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Our first long-player for 2019, Daze Island, by French producer Malouane, is a seasonally-appropriate departure for Let's Play House that's more summertime meditation than dance-floor ammo.

Across these ten tracks, Malouane takes us on new age-indebted journeys down cobblestone paths banked with flowering cherry blossom, to clear-sky tropical beach sunsets, on hang glider flights across endless fields of golden wheat. As the LP progresses, the tempo picks up and the ambient washes and puffs of pads pull back to make way for dancier rhythms, but even in these moments, Daze Island is a tranquil affair, pressed first and foremost with a desire to independently explore the mysterious worlds within.

Third studio album from French kraut / experimental / psychedelic act Le Réveil des Tropiques after two opus on Music Fear Satan. LP with obi-strip.

After almost 10 years of existence, two studio albums and a series of live recordings, the exploration by Le Réveil Des Tropiques of the psychedelic worlds takes this time the form of a hybrid record mixing recordings from different eras and contexts: scenes, studios, abandoned factory or even in the middle of nature.

Conceived as an experience of multiple lives, the arrangement of these elements by superimpositions or contrasts echoes the different experiences of the soul as well as the encounters that each makes (or re-made) during his passage on Earth and that does not not only due to chance ...

Named in reference to this mechanical device to synchronize several displacements, and illustrated by Valentin Pinel through the reinterpretation of an engraving of alchemists of the seventeenth century, "L'Arbre à Cames" will lead the listener between several grids of readings that he will be free to interpret and apprehend both as a heterogeneous entity and as a single piece.

Following the reissue of ZiadRahbani's "Abu Ali" album, Wewantsounds is pursue its exploration of great Lebanese music with the reissue of "Wahdon," released in 1978 by legendary Middle Eastern diva Fairuz and recorded during the Abu Ali sessions and including the Lebanese dancefloor cult classic “Al Bostah“. 1978 is a turning point for the Lebanese Diva. The 70s had seen her rise as an international star, playing sold out concerts in the US and in Europe, and appearing on national TV in France. She had had a long-lasting artistic collaboration with her husband AssiRahbani and his brother Elias (aka The Rahbani Brothers) who, together, had penned most of the singer's classics. In 1978, Assi who had suffered a brain haemorrhage in 1972 got weaker and the collaboration finally ended (together with their personal relationship). Their 22 year old son Ziad took over Fairuz's musical reins and set to work on their first album together, "Wahdon" ("Alone"), serving as her mother's producer, composer and musicaldirector. Wahdon typifies this key moment in Fairuz's career when she switched from traditional to more modern arrangements. The first side of the album encapsulates the more traditional side of the singer with such mesmerising songs as "Habaitak Ta Neseet Al Naoum" ("I loved you so much i forgot to sleep") or "Ana Indi Haneen" ("I'm Nostalgic"), filled with gorgeous arabic strings and percussion. The Second side though is a whole different affair. Recorded in Athens at the EMI Greece studio at the same time as the Abu Ali sessions, the two long tracksbrings a hipper, contemporary funk and disco feel that has made the album such a collector's item with DJs and diggers around the world. Clocking at almost nine minutes "Al Bostah" ("The Bus") tells the story a woman in love remembering a bus journey with her lover under a scorching heat, enhanced by an hypnotic uptempofunkified disco beat, while "Wahdon" brings a slower and jazzier underlay to Fairuz's superb singing. These tracks shocked some of the diva's fans at the time but they've since passed the test of time and have become highly sought after. Whadon has since become both aclassic Fairuz album and a cult ZiadRahbani production that Wewantsounds isdelighted to bring to a wider audience for the first time.

Where To Now? Records present the debut release from Akiko Haruna. Akiko’s world is one where cacophonic distress lingers, shuffling itself over scapes of percussive damage and driven groove. Akiko presents a fresh take on the current Technoid function through her use of emotive and intentionally disruptive vocal chops and a dizzying ‘wall of sound’ approach to the dancefloor, consuming all yet somehow keeping vibes alive.

Akiko’s artistic background is primarily in Dance, and undoubtedly this performance led background has had an acute impact on her approach to melodic detail & storytelling. Akiko’s tracks rapidly shift & morph states, always restless and searching with fluidity and intent. From the ever present Micro Electronic details to sweeping swathes of Bass flutter the notion of progressive movement remains at the forefront of her sound, minute elements of detail become briefly isolated, intentionally directing the listener to their subtle presence.

‘Delusions’ Leads with ‘A Mother’s Love’ and begins a theme of resentment and dissonance. The Japanase vocal cuts throughout the track roughly translate to “you should die”, here obviously flipping assumed and supposed relationship rules and roles and exposing an inner turmoil, reflected through a continuous anxiety ridden, almost panicked siren detail which pulses over Akiko’s heads down, deep and uniform forward march.

‘Husband Established’ and the opens with the emotive vocal line “I just hate your Voice”. This is the sound of a poisonous & damaging relationship hurtling towards combustion, where Akiko’s elements gather momentum and impact as layer upon layer of detail pummel and puncture this heightened state, pausing and spiralling to evoke a standoff of aggression and imminent outburst. ‘Husband Established’ stands as a frankly stunning piece of sound design, which manages to capture a raw human emotion, and provide release for the associated junk, stress, and occasional banality of Relationship angst.

‘Hetero’ picks up where ‘Husband Established’ finished, further exploring societal character types and submissive gender tropes that are thrust into our sub consciousness from day to day. The concept of Hyperreality and its themes are continuously explored within Akiko’s practice and It would perhaps be fair to say that these themic explorations within her Music are Akiko’s own outlet for traversing human relationships within a complex, heightened, & layered reality, and it is certainly Akiko’s intention for her audience to feel some kind of relief and release within her sound world. Sonically ‘Hetero’ is a much sparser, subtler affair, where swathes of sampled voice & machine swing in and out of focus, against a weightless backdrop of affecting isolated electronics.

The EP closes with ‘Ripehus Alley’, seemingly void of any deeper meaning or message this serves more as a dreamlike parting song to what is otherwise a highly charged collection. Floating itself away from a frantic & incomprehensible world into a calmer space for final thought and reflection. ‘Delusions’ is a complex, exploratory trip, one which fans of Logos, Fis, Alva Noto, Jlin, Jesse Osborne-Lanthier etc will relish exploring.

rendon Moeller is an artist that needs no introduction. The South African born living in the US, like few of his generation constantly challenges himself with new concepts and ideas, has incorporated techno, dub, jazz, ambient, sound design, to his works throughout the years. Never chased the limelight, but instead the work, one idea after the next, one project after the other, restless. He has collaborated with labels like Echocord, Third Ear, Electric Deluxe, Prologue, Mord to name some. "Materialize" is his first work for Vibrant Music.
From his early days in various bands in the 80's and 90's, Brendon liked indie, shoegaze, ambient, moody, cinematic scapes.
With Materialize he came full circle, reaching out to his early influences, but with the knowledge and experience of many years of exploration of modular synths, to create a concept space that feels intimate, and at the same time vivid evoking visual imaging.
It explores the time space through a minimalist, stoic approach.
It tells the story of how we are all linked into this tree of music we call electronic music, wherever each one is coming from.
A celebration of life through the mind of one of today's scholars of electronic music.
A liberation from the strictness of tempo and metronomes, to reach to a more creative state.
Vibrant Music continuous the quest, to bring to you unique collaborations and sides of artists that we like.

Warsaw-based Bartosz Kruczyński returns as Earth Trax to Phonica’s main label, following on from last year’s well received ‘L’Avventura’ 12”, this time in collaboration with regular production partner Newborn Jr.

The pair have created a string of brilliant records together, such as ‘Sax & Flute’ on Rhythm Section, ‘Mirage’ on Les Yeux Orange and ‘If You’ on Shall Not Fade. Bartosz also has a growing solo discography under his own name, along with a variety of aliases such as The Phantom, Pejzaz, and of course; Earth Trax.

The A side here leads with the title track ‘Truth’, in which rose-tinted reminiscences of the golden early 90s era of House music echo, with dubbed out diva vocals cascading over wide snares, 303 acid lines and that almighty bassline, appearing through shimmering delays and reverbs in a vision of bygone nights at the Hacienda or Shelleys. Next up is the ‘Back Alley mix’ or a traditional dub mix - everything you need from the main mix but less vocal and more plays on THAT bassline with dub effects.

On the flip, as its title suggests, ‘Old Way, New Way’ bridges the gap, combing the same bassline driven Chicago house stylings with the deep new age textures that have characterised previous releases from the pair, flutes and pads floating sweetly above jacking drum grooves, reminiscent of mid-90s Italo House. Finally, ‘And Then’ fulfils the transformation, with ethereal late night pads enveloping a more lofi rhythm section and more flute for a more subtle, end of night Don Carlos ‘Alone’ feel.

Leoparden's first appearance is a groovy 45 featuring the soulful uplifting 'Boliglan', and the funky moog jam 'Rist Skjelettet'.

A real treat for the dancefloor, presented in limited 7" form by Norwegian label Lyskestrekk Records!

SAFT is proud to present a re-release of a sought after disco classic from 1979. Carlos Romanos' 1-2-1 is without a doubt one of the highly regarding dancefloor classics from the heydays of the genre. With a length of 5.30 this brass infused stomper is club friendly, positive and drenching with Latin influenced percussion sounds.

As the original version has been available as a 7" as well as a 12" release, the new edition will appear on a 12" record only and includes a hypnotic 'Sotofett' formula dub on the B-side that spans ten minutes and maximises the percussive nature of the original to create a psychedelic voyage that builds and builds whilst generating a threatening atmosphere around the brass, vocals and perc hits of the original.

A roaring guitar gives 1-2-1 a bizarre but signature Sotofett treatment which shouldn't be missing from any adventurous record collection. 1-2-1 including DJ Sotofett's formula dub will be available from all specialised retailers from the summer of 2019.

Ten releases in, and STILL far better than the rest

In a more raucous mood, it seems Bitter End have pre-empted the summer of debauchery ahead of us by unleashing their Sweetest exorcism yet...
ITCHICRICKITCH is the tweaking weirdo in the corner, the unsettling presence that invariably unites the room in the simplistic joy of judgement free release.

'PRINCESS' appeared on the flipside of a frankly far more regal diva originally on GALL005, here she's the smudged mascara version, much stroppier and not due home 'til way after sunrise.


As always, limited and LOUD

Southern Lord announce the next Caspar Brötzmann Massaker reissues in the ongoing series, continuing with Der Abend Der Schwarzen Folklore and Koksofen this July. Read on for more insight into these albums, and for information about incoming live dates supporting Sunn O))).

Caspar Brötzmann is one of the most unique and innovative guitarists of the last 40 years. With his Berlin-based trio Massaker, he evolved a whole new autonomous approach to writing rock songs, starting from sounds that were widely considered ornamental if not detrimental ‘sonic waste’, such as shrieking feedback and droning overtones. This plethora of sounds were arranged into tracks to sound like breaking concrete, grinding metal, or bursting glass, at once monumental and threatening, impenetrable and hermetic, yet also archaically tender and loving. 

Even today, as the art of noise has reached a level of sophistication that no one could have imagined 30 years ago, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker’s music is resoundingly singular. Ultra heavy riffs and beats, ominous tribal chants and a raw physical force is conjured up by these three sinister and proud minds of their era. Their unhinged, unified stream of energy is captured on these remastered reissues and the results are thrilling.

Koksofen (which translates as blast furnace), originally released in 1993, has become one of Massaker’s most popular albums. Like it’s predecessor, ...Schwarzen Folklore, the album took shape in Massaker’s rehearsal room below the Berlin subway station Schlesisches Tor, and was recorded at Conny Plank’s studio near Cologne, with Plank’s former associates Ingo Krauss and Bruno Gephard producing. 
 
There’s a different kind of intensity to Koksofen. The features of Massaker’s sound are in full bloom.  Mountainous noises tower up and crash down, and tormented sounds rise from ominously seething grounds, haunting the entire song-scape. The feel of doom and dread hangs heavily over the five songs, and the title song rumbles, shrieks and wails, plagued by Caspar’s guttural growls of war, suffering and death.
 
Caspar recalls one anecdote from shortly after the original release whereby Bassist Edu Delgado called him asking to turn on the TV, thus discovering that “Hymne“ was being used as background music to a report about the death penalty in the US. A different kind of intensity indeed. 
Reflecting on the album to this day Caspar remarks “Koksofen is still a mystery to me,'' he continues “I can still feel the troubled times in these songs.” - the effects are certainly potent for the listener too. And the album undoubtedly affirms Massaker as the fiercely original and compellingly raw musicians that they are.  

„Pitcher“ is Nadia D’Alò’s very first solo appearance on vinyl. Playful forwarding drums running hand in hand with a laid back wuthering synth line, carrying her melting voice right in it´s fountain. „Benzin“ on the flip side is a much slower, charming impish early morning jam by INIT (D’Alò & Benedikt Frey), based on a simple 808 infrastructure that leaves space for weird guitar riffs, wavy vocals and a bassy undercoat.

Appearing on the latest Mnemosyne compilation, Hierarchy marks his debut EP on ASG providing a deep journey into rhythms and textures. Direct but still elusive, Matter/Space/Void delivers lapses of rarefied absence constantly driven by peculiar cadences. The pulsating and fragmented remix by label owner A Sacred Geometry showcases once again his diverse view of techno, constantly evolving into unexpected horizons.

We have the honour to welcome the Dublin based Doug Cooney. Doug Cooney drops his EP, "Claim A Wake" on Eternal Friction Records, containing three original tracks and a remix by no other artist than Jon Hester. The result is a powerful EP, that clearly demonstrates Doug's unique and personal approach to contemporary techno. The balance between the rolling drums and the uplifting percussion are capable of bringing listeners into a certain state of mind. The warm and melodic synths fit perfectly into many layers of each track. Although these tracks are all fairly different from each other, they are all produced in the same effective and delicate style. They make for an interesting EP, reason enough to follow this promising artist every move from now on.

Jacob Long’s reductionist rhythmic ambient vessel, Earthen Sea, ebbs towards a more purely elemental state on his second excursion for Kranky, Grass and Trees.
He describes the creative process as one of “simplifying things as much as possible,” designing uncluttered spaces traced in nothing but breath, field recordings, and “sounds that could be played by hand but weren’t.”
The results feel decentralized but dynamic, low-lit evocations of ambiguous nocturnal environments – dub techno disassembled into stray pulses and spare parts. It’s a music both interior and infinite, languorous yet transformative, made in the outer boroughs of a metropolis but existing in its own liminal wilderness.
Long’s vision is a grounding one, rooted in the physical body but attuned to larger currents: “In response to living in a fairly hectic city, and at a very hectic time for the world at large, creating something more drawn back and restrained felt appropriate.
track listing:1. Existing Closer or Deeper in Space 2. Window, Skin, and Mirror 3. Spatial Ambiguity4. A Blank Slate 5. Living Space and Usually 6. Shallow, Shadowless 7. Less and Less

The NMB Allstars have been part of the SKAM family for nearly twenty years. Initially as DJs then as producers, they beguiled us with their dub-informed rhythms and caustic beats. When they first put their Bug EP together at the back end of 2001, we discussed what might come next – a plan for five 12” EPs before an album, not realising it would take fifteen eighteen years to get to number five... but, here it is, the 5th of 5, NMB005 the GazOhmEater EP.
The pattern of releases has played with titles and logos of UK nationalised industries – Bolton8 (002) referenced Altern-8 and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, NWH20 (003) North West Water. and Mancweb (004) drew on Manweb, a local electricity provider. For this final EP Acid and Gas are the go-to aesthetic narcotics. Along the way the 12” series had guest appearances from Meam, Made and Pendle Coven, part of the NMB extended crew.
These days neither of the two founder members locate themselves in urban situations, preferring to retreat to the hills spending hours on the moors of the Pennines. Even these landscapes are punctuated by infrastructure,
be it pylons, reservoirs or tunnels, and the resonant hums, filtered through peat bog and horizontal rain can be sensed in these new tracks put together slowly over the last seven years. NMB stated from the beginning that their “output was not controlled by time” - how right they were.... They have said the album should be ready in 2028.

‘New label out of Bristol, Ghost Phone represents RnB's deep and club friendly potential with four anonymous versions from various artists. Hand picked from across the globe for their deep love and appreciation of the original sound, each producer brings thier individual style to the fore. Bending things out of shape for the freaks but still retaining the genres slick, sensual aesthetic.

Chopped and screwed soul gets the full dub treatment on opener ‘Quiet Storm’, alongside 'Hit it Tool' where bumping 2 step drums meet Bmore breaks for the most dance floor primed cut on the 12". B1: ‘Single And Searching’ floats pitched vocal snippets in to the clouds, layering them over misty eyed rave chords. Finally, there is the pale faced club shuffle of '2ON’.’

The career of Patience Africa Spanned over 40 years. After almost a decade of success on a major label with her Zulu Disco sound, and a few years in the early 80s experimenting with a more soulful sound, the funky synths of the 80's would force her to stay relevant in the quick changing times. It would be in 1987 that she would sign to the independent Ream Music which with the help of their tight knit in house production team had released hits for upcoming disco artists Makwerhu, Ntombi Ndaba, Sunset, Athena, Percy Kay and more. The label's success in the traditional market made Patience a perfect fit and could have been their first crossover artist.

With the help of owner's Danny Antill and Clive Risko they would cut a 4 track EP that like many others of the time ended up being lost in to the hyper saturated market of the emerging Bubblegum demand. Two tracks would be written by Patience, including the title "Wozani La" Musically these were more aligned with her sound of the 70's accompanied by a purely digital production, but it's the two songs written by label boss Danny Antill that appear on this release. These two songs are unlike anything heard at the time. Embracing full commitment to the digital studio and some extensive and risky experimenting the trio managed to slide heavy house bordering electro pop and a haunting swing beat groove alongside the compositions of Patience to complete this EP for both markets. Although the album had great potential, poor promotion and low sales led Patience to feel cheated and after not earning a cent for the record left the label and took her first break from music since the early 70's. She would later return to her original sound recording up to til 2006 when she released what would be her final album before her death the following year. Still loved by her fans and those who knew her, she is remembered through the Patience Africa Foundation. Founded by her son Mangaliso in 2017 to help create a better South Africa in our lifetime.

In a landscape increasingly dominated by surface-level sonics and a lack of true organic – man-made-machine-driven - sound, the newly found and London-based Gaia Tones project rises with an unforgiving grasp over the science of improvisation and mystery. Like a gust of wind from Mother Nature herself, the duo comprised of John Swing and David Soleil-Mon breathe a new, highly perceptible form of life into the UK’s long ‘dub and ‘bass’ dynasty.

Contrary to the consumer plastics found across much of the ‘digital’ musical spectrum, the two artists impose their own vision and aesthetic to a framework of sound that has somehow always existed but never fully explored before. Heady, stoned-out and surely emanating from physical matter, their two debut tracks are set to redefine the standards going into the next decade.

The A-side “Lychees”, stutters its own brand of dread paranoia over a sea of complex, morphing percussion that together create a whole new palette of exploratory sound, loosely tied up into a hazy, nomadic groove. On the flip, “Wonkadonk” feels like its natural extension, evolving that familiarly off-kilter assembly of drums to work around a devotedly dystopian swell of bass that pushes further and further out into the ether.

In the end, the universe tends to unfold as it should.

Label artwork by Egidio Sterpa

A cryptical presence hiding behind many different aliases spread across a range of underground labels: co-owner of LiveJam Records alongside EMG, John Swing begins producing with a live and spontaneous approach that pushes the boundaries and general conceptions of club music while digging deeper into the techniques of the past.

The production process through ananlog equipment that John Swing so strongly supports with an uncompromising attitude is the key to his underground success and esteem.
With a back catalogue of over seventy releases including collaborations with established artists such as Mr. G and Ben Sims, the London based talent has been receiving recognition by established artists including Floating Points, Gerd Janson, Levon Vincent, Theo Parrish and many others.

Inspired by London's Plastic People and it's bonding vibes, through a well refined spectrum of musical knowledge John Swing engages with the dance floor in a physical yet emotional way: the strength and power of pure house is blended with black soul music in a constant crossover between underground aesthetics and cherry-picked funk and disco. His subtle understanding of the dance floor guarantees a deep-rooted experience for the mind, body and soul.

Infuse welcomes back Croatian talent Mariano Mateljan to the imprint to close out June, backed by a remix from FUSE resident Seb Zito.

Founder of the vinyl only imprint u.dig, releasing material to date from himself and the likes of Alexis Cabrera and Ben Balance & Fabe aka Ho Do Ri, and with recent releases on Moss Co. and Vekton, Croatian DJ and producer Mariano Mateljan has grown to become one of the scenes most promising rising talents, reflected with key bookings from fabric (London) to Club der Visionaere (Berlin) and beyond. Having released on Infuse back in 2013 with his track ‘Pigeon Boxer’ featuring on the label’s third ever V/A release, plus appearances for both FUSE and Infuse at events in London, here we see an impressive return from Mateljan as he delivers his first EP on the label entitled ‘Tabebula’, whilst FUSE resident and Infuse A&R Seb Zito turns in a classy remix of the title track.

Title cut ‘Tabebula’ opens the EP as slick percussion shots go to work amongst a deep, snaking bass groove, whilst second original ‘Rose Amongst Thorns’ opens the B-side in equally as impressive fashion, opting for a more paired back effort that combines floating airy chords, slinking drums and refined melodies. Last up, Seb Zito’s interpretation of the lead track sees the London favourite opt for a driving acid-tinged bassline, crisp claps and skipping hats throughout to round out proceedings.

Ashley Henry is one of a new generation of musicians who've been raised with a wide range of influences, from such luminaries as Kirkland, Moran, Madlib and Dilla, yet also steeped in the traditional sounds of masters such as Hancock and Monk.

At the time of recording, Henry was only 24, playing with such beauty and sensitivity - that usually comes from a lifetime immersed in jazz - that allowed him to tour the UK appearing at Ronnie Scott's, the Jazz Cafe and the Royal Albert Hall. He was the youngest performer on the bill for the 2015 International Piano Trio festival where he performed alongside the likes of Robert Glasper.

After graduating from Leeds College of Music with the Yamaha Jazz Scholarship Award, Ashley continued his studies, attaining a Master's degree in Jazz Piano & Performance from the Royal Academy of Music.

As well as performing with some of the UK's leading Jazz musicians (including Gary Crosby, Jean Toussaint, Shane Forbes, Jay Phelps, and award-winning saxophonist Krzysztof Urbanski) he's also recorded extensively with Manchester-based hip hop collective The Mouse Outfit.

This, his debut album, shows that his trio is clearly influenced by hip hop but has its roots firmly in jazz. This is the next generation planting their feet firmly in twenty first century.

LP Beatuful Ambient/LIstening ALbum by EVEN BRENDEN from Norway. Following his debut ‘Auto’, Chmmr delivers a new collection of musics to inspire half an hour of your life. The sophomore album features (in order of appearance): Prefab naiveness. Idle saturdays in early fall. Inaccurate weather reports. Lead arias for courtship. A planet. Romantic stage pianos. An ode. Post LAN party mood. All in all a fitting backdrop for any function that’s about opening yourself up, be that in solitude or in good company. This record is meant as an imperative to the listener: Try new things. You may regret it. It might backfire. Do it anyway

WRWTFWW Records is blissful to announce the expanded reissue of one of the most fascinating Japanese ambient/environmental albums ever made, NOVA + 4 by Yutaka Hirose. The double LP includes the album known as Soundscape 2: Nova, sourced from its original masters, as well as 50 minutes of never-released-before recordings. It comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, packed with liner notes from the artist in English and Japanese. NOVA + 4 is also available on double digipack CD.

Initially released in 1986 as part of the Soundscape series* commissioned by Misawa Home Corporation for use in their prefabricated houses, Yutaka Hirose's NOVA has grown to become a mythical piece of the Japanese minimalist/ambient/environmental scene of the eighties. Initiated around the enchanting landscapes of the two first tracks recorded for the project, "Nova" and "Epilogue", Yutaka Hirose's magnum opus serenely blends vintage synth with nature sounds, exploring soothing palettes and organic backdrops. For "Slow Sky", Hirose explains he "went for a pointillism-like sound, and tried to express a scenery of awakening, where the portal of a heart is opening up", while on "Humming The Sea", he "tried to compose a kind of music that expresses the daily, lazy life of child-like innocence in a summer vacation in some small town."

The bonus LP gathers four long unreleased pieces created around the same period of time for installations, described by Yutaka Hirose as "not music per se but rather sound sculptures", and including the haunting "Shadow Of A Water Droplet" which was recorded for an Ikebana exhibition.

All in all, NOVA + 4 is a transcendent experience of nature in the urban context, an oeuvre which, much like Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass or Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way, holds the power to appease the soul in turbulent times. As one inspired YouTube commenter once said when describing Yutaka Hirose's masterstroke: "I can't tell if the birds are singing inside or outside! Thank you!"

*The Soundscape series also includes Hiroshi Yoshimura's Surround album.

“Acid Sensible EP” released by Johnkôôl Records is a compilation of tracks composed by french producer Botine (already seen on Acid Avengers Records) along those formative years. It is truly the fruit of back-and-forths between the stage and studio environment from 2013 to 2016.

The term Acid Sensible first appeared in Clément’s graphic work as he developed his musical adventures. It’s a tale in which pets, organized in a micro-society produce music that will free them from humans and their alienating lifestyle. Acid Sensible is how they name that musical genre they created and that Botine appropriated himself. Built on a complex mix of influences, Acid Sensible is a careful and melodious pop balance between new-beat rhythms and meditative sounds sourced from IDM, Braindance, Psychedelic Rock and Krautrock.

Most of the tracks on the EP were composed on analog devices. The recording was done in one take only, thus preserving its powerful esthetic sourced from the live environment.

The Black Keys’ long-awaited ninth studio album, “Let’s Rock”, their first in five years, is a return to the straightforward rock of the singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney’s early days as a band. Auerbach says, “When we’re together we are The Black Keys, that’s where that real magic is, and always has been since we were sixteen.” The album includes the hit single ‘Lo/Hi’. The Black Keys’ touring begins in North America in September, with further international dates to be announced soon.



“Let’s Rock” was written, tracked live, and produced by Auerbach and Carney at Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville and features backing vocals from Leisa Hans and Ashley Wilcoxson. “The record is like a homage to electric guitar,” says Carney. “We took a simple approach and trimmed all the fat like we used to.”



The “Let’s Rock” Tour will hit cities including Chicago, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, and Austin. Special guests Modest Mouse will provide support on all dates, and Shannon & The Clams, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, *repeat repeat, and Jessy Wilson will each open select shows on the tour. The band also headlines 2019’s Life Is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas on September 21.



Rolling Stone named ‘Lo/Hi’ a “Song You Need to Know” and said, ‘the Keys have officially returned, louder than ever’ and the New York Times calls the song ‘the kind of garage-boogie stomp that the band never left behind.’ In the words of the NME, ‘It’s the soundtrack to the type of party that doesn’t exist anymore, but one you still wish you were cool enough to get the invite to.’



Formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001, The Black Keys have released eight studio albums: their debut The Big Come Up (2002), followed by Thickfreakness (2003) and Rubber Factory (2004), along with their releases on Nonesuch Records, Magic Potion (2006), Attack & Release (2008), Brothers (2010), El Camino (2011), and, most recently, Turn Blue (2014). The band has won six Grammy Awards and headlined festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Governors Ball.



Since their last album together, both Auerbach and Carney have been creative forces behind a number of wide-ranging artists:



Dan Auerbach formed the Easy Eye Sound record label, named after his Nashville studio, in 2017, with the release of his second solo album, Waiting on a Song. Since its launch, Easy Eye Sound has become home to a wide range of artists including Yola, Shannon & The Clams, Dee White, Shannon Shaw, Sonny Smith, Robert Finley, and The Gibson Brothers; it also has released the posthumous album by Leo Bud Welch as well as previously unreleased material by Link Wray.



Patrick Carney has produced and recorded new music with artists such as Calvin Johnson, Michelle Branch, Damns of the West, Tobias Jesso, Jr., Jessy Wilson, Tennis, *repeat repeat, Wild Belle, Sad Planets, Turbo Fruits, and more. He also created the theme music for the Netflix TV show BoJack Horseman with his late uncle, Ralph Carney.

“The year is 1982. Rita Mitsouko has not yet recorded its eponymous debut album. The pile of ashes that once was Disco is still smoking on the field of Comiskey Park. New Wave is a phrase, Post-Punk Rock a thing. In France, young musicians dream of New York City – some with more devotion than others. Lapassenkoff are to early 1980’s downtown New-York what seminal New Wave act Marie Et Les Garçons (who met John Cale on their way to CBGB) are to the city’s musical scene in the late 1970’s: an unexpected cousin from Lyon.

Indeed, going through Shing ‘n’ Tsé! sometimes feel like an impromptu meeting between John Lurie and Tom Tom Club in the basement of some French record store. If we press pause for a minute, a question comes to mind: how on earth such a unique blend of funk, post-punk, jazz fusion & hip hop (!) – more easily associated with, say, The Mudd Club, than with Les pentes de la Croix-Rousse – made its way to the brains of three French musicians?

The answer probably lies in a Swiss chalet, some 40 kilometers away from Zurich. Sent there by the wise people from Mosquito (the label which also gave Ramuntcho Matta and Carte de Séjour the opportunity to record their first album), the band experiences Alpine ennui and mysterious neighbours (a certain Carlos Peron, for instance). That is probably during this stay in Swiss meadows that they opened a Pandora’s box called experimental music, leading them into recording the mind-blowing sample-based – and accidentally proto-everything – M Le Maudit,, that would later grace Belgian airwaves via the famous Liaisons Dangereuses radio show.

But if we’re looking for a bigger picture, M Le Maudit is just an example of how inventive their approach to music was. This compilation is a testimony of a decade-long feverish flirt between the Lyon trio and dance music. From the infectious electric boogie cuts Shing A Ling and Roadie to the somehow euro-house-fuelled Ma Poubelle Angelina, via many unclassifiable yet iconic songs like Bossi Le Bosseman or Fièvres, Frissons, the compilation demonstrates one thing: Lapassenkoff took the road less traveled by and contributed to a different history of French Pop music.”

Pierre-Arthur Michau.

• Recognised by fans and fellow recording artists, as one of the World’s most influential and best ever guitarists.
• This tribute is frequently confirmed when Hank regularly features high on the polls that determine the greatest guitarists of all time.
• Initially known as the lead guitarist of The Shadows, the band that evolved to become the UK’s biggest ever selling instrumental group,
Hank Marvin defined the sound of a generation.
• Hank was the very first guitarist in the UK to own an iconic Fender Stratocaster – when Cliff Richard imported the guitar from the US
exclusively for Hank to play.
• As a solo Artist, Hank Marvin has released 16 albums, with Top 20 albums spanning almost 50 years; 1969-2017 (to date), in a long and
successful career lasting more than 60 years.
• Hank Marvin, as a solo Artist, as well as part of The Shadows, with and without Cliff Richard, has spent approximately 900 weeks on the
UK Albums Chart.
• This ‘Gold’ 180g Heavyweight Gold Colour Vinyl LP set, covers Hank’s solo career, in this 15-track set.
• ‘Gold’ includes guest appearances/performances from Cliff Richard, Brian May, Duane Eddy and Mark Knopfler.

Returning for his third appearance on Frigio, Maurizio Martinucci (aka TeZ, Most Significant Beat and permanent member of Clock DVA since 2010) introduces one of his darkest works to date. Forged in his studio/lab in Amsterdam, the Italian artist casts three works of industrial paranoia with none other than Clock DVA delivering a very special remix.

The same intensity, the same fevered energy that permeated Dusk, is plain to hear in this production. Pulsating drums are pierced by metallic groans and choking voices for the alienating assault that is “Amna.” Clock DVA take on this factory floor demon, soothing and reworking the original. Keys cascade against throbbing basslines and stuttering rhythms, vocals by Adi Newton taking the form of a poem that circles and swoops in a track of brimming with a primal force. Stalking chords introduce “Dene.” A lancing beat lashes a lone string, static and resonance building as layers of machine noise make their inhuman presence known. The end comes from the hull of an abandoned ship, or so it sounds. Aquatic echo swirls around a spread of sunken snares, shrieks and slicing through the crash and squeal of wrought iron. Primordial music from the mind of Pragma.

The guitarist’s acclaimed 1961 debut. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on 28th January 1961. Featuring Baby Face Willette (organ) and Ben Dixon (drums). A smouldering soul-jazz/organ trio classic. Featuring three Green originals (‘Miss Ann’s Tempo’, ‘Blues For Willarene’, ‘A Wee Bit O’ Green’), one Willette tune (‘Baby’s Minor Lope’) and two standards (‘Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do’, ‘Lullaby Of The Leaves’).
Cover photographed by Francis Wolff and designed by Reid Miles.
The first of Green’s 30 Blue Note solo albums and over 30 appearances as a sideman.

Last year, we got together with The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision’s RE:VIVE initiative for the second time, inviting four local artists to breathe new life into four archival films from the Sound and Vision and EYE Filmmuseum archives. Jordan GCZ, Suzanne Kraft, Parrish Smith and Upsammy were all assigned short animated films dating back to 1921. The films and their new scores debuted at EYE on August 2nd as part of Dekmantel Festival 2018. Unsurprisingly, each artist imparted their unique styles onto the films that they previously had no relation with. From Suzanne Kraft's sparse atmospherics that have become more apparent in his new SK U KNO project to Jordan GCZ’s free flowing hardware jams. Parrish Smith showed his contemplative side and sparse orchestrations that he demonstrated on his RE:VIVE release, Genesis Black, a sonic departure from his bombastic releases and DJ-sets while upsammy showed yet again her deft hand for melody and texture, a style that dominates all her releases to date.

These four scores can live apart from their films, fitting seamlessly into each artists' growing catalogs of work. But when combined, it’s as if the films and music were made simultaneously with the artist and filmmaker together in the same room. Dekmantel and RE:VIVE are proud to present these new works as the electronic music scene in The Netherlands continues to show its multifaceted talent that continues to expand far beyond the dance floor.

Walls, Corridors, Baffles is the debut album of Swiss musician and producer Samuel Savenberg aka S S S S. Following various releases on Haunter Records, aufnahme+wiedergabe, and Hallow Ground, his LP on Präsens Editionen tries to find an approach to an artistic expression beyond tropes of darkness, harshness and excess. Thus, the aesthetic of Walls, Corridors, Baffles is radically and uncompromisingly sober. Instead of focusing on a conceptual or symbolic treatment of sound as an abstraction, Savenberg emphasizes its materiality. The album consists of eight pieces strung together into a manifesto which calls for a febrile embrace of an unheard-of, intense sobriety.
In Walls, Corridors, Baffles, unadulterated percussive force meets an astoundingly precise and frugal vocabulary of electroacoustic sounds, as for example on the opener “Deserter”. Passages extended over long melodies invite the listener to lose oneself in the contrastive emptiness. Central to the work are the affective qualities of the music which lapses only at moments into a more defined emotional quality – as on the final track “Nothing But the Circulation of Air”.
*Edition of 300 copies

The Belgian duo San Soda and Red D entered the world of recorded music some 12 years ago with the inception of Red D’s label We Play House Recordings. A few years later their collaboration continued in the studio with the start of the FCL project, leading to original and remixed club hits.

In the meantime both have gained considerable mileage and reputation as adventurous DJ’s who are not afraid to take risks and with a ‘no boundaries’-approach to playing music. Being Belgian they continue to find inspiration in Belgium’s rich music and clubbing history, which led to the ‘Our Beat Is Still New’ compilation in 2013 on We Play House Recordings. Both San Soda and Red D contributed some tracks and thus the aliases Nick Berlin and Max Erotic were born.

Fast forward to today and Club Belgique, a concept Red D has been brooding on for quite some time. A true tribute to Belgium’s club (music) heritage which consists of club nights and also a new label for fresh material by himself and San Soda in his Nick Berlin guise. This release brings you that new material in the form of two tracks situated between new beat, synth pop and italo disco. Long live Belgium!

Any historians keen on the subject of "French youth in the 1980s" are holding a treasure in their hands. As a true archaeologist of this decade dedicated to disposable culture, digger-in-chief Vidal Benjamin with his newest compilation, 'Pop Sympathie', offers them a unique journey in the heart of the cyclone of emotions that struck all teenagers during the first seven years of François Mitterrand's mandate. Fifteen musical nuggets, exhumed from the dungeons of history, each and every one of them teaching us about what really obsessed the youngsters at that exact moment, i.e. what happens when the city lights come on at dusk, when irrepressible urges that stir them to get lost even more appear until the end of the night.

The artists gathered here did not have the honour of breaking into the local charts, but they all individually reached for the sky. Each song of 'Pop Sympathie' tells more or less the same story: that of a girl who throws herself into the night like one immerses one's self into the void, who rushes into a one-night adventure to become a star. And too bad if in the early morning she finds herself back at square one. In all these miniature odysseys there is neon lights, lasers, smoke machines, broken glass on checkered tiles, strangers on leather benches, celebrities in the bathrooms, stolen kisses, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, Polaroids, venetian blinds and radioactive tubes.

If the first opus of Vidal Benjamin, 'Disco Sympathie', focused on the funky mood of songs that could have been played at Le Palace, then 'Pop Sympathie' develops itself as the imaginary soundtrack of another nightclub, Les Bains-Douches, the capital’s epicenter of nocturnal drifts. So what do we listen to, blasé, at Bains-Douches? Mainly synthesizers. The child of punk and post punk, French New Wave celebrates the matrimony of machines and lolitas under the auspices of a retro trend that revisits the atomic age. Trying to surf on that wave and hit the charts, a bunch of producers (Stéphane Berlow, Laurent Stopnicki, Bernard "Black Devil" Fèvre, Johny Rech, Jean-Yves Joanny ...) will spot their talents amongst friends, in a travel agency or at the local bar. These virtual stars are called Cecilia, Laurent, Sonia, Janou, Fabienne, Anne, Arielle or Ronan, not even 20 years old, and often leaving just an overexposed photo and their first name on a single as the only memories of their swift passage in this particular musical story. It took all the love and sweet madness of Vidal Benjamin to bring them back in the light of day.

Clovis Goux

Ahead of his second artist album on his own Millionhands label in July, Tee Mango teases with a fantastic first EP taken from it. The album finds the UK artist stretch himself with a dazzling array of soul drenched, fully fledged songs featuring his own singing and that of Detroit legend (and Moodymann collaborator) Amp Fiddler.

The sound, very much influenced by early Prince and even a little Bon Iver, combines effortlessly with that loose sampled MPC-house feel that you would associate with a Tee Mango production. It also comes with a seal of approval from Radio 6 Music legend Gilles Peterson and after EPs on the likes of Aus, Clone and Local Talk in recent years.

Opening up the EP, Amp Fiddler features on ‘Feels Like Whatever’. Dancing Rhodes keys, ooze jazz charm and float atop a simple house beat, while the Detroit legend’s emotive raw soulful vocal directs proceedings.
The heart breaking ‘No More Tears’ is an introspective sad soul song that shows another side to Mango’s skills. Tender chords, downbeat drums and vocal hums and coos all melt your very being. Last of all comes the dazzling ‘Lay Down (Disco Mix)’ with its slapped funk bassline, finger clicks and squelch synth work all topped off by an effortless
falsetto. This is a fantastic introduction to the full length to come.

DELUXE VINYL EDITION!!!By the time this performance was recorded on the final night of her NYC debut in 1977, this show had become the hottest ticket in town and the Bottom Line was deluged with celebrity ticket requests, including from other iconic performers like Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger, who both attended. This three night engagement at the legendary music room was essentially Parton's New York City coming out party, and even those not necessarily country fans can surely appreciate this show for its pure entertainment appeal and Dolly's undeniable charisma.

Like a homage to smoke-filled vaults, aging billiard rooms and crumby packets of pork scratchings in the Working Men's Clubs of days gone by, Todmorden-by-way of-Europe trio Syd, Jake and Giulia are about to fling open the doors of their own millennial social hub with the fresh post-punk of infectious debut single, 'Bad Blood' / 'Suburban Heights.'

'We grew up in northern towns trying to get in to pubs in social clubs because that's all we had. The name is an ode to that,' explains Working Men's Club's 17-year-old singer and guitarist, Sydney Minsky-Sargeant. 'Our surroundings and their differences has influenced us a lot on these tracks.'

Joined by guitarist-vocalist Giulia Bonometti, 23 and drummer Jake Bogacki, 18, the trio have always had a clear sense of their whereabouts; quite simply, they wouldn't even exist without multi-nationalism. Meeting at college in Manchester, Syd and Jake are from Todmorden and Hebden Bridge, but their families hail from Poland whilst Giulia moved to the UK from Lake Garda, Italy. 'The songs are based on the culture of walking round Manchester every day then going back to the countryside each night and how the contrast of going back into the hills made us sane,' Syd tells.

Working Men's Club are wise beyond their years as they seemingly offer words of wisdom, to be repeated like some kind of break-up mantra, until everything's ok; 'Be happy when the sun shines / Be happy when the sun rains / You know you should do the same.'

If 'Bad Blood' is the day, 'Suburban Heights' is the night. Recorded with Alex Greave at The Nave in Leeds, steady riffs from Syd's fingers tap-dance on the strings alongside Jake's skill in working a jagged snare. Meanwhile Giulia's heavenly disco 'ooohs' recall Donna Summer feeling the love whilst cutting right to the contentious subject of gentrification. 'Suburban Heights refers to how apparent it is that cities are expanding to hold more people and buildings are rising, they're morphing into these dystopian party towns,' tells Syd.

Already with shows supporting The Wedding Present and Brian Jonestown Massacre behind them, Syd says it's only the beginning; 'Those shows were great experiences and ones we'll have for life. We love making music and we're so grateful for what we've achieved so far; hopefully there'll be plenty more to come.'

"One of the hardest thing as a musician is to maintain this naive, almost utopian and emotional approach to our music. Especially when it comes to a highly codified genre like Electronic music which appeared in the late 80s/early 90s like a promise of a bright future for music, everything sounding so fresh and revolutionary. When Katerina sent me those demos I heard that freshness, that pure intention, something I remember from discovering melancholic Detroit tunes in the 90s or early Warp ‘artificial intelligence’ compilations, bridging the gap between techno and more intricate electronica. It’s been a while since I didn’t hear an EP so sincere - and not JUST nostalgic, that makes me want to dance alone in my living room and forget about everything else. It’s a subtle thing that makes the difference but that difference is everything, it’s Music."

- Joakim

Aggelos Baltas is a veteran of the global electronic music scene, responsible for a handful of celebrated EBM 12”s as Dream Weapons, and a particularly heady and open-ended brand of krautrock as Fantastikoi Hxoi. His newest project, Anatolian Weapons, was conceived as a way to bring together these two seemingly mismatched concepts, with the polyrhythmic percussion and wailing tones of Greek folk music serving as their unlikely bonding agent. His output garners praise particularly around the Golden Pudel scene, such as Vladimir Ivkovic, and Phuong Dan. Lena Willikens, from the same circle, included Baltas’ track “Disillusioned” on her Dekmantel Selectors compilation in 2018.

But where much of what Baltas has released as Anatolian Weapons is instantly recognizable as dance music, To The Mother Of Gods—Baltas’ debut album for Beats In Space—is something else entirely. Created in tandem with Greek folk musician Seirios Savvaidis, it is a work of simultaneous collaboration and subtraction whose meticulous construction becomes more apparent with every listen. An album-length exploration of what happens when the principles of dance music are applied to pre-digital musical modalities. It is a record of psychedelic folk music that has more in common with Kikagaku Moyo, Minami Deutsch, and the Habibi Funk label than it does with anything else Baltas has produced under any alias. It’s difficult to imagine this music in any kind of club setting.

And yet, it’s very much the work of a DJ. Baltas initially heard Savvaidis’ music through a friend, and was absolutely amazed. “It was his very esoteric, pagan [music and] beautiful lyrics that grabbed me,” he writes. Seirios is a composer and performer of traditional Greek folk music with a growing discography of regional psych-rock gems. Baltas reached out to collaborate and the seeds of To The Mother Of Gods were sown.

Savvidis contributed stems of ten songs, which Baltas deconstructs and rearranges with appreciation of the ancestry of their lineage and of the deceptively ancient eerie, droning qualities inherent in the style. Occasionally augmenting Savvaidis’ recordings with his own, Baltas treats these elements as if raw materials for an architectural process.

To The Mother Of Gods showcases Baltas’ arrangement skills. He treats Savvaidis’ songs as landscapes, filling them with slanted, droning light and setting the singer’s vocals in dead center. His years behind the decks have given him an intuitive understanding of dynamics—drums crest and recede like tides, snippets of bassline repeat and swirl. He knows how to entrance, and when to push the music from the head to the body. Opener “Taratchi Katarratchi” (“Stormy Cataract”) is sung as a spell to ward off the fear of death, but Baltas’ orchestration demonstrates that dancing is an equally effective way of dispelling the darkness. The beat he assembles from Savvaidis’ playing recalls the late-night ecstasies of Primal Scream circa Screamadelica.

To The Mother Of Gods is a reminder that folk music and dance music are both powered by their audience as much as the musicians themselves. Savvaidis’ lyrics echo pagan Greek themes, touching on what Baltas calls “the magic of nature.” At times, as on “Kalesma” (“Invitation”), this can feel incantatory. Savvaidis chisels his vocal melodies into hard, clipped syllables, their cadence recalling Gregorian chant, and yet Baltas cloaks these details in washes of distortion. “Ston Stavraito” (“In Stavraithos”) is delivered with a lamentive tenderness that Baltas swells into a prideful stomp, immersing Savvaidis in marching drums and distant vocals that form a resilient protest-song. To The Mother Of Gods is a testament to the ongoing and innate truth that music can take us beyond ourselves. That repetition and drone can shepherd us to a liminal space beyond thought and rationality, where the wall between perception and reality does not exist. Call it spirit, if you want, and watch as it courses its way through modern-day dance music, mid-century psych, and the ancient sounds of the anatol.

Anatolian Weapons’ To The Mother Of Gods will be available from Beats In Space on June 14, 2019 in limited vinyl and unlimited digital forms.

Artist Highlights
• Aggelos Baltas is an Athenian music producer creating and Djing under the monikers of Anatolian Weapons, Fantastikoi Hxoi, and Dream Weapons.
• The Anatolian Weapons moniker is an outlet for Baltas to explore global music—from African to Anatolian and Middle Eastern, while also incorporating sounds from his home country of Greece.