Cerca:clubland

Following the revival of the iconic 1990s dance album series, Club Culture in 2020, Stress presents Club Culture Vol. 2. Much like in volume 1, the label continue to pay homage to the UK’s rich and diverse club culture with a collection of the scene’s freshest tracks.

To celebrate the return of the series, a limited edition vinyl sampler will be available which features five of the album’s most cutting edge selections, including exclusives from Richie Blacker, and Danny Howard. Label favourites, Tommy Farrow, Ben Hemsley, and Because of Art are also included on the sampler. Each handpicked track captures the sonic essence of Stress and clubland today.

Stress brought the world many seminal house tracks in the 1990s including Bedrock’s ‘For You Dream Of’, Last Rhythm’s ‘Last Rhythm’, and Greed’s ‘Pump Up The Volume’. During the 1990’s, Stress was considered one of the world’s greatest independent record labels, where it became known for its growing influence on the progressive house scene. It gave birth to the early careers of iconic producers Sasha and John Digweed. Today it is carving out a whole new scene taking inspiration from the past but creating a whole new sound for the stable.

This is the sound of clubland and club culture.

Soul Jazz Records new ‘Life Between Islands’ collection coincides with the launch of Tate Britain’s exhibition of the same name. This landmark exhibition explores the links between Caribbean and British art and culture from the 1950s to now.

Soul Jazz Records album, sub-titled “Soundsystem Culture – Black Musical Expression 1973-2006,” focuses on the most important Black British musical styles to emerge out of the distinctly Caribbean world of sound systems. The album features an all-star line-up including Dennis Bovell, Shut Up and Dance, Cymande, Digital Mystikz, Brown Sugar, Funk Masters, Janet Kay, Ragga Twins and more.

The album is a lightning-rod journey across Roots Reggae, Jungle/Drum & Bass, Jazz-Funk, Lovers Rock, Jazz, Dubstep and more. Much of Soul Jazz Records’ catalogue comes out of these genres and this album is partly an overview of some of Soul Jazz’s earlier releases (including Digital Mystikz’ long-deleted groundbreaking and now highly-collectible single, ‘Misty Winter’) alongside some choice rare and classic tunes that span over 30 years of sound system culture.

Many of the tracks represent how Black British artists defined their own identity with songs such as Brown Sugar’s righteous ‘Black Pride’, ‘I’m In Love with A Dreadlocks’ and Tabby Cat Kelly’s powerful ‘Don’t Call Us Immigrants’. Aside from being musically rooted in the distinctly Jamaican-born phenomenon of the sound system, much of this identity is also shaped by the triangular relationship of being British-born, of Caribbean heritage, and with an equal love of African-American Jazz, Funk and Soul, as evidenced with many Lovers Rock tunes reggae covers of American soul tunes (such as those of Jean Carn, William de Vaughan and Rose Royce featured here). This stateside influence can also be heard in groups such as the Funk Masters, a group formed by reggae radio DJ Tony Williams, whose jazz-funk music successfully crossed over into New York’s clubland, as well as the great Cymande, whose unique street-funk became staple material for numerous US hip-hop artists in the years that followed.

In the early 1990s, jungle and drum and bass artists took the essence of reggae’s soundsystem culture – MCs, dubplates, crews – and applied them to their own music, applying heavy reggae bass lines to intense double-speed drum breakbeats. At the forefront of this new movement were the duo Shut Up and Dance, working closely with The Ragga Twins, aka Deman Rocker and Flinty Badman, both MCs for North London’s infamous Unity reggae soundsytem. In the early 2000s, dubstep, spearheaded by Digital Mystikz, became the latest instalment in this ever-evolving soundsystem culture.

There is nothing quite like an evening under the rhythmic spell of the legendary David Morales. Stepping on the dancefloor while he's behind the decks requires full trust and surrender. You agree to hand the reins of your mind, body, and spirit to his intuition and ability to guide you to where you need to be at all times. It will occasionally be cathartic and intense. It will often make the hairs on your body stand on end, and make you sweat more than you ever have before. The endorphin release will be powerful. You will feel like you can touch joy and euphoria it in the air around you. As he gently brings you back down to reality, you will feel renewed and ready for anything life brings your way. This is more than a night of dancing. This is an experience at the hands of a magical maestro of music. How is this possible from a night on the dancefloor? Well, it begins with the brilliant mind of an artist at the peak of his creative power, imbued with the empathy necessary to connect with what has become a global legion of fans. "If there is any secret, it's really simple: I love what I do with all of my heart," Morales says. "I'm a DJ first. I thrive on human interaction. I am always adjusting my sets based on what the people in the room need. Each night, we form an emotional connection that inspires the music as it comes."

For Morales, "working in the studio is important, but it exists as a way of supporting the DJing experience. It's all to inform how it will work on the dancefloor."

To that end, you're reading these words as you dive into a new collection of Morales classics. Ever the collaborator, he has enlisted the input of a wide range of voices and talent. There is the diva power of fellow legend Ultra Nate, who brings her signature sass to "I Can Dream," while Michele Perera's explosive chemistry with David is all over the inspiring "Life is a Song" and "Never Give Up", as well as the impassioned "Addicted."

Morales reminds the listener of his ever-evolving musical scope in collaborations with blondewearingblack ("What Can I Do"), Lea Lorien ("Never Looking Back"), and Blakkat ("Can't Get Enough"). There's the clubland supergroup of David with Mr. V, Scotty P. and DJ Rae on "The Feels." Rounding out the set is a reunion with longtime muses Elle Cato ("I Feel Love") and British soul icon Joe Roberts ("Easy"). Just be sure to listen closely, because there's bound to be a surprise tucked between these grooves to tickle your ears and move your body.

The beauty of this sparkling new foray into electronic music is the heightened intimacy between Morales and the music. What you are hearing here is almost exclusively from the man's own fingertips. "The technology has evolved in the most extraordinary and liberating ways," he says, adding that he is now able to be far more directly hands-on during the building of each track. "Back in the '90s, I had to have more people involved, With the changes and growth in technology, I can now do it, myself. I don't even have to be in the studio anymore. It's smart, financially, but it's also way more fun and creative."

David adds, "I don't have to wait to manifest an idea anymore. I can just build my ideas as they come to me." In fact, he reveals that many of these new tracks were born in unique places, like planes, cars, his bedroom, and a host of other settings. "Music is always spinning around my mind. I no longer worry about losing an idea."

Surviving the highs and lows of an ever-changing world has also brought Morales back to the basic essentials of life and music. "The pandemic has brought things full circle for me," he says. "I love what I do and I still have the passion of a kid who is just getting started"

Yet, we know that Morales has been in the game for longer than a minute. He's a Grammy award-winning producer, remixer, and songwriter. He has lent his skill to countless of records by icons that include Mariah Carey, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Seal, and Jamiroquai. As a turntable artist originally from New York City, he earned his bones of credibility back in the '80s and '90s in clubs like the Paradise Garage, Red Zone, Tunnel, and Club USA. He initiated the concept of DJs touring beyond their hometowns with countless, wildly successful treks that have taken him the farthest-reaching corners of the world. As electronic music thrives on pop radium, David tops the list of every young artist and DJ as a primary influence.

Even with such a staggering legacy, Morales never looks over his shoulder.

"That is how you stumble and fall," he says. "If you get all caught up in the past, you're going to lose sight of what is right in front of you. You lose the excitement of discovery. That is what gets me off; taking what I know and combining it with what I don't know as I learn it. There is nothing better than experiencing how it all comes together. It's different every time."

And that is the ultimate secret to that extraordinary spell that David Morales casts over us all every single time.

One of the promoters and DJs behind South London party Big Dyke Energy, Elliott is part of a new wave bringing contemporary queer energy and attitude to clubland. Following an EP on Kouncil Cuts as one half of Faff, working alongside Ornography, ‘Transcendence’ marks their debut solo EP.

If you’ve ever wanted to hear more acid in garage, the epic bubbling 303 breakdown of two-step opener ‘Tender’ answers your prayers, its ghostly lead out-emoting even Four Tet. ‘Loose Tooth’ then lands in clubbier territory, dubby rave synths again deployed with a canny melodic ear.

On the flip, ‘Metamorphic’ is noir electro, UV bleeps and infrared bass cutting through its heavy, murky atmosphere. Working her trademark magic on the remix, Naive boss Violet bumps up the tempo, turning in a cut of booming, bottom-heavy machine-funk, a dub siren and half-time section nodding to the influence of UK rave culture.

Roman Flügel and Radio Slave remix KUSP ft Pablo:Rita on Rekids this November.

Arriving on Radio Slave’s vital Rekids imprint following 2020’s ‘Freedom of Fear EP’ on Rekids Special Projects, British duo KUSP deliver the captivating ‘Folding’, featuring vocals from Pablo:Rita and remixes from label boss Radio Slave and electronic music luminary Roman Flügel. A deviation from the duo’s upfront techno records, which have been supported by likes of Luke Slater, Regal, Truncate, and more, KUSP have crafted an emotive breakbeat jam featuring vocals from West London-based Pablo:Rita, the Crosstown Rebels affiliated duo formed of Annabel Simpson and Liz Cass.

Following the A1 is the ‘After Dark’ mix, which sees the duo head to heavier territories, stripping away the vocals and going for the jugular with crisp, pounding drums under the original’s melodic touch. On the flip, Roman Flügel brings his years of clubland experience to the table, introducing a wonky electro-esque
pattern, arpeggiated synth lines, before an ecstatic breakdown takes hold. For the final version, Radio Slave returns to his use of breaks and delicate atmospherics with his evocative, early-rave referencing ‘New Age Of Love’ remix.

Was hätte die unter tragischen Umständen viel zu früh verstorbene Sängerin noch für Platten machen können! Zusammenstellung von B-Seiten u.a. vom Album 'Kite', das mit Produzent Steve Lillywhite und Johnny Marr entstand, und diverse Hitsingles abwarf. U.a. mit der Smiths-Coverversion 'You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby'. 'Other People's Hearts erschien in kleiner Auflage zum RSD und ist nun aufgrund der Nachfrage nochmals als 140 Gr. LP (Black Vinyl erhältlich).

Following on from the recent and well received half-speed masters of
‘Amplified Heart’ and ‘Walking Wounded’, Buzzin’ Fly are proud to release EBTG’s 1999 album ‘Temperamental’. The album is a follow on from the global success of Walking Wounded in 1996 and features a myriad of rhythmic pop styles, including deep house grooves, fierce drum & bass and hip-hop infused funk. It contains the singles Five Fathoms, Blame and the title track Temperamental. The original vinyl was released on a limited edition ‘DJ friendly’ vinyl which is now a collectable item. The artwork for this new edition has been re-created
from the original source material to bring it in line with the original CD version. Like the previous two releases, it has been Mastered and Cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at London’s Abbey Road Studios.

In the years before ​Hunter Lombard​ perfected the gentle art of juxtaposing mega breakbeats with lush synth hooks, the New Yorker was an active rock musician. Citing the afterglow of her guitar background as a big influence for her current melodies and timbre, Lombard inhabits a sparsely populated intersection in dance music. For ​Schloss’​ third release, Lombard connects the dots between sweet rave nostalgia and clublands latest wrinkle. She has previously released on Volvox and John Barera’s label Jack Dept, and can often be found behind the decks at Elsewhere, Good Room or Bossa Nova Civic Club.
Slow Foam​ is mixed and mastered by Matt Karmil.

To kick off 2019 Haven are setting their sights on the farthest reaches of the resurgence in EBM. New Zealand based hardware warrior Body Beat Ritual grew up in the UK exposed to the body music of the 80s and 90s and his experiments in industrial-tinged dance tracks inspired by the likes of Front Line Assembly, Ministry, Subpoena The Past, Nitzer Ebb, and Revolting Cocks were made in complete isolation from, and with no awareness of, the EBM resurgence in Europe's clubland.

This EP represents the first of Body Beat Rituals explorations into this sound. The A1 starts the EP with 'Instinct Primitive' - a certified body moving slammer featuring haunting screams, samples ruminating schizophrenia, a funky bass-line and drum rolls aplenty. The A2 welcomes Poland's VTSS to Haven for the first time with a bouncy gabber kick and distorted tones on her tough remix of 'Instinct Primitive'. The B1 begins the flip with the hectic drum workout, cutting bass and synth programming and political samples of 'Crash Report', followed by the destructive drums and scratchy timbre of Blush Response's remix on the B2. Not one to be missed for fans of dance-floor focused, gnarled industrial techno and EBM!

Manana presents a new remix EP bringing together some essential re-works of Sound Species and Ache Meyi's collaboration recordings.
Originally recorded in 2016 in Santiago de Cuba during the lead-up to the Manana Festival in the city, the original sessions were an inspired fusion of Ache Meyi's deep folkloric Afro-Cuban styles with Sound Species' subtle electronic touches. The new re-works have attracted some familiar names from clubland: broken beat don IG Culture keeps the roots of 'Ogún Meyi Meyi' intact with a bass-heavy, percussive attack; brilliant UK drummer and producer Tom Skinner strips back 'Egrem Bata Jam' on a pulsing new version; Chicago legend Ron Trent creates a more melodic dancefloor re-work of 'Alina's Calypso' while Sound Species themselves beef up the original Afro-Haitian rhythms of the same track for a dubbier treatment.

Strata-Gemma's eponymous debut album is set to provide a soundtrack to 2018.

The trio hail from Modena, the Northern Italian motor city. As with the Ferrari and Maserati cars that are designed and manufactured in Modena, Strata-Gemma produce a music of beautiful symmetry.

Strata-Gemma create jazz for the head, the heart and the body. Their sound is shaped by the ambient adventures Miles Davis and Ron Carter engaged in alongside the electronic pulse Mo' Wax and Ninja Tune carved out of clubland. Add to this a touch of Nino Rota's Fellini film scores, employ a pinch of Balkan and klezmer brass arrangements, and you have an instrumental trio who create music so fresh it stimulates the senses.

Strata-Gemma are a collaboration between Billy Bogus, Luca Cacciatore and Andrea Moretti. The trio first took shape as a club jam between DJs and musicians. Their ability to create atmospheric music, pulsing with rhythm but never solely reliant on beats, music that breaks free and explores sonic possibilities, quickly won notice and lead to the trio playing their freeform music in clubs, music venues and festivals across Italy.

Strata-Gemma consist of producer Niccolò Bruni (aka Billy Bogus), horns player Luca Cacciatore, double bassist Andrea Moretti. Bruni is a DJ, producer and founder of Pizzico Records. Over the past two decades he has striven to mix jazz, beats, soundtracks and funk. Coming together with Luca and Andrea allowed Bruni to explore a vision of post-club jazz that is as rich as Modena's food and as elegant as Modena's cars. Strata-Gemma create a sensual sonic storm, music to be savoured and explored, the opposite of much of today's fast-food music.

Lorenzo Bandiera, the London-based Italian founder of Fly By Night Music, heard a Strata-Gemma demo via friends and was immediately impressed. "I thought 'this is great!", he says. "Music as strong as this can't be ignored. I'm excited about releasing Strata-Gemma."

Mit der EP "Auf Los" von Cie geht das neue Label Form & Terra mit treibenden Beats, glitzernden Melodien und strahlenden Strings auf den Startplatz. Für den Kölner und Mitglied des Improvisations-Live-Acts Drehkommando ist es die zweite EP auf Vinyl.
Kräftigen Anschub geben dabei Remute und Einmeier:
Remute beschleunigt mit seinem mitreißendem Remix von 0 auf 100 in Rekordzeit und lässt mit deepen Bässen die Clublandschaft erbeben. Einmeier übernimmt auf der B-Seite das Steuer und verwebt raffiniert Teile des Originals zu einer minimalistischen, deepen Soundwiese. Auf der Zielgeraden wird die Scheibe noch einmal von Cie mit dem treibenden Track "Perleffekt" neu lackiert. Vinyl only.

Richy Ahmed launches his new imprint, Four Thirty Two, with a self-produced two-track single, 'Put Me In A Trance', featuring the vocal talents of Gloria Adereti and a collaboration with up and coming producer, Janson.
The new label is a back to basics, analogue vision, directed by Richy, which will include original material, unearthed and undiscovered artist appearances, and remixes from the Richy and Janson alias Love Hurtz, as well as featuring a variety of vocalists from surrounding circles. Each release will have a clear focus on the sound of vinyl and clean-cut imagery presented with each record.
Richy explains; "The first release is from myself, my good friend Janson and Gloria Adereti, all original and new material. I am super happy with the EP and both tracks are sounding really strong, so cant wait for you to hear it. Check the original artwork also done by Will Worrell and myself, each release will have unique and bespoke artwork that we've created and photographed in professional studios. I'm super proud to kick start the label with this release."
Since his debut EP 'The Drums' on Hot Creations in 2013, Richy has continued to pave the way for genre spanning and aspiring artists. Aside from his recording and production ventures, Richy has been at the forefront of UK house music and its surrounding avenues for some years, taking a lead role in programming DC10'S Paradise parties, and a variety of club projects. Richy has forthcoming remixes for the likes of FFRR and Snatch, and has recently had solo singles out on Strictly Rhythm and Rinse Records, as well as a prestigious remix for New Order.
As an extension to the label releases, Four Thirty Two will tour the UK as an operating label party brand, with early shows selling out in record time and forthcoming label nights around the UK and Europe scheduled, all side stepping Richy's usual realms of clubland for smaller and more intimate venues.
Vinyl release date 28th October

Mele comes back with two heads down 4/4 rollers off the back of his huge debut single on Lobster Boy, 'Ambience'.

Championed across the board in clubland by every man and his dog.

Fresh out of the Lobster Boy factory, both these cuts are built strictly for the DJ looking for a decent club tool to keep the party bubbling and they don't disappoint. Check them out.

The second chapter of the 'Startup Label' series starts with the dreamy 'OaaS'. It's gravitating ambient body music picks up right where Startup Label 1 left off. The sparkling dust of Quarry_S has
settled, and mutates into a liquid morphing bass drizzle. Moving on to 'Found_Weaver' the hazy synths find a more rhythmical form accompanied by a staccato groove. When the record is flipped a new world gets exposed on the track 'Wolf'. A more consistent and articulate track with a killer groove. Startup Label 2 explores the musical map of clubland travelling further than the dance floor, not afraid of venturing behind the 'Here Be Dragons' signpost.