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Words Unspoken, Acts Undone. The passing of time, what has been spoken, now unspoken. All that has been, has been undone.
CW/A present their remarkable debut album, Words Unspoken, Acts Undone. Since their inception CW/A have forged a path through the murky world of electronic music, with a number of releases on Vakant, M_REC and their own Parachute Records. Previously accomplished musicians in their own right, Thomas and Francesco joined forces in 2013 to begin a live project that took the act of performance into the club. Shying away from typical setups so prevalent nowadays, CW/A bring to the club a level of live performance which they've now translated into their first full-length.
Weighing in at 11 tracks the album demonstrates the duos musical heritage of early Warp style bass but also UK Jungle and Downwards-
influenced dub Techno. This isn't an album that looks back with any misty-eyed nostalgia, it respectfully brings its nineties influences straight into 2015, seamlessly weaving from genre to genre with an up-to-date element to the production.
If you're expecting an album of rave breaks or straight up 4/4, you won't find it here, but if you're ready to leave behind that which you've heard already, Words Unspoken, Acts Undone will reward you from the moment you drop the needle.
Words Unspoken, Acts Undone is released on CD and 2x12' on Parachute Records.

There is a purpose behind ambient music: it is utility music. Brian Eno made that clear. If we go by Eno's definition, the music on T.RAUMSCHMIERE's new album is not ambient. Although - or in fact, because - each individual track on this album immediately and effortlessly generates atmospheres, it is impossible not to be drawn in. T.RAUMSCHMIERE sucks the listener into the perceptible endlessness of his pulsating sounds, even though the music does not actually expect anything from the listener. It is not demanding, it does not sound lofty or ethereal. It is in constant movement and evolution while sounding grounded at the same time. The tracks are not weightless; they have body.

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

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

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

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

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

a highly regarded producer and musician who used to be in the midst of the NY metro breeding reactor that spectatuclarely revived and modernized disco and italo disco since the turn of the century and added some hotliped live brass to their platters and whose sought after releases under his own appear appear much to rarely dons his house cloak and dagger for 3 sneaky new chapters on story. not wasting any time on unnecessary nicety the a-side track will send up a whole colony of ants right up your pants riding on a steamrolling percussive disco groove garnished with cut up vocals and fx trickery. B2 is another chicago style wedding of disco and house with a jubilant, string backed female vocal snippet tweaked over a heavy groove while the first track on the flip is a subterrenean, groaning dub house affair that reminds of a slowed down John Ciaffone banger. no matter which chapter you jump to here it puts you right into the action.

For the second installment in their 12' series Music From Memory present two deeply forward thinking electronic tracks from British musician Michal Turtle made between 1983-4.
The first track 'Are you Psychic' is taken from Turtle's obscure 'Music From The Living Room' album which Michal recorded literally in the living room of his family's South London house at the young age of 22.

Over-running his parents' front room with various synthesizers, amps and instruments, and setting up a portable four track studio the 'Music From The Living Room' tracks were built around live jams that took place alone or sometimes with musicians he would invite to play alongside him. Whilst seemingly sample based the instruments were played live and any voices or sound effects were actually recorded directly to tape, or put onto tiny 2.5 second cassette loops.

'Astral Decoy' was made in the year following the release of his only solo LP and forms part of a series of unreleased tracks that reflect a growing interest in combining electronics with more analogue elements such as Xylophone and live percussion. At the same timce this track draws inspiration from the sound of electro and boogie which Michal had become greatly interested in at the time, and in particular the work of musicians such as Grandmaster Flash.

With access to the archives of the many recordings made at his family home, this 12' serves as an introduction to a wider compilation of Michal Turtles works which is to follow on Music From Memory.

The stage is set from minute one on Clay Wilson's new 4-track EP, "Skandha," his second release for The Bunker New York.
The eponymous first track begins with a familiar techno throb, but is quickly overcome by a blooming swirl of coruscating synthesizer pulses that seem to gather inside the listener's head, a phenomenon Wilson seems particularly interested in: "I've never been into really straightforward club techno that works in neat 8- and 16-bar sequences," he says. "I'm always looking for things that have forward momentum, ways to escape that 'block-y,' downbeat-centric feeling that you find in so much contemporary techno. For me, it's the drone—what's going on in the background—that serves to hold my interest."

Nowhere is this more apparent than on the record's second track, "Cataleptic." The meat of the track is its tightly-wound techno core built from insistent, hypnotic percussion, but it's what's happening in the background that keeps you coming back for more: The sound of a babbling brook and a plaintive, meandering bird call ("the only actual recorded animal sounds on the record," notes Wilson) gently give way to the tintinnabulation of a distant bell, whose meditative timbre brings to mind a Tibetan singing bowl. It turns out that the naturalistic, organic sounds in many of Wilson's tracks are often just that: "I make field recordings all the time, actually—on my phone," he says. "I've found field recordings have been a great way to pull things along, never repeating themselves, but also never being so upfront as to draw your attention away from the synths and drums."

That's a key point, and make no mistake—for all the flora and fauna lurking in the background of Wilson's productions, they're designed for the dancefloor through and through. "Feres," the EP's third track, slows down the pace a little bit, keeping time with a static kick-hat pattern while chunky, stepped percussion laid on top makes the track feel remarkably dynamic. The final cut, "Pict," seems to slowly unfurl like flowers at dawn, while a ghostly vocal sample (or merely something approaching it) repeats itself underneath it all.

While at times the drawn-out shimmering tones in Wilson's work may recall modern minimalism, "getting into techno, and more specifically techno production, was kind of a way for me to get away from (formal, classical musical) training," he recalls. "I had been headed down an open-minded, anything-goes path with a compositionally-geared approach, and ... all those paths led to techno." And for that, we're glad.

MISS KITTIN & THE HACKER are the Electro duo of CAROLINE HERVE and MICHEL AMATO from Grenoble, France. The pair met during the early '90s at a rave and soon after bought turntables and began DJing. In 1996, they began writing music heavily influenced by '80s synth and post-punk bands like Fad Gadget, DAF, Liaisons Dangeuresues, and Yazoo, as well as Italo Disco. Bored by the techno scene at the time, they set out out to lighten the serious tone and bring a campy sexiness to the dour musical landscape. Upon hearing their demos DJ Hell signed them to his Munich-based International DJ Gigolo label and released their first 2 EPs in 1998 and 1999. Their debut album First Album was released in 2001. Lost Tracks Vol. 1 contains 4 previously unreleased demos recorded between 1997 and 1999. The duo fused '80s European New Wave/Italo Disco with '90s Detroit Electro acts like Le Car and Dopplereffekt. By utilizing verse-chorus structures, they playfully shook up the loop based hard techno and electro that was popular at the time. Their studio set up at the time was a Korg MS-20, Roland SH-101, TR-606, TR-808, Siel DK80, and Boss DR-660 drum machine. The songs are direct, spontaneous, seemingly improvised in places. Miss Kittin sings about falling in love with an alien, sexy nightlife in Berlin, and explicit S&M leather play, all in her cheekily derisive French accent All songs have been transferred from the original DAT tapes by the band and mastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The vinyl comes housed in a glossy jacket featuring a black and white photo of the duo taken in 1996. Each LP includes a postcard with liner notes from Miss Kittin and The Hacker designed by Eloise Leigh. As Miss Kittin says of these demos, 'We were naive, innocent, adventurous and we didn't expect anything in return."

Reissue of a unknown b-side of an early Belgian trance outfit release. Before they made euro trance they made this heavenly balearic gem. It screamed for Lauer remixes and he provided...
Unless you have been sleeping it should be pretty obvious that WPH head honcho Red D has a weak spot for early Belgian trance stuff. Before trance was even known as trance that is... The early 90ies were the post new beat era in Belgium and loads of producers were experimenting with new sounds to steer away from the blatantly commercial new beat chart stuff. So that's when the magic started happening.

One of these producer outfits was The Mackenzie, who on their very first releases covered a territory somewhere between new beat, Chicago house and Balearic sounds. None of these tracks really 'hit', but some 25 years later WPH shows you that true timeless quality always resurfaces. 'No Promises' is simply a divine piece of work from start to finish and should become that underground summer hit played by any DJ worth his or her salt when it comes to putting melody over beats. One listen to this one and it's easy to see why German stronghold Lauer was the go to man for some remix action. Lauer brings you a different take and a classic cover version of the original.

As a little bonus Locked Groove & Red D made an edit of a remix done by The Mackenzie in that same period. I think you will agree that both these tracks were made to be on one E.P. Trust WPH to bring it back in a different way!



[C] b1 | The Right Side (Locked Groove & Red D's Exotische Edit)

Requiem for a dreamstate. It's possibly somewhere between heaven, hell and high water, down the Thames Delta towards Eden. It may involve techno and a distorted state or simply mates sat listening to music together, drifting on the open sea of their minds. This is Jon Hopkins' world, not so much joining the dots as colouring the whole damn picture in.

After releasing his debut album 'Opalescent' at the rookie age of 21 in 1999, he's gone on to work with Brian Eno and David Holmes, produced King Creosote and via Eno, worked on three Coldplay albums. He released the breakthrough album 'Immunity' in 2013, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

The story arc with which Hopkins succeeded on 'Immunity' makes its appearance on Late Night Tales too with a perfectly sculpted excursion on this widescreen mix. . Opening with the unreleased 'Sleepers Beat Theme' by composer Ben Lukas Boysen, ghostly pianos skip elegantly hither and thither, among rising strings, as on Darkstar's 'Hold Me Down'. Nils Frahm is here, his sonic palette perfect for the job, while labelmate A Winged Victory For The Sullen contribute 'Requiem For The Static King Part I'. Sigur Ros offshoot Jónsi & Alex's heroic 'Daniell In The Sea' sends us forth towards the Baltic with tears streaming.

Beats occasionally appear, as on the Grace Jones-sampling 'Yr Love' by Holy Other or the pair of Black Country acts Bibio and Letherette, whose 'After Dawn' is almost spry in comparison to the minor key symphonies on display here. The perfect contrast to this comes from Alela Diane's wistful 'Lady Divine' or even Four Tet's mesmerising 'Gillie Amma I Love You', with its enchanting kids' choir. Exclusive to this release, Jon Hopkins provides a startlingly vulnerable new piano version of Yeasayer's 'I Remember'.

Poet and fellow Brian Eno collaborator (their joint album 'Drums Between The Bells' was released by Warp in 2011) Rick Holland narrates the exclusive spoken word closer 'I Remember', underpinned with additional sound design by Hopkins.

"Putting this album together was a unique opportunity for me to present music that I have been listening to for years, free from the constraints of a club setting or from trying to stick to one genre. I chose tracks not just because they have been important to me but because of how they sit together, putting as much thought into the transitions and overall narrative as I did into the track choices. I mixed by key and by texture more than anything else, using original sound design, pivot notes, and often recording new synth or piano parts to link things together in a way that flows as naturally as possible." - Jon Hopkins, December 2014

There is something singularly unique and peculiar in the degree to which seemingly unsettling themes and extreme taboos have been explored, most notably in the medium of film, in the land of Nippon. Free from the constraints of reality, notions of grotesque brutality, torture, fetishism, and sadomasochism, to name a few, have oftentimes served as driving motifs in the examination of the true nature of violence latent in the most repressed reaches of the human mind. Concurrently, in the realm of electronic music, many Japanese producers have often been able to cultivate and harness a daring yet distinctly refined and inimitable form of organized sonic chaos, one almost instantly recognizable to the occidental ear. The music of Tomohiko Sagae, and in particular his latest contribution to Furanum's catalogue, The Spurt of Blood, is perhaps a quintessential example of the confluence of the former themes and latter medium.
At the outset of the record, the beholder is faced with the 'Vacant Eyes' of a staggering monstrosity, a subdued and subjugated automata in the midst of a bleak dystopia, nearly lifeless but for the grudgingly conceded advance of its death march. As a battery of gratuitous aural violence led by a dominant synth is rapidly unleashed in the subsequent composition, a growing malaise transforms into fractured bone and psyche alike, with no distinction made anymore between the tearing of metal, flesh, or the fabric of the mind. Culminating in 'Severe Pain', with limits of endurance breached and descent into madness the only seeming form of respite, relentlessly rolling drums and hauntingly sublime howls provide the context for the dawning realization of pain as a virtue in and of itself, when a demented pleasure and the exhilarative liberation that lies therein begins to emerge. In the final act, reinterpreted by Furanum stalwarts Uncto, roles are tellingly reversed as the vacant eyes of the victim become that of the oppressor. With cold-blooded precision, the original is reengineered into a force of merciless domination, its elements machined and recalibrated for pure power.Words: PSD

Reminiscent of a time where we were releasing 4-tracks sampler every month (remember the Secret Gems From The Vault) It is naturally that we thought about a various artists sampler in order to introduce the new wild bunch,

Julian M, is french and is taking over right now, releasing here his first track on Briquerouge, But the man is no beginner, having released on Catwash, Homecoming, Denote, to name but a few and of course recently on our own RZ Muzik, His music is deep, acid, techy and ready to please any crowd, Ange Siddhar is working for Laboratory Records and works with legendary artists such as Ron Carroll, Paul Johnson or Chris Count and now teams up with Illan Nicciani on several House project, They have a strong vinyl lovers community following their releases and just joined the label with 'The Show'

Jepe was one half of John Waynes who already release on Brique Rouge and is now one of the most respected producer from Portugal, Actually living in Berlin, he has released on Get Physical, Blossom Kollektiv or MuleMuziq, Jepe's tracks have a very high level of quality, True House Music,

And last but not least, our good friend from Switzerland, mr Salvatore Freda, With the machine-driven futurism of Detroit in his step, and the bounce of Chicago in his shadow, Salvatore Freda is a pure vinyl DJ from Lausanne, Switzerland. With a production career that began in 1997, Freda has built up an impressive discography over the years. His music has touched some of techno and house's most respected labels including Trapez, Music Man Records, Liebe Detail, Freerange, Area Remote, Push Communications, Dessous, Nightvision, and Cadenza.

Early Support:

Dubfire / Nacho Marco / Matthias Vogt / Tyree Cooper / Ame / Clive Henry / Renato Cohen / llorca / Blacksoul & many more

Bell Gardens combines the musical visions of Kenneth James Gibson (formerly of Furry Things, now recording as
*Bell Gardens' origins began arguably as more of an experiment than the duo's current 'experimental' projects - McBride's drone- and string-laden ambient symphonies, and Gibson's ventures in dub and minimalist techno - as they sought to manifest their mutual reverence for folk, psychedelia and chamber pop in a traditional band structure without cannibalising any particular past genre. Bell Gardens' sound is less reliant on effects and studio trickery than the pairs' independent guises, laying bare as it does vocals and live instruments with emotional sincerity, and presenting songs imbued with an almost pastoral or gospel simplicity and timelessness.
Slow Dawns for Lost Conclusions was again recorded mostly at home studios, but additionally the band made use of a friend's desert cabin in Wonder Valley, California, and it seems this willingness to retreat from the city has lent an expansiveness to the tracks, in particular the spacious, ceremonial 'Silent Prayer' (written in a snowbound mountain cabin in Idyllwild, C.A.) and the crepuscular 'She's Stuck in an Endless Loop of Her Decline' (mapped out under the stars in the desert).
While the addition of strings (contributed by Lauren Chipman of The Rentals and The Section Quartet) and trumpet (Stewart Cole of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros) provides a double rainbow of tonal textures throughout, the nine tracks of Slow Dawns for Lost Conclusions are united by an understated elegance belying the newly expanded, communal effort in the studio: each instrument earns its place, nothing is overwrought or conspicuous. Moreover, it is McBride and Gibson's artistry in building stirring soundscapes from the barest of materials in their other guises that lends such assurance and sophistication to these arrangements.
The band is a result of the complimentary cross-pollination of Gibson and McBride's musical tastes - borne from a late-night conversation between the two that grew wings - and it is the universality of the sentiments and their restrained, reflective approach to writing and recording that allows the music to simultaneously straddle the past and the present. The music avoids pastiche, its pedal steel, sleigh bells and harmonies giving a nod to the ghosts of musical genres past, but never overriding or distracting from the emotional content of the sum of its parts.
The album ends with the glorious 'Take Us Away' - one of the first demos Gibson gave McBride when he was on tour with Stars of the Lid - neatly bringing their work to date full circle and exemplifying the band's mindfulness of their own serendipitous beginnings: the dawning of an auspicious, unique musical force.

Bell Gardens - Take Us Away -
Harmonies alert!! Actually, this is rather lovely. Slow-tempo, just the right side of 'twee' and packed full of strings, as if Air and Midlake had been taking balloon trips over the mid-West and sprinkling good-vibes dust across the land. From L.A. and subconsciously plugged into the '60s dream-pop scene, taking in a little bit of Mercury Rev and Brendan Perry en route, stopping off at Pearls Before Swine and Big Star's house for inspiration, before getting stoned with '70s era Brian Eno and Harold Budd.

Erlend Øye is a skinny nerd, but maybe that's what makes him a pop star. His huge thick spectacle-lenses act as an interface between his inner life and his numerous collaborators and fans. Erlend Øye is a travelling singer-songwriter, who has been making music in various constellations since the late nineties. He sang for Röyksopp, while his own bands are Kings of Convenience and The Whitest Boy Alive, who recently split up. A laid back, everyday vibe runs through Erlend Øye's music. Erlend is not larger than life, at the most his songs may be. The pop star from next-door doesn't make any drama, but leaves that to life itself. His relaxed, laid back sound opens your eyes and ears for places, situations and encounters. A certain mournfulness runs through the songs, although they deal with a longing for self-fulfilment. Erlend sings of loneliness, and in doing so, he creates a 'we'. Until now Erlend's projects have often been based on simple concepts - two guitars and two vocals with Kings of Convenience, and four instruments with The Whitest Boy Alive. With his new solo album he frees himself of these parameters; for the first time everything is possible, for the first time Erlend Øye stands alone. The songs on 'Legao' were arranged and recorded with the Icelandic reggae band Hjálmar.

The magic of 'Legao' lies in the fact that Erlend's vulnerable vocals and his sincere lyrics are supported by the elegance and consistency of the band. Today roughness is often used to counterbalance roughness, whereas on Legao a equilibrium is sought - and found. A simplicity, clarity and minimalism is created that is rarely found in pop music. Erlend Øye has grown up. He accomplishes nothing less than the step towards an independent, free-standing solo musician, who can perform in any constellation - with a band, orchestra or alone with a guitar.

#3 Live Act of 2013 at Resident Advisor, one of the most in demand remixers around, a total of 156 gigs in 2013, releases for Rush Hour, Ovum, Macro; booked out months in advance from Berghain to Ibiza to the main electronic festivals ... KiNK: Arguably the world of dance music has not witnessed anyone else rising so clearly from bottom to top just by the centrifugal force of sheer talent. Being based in Sofia, Bulgaria, without a support network, a campaign or any media hype, his music alone - live and in the studio - created a momentum whose end we have yet to see. Lenin said: 'Communism is Soviet power + electrification of the whole country.' Hardly did Lenin suspect what an inspired take on these words could do: post-socialist techno. A child of 80's late socialism, KiNK grew up on the home computers Bulgaria's IT scientists had created by backwards-engineering Western technology. Fueled by nuclear energy on the edge of desaster, a whole generation of kids was trained to hack. Dance music gradually dripping in through early dial-up internet connections, the acoustic fingerprints of distant parties put Eastern producers from KiNK to Nina Kraviz to Vakula under a spell. Yet KiNK spent years of backwards-engineering the sounds of Detroit, Chicago and early Warp.

Visibility Is A Trap is the new EP by Dalhous, comprised of four originals together with a masterfully understated Regis remix of 'He Was Human And Belonged With Humans'. The EP heralds the arrival of the Edinburgh-based project's sophomore album, Will To Be Well, due out on Blackest Ever Black in early Summer 2014. Dalhous first announced its existence in 2012 with the Mitchell Heisman 10', and last year released its debut full-length: An Ambassador For Laing. Both Visibility Is A Trap and the upcoming Will To Be Well LP reflect writer-producer Marc Dall's continued interest in the language and imagery of self-help, R.D. Laing and the anti-psychiatry movement. Though recorded after Will To Be Well, the tracks on Visibility Is A Trap at first appear to have more in common with the blue ethereal drift of Ambassador. While 'Information Is Forever' and 'A Change Of Attitude' are firmly in the ambient mode, 'Active Discovering' fizzes with arpeggiated energy, and a battery of percussion disrupts the calm surface of 'Sight Of Hirta'. Something is up. All is not as it seems. The Regis remix of Ambassador highlight 'He Was A Human And Belonged With Humans' finds Karl O'Connor in unusually pensive mood. In fact this near-beatless, dubwise version is unlike anything he has put his name to before. Discarding the rhythmic skeleton of Dalhous's original, he gives their weeping saxophone more space to roam and resonate, adding off-beat, sleep-deprived keys, murmured vocal fragments and swells of sub-bass pressure. It could be construed as a love letter to his former home in West Berlin; certainly it evokes and effortlessly updates the drugsick grandeur of later Neubauten or Low side 2.

TERRANOVA returns to the fore with the HEADACHE EP, another impressive assortment of floor-ready house weaponry - after the sublime sophistication of the PAINKILLER EP (KOMPAKT 262) and its accompanying remixes (FM X/PAIN 001), the new material shoves the pendulum back into more rugged club territory, showcasing the sort of sonic urgency and rawness the legendary project has become known for in the first place.

As missing links between the dystopian pop of TERRANOVA's turn-of-the-century work and the slick kinetic drama of their current incarnation on Kompakt, the three cuts of the HEADACHE EP congenially continue the multi-layered, nifty thrust of 2012's house nouveau epic HOTEL AMOUR (KOMPAKT 248 CD 95), but also manage to evoke the wonderstruck immediacy of an act burning through its first speakers. This becomes particularly manifest with the deployment of CATH COFFEY as vocalist for title track HEADACHE (also a primer for TERRANOVA's upcoming full-length). A member of iconic British rap outfit Stereo MCs in the early 90s and collaborator of Tricky, the singer was featured on TERRANOVA's initial outings and is a well-established presence in their early work. On the new 12", she reintroduces her unique brand of battle-hardened, deadpan soulfulness to the searing funk of the reinvigorated project.

HEADACHE, a cover of a song from Birmingham's iconic and controversial postpunk outfit The Au Pairs, as well as its instrumental sequel HEADLOCK are both fuelled by the propulsive beats and upscale hooks we've grown to expect from TERRANOVA, but there seems to be something else at work, too - a somewhat darker undercurrent that may or may not be part of the actual arrangement. In any case, this adds much-needed depth to today's dance floors, providing them with a riveting soundtrack for the most intense of prime times. There's no need for EP closer TOURETTE to hide behind its compatriots, either: it's a full-blown thrill ride in its own right, brimming with jittery sampling, arresting percussion and some pretty rad bassline abrasiveness thrown in for good measure. A well-placed shot at the dancer's solar plexus, this wraps up the HEADACHE EP nicely, giving players and punters another perfectly valid reason for post-apocalyptic celebration.

It's always a treat here at Circus Company to be able to shed the light on a lesser known talent. After all, it's a philosophy we have built the label on, but there's no denying we need to have that personal connection with the artists whose music we release. In the case of San Francisco act Moniker, our own dear Dave Aju has a previous history with Kenneth Scott from the duo, having lent some vocals to his 2009 jam 'What Do I Do' So it is that we come to release this, the first fully fledged vinyl offering from Scott and his studio partner Emilio Orlandi after years spent treating Californian crowds to their live, hardware-driven sound. The machines definitely rule the roost in the world of Moniker, but unlike so much of the current obsession with analogue noise and the lo-fi aesthetic, Scott and Orlandi instead coax heartfelt emotion and hand-crafted grooves from an array of beat boxes and synthesisers without making any self-conscious moves to demonstrate how .undigita' they are. Instead, the music takes priority, coming forth in soothing waves of harmonious chords, captivating leads and understated drums that speak volumes for simplicity and soul within deep house. The live aspect of Moniker's mission undoubtedly shines through, manifesting itself in smart switch-ups and breakdowns, impulsive edits and subtle variations that can only result from an on-the-fly jam. Mainly though, this is an exercise in satisfaction, speaking to the same pleasure neurons that would have been tickled the first time you heard Metro Area. In keeping with the warm tones of the original material, Patrice Scott makes for a thoroughly welcome addition to the fold.

*The product of a move from South Carolina to Berkeley, CA and the subsequent extended separation from loved ones, Toro Y Moi's third full-length, Anything in Return, puts Chaz Bundick right in the middle of the producer/songwriter dichotomy that his first two albums established.
*There's a pervasive sense of peace with his tendency to dabble in both sides of the modern music-making spectrum, and he sounds comfortable engaging in intuitive pop production and putting forth the impression of unmediated id.
*The producer's hand is prominent- not least in the sampled "yeah"s and "uh"s that give the album a hip-hop-indebted confidence- and many of the songs feature the 4/4 beats and deftly employed effects usually associated with house music. Tracks like "High Living" and "Day One" show a considerably Californian influence, their languid funk redolent of a West Coast temperament, and elsewhere- not least on lead single, "So Many Details"- the record plays with darker atmospheres than we're used to hearing from Toro Y Moi. Sounding quite assured in what some may call this songwriter's return to producer-hood, Anything in Return is Bundick uninhibited by issues of genre, an album that feels like the artist's essence.
*Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Chaz Bundick has been toying with various musical projects since early adolescence. Having spent his formative years playing in punk and indie rock acts, his protean Toro Y Moi project has been his vessel for further musical exploration since 2001. During his time spent studying graphic design at the University of South Carolina, Chaz became increasingly focused on his solo work, incorporating electronics and allowing a wider range of influences- French house, Brian Wilson's pop, 80s R&B, and Stones Throw hip-hop- to show up in his music. By the time he graduated in spring 2009, Chaz had refined his sound to something all his own. Music journals across the board touted his hazy recordings as the sound of the summer, and he released his debut album, Causers of This in early 2010.
*Since then, Bundick has proven himself to be not just a prolific musician, but a diverse one as well, letting each successive release broaden the scope of the Toro Y Moi oeuvre. The funky psych-pop of 2011's Underneath the Pine evinced an artist who could create similar atmospheres even without the aid of source material and drum machines. His Freaking Out EP, a handful of singles and remixes, and a retrospective box-set plot points all along the producer/songwriter spectrum in which he's worked since his debut, and Anything In Return is another exciting offering that shows he's still not ready to settle into any one genre.

Tigersushi surprise us and drop a new 12" from label boss, Joakim... 2 Gloriously Produced Tracks, As Usual...!
Almost 2 years have passed since Joakim released Nothing Gold. Not that he's been lazy. Those 2 years have probably been the busiest for the tall Musician/producer/DJ/label manager who produced numerous bands in his Fountain Studio in Paris (Zombie Zombie, Montevideo, Alba Lua, Acid Washed and more...). Joakim also did a few remixes (Aeroplane, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lescop, Arsenal, Renaissance Man...) ans recorded a collaboration EP with Kindness that was the debut release on his new label Crowdspacer. Not to mention the constant touring, running Tigersushi records and a move from Paris to New York city!

Since Joakim has 4 hands, he also managed to start recording some material for a new album between 2 recording sessions and just before he had to move his studio out, he finished those 2 tracks : the slow, claustrophobic but hopeful « Heartbeats » and « Another Light » which brings that subtle typical melancholy to the clubs.

Now Joakim is setting up a mini home studio in his flat in NYC, somehow going back to his roots when he started making music at his parents house with a cheap keyboard more than 10 years ago. Usually in the music business, artists release a first single once the album is finished and start a promo campaign from there. But Joakim doesn't really understand the music business (don't tell anyone!), so he decided to release those 2 tracks without having any more finished material for his upcoming album nor an idea of what it will be like. In those times when everything is instant, he'd rather release new material leading to an album while the tracks are finished. Just like a work in progress you will witness an album taking shape before your ears.
This is a way to bypass the traditional rhythm of an album launch when everything needs to be done and ready months before the actual release, which usually results in the author being already bored and working on something else when the music comes out.