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A multi-platform production that explores the overlap between the digital and the organic through field recordings of Inuit throat singing may sound, on surface level, to be something that is a rather niche. However, Zoe Mc Pherson's exploration of this world on String Figures is a deeply rhythmic, immersive and forward-thinking piece of electronic- leaning music that remains just as danceable as it does experimental.
The album is fundamentally one of duality, exploring the traditional and the contemporary, organic and electronic, audio and visual, history and the future. Rooted in this duality is also a core theme around string being one of the most ancient and playful art forms and the seemingly infinite possibilities it offers in terms of shapes, structures and figures lines up with this as a trans-global art project. One that over time will involve video art, choreography, 3D motion design, macro film, instrumental and electronic sound. Although for now is being presented through an AV performance, films and a record with Mc Pherson collaborating with director Alessandra Leone.!
Over the seven tracks (which are laid out as chapters) the record explores glitchy electronics, dub-tinged grooves, polyrhythms, and a huge array of instruments that takes in quiet blasts of atonal sax alongside wonky synths. This of course cross-pollinates with the throat singing and experimental field recordings to create an utterly inimitable sonic sphere. For Mc Pherson it's about mixing worlds, histories and timeframes and she uses a 1991 quote from Laurie Spiegel to hit home how she has elaborated upon this original thought of history and future overlapping. 'Folk music is considered anonymous common property in a culture and that's what a lot of computer music and other kinds of music data may end up becoming.' However, there's also a purer reason for the exploration of these worlds and colliding them together. 'Basically I thought that electronic music that is only digital is a bit boring and as I'm connected to jazz music for many reasons, I wanted it to sound organic: real instrumentation, field recordings.'

This initial release on the new Futurepast label marks Davy's first output as a producer, crystallizing his endeavours in the studio and bearing witness to his long-standing experiments in electronic music.Built between London and Berlin over the last four years, The Long Now lays down the blueprints for following ventures on the label: using old and new gear to create unique, obscure soundscapes both outside of memory and away from nostalgic projections of lost futures. In a timeless and precise collaboration, Davy has brought together two historical figures for this release: 1990s R&S Records associate David Morley mixed the tracks,
while Simon Davey of The Exchange lent his renownedmastering skills to the project.Temporality, time travel and perception are key concepts for Davy, and not only in the EP's title.The four stripped-down tracks move forwards, sidewards and backwards in a bid to get us lost - not in space but in what time might sound like should we be swimming through it.Mysterious and ageless synths mesh with the beats of an unnamed drum machine under Davy's control.We move through a non-linear story told by three distinct forward-thinking techno titles:No Memories Planned, Circular Weeks and Causal Loop.Finally, the titular ambient track pans out cinematically over the images left in our heads:an invitation to begin it all again in The Long Now...

The next collaborative release between Freeride Millenium and Pauls Musique is a terrific two-tracker from Manchester artist Joseph Louis Harland Manning under his new alias Los Angeles with the 7 vinyl release artwork designed by Daniel Rajcsanyi as part of his 'BABY' exhibition in Austria. Joseph Louis Harland Manning was the drummer of the band Wu Lyf and is involved in projects like Los Porcos, the Mancunian boyband Menage a Trois and Dream Lovers. Under his other aliases he released on Aficionado, Cracki, Ocean Records and Is It Balearic sub label Uber as well as having made music videos for Molly Nilsson. Here he is fine form across a pair of delicate and moving synth tracks. Opener 'L'amour' is a gentle cut that starts with celestial chords and wide-open expanses of synth before a buried deep groove slowly comes to the fore. Breathy vocals also add to the loved-up, dreamy feel and the whole thing carries you away in a majestic reverie that shifts from ambience to new age house. The track features the artists own field recordings from the streets of Berlin, twisting up sounds from the sidewalk into percussive notes that give an organic feel. The perfectly soothing second offering is 'I Wanna Go To Heaven' is a gorgeous synth piece that suspends you in a crystal clear blue sky on a warm summer's day. Chords are smeared and stretched whilst angelic, wordless vocals drift by. It is the sound of a blissful passage to the afterlife and will leave you feeling cleansed. This is a truly emotive package of music that marks another first rate release on this ever evolving label

Meandyou return with the ninth instalment of the collective's record label, this time presenting Manchester cult techno artist J.S. Zeiter. Zeither resurrects his Analog 1 alias for his second outing on the label, after 2012s mini album on the collective's first edition of the TAPE series - the cassette featured original material split per side between Zeiter and Meandyou's Herron. In the late 1990s, J.S. Zeiter reached cult status by releasing a string of dub-infused techno EPs under his SJ moniker, each becoming sought after amongst collectors and DJs. Styrax Leaves recently reissued a number of his classic tracks, including new edits of the previously released tracks. He has released music on his own MCMLXV and JS imprints, as well as Pleasure Music and Phorma. 'Restoration EP' features 3 new productions that float between slow-mo techno and electro, plus the previously CD only track 'Interude 3' that appeared on the acclaimed 'Decade' album.

Dark Entries Editions is proud to reissue Ghost Town' the 1984 debut 12' single by Mono Band from Italy. The project was conceived by producer Rene 'D'Herin and Massimo Fantinatiti aka Fantenax. They teamed up with songwriter and guitarist Luigi Venegoni aka Svengile who had previously worked with progressive and jazz-rock bands Arti & Mestieri and Venegoni & Co. as well as cosmic disco group Stratosferic Band. Treading the lines between Italo Disco and the darker side of New Wave, the trio crafted a mysterious sound. Melancholic arpeggiators, a throbbing baseline, stuttering samples, and the classic Linn drum machine run throughout the track. Vocals were handled by an uncredited Carlo Rossi who raps about a ghost town filled with fear. When female vocalist Elena Sansonetti begins to softly whisper the chorus one might get goose bumps. The trio were joined in the studio by DJ Mike aka Michele Paolino of Make Up/Mike Up, DJ Moody, Fabrice Bellini of Art Fine and producer Miceli. The song was recorded in a few days at Dynamo Sound Studio in Turin and originally released on the popular Discomagic Records. This reissue includes the original vocal version, backed with a longer dubbed out instrumental Ghost Version' on the B-side. All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The 12' is housed in an exact replica of the original sleeve with an astrological photo the planets orbiting the sun. Each copy also includes a 2-sided postcard.

The second release on Sbire furthers the on-going collaboration between label co-founder Gaspard de La Montagne and Nathan Baumann. 'Spectres' is a bold, seductive and wonderfully-unhurried record which shows the breadth of the Sbire sound world.

The title track is orchestral and profoundly alluring, with an earworm bassline creeping out from behind the kick drum's refined thud. You're pulled further in by the lengthy intro of 'Aube', where floating pads, draw from the instrumental flair of classical music. Mid-way through they give way to a stripped-back bassline, exemplifying the nature of this collaboration.

B-side opener 'Masque' has harmonic beams of light swirling over its foundations. The melodies transfix and the drums keep time. 'Perspectives (1 & 2)' occupies a thin veil of haze, tempering the beat and bringing out the groove in the baggy percussion. In fitting style, it ends a record whose grace comes in the striking interactions between elements far-removed.

Collecting some of their earliest BBC sessions this necessary document showcases the Fab Four immediately following the release of their debut album Please Please Me and right before they would become international superstars. Combining fantastic R&B covers and some of their best early originals this compilation finds The Beatles at a crossroads between their early beat roots and the pop brilliance they would go on to display for the rest of the 1960s. Essential.

New 12" from Hans-Peter Lindstrøm not feautred on his latest album 'It's Alright Between Us As It Is'. Accompanied with a remix and a acapella version.

Dino Lenny's Fine Human Records introduces the electronic talent of Black Mami with two dark and hypnotic driving cuts. Title track 'Industria Con Vista' leads the release with its enticing and cinematic retro-meets-future mood. A theme that continues on 'Tokyo Express', which plays out like the soundtrack of an imaginary meeting between Black Mami heroes, Trevor Horn & Yello. His most recurrent of dreams.

'Intraverso is a journey in that momentary 'inbetween land' that many of us experience sometimes. It explores the turmoil of feelings of when one gets stuck in the middle, floating in between ambition and complete stillness'.

Fabrizio Lapiana is a well-known name on the contemporary Italian techno scene. He has been involved in music since the 90's when he started DJ'ing in his hometown Rome. To date he has over two handfuls of releases on labels such as Figure Jams, Arts and M_Rec Ltd - as well as his own imprint, the well renowned Attic Music, founded in 2008.
Intraverso is Fabrizio's debut album, set for release on his label. The record is a very personal journey, according to the artist himself. You here find him examining different territory than where he usually heads within his productions. The album, which consists of nine songs in total, was composed between April 2016 and February 2017 in his studio in Rome. Written in a state of 'introspect', we here see an artist in motion. Changing. Evolving. The perfect moment to explore something new and unveil a different side of yourself to the world.

The intro 'Early Morning Waves' opens the album with its own quiet dramatic tone, waves hitting the shore as we move into 'Bret'. A cloud-walking kind of melody welcomes you, accompanied by a curious beat driving the journey forward. A deep heavy bassline and almost ancient sounding melody rises in 'Onironauta' (reflecting 'Early Morning Waves' mystical mood) until more playful elements blends in. The contemplative bass elements continue in the title track of the album; 'Intraverso' is a track of mind traveling discovery, yet before drifting too far you are grabbed by a snare, a clap of white noise and a pulsating beat to keep you on track. Further on, 'Lost In Negative Thoughts (reshaped)' reveals itself with its heavy ominous drumbeats and a dark spun web of strings is joined by sounds of distant life and machinery. Then there is 'Distance' which is the album's first flirt with more dancefloor friendly territory. Still under a veil of ill-lit melodies, expertly programmed percussion and claps creates something for a more personal body move experience. Moving into 'Again' sees the expedition continuing journeying through the dancefloor, albeit in a deeper landscape where flickering extraterrestrial sounds watches you go along. In 'Backlit' you find the albums most organic moment, an ambient slow thoughtful walk through the consciousness of the producer - only to end up with the album's final moment; 'Freckles (beatless)'. Here we drift deeper off into slow ambient melodies with a comforting thoughtful bassline taking us to the end of our voyage.

Lapiana has composed an album where you get to travel with him on a sonic journey into the deepest corners of his mind, baring vulnerabilities as well as strengths. Intraverso carries a feeling of ancient atmosphere via its melodic language through its whole running time, perhaps since the foundation of the album is based on emotions and the mind. Thoughts, feelings and mental states that always have been with us, no matter the time and place. It is a mature debut album for an artist that proves he is willing to risk going into different areas than the tried and tested ground. One might say Intraverso is a record created for an introvert introspective dancer, willing to see what lies beyond that of which is visible at first glance.

Between stints in JA for legends like Glen Brown and Junjo Lawes, WJ commuted to the Bronx from Connecticut. With Clive Hunt in full effect, Showcase follows the six-track dubwise format of Dance Hall Style (Wayne never sounding more like Horace), including four utterly lethal Studio One versions — Azul's killer Rockfort Rock, Sleepy's Every Tongue (with outrageous Isleys fuzz), yet another Wackies' Heptones via Leroy Sibbles, and a murderous Drum Song.

Repress

Subjected is back with the 2nd part of the Selected Works, His focus is on functionality, these 4 cuts are extremely functional for any situation, giving the user the choice between different palette of sounds very meticulously selected for you.

2x12" Repress

Answer Code Request returns with his sophomore album Gens on Ostgut Ton, entering darker but equally bass-heavy territory.
Answer Code Request's 2014 debut LP Code was an exciting moment for electronic music in Berlin - one that offered a break from the eternal hall and monolithic 4/4 kicks that ruled the city's club landscape. As a hybrid gesture, the album's spirit recalled an especially fruitful era in the German capital from the mid-90s to early 2000s, when dub and paddriven Detroit techno cross-pollinated with Berlin's industrial aesthetic to create one of the city's most exciting musical chapters.
Today the musical vision offered by Berghain resident Answer Code Request, real name Patrick Gräser, has proved far-sighted. While at first glance electronic music in 2018 seems increasingly balkanized, borders between genres have once again become fuzzier.
Now, on his follow up LP Gens, Gräser looks beyond the bass euphoria of Code toward darker horizons and a desolate atmosphere befitting of current global circumstances.
In a sense, Gens (Latin for tribe or lineage) reverses the notion of the hardcore continuum as proposed by music journalist Simon Reynolds: embedded in a tradition of US andcontinental European techno, Gräser seeks its disruption through hardcore outgrowths, from ambient jungle to later variations of British bass music and IDM. It's an interesting twist when seen in the larger biographical context of Gräser who, born and raised outside of Berlin in early 1980s, jumped from East German youth radio DT64 to American hip-hop, acid and early UK hardcore - a radical shift of musical interest born of a radical shift in political circumstances. On Gens, the unsettling atmosphere is established early on with the fading rave opener of the album's synonymous title track, and continues through the scrambled military communications and post dubstep rhythms of 'Sphera'. From there, sci-fi pads, heavy phasing and alien syncopation lead explorative third track 'Ab Intus' out into space. Aglimmer of otherworldly positivity arrives with the warm, distorted breakbeats and interwoven synth melodies of album standout 'knbn2', while Gräser's most dancefloororiented melds jungle and techno, Amen and 4/4 kicks, on 'Cicadae'.

Phantasm is a new vinyl label and collaboration between Amsterdam's Sinchi Collective and the much-admired Night Noise outlet, based in Geneva. It kicks off with a strong EP from The Soviet Union aka Richard Baldwin, including classy remixes from Sinchi themselves and In Flagranti.Baldwin has a signature style that is cinematic and synth heavy and has been formed over the last decade plus. A fine DJ, experienced promoter and self-confessed addict of vintage analogue synthesizers and drum machines, Richard pulls his influences from early electronica, 80s film-scores, and shades of techno right up to the present day. This track was first written on a cold evening in December 2010 using a Roland TR707 and JX8P Synth. After collaborating with his songwriting partner the track was given a haunting vocal and released as 'The Disappearance of Becky Sharp', while the original remained on Baldwin's Soundcloud and got ID requests from all over the world. 7 years later it comes back to life in the form of its original instrumental, with a 2017 rework, plus remixes by Sinchi and In Flagranti.The superb original is a perfectly spaced out and a retro-future bit of synth heavy electronic music. Arpeggiated bass props up rueful chords and icy percussion brings that essential cosmic vibe. It's a timeless track that overflows with emotions and is sure to really make a mark in any DJ set thanks to its rich musicality. The 2017 Rebuild is even more lush and zoned out with sombre chords forcing you to reflect on the deeper meanings of life. In Flagranti—the Codek Records duo based in Switzerland—then lace in some hip swinging claps and make this one a deep disco track that is riddled with little synths, chords and melodies that exude warmth and sci-fi soul. Last of all, Amsterdam's Sinchi cook up a storm with corrugated basslines, long tailed pads and turbulent solar winds that make it that bit darker and moodier. This is a brilliant package of emotive music that is a real statement of intent.

Classic Original mix (Remastered) + 4 (!) long Ricardo Villalobos Remixes All
Get Physical's 16th year continues to serve up plenty of excellent and exciting new music with this, an EP full of mesmeric remixes from the one and only Ricardo Villalobos. The source material here is the classic 'We Are Phuture' by pioneering Chicago acid outfit, Phuture. The original is included in specially remastered form and the Chilean minimal techno hero serves up four of his own unique versions. Ricardo has been remixing for this label for well over a decade and just last year his 'Hauswiedermischung' version of Reboot's 'Are You Losing My Mind' was one of the standout tracks of Get Physicals´s oeuvre. The original is an abrasive and jittery house track that bristles with frazzled synths, dark filtered vocals, acid twitches and coarse percussion. It's one to electrify the floor, and still does plenty of damage 20 years after it first came out on Trax. Up first is Phutur I Remix, which strips everything away to leave a fluttering snare line, rubber drums and minimal synth that shapeshifts for nearly ten minutes. Add in some trademark Villalobos vocals that are alien and unsettling and you have a real classic in the making. The Phutur II Remix is busier, with deft drums that ride up and down and have a spoken word vocal floating up top. Alien sound designs and occult acid all join the mix later on, while Phutur III sits somewhere in between.

Picture disc LP housed in gatefold sleeve. Includes CD with bonus track.
With his second release for the Swiss-based Hallow Ground imprint after 2016's Soisong reissue, Ivan Pavlov pays tribute to the late Sentrax founder and prolific musician John Everall, who passed away in September 2014. Sourced from analogue material provided by the artist widely known for his output under the Tactile moniker for a collaboration that never came to fruition, the six tracks are an exercise in minimalism and subtlety singular even in Pavlov's impressive back catalogue. On COH plays EVERALL, Pavlov focuses on swirling arpeggios whose colourfulness is mirrored in the Ruth Stofer's artwork for the limited picture disk release. From the joyful, handclap-driven »2016« to the hectic gabber derivate »OVERBEAT«, the Russian producer explores a minimalistic yet organic palette of synthesizer sounds that stylistically reach from the hymnic poise of »WAVETRAP« to the playful and warm vibes of »ALONE (MINIMAL SELFIE)«. While it might sound almost pointillistic on first listen, COH plays EVERALL unfolds its multitude of layers slowly over time. With a feature of Coil's Jhonn Balance on the CD-only bonus track »Hunger Remix«, Pavlov adds yet another facet
to this evocative marriage of sonic purity and emotional rawness. Over a throbbing rhythm, the late poet's dry intonation serves as an eerie coda to this tender tribute to lost friends. As a dialogue between this world and the other, CoH's digital manipulation and Everall's analogue source material as well as stark minimalism and tonal richness, COH plays EVERALL captures two kindred spirits bidding each other farewell.

4 track ep with dancemusic crossing borders between techno and trance. Recorded live and analogue at Studio Cosmos; situated far out in the woods of Sweden. Category: Dance, inner journeys, landscapes, dream, techno, trance, soul Limited printing 300 copies only.

The label will be an outlet for Daniel Jacques his own music productions and its debut release, entitled 'Discovery Change (Part 3)', is the first part of a tetralogy vinyl project. When putting the four separate covers of the releases together, it will depict one large image of a very important person in his life. All songs of the project have been created between 2005 and 2015 and the music will be pressed on 180 grams vinyl (12 inch).

'Discovery Change (Part 4)', is the second part (JR-002) of Daniël Jacques' tetralogy vinyl project. All songs on this part have been created between 2004 and 2016. This time, delivering a variation of (deep) house ('Daruma' and 'Astronomy'), techno ('The Opposite') and even hip-hop music ('Where U Are'). Again, the music is pressed on 180 grams vinyl (12 inch).

Experimental Spanish composer and multi-instrumentalist Pepo Gala´n makes his vinyl debut with an exquisite record of carefully orchestrated ambient pieces.
Conceived as a fierce response to the gradual decay of our society, "Human Values Disappear" takes us on a trip to the darkest corners of a dysfunctional world, painting a broken landscape with deeply arresting and meditative drones.
Composed initially on a vintage Casiotone, the album was further enriched with lush and spacious arrangements, giving the songs a newfound intensity. In this effort, Pepo Gala´n surrounded himself with talented artists Lee Yi and David Cordero, each of whom bring their unique approach to composition into play. The result is an eclectic, yet deeply cohesive palette of sounds that flow seamlessly into each other, creating a moody ambiance that permeates everything.
Despite the bleak tones and subject matter, Pepo Gala´n is able to strike a balance between darkness and hope, allowing glimpses of light ("Half Moon", "Old Testament") to filter through the sheer sonic intensity of the fiercest tracks ("We Are All Welcome Here", "Almost Alone in this Life"). This transition is better exemplified on the album's centerpiece "Sacred Autumn", a collaboration with David Cordero that starts off with an elegant string section, gradually building into a guitar feedback climax that slowly fades off, paving the way for an epic closing number.
By the time we hear the last sounds of "Few Dollar More", the emotional impact of the record is undeniable. "Human Values Disappear" is indeed one of the most sincere, enigmatic and life- affirming records that Pepo Gala´n has ever produced.

We are proud to announce the kick-off of a new Dynamic Reflections subseries: Dynamic Reflection LTD. A series that is set to explore a broad spectrum of electronic music, and aims to cross the barrier between the club floors and home listening. And to start in a proper fashion, we launch the LTD-series with a very special vinyl + full digital album package by Jonas Korbl.

Three years in the making, this anticipated album chronicles the musical, and in many ways, spiritual coming-of-age of Jonas Korbl. Having started producing house music at a very young age, this debut album under his birth name signifies a new direction for the young Dutchman. In these pieces you hear him shaking off the restraints of formulaic working, opting for more experimental paths instead. You could say Discovered 5 is a story about learning about music; An expression of the author's experience in broadening his horizons.

In the full release Korbl presents nine tracks with a sleek and undeniably dark aesthetic, taking you from ambient soundscapes to main room techno and back, touching down in Berlin and London along the way. Downtempo excursions comfortably rub shoulders with rough-and-tumble club destroyers, but as varied and idiosyncratic as the album is, the music feels far from contrived. Instead, the variation keeps you engaged, with the quieter moments acting as a counterweight to the pieces with a more straightforward approach. Somehow he manages to make all these different places and moods uniquely his own.

The most remarkable thing about this LP is Korbl's uncanny ability to take familiar elements and bending them to his will, creating a new context for the listener to experience his personal brand of electronic music in. The adventurous DJ will surely find a track to create that special dance floor moment on the vinyl release, containing four club-ready tracks. However, for the full experience the entire album is a must-listen, connecting the dots between the highlights placed on the physical LP. All in all, this debut bodes very well. With skills and experience beyond his years, Korbl's star is sure to only rise from here.

Mutant jungle forms, hazy glitch experiments and trance inducing downtempo collide with sharp percussion and dense low end on this latest Alter 12'. Helm's recent 'World In Action' EP for The Trilogy Tapes is reworked by a whole host of favourites including Laurel Halo and Parris who offer up two distinctly different takes on 'Blue Scene'. No Symbols boss Beneath turns his hand to title track 'World in Action' with that typically murky, deconstructed club aesthetic whilst Parisian mainstay Low Jack gets deep on the A2, his five and a half minute version of 'Candy' sounding like a cross between Nuno Canavarro and Whitehouse. Delivering what might well be the records most subdued moment, Brussels' Sky H1 slows 'After Dark' way way down with some barely there auto-tuned vocals helping to bring things into the fold.'

Max Romeo has teamed up with UK based, Grammy Nominated Producer Daniel Boyle, to create a stunning return to form, Roots Reggae album with accompanying Dub versions.

''Max is noted for his critically acclaimed work with Lee Scratch Perry in the 1970's, and for his timeless classic songs penned over the last 50 years - Such as 'War ina Babylon' 'Melt away' 'one step forward' and the worlds most sampled reggae song ever -''Chase the Devil'. Picked up by artists such Jay Z, Kanye West, The Prodigy and Blockbuster hit movies.

Max and Daniel have teamed up with an all-star cast of musicians to create a true Part 2, to Max's legendary, ''War Ina Babylon'' album. Using strictly Studio equipment ranging from between the 1950's - 1970's, recorded and mixed in 100% analogue format, and presented with stunning artwork in Physical format.

Belgian musician Dijf Sanders pens and produces soundtracks for distant, far-flung places that brood with exotica, psychedelia, jazz and electronica. His new album 'JAVA', is a psychedelic and modern search for the sounds of the homonymous Indonesian island. Armed with a set of field recorders, Dijf traveled to every urban and rural corner of Indonesia in the spring of this year. As a contemporary incarnation of ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, he collected an impressive repertory of recordings, commissioned by the Europalia Arts Festival and KAAP Creative Compass. 'Kacapi', 'Kendang', 'Angklung', 'Calung' or 'Gamelan' are not the names of indigenous tropical diseases by the way, but those of local instruments that Dijf encountered on his adventurous musical quest. For two weeks the American expert ethnographer Palmer Keen stood by Dijf through his total immersion into the island's colourful culture and rich, ceremonial traditions. On his return to Belgium, Dijf headed straight back into the studio with the gathered material and invited some of his musical soulmates to put the icing on the cake. It is no coincidence that the three guests - Nathan Daems, Filip Vandebril and Simon Segers - are all part of Black Flower, a band that famously flirts with Oriental sounds. From hours and hours of field recordings, Dijf distilled ten psychedelic pieces which ride on waves of ecstasy and trance, and bridge the gap between two worlds. Tribal rhythms and warm melodies are fused to a seamless and beautiful musical work in utopia. The Brugge-born, Gentbrugge-based musician is one of those great Flemish talents. In the past, he earned his stripes with Teddiedrum and The Violent Husbands and has produced bands like Kenji Minogue and Blackie & The Oohoos. He has also released music under his own name including the critically acclaimed album 'Moonlit Planetarium'. Welcome to Dijf Sanders' wonderful journey into future exotica.

Jerome Derradji + Still Music are proud to present Let's Dance Records - Mike Macharello & Duane Thamm Jr. Chicago 1983-85. The origin of house music, at least in a commercial sense, is generally associated with young African American producers from Chicago's South Side, but one of the first Chicago house music labels was started by a young, white, gay DJ from the far west suburbs.
The Let's Dance story will take you back to the beginnings of Mike Macherello and Duane Thamm Jr. when Chicago's house music was in its infancy.
Back then, after starting as young roller disco Dj in the late seventies, Mike Macherello gradually made its way to the best radio station in 1981 - WBMX - and started a movement that still ripples through the city today. Let's Dance's founder, Mike Macharello, was a DJ who bridged diverse music scenes, from rock clubs to discos. The Let's Dance record label helped establish Chicago's dance music industry between 1983 and 1985, before becoming Play House Records (which will be reissued by Still Music in an upcoming set). Macharello's pal, DJ Duane Thamm Jr., also from the 'burbs, became the label's main producer and one of house music's most important studio engineers and producers. Mike and Duane went on to release a few legendary singles for Let's Dance that are still to this day considered to be the earliest House music records coming from Chicago.The 12' pack includes faithful reissues of Selenia's 'Single Girl', Duane Thamm Jr. 'Jump Trax', the insane Knight Action 'R-Trax/D-Rail' 12's along with a 5 tracks 12' compilation and an accompanying poster insert including rare pictures and artifacts with the story of the label.

Fausto Messina is a veteran dj and producer from Treviso, a small town on the plain between the Gulf of Venice and the Alps. Fausto has been releasing music for more than 10 years and 'Pica Pica' is his debut E.P. on Cadenza. In the track named 'Pica Pica' a recurrent evocative voluminous chord is convoyed by a classy powerful kick drum and an organic symphony of fluffy percussions and metallic bonks, with a triumphant layer of dense whistles and shimmering cymbals. The extremely intense vibrant rhythms of 'Idiophono' contrast with the gentle reverberating harmonies of an ensemble of struck idiophones, angelically flowing in the background of the track. The smooth magnetic flux of 'Planets Ballet' concludes the E.P. with high style. This jacky stride over a stack of steamy synthesisers and bubbly bleeps is a golden tune for a quivering late-night dance-floor.

To celebrate this new year Série Limitée is proud to announce a new release on Hors Série sub label. Whitek project was born in 2011 from the collaboration between two Italian producers: Mud.On & Mauro Rizla. This is not about hype or chasing music trends, Whitek has always been about pushing the boundaries of electronic music through an endless search and deep dive exploration of any kind of sounds. A groovy blend, offering various styles and traveling between past and future.
With one artist per side, we are moving away from our standard VA format, always used on Série Limitée releases. Inside this 'Papier-mâché' sleeve, you will find a 12' Vinyl containing 4 rough and eclectic tracks in a universe where Deep embraces Dub sonorities.

The second album by Istanbul's clarinet virtuoso Cüneyt Sepetçi is an intense trip into modern Turkish wedding and party music. The foundations go deep into Turkey and the surrounding regions' history, which each generation innovates and develops. These days, no wedding or circumcision party is complete without the sound of the micro-tonal keyboard. A new addition, these Turkish keyboardists can play between notes, and supply banging club rhythms in wide variety of time signatures.Sepetçi uses the bedrock of Volkan Sever's synth insanity as a jumping off point for some truly crazy solos. His fluttering sheets of notes tie knots around the pulsating, fried synthesizer. For this recording session, Sepetçi brought in two drummers, Fatih Özden (tapan) and Samet Sertol (darabouka), to play along with the Turkish drum machine. A dense nest of rhythmic complexity is the result. And to further connect to this music's rich past, the ancient double reed zurna of Ahmet Özden and Yasar Uçar's European violin weave ancient melodies and incredible solos throughout.
These musicians are some of the best in Istanbul, and all of these songs are first takes, recorded live with very little planning. Sepetçi essentially leads the band through these complex arrangements as they play them.In Istanbul, one may see Sepetçi playing for change on Istiklal Caddesi, the famous Turkish walking street at the center of the city. Or one may see him on one of the TV stations, playing Anatolian songs in his inimitable style. He's even begun touring outside of Turkey—at Denmark's Roskilde Festival, and at concerts in Italy, Beirut, and Israel. I want to go to America. He says. Do they have mosques there

An ethereal, unresolved presence fading into the stereo field, Hilja breathes into life with a haunted synth line and self-sampling vocal hook that instantly creates an enchanted space. Hilja is the debut album by Glasgow-based musician Maria Rossi aka Cucina Povera. Named after a style of southern Italian traditional cooking associated with precarity and making-do, a philosophy of simplicity and stoicism that applies perfectly to the spare but beautiful music Rossi experiments with. Hilja's marriage of minimal synth, field recordings and the hymnal dexterity of Rossi's vocal performances creates a new language, sometimes literally, to be spoken in some mythological Fourth World we've yet to create.
Originally from Finland, Rossi brings an acute sense of space, surroundings, and practicality to her working practice, with each composition often relying on a limited sound palette to create deeply affecting messages which transcend language. Cucina Povera's power is to communicate purely, often down to the solo-choir nature of Rossi's multi-layered voice, an achingly beautiful instrument which has seems to have an innate spirituality in its grain. The tension between the means and the end is at the heart of Cucina Povera, the invocation of a kind of secular spirituality at times using nothing but Rossi's voice. Indeed there's almost a Dogme-like purity to the arrangements: Elektra is a soothing song based around the lapping waves of Rossi's wordless backing vocals and a simple field recording of stones knocked together. Kehoitus is completely a cappella, a haunted fairytale told in glossolalia, evoking a quasi-religious experience with very little.
For music often minimal and simple there's a boldness that belies Hilja's status as a debut. Rossi allows each word, each sound and rhythm to exist in its own space, finding its own relationship with its surroundings. Mesikämmenen Veisu is perhaps the most ecclesiastical sounding composition here, burbling water trickles below a virtuoso vocal, with incredible arrangements in several registers undulating above. A meditation to relieve hunger and restriction, it's a perfect summing up of Hilja, a music ambient but completely earthed, finding enchantment in what you have to hand, the realism of magic, the magic of realism.
First Press limited to 300 with hand-screened sleeves.

After numerous concerts and performances throughout the last years, Summe 1 is Andreas O. Hirsch's first release on makiphon. The album concentrates on peculiar soundscapes and drony pieces, carefully inter- woven by means of pitched harmonicas, electric guitars, mini fans, de- lays and the electric palm leaf, an electroacoustic invention of the artist. The eight titles evoke a space somewhere between interstellar geography (Maxwell Mountains - a plateau on planet Venus), abstract physics (Teilchenbeschleuniger), botanical scenery and animality: Kemeri 5 am features nocturnal crane calls that Hirsch recorded on a bike trip in a swamp near Riga while he was busy with decoding bird messages via morse code. Opossum Pravda is dedicated to the tenacious marsupial that likes to wander around at night and which is able to hang from trees by its tail. Kautschukwaage seems to suggest an exotic setting and provides a link to the rubber bands which one hears resonating in the miniature.
Sleeve designed by the artist. 300 copies. Mastered by Joseph Suchy.

We're super excited to present the latest artist to join the Dirt Crew stable, French producer Sekou Babe. He ticked all the right boxes for us with this beautiful debut EP 'Foresight Prevents Blindness' which explores his fresh and vibey outlook on house with sideways glances to smokey jazz, breaks and garage. The a-side lines up three varied tunes. 'Perspectives of the Youth' and 'Soukoun' step in quickly with lively breakbeat rhythms. The first boasting warm soul vocals and steady bass groove, the second a melancholic yet uplifting back and forth between vintage piano and warbling rhodes. 'Treize Zero Zero Trois' is a deep and dreamy house jam. Cinematic elements infused with punchy percussion and 80s sonic touches add up to good times all round. On the B, our good friend Nachtbraker does what he does best, flipping 'Treize Zero Zero Trois' bringing the deep, dubby Amsterdam vibrations. His version is lush, textural and slightly fruity, with surging synths, tropical percussion and a stomping kick. Sekou Babe rounds things off with the extravagant 'Crown Collection", showing us yet another colour in his musical spectrum. It's trip hop meets Detroit where warped strings introduce shuffling drums before the track begins to build layering subtle arpeggios, smooth pads, crash hits and a buoyant melody. Sekou Babe would like to add that all tracks were written and produced by b.b. at 7e Republique Studio and says thanks to Peter, Ghizlène, Mohammed and Florian, you beautiful souls.

music is the silence between the notes.' the french composer claude debussy once said.
the german trio wareika, consisting of florian schirmacher, henrik raabe and jakob seidensticker, love the silence between their notes, even if their music is often fully loaded with many detailed sounds, rhythms, melodies and intercultural sound links.
since 2007 they spread their passion for repetitive club grooves in the minimal house spheres that love to swing in the epic way. with four albums on labels like perlon or visionquest as well as eps for labels like eskimo, tartelet, circus company or bar 25 under their wings, the trio proofed their craftsmanship for multi-layered dance music already arrestingly deep on numerous releases and during tours around the globe that brought them also to japan.
now they deliver a new one hour long sonic journey on the tokyo based mule musiq, the label on which wareika member florian schirmacher already released as part of the glowing glisses project in 2008. also wareika itself are not new to the japanese imprint, as they previously dropped a remix for mule for the mysterious project jemmy in late 2015.
and now water, sky, sun, wood' - an ambitious one-track (on vinyl separated into four parts) love letter that kicks you deep into meditation - assumed you surrender yourself to their complex sounding and grooving story-arc. it all started with an unplanned four-hour jam session between henrik and flo-rian, gaming and messing around on the piano, guitar and drum computer.
later florian edited the happening into a one-hour sensation, henrik added some congas and synthlines and jakob mixed it down. the result is a meticulously edited, deeply absorbing dance between the pi-ano, guitar, conga, mfb tanzbär, mfb dominion 1, ob-6, jupiter 6 and manikin mellotron synthsizer. you can use it to get lost. lost from the daily grind. lost from precast perception.
lost in music. you can use it for your imagination to move to a place beyond words that guarantees some genuine experience. or you just can shut yourself down to it, dive deep into your unforeseeable dream world and dance your sub-consciousness around and around.
whatever each listener chooses to do, wareika's latest adventurous blend of jazz, techno, house and world music will move each soul individual. primarily because water, sky, sun, wood' is a reverbera-tion of the inner notes that are floating and dancing in florian, henrik and jakob. and as the greatest music in the world is nothing but an echo of the inner music, wareika managed to reach a new fresh peak of their multidimensional artistic body of work, that grows and grows to stand out in terms of deepness, permanency, eternalness and silence between all sounding sensations.

Sliding Windows is a creation by Karl Bult diving into the world of ambient and deeper techno embraced with a collaboration between Jana Sleep, Fjader & Korridor. Together we create this space of sounds that will open the window to the second release on Nordanvind.

Beyond being a quality mixture of unusual dance tracks and unique electronica, XYXX is a conceptual body of work whose themes of sex, race, unity and destruction reveal themselves to those listening closely. XYXX is the first collaborative album between Berlin based electronic producer NYMA (Nima Chatrsimab) and Toronto based, Detroit raised vocalist Noisy Vibration. Sitting somewhere in between house, techno and electro, but with honest pop sensibilities, the record is a push-and-pull of ideas, highlighting each artist in distinctive and mesmerizing ways. The Berlin-via-Tehran musician, DJ and sound engineers melting-pot influences and wealth of experience are the perfect vehicle for Noisy Vibrations piercing lyrical style. He lets her do the talking, while delivering a powerful message of his own through more subconscious means. From the opening refrain the dialogue begins, angelic tones embrace you with open arms. Noisys lyrics speak to NYMAs colourful beats and masterful sound design, connecting to the moment and full of unexpected turns. XYXX is an album that is both spontaneous and carefully considered. With XYXX, the ride is completethe DNA whole.

repress

Following on from the critically acclaimed Penya Investigations cassettes and the 12' Acelere EP, Afro-Latin-electronic collective Penya conclude an intensely creative period with a Long Player collection of tracks Super Liminal. 'Liminal' - an in-between state -references the transitional process the four - piece band entered during a series of self-produced recording sessions held at Penya's multi-instrumentalist Magnus P.I's home studio between March 2016 and May 2017. Penya's percussive and futuristic Afro-Latin sound also owes its genesis to the concept of 'liminality': the threshold of disorientation occurring during ritual practices. Penya's hypnotic groovescapes, led by Jim LeM's bata drumming,ancient chants, sung by Lilli Elina, dubbed-out improvisations on trombone by Viva Msimangand lo-fi electronic production by Magnus P.I create a sound that has garnered significant support on BBC 6 Music via Tom Ravenscroft, Worldwide FM via Gilles Peterson, on BBC Radio 3's Late Junction, as well as being praised by a host of producers including DJ Khalab, Will LV, DJ Jose Marquez and Dengue Dengue Dengue. Penya's energised and engaging live show has also toured across UK festivals this summer, including Brainchild, Wilderness, Farmfest and Big Love.

Air Lows is the debut solo album by Silvia Kastel. The Italian artist has been a fixture of the underground since her precocious teens, clocking up many miles in Control Unit with Ninni Morgia ('It's like Catherine Deneuve dumped two cases of post-Repulsion psychiatric notes over Pere Ubu's Dub Housing, lit the fuse and, ahem, stood well back" - Julian Cope), including collaborations with the likes of Smegma, Factrix, Gary Smith, Aki Onda and Gate (Michael Morley of The Dead C). Both solo and in her work with others, Kastel has explored the outer limits and inner workings of no wave, industrial, dub, extreme electronics, free rock and improvisation. Air Lows is both her fullest and most refined offering to date, a work of vivid, isolationist electronics which draws deeply on her past experience but assuredly breaks new ground. Prompted by a late-flowering interest in techno and club music, Kastel sought to create something which combines a steady rhythmic pulse with the otherworldly sonorities of musique concrete, and avant-garde synth sounds inspired by Japanese minimalism and techno-pop (Haruomi Hosono's Philharmony being a particular favourite). The formal artifice of muzak / elevator music, the intros and outros of generic popular songs, the extreme light-heavy contrasts of jungle, the creative sampling of hardcore, and the very 'human' synths in the jazz of Herbie Hancock's Sextant and Sun Ra: all were touchstones for Air Lows' conception and composition, and all strains of music addressing - or complicating - the relationship between the human and the technological. By extension, visual inspirations also proved important: anime, and the avant-garde fashion of Rei Kawakubo. What does that shirt or dress sound like Though used sparingly, Kastel's voice remains her key instrument, whether subject to dissociative digital manipulations as on 'Bruell', delivering matter-of-fact spoken monologues, or providing splashes of pure tonal colour. Recorded between her expansive Italy studio and a more compact, ersatz set-up in Berlin, Air Lows gradually takes on some of the character of the German capital: you can hear the wide streets and uninhabited spaces, the seepage of never-ending nightlife, the loneliness. Air Lows is The Wizard of Oz in reverse: the glorious technicolour J-pop deconstructions of its first half leading inexorably to the icy noir of 'Spiderwebs' and 'Concrete Void'. These later tracks are reminiscent of 2015's magnificent 39 12', Kastel in the role of numbed, nihilistic chanteuse stalking dank, murky tunnels of reverb and sub-bass. But in fact there is contradiction and emotional ambiguity to Air Lows from the outset, and throughout - a sense of both infinite space and acute claustrophobia; energy and inertia; fluency and restraint.

(Disclaimer: release notes refer to the combined CD double-album release "Hot Flash: Best of The Voltags" on which all tracks appear together. "Electric Nightmare" and "Danger High Voltag" are released separately on vinyl format)

It does not happen that often any more that unreleased music from 40 years ago surfaces. Even more unlikely it is that the songs put on tape are such treasures. The Voltags were right at the forefront of the local Washington DC New Wave/Punk scene of the late 1970s. Influenced by Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, The Clash, and The B-52's, they have released only one 45rpm single during their existence. But during the time span of not even 18 months, they had recorded enough material for an entire album - but the songs remained in the can.

This is the story of The Voltags, a short-lived band which could have become famous and mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned music legends of that era - if their songs had been released back in the day. Dive in and enjoy the sound of The Voltags, it is truly special. We here at Perfect Toy are thrilled to be label to finally release their work and we sincerely hope that they are finally getting the appreciation they so richly deserve.

Detailed information:
Dave Bennett and Hangnail Phillips grew up in Brookside Park, Newark, Delaware, USA, a small suburban college town nestled midway between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Their first band project evolved into Pump Productions (Pump) under which they released their only 45rpm single in 1970 (one of the two songs, "Pappy's Rug", can be heard on "Down & Wired 3", Perfect Toy Rec.). Soon after the recording of the single the two graduated from High School and disbanded Pump. Both moved on to form two new Newark bands. Dave was a founding member of "Snake Grinder & The Shredded Fieldmice" and Hangnail co-founded "Rudy Baker & The Vegetables".

In early 1979, two friends of Dave's, Nick Norris and Mike Fisher, became partners in a music production company, White Clay Productions. One of White Clay's first artists was Dave Bennett who had just written two excellent songs: "Electric Jungle" and "Son Of Sam". White Clay set up a recording session and Dave assembled a group of friends to record the songs. Before the recordings were even mixed, Dave asked Hangnail if he would join in a band to support the single and other songs he had written. When James Keesey (drums) and Rick Reid (bass) were added the line-up was complete. For a while they didn't have a name and then one day Nick Norris was looking at a photo of Dave standing next to a "Danger High Voltage" sign. Dave's head was in front of the E in Voltage and Nick laughed "Danger High Voltag" and so it was soon suggested that the band should be called "The Voltags" (pronounced Vol'-togs). After months of preparing a repertoire they were ready to play out. Their first gig was (October 20, 1979) at a gay disco in nearby Wilmington called The Backstage. On December 30, 1979, White Clay decided to put on a big show at the State Theater to celebrate the end of the Seventies ("The End Of The Decade Bash").

For the next year, with the help of White Clay, they recorded 19 songs, both studio and live recordings with White Clay's mobile unit. If not for these "off the board" recordings, many of their songs would have never been recorded. There was always talk of a second Voltags single but the strains of working so closely together were taking their toll on them and Dave decided to leave the group in December of 1980. The Voltags couldn't be The Voltags without Dave, and by the end of 1981, Hangnail, James and Rick, too, were ready to disband.


- all songs previously unreleased
- mastered from the original reel-to-reel tapes
- limited vinyl release

Soul Has No Tempo are proud to present 'The Self' - the new album from London-based drummer/producer Richard Spaven.

Richard Spaven is one of the most sought-after drummers in progressive and contemporary music. Drumming for the likes of José James, Gregory Porter, Guru's Jazzmatazz, Flying Lotus, The Cinematic Orchestra, TY and more, he has gained international recognition, both on stage and in the studio. Richard is an influential, genre-defying musician - the result of working closely with a diverse range of artists, combined with his own rich musical taste. Gilles Peterson said it best - "there's much more than just rhythm with this man".

His debut album 'Whole Other*' (2014) touched on many musical palettes and bridged the gap between jazz and electronica. With 'The Self', Richard introduces us to his personal journey. The moment in time where a jazz drummer affirms his love for club culture, delivering an album that travels from drum & bass to broken beat, dubstep and more, all seen through the lens of a drummer. The club culture influence is apparent in the way Richard wrote and produced this album - sampling his own drums on the Photek cover 'Hidden Camera' and collaborating with Metalheadz MC, Cleveland Watkiss to recreate the London sound system vibe so integral to his background.

Featuring guest artists from diverse backgrounds - Jordan Rakei, Jameszoo, Kris Bowers, MC Cleveland Watkiss and Richard's established partner in crime, guitarist and composer Stuart McCallum, 'The Self' is masterfully combined with Richard's unique production and showcases his trademark drumming style of precision, creativity and finesse.

Omar Di Bongo is an audio-visual project that melts video feedback from Hugo Saugier with two figures of french underground techno scene, Somaticae (In Paradisum, Tanzprocesz...) known for his dark cutting edge techno, and C_C (Small But Hard, Kvitnu...) master of no input mixer feedbacks, and savage analog industrial beats. Their music merges industrial music with tribal polyrythms, and makes us dive into a certain kind of psychedelia between hallucination and dementia. Reduced to the essence, their productions bring back techno to its core, the trance dimension, often fogotten in many modern musics of this genre.