Buscar:back in time

decade-plus together, the four-piece - Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar, vocals), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals), and Annie Truscott (bass, vocals) - have created a resonant body of work. Live Laugh Love is a natural continuation. Against the bizarre backdrop of the past few years, Chastity Belt remained a supportive space for the members to grow and experiment, drawing on the ingredients most essential to their process since the beginning: authenticity and levity. Recorded over three sessions in as many years (January 2020, November 2021 and 2022), the focus became more about enjoying their time together in the studio than making it feel like work. Their ease and familiarity with engineer Samur Khouja in LA, who also recorded their last album, made for a particularly enjoyable process. Once completed, they returned to renowned engineer Heba Kadry who mastered the album. Album opener "Hollow" sets the tone with a gently driving rhythm while guitar layers stream like sun rays through an open car window. A warmth radiates through Shapiro's voice, even while grappling with feeling lost and stuck. "The older I get," Shapiro says of the lyrics, "the more I realize that I might just always feel this way, and it's more about sitting with the feeling and accepting it, rather than trying to fight it." That wisdom seems to anchor Live Laugh Love . Chastity Belt has never shied from navigating the spectrum of difficult emotions, and an existential thread weaves throughout the subject matter. And yet the songs feel more grounded than ever; there's a sense of quiet confidence and self-assurance that comes with being less numb and more present. Facing discomfort takes more fortitude, after all. Live Laugh Love finds the members in their prime as musicians. Their parts trace intricate patterns over one another, but there's room to breathe between the layers. Everyone contributes to the writing, sometimes switching instruments, and for the first time, all four members sing a song. It's never been more apparent that they are creative siblings, cut from the same belt. "We've been playing music with each other for over a decade," says Shapiro, "so it really does feel like we're all fluent in the same language, and a lot of it just happens naturally." "Laugh" seeks in the balm of friendship, aware of the anticipatory nostalgia that hits during a good time that you're already missing before it's gone; the heavier guitar tones on "Chemtrails" streak ominous chord progressions over Grimm's precision timekeeping, lamenting memories that won't fade easily. During a transitional time, Truscott came across a note in their phone that read, "it's not hard all day, just sometimes," which inspired a poignant line in the chorus of "Kool-Aid," their first song as lead vocalist on a Chastity Belt recording. Another standout, "1-90 Bridge" shines with a silvery melody that soars as Lund belts one of the most resounding moments on the album: "Tell your girlfriend she's got nothing to fear/I'm set in my head/My body's a different story." The track "Blue" saunters nonchalantly with a wink; you can almost hear Shapiro's smile as she sings "Faking it big time/So I can hit my stride/Man, it feels good to be alive," channeling early Chastity Belt channeling early '90s before channeling the late Elliott Smith in a spiral of distortion and insight: "Don't get upset about it/It's gonna pass/Tell all your friends about it/They're gonna laugh." "We have such a strong sense of each other's musical inclinations" says Lund. "I think this allows for a lot of playfulness...we can kinda surprise each other, like a good punchline would."

Mesmerizing and exuberant Argentinian La Yegros, probably the most magnetic artist on the South American continent, is back with a new album!

The undisputed Queen of "Nu Cumbia" has not rested on her laurels. Surrounded by the same accomplices who have supported her for the last ten years, but eager to renew herself, she has set about recording her fourth album, which stands out from her discography. Although her personal folklore is still rooted in South American folklore, La Yegros is now absorbing contemporary, global music, while tackling intimate, often melancholy and even painful subjects, which she overcomes with the same resilience that drives her in concert. Nothing stands in the way of this Argentinian whirlwind, all the more fascinating for the fact that personal considerations are now surfacing beneath the veneer of the party atmosphere she sets alight.

La Yegros returned to the stage in 2022 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Viene de Mí, her single hit from the self-titled album, released in 2012 in Argentina and then worldwide in 2013, which catapulted her to international fame. We then discovered a singer who had grown up in the traditions of her country. Her parents come from Misiones, a province bordering Brazil and Paraguay, where balls are filled with the sounds of chamamé (a mix of polka and Guaraní music), Carnavalito (Andean folklore) and Colombian Cumbia. But she herself is a native of Buenos Aires, whose nights are enlivened by the bass of Dancehall and electronic music.

These influences have merged in two further successful albums, Magnetismo (2016) and Suelta (2019), followed by high voltage tours during which La Yegros has been able to display her generous nature, inexhaustible energy, exuberant personality and infectious enthusiasm.

To record her new album entitled 'HAZ', La Yegros has put her faith in the same team that has worked with her since Viene de Mí. On one hand, producer Gaby Kerpel (also known as King Coya), a pioneer of synthetic experimentation applied to traditional music, who has remained her faithful accomplice for over twenty years. On the other hand, composer Daniel Martín, who knows how to come up with melodies to dream about and hymns to sing along to. Inseparable and complementary, the trio continues to concoct this mesmerizing mixture where acoustic instruments meet samples and the rolling of machines. But the new productions don't rely on a tried and tested formula. Generally co-produced between France and Argentina, they break away from over-defined genres. La Yegros knits together new rhythms and incorporates sounds that are unheard of in her country, derived from the latest urban trends, as well as echoes of reggae and funk. As for the lyrics, signed alternately by the trio, they are embodied by La Yegros whose charismatic voice questions a period of her life tossed by waves of love and lovelessness, joy and sorrow, euphoria and anguish, indulgence and resentment.

The album is open to a wealth of musical styles. You'll hear funk guitar and Andean flutes, melancholy accordion and rolling drums, Tuareg blues enhanced by brass, house and electro Cumbia loops, and the bassoons of a chamber orchestra. The folklore 2.0 of La Yegros, nourished by its colorful inspiration, at times tender or exalted, has been imagined as a hymn to love and the contradictory feelings that come with it. As always, it has also been conceived with the stage in mind. Hatching in a storm of overturned emotions, the album is all the more explosive for the strength of the live show that accompanies it. In addition to the usual line-up of guitar, accordion and percussion, a musician handles synthesizers and machines to boost the electronic turboshaft. In any case, you can count on the singer to assert her increasingly clear-cut character with each new project. And, above all, she won't give up. L.a Yegros is back and her batteries are fully charged.

High Llamas present Hey Panda - a modern pop music/deep listening experience that could only issue forth from their personal quadrant of the galaxy. Hey Panda projects soulfully through an enervating abstract of today"s popular music; the sound of the Llamas" stately melodies and expressive ditties laid open - blissfully shattered - with drums and vocals hitting different, burning sounds and contemporary production twists pulling the ear at every turn. For the past few decades, High Llamas have trafficked in contemporary pop sounds directed toward the avant end of the spectrum as much as not. But here the message was clear. Llamas" composer-in-residence Sean O"Hagan was determined to let go. Hey Panda does just that, with a set of tunes reflecting on multiple levels how definitions change over the course of a lifetime, radiating an optimism derived from the diverse conundrums of today. Eight years since their last release, the pop musical Here Come The Rattling Trees, High Llamas have reinvented themselves again, mixing their peerless harmonic voice with what Sean regards as the "extraordinarily good" production sounds of today on Hey Panda. Choosing not to look backward to former golden ages celebrated in earlier Llamas eras, Sean"s instead found himself opened up by the sounds of music brought into the house by his adult children and the sounds encountered at sessions for which he"s recently written arrangements. In addition to the more traditional contributions he made to The Coral"s Sea of Mirrors album, plus his score for the Safdie brothers" 2022 film production, Funny Pages, Sean"s drawn great inspiration through working with Fryars, Rae Morris, King Krule, Pearl and The Oyster, while also soaking up the work of Tierra Whack and Chicago"s Pivot Gang, and being cheered on from a distance by longtime admirer Tyler The Creator. Thus, Sean"s producer procedural has evolved again, with upgrades first detected in his 2019 solo effort, Radum Calls, Radum Calls. With a cover of Billie Eilish"s "Wish You Were Gay" arranged for Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy"s Blind Date Party, along with his COVID-era solo single, "The Wild Are Welcome", Sean has leveled up again and again, leading to the delirious revelations of Hey Panda. Hey Panda"s wide reach is aided by two co-writes from Bonnie "Prince" Billy, (who bonded with Sean over a shared love of gospel soul during writing sessions), guest vocals from Rae Morris and Sean"s daughter Livvy, production twists from Fryars and the stalwart, flexible presence of High Llamas. For all of its sense of departure, Hey Panda is a movement in the High Llamas oeuvre that"s been a long time in development. Aspects of soul music were addressed at the time of Can Cladders; similarly, aspects of electronic dance music were in the mix in the late 90s, around the time of Cold and Bouncy. But nothing up to now has refocused the music of High Llamas so completely. Sharing the impulse of late-period Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, with further inspiration from Steve Lacy, SZA, Sault, No Name and Ezra Collective, among many others, Sean O"Hagan and High Llamas are living joyfully in the new and the now, with Hey Panda.

Organic, electric, freeform. Pete Jolly's Seasons is comprised of melodies and textures composed live and without pretense—its grooves contain a complete and divine listening experience that surpasses all others of the era in which it was originally released, coming as close to transcendent musical meditation incarnate as one could possibly imagine. Seasons is an unsung masterpiece of ensemble groove and stellar musicianship, equally unsurpassed and inspired in its quiet excellence

While Seasons never had significant commercial success upon its release, it has since amassed a cult following, leading collectors to pay top dollar for copies of the rare record. Out of print since 1971, it has only been reissued once on CD.

In his liner notes accompanying this release, Dave Segal puts the album’s massive demand in perspective: “British label owner Jonny Trunk put up an original pressing of the LP for sale for an undisclosed but large sum on Instagram in January 2023, and it sold in five minutes. With Seasons back in circulation, maybe Pete Jolly will finally gain the broader audience that his phenomenal skills merit,” writes Segal. “If nothing else, it serves as a valuable lesson to artists: venturing outside of your comfort zone can bring the most interesting, enduring results.”

Remastered from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray at Coherent Mastering, this record not only foreshadows the roots of hip-hop but manages to embody the richness of a full album listening experience that few records can offer. Its timeless appeal is rare—and its dynamic range sets it apart as an album that straddles both the jazz and pop worlds in a way that almost no others can. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the changing and complex colors of Seasons for the first time ever since its initial release.

Organic, electric, freeform. Pete Jolly's Seasons is comprised of melodies and textures composed live and without pretense—its grooves contain a complete and divine listening experience that surpasses all others of the era in which it was originally released, coming as close to transcendent musical meditation incarnate as one could possibly imagine. Seasons is an unsung masterpiece of ensemble groove and stellar musicianship, equally unsurpassed and inspired in its quiet excellence

While Seasons never had significant commercial success upon its release, it has since amassed a cult following, leading collectors to pay top dollar for copies of the rare record. Out of print since 1971, it has only been reissued once on CD.

In his liner notes accompanying this release, Dave Segal puts the album’s massive demand in perspective: “British label owner Jonny Trunk put up an original pressing of the LP for sale for an undisclosed but large sum on Instagram in January 2023, and it sold in five minutes. With Seasons back in circulation, maybe Pete Jolly will finally gain the broader audience that his phenomenal skills merit,” writes Segal. “If nothing else, it serves as a valuable lesson to artists: venturing outside of your comfort zone can bring the most interesting, enduring results.”

Remastered from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray at Coherent Mastering, this record not only foreshadows the roots of hip-hop but manages to embody the richness of a full album listening experience that few records can offer. Its timeless appeal is rare—and its dynamic range sets it apart as an album that straddles both the jazz and pop worlds in a way that almost no others can. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the changing and complex colors of Seasons for the first time ever since its initial release.

OOH-sounds family members more eaze, pardo & glass join forces on a celestial album linking ambient neo-folk, fractured electronics and romantic escapism.

Referencing to Wim Wenders' 1984 road-movie drama masterpiece, 'paris paris, texas texas' is a strikingly cinematic tapestry of americana, resampled guitars, glistening electronics, subtle field recordings and processed vocals.

The beginnings of this project date back to the summer of 2022 when pardo and glass started recording some improvisations in a small studio with the aim of making an experimental guitar record. Over time, the drafts developed into mesmerizing slabs of guitar textures, simultaneously immense and intimate. No material was better suited for more eaze to add to the recordings her transversal and sensitive approach, linking the past and the present.

Ranging from gentle ambient folk to winding pedal steel passages, from twinkling electronics to distorted drones, 'paris paris, texas texas' is an album that's not just "atmospheric", it conjures its own unique atmosphere from thin air. Like a snake shedding its skin, the record slowly mutates from track to track - an epiphany, a transformation, a tangible and perceptible moment. Despite its distant trans-Atlantic origins, it evokes a warmth and intimacy that is hard to deny, an emotion that has perhaps been held back for too long. A landmark release in OOH's catalogue, capturing the magic of its curation and sensibility in one sublime record.

Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi, artwork by incepBOY, words by Adam Badi Donoval

Halle Weissensee (or Weißensee if you wish) starts where Sascha Funke’s last Ep for Running Back stopped. Mesmerizing house and techno music that interweaves classic forms with modern means and looks through the lenses of nostalgia with an open mind.
The Halle was a former engine plant in Berlin that got converted into a rave areal for the now legendary Mayday raves and one of the birthplaces and leading spots of the nineties. Coincidentally and unknowingly, 1993’s winter edition was attended by Funke and Gerd Janson and a conversation about it spawned this record. Don’t be mislead: this is not a retro rave fest, but an ode to the esprit of the times, the possibilities if an envisioned future and maybe most of all an afterglow. While Reality (sounding like a Relief record if the label would have been a topic at Bauhaus university) and the warped bleepiness of Halle Weissensee itself come closest to the actual sound aesthetic of that very night, Fantasy invokes the language of contemplative deep house from vintage New York, while Puzzle evokes a notion of what the same thing could be with the prefix progressive instead. Reality often falls short behind fantasy, but once in a while both complement each other very well.

30 Jahre nach der Veröffentlichung des selbstbetiteln Debütalbums erscheint "Electric Orange" nun endlich auch auf Vinyl gepresst. Die Doppel LP kommt auf 180g schwerem, orange-marbled Vinyl und im Gatefold-Sleeve daher. Dirk Jan Müller interessiert sich seit 1988 für die deutsche Underground-Musik der 70er Jahre, und seine Leidenschaft für Bands wie Amon Düül, Tangerine Dream, Nektar, Neu! und Can führte dazu, dass er Synthesizer, Keyboards, Verstärker und verschiedene Musikgeräte aus den 70er Jahren sammelte. Von seinem Heimstudio aus veröffentlichte er einige Underground-Kassetten mit elektronischer Musik, die im Kassettennetzwerk zu kursieren begannen ("Octopus's Garden" und "Time Signals"), bis 1992 eine britische Firma namens Electronic Dreams "Time Signals" veröffentlichte. In der Zwischenzeit begann Dirk mit der Arbeit am Debütalbum "Electric Orange", zu dem er eine Reihe anderer Musiker und eine Fülle von Instrumenten wie Hammondorgel, Saxophon, Flöte, verschiedene Schlaginstrumente, Samples und E-Gitarren hinzuzog. Im März 1994 veröffentlichte das deutsche Underground-Elektronik-Label "Manikin" das Album auf CD. Es hieß schlicht "Electric Orange" und war eine atemberaubende Mischung aus Krautrock der frühen 70er Jahre und psychedelischem Space Rock, aber mit einem völlig modernen Sound, der das Genre mit neuen Technologien und Produktionswerten aktualisierte. Das Album wurde schnell zu einer begehrten Veröffentlichung, allerdings haperte es am Vertrieb und schien somit zum Kultstatus verdammt zu sein, bis Delerium Records es entdeckte und die Rechte erwarb. Auch 30 später fasziniert der Electric Orange-Sound noch immer und es war überfällig, dieses Juwel endlich auch auf Vinyl zu veröffentlichen.

This is long overdue. I mean, looooooonnnnnng overdue. A solo album by Jim. The trap kit - so straightforward, so mysterious. What"s inside those things? Air and light - from which century? Which continent? Which planet? Depending on how and when you hit them it can be a vibration sent through a prehistoric breath, particles of Saturn"s atmosphere, the dead, wet leaves you walked through on the way to the first day of school. These are the memories of the drums on this record. Infinite and personal. Editing each other as they muscle to the front or soft shoe to the shadow. Cymbals can override/cancel everything out - wipe your memory clear or make the memory clearer. Drums are the instrument where you can feel the presence of the player the most - the full body - and sense the thoughts of the player the most. The instrument with the most choices to be made sends out the most brainwaves. A bouquet of brainwaves is on this LP. Jim oversees it all, surveys from the lost place we"re in, the void - the drumless song. We trust. We trust, Jim. His big green eyes search for the right tool (mallet, brush, etc), eyes that search you like you"re a song he wants to join, wants to see if he can add to or understand. Before humans, drums were playing - these drums. Genesis was a solo drum piece. After humans, these drums, this album. Someone - the last man - is out in a spaceship at the edge of space. He plays a single chord on a synth to set time free from its bind and then lets go. This album sets time free, lets it frolic, lets it graze, lets it remember. This is a record of thoughts, memories, surgery. A deft surgical operation you may not even realize is happening as it"s happening but you"re back on your feet when it"s over. Memories refreshed. Did you really even listen to it? -Bill Callahan, November 2023

This is long overdue. I mean, looooooonnnnnng overdue. A solo album by Jim. The trap kit - so straightforward, so mysterious. What"s inside those things? Air and light - from which century? Which continent? Which planet? Depending on how and when you hit them it can be a vibration sent through a prehistoric breath, particles of Saturn"s atmosphere, the dead, wet leaves you walked through on the way to the first day of school. These are the memories of the drums on this record. Infinite and personal. Editing each other as they muscle to the front or soft shoe to the shadow. Cymbals can override/cancel everything out - wipe your memory clear or make the memory clearer. Drums are the instrument where you can feel the presence of the player the most - the full body - and sense the thoughts of the player the most. The instrument with the most choices to be made sends out the most brainwaves. A bouquet of brainwaves is on this LP. Jim oversees it all, surveys from the lost place we"re in, the void - the drumless song. We trust. We trust, Jim. His big green eyes search for the right tool (mallet, brush, etc), eyes that search you like you"re a song he wants to join, wants to see if he can add to or understand. Before humans, drums were playing - these drums. Genesis was a solo drum piece. After humans, these drums, this album. Someone - the last man - is out in a spaceship at the edge of space. He plays a single chord on a synth to set time free from its bind and then lets go. This album sets time free, lets it frolic, lets it graze, lets it remember. This is a record of thoughts, memories, surgery. A deft surgical operation you may not even realize is happening as it"s happening but you"re back on your feet when it"s over. Memories refreshed. Did you really even listen to it? -Bill Callahan, November 2023

Hua Li has often worked the fruitful tension between opposing forces, whether being mixed-race, bisexual, or overtly political and softly vulnerable. Now the “half-Chinese, half-militant, half-rapper of your heart” is back with "ripe fruit falls but not in your mouth", her most ambitious and personal record to date. Playing between hazy R&B, hip-hop, jazz and electronic, Hua Li’s sophomore LP takes the imaginary garden as a proxy for cultivating home. With complex vocal arrangements, lush production by Alex Thibault (aka Gloze), and big, vibrant mixing by TNGHT’s Lunice, ripe fruit is a private confessional on a loud-ass record.

Following 2019’s Dynasty and 2020’s critically acclaimed Yellow Crane EP, "ripe fruit" is characteristically libertine. Textured and sensual, the Montreal multi-hyphenate balances her rich, waveforming tone with danceable, electronic signatures. The rapper is fierce and frequently funny, erupting from gauzy runs to deliver a quick uppercut that stings. With hooky, addictive features by Ambrose Getz and Darkus Millon, ripe fruit is an intimate record of healing, with Montreal’s nightlife at its heart. An artful collaborator, Hua Li co-wrote and performed on Gayance's 2023 Polaris short-listed album, Masquerade, and is the touring DJ for Inuk electro-pop throat singer, Riit.

Her charismatic stage show has taken her around the world, including tours with Cadence Weapon and Fat Tony (serving as the former’s touring DJ), to Reykjavik’s Secret Solstice Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and Pride Toronto. Luminous and compelling, Hua Li shows it takes tenderness to let things ripen, and guts to let things die. In-between is a kind of rapture that begs to be savoured.

For Fans Of: Gayance, Tirzah, FKA Twigs, Heems, Tkay Maidza

Our fifth chapter is the one where we seek, savor, and settle. The muse found us in the depths of raising children, nurturing relationships, surviving a world-changing virus, bidding farewell, shifting our mindsets, and discovering a sense of peace heretofore unseen. Our third decade of life has proven to be one of routine, rest, and realization, and these songs are about the lessons we’ve learned. We’ve learned to be space-holders and defenders of the people we hold close. We’ve learned from deep, steady love in various forms. We’ve learned to let go of people and perceptions and priorities that just didn’t make the cut as we weighed what is right and important and worth keeping. We’ve learned how all the things we’ve always treasured continue to withstand the pressure of time. If you notice an upward trend to the mood and emotions, you’re on target-we have found calm waters, for now. - The Secret Sisters (2023)

Mind, Man, Medicine by Secret Sisters, released 29 March 2024, includes the following tracks: "If the World Was a House", "Planted", "I Needed You", "Same Water" and more.

This version of Mind, Man, Medicine comes as a 1xCD in a(n) Digipak packaging.

This Is Street Funk” is part of a new series aimed at vinyl buyers who want a genre specific compilation to excite their ears. They will appeal to long-standing, discerning music acolytes and recent converts alike. Two sides of fantastic music, at an affordable price, hand-picked with TLC from Ace and its associated catalogues.

Compiled by Dean Rudland, who also writes the liner notes, “This Is Street Funk” brings you 14 tracks of hard hitting, heavy funk, and sums up the sound of 70s Black America. A combination of fatback drums, syncopated bass, rhythmic guitars and explosive vocals.

The line-up of tracks includes classics from the Fatback Band and Millie Jackson, dancefloor favourites from Billy Garner and Billy Sha-Rae and screaming organ instrumentals from the Fame Gang and Larry & Tommy.

This is fourteen tracks that defy you to start dancing.

In 1999, Tex Mex rock legend Doug Sahm made the most personal musical statement of his wildly diverse career, this time going back to the country. Here's that album, his final recordings, finally available on glorious vinyl. This is the country record of a hippie refugee, with crying steel guitar and mournful Texas fiddle behind Doug's southern drawl.

Danny Clay is a composer who often utilizes classical instruments, open forms, found objects, analog media, and digital errata in his work. He has collaborated with musicians and ensembles throughout the US, including Kronos Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, Volti, the San Francisco Girls Chorus, Wu Man, Sarah Cahill, Phyllis Chen, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Ensemble Dal Niente, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and others.

After 4 years since his last solo release ("Ocean Park" LAAPS04). Danny Clay comes back with "No More Darkness No more Night", which could be, maybe, or, finally, a follow-up from his previous work. a complete intimate and out-of-time piece evolving between ambient, chamber music and contemporary music.

Arguably one of the most memorable house music moments, born out of the black LGBT scene in Chicago at the legendary Warehouse and known as one of Frankie Knuckles earliest productions; ‘Your Love’ is a stone cold classic. A record that is up there with the greats, instantly recognisable and a song that only get better with time.

Written by Jamie Principle and originally released in 1986, ‘Your Love’ has become a seminal recording over the past 34 years. Originally an underground club anthem, famously borrowed on the crossover hit ‘You’ve Got The Love’ (The Source feat. Candi Staton), and most recently re-produced by as part of the Director’s Cut project which aimed to update a number of classic cuts for the modern dancefloor, this is a record that endures the test of time. Working alongside The Frankie Knuckles Foundation and Eric Kupper, SoSure Music now releases two new remixes for 2020 from Darrius Syrossian and Alan Dixon.

First up, House music aficionado and legendary Sankey’s resident Darius Syrossian offers his unique blend of beats to the remix package. With releases on the likes of Get Physical, Viva Music and Hot Creations, Darius’ production is heavily influenced by some of the greats – think of the finest spinners from Detroit, New York and Chicago – and is well placed to approach this huge task. Darius introduces a rolling house beat and some old skool breakbeats into his mix, keeping the energy high throughout; bringing a feeling of a euphoria and hitting the peak time moment.

Charting a rapid rise through the ranks in a relatively short time Alan Dixon is already building a name for himself in House and Nu Disco scene and has recently released on labels including Glitterbox, Permanent Vacation, Running Back and True Romance. Alan’s remix aims directly at the centre of the disco dancefloor. A strong beat dominates a unique energy through the mix along with a slightly nostalgic vibe. With a beautiful floaty interlude and a raw emotion this remix updates a classic with respect while also giving a fresh new twist.

Causa Sui's three volumes of Summer Sessions are back in print! This time on the band's own label, on individual LPs for the first time since they were first released in 2008 and 2009. Re-packaged in El Paraiso's signature style. Originally the Summer Sessions were intended as a side project for the band - a chance to explore their love for other genres such as American free jazz, krautrock, 1970s soundtracks, as well as the psychedelia and detuned stoner-rock that characterized Causa Sui's first two albums. But these three albums came to define the band, and have become modern classics of psychedelia and progressive rock since their initial release ten years ago. In a scene often characterized by loyalty to a specific period, there's something refreshing about Causa Sui's eclectic approach. With several guest appearances by Coltrane-devotee Johan Riedenlow on sax and electronics wiz Rasmus Rasmussen, Causa Sui venture far beyond stoner-rock platitudes. Take the grandiose opening statement for example - the 24 minute "Visions of Summer" taking up the entire A-side: here new and old sounds dissolve in a mindbending excursion that recalls Future Days-era Can, breezy tropicalia or Herbie Hancocks Mwandishi group, as much as it sparks associations to Kyuss or Hendrix. Other tracks, such as the frenetic Rip Tide (vol. 2), heads into straight up free jazz territory with Riedenlow going absolutely bonkers on the sax. But this set also allows plenty of room for atmospheric pieces such as the sun-drenched "Venice by the Sea" (vol. 3) or the Morricone-esque "Cinecitta" (vol. 2).

FRN Dancehall might have emerged in Jamaica, but over the last few decades the popular genre's tendrils have stretched out across the globe. In Kampala, Ratigan Era is adding a distinct Ugandan twist to dancehall, fusing it with East African humor and hyper-melodic afrobeats elements imported from Ghana and Nigeria. The versatile MC grew up listening to Jamaican music like Vybz Kartel, Busy Signal and Mavado - in his hometown of Kawempe there was almost no way to avoid it - and it blurred into the background, blending with local church music, US hip-hop and radio pop. He developed this diverse range of influences into a completely unique Afro-dancehall flow that simmers between Luganda, patois, Spanish and English, reflecting the melting pot of cultures and dialects that characterizes contemporary Africa. Ratigan broke out with a memorable feature on Pallaso's Ugandan hit 'Nsaba', a track that echoed throughout the country booming from nightclubs, motorcycle loudspeakers or from convenience stores. Now he's assembled his first album "Era", a furiously inventive interweaving of rubbery vocals and memorable chants backed by futuristic beats from Hakuna Kulala's most boundary-pushing producers. Congolese producer Chrisman takes the reins on 'Gorilla Attack', providing a downtempo groove that echoes recent Jamaican chop deployments from breakthrough artists like Skillibeng and Skeng. For his part, Ratigan ducks and dives between Chrisman's gqom-inspired low end womps and corrosive synths, commanding attention with his smart, dextrous flow and tongue-twisting lyrics.The Modern Institute and Golden Teacher's Richard McMaster handles 'Top Strike Force' leaving space in his wiry, minimal beats for Ratigan to flit between anthemic repetitions and ice-cold AutoTuned wails. On stand-out track 'Badman Style', Ratigan's guttural patois is measured against a dizzy trap-dancehall hybrid beat from HHY & The Kampala Unit's Jonathan Uliel Saldanha, aka Lithium Beats, while on the surreal 'Drop it Down', Japanese mad scientist Scotch Rolex brings out Ratigan's cheeky sense of humor with toytown bleeps and laser zaps. MC Yallah collaborator Debmaster appears on 'Gan Dem', meeting Ratigan's double-time raps with soundsystem destroying rolling subs, and veteran US noisemaker Kush Aurora sprinkles magic dust on 'Cool and Deadly', galvanizing the link between global bass mutations, Jamaica and East Africa.And despite the grab-bag of producers and inspirations, "Ratigan" is a strikingly coherent listening experience that accurately snapshots Kampala's colorful froth of sounds and phrases. Ratigan's outsized personality is welcoming and captivating, providing the sights, sounds and smells of the city with a frenetic rhythm that's as intimate and local as it is far-reaching. It might just be the future we so desperately need.

2024 Repress

After Space Dimension Controller the Clone Royal Oak series is coming with another young talent. This time its Swedish Genius Of Time, known for their debut release on Aniara records. Three takes on classic house music done by young producers in their unique almost serene style that reveal their nordic roots. Genius Of Time shows that house music can still sound fresh.

Oftentimes in this busy and chaotic world it’s challenging to draw a parallel between two congruent events. In this case however, drawing its inspiration from Detroit’s recent meteoric rise from the ruins of the past, BerettaMusic a label founded in Detroit in 2002 continues to rise through a sea of noise with steady quality releases.

Widely seen as one of the premier house/techno labels from a bustling Detroit music scene, the label is continuing to make waves. This time with the re-launch of their highly respected Beretta Grey sub label. The same label that has launched the careers of artists like Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Luke Hess and many others is back again.

Asher Perkins is no stranger to the dance floor. When Richie Hawtin called him in 2015 and requested his music for Minus, he stepped up and delivered a quality release. Since then he has steadily been honing his craft and cutting his teeth in Detroit with his much sought after, late night, live techno sets.

Asher’s productions can range from deep dark banging techno to heady and psychedelic vibes, both of which he showcases on this release on Beretta Grey. For his faithful fans in Detroit and beyond, they may have caught a glimpse of his new moniker, Acid Perkins, where he takes the crowd on an even deeper dive into the absolute depths of trippy, bumping and bubbling psychedelic soundscapes that will have the listener yearning for more. BerettaMusic is very proud to announce the relaunch of the highly respected Beretta Grey imprint and showcase one of Detroit’s finest in the process, Asher Perkins.

Are you ready? Written and Produced by Asher Perkins Mastered by Brian Kage at the Bear Cave in Detroit, pressed at the world famous Archer Records in Detroit. Label art by Ryan Sadorus.