quête:big lad

It is the year 1995 and it’s summer, the second extremely hot summer after 1994, and the asphalt on Gladbacher Straße in Cologne is glowing. Ravers in much too wide and much too colorful clothes doze off in the glaring midday heat. These are the last days of the legendary Delirium record store, a socio-cultural biotope that would later become KOMPAKT. In June 1995, the store moved deeper into the Belgian Quarter, to Brabanter Straße 42 near Friesenplatz.

Wolfgang Voigt liked to wear too-big sunglasses even back then, just as he already had the master plan for the next few years, the new store, the renaming to KOMPAKT, and the upcoming takeover of the musical world order by minimal techno in his head. On less sunny days, the musician Wolfgang Voigt was tinkering with his very own label Profan, a new sound, new pseudonyms and masquerades. His alter ego Mike Ink had grown tired, another self, one of many, was now pushing forward to become the next torch in the storm.

By early 1995, the first Grungerman EP, "Hout," had been released on Profan. A nucleus of ambient loops that already announced the sonic aesthetics of GAS, stoic rhythmic structures that would shape the coming decade of minimal house and techno, and an all-encompassing gloom and heaviness that didn't want to fit at all with the gaudy reality of the nineties between Loveparade, Mayday and VIVA House TV. This probably most hedonistic decade of the 20th century had celebrated, besides techno, above all a rough guitar music called Grunge, coined and immortalized by a depressive, hyperactive and narcoleptic young man with matted blond hair who had taken his own life a year before. In no other track has Wolfgang Voigt packed these inner and outer contradictions of his art as well as of the mid-nineties more ingeniously than in "In Tyrannis". From wall to wall there are four steps.

"Klang" by Wolfgang Voigt originally comes from the first and only GAS EP on Profan, "Modern", from the spring of 1995 and is one of the most beautiful exhibits of Voigt's sound of those years, which relentlessly runs its course somewhere between glistening sunrises on Ecstasy and bad drugs in the dark Liquid Sky Cologne. With "Hocker DJ 1" and "Hocker DJ 2" there are two more musical references to this myth-enshrouded place in Kyffhäuserstraße, where for a few years the entire, so-called Sound Of Cologne had literally settled down.


Wir schreiben das Jahr 1995. Es ist Sommer, der zweite extrem heiße Sommer nach 1994, und der Asphalt auf der Gladbacher Straße in Köln glüht. Raver in viel zu weiten und viel zu bunten Klamotten dösen ihren Rausch aus in der grellen Mittagshitze. Es sind die letzten Tage des legendären Delirium Plattenladens, eines soziokulturellen Biotops, aus dem später die Firma Kompakt hervorgehen sollte. Im Juni 1995 erfolgte der Umzug tiefer hinein ins Belgische Viertel, in die Brabanter Straße 42 in der Nähe des Friesenplatz.

Wolfgang Voigt trug schon damals gerne zu große Sonnenbrillen, so wie er bereits den Masterplan für die nächsten Jahre, den neuen Laden, die Umbenennung in KOMPAKT sowie die anstehende Übernahme der musikalischen Weltordnung durch Minimal Techno im Kopf hatte. An weniger sonnigen Tagen tüftelte der Musiker Wolfgang Voigt an seinem ureigenen Label Profan, an einem neuen Sound, neuen Pseudonymen und Maskeraden. Sein Alter Ego Mike Ink war müde geworden, ein anderes Ich, eines von vielen, drängte nun nach vorne, um die nächste Fackel im Sturm zu werden.

Anfang 1995 war die erste Grungerman EP “Hout” auf Profan erschienen. Ein Nukleus aus ambienten Loops, die bereits die klangliche Ästhetik von GAS ankündigten, stoischen rhythmischen Strukturen, die das kommende Jahrzehnt Minimal House und Techno prägen sollten, sowie einer allumfassenden Düsternis und Schwere, die so gar nicht zur knallbunten Realität der Neunziger Jahre zwischen Loveparade, Mayday und VIVA House TV passen wollte. Dieses wohl hedonistischste Jahrzehnt des 20. Jahrhunderts hatte neben Techno vor allem eine raue Gitarrenmusik namens Grunge gefeiert, geprägt und unsterblich gemacht von einem depressiven, hyperaktiven und an Narkolepsie leidenden jungen Mann mit verfilzten blonden Haaren, der sich ein Jahr zuvor das Leben genommen hatte. In keinem anderen Track hat Wolfgang Voigt diese inneren und äußeren Widersprüche seiner Kunst wie auch dieser Zeit Mitte der Neunziger genialistischer verpackt als in “In Tyrannis”. Von Wand zu Wand sind es vier Schritte.

“Klang” von Wolfgang Voigt stammt ursprünglich von der ersten und einzigen GAS EP auf Profan, “Modern”, aus dem Frühling 1995 und ist eines der schönsten Exponate des Voigtschen Sounds dieser Jahre; ein Track, der irgendwo zwischen gleisenden Sonnenaufgängen auf Ecstasy und schlechten Drogen im dunklen Liquid Sky Cologne unerbittlich seine Bahnen zieht. Mit “Hocker DJ 1” und “Hocker DJ 2” finden sich zwei weitere musikalische Referenzen an diesen mythenumrankten Ort in der Kyffhäuserstraße, an dem sich für einige Jahre der gesamte sogenannte Sound Of Cologne im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes niedergelassen hatte.

Hailing from Playa Del Carmen, Mexico our dude Hotmood keeps it funky with his 'Baby Come Down EP'! Hot off his multi pressing sellout release on Blur Records Hotmood gets straight to the funk with the title track 'Baby Come Down'. All heat for your feet for this jam! House music legend DJ Sneak comes correct with his bangin floor stomper B.B.B. (Big Boss Bizness) Remix of 'Baby Come Down'. Peak time biz right here, bang it out! Back to the Hotmood sure fire floor filler 'Disco Lady' with baseline for days, and a catchy spoken word over steamy funk filled disco heat. Natural Rhythm kicks in the cruise control as we hit high velocity with a deep and funky slice & dice of 'Disco Lady'. Heavy drum work and tight percussion is the call with this cleverly woven gem that’ll fill the floor and get em moving! Next up we have the House music icon Nail of Robsoul, Classic and Diy fame with his 'Fleng EP'.

The brothers Fognini aka Mind Against return to Life And Death with their new single Love Seeking with a remix from friends and fellow masters of the emotional dancefloor Âme.
It’s fitting that techno storytellers Mind Against should revisit the home of their first EP with a revamped sound and turbo-charged take on current-day disco. Their history with DJ Tennis and Life and Death is almost as old as the label itself, harking back to their days living together in Berlin.
Now the brothers leave behind their signature hypnotic techno palette for a boogie-fied stepper that’s equal parts pop breeze and deep synth trip, full of hopeful anticipation. For the remix, Innervisions duo and cultural tour-de-force Âme twist the knobs and stretch out the heartstrings for an extended slice of big room goosebumps.
In the words of Mind Against themselves:
“10 years after releasing our very first EP Atlant on Life and Death, we’re excited to come back to our first imprint with such a special track and remix by Âme.
We’ve stepped out of our usual comfort zone and done something that can be both linked to our own musical world and to the sounds that Life and Death have evolved in recent years.
Our friendship with DJ Tennis is about as old as the label is, bringing us back to the times we used to share a flat in Kreuzberg. One may say this release is both an ode to the past and to a bright future, full of promises.”

Ten years after his first full-length effort ‘Man Is Deaf’ landed him firmly in the runnings for DJ Mag’s album of the year, prodigal son Michael Anthony Wright AKA Brassica returns to Civil Music with a deeply accomplished, painstakingly whittled LP of hydraulic electro slickness, rich synthscapes, and hooky, peak-time tearjerkers for the most discerning front-left lifers. ‘Tribeless Gathering’ is a barnstorming testament to Brassica’s stylistic and timbral deftness, touching down in the elusive epicentre of the club/home listening venn diagram with ease.

From the elastic, neon acid pointillism of opener ‘Hop Kweng’ to the mardy, miasmic plod of closing chugger ‘Changa Hill’, Brassica seamlessly segues between avenues of influence, his notoriously omnivorous musical knowledge roadmapping each turn. Raised on a diet of everything from early rave standards to metal, and schooled in avant garde sonics as a student of sound design at LCC, Brassica does a peerless job of sublimating his countless influences into a record of refined, heterogeneous, and most crucially, catchy, club moods.

Less spartan than his more recent oeuvre on Feel My Bicep, and less baroque than his technicolour experiments in postmodern synth pop with vocalist Stuart Warwick, Tribeless Gathering represents Brassica’s triumphant return to the main room, replete with rushy hooks primed for the planet’s finest soundsystems, and passages of heads-down tension bound to draw listeners right to the edge of their seats. Overall it is a concise and refined testament to Wright’s command of spectral sonics and effortless ability to pressurise a dancefloor. It is no surprise that he has also worked as a prolific mastering engineer, tuning music from a plethora of dance disciplines for maximum club impact. This work extends to his own projects (including this one), cementing them as rare expressions of complete artistry from studio to turntable.

As we delve deeper into the record, we are ushered through a series of accomplished and varied club moods, each channelling a unique cocktail of influences, but retaining a warm, ebullient analogue sensibility unique to Brassica’s work. This playful scope of influence calls to mind James T Cotton or Machinedrum’s experiments in dance music form, but Wright manages it all under one roof, wrangling everything from sashaying wub-laden two step to snarling Dillinja-esque FM damage into something inherently his.

Choice cut ‘Change Yourself’ layers an almost Cerrone-like piano refrain over radiant surges of saturated bass, dubby, strobing chords and a jagged, driving break, building to a jaw-clenching apex of dancefloor elation, while the rude, playful half-step of ‘Elevation’ breaks down the vintage speed garage formula into linear fragments, utilising a tight palette of resonant bass slugs, infectious synth leads and Papua New Guinea-style vocal strobes. The aptly named ‘Hold Tight’ fuses heart-in-mouth UK ‘ardkore pads with glissando acid disturbance and surgical snare fills in a formula which recalls the ethereal grit of Nubian Mindz’ 00s experiments in big-smoke break science, while the questing melodic arcs and arpeggiated squarewaves of ‘Pinball Marinara’ could easily have soundtracked an 80s sci-fi epic, beset with sparkling, bare-bones drum programming and hazy beds of sub sediment.

With ‘Tribeless Gathering’, Brassica both irreverently fuses and pays homage to the many unique and weird permutations of UK dance music. The short lived gathering of junglists, ravers and house hotsteppas of a similar name may have long since dissipated, along with the tribes themselves, but across these 11 tracks, he lays a blueprint for a new sound of togetherness.

The greatest hits of the 1960s and 1970s are now available on the „Golden Chart Hits of 60er & 70er Jahre“ vinyl compilation.

Enjoy 14 hits being still unforgettable up to the present day and played daily on numerous radio stations around the globe, including Top 10 hits such as Secret Service „Ten O‘Clock Postman“, Patrick Hernandez „Born To Be Alive“ or Kool & The Gang „Ladies Night“. An absolute must for all fans of 60s and 70s music!

2lanes is proud to announce the next single, TINCTURE/ MY SIMULACRA, from his recently minted label AUTO SHOP. The two-tracker finds the artist both deepening his expansive sound and honing it to weave seamlessly into any DJ set. “TINCTURE / MY SIMULACRA” solidifies the cinematic textures and rusty low-end percussive drive of 2lanes’ earlier releases this year, “Diamond Rain EP'' & “Sid Ranger Redux EP.” Spending much of this past year on the road, 2lanes dove headfirst into the contemporary electronic music world, meeting an array of new and exciting producers, some of which are featured remixers on this release.

On the A side, take a dose of TINCTURE and see just how far the rabbit hole goes. Inspired by raving all night with friends, 2lanes linked with Detroit-based singer AKILLACO for a wild talking track like none other. We all know those moments at the party when both nothing and everything makes sense. You want to be prophetic but you just make everyone laugh. You think about the past, future, & present all at once. This is the ultimate message of TINCTURE, which AKILLACO emphatically points out. The long-winded musing is underlined by a heavy swung style beat that 2lanes fans have come to know well. Frequent 2lanes collaborator Salar Ansari joins the fun for the steamy, guitar-laden Howling Diablo remix that could as easily be played at a forest rave as a sleazy dive bar a la Coyote Ugly. Purelink’s MILLIA reduces the solution to an even dubbier chill out mix that begs to be played in the early mornings.

On the B side, we have the bass-heavy vision quest MY SIMULACRA. Ancient percussion meets modern sub bass–and together, they transport you to a new plane of being. This track also features performances from a few regular 2lanes sonic cohorts. Detroit keyboard prodigy Ian Fink (Scott Grooves Ensemble, Omar S) evokes celestial moments with a memotron solo, and Jonah Baseball (Overtone Series) provides a stargate-sounding break beat. MY SIMULACRA features two amazing remixes. The First is from Baltimore-based club aficionado JIALING and the second is a prime cut of rough and ready machine phunk from Los Angele’s 1morning.

Initially recorded at 2lanes’ home studio over Halloween in 2021, TINCTURE has since evolved to its final form that we see now. The tune has even shown up in sets from electric selectors like Scott Zacharias and Livwutang. The record label features beautiful artistic renditions by Norway-based Sverre Brand, whose work can be found on releases by Priori and Dust E-1.

Having been re-discovered as a groundbreaking slice of proto-grime from 1994, Dylan Beale’s legendary soundtrack for the SNES game Wolverine: Adamantium Rage finally gets the reissue treatment it deserves via Sneaker Social Club.

When the game came out in 1994, Beale’s soundtrack for the SNES edition stood out from the pack for its gritty beats, deceptively weighty low end and edgy orchestra stabs, but few would have guessed how certain tracks would predict the shape of music to come. Around 2016, the ‘Tri-fusion’ track in particular was picked up on by London-based producer Sir Pixalot as a mind-blowing slice of Eski beat coldness. To prove his point, Pixalot ran an acapella from J-Wing over the track and the results spoke for themselves.

While ‘Tri-Fusion’ is a straight-up accidental grime sheller, there’s scores more heat packed away in Beale’s soundtrack for Adamantium Rage. The limitations of the space on the game cart meant Beale had to get creative with the most limited samples. Fortunately his background producing UK hardcore and jungle in Rude & Deadly and Stuck To Your Lips meant he knew his way around the restrictions of an Akai s950. Fuelled by the inspiration of jungle and West Coast rap, he worked on the game soundtrack with a similar spartan attitude, limited to 200kb with which to load up the music engine for the game, samples and all.

Given the importance of minimalism in the effectiveness of soundsystem music, it’s not surprising tracks like ‘Cyber’ and ‘Dark Queen’ pack a punch which could absolutely set a dance off. Watch out for ‘Weapon X Lab’ too - another stand out bomb creating a deadly machine funk out of the tightly clipped bass samples and weird animal groan loops. Alongside the full, original soundtrack, this first issue of Wolverine: Adamantium Rage OST comes with additional tracks never used in the original game which widen out the styles Beale was exploring within the shockingly limited means at his disposal.

“I vividly remember when we first played the soundtrack on a bigger set of speakers to the boss,” Beale recalls, “his initial reaction was one of amazement that we had created something so ‘real’and different in comparison to everything else out there in terms of video game music, which I remember with great pride and fondness. Comparing to everything out there, it was totally unique- a moment in time.”

Drumcode welcomes another debutant to the fold, as one of techno’s most exciting new artists, Space 92, shares his thrilling two-tracker ‘Time’.

Stepping up for his maiden Drumcode release, ‘Time’ is stirring statement of intent. Staying true to its name, the title track was a slow burner, produced over a number of months between touring commitments. Space 92’s talent for crafting tracks that are tailor-made for big dancefloor moments is seen here in full flight, as tight drum programming leads into a stirring pad sequence before a boshing bass-laden breakdown arrives with crushing effect.

Absolute smasher of a two-sider 45 out of Waycross Georgia licence from original band member Michael George & Tim Gillans with help from DJ MR Big Happy & Daniel Mathes. I flipped the sides for the re-issue with the A side now being the more uptempo 'What About Love' a melodic spaceyfloater (you know I'm a fan already) with a brilliant vocal and top sax break, just killing it for me. On the flip, 'Dream of a lady' is an absolute killer downtempo floater, I can't stress enough not to sleep on this side, it's a textural dreamy wonder.

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim’s acclaimed 2010 album Here Lies Love receives its first-ever vinyl release to coincide with a new production opening on Broadway this summer. Here Lies Love is a double-disc song cycle – improbably poignant, decidedly surreal, surprisingly thought provoking – about the rise and fall of the Philippines' notorious Imelda Marcos. It was conceived by David Byrne; composed by Byrne and DJ/recording artist Fatboy Slim, AKA Norman Cook; and performed by a dream cast drawn from the worlds of indie rock, alt country, R&B and pop. Byrne's taste in collaborators is as imaginative as it is impeccable, including Cyndi Lauper (who recounts, to lighthearted disco beats, Imelda's courtship with Ferdinand Marcos), Steve Earle (as the power-hungry Ferdinand), Dap-Kings vocalist Sharon Jones (recalling Imelda's introduction into New York society) and Natalie Merchant (as spurned Imelda confidante Estrella, anticipating the onset of martial law). Along with vocals turns from such stars as Tori Amos and the B-52's Kate Pierson, Byrne works with rising indie rockers St. Vincent and My Brightest Diamond; New York chanteuses Nellie McKay and Martha Wainwright; and dance-music divas Róisín Murphy and Santigold. Byrne himself appears as the voice of imperialistic America on ‘American Troglodyte’, a send-up that wouldn't have seemed out of places in Talking Heads' True Stories.



Byrne originally envisioned this as a musical theatre piece, to be mounted in disco and nightclub settings, reflecting the globe-trotting Marcos' taste for such velvet-roped spots as Studio 54 and Regine's. In 2006, he performed work-in-progress versions to enthusiastic audiences at New York City's Carnegie Hall and the Adelaide Festival in Australia. While plans for a US theatrical production continued to evolve, he delivered this unique recording. The award-winning theatrical production eventually premiered at The Public Theater in New York in 2013, travelled to London’s National Theater for a sold-out run (2014–15), and was remounted at the Seattle Repertory Theater (2017).



Here Lies Love has an effervescent disco feel, redolent of Fatboy Slim's own dance-floor anthems, with warm undercurrents of the Latin rhythms that have percolated through Byrne's recent solo work. The sunny arrangements act in counterpoint to the reality of the Marcos' increasingly repressive regime, reflecting the imagined inner life of the glamour-obsessed Imelda. Explains Byrne, "For me, the darker side of the excesses are, for the most part, a matter of record. A lot of the audience is going to come with that knowledge already. What's more of a challenge is to get inside the head of the person who was behind all of that, and understand what made them tick." Byrne offers no judgment and avoids the obvious – there is no mention of Imelda's infamous shoe collection.



Many of Byrne's lyrics are, astonishingly enough, constructed from actual Imelda quotes, including the project's title, the words that Imelda, now returned to the Philippines from US-assisted exile in Hawaii, would like to have inscribed on her gravestone. In addition to his new liner note, Byrne illustrates the story with archival photos. In a detailed preface, he reveals what drew him to this subject and the bumpy route he took to launch the project and, ultimately, record this album. The booklet is indeed a page-turner, just as Here Lies Love is a wonderfully old-school album that rewards start-to-finish listening. Once again, Byrne – beloved as musician, thinker and bicyclist-about-town – reveals the breadth and singularity of his vision.



The new production of Here Lies Love will premiere at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. Performances begin June 17, ahead of an official opening night on July 20. Tony Award winner Alex Timbers (direction) and Olivier Award nominee Annie-B Parson (choreography) reunite with Byrne (concept, music, and lyrics) and Fatboy Slim (music) to bring Here Lies Love to Broadway, continuing a ten-plus year collaboration on the project. Tom Gandey and J Pardo contribute additional music. Here Lies Love is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Patrick Catullo, Diana DiMenna for Plate Spinner Productions, Clint Ramos, and Jose Antonio Vargas. The staging at the Broadway Theatre will transform the venue’s traditional proscenium floor space into a dance club environment, where audiences will stand and move with the actors. A wide variety of standing and seating options will be available throughout the theatre’s reconstructed space. The producers of Here Lies Love said, “As a team of binational American producers – Filipinos among us – we are thrilled to bring Here Lies Love to Broadway! We welcome everyone to experience this singularly exuberant piece of theatre. The history of the Philippines is inseparable from the history of the United States, and as both evolve, we cannot think of a more appropriate time to stage this show. See you on the dance floor!”



David Byrne’s recent works include the launch of Reasons to be Cheerful, an online magazine focused on solutions-oriented stories about problems being solved all over the world (2019); Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, a theatrical exploration of the historical heroine that premiered at the Public Theater in New York (2017); The Institute Presents: NEUROSOCIETY, a series of interactive environments created in conjunction with PACE Arts + Technology that question human perception and bias (2016); Contemporary Color, an event inspired by the American folk tradition of color guard and performed at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Toronto’s Air Canada Centre (2015); Here Lies Love; Love This Giant, a studio album and worldwide tour created with St. Vincent (2012); and How Music Works, a book about the history, experience, and social aspects of music (2012).



Byrne curated Southbank Centre’s annual Meltdown festival in London in 2015. A co-founder of the group Talking Heads (1976–88), he has released eight studio albums as a solo artist and worked on multiple other projects, including collaborations with Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Jonathan Demme, among others. He also founded the highly respected record label Luaka Bop. Recognition of Byrne’s various works include Obies, Drama Desk, Lortel, and Evening Standard awards for Here Lies Love; an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor; and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Talking Heads. Byrne’s work as a visual artist has been published and exhibited since his college days, including photography, filmmaking, and writing. He lives in New York City. In addition to 2019’s cast album for American Utopia on Broadway, Nonesuch has released eight other David Byrne records since 2003, including 2018’s American Utopia studio album and two versions of his musical Here Lies Love.



















q C6. Please Don't feat. Santi White Santigold

As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Bill Withers' Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin, Al, Sam, James, or Ray. Though the saying "keeping it real" did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records, no words better capture the music's approach, mindset, and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty, truth, and emotion.

These characteristics – along with Withers' strong singing, hybrid arrangements, and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972.

After rising into the Top 5 of the Billboard Album charts and attaining gold status within a year of release, Still Bill has long been evaluated not by sales – but according to its merit, spirit, and agelessness. Included by The Guardian on its "1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list (2007) as well as in Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die book (2008), its contemporary standing as one of history's most venerated soul efforts eclipses the positive reception it enjoyed in the early ‘70s.

Still Bill walks the same hallowed ground as What's Going On, Call Me, Night Beat, and Genius + Soul = Jazz. Like those landmarks, Still Bill plays with a mix of consistency, effortlessness, and complexity that rewards repeat listening and transcends categorization.

In combining four of the era's predominant styles – Philly soul, sweaty funk, Southern-reared blues, acoustic-based folk – and melding them with standout production borrowed from both minimalist affairs and sophisticated singer-songwriter albums, Still Bill occupies a distinct universe.

Its rhythmic fare is equally laidback and invigorating; relaxing and rollicking; eloquent and muscular; soft and tough. Withers' calm, self-assured voice hovers above it all, doubling as a warm blanket that adds comfort and grace to lyrics steeped in maturity, perspective, and compassion.

Withers' balanced outlook on human desires, needs, and situations stem from his own existence as a former blue-collar employee who believed his time as a musician would soon end. That grounding forever separates Withers from other contemporary soul greats – and stamps Still Bill with a conversational nature and egoless approachability.

"I mean look, I'm really a factory worker," said Withers in 1972. "That's a real job." There's that word again: real. The songs on Still Bill are tethered to modesty and actuality, wedded to a belief in simplicity, and connected to universal truths that link us all – independent of our economic or social standing. No track better exemplifies those principles than "Lean on Me," a feel-good paean to brotherhood and community that hit No. 1 on the pop and R&B charts en route to becoming a mainstream staple.

Withers approaches the plainspoken insight on "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" and heartbreaking vulnerability of "I Don't Want You on My Mind" with similar sincerity and straightforwardness. His proclivity for authenticity extends to the record's other big hit: the sexual, funk-laden "Use Me," which reached No. 2 and reflects the singer's everyman persona. It's an identity couched in keeping it real, the very inclination that ultimately led Withers to retire in the mid-'80s rather than bend to industry pressures or risk credibility.

That commitment to truthfulness and realism helps make Still Bill feel as unaffected as the air we breathe. Looking back on "Lean on Me" years later, Withers said it seemed like "something that was there before I got here" – the kind of song that could be 100 or 10 years old, or one we encounter anew 10 years into the future. The same can be said for every note on Still Bill.

'Seven Years Of Love' is our second label compilation with nine original tracks by resident artists and friends from around the world. The versatile vibe spreads across two parts, each dedicated to a certain dancefloor mood: System 108 and RadugaDiscoClub. Outstanding artwork has been created by Uno Moralez.

Part 2 is an ode to the colorful and diverse world of RadugaDiscoClub. Freaks, artists, dancers, bears, ladies and all the sexy people! On Side A it is 'Heavenly Grace' by Lipelis that seduces us first, followed by 'Angelic', a big summer track by the stalwarts from Cream Soda. With side B it goes down down down down! Simple Symmetry brothers appear for the first time on the label with 'Elephant On Speed', a fantastic story about an elephant who is feeling great. Closing the compilation is '2061' by Matias Aguayo, Comeme founder and legendary music-maker. The laid back rhythm euphoria reminds us of his earlier productions, somewhere around the era of 'Are You Really Lost' LP on KOMPAKT, but '2061' is the future.

Dam-based don Retromigration steps into the big leagues letting loose his debut album on WOLF Music. An LP that has long been in the works and for good reason too. Fourteen expertly executed tracks that range from hazy beats and jazz-tinged broken rhythms to club-ready groovers, deep excursions, soulful footwork and even some jungle energy. A flavour for every occasion and damn it tastes good.

With an envious run of releases on the likes of Handy, Healthy Scratch, wewillalwaysbealovesong and WOLF in a relatively short space – Retormigration is hot property and it’s clear to see why. A distinctive style and energy permeate his tracks with a breadth of influences on offer, from hip hop, to jazz, soul to funk. You just know a long player from this player is going to cover all bases.

His debut LP, Straight Foxin’, is a carefully curated and crafted journey showcasing the creative explosions firing off in Retromigration’s brain. Joining the dots between genres, taking elements from here, ideas from there – twisting and turning yet never out of place. Take the opening three tracks, all tied together by a deep fondness for jazz but served up in different styles, ‘Kunta’ with that hazy beatsy blend, ‘Formant’ leaning into the realms of broken beat and DnB and ‘Be Someone’ cruising with the off-kilter house.

Elsewhere there’s prime examples of Retromigration’s signature sample-laden house with deeper cuts like ‘Mada’ and ‘Bouncer’, sitting side by side with more soulful explorations such as ‘New Cribs’ and ‘ITWT’.

Not one to be pigeonholed, another course of Retromigration’s expansive taste gets served up with four high energy hits. The bouncing footwork flavours of ‘Kush Love’ ft. Passion Deez and ethereal excursion ‘What If’ lead into a captivating nod to the heydays of jungle and DnB on ‘Mild Fever’ and ‘Bad Knees’ respectively.

Straight Foxin’, mad flexin’ – Retromigration has laid down the law with this LP, a debut album done right.

Woo York - supreme electronic music duo make their debut on Watergate Records.
The Ukrainian duo have a watertight reputation for crafting stunning dancefloor compositions, having released music on Life And Death, Soma, Dystopian, Drumcode and Afterlife, the latter home to their
critically acclaimed 2018 album ‘Chasing the Dream’. Their appearances at Watergate have been numerous over the years, making them an obvious choice to join the label family.
Their Watergate Records debut maiden offering is sparkling. The title track begins as a chugging key-laden cut before a stirring folky melody rises to the fore with beautiful intent. With its unique sonic signature,
‘Samum’ will stand out in any set. Woo York show a new side of their outstanding musical talent “For this release we wanted to push boundaries of the melodic techno sound. For Samum we have worked with a bag pipe, one of the oldest instruments to give the track an almost „housy" note.”
The accompanier is ‘Prophet’, an emotional slice of dance music, hopeful and melancholic in equal doses, this is custom made for big dancefloor moments.
Accompanying the package are remixes of ‘Samum’ by fellow Ukrainian producer and live act 8Kays, who turns in a dark and shimmering re-rub, not losing any of the original’s power. Meanwhile Greek artist Echonomist crafts a rich and multi-faceted reinterpretation that fits for the club and home listening alike.

On April 7th electronic luminary Nathan Fake presents the new longplayer ‘Crystal Vision’ on his own Cambria Instruments imprint, which features collaborations with Clark and Wizard Apprentice.

This is music for music’s sake – recorded without angles, agendas and themes – so Fake was free to simply continue honing his craft and express himself non-literally. Aptly titled, there’s a clarity of execution and ambition, and a peak effectiveness to the record that just sounds right.

Continuing to set a personal bar higher and topping his own best, the mark of master craftsperson is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean it’s polished; There’s plenty of rawness evident, with spiky sonics keeping ears on high alert – full of endorphin-flooded rave energy.

Following a short, scene-setting ‘Arrival’ – a simple major chord arpeggio played on a Jupiter 6 which sounds like curtains opening at dawn, things begin apace with ‘The Grass’, which hurtles like a precision-tuned bullet train through Arctic tundra. The undulating effect of compression is emphasised by the classic techno trope where 2 rhythms jar yet interlock, creating an exquisitely disorientating strobe-like flutter. On the track’s guest, Fake comments, “I fell in love with Wizard Apprentice's ‘I Am Invisible’ and felt our musical styles were similar. Their vocals are smooth and clear and sharp at the same time. They’re like a calm within the storm.”

Inspired by Italo disco but sounding wholly alien and futuristic, ‘Vimana’’s fizzing buzzsaw arpeggiated bassline, popping snares and bright whirling melody are equally an electro trance melange, with an effervescent major chord Arp that kicks in midway.

Reminiscent of what used to be called ‘funky techno’ but with sparklier sounds, ‘Boss Core’ blinds like sunshine bouncing off ice. Using his trusty Boss DR550 drum machine, and inspired by Autechre's ‘Vose In’, the track peaks by reaching that melancholic/euphoric axis for which he is loved.

With chugging slow breakbeats not a million miles from Board Of Canada or trip hop, ‘Crystal Vision’ rolls along, with the melody opening up, revealing more hidden notes as it progresses, building into a fractal, kaleidoscopic mosaic.

An emotional outpouring with serotonin surging through the circuitry, classic breakbeats and layers of lazers, ‘Bibled’ has all the hallmarks of a classic. This is a bonafide festival-set closing, hugging-your-mates, moment – or, with its guitar solo, “a power ballad” – as Nathan calls it.

A minimalistic moment of calm midway through the album, ‘CMD’’s gently comforting dreamscape is conjured with FM stacked and detuned sine waves which are left to breathe, whilst the chunky Chicagoan house jack of ‘Hawk’ brings to mind classic Relief records, but even more detuned and wibbly, and laden with synths.

As the title suggests, ‘Amen 96’ is in Fake’s own words, “me having a go at jungle. I grew up listening to it, and I remember as a teenager it sounded like the most intense and otherworldly music ever. It still does. This track is an experiment to see how my melodic style works against amen breaks”. Closer to the braindance end of the spectrum than ‘proper’ jungle (and all the more interesting for it), Fake channels the spirit of Squarepusher but makes it his own, brimming with melodious twinkle.

A collaboration with Nathan’s close friend and genuine musical hero Clark. ‘Outsider’ finds this dream team alchemising pure gold that’s bigger than the sum of their parts. Skittering, intense, far-reaching end epic, the pair close proceedings on a grandly dramatic note. In 2020 Nathan released the album ‘Blizzards’, which was described by The Quietus as “his best work”, and “his best LP yet” yet by Resident Advisor. The equally well received ‘Blizzards Remixes’ EP which featured Afrodeutsche and Irene Dresel followed in 2021, as did a nationwide UK tour.

An in-demand remixer, Fake has added his magic to tracks by Radiohead, Clark, Perc, Jon Hopkins, GoGo Penguin, Dominik Eulberg, Christian Löffler and Damian Lazarus, working for labels including Ninja Tune, Domino, Warp, Blue Note and Kompakt.

• Gil Scott-Heron’s “Pieces Of A Man” is one of the most important albums in the history of black American music. Although it didn’t set the charts alight, it stands as a masterpiece alongside contemporary works such as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, Curtis Mayfield’s debut LP, Funkadelic's “Maggot Brain” and Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft”. All were brilliant in their way, but lyrically Scott-Heron was on a different level from almost every other writer.

• It was a landmark album with its bold, poetic lyrical content allied to progressive and melodic music, and it saw producer Bob Thiele help Gil and his musical partner Brian Jackson paint the picture they needed to get their message across. Thiele put Gil and Brian together with Ron Carter, Hubert Laws and Bernard Purdie, giving them the musical heft they wanted.

• For many years the focus was on ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, which was included in the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2014, but this focus sometimes overshadowed the heights which Gil reached throughout the album. Today ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ and ‘Lady Day And John Coltrane’ are also considered standards, whilst the album’s title track is a prescient and heart-breaking warning about the way in which big business dehumanises its workers.

• The album reached its landmark 50th year in 2021 and we decided that we would create this special edition to celebrate its incredible sound. The original master tape was taken to Frank Merritt at The Carvery in London, who cut it as a double disc 2 x 45 RPM record, in an all-analogue chain. The original record - especially side two - was long, and serving it up this way allowed the music a greater level of fidelity.

• The release is packaged in the original album’s gatefold sleeve.

The first in a new collaborative series between Theo Parrish & Prime Direct Distribution unearthing some of Theo’s most sought-after edits, backed with the fully licensed original, both remastered and cut loud on either side of a 12 inch. Kicking things off we have one of Theo’s most treasured cuts, his ‘Ugly Edit’ of Made In USA - Never Gonna Let You Go, bootlegged endlessly in the past and racking up prices of up to £144 on Discogs it’s a high time an official reissue came around.

As iconic an edit as they get, ‘Never Gonna Let You Go’ encompasses everything great about Theo’s energy behind the decks - extending grooves for longer than anyone else even dare, working the EQ’s like a god and throwing in a bit of that raw magic that only he knows how. Taking the original’s sumptuous breakdown, Theo works it into a spirited, high energy disco workout looped into a near 10-minute stomper, big on the bass and brass fire whilst keeping the vocals to short and sweet snippets.

On the B side the original ’77 Made In USA version is laid out in all it’s glory. Funk powered, horn-laden disco goodness with breath-taking vocals from the Stateside troupe.