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Nadia Khan returns on Scissor and Thread for another sublime mini LP, Port Ana. Based in North Carolina, Khan first drew a lot of attention via a cassette release on Where To Now? Records in 2015.
Her sophomore statement was the beautiful In Gleam released in 2018 on Francis Harris’ Brooklyn-based label, which set the tone for these five tracks of meditative music. The title track Port Ana opens the journey - a gentle, droning soundscape with effortlessly bewitching glints of melody. Conversation follows on, drawing on loops and textures to create the background for a deep, pulsing kick drum. The sounds shift and evolve, leaving a hazy sense of movement to drift away to. Next up is Objects In Form which presents a fragile chord progression that barely holds itself together, surrounded by shifting pads and swathes of reverb. Rain Again is presented here in two versions. The original combines ethereal sounds, weightless and adrift, while the Lawrence remix firmly grounds the track with a hypnotic, deep groove. The Dial boss provides another remix for the digital release that further plays with the textures of the original to create something that works both for an open minded dancefloor and as a home listening experience.

Cormac is pleased to announce the second release on his new record label Polari, the label he curates and through which he shares music from artists that he champions in his muchrevered DJ sets.
The name “Polari” references the slang used by the gay subculture in the 19th century.
The sophomore release is from Philadelphia based duo Zillas on Acid.
2019 was the year Zillas made the transition from DJs to break-out producers. Having honed their DJ skills at Philadelphia’s revered MAKING TIME clubbing institution, Thomas Roland and James Weissinger have released two EPs on Optimo Music and also on Ivan Smagghe’s Les Disques de la Mort in the past 12 months.
Cormac has also opted to showcase different LGBTQI+ visual artists' work for the sleeve art.
Artwork on this release is from SHREK 666; an Artist, Performer, Maker & DJ also known as Sorcha Clelland. Creator of Ministry of Pound, a Glasgow based Fetish Party & Mag and resident performer at Scotland’s most loved Queer party Shoot Your Shot. Combining
monstrosity, trans*ness & hypersexuality through the embodiment of an ogre creating new queer worlds.

"This second series of Konduko reissues continues with the rare and in demand Street Talk. Noel Williams (aka King Sporty) again shows the breadth of his talent, recording reggae, funk, soul and disco in the space of a few years with groundbreaking results.

Back recording at Miami's legendary Quadradial Studios, alongside master engineer Paul Speck, Williams created a synth-assisted, beat-programmed bomb, adding Jeanette Williams and Betty Wright's vocals and Bert Bailey's (The Ex-tras) blazing guitar, Street Talk heralds the dawn of the computer funk called electro boogie.

The inclusion of Benji "The Mad Bomber" for some South Beach rapping showed Williams' encompassing new music styles that led to his music being heavily sampled and revered at the birth of Miami Bass.

This all comes together and out the other side in the panoramic Discomix by Rune Lindbaek. A legend of the Norwegian sound that has conquered far and wide, Rune is one of the elder statesmen, from setting up his own long standing Drum Island label, to releasing with Noid, Repap and recent edit excursions on Norsk Tripping. His psychedelic dub wonderland is an all-together outer-body experience where vocal and rap soundclash deep, deep in the echo chamber.

The first release of Eclectic Beats Music is from Portuguese artist and record label owner Fradinho! On ‘A Bright Future’, he blends a syncopated beat structure with an overall jazzy soulful funky groove
with Latin and Brasilian percussion, an engaging bass line and cosmic synth licks. Along with the original there are 5 remixes from the likes of the established Afronaut (Bugz In The Attic) that also features Mark de Clive-Lowe on keys, a wonderful Karmasound House remix, a Born74 Boogie Beat Mix, a Bruk Roller Mix from up and coming Mancunian producer Szajna and a darker, heavier and
dirtier UK Garage approach by Porto based LSK.

"Who is this guy? Who is this insane fucking guy? A guy who produced Trap tracks on his last EP and is now paying homage to Neue Deutsche Welle, as if he has never done anything else before and in a way that we never want to hear anything else ever again? To whom the crowds are devoted to in Paris, a guy who sleeps naked in the woods in the middle of Germany, who sings of the shimmering
girls („Schimmerndes Mädchen") and who doesn’t only embrace sadness but takes it to the club and goes wild with it?

I am telling you: It’s the guy who we desperately need right now: He is making music for, as he is putting it „young hipsters with Apple AirPods who wear big white sneakers but also for the 40 year old Goths who are still listening to El Deux“. He is making music for you, you and for you, too. He makes music for German Schlager fans, for the raver descending into the endless night and for next Sunday afternoon’s come down.

Luis Ake is the guy, and he is from Stuttgart of all places, where Germany basically invented its Germanness. And he is releasing this album that's as cold as the winter in which he recorded it. Of course „Bitte Lass Mich Frei“ was born in winter, in a backyard without heating – how could it be any different? Who needs? heating when your heart is broken, shattered even? Yes, the album was written
after a breakup. Obviously it was. And so it describes all forms of that special kind of insanity that comes with a broken heart: Loneliness, shallow sex, blame, longing, all of that, and more.
Vinyl tastes better ...

Kogarashi is a Japanese word that means “the wind preceding the onset of winter”, – thus Kogarashi Tales showcases itself as a collection of stories that are connected and carried by that cold, windy feeling with songs that share the personal, yet universal, stories about love, loss, loneliness, dependence, and inner strength. Thoroughly crafted lyrics poetically penetrate the psychology of the mind, human desires, and flaws.

A surpirse. A good One. Stepping into an Electro tribe, with loud bass, and nice little dancefloor tricks. No easy vocal samples. The NEW STYLE for Tribe Music ???

The album 'Balance' by Frank Bretschneider & Taylor Deupree was originally released in 2002 by Mille Plateaux on CD only. The 9 tracks on 'Balance' are a perfect example for the aesthetics to arise within the Click & Cuts scene and (ambient-)glitch music movement of the late 90s and early 2000s.

The two masters of microscopic sounds and sine wave/white noise-based music constructed these seamlessly mixed pieces around rhythms and melodies, which grants the album plenty of dynamics. The wide variety of carefully chosen ambient sounds throughout the whole work endows 'Balance' warmth and intimacy.

The recordings are now available for the first time on vinyl within the KeplarRev series, presented in a new updated artwork based on the original layout with photographs by Taylor Deupree.

From the original press release in 2002:

"Balance is the first and so far only collaborative release from Frank Bretschneider (Berlin) and Taylor Deupree (Brooklyn). Both of these artists are no strangers to the ears of many; Taylor Deupree is one of New York's most vibrant electronic producers. From his early techno days as a member of Prototype 909 to his current status as one of N. America's key "microscopic" electronic composers and to add runs the prestigious 12K and LINE labels. Frank Bretschneider is a key member and founder of the prestigious Raster Music label, he has critically acclaimed releases under the names Komet and Produkt. It's easy to say that Frank Bretschneider has created some of the most influential spatial electronics of the late 90's.

Utilizing both artists keen ears for carefully crafted sounds, Balance blends the clean sine wave / white noise of Bretschneider with the defined grit of Deupree's granular synthesis. Realized entirely on Nord Modular synthesizers, Bretschneider and Deupree exchanged patch files through email and began constructing foundation loops. Bretschneider then created initial mixes of 9 songs and then sent them to Deupree who remixed and re-processed them. This digital exchange allowed for them to work using their own methods and aesthetic while combining the similarities of each others interests. The result is a looping and churning rhythmic work that is both synthetic, warm, dubby and tonally challenging. Thus Balance creates an engaging balance between the 2 artists aesthetics."

LINER NOTES BY JOHN-PAUL SHIVER:

Reinier Thijs a.k.a. Thijsenterprise's new project Lahringen begins where most of his previous creations have left off. Through reedy skronking sax, no easy listening aesthetics here, we get that passport to the '80s. The intersection between Lou Reed's old New York attitude and the encroaching rhythmic assault about to hit. Post-punk, featuring steady bass lines—peak demon Jaco to cool as fuck Slits era—in transit.

The first track in, bumping new-wave-jazz bravado, immediately covers those grounds the Dutch native likes to dig in on. He pays tribute to Gato Barbieri with "El Arriero", continuing in that off-kilter mash-up of sound textures. This time its beats and machismo.

But "Sketchy", an original arrangement, taps Reinier's dedication to skateboarding. Named for when skate rats land a trick sloppy, non-smooth, or ugly he does in fact match the sound of the bass with the feeling of ‘meh.’ “The drums and percussion in the track carry a driving pulse, and the saxophone plays a light melody, ping-ponging between the groove of the rhythm section, making the track very repetitive, catchy," stated Reinier.

clear red & blue mixed vinyl

- "Gut-churning bass" - The Wire
- "a deep dive into UK soundsystem forms, half-time bass pressure and lucid electronics" - DjMag
- "a hell of a journey through a subaquatic scape" - Backseat Mafia
- "evoking oceanic stillness and violence, the song ebbs and flows between delicate rippling and powerful waves" - Fuxwithit
- Plays on Rinse FM France and UK & Tom Ravenscroft BBC Radio 6

30% of profits on this record go to an ocean cleanup organisation TBA

Unbegrenzt is the third in an ongoing series of archival records of the unheard music of Swedish composer Catherine Christer Hennix, co-released by Blank Forms Editions and Empty Editions. It follows Selected Early Keyboard Works and Selections from 100 Models of Hegikan Roku (named the #1 archival release of 2019 by The Wire), in addition to a two-volume collection of Hennix’s writing titled Poësy Matters and Other Matters.

Recorded in February of 1974 and featuring Catherine Christer Hennix (recitation, percussion, and electronics) and Hans Isgren (bowed gong), Hennix’s realization of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Unbegrenzt” (German for “unlimited”) from Aus den Sieben Tagen is an elaboration both rigorous and radically different from the canonical 1969 recording issued by Shandar. The collection of 15 text pieces written in Paris during May of 1968, Aus den Sieben Tagen, denies its performers notated direction and instead provides poetic cues that hinge upon Stockhausen’s conception of “intuitive music,” a Eurocentric perspective on improvisation antithetical to the vernacular forms Hennix had engaged with as a young drummer performing in Stockholm jazz clubs with musicians like Bill Barron, Cam Brown, Hans Isgren, Lalle Svenson, Allan Vajda, Bo Wärmell, and many others. While both Hennix and Isgren saw the formal prospect of Aus den Sieben Tagen as a productive development of and beyond La Monte Young’s event scores, she here steadfastly counters his rationalization of intuition with the Principle of Sufficient Reason. (Cf. Brouwer’s Lattice.) Eschewing the busy, conservatory-addled lapses into idiomatic citation of Stockhausen’s 1969 recording, Hennix’s alternative realization of the “Unbegrenzt” score’s instructions to “play a sound with the certainty that you have an infinite amount of time and space” is based on her concept of Infinitary Compositions, the trademark of her ensemble The Deontic Miracle which, at one time, considered adding Stockhausen, La Monte Young and Terry Jennings scores to its repertoire. Taking a mature, minimal iteration of Stockhausen’s compositional method of “moment-forming” to heart, her version’s dark, controlled feedback and amplified bowed gong subtly shift through an immanent sequence of formative moments, step by step. Its bubbling computer noise, percussion, and repeated ominous transient sounds of temple blocks over the bowed gong terminate with the integrated recitation of exotic text fragments from Hevajra Tantra which faithfully take Stockhausen’s score into deeper vistas of the unconscious and a more devastating opening to the unlimited time and space of a dreaming mind.

Audio restoration and mastering by Stephan Mathieu, with an essay by Bill Dietz.

Catherine Christer Hennix (b. 1948) started her creative life playing drums with her older brother Peter, growing up in Sweden where she heard jazz luminaries, such as John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor perform from 1960 to 1967. Directly after high school, Hennix went to work at Stockholm’s pioneering Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), where she developed early tape music, incorporating computer generated speech done at the Royal Technological University (KTH), where she was an undergraduate student. After traveling to New York In 1968, she met artists Dick Higgins and Alison Knowles who invited her to stay at the Something Else Press Town House where she had the opportunity to meet, among others, composers John Cage, James Tenney, and Phil Corner. During the following years she developed fruitful collaborative relationships with many composers in the burgeoning American avant-garde, including, most significantly, Henry Flynt and La Monte Young. Young introduced Hennix to Hindustani raga master Pandit Pran Nath and she would later study intensively under him as his first European disciple. While Hennix continued to make music performing alongside Arthur Russell, Marc Johnson, Henry Flynt, and Arthur Rhames, she also served as a professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at SUNY New Paltz and as a visiting Professor of Logic (at Marvin Minsky’s invitation) at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. In recent years Hennix has led the just-intonation ensemble the Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage, which has featured musicians Amelia Cuni, Amirtha Kidambi, Chiyoku Szlavnics, Hilary Jeffrey, Amir El-Saffar, Benjamin Duboc and Rozemarie Heggen. She currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey pursuing studies in classical Arabic and Turkish makam.

After the very successful EP releases of quickly, quickly’s “Over Skies” in mid 2018 (27m spotify-streams) and Please Wait’s “Black & White” in late 2019 (6,4m spotify-streams to this day) Jakarta Records and Ta-ku take their joint label to the next level presenting 823’s very 1st longplayer - a compilation feat. an international line-up of already established as well as up & coming Lo-Fi producers, handpicked and curated by none other than 823 label-head Ta-ku himself.
1st single to be released on 21st of August is „Serenity“ by prolific 27 year old producer eevee (1,5m monthly listeners) from the Netherlands aka „the queen of Lo-Fi“ delivering a loopy and very hypnotic tune w/ quite jazzy horns feeling like watching the sunset on a desert planet like Dune - from outer space.
2nd single will be a double-single, coming on September 11th w/ finnish indie-producer Idealism (2,5m monthly listeners) and his tune “Somehow” – a steady and softened beat w/ colorfull and chilled piano chords – on the one side and Ta-ku’s “Remember Me” - another powerful Lo-Fi anthem by the Australian allrounder and 823 patron - on the flipside.
The compilation’s 3rd drop will be a double-single as well featuring 19 year old, US-based self made producer Peachy! (2,6m monthly listeners), delivering his Shanghai inspired, very spheric walk-by tune “Stroll” on one side while Laguna contributes his slowly uplifting but very keen “Lone Rider” on the flipside, catching that specific moment when switching from boredom to euphoria right away.
All singles off the compilation will be accompanied by customized visuals from different filmmakers catching the songs’ very own vibes. The compilation’s artwork comes along in its very own and unique 823-style.
Worldwide web promotion for this release will be handled and taken care of by Jonathan Kim.
_____

Ta-ku’s 823 label represents the appreciation for the people, ideas and places that inspire and push their protagonists forward. The artwork is shot by the artists themselves and each release has an accompanying photo zine that acts as a visual story to compliment the music being showcased. 823 is also the numerical representation of the phrase 'Thinking Of You'.

“823 celebrates the simple beauty of everyday life and the people in it that inspire us. In that spirit we are proud to present our very first compilation featuring artists we love. All Things Considered Vol.1” (Regan Matthews aka Ta-ku)

The 3rd volume of the infamous NoLo edits is finally here! Bassi is once again taking care of cutting, pasting and reworking it the old way, ripping and remastering the OG vinyl and giving new life to 3 more outstanding bombs from the 80s.

The super extended A side is a killer edit of a hard-to-find UK electro-funk masterpiece, on the B-side we go back to that US sound with a flipped out version of a classic Up Front electro track, while the 3rd track is pure editing madness for dancefloor lovers, taking out the unnecessary content from a Modern Soul hidden gem.

2022 Repress

Raster presents »Il Quadro di Troisi«, a project by Andrea Noce (Eva Geist) and Donato Scaramuzzi (Donato Dozzy). The record is a colorful ode of an Italian scented vision, overflowing of details and profound intensity. The contemporary world condition, the pandemic in Italy and around the world define »Il Quadro di Troisi« as a unique and right-on-time release.

This record is a enigmatic collaboration between the two Italian natives Andrea Noce and Donato Scaramuzzi. Andrea Noce takes lead on the vocals, with Donato Scaramuzzi carving the dreamlike soundscapes of the record. The record was born with a correspondence between the two artists about the late actor and director Massimo Troisi, and this exchange soon became an inspirational source of identification. Andrea Noce’s lyrics are sensitive and multi-faceted, they perfectly cling to the musical phrases and flow like a filmic monologue from the oeuvre of that very Troisi.

In a highly creative and confident manner, entire decades of national music history are comprehended and transformed into the here and now. The record takes its cue from the italo-disco, synth pop tradition corroborated by the contribution of artists such as the legendary Twilight Music co-founder, Paolo Micioni, as well as Stefano Di Trapani who wrote »L’ipotesi«. With »Il Quadro di Troisi«, Noce and Scaramuzzi prove their eclecticism, and passion for their home country.

»Il Quadro di Troisi« is a collaboration between Raster and the Milan-based festival Terraforma. With this release, the first with a purely Italian focus on the label, Raster celebrates its long standing relation with Italy and the Italian audience, encapsulated in the label's project ›Electric Campfire‹ held in Rome for ten years. Terraforma is an international experimental and sustainable music festival taking place since 2014 in the park of Villa Arconati, where Dozzy has been invited at every edition in different forms, DJing, live performing both in solo and with Voices from the Lake (together with Neel).

The release consists of dense floor slammers from Bionoid, modular synths enthusiasts based in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Every track is recorded at once during a jam session on analogue setup. They do not bear any signs of 'rave' or 'trance', but the cyclic and raw sound with minimalistic groove typical for Detroit techno.

All these pressed onto a thick 180gm crystal clear tasty piece.

clear vinyl edition

The Belgian party organisation and record label De:tuned presents the final outing of their 10 year anniversary vinyl series. "DE:10.10" kicks off with a trippy Plaid remix of Humanoid's "sT8818r" track. The remix provides some more 3AM rave pressure for those sweaty basement parties. Erik Van Den Broek aka Shiver follows with a previously unreleased mix of "Primerose", an emotive late night acid track that was released on the 5 Years De:tuned box set in 2014. The B-side offers "Formulate", music straight from the soul produced by the physical embodiment of UK emotive techno and one half of B12, Steven Rutter. Lone completes the series with "Dream Ache", an exclusive track that graced Rustie's BBC Radio One Essential Mix back in 2012, finally pressed on wax.

Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Mastering. This 12" is pressed on 180 gr vinyl and is housed in a detailed silver foil sleeve to celebrate "10 Years De:tuned". Stay tuned!

January 12th, 2020, a Sunday night in Toronto - Matthew Tavares and Leland Whitty (of BADBADNOTGOOD fame) are reunited at Burdock for a live improvised Jazz session. The pair are joined on stage by bassist Julian Anderson-Bowes and drummer Matt Chalmers as part of Burdock’s Piano Fest, an annual event at the city's brewery and music hall.

Two days later an email from Matthew hits Mr Bongo's inbox... "I think it turned out amazing, brought some really nice recording gear and it sounds almost like a studio record, thought I'd share. Moments definitely get to the jazzier side but there is some spiritual moments that are so far out". The Bongo office were all blown away by this free-flowing session, one which sounded like a well-rehearsed set at the end of a long tour, rather than a one-take improvised assembly. The chemistry between the musicians is magical. The tight friendship and musical connection between Tavares and Whitty are self-evident, however, Chalmers and Anderson-Bowes have a great contribution to make too. They act as the solid foundation that leaves Tavares and Whitty free to roam and explore moments of darkness and light, intensity and beauty. From the first time of hearing this intimate session, we knew this had to be shared.

The same quartet feature on Matthew Tavares & Leland Whitty's 2020 album 'Visions'. The plan to promote 'Visions' was to tour, with each night comprising a uniquely improvised set. Sadly due to world events, this couldn't happen, but for now 'January 12th' is a snapshot of the wizardry that would have been from four amazing musicians at the top of their game.

IXRQ on a mission with his first full EP on Stilleben after an appearance on Stilleben VA before. Now to discover and get deeper into the electro sound that is unique for him. Wet basslines and beautiful melodies / atmosphere. After the pandemic this will sweep over the dancefloors of the world. Stilleben Records is very happy for this release and as usual... ITS MORE FUN TO COMPUTE.

Spandau Ballet signed their first recording contract on bassist Martin Kemp’s 18th birthday. As soon as they had finished, they headed straight to Utopia Studios in Primrose Hill to cut their debut single ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’. Within a month the single had been released and two weeks later the band were on Top Of The Pops. The song is now acknowledged as the very first New Romantic single, a sound and movement that changed the world.

27th November sees a reissue of the 12” single in its original die cut sleeve on 180g vinyl featuring the ground breaking extended and dub mixes of the track by the visionary producer Richard James Burgess, the practice of which was unheard of at the time. The impact of the 12” was felt on the dance floors of the world, the track was an instant club hit ushering in a new sound for a new decade.

Amsterdam based Spill Gold ( who previously released on Portland's Beacon Sound) with a jaunty 7 track mini album for Knekelhuis. sleeve art from Jacob Hoving.

The label say:
"The summer breeze has gradually turned into a cold wind and the trees showcase their typical variegated color palette; autumn has clearly arrived in all its golden glory, a transition exemplary for Spill Gold’s work. The Amsterdam duo’s music is every bit as colorful and moving as its seasonal counterpart, where one moment a cold and stormy wind swarms the air and other times calm and stillness prevail.

On Highway Hypnosis, their first album on vinyl, Spill Gold masterfully juxtaposes darkness and light, playfulness and control, enhancing the transcendental character of the material at hand. Based on strong pop structures, the songwriting here traverses a world of Krautrock and cosmic influences at once catchy and alienating, opening the possibility for catharsis.

They’re a wonderful addition to the versatile nature of Knekelhuis. And they’re crazy good live as well."

3 x LP - Live in Sharjah Box Set + Booklet. designed by Lorenzo Mason Studio.

If you’ve ever travelled to Egypt and wandered through its crowded streets, you probably ended up buying a cassette or a CDR of popular synth based music heard in most cabs, cabarets, or alleys around town: the almighty Shaabi.Raed Yassin and Paed Conca based their project PRAED on research between Shaabi and Mouled (traditional trance music from Egypt) and the hypnotic structures of both these genres. Repetitive beats, loud Mizmar and loads of energy, with a strong influence from psychedelic rock, free jazz and electronica.

During the years in which the duo produced 4 albums and performed on an endless number of stages around the globe, PRAED started working on anambitious expansive project: an orchestra that could transpose this study of rural and popular culture into an immense, iconic work. In autumn 2018, supported by the Sharjah Art Foundation, PRAED Orchestra! premiered “Live in Sharjah”, interpreting new material merged with some of the band’s iconic pieces. The composition process started with the choice of musicians: the line-up consisted of some of the most innovative artists coming from a wide spectrum of musical practices. Each musician was chosen for a defined role, and the common denominator was their capacity to interpret written material, and their ability to improvise effortlessly. Each role was clearly set to work in unison with the rest of the group, while simultaneously sustaining a centrality in the choir. Solo parts masterfully drawn over the structure as a fil rouge connecting every piece of the entire concert; massive and powerful orchestral sections leading to a breathtaking trance-like state of mind; all of this material ultimately coalescing into an Egyptian Operette that narrates the sorrow, love, and deeply rooted culture of this urban music called Shaabi.

Paed Conca: Clarinet, Electric Bass, Electronics
Raed Yassin: Synthesizers, Vocals, Electronics
Alan Bishop: Alto Saxophone, Vocals
Nadah El Shazly: Vocals, keyboard, Electronics
Christine Kazarian: Electric Harp
Hans Koch: Bass Clarinet, Soprano Sax
Martin Kuchen: Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Sax
Maurice Louca: Keyboard, Organ
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh: Buzuk, Vocals, Modular Synthesizer
Sam Shalabi: Electric Guitar, Oud
Ute Wassermann: Vocals, Mouth Harp, Whistles
Khaled Yassine: Drums, Percussion, Darbuka
Michael Zerang: Drums, Percussion

Recorded live at Calligraphy Square on November 3rd, 2018 in Sharjah, UAE by: Sudish Suman & Shuaib Ahmad Poonthala
Edited by: Rabih Beaini at Morphine Studio, Berlin, Germany
Mixed by: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at Hotel2Tango Studio, Montreal, Canada. Mastered by: Harris Newman at Grey Market Studio, Montreal, Canada.
Artwork by Lorenzo Mason Studio.
Project manager : Simsara Music

Cologne based producers and DJ's Stikdorn and MK Braun team up for the second installment of their Henk label. They created 4 Tracks full of analogue hardware vibes ready for the dancefloor.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Ekundayo, Liam Bailey’s debut record on the label. This album is a long time in the making, and after listening, clearly worth the wait. It didn’t take a long time to record, but it did take years for all the stars to line up.

Bailey, born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today.
Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle with hopes of landing a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician / producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still get spins at reggae spots around the globe. That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.

But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't."

While Liam’s career went through a bunch of record industry twists and turns he and Michels stayed in touch and would regularly connect and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. "This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels. Set to release in November 2020, the album is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. Anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics but they may join the masses who blame the city, while Liam points the finger at himself and sings praises to The Big Apple.

Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered throughout the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight." In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo.

Created in 2006, Setenta, the Latin Soul Band spreads a unique mix over the world scene. For their fifth album Materia Negra, the Paris-based band returns to its roots: hard Latin funk with plenty of Afro-Latin percussion upfront in the mix contrasted with accents of lush vocal harmony and warm, breezy melody. But at its core, there is something essentially darker, rougher and funkier than their previous releases, especially in the guitar and synth work, bluesy minor key arrangements, and lyrical content. It’s essentially a heavier feel with this record, influenced no doubt on the negative side by the current dark times being experienced across the globe due to the pandemic, subsequent economic downturn and the lack of effective government leadership and global solidarity to deal with the crisis. On the positive tip, the inspiring Black Lives Matter movement and international protests against oppressive governments, systemic racism, corporate greed, global warming and environmental exploitation no doubt have something to do with the serious feel of Materia Negra as well.

Another crucial aspect to this newfound toughness is what band member and Latin Big Note founder and director Osman Jr. states is the group’s desire to address DJs and dancers who appreciate the rawest songs from Setenta’s previous productions. The desire is to leave their mark on the decks and dance floors of the planet with a genre that “we defend by taking the torch extended by our mentors such as Joe Bataan: Latin Funk!” Setenta’s sound has always been soulful, with plenty of tropical Caribbean roots, but this time there is an even stronger Afro-centric theme and gritty psychedelic R&B angle, clothed in galactic, outer-space trappings, bringing to mind another forerunner, Mandrill, as well as the Afro-Futurist mothership vibe of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Repress

Exciting Bristol-based artist Myth debuts on Amsterdam's boutique imprint The North Quarter with his hard-hitting “Long Time Coming EP”. Both stripped-back and widescreen at the same time, the project captures the essence of the Dub & Jungle influences that are ingrained throughout the five-tracks. Myth's undeniable technical prowess and ear for an effortless groove are on display as he shows he's one of the the brightest talents in the scene today.

After their two acclaimed edits EPs, Mister T. Records are now joining forces with LA based producer DJ Duckcomb, to deliver a groovy selection of leftfield italo-disco cuts reworked for dancefloors. One year after the release of their 2nd EP, a tribute to Brazilian music, Mister T. records are now back with a 12” EP showcasing their love for obscure disco and Duckcomb’s amazing digging skills. This record aims to be a tribute to the very special sound of the late 80s electronic music and to both the artist’s and label’s lifelong passion for obscure italo disco.
Famous as a record collector, Duckcomb has also made himself a name by editing forgotten jewels from classic disco to islands reggae. Part of both duos Sharegroove and Trap.Avoid, he’s been
sharing his work and latest discoveries on his bandcamp and soundcloud for years and he has already released two EPs on Universal Cave and Pleasure of Love as well as edits on Cultures of
Soul and Emotional Rescue.
He’s now joining Mister T. Records with a 3-track EP compilation of hard to classify, slow-tempo, disco edits. On the A-side, Duckcomb partnered up with his longtime friend and DJ partner Dino
Soccio, boss of California label Pleasure of Love, for a powerful rework of the German protohouse tune “Holidays”, with a new dancefloor oriented beat and emphasized tropical influences.
On the B-side, he showed his editing skills working on two obscure downtempo tracks with that recognizable late 80s melancholic atmosphere. By removing not danceable parts, building DJfriendly grooves and removing unnecessary vocal parts, he managed to come up with a smooth italo ballad with acid accents on “S.O.S.” and a beautiful balearic new-beat jam on “King (of) a Beat”.

The reflective and immersive extraterrestrial synth explorations of Surgeons Girl's 'A Violet Sleep' EP mark a stunning, dream-like debut for the Bristol based artist to close a tumultuous year.

Specialising in live audio-visual performance, combined with a love of analogue synths, Surgeons Girl weaves emotive and enveloping sounds from her instruments, drawing on influences from the likes of Suzanne Ciani, Laurel Halo and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground electronic music.

We are back on Boogie Butt with a soul track just like back in the days, this time with a Lord Funk & Samm Culley collaboration. We’re bringing back to your ears this giant artist, who crosses decades of music with its great personality and many groovy songs.

Samm Culley is an R&B, soul & funk keyboard player and a dope songwriter. His music career started within the band Tiny Tim & The Hits with Tom Price & Bill Collier. This trio soon left Tiny to form their own group The Diplomatics with Irving Waters as the lead singer. They later on became the legendary Skull Snaps.

Over the years, Samm co-produced and/or played with many unforgettable famous artists such as Hot Chocolate, The Fatback Band, George Kerr, Patrick Adams, Vaughan Mason, Reggie Griffin, De-De, Van Mc Coy, Lloyd Price & even later in Hip Hop music with Marley Marl or Freddie Foxxx.

“Let It Go” brings you back in 1970 with a great killer dance floor track for Bboys and soul lovers: the dru break is hot and on the same time, the guitar hook and bassline make you feel James Brown on the scene. Close your eyes and easily imagine John Shaft dancing on “Soul Makossa”.

The B side is the instrumental reworked by our well-known Lord Funk, with Samm on bass. Enjoy & play loud!

Ibiza Records has collaborated with Yardrock Productions to bring you this 4 track EP called 'Straight From The Yard Vol 1. We've gone into their back catalogue n picked choons that are reppin the 'Original London Jungle Sound' back in 2013-14.

Yep those kinda choons that give that 'back a yard' feeling with reggae/rnb samples with strong jungle breaks n some sic heavy reggae basslines resonating the essence of jungle musik to make you wanna skip n hop, skank n jump...

A. This track made in 2014 has both a reggae and David Rodigan samples on it with some dutty drum patterns n heavier leading basslines that reflect the jungle sound representing that upbeat jamaican vibez.

AA. Rough n Rugged: This track produced in 2014 showcases a more rave feel with the whistles n sirens. The reggae sample giving that steppers vibez alongside jungle breaks n basslines

AAA. Soundboy Killer: This track produced in 2014 has a classic Bitty Mclean reggae sample with that soundclash feel of yard. Heavy basslines, horns n drum patterns to kill any soundbwoy. With a slight soulful vibe with cymbals n flutes combining with jungle breaks

AAAA. Wha Grawn Blud: This track produced in 2013 has a sic intro with the jungle breaks n vocals giving an upbeat n grimy tones n strong drum patterns that inter mingle up holding that authentic jungle london sound of modern day jungle

Mind Control: Making people believe by shaping what they hear; a sonata for the age of acceleration morphosis; a music born under punches. Play at any required speed.

Cristian Vogel is a life-long innovator in the design, composition and performance of electronic sounds. His independent career in music and audio technology has won prizes and awards establishing him as an outstanding influence in the field of composition for studio, club culture and stage. He performs, remixes and produces original music and sound design at an international level. He has lived in Brighton, Barcelona, Berlin and Geneva and is now permanently based in Copenhagen where he continues creating technologically based music, sound and audio technology at his design studios Ekometic and NeverEngineLabs.

Michel Baumann is one of Germany's most respected artists. You probably know him as Soulphiction, his iconic alias Jackmate and head chief of Philpot - a label pushing the sounds of dance music in every possible way since the beginning of 2000.

Now making his debut on the very first release from 18437 Records, after teasing everyone with his recent 12" for Matthew Herbert's Accidental label, Jackmate is back in full swing.

Opening track Modulate Nightdrive is a mind expanding, deep techno affair. Remember when techno had funk and made you sweat? This is it.
Next up is CubanLinx, a percussive machine voodoo exercise. Last but not least, Test Drive shows why Jackmate is still relevant as a producer and worthy of your record collection.
The recipe is simple, a drum machine, a few thick bass notes and whack on some chords - voila - timeless dance music delivered by Michel Baumann.

Label info:
18437 Records is a brand new label by focused on the outer fringes of house and techno.

Rising London-based talent Casey Spillman debuts on LOCUS with his latest four-track EP, ‘Bit More Raggo’.

A hotly-tipped name within the UK house and minimal scene, London’s Casey Spillman continues to impress as one of the city’s key emerging DJs, producers and label owners. Founder of his own blossoming imprint Temperature, his releases and remixes via the likes of e1ven records, Sukhumvit and Infuse have gained support from a long list of the scene’s key players - solidifying his growing profile as one of FUSE’s key up-and-coming talents, whilst featuring across a string of their infamous events within the UK capital. Next up, Spillman’s latest outing welcomes a debut on recently launched FUSE imprint LOCUS, delivering four typically impressive cuts in the form of his ‘Bit More Raggo’ EP.

Opening cut ‘What I Say’ delivers a moody, up-front production armed with metallic percussion licks, resonant chords and driving low-ends, whilst the skipping hats and sweeping key leads of the slick ‘Gambling Man’ reveal a classy yet warping journey to close out the A-side. On the flip, ‘Humidity Meter’ introduces a hypnotic combination of shuffling percussion atop of escalating electronics and squelching bass patterns, before closing proceedings via the tripped-out vocals, crisp, raw drum shots and menacing bassline of final track, ‘Commands’.

Otik ​joins the ​Shall Not Fade ​family serving up five killer jams for their new ‘Basement Tracks’ series.

London based DJ // Producer ​Otik ​has been putting out some eclectic records over the past few years, including stand out twelves on ​Keysound, Nous & DEXT, amongst others. His latest outing sees him share some of his finest work to date, dark, moody synths dance gracefully with heavy drum sequences and weight basslines on ‘Zero-Sum Game’ EP.

One of dance music’s most enigmatic figures returns home to Anjunabeats. GRAMMY-nominated producer Mat Zo is back with a brand new artist album set for release in October: ‘Illusion Of Depth’. At the age of 30, this is the London-born, L.A.-based producer’s third artist LP. He broke onto the scene in 2008 and has been causing an uproar ever since. In the early naughties, he penned Anjunabeats classics like ‘The Lost’ and ‘Synapse Dynamics’ which were far ahead of their time. They were followed by the likes of ‘Superman’, ‘The Sky’ and ‘Rebound’ (with Arty). He pushed the Anjunabeats sound to the mainstage, racking up spins from Pete Tong, Axwell and Armin van Buuren. It was his GRAMMY-nominated debut album ‘Damage Control’ that fully showcased Mat’s avant-garde approach in 2013. Featuring break-out hit ‘Easy’ with close friend Porter Robinson, the track took Mat mainstream: a Radio 1 A-List addition, Sirius XM BPM listing, a #1 Billboard Heatseeking record, an Essential Mix of the year nomination and, ultimately, a GRAMMY nod for best dance and electronic recording. Since then, Mat has grown his own stable. Self-releasing his second LP in 2016, ‘Self Assemble’, via Mad Zoo, Mat’s imprint nurtured a new generation of eclectic, genre-agnostic creators.

On the back of V- Necks re issue Auto and the Lost 1990s Recordings one half of the band V Neck Mark Churcher takes time out from from his Chicago Bee project to deliver his first full length album on Emote.

He teams up with the cult Brighton based experimental artist Alasdair Willis (The Vitamin B 12) who plays saxophone on 3 of the 11 tracks on the album.

The album has all the hallmarks of an Emote record and more. Likely to be listed as down tempo / abstract ambient and blending many different styles together.

If you are in tune with free jazz and abstract electronic tribal music you should find this good home spooky listening .

Supported by Chloe Alice Frieda of Alien Jams and Damo B of the Outer Limits Radio Show

Having previously released a slew of tapes on labels such as Clan Destine Records and Live Adult Entertainment, Penelope’s Fiancé lands on Hypermedium for his vinyl debut. Hailing from Stavroupoli, Thessaloniki, Penelope’s Fiancé has been keeping over the past few years a fast pace of work, constantly producing tracks and releasing new music, having shaped a unique sound that drifts across the borders of lo-fi, post-industrial and fuzzy techno. The Cutting Edge Of A Knife is the culmination of all these previous excursions, a solid display of his ability to craft emotionally intense tracks, merging a ghostly, gloomy grandeur with squelching percussive patterns. Opener ‘Lethe’ emerges from the haze with its cryptic atmosphere, moulded in lethargic drones, scattered vocalisms and sparse yet piercing beats and rhythmic build-ups. A panic-fuelled, 160bpm ravey epic, ‘Futile Endevours’ brandishes an ecstatic, pumelling rhythm over recurring trance- flavored melodic phrases and unnerving vocal samples. ‘I Wasn’t Always There’ is a seductive, dark elegy whose melancholic and lush synth melodies wash over chopping kicks and ice-cold hi-hats. ‘Anxiety’ sounds like a slow techno roller, where frozen metallic percussion meets a cavernous bass, right before the off-kilter, cacophonous buzz of ‘The Lie Closest To The Truth’. Closing track ‘The Cutting Edge Of A Knife’ is an intoxicated oriental-stepper, soaked in vaporous middle-eastern percussion and muezzin-like chants.

We are happy to announce the first in anew series of 12" releases under DJ'S CHOICE, Four Flies Records' division devoted to fresh and cool new music in genres ranging from tropical funk and nu-soul to hip hop.

Created during the global lockdown, this new release is a joyful invitation to move our bodies and dance – something that, alas, has become almost impossible in this pandemic-ridden year.
Quero Ver Você Dançar is a collaboration between Rome-based DJ/producer The Rebel, Portuguese DJ/producer Dedy Dread, and Brazilian jazz singer Keila Abeid. Other musicians playing on the track – including Neney Santos (percussions), Marco Ravallese (keys), and Fab Samperi (flute) – masterly contribute to its soulful favela vibes.

Housed in a single jacket with beautiful artwork by Roman illustrator Federica Fruhwirth, the 12-inch single also features a super groovy remix by Mo'Horizons which, with its powerful combination of bossa and drum'n'bass rhythms, makes this release a must for tropical-music aficionados.

Also available on all major digital outlets, with two additional remixes by young Brazilian producers Afterclapp and Brasila Strut.

International Day Off records became a new base for one of the most interesting characters of new wave techno in recent years - POST SCRIPTUM, whose name is already and widely known from labels such as Infrastructure New York, Ostgut Ton or Sonic Groove. This EP is a flagship example of what the sci-fi techno is. No doubt the most energetic and the most powerful sounding 3 tracks EP ever released on International Day Off. Everything what you will hear is concentrated on a solid base, with carefully constructed bit pulsation that marks the direction of your music powered space travel. IDO 013 is a very expressive musical proposal, a masterpiece that could be a soundtrack for landing on the Gliese 581 c. Overall this EP is a must have for every modern, post-industrial space traveler!