quête:back 2 basics

Since relocating from Amsterdam to Bergen on the Netherlands’ north west coast, Tom Trago has gone back to basics. Every day he jams out tracks in his home studio using a small selection of electronic instruments, drum computers and effects units, a process that allows him to quickly capture ideas, emotions and the intense moments he experiences while making music.

It’s these diverse and sometimes surprising musical moments that will be showcased on Trago’s new DIY record label, Jong Nederland. The imprint is named after the building where he now lives and works, an historic and storied place that has been home to artists of all descriptions since the 1960s. Each vinyl release will feature tracks made by Trago using his improvised, straight-to-tape technique, packaged in handcrafted sleeves illustrated by internationally renowned Dutch artist – and fellow Bergen resident – Pieter Bijwaard.

The Jong Nederland story begins with two tracks of undulating, slowly shifting dancefloor voodoo rich in crunchy drum machine hits, lilting electronic melodies and instinctive dancefloor warmth. On the A-side you’ll find “Whisper”, a hypnotic but fluid affair where hushed melodies tumble down over off-kilter polyrhythmic machine drums, spaced out effects and bubbly, ever-changing analogue electronics.

B-side “Belltower” sees Trago up the tempo a little and bounce us towards the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Utilizing a rubbery rhythm track full of sturdy but supple kick-drums and hissing cymbals, Trago layers up fizzing synthesizer lines, poignant minor key chords, wiggling acid-style motifs and starburst electronics to fire the synapses and stir the senses. Like its’ A-side companion, “Belltower” gently twists and turns throughout, reflecting the real time, hands-on changes made by its creator during the spontaneous sessions that led to its creation.

Spell PETS backwards to get STEP. Spell STEP forwards and you get PETS going back to basics. STEP is the new vinyl-only label from the founders of PETS – Catz n Dogz – with a focus on the rawest forms and root functions of dance music. STEP searches for the fundamentals with under-theradar house and techno that’s not afraid to be rough around the edges. It’s all about the music.

Spell PETS backwards to get STEP. Spell STEP forwards and you get PETS going back to basics. STEP is the new vinyl-only label from the founders of PETS - Catz n Dogz - with a focus on the rawest forms and root functions of dance music. STEP searches for the fundamentals with under-the-radar house and techno that's not afraid to be rough around the edges. It's all about the music.

Having pinned to perfection the sonics of the Adriatic, Croatia's Love International Festival bottles up their blissed out rhythms and sunrise sessions for the inauguration of Love International Recordings, fittingly, with a first release from UK producer Begin.

Bringing the Love International feel to wax and digital, the label will encapsulate the range of music the festival's secluded party paradise has become renowned for. All the way from the balearic tinges of this first release, to the meatier house, techno and electro selections on show at Barbarellas.

Begin aka James Holroyd has a long history with Love International. Dating back to the early 2000s, Holroyd was one of the first guest DJs at the old Garden festival on the former festival site in Petrcane. Long serving Chemical Brothers tour DJ, Back to Basics resident since the 90's and Bugged Out co founder, Begin has long paid his paid his dues to the scene. In the words of Dave Harvey: 'he's been an absolute workhorse in dance music for time'.

Love International 001's tracks seemingly fit the festivals own daily lifecycle. From the docile guitar picking of meditative EP opener 'Wood Trees' to the slow daybreak funk of 'Daypulse' where synths pierce through the track like sun rays through the Adriatic dusk, the EP is a holistic reflection of what one might hear at one of the festival's fabled sunrise sessions. 'Garden Interlude' ushers in a fresh burst of energy, with the revitalizing sounds of piano house, paired with warming neo soul vocals. 'Into The Fun' is a self fulfilling prophecy, closing the EP on a quintessentially balearic note.

Intimate November tour also announced After their 2012 Mercury Prize nominated debut and 2015's Top 20 follow-up 'Born Under Saturn', musical adventurers Django Django are back for 2017, exploring new sounds with their brand new album 'Marble Skies' which will be released on January 26th on Because Music. Today the album launches with first single 'Tic Tac Toe', a rousing, trippy upbeat rock track with an enormous echoing hookline which will excite fans of the band's rockabilly-influenced elements. The accompanying video for 'Tic Tac Toe' was directed by John Maclean, brother of Django Django drummer/producer David Maclean and director of the critically acclaimed modernist western 'Slow West'. It depicts vocalist/guitarist Vincent Neff enjoying a rapid-fire day-trip to Hastings which takes a turn into the surreal and sinister when a ghost train puts him on a collision course with a grim reaper inspired by Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal. As John Maclean explains: The film could be about the fading era of the beach arcades, time moving too fast, love and games, horror and happiness but it is actually about a man who needs to go buy a pint of milk to make a cup of tea.' After the brilliant, rave-shaped grooves and expansive arrangements of its predecessor, 'Marble Skies' is a more concise and focused offering which recalls the dynamic, genre-blurring music of their debut. It's a return to form, an album which finds them returning to the handmade, cut-and-paste approach of the past. Upon finishing the 'Born To Saturn' tour, Dave ventured to LA to work on a production project, whilst the other band members went to India with the British Council. When they returned, the new album process began with a back-to-basics approach which recalled the DIY ethos of the band's early days, Django Django - minus an absent Maclean - assembled at Urchin Studios in Tottenham, London with Metronomy drummer Anna Prior to experiment with the idea of coming up with new tracks through loose jamming sessions. After ten days of recording, there was plenty of raw material to send up to Dave (then back in his hometown of Dundee) for him to edit, refine and evolve. As ever, all four band members (completed by Tommy Grace on synths and bassist Jimmy Dixon) contributed to the band's music, melodies and lyrics as the final album took shape. Parts of 'Marble Skies' find Django Django sailing into uncharted territories, not least the driving title track (propelled by Prior's drumming), with its echoes of Krautrock and Suicide. Meanwhile, the hazy Zombies-like summer pop of 'Champagne', which explores the joys and ills of alcohol, was inspired by the band's over-indulgence during a boat trip on the Seine that was hosted by their label. Those drawn to the more dance-orientated side of Django Django will find much to love in the twisted '80s electro pop of 'In Your Beat' and the dancehall-influenced 'Surface To Air', a dreamy-headed pop song fronted by Rebecca Taylor of Slow Club. The collaboration came as a result of the two bands meeting up at SXSW some years ago, where Rebecca and Dave in particular bonded over shared interests in R&B, hip-hop and dancehall. Another more surprising collaborator is Jan Hammer, the Czech-born, American-based jazz-fusion and electronic artist who shares writing credits with the band on the gorgeously floaty 'Sundials'. If there's a mood running through 'Marble Skies', it's one of reflection on things past and present, and finding some kind of peace with your place in the grand scheme of things.

Spell PETS backwards to get STEP. Spell STEP forwards and you get PETS going back to basics. STEP is the new vinyl-only label from the founders of PETS - Catz n Dogz - with a focus on the rawest forms and root functions of dance music. STEP searches for the fundamentals with under-the-radar house and techno that's not afraid to be rough around the edges. It's all about the music.

Spell PETS backwards to get STEP. Spell STEP forwards and you get PETS going back to basics. STEP is the new vinyl-only label from the founders of PETS " Catz n Dogz " with a focus on the rawest forms and root functions of dance music. STEP searches for the fundamentals with under-theradar house and techno that's not afraid to be rough around the edges. It's all about the music.

Richy Ahmed launches his new imprint, Four Thirty Two, with a self-produced two-track single, 'Put Me In A Trance', featuring the vocal talents of Gloria Adereti and a collaboration with up and coming producer, Janson.
The new label is a back to basics, analogue vision, directed by Richy, which will include original material, unearthed and undiscovered artist appearances, and remixes from the Richy and Janson alias Love Hurtz, as well as featuring a variety of vocalists from surrounding circles. Each release will have a clear focus on the sound of vinyl and clean-cut imagery presented with each record.
Richy explains; "The first release is from myself, my good friend Janson and Gloria Adereti, all original and new material. I am super happy with the EP and both tracks are sounding really strong, so cant wait for you to hear it. Check the original artwork also done by Will Worrell and myself, each release will have unique and bespoke artwork that we've created and photographed in professional studios. I'm super proud to kick start the label with this release."
Since his debut EP 'The Drums' on Hot Creations in 2013, Richy has continued to pave the way for genre spanning and aspiring artists. Aside from his recording and production ventures, Richy has been at the forefront of UK house music and its surrounding avenues for some years, taking a lead role in programming DC10'S Paradise parties, and a variety of club projects. Richy has forthcoming remixes for the likes of FFRR and Snatch, and has recently had solo singles out on Strictly Rhythm and Rinse Records, as well as a prestigious remix for New Order.
As an extension to the label releases, Four Thirty Two will tour the UK as an operating label party brand, with early shows selling out in record time and forthcoming label nights around the UK and Europe scheduled, all side stepping Richy's usual realms of clubland for smaller and more intimate venues.
Vinyl release date 28th October

Spell PETS backwards to get STEP. Spell STEP forwards to find PETS going back to basics. STEP is the new concept vinyl only label from the founder of PETS, Catz 'N Dogz, that highlights the rawest forms and root functions of quality club music. STEP finds the fundamental groove with undertheradar house and techno that is isn't afraid to be rough around the edges. STEP is limited promo and all about the music. Each new STEP will be released every four months on vinyl only.

Poker Flat's Forward To The Past anthology returns in its 3rd iteration, as lean and mean as it ever was and precision-engineered to make you jack, dream and all things in between. The winning formula remains the same: task a selection of hotshot veteran and up-and-coming producers with recapturing the style and mood of early club music, paying homage to the golden years between 1985 and 1992 when Chicago House and Acid, New York House and Detroit Techno took the world and its dancefloors by storm. The result is a collection of new and exclusive tracks as addictive as the stone cold classics that influenced them - a tribute and, at the same time, the cutting edge of contemporary music production. Quell casts clouds of vocals and a repeated snippet of soul over a sinuous, undulating bassline. Anaxander gives us classic acid with Gallic attitude, fine-tuned for the dancefloor. Hard-touring DJ and Back to Basics resident Denny goes back to the old school, plunging you into the midst of a heaving dancefloor with a wobbling, fluttering acid track. Glasgow's Debukas provides another Detroit-influenced highlight, letting his imagination run riot with a heartstring-pulling chord progression and contrapuntal synth lines.

Raw District is Belgian duo Vernon Bara and Massimo DaCosta, Under the Vernon&DaCosta moniker, they have released music on labels such as OM Records, AMA Rec, Robsoul, Aroma, OFF, Icon, Doubledown and many more of the world's finest underground house labels.

They have remixed artists such as Brett Johnson, Fred Everything, Style of Eye, Miguel Migs and JT Donaldson and have garnered a reputation as important international producers and DJs with respect paid by great DJs like Luciano, Ricardo Villalobos, Jamie Jones, Mark Farina and DJ Sneak.

Vernon Bara also makes music as Ultrasone alongside Igor Vicente, which is a more techno orientated project that can count releases on Hot Creation and Supplement Facts to its name.

Ladybird is well known for being the singer of Soldiers Of Twilight and vocalist on one of the most famous Llorca's song My Precious Thing among the tons of project she been working for, One of the best, if not the best, soulful singer in Paris,
And now they can add to their resume that there are the very first new release on the briquerouge reboot, Orchestrated by David Duriez himself, the label is back for a new series of releases and reworks from the back catalogue with brand new top names added to the roster.

On this release you can enjoy top remix works by the likes of Nacho Marco (Ovum / Loudeast / Saw) and the head honcho David Duriez (2020Vision / Ovum / Classic) both on the acid side but in a very different way, A very complete package for the deep house heads as well as proper house djs.
DJ SUPPORT:

Detroit Swindle
Richy Ahmed
Jamie Anderson
Kiko Navarro
Chilli Davis
Inland Knights
Spencer Broughton
Orde Meikle Slam
Jozif
Bryan Zents
Flash Brothers
DJ T
Dubfire
nathan detroit
Hernan Cattaneo
Snooba
Tristan da Cunha basics, redux , 2020
Julian M
Florian Meindl
Sleazy Mcqueen
Dan Ghenacia
Chris Fortier
Jussu Pekka
Peter Gelderblom
Phonogenic
The Henchmen
Nuno Dos Santos
Tiger Stripes
Agoria
Timo Garcia
Ekkohaus

From the ruins of the birthplace of techno ...
Detroit Underground returns with this, their twenty second release, in a catalogue that has come to define the outer limits of experimental electronics while still adhering to dance floor basics.
This edition sees DU label boss Kero return to the spotlight in collaboration with LA based sound designer and interactive director Drasko Vucevic, aka Drasko V of Los Angeles based DRASTIC Music + Technology. Drasko has recently created, among other things, sound design for a promotional featurette for the Academy Award nominated film Gravity.
Given the label's long time fascination with the intersections of music, art and technology the collaboration is as fitting as it is fruitful.


Side A ups the collaborative ante as this 12'' comes blasting out of the gate with two very strong remixes, Exponent is the subject of a relentless 4/4 treatment from LA techno exponents Drumcell while Superheavy gets an acid-style work out from Canadian producer Jesse Somfay's Borealis project.


It is not until the second side that we hear the original versions of Exponent and Superheavy, both of which reveal themselves to be undulating masses of hip hop tinged beats over dark, bass rich undertones, with the latter offering some brighter tones as well - in other words pretty much what you might expect out of a Drasko V and Kero collaboration.


Side B is further rounded out with a couple of remixes from England's Si Begg and Valance Drakes the former coming in with a super compressed, squelched out, electro inspired take on Exponent while Valance Drakes chills us back out with an impossibly mellowed out version of the same

Around7 follows up his two laidback funk/jazz albums for Robsoul Jazz with his first ever venture into House music. His Double Crossing EP released through the main Robsoul Recordings imprint on 4th April 2014.The Parisian, who previously delivered the Back To Basics and Soul On Wire LPs to critical acclaim, continues his production style of sampling complemented by live, organic sounds. Producer influences such as J Dilla and DJ Premier continue to be in evidence, alongside the jazz of Miles Davis, Bill Evans and the legendary Blue Note Records, all given a 4/4 twist.The result is four stripped back tracks with a low slung, smoky atmosphere, packed pull of acoustic sounds and live instrumentation. Those who remember Joss Moog's early outings on Robsoul will also find parallels hereAround7's music career began as a bassist and trumpet player in a jazz/funk band. After learning to play keyboard and discovering the Akai MPC sampler and software such as Cubase, he merged all of his skills together to create his own tracks based around live instrumentation and samples.

Quickly making a name for himself both as a producer & a DJ, 'F D' aka Freddie Dixon is establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with! Having already released on labels such as Metalheadz, Critical, CIA & Vision, the future looks bright for the man and we're very excited to have him on board! A. BLUE SKY RESEARCH - A great mix of rough & smooth on this one here! Soft, warm pads build the tune up for the drop. Solid drums and pummeling bass keep the momentum going! Serious stabby dancefloor pressure! AA. STRIPPED - Very stripped down 'back to basics' drum & bass on this one, as the title suggests. A solid 2 step pattern keeps things going while razor sharp stabs keep the nervous vibe in line. Definitely one for the minimal heads who like it dirty!