quête:black label

Repress

We are extremely happy to welcome yet another talented crew from Italy in the Moonshine family. D-Operation Drop is a project born in 2010 thanks to the encounter of 5 university students wich found themselves sharing the same house and more importantly, love for music (In 2013 Zeemo joins the Crew, modifying the formation from 5 to 6 elements). After a couple of early collaborations, almost casual, Uniradio Cesena gives to D-Operation Drop the chance to lay the foundations of an underground music program on air twice a week. Thanks to this experience the group officially finds its frame and looks forward to its new goals such as producing, dj'ing and vj'ing. To date D-Operation Drop, after almost seven years of experience, has received support from Artists like J:Kenzo, Distance, N-Type, Icicle, Radikal Guru & many others. Releasing music with notable labels such as Lion Charge, Artikal Music UK, Subaltern and now Moonshine Recordings.

The anonymous underground figure of Phoboz is associated with one colour - black. Not only is his online presence a mystery, with alternative stage names such as Doghead, Phaseliner, and Parseq. He is also connected to the well-respected Motorlab label, whose releases from the outset have been devoid of portraiture, biographic information, or textual support. Black covers, a few silver symbols of factory hardware, and nothing more.

Nonetheless, one Russian venue online has referred to Phoboz's earlier work as 'digital music for sentient people.' There's a vague connection between darkness, industry, and Russian feelings of late. Actuality is black.

These same emphases define the newest release by Phoboz on Resonance Records, entitled 'Flow' and overseen by Moscow's techno kingpin Nikita Zabelin. Forty minutes of resonant, insistent beats, straight from the gut of some abandoned factory. A heavy, even thunderous tradition fades to black, leaving the echo of prior decades to repeat itself, over and over. Even the titles of this release speak of something lost in the dark: 'Forgotten Planet' or 'Shifted Bias.' One tradition has evanesced; a future equivalent remains vague.

Phoboz gives voice to that shift from erstwhile desire to present-day drive, from industrial progress to post-industrial flow. The sounds of a forgotten culture.

eturning with renewed force after Henning Baer's unbreakable debut LP, MANHIGH's sixth release comes from a name already well-known in techno circles. Sciahri is the Italian producer whose luminous 2014 debut on the celebrated Ilian Tape's ITX experimental series immediately announced his presence, followed by another on the label and two EPs for the highly-rated Black Opal offshoot of Opal Tapes by 2016. He was simultaneously occupied with his ambient-leaning UNKNOT duo with Emanuele Porcinai, better known as WSR on Samuel Kerridge's Contort label. 2017 saw the launch of his Sublunar imprint and a tripartite release from him featuring a more streamlined sound than the craggy broken-beat style familiar from Ilian Tape. Sciahri's MANHIGH EP opens with 'Demur', showcasing his most dour, industrial sounds, scraping metallic highs against the unrelenting impacts of reverberating kicks and subbass drone. 'Forbidden' holds its forces more in reserve, the cycling, mechanical soundscape maintaining a spacious, ambient aspect, worked against a broken rhythm more implied than explicitly stated. Returning to full intensity for 'Reliance', he tightly coils the core elements around deftly-deployed percussion and a militaristic, pounding rhythm in the bass and kicks. Henning Baer's reinterpretation of 'Demur' saves little from the original apart from its overriding tension, instead adding a layer of nearly-tonal pads and an unremitting acidic bass throb pushing forwards inexorably.

** Limited Edition 180gm Gold w/ Black haze LP w/DL.
* Kaziwa is the second collaboration between Iranian ambient experimental composer Porya Hatami and superlative sound designer Uwe Zahn's Arovane project.
* The album was originally released on limited compact disc via the Time Released Sound boutique label in July 2016 and now sees rerelease on n5MD. Each of Hatami and Zahn's collaborations has been vastly different from one another focusing on a feeling or technique. With Kaziwa the duo focused their attention toward nostalgic layered piano vignettes. The album's closer 'feer' was the first track they worked on and used it as their jumping off point. What began as a simple loop of piano morphed into something contemplatively fascinating. While that specific track features Hatami supplying most of the piano and Zahn creating the 'another time and place' atmospheres the two effortlessly switched off on piano duties all while transparently deviating from the current affectation of Frahm / Sakamoto style ambient piano clarity.

* This new version of Kaziwa will come on limited vinyl as well as on digital platforms for the first time.

Coletivo Vandalismo kick-start a new 12" series for the Contort Yourself label. Hailing from the city of Porto the duo also DJ under the name GAM and released their debut LP on Lake Haze's Eye For An Eye label. Their music has an immediacy that seems to stem from a background in live performance as opposed to polished studio sessions - an improvisational punk aesthetic that manages to carry this EP so strongly. Wild, crashing fx and unrecognisable vocal distortions layer atop wonky 90bpm drum machine grooves and the pair even show off what may be their turntablism skills on 'Zombie Zombie'. There's a nod to early concrete on the closing track 'Black Sun's Demise' with whirring, mechanical noise motifs suddenly jolting us into punishing gabber-at-33-minus-8 territory. The DIY spirit is alive and well here and the feeling that things could fall apart at any minute just adds to the tension.

Margie Joseph Recorded Prolifically For Atlantic Records In The 70s. She Worked With Incredible Writers, Arrangers And Producers, Sharing Many With Her Label Mate Aretha Franklin With Whom She Garnered Comparisons. i Can't Move No Mountains' Was Produced By Arif Mardin And Was Originally Released In 1975 (original Pressings Fetch Between £50-£75), While come On Back To Me Lover' Was Produced By Johnny Bristol In 1977 And Holds Similar Value. In June 2018 Margie Comes To The Uk Where She Is Reunited With Lamont Dozier Who Also Wrote And Produced For Her At Atlantic. Both Appear At The Blackpool International Soul Festival.

The first single from Blundetto's forthcoming album sees the French producer collaborate with a true great of Jamaican music, the legendary reggae vocalist Ken Boothe. Enjoy the killer A side on this dinked 7' then flip it over for dub and repeat... Ken 'Everything I Own' Boothe played a significant part in covering Sir Coxsone's Studio One walls with gold - and goodness knows that label fostered its share of legends. Collaborating with the master, Blundetto could have laid it on thick with heavy production; instead alongside his discreet partner Blackjoy, he created a gorgeous production using the purest of Jamaican music, proving yet again that time has nothing on the suave tones of Mr. Rocksteady.

Welsh producer Odeko first appeared on Mr. Mitch's forward-looking Gobstopper imprint with the A.I. influenced EP "A History With Samus" in 2016 immediately snagging a "producer to watch" tag from Fact magazine and a premiere at SPIN. In early 2017, his second EP "Digital Botanics / Construct Conduct" arrived confirming his sound and setting the stage for him to start working on this - his debut album "Rose Tinted Vision Implant" that is set in a post-Ballard, post-Gibson, post-Miéville, alternate reality. "Rose Tinted Vision Implant" sees the Bath-based producer creating a cutting edge sonic world inspired by "speculative fiction, time/reality shifting stories and dystopian shit." The entire record is structured around, and expands upon his passion for the "future," underpinning the music via a underlining narrative. "Rose Tinted Vision Implant" starts with "The User" (aka the listener/ protagonist depending on your perspective) of the 'Optic.Rose' going through the process of getting an implant is made by a mega corporation, (think "whatever Elon Musk's legacy will be 200 years from now" says Odeko "not necessarily evil or good, just a world owning superpower."). And then we follow "The User" who has unfortunately received a bad egg through stages of that devices degradation. Sonically we're there to observe. We open ("Anomaly Detection") with a precursory scan and move onto installation ("OpticRose_0_1_Installation")
through to a battery change and a recalibration. From this point, the 'presence' begins to take over the implant and the tracks verge into a more cerebral range. Odeko notes "its a bit of a satire on corporate brands pushing these great products that everyone is obsessed but that are detrimental to both the world, and how we perceive reality. Our relationship with social media and tech could go down a dangerous path if we loose sight of things. I'm going quite far here for the sake of the concept, but things like VR, AR, the want for body tech, mixed with our desire to be connected, emotionally, digitally, physically, wirelessly could lead us to a world where everyone has implants, or some kind of tech built into them." Sonically its a record that explores a post-IDM, post-Grime, post-Ambient, post-Glitch, post-Retro-House, post-Instrumental Grime, take on electronic music, like Gobstopper's Mr. Mitch himself and his label mates Orlando, Lloyd SB, Tarquin, Clu, rAHHH and Loom, Odeko is making a kind of post-genre music. Yes it's a cerebral concept under the music but as popular shows like Black Mirror have shown - critiquing our new future can be fun, unusual and highly rewarding. Welcome to the world of Odeko.

LaRhon is back and the Mastermind behind the label who is The Prince Of Dance aka Elbee Bad, presents with the Black White ep a fulminant return. More to come!

Her Majesty's Ship is proud to present 'This Never Happened', the latest album from hugely talented French-American singer and producer Yan Wagner.

This always inventive and off kilter artist has had many top releases on labels like Kitsune and has worked with the likes of the legendary Arnaud Rebotini and Etienne Daho. He also has a side project, The Populists, is producing the first album of Calypso Valois and wrote the soundtrack for the short film 'Victoria' by Mathilde Marc. Someone who plays events like SXSW and Montreux Jazz Festival, Wagner's playful disco-pop tunes always find their way into the emotions of those who hear them.

For his second album, the artist wondered what to do: surprise everyone with a selection of ballads or serve up the electronic sounds that defined his last effort Forty Eight Hours. The answer lies somewhere in between, with covers of Frank Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood mixed in with fresh and catchy disco production. Unlike the last record produced by Arnaud Rebotini, this record is producer by Yan himself with a triple objective: to favour the first takes, the heat of the sound and to reduce the post- production to a minimum. It makes for something authentic and real, and is an album of artistic self-questioning, tenacious dreaming and overcoming doubt.

Says the artist, "The songs on this record are a series of lies; views of the mind. 'This Never Happened' is a collection of stories that never happened. Ten tracks talking of vain loves, of nocturnal experiences and of life and truth, which are all so short.'

Starting with the retro synths and shiny arpeggios of the title track, ensuing cuts like 'Blacker' are real chuggers with almost de-humanised vocals over the robot beats. 'SlamDunk Cha-Cha' is descended from Bowie with its camp synth wiggles and sung- spoken vocals. Switching up the tempo, slower tracks like 'Grenades' are perfectly glowing and frazzled with their pixelated melodies and cold chords. More upbeat affairs like 'No Love' are like lighter and cheerier versions of Depeche Mode, and the Sinatra cover 'It Was A Very Good Year' is a stirring, synth heavy version that is every bit as tender as the original.

This is a fantastic album of timeless electronic songs and is sure to be one of the standout releases of the year.

Don Dini geht wieder an den Start! Compost's langjähriger House-Spezialist Shahrokh Dini überzeugt mit zwei wahren House Sure Shots, abgerundet mit eleganten Remixes von Karim Sahraoui, LoYoTo (Eva Be und Clé aus Berlin) und einem schön fluffigem Digital Bonus Remix von Flo Førg.

House- und Hoflieferant der DJ-Spitzenriege Shahrokh Dini erfuhr in seiner langen Karriere schon immer breiten Support als DJ und authentischer House-Produzent. Bereits in den 90ern hatte er Releases auf Strictly Rhythm und mit etlichen Releases auf Compost Black Label geriet er seit jeher in die Plattenkoffer von Âme, Ron Trent, Jimpster, Dimitri From Paris, Rainer Trüby, Sasse, Laurent Garnier und vielen mehr.

Übrigens ist Shahrokh nicht nur House Produzent und -DJ. Er betreibt auch Clubs und Venues seit Mitte der 90er, promotet von Zeit zu Zeit große Musik-Events, hat mehrere DJ-Residencies und besitzt auch seinen eigenen Laden - Monk in Karlsruhe.

French label Bright Sounds welcomes prolific Dutch artist Boris Bunnik for a new EP under his most celebrated alias, Conforce. The regular Delsin artist saves this project for his more dance floor driven work and that is the case across all four of the atmospheric tracks here.

'Virtue Signalling' is slick techno that mixes up sci-fi sounds with cavernous dub pads. It's cerebral and cinematic as well as being driven by the rubbery drums. 'Black Mesa' is darker, with a meaning synth line coming in spurts over punchy, broken drums. It's grand in architecture but still has plenty of rich sonic details. On the flipside, 'Compulsion' is more watery, with little life forms suspended in a backlit ocean above slippery drums, then 'Alka' is another underwater affair, with beams of light penetrating from above as a dubbed out groove undulates way down deep. Once again then here, Conforce marries form with function in exquisite ways.

Sound Warrior Records founded by Jenifa Mayanja & Dakini 9 aims to balance the playing field for female producers and exclusively release their music. SW006 "Warrior Formulation" is rooted in soul-stirring house with its heart arching towards the future. Lady Fingers returns with an engrossing slice of dub house. The North Carolina artist/DJ was recently a featured DJ at Moog Fest. Jenifa Mayanja Bumako records, shows up with a broken ambient house break. On the flip side Sound warrior teams with well known Berlin underground heroines "Mint Berlin" the female only booking agency. Representing Mint Berlin is co-founder Ena Lind who has been pushing boundaries in the electronic music scene in Berlin for over a decade. Lady Blacktronika comes with a soul house soaker. She has made quite a splash with her labels Sound Black and Sound Keymstry in the process earning the title "first lady of beatdown".

Elevate Melodies are back with four toe-tapping, finger-snapping, dancefloor slaying heaters, all on wax.

Side 1 takes off with the Griffes' remix of Jay Airness' She Staying', all sumptuous keys, sun dappled strings and peak-time beats propelling the track ever forward. Venice Beach then takes on Sly Moore's seismic Muoosic', dropping the tempo and creating a super low-slung slab of electro funk, one for the 100bpm crew.

On the B side, Lord Funk takes on Black Les Grues De Nantes' from Victorius, turning it into a jazzy workout with slap-bass, chopped up vocals and dusty vinyl crackles giving it a classy 90s feel. And rounding out the selection is New York DJ and producer P-Sol who applies his midtempo skills to Law and Theory' from label boss Jay Airness, creating an atmospheric groove with some real funk and jazz flourishes.

Limited to 500 copies.

Futile Demise EP is an emotional and disconcerting journey through the mind of Finnish artist Juha Puupera¨. Drawing on influences from Norwegian black metal, UK sound system culture and Italian horror cinema of the 1970s, Gruth mixes dark and aggressive tones in his sonic palette. His production methods are often experimental and the style rarely fits into one box as it spans forward-thinking techno, black ambient and doom industrial.

With his EP, Gruth shapes Montevideo-based Tormenta Electrica label's first release. Of the four tracks featured, two are collaborations with the Finnish techno and ambient artist Ikola, known for his Etherwerks label, while the mysterious Helsinki-based violinist and sound designer KuJo contributes to the other two.

We welcome the vinyl format after a hiatus to embark into an energy-driven journey, full of potent, cross-genre tracks courtesy of Mr. Ben Cano.

Ben, which previously collaborated on this label as TenienteTuko, builds on the previous album-creating experience and he outdoes himself in multiple ways, keeping the variety of groove encompassing all together with his propelling signature techno ethos.

'Deep Snowmass' starts the EP in a harsh, mental way to induce rapidly to a dark feeling which leaves you in the void with a malleable conscience that allows your body and soul to float, with the help of an ever-building acidic bass and pulsating percussion.

'Rocky Mountain' goes to other heights, using a uplifting Rhodes chord and effective drum programming to deliver a dreamy wave of full potential.

'Between dub', 'hitch' and 'Tube 8' seal the deal with energetic, acid-infused and sometimes-housey takes from his recent live set, which he manages to reorganize in the track format we currently offer as black pressed acetate.

Over the past few years orchestral instrumental music from outside the classical establishment has become huge, and Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant of the Belgian Echo Collective have witnessed the evolution and extraordinary rise of this movement right up close. They've worked with some of the most important players, including Stars Of The Lid, Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltze's A Winged Victory For The Sullen and O'Halloran's solo projects, as well as Jóhann Jóhannsson. And though the Echo Collective members themselves very much do come from within the classical music establishment, they don't care which side of the fence they are seen to be on. It was this which grabbed the attention of German music hub !K7's new sub-label 7K! - who have signed them for a two album deal: first to release the Amnesiac reinterpretation, then for a record of Echo Collective's own compositions. Not only that but they have been signed for publishing by Mutesong, which led to a hook-up with Mute mainstays Erasure, re-arranging and re-recording their latest album World Be Gone with classical instrumentation backing Andy Bell's vocals. This ability to flow easily from black metal to Radiohead, from Erasure to Stars Of The Lid shows exactly what kind of musicians Echo Collective are. The album, which features artwork by the renowned photographer and artist Roger Ballen, will be released on 30 March on CD, 2LP and digital platforms.
- New album by belgian band Echo Collective covering Radiohead's classic Amnesiac'.
- Perfect balance between classical, neoclassical & indie.
- Past and ongoing collaborations include Erasure, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Stars of the Lid, Johann Johannsson and Dustin O'Halloran.
- Echo Collective have produced, arranged and performed on Erasure's upcoming album due to release early March on Mute.
- Artwork by renowned photographer / artist Roger Balle.

Having grown up with and on the internet, Martin Steer (1986) has transformed its pull into a concept album that is just as immediate and intangible as the digital world. Bad Stream is guitars and machines vanishing in the spaces between Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails only to reemerge amidst Ambient, Noise, and Drone. Bad Stream, then, is his modus operandi - a hybrid soundtrack to the feelings of resignation, isolation, and cynicism within neoliberal cyberspace and to that strangely numbing comfort of bodies transmuting into zeros and ones in real time.
'I look at my phone even when I play guitar,' says Martin Steer, 'and that isn't even entirely voluntary. The 2010s really changed my perception of how digital technologies and social media affect me as a musician. Through Bad Stream I want to make sense of this particular kind of anxiety, and to use sensory overstimulation as a way to develop an independent and progressive musical language.'
The past seven years took Martin and his laptop and guitar from Berlin to Mexico and Nepal and, as a founding member of Frittenbude, into the German charts and to various festival stages. And yet, Bad Stream is a true 'Berlin album,' out of Friedrichshain, Neukölln, and Kreuzberg and will be released on Martin Steers own label ANTIME. It was recorded with real drums and programmed beats, with shoegaze guitars, acid baselines, piano, smartphone synths, violins, field recordings from the darknet and his voice, whose hopeless timbre conveys reflections on systems, the future, drugs, people, and his own place. In his ever expanding A/V live shows and in the music videos, this is supplemented by complex visuals.

The acutely talented Russian returns - leading a new generation of ultra-gifted producers, Black Barrel presents the 'Labyrinth EP' on our main label in April.
From the opener 'Seeing Explosives' with Gusto, the classic tech funk inspirations are clear to see and Black Barrel guides complex arrangements with addictive grooves.
Bringing a refreshing, energized vibe to intricate, technical production, Black Barrel intensifies his portfolio on the 'Labyrinth EP', with sadistic delivery and playful charm.

Dapayk Solo, Berlin based producer and veteran of the minimal techno scene, announces the release of his 10th studio album 'The Calling'. This latest project will be the producer's first solo album since
2015. The 8-track double 12inch LP will be available via Dapayk Solo's label Mo's Ferry Productions and comes with a free download voucher for the extended 12-track digital album.

The first track on this LP 'The Calling' shares its name with the album and starts off with a pang of energetic, chopped beats before exploding into a brassy melody, continuously gaining momentum.
'Blackout' immediately announces itself as a next generation Detroit House anthem. The rolling synths, hi hats, and vocals make this one of the most outstanding tracks on the album. 'Aurora' stays true to its name with a buildup composed of throbbing ethereal synths that give the track an otherworldly vibe. 'Flood' transports listeners to the dancefloor with its pulsating bassline combined with Komplement's quaint vocals.

The second part of the album begins with 'After All', one of the most enticing tracks on the album. It combines the groovy rhythm of four to the floor percussion with tantalizing vocals by VARS before New Release Information 'Low Tinnitus' reverts to Dapayk's signature minimalist sound. The transition into 'Wanderer' continues the momentum built up by the previous tracks. The closing 'Walk With Me' is a deep-house jam that features a rhythmic shaker layered under Mental Bend's powerful vocals.
Dapayk Solo, alias Niklas Worgt, isn't afraid to try new things. With 5 aliases under his belt, he continuously strives to experiment with different styles and production techniques to create innovative sounds. Throughout the span of two decades he went from producing drum'n'bass to house to ultimately crafting the groovy, edgy techno sound that he's now known for.

With more than ten LP releases and over 70 single releases on his record, he is one of the main protagonists in the world of underground electronic music. In 2017, he released an LP titled 'Harbour' with his wife Eva Padberg under one of his many projects, Dapayk & Padberg. While that album aimed to steer away from traditional club beats, 'The Calling' sees Dapayk reassume his deep, dark, and infectious sound. While Dapayk is often categorized as a minimal producer, the LP proves that he is capable of extending beyond the scope of a single genre. 'The Calling' is just another example of why Dapayk has managed to stay in the scene for so long: he loves electronic music and he's great at
making it, too.