quête:b flow

Tel-Aviv based duo, ‘Project Runaway’, return with a new release on LDN/LA based ‘All My Thoughts’.

The 4 track e.p opens with title track ‘Charly’, a mesmerizing hypnotic percussive bomb, with voodoo-like vocal mantras and trance flavours throughout.

‘J&S’ is up next, a minimal sunset/sunrise house track full of raw layers of sensitive percussion and bouncing rhythm.

The B side opens with ‘Export City’, a psychedelic percussive trip into the city that never sleeps.

‘Tunnels’, brings us to a close with a mysterious flow of melodies alongside PR's signature percussion, equally suited to both festival stages and sweaty basements.

12" + 7" !

Mind Maze is, amazingly, Trees Speak’s fifth album to be released on Soul Jazz Records in the space of little over two years– an output matched only by the intensity of their music created during this short time.

The first pressing only of the album comes with a bonus seven-inch single containing two tracks that are not available on vinyl anywhere else.
As with all their previous releases, ‘Mind Maze’ is a mind-boggling tightrope walk across an array of musical influences that seamlessly create the unique present-day world of Trees Speak.

The band’s sound is characterized by a combination of German krautrock motoric-beat rhythms, angular New York post-punk attitude, 60s spy soundtracks, psych, rock, jazz, and 70s synthesizers and vocoders. There is also a cosmic spatial awareness to their sound; both personal inner space and galactic outer space, as well as a wilful pushing of sonic boundaries.

Trees Speak are a musical duo based in Tucson, Arizona, composed of Daniel Martin Diaz and Damian Diaz. Their music is heavily influenced by the cosmic magic of the natural desert landscapes of Arizona, creating a unique and captivating sound that is both experimental and innovative.

Here you will find the myriad sounds of 1970s German electronic music (everything from Can to Cluster, Popul Vuh to Tangerine Dream); 1980s New York post-punk and synthcore (from No Wave to Suicide); John Barry’s 1960s movies, John Carpenter’s 1970s horror. You will also hear the influences of French and Italian progressive rock (Magma, Goblin) as well as cosmic, new age and experimental space soundscapes …. an almost endless list of diverse influences that ebb and flow like an ocean of sound, in the process creating a truly unique soundscape that Trees Speak have made wholly their own.

The name Trees Speak reflects their interest in the concept of using future technologies to store information and data in trees and plants, with the idea that trees communicate collectively. This interest in nature and technology, combined with their passion for experimentation, has led Trees Speak to create a truly one-of-a-kind listening experience that is both unique and engaging.

If you ever wanted to hear Can, Neu!, Destroy All Monsters, Pere Ubu, electric eels, John Cage, Liquid Liquid, Tangerine Dream, Suicide, Laurie Spiegel, Art Ensemble of Chicago, John Barry, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company, Sun Ra, Stockhausen, John Carpenter, Electro-Acoustic and Musique Concrete and Mars in one band - then this is it! Trees Speak are a band that defies categorization and offer an eclectic listening experience, both exciting and memorable.

The two bonus tracks (‘Seraphim’ and ‘Orpheus’) included with the album give us a further window into the complex mind maze of the group - two stunning acoustic tracks that explore a distinct early 70s sound of Yes, Argent and other progressive rock accolytes.

Global pointing Brazilian jazz trio releases their new album Agôra, that sparkles with electric funk and Herbie-esque eclecticism. It features a myriad of guest vocalists and musicians including Brazilians Xênia França and Zé Leônidas, Jembaa Groove's Ghanaian singer Eric Owusu and South African artists Bongani Givethanks & Mpho Nkuzo

Re-wiring the concept of 'fusion' for 2023, Agôra is Brazilian trio Caixa Cubo's resurgent new record with the title referring to 'now', based upon the intuitive and fluid nature of the trio's method, and this inspired recording. With shoots to black music culture, from Brazil to Brooklyn, Ghana and South Africa, Agôra is the group's ninth album yet is their first where they've invited guests, mainly singers, onto each track and follows their last, Angela from 2020, released on Heavenly Records, which won a BBC 6 Music Album of the Year (Huey Morgan's selection) granting them much deserved international recognition.

The core musical elements of Caixa Cubo are Henrique Gomide (keys), João Fideles (drums) and Noa Stroeter (bass), all from São Paulo, Brazil and where they met as teenagers and would continue their friendship and musical bond at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands. Now all in their mid thirties, João and Noa live back in the city where it all started but Henrique has settled in Cologne, Germany where the recording of Agôra took place, over the course of 3 days, at the home cum studio of Chris 'Dusty' Doepke, their friend and owner of the label they signed to, Jazz & Milk.

In line with all their creations where flow and energy provide the magic, allowing what the moment provides, the album shines not only for its virtuosity but for its minimalism, the depth of space, and for the first time, the ability to figure in and outside of the jazz fold, as the trio decided, for the first time, to bring in singers and add a new aesthetic to their sound.

"Agôra is a wake-up call to reality, a reminder that the infinite possibilities of technological progress should not disconnect us from the earth, from eye-to-eye relationships, and from moments lived in person" the band are keen to point out. "And that we must not be consumed by greed, for all we truly possess.... is the NOW."

Turning hope and metaphor into music, the debut single Sábado, an electrified future- jazz-fizz reflects perfectly the spontaneity that permeated the entire recording of the album. "When we got to the studio, we had no idea what we were going to record. We started playing a groove, kind of inspired by Gilberto Gil's 80s albums, and our drummer João started singing this funny song 'Sábado Barrigudão' (Big Belly Saturday) alongside the bass groove and that was that". Inspired by their city of birth, São Paulo, it features long time collaborator and vocalist Zé Leônidas, with cuicas, tamborim, agogo and shakers providing the most obvious Brazilian affect from the album.

Dreams is the band's first foray into R'n'B melding the group's simple and sporadic instrumentation of drums, keys and bass into a Jill Scott inspired song that could have been born in Brooklyn yet sung by Brazilian singer and Grammy nominated Xênia França and Zé Leônidas in both English and Portuguese. Xênia recently performed online for hip-to-it website Colors and it's her latest collaboration with Caixa Cubo, having first met in 2009 for a series of live performances.

South African artists Bongani Givethanks & Mpho Nkuzo come to the record with a wholly different approach on Ndiyakhangela, providing spoken word and vocal refrains on top of an Afro-Brazilian percussion jam with a delivery and verse in Xhosa, Zula and Ndebele. Asase is the album opener and features vocals of Eric Owusu who is part of highlife pioneer Pat Thomas's live band and most recently, co-leader of Jembaa Groove, an Afro-soul band from Berlin. It's a synth wig out with djembe grooves and offers a brand new take on Afro-soul-jazz.

Other contributions come from Cologne based jazz singer Rebekka Ziegler (Oblique Sunshine), São Paulo based guitarist Eduardo Camargo (Caio & Eric) and trumpet player Matthias Schriefl on Kismeti, a gorgeous and rolling number that ebbs and flows, exemplifying the group's effortless ability to craft a sound energised by a belief in one-self and the idea of having faith without the need to look at each other for verification.

As drummer and percussionist João Fideles perfectly surmised upon arriving for the recording session, "What drums do you have? Whatever you have, I'll use it". Agôra is testament to nearly 20 years of camaraderie, friendship and most importantly, trust.

Running Back welcomes Firas Waez and his studio character 9th House for a flock of heartfelt and intuitive house tracks. Centered around uplifting chords and joyous melodies, upbeat drums and shuffling hi-hats, it feels like being in a circle dance, watching flowers turning into fruits or caterpillars into butterflies.

Made with the tools of today, but with a burdening love for the ancient magic and positivity of this music. The results being highly contagious. Whether its any of the 9th House’s solo works like Reuben or the collaboration with Matrefakt, it’s impossible to hold still. But as no one can live off love alone, there is also an odd one out. The eponym Midas swaps vintage techniques and the love potion of its counterparts for sharp and exact peak-time magic that makes endorphins rush and cheeks blush. Whichever you finally pick of the five tracks, any of them are an amulet against bad times. A Midas’ touch indeed! Happy house painting artwork courtesy of Luciano Calderon via ruttkoswki;68.

As the artwork on the EP depicts, "Darkest hour before dawn" is a dusky scenario representing the Dutch environment known as "the polder" in the lower lands. It questions all kinds of actions taken or not taken to protect, restore, conserve, innovate, or modestly leave the landscape to its own more murky outcome. The darkest hour, full of gloom, will be available around the spring equinox?

Portrait of tracks separately:


"Darkest Hour before dawn"

Is this piece supposed to be an ode to the ancient Dutch hardcore movement, that once and probably only then would be experienced to such intensity or is this still maybe just a little near reminder of it? Anyway starts this unlit track slowly and remains that way but maintains a fat-pumping pulse, possibly reminding of a soldier walking a death march. Settling up those launch pads further down the piece, near the bridge for shooting off some drum-fire 909 snares as if it rocketed. Then, suddenly, the extended delay of that snare turns into a psychedelic drone beside, attending to, or paranoidly chasing comrades soul in his journey throughout and above like a trustful partner?

Arp's LFO that is out of sync with the beat and is being outpaced by it seems to slow everything down even more; meantime creating a pulling, buggy-like effect to the due of all this.

The ascending and descending ghost-pad drawing into the grid of the (tone) key, thereafter parking in them for a while and cycling out again, creating a spatial flow of disturbance and anxiety.

Finishes it with a mountain-big reverberation of organized destruction and chaos. What at first sight seems like simply an innocent route appears to actually be a bit more complex one.


"Lovely memories"

The quite monotonous structure of Lovely memories catchy and groovy song is scanning through your brain files; revisiting, memorizing, and purposely lacking these few "dots above the I" that in some cases you'd gladly be feeling like to square fit it in yourself, of course, when necessary. Connecting the puzzling, dazzling flashbacks together to finally wrap up and perpetuate the pictured events for good, leaving traces of melancholy, loveliness, and perhaps even faith to it.


"24 hours"

Dinginess of 24 hours supposes to be felt in the guts.
The beat, steady with that snare on the 4 & 12, might not be one of the greatest inventions. However, the TR-08's drum line here lays a solid and fertile foundation for a reasonable house track.

Slightly detuned synths weave a scarf pattern around your upper body, and the lower layers carry a warm blanket for the underbelly, providing you with that cozy sense of consolation. Acidy pokes wring itself sneaky and penetrable around, slicing through the song's already solid flesh. Therefore, balancing its bitter sweetness throughout with these soft-hard saw-tooth drops of sourness.

"24 hours" conveys a dispatch or intercommunication that there is little time left to take actions/charge to fix and restore. Something big is about to come if it hasn't arrived already...


"At night"

This remarkable story is a bit out of ordinary.
At night appeared in the artist's dream just the night before his sick father was raised from death in the hospital and got just another year to live before actually passing away completely and anyway. ; ))
And thus also dedicated to the man.

El Choop makes a welcome return to Echocord this March with the ‘Closing Motif’ EP, Deadbeat and Luke Hess step in on remix duties.

Harvey Jones, better known to most as El Choop, is a London based producer and DJ most notably known his Dub leaning House and Techno output for the likes of Greyscale, Ornate Music, Ranges, Etui Records and of course Echocord where he returns here following the 2021 ‘Insane Sends’ EP.

Leading the way on this new project is the original mix of ‘Faith’, a six-minute journey through cascading dub stabs, fluttering low-end pulsations, dynamically evolving percussion and intricate nuance throughout. Deadbeat’s ‘In The Chapel Dub’ mix of ‘Faith’ follows next, stripping things back to a swaying, heavily dubbed out feel via heavy sub bass swells, a bouncy rhythmic drive and echoing elements of the original composition. Title-cut ‘Closing Motif’ is up next on the b-side, employing a murky, plucked bass melody which ebbs and flows around hazy atmospherics, rattling hi-hats and muted drums. Luke Hess then steps in on remix duties for ‘Closing Motif’ to round things out, the Detroit native delivers a typically classy interpretation, taking the core of the original and twisting it into an IDM tinged cut via crunchy broken drums and shimmering synth textures.

From New Jersey via The Netherlands: longstanding US craftsman Joey Anderson makes his debut on Deeptrax with his inspiring new album… ‘Exotic Sequence’

His fourth LP to date, ‘Exotic Sequence’ is a fully instrumental deep dive into both Joey’s machines and mindset, as he explains himself… “The title ‘Exotic Sequence’ stood out to me because throughout the LP I tended to use a sequencer for the main melody of most of the tracks. Almost every time I approach a track with techno intentions it eventually ends up being deep / housey,” states the artist who broke through 15 years ago on Qu’s Strength Music and has worked closely with the likes of Dekmantel and, more recently, Avenue 66.

Now at home on the relatively new and positively thriving label arm of Dutch record store institution Deeptrax, Joey tells us where he’s at with a body of work that poignantly reminds us that it’s not the destination that counts; it’s the journey we endure to get there.

In this sense, ‘Exotic Sequence’ is the sound of Joey letting his instruments guide, inform and inspire him. Cuts like the constantly rising and hopeful ‘Sky Children’, the deep 808 bubbles and dreamy reflections of ‘Behind The Valley’ and the emotionally rich ‘Stop’ are just a handful of examples of Joey being lost in deep flow, channeling the creative energy in his studio.

It lands exactly three years after his last album ‘Rainbow Doll’, neatly bookending the strangest and most surreal start to any decade we’ve lived through since house and techno culture took root in the 80s. A timeless document that looks forward and back and remains unhurried, thoughtful and crafted with longevity, ‘Exotic Sequence’ is arguably the most honest and frank side to Joey Anderson we’ve heard in his extensive career so far.

Holly Lester’s Duality Trax Label has quickly become synonymous for its blend of future facing sonics and mind-warping melodies, served together with a healthy dose of nostalgia. A label just as focused on making dancefloor destroyers as it is exploring left-leaning, personal projects, it’s within this duality where the label has found its success, never afraid to shy away from b side oddities or tracks edging more towards good-old-fashioned-fun.

DUALITY5 steers towards the latter, with Manchester based DJ & producer Aiden Francis providing the serotonin on tap with three lively dancefloor cuts, including a huge remix from Italy’s Matisa. Aiden had a big 2022, releasing music on Magic Carpet, Gestalt and beloved music platform and label Houseum, solidifying himself as one to watch in the euphoric unity of house, trance and techno.

Title track ‘Plastic Fantasy’ is the star of the show, a suitably sassy roller that places everyone's favorite blonde icon front left of the speakers. Subtle old school strings contrast with alien electronics, providing familiarity in an otherwise unfamiliar world. A bubble-gum vocal then rolls in cheekily over a driving bassline and dynamic percussion - used in a way I’m not sure the original creators had in mind. ‘Future Proof’ meanwhile demonstrates Aidens’ knack for contemporary progressive house music. With warm pads, swirling sonic textures and moments of blissful euphoria, it’s energetic enough to move a dancefloor, but gentle enough for home listening too.

The record comes to a close with ‘Aquamarine’, with Aiden opting in favour of free flowing breakbeats and mind expanding synths, together radiating a feeling of warmth and hope for days to come. Italian DJ and producer Matisa is on hand to round the EP off with a bass-heavy rendition of ‘Plastic Fantasy’ a no-holds-barred speed garage licked stomper, with the power to lure smokers back inside the club with their feet firmly planted on the dancefloor.

HAVEN are back and charging in to the beginning of the year with a new catalogue number and compilation series. 'Vague Weight Vol. 1' launches the black label series that will be focused on the intersection of grime, dubstep, break-beat and other UK bass flavours with the hard and gritty techno sounds the label has become renowned for.

The A1 thrusts us straight in to this sonic world with an icy 4-4 slammer from Otautahi local legend and 1985 signee Ebb. Grimy cold square waves, gun reloads and some of the chunkiest drum programming in the South Pacific come together in this perfect representation of what the black label series is about. The A2 follows on with this theme with a huge bassy dance-floor anthem from London-based Irish artist Witch Trials featuring ghostly melodic hooks, creeping atmospheres and stepping rhythms to close out the A-side.

The B1 begins the flip with UK hardcore stylings from Voitax regular and bass experimentalist Cressida. Broken beats, monstrous bass pulses, faded rave synths and diva vocals combine in this huge slab of break-beat weight from the Berlin-based producer. Finally the compilation closes with an odd-ball chunk of 4-4 dub experimentation from Swedish HAVEN legend Peder Mannerfelt, following on from 2020's 'Ensnared' EP. Four-to-the-floor kicks flow alongside half-time rhythms and grungy synth work to close out this new chapter in the HAVEN discography.

The inaugural release on Groove Culture’s new Deep imprint comes courtesy of Berlin-based DJ/Producer and fresh-faced talent Luca Olivotto. For his Groove Culture Deep debut ‘Floating Memories’ Olivotto hits with three delectably deep tracks that each have their own distinctive flavour.

Up first, ‘Maybe’ takes the full A side, a groove-laden, energetic old school house track with nods to king Kerri that is certified prime-time dancefloor business. On Side B you’ll find the title track ‘Floating Memories’. As its namesake suggests, melodic synths, luscious pads and groovy stabs sparkle atop a punchy driving beat.

Closing out proceedings ‘Dark Flow’, the perfect opener to set the atmosphere of a dancefloor... A warm, deep and beautiful journey full to the brim with sweeping chords, subtle vocal snippets and delicate top lines.

An essential EP for any Deep House lover out there that really delves down into the essence of the genre.

For the third in its fifth anniversary release series, Stroboscopic Artefacts brings together tracks from Xhin, Tommy Four Seven, Kangding Ray and Dsrcd. Xhin's Blade Moth', previously released digitally by Meerestief, finds today new (and remastered) life on SA. It is deep and propulsive, with scattershot percussion reverberating around finely tuned kicks and sci-fi oscillations. The detailed sound design and experimental quirks are typical of the producer; they made for a stunning debut album on SA in 2011, and here elevate the functional 4x4 skeleton into a fantastically ethereal piece of dance music. On 'FFFFF', an incessant bass groove channels pounding kicks and high-end distortion into powerful form. Tommy Four Seven's experience in the DJ booth informs the less-is-more approach, as carefully selected elements roll dynamically and to gripping effect. Flip the record over and Kangding Ray provides the most dramatic offering in 'Luna'. Warehouse-style synths slide from behind drums and throbbing pulses of sub bass, driving the track forward with vigour. 'Luna' closes with an extended and euphoric outro, it heightens the peak-time force and lends itself to spellbinding mixes. Parisian act Dscrd end the EP with slow, grinding techno cut 'Apparition Hill'. It opts for tension over release, ebbing and flowing with restrained arrangement and masterful guile. Illusory vocal samples and washes of noise rise from the murky atmosphere, filling the mid-range with harsh textures. Dscrd's contribution offers something slower and more heady, finishing a special record with finesse.

recut and repressed !

Summer is here, and we at OFF are proud to be once again a steady provider of sunny vibes with this lovely 2-track EP.

Purple Disco Machine from Dresden, Germany step up to the plate with a soul/disco-infused house tune with a driving flow and a killer beat, one made both for the club and the beach.

Second track comes from praised producer James Silk, from Liverpool, already familiar to the likes of Defected or Exploited, who delivers a west coast influenced deep house tune with an inspiring breakdown and a groove that will make everyone smile.

Another hit from OFF aimed straight to the soul!

---- Malente & Teenage Mutants - Blow My Mind

After the immense success of chart topper 'Hanging On' (Co-produced with Andre Crom), Teenage Mutants (Stil Vor Talent, Nurvous) makes yet another promising collaborating alliance with german superstar Malente (No Brainer, Defected, Fool's Gold, Southern Fried) to provide another hit single of huge proportions.

'Blow My Mind' is a nu-disco influenced funk bomb with a rocking synth bassline and hypnotic vocoder vocals that create a deep and spacey atmosphere. Another quality OFF installment destined to take dancefloors all over the world on a deep funky trip!

SHDW & Obscure Shape return to their mothership label From Another Mind with their six-track 'Vergessene Welt' EP, signalling the first material on the imprint for 18 months.

Founded in 2015, the launch of SHDW and Obscure Shape's label From Another Mind saw the Stuttgart-based DJ/producers establish themselves via a wealth of self-released material while welcoming a long list of high-profile remixers, including Rodhad, James Ruskin and Dax J. However, the pair's evolution saw new ventures explored and attention focused wider afield with the launch of their second label Mutual Rytm in 2022. Utilising their A&R skills, the label has seen the duo curate and invite a selection of up-and-coming and established names while also delivering their first EP on the label in Summer, 'Poetic Justice'. Exploring the techno sounds of tomorrow while drawing on influences of the past, the label quickly turned heads and has become a go-to for many. Following a brief hiatus, the attention is now turned back towards From Another Mind as the pair explore their origins and the signature FAM sound once again, opening the New Year with six fresh productions across their 'Vergessene Welt' EP.

Opener 'Planet Der Sturme' is an exhilarating ride through driving basslines, menacing synth lines and hard-hitting percussion to march towards the peak hours and set the tone for what's to come. 'Der Urknall' is a trippy and murky dive through off-kilter textures and regimented percussion, while 'Das Gefallene Konigreich' ups the energy levels further with sharp metallic tones, skittering hats and subtle haunting melodies launching deep into the late night hours.

On the flip, 'Geburt Der Erde' brings a slice of paired-back, groove-led techno as a slick acid line takes control and ebbs and flows throughout the track's six-minute duration, before closing the physical record via the delicate yet compelling sonics of title cut 'Vergessene Welt' - showcasing a deep dive into far-reaching corners of the genre.

It was in the year 1981 when Belgian electronic musician Michel Huygen and his Spanish colleague Carlos Guirao, both better known as Neuronium, met with Evngelos Odyss as Papathanassou, better known as Vangelis, to record a joint session in London.

Michel Huygen remembers: "The music we played together starting from my score, was flowing, flowing so fast and smoothly between the 3 of us, that I can now, many years after, say: We recorded all the music's parts in one single "shot", since the result was absolutely what we all wanted and Vangelis told us: "Don't touch what we have recorded, it is lovely " and so we did."Now, after some rather unofficial releases, the opus "In London" is finally released for the first time in its entire length, titled "In London - The Platinum Edition", fondly reworked, remastered and sonic refined to perfection exactly 45 years after Neuronium released their first album on the famous Harvest label.

Michel Huygen had intended to celebrate this anniversary with Vangelis in Paris. But fate had other intentions, on May 17, 2022, Vangelis died as a result of a Covid-19 disease.
Huygen: "I feel honored to have been able to meet him, to play music with him and to have him as a funny friend too. And mainly to have been able to meet a huge musician, a classical composer for the forthcoming generations, without doubt. R.I.P, dear Vangelis."