Buscar:as it is

Primarily based in Leeds, The Lewis Express is comprised of many of the musicians that have graced previous ATA releases: George Cooper, Piano (Abstract Orchestra) Neil Innes, Bass (The Sorcerers, The Magnificent Tape Band, Tony Burkill), Sam Hobbs, Drums (Dread Supreme, Tony Burkill, Matthew Bourne) and Pete Williams, Percussion (The Sorcerers, The Magnificent Tape Band, Tony Burkill).Recorded over an intense two-day session, 'Clap Your Hands' is heavily influenced by the classic soul jazz recordings of The Young Holt Trio / Young Holt Unlimited, and Ramsey Lewis, from who this group take their name. As with many of the classic Ramsey Lewis cuts this album was recorded live, capturing the rich inter-relationship between the players and leaving in some of that chunky room noise.

'Clap your hands' builds on the template set by their eponymous debut album and further explores the 60's soul-jazz of Ramsey lewis, Young-Holt and Ray Charles as well as the latin boogaloo of Eddie Cano and Pete Terrace. The band's intention was to produce an album of dancefloor friendly, uplifting, funky soul-jazz with a stripped back line up of Piano, Bass, Drums and Percussion. Ranging from the mod-jazz of 'Stomp Your Feet' (a Ramsey-esque groover that's just made-to-measure for dancers) and 'Out From The Rock' (Funky drums and plenty of blues-dipped soul from the Piano) to the driving boogaloo of title track 'Clap Your Hands' and the Ellignton-esque 'Moola Umemo' (Remeniscent of Ellington's 'Money Jungle'). Each track is, in it's own way, aimed squarley at the dancefloor and sure to go down well with both DJs and listeners alike.

"Clap Your Hands" is certainly a more contained album from The Lewis Express, whose debut moved around different camps. It's a tighter, more focussed record that wears it's inspiration proudly on it's sleeve.

Radio support expected from Gilles Peterson (BBC6 Music, Worldwide Fm), Craig Charles (BBC6 Music, Radio 2), Jamie Cullum (Radio 2) and Huey Morgan (BBC6 Music).

Maybe the best Alessandroni's album ever. A true holy-grail for any collector and worldwide music lover, which we can consider nowadays as the most sought-after record of the whole legendary RCA SP 10000 series, and as the rarest album from the king of Italian libraries.

Jazz, mellow-funk, downtempo breaks, and incredible rock blends, make this record a refined portrait of the 70's American way of life, viewed through the fully Italian lens of Alessandroni's sensitivity.

The magic around Spontaneous is that this album is not only beautiful and astonishing, but is certainly on of those amazing records to which time gives new life and freshness, making it sounds unbelievably contemporary.

After five years of exhausting research, finally Four Flies can give a light to this obscure and fascinating mystery, rescuing it from the darkness. It's not just another piece of Alessandroni's legacy that is finally put back in the right place. This should be considered as the definitive act to re-estabilsh Alessandroni's leadership into the library music scene, and beyond.

Available again from July 19, coming in 180gr black vinyl, housed in a hard tip-on sleeve cover.

Limited Edition 500 copies, don't sleep!

'Motherlode' is a classic James Brown compilation album, primarily focusing on his funk recordings of the late 1960s and early 1970s, & including live performances and remixes as well as studio recordings. This is the first vinyl edition of the 2003 expanded version of 'Motherlode', a 2-LP on 180g in a gatefold jacket, featuring a number of tracks never before available on LP. Highlights include a live 'Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud', 'I Got Ants in My Pants (and I Want to Dance)', the chart hit 'She's the One', and more.

A superb debut ep from sunny Australia. Despite the artist name being relatively new - Reach 4 The Lazers - this EP has some serious talent behind it and in front of it.
United As One is the track name and the ethos of the EP, and it features 4 stunning remixes of an original vocal anthem.

'There's a lot of serendipity involved in wrestling grooves out of these awkward machines', says Richards about the process behind the record. 'A large part of the composition is making the machines and the patches. They define the limitations of the pieces coming together. Then the performances are happy accidents - found using intuition and practice.'

Made up of two studio sessions and one live recording, PINK NOTHING reflects the unusual space Richards inhabits musically. It's partly informed by his background as a PhD student at Goldsmiths, where he re-imagined and built the Mini Oramics machine – a 'drawn sound' instrument first conceived by electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram, and finally realised by Richards in 2016.

But Richards is also an autodidact beat-maker, and much of the structures and sounds on PINK NOTHING derive from dance music, while his influences also include ritual trance, Ghanaian drum choir music, and the cellular rhythms of Steve Reich. 'It's polyrhythmic abstract electronica' – and he emphasises – 'listening music'.credits

Hoarder is the latest project in a long line of collaborations between Andy Butler (Hercules and Love Affair) and multi- media artist Joie Iacono. Building a sonic world sourced from organic, electronic, and found sounds, the two have waded neck deep into noise-oriented, darker territories over the past 3 years in the studio, and just the tip of the iceberg is revealed on this first EP with London based Khemia Records,
While the four tracks definitely nod to 80’s industrial and techno, with Butler’s knack for arrangement and tenure producing music, and their combined years steeped in the culture, the Ep feels inspired by the era rather than replication or straight homage.
The intention to create a complete visual world alongside these musical experiments is very evident in the video for “Tetanus Spike”. Culling from her years as a visual artist, working with under names like David Armstrong, Dike Blair, Annie Sprinkle and Billy Sullivan, Iacono’s nuanced and sometimes brutal take on portraiture and her inherent sense of rhythm with the moving image boldly comes through. The anti-aesthetic and chaos they are investigating most definitely reflects from their shared love of Fluxus and Actionist art, and the power of performance. Ultimately, in an existential moment of fragmentation, unease, and a creeping sense of powerlessness Hoarder’s approach feels right. Rejecting the superficial and longing for lost authenticity, the time to destroy and rebuild has indeed come, and Hoarder can and will further help provoke it’s onset.

“He is Nigh.”
“He is? Already? How??”
When Aziraphale (Angel and part-time rare book dealer) and Crowley (an Angel who didn’t so
much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards) learn that the Antichrist has been born on present day
Earth, they agree to work together to prevent the End of Days. Eleven years later, all bets are off
when innocent Adam Young discovers he has the power to bring about Armageddon. As the stage
is set for a showdown between the forces of Good and Evil, the prophecies of Agnes Nutter,
Witch may yet come true…
For the first time ever on vinyl, Good Omens is adapted and co-directed for BBC Radio 4 by the
award-winning Dirk Maggs (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Neverwhere; Stardust; Anansi
Boys; The X-Files; Alien; Batman; Superman). It is based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry
Pratchett, now the basis for a major Amazon Prime TV series premiering in Summer 2019.
Starring Mark Heap as Aziraphale and Peter Serafinowicz as Crowley, with Josie Lawrence as
Agnes Nutter, Colin Morgan as Newton Pulsifier and Charlotte Richie as Anathema Device, the
cast also includes Phil Davis, Harry Lloyd, Paterson Joseph, Rachael Stirling, Jim Norton, Nicholas
Briggs, Neil Maskell, Steve Toussaint, Simon Jones, Julia Deakin, Mitch Benn, Louise Brealey, Mark
Benton and many more including cameo appearances by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
The unique four 180g heavyweight heaven and hell split black and white vinyl — includes a laser
etched Side B — are presented in illustrated wallets inside a rigid, bound 16 page book, with
exclusive sleeve notes written by Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs.
“Heaven and Hell are preparing for war, and it’s going to be very messy.”

Black Truffle is pleased to announce the release of this genuine head-scratcher, the first collaboration between DJ/mixtape-compiler Kayo Makino and underground legend Tori Kudo. Originally created to be played between acts at the launch of Eiko Ishibashi’s acclaimed The Dreams My Bones Dream and then reworked and refined for LP release, the two side-long pieces are sonic environments constructed by Makino for Kudo’s piano to inhabit, or, as the LP’s credits suggest, a cinéma pour l’oreille in which Kudo’s piano plays the starring role. Beginning with a soothing field recording of crickets dramatically punctuated by smashing glass, the first side finds Kudo playing his way repeatedly through one of Satie’s 1897 Pièces froides. Best known to many listeners for his role as leader of the ecstatically shambolic rock unit Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Kudo’s performance of Satie’s whimsical yet haunting melody is alternately halting and fluid, delighting in the hesitations of unstudied technique and the subtle variations between repeated attempts. While the combination of Kudo’s piano and the background of crickets initially suggests a documentary approach to recording – as if the we are simply hearing incidental sounds creeping through an open window – things take an unexpected turn a few minutes in when Kudo’s piano is suddenly doubled. Layering two separate attempts at the same piece of top of each other, Makino’s unorthodox mixing blurs Satie’s original into a fog of stumbling echoes that becomes increasingly dreamlike as the chirping crickets are overtaken by pattering rain, German dialogue and traffic sounds. The second side begins in a similarly inscrutable vein, with snatches of birds and film music providing a gentle backdrop for Kudo’s improvisational variations on a chord progression that, as his performance builds over its twenty-minute duration, somehow begins to suggest the sadly swaggering grandeur of Mick Taylor-era Rolling Stones. Makino accompanies and eventually overwhelms Kudo’s piano with a bizarre layer of digitally processed voice and drums, stretched out into a disorienting haze before suddenly retreating to leave Kudo’s piano accompanied only by a barking dog. Seemingly unrelated to anything else being produced in the world of contemporary music, this is a striking collaboration between two unique musical personalities that bridges the mundane and the surreal, opening up a dream-space both haunted and hospitable.

Elina Shorokhova aka SOELA is a multi-talented artist hailing from southern Russia who now calls Berlin her home. It is there where she continues to build her presence in the community through her live and DJ sets alongside documenting the local scene and artists through her lens as a photographer.

LILY EP may be 4 tracks but as a collected whole, sounds and feels like an album when heard from beginning to end. The title track emits her talent as a pianist by setting a tone of gracefulness that is carried throughout the EP – broken beats float in and out of dub drenched ambience that flows with cascading vocals. CLOSE YOUR EYES echos a spirit of Detroit House with refreshing new intensities. Again, her vocals caress the track but as an incredibly catchy hook. WHITE BECOMES BLACK shows her own interpretation of dub techno and combines that into a classic house beat. I HAVE A DREAM sounds like she bridges all of the previous track elements into a single whole which makes this tune the perfect closing track for any DJ set and of this release. A steady low-end groove keeps the ricocheting snares and somber synths cruising to an up-tempo rhythm.

PAREDO presents new and exclusive works by three female japanese music producers: KOPY, TENTENKO and MIKI YUI who are based in Osaka, Tokyo and Düsseldorf respectively and a radical reinterpretation using elements of the featured works by Lena Willikens, the PAREDO MEGA MIX. All four contributions showcase their highly individual approaches to contemporary electronic dance music. Paredo is directly informed by multi-directional encounters of four musicians and their close observations of musical production and reception in practice.

In 2017 Lena Willikens and TAL founder Stefan Schneider have both, though independently from one another, been invited to Japan under the auspices of the Goethe Institut. While Schneider researched electronic noise music cultures in Osaka, LENA WILLIKENS and her artist partner SARAH SZCZESNY developed aspects of audio mix and filmed footage for their collaborational art project PHANTOM KINO BALLETT while in residency at Villa Kamogawa in Kyoto.

"While in Kyoto, we often went to Osaka or Tokyo to explore the diversity of the music subcultures there. It was fascinating to witness how Japanese underground cultures adopt influences from abroad and turn them into something original and very much their own. We also saw live performances by KOPY and TENTENKO whom we quickly befriended."

KOPY is a consistant part of the vital electronic music scene from Osaka. Besides a few performances at Düsseldorfs famous SALON DES AMATEURS, she has also been invited by LENA WILLIKENS to her showcase at the MEAKUSMA FESTIVAL in 2018.

TENTENKO begun to enter into the japanese music scene with a steady flow of experimental cdr productions as well as collaborations with members of the legendary japanese noise band Hijokaidan.

MIKI YUI originally from Tokyo has lived in Düsseldorf for more than two decades now. Besides albums of her solo work for LINE (US), or more recently, for Cusp Editions (UK) she also collaborates with Carl Stone in the duo REALISTIC MONK (on the Meakusma label) and was a member of Klaus Dingers last band JAPANDORF (Grönland Records).

LENA WILLIKENS who has a background in fine art, first honed her unique approach during a long residency at Düsseldorf’s Salon des Amateurs. Outside of the club, the Cómeme label was home to her first EP, 2015's Phantom Delia. In 2017 she has released a remix of Kenyan singer OGOYA NENGO for the ON MANDE EP, TAL02.

"Continental" is the new full length solo record by Milan-based multi-instrumentalist Nicola Ratti, following recent releases on Where to Now? and Room40. Conceived of by Ratti as a "series of big rooms or places to get lost in, full of small details and characterized each by a single flavor or perfume" it is a surprising and vibrant collection of music. Working with a palette of spare, expertly deployed percussive synthesis techniques, Ratti's work here is both labyrinthine and concise. These eight tracks are able to evoke spaces real and imagined with startling efficiency and clarity. Sprawling old world libraries, cliff caves inhabited by dripping water and rock doves, an automaton nearly slipping its axis but recovering just in time and finding a new sense of purpose in the process.

japanese living legend electronic producer “takayuki shiraishi”,it’s a collection of his unreleased materials in late 80’s. he has started the career as his unit “BGM” on most reevaluated japanese experimental label “VANITY RECORDS”. one&only the album “BACK GROUND MUSIC” have been one of the most demanded japanese new wave record. the album is unique mixture of dark new wave, post punk,kraut rock and experimental electronic music. the first reissue of “BGM/BACK GROUND MUSIC” is coming this autumn.

Masks is New York duo comprised of Max Ravitz aka Patricia (L.I.E.S, Opal Tapes, Ghostly) and Alexis Georgopoulos aka Arp (RVNG Intl, Mexican Summer, DFA, Smalltown Supersound). The aptly titled EP2 is (yes, you guessed it!) their second release, preceded by their Opal Tapes debut Food Plus Drug (II) — which gained support from Legowelt, Mount Kimbie and Boomkat — and a compilation appearance on esteemed Beats In Space 15 year anniversary 3xLP.

On paper, it might strike one as a strange duo. Ravitz’s work leans heavily on house and techno, but his recent work has been focused towards emotive melodies of IDM. And Georgopoulos has been busy creating minimalistic classical music for RVNG and most recently made waves with his critically-acclaimed album Zebra, which combined elements of 4th World and cosmic jazz.

All the tracks making up EP2 were made as live performances. No overdubs. Nothing "in the box". Just classic hardware and a strong vibe.

Opener "In This Room" is the sound of a NY summer sunset, pivoting on a hypnotic rotation of orange-hued chords. "Emotional Response" displays a different side of the group. Combining a 909 with a piano tug, it could provide that perfect soundtrack to a cathartic cry on the dancefloor.

On the flip side, "In Another Room" is dreamy techno par excellence, before sliding into an acid chugg for the ages. Bookworms smears the sun of "In This Room" into a 4am whirl, all purple lights and mountains of fog.

The cover artwork features the artwork of Sanou Oumar, a recent emigrant from Burkina Faso, West Africa. He graduated from the University of Ouagadougou in 2007 and moved to the United States to seek asylum in 2015. He currently lives in the Bronx and works in Harlem, New York. In 2018, Oumar had his first two-person exhibition (with Matt Paweski) at Gordon Robichaux in New York, and in 2019 (with Elisabeth Kley) at South Willard in Los Angeles, curated by Matt Connors.

Having broken a decade's silence with 2016's 'System', LA-based electronic musician Joseph Fraioli, a.k.a. Datach’i, returns this summer with his eighth album 'Bones'.
Released on Venetian Snares' Timesig imprint, 'Bones' features 12 tracks of mind expanding electronica, once again recorded on his custom-built Eurorack modular system. Much like its predecessor, 'Bones' manages to make the most of the possibilities modular systems offer, whilst avoiding their many pitfalls that can often turn such music into little more than a dry academic exercise. Indeed 'Bones' is a remarkably intimate album, written and recorded in the time following his father's death, and reflects this intense period of personal change in Joseph's life.

"Creating this music was a therapy of sorts," Joseph recalls. "It was almost like a close friend being there for me, and it's something that I hope others can perhaps utilize in the same way."

The connection to his father is something that is reflected not just in the emotional intensity of 'Bones', but in the actual production itself. "My father and I were very close," he explains. "Whilst he was sick with cancer I bought him a guitar as he wanted to learn how to play, just to have something to do while he was getting treated. After he passed away my mother gave me the guitar to have as a sort of memory of him. I had the idea to record some sounds and music on the guitar and load it onto granular sample players on the modular synth so I could make new music from those sounds as a sort of tribute to my dad. You can hear some of those sounds on a few of the tracks here like 'Arrivals', 'Motion in the Living Room' and 'Undimension'."

The resulting album grapples with the intensity of these emotions. But for all their weight, tracks like 'Saugerties Road', ‘Rockledge 3A’ and ‘Antumalal’ transform that heaviness into something warm and comforting whilst the aforementioned 'Arrivals' or ‘Wand’ ultimately achieve some kind of escape velocity and soar. Even though 'Bones' is about endings and finding closure, it also looks forward to new beginnings.

"It was something very much on my mind throughout recording this album," he relates, "ends being beginnings and beginnings being the end. Cycles of time and how time works, it's all reflected throughout the album right down to how the tracks are ordered."

Ranging from blissful ambience and guileless, starry eyed melodies, to intricate claustrophobic rhythms that forever sound close to collapsing in on themselves before expanding into bold new patterns, 'Bones' is the work of a producer who, twenty years on from his debut, continues to push the boundaries of electronic music.

On July 26th the top-ranking leftfield star Clark will release ‘Kiri Variations’, via his own label Throttle Records – and as always, he has musically metamorphosized into something fresh and new.

This album of plaintive beauty, eerie wyrd arcadian horror and childlike outsider music epitomises his constant ability to flip-the-script and coherently organise an abundance of new ideas.

Mysterious and morbidly beautiful pieces driven by piano, harpsichord, clarinet, strings, electronics and voice are interspersed with fabulously unusual and highly original curveballs:

Odd-in-a-brilliant-way, the faux naïve ‘Kiri’s Glee’, evokes traveling minstrels of yore accidentally eating the wrong ‘shrooms, and ‘Coffin Knocker’ has diffracted psych feel, like David Axelrod’s work with the Electric Prunes, but chopped, screwed and scorched.

‘Forebode Knocker’ is darkly funky, like the kind of lost diggers’ nugget unearthed and sampled by RZA, whilst the sonically-perfect ‘Primary Pluck’ unfurls exquisitely, swaying slowly ever forward like a funeral march.

‘Cannibal Homecoming’ is nothing short of Clark’s most song-based composition ever, featuring augmented human voice as evident elsewhere and also a fully-fledged vocal sung by him.

‘Kiri Variations’ started life as the score to the BAFTA-nominated TV program ‘Kiri’, but only a small (and highly effective) portion of the music recorded was used – intentionally sparingly – by director Euros Lyn. That first incarnation has since grown and morphed intosomething entirely of its own being; a proper artist album.

“In addition to my usual methods of controlled randomness and tangential ideas, the TV commission was a prominent spark for new approaches. It’s a great balancing contrast with the solipsistic studio album”, Clark explains.

The record allows simplicity and playfulness to shine through: “It’s a skeleton of an album, reduced to bare essentials, although it started out rather dense - the thing that takes time is making it succinct."explains Clark. “Certain parts are also what you could call anti muso – for example the recorder on ‘Kiri’s Glee’ is totally out of tune – but it sounds so colourful. I can’t resist the primary paint of acoustic instruments; it’s an antidote to frictionless digital music.

Suitman Jungle is a creation of percussionist Marc Pell. The idea behind it is a man in a suit playing jungle music. He uses his voice, plays a standing drum kit and utilises live electronics such as an SPD-SX, a clunky office keyboard and guitar pedals.

Suitman Jungle is the Director of RBS (Regional Bassline Services), a company that provides a wide variety of sub & mid-range bassline services internationally.

'Liquid Lunch' is an album influenced by the sounds of London and daily routines. It was produced in OpenOffice spreadsheet processor and mastered in a cracked version of Microsoft's Powerpoint. Track four, 'Nil Cash Option', is a recording of two gig-goers who gatecrashed Brighton's Great Escape Festival by pretending to be accountants. Track six, 'Lift Going Up', is about how some days one's mood can be better or worse than on other days.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s return to his most spaced-out work, that marks his 2002 comeback album Jamaican E.T. The extra-terrestrial is back with some groovy reggae which creates a bridge between dub, roots and hip hop. But in the end it never ventures to far away from the traditional reggae. The album continues in showing his fascination with aliens, drugs and religion. His own voice is often multi-layered and contrasting with each other. It’s a wonderful record and it shows that even after all those years he was still capable in recording an album which stands out during the time of release.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music and worked together with artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Clash and The Beastie Boys. Nowadays he’s still performing and recording music.

Jamaican E.T. is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on orange coloured vinyl.

This year, First Word Records celebrates its fifteenth year in the game. The year commenced triumphantly with First Word being named "record label of the year" at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards 2019. Over the past six months, we've seen new music from 14KT, Souleance, Myele Manzanza, Teotima, Don Leisure, Children of Zeus and a range of artists across Europe, on the 'Music! Musik! Musique!' compilation.

To commemorate the 15th anniversary, First Word has a series of releases in the works for the second half of the year which see collaborations by artists from the label's current roster. To kick off, we have this special double-AA sided 7" single featuring Darkhouse Family, Kaidi Tatham & Tyler Daley.

Darkhouse Family consists of two Cardiff beatmakers & musicians, Earl Jeffers - founder of Melange Records and producer of 'A Library Excursion' from 2018, and Don Leisure, who recently provided us with 'Halal Cool J', the beat-tape sequel to 2017's 'Shaboo'. Over the years they've had releases, solo & individually, on Fat City, Metalheadz & Earnest Endeavors to name a few, bridging the gaps between various strains of dance music, beats and hip hop, with the organics of jazz and funk. Recently making noise across the UK with their new live band, and production work for the likes of Kamaal Williams, this is their first new release since their highly-acclaimed 2017 debut album 'The Offering' & subsequent remix project which also featured DJ Spinna, and one Kaidi Tatham.

Kaidi Tatham is one of the most revered multi-instrumentalists in the game. His endless contributions have included Bugz In The Attic, Amy Winehouse, Slum Village, Mulatu Astatke, Soul II Soul, Moonchild, Leroy Burgess, Amp Fiddler and loads more. Dubbed by Benji B last year as "the UK's Herbie Hancock", his versatility as a musician is actually more akin to Prince. He can play most things, and play them well. Providing flute duties on this track, he also graces the flipside with a full "flutestrumental" version. Aside from numerous other projects, Kaidi released three EPs on First Word to date, 'Changing Times', 'Hard Times' and 'Serious Times', and an album last year, entitled 'It's A World Before You', which featured daddy of 2000 Black, Dego, son of Jazzy Jeff, Uhmeer and Children of Zeus, Konny Kon & Tyler Daley.

Tyler Daley hails from Manchester, alongside son of Zeus, MC / DJ / beatmaker, Konny Kon. Somewhat of a veteran in the game, Tyler is currently one of the most-recognisable talents in the British soul scene, also lending his talents to dance music royalty along the way, including the likes of Goldie, Zed Bias, DJ Marky & Lenzman. With Children of Zeus, the duo have had a whirlwind 12 months since the release of their debut album 'Travel Light', performing shows across the globe & gaining new fans daily. The record was named "album of the year" by Complex magazine and BBC 6 Music's Huey Morgan, amongst a number of other notable tastemakers & selectors. Hot on the heels of the 'Excess Baggage' EP, Tyler laces this one with his inimitable brand of bars and soul.

A veritable super-group amongst the First Word stable, this low-slung slinky joint sees the guys work up a unique blend of jazz, soul, beats and hip hop - guaranteed to go 'All The Way'…

'All The Way' is released on First Word Records on July 26th 2019, limited 7" vinyl & digital.

Produced & mixed by Darkhouse Family

Vocals by Tyler Daley (Children of Zeus)


b B1. All the Way (Flutestrumental) [feat. Tyler Daley & Kaidi Tatham]


[b] B1 | All the Way (Flutestrumental) [feat. Tyler Daley & Kaidi Tatham]


[b] B1 | All the Way (Flutestrumental) [feat. Tyler Daley & Kaidi Tatham]

The past few years, we've watched from afar as Tokyo based DJ Haruka has established himself as one of Japan's top DJs and a crucial figure in the dance music scene. Since inviting him to play a Butter Sessions party in Melbourne and catching him multiple times in Japan, our online curiosities were met in real life with his impeccable taste and personalised style of house and techno. Needless to say, when Haruka sent us his debut EP "Senko", we instantly heard something special in his approach to music creation.

The three original tracks, entitled by their respective BPMs, encapsulate everything we loved about his DJ sets - bold, acidic and relentless synth sequences that are as intense as the Shibuya crossing, paired with masterful live percussion and drumming from Izpon (of Japanese salsa band Banderas) and Shigekazu Otake (of cult group Cro-Magnon) to create a unique sonic space. The recordings snarling nature reflects the pure force of DJ Nobu's Future Terror crew, of which Haruka is a key member. Additional live dubbing and mixing work from Naoyuki Uchida of Dry & Heavy - "Flying Rhythms" glues this raging bull together while purveying it's raw energy.

On the flip side, label heads Sleep D offer an unflinching club-ready version of "120", while French royalty Zadig contributes a mesmerising 14+ minute dubbed out, psychedelic burner that brings a new focus to the soundscapes of the original.







d 4. 120 (Sleep D Remix) feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida
[e] 5. 106 (Zadig Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]




[d] b1 | 120 (Sleep D Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]
[feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]




[d] b1 | 120 (Sleep D Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]
[feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]




[d] b1 | 120 (Sleep D Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]
[feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]




[d] b1 | 120 (Sleep D Remix) [feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]
[feat. Izpon, Shigekazu Otake & Naoyuki Uchida]

Season Four of Outlander continues the story of time-travel 1960’s Claire Fraser and her 18th century husband Jamie Fraser as they try to make a home for themselves in the rough and dangerous ‘New World’ of America. The score to the series is composed by American film and television composer Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Cloverfield, Black Sails). The settings of the series were a challenge for the composer, because each culture and geographical location offers other potential musical influences for the score. The score supports all these different locations and he even used the banjo this time. As it was one of the most exhilarating creative challenges of his career you’ll hear the integration of both bagpipes, fierce Afro-Cuban polyrhythms and French baroque ornaments. Above all the typical folk music will set the tone for all the settings in the movie.

Outlander Season 4 is available as a limited edition of 500 individually numbered copies on coloured (gold & black mixed) vinyl. The package contains an insert.

Supported by : Joel Mull, Gary Beck, Pan Pot, Nicole Moudaber, Slam, Etapp Kyle, Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann, Terrence Fixmer, Paul Rich and mayn more

Techno music has many facets, among the most important is hard techno and melodic techno.
In this new EP composed of two original tracks Michele Mausi presents “Northern Wind”, a song ready to attack your dance floors with its strictly analog sounds that then become melodic with the “Eyes of Consciousness” violins.
The remixes of Wrong Assessment, Nørbak and PjotrG & Dubiosity make the release complete and ready to satisfy the need of all techno DJs who want to overturn their club.

To mark his second artist album on his own Millionhands label in July, Tee Mango teases with a fantastic second EP from it featuring remixes from Hidden Spheres (Lobster Theremin, NTS), Kiwi (Futureboogie, Optimo, Life & Death) and Hubie Davison (Regraded).

The fantastic full length finds the UK artist stretch himself and serve up a dazzling array of soul-drenched, vocal-laced songs featuring his own singing and influenced by the likes of Prince and Bon Iver, alongside awesome gyuest vox from Detroit funk legend and former Funkadelic member Amp Fiddler.

Opening up EP 2, Tee Mango serves up a fizzing and arpeggiated electronic disco track, ‘Woo Hoo’ which will undoubtedly be rocking festival tents this summer. Irishman and Leisure System man Hubie Davison then steps up to the plate with a heart-warming, tripped out and twinkling organic house mix of ‘Down Down Down’, featuring warm oaky melodies and Mango’s fragmented falsettos.

Then comes a dazzling techno-not-techno mix of ‘Woo Hoo’ from Londoner Kiwi, an associate for labels like Correspondent and Optimo Music. This superb version keeps the galloping arpeggiated feel of the original but swaps the broken beat for a straight four to dizzying effect. Following that is acclaimed Lobster Theremin, Rhythm Section and NTS regular Hidden Spheres with a hip house basement re-rub of ‘Down Down Down’ with more of Tee Mango’s fragmented falsetto over a beat Prince would be proud of.

Finally, Tee Mango himself then steps out with the excellent balearic skit ‘Don’t Worry About the Rain’ with deliciously soothing Rhodes and synth whines topped with Mango’s vocals imploring us to ignore the weather.

This is a top package that bristles with brilliant club sounds for a range of different settings and more than whets the whistle for the forthcoming album.

Next up on Church, the London label turn to Germanys Julius Steinhoff. As a label head himself, Julius has crafted an undeniable sound that resonates deep within the underground scene, and one that fits well within the Church ethos.


The Forgotten Garden EP kicks off with the title track , a deep and moving house cut with a driving bass line taking centre stage alongside reverb drenched vocals. 'To Your Care' welcomes a sunrise triggering piano part, deep with orange is floats elegantly around an irresistible drum groove and rising bass line.
'So Very Close' again features the punchy bass line, trippy vocal snippets but with more of a rolling groove for the B side. 'Gonne Be With You Forever' takes its all a little punchier and minimalistic, carried by deep and emotive synth lines it closes the show in fine form.

Kognitiv Records is about music that connects with the listener on a deeper level, evoking emotion. Music plays a large part in so many lives and guides us through all emotional states as a form of therapy. So join us for your own Kognitiv Therapy.

Label boss DeVante delivers the third release for Kognitiv Records titled “Experimental”. He has invited Italian powerhouse duo Marvin & Guy to remix.

“Experimental” is a track that follows the storyline of an experiment. Whether it be a social experiment or science experiment, the emotional journey can be very similar. Feelings of uncertainty, tension, suspense, contentment and/or grandeur feature throughout this track. DeVante allows listeners to take their own journeys through all his tracks, so have a listen and find out where “Experimental” takes you!!


Marvin & Guy are making waves worldwide for their signature sound and it is an absolute pleasure to welcome them to Kognitiv Records. The boys have delivered a gem of a remix suitable for all occasions. Not only is it a great track to listen to in your day to day life, their remix tears the roof off a dance floor. Marvin & Guy have a strong ability of fusing current musical trends with nostalgic 80’s sounds and we love everything they do. We are sure you will too!

“Experimental” is Kognitiv Records first venture into the world of vinyl. There are very limited copies being pressed, so be sure to grab yourself a piece of Kognitiv Records history.

Kognitiv Records will donate a percentage of profits from every release to a different mental health charity in an effort to create further awareness and provide support to people suffering from mental illness.

Carlo Onda vinyl debut represents the Neue Deutsche Welle reinterpretation as it must. Truly vanguard and fresh minimal synth and perfect Germanic vocals that transport us to splendor days of Grauzone, DAF, Joachim Witt or Robert Görl. All tracks have been specially remastered for long cut vinyl by Eric Van Wonterghem at Prodam Berlin.

Reed Records presents the fifth single from Mohawkestra ‘Mo Heavy’ b/w ‘Buffalo Bill’ available on 7” vinyl

Mo Heavy is the first Mohawkestra single to feature one of their original compositions as the A Side and it’s a belter! Replete with the signature Mohawkestra heavy organ working alongside driving guitar chops and the percussion gets plenty of time to shine.

As the a-side is a Mohawkestra original on this one the B-Side is ‘Buffalo Bill’ which is a rather unique funk fuelled take of ‘The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill’ from The Beatles’ White Album. The hint of the title and the melody are the only similarities though as Mohawkestra take the groove far out into the Funk spectrum and stripped back to raw elements.

Available on 7” vinyl

The fifth and final Mohawkestra 45 in this series for Reed, and for this final donut they have gone into the realms of soundtracks vibes, a lost 70s cop show theme immediately comes to mind. This is a wide open joint, a spaced-out arrangement with super tough drums n' bongo breaks that keeps building into a killer jerkin' funk burner, just needs a cop car's siren wailing at the end! Special mention to Joe Wilkins for the raw as **** guitar riffs, heavy stuff. All in all a wicked and furious 45 for B-Boys & B-Girls.

Known as the Queen of Morna, Cesária Évora brought the traditional music of Cape Verde to international recognition and became recognised as one of world music's great female voices. Raised in an orphanage, Évora started singing as 16-year-old in the bars and sailor taverns of the West African island and sang on cruise ships before performing in Portugal at the invitation of Cape Verdean singer Bana. After being discovered by Portuguese producer Jose Da Silva she went to Paris becoming a serious global star. . Madonna asked her to perform at her wedding and again for her birthday, but Evora turned her down both times
Influenced by Brazilian rhythms, creole flamboyance and the heartworn sadness of the blues, the "barefoot diva" was compared to Billie Holiday and found great acclaim in). A heavy drinker and smoker, Évora's romantic, humble visions of Africa led to a Grammy Award for Voz d'Amor (2003), but ill-health forced her retirement in 2010 and she died - aged 70
The Barefoot Diva, and she continued to always perform without shoes on, proudly proclaiming her humble roots. She is also remembered for her stage appearance, always modestly dressed, with a bottle of Cognac on stage and a cigarette in her mouth.
Cesaria Evora is the world's foremost singer of the morna, the indigenous style of Africa's Cape Verde Islands. The morna evolved as a hybrid of Portuguese fados, British sea shanties, and African rhythm, reflecting the island's history as a Portuguese colony and spot for British coal mining. Some say it was also influenced by the modinha, a Brazilian song form. Full of mournful melodies and slow tempos, Evora's music encapsulates the essence of the morna in its sadness, longing, and nostalgia.

“Stop here!” exclaimed Robert Oumaou as we passed a mango tree on the side of the road just outside of Point-a-Pitre, the balmy capital of Guadeloupe. He filled a plastic bag with ripe fruit, and we set off on our journey across the small Caribbean island in search of musicians he hadn’t seen in years. On the way, we shared stories in broken French and English, stopping at truck stops to eat delicious fried fish. Robert took me to his hometown, and placed a mango and a flower on the grave of his teacher and mentor, a local poet. The seeds of Vwayajé (Traveller) were sewn on this trip, but shortly after returning home, I heard that Robert was ill, and he sadly passed away in 2018. This compilation was originally intended as a way to share Robert’s brazen work with a wider global audience, but it now also serves to immortalize his indomitable spirit.

Gwakasonné is the ecstatic articulation of Robert Oumaou’s artistic and political vision, a unified expression of his interests in American jazz, pre-colonial rhythms, Guadeloupian independence, and Créole poetics. Over the course of three albums, all released in the 80s, Robert piloted a revolving cast of musicians, a venerable who’s-who of Point-a-Pitre avant-jazz pioneers, to deftly intone his creative communal concepts. The songs on Vwayajé are compiled from these three releases, Gwakasonné, Temwen, and Moun, along with an electronic mantra taken from his 2007 solo album Sang Comment Taire. Viewed from our current artistic and cultural landscape, Robert’s work is exceptionally enduring, grounded in its declarations of freedom and foundational use of the Ka (drum) and voice, and prescient in its borderless explorations of protest folk, electronics, ambient atmosphere, music from the African diaspora, and spiritual jazz. The long-form hive-mind expression of the group has parallels with similar explorations by The Grateful Dead, electric
Miles, Pharaoh Sanders, and even the Boredoms, but these are only oblique references for a truly peerless sound. Like other conceptual children of Gérard Lockel, the group was part of a progressive movement of like-minded musicians, such as Serge Fabriano, Dao, Erick Cosaque, and Gaoulé Mizik, who embraced Lockel’s modernist ideals, fusing Gwo Ka drumming and tuning systems with contemporary jazz and vanguard recording technologies. Robert’s ecstatic phrasings, embrace of electronic instruments, and daring lyrics set the group apart as the beatific expression of a sagacious soul.

TRjj is made up of several people that meet regularly since 2016. It is practiced collectively with interchanging names and roles, so the full control about disguised authorship would be guaranteed. Everyone involved was set to meet half way. TRjj is a filter for the kinship of many. Its the freedom attained, once you have gotten rid of yourself. This heteronomic practice would be ideal to advocate against reasons which are claimed, biographies that are scripted, economies that are fueled and histories that are written to be recognized as something apparently truly valid and fully finnished.

C'est bas du front, ça fonce dans le tas, ça envoie du bas du front, puis ça remix deux de nos grands classiques à l'italienne (killervibez), en mode euh... bas du front ^^

C'est une photo d'asile "qu'on rêve d'acheter depuis des années près du mans"...

c'est commenté en français... c'est du françaikore sans bouts de tissus tricolore ! A part le drapeau hardcore...

Pochette imprimée (Visus by Hô), cellophanée (par Records Industry), gravé et masterisé (Par Simon The Exchange), distribué (par qui voudra nous en chopper).

Big up a tous les artistes... c'est vraiment un super disque

“Featuring the rumbling scowls of James McGovern's vocals… a gloriously well-crafted narrative, it's abrasive punk stance and places itself, front row, in the eyes of those yearning for someone to die for.” ­
– THE LINE OF BEST FIT
Overview
“Green & Blue” is The Murder Capital’s second single, following their official debut single “Feeling Fades,” produced by Flood (Foals, PJ Harvey, Depeche Mode), digitally via their own label Human Season Records on January 11th and as a 7” on April 5th (April 19th in the US). "Green & Blue" was released digitally on April 25th and will be released on a limited edition 12" on June 14th via Human Season Records.

Where Future Unfolds is a new work spirited by Chicago-based sound & visual artist Damon Locks. Starting as a solo sound collage piece (where Locks pulled samples from Civil Rights era speeches and recordings to create an improvisational pallet for performance on his drum machine), over 4 years the project has blossomed into his 15-piece Black Monument Ensemble - featuring musicians (including Angel Bat Dawid on clarinets and Dana Hall on drums), singers (alumni of the Chicago Children"s Choir), and dancers (members of Chicago youth dance company Move Me Soul). Where Future Unfolds is a live capture of the ensemble"s epic debut at the Garfield Park Botanical Conservatory on the West Side of Chicago. Recalling the spirits of Phil Cohran"s Artistic Heritage Ensemble, Eddie Gale"s Black Rhythm Happening, Archie Shepp"s Attica Blues, and Public Enemy"s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the album presents an inspired, innovative & immediate intersection of gospel, jazz, activism & 808 breaks.

After the runaway success of Field Of Dreams' first record, the boys decided it was time to get another one out there.

However, this time they wanted to showcase the talent of Istanbul's KaaN, a man they had previously remixed, a remix which was a big favourite of a certain Mr Andrew Weatherall. KaaN's latest track is another authentic slice of Turkish dance music with incessant eastern drum rhythms and melodies that make you feel like you're right in the middle of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar.

The Field of Dreams boys add a hypnotic 303 to the proceedings and away we go.
Finally, as a bonus track, they have added their amazing remix of Adab I Raki - an ALFOS favourite and worth the price of this 12" on its own!

Having released 2 killer and totally unique EPs on Cold Recordings, the British-born, Berlin-based Eric Baldwin aka Cocktail Party Effect, lines up his first for Tectonic. Across these 4 dynamic 130bpm cuts, CPE demonstrates his sharp ear for creating tracks full of energising percussive twists, melding hard-charging, dynamic techno textures and while running wild with a UK sense of bass-heavy and percussive manoeuvres.

First up is the mesmerising and off kilter ‘Shattered Retina’. Setting the mood for the EP it begins with a hypnotic chime sequence, before rising in tension to release the contained frenzy of drums and swaying bass it held back..

Following on then is ‘Triops’, which breaks out from it’s regimented bleeps in the intro to a broken rhythm that picks itself up just as it’s falling over again.

Flip for ‘When The Gun Claps’, which takes a more UK-percussive tone, rolling out a tribal dance floor beat as the vocal sample cuts in and out. Last up is ‘I Feel Sick’, which takes things the hardest mood on the EP and is an absolute banger! Hard, broken techno with sub shaking bass; twists and turns from the offset.

“I’ve absolutely hammered all 4 of these tracks over and over - I love this EP! Cocktail Party Effect is smashing it at the moment, no doubt.” Pinch

DJ Support from: Martyn, Pinch, Madame X, Loefah, Lamont & many more!

Legitimately available again on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1983, Outernational Sounds proudly presents a major statement from a crucial figure on the Los Angeles jazz underground – pianist Nate Morgan’s spiritualised deep jazz classic, Journey Into Nigritia.

How many 16 year olds would have the confidence to walk up to a revered bandleader at a gig, and inform him that one day they’d be playing together? As improbable as it sounds, this is how pianist Nate Morgan introduced himself to the great Horace Tapscott, founder of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. The teenage Morgan had heard Tapscott’s Flying Dutchman LP The Giant Is Awakened being played by Greg Kufahamu on local Los Angeles radio station KUSC, and Arthur Blythe’s wailing sax had gone ‘straight to the heart. It was a spiritual experience.’ Morgan showed up to all the Arkestra shows he could find. He was already studying with Joe Sample and Hampton Hawes and playing in local bands, but the draw of the Tapscott’s band was too much for the gifted young pianist:

‘I could only take about two or three more concerts before I had to run up on stage. When I first introduced myself to Horace, he tells everybody that I said, “Yeah, I’m Nate Morgan. I’m going to play with you all.” Not that I want to, but that I’m going to.’

Over the next decade and beyond, Morgan would become a central figure in Tapscott’s UGMAA (Union Of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension’), bringing new figures into the fold (it was Morgan who first hipped Jesse Sharps to Tapscott’s circle; they were lifelong friends), running jam sessions, and eventually being given the task of organising the Arkestra songbook. During the early 1970s he also worked commercially, doing a stint with Rufus and Chaka Khan and appearing on Willie Hutch’s Foxy Brown soundtrack. Into the 1980s and 1990s he remained active, keeping the UGMAA flame alive in late night jams and private sessions, and working tirelessly around LA, including collaborations with Bone Thugs N’ Harmony; he was also part of the early 2000s LA jazz collective Build An Ark. A true musician’s musician, Morgan died in 2013.

Journey Into Nigritia, featuring firebreathing reedsman Dadisi Komolafe, was the first of two LPs Morgan recorded for Tom Albach’s storied Nimbus West imprint. A committed, spiritualised work that showcases Morgan’s heavy composing as well as his McCoy Tyner- influenced and technically flawless playing, Journey features dedications to Coltrane (‘He Left Us A Song’) and Cecil Taylor (‘Study In C.T.’). Surging, modal jazz from the LA undergound, Journey Into Nigritia is a crucial recording by an unsung jazz legend.

“In October 2018 we took several recordings in and around Eddie Prévost’s home village of Matching Tye in Essex, where he has been living for the past fifty years. The majority of the pieces that made it to this LP took place in All Saints Church, High Laver, the burial site of John Locke. This fact was notable in the choice of title for this set of recordings, and it seemed necessary to put forward Eddie’s own take on Locke that he offered in our correspondences:

“Scholars of Locke’s philosophy will be familiar with the idea of mixing labour with materials as a fore-running notion of possessive individualism and basis for private property. Such ‘mixing’ is a persuasive description of a creative act. But the theory is more worthy of a social dimension.” As for the individual titles for each of the studies on the LP, each takes ideas and elements from music past. For example, MaxPlus makes a nod towards bebop pioneering drummer Max Roach who offered an earlier hit-hat study. Eddie utilises such examples, offering further creative insights which can then be woven back into the common wealth of sound. The final track, returning to the bowed cymbal method of the first, was recorded outdoors on a breezy green, and is pictured on the back cover of the sleeve. It was an attempt to capture the playing in its ‘metamusical’ relationship with the untempered sounds of the external environment.

Eddie has written about Metamusic in his book The First Concert (Copula, 2011): invoking childlike ‘protomusical’ behaviour, or the sense of music that a person might possess before the inevitable influences come to play any role in their productive, and appreciative, musical development.

Ross Lambert provided a few words along side his cover drawing entitled ‘The Metamusician’: “The eyes would symbolise for me things like searching, examining, closeness or friendship I think; engagement with the world. Decisions in making the image were completely intuitive, this is just me looking for the meaning, post-analysing, post rationalising.””

- Daniel Kordik & Edward Lucas, March 2019

Tropical Disco Records return with another sizzling four-tracker, tackling deeper, more soulfully sustained tracks which still cipher the same party-centric impact consistent across every release.

Moodeena’s ‘The Chase’ is a fireball of an opener, showcasing a tantalizing flurry of teasing brass and uninhibited guitar strokes, cooly climaxing, sending shocks of piloerections to every corner of your body.

Next up label co-founder Sartorial on a slightly slowed, yet typical love flex with ‘Addicted To You’. It oozes high romantic interfusings of heady beats and a fantastically reinvented vocal. It’s an ode to that golden moment in mood music paired with midsummer sun, certainly one of his best works to date.

Tropical Disco debutant Chevals offers up a delectable deep house symphony with ‘Saturn’, a lush suite of hazy chords, boogie vamps and shuffling percussion.

Gledd & The Funk District’s ‘Late At Midnight’ closes of the record in fine style, looped swells and vintage stabs, laying a dexterous foundation for the full-frontal, fanatical vocal to follow. It appears the label are showing off using this tyrannic tool as the EPs send off, making you nostalgic about a night never experienced and stomping another firm footprint in contemporary disco’s orbit.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- PVC PROTECTIVE SLEEVE
- SCORE BY JOHN DEBNEY
- CONTAINS A 8-PAGE BOOKLET
- LIMITED 15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF 500 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON TRANSPARENT RED VINYL

Passion Of The Christ (2004), composed by John Debney, is the original score for Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion Of The Christ. The soundtrack received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score and it was on the first place in both Top Christian Albums and Top Soundtracks in 2004. In 2005, the album won a Dove Award for Instrumental album of the year at the 36th GMA Dove Awards.

The soundtrack succeeds as a coherent, moving, well-executed musical statement whether or not has seen the film. The album is a combination of folk instruments, Eastern-tinged harmonics, solo, and choral voices. Debney has used the Indian master violinist and vocalist L. Shankar, and singer/double-violinist Gingger Shankar.

Debney's soundtrack is an interesting and highly recommended work. It will offer those who choose to encounter it a far-reaching and deeply affective listening experience that is as aesthetically beautiful and unsetting as it is evocatively familiar.

Available as a limited 15th anniversary edition of 500 individually numbered copies on transparent red vinyl.

Yeketelale is the third album from Franco-Ethiopian group uKanDanz, combining a heady brew of rock energy, saxophone zigzags and Ethiopian melodies, all fronted by veteran singer Asnake Gebreyes grooving harder than ever.

In Ethiopia, sons follow fathers and, together, their names tell a story. Some discographies are the same way. After Yechelal (''It's Possible''), Awo (''Yes!''),here's Yeketelale (''It Continues''), the third album from Ukandanz.
The adventure that links Damien Cluzel (guitars) and Lionel Martin (tenor sax), the two founders of the group, with the Ethiopian singer Asnake Guebreyes continues and, with this album, takes on new colors and a new dimension. It is a polished synthesis that keeps the rock energy of their first recordings and gives even more space to the subtle vocal ornamentations that mark great Ethiopian singers. Add to that a groove that is more danceable than ever, carried by Adrien Spirti's synth bass and Yann Lemeunier's drums, and you have the magic formula of Yeketelale.

This came about slowly over the course of a dialogue that began in the early 2000s when Damien Cluzel, arriving with a circus in Ethiopia, met up with the occupant of the next room in their hotel. A stroke of luck: this was Francis Falceto, high priest of the Ethiopiques collection (Buda, 30 volumes to date) which had introduced to the West the treasures of swinging Addis, the capital that vibrates to the sound of big brass orchestras. With him, he dives into the capital's nightlife and meets a galaxy of musicians. The singer Asnake Guebreyes is among them.

Recruited by the famous Police Orchestra at the tender age of 16, he already had all the power, energy and class of his role model, Tlahoun Guessessé ''the Ethiopian James Brown''. He began his solo career at the beginning of the 1990s with several major successes, most famously an explosive duo with the singer Fekker Addis.

This experience made a big impact on the French guitarist. Having learned how to blend in with a uniquely Ethiopian groove, he was now ready to take it to other places and in other directions. In his old friend Lionel Martin, he found an ideal partner to engage in such experiences. But they needed a singer. The idea of Asnake Guebreyes was mentioned. Then Francis Falceto called and suggested going to see him at the Addis Music Festival. Ukandanz, a rock version of Ethiopian groove, was born.

Some pieces, like the disturbing Yene Hassab, call to mind Herbie Hancock's experiments in the seventies, as well as the Juju guitars of the Gulf of Guinea. Others, like the dark Fetsum Deng Ledj Nesh, allow Asnake's voice to soar above the synthetic waves, like a siren song for a freighter in distress. Dance and trance are not left out, with inspiration from the inexhaustible Ethiopian traditional repertoire. In a nod towards Asnaké's first album (Ahadu, also reissued by Buda) Ukandanz returns to its track Ajiré, transfigured by the guitar, claps and synthetic bass and takes us back to the glory days of breakdancing. Listening to the two versions gives the key to understanding the unique touch of Ukandanz and of the rich musical colours of Yeketelale (''It Goes On''), a fusion musical journey that brings the electric spark of the Frendj (Westerners) to Ethiopian lyricism.

A year on from the highly-acclaimed album 'It's A World Before You', Kaidi Tatham brings more new music to First Word Records - a continuation of his previous EP's for the label (2017's 'Changing Times' & 'Hard Times'), here we enter 'Serious Times'.

Kaidi Tatham is one of the most revered multi-instrumentalists in the game. Dubbed by Radio 1's Benji B last year as "the UK's Herbie Hancock", his versatility as a musician is actually more akin to Prince in the sense that he can play most instruments, and play them well. His contributions as a musician, composer & producer have included work with Bugz In The Attic, Amy Winehouse, Slum Village, Mulatu Astatke, Soul II Soul, Moonchild, Leroy Burgess, Amp Fiddler and loads more over the years, additionally to being a key player on Jazzy Jeff's PLAYlist album 'Chasing Goosebumps' along with Masego, Stro Elliot, 14KT, Tall Black Guy, Rich Medina and the like, and various projects alongside Dego (2000 Black) and First Word label-mates Eric Lau, Darkhouse Family & Children of Zeus.

'Serious Times' is another 4-track set comprised of Kaidi's unmistakable style, encompassing broken beat, jazz, boogie and hip hop. The EP starts off with the hype jazz-funk bruk of 'Cost of Living', maintaining the tempo into 'Don't Cry Now' which leads with a sweet latin-tinged piano riff. Onto the flipside, and we're treated to the slinky synth-boogie of 'Sugar' before dropping the tempo down & closing the selection with a warped but jazzy instrumental boom bap piece entitled 'Zallom'.

Kaidi is a national treasure quite frankly, and this EP is another mere taster of this man's endless talents and unique vibes. Some grown folk music, perfect for these 'Serious Times'…

Vinyl & digital released on Friday 19th July 2019 on First Word Records (Worldwide Awards 'Label of the Year 2019').

Music by Davide Luciani (guitar, organ, synth and electronics). Recorded and mixed in Berlin in between 2017-2018 by Davide Luciani. Mastered by Simon Scott at SPS Mastering. Illustration by Anna von Hausswolff.

Biography:

Davide Luciani is an Italian electronic music composer and media designer, based in Berlin since 2011. He has a background in the Italian noise-rock scene with projects dating back to 2005. "Calming Counts" is Luciani's first solo release.

His solo practice places acoustic instrumentation into analogue/digital synthesis to create works that bridge the territories of noise, drone rock and minimal music. His approach to electroacoustic music – which he voices with guitar, piano, strings, accordion, synthesisers, VST sorcery and loopers – has a distinct harmonic hue, with layered repetitive patterns and instrumental polyphonies.

As sound and visual designer he has directed and curated a wide variety of projects from soundtracks to space design. His collaborations have been hosted at highly regarded institutions and venues such as Venice Biennial, Berlin Atonal, Ström Festival, Bayreuth Festspiele, Museum Omero, Tresor and MUSMA.

Luciani was a member of the label/platform Dromoscope and has collaborated as visual artist with Grün (Daniele de Santis) and Claudio Rocchetti. In 2014, together with sound artist Fabio Perletta, he co-founded Mote, a multidisciplinary design studio whose practice addresses arts and music.

Juan Ramos opens his debut album with The Problem With Ambiguity and Finding Space—speaking to a societal confusion, a fragmented sense of self, and a pull toward many (often unwelcoming) directions—this turmoil in which he’s spent considerable time, sees him invest grave efforts to express the inexpressible. Changing Hands is a time capsule of that dark period in his life, an overtly honest musical diary which puts his emotional coming-of-age on full display, hoping to reach kindred listeners. While his previous output for the ESP Institute used a certain level of complication to push limits on the dancefloor, this immersive work cuts deep in to a frayed psyche, dismantling our preconceptions of Juan and plunging listeners deep into a stew of jarring textures, incomplete phrases, and circus-like abstractions of pop culture. There is a nonchalant and unhurried experimentation that accumulates over the album’s first half—disconnected and anxiety-riddled personality traits constitute various musical roles, sporadically converging in fleeting moments of optimism although never fully climbing out from the abyss—and yet amidst this chaos there is a watershed moment in which the artist successfully gleans a golden morsel of hope from his emotional junkyard, guiding us across the threshold into the album’s second half while diligently protecting the glow of this rock bottom treasure. Juan begins to reveal his inner b-boy—a distorted view on golden-age Hip Hop roots, an affinity for muddy break-beats, sultry loops and metaphoric interludes—the crown prince of a newly-found safe space. It’s as if he had us searching on all fours for a misplaced joint, but now that it’s finally lit, he assures us that everything’s going to be alright.

More golden era heat from the nervous vaults! It keeps coming!
1994 is the year and Black Moon and the whole Boot Camp Clik are on a major roll.
'Buck Em Down' is as potent today as it was back then with Da Beatminerz bros flipping Donald with a little 'Hihache' in the mix.
Oh? You love that gritty SP1200, filtered out, buddah smoke filled basement sound? Well, this is for you. All-time classic stuff right here, easily.
Here on dinked 45 for the first time ever you get the dirty instrumental versions of this sublime mid-90's banger.

Fully legit, licensed and reissued by Above Board distribution in conjunction with Nervous Records, NYC. 2019.

On ‘Ways Of Seeing’ Konx-om-Pax has switched up the mood and hit gold. He has made an album that is filled with joy and sunshine, saturated with the classic feel of Berlin Techno.

Tom Scholefield has moved on from the dark ambient and brittle rave of the first two Konx-om-Pax albums, which were a reflection of his hometown Glasgow's electronic music scenes. After a recent move to Berlin, the textures of Glasgow's musical strains have fused into an accessible and friendly mix of poppy melodic electronica built from a stricter 'less is more' sound pallete, closer in spirit to the music of his adopted city. It is also a record which was made in opposition to recent music he has been hearing, in particular the troubled, dark and noisy experimental music coming out of Berlin. Tom wanted to focus on more joyful qualities, making this a record imbued with warmth and happiness, a panacea to the darkness and disorientation all around in 2019.

Having a social scene full of producers has also influenced the album. The opening track 'LA Melody' came from staying with Ross Birchard (Hudson Mohawke) at his house in LA, hanging out in the glorious sunshine with him and Lunice working on tracks.
"Initially Ross asked me to write some melodies to use in a project he was producing, but I ended up liking it so much I decided to keep the riff. I generally write music alone, but being around other producers gave me a certain excited energy that reminded me of after-parties back in Glasgow where Ross and myself spent our youth together. Spending time in Clark's studio also helped me improve my workflow and sequencing the album by seeing the way he does things". On 'Säule Acid' he collaborates with Silvia Kastel and in 'I’m For Real' the vocals of Glaswegian DJ/producer Nightwave filter around the track.

Two outstanding performers, Carlos Santana and Alice Coltrane, collaborated to record their fantastic trip through time called Illuminations. Santana’s interest in the Indian culture and different musical styles led him to the musician Alice Coltrane. They shared their vision of expressing their spirituality through music. Illuminations is the wonderful outcoming of the work they recorded together. Guitar, harp and saxophone forming the strong basis on which this album is founded. “Angel Of Sunlight “is the album’s centrepiece, showcasing the outer limits of their musical ideas. It was Santana’s ultimate trip into the jazz, as he stepped back into the commercial music only a few years later. The package includes an insert.

G&D are back with vol 3 of their edit series... This is one essential 12" vinyl for any serious djs ad disco, Boogie and Cosmic lovers.
They have addicted us to a cultured sound while being fun. The versions always seriously edited by two Italian masters.
With this third release the obscure G&D duo have raised the level of quality. Absolutely essential tune.
The release contains all the seventies song as disco funk boogie and cosmic tune.

Supported by.... Sadar, Red Greg, Volcov, Grusane, Daniele Baldelli, Ge-ology, Hot Buttered soul, Twice.

Canadian John Varuhin serves up the second tasteful EP on Clyde Records , a sublime minimal techno affair across 4 standout tracks.

This Vancouver artist is a techno DJ and producer who has also played a purely digital live set in the past. He has a clean, crisp style that comes back from the future and is rich in hi fidelity details that make it truly cinematic.

Opener ‘ Bunker ’ is a spacious track with gooey kick drums rolling deep as slithers of synth and tiny metallic sounds glint and glisten up top. It’s perfectly transcendental, while the excellent ‘ Retribution ’ picks up the pace with a sense of silky techno urgency. The unsettl ing sound of distant automation and darkened synths recall the best of Motor City techno and ensure this one will have the floor locked in.

The expertly designed ‘ Rainy Day ’ is pure minimalism, with icy hi hats and scuttling little details sure to find favour with fans of Robert Hood. Hugely atmospheric and absorbing, it’s the sort of deep and late night track that’s designed for intimate club rooms. Last of all, ‘ Detached Screen ’ is another deep, rolling, perfectly elongated groove design to melt your mind and trap you in the beautiful repetition.

This is a classy and timeless EP of meticulously crafted minimal techno.

Robin Ball's Memory Box builds on the success of early releases with a big new outing that features two of his own tracks and one from the legendary Luke Vibert. Memory Box is a party that has hosted Derrick Carer, Trevino and A Guy Called Gerald among others, and is a place to hear proper acid house. Ball himself is a master of the genre and most often released on his own Groovepressure label, having been making music since his teens. Now his latest labour of love is once again reaffirming his status as a vital voice in the UK scene. Luke Vibert has a rich history that makes him a key part of the UK's dance counterculture over the last 30 years. His always animated music is wild and inventive and comes on greats like Mo Wax, Warp and Planet Mu. Here he offers 'X to C', a wild melange of warped synth tones, grizzled basslines & acid flashes. It will twist and turn the dance floor inside out. Robin Ball's excellent 'Gripper' is a corrugated bit of electric house music that never sits still. Pensive pads in the background are offset by a busy lead synth line and old school stabs that make it a perfectly timeless, energetic fusion of moods and grooves. Lastly, Ball serves up 'The Edge,' a brilliantly brash cut with stepping acid sequences, raw drum work and warped bass that distills decades of UK music into one essential track. These are three devastating club cuts that expertly draw on the past, present and future of acid.

It had taken him almost three years to record, but in 1985 Jake Hottell finally finished his debut solo album, Break The Chains. Inspired by his opposition to fracking, anger at government corruption and a series of profound spiritual experiences, a hundred copies of the album were pressed and given away to radio stations, friends and local business interests in Hottell’s home state of New Mexico.



The album would have remained an obscure footnote in musical history had it not been for the efforts of DJs Danny McLewin and Jeremy Spellacey. Between them, they tracked down Hottell to hear his story, offering the former electronics engineer and Nashville-based music producer the chance to get his music to a whole new audience. Now, some 34 years after the private press edition was produced, Spacetalk is giving Break The Chains a full release for the very first time. Hottell began recording the album in 1982 after reading Your Body’s Many Cries For Water, a best-selling book by Dr Fereydoon Batmanghelidj about the health benefits of clean, purified water. Remembering the poisonous, methane-laden water that came out of his mother’s taps in the 1970s – a by-product of extensive fracking activity in the area around the family farm – Hottell wanted to create a set of tracks that registered his concerns, reflected his recent spiritual experiences (many of which he still finds it difficult to discuss today) and offered a meditative listening experience.



The resultant set is suitably cosmic and emotive, with Hottell cannily fusing gentle drum machine rhythms and dreamy synthesizer motifs – influenced, he says, by a love of the contemporaneous new age output of former jazz label Windham Hill Records – with his own glistening guitar passages, which sit somewhere between the homespun riffs of country music and the classical guitar solos that have long been a sonic staple of Spanish styles such as Flamenco. Many of the tracks have stories attached. “Horizon” features a profound spoken word vocal from local man Darald McCabe – whose homemade purified water helped Hottell recover from serious illness – while “El Rio dos les Delores” was composed after discovering that fracking was taking place on a local Native American reservation. “The Truth Is All I Want”, meanwhile, reflects Hottell’s growing exasperation at the extent of corporate greed and government corruption in the United States.



This new edition of Break The Chains has been painstakingly re-mastered from the original master tapes, while extensive new liner notes shed light on the remarkable musical and personal experiences that inspired Hottell to create an obscure, overlooked classic.

Gafacci is well known for notable artist collaborations, eclectic edits and his Asokpor productions. On this new four track EP, he steps out of familiar soundscapes, driven by his steady desire to ex-plore a more melodic side of his own production style. This led him to experimenting with the ,Lo-Fi' and infuse it with afrobeats as well as diverse tropical sounds.
Over the past three years, the Accra based producer, DJ and songwriter Gafacci had been circulating around the term ,Low Fidelity' and he dedicates this album to all those across the globe who can relate and support the music.
The Title ,TASH BNM', meaning ,Tash bought new music' is inspired by the notifications of a music connoisseur's weekly purchases on bandcamp.

Noteworthy are also the featured artists, from multi instrumentalist Nii Quaye to Chefbanku, singer Amaarae, Ghana Music's OG Kyekyeku and rappers Tinuke & Lazee, each guest complements to this timeless piece of music in their own unique way.

Producers at the heart of the broken beat revival, EVM128 and James Rudie met through the CDR project, and soon after started to mess about collaborating with Gonzi. After coining the concept of INPUT, they found a home via Tony Thorpe at Studio Rockers and the seed was sewn. The concept is simple, make a beat, pass it on, and let someone else add to it. Its about letting go of self and letting the music go somewhere it wouldn't have gone otherwise. It was a labour of love until each track felt right. Talented musicians, producers, singers and rappers came on board to fulfill the brief, and the end product is a modern day broken masterpiece. It's about collaboration, whether in the mixing and arrangement, performance, keys, percussion, synth, bass, - everything was a joint effort.

INPUT is released on Studio Rockers on 19th July 2019 as a double vinyl release.

A LITTLE ON THE ARTISTS INVOLVED :

Written by curator EVM128, James Rudie and Gonzi are both killer producers who met me at CDR and also became part of Co-Op presents Selectors Assemble with IG Culture and Alex Phountzi. You can hear them both on Naughty Groove and Gonzi on Gut Level.

ISHFAQ is an elusive producer that has been making beats for time but is still under the radar. He's a force to be reckoned with. Watch him cos he's dangerous! Hear him all over Naughty Groove on Keys and on Complete Me ft Natalie May. He just knows where to fit into a tune... He has an acute ear!

TurboJazz met me after Djing together in Milan and working together on remix jobs, where I remixed Turbo's 'Please You' ft David Blank on Local talk Records. In return Turbojazz remixed the EVM Beyond ft Uk Soul legend, OMAR. It was only natural to get them involved with this project.

iLL Smith aka MR K is a heavyweight producer making serious waves in the new Dubstep 140 low end scene. He gave me a couple tracks that were broken beat he had been sitting on and said "You should do something with these". One of which is GOLD which I only really added a Clap to and worked the arrangement and first mix down. I called on Daz I Kue for a rapper I'd heard on one of his tracks which had the right energy. Daz hooked me up with Nesha Nycee, a fierce rapper from Atlanta Georgia. She smashed it straight away and the tune just worked. This was probably the easiest out of all of them!

Nesha Nycee is a REAL rapper.

Shy One is a friend of mine and has worked with me on music a few times in the past. I always love when she sends me a beat, she has that lo fi dirty grime kind of approach, then I add my style to it and it just seemed to bode well. We worked together on Mother Nature on the Nova LP and this track for INPUT (One Design) which we were sitting on for a while. Tony got Steve Edwards (All Seeing I, Sheffield) on the vocals. This was an unexpected turn on this track that we couldn't have imagined, but it worked! This track is the epitome of INPUT in that, it went somewhere completely different!

Steve Edwards is a singer songwriter from Sheffield who works on projects with All seeing I. He has a great energy and the lyrics made me cry! Really amazing heartfelt lyrics that speak of now and has a positive uplifting vibe to it that we can all relate to. It will stick in your head for ages believe me.

Natalie May met me through soundcloud. She's been releasing UK Funky tracks for a while and worked with Rudimental. She reached out to me after hearing the Nova LP and the stuff on CoOp presents. She went to the studio with me after already writing to some instrumentals. Very professional and on point in the studio. Her voice is sweet and the perfect juxtaposition to the rough bass and drums on 'Complete Me' and when ISHFAQ got his hands on it, well... Nuf said really !

Daiva from the Lithuanian band KeyMono has worked with me for a good few years. We met in Lithuania when I was teaching music production to young people through MTV, I met their manager Istvan. She was on my Naked Truth EP and the Nova LP. I Love working with Daiva she's great! Her voice is amazing as is her professionalism. She sounds somewhere between Erykah Badu, Little Dragon and Fatima. She's always my go to for any collaboration! Hear her on 'The Edge'. The lyrics were written by Kermit (Black Grape / Ruthless Rap Assassins).

Renato Paris.. wow ! I mean what!!? We sent the backing track and two days later he sent back the vocal and we fell over! He has a voice that echo's Stevie Wonder and Omar! Really professional work ethic too. Still cant get over how good he is. This guy can REALLY sing and play keys. Watch out for more from me and Renato... Bruk meets RnB / Jazz.

We have created something special and unique where you can hear each persons input in the

tracks. We love it and hope you will too.

Craig Leon revisits the extraterrestrial origins of civilization on Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 2: The Canon, a continuing chronicle of his early 80s albums Nommos and Visiting. Exploring the cosmic lore of Leon’s earlier work, The Canon expands upon the conceptual cycle based on the alien and mathematical relationships that backbone the creation of art, architecture, science, and music.

In 1981, producer and composer Craig Leon, known in the downtown New York zeitgeist for his production on The Ramones and Suicide’s debut albums, released Nommos, a minimal, primitive electronic exploration based on a speculative, wildly imaginative anthropology.

After viewing an exhibition of Dogon art at the Brooklyn Museum in 1973, Leon remained fascinated by the Mali tribe’s creation myth that the Earth was visited in ancient times by the Nommos, a semi-amphibious alien race who travelled from the white dwarf Sirius B to impart their wisdom to mankind.

Nommos, curiously released on John Fahey’s Takoma Records, manifested Leon’s obsession and investigation: an abstract, ascendent collection of music that could have soundtracked the interstellar visitors’ journey to Earth. Shimmering, mechanical, and anchored by an entrancing pulse of the Dogon’s ceremonial music, Nommos and its sequel, the privately pressed 1982 album Visiting, careened into obscurity.

In the intervening years, while Leon pursued his career as a successful producer, cult interest in the albums grew, culminating in the Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 1., the 2014 archival collection which presented Nommos and Visiting as they were intended to be heard, two sides of the same coin.

The Canon picks up where Nommos and Visiting left off, tracing the path of ancient wisdom imparted by the Dogon’s alien visitors spreading from Mali into Egypt and across the water to Greece as imagined in William Stirling’s ""The Canon,"" an anonymous exposition of cosmic law published in a nearly invisible print edition in 1897.

Though the music – propulsive and spacious – is clearly of a part with Nommos and Visiting, the alien sounds of the Nommos become more familiar to western ears and musical vocabulary as the album narrative thrusts forward. The Canon implies – through ecstatic, contemporary sound and synthesis – that the origins of Western thought, and civilization itself, lie in the great beyond.

Nearly four decades since their first collaboration on Nommos and Visiting, Leon is once again joined by his partner Cassell Webb on vocals and album production. Leon composed, and both he and Cassell performed, and produced all of the music of The Canon, consciously engaging many of the same synthesizers and programs of Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 1 for Vol. 2.

This record contains two stone cold classics from the rave era. If you bought any tape packs or went to any raves in 1992, these are the two staple tracks most DJs would draw upon to keep the energy levels high.


On top of that, they are written by the rave overlord – Ellis Dee. Basically, the go to guy for any promoter that wanted their rave to be up there in the top tier.
These tracks sound as fresh and as the day they were released. And that is why we have decided it needed to have another short run repress as its been 4 years since we first pressed this record. But to make them even more special we have pressed 120 units on heavyweight 180g marbled grey vinyl. And as with every Vinyl Fanatiks release it comes presented in a black paper inner sleeve within a heavyboard Vinyl Fanatiks housebag.


This is a short run so get your orders in whilst they are in stock.


Fantazia… are you ready???

2023 Repress

2019 is mule musiq’s 15 years anniversary. we’re going to release twelve 12inchs with our friend artists and stefan marx make the collectable artwork.

10th release is our long time friend hippie dance’s superpitcher aka pachanga boys. “maki” on a side is a tribute song for legendary japanese folk singer maki asakawa, superpitcher wrote the lyrics and dip in the pool’s miyako koda translated in japanese and did the reading. “mishima” on b side is a trademark of superpitcher’s melancholic house tune. it sounds like updated percussive nyc house in early 90’s.

Coal’s self-titled debut is a crushing rejection of the hive-mind colony of your scene, your values and your reality, not an escape, not a distraction, but a true-vision of the world in all its grotesque, hate-filled glory. Listeners will step away from this record as from a Coal show, cleansed, purged and altered.

After initial flirtations with the project being a ‘live electronic act’ proved unsatisfying, Anthony Arcana & Oliver Kohlenberg chose to morph the project into something unbound: hoarse-barked, one-line lyrics, mutant chainsaw guitar feedback and drums that sound like a nightmare, Kronenberg trash-compactor collide to form their own world. Coal’s sound is a blurred vision of influences, fusing elements of post-metal, hip-hop, black-metal, American hardcore, sludge, doom, jungle and trap into something that feels cathartic, potent, whole and unique.

“Prove Your Love” by Misunami & First Touch returns to the Neon Finger catalogue in a brand new 12″, including the original versions (vocal and instrumental) plus two new mixes by the enormous Nick Wisdom (1/2 Potatohead People) and the huge Bamboozle aka Eli Soul Clap. After the big success of the track years ago, being played by some of the biggest selectors in the world… This future classic boogie disco track is available again with two new astonishing remixes that will burst into flames any dancefloor. Don’t miss it!

Canadian quartet BADBADNOTGOOD take on creating the ultimate late night' selection of tracks from their record collections, set for release on 28th July 2017. The original trio of Matthew Tavares, Alex Sowinski and Chester Hansen formed while studying music at Toronto's Humber College (they've recently added Leland Whitty to the line-up). A shared appreciation of hip hop and instrumental covers of Gucci Mane and Earl Sweatshirt suggested a worldly outlook and reciprocated love from Tyler The Creator and Ghostface Killah, which whom they made 2015's Sour Soul.

This is an international effort: Velly Joonas' Estonian version of 'Feel Like Makin' Love', Kiki Gyan, Admas and Francis Bebey representing Africa (Ghana, Ethiopia and Cameroon respectively), Les Prospection from France, Scots' Boards Of Canada and fellow Canucks River Tiber and Charlotte Day Wilson.

Finally, there's the no-small-matter of the Late Night Tales cover version, in which BADBADNOTGOOD take on Andy Shauf's 'To You' is turned into a mournful delight. while the Queen Of Siam herself, Lydia Lunch, delivers a sexual sermon involving only you, her and Jim Beam.

We were really excited to have the chance to put together a Late Night Tales compilation, it's a great organisation. We decided to use it as a vehicle to show everyone all the amazing music we have gotten to experience by touring and meeting new people. Every track on this comp was either shown to us by an incredible person or made by one of our friends. We also included a little cover of a song by one of our favourite current musicians, Andy Shauf.

These artists, as well as many, many others, have infuenced us to create and kept our deep love of music alive. This mix will keep you company on a quiet night by yourself or with friends. You can check it out on the plane, the bus, a long walk, or any situation where you want a soundtrack for reflection and meditation.' - BADBADNOTGOOD May 2017

Adele Sebastian was an Afro American jazz flutist and singer, active from the early 70s (when she was still a teenager) until her untimely death at the age of 27 (!) in 1983 from a kidney failure. In fact she had been depending on monthly dialysis to stay alive for years. She lived through and for the music and you can hear it on her only solo album 'Desert Fairy Princess' which was first issued in 1981. The mostly acoustic instrumentation brings a very natural and therefore rather retrospective sound considering the year the album was recorded. Adele and her band pull it off right from the start as if it had been 1966 and it was time for a revolution to shake the dust from the old time jazz. In a perfect way she mixes classic American vocal jazz elements with playful and more free passages, Latin music and tribal African sounds in the lengthy and quite rhythm oriented 'Man From Tanganyika' and makes the title track start with a mystical 'Allahu akbar' chant while it turns more and more into a dark and gloomy song with something like a psychedelic edge reminiscent of Pharoah Sanders on his early works. Wild rhythms from drums, percussions with tons of bells and chimes weave a thick groove carpet and conjure a magical atmosphere. Those jazz aficionados who love the mid 60s John Coltrane, his sidekick Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane will go crazy for this album.

Straight out of one of the UK’s most innovative bass music hotspots, Bristol, two of the scenes fastest rising stars Glume and Phossa join the Subaltern roster with their massive debut split EP.
A - Glume & Phossa - IMHK A collaborative effort from the two talented producers, the EP opener IMHK packs double the punch as well as showing a lot of love for the details. Setting the eerie vibe of the release straight off the bat, IMHK is a surprisingly refreshing track that will light up any dance. Waterfalls of melodies meet hard bass hits, all surrounded by a masterfully-composed, rich-in-details and continuously-evolving drum beat. Get ready to walk into a medieval world of wizards, spells, castles and dragons - Glume and Phossa will be your guides.
B1 - Glume - Shriek Time to enter the dungeon and follow our loyal conductors deep underground. Relentless is the term that comes to mind when indulging in this stone cold, yet somewhat uplifting banger. Glume’s solo piece on the EP delivers pulsating bass waves accentuated by tonal percussion lines, embedded into a horror-movie-like atmosphere.
B2 - Phossa - Deathly Stare It’s Phossa’s time to tell the tale on the third track of the vinyl, showcasing some of his signature style synth lines embedded in an ever-creeping atmosphere. Heavy standing bass walls accompany the trippy cascade of sound, ever enchanting and luring the listener deeper into the maze. Will we find our way out?

London’s Terminal Cheesecake formed way back in 1988, quickly establishing themselves as a legendary underground band releasing numerous well received albums and the support of John Peel amongst others. The band, like many of the era eventually burned out before remerging in 2013 with a new line up. Terminal Cheesecake circa 2019, featuring Russ Smith, Horseloaf Horseloafson, Neil Von Fish, Dave Cochrane, Johnny J Beat release an new album 'Le Sacre Du Lièvre' on May 10th via Box Records. Their contribution here is two songs long 'Fake Loop' and 'Song For John Part 2', baked in fuzz and swirling distortion. It's a totally different type of high from the Electric Moon side. Whereas the latter go on a spaced out cosmic trip, the Cheesecake side is more of an earthy, dark but equally glorious ride.

Long time underground innovator Illja Rudman returns with "Sagittarii", a fourth fantastic studio album and his second on Bearfunk.

As boss of both Red Music and Imogen Recordings, as well as being a skilled DJ and diverse producer, Rudman has been an integral part of dance music for years. The Croatian effortlessly veers from electro to disco to house with his own colourful sense of melody and club-ready grooves and has done so on more than 70 releases on labels like Classic, Rong, Electric Minds and Is It Balearic Recordings. This superb new album lands just a year after

his last, "Paradigma", and is another subtle evolution in his style but one that continues to deal in authentic analogue textures with flashes of throwback funk and disco gold and a slick sense of boogie.

Things open up with the glistening future-retro chords of "Dreamscape Planet" a quick,upbeat cut that is ready made for dancing in the sun with its majestic strings and nimble basslines. "Cosmia (Regal Mix)" is another bit of engagingly urgent disco funk with clipped drums racing along beneath heart melting chords. The stylish "If I Keep My Eyes Closed (Mezzanine Mix)" slows things down, with a snaking bassline and wallowing chords making for more cosy and intimate listening while "Synthia 2000" is a more playful cut with wiggling bass and withering chords that bend space and time as you get down and boogie.

The gorgeous glossiness continues with another tight bit of disco-funk lushness on "6th Floor Entrance (Guardians Gate Mix)" and "S.O.S. Flight Theme" serves up some rugged bass lines and mad xylophone patterns on top of corrugated drums that will get any club in a spin this summer. Closing things down in the tropical tinged exotica of "Techniques & Tactics (Nocturnal Mix)" with its long legged drums, blissful Balearic vibes and superb sunset stylings.

This is an album that brims with cosmic disco energy, emotion and excellence from start to finish.

“What to do with a spud like you?” Melbourne post-punk wags Terry return this summer with their new EP ‘Who’s Terry?’. You can just make him out in his hobnail boots, peering from behind the sandwich board, wink, wink. Following on from last year’s huge-sounding ‘I’m Terry’ album, this third EP from the band brings you right up to date with their wobbly politico-pop.

‘Spud’ is a class A toe-tapper that sees the band don fatigues and set their sights on the enemy. The rough and the tough, wrestled wrists and fools with crooked smiles all make an appearance as Terry sing as one over snare snaps and keyboard croaks. ‘Bizzo and Tophat’ follows with a stride across the underbelly, a thick slice of bop-heavy observation that gives way to one of Terry’s most elegiac refrains… “holding on and going forth”! Their gang vocal approach never sounding more resolute. ’Eggs’ then picks up the pace, a sure-footed romp that skips alongside prods of saxophone to join the parade.

‘Drawn for Days’ pulls the EP to a close, a sedate, melodic ponderance of strummy guitar, jangling bells and Amy and Xanthe’s soft-sung vocals. “Haunted by the big and small, hunted hanging for the fancy fall”.  “I can’t stand up” the band decry in unison as the track scales its peak and gives way to warping synth noise. ‘Who’s Terry’ encapsulates what Terry does best, the queasy marriage of the upbeat and traumatic, the catchy instant and the nagging distance. Their alliterative lyrics always sharp as tacks, their sense of melody and beat sunk deep in the heart of now.

A wonderful reminder of Big Boi's unparalleled prowess in the rap game. He has literally been doing this longer than some rappers have been alive.' - High Snobiety

Big Boi is one of the OGs of hip-hop and he's still reinventing himself more than two decades after entering the game.' - XXL
An all-star affair.' - Rolling Stone

Big Boi reveals June 16 as the release date for his highly-anticipated third full-length solo album and first release for RCA Records, Boomiverse.

Tonight, the seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning, RIAA diamond-certified hip-hop luminary, producer, and member of OutKast takes the stage at NBC's The Voice for the very first time. Big Boi and Levine will team up to perform Mic Jack' live during the semifinals. In addition, he's set to debut the song's official music video in revolutionary fashion.By Shazam-ing the performance, fans can unlock the exclusive premiere of the visual. The Voice airs at 8pm ET/7pm CT on NBC.

Kill Jill' and Mic Jack' have already begun to amplify excitement for the album's arrival. Kill Jill' has racked up over 3.1 million Spotify streams to date, while Mic Jack' garnered 1.5 million Spotify streams in just a few weeks. Big Boi unveiled the songs during a high-profile Apple Music Beats 1 premiere before performing Mic Jack'' on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In addition, both tracks continue to draw critical praise.

One of history's tightest and most clever rhyme mavericks, Big Boi's indelible influence courses throughout two generations of rap music. As one-half of OutKast, he achieved seven GRAMMY® Awards, sold 25 million records, and created a string of music's most influential work, including Aquemini, Stankonia, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzikand Speakerboxxx/The Love Below—which went RIAA Diamond making OutKast the first and only hip-hop artist in history to win the GRAMMY® for 'Album of the Year.' Big Boi's 2010 solo debut, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, bowed at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and received unanimous critical acclaim with Pitchfork proclaiming it one of the "100 Best Albums of the Decade 'So Far'" and topping year-end lists from Time, Paste, Vibe, and more.

His 2012 follow-up Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors enamored tastemakers and fans alike and boasted collaborations with A$AP Rocky, Killer Mike, Kid Cudi, and more. In 2015, Big Boi collaborated with Phantogram to create supergroup Big Grams. Their debut self-titled album was released to critical and fan delight.

Keep Your Mind Alive is the LPH debut for Rydm Sectors, an Italian duo that bridges classic New York house and UK garage and lightens the resultant hybrid with well-placed sparkly synth work, jazzy drum fills, swanky piano licks. Nightclub music that’s been genetically modified to be just as functional and fun there as it is laying on a breezy beach, soft white sand your pillow, crashing high-tide waves reminder of the nature around you.

Calling Marcelle a DJ doesn’t wholly represent what she’s doing. (Three) turntables and a mixer is more the medium that she uses to create and share sounds, ideas and moments.

The same goes for her own productions. They don't have a fixed style, as can be heard on all five EP's released by the Munich label Jahmoni since 2016. They are free in attitude and music and cross boundaries between genres. Most tracks are a collision of ideas, a magically gritty, self-aware car crash as if Muslimgauze grew up in sunny Lisbon with the Principe crew as opposed to the grim North of England.

On her new LP 'One Place For The First Time' we find nine tracks brimming with ideas that ignore stale production norms. Sure, the pulsing drum 'n' bass-esque 'Hippies Use Side Door' is weirdly danceable, just like the cackling stomp of 'Respect Caged Animals', but can we dance to 'Technicians And Their Smoke Machines'? (Answer: We’d certainly enjoy trying). It's almost a jazz song, but like with everything Marcelle does, it's jazz from a different world and has proven to be a dancefloor smash when she’s played out the dubplate over recent months.

Marcelle's life-long love for far-out dub is clear in 'Dub (Dub)' and 'Respect My Snack Foods' is in the same 'educational' tradition as was the song about how to deal with constipation (olive oil!) from the 2018 'Psalm Tree' EP. Now we learn how to apologise. 'The Mother Of All Messes' (a UK newspaper headline about Brexit) introduces perhaps a more tender side, a comforting nursery rhyme plays while a muffled kick occasionally growls with distortion - as if it knows the importance of its place in the dance.

By the time the refrain of the intro track returns it seems to carry more significance, Marcelle has made her point quite clear. Defiant til the end… ‘Don’t touch the table!’ This particular sample is taken from Marcelle's legendary Boiler Room performance at 2018's Nyege Nyege Festival in Uganda where the MC of the event repeatedly declares that 'She Plays Vinyl' and therefore asks 'Don't Touch The Table!'. It goes without saying that the latter song is full of banging on the table noises.

The sleeve - as always with Marcelle - is very colourful and features photos of knitted egg cosies and images related to individual songs. It's a bit of a puzzle to find out which photo connects to which song, an enjoyable challenge, just like the LP itself.

Shining on lineups whether they’re cutting edge festivals, big clubs, touring circus shows or DIY garage venues comes naturally given she approaches all with the same mindset ('always the same, always different'), these causes are adopting her rather than the other way round.

Marcelle is a genuine innovator who remains inherently relevant by not following trends, not focusing on technicalities, having a sense of humour, dissolving obsolete structures, being excited, defying others rules while creating new ones, eschewing #tagline posers and ‘tasteless A&R wankers’, supporting artists that need it, supporting places that need it, supporting people who need it and not giving a fuck for as long as possible.

And HUGELY welcome living proof that you can excel in doing things differently and having a bloody good time n all.

James Marrs, London, March 2019

History of Heat is an eroto-intellectual retelling of a love story. It is the scholarship of heat, and the sources of its production in the body: desire, exaltation, anticipation, fear, rage and mourning . It is a fable circulating through the nerves, pumped and distributed by its own mythologies. Through different chapters, we follow the heroine of our story from the initial desire to love, the sensual pull which oscillates between the grotesque and sacred longing of the flesh (‘L’Enfer en pleine lumière’ translates to ‘Hell in plain sight’)...to the sudden ghostlike appearance of the Other (Apparition) as a projection of the dream. We enter into the spiritual, the seeing visions and the blindness of love. ‘Animal’ speaks of instinct, the smell of the beloved, already the deconstruction of the divine back into the realm of the physical. The title track ‘History of heat’ sings the hesitation of love, the precipice of openness and the invitation of the contract: Dance with me... (This is where the metaphoric marriage is forged). In ‘Perfection’, the pressure which keeps the relationship on the pedestal of the absolute stunts and paralyses love. Unrealistic expectations of the self and the other person creates the push and pull of the not wanting what one wants and the fear to get what one has been asking for. ‘Tiny engine’ speaks of mechanical attachment, attachment to the lover as habit, as a second nature, and the call to the other person as a magnet. In ‘Ditectrice’, the madness and the folly of separation spawns war and confusion. It is the violent refusal to live without the other... the pleading with god. ‘Feed him’ follows with resignation and exhaustion. Love has become the beast of burden who eats away at itself insatiably. ‘War text’ brings forth the devastation, the peace treaty and finally the metaphysical Divorce. In ‘Guttermoon’, the vita contemplativa begins, the blood starts to cool, the scene is a ghost town. ‘Wrong god’ similarly winds down as an ode to remorse and mourning. Finally, ‘Cinema Verité’ closes out the album with a mistrust of ‘reality’: the heroine becomes a philosopher, she becomes an artist... did the relationship ever exist or was it a projection “In front of a movie screen” ?

History of Heat is an experimental narrative and cinematic pastiche of all original and self recorded material. A chaotic mix of sounds both analog and digitally produced recalls a warlike interpersonal breakdown. The mood established by the lyrical content of the piece is meant to be demanding, enclosing the listener within a unique and compelling cocoon of otherworldly sound. the Album is framed within a discursive love story which reflects larger relational problematics and interpersonal traumas. looped vocals act as incantations woven in and out of lyrical singing and spoken word. The instrumentals embrace chaos and intensity. Improvised violin and broken down beats compliment and balance the melancholic overtones which flutter above off the grid rhythms in this charged ficto-personal account.

Shimza, one of South-Africa’s shining talents, makes his return to Cadenza with ‘Eminence’, a burning compound of profound percussions and late-night rapturing synths. This Gauteng-born artist is one of the most celebrated African electronic musicians and has garnered the reputation of the “Effect Master” and “Vinyl Assassin” for his technical prowess and intricate mixing abilities. The vibrating drums and persistent arpeggios of ‘Eminence’ make for a captivating peak-time anthem, offering the nostalgic essence of Detroit’s late-nineties splendour. As the EP journeys to ‘Dancefloor Keeper’, the slick trance-inspired stabs and permeating bassline expose its ominous nature as it swells to a seismic drop. On the B-side, Shimza expresses his creative flare with ‘Kunye’; a hypnotic cut that blends the spirit of futuristic synthwave with the soul of African tribalism. ‘Warrant For Arrest’ is a charged number, driven by a snappy compressed kick drum and chiming sequences. As its percussive forces fall away to the second break, a monstrous siren and obscure vocal cuts take focus, guiding it to its summit. The penultimate offering ‘MSC’, is a euphoric gem that flows with expressive phrases and evolving synth pads. The EP’s digital-only bonus track ‘Mirrors’ shuffles effortlessly with a funk-tinged riff, maintaining a high voltage pace, closing the EP in an emphatic manner. Shimza has been on a mission to make 2019 his biggest year to date. Launching his One Man Show concept in Soweto in 2009 to help raise funds for underprivileged children, the project has now matured into an annual event that draws in over 25,000 people each year, hosting some of the country’s most in-demand artists, such as AKA, Black Coffee and Black Motion. The show has seen international editions in France, Spain and Portugal and has helped position Shimza as one o

Mario Pierro aka Raiders of the Lost ARP (ROTLA) returns to Edizioni Mondo. “Trasmissioni” is his debut LP under this moniker, using fictitious TV show themes as an excuse to create his musically most eclectic record so far. Departing slightly from the Balearic and prog rock influences of the previous “Laguna” EP, in “Trasmissioni” ROTLA covers many territories: opening with the science-celebrating arpeggios of “Progressi della Scienza” (Italian for “advances in science”), to the funky, off-beat grooves of “Telemusic”, then taking a step into a disco during “Nightlife”, before programming his rocket towards eerie nordic drum machines and Hammond organs in “Esterno Neve” and “Effetto Notte”, and many planets more. A welcome edition to the ever expanding Edition Mondo universe and a record you can’t grow tired of. Eco-Friendly green artwork that shows how tiny we all are. Good listening!



The name MONDO has its roots in “MONDO MOVIES", an italian movie genre born in the 60’s. Mondo movies are characterized by documentary-like content that addresses several topics from around the world ("mondo"). The Mondo label has the goal to produce music that is descriptive of concepts, images and environments. Mondo is inspired by library music, a genre frequently used as theme or background music in radio, film and television in that very same period. Production music libraries typically offer a broad range of musical styles and genres describing everything ranging from deserts to war and sports. Library music composers and session performers had no constraint at all. They typically work anonymously, have rarely become known outside their professional circle and they have produced what probably is the most creative music catalogue ever. The Mondo productions start with four releases dedicated to seascapes; scenarios range from sea fauna to poaching, from natural parks to sea dunes.

Cardiff based DJ and producer Guy Evans has been producing music since 1992, although it was only in 2014 that he had his first vinyl release on the Glasgow based label ALL CAPS.
Since then, he has released both new and archived material on labels such as ORGANIC ANALOGUE, CEJERO, CRISIS URBANA, EXOTIC ROBOTICS and many others. This EP marks the first release on his own label 'OTHER WORLD MUSIC' and features 5 tracks created recently by the producer which cover a broad range of styles, from Detroit house, downtempo ambient to futuristic sci-fi breakbeats. Some of the tracks on the EP have already gained airplay on stations such as NTS Radio and we look forward to hearing more releases from the label in the future.

Having just announced his first solo Ibiza residency, Dance or Die, Nic Fanciulli continues his impressive run of form with a long-awaited debut on Crosstown Rebels. Entitled Miracle (Body Rock), the two-track release includes a stunning remix from esteemed UK talent Paul Woolford.

Beginning things in fine form is Nic Fanciulli’s original Miracle (Body Rock). Whispering percussion combines with the subtle plucking of guitar strings, as echoing vocals are layered underneath soft,
moving pads to create a well-rounded, moving number. Paul Woolford’s Endless Bassline remix comes next. Stuttering hi-hats provide rhythm as the titular rolling bassline chugs on, whilst toneful piano keys merge with reverberating, soulful vocals. Unique, yet staying true to the original, the addition of distorted
claps helps create the perfect dancefloor cut; but it is the re-singing of classic Jomanda’s ‘Make My Body Rock’ vocals that links both tracks in a moving, emotive fashion.

A name synonymous with electronic music culture, Nic Fanciulli is a DJ, producer, festival curator and
label owner whose career has spanned two decades. It was in 2005 that Nic founded Saved Records, an
imprint that is now synonymous with releases from some of the scenes greatest, including Adam Beyer
and Hot Since 82. But it was his latest release on Rekids, titled Understand, that further cemented his
reputation as a standout music producer, with a clear-cut ear for the perfect dancefloor melody. Paul
Woolford is a veteran of the UK’s electronic music scene. A prolific producer who has used many
aliases, the British talent has recorded five Essential Mixes for Radio 1 as well as holding down a nine-
year residency at Space Ibiza. His recent releases demonstrate his continued talent for producing,
including You Already Know, Hang Up Your Hang Ups and Story of My Life on Hot Creations.

Check! Brand new EP by The Abstract Eye, the L.A.-based producer also known as GB (Gifted & Blessed), Frankie Reyes and a few other monikers, **Very LTD release !**

Although he is known to have an incredibly wide range of stylistic approaches, he is probably best known for the music he makes for the dance floor. His classic releases Cool Warm Divine (Valentine Connexion) and GB Presents: The Abstract Eye (Eglo) have solidified a unique analog electronic sound of his own as The Abstract Eye that he further explores and expands on in these six pieces. This record displays a diverse range of emotions, textures, rhythms and colors, sounding like it could have been made any time, past, present or future. While simultaneously staying open to the ever-changing world of music and also observing the current record industry in which many factors besides the quality of the music itself seem to take precedence, The Abstract Eye asks the question, what's real anymore? For him, it comes down to the feelings this music evokes. That is as real as it gets.

Primarily based in Leeds, The Lewis Express is comprised of many of the musicians that have graced previous ATA releases: George Cooper, Piano (Abstract Orchestra) Neil Innes, Bass (The Sorcerers, The Magnificent Tape Band, Tony Burkill), Sam Hobbs, Drums (Dread Supreme, Tony Burkill, Matthew Bourne) and Pete Williams, Percussion (The Sorcerers, The Magnificent Tape Band, Tony Burkill).Recorded over an intense two-day session, 'Clap Your Hands' is heavily influenced by the classic soul jazz recordings of The Young Holt Trio / Young Holt Unlimited, and Ramsey Lewis, from who this group take their name. As with many of the classic Ramsey Lewis cuts this album was recorded live, capturing the rich inter-relationship between the players and leaving in some of that chunky room noise.

Claps your hands/Stomp Your feet was recorded during the sessions for the upcoming Album 'Clap Your Hands'. building on the template set by their eponymous debut album these tracks further explore the 60's soul-jazz of Ramsey lewis and Young-Holt and the latin boogaloo of Eddie Cano and Pete terrace. A-side 'Clap your Hands' opens with cowbell, handclaps and bass before drums and electric piano enter to carry the track onto the dancefloor. This is one for the Djs and it'll do the business in the clubs for sure, but, also perfect for a late night, sweaty house party - shoes off and beer in the sink. B-side 'Stomp Your Feet' is much more in the classic mod-jazz frame with a faster pace and funkier drums, but still with handclaps and electric piano to the foreground. Drummer Hobbs opens up 'Stomp Your Feet' in fine style, and The Lewis Express start to swing with a Ramsey-esque groover that's just made-to-measure for dancers. Everything comes together here, with a mid-60s Cadet record feel throughout. Both tracks were recorded live to tape and were recorded and mastered for a tougher sound perfectly suited for djs to fill a dancefloor.

When South-Americans gather, many things can arise, but one will be certain: it
will be intense. It could be it a party, a conflict, a work of art or an EP such as this
one that involves a Brasilian label releasing a collection of eclectic, dark and deep
electro-boogie and post-punk by a Colombian artist. Gladkazuka is the guitarist
on Matías Aguayo’s pan-american ensemble The Desdemonas and here he offers
us four slices of synthetic trunk funk on Gop Tun’s label. Each one of them are
guaranteed not only to entice sensations of all types and provoke emotions of all
kinds but also with the intensity expected from such a combination and required
for maximum fun.

This third release of Black Lotus on Florian Meindl's FLASH Recordings enqueues in her reflection on space and physics and hypnotizes the listener in her usual kind.

According to ancient and medieval science, Aether is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.
In mythology it is seen as the personification of the heaven - the soul of the world and element of all life. An undetectable substance.
The invisible material thought to permeate all the empty space in the universe. The pure air that the gods breathe in the heavens.

Kicking off with the opening theme, with its wild synth hook and sweeping ride, ÔAetherÕ induces a solid trip on the dancefloor.

The second track explores deeper territories with its dynamic cymbals, spacey 303 textures and monotonous dark mood.

Distant Signal is a supernatural story about incessant galactic bleeps, accompanied by heavy kicks and a highly energetic percussion.

Safe trip!

Shanghai-based female electronic music producer Laughing Ears is releasing her debut album “Tidal Effect” on Ran Music. It includes 8 tracks featuring her signature dark and cyberpunk sound, with heavy suffocating subs, intensive footwork influenced beats, twisted growling bass lines and mysterious cult-feel melodies. Laughing Ears delivers an epic of world-ending tidal effects using her extraordinary sound design technique.

Laughing Ears is a female electronic music producer who currently lives in Shanghai, China. Her music crosses genres which include Experimental, Ambient, Beats, Bass, Footwork and Noise. She treats sounds as building blocks and by layering and combining them, she builds stylized sound castles of her own. She uses vintage tapes and creates unique beats then processes them using modulated effects and granular synthesizers. She has several releases on Beijing-based label Ran Music and has been gaining recognition in the China electronic music scene ever since. She has been favored by many indie labels in China and has also been invited by NTS radio to play music for their program.

Part of the new wave of artists credited with stirring up the sound, including Kamasi Washington, Yussef Kamaal, Sons of Kemet and The Comet is Coming, Yazz Ahmed is thrilled by the possibilities of making something new. "I feel like I'm a part of modernising jazz and connecting it with audiences today" Yazz says, "it's exciting".

Her take on jazz weaves in Arabic melodies to evocative, cinematic effect.

'La Saboteuse' is a deep exploration of both her British and Bahraini roots. Ably assisted by musicians including Lewis Wright on vibraphone, MOBO-winning new jazz kingpin Shabaka Hutchings on bass clarinet and Naadia Sherriff on Fender Rhodes keyboard, it's composed of undulating rhythms, Middle Eastern melody and Yazz's sonorous trumpet lines. The record sounds like the passage of a desert caravan, bathed in moonlight. The theme of 'La Saboteuse' is the sense of self-doubt that Yazz feels when she is creating, personified in a female saboteur, an anti-muse that spurs her into action. "Giving 'her' a name has really helped me to identify those negative voices we all get," she says. "I know what it is and I know how to combat it"

Music collective Africa Express announce the release of a brand new studio album titled EGOLI, coming on the newly created Africa Express Records imprint.

Hailed as the most revolutionary force in popular music for two decades, Africa Express was founded in 2006 and brings together musicians from different cultures, genres and generations to break boundaries and offer a new perspective on Africa and its music.

Each record and event is unique, based upon on-the-spot collaboration and filled with unique moments of magic; the collective have hosted trips and concerts in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mali and UK to date.

Africa Express travelled to South Africa in January of last year to complete an electronic album in just 7 days, a week of discovery, collaboration and music-making. The result is EGOLI - 18 tracks capturing the fresh, joyous sounds of Afro Futurism, straight out of Johannesburg.

Featured artists include Damon Albarn, Blue May, Gruff Rhys, Georgia, Ghetts, Mr Jukes, Nick Zinner, Remi Kabaka, Otim Alpha and Poté as well as emerging and established stars of the buzzing South African music scene including BCUC, Blk Jks, Dominowe, Faka, Infamous Boiz, DJ Spoko, Mahotella Queens, Moonchild Sanelly, Muzi, Morena Leraba, Nonku Phiri, Radio 123, Sibot, Sho Madjozi, Zola 7, Zolani Mahola (Freshly Ground) and Maskandi guitar legend Phuzekhemisi.

Soundway Records presents the eponymous debut LP from in-demand Amsterdam five piece The Mauskovic Dance Band – fusing no-wave dance punk, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and space disco in a “controlled explosion” (The Quietus).

Entirely self-produced, the band has reiterated their favourite elements of the 70s and 80s legacy of the Afro-Latin psychedelic music of Colombia and Peru, interpreting it through the context of modern day Amsterdam. The output is a lo-fi No Wave groove all its own - rooted in a deep love of champeta, Palenque, psychedelic cumbia, chichi, classic afrobeat and picó soundsystem culture.

Since the release of their “Down In The Basement” EP on Soundway Records in early 2018, the band have found themselves on a hectic European touring schedule – not to mention being involved in other side projects. Following stints with Turkish psychedelic folk rock group Altin Gün, and touring with the re-formed 70s Zamrock outfit W.I.T.C.H., Nic Mauskovic also teamed up with Dutch neo-psychedelic artist Jacco Gardner to form the “cinematic Balearic disco” duo of Bruxas (released by Dutch institution Dekmantel) – and together, they mixed The Mauskovic Dance Band debut album in Lisbon.

Lead single Space Drum Machine encapsulates the band’s prototypical brand of busy rhythmic patterns interwoven with insistent synth stabs and vibrant disco toms, layered with an elastic guitar riff drawing inspiration from Kenyan kikuyu and benga styles. High-pitched vocals describe being on a flight together and inciting each other to press a button of unknown consequence with “push it, push it” - and push it they do, at breakneck pace. And of course, the undeniable influence of Amsterdam’s hotbed of underground dance producers shines through as it does on all tracks - with the vintage psychedelic swirl of synthesiser, lo-fi drum machines and tape recording.

Ophir Kutiel AKA Kutiman is a multi-instrumentalist from Tel Aviv, a “psychedelic space funk architect” to quote Straight No Chaser. When we were approached by his label Siyal about recruiting ZamZam/Khaliphonic artists for a remix project, we loved the idea right away - dub without borders or boundaries is our passion, and getting our hands on Kutiman’s freeform analog explorations felt like an amazing opportunity to push that passion further. All four remixes revel in the freedom of the original tunes, and each, while anchored in dubwise techniques, are totally unhindered by tempo or other genre constraints.

Alter Echo & E3 open with a remix of “Unknown,” the set’s only 140 tune, full up with a bubbling cauldron of bassline and flutes, esoteric vinyl archaeology, spring reverb shocks, and swung percussion.

J:Kenzo, known for 140 and 160 bpm sound system bangers, here takes the chance to stay deep - but in a chill mode - unfurling a beautiful journey of syncopated drum work and slapping percussion framing the lush, meandering melodies of the original “Behind The Noise."

Gulls’ rework of “Mineral” rocks with an offbeat feel, technically in four, but swaying like it’s in three. Plucked guitar figures recall the African roots of contemporary bass music, and tape hiss buffets the listener back and forth through a sonic hall of portals and passages.

Perhaps the most surprising of all four four versions is Headland’s closing “Lucid Dream” remix, which sets course for dub techno country and never looks back. Combining the best of the producer’s masterful sound design and sense of build-and-drop dynamics with the idiom’s 4/4 pulse and focus on immersive space, Headland closes a set as inspired as the album it was based on.

Following the release of Encores 1 on June 1st, Nils Frahm releases of Encores 2, the second in a series of EPs following the release of the universally acclaimed album, All Melody, released in January of this year.

While Encores 1 focused on an acoustic pallet of sounds with just a solo piano and harmonium, Encores 2 explores a more ambient landscape from the All Melody sessions, the pinnacle of which is the astral 12 minute showpiece Spells. Recorded through an amplified stone well Frahm found on Mallorca, Encores 2 is at once unique but familiar; orbiting the universe of All Melody while inhabiting its own world.

'The idea behind Encores is one we had from before All Melody; to separate releases each with their own distinct musical style and theme, perhaps even as a triple album. But All Melody became larger than itself and took over any initial concepts. I think the idea of Encores is like musical islands that compliment All Melody'

Nils Frahm wraps up an exultant year with two shows at London's Hammersmith Apollo on December 4th and 5th, followed by a sold out four night residency where it all began at Funkhaus Berlin, December 11th-14th. The All Melody world tour continues apace in 2019 across Europe and the US, for all dates and tickets.

RLSD 003 comes correct delivering a dynamic and functional
dancefloor tool. Following in the tradition of what the label is all about
‘Tensional Ground VA’ again delivers with the full weight of the best of
Irish Techno. Tensional Ground VA presents long serving purveyors of
the techno sound Stuey Lyons, Casper hastings and Rustal somewhat
unsung heroes of the Irish scene, all having received great acclaim on
the international circuit getting support from the top international techno
brass. Stuey Lyons leads the pack with and upfront functional FM tool.
Stuey’s in depth cultural awareness of Techno cultivated this driving
nightmaker that has been recognised as a festival anthem receiving
great acclaim long before its release date. Rustal delivers a broken set
breaker that morphs and progresses to aid any DJ in the depths of a
long haul set. This track has more than delivered and offers new insight
with every listen. Caspers upfront in your face track is an instant classic
that will rarely leave the bag. Hastings Showcases his production skills
and true sound with a rough and ready analog production that was and
easy choice for the labels final cut. Stuey Lyons original ‘The Rift’ gets
the remix treatment from Echoplex providing a Soliel Remix throwing a
dancefloor curveball complimenting the upfront functionality of the
other tracks. Echoplex being a favourite of the label owners who have
taken great inspiration from his contribution to the scene. Working
alongside Echoplex holds great significance for the label as his
contribution reinforces the identity and culture the label portrays in all it
does.