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Sometimes, what seems “to be” ... isn’t. And what “was” actually wasn’t. What’s "in" is sometimes out. And what was thought to be "north" is sometimes south.Similarly, up until now, there just wasn’t enough ... of TOO MUCH.
That’s how its been, ever since dynamic-duo TOO MUCH — Rich Morel & Ian Svenonius – let the world listen in on their once-in-a-millenia electro-beat gobstopper “PATENT LEATHER” (MERGE RECORDS); the monster hit which defined dance floors since its release in 2019.
“PATENT LEATHER” a bewitching blend of lechery and love, was tattooed on the brain of every loitering lothario in every night-club, roadhouse, and streetlight latrine in both the free and not-so-free worlds.It was so incessant; it shook houses down, burned parliament, and crashed the stock market. Dancers everywhere pleaded for more.
TOO MUCH have finally relented and deigned to give the heaving, begging, prostrate mass a new mess of motor-robot rhythm rockers. Yes, that's correct. TOO MUCH have a full length record and they call it ... “CLUB EMOTION.”
CLUB EMOTION is nine songs of pure ecstacy perfectly suited for the club, the car or the closet.Its a pure joy to listen to in one’s bedroom or at the beach. On a stroll, at a drive-thru, or while careening through the astral-plane, looking for a ro- mantic rendezvous.

Searching for new languages beyond the bitter and nihilist dialect of punk, bands like Gaz Nevada, Litfiba, CCCP, Diaframma, Neon, and many others, began spreading their message all along the Italian peninsula during the early eighties and many of the members of these bands are now some of the best musicians/producers in the Italian independent music panorama (Giovanni Lindo Ferretti, Piero Pelù/Litfiba, Bisca, etc.). 16 tracks by 16 Italian underground bands from 1982-1984: bands who faded into oblivion before ever releasing anything of their own on vinyl. It should, however, be stated that if these sixteen bands had been found on an album, EP or single, they certainly would not have lowered the average quality of albums in that genre…not even in terms of sound quality, which has actually been improved upon here (considering that the original tapes had been lying around collecting dust for at least a quarter of a century) by careful restoration.

Vinyl Only

The duo Discult Soundsystem is very proud to present their vinyl only imprint: Lets Discult. For their debut release the Berlin based label is dropping a massive Various Artists shaped for the dancefloor. 4 tracks EP including one from the label heads themselves, Intr0beatz, Leo Woelfel and Dimi Wilson.

Laura Marling’s exquisite seventh album 'Song For Our Daughter' arrives almost without preamble or warning in the midst of uncharted global chaos, and yet instantly and tenderly offers a sense of purpose, clarity and calm. As a balm for the soul, this full-blooded new collection could be posited as Laura’s richest to date, but in truth it’s another incredibly fine record by a British artist who rarely strays from delivering incredibly fine records.

Taking much of the production reins herself, alongside long-time collaborators Ethan Johns and Dom Monks, Laura has layered up lush string arrangements and a broad sense of scale to these songs without losing any of the intimacy or reverence we’ve come to anticipate and almost take for granted from her throughout the past decade.

Gwendoline is the project from Micka (a.k.a. Mikoune) and Pierre (a.k.a. Daniel). Based in Rennes, musically influenced by the classic cold wave which originated in their country, precarious and aimless, they shape Gwendoline to their own image. Pure DIY ethics, quick recordings at their home studio. Dark lyrics, self- mockery, criticism, sarcasm derived from the world’s mediocrity.

“Après c’est gobelet!” is their first album. Melodic but dark, ironic but direct, sophisticated but absolutely minimalistic. A testimony of today’s world viewed under a grey prism of sarcasm and wrapped around beautiful melodies and rhythms.

We are really happy to present you this very special record on a limited, hand numbered edition of 140 copies, housed in a matt finish sleeve and including a download code. The digital download includes two bonus tracks.

Optimo Music presents “Vanessa 77” the debut album from New Zealander Vanessa Worm. Originally due in May it was rescheduled due to the lockdown but we couldn’t wait any longer to get it out into the world, so here it is, on vinyl and digital.

After entrusting us to release 3 much loved singles it seemed right to let Vanessa stretch out across an album and show the world what she is about and how talented she is. Vanessa is exactly the kind of artist Optimo Music dreams of finding; her music fits in with no genre and no scene – it is its own genre and its own scene. Musically free and anarchic, Vanessa conforms to nobody’s dogma. Before lockdown Vanessa played a series of Southern Hemisphere live shows that entranced all who saw them. Hopefully next year she can come and do the same in the Northern Hemisphere.

We asked her for a few thoughts about her album. Vanessa says – “Vanessa 77, like most creative endeavours is a journey of self discovery. Mentally, emotionally and creatively. I spent most of my time alone in winter 2019 – focused solely on personal development & self realisation via the creation of this album. It was a way for me to put my mental state onto a plate – the joys, the fears, the epiphanies, and so on. I so desperately wanted to share what I was learning with the world too – I intended for Vanessa 77 to help others to heal, self-realise and alchemise. It was a 9 month process of death and a re-birth from the old into the new. Much like the world is experiencing now entering 2020, I hope this album can provide some form of healing, soothing, celebration and act as a sub-conscious guide for us as we enter into this New Earth. Thank you to all who listens, enjoy!”

Originally recorded direct to disc and released by Incus in 1978, this new edition from Treader is pressed from the original stampers. Hand-finished sleeve.

‘Parker uses rapid tonguing techniques and circular breathing to create a sound all his own, marked by the simultaneous intonation of multiple notes. One hears a note as well as all the residual tones around it; each breath ends up sounding like a battle between the different registers of the horn. At various times, Parker’s saxophone sounds like dolphin speech, electronic tape squeals, or human murmurs; namely, anything but what it actually is. His language on the instrument is essential listening for anyone interested in acoustic experimental music’ (AllMusic).

‘Eight years after Topography Of The Lungs, and two years after his Saxophone Solos, Monoceros was the most muscular statement of Evan Parker’s solo saxophone muse. Superbly recorded, it seemed to place the listener within the chaotic air flows of the saxophone’s own tubing. Philip Clark said: ‘Parker’s dialogue with the saxophone throws up so much that is unexpected, and indeed unknowable, that the problem he faces is how to keep pace with his own invention’’ (The Wire, Best Albums Of The Year).

For their sophomore album, Chemical Reaction, Galaxians have stripped back the music and pumped up the vocals. Emma Mason's unstoppable voice elevates the group to a fully-formed musical act. This new LP is all about her voice.

Mason's powerhouse vocal on the West End Records-inspired Chemical Reaction beckons you onto the dancefloor. Jed Skinner's bright and breezy synth melodies allow the song to really breathe, whilst Sam Bell's front-and-centre conga groove (straight out of Double Exposure's My Love Is Free) and Matt Woodward's intricate rolls ramp up the track's energy and momentum. The shorter Mama Ghetto Vogue Edit is brought to life by Darren Pritchard, vogue dancer and mother of Manchester's House of Ghetto, who meets a neon wonderland in the electrifying video.

Elsewhere on the album, Heartbreaker champions female empowerment and personal freedom over a pounding boogie groove. It's a tight arrangement which drops into a delay-drenched Levanesque drum break before crescendoing back into a final chorus via one of Skinner's trademark JX-3P synth solos.

On the proto-house funk of Fight For Love, where Emma flexes her vocal chords to jaw-dropping effect, a failing relationship is thrust into the spotlight over a punchy Linn Drum groove. On the silky shuffle of after-hours jam Work It Out, which brings to mind the classic Sly & Robbie Compass Point productions, Emma croons about a lover, her voice cast in a softer, more subdued glow. Heat of the City sizzles with the essence of an urban summer, and is peppered with heart-stopping hand claps.

Third single Horizon sees the band in more reflective low-key mode, and could be their minor hit of the summer. There's some neat drum programming here, intertwined with Woodward's intricate fills and hi-hat playing.

On Not The Money, Mason's vocal shifts to a lower register in the mid-section, bringing to mind Grace Jones at her most commanding.

All in all it's a life-affirming experience, one born out of a sense of community and collaboration. Seven years on from their early explorations Chemical Reaction sees Galaxians retain sight of the principles that make their output, and dance music as a whole, so vital - commonality of experience, singular moments shared by a crowd, and rhythm as the best medicine.

Black Ark In Dub is another piece of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s limitless musical puzzle.

Featuring a bedrock of deep and heavy rhythms recorded at the Black Ark just before its demise, Black Ark In Dub features bass heavy spooky dub deconstructions of ‘Jah Love Is Sweeter’, ‘Ethiopia’, ‘Lion A De Winner’, ‘Open The Gate’, ‘Guideline,’ and ‘Mr Money Man’, along with an embellished dub version of Ras Keatus I ‘Dreadlocks I’ and the much sought after ‘Guidance’ a longime Jah Shaka killer exclusive to this set.

Originally released in 1981 the hard to find Black Ark In Dub remains a frozen sonic timepiece, captured at the beginning of the end of one era and poised at the start of another.

Funnuvojere's latest instalment, Minority Resist, comes from Czech Republic and it's signed by Martin Ku?ka under his moniker Goodbye Mirage. Martin has been performing and producing ambient and synthy compositions under his real name for many years, releasing a few LPs for the US cassette labels Sacred Phrases and Origin Peoples, mostly influenced by writing, drawing and photography, as well as by the rhythms of village life.? Funnuvojere's new ethereal EP interweaves nostalgia for the past and reflections on the present. The EP is imbued with Martin's memories of discovering Berlin's Love Parade, the golden cradle of 90s trance and progressive house. Emotional tension and unexpected polymeters characterise the EP, with minimalistic notes rippling back from a distant future. Careful design produces a unique sound and grain that will blissfully envelop those lucky enough to hear it played.?

More Swiss jazz bliss! We Release Jazz (Ryo Fukui’s Scenery and Mellow Dream, Marc Moulin’s Placebo Live 1971…) is madly happy to unleash another reissue from Geneva’s very own Boillat Thérace Quintet. The My Greatest Love album features none other than bebop and hard-bop legend Benny Bailey and is available for the first time since 1975 on vinyl LP as well as digipack CD. Galvanized by the creation of the Montreux Jazz Festival in the late 60s and lively local scenes, jazz music was healthy and booming in Switzerland in the 1970s. One band that beautifully captured this energy was Jean-François Boillat and Raymond Thérace’s Boillat Thérace Quintet whose self-titled debut and impressive Montreux appearance set the tone for quality Helvetic jazz in 1974. Following this first excellent impression, the Boillat-Thérace ensemble connected with American trumpeter Benny Bailey and recorded the magnificent My Greatest Love in May and June of 1975. The modal, hard bop and soul-jazz gem includes first-class takes on Freddie Hubbard’s “Gibraltar”, Kenny Dorham’s “Blue Bossa”, and Jimmy Heath’s “Gemini”, plus deliciously funky originals from the Geneva crew, including the upbeat “Le Colin” and the swaying fan-favorite “Prompt” and its thrilling solos. Bailey is on trumpet and flugelhorn, Boillat on Fender Rhodes and piano, Thérace on saxophone and flute, Roger Vaucher on Fender bass, Eric Wespi on drums, and Rogelio Garcia on percussion and tenor saxophone…heavy sessions and deep vibes! This is reissued in conjunction with Boillat Thérace Quintet’s self-titled debut album (1974), also available via We Release Jazz.

Swiss jazz bliss! We Release Jazz is very, very, VERY happy to present its sixth release (following Ryo Fukui’s Scenery and Mellow Dream, Le Cercle Rouge’s soundtrack by Eric Demarsan, Stuff Combe 5 + Percussion, and Marc Moulin’s Placebo Live 1971) coming straight from its beloved hometown of Geneva. Boillat Thérace Quintet’s self-titled album is available for the first time since its original limited private pressing in 1974 and comes as a vinyl LP as well as a digipack CD* (with 3 never-heard bonus songs). Full of prolific and inspired local clusters and boosted by the recently launched Montreux Jazz Festival, the Swiss jazz scene was vibrant and inventive in the 1970s, notably in the region surrounding Lake Geneva. This is precisely where jazz activist and brilliant pianist Jean-François Boillat and wind instrument master Raymond Thérace formed their quintet whose dazzling debut album was recorded in 1974. An absolute Lemanic gem of the soul-jazz/modal kind, the self-titled album includes superb covers of Freddie Hubbard’s “Straight Life”, Keith Jarrett’s “In Your Quiet Place”, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Sweet Fire”, plus groovy original compositions from the Boillat-Thérace crew. Helvetian fun facts: the velvety “1224” is dedicated to Geneva’s public transport line Tram 12, and one exquisitely funky track on the album is named after the famed yet elusive (and locally legendary) Swiss Marmite: “Cenovis”! This is reissued in conjunction with Boillat Thérace Quintet’s My Greatest Love featuring Benny Bailey (1975), also available via We Release Jazz. *The CD version includes 3 bonus tracks (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Claude Engel covers), never released before.

All sounds recorded at various locations in Europe, South America and at EMS, Stockholm using the Buchla 200 modular synthesizer.

soar, all sounds recorded with Klara Lewis in Montreal 2018


Mastered by Russell Haswell. January 2020

Cut at Schnittstelle, Berlin by Andreas Kauffelt, January 2020


Image : Mark Hogben

Layout: Nik Void

The last two years have seen me maintaining an association with an unusual bedfellow, death. The loss of Mika Vainio, as well as three members of my own family, has had a profound effect on me and spurred a lengthy reflection on life, death, and everything in between.

Parallelly, while studying the philosophy of science, I came across shadow photons:


"Tangible photons are the ones we can see or detect with instruments whereas shadow photons are intangible (invisible) detectable only indirectly through the interference effects on the tangible photons.

There is no intrinsic difference between tangible and shadow photons: each photon is tangible in one universe and intangible in all the other parallel universes.

They travel at the speed of light, bounce off mirrors, are refracted by lenses, and are stopped by opaque barriers or filters of the wrong colour. Yet, they do not trigger even the most sensitive detectors. The only thing in the universe that a shadow photon can be observed to affect is the tangible photon that it accompanies. This is the phenomenon of interference.

Shadow photons would go entirely unnoticed, were it not for this phenomenon and the strange pattern of shadows by which we observe it.

Thus the existence of a seething, prodigiously complicated hidden world of shadow photons has been inferred."*


I have drawn a parallel between shadow photons and death. The interference phenomena, parallel universes, and how shadow photons affect tangible photons they accompany, offer, in my opinion, similarities, an unknown universe which is death and how we, remaining tangible human beings, are affected. This quest has led me to be more willing to accept chaos in my life and to conclude that Death is perfection, everything else is relative.

Mono Han are brothers Alessandro and Davide, who collectively have a deep and long understanding of electronic music. Davide is a co-founder of N.O.I.A, one of Italy’s first electronic live acts to perform and record with drum machines and synths as early as 1978. He was also behind seminal Italo outfit Klein + M.B.O and proto-house hit “Dirty Talk”. Alessandro, following in his brother’s footsteps was inevitable and he too became hooked on the incredible new sound palette emanating from the early electronic machines.

Since then they have released under an array of aliases, have clocked up numerous club hits and this project brings them back to their 80’s roots.

Kenton Slash Demon return to Tartelet Records with Zstring + remixes by Urulu and Kasper Marott + 12' comes in vintage Tartelet sleeves circa 2009-2010. Limited Edition 400 copies. It's been ten years since Kenton Slash Demon landed on Tartelet with their debut EP Khattabi followed by the much-celebrated The Schwarzschild Trilogy singles - Sun, Matter and Daemon all released 2009-2011.Ten years have passed since our first release on Tartelet and with this record it feels like we've gone full circle. It's a beautiful thing.'Zstring marks their return to Tartelet - but it's also a precursor for things to come within the next year. With talks of a full-length album, the KSD project is now being given the attention it deserves.
Kenton Slash Demon have always had an affinity for uplifting melancholic tunes - and Zstring cements their ability to create just that. The track oozes with dance-floor euphoria, offering up a distorted arpeggio bassline, lush pads and layered melodies, all built around a tight and ever- changing groove. There are clear references to Italo disco, early techno and trance, but it's hard to pin down the exact style - if that even matters.On remix duties, man of the moment and label collaborator, Urulu, delivers a fresh take in his signature early 90s style, while local hero and close friend Kasper Marott of Monkeytown fame comes through with an obscure melodic techno workout of the finest sorts.
To further advance the concept of 'full circle,' the 12' comes in vintage Tartelet sleeves circa 2009-2010, salvaged from three different releases - which have been in storage since being produced.Zstring will be available April 12 th 2019 on vinyl and April 26th on all digital platforms.

French synth-pop talent Lucien & The Kimono Orchestra unveils his new solo piano album, a journey into cinematic soundscapes

Alone at the piano, Lucien takes us on a very personal album in a deep and quiet reverie. We spend a soft winter morning in his company, reminiscing about tender childhood memories.

Between previously unreleased tracks and revisited Kimono Orchestra pieces, "Piano Matinée" concludes a trilogy of recordings which have barely been released, while paving the way for a wider future. Universal, sensitive, cinematographic, the piano language spoken here by Lucien opens us to his musical world in a light that is both more authentic and accessible.

The album also tells us a personal story. That of a grandfather - an exceptional pianist but forced to give up his career when the Second World War broke out - who passed on to him a taste for music in his early childhood, before passing away.

Many years later, Lucien came across old cassette recordings of his eldest son, soon afterwards having a disturbing dream in which he swore he had had a dialogue with him and decided to go his own way. The self-taught musician spent a whole year honing his piano skills before deciding to freeze his performance in the summer of 2019 at the legendary Steinway at the Studios Saint-Germain.

Drawing freely on all his influences - jazz, funk, classical, cinema - Lucien's "Piano Matinée" is a special object, as intimate as it is melodious.

If you collect vintage 70's soul-jazz vinyl, there is a good chance that you already own a record that features the amazing vocal talents of Dee Dee Bridgewater. Whether it be Roy Ayers, Norman Connors, Billy Parker or Carlos Garnett - Dee Dee is the glue that fuses these artists together. Although best known for her jazz work, Dee Dee has had a wonderfully rich and varied career encompassing soul, musicals, gospel, and underground disco from the 70's to the present day. She is still active as a vocalist, composer, and producer and remains one of our favourite vocalists at Mr Bongo HQ. We take things back to the early years of Dee Dee's career with her debut album 'Afro Blue'. Recorded in Tokyo in 1974, the album was released exclusively in Japan via two different Japanese labels (Trio Records in 1974 and All Art in 1985 respectively). Each release had unique cover art and we have opted to present the album in its original 1974 form.

'Afro Blue' features an exquisite collaboration of American and Japanese musicians, such as Cecil & Ron Bridgewater, Motohiko Hino and producer Takao Ishizuka. The result is a sublime deep soul-jazz masterpiece with timeless versions of 'People Make The World Go Round', 'Love From The Sun', and 'Afro Blue'. It is arguably one of the finest albums in its genre. This record has long been a sought-after item for DJs and collectors alike, so we are delighted to finally make this wonderful music from an understated great available to all.

Das italienische Acid Duo ist zu unserer Freude mit der „Vax Of Love“ EP zurück bei BPitch, die beiden veröffentlichten hier 2019 die „909 Therapy“ EP und davor schon das erfolgreiche „Drops In Heaven“, damals ihr Debut bei BPitch. Sie setzen ihre Experimente mit industriellem Sound und der quirligen, zeitlosen Roland TR-303 fort. Was wir hier hören ist der Sound Turins einer der italienischen „Motor Cities“, der Geist verlassener Fabriken ist in jedem Beat und jeder Bass- und Acid-line präsent.

Kieron Ifill aka K15 has been releasing neck breaking music for quite a while now, wether on his own Esencia imprint or on established stables like Wild Oats, Eglo, Apron, Black Focus, WotNot and more recently Neroli. With the monikers K15 and Culross Close he has been honing his craft for years delivering a unique mixture of eclectic dancefloor grooves always infused with jazz elements, which clearly show his huge level of musical awareness. “Volume 1” is the first collaboration between Esencia and Mother Tongue, and prooves once again Kieron’s extreme sensibility and visionary approach with the songs ‘Elemental’ and ‘Intrinsic Value’. A jewel of a record and an instant classic so fitting for these trying times!

Classically trained experimentalist Aarp releases his compositionally expansive and pointedly political debut album via InFiné. ‘Propaganda’ is an album that rewards repeat listens and inspires research, pushing listeners to look for the truth beyond the headlines. The title ‘Propaganda’ is inspired in part by the death of a young man in Nantes who drowned following a police altercation at “Fête de la Musique” in 2019. Despite the fact that he was only dancing and there was clear evidence of negligence, the media campaign that followed cleared all involved and disinformation spread, distorting the truth and allowing French authorities to evade any consequence. This blatant and very recent example of press propaganda lead Aarp to explore a multitude of moments in history, each one informing a single track from his new record. Each song title is a direct quote taken from different examples of these moments, from George W. Bush to Margret Thatcher and French philosopher Gilles Deleuze to the infamous Oxycontin commercial by Purdue Pharma.

Multidisciplinary NYC artist Gavilán Rayna Russom launches her own label Voluminous Arts, dedicated to highlight electronic and experimental artists whose work challenges fixed categories of genre and categorization. Her aim is to create a platform for multidisciplinary work and events. The inaugural release being her second solo album as Gavilán Rayna Russom 'Secret Passage', following up last years 'The Envoy, an homage to the East Side Rail Tunnel in Providence, Rhode Island, and the friendships she made there.

In Rayna’s words:
“I grew up in Providence, Rhode Island in the 1970’s and 80’s. The booming jewelry and textile industries of the previous decades had pulled out by that point. The Italian mob ran most details of the day to day operations of the city. As kids coming up in that environment, before the internet, me and the people I hung out with didn’t know anything else and we worked with what we had to entertain ourselves. We found places that had been forgotten by market interests and made them spaces of creative community building. One of the most special of these places was the East Side Rail Tunnel. Running for almost exactly one mile beneath the city’s streets, the tunnel and nearby Crook Point Bridge were unsupervised autonomous zones where I tasted the possibilities of a world without surveilance. The tunnel was particularly important in my creative development because not only was it a marginal zone apart from monetized spaces of creative consumption, but it also had specific experiential properties. It had a bend in it which meant that when you got to the middle of it you were in complete darkness, and I learned quickly that when you spend enough time in complete darkness you start to hallucinate, which I liked. The acoustics were also remarkable; long natural delays and harmonic-reinforcing reverberances. Making any sound in there added layers of acoustic effects which made noises physical and fluid and, combined with the complete darkness, absolutely dissolved boundaries between internal and external experience. I started hanging out there when I was 14 and continued to return there regularly until development, gentrification and policing eventually made it inaccessible. By the mid ‘90s it was sealed off with progressively more impenetrable barriers. Nowadays it looks very different. This music is about some of the significant experiences I had in this beautifully neglected place and the people I had them with.”

Höga Nord Rekords proudly presents Birds from London. Birds or Katie Wilkinson is relatively new as a producer but has been DJ-ing and playing in bands for the last nine years, marinating herself in interesting underground music. This 7”, Transcendental Phases/Tunnel Vision is her first release on Höga Nord Rekords.

Birds is a declaration of love to electronic music and psychedelia. The vocals in Tunnel Vision bares traces from the psychedelic pioneers of the 60’s – Think Roky Erikson with a Roland 303! Birds’ music is powerful and monotonous and she creates a dirty, warm and monumental soundscape. The production is airy and dynamic

Wilkinson mean that “we must try and find harmony in what we have and try and aim towards something positive, despite the fact that we live in a society that’s been completed fucked via the selfish behaviour of others (and most probably, ourselves at times).” With Brexit and the new wave of racism, spreading over Europe Birds makes music for a generation left with little hope but with the desire for something too long for.

Ten incredible albums culled from the deepest, weirdest coop of record enthusiasts ever gathered under one banner. We’ve spared no expense packaging these, pairing the idea of the Art of Compilation with living and breathing art, creating little fortune cookies baked in a factory of forgotten dreams. Video games, pyramids, trading cards, matchbooks, mazes, lottery tickets, film canisters, yearbooks, and various other exercises in design absurdity.

The lost yearbook from Louis Wayne Moody High’s graduating class of 1967, chronicling the peaks and valleys of teenage angst, lost loves, and life after summer vacation. Fourteen moody melodies of surf kings, guitar Bettys, talent show psychers, and pre-S.D.S. soft- poppers. Walls of jangly guitars, maudlin organs, and melancholy harmonies deliver the bummer to ring in the summer.

2x12"

Parisian label Another Moon are pleased to announce the imminent release of the second collaborative album by Scott Monteith aka Deadbeat and Paul St Hilaire aka Tikiman entitled 4 Quarters of Love and Modern Lash. When asked about about the album's motivations and production process, Monteith had the following to say: “I first heard Paul's voice back in 1996 when I stumbled upon the first Burial Mix 10 inch in a local shop, and it would be no exaggeration to say it has echoed in my mind ever since. We began working together in 2008, and it's fair to say the experience of performing and learning from him has left an indelible mark on my artistic process and my outlook on life in general. He is possessed of a truly electrifying spirit. I’ve had a folder on my hard drive called “For Tiki” for 14 years now, for those more often than not late night studio moments when I stumble upon a rhythmic or musical phrase and hear that unmistakable voice bubbling up in my mind. When that folder fills up with enough of those little magic moments I know it's time to call him, though strangely enough, he more often than not ends up calling me around those times. Such is his deep universal awareness.” “I wrote the initial sketches for what would eventually become this new album over the course of last year to a large extent as a way of trying to process what I perceived as a creeping darkness and sickness in both my own life and the world in general that desperately needed exorcising. When I received his initial responses I nearly fell off my chair. It goes without saying that Paul is a lyricist and poet second to none, and anyone familiar with his enormous body of work can attest to that. And yet, there was something in these latest pieces that hammered the proverbial nail clean through the wood. They perfectly captured this sense of rising tension, of a world that was getting almost psychedelically weirder and darker by the day, and both held a mirror up to this and offered some much needed release. Little did we know, nor could we possibly have imagined, that by the time the record actually hit the shelves, things would get exponentially weirder and darker still.” “It is my great hope that at some point in the coming months we will be able to get back on the road and share these new pieces with people in a live setting, as performing with Tiki is truly one of my greatest joys, and I think it’s where the fire in our work together truly burns brightest. In the meantime, it is my great hope that these 4 long form meditations might provide a little solace for people in their isolation, be it quietly, eyes closed lying on the coach, or cranked up, full on raving in their living rooms.”

Reemerging from the threshold of the cosmic vortex, Black Lodge returns with another sonic artifact that is charged with vigorous chaotic energy, known as EXPERIMENT_ZERO. Accounts of the radiant object's origin are as mysterious as the raw energy that utters from its core. Following a close study, the guardians of the portal suspect that "Experiment Zero" was a primordial experiment rooted in the slam jack pits and DIY warehouse rituals of ages passed. A sonic dialog constructed of various languages, spanning from roots-house jak to bare-knuckled electro are revealed across the artifact - a revolutionary tale that surpasses the constructs of ephemerality, with a refusal to be ignored. Across the release the listener is confronted with fearless acid lines that are underscored by a tone of revolution, and sets the stage for a human voice that switches between modes of a sharp and mutated presence. The power of such sonic objects are both celebrated and rejected by various tribal societies. It is all dependent on the belief structures and traditional histories of its members. Those that belong to the cult of Ron Hardy, Mad Mike Banks, Traxx, and JTC will welcomingly be drenched in its riotous energies. It is for the dedicated, not the light-hearted. After further research it has been discovered that, Experiment Zero is the product of Dona, aka Dj Plant Texture and Mike Tansella Jr. of Son of Traders, both products of the ancient mercantile city of Bari in Southern Italy. Previous works from these artists have been featured on Creme Organization, Gravitational Waves, Unknown to Unknown, and Illian Tapes. All sonic experimentation was recorded in one take to capture the raw energy of instantaneous collaborative sound craft operating in flux. Black Lodge's 4th release is sure to find a space in the music collections of those seeking to travel within the uncanny portals that unforgivingly defy the status quo. Mastered by: Alex J Michalski Label design: Kosmik Pressing: Deepgrooves (NL)

With Samosa’s disco imprints currently dominating the vinyl charts in all the best record shops across the globe it’s safe to say that their Funk imprint Daje Funk is also making waves that are hard to miss.

Just off the back of a stellar release with Paul Older and Musta Daje Funk Volume 6 see’s label boss De Gama teaming up with G.Markus for yet another top class funk get down.

First up is De Gama’s monster ‘Feel The Groove’. I’m not sure if that’s an order or a request but either way it’s impossible not to do just that. Featuring thumping drums, shoulder shaking guitars, filters in all the right places and a sax solo to die for this is just a sublime track which will cause some serious dancefloor scenes.

On the flip G.Markus, a pseudonym of the super talented Ben Gomori, drops a modern funk extravaganza in ‘Gwarn’. With those eponymous Funk wah guitars, yet more thumping drums, super tight percussion, some fierce keys and a bassline that just shakes this is true dance-floor gold.

Daje Funk’s catalogue is building into one very serious collection of music. Make sure you check out the other releases right now before they are gone forever.

After a way long and overdue pause with music the Sugarloaf Gangsters duo is back again where they belong...on GAMM!

Mark & Cliffy aka Sugarloaf Gangsters have a long history with Brazilian and world inspired dance music and have that magic touch when it comes to spotting rare tunes that needs their signature rework style.Â

The A side 'Temarasa' literally explodes from the first breakbeat with a big Brazilian funk-jazz monster, peak time music.
The flip is all about the drum! 'Chor Gway' is an African style percussive jam that's got everything from crazy chants, sound efx and DJ friendly tempo changes.Â

Another G.A.M.M sureshot !!

The late engineer and producer Paul C’s fingerprints are all over this single from Ultramagnetic MC’s, perhaps the defining release of their career. While earlier records gave notice of their strange and unique talents, they were loveably messy affairs. This, however, is the real deal, as polished as their early sound would ever be.

‘Give the Drummer Some’ grabs a fistful of different elements – from James Brown, Dee Felice Trio and James Brown – but bends them to its own purpose. This is a song with a momentum of its own and endlessly quotable lyrics. One of which, of course, was sampled by The Prodigy – huge hip-hop fans – for ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ in 1997. The now hugely rare 7” of ‘Give the Drummer Some’ edits this out to make it more radio-friendly, but this reissue reverses that cut, giving you the original lyrics. If anyone knows why Kool Keith also changes the word ‘rappers’ to ‘monkeys’ for that edit, answers on a postcard…

The brilliant B-side harks back to the time when every group had a song dedicated to their DJ. ‘Moe Luv’s Theme’ sees Kool Keith at his most straightforward, singing the praises of the turntable skills of Moe Luv. It would be throwaway were it not for the effortless repurposing of Jackie Robinson’s oft-sampled ‘Pussyfooter’. That – and the presence of one of the world’s great MC’s at the height of his powers – elevates it far above a footnote.

Actual Music is a Swiss record label with a focus on Detroit House, Deep House, and Nu Disco. Taking inspiration from the masters of Detroit, the label was started by Alexandre Gazzola & Michel Catanese in 2017.

Alex Mota is a DJ and producer based in Switzerland and as a member of Los Cruzeiros, he released on Crossfontier Audio, Monique Musique and Tenampa Recordings, working with Pier Bucci, Marc Poppcke, Hernan Cattaneo and Nima Gorji.

Here Mota provides us with a diverse four tracker. Opener ‘Senses’ is an uplifting nu disco stomper with nods to New Order with the vocal. ‘Buenos Aires’ fuses Flamenco guitar and Latin flavours a plenty fitting for the most Balearic dancefloor scenes, whilst working itself up into a rhythmic house beat too.

The relentless ‘Chicago’ goes heads down and four to the floor with some well-placed trumpet flourishes. Closing out the EP is ‘Bogota’. Latin flavoured House as the title would suggest, with scattered percussion and cheeky vocal samples.

For the second instalment of Subaltern’s 2020 program, we welcome one of the scene’s best-kept secrets – Imajika. The three hard-hitting tracks take listeners on a sonic journey through tribal rhythms, punchy drums and immaculate sound design. Calling upon ancient forces, Imajika makes a powerful statement with the Stagger EP.

Stagger
Ethereal glass chimes sing in the distance underneath an airy pulse to create an eerie intro until the groove enters to break the tension. We are offered a moment to breathe before being submerged by staggering drums driven by powerfully persistent bass-waves. Playful dubby FXs, gritty wobbles and naughty drum fills keep the head nodding throughout this stomper. After offering one last breath, the second drop hits with a relentless grunt that leaves us gobsmacked and then proceeds to devastate any sub to cross its path.

Unti Pundi
Mystical textures set a ghostly tone, overlaid by the meditative ‘Unti Pundi’. We are whisked through the caverns of time - space is created through reverbs and echoes of snares and droplets. A sinister pitch-oscillating synth takes your hand and as Imajika takes you deeper down the rabbit hole. Evolving basslines and masterfully placed drum fills add new depth to this monstrous beat before a shattering second drop wreaks havoc - Imajika shows no mercy.

Inside the Sycamore Root
Foreboding voices whisper in a secret language, seemingly summoning ancient spirits in a circular tree-based ritual. A cataclysmic drop fused with a tribal rhythm and propels us deep Inside the Sycamore Root. The spirits have been awoken. A gnarly bass pulsates as calls of the wild and menacing laser-synth stabs respond to the ancestral voices. The summoning continues and takes us even deeper into the wilderness as rumbling bass and tribal percussion take over - the descent into the great unknown continues.

Presenting a very special and unique collection of electronic and dance music aimed at assisting and honouring our brave and skilled NHS frontline workforce in this most challenging of times. Artists of all walks of life and of all musical persuasions and styles have contributed hand-picked tracks for inclusion on Care4Life free of charge. Through the challenges of the Covid19 pandemic we have all developed a new understanding and awareness about the role our frontline health professionals undertake, and as a nation we are all united in our appreciation of the incredible work they have delivered in the face of much adversity and pressure in the last couple of months. We hope the proceeds from this amazing collection of music can contribute to easing that pressure in some way.

Care4Life features lots of new, exclusive and unheard music from the vaults, hard drives and archives of UK artists as diverse as The Chemical Brothers, Nathan Fake, Groove Armada, Joe Goddard and Pete Tong alongside tracks from Radio Slave, Locossolus (DJ Harvey), Matthew Herbert, Crooked Man, Daniel Avery and many more. Care4Life is a truly varied and diverse listening experience that not only mirrors the collective talents involved, it wholeheartedly celebrates the openness and love that the NHS has shown us all at some stage throughout most of our lives here in Britain and beyond.

In the continued spirit of people coming together in this time of need the Care4Life project aims to give some much needed support to these frontline workers from our fellow artists and friends in the music industry and its surrounding community. Above Board Distribution is working in conjunction with Dispersion PR and Your Army Music is ensuring that 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this product, will be donated directly to NHS Charities Together (registered charity no.1186569). NHS Charities Together has been consulted throughout this process and are proud to be an official fundraising ‘commercial participator’.

Presenting a very special and unique collection of electronic and dance music aimed at assisting and honouring our brave and skilled NHS frontline workforce in this most challenging of times. Artists of all walks of life and of all musical persuasions and styles have contributed hand-picked tracks for inclusion on Care4Life free of charge. Through the challenges of the Covid19 pandemic we have all developed a new understanding and awareness about the role our frontline health professionals undertake, and as a nation we are all united in our appreciation of the incredible work they have delivered in the face of much adversity and pressure in the last couple of months. We hope the proceeds from this amazing collection of music can contribute to easing that pressure in some way.

Care4Life features lots of new, exclusive and unheard music from the vaults, hard drives and archives of UK artists as diverse as The Chemical Brothers, Nathan Fake, Groove Armada, Joe Goddard and Pete Tong alongside tracks from Radio Slave, Locossolus (DJ Harvey), Matthew Herbert, Crooked Man, Daniel Avery and many more. Care4Life is a truly varied and diverse listening experience that not only mirrors the collective talents involved, it wholeheartedly celebrates the openness and love that the NHS has shown us all at some stage throughout most of our lives here in Britain and beyond.

In the continued spirit of people coming together in this time of need the Care4Life project aims to give some much needed support to these frontline workers from our fellow artists and friends in the music industry and its surrounding community. Above Board Distribution is working in conjunction with Dispersion PR and Your Army Music is ensuring that 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this product, will be donated directly to NHS Charities Together (registered charity no.1186569). NHS Charities Together has been consulted throughout this process and are proud to be an official fundraising ‘commercial participator’.

Stix Records, a sub-label of Favorite Recordings, is back with some heavy dub cuts from label regular Mato.

Starting his reggae production career in 2006, Thomas Blanchot aka Mato has released music through various projects on EDR Records, Big Singles or Makasound... In the meantime he developed a real trademark: taking over classics French, Hip-Hop, or Pop song, into roots reggae-dub new versions. Besides since 2010, Mato has built a solid reputation thanks to his hot remixes of Hip-Hop classics on Stix Records.

Today, Mato is back with another target for his special skills as a tailor of reggae music, this time focusing on classic musical themes from R. Strauss’ "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and Herbie Hancock’s "Maiden Voyage ". It’s a great sensation to hear these melodies turned into superbly crafted Dub monsters. As Mato once said, "Play it loud and burn a chalice!"

After years of searching for the elusive sensation of heart-rending beauty, Avondlicht releases his debut album on 3 April, 2020 on all digital platforms. The LP will be out on 8/4.

Hyperromance is the culmination of an emotional and geographical journey, as Belgian producer Matthias Dziwak sought to find and examine idealised moments of true romance within the less-than-romantic reality of existence.

Having already achieved a great deal with his initial run of EPs for labels like PIAS, Fog Mountain and Unit Delta Plus, Antwerp-based Dziwak became obsessed with the concept of Hyperromance – “a moment or idea so heavily romanticised that it seems impossible to be really experienced.” The melancholic feeling it sparked in his heart set him off on a journey through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, via a month-long stay in Amsterdam and finally to settling for six months in Portugal. Throughout this time he made field recordings and began writing pieces that would feed into the finished album. Along the way he found a full spectrum of moments that allowed him to view the world in a truly romantic way, from the majesty of the Andean mountains and the snow falling on the Amsterdamse Grachten to encountering love in Lisbon. At other times he found himself lost, adrift and heartbroken, pulled back to Earth, as is the cyclical nature of the human experience.

Musically, Hyperromance’s grapple with day-to-day reality and rose-tinted fantasy is embodied through the contrast between organic instrumentation and high-definition electronics. Dziwak began writing his songs as simple piano pieces, which then transferred to a staple of synths and sound processing as they became more wholly defined. Sonically, the sound sweeps from modern classical and bombastic electronica to evocative ambient, even touching on jungle and techno along the way. Rather than being defined by genre associations though, Hyperromance is shaped by the swooning beauty of its composition, as the music pulls you in and out of richly rendered moments of joy and pain following Dziwak on his personal journey of truth and beauty. With visceral life experiences woven into the fabric of the record, Hyperromance is expressive on the most intimate level. It’s a record that dazzles with searing bright wonderment and casts creeping shadows as the time passes – a journey as nuanced as life itself, elevated by romance and grounded by reality, beautifully told by Avondlicht.

A Selection of the most iconic Tracks emanating from the unique-
and magic poolside of Pikes Hotel (Ibiza), reworked, retouched & edited for Maximum Aural Pleasure!

"Jazz N Palms" is the brand commissioned to warm up the monthly exclusive Ronnie Scott's (London) jazz concerts. Jazz Music fused with Latin, Funk, Rock & international Sounds, to be enjoyed under the palms- and sun of the Mediterranean Sea...

The third vinyl-only release on Form&Terra Records is all about "Get together". Four artists gather on the 12 inch record to undertake a journey into electronic music together. First, Peter F. Spiess saddles his shimmering "Celluloid Pony" with minimal and techno vibes and rides high into the air via rough sound structures and flashing melodies. There Cie built his "Wolkenburg" and floats with it groovy and with great attention to detail into new layers of the atmosphere. On the B side, "Numbers Talk" by Prakash from Gran Canaria enchants with a wonderful groove that is as deep and blue as his home in the Atlantic Ocean. Markus Funke ushers in the final trip back to Cologne with his dubby techno monster "Levissima". Four wonderful tracks for all discoverer who have a thirst for adventure on the dance floor.

Presenting Shirley Scott’s deeply personal album, ‘One for Me’ - a defiant tribute to the music she always desired to create but was shrouded by the demands of her vibrant career. Thoughtful curation of the band, tracks, and completely self-funded, this project set off on an innovative trajectory supported by Harold Vick on tenor saxophone and Billy Higgins on drums. Originally released on the revolutionary artist-owned label, Strata-East Records, in January 1975, this unique project will be available to enjoy again on Arc Records from 15th May 2020.

The impetus for this record was a real desire for Shirley to express herself more freely and create something for herself, taking back the power she’d seemingly relinquished throughout her career. Maxine Gordon, Scott’s close friend, and executive producer on the original record, expresses thatthey often had intimate discussions about how Scott was being told what to play, what to wear, how to look and how to speak in public for many years. Having had enough of these restrictions, she created this record to please no one but herself.

As Scott expresses on the back of the original LP sleeve:

“All of the music recorded in this album is both personal and very purposeful to me, because it is the first step toward honesty about what and how I want to play. I’ve done a lot of other albums, a lot of different ways for a lot ofdifferent people and now, with the help of the Creator, in whom all things are possible, I have done one for me too.”

Having self-raised funds to make the record, with complete control over the masters, and with her dream band together, Scott recorded at Blue Rock Studio in November 1974. Harold Vick, often referred to as one of the “unsung tenor saxophonists” of his time, was cherry picked to bring Scott’s vision to life. Throughout his career, he released records on Blue Note, RCA as well as performing and recording with a string of legendary artists such as Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin. Completing the dream trio was highly sought out drummer Billy Higgins, who is the most recorded drummer in the history of Blue Note Records, having played on 45 Blue Note albums. The key to their success was that Higgins tuned his drums to fit with the organ’s bass sound which, of course, Scott played with her feet.

Scott was also known as “Little Miss Half-Steps,” a name given to her by tenor saxophonist George Coleman, (who wrote a composition by that name in her honor) - she regularly played with both George & Harold. Coleman is known to have admired Scott’s half-steps (when you play two adjacent keys on the organ or piano) and their close bond and mutual respect is solidified on this record through a track titled ‘Big George’ - specifically written for Coleman.

“Queen of the Organ”, Shirley Scott was born in Philadelphia in 1934 and lived there most of her life until her early death in March 2002 at the age of 67. Having mastered the piano at an early age, Scott switched from piano to organ at the tender age of 21. Scott had a legendary recording career as a leaderwith 45 albums mainly released on Impulse and Prestige and is often remembered for her work with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Stanley Turrentine.Boasting a thriving career as a musician and composer, Scott progressed to a professor at Cheyney University in her later years. She was a treasured mother and grandmother, and a cherished friend of music scholar, Maxine Gordon, who’s honour it is to collaborate with Arc Records on shining a new bright light on this monumental body of work.

White vinyl, picture sleeve, limited pressing of 500 copies, includes Peaking Lights remix

Montaine’s “Mount Nod” is a delicate, shimmering slice of DIY pop music. The lo-fi charm sits on that knife-edge between happy and sad, its repeated “I’m on the bottom line but I’m doing fine” changing meaning as the song goes on, plotting the course of Mr Montaine’s sensitivity. What starts out small gently unfolds into an understated English confidence by the end. On the B side Peaking Lights dive into the mysterious undercurrents beneath the surface of Montaine’s worldview. Like all good remixes it sets the artist in a parallel universe, this one a utopian disco slowscape, complete with bubbling clouds and dayglow fountains. We have to sincerely thank Sam Potter of 00s band Late of the Pier for coming to Be With with the story of February Montaine back in the spring of 2017. When we first heard “Mount Nod” our jaws dropped. We immediately thought of all the people that would love it. Of friends and family, far and wide. Of fans of timeless, soulful pop music everywhere. Championed by Trevor Jackson and Efficient Space, it’s perfect, addicitve pop which generously gifts the listener eternal goosebumps. Three years later, we are absolutely delighted to finally bring this out as the second release in our Be Pop series of 12″s. In Be Pop fashion it’s pressed on white vinyl and this time limited to 500 copies for the World.

Uniting cosmic tones and lovely notes, unique sound collages and electronic noises, Muzak pour ascenseurs en panne ("Muzak for Broken Lifts"), Brigitte Barbu's first album, explores a dreamy universe, at the crossroads of electronica and the 70s’ post-tune-in/drop-out, echoing shadows of the peculiar doppelgänger; Pépé Bradock. Ça Plane pour Brigitte Barbu…

Resonant guitar notes, odd sounds, electronic hallucinations, and unexpected warm synth layers all gather together in Brigitte Barbu's first enigmatic album. Recorded and mixed during a reclusive one-week residency in a very special studio, under the benevolent cubic radiation of "Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant,” using a computer, synthesizers, and various string instruments, giving birth to this resolutely unique album. The guitars were sharply disciplined, propelling strings into strange and hypnotic limbos, somewhere between a weightless journey through time and a fresh science lab experiment.

A perky cosmic album running away from rules and gravity.

"I wanted to compose an ethereal abstract Hip-Hop LP" says Brigitte, "with guitar as a brainwashed instrument, mirroring machines and computers, even if surely far from being unplugged". So much for that… With a real introspective dimension, the record stands out for its pure whimsical mood. The artist had strict rules for composing: “Each track is based on the association between a title chosen for its consonances, an open tuning, a random tempo and frequencies chosen for their supposed effects, real or imagined, on the mind, body & soul.” For example: Taro Patch -> Whale -> 93,75 BPM or Dobro -> Bear-> 118,125 BPM, Air Resistance -> Open Em -> Panther-> 480 BPM etc.

Brigitte surgically framed an electro-acoustic compendium, finding its atmospheric mothership… Brigitte Barbu, referring to a special interlude from a vintage release "Escalope de Dingue” (Fool’s Cutlet), explains that Muzak pour Ascenseurs en Panne is in fact a custom tribute to family, friends, triggered cosmonauts, René Clément and the card game where the winner is the bearded monarch nonchalantly stabbing himself in the head. It’s a lot!

Long-time collaborators, longer-time best friends, lifelong analog appreciators; the German duo Iron Curtis & Johannes Albert join cosmic forces once again for another LP mission 'Moon II', a heartfelt voyage through the sounds, movements, styles and machines that created this music in the first place.
Think late 80s New York, early 90s Sheffield and the perennial sounds of Italo and Detroit, 'Moon II' is a lunar safari that celebrates the deepest foundations of house, techno and electronic soul while resolutely refusing to get nostalgic. Written and recorded during an intense two-and-a-half month session in Berlin last autumn, there's a consistency and tangible narrative running throughout as the pair play inspiration ping-pong over the course of 10 tracks.
A little Drexcyian glacial nod here, a hazy Boards Of Canada wink there. The Other People Place, Kerrier District, Environ Records, the Hacienda, Sub Club, Heaven 17, classic electro… All these ingredients are constantly bubbling in the mix for both Curtis and Albert (as individuals and even more so as a duo) and the end result is an album that works as a proper album should. Peaks, troughs, dreamy departures and all beautiful things in between.
Taking off where their debut collaborative album 'Industrie & Zärtlichkeit' (soon to be retitled 'Moon I') left us three years ago, the opening modem sounds on the intro track 'Canggu Laundry Club' dial us into a special sense of time and space.
It's a space where anything feels possible; Visual-inspired acid lines on 'Tiger Trek', lino-spinning body pops and windmills to the street sounds electro style of 'The Ultimate Seduction', the club-focused, Traxx-style Cutie Schamuthie collaboration 'Hurting', the melancholy plucks and struts of 'Feingold', the provocative, slinky, smoky finale piece 'Nektar'… The list of intergenerational and cross-genre landmarks on this adventurous body of work go and on, each track complementing the last as they fuse to create a bigger collective picture. A picture that's charmed together through the consistent use of key classic studio machines.
They call it Introverted Electronic Body Music, we call it warm, free-spirited and ultimately timeless. Perfect for your sets, your afterhours or your headphones alike; it's time to let Iron Curtis and Johannes Albert take you to the Moon and back… Once again.