quête:bo vel

Brains is the first full length by Anton Pieete in 5 years, and the first release under his given name since 2016. A gentle gorgeous journey of an LP on Wake Dream (ran by Orpheu The Wizard). TIP!

Born into a family of sound designers and making his own initial steps into a life of music in the late nineties in trash and hardcore metal bands and via an inherited drumcomputer into techno and minimal in the early 2000’s, Anton switched to the Darling moniker in 2016 with a series of kaleidoscopic retro-futurist releases on Voyage Direct and Safe Trip.

With Brains, Anton Pieete comes full circle and takes the next step, putting a lifetime of musicality, recording experience into a highly musical album, having given himself room for exploration, not being fixed on an end goa. The 11 songs on Brains are filled with emotion, some sweet and hopeful, some gloomy and restless.

Cover illustration by Jorge Velez

Following up on the worldwide success of their new album Education & Recreation, Surprise Chef drops a must have two-sider for those of us who can't get enough 45s. The A side, "Money Music" is a bassline driven mid tempo tune that catches you from the first note and carries you through all the gorgeous changes. Piano, vibraphone, and guitar trade places over a watertight drum track that builds up, drops down, builds up again, and changes to half time to take it all home. The B side "Suburban Breeze" kicks in the door with an intro that is bound to be sampled and will get your blood racing and your head nodding. They lure you in with the neck snapping intro that is bound to be sampled and bring you from mood to mood as they change the energy from tough as nails to floaty and groovy, and back to tough as nails. Also Available From Surprise Chef: Education & Recreation LP / CD, Velodrome b/w Spring's Theme 7”.

Following their iconic remix of ‘Space Date’ in 2019, the classic collaborative work of Adam Beyer, Layton Giordani and Green Velvet, we are thrilled to have Pleasurekraft back on Drumcode for their debut solo release on the label.

Not keen to colour within the lines, the production duo caught Adam Beyer’s ear as they carved out their self-dubbed ‘cosmic techno’ niche within the techno genre. Conceived as a musical vision that attempts to go beyond mere hands-in-the-air moments, Pleasurekraft incorporate a cinematic soundscape as a canvas for philosophical themes regarding humanity's place within the cosmos. Their 2020 album, ‘Love in the Age of Machines’ explored the myriad and often dystopian relationships we have with the ubiquitous technologies that pervade our every interaction.

The new two-tracker ‘Sex and the Machine’, continues this thematic trajectory in considering the role machines will increasingly play in satisfying the more carnal desires of our species. The title track considers questions such as, will machines of the future have the capacity for thoughts and feelings? Will our answers to such questions be forever tainted by our singular perspective, unable and unwilling to grant future silicon entities such capabilities? The EP’s second track, ‘Body Horror’, with its repeating refrain, “You are changing”, considers the manner in which future technologies will continue to merge with biological entities giving rise to all manner of unimagined consequences. Both tracks showcase the tough, yet still melody-driven cosmic techno sound Pleasurekraft has become synonymous with. However, despite the cerebral content that inspired the music – the form is still pure dance floor muscle.

• A Guy Called Gerald’s soundtrack to Trevor Miller’s Trip City novel was originally released in 1989 on cassette bundled with the book. It went on to sell 12,000 copies in a year before becoming an underground cult classic.
• Reissued in 2021 on vinyl for the first time as part of a bundle with the book, the vinyl is now available to buy on its own.

In the summer of 1989, when Trevor Miller’s Trip City book was first released with a five-track cassette EP by A Guy Called Gerald, there had been no other British novel like it. For 2021, Trip City came back and the original soundtrack by A Guy Called Gerald was also reissued on vinyl for the first time as part of a bundle with the book. Now the vinyl is available to buy on its own.

“I remember back in the 80s, in my hometown, Tony Wilson (of Factory Records fame) was fond of calling Shaun Ryder the WB Yeats of his day. In that vein, whether or not I like to see myself in the canon of Anthony Burgess and Clockwork Orange - with these five tracks, A Guy Called Gerald feels very much like the Ludwig Van to my Alex DeLarge.” Trevor Miller

“Coming on the heels of the acid house classic “Voodoo Ray”, the cut-up vocals, driving bass and hand claps of “FX” and “Trip City” blurred the line between the fictional Tower club and its real-world counterpart The Limelight. This reissue further blurs the lines between past and present, memorialising those heady times
of the Second Summer of Love that anyone invested in the counterculture, much like Valentine, can’t afford to forget.” The Wire

“The EP comprises five acid rollers that showcase his transition into the world of sampling, with the title track functioning as the main theme.” The Quietus

When it comes to releasing groove-driven productions suited for the warm-up all the way through to the afters, there aren’t too many better than Michael James. A studio natural with innate talent earning him a reputation as a must-visit producer, the Manchester native’s growing discography has already welcomed stand-out material via Burnski’s Constant Sound and Constant Black alongside the likes of S.A.S.H., e1ven and INFUSE. Returning to FUSE for the first time since his huge collaborative ‘Weird Things’ EP in 2020 alongside imprint boss Enzo Siragusa, early May welcomes a big solo debut on the label as he drops his dynamic four-track EP, ‘Another Dimension’.

Lead cut ‘Nobody Does’ sees James skilfully fuse funk-fuelled bass licks with sharp drums and wonky synths, while title track ‘Another Dimension’ offers up weighty low-ends beneath skippy percussion and sweeping melodies for a powerful peak time anthem. ‘Downstream’ arrives full of swing as delicate pads float amongst the mix, before closing with the driving sonics and spacey electronics of digital exclusive ‘Underwater’.

Tropical Disco Records have once again delivered four scintillating feel good summer disco jams courtesy of the latest edition of their well loved vinyl series. Perfect for those gloriously sunny outdoor events, BBQ’s and beach parties alike their latest EP is another must have slice of black gold.

Scouring the globe for the freshest cuts Volume 22 is another multinational affair combining the skills of Colombian duo Vagabundo Club Social, Mexico’s Monsieur Van Pratt, Italy’s Infradisco and New York’s Roland & Brother Rich.

Opening affairs are the hugely exciting duo Vagabundo Club Social with their track ‘Costero’. They are producers who nimbly fuse dusty Latin grooves with cutting edge production techniques and dancefloor know-how and here have delivered yet another feel good dancefloor smash. ‘Costero’ is quite simply a DJ’s dream track which will do the business at any end of the set whether you need to get the crowd on the floor or tear the proverbial roof off.

Mexico is currently at the leading tip of the disco charge and Monsieur Van Pratt is one of the stand-out producers from a country bursting with talent. ‘Jazz Player’ pulls absolutely no punches combining jazz cool with disco know-how for a track which wins on all counts. Sublime brass solos sit atop a huge funky gem of a bassline. ‘Jazz Player’ will tear dance-floors up worldwide as the world starts to rediscover its long since packed away dancing shoes.

Italy’s Infradisco is up next with ‘Aungasana’ and it’s the perfect track to follow on combining many of the traits that both Vagabundo Social Club and Monsieur Van Pratt utilised on their tracks. Expect huge jazzy horns, funky bass and tribal vocals building up to a monstrous organ groove which raises proceedings to fever pitch. Infectious and energetic, it’s another seriously classy dancefloor moment.

Closing out the EP are New Yorkers Roland & Brother Rich with the exquisitely titled ‘Roger Moore’s Living Room’. Paying homage to the James Bond legend it’s the ideal track to sip brandy and toast the characters of yesteryear in that velvet smoking jacket you have always wanted. Deep and Jazzy with the essence of the 70s flowing through it’s DNA ‘Roger Moore’s Living Room’ is a track so effortlessly cool that even Blofeld would be throwing some shapes.

Tropical Disco’s Volume 22 is a sublime selection of timeless and wonderfully cool tracks which will be the perfect accompaniment to sun soaked events this summer and well beyond.

Support across Mi Soul & House FM.

The new batch from the bottomless edit archives of Danny Krivit is an uptempo, guitar-heavy excursion into two cuts of danceable rock from opposite sides of a decade.

“Marbles” originally came out late in 1970, the result of a collaboration between the fiery British guitarist John McLaughlin and drummer Buddy Miles. Miles was hot off his time with Jimi Hendrix, and producer Alan Douglas, who’d been instrumental in putting together the Band of Gypsys group, attempted another crossover combination with a brand new, blazing guitar god. Also on the date was Larry Young, an organ player best known for his expansive jazzy albums on Blue Note, and several veterans of Buddy Miles’ funk-rock combos. The resulting mixture produced in “Marbles” a powerful, driving rhythm anchoring an addictive riff that steamrolls through the cut in a fashion not unlike the motorik sound of Velvet Underground or Can. Mr. K’s edit leans heavily on the drums, naturally, with a long, tailor-made intro and a mesmerizing focus on the main riff, extending things well past the seven-minute mark.

Ten years later, the world of music was in an entirely different place but a good guitar riff coupled with a driving beat was still powerful currency on the dancefloor. This time, the group was Scottish new wave-punk group APB, whose single “Shoot You Down” had garnered unexpected peak time play in cutting edge NYC hotspots Danceteria, the Peppermint Lounge, the Ritz and the Mudd Club. “Shoot You Down” combines the urgency of the Clash with the free for all vibe that characterized the downtown scene (and throws in a chant borrowed from P-Funk for good measure). Mr. K has created a long instrumental opening that leads into the vocals, giving the tightly-wound 7-inch single a proper extended 12-inch treatment it deserved but never had before.

The sound is crisply remastered for club play, and stretched over the breadth of a 12-inch single. Both of these tracks are appearing on the long-format player for the first time.

On his new album "Famous Last Songs Vol. 1" Westbam presents himself as a brilliant curator of his own music. With unerring instinct, the legendary techno DJ and producer succeeds together with guests such as Dieter Meier (Yello), Inga Humpe (2raumwohnnung) and Jon Marsh (The Beloved) in paying homage to the spirit of the Eighties and making the ultimate statement about the current time: music for the club in your head.

Layton Giordani steps up for his first solo EP of 2018. In terms of pedigrees, it doesn't get finer than Layton Giordani.

The Brooklyn-born DJ/producer followed up his lauded debut album of 2017, with a collaboration with Danny Tenaglia to close out the year and marked the summer of 2018 with a three-way collaboration with Adam Beyer and Green Velvet, 'Space Date'.
The period has been a big one for Layton personally, also. From humble beginnings in his native NYC as an Output resident, to being thrust into the bustle of the European club and festival circuit, he's enjoyed a stint living in Amsterdam, growing and developing over this time. All these experiences have had a fundamental influence on him and his music.

The four-track EP 'Phase II' represents a new chapter for this exciting talent. Beginning with 'New York to Amsterdam', a track that draws inspiration from the Yves Deruyter's classic 'Back To Earth', Layton's work packs a memorable punch as tough acidic undertones and brain scrambling synth effects undulate raising the intensity, making it a perfect opener for Adam Beyer when he played Berghain earlier this year. Following this, 'Enter the Stratosphere' is steely electro-tinged techno paired with atmospheric licks of melody, awhile maintaining the artist's trademark low-end chug. On the B side, 'Body Language' follows, a track written when Layton was scrubbed out of touring for a month courtesy of a shattered elbow from a skating accident. Not wasting the downtime, he's crafted a cut that's sleek, sexy and smart, with a seductive vocal and rousing melodic riff that runs throughout. Closing out the EP, 'Black Mirror', stays true to its dystopic name, a stomping rave cut that pummels dancefloors with a menacing lead synth that's purpose built for the cold months ahead. A classy conclusion to an EP from one of techno's brightest talents.

Every record includes a downloadcode to get the whole digital
release for free via Facebook! Fabian´s newest EP comes with Remixes from Buddy Black Vel and Mister Martin Books (Shaker Plates, Deich, Supdub).

repress ever of a must-have compilation of classics: Frozen Border at its best! Limited to 200 copies.

Aufgenommen 1971 in den Chappell Recording Studios in London, während seines Exils, erschien „Transa“,
das sechste Studioalbum von Caetano Veloso, im Januar 1972. Das sieben Stücke umfassende Werk wurde
vom britischen Künstler Ralph Mace produziert; die musikalische Leitung übernahm Jards Macalé, der auf
„It’s a Long Way“ zudem Gitarre spielt.
Die Band bestand aus Áureo de Souza (Schlagzeug), Moacyr Albuquerque (Bass), Tutty Moreno (Perkussion) und Jards Macalé (akustische und elektrische Gitarre). Außerdem wirkt die damals 22-jährige Angela
Ro Ro mit, die Caetano Velosos verführerischen Schlusstitel „Nostalgia (That’s What Rock’n’Roll Is All
About)“ mit ihrem charakteristischen Mundharmonikaspiel bereichert. Diese Zusammenarbeit gab der jungen Künstlerin entscheidenden Auftrieb für ihre weitere Karriere.
Musikalisch ist das Album von einer rockigen Grundhaltung geprägt, in der zugleich Velosos zentrale
Einflüsse anklingen: die MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) sowie die Klangwelt Bahias. Dennoch bleibt eine
feine Melancholie spürbar, wie sie bereits sein erstes Londoner Album „Caetano Veloso“ (1971) kennzeichnete.
Veröffentlicht wurde das Projekt mit einem auffälligen, dreifach aufklappbaren Cover, bei dem Booklet
und Hülle eine Dreiecksform bilden. Der bahianische Schauspieler und Theaterregisseur Álvaro Guimarães
prägte dafür den Begriff „Discobjeto“; gemeinsam mit Aldo Luiz entwickelte er das markante grafische
Konzept.

For two decades, Gun Outfit has been a band defined less by genre than by continuity, patience, and a commitment to making music that reflects their lived experience.
Formed in Olympia, Washington in 2006 but long since rooted in Los Angeles, the group has evolved from a raw duo into a quietly formidable five-piece, their sound growing from scrappy post-punk beginnings into something spacious yet intimate, and always underpinned by an experimental edge.
On Process & Reality, Gun Outfit return with their most ambitious and immersive work to-date, a sprawling 80-minute double album shaped by time, environment, and philosophy. Recorded over the course of a single month in the late summer of 2020, on an 80-acre ranch in Pine Flat, California, while a massive forest fire burned less than ten miles away, the seeds of these songs were stark and strange.
Its title, Process & Reality, draws from the central work of philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, whose philosophy places intuition, experience, creativity, and relationality at the center of existence.
The band’s current lineup reflects both longevity and openness. Sharp and Keith remain the band’s primary architects, joined by longtime drummer Daniel Swire, multi-instrumentalist Henry Barnes, and bassist Kayla Cohen. Additional collaborators include Chris Cohen, Warren Lee, and Danny Sasaki all of whom add further depth, leaving subtle fingerprints across the album.
Musically, the album expands the band’s palette without abandoning its core sensibility. Dulcimer, autoharp, sitar, melodica, keyboards, homemade electronics, and a wide range of acoustic and electric textures appear throughout. The sound is mellow yet expansive, songs move between fragility and hefty atmospheric passages.
Influences surface obliquely rather than overtly. Elements of reggae and dub inform the production’s spatial sensibility. Echoes of long-form European jam bands coexist with sharp post-punk. British folk traditions, American country, and classic West Coast songwriting drift in and out of focus; the band is never afraid to lead or follow.

Kicking off the collection, we have POISON IDEA performing their first ever gig as a high-velocity punk band on New Years Eve 1980 – truly an incredible find. “We put our gear in shopping carts and pushed it to the venue” Jerry recalls as well as the reaction from Portland’s first wave of hardcore kids, “They only had 30 seconds in a song to throw each other around and pogo, so they’d go for it. It came naturally, like the music possessed them”. The embryonic versions presented here of future POISON IDEA classics like “Give It Up” and “Castration” are played in a more quirky and herky-jerky manner than how they would appear three years later on their debut seven-inch EP, Pick Your King. This recording also holds the most unfiltered display of Germs vocalist Darby Crash’s influence on Jerry. “His voice gave me the license to go” states Jerry. “You didn’t have to be a trained singer. Just open up your soul and scream”.

The remainder of this release is culled from a recording done in June of 1981 at a birthday party for Kim Kincaid, vocalist for local punk group, Neo Boys. The event was held at the short-lived but groundbreaking punk venue for Portland, Clockwork Joe’s. “Clockwork Joe’s was like Peter Pan’s island of lost boys” Lang recollects, “There was a lot of booze, a lot of drugs and a lot of young kids”. Hearing this ferocious, tightly-wound set, one can only imagine the sweaty debauchery that occurred that night, especially during the pounding rendition of “Underage” presented here, yet another future Pick Your King track.