The last Happy Mondays album on Factory Records originally released September 1992 - reaching no 14 in the UK chart. Produced by Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. Artwork lovingly replicated by original Manchester designers Central Station Design. Featured the singles "Stinkin' Thinkin”, “Sunshine & Love” and “Angel”.
The Empire Line unleash their demons on 'BAS009'.
When Jonas Rönnberg (aka Varg), Christian Stadsgaard
(part of the Danish duo Damien Dubrovnik, co-founder of Posh Isolation) and noise artist Isak Hansen combine their musical vision, the result is sure to be radical.
Claiming that „the nature of your oppression is the aesthetic of our anger“ right away in the title, the four-track EP sounds like it was recorded straight from a sweaty basement.
Combining cascading rave tropes with noise, anger and punk, this release merges different underground currents. The result is a flamboyant, nevertheless harsh sound collage.
Edinburgh born Chris Braun, otherwise known as Duellist, is set to drop a hard-hitting new release on the immersive Wunderblock’s sub label Folgsamkeitfaktor, in partnership with Berlin-based Ready Made Distribution. Duellist has already surpassed a dedicated following with his forward-thinking industrial sound.
Known for breaking boundaries within the techno sphere, the primarily industrial and EBM influenced Folgsamkeitfaktor choose wisely with Duellist as the deliverer on their third release, a swarming industrial 7" EP titled Hereditary.
The Original Mix ‘Hereditary’ is energetic from the start, real industrial techno to sink your teeth into, the producer clearly pulling some unique textures from his love of grunge and metal. Truly powerful, the track takes you into another dimension from it's smoky beginning until locking you into a frenzy of kick drums and pounding bass.
The track is given an atmospheric remix by fellow friend and producer Swarm Intelligence, lowering the BPM and increasing the distortion on this dark and tense banger of a remix.
Not to be missed among the industrial underworld, the handle-with-care EP will be delivered on 27th of January; via Folgsamkeitfaktor.
Pacific Express emerged from Cape Town, South Africa in the 1970s. The band were from the so called "Coloured" community and were ground breakers in both musical and political arenas. The founder members Paul Abrahams (Bass), Jack Momple (Drums) and Issy Ariefdien (Guitar) were joined by Chris Schilder (Piano), Vic Higgins (Pecussion), Barney Rachabane (Alto Sax), Stompie Manana (Trumpet) and Zayn Adams & Kitty Tshikana on vocals for their second album "On Time" in 1978.
On several occasions the group fell foul of Apartheid laws and discrimination by the state broadcaster, SABC. On one occasion they were asked to leave the stage of an international tour by Australian act John Paul Young, because the law forbade racially mixed performers on the same stage. The promoter, management and band members all resisted and once he incident made the Australian newspapers the authorities had little choice and turned a blind eye.
And so to the music. The most important thing. The LP opens up with the slick jazz-boogie funk of "We Got A Good Thing Going On", a perfect vehicle for the vocals of Zayn and the statement-of-intent, on-point musicianship of the band.
"I Hear Music" is the first of three smooth sweet string-laden ballads to feature on the LP. The majority of the songs on the LP were written by keyboard player Chris Schilder. As well as high-craft songwriting Chris also contributes layers of effortless musicality with his Rhodes and piano. "Good Old Days" (the only cover on the LP) is next and its smooth-rock grooves swing effortlessly to the fore. The A-Side of the vinyl closes with the instrumental jazz funk of "Saturday Night".
The flip side of the album opens with the bands biggest commercial success. A sweet soul ballad penned "Give a Little Love". Stepping outside their usual sound. This hit however was not without controversy as the video was removed from the TV airways after the South Africa Broadcasting Corp realised that the group were of mixed race, which was against rules for so called local artists in public performance at the time.
"Dream" follows on with the driving jazz rock and travelling keyboard solos. "Reaching Out For Love" is a power-pop boogie groover powered by guest vocalists Erica Lundy and Kitty.
"Say The Last Goodbye" is the last of the trio of ballads. A smooth style moment sounding all the bit like a 70's US TV drama closing theme. The LP features with a funky workout where the band show off their chops and slick level of musicianship.
Besides the success in southern Africa this album became a regional hit as a pirated music cassette in Nigeria. It was also released in France and Japan.
The band would go on to record one further LP in 1979 and a single in 1981. They carried on performing however well pass that. Throughout their years together the band acted as central hub for Jazz musicians within the Cape Town area. Players as Tony Cedras, Jonathan Butler and Alvin Dyers gaining experience alongside established names such as trumpeter Stompie Manana and alto saxman Barney Rachabane.
Here at World Seven we are ever so pleased to be re-releasing what we consider the bands finest album moment.
These two new tracks continue to push the band’s sound into new territory; ‘Overture 1’ is a brand-new composition from Ruby Rushton keyboard player Aidan Shepherd. Taking inspiration from bands like Weather Report and Soft Machine, it's explosive introduction leads you to a dub-like breakdown, creating an open space for Shepherd to let loose his synthesizer for some deep space, Headhunters’esque exploration.
Yardley Suite - is a song first conceived by band leader Ed ‘Tenderlonious’ Cawthorne back in 2012. Having lied dormant for several years it felt like an appropriate time to pull it back out the bag. It’s a composition inspired by Cawthorne’s solo work as an electronic producer, under his alias Tenderlonious. Always wanting to merge his various approaches, ‘Yardley Suite’ is the perfect mix of Jazz and House. With a steady four to the floor beat and snappy horn lines it's sure to work its magic on dancefloors around the globe.
Having focused on improvisation and more “open” compositions in the past, the bands new direction is geared towards tighter, more groove-orientated arrangements. This exciting new material is yet further evidence that this is a highly prolific band at the top of their game, continually evolving, stretching out their own unique sound across the full jazz spectrum.
DJ Support: Tom Ravenscroft, Bradley Zero, Huey Morgan, James Endacott, Kev Beadle, Chris Phillips, Tony Minvielle, Tim Garcia, Delia Tesileanu, Kamaal Williams, Al Dobson Jr, Contours, Poly-Ritmo.
For it’s second-release, Planisphere returns once more to the Berlin studio of Swiss-Turkish producer Mehmet Aslan, who has fast become one of the most fiercely individual and increasingly prolific emerging artists in some time.
This three-track EP is arguably Aslan’s most-refined work to date, aiming squarely at heads-down dancefloors, riding on sophisticated and hypnotic grooves. On ‘Comme II Faut’, a minimal beat unravels Aslan’s textural, traditional samples, delivering a woozy and intoxicating atmosphere.
Meanwhile, ‘Lobster Is Coincidence’ christens the EP with its title and a stop-start slice of unpredictable, cut-up psychedelia, utilizing obscure samples to generate esoteric funk. On the contrary, Aslan executes a tapestry of tightly-wound and no less entrancing rhythms on ‘Kakusui’, which evolves intriguingly with a subtle half-step and further echoes of Aslan’s unique musical heritage.
The hyper talneted Stellar Om Source (NOT NOT FUN, RVNG, NO 'LABEL) blowing up new styles on this one!
"If there is one thing that leaps out from Stellar OM Source’s music, it is the sense of a highly active mind at work. There is an indivisible feeling that a real person is behind this dynamic flurry of tones, waves, vibrations and modulations. On I See Through You, the first full Stellar OM Source release in over four years, the spark that first LP piqued the interest of so many listeners is glowing stronger than ever.
In the 2010's, Christelle Gualdi carved a name as one of the most essential live electronic musicians around, dazzling dancers and home listeners in kind with her bombastic, acidic hardware jams. Circumstances outside her control forced a stop for the Stellar OM Source project. It was touring, including two shows in the summer of 2019 at Dekmantel Festival and Listen! that Gualdi credits as year highlights, which proved to be the integral jump-start to the engine.
Inspiration came rushing back thanks to the human connection of performing. Seeing a younger generation connect with her put fresh charge into the circuitry of her gear. All this accrued into new material on the road, and thus I See Through You was born.
The spirit of 2013’s cult favourite Joy One Mile is alive and well on I See Through You. There is once again immediacy, urgency and lust. But Stellar OM Source stepping into a comparatively more poppy and playful mode on these four tracks could also throw some. Fundamentally she says, it comes from a similar place, and ends with an enmeshed and positive outcome. Gualdi credits both “1995 rave” and “the clarity, bass and breath” of hi-def hip-hop productions as being twin northern stars for her to follow.
The artwork comes from friend and highly respected photographer & director Pierre Debusschere, whose work similarly flits between arresting close-ups and, well, the widescreen luxe of Beyoncé videos. “I’m definitely not a purist anymore,” Gualdi laughs – and with club-ready impact meeting human warmth, this shows in abundance.
“Night Alone” wastes no time in getting the listener up to speed. Is that an LFO sample running through “Night Alone”? Is this a lost Metro Area classic? Is that Stellar OM Source taking a diversion into searching Ibiza-rousing vocal for a moment, or did we imagine that in a heat haze? Where are the kicks? Oh there they are. How many elements are buried and revived within just over five minutes?
It’s hard to tell. Before we know it, “Lost Codes” is up and away, keeping pulses racing. A pitter-patter of baby kicks feel like a pre-tremor before a welting electro-Italo lead crashes into play. With fizzing energy, rasping synths and a frisson of danger, fans of Unit Moebius and The Hacker will be doing somersaults of joy.
“White Echoes” wastes kicks off the flip side with low gurgles descending briefly like a UFO reverse parking into the spot SOS had vacated. Soon, 303s are twisting like Chinese burns while warm chords offer a salve. The mood maintains on “Wild Palms”, the only song on this record not to feature additional mixing work from Peaking Lights’ dub-wise sensei Aaron Coyes.
True to form, the B2 is all Stellar: elements switching up and out, with all the fun and frenzy of capital-L Live action. Kick drums and bassline darting back and forth like a synchronised swimming routine, all elements in concert. The momentum of a runaway mine cart that you can’t help but strap yourself to. I See Through You is one for the dancers who have given Stellar OM Source the motive to move forward once again."
“Osondi owendi. What is cherished by some is despised by others. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. Different strokes for different folks. To each their own. Osondi owendi.
It’s a conventional aphorism in the Igbo language but if you utter the word “osondi owendi” in Nigeria today, the first thing that comes to anybody’s mind is the cucumber-cool highlife music maestro Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe and his legendary album that takes its name from the adage. Released in 1984, Osondi Owendi was instantly received as Osadebe’s magnum opus, the crowning event of an exalted career stretching back to the early years of highlife’s emergence as Nigeria’s predominant popular music.
Stephen Osadebe first appeared on the music scene in 1958 as a spry, twenty-two year-old vocalist in the Empire Rhythm Skies Orchestra, directed by bandleader Steven Amechi. With his dapper suits, urbane Nat King Cole-influenced vocal stylings and jaunty, uptempo, calypso-scented dance tunes, he personified the frisky spirit and anxious aspirations of a young, educated generation that had come of age in the wake of the Second World War, in a Nigeria that was rapidly shaking off British colonization and marching towards an independent future. 1959 would be the year that he truly made his mark in the business with his debut solo single “Lagos Life Na So So Enjoyment.” A giddy exhortation of the music, sex, fun and freedom availed by life in the big city, the song became a sensation and an anthem, and Stephen Osadebe became the leader of his own popular dance band, the Nigerian Sound Makers.
Osadebe would ride this wave of acclaim through most of the nineteen sixties, but a change in direction would be called for at the dawn of the seventies. As Nigeria emerged from a devastating civil war, so did a new generation of youth inspired by rock and funk, confrontational sounds reflective of a more violent, less idealistic era. All of the sudden, the idioms of the post-WWII dance orchestras that nurtured Osadebe’s cohort seemed quaint, the stuff of nostalgia. Osadebe needed to evolve to respond to the new tumultuous, turned-up times.
His response? He cooled it down.
Abetted by a new crop of fire-blooded young players, Osadebe slowed his music to a mellow, meditative tempo, brought forward the lumbering, Afro Cuban-accented bass and percussion, from the rockers he borrowed searing lead lines on the electric guitar. Over this musical bedrock, doesn’t so much as sing as he dreamily muses, coos, sighs aphorisms, words of wisdom and inspiration. “When one listens to my music, all I say appears meaningful,” Osadebe explained his lyrical approach, “at times they are in the form of proverbs which provoke much thought afterwards.” The result is a blend that is both rollicking and soothingly languid. Osadebe christened the style Oyolima—a tranquil, otherworldly state of total relaxation and pleasure. Osondi Owendi represents oyolima at its finest, and possibly Nigerian highlife in epitome.
Osondi owendi. What is cherished by some is despised by others. In some way, the album’s title constitutes a paradox. Because Osondi Owendi is a record that it’s almost impossible to imagine being despised by anybody."
Christopher Joseph is back on his Flexxseal label with four enthralling tracks entitled "Eye in the Sky".
He's an emerging talent from from Massachusetts who now resides in Berlin. His productions encapsulate, his vast musical background which includes studying Jazz percussion and living in the vibrant musical hubs of New Orleans and Berlin.
"Eye in the Sky" sees Christopher return to his invigorating Flexxseal imprint following releases from himself and Philadelphia's DJ Richard which together garnered heavy support from the likes of Ben UFO, Call Super, A Made Up Sound, I-F and many more.
"Eye in the Sky" kicks off proceedings with ethereal leads floating underneath electro-fuelled percussion and swirling synths together sending the emotions skyward while vigorously, resonant drums fused with rave- induced modulations and twisted melodies lay the focus in "Lick The Honey".
On the flip, "Nothing69" delivers growling resonations, breaks-tinged drums and otherworldly arpeggios that keep you enticed throughout until "Leaving Ringworld" rounds things off with a vintage, warehouse techno track featuring an effervescent, rolling groove sequence, spiralling oscillations and industrial feels throughout.
London based producer Christian Piers has a decade of production experience and a discography that spans house, techno and drum and bass. He is a long-term friend of 17 Steps, and became the second artist to release on the label after label heads Dusky back in 2015. Acclaimed releases on Curle and with Leon Vynehall as Laszlo Dancehall have sustained Christians' reputation as a truly versatile producer.
With ‘Virus’, his debut LP under this alias, Christian puts himself forward an exceptional and compelling voice in UK techno, drawing on his experience in drum and bass and breaks, a sample heavy hip-hop inspired approach to production and a dubbed out, industrial techno aesthetic.
Opener ‘Extrinsic’ lays the foundations, combining cavernous drones and rattling breaks over submerged kicks, conjuring up images of chasmal warehouses, dusty basements and rattling window frames. Elsewhere delay soaked stabs bounce off combative breaks. A dialogue between Christians’ influences ensues that’s as captivating as it is individual.
Christian creates passages of intense energy without breaking a sweat. Cold atmospheres are navigated with an unhurried authority and confidence that prevents them from becoming desolate. Behind the gritty haze and forceful bassweight Christian hides the playful, agile rhythms that have become his signature – percussive sounds stumble and roll in the background, whip like snares slice through the fog.
‘Virus’ is an exhilarating ride; right up to the final bars of the teasing, anti-climactic dancefloor weapon ‘Resource Depletion’. The infinite rising tones of the closer are a bold and forward looking statement of intent from an artist whose evolution continues to unfold.
ALTA’s debut release, 'Reasons' is the product of many long nights making music together in a back room at Hannah and Julius’ Brunswick home. It was self-recorded over 10 months, from January 2018 to November 2018, using midnight sessions, tape delay effects and a literal room full of wall to wall synths to carve out a world all their very own. "It's a collection of songs written together in our home studio - No cowriters or anything, just us two experimenting making the music,” says the band.
The album was later mixed by Seekae’s George Nicholas in Sydney and mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound (Rihanna, Janelle Monae, Chvrches).
Thematically, the album’s title alludes to the sense of complacency that often sets in when people start making excuses for themselves.
“It’s this internal thing,” Julius explains, ‘always coming up with reasons why things did or didn’t happen, or reasons why someone else did something. Often it’s self-preservation but it’s also bullshit.”
‘Push’ follows on from previous singles ‘Figured Out’, ‘Back On It’ and ‘Twisted’, which have just under 2 million streams on Spotify since their release and are receiving global attention, with spins on BBC Radio 1 and praise from the likes of The Line of Best Fit and CLASH.
At streaming, ALTA have seen huge support locally and internationally, with their 2019 releases featuring in Spotify’s New Music Fridays, Indie Arrivals, The Local List, Just Chill, Front Left, New Dance Beats and The Office Stereo, plus Best Of The Week on Apple Music.
Melbourne fans will witness ALTA performing tracks from Reasons for the first time ever at Northcote Social Club on Saturday 5 October. Tickets are on sale now via Northcote Social Club’s website.
Reasons is an intricate and emotional body of work that will see ALTA step out from Melbourne’s underground scene, and into the international limelight. Pre-order your copy today.
Following a string of releases via his own bbbbbb recors, along with bodies of work on трип Recordings, February 2019 saw Bjarki debut on !K7 Records with the ‘Happy Earthday’ album.
With the album considered to be the Icelandic producers first full debut LP, ‘Happy Earthday’ offered a conceptual collection of music which Bjarki thought he would never release. Influenced by his home country of Iceland as well as the planet’s environmental issues, the album received support across the board from the likes of The Quietus, DJ Mag, Pitchfork, XLR8R, FACT and CLASH Music, along with being crowned Mixmag’s ‘Album of The Month’.
As part of the limited edition 200 copy box set version of ‘Happy Earthday’, a secret album of original music was available to hear unbeknown to listeners. Now receiving a full release this December on double vinyl and digital platforms, Bjarki will release his second full album of the year via !K7 Records. ‘Psychotic_Window’ is a further extension of the experimental artists creative vision whilst continuing to address environmental themes and nature.
Combining influences from techno, breakbeat, IDM, electronica and more across all of his studio output, ‘Psychotic_Window’ is Bjarki’s final signoff for 2019. The new 14-track album follows in line with one of his most significant years to date, highlighted by performances at major events including Dekmantel and DGTL Festival, along with pioneering eclectic new sounds via his bbbbbb recors label.
“After ‘Happy Earthday’, people have been asking me about the secret tracks and it made me feel that they deserve a proper release. Each track means a lot to me as I made them during a depressing phase in my life; I was pretty broke, working many shit jobs and also just being super lazy, uninterested in leaving my apartment.
Before I started touring, I had these periods where I could write so much music without thinking, pouring my heart out to comfort my thoughts and feelings without trying. I doubt that this kind of window will come back to me anytime soon, my way of music making has changed a lot after going on tour. At that time, I was listening to a lot of Coil, Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti. I think every struggling artist goes through these phases of being sleep deprived, staying up and making music all night. This was my psychotic window.” -
Bjarki
Yours Truly is the debut studio album by American singer Ariana Grande. It was released on September 3, 2013, by Republic Records. Incorporating R&B, Yours Truly was influenced by Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, and Mariah Carey, amongst Grande’s other idols. Grande describes the album’s first half as a “throwback” to the R&B music of the 1990s, and the second half being “very unique and very special that I’ve sort of written” which is completely original. On the album, Grande co-wrote six out of the twelve tracks and recorded a number of songs on this album over a three-year period. The collaborations are with Big Sean, Mika, and Mac Miller. Occasionally, the album dips into other genres such as adult contemporary music and dance music.
When acclaimed South African musician Guy Buttery first sought out Dr. Kanada Narahari in late 2016, it was as his patient.
“It was a dark time.” Buttery recalls, “I had been bedridden for months and had been suffering from debilitating bouts of fatigue which no diagnosis or medication could help me get to the bottom of. When I first met Kanada, I was at the stage where even picking up my guitar to make music had become a joyless and taxing exercise.”
As Buttery’s searched for a cure, a family member recommended he see Kanada an Ayurvedic doctor who had relocated to South Africa from India and set up a practice in Durban. It was during this consultation, that the musician first experienced how Narahari infused the healing properties of Indian Classical music into his practice. Rather than treating him with a smorgasbord of pharmaceuticals, Narahari played his sitar and set Buttery on a strict daily diet of Raga’s to fast track his recovery.
Buttery was not only struck by his doctor’s musical talents but by the powerful healing properties inherent in his sitar compositions. When he left Narahari’s doctors room that afternoon, he asserts he was feeling decidedly clearer, lighter and stronger.
“Diving into Kanada’s music was definitely one of the reasons I'm still here today.” he admits. “The consistent tonal centre at the heart of Indian Classical Music, literally became my support pillar over this period. A central core of sorts in which to fall back on, strengthen and discover.”
Narahari as it turned out, was not only a prominent music therapist (and one of the only Ayurvedic doctors practicing in South Africa) but like Buttery, a highly accomplished musician with a devoted following back in his homeland.
Born in a small village along the Western Ghats in Karnataka, India, Narahari, at the age of nine, had enrolled to study Carnatic classical vocal and developed an interest in Hindustani Classical music with a particular passion for the sitar. While Buttery had secured his reputation as one of South Africa’s musical treasures, a multi-instrumentalist who commands sold-out performances both locally and internationally and more recently had been awarded the prestigious 2018 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music.
From this consultation, a friendship developed between the two musicians with Buttery soon inviting Narahari to join him in his studio. But it wasn’t all plain sailing in the beginning. While Buttery and Narahari’s sensibilities were very much aligned, there were a range of cultural and musical influences, nuances and inflections that first needed to be navigated and understood.
“I suppose we had to find a common ground.” Buttery says, before adding, “Which in the end turned out to be pretty "uncommon ground" for the both of us.”
It was after a few intensive sessions together that something exhilarating began to emerge. What began as a few idle improvisations soon evolved into feverish and lengthier jams. Whenever time permitted, the musicians would meet, descending deeper into the emerging sounds, while reimagining the realms that existed between their African and Indian heritages.
Over the next few months, the duo would rack up over fifteen hours of recordings in studio, and it was up to Buttery to shape the material into an album which they collectively titled Nāḍī, which Narahari translates from the Sanskrit as "The Channel" or "An Internal River".
During this period, Narahari bestowed upon Buttery, the moniker Guruji while Guy would refer to him, in affectionate return, as Panditji. Each time the musicians would meet, the studio space would be cleared by an impromptu ritual, with Guruji burning African Imphepho while Panditji would chant a Sanskrit mantra dusting Indian Agarbatti clouds over their instruments.
Once the room had been made hazy with this aromatic alchemy (with the ancestors welcomed in) the musicians would pick up their instruments and plunge into shimmering tides of sound. Reflecting on these sessions, Narahari recalls the immense creative freedom he felt throughout: “Guy and I tried to wander as much as possible, without any speculative, preoccupied ideologies or limitations. Love remained at the forefront of our journey together.”
“Those evenings we spent together in the studio” adds Buttery, “felt incredibly rich with purpose and a profound sense of freedom. While improvising, anything could happen and mostly did.”
On a first listen, the tracks on Nāḍī emerge as salty, humid invocations to the inscrutable depths and misty myths of the Indian ocean-- that vast body of water that stretches between, and laps the shorelines, of the artists’ respective homelands.
When asked to describe the sound him and Narahari refined, Buttery prefers to relay a series of evocative images.
“For me” he explains, “Nāḍī is a lighthouse, a beacon that resides at the bottom of the ocean.” As Buttery envisions it, “what once offered light to guide ships to safety, has been submerged and re-purposed by marine life as a coral-reef temple. Similarly, this sunken lighthouse exists as a concealed cenotaph, memorializing the ancient sea-routes and passages that once connected the two distant lands.”
On paper this may sound obscure but listening to the songs, it serves as an apt metaphor.
Across each meditative movement, listeners are able to relive the journey, immersing themselves in a series of incantations, replete with high dynamics, delicate African-Indian inflections and virtuoso string playing of an entirely new order. Further complimenting the fusion of musical dialects are a range of guest artists including Shane Cooper on bass, Thandi Ntuli on vocals, Chris Letcher on organ, Ronan Skillen on tabla and percussion and Julian Redpath on guitar, synth and backing vocals.
Now like the submerged lighthouse, the recordings stand as a monument, a marker and snapshot of this fortuitous meeting, a tribute to the healing gifts of Guruji and Panditji in performance. It’s a process that already, both musicians look back on with reverence and nostalgia.
Buttery ruminates in closing, that when he first met Kanada his illness correlated with the biggest drought South Africa had experienced in many years “…for whatever reason, whenever we would connect and make music together, the sky would tend to open. Even if it was just a few drops. This went on for months, until finally the drought dissipated and my health had been restored.”
By the time the heavens did open across the East Coast, a deep friendship had been forged and with it abundant musical offerings poured down. A treasured sample of which we able to share in every time we press play and immerse ourselves in the sacrosanct musical universe that is Nāḍī.
A collection of side notes, a tale of the little stories. Compiled over the course of years, renewed, revisited, enlarged and extended, a very personal collage of single frames and flickering motion. Long overdue to find its place in the shelf, Kleintierschaukel‘s first album is ready to accompany the season change. The perfect fit for upcoming golden hours and longer lasting nights.
Lokalophon is the newly established sub-label of Philophon, which is designed to release local specialities from potentially all around the world. The first 7" is by Ghanaian Frafra-Gospel singer Chris De Wise Shepherd.
Born in Bolgatanga, he moved as a young man from the rural north of Ghana to its coastal capital Accra. Consequentially, his style became more urban. That you can clearly hear on his 2012 release Nera Wo'o Soke, which sounds in some ways as if Grandmaster Flash himself were operating the production knobs. Atune Anya'alima on the other hand is pure Frafra-Gospel as it is usually performed in Northern Ghana.
C.Y.M. is the collaboration between British producer and DJ Mike Greene (otherwise known as Fort Romeau) and LA-based American musician Chris Baio, who releases music as Baio in addition to playing bass in the acclaimed band Vampire Weekend. Their debut, self-titled EP arrives on Phantasy as an elegant pean to the infinite possibilities of kosmische music, driven by a motorik strain of psychedelia. The foundations of a wider project, C.Y.M. speaks not for analogue nostalgia, but a subtle and modern update on imagined futures that are still open to interpretation.
‘Capra’ immediately establishes the duo’s masterful if unsurprising grip on rhythm, a man-machine stomp that persists as the track takes myriad turns, from post-punk guitar licks and processed vocals, through bubbling modular synthesis and culminating in a soaring, cathartic melody. On ‘Far Gone’ C.Y.M. turn their studio inward for a more brooding and intimate interpretation of their sound, a balearic amalgam of intriguing vocals, feedback soaked riffs and no-wave inspired movement. The bliss beneath the waves of noise that crash across C.Y.M’s music emerges fully on the driving conclusion, ‘Super-Cannes’. A hypnotic tempo and blistering drums intertwine with whirling organs, and shimmering keys, providing a wistful and warm finale.
Girl is the second album from the North London band Girl Ray, released on 8th November 2019 via Moshi Moshi. Recorded at Electric Beach Studios in Margate with Ash Workman (Christine and the Queens, Metronomy), the album is a delightful, sun-kissed tribute to their love of pop and R&B.
The three-piece, comprising Poppy Hankin, Iris McConnell and Sophie Moss, today share a taster of the new record with “Show Me More”. According to the band, the song is about “crushing really hard but having to play the long game and wait it out because your boo is playing savage games. It’s your classic pop banger. Steamy dance floor. Drinks on me.” The accompanying video was directed by Crusoe Weston and features the band cycling around the city at dusk.
It was Ariana Grande’s explosion into pop culture that kickstarted a new era for Girl Ray, as well as the realisation that their most-listened-to Spotify playlists contained pure pop music. When Poppy began experimenting with writing songs on a computer using keyboards, a collection of shimmering, foot-tapping, sparkling pop bangers poured out. With this new set of songs, Girl Ray have been brave enough to completely change their sound rather than play it safe, yet still remain unmistakably themselves - it’s Girl Ray, but with added synths.
A six-track release, ‘Fun Is Fun’ opens with the infectious, synth-driven title track, with a dub version and ‘Mamacita version’ also making it onto the record. Next up, ‘Dancefloor Anarchy’ is a similarly slick cut, while ‘Kill Your Friends’ is 140bpm and harnesses a killer bassline and unnerving scream sample to devastating effect.
“The title track ‘Fun Is Fun’ is a heavy bassline track, meant as a provocative poem, or as a joke you tell your friends who DJ,” Kessler explains. “When I did this track I was smiling because it’s my message not to take yourself too serious in this business. I think that's a big problem all over this scene.”
Following energetic releases on underground labels such Coméme, Get Physical and Numbers, the Cologne-born DJ, producer and poet’s distinctive sound has helped him grow into one of Germany’s most celebrated electronic artists. He has previously collaborated with the likes of DJs Pareja and Christian S while his music regularly receives club plays from Dixon and other A-league selectors.
TRICK was initially launched as a platform to exhibit Topping’s versatility as a producer, as well as a platform to showcase the wealth of emerging talent which he has been pushing in his DJ sets. Kessler, who played the TRICK launch party at Gateshead’s 4,500 capacity Mainyard venue, will also return to the tour with a set at the series’ upcoming Warehouse Project in Manchester on 8th November.
“I first heard ‘Fun Is Fun’ when Jackmaster was playing it in 2016 and it's become one of the most ID'd tracks online since!” Topping adds. “This was also the first time I’d heard of Bryan Kessler. Since then I've been hammering so much of his music and I'm absolutely buzzing to sign ‘Fun Is Fun’ a few years later as I think it could be an underground anthem. The other three tracks also show how much of a unique talent Bryan is!”
A collection of club-ready heaters, ‘Fun Is Fun’ sees Bryan Kessler craft six cuts with the dancefloor in mind.
Da Lata’s highly anticipated fourth album Birds is a genre busting journey through London Afro-Brazilian soul music.
The most homogeneous Da Lata record to date, Christian Franck has honed his craft and expanded his art to create a glowing testimony from the melting pot of the capital’s musical life.
Gathering his family of collaborators with diverse musical backgrounds in soul, jazz, and gospel as well as African and Brazilian forms, Birds is an album that finally lays waste to that tired idea of World music.
There are tracks that are inspired by Chris’ journeys to the source, there are elegant horn and woodwind arrangements recorded in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, there are lyrics in different tongues, but this is a London record.
Birds is an album of warm organic grooves infused with sophisticated funkiness and splattered with instrumental colour. From the Afro skank swagger of the low slung opener Mentality to the Beatles-esque pathos of the closing title track, it’s a record packed with soulful surprises and beguiling rhythms.
The sound is both intimate and expansive, drawing the listener into Da Lata’s London tropicalia and out into the cosmos.
Birds is an album about keeping doors open and conversation flowing, it’s about survival, hope, family, resistance, awareness, unity and love.
