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Eyolf Dale is a Jazz pianist and composer of exceptional beauty and poise. Rooted in Jazz he employs a classical approach yet has never studied classical. If Chopin was a Jazz pianist he would sound like Eyolf Dale. Hisphrasing is nuanced, his touch is precise and his music is deeply emotive. Being, his first album in a piano trio format, is profound, beautiful, and lyrical, bound together with a subtle groove.

Conjuring up lush minimal soundscapes intertwined with noise elements and hard as nails riff rock, reminiscent of some kind of weird mixture between a Mondriaan and Pollock painting, H A S T is mind-blowing, ear-blowing and heart-blowing, exploring extreme dynamics, pure simplicity and everything in between.

H A S T, founded by alto saxophone player Rob Banken, is an instrumental band rooted in jazz, heavy rock and improvisation. Their signature sound can best be described as not shying away from exploratory intellect while still maintaining passages of stunning simplicity, rock riffs and free improvisation.

Ubi Sunt (Where are... they?), is part of the Latin question "Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt?". (Where are those who were before us?'). This kind of questioning evolved into a stylistic figure in medieval poetry, which was mainly used in the then popular elegies (a reference to 'Elegy', the debut album of H A S T).

Originally an expression of a sense of nostalgia, it became more and more a reflection on transience and mortality. The music on 'Ubi Sunt' was written and recorded in the middle of a the coronacrisis. Ubi Sunt: "Que sont mes amis devenus. Que j'avais de si pres tenus. Et tant ames? ..." (Rutebeuf).

Recorded, produced & mixed by Koen Gisen (Nordmann, De Beren Gieren, Flying Horseman, Dans Dans, SCHNTZL, ...) at Studio La Patrie, Ghent, BE.
Mastered by Karel De Backer.

‘Giants of All Sizes’ was recorded at Hamburg’s Clouds Hill Studio, The Dairy in Brixton, 604 Studios in Vancouver and Blueprint Studios in Salford with additional recording taking place at various band member’s home studios spread across Manchester. As with their previous four studio albums, ‘Giants’ was produced and mixed by Craig Potter. Guests across the album include Jesca Hoop, The Plumedores and South London newcomer Chilli Chilton.

Given such bleak, if ultimately redeemed, subject matter, it is also, perversely, the most relaxed record which elbow have made in some time. On ‘Giants of All Sizes’, each band member extended their usual process of working on demos alone and followed their vision to its conclusion rather than, as Craig Potter puts it, ‘taking the edges off things to find compromise’. In tandem with this, they returned to playing live in the studio, encouraged to experiment with the banks of analogue equipment at Clouds Hill in Northern Germany, giving songs a looser, more live feel. The result is the most starkly dynamic record from the band in recent times, “Sonically unabashed”, as Guy would have it. Whilst album closer ‘Weightless’ has the gossamer melodies and communal harmonies for which the band have latterly been known, this album echoes earlier elbow work at times whilst also breaking new ground.

‘White Noise White Heat’ is motorik, metal machine soul driven by a vocal that is rage incarnate, ‘Doldrums’ mixes John Carpenter with The Plastic Ono Band to brilliantly disturbing effect and ‘On Deronda Road’ hitches stark bass beats and glitches to an ad-hoc choir. ‘Empires’ delivers dark resignation via an insidious melody and ‘Seven Veils’ continues the subversion by inverting the perception of elbow as a band for lovers into a band for haters, a double-barrelled fuck-you song par excellence. ‘The Delayed 3:15’ marries mariarchi guitars to jazz dynamics, Morricone via Buddy Rich, and ‘My Trouble’ is a clockwork, analogue shuffle housing a delicate melody that builds over the course of the song into a fragile monolith to the power of love.

Lead track, ‘Dexter & Sinister’, released on 10” ahead of the album, encapsulates the whole. A seven-minute musical journey that blends deep bass grooves, sudden keyboard stabs, dislocated piano and guitar runs and soul stylings then abruptly shifts gear, parts the storm clouds and takes wing, flying towards the heat of the sun. It is the soundtrack for these ‘hope free, faith free, charity free days’, a denial of the divine and a reconciliation, two songs in one song, two emotions for one emotion, human, fragile and brilliant like the album which it opens.

gold vinyl / 180 grams

Six striking pieces of music from three unique and distinct artists, each elaborately soundtracking the luxurious and endless nights of tomorrow...

It was 1977, there may well have been “knives in West 11”, but at a student’s hall of residence in Leicester, a packed room of cross legged intellectuals were about to witness the debut of The Disco Zombies; Andy Ross on vocals and guitar, Geoff Dodimead on bass, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Hawkins on guitar and Andy Fullerton on drums. They were loud, fast and they had some witty one-liners.
The four-piece became five with the addition of Dave Henderson from The Blazers, a chirpy power pop punk quintet, who were part of a burgeoning scene in the city that included The Foamettes, Dead Fly Syndrome, Wendy Tunes, The RTRs, Robin Banks And The Payrolls and many more. Wine bars, canteens and bowling alleys in pubs were the home of this phenomenon until Subway Sect and The Lou’s arrived for The Great Unknown Tour. They needed a local band for support and the Disco Zombies obliged.
Record Shop owner - and now Mayor Of Mablethorpe - Carl Tebbutt was keen to ride the punk rollercoaster and decided to launch Uptwon Records with a Disco Zombies EP. Recorded in Chester in one four hour session, it included The Blazers’ ‘Top Of The Pops’ and Andy’s ‘Time Will Tell’, ‘Punk A Go Go’ and ‘Disco Zombies’.
Carl had done a deal with a one-stop music production company who went bust almost immediately and the record was shelved. Unperturbed the band pressed on and recorded a session at the local radio station, ‘TV Screen Existence’ being the only track that survived. A tour of Leicester – five pubs in five days – was the end of that era and the band without Johnny ‘Guitar’ who had another year to do at Uni, relocated to London taking with them The Foamettes’ guitarist Steve Gerrard who wisely returned to Leicester and become part of The Bomb Party. Steve was replaced by Mark Sutherland in what was to become the recognised line up of The Disco Zombies for several years, playing lots of London gigs from The Hope And Anchor to The Moonlight Club, North London Poly to the Scala.
By 1978, there was an eruption of small DIY indie labels and Andy Ross launched South Circular Records to release the band’s debut single, ‘Drums Over London’ - an ironic stab at people’s hostility to the arrival of other cultures, a piss-take of Spear And Jackson-wielding Tory attitudes. John Peel played it regularly until Rock Against Racism complained even though Peel explained that it was actually supporting their views. Ho hum. South Circular wasn’t to last but Dave Henderson launched Dining Out. Dave and Andy journeyed to Ipswich to record the debut EP from the Peel-approved Adicts, the plan being to follow it with a Disco Zombies’ single and regain momentum. ‘Here Comes The Buts’ was the second Dining Out release, featuring the breakthrough Dr Boss drum machine; it was greeted with great enthusiasm in some quarters, although strangely it was likened to The Cramps meets Neil Young in NME.
Dining Out was always just one step ahead of going out of business and even though the follow up had been recorded - ‘The Year Of The Sex Olympics’, backed with ‘Target Practice’ and ‘New Scars’ – it never saw the light of day as the money finally ran out.
Somehow, Dining Out had a second lease of life and Andy wanted to record a new track for a new release amid 45s from The Sinatras, New Age and Spit Like Paint. By now, the Zombies had been through their dark post punk phase and ‘Where Have You Been Lately Tony Hateley’ was a clever upbeat anthem which told the tale of the nomadic footballer. The test pressing gained many Peel minutes but by the time it was ready to release, the band had finally split up. It eventually saw the light of day on the Cordelia label’s ‘Obscure Independent Classics’ album. Very fitting.
So, it was 1980: Mark Sutherland opened a studio in Bow, Dod got a day job, Andy Fullerton already had one. Andy and Dave went a bit experimental in Club Tango; Andy eventually discovering Blur for Food which he started with The Teardrop Explodes’ David Balfe, while Dave flirted with Worldbackwards.
In 2011, the drum machine line up descended on Mark’s studio, rehearsing for a show at the Bull And Gate. They recorded two of their lengthier tracks – ‘Night Of The Big Heat’ and ‘LHO’ powered by a waning Dr Rhythm – these were pressed as an extremely limited edition ten-inch. A few years later Andy Fullerton returned to the fold recording three more originals ‘Hit’, ‘Lenin’s Tomb’ and ‘Paint It Red’ for an even more limited edition ten-inch in 2018 and a show in October that year at The Dublin Castle.
Since then, meandering lunchtime discussions in restaurants that were popular in the ‘70s (Joe Allen, Café De Pacifico, etc) have led to arguments about the lost tracks – ‘Man From UNCLE’, ‘I Need You Like I Need VD’, ‘Throwaway Line’, ‘I Thought You Were Only Joking’, ‘London Nights’, ‘Cosmetics For China’, ‘When Doo Wop Hit Hampstead’. It’s only a matter of time. Until then.....

‘‘I am not as other detectives!’
Presently in triple gatefold vinyl for the very first time, Dirk Gently – The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul sees Harry Enfield return as the singular detective in this full-cast BBC radio dramatisation of the novel by Douglas Adams. First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2008, these fantastically entertaining comedy sci-fi dramas are adapted and directed by Dirk Maggs, acclaimed for his dramatisations of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Good Omens, Neverwhere and many others.
When Dirk Gently’s long-suffering secretary, Janice, resigns to work in an airport, it’s the beginning of a very strange adventure for both of them. The detective takes to reading palms whilst dressed as an old gypsy woman, but meanwhile the ancient Norse God Odin has fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous advertising executive (and her husband). Bring on Odin’s son, Thor, a godlike curse that turns Janice into a vending machine, and countless other interconnected things…
Starring Harry Enfield as Dirk Gently and Olivia Colman as Janice, with Billy Boyd as Richard MacDuff, Laurel Lefkow as Kate Schechter, Stephen Moore as Odin, John Fortune as Dr Standish, Philip Jackson as the Vagrant, Jan Ravens as Cynthia Draycott and Peter Davison as Simon Draycott, with a guest cast including Rupert Degas, Morwenna Banks, Sally Grace, Jon Glover, Michael Fenton Stevens and Susan Sheridan, and music by Philip Pope. Adapted by Dirk Maggs and John Langdon from the novel of the same name by Douglas Adams. Directed by Dirk Maggs.
Three 140g coloured vinyl discs – in Holistic Red, Yellow and Blue - are presented in an illustratedc triple gatefold sleeve, with an exclusive sleeve note by Dirk Maggs.

Mosey was listed on the 2019 XXL Freshman Class list. His sound is often described as mumble rap and he was one of the breakout artists of the soundcloud rap phenomenon in the US. Certified Hitmaker' has been streamed 403 million times already. Whereas his previous album is not far off a massive 2 billion global streams across DSPs. Lil Mosey's single Blueberry Faygo is now platinum in the UK. In 2019 Lil Mosey became the youngest artist to successfully launch a music festival, Northsbest Fest, in his hometown. The album also features collaborations with Gunna, Chris Brown and AJ Tracey.

Tony Fruscella was an under-recorded mellow, lyrical, cool jazz trumpeter (think Chet Baker). He unfortunately lived a similarly addictive lifestyle that led to his tragically premature death in 1969. His cool tone, influenced by Miles Davis and swing-era veteran Joe Thomas, made him a sideman in the early ‘50s for artists like Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, and Stan Getz.

In 1955, the same year he recorded with Getz, Fruscella led the only session officially released during his lifetime, I’ll Be Seeing You a.k.a Tony Fruscella. He is backed here by a great horn section of Allen Eager on tenor saxophone (who played similar sounds with Gerry Mulligan), Charles Mingus’ associate Danny Bank on baritone, and Chauncey Welsch on trombone. The rhythm section is rounded out by the prominently featured piano of Bill Triglia (who also played with Mingus), Bill Anthony on bass, and Junior Bradley on drums.

“The greatest thing about being a musician is experiencing it with other people,” says Ed Riman, the Brighton-based Eurasian singer, songwriter and sound-scapist who records as Hilang Child. “Whether that’s playing with others, creating together, sharing a vision, whatever, I just think in all aspects it’s a totally elevated experience when you’re not alone.” Proof rings out with force and feeling on Hilang Child’s superlative second album, ‘Every Mover’, released on Bella Union.

In 2018, Riman delivered a serene, textured debut album in ‘Years’, rich in sound and feeling. Lauren Laverne, Q, MOJO and others lavished praise but the “isolating process” of making the album left Riman hungry to find alternative ways of working. Meanwhile, the “lonely, pressured” aftermath of ‘Years’ found Riman grappling with “rough selfesteem and anxiety issues,” amplified in part by social media’s “fulfilment narratives.” Duly, he set out to navigate and overcome these mindsets, drawing deeply on his own insecurities and those he recognised in others.

These themes converge emphatically on ‘Every Mover’, an album steeped in everyday emotional states and crafted for cathartic, communal performance. Drawing on a rich spread of collaborators, sounds and themes, Riman uses his frustrations as the impetus to transform the brimming promise of ‘Years’ into upfront and expansive new shapes. “I wanted it to sound a bit gutsier than the first album,” he says, succinctly, “heavier and closer to the kind of stuff that hits me when I go to shows or blast music in the car. I started out in music as a drummer playing for pop or beat-driven artists and grew up listening to louder stuff, but a lot of the music I’ve made as Hilang Child has been more ethereal. I wanted to bring it back to a place that feels more ‘me’ and make more of a thing of having big hypnotic drums, aggressive bass, ripping distorted instruments and a general energy to it.”

‘Good To Be Young’ serves swift notice of this leap, its banked synths and twinkling sound clusters leading to an assertion of fresh force when the main beat lands and a congregation of friends - AK Patterson, Paul Thomas Saunders, Dog in the Snow, Ellen Murphy, members of Penelope Isles - unite for the gang-vocal refrains. “It’s all iridescent colour I’m on,” Riman exults, a claim lived up to on the full-flush folktronica of ‘Shenley’.

A reflection on spiralling insecurity, ‘Seen The Boreal’ ups the ante again with its monkish chorales, looping samples, spectral woodwinds (from multi-instrumentalist John ‘Rittipo’ Moore, of Public Service Broadcasting and Bastille previous) and ecstatic chorus, Riman transforming a meditation on hindsight’s limiting effects into a spur to look forwards. And surge forwards he does with the glittering synths, spacey guitars and Krautrock propulsion of ‘King Quail’, developed in jam sessions with dream-pop wonder Zoe Mead (Wyldest) in her basement studio.

Brought to a sublime close with ‘Steppe’, the resulting album projects its own epiphanic force. Thankfully, most of the main parts were recorded pre-lockdown between East London, Gateshead, Brighton, Wandsworth and elsewhere, before mixing proceeded remotely. Meanwhile, alongside indie-pop trio OUTLYA’s Will Bloomfield (percussion/coproduction on ‘Play ’Til Evening’), visual design collective Tough Honey (accompanying videos) and other collaborators, Riman’s bond with co-producer JMAC (Troye Sivan, Haux, Lucy Rose) proved crucial. “It felt freeing to work collaboratively and have that push-andpull of ideas,” says Riman. “Even the moments where we didn’t see eye-to-eye made it feel like I wasn’t alone, with someone else working just as passionately on the project.”

LP pressed on red transparent vinyl.

Roots and full of energy. That's the best way to express it for me !

Wah Wah 45s are proud to present a unique collaboration between the U.K.'s very own Afrobeat Ambassador, Dele Sosimi, and a producer who's been at the forefront of the South London electronic music scene for a decade now, Medlar.

The pair first joined forces five years ago, when Medlar was asked by Dele's label to remix the title track from his last album,You No Fit Touch Am. The result was possibly one of the most popular and cherished remixes to appear on the imprint. The producer's respect for the history of Afrobeat shined through in the mix of course, but it was his ability to finely balance that with his house music instincts whilst adding an infectious groove and classic 80s analogue synths that really stood out.

The track was an instant classic, and it soon became clear that the Afrobeat Ambassador and Peckham producer needed to make some music together. Having never actually met during the remix process, the dating began, and luckily the two were clearly a perfect match.

After some weeks of pinging ideas back and forth, and spending time in the studio together, it became obvious that this project was also something they could take out live. As so it has been, from their modest debut performance in East London last spring, to playing festivals across the UK and beyond. Never the same show twice, their shows are based around a bank of rhythms on MPC which come alive when combined with Dele's vocals and improvisational keyboard explorations, all of which are dubbed out live by Medlar. Their musical journey is always unpredictable, vibrant and often quite surprising!

With this in mind, when picking tracks they'd developed on the road over the last year to take into the studio,Full Moonevolved into what might be best described as a bossa nova meets country & western lounge track, suitable for sipping cocktails to on a beach, or perhaps in your back garden in the current situation!

"This is really great this track. Really great!" Gilles Peterson

The original version of the song dropped earlier this summer and has been championed by both Gilles Peterson and Moses Boyd on BBC 6Music. When it came to remix duties, there was only one production outfit who fitted the bill, and one who the label had been trying to coax a remix out of for a couple of years.

Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets, otherwise known as Detroit Swindle, have been turning out musical, soulful, tropical and always party starting house music for almost a decade now. Wah Wah label boss Dom Servini hooked up with the pair at a European festival a couple of years ago, and ever since has been waiting for the right project to come along that would spark their imagination.

"When we heard the original of 'Full Moon' for the first time, we really felt the retro style with the cr78 drum, the dreamy pads and that almost overly simple synth flute. For us, that really defined the direction of the remix and we looked for a hook that could make those elements pop in a more energetic way. The vocal is also super laid back so we chopped it up a bit to give it some more spice. I think it was when we wrote the chords for our remix that the dubbed out 80's synth vibe really started to take form. It turned out to be a really nice remix for this time of year and hopefully it'll warm some hearts when people hear it." Detroit Swindle

The follow up single,Gúdú Gúdú Kan,in turn received support from Tom Ravenscroft and Gideon Coe on BBC 6Music. It's Dele and Medlar's own take on an Afro-disco stomper. The title refers to the role the snare drum plays and its relationship with Ìyá Ìlù kan, or the kick drum. It's a simple but very effective metaphor for this unique musical collaboration where once again the pair forged a sound that's all their own.

Taking things back to The Shrine by way of a little Bugz style bruk magic, Daz-I-Kue's remix ofGúdú Gúdú Kanrestructures the tune more in the style of a Fela classic, albeit with a broken flavour and layers upon layers of keys galore! In doing so, Daz creates what we think is a sure fire future club classic.

For the first time you can enjoy the full length versions of both of these top class remixes on a single slab of gorgeous wax!

Recorded live during their headline North American tour in the summer of 2019, A Royal Affair Tour was a must-see best-of-British-rock show and featured support by Asia with the return of founding member Steve Howe in a special performance, John Lodge of The Moody Blues, and Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy with guest vocals by Arthur Brown. The Yes performing line up was Steve Howe (guitar – joined 1970), Alan White (drums since 1972), Geoff Downes (keyboards; first joined in 1980), Jon Davison (vocals since 2011) and Billy Sherwood (guitar/keyboards in the 1990s and the late Chris Squire’s choice to take over bass/vocals in 2015), with Jay Schellen on additional drums. Yes performed songs from their storied career, one of rock music’s most prized bodies of work, and their set was in honor of the memory of YES members Chris Squire and Peter Banks.
Continuing the British theme, the set featured Alan White of YES’ tribute to John Lennon; White was the drummer on Lennon’s solo material including the recording of “Imagine.” Of the tour, Steve Howe said “Yes is delighted to headline this celebration of British music which has been so warmly received in America over the past five decades.” Alan White: “I’m looking forward to joining a number of classic British talents that have delighted so many fans over the past half century.” Geoff Downes: “This is a unique celebration of the British contribution to classic rock over many decades. It will be inspirational to be a part of. And I know it is what John Wetton would have wanted.”
A Royal Affair Tour – Live was recorded live at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Friday 26 July 2019.

The packaging features brand new artwork by legendary artist and longtime Yes collaborator, Roger Dean.

The 7” is arguably one of the 20th century’s greatest art forms (I’m prepared to argue it anyway). What should have been a disposable format, either as the herald for the altogether more serious LP or the truncated version of the extended 12”, ended up a the perfect expression of modern music - tightened up, fat free and to the point.
At some point during a DJ career that’s lasted pretty much the entirety of his adult life, Boca 45 (aka Bristolian Scott Hendy) eschewed all other formats to choose the 7” as his weapon of choice. Embracing and celebrating the limitations of the format (both in terms of record length and the type of music showcased on discs of that size), Hendy set out on a truly singular path for soundtracking parties the world over. In 2015 Banksy personally requested him to DJ with his 45s at the opening night at his Dismal Land Show, now, in his forty fifth year on Planet Earth, he’s made an album that reflects a life well spent flipping through the racks the world over.

On this album he has collaborated with lots of the people that he has previously worked with over the past 20 plus years recording music.

Vocal collaborations come courtesy of Louis Baker (Soul On Top / Move A Mountain) Emskee (Energy Boost / The Roxy) Sergio Pizzorno from Kasabian (White, Blue & Red) & Gee Ealey who i worked with on Malachai (Lonely)

To challenge the leader of the five element ninjas, Shaw Cuts lines up a heavy squad on the next record, armed with versatile remixes of Farron's "Five Element Ninjas EP": Pugilist, Substance, Jonas Friedlich and Realitycheck.

First off the mark, Pugilist launches into battle dealing forceful blows with his version of "Liquid Shorts". Whirlwind breaks, sharp drum patterns and cavernous chords, lacerate the ninja leader. The heat is on!

Substance rolls in to support, shredding the field with his remix of "Contaship". With blood-spattered pads, a gargantuan rolling groove and harmonic synth elements, he brings the villain to his knees.

Jonas Friedlich blazes in with his remake of "Brooklyn Banks", catching the leader off-guard with dirty Hip-Hop rhythmics, swirling vocals and twist of the original's lead synth. The leader lurches forward...

Realitycheck furiously steps into the clash. His remix version of "It's Only 4 Life" circles the field, its propelling rhythm and floating percussions closing in on the enemy.

The target surrounded, attacking from four sides with full force and allegiance, they execute the ninja leader in one sweep.
The battle leaves them with deep scars, but suffering, like fate and death, is part of life. And through it, the strongest souls emerge.

Finally! “Byron The Aquarius” debut on Apron.

It was a busy 2019 for Asian Dub Foundation with the long-awaited reissue of their Mercury Prize-nominated 1998 classic Rafi’s Revenge. The reissue garnered ecstatic reviews, all of which agreed that the sound and the message that ADF threw down in 1998 is as relevant now as it was then-perhaps even more so. So it’s timely that in 2020 the band are set to release their 9th album “Access Denied” which finds them as uncompromising as ever. The album showcases ADF in full spectrum mode from the tough Jungle Punk sound of “Stealing The Future” and “Mind-lock” through to the orchestral meditation of “Realignment” and the reggae lament of the title track.

With guestspots from Greta Thunberg, incendiary Palestinian shamstep warriors 47 Soul, Chilean revolt’s rap main figure Ana Tijoux and radical UK comedian Stewart Lee, Asian Dub Foundation continue their sonic opposition to the powers that be and “Access Denied” kicks harder and higher than ever.

Asian Dub Foundation are a genre unto themselves. Their unique combination of tough jungle rhythms, dub bass lines and wild guitar overlaid by references to their South Asian roots and militant high-speed rap has established them as one of the best live bands in the world. During their long and productive career Asian Dub Foundation have shared the stage with the likes of Rage Against The Machine, the Beastie Boys and Primal Scream also collaborating on record with the likes of Radiohead, Sinead O’ Connor, Iggy Pop and Chuck D.
The story began in the early 90’s when ADF formed from a music workshop in East London at the institution which is their spiritual home, Community Music. Their unique beginnings in a music workshop in east London marked out both their sound and their wider educational aspirations, as showed by their early involvements with Roma Youth in Budapest, hooking up with the leg-endary Afro Reggae in the favelas of Rio, and setting up their own education organisation ADF Education (ADFED), not to mention their campaigns on behalf of those suffering miscarriages of justice. Building a solid live reputation in the mid-90’s, particularly in France, they eventually es-tablished themselves as an important worldwide force and particularly as an explosive alterna-tive to the backward-looking obsession with Britpop in the UK.
In addition to their blistering live reputation ADF were one of the first bands to experiment with the now more commonplace live film re-score, beginning with their rapturously-received interpre-tation of the French classic La Haine back in in 2001. They’ve continued to perform said project or nearly two decades, taking in David Bowie’s Meltdown at London’s South Bank and a contro-versial show at the Broadwater Farm Estate, scene of the events that led to the London Riots of 2011.They’ve also rescored George Lucas’ debut THX 1138 (with encouragement from Mr. Lu-cas himself) and they’ve recently revived their explosive live interpretation to the continually rele-vant Battle of Algiers at the Museum of Immigration in Paris.

The Tel-Avivian Berlin Based duo TV.OUT are back on Parallax Records with a beautiful 12' and a fresh Florian Kupfer remix.
It strikes right after their album debut on Dark Entries,
and releases on L.I.E.S Records and BANK Records NYC.

Will Saul, DJ/Producer and Aus Music label head primes the 150th release for the longstanding British label with a stellar cover of the 1990 seminal techno record of the same name by Yolanda on seminal label Underground Resistance.

With the original record being one of Saul's all time favorites and UR being a constant source of inspiration it was beyond a dream to get his version fully approved by Mike Banks to celebrate the landmark anniversary. Saul then worked with Berlin based vocalist Gilli.jpg - who has recently worked with Cinthie - to re-vocal Yolanda’s song.

As a former intern at Skint in the late 90s heyday, this up-streamed anthem feels extra special finally landing digitally on the label where Saul began learning his trade over twenty years ago. The vinyl will be released on Aus. There is also a version expected later this year which see's Saul collaborate with Paul Woolford and additional remixes by Move D and Space Dimension Controller that will land shortly. The release features artwork by Trevor Jackson, the man behind the Output label, who’s releases launched careers for huge artists like Four Tet and LCD Soundsystem to name just a few. His iconic, pop art influenced work has been seen on releases including the undisputable 80’s dance classic, Raze ‘Break 4 Love’ and S'Express 'Theme from S'Express'.

Fresh from their release on John Digweed's Bedrock Records under their more covert Techno guise 'Cypherpunx' the Brighton based duo Flip Fantazia unleash their debut album ‘The Trip’.
Touching on influences from Air to Bonobo, The xx to DJ Shadow, ‘The Trip’ guides you down a road less travelled meandering through Downtempo, Electronica & Trip Hop with a few Jazzy twists & turns.
Essentially Flip Fantazia is a meeting of two minds,
four hands, several synths, quite a few guitars, some very clever computer software with a variety of drum machines. The prolific duo spend most of their time writing, recording, producing, mixing & mastering original music down in an old bank vault in Brighton... well, Hove actually! Their real names… Douglas Horner & Tim Belcher.
Born from a project focussed mainly on music for Sync, writing for Ninja Tune PM, Cavendish Music, Delimusic, BMG PM & Deep East + more this is their first artist album to be commercially released.
Their first brief for Ninja Tune’s Production Music company was to create an authentic 60s sounding Samba song and a Boogaloo / Salsa, both of which appear on the Ninja Tune Latin Excursions album.
Along with a contemporary breaks / glitch remix of the classical masterpiece Flight Of The Bumblebee and a piece of funk with a foodie flavour for two other Ninja Tune production music albums. Another brief came in for some Australian influenced Beach House from delimusic to be used on the BBC Commonwealth Games Gold Coast 2018 coverage, so out came the Didgeridoo and five new tracks were born. Writing to brief is a delight & an adventure for Flip Fantazia covering many genres from authentic Samba to electro disco new-wave post modern cosmic soul funk afro-boogie punk alt+indie dance crossover and everything in between! So it was tough to narrow The Trip down to 10 original tracks which best illustrate the authentic Flip Fantazia sound.

Reemerging from the threshold of the cosmic vortex, Black Lodge returns with another sonic artifact that is charged with vigorous chaotic energy, known as EXPERIMENT_ZERO. Accounts of the radiant object's origin are as mysterious as the raw energy that utters from its core. Following a close study, the guardians of the portal suspect that "Experiment Zero" was a primordial experiment rooted in the slam jack pits and DIY warehouse rituals of ages passed. A sonic dialog constructed of various languages, spanning from roots-house jak to bare-knuckled electro are revealed across the artifact - a revolutionary tale that surpasses the constructs of ephemerality, with a refusal to be ignored. Across the release the listener is confronted with fearless acid lines that are underscored by a tone of revolution, and sets the stage for a human voice that switches between modes of a sharp and mutated presence. The power of such sonic objects are both celebrated and rejected by various tribal societies. It is all dependent on the belief structures and traditional histories of its members. Those that belong to the cult of Ron Hardy, Mad Mike Banks, Traxx, and JTC will welcomingly be drenched in its riotous energies. It is for the dedicated, not the light-hearted. After further research it has been discovered that, Experiment Zero is the product of Dona, aka Dj Plant Texture and Mike Tansella Jr. of Son of Traders, both products of the ancient mercantile city of Bari in Southern Italy. Previous works from these artists have been featured on Creme Organization, Gravitational Waves, Unknown to Unknown, and Illian Tapes. All sonic experimentation was recorded in one take to capture the raw energy of instantaneous collaborative sound craft operating in flux. Black Lodge's 4th release is sure to find a space in the music collections of those seeking to travel within the uncanny portals that unforgivingly defy the status quo. Mastered by: Alex J Michalski Label design: Kosmik Pressing: Deepgrooves (NL)

Muzz ist eine neue Band, die aus Musikern besteht, die man vielleicht schon aus anderen Bands oder Projekten kennt. Allen voran natürlich Paul Banks, Sänger von Interpool, Teil von Banks & Steelz oder auch bekannt durch seine Soloprojekte Banks oder Julien Plenti. Die beiden anderen Mitglieder sind Matt Barrick an den Drums (The Walkman, Jonathan Fire*Eater, Tour-Drummer bei den Fleet Foxes) und Josh Kaufman, der ein Teil der Indie-Folk-Band Bonny Light Horseman ist und bei Produktionen von The National, The War On Drugs oder The Hold Steady mitgewirkt hat. Paul + Matt + Josh = Muzz

2x12"

Having made initial waves on Cold Recordings and Osiris, Eric Baldwin returns now to Tectonic to release his eponymous album ’Cocktail Party Effect’, bringing his South London roots to Berlin for an all-weekender, under strobe lights.

Drawn by his appetite for powerful rhythmical forms and inspired by the likes of Daphne Oram, The Residents and Captain Beefheart - Eric takes uses background in sound design, knowledge of hacking VST software and adapted spring reverbs and other hardware, to create a truly unique vision of contemporary electronic music. It sits somewhere between Jeff Mills, Aphex Twin & Squarepusher - held together by a connective UK Bass Music spinal chord. A weird but intriguing beast.

We open the track with Japanese cocktail recipes, before moving into the only vocal track of the album, ‘Talking To Bricks’ featuring Bristol vocalist Redders on fine form - charged with disjointed energy and run ragged across a technologically charged dancehall style beat. The LP progresses through the rolling breaks and bleeps of ‘For The Memory Exchange’, into an IDM side-step in the shape of ‘Brutalism’, moving into the gentle, beautiful flickering glitches of ‘PDA’, before we get to the hyperactive twitching alien charge of ‘War On Codex’.

Taking a leap in another direction, we reach ‘Cause For Bad Shelving’, which sounds a bit like Squarepusher when he was on late 90s, immaculate form - taking the tempo up a few notches, while building melancholy. ‘Lack Of Wrong Format’ then gives us a moment to breathe, before diving into ‘Deerhorn’ which brings us right back to the dancefloor. Things are then turned inside out with the jittery wonder of ‘I Get It (Lost Banknote)’, redirected via the industrial clangs of ‘Low_Rise’, before rounding off our sonic adventure with the ponderous tones of ‘Loner’ - which leave you glowing and drifting off into space.

A bold album that’s just brim with a strong sense of originality, direction and grand narrative. From international dancefloors to post-clubbing ear-worms, Cocktail Party Effect is just getting started and you’ll be hearing his name more and more now.

The first collaborative album between alternative rock artist Matthew Sweet and Bangles singer/guitarist Susanna Hoffs. First released in 2006, Under The Covers Vol. 1 finds the duo celebrating their mutual love of song writing from the ‘60s across 17 cover versions from the era. Highlights include a fan-favourite version of ‘Different Drum’, ‘Cinnamon Girl’ and ‘Sunday Morning’. Pressed on two heavyweight 180g silver vinyl.

Following up on their explosive and critically acclaimed debut album Free To Believe (2015, Do Right Music), Canada's premiere deep funk outfit The Soul Motivators are back with their sophomore album Do The Damn Thing. The 9-track album delivers a heavy dose of the band's signature funk sound, incorporating the soulful sensibilities of lead vocalist Shahi Teruko, who has been performing and touring with the band for the past two years and makes her recorded debut here.

From the high-octane 'Mindblastin' and 'All the Way to the Bank' to the moody ''Black Rhino' and the car-chase MSFBs-inspired 'Savalas' which show off the Motivators' instrumental grooves, Do The Damn Thing is guaranteed to appeal to the most discerning funk fans.

The band continues to broaden their definition of soul music from a spiritual, political and social standpoint, as evidenced by the album's most poignant and introspective moment, 'Modern Superwoman' featuring lyrics penned by Teruko. The Soul Motivators have toured tirelessly in their hometown of Toronto and all across the country. Their diverse crowd always turns out for their propulsive live show, and their mandate has always been the same: inclusivity, community, togetherness, and getting down on the dancefloor.

Hot on the heels of "Vegator", we give you Øyvind's Magnum Opus: "Lullaby To A Never Ending Sunset".
Including a variety of tempos, moods and emotions, we hope this EP gets a premiere spot in your record box, on your digi stick
or youtube channel for some time to come.

Prins Thomas, Oslo, January 14th 2020

Music Mania and Indica Dubs is proud to present the 16th release: Dubs Convention LP. This killer LP was originally released in 1996! This joint album features UK Dub legends; The Bush Chemists, and The Dub Organiser.

This gem shows the true 90s Dub vibes through the raw mixing skills used throughout the album. From the lightening sounding reverb on the snare, to the phasing phaser on the chords; this is the sort of original sound that shaped the Dub scene into the “steppers style” that it is today!

The original artwork of the cover and labels have been maintained to keep the authentic look of the original pressing from the 90s. As well as the original master tapes to keep the audio at the best quality possible!

Sharif Laffrey is something of an unheralded hero of the underground Detroit scene. Active since the halcyon days of the early-90s Motor City rave movement, his sporadic releases are rarely less than superb. Sharif Laffrey has been playing records and making music for over 20 years. Born in Detroit, Michigan - he's worked on the line checking camshafts for Chryslers & as an operative for Underground Resistance (UR) at Submerge for Mike Banks, at the same time. Currently releasing music on his own label SPECIAL FORCES.
Championed by DJ Harvey, Carl Craig, Dixon, Andrew Weatherall, Ivan Smagghe, Seth Troxler, The Juan Maclean, Optimo, Trevor Jackson, Hunee, Manfredas, Solar, The Chemical Brothers…

"SOUNDS TO COME" - Is the 2nd release on Laffrey's own label SPECIAL FORCES
following its successful debut release "AND DANCE".

'Sounds To Come' is a long trip of low "techno" with a brute baseline and mesmeric vocals - when turning directly into The Golden Hour of a late night / morning is the thing to do.

"Rhyth-matic traditions that have become oblivious to our modus operandi.…
welcome to awesome…..the sound of sounds to come"

When acclaimed South African musician Guy Buttery first sought out Dr. Kanada Narahari in late 2016, it was as his patient.

“It was a dark time.” Buttery recalls, “I had been bedridden for months and had been suffering from debilitating bouts of fatigue which no diagnosis or medication could help me get to the bottom of. When I first met Kanada, I was at the stage where even picking up my guitar to make music had become a joyless and taxing exercise.”

As Buttery’s searched for a cure, a family member recommended he see Kanada an Ayurvedic doctor who had relocated to South Africa from India and set up a practice in Durban. It was during this consultation, that the musician first experienced how Narahari infused the healing properties of Indian Classical music into his practice. Rather than treating him with a smorgasbord of pharmaceuticals, Narahari played his sitar and set Buttery on a strict daily diet of Raga’s to fast track his recovery.

Buttery was not only struck by his doctor’s musical talents but by the powerful healing properties inherent in his sitar compositions. When he left Narahari’s doctors room that afternoon, he asserts he was feeling decidedly clearer, lighter and stronger.

“Diving into Kanada’s music was definitely one of the reasons I'm still here today.” he admits. “The consistent tonal centre at the heart of Indian Classical Music, literally became my support pillar over this period. A central core of sorts in which to fall back on, strengthen and discover.”

Narahari as it turned out, was not only a prominent music therapist (and one of the only Ayurvedic doctors practicing in South Africa) but like Buttery, a highly accomplished musician with a devoted following back in his homeland.

Born in a small village along the Western Ghats in Karnataka, India, Narahari, at the age of nine, had enrolled to study Carnatic classical vocal and developed an interest in Hindustani Classical music with a particular passion for the sitar. While Buttery had secured his reputation as one of South Africa’s musical treasures, a multi-instrumentalist who commands sold-out performances both locally and internationally and more recently had been awarded the prestigious 2018 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music.
From this consultation, a friendship developed between the two musicians with Buttery soon inviting Narahari to join him in his studio. But it wasn’t all plain sailing in the beginning. While Buttery and Narahari’s sensibilities were very much aligned, there were a range of cultural and musical influences, nuances and inflections that first needed to be navigated and understood.
“I suppose we had to find a common ground.” Buttery says, before adding, “Which in the end turned out to be pretty "uncommon ground" for the both of us.”
It was after a few intensive sessions together that something exhilarating began to emerge. What began as a few idle improvisations soon evolved into feverish and lengthier jams. Whenever time permitted, the musicians would meet, descending deeper into the emerging sounds, while reimagining the realms that existed between their African and Indian heritages.
Over the next few months, the duo would rack up over fifteen hours of recordings in studio, and it was up to Buttery to shape the material into an album which they collectively titled Nāḍī, which Narahari translates from the Sanskrit as "The Channel" or "An Internal River".

During this period, Narahari bestowed upon Buttery, the moniker Guruji while Guy would refer to him, in affectionate return, as Panditji. Each time the musicians would meet, the studio space would be cleared by an impromptu ritual, with Guruji burning African Imphepho while Panditji would chant a Sanskrit mantra dusting Indian Agarbatti clouds over their instruments.

Once the room had been made hazy with this aromatic alchemy (with the ancestors welcomed in) the musicians would pick up their instruments and plunge into shimmering tides of sound. Reflecting on these sessions, Narahari recalls the immense creative freedom he felt throughout: “Guy and I tried to wander as much as possible, without any speculative, preoccupied ideologies or limitations. Love remained at the forefront of our journey together.”

“Those evenings we spent together in the studio” adds Buttery, “felt incredibly rich with purpose and a profound sense of freedom. While improvising, anything could happen and mostly did.”

On a first listen, the tracks on Nāḍī emerge as salty, humid invocations to the inscrutable depths and misty myths of the Indian ocean-- that vast body of water that stretches between, and laps the shorelines, of the artists’ respective homelands.

When asked to describe the sound him and Narahari refined, Buttery prefers to relay a series of evocative images.

“For me” he explains, “Nāḍī is a lighthouse, a beacon that resides at the bottom of the ocean.” As Buttery envisions it, “what once offered light to guide ships to safety, has been submerged and re-purposed by marine life as a coral-reef temple. Similarly, this sunken lighthouse exists as a concealed cenotaph, memorializing the ancient sea-routes and passages that once connected the two distant lands.”

On paper this may sound obscure but listening to the songs, it serves as an apt metaphor.

Across each meditative movement, listeners are able to relive the journey, immersing themselves in a series of incantations, replete with high dynamics, delicate African-Indian inflections and virtuoso string playing of an entirely new order. Further complimenting the fusion of musical dialects are a range of guest artists including Shane Cooper on bass, Thandi Ntuli on vocals, Chris Letcher on organ, Ronan Skillen on tabla and percussion and Julian Redpath on guitar, synth and backing vocals.

Now like the submerged lighthouse, the recordings stand as a monument, a marker and snapshot of this fortuitous meeting, a tribute to the healing gifts of Guruji and Panditji in performance. It’s a process that already, both musicians look back on with reverence and nostalgia.

Buttery ruminates in closing, that when he first met Kanada his illness correlated with the biggest drought South Africa had experienced in many years “…for whatever reason, whenever we would connect and make music together, the sky would tend to open. Even if it was just a few drops. This went on for months, until finally the drought dissipated and my health had been restored.”

By the time the heavens did open across the East Coast, a deep friendship had been forged and with it abundant musical offerings poured down. A treasured sample of which we able to share in every time we press play and immerse ourselves in the sacrosanct musical universe that is Nāḍī.

NecareDiskoEP is the debut original release from, Thomaas Banks and also the first release on his own imprint, Sinahti.

The 4 track EP delves into his love for EBM & the slower side of Techno. NecareDisko rocks with low slung future vibes. Gnarly metallic synths and apocalyptic Vatican orchestration meld with a rolling beat to provide a sleek burner with plenty of grind and glimmer.

VitalClaret ups the tempo with a rousing trip to the chasm edge. Ring modulated arpeggiated leads clash with insistent embers of modular rebellion.

A background hum rises throughout to reach a punishing crescendo. TYVYT-IYTYIon the first remix of the EP’s title track and he pushes the swamp funk button for a syncopated noise workout, with a hot as hell detuned noir melody around the halfway mark. Magma!

The EP closes with a loose open electro remix of Necare Disko from Hymns. Open and lighter than the rest of the EP, nevertheless it still has a taut, Germanic vibe with distorted bass funk dueling
hard towards the end.

ANAMAI is the experimental folk project of Anna Mayberry and David Psutka - soft sounds to dent skin and flesh. The music is naked and exquisitely personal, threatening banality, but mainly an embrace of the commune. Dramatic and confidential anthems of divine insignificance. Across three studio albums the project has explored the nature of intimacy with tiny confessions released into vast lakes of sound. Simple songs punctuated by clusters of detail. The project is built on contradictions: traditional yet modern; miniscule yet infinite; proud but deflated. Something for everyone and nothing to no one. A search for peace?
ANAMAI will release their third album, Dream Baby, on Halocline Trance this fall. Listeners will hear residue from Psutka and Mayberry’s other projects - the scratchy expression of HSY + the functionality of EGYPTRIXX + the baroque digitalia of ACT! but ultimately the record breaks new ground in a long-running series of collaborations.
9 tracks of liquid sonics suggest an antecedent in early Harold Budd or a spiritual homage to the performative intimacy of Bossa Nova artists Joao Gilberto and Gal Costa. Drips of colour across an axis of sound, dimension and human experience.

It's a strange new post-everything musical landscape we occupy.
The machines - you could argue - have been playing the humans for some time, and the conversation became pretty one-sided.
But you know, not everyone is singing from that hymn sheet. That Man Monkz enjoyed the apprenticeship at House PLC more than the opportunity to progress to middle management. Itchy musical feet meant extended exploration of fertile avenues of interest like the Madison Washington & Pan Amsterdam Hip Hop projects, meanwhile the pull of the 4/4 was never far from the studio door, and all accomplished with an assured versatility that shines.
Musical alliances formed in the disparate but related playgrounds of Detroit, Sheffield, Berkeley and Atlanta, all underpinned by an emphasis on seeking out collaborations and gigs, which represented a real exchange of energies, rather than a bank raid.
Letting things percolate in this more measured way means we've arrived here, a follow up of sorts to 2016's 'Columbusing'
This is Monkz allowing the ear ringing of gigs to feedback organically into bright dance floor flashes, which by virtue of their careful crafting are destined to last much longer.
On Zero Sum, we get a much greater economy of elements on the pared down dance floor ammo like 'Freaks N Prophets' & 'Chai Tea', a perfect counterpoint to beautifully realised pieces like 'Them Thangs feat Ms Fae' & 'After Dark with Nikki O' interspersed with funk-heavy workouts and sample jams like 'Easy Still', 'LvnLmtd' & the unashamedly KDJ influenced shamanism of 'WhatUthinkIDo'
It's a pick 'em and stick 'em ride of individual gems and a cohesive whole too. The opposite of thrown together, this has been worked and weathered, naturally. The House always wins, but sometimes...just sometimes.

Who else than the Milwaukee's craziest label of the Y2K yezars could have relesed the new Dan Doormous's EP !!

Radio Graffiti give the Geography a sense ! And the music a crzayness !

Notice each side ends on a Smaple bank /skip proof.

Magestic !

The legendary Blade is back on vinyl with this limited edition 7" and digital release from Boot Records! These are 2 killer tracks from the archives, "Dark Friends" and "Make it Connect", both with cuts from Boots Jazz T. The cover art is by Stilts cementing this as a record not to be missed!



General Information

Title: DARK FRIENDS

Lyrics Written & Performed by: Blade

Produced by: The Manos

Recorded @: The Lion's Den

Mastered by: N/A

Label: 691 Influential

Catalogue Number: N/A

Recorded: 2003

Blade had met a couple of young guys whilst selling his records on the streets around 1991 and kept in touch on a regular basis as they both had a love for the creative side of music making. At this time the guys were just fans of Blade's music but one day turned up at Blade's flat to produce a beat with Blade's help and ever since then have been good friends and later went on to be called THE MANOS

12 years later and with the release of Blade's "STORMS ARE BREWING" album, his distribution company had declared bankruptcy and left him on the verge of losing his house. Not being able to provide for his family, he called up on his close friends THE MANOS to produce a couple tracks while he focussed more on just writing and performing the lyrics while doing what he needed to do to make sure the bills were paid and his house saved from repossession

The first helping of their production skills was showcased on Blade's "SOLDIERS" track which also featured LIFE MC & RESPEK BA. "SOLDIERS" was officially released in 2003 and around the same time Blade & THE MANOS hit the studio again and recorded "DARK FRIENDS"


Due to constant unexpected and sudden unpredictable changes in Blade's personal life, "DARK FRIENDS" never got to see an official release and was shelved as an incomplete demo until years later when it saw an underground release on "BOOT RECORDS". At this point the track was still missing the scratching and now again almost 10 years later and with Blade's very close friendship with DJ JAZZ T and with the addition of the scratching by the one and same, "DARK FRIENDS" now complete with sharp and to the point cutting finally sees the light of day.

Blade retired in 2006 and has been off the radar since until December 2018 when he became a little more active on Facebook and has reconnected with a lot of the fans and friends, with which obvious conversations about unreleased material was bound to surface and as a result "DARK FRIENDS" now is finally released on a limited edition 7" vinyl

General Information

Title: MAKE IT CONNECT

Lyrics Written & Performed by: Blade

Produced by: Blade

Recorded @: The Lion's Den

Mastered by: N/A

Label: 691 Influential

Catalogue Number: N/A

Recorded: 1997

"MAKE IT CONNECT" is one of those rare demos that Blade just threw together in about an hour to pass time and over the years turned out to be one of his favourite tracks, but at the time being completely broke and homeless, living in the basement of a local equipment store in New Cross, releasing this was simply not possible. This track has been sat on a cassette tape for over 20 years and having been played over and over again the quality has completely worn down. Unfortunately the version on the cassette tape was the only version available so separating the channels to get a proper mix is not possible either

However, thanks again to DJ JAZZ T that only made it more interesting to make something of this gem of a track. Blade having been retired now for 13 years, it would only really take one of two things to see Blade on tracks again for public consumption

Should you find yourself taking a Thames-side stroll in the shadow of the City of London, keep an eye out for the headphone-clad figure of Ilan Pdahtzur. While be-suited bankers and frustrated office workers scurry home to their families, Ilan can frequently be found casting admiring glances towards the blinking lights of towering skyscrapers while filling his ears with the synthesizer-driven sounds of lesser-known 1980s dance music.

Ilan, an avid but little-known record collector best known for sharing the artwork of obscure and under-appreciated early-to-mid ’80s club cuts on his popular Instagram feed, has been digging for vibrant, kaleidoscopic records since his teens. Now, thanks to Spacetalk, he’s been given a chance to offer a glimpse into his neon-lit nocturnal musical world.

The result is Night City Life, a killer collection of 1980s synthesizer songs inspired by Ilan’s admiration for the glow of London’s late night skyline. Over the course of 13 essential tunes, Ilan escorts us on a vibrant sprint through rare Italo-disco, steamy South African synth-boogie, fizzing American freestyle, oddball Austrian electrofunk and so much more.

There are naturally a fair few sought-after cuts present, but also a fine selection of under-appreciated gems that for one reason or other have been all but ignored since they were released three and a half decades ago. In fact, some selections are so obscure that barely any information exists about them online.

Check for example Preludio’s “Mysterious Nights”, an evocative fusion of slow electronic grooves, dreamy chords and twinkling piano motifs previously buried on a lesser-known album of unremarkable German synth-pop, or the dollar-bin brilliance of Fragile’s sweet synth-pop gem “We’ve Got Tonight, Boy”, a cut that Ilan says is capable of “wrapping itself like tendrils around your soul”. He’s not wrong.

At the other end of the scale you’ll find the ultra-rare Italo-disco breeziness of Friend of Mine’s incredible “Just Your Pride” and Mac & Monica’s soulful 1986 South African synth-boogie cut “You’re So Good To Me”, copies of which regularly change hands for hundreds of pounds online. Ilan originally reached out to the men behind the record last year to tell them how one of their other forgotten gems had been played on a Boiler Room session; naturally, they were thrilled.

There’s plenty to admire elsewhere on the compilation, too, from the waves of analogue synths, bubbly melodies and bobbing beats of the instrumental dub version of Brian Tatcher’s “Hot Love” – a cold-war era cut inspired by the idea of love blossoming in the midst of a nuclear meltdown – to the Bobby Orlando-esque freestyle bustle of Janelle’s “Don’t Be Shy (Dub)” and the sparkling post-boogie brilliance of Jarmaz’s “Night City Life (Disco Remix)”, a track Ilan has listened to countless times while admiring the midnight skyline of his home city.

Often quoted as being one of the greatest Soul records of all-time, 'Open The Door To Your Heart' was Darrell Bank's first release and biggest hit. A one-off UK issue copy on London Records recently sold for a huge £14,543 in 2014 and is testament to the quality of the song and recording.

Here, for the first time ever, is the previously unreleased instrumental version by the Funk Brothers - the Solid Hitbound musicians including Rudy Robinson, Uriel Jones, Eddie Willis, Bob Babbit and Dennis Coffey. This work of art will be reissued on the original Revilot label.

Balmagie Jam Rock consists of 16 unreleased dub mixes from the dub master King Tubby. All the original songs were written and produced by Roy Cousins from the Royals. Featuring a virtual who's who of reggae from the classic era -- Sly & Robbie, Lloyd Parkes, Pablo Black, Lloyd Charmers, Ansel Collins, Earl Lindo, Tony Chin, Geoffery Chung, Ernest Rangin, Earl 'Chinna' Smith,Bobby Ellis, Tommy McCook and many more. With the voices of Prince Farl, I Roy, The Royals, and Baba Dread. Recorded between 1966 and 1979 at Dynamic, Channel One and Randy's studios, mixed and voiced at King Tubbv's.

Our first long-player for 2019, Daze Island, by French producer Malouane, is a seasonally-appropriate departure for Let's Play House that's more summertime meditation than dance-floor ammo.

Across these ten tracks, Malouane takes us on new age-indebted journeys down cobblestone paths banked with flowering cherry blossom, to clear-sky tropical beach sunsets, on hang glider flights across endless fields of golden wheat. As the LP progresses, the tempo picks up and the ambient washes and puffs of pads pull back to make way for dancier rhythms, but even in these moments, Daze Island is a tranquil affair, pressed first and foremost with a desire to independently explore the mysterious worlds within.

Mule Driver presents: Rainshadow

Imagine yourself on a deserted bank of the dead sea, a day after the end of days, taking part in the RainShadow tribe’s ceremony, chanting and thanking the spirits.

On this new EP, Mule driver delivers four post apocalyptic tribal tracks with a dystopian feel, fusing obscure techno with dark spiritual rhythms, driven with crushing beats with a hint of disco.

Tel Aviv based Mule Driver / Harel Schreiber has been highly active in the underground techno / electronic scene of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for almost 2 decades with releases on his Los Jubilee & Confused Machines imprints, Parallax records and many more.

His full analog live shows are constantly evolving and are not to be missed.

Rainshadow is Mule driver’s ultimate treat to date and it was worth waiting for.

U Know Me Records proudly presents a special album showcasing Polish drumming scene - each track was produced by a different drummer - these are their portraits.

official video promo: https://youtu.be/qxuTYjMRUMM

In the 21st century drummers imperceptibly switched from the background to the front line, despite popular music not exactly pandering to them. In the early days of rock culture this joke made the rounds "What's the last thing a drummer says in a band?" "Perhaps we could play one of my songs…?"
In popular music the drummer became the first to compete with machines. They were the first band members that consequently began disappearing, however, as contemporary electronic music took hold, they were also the first to return. First they were incorporated into compositions but gradually - took centre stage. Thanks partly to the ubiquitous culture of Hip Hop recognising the drummer's role as key in any recording, alongside the eclecticism of new music, which demanded fluid transitions between musical forms, a drummer's adaptive skills – as a trained multi instrumentalist – became truly impressive. This new generation of drummers seen on Polish stages today are exceptional even against the backdrop of today's unusually creative and well-educated music scene which rejects narrow minded or genre-centric views.

This album exhibits portraits from the cream of today's Polish drummers. Kovalevo Tone Bank by Michał Bryndal tags the 1980's, the era which began stealing drummers' bread. Incidentally, the heavy groove laid down by the artist references a hit by Wham!, the same hit in which the group decided to cut the drummer's part because he was late and replace him with a LinnDrumm machine. Hubert Zemler in The Life and Death of Ben Bekele and Łukasz Moskal in Father Sparrow show they've found themselves perfectly in close cooperation with electronic instruments.
Multifaceted improvisors - Qba Janicki (Kabina projekcyjna) and Jan Młynarski (Roj) - transform their drums kits into multifunctional devices capable of delivering wildly diverse palettes of sound. Rafał Dutkiewicz (Displaced) showcases drums as the lead instrument on a club track. Marcin Rak (Alpaka) does the same, but with the conventions of Funk and Hip Hop, whereas Krzysztof Dziedzic (Vagabonde) gravitates towards the edges of jazz. Each of them here is a leader and… plays one of their songs.

Bartek Chaciński
(translation: Sean Palmer)