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After the great success of his last EP, 8Ball is back with a 3-track single featuring the already well known Jungle staple "You" plus two brand new cuts.

"Been Higher" is ode to the sometimes overwhelming dread of a post party dip. It features haunting synth lines with a looping vocal and deep under-laying bass. This is taken straight out of the 8Ball hardcore revisited back catalogue.
"Table Spice" is a jam roly poly wrapped in custard being eaten in the garden of De Skool Amsterdam. 8Ball here strips back the drums to leave the bare bones of atmospheric hardcore tune.

Comes housed in a hand-screen printed sleeve and stickered centre label. Designed in house by Grade 10 International.

What more can be said about The Slackers? Having released over 20 albums and countless singles over a decades-spanning career that dates back to 1991, the New York City hometown heroes have managed to thrive both underground and internationally in the firmly entrenched revival scenes of ska, punk and rock 'n roll.

Their generational impact may be unmatched, especially considering the incredible run and reach that they've made throughout a myriad of tours across North America, Europe and South America.

Easily standard bearers for the modern day, working, independent musician, The Slackers have also embodied a very thoughtful and respectful brand of Jamaican roots music and production into their own skilled compositions and writing. It's a concrete connection to the musical roots that makes this particular one-off release on NYCT a prime example of The Slackers in their most classic and reverential stance.

Two unreleased exclusive instrumentals in the canonical Jamaican stylee: one ska, one rock steady, two burners on the preferred 7-inch format.

Sound has the ability to heal. This is the primary tenet that has been driving Karma Moffett for over 35 years. Pure tones, resonant harmonics, the sounds of the earth. At the dawn of the 80’s, as the burgeoning movement of privately-issued New Age was taking hold, Karma Moffett was a pioneer. Eschewing the use of synthesizers and other increasingly-available electronic technology, Karma crafted his meditative, introspective music using ancient instruments. Primarily utilizing Tibetan Bells, and Singing Bowls, Karma Moffett crafted sounds that led the listener on an inward journey.

1982’s Sitting Still Within/Sitting Still Without s Karma Moffett’s earliest triumph. Combining the aforementioned Tibetan Bowls & Bells along with naturalistic field recordings, Karma’s first album is a testament to the power of minimalism and repetition. An ambient voyage that truly draws the listener inwardst, and outwards, Sitting Still Within/ Sitting Still Without is music for healing.

Being heavily influenced by the house sounds coming from the U.S. past and present it should not come as a surprise that Red D‘s WPH imprint is launching a new 12” series on which his favorite producers from Detroit, New York, Chicago and beyond get to shine in all their glory. A whole slew of Detroit and New York friends of the label have already confirmed to take part in this series, so good things await us!

But to kick things off we are extremely happy to present label boss Red D’s collaboration with Reggie Dokes, who has been a WPH regular since the very early days. Reggie Dokes and Red D a.k.a. RD² team up for three tracks full of electronic soul and analogue dirt, ranging from the ethereal beauty that is ‘Sharing Angels’ to the minimal dance of ‘Beyond Borders’ and the tribute to their respective cities of birth ‘From D To Shining D’. To complete the E.P. Reggie contributes the solo track ‘Birth Day’, bringing his trademark deepness to the table.

Time will tell if there was a better way to start this new series on WPH, but we are pretty happy with this one as it is. Stay tuned for more and enjoy!

Lefto: ‘Sharing Angels’ & ‘Birth Day’ are my favourites!

Red Rack’em: ‘Beyond Borders’ & ‘Birth Day’ for me. Loving the chords and choppy melodicness of them.

Satoshi Fumi: I really love ‘Sharings Angels’ & ‘Beyond Borders’. Timeless tracks!

Fabrice Lig: ‘Sharing Angels’ is magnificent!

WRWTFWW Records is beyond thrilled to announce the first ever vinyl maxi-single release for "Raum", Grauzone's best-kept secret and underground mega-gem from 1980. The four-track affair includes the full title track sourced from the original reels, as well as a club-ready rework by Naum Gabo (Jonnie Wilkes of Optimo and James Savage) with help from Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid, and an extended edit by legendary Frankfurt DJ Ata (Robert-Johnson club, Playhouse/Klang/Ongaku labels). The 12 inch vinyl is cut at 45rpm and comes with a never-seen cover art by band member Stephan Eicher and a handmade Xerox hype sticker.

Initally released almost 40 years ago on the beloved compilation Swiss Wave - The Album (Off Course Records) alongside the band's massive hit "Eisbär", "Raum" is the biggest Grauzone track people have yet to discover. An über-infectious New York style bassline played by Christian "GT" Trüssel and frantic drumming by Marco Repetto blend with Martin Eicher's hauntingly hopeless lyrics and Claudine Chirac's saxophone escapades to personify post-punk heaven and all its wonderful anomalies. It's disco with an edge, pop filled with fear, it's The Cure infused with proto-techno and Swiss art chic. Or maybe, it's simply one hell of a song that will make you dance and shout. It's good!

Derek Neal is a Turin based producer born in Vermont (USA). He started his DJ'in career as an undergraduate student at his college radio station and since then he's been cultivating his interest in house and techno music. Fostered by his brother's own producer career, who goes by the name of Motions and is 1/3 of the Montreal collective 00:AM, Derek pushed further his own interest in production to the point of proposing a set of tracks to Funnuvojere Records. Probably struck by the simplicity and effectiveness of Derek's sound, the Berlin label agreed on releasing Reason Machine, Derek's debut EP.? A comforting sound distinguishes this record, it is gentle and deep at the same time. If A1 - Sky City feels like diving in calm water, A2 - Jet Fuel could soundtrack a romantic date. On the flip B1 - October has a cinematic personality, envisioning a urban landscape, while B2 - Stereosense expresses a special dynamicity of sound.? Don't get tricked by my rather emotional introduction though, Neal knows about beats and you'll hear. From breakbeat to funk, Chicago house to dub this EP is all-round a delightful expression of contemporary club music.

J A surfaces on RUBBER with six disorienting wave tracks, reigniting the catalogue after a short hiatus. Crafted by Andrea Noce (Eva Geist, As Longitude) and Jonida Prifti (Acchiappashpirt, Opa Opa), these productions find elegance in their noir aesthetic and sketch-like composition, breathing filmic atmospheres of its creative process and the hedonist self alike. Straying away from the societal drift for efficiency and make belief, this record was produced over a timespan of five years, while shifting between Berlin and Rome. Dancing and loafing, mirrors were splintered and scattered shards reflected a new light. Here, Noce her serpentine sense of melody guides uncharted signatures of reverberating syncopated drums, while soundscapes move in and out as apparitions fogging the mind. The poetic spoken-singing of Prifti subdues the tracks, through a linguistic form where Albanian and Italian intertwine, channeling her scientific field into art. Cleverly processed, the vocals take on many shapes, blurring lines between instrumentation and recognition, creating meaning where language ends.

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.

We always try to bring something special when it comes to release a single on vinyl. This time, we are pleased to announce the return of one of the most obscure and talented vocal group from the early 80's: Time Unlimited. It's been more than twenty years that Donovan Joseph, Hugo Blackwood and Orville Smith, have been off the musical scene as Time Unlimited. During the recording sessions of the Roots Architects project in 2017, we had the chance to meet Donovan Joseph passing by the studio. Straightaway, we were telling ourselves that we had to see his legendary group name written on black wax again. Here it is, with a deep rub a dub cut backed by the High Times Players remembering the golden years of the group!

By Geert Sermon - 'The Sound Of Belgium' - A timeless collection of unintentional psychedelic, post-everything, and pre-anything music with his one of a kind, unique, selector air, compiled by Dj Morpheus aka Samy Birnbach, member of post punk/wave band Minimal Compact and responsible for compiling the classic downtempo/ambient late 90's Freezone series on SSR Records (parent label of Crammed).

Enzo Carella was an Italian singer-songwriter who scored a major hit with the song “Barbara” in 1979. His third album Sfinge is considered by many as his best album. It is an infectious mixture of funk, jazz, and Creole music. With the music of artists like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Genesis in mind he created his own compositions, and the result still sounds incredible.

Sfinge is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on transparent blue vinyl.

COMA haben etwas sehr Seltenes geschafft: sie haben Songs geschrieben, die ein authentische Gefühl von Nähe, Wärme und, ja, auch Emotionalität ausstrahlen.

Die Kölner Elektronik Band verwebt auf ihrem Album Voyage Voyage verschollen geglaubte Ebenen der Erinnerungen in ein vielschichtiges zugleich aber auch irre zugängliches Album zeitgenössischen Elektro Pops. Musik, die sich freimacht von Zwängen, von Zeitgeist und genau deshalb eine einzigartige Stellung einnimmt. Das Album besticht durch verträumte Leichtigkeit und umarmt gleichzeitig eine melancholische Grundstimmung. Voyage Voyage klingt voller spannender Sound Ideen – es zischt und rauscht und hallt und klappert – und ruht doch entspannt in sich und vor allem aber jagt es nicht irgendeinem flüchtigen Moment hinterher, dieses Album steht ganz für sich, für COMAs leicht entrückten Pop voller Möglichkeiten. COMA sind typische Kinder der aufregenden Nullerjahre, Marius und Georg wurden musikalisch aufgezogen mit 80er-Jahre Zuckerwatte, haben dann in zerrissenen Jeans und Indie-Rock der 90er die Adoleszenz durchlebt, wurden erst von den Prinzen der Kölner Clubwelt wachgeküsst und erspielten sich mit diversen EPs und zwei Alben auf Kompakt viel internationales Lob und Anerkennung. Der britische Guardian attestierte ihnen begeistert “playfulness, prettiness and the kind of intense pleasure that results from perfectly interwoven melodies“.

Es ist genau diese vielgelobte unkonventionelle und spielerische Herangehensweise, die sie wohl auch dazu inspirierte, selbst noch während einer Clubnacht im Berghain ihre Gitarre auszupacken. Es liegt also alles in ihrer DNA, doch noch nie waren COMA-Tracks so persönlich und von Vocals und Texten geprägt.

LTD Edition!

COMA haben etwas sehr Seltenes geschafft: sie haben Songs geschrieben, die ein authentische Gefühl von Nähe, Wärme und, ja, auch Emotionalität ausstrahlen.

Die Kölner Elektronik Band verwebt auf ihrem Album Voyage Voyage verschollen geglaubte Ebenen der Erinnerungen in ein vielschichtiges zugleich aber auch irre zugängliches Album zeitgenössischen Elektro Pops. Musik, die sich freimacht von Zwängen, von Zeitgeist und genau deshalb eine einzigartige Stellung einnimmt. Das Album besticht durch verträumte Leichtigkeit und umarmt gleichzeitig eine melancholische Grundstimmung. Voyage Voyage klingt voller spannender Sound Ideen – es zischt und rauscht und hallt und klappert – und ruht doch entspannt in sich und vor allem aber jagt es nicht irgendeinem flüchtigen Moment hinterher, dieses Album steht ganz für sich, für COMAs leicht entrückten Pop voller Möglichkeiten. COMA sind typische Kinder der aufregenden Nullerjahre, Marius und Georg wurden musikalisch aufgezogen mit 80er-Jahre Zuckerwatte, haben dann in zerrissenen Jeans und Indie-Rock der 90er die Adoleszenz durchlebt, wurden erst von den Prinzen der Kölner Clubwelt wachgeküsst und erspielten sich mit diversen EPs und zwei Alben auf Kompakt viel internationales Lob und Anerkennung. Der britische Guardian attestierte ihnen begeistert “playfulness, prettiness and the kind of intense pleasure that results from perfectly interwoven melodies“.

Es ist genau diese vielgelobte unkonventionelle und spielerische Herangehensweise, die sie wohl auch dazu inspirierte, selbst noch während einer Clubnacht im Berghain ihre Gitarre auszupacken. Es liegt also alles in ihrer DNA, doch noch nie waren COMA-Tracks so persönlich und von Vocals und Texten geprägt.

We wanted to make a promo text for this release, but then this message by Alphabets Heaven came thru:

Subtitles is my love letter to salsa. A torn, scribbled, badly translated love letter to an old address that the resident left years ago. But fuck it, it's still a love letter.

Every since I heard Larry Harlow's La Cartera about 12 years ago I've been trying to find out as much as I could about salsa. So much of it runs counter to everything I know about dance music, and yet it so clearly bangs. So on and off for the last 10 years I've been buying salsa, trying to work out how many imprints of Fania there were, trying to get my head round the horn arrangements, and generally having a great time with basically no contact with anyone who was actually a part of the culture in anyway. My Spanish is pretty bad as well, so all I really know is quite a few songs are about farmers.

Subtitles is my shot at salsa. My completely uneducated stab at something that's way too complex to just guess at. Not surprisingly, it sounds nothing like salsa. What's weird is that it sounds like pretty much everything else I listen to. I think in many ways it's the most honest thing I've ever made. By completely failing at making salsa I've managed to blend together all the club music, art music and everything else I've loved. You might hear some UK funky, or whatever the 2019 version of that is called. You might hear some minimalism. You might hear some psyched out shit. You also might hear a gigantic fucking mess. Subtitles is a translation to a film done so badly you find out more about the person who translated it than the film. I was trying to tell you about the film, but maybe you'll like the subtitles.

Shout to London Afrobeat Collective for the horns Memotone for the cello Deft for the Woos. Shout out to Scratcha DVA for being Scratcha DVA.

Elkka - the London based DJ, producer and founder of record label and DIY art collective femme culture - has announced her latest EP ‘Every Body Is Welcome’ on her imprint, following a very strong year constallated of live perfromances and DJ sets throughout Europe, and a growing radio presence in London and beyond.

‘Every Body Is Welcome’ will be released on 22nd of November. Smudging the boundaries between eras and styles, Elkka’s free-wheeling dance tracks float between club beats, earthy sounds, full of warmth, soft edges and lovely instrumentation which all lead to a completely captivating and blissful listen. The infectious new five-track EP looks set to further solidify her status as one of the artists changing the shape of dance music in 2019.

The EP kicks off with an acid-sounding dance thumper that elegantly moves along the piano melody, for a beautiful house start to the whole project. In typical Elkka style, the EP moves from the atmospheric, sun-soaked rhythms of ‘Compromise for What’ and ‘LVURSLF’ Interlude, to the more club-oriented, 4am nightscapes of ‘Avant Garde’ - ending with ‘Breathe’, the perfect union to these two different sides of her artistry in one elegant, thumping, soulful track.

‘Every Body Is Welcome’ was informed by Elkka’s own deeper understanding of who she is as an artist and what the dance floor means to her, claiming that “​Arriving in London in my early 20s I was a completely different person in every possible way and discovering club culture, the rave scene and queer spaces allowed me to explore myself fully as a woman and as queer person. For me, the dance floor has been a place where I have felt the most liberated, the most myself, unified with friends and strangers by the music and moment we are sharing. This EP is a celebration of those moments, of the dance floor, of dance music that has inspired me creatively and personally. Every Body Is Welcome symbolises what I hope the dance floor to be - a music utopia or haven, somewhere for everyone to feel safe to express themselves, to find themselves, to be whoever they want to be and feel part of a community of acceptance and tolerance. Idealistic? Yes but I think art should be a space to express idealism and where we hope to be.”

Her previous EP​ ‘​Full Circle​’​, released via femme culture, received acclaim and support from Annie Mac, Pete Tong, Tom Ravenscroft and Elkka was also named as one of the artists to watch in 2019 by ​Mixmag​. In addition, Elkka has garnered playlist and radio plays from acclaimed producers Four Tet, Floating Point’s and George Fitzgerald.

Elkka founded the femme culture label and collective in 2016 in response to the lack of support for womxn DJs, producer and artists, later teaming up with fellow DJ and creative Ludo who she now co-runs the platform with. Since then, the progressively minded collective have been swiftly gaining recognition with their boundary-free ethos that champions women, women-identifying, artists and the LGBTQ+ community whilst pushing forward-thinking music through their carefully, curated club nights and events.

Earlier this year they released their second label compilation ‘HeForShe x femme culture.’ Compiled in aid of the UN Women, the compilation featured fresh new sounds from the likes of Lone, Elkka herself, Martin Bootyspoon, India Jordan, Ouri, Nightwave and more - and earlier this summer they hosted their annual alternative Pride after-party ‘PROUD’, in which all the proceeds went to The Albert Kennedy Trust (a charity for homeless LGBTQ youthsworthy causes).

Double cyan blue vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. Two printed inner sleeves and a six panel oversized booklet. Download card enclosed. The vinyl includes the Deluxe track listing - 17 tracks in total.

U2 return with their hotly anticipated new studio album 'Songs of Experience'. The Island Records priority release completes a stellar year for the Dublin band, following their return to stadiums with the critically acclaimed, sold out 'The Joshua Tree Tour 2017' playing to 2.4 million fans in just 51 shows across Europe and North and South America, as well as the successful 30th Anniversary re-issue of 'The Joshua Tree'.

Recorded in Dublin, New York and Los Angeles, Songs of Experience was completed earlier this year with its subject matter influenced by Brendan Kennelly's* advice to Bono, to ...write as if you're dead'. The result is a collection of songs in the form of intimate letters to places and people close to the singer's heart: family, friends, fans and indeed himself.

Songs Of Experience is the companion release to 2014's 'Songs Of Innocence', the two titles drawing inspiration from a collection of poems, Songs of Innocence and Experience, by the 18th century English mystic and poet William Blake.
Produced by Jacknife Lee and Ryan Tedder, with Steve Lillywhite, Andy Barlow and Jolyon Thomas, the album features a cover image by Anton Corbijn of band-members' teenage children Eli Hewson and Sian Evans.

'The Blackout' and 'You're The Best Thing About Me' were the first songs to be made available from the album. 'You're The Best Thing About Me' is the band's first UK Top 20 airplay record in a decade and has also been remixed by Norwegian superstar DJ and producer Kygo.

*Brendan Kennelly - Irish poet, novelist and Professor Emeritus at Trinity College, Dublin.

Since forming in 2006 post-punk experimentalists Sebastian Melmoth have been on a thoughtful and adventurous musical journey. In a constant state of aural evolution, the London-based four-piece has a delivered a string of albums and EPs that variously touch on everything from garage-rock, grunge and lo-fi pop, to electro, new wave, dark ambient and music concrete, all the while drawing on a myriad of literary and artistic influences.

The band’s first release for Artificial Dance digs deep into their admirable and eye-opening catalogue and draws together some of the Amsterdam-based label’s favourites from the more electronic end of the band’s output. Entitled “The Dynamics of Vanity” – a comment on Western culture’s obsession with rehashing the past and the band’s own in-built distrust of artistic naval-gazing – the set is not a ‘best of’ retrospective but rather a ‘sort of’ selection of stylistically interconnected cuts that gives a very specific snapshot of the band’s work.

Check for example “Icarus”, a drowsy, hypnotic and sample-laden soundscape that effortlessly joins the dots between post-rock, pitched-down electronica and early morning ambient, or the slowly unfurling throb of thought-provoking opener “The Engineering of Consent”, a swelling, melancholic post-jazz meditation on propaganda and governmental mind control featuring spoken word samples from William S Burroughs in conversation with Brion Gysin, Timothy Leary, Les Levine and Robert Anton Wilson.

The showcased songs are typically hard-to-pin-down, too, with the re-imagined gothic horror break-up cut “Prosopagnosia’ and slow-burn audio addition of “Waiting For Godot” being joined by the wide-eyed morning dream-pop hallucinations of “Seeds (Descent Into Decadence)”. It all adds up to a collection that expertly showcases one engaging thread – of many – running through Sebastian Melmoth’s esoteric body of work.

Fabio & Grooverider have been at the forefront of UK dance music for over 3 decades. This is the roots of their story told through music.

The 2 London DJ's are part of the DNA of the global Jungle / D&B movement and they have remained relevant, cutting edge, authoritative and essential to this truly underground art-form since it's inception. RAGE could arguably be the ground zero of Jungle. The party was started at London's cavernous Heaven club by Fabio & Grooverider in 1988, at the height of Acid House fever that was making it's way up and down the motorways, slip-roads, fields and warehouses of the M25 and further beyond every weekend, troubling the nation, the police, your parents and the press as it went. RAGE was a different beast, it certainly channelled some of that Acid energy but pitted it against the new and exciting sounds emanating from Belgium, Amsterdam, Detroit, Sheffield, Essex and Hackney and in turn created a new style, a new sonic attitude and energy in the process. Rumbling bass-lines, narcotic synth rushes and roughly chopped and sped-up breakbeats all merged into a style that we now know as Jungle. Nothing like this had been heard before, this was a brand new style and it was coming out of London's West End and Fabio & Grooverider were the people firmly behind it.

RAGE is approaching it's 30th anniversary. It's sonic and cultural legacy is still being felt today, Fabio & Groove are still shutting down raves and festivals every weekend all over the world with their superior DJ sets and musical knowledge guided by their pioneering spirit. This musical selection you hold in your hands, the first of 4 parts, sees them delve into their prodigious memories and record boxes to select a true musical representation of the very beginning of one of the UK's most unique and influential musical movements of the last 50 years. Across 4 x 2 x 12"s compilations we are taken on the journey through the sounds of RAGE, accompanied with track by track notes from Fabio & Groove themselves. This is the sound of the underground, from the inside out.

This is a masterclass in the old-school. The roots. There is no filler here, it's simply ALL killer. Lovingly selected and programmed by the masters - 'The Living Shock' & 'The Ladies Choice'. Produced in conjunction with Above Board distribution and Fabio & Grooverider. All tracks mastered from original sources and fully licensed. Mastering by Optimum, Bristol. Artwork and design by Atelier Superplus. 2019

Two of Russias finest drum & bass producers have combined forces for an exciting new project. St Petersburgs Microfunk mastermind Bop, and Moscows minimalistic groove guru Subwave, unite for their debut collaborative release Love & Other Drugs. With their elegant approach to drum & bass, this four-track EP fuses futuristic indie-electronica, 2-step UK garage, glitchy beats and 80s inspired vocal stylings.

Progressive euphoria is the name of the game in Teardrops as Bop x Subwave pick apart the structure of D+B in this warm, delicate and hypnotic glitch number. Following suit is Space Warp - darker with eerie undertones, packaged as a sub-heavy stepper. The second half of Love & Other Drugs sees the duo branch out beyond the realms of traditional D+B. The bittersweet ballad Dont Wake Me Up is kitted out with a definitive 80s style. Seeing the EP home is The Touch with the syncopated beatwork of 2-step UK Garage, complete with skippy breaks and snappy vocal sampling. In the decade since the release of Hospital Records Future Sound Of Russia LP, Bop and Subwave have produced an impressive array of tracks across Hospital Records, Med School, Liquicity, Shogun Audio, Metalheadz and Microfunk, cementing their reputations for going beyond the boundaries of D+B.
Keep your eyes peeled for more collaborative musings from Bop x Subwave in 2020.

Wun Two remains one of the most envied lo-fi hip-hop producers on the planet. Consistently pumping out thematic releases from last summer’s Pirata to his ever-consistent Snow series, his first vinyl release through Fat Beats since his 2016 Baker’s Dozen was spawned by a horror movie binge watch. “Nosferatu represents the atmosphere of Halloween and cold and darker days. I plugged the SP into my TV and recorded movie dialogs and sound samples while watching. At the end I had a lot of material/sound sources...I liked the outcome of it and decided to release it for Halloween.” Wun Two said.

Inspired in part by composers Maurice Jarre and Bernard Herrmann, Wun Two wanted to create a project that didn’t emote the somewhat-depressive feelings of certain scores, but an atmosphere of tension and suspense so often associated with Hitchcock and Stephen King novels. This deluxe picture disc LP not only includes 2 bonus beats not included on the original digital release, but an additional track featuring vocals from CRIMEAPPLE. “My feature list is very short as I prefer to release instrumental tracks.

But CRIMEAPPLE is definitely one of the most interesting MC´s now and it´s really great that we could win him for a contribution,” added Wun Two on the rare appearance from an MC over his beats. Releasing this Halloween in a strict one-time vinyl pressing, Nosferatu is a perfect accompaniment as the weather gets colder and the nights darker.

When it comes to underground New York Disco, Donna McGhee's highly sought-after 1978 LP, "Make It Last Forever," ranks among the best in the genre, thanks to Donna’s singing and the production skills of legendary producers Greg Carmichael and Patrick Adams.

Featuring five songs penned by the producing pair, it's got their quintessential Disco sound of the late 70s topped by Donna McGhee's superb vocals. These have also blessed recordings by The Fatback Band, Phreek, Bumblebee Unlimited and The Universal Robot Band around the same time.

The album has been an elusive affair since it first came out in 1978 and this is one the first times in decades it is widely available in its original form with newly remastered audio. Donna McGhee has been one of the key female singers of the New York disco scene, gracing several cult albums with her superb singing. The Brooklyn native began her career singing Gospel in her grandmother's choir from an early age, honing her skills and making a name for herself locally as a talented singer.
Her first break in the industry came when she was spotted by bass player Johnny Flippin, who invited her to join his band.
The group was none other than The Fatback Band led by drummer Bill Curtis. This was 1975 and the album was "Raising Hell."

McGhee's vocals can be heard throughout the album including the dancefloor classic "(Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop" and after this initial collaboration, she stayed with the group for a another few years recording “Night Fever” in 1976 and touring with them all around the country. Following an encounter with producer Greg Carmichael, Donna McGhee jumped ship and started working with the prolific producer and his partner Patrick Adams.
A string of collaborations followed with singles and albums that have become the stuff of legend over the years: Donna can indeed be heard singing with Bumblebee Unlimited, Universal robot Band and on Phreek's classic self-titled album from 1978, singing on the track "May My Love Be With You."
In 1978, After Greg Carmichael set up his own label, Red Greg Records, he and Adams decided to get McGhee in the recording studio and produce her first solo album. With the pair playing most of the instruments, they got five tracks out of the session. The result, "Make It Last Forever" is an all-time Adams/Carmichael classic: funky disco arrangements with a touch of synths over a pulsating groove magnified by McGhee's superb sexy singing.

All five tracks have become classics in their own right.

A Killer Deepfunk/Soul 45 from legendary soul singer Richard Marks. The Limited 500 press nods to the original Tuska Records design, without the $2000 price tag. A big spin on the Deepfunk scene in the early 2000s for DJs like Keb Darge and Ian Wright, it's been a while since i have heard this killer 45 played out. If you feeling this make sure and check out Now-Again records anthology - 'Never Satisfied, The Complete Works 1968-1976'. be quick this will be gone in a flash. No Repress.

One of the original catalysts of Latinx music in New York City, MAKU Soundsystem has been the connective tissue for several creative projects, bands and community roots for over a decade. As a group with a rotating membership, they've recorded multiple albums both DIY and for worldwide labels. Throughout their various iterations, the heart and mission of the ensemble has consistently built bridges, rather than tearing them down, remaining a remarkable beacon of positivity in a consistently competitive environment. The inspiring atmosphere has nurtured several notable musicians and acts over the years, including members of Combo Chimbita, Dilemastronauta, Bulla en el Barrio, Leon Brothers and Prince of Queens. Now down to a core group of three musicians, alongside percussionist Moris Cañate, MAKU and Names You Can Trust have finally teamed up for a vinyl edition after many years of collaborative shows and connections.

Perhaps their rawest and darkest recordings to date, this stripped down quartet is an ode to the creative source of their core members, lead singer & bassist Juan Ospina, drummer Andres Jimenez and guitarist Camilo Rodriguez. The A-side, "Culebra Coral" is a snakebitten taste ofla cumbia, played with an experience and restraint that only enhances the end result. It's a free driven approach born from familiar experimentation, rather than modern day trends — a singular jam, refined from years of playing together. Part psych, part cumbia, total MAKU. The B-side, "Contra Tambor," is emblematic of the group's roots in the traditional sounds of thetambora, a drum-forward percussive arrangement that follows Jimenez and Cañate on a free-driven approach to the ritualistic movements of the drums, this time drowned with an antidote of analog FX, synthesized glitches and atmospheric coros.

Huren returns to the Zhark Catalogue with his latest fory ‘ELEKTRONISCHE SELBSTDARSTELLUNG’ his first in five years since the ‘MRTVI’ release.
Whith this outing Huren explores further uncompromising Terrain…
While the Signature layers of distrortion and heavy kick drum burials retain his distinct Hardline Approach – with ZHARK032 Huren layeers complex Masses of Sound into Ominous textural electronic compüositions….Drawing interdisciplinary from the works of Marker, Kayn, Ligeti and Penderecki…
Disconcerting and challenging ‘Elektronische Selbstdarstellung’ galvanizes Huren’s place as an artist operating on his own wavelength.

Black Vinyl

As Rune & Ruin’s initial release, the duo of Lynette Cerezo and Zanias present a new offering of brutalizing intimacy.

INSHROUDSS marks the first Bestial Mouths release entirely written and conceived by Cerezo, vocalist and frontwoman since the project’s roots in 2006. Through each of the EP’s five tracks, Cerezo’s commanding voice usurps the role of victim for that of destroyer—with scars where wings once beat the sky.

Drawing from the initial Bestial sound of emotionally gripping post-punk, Cerezo crafts deeply personal lyrics of self-stagnation and trauma, while longtime friend and collaborator Brant Showers (∆AIMON/SØLVE) provides a heart-pulverizing fury of industrialized electronics. Along with production by new collaborator Alex DeGroot (Zola Jesus), INNSHROUDSS remains infinitely body-moving on even the most discerning of darkwave dance floors.

In the fall of 1978, after working with a series of bands, New York-based musician and composer NickWest became interested in experimenting with minimalism, collaborating with guitarist and songwriter Ramona Jan and Lyn Byrd. They decided to play pure pop but to substitute a primitive electronic beatbox for a human drummer. The result was Comateens, becoming one of the first groups to discard the traditional sounds and line-ups used by everyone else in New York City’s downtown music scene of
the late 1970s. In 1980 Nick’s brother Oliver joined them as guitarist, and after going on to release three major label albums (Comateens, Pictures On A String, and Deal With It), and with some
successful tours and dance-club hits behind them, the band split up following the terribly untimely death of Oliver in June 1987.
However in 1988 Virgin Records issued another LP entitled West & Byrd, recorded by Nick and Lyn as a duo, and in 1991 released a retrospective compilation called ‘One By One: Best Of Comateens’, now a rare and much sought-after record among collectors of new wave music. Acclaimed by Etienne Daho, the band has made a name for itself with the singles “Late Night City“, “Get Off My Case“ and “Don't Come Back“.

From the people who brought you Disques Sinthomme and Ghost Town comes a new imprint LESDK.

Bringing back that NYC Lower East Side grime, LESDK will feature edits as well as new work from Dennis Kane and his circle of proper low-lifes...

Ghost Town and Disques Sinthomme featured contributions from Brennan Green, Richard Sen, The Beat Broker, Bicep, Jose Manuel, and Cosmic Metal Mother, as well as edit monsters like Jeff 'The Drunk' Overton and Cazbee. Kane will be helming this label, curating work and providing his own productions and remixes.

LESDK

Starts off side A with 'Real' - A soulful disco romp that has a gospel force as well as a powerful vocal performance. The song grooves from its first beat, and pushes the energy as it builds. "Now it's time to be real..." Edit as manifesto - Pure heat! The edit work here comes from one of the OG's of serious digging, Senior Reyes aka Jersey Pete.

Side B brings 'Action' as its first track, complementing the A Side, this is some dirty late night Philadelphia bar nastiness, mentholated disco with a humid female vocal, "I like to party, I like to flirt..."

Side B closes out with 'Motion', a slice of cosmic funkiness that laments a love that is not happening while a thick bassline moves the proceedings along.
This song has heartbreak and the haze of an early morning on the dancefloor.

Three essential edits for the DJ to bless the party people with.

Dennis Kane is a DJ and producer based in NYC, he has run the Disques Sinthomme and Ghost Town labels and is also a partner in the recording group SIREN, (with Darshan Jesrani) on Compost records.
Kane has produced numerous tracks and done remix work for Cantoma, Liz Torres, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, and Hokis Pokis among others.
He has been a DJ in NYC since the mid 90's holding down numerous residencies and touring worldwide.

Beastly sounds for a zombie nation as classic 80s gaming soundtrack Shadow of the Beast gets debut vinyl edition with a recording taken from the original platform game, and new artwork from acclaimed illustrator Keith Rankin.

Composed by David Whittaker for the 1989 Amiga platformer of the same name, Shadow of the Beast sees its first ever vinyl release courtesy of the UK's Lag Records, presented in also its first mastered edition as directly taken from the original game system.

A prolific VGM composer, Whittaker holds more gaming soundtracks to his name than any other, with titles such as Lazy Jones to his name, as (in)famously sampled for the 1999 club hit Zombie Nation.  

Shadow of the Beast remains a prime example of his pioneering hands-on approach, programming music directly with instrumental samples of his own on a Korg M1 synthesizer. The tunes make for a singular combination of Spaghetti Western-style tension mixed with world beats. Tracks like The Plains play with harder rhythms like warped speed techno, while a hard-to-miss melancholy pervades the Underground suite.

The fiendishly difficult Shadow of the Beast itself was an interesting example of game design for its time, recorded at a frame rate to match arcade machines as opposed to monitors, and loaded with a 128 colour palette. Two sequels later followed in the 1990s, along with a 2016 remake for the Playstation console.

The soundtrack comes ready for a 2019 audience with mastering courtesy of Jerome Schmitt at the AirLab, and brand new artwork from acclaimed illustrator and musician Keith Rankin in collaboration with artist Ellen Thomas. Shadow of the Beast will also come on transparent purple vinyl, in standard LP format.

My Music is a stellar spiritual soul / jazz-funk gem, recorded by keyboardist-singer Samuel Jonathan Johnson in 1978. The epitome of a cult classic, it didn't do much upon its release but steadily found an audience over the decades that followed. It eventually worked its way into the culture, and latterly the wantlists, of wave after wave of soul aficionados.

This is music that shares the jazzy R&B DNA of contemporaries like Roy Ayers and is an intoxicating blend of mellow moments and more groove-heavy tracks. Spacey keys and lush production give it a luxurious, enveloping warmth.

My Music opens with the gorgeous title track: an indulgent slow jam opus. Introducing us to Johnson’s compelling musical vision, it features a rich mélange of production techniques. Dripping in strings, horns, backing singers, popping funk bass lines and swooshing synth waves, it’s an unusually structured cosmic two stepper that has an irrepressible groove. Accordingly, it’s been a favourite with the diggers and it was sampled by The Alchemist for Jadakiss’s “We Gonna Make It” (and it was also used on Ras Kass’s “Home Sweet Home”… but that’s a story for another time).

The up-tempo “Sweet Love” bubbles over with joy, its uplifting lyrics backed by infectious bass and jazzy Fender Rhodes lines. It follows a cover of “What the World Need’s Now Is Love”, taken at a funereal pace that transforms it into a heartfelt plea for love and understanding. Essential in these dark days.

After a full-minute-long opening of lush cinematic strings and horns, “Because I Love You” makes space for Samuel’s voice, accompanied by some keys and just a sprinkle of guitar. It builds back up and then mellows its way out to a jazz lounge finish (in all the right ways). The feel-good ebullience of the Stevie Wonder-esque “It Ain’t Easy” closes out the LP’s first side.

The second side bursts open with the heavy bounce and disco-funk basslines of “You”, a slightly off-beat string-laden dancer with insistent horns and a piano-assisted groove. Next up is “Just Us”, a legendary steppers track that could be heard oozing out of deep soul radios and funk sound systems back in the late 80s.

“Yesterdays and Tomorrow” is a moving original ballad that is followed by an exquisite high-stepping paean to mom in the form of “Thank You Mother Dear”. The thumping easy-glide of “Reason For The Reason” brings the album to a close.

Respectfully mastered by Simon Francis and cut by the master Pete Norman, this reissue of Samuel Jonathan Johnson’s sole LP sounds as sumptuous as that scarlet gown on the front cover. The sleeve artwork was lovingly restored by the Be With team. My Music is a luxurious and rare collection of songs that now has an opportunity to reach beyond its cult audience.

Since debuting on the label in May 2017, East London duo Earthboogie has been part of the extended Leng family. In rhat time, Izak Gray and Nicola Robinson have delivered a swathe of superb singles and a fine debut album, 2018’s critically acclaimed Human Call. Here they present their sole single of 2019, a two-track fusion of intergalactic, terrestrial and tribal elements reflective of their by-now trademark style. Fittingly, lead cut “Creepy Steve” – a previously unheard workout recorded during the sessions for Human Call – contains many of the musical ingredients that made Earthboogie such an enticing proposition. It boasts a raw, fuzzy and driving analogue bassline, densely layered tribal percussion, dub disco-influenced guitars, woozy electronics and sporadic blasts of African style chanting. As if that wasn’t enough to get the blood pumping, Gray and Robinson have also thrown in some extended, rock style guitar solos and more cowbells, bongos and timbales than you can shake a stick at



It comes accompanied by a previously unheard remix of “Human Call”, the title track from their superb debut album, by friend and fellow musical fusionist Joel Harrison. His version is warm, woozy, driving and percussive, brilliantly re-imagining Earthboogie’s original version as a supersonic slab of peak-time ready deep house. The band’s original chanted vocals, guitars and melodies slowly rise above bustling, all-action drums, weighty bass, alien-sounding electronic flourishes, poignant trumpet parts and seriously dreamy sustained chords.

Soundway have come to their last release of 2019, and they've saved the best till last.

Ft. a 12" single with both sides absolute dancefloor belters, think Latin disco meets parang soca from Barbados (original label from Trinidad/Tobago).

Both tracks - Colleen Grant "Latin Parang", and Sandra Hamilton "Parang Jam" - are not only highly sought after on vinyl, we are also officially reissuing both tracks officially for the first time on vinyl and digital since their original early 1980s releases.

Restored, remastered and sounding as fresh if not fresher than before! Attached are the sales notes, with salient details below.

I remember the first time I read W.E.B. DuBois eclectic masterpiece The Souls of Black Folk. The way in which this Weberian scholar flowed from personal account to prose to sociological analysis to music and even political intervention has had a lasting impact on my own work as a cultural anthropologist. It made me understand that as scholars we must use different means in order to give expression to the totality of the lived experience: There is only so much in an academic text.

The experience of alienation has always been at the heart of my scholarly and artistic practice. I have used academic writing, lecturing, theatre performance and electronic improvisation to understand and represent it as a theoretical concept, postcolonial condition and lived experience. I believe, some issues need to be told like a story, some analyzed in most abstract terms and others need to be sung like a gospel. The medium changes the message.

In this sense, I guess, I’m a singing cultural anthropologist.

For some time now I have been engaged in the use of dystopian themes and sounds to paint a sonic picture of structural racism and whiteness of our present. But recently I have grown weary of this Ballardian idea of Future Now and the resulting phantasmagorian aesthetics myself and others have been invested in. The widespread availability of Digital Audio Workstations, sequencers, loopers and delay pedals has lead us into a futuristic cul de sac best described by Mark Fisher as the very absence of future.

Likewise, I am most skeptical of the “naturalist” countermovement, the return of folk. Especially in Germany, I am convinced there is no such thing as an innocent or progressive folk musical expression as it is always connected to the idea of the homeland (“Heimat”) which in turn produces the colony. It seems to me, the current zeitgeist is stuck between a “museum of a dystopian future” and a “museum of an idealized past”, but I wanted to sing about the present.

So, I involuntarily returned to pop music in its two-folded meaning of something popular and addressing not an essentialist notion of “Volk” or its woke cousin “communities”, but society as a whole.

I entered the studio just with a few lo-fi sounding melodies and rhythms from my circuit bent CASIO synthesizer. I had no clue what the finished product would sound like. But as soon as Markus started drumming, in a way strangely reminding me of CAN’s Ethnographic Forgery Series, my uptight sounds were suddenly embedded within a warmer global sound spectrum. The alien at home and abroad and the strange overlapped: We were seeing one and the same sound differently but were gently held together by Tobias’ producing.

Making music is about building coalitions. It’s about suggesting an articulation of styles, sounds and people, that hasn’t materialized, yet, but may help us in the current crisis: I wanted Amon Düül II to send their drug induced archangel thunderbird to rescue the refugees, that had tried to escape the police by climbing up a tree in Munich in 2016. I wanted Sun Ra to taunt far-right protesters in Chemnitz in 2018. And I wanted to mourn the loss of a former kebab shop cum discotheque that served as proof that there is such a thing as a minoritarian universalism.

SCHLAND IS THE PLACE FOR ME is a pop album featuring songs of alienation, not only as a tragic experience, but as a pop-cultural promise. Maybe Bill Callahan sung it best, “I am Star Wars today, I am no longer English grey”. I want those who suffer from alienation to stand in alliance with those who seek alienation, and vice-versa. A coalition, that tolerates the possibility that we are moved by the same groove for contrary reasons.

Fehler Kuti
Munich, Autumn 2019

Music by Julian Warner, Markus Acher & Tobias Siegert
Saxophone on RINDERMARKT by Franz Brunner
Trombone on RINDERMARKT and IL by Matthias Götz
Recorded and mixed by Tobias Siegert in Munich.
SONTAGSFAVORIT mixed by Dario Albiez in Dusseldorf.
Mastered by Duphonic in Augsburg.
Artwork by Atelier Grande, Munich.

Available for the first time outside Japan, Phosphorescent Dreams is another epic album of symphonic schizophrenic avant-rock from Univers Zéro. Originally released in 2014 - only on CD - through the Japanese label Arcàngelo.

Phosphorescent Dreams presents at the same time, in the same track, even on a single moment, the complex musical schemes and ways of Univers Zéro, ranging from maximalism to minimalism, classical avant-garde with a 2020 vibe in a constant flux.

In a blend of tension constantly emerging from a subtle dialogue between avant-rock and contemporary influences, harmonies and dissonance, Phosphorescent Dreams is a balanced formula of old-school know-how reshaped almost 40 years after the released of the seminal LP Univers Zéro.

Univers Zero represents one of the longest-living bands in Belgium. It was established in 1974. Drummer Daniel Denis had the brilliant idea to gather together a team of professionals sharing the same taste for music. The band has adopted an instrumental progressive style. Over the last couple of decades, the band has also implemented a series of influences from chamber music - most commonly, chamber music from the 20th century. Even if the line-up changes a lot over the years, the overall sound of UZ remained fairly consistent.

Emotional Rescue is delighted to present a collection of works by the founding father of the modern drum movement, Glen Velez. Collated from his first 3 solo albums from 1985 to 1989, Sweet Season is a snapshot in to the pioneering composing and performance of this four-time Grammy winner. Born in 1949, of Mexican American ancestry, Velez grew up in Texas before moving to New York in 1967. Playing jazz on the drums he soon gravitated to hand drums from around the world (frame drums in particular), seeking out teachers from many different musical traditions.

Among the many instruments Velez favours are the Irish bodhran, the Brazilian pandeiro, the Arabic riq, the North African bendir and the Azerbaijani ghaval. Although these instruments are similar in construction they have their own playing techniques that open new possibilities.

Sweet Season highlights this vocabulary, mixing and adapting techniques from various cultures to develop new ones. The music, often composed as cross-cultural ensembles, has a particular fondness for polyrhythms - superimposing different meters simultaneously - while incorporating Stepping Split-tone and Central Asian Overtone singing to complete the global horizons.

This new genre of contemporary drumming has been hugely influential and seen Velez work with the likes of John Cage and Steve Reich, as well as teaching his virtuosic combinations of hand movements and finger techniques to many emerging players.

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.

Die Orangen back on the adventurous Malka Tuti with their sophomore album ZWEI ORANGEN. It’s been two years since their debut album Zest animated the underground scene, merging obscure samples, field- recordings, krautrock motifs and a spattering of humour and self-perception into their newly forged genre: Krautback. The Australian duo - Kris Baha & Dreems - return with 2 more years of wisdom tucked under their hats to deliver a matured, developed sound. The industrial sonics & propen- sity for a dusty bush-beaten tone remain, however the sam- ples and ambience take a backseat, handing the map over to the guitar riffs, vocals and song writing to navigate the al- bums vast terrain. Collaborators Jono Ma (of Jagwar Ma), Alex Akers (of Forces) and Hayley Morgan expand the al- bum into a diverse journey across zones and styles, offering their own observation of the spacious musical world of Die Orangen. These 11 tracks will make you contemplate, they’ll will make you reminisce, they’ll give you friendly advice, they’ll ask you to dance, and they’ll question the direction of your compass... Fear not, however, this is music for everybody. As the Oranges say "Saft für alle”

Repress

After over five years since we've released the first chapter, we are nearly ready to drop "Steppin' Forward" 2, which will be our final release of 2019. This time the compilation includes 16 previously unreleased tracks from 27 artists and will be out on the 29th of November across 3x12" vinyl and digital.

Artwork by FromTheTrunk crew.

Skyf Connection (pronounced skAyf) was a short lived project by long time friends Anthony Mthembu and Enoch Nondala. At the time they were working for Annic Music, an independent label run by married couple Anne and Nic Blignaut. Although the label was known mostly for Zulu, Sotho, Tsonga and other traditional styles, they had a few Disco releases on the label including groups like Keith Hutchinson’s Focus and Enoch’s discovery Lena, who went on to have huge success under the name Ebony a few years later.

In 1984, when an artist didn’t show up for a booked session they decided to make use of the studio time and began working on a demo. At the time Anthony and Enoch had been playing for a year at a new club called Gamsho, located on a farm on the outskirts of Kliptown Soweto. Along with Blackie Sibisi, Sepate Mokoena and Elijah “chippa” Khumalo they made up the resident house band. Due to cultural boycotts and American artists refusing to perform in the country, locals took it upon themselves to fill the market with the American sound the crowds demanded. The demo they recorded at Blue Tree Studios was going to be their product they could use to promote their brand of the American sound. They then took the demo to Universal Studios where their friend and trusted engineer Jan “fast fingers” Smit was working. It would be here that they would polish their demo into something they could take to their bosses and have pressed. Equipped with a DX 7, Linn Drum and some Juno synthesizers they were on their way. Jan lived up to his name and programmed the drums, it is rumoured he could program in almost real time, a skill that translated to the local arcade where he held high scores on many machines. Enoch would be singing and playing guitar while Anthony would do all the Bass and Keyboards. The result was 4 funky party anthems with synth work like no other recording at the time. Their take on what they believed the crowd would want to hear at the beloved club they called home.

From start to finish the 4 tracks portray what would have been a standard night at the Gamshu. Although the club would open earlier and the standard hours of most clubs was 6 to 6 , the band would start playing at 10pm. With their standard set time and Anthony and Enoch unique view on what a Disco should be, they chose the motto Ten to Ten as the album title because those were the hours when they were the stars and Disco ruled the dance floor. To get to the club was a bit difficult, you needed to drive along an empty road where thieves waited for any patrons trying their luck walking after dark. Since there was no transport during the night, the safest way to get home was to wait till the next morning to walk home. Even though in the summer months of Johannesburg light begins to peek in just after 4am, crowds refused to leave and stayed enjoying good music and company until 10am. The lead off track “Let’s Freak Together” has powerful lyrics encouraging people to let go of their worries, put aside any differences and let the music bring everyone to freak and dance together. The whole album is about the joy we can all feel when we share the same moments and how music can bring people together in a unique way, a philosophy shared with the original nightclubs of 70s New York. This approach to music is where the name Skyf Connection comes from, translating from slang to mean the connection we create through sharing, in this case Music and good times.

Skyf Connection would go on to play at Gamsho till the club’s closure in 1986. In those years their popularity lead to being booked for private events like weddings and birthday parties, as well as gigs in some other venues like Mofolo Hall. They would share the stage with many artists through the years learning artist’s songs and providing support as a backing band. After the club closed Anthony would go on to join the house band at The Pelican, another famous club located in Orlando East, as well as dabbling with songwriting for artists like Phumi Maduna and helping Enoch on many projects through the years. Enoch would ditch live music altogether and immerse himself in studio work, starting full time as a house producer and A&R for the recently formed Ream Music. He would go on to produce hit albums for pop artists like Percy Kay and Makwerhu but made his mark discovering countless artists that would become stars in the traditional market. They would remain friends until Anthony’s passing in 2016 and although Anthony is no longer with us his spirit lives in the grooves he left on this one of a kind record. His wife Vinolia will be accepting his portion of the profits on his behalf.

Contagious is a solid blending of avant-garde experimentation and electronic music. Formed by two innovative voices from the Improvisation scene of Berlin (Andrea Neumann and Sabine Ercklentz) and Mieko Suzuki, a well-crafted and creative DJ and musician who’s operating in Berlin venues and festivals since a long time.

Contagious is one of the most forward thinking, mind-melting projects to hit the electronic music scene. Intense and powerful, yet rooted in a tradition of crafting and sculpturing of in the most creative ways, all this building up within a solid structure of instant composition and improvisation. The trio plunder each other’s musical spheres, appropriate them and switch roles. Andrea Neumann on her infamous Inside Piano, an instrument she pioneered and crafted, is applying the most creative feedback processing to simple piano strings and sending them occasionally to Mieko Suzuki’s processing rig, who also uses her own pre-recorded sounds and her skills on turntables, while Sabine Ercklentz’s trumpet sounds blast through her processing system and altogether the three musicians communicate into logics of composition and futuristic structures, where fragile sound textures and pulses become monumental.

Contagious is also the debut album recorded and produced by Rabih Beaini. The Trio wanders in new aesthetic areas, sound is a texture where the processing rigs are constantly developing new forms and evolutions. Structures and grooves implode in noisy fragments, growing into a deep trance state.

PINK VINYL WITH PINK SLEEVE.

Kungens Män hail from Stockholm, Sweden and have been around as a musical unit since 2012. Their inspiration comes from the drone, the rattle of the loose screw, the circuit failure of the effects, the phatness of the moog and from the very diverse wiring of a bunch of middle aged Swedish freaks. Kungens Män never plan the next musical move - it presents itself.
 
Nine months after their acclaimed album 'Chef' (also released on Riot Season) the band return with 'Hårt Som Ben’, a stunning follow up with a debut UK tour to coincide.
 
Echoes And Dust on ‘Chef’: “From pure psychedelic freak out, to exploratory ramblings, and all imbued with a sense of communal priority to create together a work of immense intelligence, Chef is an album which begs for continued listens and deep immersion. That it is so accessible too, makes that genius shine through even more so. Superb.”
 
At the end of May 2019 Kungens Män packed a couple of cars full of instruments and life supporting essentials and drove into the woods of Värmland to spend three days in the legendary Silence Studio. It has hosted recordings by bands and musicians like Bo Hansson, Motorpsycho, The Hellacopters, Bob Hund and Union Carbide Productions, the presence felt and seen all over the place. In between watching VHS tapes with Twin Peaks, Miles Davis and Roskilde Festival 92, cooking pasta, sleeping in bunk beds, Bruce Bannering shirts and chilling in the sun, Kungens Män managed to record about 13 hours of music. Some of it will never reach your ears, but here’s the first slab made public – Hårt som ben – Hard As Bone. Not very hard, that is.
 

"The Red" EP by Dominique Fils-Aimé released on vinyl for the first time with new cover art. Special edition Black Friday 2019 pressing.

Dominique Fils-Aimé is a Polaris Music prize-nominated singer-songwriter from Montreal who draws inspiration from soul icons of the 40's and 60's such as Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Nina Simone. While her musical roots are grounded in early soul and jazz, her sound transcends contemporary urban soundscapes.

Dominique's self-produced debut, "The Red" EP, was originally released in 2015. This new version from KingUnderground has been fully remastered and includes a live version of "Love of Yours" as well as two bonus instrumentals.

Sultry vocals follow melancholy guitar and organ on "Like Mama Said." Dominique's calming voice is akin to a meld of Sade and Amy Winehouse. While the edgy 'When You See Me'' has a hypnotic, catchy groove and chorus, she shows off her versatility with a stripped down, acoustic blues-tinged piece on "Ok With You."

The songs were recorded live in the studio in only a few takes with minimal overdubs to capture the unconstrained depth of expression and natural impulse. The faintest of imperfections in the recordings were preserved in an effort to speak the truth, as the nature of her songs reflect on the vulnerability and strength in each of us and their delicate balance. Dominique unifies each song on the record with empowering lyrics, bringing such a commanding voice and precise delivery, you could almost imagine her singing the theme for a new Bond movie.

This cinematic RnB & jazz-inflected debut by one of Montreal's finest soul singer-songwriters is available for the first time on high-quality vinyl.

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.

'Esoteric, modal and deep jazz from the undergound, 1968-77'

Jazzman Records presents the sound of the unsung musicians who – in the midst of the Vietnam War and the fallout of the Civil Rights struggle – created some of the most beautiful Spiritual and meditative music of the era. Sometimes funky, sometimes mellow, but always trying to say something about the world in which we live.
Existing completely under the critical radar and largely ignored or unknown by music fans and critics alike, most of the musicians featured in this album won't be familiar to even the most seasoned aficionado. Their records, frequently turned down by distributors and record stores, saw little attention when first released - and have seen even less since. But in this era of musical apathy, where so many music junkies look to the past for their musical fix, we have re-discovered hidden, obscure and esoteric jazz musicians who looked to the four corners of the earth - and beyond - for inspiration. Here we evaluate Spiritual Jazz – music that is a snapshot of the era after Coltrane, a time which saw the evolution of an underground jazz that spoke about the reform of the soul, the reform of the spirit, and the reform of society: a music which was local and international at once, which was a personal journey and a political statement, and which was religious and secular in one non-contradictory breath.
The music on this album reflects the social and historical forces at work during the closedown of the '60s dream; music made by close-knit collectives and individual visionaries, by prisoners and eccentrics, by mystics and political radicals. It includes music by acknowledged masters, and moments of brilliance by unsung figures known to us from just one or two recordings. It is the jazz music of America in the age of civil rights, brutal repression, political assassination and war; a music that would guarantee the survival of the spiritual dimension in a society that was angry and traumatized, but nevertheless had seen hope of better days to come.

Italian cult cinematic funk combo Calibro 35 are back! "Stan Lee" is the new single that anticipates "Momentum" new studio album that will be released on Record Kicks next January 24th 2020. The first single "Stan Lee" sees a collaboration with rapper, producer and songwriter Illa J. Former member of super group Slum Village, Illa J is the younger brother of the late legendary hip hop producer and rapper J Dilla and on his solo carrier he has released 4 studio albums for labels such as Delicious Vinyl, Stones Throw, Bastard Jazz and Jakarta Records.

Active since 2008 Milan based combo CALIBRO 35 enjoys a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent band around. During their ten years career, they have been sampled by Dr. Dre on his Compton album, Jay-Z Love Child & Damon Albarn, they shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat and as unique musicians they've collaborated with, amongst others PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish, Stewart Copeland and Nic Cester (The Jet). Described by Rolling Stone magazine's as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing, that happened to Italy in the last years", Calibro 35 now count on a number of aficionados worldwide which includes VIP's fans such as Dj Food (Ninja Tune), Mr Scruff and Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin' Criminals) among others.

The teen girl falling in love with greasy biker melodrama that set The Shangri-Las on the scene was beaten to the core when English high society child Lynn Ripley -better known as Twinkle- took it to the next level on her own composition "Terry". Penned at the tender age of sixteen, Twinkle's lyrics were found so twisted and bad tasty that the song got the honour of being banned at the BBC thirteen years before the Sex Pistols ran the same luck with "God Save The Queen." A ban that, as you would have guessed, instead of hiding the song from the era's teenage record hunters made it even more coveted. Thus "Terry", Twinkle's first 45 issued on Decca in October 1964, became an instant top 5 hit in the UK and was released successfully worldwide as well as covered by many bands (like Claude François French version or Los Extraños cover sung in Spanish).



The success of "Terry" encouraged Decca to release other comositions by Twinkle, along with her recordings of songs by other songwriters, in 6 singles and one EP published between 1964 and 1966. Another of Twinkle great tunes, "Golden Lights", was covered by big Twinkle fan Morrissey and The Smiths in their 1986 "Ask" 12" EP.



The 14 songs from the Decca 45s are collected in this fatastic LP, housed in an amazing period style sleeve w/backflaps and including a gatefold insert with photos and first hand told liner notes by Twinkle's own sister Dawn James, a music journalist working for New Musical Express back in the 1960s.



It comes in a limited edition of only 500 copies : if you like sixties girl-pop sounds like those of The Shangri-Las, pop stars like France Gall, singer-songwriters like Margo Guryan and Phil Spector-ish productions you must get your copy of Twinkle's "Golden Lights" before it sells-out!

Hot off the heels of Aluxes, his 2018 Lumière Noire debut EP, young Mexican DJ/producer Iñigo
Vontier is inviting Chloé's label on a trip to the far corners of the body & mind with an album of
demented grooves, psychedelic take-offs and imaginary comic strips of mystical rituals. A
bewitching debut full-length. Mexicans may never possess the sonic science of the Germans,
the hedonistic madness of the English or the gift for synthesis of the French, but, as proven by
Iñigo Vontier's first full-length for Lumière Noire, their universe is much more exciting than
anyone would have ever thought.
The DJ/producer fully asserts his origins by brandishing the album’s title "El Hijo del Maiz" ("the
son of the corn") almost as an emblem: "in Mexico, corn is eaten daily. It has long been defined
as 'the gold of America', and I consider all Mexicans as children of corn". A spiritual and
embodied vision Iñigo's first Lumière Noire release, the four-track Aluxes, set the tone of the
young talent's distinctive interpretation of dark disco, which creeps up on the dancefloor from its
iconoclastic side. The two tracks and two remixes (one by Flügel, the other by Inigo himself)
featured on the 12" for lead single "Xu Xu" (featuring Red Axes-affiliate Xen's irrelevant vocals)
was a full-bodied confirmation that Vontier sees the dancefloor as an arena for the occult –
whether from the peoples of the equatorial jungle, the Middle East or, even from indocile
machines. But, while the spiritual element seems part and parcel of the Jalisco native’s output, it
is in no way the only ingredient of this first long-player: "this album best reflects my own vision
and spirituality, and the way I feel it" he says.
Whether contemplative or frenetic, the collection of tracks that make up “El Hijo Del Maiz” takes
the kitchen sink and throws it out the window: languid rhythms, haunted vocals, and mysterious
percussion fuel a discombobulated house set that scrambles the listener's five senses, leaving
one disoriented and exposed to the vagaries of vertigo. Following the demented, dystopian “Xu
Xu” EP, which explored an imaginary jungle that harbored Mayan and Egyptian pyramids,
Middle Eastern accents are once more present in the off-kilter “Bo Ni Ke” and its Japaneseinfluenced vocal trickery, which Moroccan flutes à la Jajouka transform into a feverish trance.
With the following three tracks, Iñigo Vontier raises himself to the same level of excellence as
the Pachanga duo (of which pride of the Mexican scene Rebolledo, is also known as a prolific
artisan of deconstruction): “Awaken”'s slumbering voice, heard as through the veil of hypnosis,
slowly introduces a techno beat which, as in follow-up “Time”, literally brings the listener to a
levitative state. In a housier vein, yet continuing in the same psychedelic, 90s-infused spirit,
“Don’t Go Back” disrupts the genre’s usual signatures with an out-of-tune keyboard that is
becoming the artist's trademark, destabilizing the listener into a drunken vertigo, with a good
helping of sexiness: "I think the sexy dimension definitely brings a kind of magic to music," says
Vontier. “I'm sure I felt this magic during my DJ sets, and I like to think that sorcerers use this
element in their practices. I might consider myself a bit of a sorcerer when I take over the DJ
booth, by the way." A mood and sound that can once again be found – in a quieter, more
bucolic version – on “Chiquitita” (feat. the flute stylings of pioneer DJ Rocca, now a partner of
cosmic disco legend Daniele Baldelli). The more cinematic, fast-paced and dreamy beat of the
no less captivating “Little Monster” might evoke the mischievous spirit of the Mayas' minor
mythological creatures, while ode to the magical herb Marijuana (feat Thomass Jackson)
proudly tramples into the debate that such a provocative title inevitably provokes: "psychedelic
drugs are powerful tools to reach a higher level of consciousness about what surrounds us, but
we must learn how to complete this psychic journey by ourselves, notably through meditation
and love.
In the end, El Hijo del Maiz is an album-length confirmation of Iñigo Vontier's uniqueness, and
his adherence to Lumière Noire's policy of letting artists fully express their vision – while letting
their passions guide their idiosyncrasies and explorations of innovative electronic signatures

FUTURE AFRO-LATIN JAZZ HOUSE FROM MASTER PERCUSSIONIST, MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST AND COMPOSER GABRIELE POSO.

A true multi-instrumentalist, Gabriele Poso found a particular affinity for percussion at a young age, studying in Puerto Rico and Cuba. His latest album ‘Batik’, to be released on Soundway Records, is once again entirely selfproduced and features guest vocalists Nailah Porter, Nina Rodriguez, Quetzal Guerrero & Sofia Rollo.
Following a long-term collaborative partnership with Osunlade / Yoruba Records, as well as albums on BBE and Agogo Records, Gabriele Poso has garnered acclaim from reviewers and selectors including Gilles Peterson. On ‘Batik’, Poso further develops and matures his sound - exploring his extensive roots in Afro-Cuban percussion, while delving into the realms of jazz and soulful house. Much of the album features Poso on not only vocals but many of the instruments - including percussion, guitar and kalimba. With mixing by renowned Spanish DJ and producer Kiko Navarro, the lead single “Africa Linda” is an up tempo live take on Latin house, featuring American-born soul singer Quetzal Guerrero on vocals.

OUTRÉ comprises of Detroit natives Joshua Harrison and Joe Sousa.

Joshua Harrison has released on Psychothrill Records, Beretta Music, DeepLabs Detroit, and currently runs the digital music label NONCOM Records.

Joe Sousa has released on Blank Code Records, and worked with labels Detroit Underground and Acid Friend. He has forthcoming releases on Detroit Underground and Clan Destine Records.



OUTRÉ is an entity that has come forth since 2017. Risen from a portal into the more existential rifts in consciousness, a mirror from the abyssal realm of the minds’ eye.


OUTRÉ 01 is it’s inaugural expression. With focus on live extraction and textural abrasives, chapter one presents ominous weight and forebodeing chaos, yet embraced with melancholic atmosphere and ethereal release.

12"LP plus 7", ltd copies

ERUPTION is an outburst of creaking energies, unconventional ideas, arhythmic thoughts, cacophonous images and musical phantasms. ERUPTION is also the name of the second album by Kluster, a band project of the musician and video artist Conrad Schnitzler, who died in 2011, together with his colleagues Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. ERUPTION was also the name of a two-day festival that took place in July 2018 at the Golden Pudel Club in Hamburg. For two days, artists and musicians from different generations and working in various fields met here, who were in one way or the other inspired by the comprehensive oeuvre Conrad Schnitzlers’, as well as by his free-spirited thoughts and actions. The result was a multi-faceted programme of concerts, performances, sound and video installations, which resulted in the release of these two special records on Pudel Produkte, the house-own label of the Golden Pudel Club. The single features a previously unreleased piece by Conrad Schnitzler & Ken Montgomery as well as a story told by Asmus Tietchens about his father and Schnitzler, who unwittingly crossed the Atlantic together on the steamboat Bornhofen in the late 1950s, one as an engineer, the other as a heater. The LP brings together the festival's invited artists, Schnitzler‘s contemporaries

such as Ken Montgomery, Wolfgang Seidel and Asmus Tietchens, as well as young artists who developed works especially for ERUPTION. Among them are Lena Willikens & Sarah Szczesny with fragments from their performance Phantom Con Ballet, the DJ Phuong-Dan who composed a musical collage from the poem About Rhythmus and rhythm studies by Schnitzler, a piece from the performance of Felix Kubin, who uses a light scanner and his modular synthesizer to convert graphic notation into sound, a theatrical sound piece by Carl & Sohn (also known as Les Trucs), the producer and DJ RVDS, who interacted with the piece Tanz im Regen by Conrad Schnitzler and many more. Initiated and curated by Nika Son, a musician and artist based in Hamburg

The modern, avant synth/dance-pop frolics of ‘Moi’ catch Steven Warwick (Heatsick) at his impish but droll best for PAN. Returning to PAN six years after his standout Re-Engineering album,
Warwick returns to similar zones of enquiry as 2016’s ‘Nadir’ - the first release under his birth name. With ‘Moi’ (which we definitely hear enunciated with a playful pucker), Warwick further emphasises the personal, playful nature of his work with 10 melodic, danceable and pop-tart arrangements accompanied by a range of vocal personas; from his naturally droll singing voice to more alien and leaned-out styles, plus a guest platitude by Turner Prize nominee, Jo Pryde.
Bubbling up with the pickled 2-step and Lolina-esque lilt of ‘Open Fire Hydrant’, Warwick clearly draws upon a UK dance music heritage - and its Afro-Caribbean and US inspirations - with the
freshest, exceptional style that percolates throughout the album, strongly informing its biggest dancefloor highlights such as the warped trancehall bumps of ‘Salvation’ and the crooked crankshaft of ‘Kaleidoscope’, along with the the brittle boned shimmy of ‘Rush’ and the hard but elegant drive of ’Silhouette.’
But they’re only half the story, which really comes together with contrasts in the fizzy downstroke of ‘Kind of Blue’, on the Black Zone Myth Chant-like psychedelic daze and blunted vocals in
‘Consolatio’, and the album’s standout ‘Danke’, which revolves around Jo Pryde’s gentle utterance of the title weft into ominous ambient clag, connoting a sort of humility that knowingly becomes
both less and more meaningful with each reiteration

20 years of Pop Ambient. Already? One didn’t notice. It’s an anniversary which comes quietly. An anniversary with quiet tones.
In the spirit of the special restraint of pop-elegance, it has no reason to drawn attention to itself with a big „Tam-Tam“. Or better: „Bum-Bum“. The bass drum stays outside. Nevertheless, in fast-paced, overstimulated times of moving forward, it’s a joyful occasion to look back.
What strikes most by putting or listening to 20 years of pop ambient in a row is the central theme that holds together the dense aesthetic concept like the pearls of a necklace.
Floral beauty for digital naturalists. Music like flowers, that don’t wilt. Timeless. Ageless. But with all of the conceptual unity and resolution, Pop Ambient would not be Kompakt without the break, the friction, the expansion of musical boundaries in between tradition and innovation, in between conspiracy and the openness of the discourse.
Aestheticism, escapism, acting in the spirit of „nevertheless“. Swans drifting by, clouds pass over, everything is floating and: „Boredom is a stylistic device“ (Andy Warhol).

Pop Ambient Music is medicine against illnesses, that you don’t even suffer from. It’s giving everything, demanding nothing.
Musical lotus leafs, off which the virtual wastewater of our time is rolling like the reality is dripping off the matrix.


In this sense, we’re happy about the pop-ambient anniversary greetings from new and old companions like Thore Pfeiffer, Max Würden, Yui Onodera, Jörg Burger, Thomas Fehlmann, Morgen Wurde, Leandro Fresco aswell as contributions from T.Raumschmiere, Andrew Thomas and, after a long break, from friends from early days like Joachim Spieth, Markus Guentner und Klimek.

Pop Ambient 2020 is released digital, as CD and of course as a chic double vinyl. Also included in the package: The whole distinctive cover-series as an art book of 44 pages. And for all of the old and young fans and collectors there is the Pop Ambient 2001 in a overhauled original version out on vinyl for the very first time.



Breath in. Breath out. Thank you.



Wolfgang Voigt, September 2019.

20 Jahre Pop Ambient. Schon? Hat man gar nicht gemerkt. Ein Jubiläum auf leisen Sohlen. Ein Jubiläum der leisen Töne. Und ganz im Sinne pop-eleganter Zurückhaltung, kein Grund, großes Tam-Tam zu machen. Oder besser gesagt: Bum-Bum. Denn die Bassdrum bleibt ja draußen. Dennoch freudiger Anlass genug, in reizüberfluteten, schnelllebigen Zeiten auf dem Weg nach vorne einen Blick zurück zu werfen. Wenn man 20 Jahre Pop Ambient Platten hintereinander legt / hört, sticht einem zunächst der sprichwörtliche rote Faden ins Auge und ins Ohr. Der Faden, der das dichte, ästhetische Konzept zusammenhält wie die Glieder einer Perlenkette. Florale Schönheit für digitale Naturalisten. Musik wie Blumen, die nicht welken. Zeitlos. Alterslos. Aber Pop Ambient wäre nicht Kompakt, wenn nicht bei aller konzeptionellen Ge- und Entschlossenheit, auch der Bruch, die Reibung, das Ausweiten musikalischer Genregrenzen zwischen Tradition und Innovation, zwischen Konspiration und Diskursoffenheit, inkludiert wäre. Ästhetizismus, Trotzdemismus, Eskapismus. Schwäne treiben, Wolken ziehen, alles fließt – und: »Langeweile ist ein Stilmittel« (Andy Warhol).

Pop Ambient Musik ist Medizin gegen Krankheiten, die man gar nicht hat. Gibt alles und verlangt nichts. Musikalische Lotusblätter, an denen das virtuelle Schmutzwasser der Zeit abperlt, wie die Realität an der Matrix.

In diesem Sinne freuen wir uns über pop-ambiente Jubiläumsgrüße von neuen und alten Weggefährten wie Thore Pfeiffer, Max Würden, Yui Onodera, Jörg Burger, Thomas Fehlmann, Morgen Wurde, Leandro Fresco sowie Beiträge von T.Raumschmiere, Andrew Thomas und nach langer Pause, von Freunden aus frühen Tagen wie Joachim Spieth, Markus Guentner und Klimek.

Pop Ambient 2020 erscheint Digital, als CD und natürlich als schickes Doppelvinyl. Mit im Paket: Die gesamte unverwechselbaren Cover-Serie als 20-seitiges Kunstbuch. Und für alle neuen und alten Fans und Sammler, erscheint zeitgleich Pop Ambient 2001 erstmalig auch auf Vinyl, in generalüberholter Originalversion. Das Ganze gibt es zudem im schicken Jubiläumsschuber in limitierter Auflage und farbigem Vinyl, exklusiv erhältlich nur auf kompakt.fm …

Einatmen. Ausatmen. Danke.

Wolfgang Voigt, September 2019

Soul Jazz Records are releasing their new ‘Space Funk – Afro Futurist Electro Funk in Space 1976-84’, an intergalactic journey into black space, fuelled by funk, powered by computers.
‘Space Funk’ is a lovingly compiled collection of superb, rare and off-the-wall space funk and electro releases mostly released on small independent labels in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Reactors are reacting, boosters are boosting, pack your funk and shake your booty! Computer funk … makes you jump! This is the space funk program!
The album comes in deluxe artwork and three formats – digipack + slipcase CD, a very limited deluxe 2xLP + bonus 7” single + download vinyl version, and a standard 2xLP + download standard vinyl version.
Features music by Jamie Jupitor, Solaris, Robotron 4, Juju & the Space Rangers and many more intergalactic space warriors!
The shuttle program has been altered – there is no Star Wars only electro funk jam joyriders in Space – hold tight!

The next Planet X invasion is underway! Four mutated and banging hybrids have joined forces for the ultimate techno takeover.
First up is Q-Cumb, a former vegetable farmer from the southern parts of Iceland known for excellent cucumbers. Since he fled his homeland he has gained a notorious reputation in the world of electronic music all over the world. He is known as Odinn, cucumb45, Bbbbbb, kid mistik, slurp gurken, icelandic lamb, orange juice man, gurk, q-cumb, holidayboy slurp and last but not least, Bjarki. His track, Dreamers, is considered the track of the year by those who have experienced it on the dancefloors of the united consciousness. Lafontaine was spawned on the Icelandic highlands and channels Icelands musical energy through his earthy connections. His tune, Ailenated, describes his existence where he fights on a daily basis to combine his music with his daily life. The result is a musical outbreak consisting of terrestrial techno with an experimental feel. ThizOne cooks up the electro-mixture Bolt which is a political anthem that describes his anger towards Icelandic politics. Recently the Icelandic government has been brainwashing the population using corrupted electronic waves. ThizOne's track is an attempt to counteract these terrible acts of treason to our people. Matrixxman, one of the team members of Planet X, throws forward an Acid banger called 'Flexxin On Hoes' that will most definitely tear up the dancefloors of the galaxy.
On the next Planet X release Matrixxman will twist and turn a remix from Lafontaine and mutate that bitch into a nuclear nugget for the future. In other news the Planet X master himself is conjouring his own ep, his first in a while that will see the light of dawn later this year. Don't miss out on this release Space Cowboys!

The late composer, arranger, musician and record producer Nonato Buzar is a lesser known great (outside of Brazil). His legacy leaves behind a rich body of recordings, working with some of the cream of the Brazilian 60s and 70s music scene, such as Evinha, Elis Regina, Wilson Das Neves to name a few as well as Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff. The awesome organ driven dancer of ‘Cafuá’ is taken from Nonato & Seu Conjunto’s 'O Som E O Balanço De Nonato’ album from 1975 on Som records.
Mr Bongo re-issued José Roberto’s (aka Ze Roberto) ultra rare 'Lotus 72 D' 7” earlier in 2019. 'Crioula Multicolorida’ though not as scarce as ‘Lotus' is still a hard record to find and is equally as great. This anthemic ‘samba rock’ gem, with its amazing breakdown, originally appeared as the B-side of a 7” in 1974 on RCA Victor. It has since been a favourite amongst Brazilian DJs and collectors, featuring on the influential ‘Via Brazil’ compilation series and 'Brazilian Beats Brooklyn' collection on Mr Bongo.

2x12"

A stunningly accomplished work, ‘Deep Rave Memory’ is an insight into Fearless’ worlds – both metaphysical and geographical. Pulsating in unison with the heartbeat of a modern metropolis, it was recorded at the Metal Box’ – his studio located on the peninsula of land where the River Lea meets the Thames.

The haunting and wistful blue ambient ‘Vision of You’ leads into the bracingly chilly ‘New Perspective’, which evokes a heavy rush where perceptions are blurred and vision is freeze framed, via elements of techno-soul, Sheffield Bleep and Mika Vainio.

A snarling beast of a track, the relentless machine funk of ‘Devil on Horseback’ perfects the pure cathartic release of dark ‘n’ hot body music, whilst ‘Acid Angels’ is a throbbing low-fi 303 requiem, which encapsulates that perfect dancefloor moment, when the first light breaks through the shutters.

A future classic and the album’s modus operandi, title track ‘Deep Rave Memory’’s discordant filter passes sweep across a hypnotic melody, communicating a deep sense of warm nostalgia and taking you on an epic journey – stretching out a single riff over 12 minutes – akin to the krautrock greats of which Fearless is so fond.

‘Atlas of Insanity’ is big room techno with pounding kicks, death-whip metallic snares and head spinning, spiralling synth lines that drill into your core. This is raw, impulsive and frantic music that sizzles with electric effervescence.

The Germanic kosmische idyll of ‘Driving with Roedelius’ is a homage to one of Richards’ heroes – Hans-Joachim Roedelius – and was inspired by his experience playing a set consisting solely of the electronic pioneer’s music, at a festival celebrating his life and career.

On the album's closer, Fearless recounts, “‘Broken Beauty’ is something I’ve always strived for in my art. It’s inspired by Robert Frank, William Eggleston and the way they could take the most inane object a turn it into something of beauty. It’s equally schooled by the aggressive simplicity of King Tubby’s dubbing and the transcendence of Joy Division’s ‘Decades’. The sparse allure of the best dub and techno is something I’m always striving for; being able to conjure emotion with the fewest possible elements; to not fix what’s broken, but to make it shine.

Limited to 500 copies.

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley was born on the 11th Street in Sekondi, Ghana 72 years ago. On the cover photo you can see on the right side the house of his birth which was also his parental home. The Ghanian legend’s latest release shows off a pride of heritage, and his honed talent for mixing highlife with other genres like rap, Afro-funk and Disco Ghanaian highlife. Gyedu-Blay Ambolley returns with 11th Street, Sekondi, his 31st album since his debut in 1973. The charismatic stage personality, no stranger to mixing humour into his music and who has performed alongside Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and highlife bandleader Ebo Taylor, has been a record collector’s staple since his appearance on the seminal Ghana Soundz compilation on Soundway in 2002, which re-introduced the world to his trademark ‘Simigwa’ style. Highlife, which started in Sierra Leone and Liberia, took hold in Ghana in the 1940s as a coming together of the musicians fed up with the foxtrot and quickstep parties originally hosted by English colonists. It began with big band horns and happy lyrics, popularised by artists such as E.T Mensah, before opening up in the ‘50s and ‘60s with a wave of guitardriven, socially conscious and more danceable Afro-funk hits -- a product of the easy movement of people between Nigeria and Ghana. It was then that Ambolley’s trademark baritone vocals burst onto the scene, under the tutelage of close personal friend Ebo Taylor.

Ambolley’s latest album, 11th Street, Sekondi, named after the area of West Ghana in which he grew up, is a look back at the area and musical styles that shaped the musician’s life. Black Woman is a funky number that opens the album with Ambolley on a tenor sax solo, while tracks like Little Small Girl showcase his renowned James Brown-influenced vocal flourishes. Soul, jazz, blues and comedy are present -- in keeping with his fervent belief that music must always be entertaining for the listener. The album is the second of his to be released on German label Agogo records, after acclaimed 2017 hit, Ketan. It also stays true to highlife's social ambitions, with reflections on the misguided pursuit of European ideals ahead of African values. Ambolley's career has been filled with accolades, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Charles R Drew University in Los Angeles, and formal recognition from the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC for producing the first ever commercially recorded rap album.

Issam Hajali is most known as the singer and composer of the Lebanese band Ferkat Al Ard. While they recorded 3 albums only their classic „Oghneya“ saw a vinyl release and is highly sought after in the Lebanese record collector scene (A copy changed hands in Beirut this year for 5000 USD). Before the band came together, he recorded this debut album in Paris in 1977 . This rare album fuses jazz and folk with Arabic and Iranian influences into unique beauty. It was only released in a limited run of 75 cassette tapes and is now officially licensed and reissued by Berlin based Habibi Funk Records.

PGS 011 comes to us from Gustav Brovold, an essential player in Detroit's latest wave of underground electronic music. His début EP, "Hyperbolic Space" is the first release solely dedicated to the local legend, with influences ranging from 90s UK rave, apocalyptic techno, and bright, post-Drexciyan electro. Since the late-aughts, Brovold has been a fixture of Detroit's dance community; first as a member of Randy Chabot's Deastro project, and then a pillar of the after-hours scene through raves with the ADULT Contemporary collective, all the while sprinkling in rare, must-see all-hardware-based live shows around the city. Moments of brilliance have boiled over the surface globally, with appearances on Don't Be Afraid as Radio Brovold in 2015, the Detroit Electronic Quarterly's "DEQ Vol. 7" in 2016, and on the punishing opener of PGS 009's with "Temple of the Circuit" earlier this year.

Following a live show at Detroit's Donovan's Pub in late 2018, Zach (Shigeto) came to the obvious realization–this music is the reason why we started PGS, and needed to release the music to a wider audience. Brovold handed PGS a flash drive with hours of completed music, a gold mine in bits and bites. "Hyperbolic Space" represents a cohesive sampling of the mountain of tracks from Brovold's vaults, propelling PGS into the next decade. Play it in your car, or at unauthorized raves, and dance to the airwaves of Radio Brovold.

"Oakland Ave"
The vibes of forgotten 90s raves: UK techno made with digital synths, resampled as a low-bitrate soundtrack for the night time level of a PlayStation racing game. Building, dancing hi-hats, slow building chord stabs, dubby techno feels. A triumphant finish, 1st place in fifth gear. (*If you play this at 45rpm, you can Jit).

With their third album ‘Fluid Motion’, Melbourne’s 30/70 are set to soar into higher territory as the face of Australia’s newest wave of soul-influenced brilliance.

From the swirling opening pads of “Brunswick Hustle” all the way through to the sax-laden shimmer of “Flowers” at its close, ‘Fluid Motion’ is an instant classic, effortlessly shifting between neo-soul and languid, Dilla-esque tendencies, astral-facing jazz textures and authentic vignettes of UK club music history.

It’s a formula that those already caught in 30/70’s celestial web are fully aware of; first defined on the local heat of their 2015 debut ‘Cold Radish Coma’ and majestically expanded upon with their critically acclaimed 2017 release ‘Elevate’ on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section INTL (mixed by Hiatus Kaiyote’s Paul Bender). ‘Elevate’ did exactly that - elevating both the scope of the band’s sound as well as their standing in the local and international community.

Since the last record was released, the music has brought the band on world tours and to the attention of the wider public and key tastemakers alike. Strongly supported by the likes of Gilles Peterson, Tom Ravenscroft, Jamie Cullum, Matthew Halsall and Bradley Zero, the UK has become something of a second home for 30/70.

London in particular has openly embraced the soulful sounds of Melbourne, as evidenced by Gilles’ latest Brownswood compilation ‘Sunny Side Up’ which features three tracks from 30/70 members: Ziggy Zeitgeist, Horatio Luna and Allysha Joy. The record is a follow up to his era-defining survey of the UK Jazz scene ‘We Out Here’, the compilation that kickstarted a whole generation of London’s under-the-radar Jazz kids to global headlining heights. It would appear we’re about to witness this same effect take place for the Melbourne contingent, of which 30/70 lead the charge. The city’s invasion is well and truly upon us.

While London is undoubtedly in love with what’s happening in Melbourne right now, this is no one way love affair. The 30/70 collective have had their ears to the ground and plugged into the sound of the UK underground. This new album takes inspiration from the syncopation of Broken-Beat, the immediacy of Grime’s and Dub’s sonic aesthetic to create something that is a truly global amalgamation of local sounds, finessed by Allysha Joy’s instantly recognisable vocals; the rawest and realest of voices.

2x12"

The first LP from Scorn since 2010’s Refuse; Start Fires, ​Cafe Mor ​is Mick Harris in his happy place. Which just happens to be in studio, demolishing all standards and rules for electronic bass music, and embodying the darkest, deepest sound in dub. ​Cafe Mor ​takes risks outside of the conventional Scorn apparatus, and with these risks come substantial rewards.

The album is comprised of powerful dub excursions, from the deep dark dank of the front two tracks Elephant and The Lower The Middle Our Bit, and gaining steam towards the ultraviolence of Mugwump Tea Room to Never Let It Be Said to the CRUSHING DEATH KICK of Who Are They Which One. A quick drive under the lights with a lasered out snare on Dulce, then we come across the appearance from ​Sleaford Mods ​frontman​, Jason Williamson,​ on the standout track on the LP, “Talk Whiff”. A cruise around the Midlands sighting the Broke Fridge and Tinder Surprise, with an instant classic refrain:

“Talk Whiff // I’m a busy person // I’ve had enough of it”
Cafe Mor culminates in the all-in-one dub affair SA70, letting rip all the new mixer and fx techniques of Harris’ most recent incarnation of Scorn. The album is the official soundtrack for all smoked out backroom deals, situations and arrangments, cancelling all small tours, and mongoose rhinocharging the bass to level 24.

All tracks Created and Mixed ​by MJ Harris in the Lad’s Old Room

B14 Mastered​ by Daniele Antezza for ​Dadub Mastering Studio

Artwork​, ​Layout ​by ​MachineTM

Following on from the release of a spilt EP from rising stars Gramrcy and Gaunt late last year, GlassTalk Records returns in 2019 with the sophomore EP from Bristol's Henry Greenleaf, "Patent".

The unassuming producer has been making waves with his bassy 130bpm productions which seem almost custom-made for the later hours of dark club settings.

Since his debut release on Par Avion last November, Greenleaf has been focused on increasing the sonic scale and clarity of his work; something that's apparent on the whole of "Patent" but especially on the opener, "Inch". A true 'creeper' of a track, the groove and harmonic arrangement of the 3-minute build-up is somewhat

entrancing but then gives way to a head-wringing breakdown.

True to his previous output, Henry doesn't sit still stylistically on "Patent". The EP's second track, "Tare", moves away from the 4x4 structures of "Inch" and into more syncopated territory previously occupied by producers like Mickey Peace or Paleman. "Tare" is a masterclass in polyrhythms with all manner of kicks, claps and vox samples skittering over each other. This deft use of drum programming is complemented by serene and uplifting synth sections, cleansing the tonal pallet before the beat forcefully drops back in.

On the B-Side, "Caved" keeps the energy and the tempos high with supremely processed high hats and a rumbling low-end landscape. Here Henry Greenleaf's adoration of Paula Temple's music shines through more than ever. Much like her output, it's kind of hard to know which way is up in "Caved" with its ever-shifting

palette of sounds and grooves.

Closer and EP title track "Patent" is probably the vastest song Greenleaf has created during his recent mission to grow his productions in scale. It's a mammoth techno track with a pulsing low-end juxtaposed against some sporadic & icey synth pads.

This release solidifies Henry Greenleaf's already hard-to-dispute status as one of the leading lights of the 'Bristol sound'. Almost impossible to define; his work sits in that amorphous sweet spot where techno, dubstep, garage and a load of other UK influences bleed into each other to form something unique. Put your headphones on and let the grooves swallow you up.

In 2015 Superpitcher was invited to go on a safari in South Africa. He stayed at the breathtaking Tanda Tula camp in Timbavati adjacent to the Kruger National Park.

Apart from being stunned by the untouched nature of the area, he was also blown away one evening by a performance of the Tanda Tula staff choir. He was so touched by their folk songs and beautiful Shangaan language that he decided to record and produce a CD for them to sell in the camp's shop, free of charge with all proceeds going to the choir members. This recording has since enabled guests from around the world to take the captivating voices of the Tanda Tula Choir home with them.

Not much later, Superpitcher approached Autonomous Africa with the idea of us putting out a remix EP. It contains four very different but somehow complementary remixes from Superpitcher, LAPS, Red Axes and Esa.

All profits from this release will be split between Tanda Tula choir and the International Library of African Music. Founded by ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey in 1954, ILAM is an an organisation dedicated to the preservation and study of African music.

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Adam X’s highly respected, deep, science fiction laden, Traversable Wormhole project celebrates its 10-year journey with a first full-length studio album titled Regions Of Time. Lying mostly dormant since 2012, with a cameo appearance on Hospital Record back in 2016 with two tracks, TW is now fully awoken from the long travel through the space-time continuum with eight new songs of thought-provoking, psychedelic, bass-heavy, galaxian techno.Adam X’s back catalog is, of course, vast, spanning over a period three decades under several aliases. The New York native recently released his devious escapade through rumbling EBM and industrial techno in the form of his full-length album Recon Mission, released under his Sonic Groove Imprint. With this project being under the Traversable Wormhole alias, be sure to expect a completely different facet to X’s repertoire of pounding excursions.

Step through the wormhole portal and take a deep cerebral mind trip into “Regions Of Time “

“Experimental trio Giraffe crystalize time on ‘Desert Haze’, their new LP on Marionette. Giraffe is the musical project of Sascha Demand (guitar), Jürgen Hall (keys), and Charly Schöppner (percussion). Sascha Demand is a composer that comes from a contemporary and improvised musical background, collaborating with the likes of Ensemble Integrales and Vinko Globokar. Jürgen Hall works in electroacoustic experimental projects, theatre and film scores, with releases on Staubgold and Edition Stora. Charly Schöppner is known for his popular music releases such as Boytronic on major production companies in the 1980´s and composes for theatre, dance, and film scores. With only a couple of releases to date on the wonderful Meakusma imprint as well as an EP on Marmo, little is known about Giraffe. After letting go of other artistic projects, the trio now focuses solely on Giraffe by continuously searching for and finding their own unique language.

Sascha, Jürgen and Charly have quite diverse musical backgrounds, though morphing into Giraffe they tower into one single composer. Their music is a critical statement, not in a political sense but rather an artistic one. Being mindful about what it means to create and how to position themselves as artists nowadays (without the constant hassle of being en vogue and short-lived trends) shaped their rather rare and stoic artistic stance. It is refreshingly honest to see their expression develop so naturally.

On Desert Haze, they’ve created a vibrant and minimalistic tribal sound that feels inspired by the Saharan traditional music of the Tuareg, Jazz, and German psychedelic krautrock. Giraffe themselves also list the radical music of the Viennese School (Schoenberg along with his pupils Berg and Webern) as well as the Köln School with its early electronic experiments as their main influence and inspiration. More precisely the composition process and the organization of musical material within space and time, where a conceptual and intellectual approach melds with an experimental yet expressive sound searching method.

Side A focuses on the trios studio work; it is built around tone color and pitch analysis of resonating prepared guitar sounds. Through a unique mixture of free improvisation and a serialism "rule set”, they develop instrumental layers and structures to form their tracks. Side B sees Giraffe playing more freely with a reduced setup - representative of what you may hear when listening to them live.
Desert Haze, along with its track-titles, showcases an almost mimetic approach to art. The haptic music grabs the listener not as a passive recipient but as an active resonant body to vibrate through. One can almost feel the Elements, pressure and heat forming a diamond, hypnotic overtones ringing through windy caves, shamanistic rhythms conjuring up mysterious and ancient landscapes - where the constant cycle of sedimentation and erosion reveals structures of fragile beauty - always gentle to the hand’s touch and the mind’s eye.”

"Kiska" is the lead single off Kedr's sophomore release, Your Need. The album is a celebration of life and rebirth. It's about a fighter's spirit, and if you will, a little audacity and courage. DJ'ing and early forms of dance music inspired a furious burst of creative energy after months of melancholy, sadness and reflection to record the album in only a matter of weeks. After her breakout album, Ariadna, which put her on the forefront of Russia's burgeoning electronic scene, Kedr felt lost with her identity and was searching for the direction of her next chapter. For a while she felt trapped by her own image and needed quite some time to resolve this internal dissonance - to grow, to evolve. DJ'ing was the main catalyst to pull her out of this rut. The art form shifted her inspiration to mainly old school styles of dance music: ghetto, house, breakbeat and UK garage. For the prior year and a half she was listening to ambient, kraut-rock and more experimental genres - one can hear the brighter, more energetic influence of early electronic music in the songs on Your Need. One day she was talking with her friend Flaty (Zhenya), a very talented artist from St. Petersburg who's signed to the GOST ZVUK label, and they decided to do a single together. He came to visit her in Moscow, but they ended up spending 10 whole days writing music together, from dawn to dusk. They vibed off each other's musical ideas perfectly and understood each other even without speaking. Zhenyais a beatmaster and pays attention to even the smallest details of a track. He brought incredible richness to the composition and Kedr considers him her teacher in this area. Kedr was in charge of the melodies and vibe of the tracks, and the vocal elements. Your Need is like a chapter of life. It's a story that illustrates different scenarios and moods that our mythical hero experiences, living in an urban jungle. From lost love to a bad trip on the dance floor, from euphoria to deep introspection. Our hero sometimes feels bold, lost or devastated, but also tender and full, like all of us at some point in life. The ending is joyful and bright. The last song gives hope and faith that a new day will come and wash away the old. You can feel like new every day. Your Need reflects an array of genres and a mix of cultures - a harmonious combination of differences. Everything Kedr loves about ghetto music, in the traditions of house, dub, breakbeat, 90s electronic music and modern sounds - she's embraced and expressed it all throughout. Your Need is Kedr's ode to music from different eras and changing periods.

The return of A Turntable Friend Records starts with an opulent 40 track retrospective compilation of their heydays in the 1909s. Peers of Sarah Records and Slumberland Records but far from copying their style, ATF Records always had their own musical identity allowing for a roster as diverse as Boyracer (with Even As We Speak), Secret Shine, The Claim, The Ropers, the Hellfire Sermons + Lorelei.

This compilation is a feast of highlights from the long-deleted back catalogue plus 8 unreleased tracks from the period. Many of the original 7s & 12s are much sought after collector items and several tracks appear on cd for the first time.
Indie guitar popof the best variety delivered by bands from the UK< USA, Australia + Japan.
The release is luxuriously packaged in a tri-fold sleeve for the triple vinyl, strictly limited to 500 for the world. It includes a 12 x 12 full colour booklet and a download code.
The double cd comes with the same tracks also in a gatefold sleeve with full colour booklet.
This compilation is a fundraiser for the William Wates Memorial Trust in the UK with all profits being donated.

Stroboscopic Artefacts releases ‘X – Ten Years Of Artefacts’, a 13-track album curated by Lucy, the nom de techno of Luca Mortellaro. It celebrates ten years of his label by boldly confirming its raison d’être: a continual redefinition of modern techno.

‘X – Ten Years Of Artefacts’ is a various artists album in which the label’s key artists respond to its tenth anniversary with fresh compositions. Artists with divergent perspectives and MOs are equally at home expressing themselves. These tracks’ timbres, tempos and moods differ greatly yet—somewhat improbably—they seem together, ideologically unified.

The album will be later complemented by a special remixes EP, with four new reworks of pivotal back catalogue material from the label (Donato Dozzy, Caterina Barbieri, Xhin and Klock). And from fall 2019, Lucy and an incredible cast of Stroboscopic Artefacts artists will begin an extended club tour to mark the anniversary.

On ‘X – Ten Years Of Artefacts’, Mortellaro features solo as Lucy, in collaboration with Rrose as Lotus Eater and together with Speedy J as Zeitgeber. (Rrose also appears alone with “The Myth of Purity.”) Shifted, Efdemin, L.B. Dub Corp (Luke Slater), James Ruskin, Denise Rabe, Adriana Lopez, Chevel, Alessandro Adriani and Serena Butler each feature, representing a group of singular artists whose relationships with the label range from years to months—Stroboscopic Artefacts’ past, present and future must exist simultaneously.

Back in September 2009, Lucy released “Why Don’t You Change/Dub Man Walking,” the first record from Stroboscopic Artefacts, which began a discography that, ten years later, is almost unparalleled in its ambition and vision. Put simply, Mortellaro wanted to create something that didn’t exist. Stroboscopic Artefacts would be respectful of, and indebted to, the great techno and electronic music artists of the past but would develop new paths forward for the label and the genre. The label refused to perpetuate the established dichotomies of electronic music — between the dance floor and home listening, between club music and experimental music, between the past and the future. It took risks knowing it wouldn’t always work. But within a year or so of the label’s inception, it was obvious Stroboscopic Artefacts’ approach had captured imaginations far beyond its Berlin base, showing us that the boundaries of techno are often constructs of limited imagination.

The label pursued constantly evolving methods of releasing music. It created concept-driven series like Monad, Stellate and Totem, establishing frameworks that would give freedom in limitation. Standout albums by Lucy, Xhin, Dadub, Zeitgeber, Chevel, Kangding Ray, Lotus Eater and Alessandro Adriani were deeply considered longform presentations.

With this new album, remix EP and tour, now is the moment for Stroboscopic Artefacts to look fondly at its past while drawing breath, reenergised, and hinting at new chapters.

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"Reactions" is the debut album from First Tone, the musical partnership of New Orleans-based artists Turk Dietrich (Second Woman, Belong) and composer Duane Pitre (Important Records). While the project has been at work quietly sculpting their sound for years, "Reactions" is the first available set of recordings. Those familiar with the respective works of the two artists will be happy to find a collection of music that is very much of the duo, and yet totally unlike anything they've produced before.

Over six tracks, First Tone unfurl poignant, flickering compositional works that utilize pitch material that is tuned using the system known as Just Intonation (which Pitre has studied for nearly 15 years) in conjunction with various software and a single hardware synth. The result is a collection of music that is both organic and alien. Layers of tone and texture build and dissolve from the ultra minimal to the enormous, on occasion seamlessly blending the two. A wide array of striking timbres patiently wash over one another, at times sounding like organic instruments, at other times sounding completely otherworldly.

"Reactions" is a masterclass not only in sound design and dynamic range, but also in sonic depth. The album's approach to the usage of time and dynamics work together to create the perception of a three-dimensional spaciousness of sound. The holographic effects produced from the spaces between the album's sounds are mesmerizing, with discreet arrangements that demand repeat listens to fully absorb.

This split release unites two female underground acts, both of whom have recently become pivotal parts of the contemporary electronic musical landscape in Japan. Hot on the heels of the acclaimed PAREDO EP compilation (TAL12), which has been released in May 2019 (and also includes contributions from Lena Willikens and Miki Yui), the SUPER MILD split album is the second outing by KOPY and TENTENKO on TAL. Their newest works punctuate their highly individual approaches to contemporary experimental dance music.

TENTENKO is a Tokyo-based electronic music producer. Her career began in 2013 when she joined the mainstream idol group BIS. Immediately after her departure from BIS in 2014 she commenced work on her solo project under her artist name TENTENKO. Since then she has radically reinvented her music away from glossy J-POP towards weird and industrial rooted dancefloor. TENTENKO first made a name for herself on the alternative Japanese music scene with a steady flow of live performances as well as collaborations with members of the legendary Japanese noise band HIJOKAIDAN.

For a few years now KOPY has been an unpredictable and charismatic part of the vital electronic music scene of Osaka. She has quickly garnered a reputation for creating her live sets exclusively with borrowed electronic equipment. Her name KOPY very much originates from this "concept". Apart from a few performances at Düsseldorfs famous nightspot SALON DES AMATEURS, she has been invited by LENA WILLIKENS to her showcase at the MEAKUSMA FESTIVAL in 2018. Her sinister dancefloor mystique is heavily steeped in the free spirited noise and rhythm cultures of her hometown.

‘Green & Gold’ is the second collaborative release from Mr Key & Greenwood Sharps, the long awaited follow up to their
critically acclaimed 2015 album ‘Yesterday’s Futures’. The record was written and recorded between Greenwood Sharps’
cottage in the verdant English countryside and the off grid Finca in the foothills of the Andalusian Sierra Nevada, Spain where
Key is based.
The title has multiple meanings none of which are anything to do with weed or money. First and foremost, green and gold are
the colours which synesthete (a person who sees sound) Greenwood Sharps, composed the record in. It also alludes to the
dialogue between the green of the UK and the dusty gold of Andalucia which created the project. Finally green and gold speaks
of the dynamic between the sun and photosynthesising organisms, the driving force of life on earth.
‘Yesterday’s Futures’ took the listener on a meandering journey through a vast landscape of moods, sounds and ideas,
leading ultimately to redemption and the possibility of resolution. Thematically, ‘Green & Gold’ picks up where ‘Yesterday’s
Futures’ left off, but structurally it takes the opposite tack; an extended exploration of a single ubiquitous idea: universal love for
all things and all people and the challenge of maintaining these shiny ideals in day to day life, as our cynical side reasserts itself.
Key’s first output after an extended hiatus from releasing music makes it obvious that during this time he continued honing his
craft. The unique perspectives and disarming honesty which set him apart from his peers remain, but his technical prowess and
capacity to convey sentiment are notably enhanced. The same applies to Greenwood Sharps, who’s masterful production has
risen to new heights yet still maintains the rich and subtle sonic palette he has become known for.
Dropping alongside the EP is a short film featuring the works of long time collaborator Jamie Johnson, the man behind the
artwork for both ‘Green & Gold’ & ‘Yesterday’s Futures’. The short film is the visual counterpart to the EP and serves as the
perfect introduction to the world of ‘Green & Gold’ as it visually explores all the themes present in the music & provides a snap
shot of the incredible tracks on offer.
In a troubled and busy world, marred with anxieties and uncertainties, ‘Green & Gold’ comes as a breath of fresh air and offers some valuable food for thought for those searching for real heart felt substance rather than the sanitised, individualised &
commodified norm we have all become accustomed to.

The newly-formed Icelandic record label LAHAR brings you a long-awaited 12" by Den Nard Husher, a collaboration of two stalwarts within the Icelandic techno scene - Octal Industries & Vector.
After a commemorative EP on Stobelight Network in 2016, Den Nard Husher strikes back with their first release since a 20-year production hiatus. It is enthralling to see how their fast-paced bustling techno renditions morph with time yet still encapsulate our body and imagination in that same meteoric signature.
Den Nard Husher sounds fresh, blistering in a seemingly never-ending post-Y2K aesthetics.

We at Antinote are proud to make our first French-Russian connection. Olga is from Moscow. She came to us after Dominique Dumont's show in Paris, winter 2018. We checked her music and immediately fell in love with the song 'Mojno'. Step by step we built a nice collection of tracks that now make up the 1905 LP! Very active in the electronic music scene, she’s spent the last ten years releasing music, performing, recording & DJing as well as being busy with her tech-project Playtronica (with them she's created 3 controllers that you allow to play scales on people, objects and colors). Across the "1905" LP she utilises some DIY devices such as Yamaha sampler vss-33, voice glitcher from the Russian company “Naked Boards” and organelle synth that creates this synesthetic tone in “ready when you are”. Besides dreamy pads and dancy beats Olga is ironically singing on Russian about her daily routine, in a positive way. There's no sadness and melancholy in the dark snowy days, where even the full moon or retrograde-mercury don’t even bother you ...if you are in harmony with mother nature's 5 elements.

Livity Sound's final transmission of 2019 comes from the esteemed Freerotation resident and UntilMyHeartStops co-founder, Leif.

Quietly earning himself a well-deserved reputation for his outer-worldly production stance and forward-thinking approach to Dj-ing, Leif has spent the last decade refining his musical palette with a slew of releases including highly acclaimed LPs for Whities and UntilMyHeartStops. In 2017 he launched the TIO-Series label as a vehicle to showcase the more off-kilter rhythmical side of his own productions releasing contemporary anthems such as July V and Bluebird.

This new EP for Livity Sound continues in the exploratory TIO-series vein finding Leif in percussion mode, combining nimble rhythms, deep bass and hazy synths in his idiosyncratic style to dazzling effect.

This 12” vinyl release comes with brand new art direction from Tess Redburn in a full colour artwork reverse board sleeve.

Livity Sound is a label set up by Peverelist in 2011 as a vehicle for a raw and exploratory strain of UK techno, rooted in the heritage of UK dance music and sound system culture. It has since become one of the UK's foremost protagonists for cutting edge underground music.

The Tokyo based producer Yoshinori Hayashi will release his new EP, ‘Y’, on November 8th via Smalltown Supersound. The EP will be his first release since his debut LP, Ambivalence, from last year which received a glowing 4.0 review from Resident Advisor.
Hayashi has studied under Japanese avant-classical composer Mica Nozawa. When not DJing, he works in a record store in Tokyo. Thus far, Hayashi has released a string of 12”s on labels including Going Good Records, Jinn Records, Lovers Rock, Gravity Grafittiand Moscoman’s Disco Halal. Previous work by Hayashi has been called “a complex patchwork of studio gear, live instruments, dusty jazz records and smartly cut library sounds, whose textures are soft and inviting. But its arrangements are constantly ruffled, squeezed, brushed and pinched—which is to say, nothing stays still for long” (Resident Advisor).

In the 1960s and ‘70s, unbeknownst to most, Saigon (today named “Ho Chi Minh City”) had become a fertile environment for a flourishing music industry which produced countless recordings of beautifully crafted songs.

Ho Chi Minh City based band, Saigon Soul Revival has been bringing alternative pre 1975 music from Saigon back to the stage since 2016 with their live performances. Honoring the original composers, singers and the golden era from which this music (Nhạc Vàng) came, while applying new arrangements and interpretations of old Vietnamese songs. With tight grooves, psychedelic textures and a powerful unique sound, SSR has performed countless shows at a variety of venues across Vietnam, and accompanied live the two release tours to the Saigon Supersound Compilation releases.

While spending the last three years studying and playing this music, Saigon Soul Revival teamed up with producer Jan Hagenkötter (Saigon Supersound / INFRACom!) and finally in January 2019, they started to create own compositions in the same vein for their debut album Họa Âm Xưa. The album was recorded in Vietnam with additional guests during one week in May this year.

The album focuses on compositions that fuse Vietnamese lyrics and sounds with influences of western rock, soul, bolero, tango and other popular genres of this time period, most of which was banned after the war. This project strives to revive this beautiful musical heritage of Vietnam which represents an important cultural bridge between east and west.

It’s been a busy eight months since Dampé’s debut on Dirt Crew Recordings. That time has seen the producer hold down monthly slots on Rinse FM, contribute a downtempo electronica/jazz edit to the S3A ‘Pages Remixes” EP as well as open big rooms for the likes of Surgeon and Blawan.

The intervening months have also seen the producer set up camp in the Rhythm Section studio in South East London, and the result of new access to studio gear can be heard all across ‘Garden’. Compared to the debut ‘Peach Shuffle’ this is a far more machine-led and darker listening experience. Snatches of acoustic instruments and space remain, but it’s never long before the disembodied vocals and oversaturated classic drum kits return reminding you this is music best enjoyed in the club.

‘A Basement, 10 Years Ago’ started just there. A bass line dimly recalled from a long-lost 6am jam is sequenced on a weighty analogue keyboard, while syrupy R&B vocals dance around mbira and gangsa, all slowly building and building together. ‘727 and Arp Breaks’ is a love letter to two of the producer’s favourite instruments from the studio. A TR-727 and an Arp Odyssey collide across dubbed out stabs to form some very rolling breaks.
Sunday Night Machines’ sees Dampé tame the box-of-physics that is the Arp Odyssey again with a sprawling meditation on two repeating arpeggios.

‘Garden’ is the one for the dancers. Four variations play with the same melodic theme in distinct sections, with the second variation being the deepest and most floor-ready the whole record gets. ‘France’ is a warped dub-come-hip hop beat that manages to conjure both Lil Jon and Yusef Lateef. We approached Liverpool’s finest ASOK (Lobster Theremin, M>O>S Delsin) for remix duties and to close out the record with a twisted bang. He turned in a propelling weapon that brings a whole new texture to the track listing. It’s very 90’s, very ravey and very raw, in a true IDM style.

With this eclectic mix of sounds we are entering another chapter of the Dirt Crew story and we hope you dig it as much as we do!

Blaue Blume are a Danish alternative art pop band with a deep connection to the romanticism of the early 80s UK scene. Referencing artists such as Talk Talk, The Smiths and Cocteau Twins, it's clear their influences are with the more sensitive, magical aspects of music - and the eternal questions of love, life and death. Following two singles (Lovable and Vanilla) the album Bell of Wool is finally with us. It’s suitably enchanting from start to finish. Two themes dominate Blaue Blume’s new album Bell Of Wool, darkness and adventure. With the record mostly made before singer Jonas Smith slipped into a depressive episode, the album’s lyrics and moods draw pictures of the darkness, anxiety and tension that would mark Smith’s depression. Sonically, the album sounds a distance away from anything they’ve done before. Indie and electro pop and rock are out, and instead the album is crafted from soft, glowing synthscapes, dawns and skies transformed into sounds. Even on hints of their older work, like on the acoustics of “Rain Rain”, the synthwork comes into the picture and swells the song into something bigger and more majestic. Opener “Swimmer” introduces the listener to the softness and subtlety of the new sound, whereas songs like “Morgensol” and “Bombard” show it at its biggest and more grand.