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Three classic house cuts by label boss himself ! Strictly limited , not to be missed !

The Stallions compilations have become a benchmark of Bosconi's position as one of the leading house and techno labels operating out of Italy. This third instalment marks a shift in sound which also comes full circle to the music that first inspired founder Fabio Della Torre as a DJ and producer around the turn of the millennium, when punchy electro production was driving European house and techno into new zones.

All the artists featured on Vol. III are Italian, holding true to Bosconi's commitment to supporting local talent from Florence and across the country. Amongst the familiar faces is Della Torre's own Minimono collaboration with Ennio Colaci, which indulges a proudly manic palette of tweaked bleeps and dirty low-end. Elsewhere, recent additions to the Bosconi fold include veritable legends Alexander Robotnick and Marco Passarani, who infuse their unpredictable approaches to electro-techno and italo disco with ear-snagging synth-pop and driving analogue box jams respectively to create vibrant, impassioned dancefloor monsters.

The Mechanical Man is an alias from Nicola Altieri, who leans in on a classic Italo arpeggio to create a seductive club sound which builds on his recent Bosconi EXV EP, while Cixxx J switches from the mood of his own Bosconi appearance for a new alias Queen Of Coins and a pivot towards heads-down electro-techno-trance with a whiff of International Deejay Gigolos. Lapucci builds on the promise of his 2021 Bosconi 12" with a sentimental fusion track which lands somewhere between old school Italo house, the snappy pulse of EBM and crisp 00s-era electro house. Meanwhile modern day Italian techno legend Lucretio of The Analogue Cops makes his first appearance on Bosconi with the playful video game stylings of 'Gradius'.
A great deal of space on Vol. III is given over to emergent talent, ranging from Miguel Herr's twitchy detroitian synth-pop braindance and Twovi's vocoder-charged electro funk to DJ Rou's jacking ghetto house flavour. Giammarco Orsini and Jacopo Latini appear as Data Memory Access and deliver an emotive, punchy strain of machine soul. Feel Fly rounds the compilation off in bombastic style with an epic, cinematic workout which draws on Moroder-inspired drama without losing the forthright peak-time focus which binds the whole collection together.

Even the artwork on Vol. III serves as an opportunity to celebrate Italian creativity, as pioneering crypto artist Niro Perrone builds on his accomplished work in the field of NFTs and a background in music production to respond intuitively to the vibrant, synthetic sound of the compilation. For all the futurism in the music though, there remains a strong sense of human feeling which has marked Bosconi out since the beginning. The label remains as inspired and inspiring as ever, celebrating the fertile crossover when people manipulate technology to express themselves in an honest, playful way. Independent of wider trends or fashions, Bosconi remains true to its own idiosyncratic passions, and so Bosconi Stallions Vol. III stands proud as a compilation like no other.

30 years anniversary repress!

It’s been a few years since Vinyl Fanatiks partnered up with DJ Aphrodite, but we are back again… serving up another awesome repress from the Aphrodite back catalogue. And this time we take things back to 1993 with a repress of his collab with Nutty Jim.

Two absolute jungle bangers created back in 1993 and remastered in 2023. Another classic from the Aphrodite back catalogue, produced back in the day on an Amiga. This has that raw low-sample rate vibe and the new masters have been sympathetically tweaked so not to lose that rawness. Drop this on the deck will transport you back to the sweaty raves and illegal parties that took over the UK in the early 90’s… parties that Aphrodite was playing at and drawing inspiration from.

This record comes in a black inner sleeve and presented in a full colour Aphrodite Recordings housebag, designed by Aphrodite himself that features the labels of all his early releases on the rear of the sleeve.

Mysterious and very rare from a private press label with only one known release on its catalogue, (up until now it wasn't even sure what the release year was). Spanish guitar, classic Balearic Italo house beats, drama on the vocals, all boxes are checked for a good time on an outdoor sunny dancefloor on some Mediterranean island.

Seeing the credits makes it clear that this was a joint operation of well seasoned Italian music specialists at the time. Although it's all about the "D.J. Never Sleep" version, all original versions in different languages are featured in this re-issue along with an additional new DJ tool style bonus beats. Very odd ball project that has been well hidden for a long time, brought back to record bags at an affordable price.

How do you define an artist who has never performed live, nor DJ’ed, nor ever had his photograph published and has never partaken in an interview? By the music of course. Jürgen Paape has proven this time and time again. How? Listen. Here. Right. Now. Co-owner of Kompakt. The house’s most elusive member remains the uncompromised, untainted shining star. He, who has launched the label with its very first release “Triumph“, Jürgen Paape has left a legacy of music that is a true core of the sound which Kompakt’s foundation is built on.

We celebrate Jürgen Paape with “Kompilation”. A well deserved opportunity to hear Jürgen Paape for fans and newcomers – revived and remastered and for the very first time on double vinyl – in a way that it plays through like a full length album. Some of the biggest moments of Kompakt over a three decade history are here; the chorus of “So Weit Wie Noch Nie” remains timeless – there to send shivers of pleasure down your spine as we feel at the end of exhaustive end of a night. “Take That” is an anthem for the still to be built rock stadiums of tomorrow. It’s a bonafide hit that put him in the charts in Australia and Italy. – “Come Into My Life” remains undeniably one of Kompakt’s catchiest pop tracks ever. “So Wird Die Zeit Gemacht” – builds on Paape’s signature sound with the spirit and vitality of classic house and a truly demented vocal hook. Then there’s the unique Schaffel quirkiness of “Ofterschwang” and so many other hits Jürgen Paape has delivered over the years. Well, it’s Paape!
Wie definiert man einen Künstler, der noch nie live aufgetreten ist, der noch nie als DJ aufgelegt hat, der noch nie ein Foto von sich veröffentlicht hat und der noch nie an einem Interview teilgenommen hat? Natürlich über die Musik. Jürgen Paape hat das immer wieder bewiesen. Und wie? Hört selbst. Hier. Genau. Jetzt. Er ist Miteigentümer von Kompakt. Das am schwersten fassbare Mitglied des Hauses bleibt sein kompromissloser, ungetrübter leuchtender Stern. Er, der das Label mit seiner allerersten Veröffentlichung “Triumph” aus der Taufe hob, hat ein musikalisches Vermächtnis hinterlassen, das der wahre Kern des Sounds ist, auf dem Kompakts Fundament aufgebaut ist.

Wir feiern Jürgen Paape mit “Kompilation”. Eine wohlverdiente Gelegenheit, Jürgen Paape für Fans und Neueinsteiger wieder zu entdecken – aufgefrischt, remastered und zum ersten Mal auf Doppel-Vinyl. Einige der größten Momente in der drei Jahrzehnte währenden Geschichte von Kompakt sind hier zu hören; der Refrain von “So Weit Wie Noch Nie” bleibt zeitlos – er lässt einem noch immer Schauer der Freude über den Rücken laufen, als würden wir nach durchtanzter Nacht morgens aus dem Club taumeln. “Take That” ist eine Hymne für die noch zu bauenden Rockstadien von morgen. Es ist ein echter Hit, der ihn sogar in Australien und Italien in die Charts brachte. “Come Into My Life” bleibt unbestreitbar einer der eingängigsten Popsongs von Kompakt überhaupt. “So Wird Die Zeit Gemacht” baut auf Paapes charakteristischem Sound auf, mit dem Geist und der Vitalität von klassischem House und einem wahrhaft verrückten Vocal-Hook. Und dann ist da noch die einzigartige Schaffel-Schrägheit von “Ofterschwang” und so viele andere Hits, die Jürgen Paape im Laufe der Jahre abgeliefert hat. Well, it’s Paape!

Jayl Funk is back on Sound Exhibitions with a 7 inch , very summery , pleasant and classy . I recommend it

4/5 REVIEW IN SHINDIG! ''Incorporating afrobeat and a more spiritual sound in amongst its heavy beats and super-tight musicianship''

As pioneers in the burgeoning modern funk scene of the '90s The Poets of Rhythm created new standards, transcending the parameters lesser groups were defined by. With Discern / Define the Poets took their brand of classic funk to the next level by blending elements of rock, psychedelia, afro-beat, jazz and heavy, heavy drums to create a wholly original brand of transcendent, funky soul.

Anyone who has tried to cop an OG in the last twenty years knows how difficult of a task that has proven to be - not necessarily due to rarity, but more to the fact that people simply DO NOT get rid of this album. It's a testament to the fact that Discern / Define has no shelf life. It's a bonafide classic that any discerning funk and soul fan must have in their collection. Now sporting a deluxe gatefold jacket with reimagined artwork, it is an honor to get these back on the shelves of a record shop near you. Cop one today!

"They have the unique power of being able to depart from tradition in order to bring advancement music and unsuspecting listeners, yet still please the purists with home-cooked "Funk-of-Ages" values"
- Lyrics Born

This is the second time out for the Wormholes on AllChival following on from their You Never See the Stars When it Rains anthology release. This one is a previously unreleased album recorded in a concise burst of seven nights in Dublin’s Sun Studios in the spring of 1996. It was originally envisaged as being The Wormholes’ second album, the follow up to their 1994 debut Chicks Dig Scars. Unfortunately the end result of the sessions - Parijuana - would not only be ignored by their label of the time (Roadrunner Records) - but would also just as quickly be dismissed by the band themselves.

Eamonn Crudden, the manager of the band, had manged to extract some money from Roadrunner to record demos of new tracks as soon as the release cycle for their debut was over. The budget was so tight that it covered studio time but was not even enough to buy the master tapes. With things going south with the label – a classic 90’s tale of the A&R man who championed their cause heading off elsewhere the minute they signed - the intention was to go in and aim to record an album rather than demos - with the intention of releasing it on another independent label to keep the momentum around the band going.

However by this stage the Wormholes were totally wrapped up in listening to Can, Faust and generally exploring music based on casual recording, improvisations and extemporization. For them the album was too ‘rock’ and – having been dropped by Roadrunner - they no longer felt under any obligation to release it. To them it was time for a fresh start. Their next recordings would not be ‘for’ anyone but themselves. Today bassist Anto Carroll admits that “at times we were our own worst enemies” and with the benefit of hindsight both he and guitarist Graham Blackmore wish they had gone ahead and released this album at the time. However, back then, they thought they could do better and they did go on to make inventive and unique sounding versions of some of these songs with Stan Erraught producing just a short time later. These recordings were eventually released by Dead Elvis in 1999 - along with a couple of ‘adjusted’ tracks from the Sun Studios sessions - on Parijuana: 4 Years in Captivity.

It’s highly unlikely that listeners today will share the band’s view that the abum was too ‘clean’. This version of Parijuana is dirty, raw, messy with plenty of experimentation and extemporisation. The songwriting is as strong as that on their Chicks Dig Scars debut. The music is played with a new confidence and swagger, very much the sound of a band rooted in a wave of US ‘lo-fi’ finding their own sound. It’s the missing link between their conventional Pavement/Sebadoh influenced debut to the more drawn out, free roaming and extemporised second album proper Scorpio The Album.

Massimiliano Pagliara pays tribute to Manuel Göttsching in his first solo EP on his very own Funnuvojere Records, ‘All the VCOs You Can Eat’.

As a devoted fan of Göttsching’s groundbreaking work, Pagliara draws inspiration from his musical hero, crafting a mesmerizing EP that encapsulates the spirit and innovation of Göttsching’s influential sound. The release comprises three different interpretations of the same track, each imbued with exceptional artistry and technical knowledge.

The ceaselessly rolling piano chords in A1 Modulator Mix and B1 Traveler Dub are clear reminders of Göttsching’s E2E4 famous hypnotic refrain. The slight tonal variations, the stretched-out acid line and the uplifting drums conspire to create a sense of transcendence and euphoria. The infectious drums have their own space in B2 The Lonely Drums. This mix has an irresistible groove that will make all dance floors bounce.

The artwork captures the essence of Pagliara’s music through a vibrant and emotive visual language, reminiscent of the pioneers of abstract expressionism. The geometrical forms and patterns mirror the intricate melodies and pulsating beats of this future classic EP.

The latest offering from Astral Black comes in the form of the 'Metropolis N' LP, courtesy of Queens, New York's number premier importer/exporter of Jungle & D&B, NIGELTHREETIMES. Having initially garnered a name for themselves as one of New York City's most versatile club DJ's, with the release of their 'Call Of The Void; project in 2020 Nigel also began to build a reputation as a producer in their own right. Resulting in residencies on Rinse FM & The Lot Radio, radio support from the likes of Tom Ravenscroft & Uniiqu3 and press support from Resident Advisor, OkayPLAYER & Mixmag – amplifying their talents throughout New York City and beyond.

With 'Metropolis N' NIGELTHREETIMES distills their eclectic influences through the lens of rolling 160bpm breaks – taking in Jazz, 8-bit game soundtrakcs, science fiction & jump up D&B. Starting off the LP with the rhodes tinged double header of 'TSQ MELTDOWN' & 'EARLY MORNING FROM 103RD STREET', the latter featuring some of the best double bass work heard on a jungle track since 'Brown Paper Bag'. Elsewhere, on 'ROAD2RAILS' and 'PHANTOM SHORES', the producer ditches the instrumentation in favour of oscillated square waves, dubbed out vocal FX & 8-bit melodies, without ever losing site of the projects underlying sense of optimism. On the album closer 'INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION', 3X manages to bring together the influences heard throughout the project, tying together a muted rhodes chords, squarewave basslines, flutters of alien melodies and finely tuned, slices breakbeats into a 5 minute symphony.

The consistency and exacting production skills heard throughout the offering elevate this project from another drop in the digital ocean to a landmark opus, from a producer carrying the torch for this timeless sound and making the project worthy of a spot alongside some of the classics this genre has produced.

'Metropolis N' is available Oct 13th on digital and limited edition vinyl via Astral Black.

Banana Club is without doubt one of the top new labels on the Breakbeat scene today. Led by the young and highly prolific Cadiz artist, FM-3, it was set up in 2020 with a strong identity and powerful, effective dancefloor grooves inspired by English bassline and 2step/garage and a touch of funk.

On this first vinyl release by the label, entitled Funky Beats, FM-3 kicks off his musical discourse with One for Me, a track which showcases the characteristic quality and forcefulness of his groove. This is followed by the album eponymous track Funky Beats, a collaboration with the multiple Spanish and World Scratching Champion, Jose Rodriguez, who dazzles with a number of superb passages in which improvisation and funk come to the fore.

The B-side opens with Panorama, featuring Orak. This fascinating, highly-experimental track offers a fusion of breaks and tech house and an elegant acid line which acts as a common thread and brings cohesion to the whole idea. The record closes, as you would expect, with a collaboration with Bowser, another of the label regular artists, entitled Bubbling.

A classic bassline dancefloor filler, it will take you back to the best tracks of the late nineties and early noughties. The classic black 12", mastered and cut by Simon, a veteran sound engineer at the Exchange Vinyl in London, has achieved a sound which is quite simply brutal.

The BAO imprint honcho "Shlomi Aber" teams up with his label regular and Berlin based talent "Kashpitzky" for a 4 tracks EP of fast and rumbling classic sounding Techno.

Cocoon Recordings' next 12” vinyl comes from a well-known face. No introduction needed as nobody less than Gregor Tresher once again delivers a superb and surprising pair of tracks.

“Black Halo” is down-the-line and perhaps one of the catchiest tracks by Gregor Tresher.
The wobbling driving bassline builds up a rising tension that increases through the vast, detuned, and powerful string parts appearing to extend out to light years, reaching far beyond. Zaps drive the rhythm forward while rushing cymbals push the groove and weld everything together to absolute unity. For Gregor, techno and club culture have certain transcendental qualities, “Black Halo” is concerned with these sentiments and tells an ambivalent story. The onset of bliss oscillates between melancholy and hope, making it an exuberant roller coaster of emotions. A classic Gregor Tresher track, which perfectly represents Gregor’s signature sound!

“Phantom Dancer” literally pulls you onto the dance floor. Discharging beats, which hit you heavily but pleasant. The atmosphere violently evolves with a twisted noise-like signal sound and gets even more brute through the low-pitched filter vocals. An exceptionally deep techno production by Gregor Tresher, which will definitely come to full fruition in the clubs at peak time.

Best Record gets right to the heart of true Italo-Disco with this body-poppin' killer from 1983. R.E.M. were made up of Paolo Alfani and Nicola Serena, both based in Florence and well ahead of the curve with their experimental electronic disco sound. Making fantastic use of the Mattel Speak & Spell for their vocal hooks, this enterprising duo cooked up a veritable club bomb with their fusion of sleek drum machine rhythms, throbbing acid basslines and romantic synth tones that would come to be widely used in Detroit techno some years later. There's a full original take of the track on the A side, while the flip features a tweaked "remix" version to give you even more of that robo-vocoder action. In short this is the limited remastered edition of one of the early electro underground Italian releases that became a classic in the Chicago house movement.

Repress!

Collectable Vinyl Reproductions Of Classic Northern Soul