closing the release, B2. Jeronimo Watson – On The Prowl is a deep tech gem — emotive, seductive, and sharply detailed. With a slow-burning energy, it brings the record to a confident and composed close.
From Brazilian talent Stephano Franca to Dot and Nicolas Barnes, two of the label’s most precise and consistent producers, and rising standout Reenday, a finalist of the ANTS: NEXT GEN Artist Program 2025, this release represents the current essence of MixCult. It is sealed by the distinct touch of Jeronimo Watson, whose Los Angeles–rooted sound closes the circle with style.
Phase Drift. Passage is not just a collection of tracks — it’s a refined toolkit for navigating emotional shifts and dancefloor narratives, framed by elegance and intention.
Limited Edition.
- Hotel California
- New Kid In Town
- Life In The Fast Lane
- Wasted Time
- Wasted Time (Reprise)
- Victim Of Love
- Pretty Maids All In A Row
- Try And Love Again
- The Last Resort
The moment the instantly recognizable intertwined guitar passage on the title track to the Eagles' Hotel California begins, the record's genius becomes obvious all over again. Ranked the 118th Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone, certified by RIAA as the third best-selling LP in history, and considered the foundation on which the Golden State's mid-‘70s music scene was built, the 1976 landmark is a music staple immune to shifts in trends, eras, and styles. Fearlessly addressing the chaos and consequences of American life, its songs remain strikingly prescient and gain creedence with each passing day.
Mastered from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and limited to 17,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP vinyl box set ensures you will want to permanently check into and never leave this particular Hotel California. Up to the herculean task of standing head and shoulders above all prior reissues, this collectible edition plays with extreme clarity, organic richness, tube-like warmth, massive dynamics, and microscopic levels of detail. You'll be able to practically smell the colitas and feel the breeze in your hair. Songs come across with an epic sweep and feature immersive, front-to-back soundstages that allow the music unprecedented air, roominess, and separation. As for the noise floor? It's basically as invisible as the spirits that waft in the corridors of the unforgettable title song.
Aesthetically, the premium packaging and presentation of the UD1S Hotel California pressing befit its esteemed status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features gorgeous foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendour of the recording. From every angle, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the renowned cover art to the meticulous finishes.
Indeed, the opportunity to zero in on all the particulars of the 26-million-selling Eagles record dubbed "a legitimate rock masterpiece" by vaunted Los Angeles Times scribe Robert Hilburn has never been better. A global phenomenon that marked the band debut of guitarist-singer Joe Walsh, Hotel California continues to resonate and connect with listeners of all generations taken by its narrative depth, stark directness, picturesque melodies, daring majesty, and ardent emotionalism. Adorned with a breathtaking exterior photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel that serves as the simultaneously haunting and alluring cover art, and rounded out by a rear-cover shot of the Lido Hotel lobby that reinforces a notion that teeters between permanence and transience, Hotel California is brilliantly tied to a specific place that functions as a universally understood metaphor for the American Dream.
Confronting the darker undercurrents and oft-ignored constructs attached to that romantic notion, the record's songs revolve around a host of shared themes: excess, mobility, stability, illusion, fame, destruction, and idealism included. Notably, Hotel California appeared at a crucial junction in American history: During the country's bicentennial and amid escalating controversies related to the Vietnam War, energy crisis, and governmental corruption. That the Eagles manage to channel such cultural, social, and economical matters into a cohesive, stately, big-picture statement is alone a stupendous feat. That the album's reach, boldness, vitality, accessibility, and understated intensity have never waned make it a marvel.
Reflecting on Hotel California 40 years after its original release, and indirectly explaining its enduring appeal and increasing relevance, singer-songwriter Don Henley confirmed the record pertains to the "loss of innocence, the cost of naiveté...the difficulties of balancing loving relationships and work, trying to square the conflicting relationship between business and art; the corruption in politics, the fading away of the Sixties dream of ‘peace, love and understanding.'"
It can be argued that Henley and company squarely hit on and drove home those ideas in the surreal title track, chart-topping "Life in the Fast Lane," and grand "The Last Resort" alone. But that would miss the forest for the trees. Experienced as an unbroken whole, complete with the pristinely shot imagery and physical grooves, Hotel California unfolds like a geography-conscious saga by James Michener and plays like colour-saturated movie shot on 70mm film by Martin Scorsese. It's about our collective and individual decisions – and the shape of our past, present, and future. And, just like that conjured by our imaginations, Hotel California continues to take on a life of its own.
More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.
MoFi SuperVinyl
Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.
DJ Support: DJ Sneak, Manuel Sahagun, Jason Hodges, Natural Rhythm & Suburb Beat.
Born into the underground House Music scene of Los Angeles, CA we bring you Tom Carle of Moxy Muzik and Cross Section Music fame.
We’ll keep this short and sweet because the Brooklyn Style EP speaks for itself! You have 3 tracks of down n out funky House Music business and cap it off with the dirty underground banger “This Acid”.
Better hope the floor brought their dancing shoes because the Brooklyn Style EP is straight heat!
Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue Charles Kynard"s 1972 cult classic Woga, recorded in Los Angeles for Mainstream Records and featuring top-tier musicians Chuck Rainey, Paul Humphrey, Arthur Adams, and George Bohanon. Produced by Bob Shad, the album stands as one of the label"s funkiest releases, showcasing Kynard"s signature Hammond organ grooves. Woga is reissued here on vinyl for the first time since its original release, complete with its original gatefold artwork using first-generation session photos. This edition also includes the bonus track "Smiling Faces Sometimes" and comes with newly remastered audio plus a two-page insert featuring new liner notes by Kevin Le Gendre.
The new Lumberjacks "Real Love" by Jerk Boy, Marcel Vogel & Million Miles is a truly intercontinental connection. Started as a seed by Marcel Vogel in Amsterdam, transmitted across half the world to Sydney Australia to be refined by Jerk Boy aka Adam Stivala and refined in Los Angeles by french singer Million Miles and eventually remixed in London by Oliver Night.
"Quit to Play Chess" is the final studio album of Cola Boyy, who tragically passed away in March 2024 after winning the hearts of neo-disco and funk enthusiasts, from Los Angeles to Paris, from Coachella to London.
After a critically acclaimed EP (Black Boogie Neon, 2018), a debut album (Prosthetic Boombox, 2021), and collaborations with the likes of MGMT, Benny Sings and The Avalanches, the self-proclaimed Disabled Disco Innovator was able to finish his new album, groovier than ever.
Without boundaries of styles, tinted with hiphop, R'n'B and drum & bass, and faithful to his very unique flow, Cola Boyy offers one last record in his image: 12 generous, inventive, psychedelic and passionate tracks. An album painting a nuanced yet lyrical portrait of its era, drawing on the diversity of the contemporary world to offer anthems for those who are in lack of them.
The album is a work of goldsmith on the production side, with music craftsmen like Andrew VanWyngarden (MGMT), Jared Solomon (producer of SZA, Lola Young, Remi Wolf, Fousheé...), Nate Fox (Chance The Rapper, Lil Wayne) and Lewis OfMan, who build "Quit to Play Chess" as the most current and genuine project of its author...
- A1: Lovetempo - Same Ole Love (365 Days A Year) (Extended Summer Breeze Mix)
- A2: Nicholas Cangiano - Falling Behind
- A3: Poolside - Ventura Highway Blues (Monsieur Van Pratt Dub)
- B1: Prep & Eddie Chacon - Call It (Turbotito Rem
- B2: Moi Je - Découvre
- B3: Turbotito - Time Starts Moving Slow
- C1: Young Gun Silver Fox - Curious
- C2: B U.m.p. - Give A Little Love A Lot
- C3: Woolfy Vs Projections - Seeds
- C4: 1-900 - Breakin' 84
- D1: Goodvibes Sound - Stay For One More Night (Matt Hughes Remix)
- D2: Moods & Nic Hanson - Music Never Looked So Good Good
- D3: Bowaswell - Over When The Night Is Gone
- D4: Joel Sarakula - Hands Of Love (Phil Martin Remix)
- D5: Kimchii - Do You Ever
lim. 2xLP colored yellow and oxblood vinyl with Poster, Sticker & Mp3 Download!
We are back with another chapter in our ongoing series of unearthing smooth vibes from all over the world, this time we go back to the FUTURE for you with: THE SUNSET MANIFESTO Volume 2. After a five year break mainly concentrating on the late 70s/early 80s Westcoast Soul/Yacht/AOR sound, we finally dive deep into the modern world of our beloved sister-label Too Slow To Disco NEO (for the third time after 2018s TSTD NEO - En France and 2020s The Sunset Manifesto excursions). But of course it wasn't a real 5 year break since the first Sunset Manifesto compilation, as in the meantime we also released a few digital TSTD Neo singles, and - more importantly - our "Too Slow To Disco NEO - FM" playlist on spotify (handcurated by Dj Supermarkt every week and now hosting more than 1500 tracks of mellow, modern sunshine vibes) was growing steadily and becoming a new, important fixpoint in the TSTD musical universe. TSTD NEO is the outlet Dj Supermarkt is using to unearth modern laidback, smooth, sunny slow disco vibes with a soulful Westcoast/Balearic touch. For him TSTD always has been about a laidback vibe/feeling, not a certain time period in musical history. And that sunny Westcoast vibe we dug out on those traditional TSTD compilations has become a huge influence to so many modern artists. So it makes sense that we present the cream of new slo/mo NuDisco/Sunset Disco/Daytime Disco acts in the TSTD format, a luxurious compilation, with artists from all across the globe: Not only from the two homelands of that modern slow disco sound, Los Angeles/California and France, but also from Beijing, Montreal, Mexico, London, New York, Stockholm, Rotterdam… the moon, you name it! This music is more a state of mind, a feeling, then a geographical thing. We are happy and really excited to annouce the following passengers are on board with exclusive tracks: Poolside, Woolfy, Prep & Eddie Chacon, Turbotito, Young Gun Silver Fox, Lovetempo, Kimchii, Goodvibes Sound a.m.m.
Stephen Disario returns to his imprint Conundrum Records with his first release of the year, the Tawa EP. A fixture of the Los Angeles scene, Disario delivers three dark, percussive techno cuts that lean into tribal rhythms and hypnotic energy. Each track is a testament to his razor-sharp drum programming, immersive sound design, and cerebral atmospheres-hallmarks of his evolving sonic identity.
The EP also features a standout remix from rising Brazilian talent Marcal. His Hightimes rework blends dense, chugging grooves with eerie chimes and trance-like, spacey textures, offering a fresh, mind-bending take on the original.
For a glorious ten-year period from 1995 to 2005, hip-hop music received a much-needed shot in the arm from a generation of determined and wildly creative rappers and producers. They rallied against the increasingly formulaic and shallow world of mainstream rap, as well as a music industry unwilling to listen.
By releasing music on their own terms as independent artists—many adopting the mantra of being “independent as fuck” as a mission statement—these hungry creatives reclaimed their artistic freedom and wore it as a badge of honour. Most importantly, they also made a lot of excellent hip-hop. What emerged was a vibrant underground music scene that stretched from New York to Los Angeles, with influence reaching across the world.
Independent As F**: Underground Hip-hop from 1995-2005 explores how a generation of rap artists rebelled against the major record labels and made music on their own terms, celebrating individuality and creative freedom. It also traces the history of some of hip-hop’s most respected artists, including MF DOOM, El-P, Mos Def, Kool Keith, and Madlib.
“Ben is an archivist of the highest regard. His Grown Up Rap pushes the myth and mythology aside for real powerful hip hop facts.” Chuck D
- A1: The Legend Of Zelda (Ocarina Of Time)
- A2: Outset Island (The Wind Waker)
- A3: Mabe Village (Link's Awakening)
- A4: Sword Search (Link's Awakening)
- B1: Song Of Healing (Majora's Mask)
- B2: Inside A House (Series)
- B3: Astral Observatory (Majora's Mask)
- B4: Ballad Of The Wind Fish (Link's Awakening)
- C1: The Great Sea (The Wind Waker)
- C2: King Of Red Lions (The Wind Waker)
- C3: Dragon Roost Island (The Wind Waker)
- C4: Fi's Farewell Song (Skyward Sword)
- D1: Enter The Twilight Realm (Twilight Princess)
- D2: Full Steam Ahead (Spirit Tracks)
- D3: Serenade Of Water (Ocarina Of Time)
- D4: The Legendary Hero (The Wind Waker)
- D5: The Wind Waker (The Wind Waker)
The Deku Trio's cozy Legend of Zelda coffeehouse jazz album
Jazz band The Deku Trio is back for an encore in Zelda & Jazz II, an 18-track smooth jazz Legend of Zelda tribute album. Featuring intimate piano, upright bass, and mellow drums, The Deku Trio reimagines the music of The Legend of Zelda with influences ranging from lounging bossa nova to coffeehouse jazz. Zelda & Jazz II features music from across The Legend of Zelda series. Highlights include Nintendo 64 classics Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time, GameCube releases Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, hand-held titles Link's Awakening and Spirit Tracks, Skyward Sword for the Wii, and the Super Nintendo's A Link to the Past. This wide-ranging tribute is topped off with artwork and character designs by comic and environmental artist Christian Benavides (League of Legends). The brainchild of Rob Araujo (Chillhop) and Chris Davidson (GameChops), The Deku Trio features rich reharmonizations on piano, gentle drums, and lush upright basslines, with mixes by Curran Sinha in Los Angeles.
The Deku Trio crafts an intimate smooth jazz tribute to the timeless Legend of Zelda series.
LOCKJAW is up first with a moody yet optimistic progression through the traffic. There are upbeat and urgent tones just on the dry side of squelch, with arpeggiators emerging from the white noise of the hats’ long tails into clean synth work, as elongated tones gently push their way out of the filter, drawing out against the shorter synth loops that shimmer and echo with tight delays.
AROUND comes in punchier and with more pronounced percussion, gives a sense that something is up, and haze has been left behind.It acts as a precursor to more arpeggiated bass tones, gently meandering as they make their way to menacing metallic chords and modulations, allowing the keys which follow to have a sense of place before you’re pushed back into grooves and reprise.
ADAPT builds a slow and steady groove layered with, rather than punctuated by, metallic soaked chords like Basic Channel in bed with a fever. Vocal loops and lead lines creep their way out of the filter and cymbals gently exhale into, then inhale out of existence, blending with the reverberating chords and sedated pads which weave their way among the foggy reflected tails.
CONTACT slows things back down but punches through harder, with expansive sinister tones from the word go, in a Carpenteresque fashion that suggests it’s now time to make that Escape From Los Angeles. A feeling perpetuated by the vocal samples, pulsing synths and slower arpeggiated bass which act as groundwork for clean, moody strings and chords which perfectly round out this dystopian futurescape.




















