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The Handy Records crew return once again with a stunning EP from none other Mr Bobby Cazanova.

A1 is an absolute gem. Nostalgic, catchy, euphoric and all-round feels. Just what we needed after the 2 year hiatus from nonsense. It’s a speedy emotive number with all the bells and whistles for a great time. Definitely one for the 6AM sunset. Following; the A2 is a sub aquatic bubbler. Low slung bass and rich strings lead this into a deep technical groover. Again Bobby has nailed the feeling of having heard this before but never quite like this. The A3 is something quite special. Acid lines and driving bass make this an absolute heater for the floor.

On the flip we have another fast-paced rhythm. This time capitalising on the darker side of Bobby’s mind. Between pulsating baselines and inquisitive synths there is an emotive and paced production that is sure to get people moving. Rounding off the EP is a darker piece. Glistening pads and pensive arpeggiation make this a slow but sure burner for the dance floor.

Legally blind from birth, Brazilian keyboard player, composer and bandleader Manfredo Fest learnt to read music in braille and began studying classical music at a young age. By 17 he had fallen in love with jazz (particularly the music of fellow blind pianist George Shearing) before becoming swept up in Rio's emergent bossa nova movement in the sixties. Moving to the States in 1967 where he would go on to work with fellow countryman Sergio Mendes, Fest recorded and self-released Brazilian Dorian Dream in 1976, enlisting Thomas Kini (bass), Alejo Poveda (drums, percussion) and Roberta Davis (vocals).

Like a turbo-powered, intergalactic elevator ride, Brazilian Dorian Dream builds on the principle of the modal diatonic scales of the Dorian mode, with influences of Brazilian rhythms, North American jazz and funk, and music of the European baroque and romantic era. The coming together of these intergenerational and intercontinental styles coupled with Fest's visionary use of the Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, Arp and Moog synthesizers (plus a whole load of effects units), makes for an album light years ahead of its time.

The miraculous wordless vocals of American jazz singer Roberta Davis are nailed so tightly alongside Manfredo's keys and mind-bending synths that it sounds almost alien. On the album's liner notes, Fest preaches Davis' ability highlighting how hard it is to sing such precise intervals so accurately. One of the tracks on which the vocals shine brightest is space funk stepper "Jungle Cat", which features hard funky drums, freaky synth lines and expert Rhodes comping. The track builds up and up before releasing into the unmistakable scat melody in the chorus.

A few years after releasing Brazilian Dorian Dream, Fest recorded and released his Manifestations album in 1979, featuring 'Jungle Kitten'': a new dancefloor focused variation on "Jungle Cat". At around 140 BPM 'Jungle Kitten' was possibly deemed too fast for statside dance floors, which explains why it never got a US 12" release. But the track became something of an underground hit at jazz dance clubs and all-dayers across the UK in the 80s and as a result it has probably become Fest's most well known track since.

Carwyn Ellis from Cardiff/Wales is a singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He fronts Colorama, formed the Welsh folk group Bendith and hosts a regular themed radio show on Soho Radio. In 2019, Ellis embarked on the first project under his own name, Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18. Sung in Welsh and recorded mainly in Rio de Janeiro, the album, "Joia!" was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize and followed by "Mas" in early 2020. The new album "Yn Rio" is a collection of new songs recorded in Cardiff together with The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales.

In 2017 Carwyn Ellis joined the touring line-up of The Pretenders. For Ellis, a record collector and fan of Brazilian music, the opportunity to tour South America would present opportunities he couldn't have possibly imagined when he accepted Chrissie Hynde's invitation. "The first place we went to was Rio and by the time I met Chrissie for breakfast the day after our gig, I already had a bag of albums I'd just bought. I'm sitting with her and she says, 'You should meet my mates, and do something in Welsh with them! Nobody's done a Welsh language album with Brazilian musicians?"

In 2018, when Alexandre Kassin, a leading light in that Brazilian scene announced a show in London, Hynde suggested that they see it. "I met him afterwards," Ellis recalls, "and we hit it off straight away." Within weeks, Ellis was on a plane to Rio with songs that would form the basis of the first album. This creative purple patch extended into another album released early in 2021 with Carwyn working once again with Kassin plus long-time friend Shawn Lee. The songs on "Mas" drew on the environmental threats that face both Wales and South America, spidering out around the central theme of water ("rains, no rain, droughts, rising seas and flooded valleys for corporate gain. We're screwed without it and screwed if there's too much").

With "Mas" recorded but weeks away from release, Ellis received a call from Gareth Iwan Jones, head producer of BBC Radio Cymru, offering a third album to be performed in March 2021. Ellis started to reflect upon the life-changing events triggered by his South American adventures. The Welsh word 'hiraeth' which describes the longing that Welsh people feel when they're far from home, was something that he was now beginning to feel for Rio de Janeiro: "'Yn Rio' is based around a day in Rio," he explains. "The events of 2020 influenced the record inasmuch as I wanted it to be a complete antidote to what was going on. If you couldn't go on holiday in real life, you could at least put this record on."

The first single "Olá!", incorporating Jorge Ben's spirit in the chorus and rhythmic breakdown, manages to sound languorous and euphoric. "Cariad, Cariad" was a Portuguese folk poem brought to Ellis' attention by Sonya from Quarteto em Cy and arranged by Christiaan Oyens. "Tristwch 20" is a nod to "Foot and Mouth 68" by Gorkys Zygotic Mynci from "The Blue Trees", 'one of the most beautiful albums of all time', while "Ynys Aur" is named after a 1929 book by Welsh missionary J. Luther Thomas written on returning from his travels to Papua New Guinea. With Kassin unable to participate, Ellis thanks him by translating his "A Paisagem Morta" to create "Y Bywyd Llonyd". For Carwyn Ellis "Yn Rio" is an extraordinary memorial to extraordinary times."There are some days so idyllic you just want tobe able to jump back into them at the touch of a button. That's what I was searching for when I was writing these songs."

Zenith Volt/ zēneTH vōlt: 1.Galaxy driven woke melodies for your thoughts and drive 2. Ethereal calibration against gravity burdened life

On TIMEKEEPER, Zenith Volt says: I am so inspired by the thought that at this very moment in time, our heels are stepping out of a past to be left forever in exchange for an unwritten future. The album TIMEKEEPER holds an amalgam of this heaviness and hope throughout. Each instrument, melody, and message has a self-reflective undertone. Speak from the heart, embrace the strange, and keep a clear head. While the past and future are overall inspirational waypoints, they are specifically stylistic ones as well. Timekeeper has a heavy retro/futuristic synthesizer tone and feel. Arpeggiating pulse and forward motion stitch each track together forging ahead through time itself.

Pulling sounds from retro and futuristic palates, Zenith Volt constructs an ethereal reality, attuned to the openness, enormity and unpredictability of the expanding universe; and the unknown that ever lies ahead.

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce ViewFinder / Hide & Seek, a new release from acclaimed American experimental composer David Behrman, presenting recordings made in collaboration with Jon Gibson and Werner Durand between 1989 and 2020. Last heard from on Black Truffle as part of the collaborative art song/live electronics madness of She’s More Wild, these recordings find Behrman continuing the pioneering work in interactive electronics that have established him as one of the major living experimental composers.

Side A presents excerpts from two live realisations of Unforeseen Events (1989), the fourth in a series of pieces focussing on the interactions between instrumental performers and responsive software. Like the classic earlier works in the series, On the Other Ocean (1977), Interspecies Smalltalk (1984) and Leapday Night (1986), Unforeseen Events is an “unfinished composition” in which a computer system listens for and responds to specific pitch cues from an instrumentalist. Performed by the composer on electronics and Werner Durand on soprano saxophone in Berlin in 1989, the first realisation immediately ushers the listener into an environment of long soprano notes, lush, sustained synth harmonies, randomised percussive interjections and distantly burbling arpeggiated patterns.

The 1999 realisation recorded in New York with Jon Gibson on soprano shows how much room for the instrumentalist to affect the course of the music exists in Behrman’s interactive pieces, in which, as he notes, ‘performers have options rather than instructions’. Beginning in a roughly similar area to the version with Durand, this later recording eventually becomes substantially more active, as polyrhythmically layered arpeggios and percussive patterns respond to fast chromatic lines and dynamic phrases from the saxophone, moving Gibson in turn to respond with cycling figures and moments of extended technique that touch on the soprano languages pioneered by players like Steve Lacy and Evan Parker. Yet even at its most active, the lack of conventional forward movement in the music allows it to retain what Behrman’s friend Jacques Bekaert called its ‘fragile tranquillity’, as episodes of activity appear only as momentary disruptions of an underlying calm.

On the B side, we are treated to a new collaborative work from Behrman and Werner Durand, building on the 2002 installation work ViewFinder, in which a camera detecting physical motion triggered changes to electronic sound. The piece presented here is a long-distance studio construction, recorded by Behrman in the Hudson Valley and Durand in Berlin, offering up an expansive duet between Behrman’s lush, gliding synth tones and the alien, untempered tones of Durand’s invented and adapted wind instruments. Presented in a stunning gatefold sleeve with art from Terri Hanlon, archival photographs and new liner notes from Behrman and Durand,ViewFinder / Hide & Seek is an essential release showcasing the continuing vitality of a legendary figure in experimental music.

In what seems like some sort of cosmic alignment bound to happen, the ever prolific and somewhat elusive Niagara make their way into the Discrepant catalogue with '1807'. Compiling tracks recorded between 2014 and 2018 that appeared scattered among very limited and long out of print self released CDRs, the record feels as much out of time as deeply resonant with these times with no dancefloors. Stripping away most of the beat based approach of early Príncipe releases and Ascender EPs, these 17 vignettes presented in the classic dance maxi 12" format dabble with escapism in a manner that projects them as potential DJ tools for lockdown.

Deeply idiosyncratic, the trio from Loures shows an internal coherence that while not easy to grasp given their mutating creative impulses, weaves each different path into a sonic fiction all their own. Cobbled together from countless hours of jamming on warm spectral synths, field recordings, otherworldly textures or devious drum machines '1807' paints a vivid and dreamlike escape route that goes from the hypnotic arpeggios and rarefied synths of 'Esc8' through the glowing tones and fragmented melodies of 'Egyptiu' and into the malfunctioning swirl of the stark 'Esc 10' or the polluted 4/4 thump and funky guitar line of 'Mapas'. Equally disruptive and inviting.

All tracks composed by Niagara between 2014 – 2018

Nanocluster Vol 1. is an album with some serious pedigree. It sees Immersion (aka Malka Spigel and Colin Newman of influential groups Minimal Compact and Wire respectively) collaborating with some of the finest left field artists of our era: Tarwater, Laetitia Sadier, Ulrich Schnauss and Scanner. The project was born out of a Brighton based club night, also called Nanocluster, run by Spigel and Newman alongside writer, broadcaster and DJ Graham Duff, and promoter Andy Rossiter. The club features a range of influential and cutting edge music acts. But the unique aspect of the evenings is that each show climaxes with a one off collaboration between Immersion and the headliners. The songs having been written and recorded in the studio in just three days prior to the performance - or one day in the case of Schnauss. "It could have just been a series of performances." Says Newman.? "But the fact that we had built the tracks in the studio for the performances means we had these recordings." Says Spigel. The recordings have since been developed with Immersion heading up pro- duction duties. The result is a beautiful and unique album.? "I think the really interesting thing is how different everybody is," says Spigel. "Both as people and creatively." - Immersion and Tarwater: The German duo of Ronald Lippok and Bernd Jestram have created an impressive body of work. Yet their involvement with Immersion has opened out their sound, creating a more panoramic soundscape. The opening instrumental 'Ripples' is a gentle breathe of optimism, all purring tones and sun dazzled synths. Meanwhile, 'Mrs. Wood' is a dubby psychedelic shuffle, Lippok's vocal cool and assured over a fat bass line and skybound eastern melodics. It feels like a more spacious take on the Tarwater of albums such as 'Suns, Animals and Atoms'. The four musicians' 3rd collaboration is Nanocluster's most pop moment: with a heartfelt yet unsentimental lyric unfurling over feline rhythms, 'All You Cat Lovers' is a feel-good anthem for cat lovers everywhere. - Immersion and Laetitia Sadier: An original and distinctive presence in contemporary music, Sadier made her name with the inimitable Stereolab, but she's also created several impressive solo works. The instrumental 'Unclustered' sees Sadier's spidery guitar weaving through Immersion's lush web of synths drones. The following 'Uncensored' has a subtle melodic tug with a classic Spigel guitar line underpinning Sadier's sweet yet worldly wise vocal. 'Riding the Wave' is another feel good song, swapping between Newman's plaintive vocal, and Spigel's vocal and Sadier's backing vocals. With its uplifting chorus: 'Things have a way of working out' 'Riding The Wave' feels like it might be the sound of the summer we've all been waiting for. - Immersion & Ulrich Schnauss: A highly respected solo artist, as well as being a member of Tangerine Dream, Schnauss' skill with electronics is legendary. The opening 'Remember Those Days On The Road' skips along on a rimshot rhythm with Spigel's honeyed vocal telling a tale of life on tour. Yet it is far removed from such usual fare. This feels vulnerable and flecked with melancholy. 'Skylarks' opens with a lattice of arpeggios before a gently nag- ging guitar enters and everything takes a turn for the sublime. 'So Much Green' is everything you'd hope a collaboration between Newman, Spigel and Schnauss could be. A constantly spiralling urban-kosmisch, with Spigel's plangent bass anchoring the celestial sounds. The addition of her wordless backing vocals and recordings of real birdsong only serve to elevate the mood further. - Immersion & Scanner: Scanner - aka Robin Rimbaud - is one of the most prolific and diverse artists currently working in contemporary music. Spigel and Newman have of course collaborated extensively with Rimbaud before: alongside Max Franken in the art-pop group Githead. But this is something very different. Their opening piece together: 'Cataliz' is the album's moodiest moment. With its serpentine synth drones it sounds like the soundtrack to a mysterious thriller. The rich pulsing 'Metrosphere' recalls Immersion's early work whilst adding another layer of grainy uncertainty. The closing 'The Mundane and the Profound' opens with a "Rimbaud scanned" recording of an irritated flight attendant but this is eventually subsumed by a simple yet emotive piano figure: a gentle and touching end to a unique collection of songs. Nanocluster Vol.1 is a testament to a remarkable synergy between a diverse assembly of strongly individual talents. The fact that it not only succeeds, but excels should be cause for celebration.

Next release on the label is a collaboration between ISSUES x Woodland studios who run a competition with more than 100 entries on remix duties for Detlef’s “Dub Clap” and Campbell Fryer’s “MOODY”. Honcho of Woodlands Iglesias delivered a strong remix of Dub Clap with heavy basslines, rolling beats and the vocals slightly pitched to create a darker vibe. RN ISMO remix of Dub Clap was definitely close to the sound of ISSUES with a driving bassline, minimal beats, quick drops and a playful vocal breakdown.

On Campbell Fryer’s MOODY the first remixer is Woody who delivered a super groovy remix with a funky bassline, straight beat with swing hihats and atmospheres at the background merging nicely with the beats, using the riff in a different and extra playful way that creates an amazing breakdown. The last remixer for MOODY is Shuski who delivered a housy version of the track. Straight funky beats with a big driving bassline, synth stabs and arpeggios through out the track and some wicked breakdowns with clever fills before the track kicks back in.

Tape

Marc Romboy presents his upcoming album "Voyage de la planète' his first solo full-length production in over eight years. Released on his newly launched Hyperharmonic label, Voyage de la Plantète signifies an exciting new chapter for Marc as he experiments with his sound - pushing the boundaries between classical and electronic music to create both an emotional and atmospheric experience.
The first impression of this new sound can be heard on album opener forerunner 10" "Monde futuriste" (February 17th 2017) which blends together beautiful strings and soft flittering synths. "Jules Verne" named after the French science fiction writer, combines echoing arpeggios and a subtle woodwind harmony to create a cosmic soundscape. Whilst "Atome de danse", "Symphonie oblique" and "La machine du temps" use elegant strings to further enhance an unearthly effect, title track "Voyage de la planète" mixes the two mediums together with fluttering synths and somber strings before "La lune et l'étolie" builds introduces the bustling sound of the piano to create an upbeat melody.
Whilst there is a strong classical influence, there are tracks on the album that reference Marc's electronic background. This can be heard in

"L'univers étrange", which has an ambient sound, whilst pitched-down chords take "L'universe parallèle" to a dark and moody space.
"Phénix" is a bass-driven track, layered with crashing synths, taking the journey to a high before the celestial experience draws to a close on an uplifting note with "Nocturne" a laid-back soothing track that exudes optimism and wonderment.
Inspired by a concert with the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra where he performed Claude Debussy works in a contemporary way, "Voyage de la planète' signifies the start of a new chapter for Marc Romboy. Combining the strange, fascinating sounds of electronic music with the sublime beauty of classical music to create an extraordinary sonic experience for the listener.

7 piece instrumental soul group from Melbourne, Australia featuring members from Karate Boogaloo, Surprise Chef and Saskwatch.
Produced by Henry Jenkins (Karate Boogaloo, Mo'Ju), the recording mind behind Surprise Chef and Karate Boogaloo, Waiting Room moves deftly through moments of fuzzed-out psychedelia, dusty deep soul backbeat and incendiary minor key funk.

Covering various classics is not uncommon in Italo Disco. Hardly a song that has not been pressed through the synth mill and spit out again with its own charm.

This is also the case with the premiere release from the label “Mattoni Pazzi” with the “Monomax Band”: As the song title already reveals, you will find a reference to the Led Zeppelin classic on side A. In full 80’s Italo fashion, this version is peppered with synth riffs, glittering arpeggios, a thundering DX-7 bassline and almost gothic-tinged vocals.

Side B is a remake of the remake and drifts off into the cosmic at a much higher tempo. A hypnotic repetitive bassline is underpinned with loving, oriental-inspired, lead melodies and vibrating soundscapes.

A1 is that classic Nebraska “This Is The Way” vibe; warm, atmospheric, sample-heavy 21st century disco with a truly euphoric build and release. A2 revises that first tune in a more tripped-out excursion. Both B-side tracks feature a French spoken-word vocal from BeBelle. “Fuis” is a blissed-out slow jam, whilst “Espace Fuis” picks the tempo back up again, adding a celestial choir and a fritzed-out arpeggiator solo.

TOTAL turns 21 this year, and Kompakt’s venerable compilation series couldn’t have asked for a more auspicious coming-of-age collection. If TOTAL 20 was consolidation against the odds, the Kompakt crew producing for a dreamt-of dancefloor in an uncertain future, then TOTAL 21 feels abuzz and alive with possibilities. Significantly, it’s the first TOTAL in some time that’s streamlined down to a single disc; this makes TOTAL 21 even punchier than usual, a joyous, reflective, and always thrilling 75-minute audio scan of the world according to Kompakt.

As with every instalment of TOTAL, there’s a deft balancing here of Kompakt regulars and new blood. Of the latter, there’s a first appearance by KOLLMORGEN, remixed by PATRICE BÄUMEL into an astral torch song; Amsterdam’s NICKY ELISABETH, offering up ROMAN FLÜGEL’s pulsating, arpeggiated remix of “Celeste”; and CAPTAIN MUSTACHE swoops down into view, PLAY PAUL in tow, with the dream-like electro lift-off that is “Everything”. JONATHAN KASPAR also drops by with a new track, “Von Draussen”, a stealthy and lethal floor-hugger with prowling bass.

Elsewhere, there’s the lead track to MICHAEL MAYER’s astonishing recent EP, “Brainwave Technology”, which not-so-gently spears the tech-futurist babble of AI, transhumanism and posthumanism, soundtracked by one of Mayer’s typically lush, glimmering soundscapes. JOHN TEJADA reaches back to the heyday of glitch and dub techno with the gorgeous “Spectral Progressions”, while the brothers VOIGT & VOIGT, on “Nicht Mein Job”, seem reinvigorated by the interwoven patterns and funky minimalism of the Profan days. Not to be outdone, JÜRGEN PAAPE kicks TOTAL 21 with “La Guittara Romantica”, a chiming and lilting lullaby for woozy late-night reflection.

Throughout, it feels as though Kompakt are taking a moment to both breathe in the dust of the past and look forward to a bright future. Perhaps that’s why, on “Fasson”, SASCHA FUNKE seems so confident, with pinprick melodies bouncing around a hall of audio mirrors, or why THE BIONAUT returns with “Blue Sky Motor Lodge”, a song so moistly melancholy, so enduringly lovely, it’ll make you weep tears of joy. ROBAG WRUHME gets a little delirious on the ticking, twisting “No”, and then GUI BORATTO mops everything up with the bubbling, bumping glam-stomp “Wake Up”.

That’s not all – spring for the digital and/or vinyl edition and you’ll get a new cut, “Happy”, from MICHAEL MAYER, and MARC ROMBOY & C.A.R.’s “I Am A Dancer”. But however you choose to play it, now TOTAL’s turned 21, it’s your duty to throw it the celebration to end all celebrations. Let the party begin, and don’t forget to bring a party favor…

A new lick of paint for the House of Disco, serving you slick, sophisticated and just as stylish. Taking the keys for the thirtieth release, Dutch dynamo Cleanfield, who lays down a four track EP dripping in summer sun.

The A side opens with ‘Sunshy’ a disco house banger, complete with bumping bass, sun-kissed toplines and warped Kool & The Gang synth warbles, before ‘Oregano’, takes you on a Mediterranean flavoured, supercharged dream house journey spliced with tripped out arppegiated wanderings.

On the flip, ‘Krispy’ a tropical, synth-heavy party starter with sandy beaches and crystal-clear oceans in mind and ‘Caught In The Act’ an underwater sea sensation, drenched in drunken arps and a cocktail of chants, guitar licks and good vibes.

In 2006 ARPANET returned with new LP "Inertial Frame".

Linked with both Drexcyia and Dopplereffekt camps, no one really knows for sure who ARPANET is.
Following on from their mighty "Wireless Internet" on Record Makers set a couple of years back and 2d "Quantum Transposition" on Rephlex in 2005, this album for Record makers develops their conceptual electronic fragmentation into yet another evocative and mysterious strand of sub-marine electro.

Though Inertial Frame serves the usual amount of killer loops, mysterious percussive treads and midnight melodies, Arpanet returns here for our greatest joy with BEATS and - please note the issue held in such an assessment- a whole bunch of fully SUNG tracks.

An instantly recognizable tapestry of Motor City soundscaping updated from the most seminal of archives, Inertial Frame TALKS the listener into derivative reflections on quantic physics and pays tribute to the works of 20th century great scientists.

MOTOR CITY addicts: this is your new holy grail..

- generic sleeve repress -

It has been a little over a year since the release of 747's debut album, in which the Canadian masterfully drew notes of inspiration from the 90s to create an enchanting hour-long dream. In his first EP since, 747 returns from a temporal leap, bringing with him a blend of sounds and expressions to forge a timeless trip which hinges on the sounds of the 303.

Opening the release, "you,you" unfolds with a gentle and shimmery padded ambiance of anticipation. Gentle and light-footed percussion is soon interrupted by a dramatic siren, a warning beacon. Frenetic energy ensues, a frantic rush to the floor met with a cloudy head. Encompassed in an envelope of disorienting wailing and intermittent buzzing, but finally grounded by the familiarity of a 4/4 bass drum.

"Does Anybody Remember Laughter?" steps in to relinquish the force of gravity. The animated arpeggio and gleaming singing acid line rise up, uncovering the kaleidoscopic nature of the structural surroundings.

"While My 303 Gently Weeps" divulges further, exposing an underlying grid of dark geometry - binary and robotic. The topology of surfaces becomes increasingly fractalized, until the solo overtakes with a somber sadness. The 303 notes guide the mind on a melancholic and meditative walk along the grand staff, met after the break with a sense of hope and serenity.

In My Sleep is the debut vinyl release from French producer Margee. Having gained a loyal following last summer with a remix for Tommy Guerrero, released on Music For Dreams, this EP showcases his natural ability at creating low-slung, densely layered productions, perfectly aimed at the dancefloor.

The release also features two heavyweight remixes. The first of these comes courtesy of underground House legend DJ Nature, who takes the title track and gives it a completely new twist with his inimitable ‘ruff disco’ stylings. Hailing from Bristol (via New York), recent years have seen Nature release on Futureboogie, Golf Channel and Jazzy Sport.

The second remix on the release comes from Hardway Bros (AKA Sean Johnson). Having been an early champion of Margee’s work on his regular ALFOS streaming marathons, Sean took the second track on the release, Wrong Dream, and went into heavy-dub mode. The resulting remix clocks in at just over 11 minutes and is everything you’d expect from him, and more…

Margee said of the release ‘In My Sleep started while taking a shower. The bassline popped up in my mind and I ran out as quickly as possible to record it. From there, I got pulled into a deep emotional trip with groovy tones and dirty sounds. Wrong Dream is actually a lost project that I had to start over again. It turned out to be more fierce than the first one, experimenting with arps and fuzzy synths, while keeping a certain groove that was easier to reproduce.’

In My Sleep is the second release from London based label Other Goodness, following on from Bawrut’s ‘Divergent Emotions’ EP last year, which quickly became a mainstay of the live-streams and a DJs favourite.

"King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have always greeted creative boundaries with the same respect bulldozers visit upon anything foolish enough to stray into their path. Over 11 years and across their 17 studio albums to date, the sui generis sextet have turned their many hands to luminous acid-rock daydreams (I’m In Your Mind Fuzz), gritty western horse operas (Eyes Like The Sky), never-ending science-fiction song cycles (Nonagon Infinity), dystopian death-metal epics (Infest The Rat’s Nest) and winningly mellifluous jazz-folk (Sketches Of Brunswick East). They’ve even invented their own musical instrument – a hybrid electric guitar sharing much of its DNA with the traditional Turkish bağlama – to explore the notes between the notes (a mission that’s yielded three albums thus far: Flying Microtonal Banana, K.G. and L.W.).
But their 18th album, Butterfly 3000, might be their most fearless leap into the unknown yet: a suite of ten songs that all began life as arpeggiated loops composed on modular synthesisers, before being fashioned into addictive, optimistic and utterly seductive dream-pop by the six-piece. The album sounds simultaneously like nothing they’ve ever done before, and thoroughly, unmistakeably Gizz, down to its climactic neon psych-a-tronic flourish. "

‘321?’ is the debut EP from MILYMA, released on foundation.fm’s freshly minted label foundation.fm Records.
MILYMA is the multi-instrumentalist and multi-linguistic musician, vocalist and producer with a bright year ahead of her.
Real name Milena Mayordomo, the rising star is based in the creative city of Basel in Switzerland and was born in Germany to Spanish parents. Her music explores the experimental fringes of pop that nods to hip-hop as well as classical, with her cascading arpeggios at the heart of her music making. Her world building capabilities with both music and visuals, place her amongst avant-pop creators like FKA Twigs and Smerz. Her intricate and intoxicating productions show us that MILYMA is already a master of her craft, bringing her thrilling EP ‘321?’ to the table, this Basel based artist is proving to be one of the most exciting acts to burst on the scene. After launching a new era for foundation.fm, both label and artist are sure to go from strength to strength.
This 4-track EP is printed on 140 gram 12” black vinyl, in 200gsm printed card sleeve.

Tom Frankel and Dayne Harper, founders of the record label Council Work and purveyors of British underground dance sounds, make their debut as duo Frankel & Harper on Time Is Now's white label series. They serve up five killer cuts of explorative bass-driven production.

The EP opens with "Track & Trace", a smooth but high intensity roller that never gives you a breather from the heavy sub bass. The breaks that hit after the drop push the momentum for the rest of the record. "Ultraheat" features clever chopped up vocals and bubbling effects that create a skippy, upbeat shine to a forward beat that would be at home in the dark of the club.

More clubwise production on "Every Grain of Sand", where echoed samples give a cavernous space to the track which is filled by shimmering arps and the low-end rumble of bass, real late night business that rolls into "Heinous Fly Trap's classic heads-down garage sound. Shuffling house energy meets two-step on "Magnolia", bringing the party energy for
the record closer.

For this release Ellende was a core of three original members plus a guest musician. The album was recorded between May to August 2020 in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tokyo, and London. The release contains a twelve page booklet with artwork by Richard Hart. The autobiographical text in English and Afrikaans is of a trip taken to Cape Town in the mid 1970’s where two teenage cousins are confronted with the consequences of their shared family history.
The music can be described as ambient; the sounds are multilayered, often a bit dusty and slow moving. Some of the tracks sound like they have been recorded on old tapes giving the whole album a nostalgic atmosphere. Often a piano acts as the leitmotif, there is plenty of droning and throughout the tracks bits of texts from old French movies float in and out. Most of the music is made with vintage analogue synthesisers such as the Arp Solina, Prophet 5, ARP Solus, Juno 6. Most of the piano’s, Rhodes and Wurlizters are from the late 70’s as well. All the tracks have been recorded on tape, often played back on half speed. Mastering again was done by Rafael Irissari, whose own ambient work we greatly admire.

Unintentional Consequences is the second part of a trilogy of which Ellende’s previous release the double 10” album Odyssey, A Sentimental Journey from 2019 was part one.

Today, beloved DJ, producer and songwriter Lauren Flax announces her forthcoming EP, Out Of Reality out August 6 via 2MR. Much of Out Of Reality’s cohesion comes from Flax’s expansive production, using simple elements to craft intricate backdrops for the questions posed by her songs. On the EP’s titular track, Alejandra Deheza (School of Seven Bells)’s crystalline vocals are woven against a delicate tapestry of arpeggiated keys, sparse percussion and haunting cello. Watch “Out of Reality” here.

Detachment isn’t always detrimental; sometimes you have to step outside to get a better view. Lauren Flax knows this - as a DJ, producer and songwriter, her discography is notoriously genre-defiant, consisting of an impressive array of solo tracks, collaborations, and remixes. The most recent of these – her mesmerizing take on Pale Blue’s “Breathe” - saw her experimenting with a new style of writing. “I wanted to explore that sound more,” Flax explains, “more of a synth exploration, textures with less beats.” The pared-down songwriting approach lent itself to thematic considerations as well: she’d been thinking about the repetitive nature of the life cycle - the Indian concept of Samsara - and felt a general disappointment at humanity’s lack of progress. On her new EP Out Of Reality, she washes that disappointment in lush sonic hues, stepping outside the quotidien for a new perspective.

Though its themes span beyond the scope of our current socio-political moment, Out Of Reality feels, right now, like an especially tantalizing proposition. Pandemic-driven escapism has bred a new crop of otherworldly music designed to transport the listener somewhere better. But Flax isn’t interested in escapism for its own sake - there’s still work to be done here on Earth, after all. Instead, through a combination of live instrumentation and ethereal synths, Out Of Reality grants us a respite from the real so we can return to it with a clear head.

After featuring on the label with a contribution to Erell Ranson’s “Hand In Hand” Remix EP in 2018, SUED co-operator SW. punches back in on KOC with a hectic six-track sonic journey by way of inaugural transmission.

Crest-surfing the margins betwixt abstract beat-making, hardware experimentation and further explosive club-ready wares, the German producer breaks the trip in with the tropical hot "ariaJA" - reeling out a savvy mashup of animalian field recording, spaced-out FXs and loopy elastic bounce.

Cranking up the heat, a notch further, "moonNEWsoon" pulls out a hot mix of muscle-aching breaks, jackin' n’ smackin' toms and iridescent synth stabs, all coated with a thick sauce of mind-boggling machine stunts. Trading its gridlocked intro for an aqueously luxuriant design throughout, gOiOsee has us deep-diving in an all-blue scenario where each element finds itself draped in richly-hued envelopes.

Flip sides and here comes the further shape-shifting, non-formulaic "mASsLESS", which invites us to see straight through glassy cascades of skittish snares, gummy synth arpeggios and futuristic chimes as an Eden of AI-rendered birdsongs and forgotten melodies come to life before our eyes.

Back to a more dynamic mindset, “justMUST4y brings lush flights of altered piano chords and pop-informed harmonics face to face with a gritty, metronomic drum work to weave another singularly off-kilter epic SW. holds the secret of, right before "VFXpeaksTWIN" wraps it all up in a soul-invigorating, Twin Peaks-scented and horizon-broadening ambient finale.

The International Feel label is back from an extended meditation. Well-rested and with a cornucopia of new ideas and records, IFeel is happy to announce the debut album from Charlie Charlie as the starting shot. „Little Things“ is the brainchild of Gabriella Borbély alias Bella Boo and Jens Resch better known as Chords. Born on a beach in Southern California instead of their hometown Stockholm, it is exactly what you would hope for such a record to be: pop music that is informed by hippie or counter culture and by a Balearic ethos (hence the International Feel address) that is free of blinkered definitions. In equal parts, the duo’s ten songs take the listener through honey dripping r&b, while respelling that certain Californian recording studio sound aesthetic, revisit vintage yacht rock and pop tropes as well as they are reflecting dance music influences in a broken, yet gold framed mirror. Most of all, it’s like a day dream that you don’t want to end. To quote our Italian friends from Edizioni Mondo: good listening experience!

Band info:
Charlie is Gabriella Borbély – also known as Stockholm's deep house virtuoso Bella Boo. Charlie is Jens Resch – also known as prodigious producer/musician Chords. The two Charlies met on a beach in Southern California and immediately decided to write a song together.
That first track was built on the sampled sounds of a rusty drainpipe. Charlie fired up a dusty ARP Odyssey and played a woozy solo over the drainpipe beats, then the other Charlie did the same, using that same legendary 70's analogue synth. When they realized the two separately recorded solos played together in perfect harmony, they knew they had to keep heading down their newly found, shared musical path.
Charlie & Charlie have since continued making music together, describing their common process as liberating, free-flowing, genre-less. "Little Things", their debut album, is made up of tracks recorded in Los Angeles and Stockholm, using that very same ARP as well as pianos, electric guitars and machines like the Prophet 6, the Juno-106 and the Syncussion SY-1. Vocal contributions come from the Charlies themselves as well as friends like Mapei and Julimar Santos.

Following on from their 'Junction EP' at the tail end of last year, My Nu Leng return to provide a selection of rave-tinged cuts that further cement their status as one of the leaders in the bass music scene. Following a packed-out summer tour diary, the 'Alter EP' consolidates elements from the duo's previous releases and influences into five tracks of low-end damage. Harking back to the pair's underground roots with inspirations from Techno, House and Breakbeat, opener 'Spaced' sets the tone.

Featuring their classic bass growls amongst hardcore pad stabs, an acid-esque synth line and raucous interjections from legendary drum & bass MC GQ, this one's designed to make you move. Takura returns to Maraki on 'Echoes', lending his distinctive vocals over a lethal distorted bassline and uncompromising 2-step beat. 'City Lights' provides momentary respite, a scintillating arpeggio motif over blissful chords and an enchanting vocal hook. My Nu Leng team up with DRS on 'Sinking Sand'. The Mancunian host leads the charge into a warping climax, showcasing his penmanship through relentless triplet flow. 'Signal' closes off the EP in sombre fashion, atmospheric synths and lamenting strings building into an emotive vocal and reflective bassline.

Aural Vision debut release with 4 major impressive tracks to sound analog and oldschool. Replaying each part and adding an extra dimension to the tracks through a sparkling synths
topline, a new vocal hook and dreamy arpeggiations.
This release is an exciting aural journey with slamming house & uplifting tracks...hot!

After two stellar Split EPs with Das Komplex, Brazilian sound wizard ROTCIV delivers his first Solo EP on Luv Shack Records. With 4 intricate original cuts and a Massimiliano Pagliara remix, the Elev8tion EP is a bold testament to modern EBM.

The titular track sets the stage with a firework of dramatic synths, brash elektro beats and a fluttering acid line, finding a perfect balance between dancefloor appeal and leftfield quirkiness.

Italian maestro Massimiliano Pagliara remixes "Elev8tion" in a straightforward fashion, opting for a percussion heavy drummachine pattern, a driving bassline and additional synth melodies, yet incorporating the original 303 to great effect.

On "Unbelievable", ROTCIV lays out a complex carpet of alternating arpeggios, heavily automated synth melodies and an array of weird vocal snippets, atop a minimalistic electronic drum track. "Muquifo", which literally translates to flophouse or dump (or shack?), is a slow burning breakbeat track with eerie strings and tripped out acid melodics, making it a hot contender for future afterhours.

"The Morning After" is a similarly low slung track, with a broken beat and a distinct industrial flair, yet the synth melodies strike a more hopeful chord and have an almost

Para One presents " Sundial ", the third extract from his new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace. After " Shin Sekai " and its commanding choir and drums, the chilling skies of " Alpes ", the producer points his arrow towards the heart. The track goes only up, from its hopeful arpeggio, a melodic bassline building higher floors, towering with layers of direct yet fine drawn synth chords. " Sundial " is wide and intimate, nostalgic, and confident at the same time.

The " Sundial " EP offers 3 remixes. Hot Chip draw first with a dance floor ready version, adding their own signature riffs and textures to the original canvas. The " Nodandanintheokotantan Mix " by England born / Berlin based Call Super chooses a playful replaying of the whole piece, changed into an array of micro percussions, reshaping the main melody from bits and pieces, until a plain piano enters the frame. Finally, Para One himself reworks " Sundial " and reveals even more the versatility of the original track, remodeling it into a manifest to dance, elastic beats and house music stabs in hand.

The focus for this TLM 7" is on SofaTalk from Italy, on the A side we have a superb track called Organica with main man Piero Paolinelli on Roland V-Drum, Arp Odyssey and Juno 106 with Marcus Horndt on Fender Rhodes and Edoardo Ruzzi on the Electric Bass. On the AA side Piero goes solo for Untold Stories, another superb track highlighting Piero's talents. Piero runs his own label Cognitiva Records and has had releases on deepArtSounds and ANMA Records amongst others, we are very proud to have him onboard for this release.

Tones 1.0 is a record specifically made for the purpose of melodic scratching, although it is not limited to just that; it can be also used as a production tool.

Think of Tones 1.0 as a synthesized toolkit that blurs the lines between live performance and production.



Side A consists of 16 locked modulating tones (8 bass tones and 8 lead tones) that have been recorded from various analog synthesizers. They were recorded live while manipulating cut-off frequencies, resonance and LFOs to a click track at 133.33 BPM. This gives the tones extra rich sonics and more depth while being scratched. Each bass tone is recorded at middle C (C3) while each lead tone has been recorded an octave higher (C4).



Side B consists of musical phrases, chords, drums, experimental tones and skip-proof atonal scratch sounds, all of which have been recorded at 133.3 BPM.



You’ll find a rich tapestry of ideas to choose from ranging from funk basslines/chords and licks, soul chords and licks, drums, atonal scratch sounds and experimental tones that create futuristic atmospheres. Major and minor 7th chords follow the circle of 5ths so that they are all relative to each other, perfect for creating music quickly. Once you’ve created a beat/sketch you can then jump to the skip-proof atonal scratch sounds and solo over the top. Enjoy.

Released in 2020, Rheinzand’s self-titled debut LP heralded an authentic vibe of retro-futuristic disco-pop, distinguishing themselves in the current climate of dance music. The album was met with acclaim, picked by Piccadilly Records as their nr. 1 album of the year.
Since, the material on that album have proven fertile ground for practitioners in the art of the remix. On this EP, we release a selection of those efforts.

On the first slot, we have Running Back label owner and longstanding DJ heavyweight Gerd Janson polishing off his house music fluency with a gleaming take on ‘Blind’. The swerving vocals of Charlotte Caluwaerts’ reverberate through space ray arpeggiators and burnished drum gates. Belgian compatriot Blitzzega, the neon-drenched moniker of composer Bjorn Eriksson, features with a dizzyingly switched-on version of ‘Mi Mundo’, sporting gnawing synths and hijacked funk licks.

Next, dub-pop wizards Peaking Lights serve up a heady brew of plugged-up melodies braided around Reinhard and Charlotte’s shuffling vocals. This remix blends the magenta glow of synthwave with the deep grooves of maybe late Theo Parrish.

We round off the EP with a treat form Dennis ‘Citizen’ Kane, the iconic dance music figure who emerged in mid-90s NYC downtown scene. A veteran DJ and disco-head, Kane applies a luminous hand to Rheinzand’s ’14 Again’, deepening the vibe of kittenish mystery through carefully layered work of phasing drones, wandering synths, and mushrooming rhythm section (think T-Connection).

Melodic Motion sees Martin Matiske use his machines in a new way. Across four tracks, the German musician inspires. “Digital Emotion” is built on crisp drum patterns, patterns from which Matiske arcs rich analogue notes. Vocals, employed almost like samples, give a human quality to this future-world vision. Technology is a central theme of the EP. Human qualities melt in robotic currents in “Computer Dance,” colder electro tones merging with warm and cheer-filled videogame echoes. “Information Product” maintains some of the electro character of its predecessor. Yet this is far from a dark piece, its uplifting piano keys surging with optimism. The icier tones of “Transmission” closes. Warm arpeggios rise against a front of crystalline chords in this final foray into this ever-so-close world of tomorrow.

Red Vinyl

The Berlin-based Techno producer I Am Bam brings four tracks to the table on his inaugural label release. Leading with "Queen", "Trezor", "Ko55ke5", and "Owie", all high energy dancefloor killer tracks paired with catchy classical arpeggios and drums.

His track entitled Queen witnesses Bam's unmistakable sound, with a deep 90's vibe and catchy vocals.

Hailing from Rotterdam, DJ Crisps returns to Time Is Now with another hot and heavy four tracker, teasing experimental genre play on the newest addition to his fast-growing discography. This exciting collection of modern garage reinventions is not to be missed.

No Dirty Money EP showcases DJ Crisps' clever production style, a mix of drama and fun; "Don't Need No Dirty Money" kicks the record off with staccato minimalist percs that have a metallic edge, effervescent vocal samples contrasting the momentous sub bass. "Dynamic Reflections" creates an icier soundscape, juxtaposed arpeggios echoing each other across a calm, deep bassline and cavernous pads - gentle, but still alive and kicking.

Lazy sax and ghostly pads open the expansive B side; "Release the Pain" then flips the energy with a Niche style bassline and cheeky garage synths. The jazz samples remain to create a real fusion sound. To end, "Sweet Melodies" pairs dirty garage with funk n soul, chopped up vocals and a classic James Brown sample making this high energy track even more vibrant - a joyous end to the EP

xpressed by synthetic voices, they present a futuristic take on modern electronic music.
Lush sounds of classic analog synths, modular drum machines, and digital sources merge into unheard soundscapes within their voltage driven root system. Six tracks combining various paths of the electronic landform into a musical journey framed by Kris Wellings’
uncanny chants. Garden Scene is a trip from the aesthetics of Detroit electro to complexity of IDM to harmonic outbursts from the abyss of contemporary pop culture.

Layton Giordani takes the next step in the evolution of his sound with ‘Hyper World’.

Despite the challenging year we all shared in 2020, Giordani continued to grow in leaps and bounds as a producer. His second studio album ‘New Generation’ was a critical success and showcased the breadth of his artistry over 11 tracks, with moods fit for both the dancefloor and afterhours alike.

His latest offering, however, flexes its raving muscle and ambles up for the summer. The title track is bad arse, with swirling pads, trippy arpeggios and subtle flourishes of acid and psychedelica that all combine for a stomping finish. Fresh in every sense. ‘Astro’ is heavy on drama, driven by a big synth lead that pierces the air with intensity, before a delicious mid-track key change pushes the energy up to eleven and shortly after drops down into a celestial break, before building back up again.

Up to kick off 2021 in the most adequately frenzied, thoroughly corrosive fashion, DDS04 serves up a quintet of chrome-tanned, hi-velocity beats courtesy of Italian hardware fetishist Anna Funk Damage (previously heard on the likes of Mind Records, Lux Rec, Lazy Tapes and more) and Austrian-Hungarian outfit Dutch Courage - alias Superskin & Új Bála - each of whom step up to the plate to deliver an exquisitely ear-wormy slice of their deranged industrial gospel.

A-side starts off to the sound of AFD's hard bouncin' "48 Hours Death" - a raw-cooked deluge of head-reducing EBM grit, flaring binary signals and Giallo-infused arpeggios out a blood-stained Suspirian tale. Fear for the deadly scalp hunters lurking in the club's darkest nooks, they've just sniffed out your trail.

Brutal churner "Youssef" picks up the torch and pulls out the quake-inducing breaks without further ado, dressed out with languorous Orientalistic melodies and steely distortions tailored to bend mind by the dozens. Forged in the furnace, the full-out punk-minded "I Come From Fire" rounds off the side on a drum and bass-heavy note, drawing as much from 60s psych-garage as it does from 80s deconstructionist tape music.

Flip sides and here's Budapest unit Dutch Courage taking the reins with the off-kilter treat "Hand Of The Sword" - navigating a weird zone of its own, floating astride post-apocalyptic Bristol bass, sliced-and-diced abstraction and overly textured yet equally bone-bruising riddims.

Wrapping up the journey with both force and serenity, "Neo-Soulmates" follows a similar path with its warped synth flexions and raucous machine cries making the rounds from one end of the spectrum to the other effortlessly, merging to give birth to something genetically contrasting from any contemporary. A most fitting finale to an EP that celebrates and encourages sonic bizarro in all its forms and manifestations.

Born Bad continue their mind-expanding and totally essential series of library music ‘Space Oddities’ compilations with this set focusing on French musician and composer Sauveur Mallia.
In the ever-expanding universe of 70s and 80s French library music, Mallia holds a special place; his career, multifaceted work and the uniqueness of his talent have made him an exemplary figure in the unsung world of library musicians.
In those years a few of them, often for economical reasons, would set off on a
space conquest, taking along just a few synthesisers.
Their ambition well surpassed the modesty of their means; it was in turn the
condition to their experimentations with sound which were to create a new
sonic space: that of a nation tumbling into modernity. From French soil to the
farthest reaches of the cosmos, there were just a few steps to take. It’s with the
label Tele Music, boarding the spaceship Arpadys, along with the Voyage crew,
that Sauveur Mallia took the big leap.

Purple Vinyl

Even if you're well-acquainted with composer and multi-instrumentalist Colin Fisher's richly varied output, his gentle fifth solo album, Refections of the Invisible World may come as a surprise. Psychedelic lyricism has always been a fundamental aspect of his sonic signature, but his second collaboration with producer Jeremy Greenspan (Junior Boys, Jessy Lanza, Morgan Geist) finds the Toronto native luxuriating in expansive atmospherics for its full duration.
That's not to downplay the eclecticism he finds within this ethereal landscape. Each track tills its own discrete sonic acreage, and while every one emanates from a clear focal point, the spontaneous impulse that drives Fisher's more audibly improvisational music always remains close at hand. Some pieces unfold rippling aquatic vistas or delight in prismatic guitar arpeggiation, elsewhere his plaintive, blues- infected tenor saxophone wafts like some strange jazz apparition, or becomes a chorus of cosmic murmurs. The presence of electronics is undeniable, but equally irrefutable is the organic instrumental sources of these disparate hues. In fact he's discovered a rare balance: no matter how effects-saturated, every gesture on the record feels palpably sculpted by Fisher's hands and breath. As such, Refections of the Invisible World carries a sense of intimacy at the heart of its diffuse, dream-like sonics.
Fisher has a been a major presence in Canada's music community for more than twenty years—particularly in more experimental and improvisational circles. Nothing short of a guitar virtuoso, he also wields saxophone, drums, and various other instruments with similarly refined musicality, vivid textural imagination, and sometimes feral abandon. His one-man-band tape Garden of Unknowning for Manchester's Tombed Visions, showcase all of this as he spars with different iterations of himself. The Quietus' cassette critic Tristan Bath extolled it as "miraculous," adding that "it’s a visceral experience soaking up this record, and it’s all down to Fisher’s utterly innate sense of musicality." He subsequently cited it in his 2018 contributor's year-end chart for the Wire.
In 2014 his partnership with Nick Millevoi's trio Many Arms on Suspended Defnition (Tzadik) prompted Spin's Brad Cohan to remark "Many Arms have dug even deeper into math-metal wizardry, bolstering their already imposing lineup with gale-force blowing guest saxophonist Colin Fisher, thus blasting their outré sonic blitz into a fire-breathing free jazz otherworld." Fisher later engaged the band's bassist, Johnny DeBlase, to team up with him and Kid Millions (Oneida, Man Forever) as Monas. As an ongoing collaborator to introspective dance music auteur Caribou, Fisher frst appeared in offshoot project Caribou Vibration Ensemble, and subsequently on acclaimed albums Swim and Suddenly. He's also made two duo albums with celebrated Nova Scotian jaw harp innovator chik white for Dylan and Lisa Nyoukis' Chocolate Monk label. In addition to performing alongside the likes of Jaime Branch, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Laraaji, Gerry Hemmingway, and Fred Frith, he has contributed to recordings by the Constantines (Sub Pop), Bernice (Arts & Crafts), Rhys Chatham (Table of the Elements), Born Ruffans (Warp), Anthony Braxton and AIMToronto Orchestra (Spool), and many more.