Hohe Erwartungen sind im Falle des britischen Brüder-Duos Overmono noch untertrieben - in den letzten, für Club-Musik sicher alles andere als leichten Jahren, haben sich die Russell-Brüder zu so etwas wie der Speerspitze der neuen Club-Szene gemausert, vollziehen nun den endgültigen Ausbruch aus der Genre-Schublade und lösen sich auch vom Geheimtipp-Stempel! Am 12. Mai erscheint mit "Good Lies" das langerwartete Debütalbum bei XL Recordings, welches aufgrund seiner emotionalen Tiefe zwischen Beats und Bässen noch lange durch die Straßenschluchten hallt, nachdem das Licht im Club angegangen ist und auch der hartnäckigste Tänzer nach Hause geschickt wurde. Ob auf Kopfhörern, im Club oder der heimischen Anlage - die 13 neuen Overmono-Songs wirken mal als würden verkopfte Jamie xx Dancefloor-Kracher auf den Bass von Mr. Oizo treffen, um im nächsten Moment Stimmungen aufzufangen, den Hörer komplett darin einzuhüllen und dann wieder befreit mit poppigeren House-Versatzstücken glücklich zurück auf die Tanzfläche zu schicken. Nicht umsonst gehören Overmono schon jetzt zu den gefeierten Newcomer-Acts aus UK - die ersten beiden EPs waren in Windeseile ausverkauft, beim prestigeträchtigen DJ Mag Best of British Awards wurden die Russell-Brüder als bester Live-Act ausgezeichnet, bei der ersten eigenen Headliner-Tour im vergangenen Jahr folgten ausverkaufte Shows in London, LA, New York oder zuletzt auch im SchwuZ in Berlin und gefeierte Festival-Auftritte beim Glastonbury, Dekmantel und Movement Festival! Daneben arbeiteten sie an einigen Tracks mit ihrem Label-Kollegen Joy Orbison und veröffentlichten einen "Fabric Presents" DJ-Mix.
the EP FACE I is an evolution from the previously released album JAHRE. it fits into the narrative of urban life and our own personal development. both chronology and emotions are explored here and adapted with lyricism and atmospheric digital and analog sound.
it starts with 1984, beginning of our emotional journey and also literary (GEORGE ORWELL) fixpoint of the electronic adaptation. we feel a kind of lightness in our society, upswing and freedom determine everyday life for a large part of germany. we are free, everything seems possible! almost we move through an utopia. new prosperity and contentment let us blossom, no digital friends and in-between worlds alienate our seemingly naive and peaceful being.
in TMV a first individual emotional world comes to the fore, the mood is mixed and seems fragile. euphoria and melancholy mix to an undefined state of emotional and musical confusion. LYRIK gets a first big space here and carries from the part of confusion into a part of detachment. despite the ambivalence of the first moment, the scene ends in a transcendental, positively driving state of letting go and rest ...
the next part takes us away from the familiar and seemingly peaceful MOMENTS. we jump into the year 2184! 200 years later we are sitting here now, society has turned into an emotional desert like in ORWELLS fiction. a lonely CYBORG sits in the ruins of our once joyful cathedrals and sings about his tearing apart. he can't be without, but also can't be with his own anymore. like a cursed of two worlds he sits stranded in space and time.
the conclusion is made by TMVA, here we get into a very intimate emotional farewell to a lost and unfulfilled love. the calm tempo lets everything flow out that has confused and driven us for years. who or what do we want to become emotionally? are we even capable of letting ourselves fall after decades of searching and disruption? are we already dying? in the end only art and the love of it remains to save us.
For more than twenty years, Roel Funcken has been a cornerstone in electronic experimentation. Alongside his brother Don, this Dutch sound sculptor melted hip-hop, industrial and soundscapes under monikers like Funckarma and Shadow Huntaz. A prolific solo musician and collaborator as well, Funcken teams up with Cor Bolten to revive the Legiac project with the eight tracks of Banisteriopsis Caapi. Keys appear through a sorrowful haze in "Mimosa Hostilis", this machined mist difussing as distorted strings penetrate before a dawning of icy brightness. Modulated forms and shapes billow in the bubble and trill of "Pyschotria Viridis" before the orbiting interference and introspection of "Epicatechine." Percussion is reduced to a texture, the duo finding structure in droplets of water, the stretch of steel and a litany of field recordings. The partnership dive deep into their chosen sounds, elongating and expanding tones to find harmony in the absence and isolation that is their focus. Pieces like "Solanaceae" bristle with an understated elegance, like starlight piercing a brooding night sky, while "Banisteriopsis Caapi" finds an eerie solace in its repurposing of voice as an undulating elegy. Legiac achieve a distant intimacy with their listener, a relationship forged through complex compositions, gentle movements and subtle shifts.
A classic dub set from Nick Manasseh & Jeremy The Equalzer, originally released on the Acid Jazz label in 1996, back on the streets courtesy of Partial Records.
A balanced mixture of traditional roots dub - including a tasteful reworking on Bob Marley’s `Sun is Shining; rhythm - intwined with digital sounds and experimental leanings
„There are imaginary signs or signals that make your arm twitch mutely.
In such cases, you may have to interpret the meaning of such a "message".
If you ignore it, it's almost certain that nothing will happen, but you may also miss the chance to change your life because you passed a potential turning point and didn't notice.”
There were once many worlds on this Earth. Each had its own land, language, population, borders and history. There were people and societies.
They already looked alike, but they didn't realise it.
When the borders disappeared, the looked at each other, but by this time suddenly, the languages and the histories also disappeared.
The present worlds do not have any Earthly home, they have moved to the kingdom come of the collective subliminal sociostasis.
There they are still living for a while, exactly so long as humans have human form and the time for transhuman cultures arrives.
To fumble about in this gap of time bubble, that has been opened for a short time between the collapse and the vanishing of the borders of cultures: this is the science of Ishin-denshin burdened with Heisenberg’s paradox.
CLUB U NITE RECORDS PRESENTS: Your Daily Dose Of Dope Vol.2
We're kicking off spring with new House gems that will make your sweet behind move.
A01 starts off with 'Everyday', an old-school stomper with a touch of soul and funk, while A02 gives you a satisfied smile with the 'Deep Dub Journey' and a jazzy piano.
B01 hits you with a dry kick and spoils you with deep Rhodes samples in 'Get Up'. The 'Jump For U Version' wraps up this EP full of old-school vibes..... for you!
yet is a slippery word in English. Amorphous, these three letters in dierent contexts can define contrast or emphasis, set a place in time, show an expectation that something will occur or, paradoxically, that it is likely to stop.
It is this mercurial nature that makes yet the perfect title for Tresor’s latest compilation: the label follows on from the more explorative sections of 2021’s landmark Tresor 30 boxed set with a compilation, featuring 13 artists making music that resists easy definition.
Every track hints at and borrows from the familiar yet none follow the expected path: halfway through Deserto, Nandele & A-Tweed dramatically reveal a very dierent sonic landscape that was initially suggested; DJ Sotofett collaborates with Sri Lankan artist Kavadi with results that are unlike anything in the Norwegian producer’s catalogue as yet.
Further invention can be found as Jean Redondo’s Hypersonic moves across spaces inhabited by digital hardcore and hyperpop before swerving o-road and into a futuristic hip-hop section; on No Longer Human, Ireen Amnes takes a dierent path at the crossroads melding hyperpop, trance, and sci-fi soundtrack atmospherics, Significant Other heads towards UK Bass and Dubstep, and France’s Willis Anne skims by the outskirts of footwork with a piece that is almost completely uncategorisable.
Yet more sonic experimentation comes from E-Saggila, Nadia Struiwigh, NVST, Solid Blake, and Viikatory who oer unique takes on the well-established electro blueprint, while Ryan James Ford, and Nit. both find ways to blend elements normally found in ambient pieces with those heard on a dancefloor.
The feel of the compilation is yet again reflected in the enigmatic artwork by Malik Arbab, where shapes and colours suggest animals and plants but in a world that appears to be transient and constantly evolving.
La Monte Young was a primary influence on Minimalism, the Fluxus movement and performance art through his legendary compositions of extended time durations and the development of just intonation and rational number based tuning systems. With wife and collaborator, artist Marian Zazeela, they would formulate the composite sound environments of the Dream House. Seeing reissue for the first time since its initial 1969 release, Young and Zazeela's first full-length album is often referred to as »The Black Record« due to Zazeela's stunning cover design, complete with the composer's liner notes in elegant hand-lettered script.
Angelo is an LP, named after a car, featuring nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds percussionist/singer Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. The months surrounding the acclaimed release of Feelings, their full-length Ghostly International debut in 2021 which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the absence of touring and the sudden passing of Murphy’s father and both of Stuart’s parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the
Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo’s sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, “to get us out of our grief and into our bodies,” says Murphy. They explored new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal — a resourceful, collective answer to “what happens now?”
Angelo the car is a 1981 Toyota Celica they got off Craigslist during their first stint in Los Angeles, where Murphy and Stuart have since settled. “Such a bro-y, ‘80s dude car, it’s been super fun to drive around in a new town,” Murphy says. “He’s older than us, he’s a classic, he’s got a story.” It is a spiritual vehicle with a cinematic appeal, first dropping them off in an alleyway for the scene-setting intro, “Which Way To The Club.” The question is quickly resolved by “Take A Trip” as a cruising bassline mingles with crowd sounds, hand-claps, cuíca hiccups, whip-cracks, even a horse neigh. Brijean have found some club on this cross-dimensional trip — the kind of
imagined space or chamber within one’s self capable of “shifting a fraction of who you are,” says Murphy. They wrote the track with the simple intention to be “as free as we could be,” adds Stuart, likening the flip on the B section to a realm unlocked: ”What if the world changed completely? You open the door to a new room.”
Next is “Shy Guy,” a motivational anthem for the wallflowers among us. Murphy sets up the daydream: “We are in junior high, we’re on the dance floor, what’s going down, who is dancing, who is not, how are we gonna make them dance?” The narrator, the MC, hypes up the room as conga-driven rhythms bounce between languid synth and guitar lines. “Show me how to move...I feel something...I know you feel it too,” Murphy sings sweetly, calling back to the opening lines of Feelings, and this time the audience chants it back. It is easy to picture Brijean performing this one — something they only got to do a handful of times until more recently, opening shows for Khruangbin and Washed Out, an experience they found informative. Murphy explains, “It was inspiring to be out there and let loose more. To see how people can expand their expression on stage gave me more liberty with how I viewed my musicianship. My role for so long was to be a backup percussionist, so why would I ever leave the drums, you know? But then after playing all these runs, you see these artists and realize you can, you have permission.”
“Angelo” and “Ooo La La” deliver the danciest stretch in Brijean’s catalog to date. The title track adopts a deep house pulse replete with strings, hi-hats, and kicks. The latter opts for a funkier groove that foregoes verses in favor of warbled hums and extended breakdowns. What follows is perhaps the duo’s dreamiest run, a comedown initiated with the honey-hued interlude “Colors” drifting into “Where Do We Go?”, a tropicália reverie where Murphy contemplates the passage of time and space.
It all culminates in “Caldwell’s Way,” a fond farewell to their Bay Area community — “a part of my life that I knew couldn’t come back,” says Murphy. Above shimmering organ sounds, lush strings, and the birdcall of their former neighborhood, she wistfully articulates the uncertainty of moving on by remembering the characters dear to them. There’s the wisdom of their neighbor, Santos, who refused payment when helping them move out: “I’d rather have 100 friends than 100 dollars.” And the song’s namesake, Benjamin Caldwell Brown, a friend and club night cohort for many years. “I’m only miles away, maybe I’m just feeling lonely,” the line resigns to warm nostalgia, and “Nostalgia” runs the closing credits to this healing and transportive collection.
A royal refugee turned Soul survivor. On his debut album Free Me, Burundian-born JP Bimeni astonishes with a voice that recalls Otis Redding in his prime whilst resonating with the soul of Africa. A refugee who's been living in London since the early 2000s, Bimeni sings songs of love and loss, hope and fear, with a conviction that comes from the extraordinary experiences life has thrown at him.
A descendant of the Burundian royal family, Bimeni fled Burundi aged 15 during the 1993 civil war. Following three attempts on his life - at school he watched as his schoolmates were murdered, he was then chased by motorcycle militia-men and finally poisoned by doctors in hospital - he was given refugee status and fled to the UK where he's remained ever since. Music has provided the solace that Bimeni has needed to move forward with his life: 'If I didn't have music I don´t know how I would have survived everything', he says. With it's classic 60s-sounding Motown and Stax-inspired grooves the album was written by musical director Eduardo Martiìnez and songwriter Marc Ibarz and Bimeni imbues these tales of love and loss with his tragic experiences making 'Free Me' a deep soul soundtrack to his pained life: 'When I sing I feel like I'm cleansing myself: music is a way for me to forget'.
A lost MPB gem from rural Finland! We Jazz presents the first ever reissue of this rare 1990 local release by Brazilian duo Rosanna & Zelia. 7" EP with inside out 3mm spine sleeve. RIYL: Gilberto Gil, Joyce, Musica Popular Brasileira, bossa nova, bossa jazz
Liner notes by Mikko Mattlar:
"Rosanna & Zélia were a Brazilian duo of singers and musicians Rosanna Guimarães Tavares and Zélia Nogueira da Fonseca. They moved from Minas Gerais, Brazil to Europe in 1988, released five albums in Germany between 1993–2004 and featured vocals on an Ian Pooley house track Coração Tambor before Rosanna died of cancer in 2006. Zélia still continues her career in Germany, touring actively and releasing new music.
The duo's journey from Brazil to Germany also included two brief visits to Finland. In the years 1989–1990, they spent time in the small town of Seinäjoki in Ostrobothnia. Rosanna & Zélia performed Brazilian music in Finnish clubs and festivals and recorded a 7" EP for local label Maumau Music. The record was distributed mostly in the Seinäjoki area, but the three songs are well-performed and authentic Brazilian MPB, so the largely unknown record now gets its first reissue for a wider audience on We Jazz Records.
But how did two Brazilian women find their way to a small Finnish town to record an EP? The main reason for this was music journalist and promoter Risto Vuorinen, who was on a holiday in Albufeira, Portugal, where a friend of his lived. The streets were almost empty that evening, but Vuorinen and his friend heard fine guitar playing and singing from a bar. There were Rosanna and Zélia performing on a small stage, and the two Finnish men happened to be the only customers. When the artists ended their performance, Vuorinen's friend, who spoke Portuguese, went to talk to them. Rosanna and Zélia told him they had recently come from Brazil and are trying to gain ground in Europe with their music.
Because Rosanna and Zélia didn't know where they would head next, and because Vuorinen liked their music, he thought of bringing the duo to his hometown, Seinäjoki. They immediately liked the idea, and in the autumn of 1989 they arrived in Finland. The national Finnish jazz festival was held in Seinäjoki, and Vuorinen thought Rosanna & Zélia's Brazilian music would fit right in. They performed at the festival and in November 1989, also made recordings in a local studio with backing musicians from Seinäjoki.
Music enthusiast Pertti Hakala had a record shop and label Maumau Music in Seinäjoki releasing music from local artists. He released a three-track EP from the sessions. with two tracks written by Rosanna & Zelia themselves and their cover version of Extra (Brazilian Reggae), written and originally performed by Gilberto Gil in 1983. A small pressing was made for the Finnish market, and Hakala also sent a box of records to Brazil, but for some reason it was sent back.
After their first visit to Finland, Rosanna & Zélia headed back to central Europe, but Vuorinen decided to organize more performances for them for the next summer. Maybe he also wanted to show them the beautiful Finnish summer, as Rosanna and Zélia had so far seen the country only during the darkest autumn. The duo came back to Finland for the summer of 1990 and performed at the Womad world music festival organized as a part of local Provinssirock. They also played in Nummirock and Puistoblues, both respected music festivals, and performed on TV in Helsinki.
Rosanna and Zélia lived in a small apartment in Seinäjoki and played two to three gigs per week all summer. Because there were only two of them, even small pubs could afford to book them, and in 1990 the economic situation in Finland was good. It was before a major economic depression hit the country. The duo travelled by bus or train, and because they were an acoustic duo, they could easily carry their instruments in public transport. Vuorinen got excellent feedback from organizers. Rosanna and Zélia were good performers, but also really nice people.
With the income from their summer gigs, Rosanna and Zélia could buy a PA mixer and other musical equipment. When the summer 1990 turned to autumn, they continued their journey from Seinäjoki to Germany where they settled down."
Die renommierte Singer-/ Songwriterin Katie Melua die Details zu ihrem kommenden neunten Studioalbum „Love & Money“ bekanntgegeben - ein atemberaubendes und höchst persönliches, insgesamt zehn Tracks umfassendes Werk, das einen tiefen Einblick gewährt, was innerhalb der letzten zwei Jahre in Katies Leben geschehen ist. Mit 56 Platinauszeichnungen in ihrer nunmehr zwei Dekaden andauernden Karriere ist Katie Melua zu einer der meistverkauften Künstlerinnen Großbritanniens avanciert, nachdem sie mit ihrem Debütalbum „Call Off The Search“ die Charts stürmte und anschließend nicht weniger als acht aufeinanderfolgende Top-10-Alben in Großbritannien veröffentlichte - zuletzt geschehen im Jahr 2020 mit dem „Album No. 8“.
Die Neuigkeit über die Veröffentlichung von „Love & Money“ am 24. März 2023 via BMG folgt auf die erst kürzlich erfolgte Bekanntgabe von Katies bevorstehender UK- und Europa-Tournee im April und Mai diesen Jahres, die mit einer Show in der legendären Royal Albert Hall in London am 16. Mai ein absolutes Highlight beinhaltet.
Produziert von Leo Abrahams (Ghostpoet, Brian Eno, Regina Spektor), wurde „Love & Money“ im Sommer 2022 in Peter Gabriels Real World Studios aufgenommen, während Katie mit ihrem mittlerweile neugeborenen Sohn schwanger war. Das Album ist eine exquisite Sammlung von Songs, die wesentlich von Dankbarkeit und einer Positivität geprägt sind, die sich mit einer neuen Liebe einstellt. Darüber hinaus geht es auch um Selbstakzeptanz angesichts von einschneidenden Veränderungen und wohl auch um den Versuch ist, „die Überzeugung loszulassen, dass Glück weniger schwer ist als das Gegenteil".
Katie Melua stammt ursprünglich aus Tiflis, Georgien, und hat es in jeder Hinsicht weit gebracht. Durch moderne Klassiker wie „The Closest Thing To Crazy" und „Nine Million Bicycles" unsterblich geworden, war ihr letzter Longplayer - das 2020 erschienene „Album No. 8“ - der bisher von der Kritik am meisten gelobte. Es zeigte eindrucksvoll, wie sie als Lyrikerin gereift ist, in dem sie sich sanft gegen den romantischen Idealismus in herkömmlichen Popsongs auflehnte und stattdessen nach etwas suchte, das sich näher an ihrer eigenen Erfahrung anfühlte. Doch ganz gleich, wann es das letzte Mal war, dass man mit ihr in Berührung gekommen ist, es gibt vermutlich keinen besseren Zeitpunkt, die Entwicklung von Katie Melua als Singer- / Songwriterin genauer unter die Lupe zu nehmen als jetzt mit der Veröffentlichung ihres neues, mittlerweile neunten Album „Love & Money“. Das Album wird sowohl digital als auch auf Vinyl und als Standard- oder auch Deluxe-CD erhältlich sein. Die Deluxe-CD enthält vier Bonustracks, darunter ein atemberaubendes Duett mit dem deutschen Künstler Philipp Poisel.
Miles Away Records are extremely proud to introduce our latest single by the incredible Howard Lemon Singers. You Are Somebody and For The Children are two blinding tracks cherry-picked from the incredibility rare 1977 album Seasons released on the legendary TK Records subsidiary Gospel Roots.
Both sides of this 45 are oozing with positivity and good sentiment, a fine example of the harmony between sacred and secular sounds, and the experimentation taking place, during the late 1970s as gospel artists were modernizing the soundtrack, and lyrical content of gospel music..
You Are Somebody is a gorgeous modern soul heater. Accomplished vocalist Esther Smith's sublime voice delivers her vocal lines with such confidence and assurance that the words seem to strut over the funky basslines and drumming support. Flip it over and For The Children is a more mid-tempo burner, but don't let this fool you - it's "stop-you-in-your-tracks" good. Smith's vocals once again shine brightly and are delightfully accompanied by the Nile Rodgers-esque 'wacka-wacka' guitar of Lester Snell throughout. Musicianship is of the highest quality as Howard Lemon, group leader, called upon some of the best musicians from STAX Records – Willie Hall and the aforementioned Lester Snell were key components of such groups as the Isaac Hayes Movement and the Bar Kays.
These two nuggets are presented here for the first time on a 45 and complete in our customary teal green labels and sleeve. Remastered and cut by Timmion.
The batteries are charged again! After an adequate summer break the Fortunea Records crew continues its mission to bring out extraordinary compositions with a brand-new EP by Moff & Tarkin.
The Icelander is currently living in Vienna and presents on this record his multi-variant taste in music. Poems of Soy starts with the cinematic opener ‚Sting’. Playful arpeggio synths dive headfirst into an hypnotic shuffle beat which is companied with siren-seeming vocals from the distance. The follow up ‚Love or Something‘ takes that groove and expands it with more pressure and a snappy baseline.
The B-side starts with an acid injected rave bomb called ‚Dating on LinkedIn‘. A track of sublime quality featuring 909 driven beats merged with acid bass lines. And with ‚Great Tan‘ M&T takes us back to the glory days of the big beat movement.
Elements. is back with its third release signed by Crihan. 'Recurring Figures' finds Alin right in his element, showcasing three purely minimal tracks rich in detail and deeply engrossing textures reminiscent of the golden ages of (organic) minimal circa 2010.
A-side's 'Periodic Arrangement' kickstarts the EP in distinctive, contemplative tones. Drum samples meticulously syncopated amongst a canopy of modulated noises, bass bleeps and dramatic piano chords - they keep the groove moving amidst cinematic soundscapes reminiscent of dark fantasy scenarios.
Flip-side's 'Regular Intervals' (B1) moves closer to micro-house realms. There's plenty of swing and playful sampling while maintaining the same cinematic deepness introduced before. 'Again & Again' (B2) sits perfectly as the EP's closing track, merging swingy, dance-focused drum arrangements with dramatic atmospheres and picturesque tones.
EN
Belgian musician and visual artist Youniss announces his second album which is dubbed ‘White Space’.
The record deals with his own personal ‘panic attack’ instilled by the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. The first single ‘Arms Bent Back’ is out now on Bandcamp and all digital platforms.
The record is set for release on March 8 on the Belgian label VIERNULVIER RECORDS.
FR
Le musicien et artiste visuel belge Youniss annonce son deuxième album intitulé «White Space». Le disque traite de sa propre attaque de panique amorcée par les séquelles du mouvement Black Lives Matter en 2020.
Le premier single «Arms Bent Back» est maintenant disponible sur Bandcamp et toutes les plateformes digitales.
L’album sortira le 8 mars sur le label belge VIERNULVIER RECORDS.
NL
De Belgische muzikant en visual artist Youniss kondigt zijn tweede album 'White Space' aan. Op de plaat onderzoekt hij zijn zwarte identiteit na gevoelens die Black Lives Matter in 2020 bij hem teweeg brachten.
De eerste single 'Arms Bent Back' is nu uit op Bandcamp en alle digitale platformen.
De plaat komt op 8 maart uit op VIERNULVIER RECORDS, het label van het Gentse Kunstencentrum VIERNULVIER.
We've been writing new material as a trio since the first lockdown in the spring of 2020. An organic and electro-acoustic impulse that translates both mine and Eliete's need of self-archiving, re-inventing and auto-cannibalising Tetine's past, present and
future in order to explore other aural landscapes and modes of composing intuitively, while at the same time, re-experiencing moments of our trajectory as a hybrid organism.
Music For Breathing was born as a respiratory, meditative, and improvisatory piece of DIY tropical-mutant-punk "chamber music" written for cello, voice, piano, organ and electronics. The work responds to the suspended acts of breathing and vertigos experienced in contemporary polluted environments in political, social and philosophical transitions, whilst investigating the secret ontologies of inanimate objects and architectures, as well as the echoes and ethics of modes of operating things.
Recorded during the intense period of heatwaves that hit London between July and August 2022, in a small studio set up in our flat's kitchen - so that we could capture the acoustic instrumentation (in particular, for the recording of cellos) without much
noise interference from the street - this vinyl version of the album comprises of 5 distinct yet complementary reflective movements.
Musically and lyrically, it explores the atmospherics and syntaxes of time and space, voice, rhythm, as well as themes such as hearing loss, menopause, pollution and respiration. It builds an expanded suite of unexpected electro-acoustic textures through repetition, minimalistic motives, simple melodies, chromatic developments, free counterpoint and atonalism. Conceived as an ode to the poetics of slowness, the sounds you hear give continuity to the music we composed for the performance-film The Ether - Prelude No.1 over the first lockdown in 2020 as it simultaneously explores the warmth, melodiousness and power of the cello in conjunction with electronics. Music For Breathing evokes this transitory moment: a place and time where language runs out, communication and information lose their functions, sound and meaning do not correspond. Facts do not correspond to contexts. Spaced Out in Paradise. The last degree of the structure, the loss of memory. The lost voice.
The album also features our 12-year-old daughter Yoko Afi on cello and vocals. It reflects a period of free sound experimentation influenced both by romantic composers of the late 19th / early 20th centuries and contemporary electronic music. The pieces you hear were composed, arranged, and recorded with the joy and melancholy of "those who do not know". In other words, "with the arrogance of a second childhood" as Derek Jarman once put it. 'Agile and candid as a child'(1).
1) Manifesto da Poesia Pau-Brasil, Oswald de Andrade, Correio da Manhã, 18 de Março de 1924.
Feedback Moves kicks off 2023 with a new record by @xcrswx and Lolina. @xcrswx are Crystabel Riley (drum-/human-skin) and Seymour Wright (saxophone), they released ‘Call Time/Hard Out’ on Feedback Moves in 2020. Lolina is an electronic and digital musician, who has previously released music as Inga Copeland and was a member of the band Hype Williams.
Their collaborative relationship stems back to 2020. Lolina invited @xcrswx to contribute new work to a radio residency on NTS. They made 3 pieces played across 3 episodes. After these were broadcast, further ideas were exchanged which led to a collaborative audio-visual piece, streamed on Cafe Oto’s website in February 2021. They also performed as a trio live at Café OTO in 2022.
The artists now present a split 10” vinyl. @xcrswx weave the above-mentioned pieces into a 10 minute piece titled ‘FIXES’. The duo strip their sound to bare components. Beginning with the sound of fireworks, the pair then work through stuttered snare shots and warbled, interplaying saxophone.
Lolina presents ‘FM’; some of her strangest and most subtle work to date. Echoing and furthering the abstract turntablism found on previous records ‘Who Is Experimental Music?’ and ‘Fast Fashion’. We hear found sounds, close and distant, rhythmically gathered and dissolved in a swirl of dub tone and timbre.
Tracks have had early play on NTS Radio, Clydebuilt Radio and are expected to be played on BBC Radio 3’s ‘Late Junction’ and ‘Freeness’ show’s.
KINGUNDERGROUND TO RELEASE SET OF 45s, FROM CAVENDISH MUSIC CATALOGUE. PAYING HOMAGE TO LIBRARY MUSIC, FURTHERING ITS EXPOSURE TO A NEW GENERATION OF LISTENERS.
Library Music experienced its heyday in the 60s and 70s, as thousands of instrumental tracks were produced by musicians and composers for the purpose of placements in radio, television, and film.
The first 45 of the to be released, classified as ‘Dramatic’ features tracks from both John Scott and Tony Kinsey. Titling was important to Library Music, because it needed to clearly represent the emotions being expressed through the music, so it was easy for television and film executives to find what they needed to complete their projects. John Scott wasted no time getting into the dramatics with the opening track “Milky Way”, it displays the importance of grabbing a listener from the top, as well as being concise clocking in at just 47 seconds. Scott was not only a master composer, but also known for his work on the Saxophone, including playing on John Barry’s soundtrack for ‘Goldfinger’ in the James Bond series.
The juxtaposition of Tony Kinsey’s composition on the record offers a dynamic not present in the two tracks from Scott. Kinsey is more patient in his approach to “Kaleidoscope” building the tension with multiple movements and highlighting several instruments. The way the keys and bass play off each other leaves just enough room for a guitar lick to sneak in, as if it is hinting toward something.
In all there will be 8 individual 45s, licensed from Boosey & Hawkes & Cavendish Music Library and released by KingUnderground. Including compositions by Tony Kinsey, John Scott, Sam Fonteyn, Ray Davies, and more.
Paul Hammock es el artista por todos conocido como Cignol, sin lugar a dudas uno de los genuinos revolucionarios dentro del sonido electro de la última década y media. Sus trabajos llevan surcando nuestros Technics desde 2008 a través de los sellos de vanguardia electrónica del nuevo milenio.
En su decimocuarta referencia en vinilo, el sello Valenciano HC Records, tras una imparable y ecléctica línea editorial, publica el nuevo trabajo del genio de Dublín titulado Binary Choices. Un maxi en el que nos domina un profundo sentimiento de melancolía cósmica a través de cuatro cortes que nos sumergen en una odisea espacial.
Adentrarse en cada corte del vinilo es como viajar hasta diferentes cuerpos celestes y dejarse sorprender por su atmósfera ensoñadora, y es que solo es necesario que transcurran 58 segundos de Binary Choices, primer corte de la cara A, para sentirnos arropados por un sentimiento de suma nostalgia, alegría y futurismo. Una inteligente combinación de pads, sintes y brillantes percusiones que nos adentran en un astro inexplorado repleto de extrañas vegetaciones, increíbles seres multicolores y horizontes infinitos que activan nuestra sinestesia.
Un emocionante, decidido y contundente ritmo 4x4 a baja velocidad nos traspasa el alma al surcar la superficie de Broken Circle. Un recuerdo olvidado en forma de aterciopelado sonido se crea frente a nuestros ojos en la consecución del compendio de melodías intimistas que componen sus 4:14 minutos, en los que encuentra sosiego nuestra mente y bálsamo nuestro alma.
La cara B del vinilo regresa al cristalino, eléctrico y veloz ritmo roto con Momentum Gateway, track en el que sus dominantes y ácidas cadenas de bajos se enrollan y juegan en sincronía perfecta con sus diferentes capas de teclados y su vibrante e iridiscente pad.
En el último planeta al que nos transporta Cignol, suena en cada uno de sus parajes Validity Movement, track con el que nos dejamos guiar por su grueso y áspero bajo principal, que contrasta con los delicados sintes y atmósferas que lo rodean. Una experiencia sónica tan delicada, íntima y eficiente que podría servir tanto como banda sonora en la creación de un nuevo universo como en la contemplación de su ocaso final.
Finalmente, por un lado, el trabajo de master del lanzamiento ha sido llevado a cabo por Steve Voidloss en Black Monolith Studios en Londres y, por otro, Dani Requeni completa esta obra con la dirección del arte gráfico de la misma.
Holly Lester’s Duality Trax Label has quickly become synonymous for its blend of future facing sonics and mind-warping melodies, served together with a healthy dose of nostalgia. A label just as focused on making dancefloor destroyers as it is exploring left-leaning, personal projects, it’s within this duality where the label has found its success, never afraid to shy away from b side oddities or tracks edging more towards good-old-fashioned-fun.
DUALITY5 steers towards the latter, with Manchester based DJ & producer Aiden Francis providing the serotonin on tap with three lively dancefloor cuts, including a huge remix from Italy’s Matisa. Aiden had a big 2022, releasing music on Magic Carpet, Gestalt and beloved music platform and label Houseum, solidifying himself as one to watch in the euphoric unity of house, trance and techno.
Title track ‘Plastic Fantasy’ is the star of the show, a suitably sassy roller that places everyone's favorite blonde icon front left of the speakers. Subtle old school strings contrast with alien electronics, providing familiarity in an otherwise unfamiliar world. A bubble-gum vocal then rolls in cheekily over a driving bassline and dynamic percussion - used in a way I’m not sure the original creators had in mind. ‘Future Proof’ meanwhile demonstrates Aidens’ knack for contemporary progressive house music. With warm pads, swirling sonic textures and moments of blissful euphoria, it’s energetic enough to move a dancefloor, but gentle enough for home listening too.
The record comes to a close with ‘Aquamarine’, with Aiden opting in favour of free flowing breakbeats and mind expanding synths, together radiating a feeling of warmth and hope for days to come. Italian DJ and producer Matisa is on hand to round the EP off with a bass-heavy rendition of ‘Plastic Fantasy’ a no-holds-barred speed garage licked stomper, with the power to lure smokers back inside the club with their feet firmly planted on the dancefloor.
Featuring music from a lost tape of devotional keyboard jams, field recordings of migrating birds, mysterious bells, meditative noise and crooked new beat/EBM, made god-knows-when and subsequently discovered in a Thessaloniki charity shop years later. It now somehow finds its way to vinyl, newly mastered by Rashad Becker, and sounding like a lost Hype Williams x Muslimgauze madness.
Originally discovered in a musty charity shop by Live Adult Entertainment, and issued in minuscule numbers on CD in ’21, Christian Love Forum’s raverential debut ‘Naked Light’ documents the fraternal post-church jams of siblings, Scott, Kiro and N•X, plus their mate Steve, who would regularly channel the light and pain of Sunday mass sermons into their ecclesiastic crud.
As previously heard on their blink ’n miss ‘Unconditional Love’ tape, the trio express their higher purpose thru ribboning microtonal keyboard jams that sound like Gurdjieff with a Casio and a knackered drum machine after too much sacramental wine. They hit the strangest, most affective seam of religious cinematic epic soundtracks, gnarled noise and clandestine Belgian new beat that seriously pushes our buttons, sounding quite unlike anything in the contemporary sphere, but eerily also echoing sentiments explored on record by James Leyland Kirby or Bryn Jones.
Now reshuffled and clad in custom artwork, ‘Naked Light’ is unveiled to believers and skeptics as a definitive article of faith. The lord works in mysterious ways within, manifest in stages of sun-bleached post-church field recordings, whirligig melodies, blown-out bouzouki and choral tape howls and a Béla Tarr soundtrack-like campanology on the A-side, before letting their passions flow in ‘Wicked City (Parts I-IV)’; a spellbinding side-long collage of slurred synths, neo-noir hardbeat rhythms and speaking-in-tongues vox recalling V/Vm’s new beat apocrypha as much as bits from Hype Williams’ hypnagogic ‘One Nation’, thee dustiest gooches of Dirk Desaever’s archive, or even aspects of Rat Heart at his cruddiest.
‘Naked Light’ rarely fails to induce uncontrolled eye movement in susceptible skulls, destined to become an occult hit with lapsed churchgoers, new beat fiends and anyone missing the enigma and ineffable flavour of ‘00s underground noise tapes in this auspicious year of AD2023.
Gayance joins forces with Rhythm Section for her debut album ‘Mascarade’ - a swaying dance that moves between poetic, soulful odes to the past, accounts of the Afro-diasporic feminine experience and playfully energetic dance floor grooves.
Mascarade is a collection of dancey, broken rhythms, interwoven with heartfelt stories and bright, unapologetic outpours of joy. In her own words, “It's the story of my 20's. I wanted to pay homage to this kid everybody knew, but not deeply. It's about taking back a power that is mine and was always in my hands...It's about making peace with the past and moving forward”.
Gayance (real name Aïsha Vertus) takes her alias from the Haitian creole word for joyfulness.Based in Amsterdam, born and raised in Montreal-Nord, she started as a DJ in 2013, and has toured the world with shows in Paris, Brooklyn, Marrakech, Berlin, Sao Paulo and more, bringing electrifying and contagious energy wherever she goes.
Her own production is influenced by underground UKG and the respective house scenes of Detroit and New York, with nods to the vivid, sun-soaked colours of Latin America. Shades of blues, jazz and gospel can also be heard in her newest project, pulling together styles from each corner of the world. Following her catalog of entirely self-released projects, Gayance announces her full-length debut album on Rhythm Section, bringing some fellow Montrealers along for the ride.
Limited 150 Pieces Hand numbered Marble/Grey/Black - Craftpack Cover with glued Patch - Infosheed - Stickers - Butter Rug ( Bombtrap Logo ) Kicking things off on the A-Side is an brutal technoish interpredation & exclusive vinyl only version of the italian guy I-ROBOTS track “Frau” by ILLNURSE........ Current releases from I-Robots OPILEC MUSIC and iLLnurse RAW ......followed by the renowned Columbian Artist Filmmaker the owner of his Label Body Musick who’s welcomed to our Bombtrap Camp for the first time. His productions are demanding, multi-layered and spread a morbid atmosphere that we appreciate very much. We could not decide and so there are 2 nasty dance floors monsters of him on it...... current releases Tartarus Records ......In case you weren't awake, "Endless" by the Georgian Downwell from Tiflis conjures up the distorted depths of screaming vocals and sub-splitting kicks for a wake-up call..... current releases Persephonic Sirens ( Ancient Methods ) , X-IMG , HEX Techno movement and Deviate records ...and this is where "Body Theory", from Lyon based guy NƵM 99 seamlessly picks up. The whipping hi-hats and polyrhythmic surfaces kicks you into your own afterlife...... current releases Persephonic Sirens ( Ancient Methods ) and Flesh or Die ( Rave Or Die ) .....the closing "LIES" comes from our mate Delectro also from columbia and he get you a KO finish with his EBM killer vision of a post apocalyptic view of the future of the world. current releases on Dame-Music and Industrias Mekanikas so play it loud and attack your crowd. peace
As 2022 concludes, Marcel Fengler opens a new career chapter with the announcement of '10 Years IMF', an inspiring compilation that marks a decade of his influential label Index Marcel Fengler. A "heart project" two years in the making, the work showcases 12 cuts from artists across the generations exclusive to the compilation, and in-line with the imprint's ethos, unites established and emerging artists.
At the same time, true to Fengler's own vision, it presents productions that span the full breadth of the techno genre - whether it be funky, elegant, industrial, atmospheric or broken beat, right through to the harder techno variety, '10 Years IMF' stands as Fengler's personal manifesto of techno and the artistic possibilities of the genre.
Each record includes a 10 Years special collectors item.
10 years, 20 releases. This is the last of them. Label head Inter Gritty at the controls, delivering four tracks of techno with a twist. Over & out from Random Island HQ - it's been real!
Paul Wise aka Placid is the driving force behind ‘We’re Going Deep’ – a thriving online community and record label that keeps you coming back for more. Born out of a lifelong affair with the many shades of electronic rhythm and an obsession for collecting records since 1988, Paul is known and respected by many in the realms of underground House and Techno. Renowned for making hips and feet move at parties, clubs and fields across the UK and beyond over the last few decades.
As a label owner, his mission couldn’t be clearer - releasing new music for heads of all persuasions. Fresh cuts aimed squarely at the dance floor, front room or even just your headphones. Rather than staying too hung up on the past, he continues to serve up the freshest in Acid, Electro, Techno, Deep House alongside sweet slices of Electronica.
Sticking to the format of 4 superlative cuts from equally talented producers, the quality remains unquestionably consistent on Volume 8 of his various artist series. Kicking off A1 in style with a family affair from Acid House aficionado Affie Yusef and his daughter Leila, ‘Dublovr’ is a Class A slice of pure late night chug that rides clockwork rhythms to a rolling bassline. As dubbed out synths ring out to lift you skywards – eerie sweeping undertones add another dimension. Tried and tested since the summer season, the added layer of a TB-303 brings everything nicely to a head. Not to be outdone, Bristol based Electro emissary Zobol delivers a pure slice of machinist joy on A2 ‘Sense The Consesus’, showing his ability to finesse and balance uplifting melodies with warm synthesis on this finest of jams.
Over on the flipside, Maltese producer Acidulant takes up the reins with the hushed tones of ‘The View of Her Shade’ on B1 – a thoughtful excursion into electro hinterland that’s a textbook lesson in making more with less. Last but not least, mysterious I Love Acid affiliate Type-303 turns out an exquisite IDM inflected serving of woozy broken Electronica on the mysterious ‘Knowhere’. Steeped in rippling melodies and aquatic
After a couple of solo EPs to start the label, FAC-3 is comprised of four different artists, each with their own unique sound. Although a mix of up-and-coming and established producers, old and new music, there’s a common thread running through the EP.
First up, Justin Zerbst’s Waverider is an atmospheric nod to Detroit. Unearthed from a 90’s DAT, it’s built around some heavily modulated chords and 808 percussion which carry the track through to its string-laden climax.
Italian mainstay Luca Piermattei’s Venice is distinct end-of-night fare. Haunting pads sit atop a deftly-programmed bass which provides most of the movement over a tight drum groove.
While the A side has a undoubted warmth to it, the B dials things back and ups the intensity with two techier cuts. UK producer Skelter’s first release is a spacious acid groove, with the bassline taking centre stage amidst a nervy backdrop of percussive textures and reverb hits.
Finally, Brisbane’s Loif rounds things off with the simmering Digiburra; a dense, electro-tinged breakbeat aimed squarely at the dancefloor.
NOW CLOSE YOUR EYES, PAUSE QUIETLY FOR A FEW MOMENTS, AND BE HERE NOW. ATTUNE YOURSELF WITH YOURSELF AND THE UNIVERSE AND, SO, WITH ALL OF US. IF YOU ARE MOVED BY THE SPIRIT, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE SPIRIT WITH US.
For this uniquely personal retrospective spread over twelve vinyl discs, Sven Väth takes us back to the early days of his DJ career. On What I Used To Play we meet great pioneers of electronic music, gifted percussionists, obscure wave bands, and innovative producers of a bygone 'new electronic' era. Rough beats and irresistible grooves from the identification stage of house, techno, and acid remind us not just how far electronic music has evolved over the past four decades, but how great it was to dance to EBM, techno, and house for the very first time.
If there is one protagonist of the electronic music scene who has remained curious, innovative and at the very cutting edge of music for over four decades, it's Sven Väth. His multi-layered artist albums and Sound of the Season mix compilations have been defining the genre for over two decades, and even today, he is constantly on the lookout for the next top tune to add to the highlights of his next set. At least, that's the case when he's not producing them himself as an artist or remixer. "Actually, it's always been part of my DNA to think ahead," and nothing had been further from his mind than looking back at his past, but when in spring of 2020 the international DJ circuit had to be scaled down to virtually zero, the 'restless traveler' suddenly had time. Time to stop and reflect on "how it actually was back then, at the very beginning of my career..."
"It was a great trip and with every track, beautiful memories came flooding back".
In the London apartment, he had just moved into, Sven has set up a "little music room", where he cocooned himself for several days, "to look way back for the first time and review my musical journey through the eighties, so to speak."
The interim result was six thematically oriented playlists with a grand total of 120 tracks from 'early 80s' to 'Balearic late 80s', together with excursions into afrobeat, European new wave, and EBM sounds and a few epochal techno/house tracks from the USA in between. From these 'Best of Sven Väth's favorites', the project What I Used To Play crystallized. Sven remembers how the Cocoon team reacted to his proposal: "They found the idea of making a compilation out of it MEGA from the beginning and everyone said 'Sven, go for it', but then, of course, the work really started, namely, to clear the rights and to get clean sounding masters of the up to 40-year-old tracks. There was also disappointment, of course. We couldn't clear certain titles because the rights holders in the USA had fallen out with each other or simply disappeared from the scene. In short, it wasn't easy, but now I can safely say we got the most important tracks."
Finally, after two years of research, curation, design, and administrative fine-tuning, the "little retrospective" from 1981 to 1990 is available. The exquisitely packaged, and three-kilo heavy box set is not only physically impressive, WIUTP is also the definitive record of Sven Väth's musical development. On each of the twenty-four sides of vinyl, you can trace track by track, what influenced him during which phase, and how he took off as a DJ from his parents' Queen's Pub straight into the spotlight at Dorian Gray. There and at Vogue (later OMEN), Sven became the style-defining player in the DJ booth that he still is today.
1981 - 1990: Future Sounds of Now
In the early eighties, the crowd in clubs like Vogue and Dorian Gray danced to what nowadays we call 'dance classics' - mainly disco, funk, soul, and chart pop. It was up to a new generation of DJs, including Sven Väth, the youngest protagonist in the Rhine-Main area at the time, to create their own club-ready music mix. Good new tracks and potential floor-fillers were rarities that had to be sought out and found, in order to prove oneself worthy.
Without MP3s, internet streaming, or other digital download possibilities, music didn't just gravitate to the DJ, instead, it had to be tracked down. In well-stocked record stores in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden or even in Amsterdam, London, or New York, Sven and friends sourced the material for countless magical nights. On WIUTP we can follow Sven's very personal journey through this wild, innovative era in which synth-pop, funk, hip-hop, and disco were successively replaced as 'club music' by house, techno, acid, and breakbeat. By the end of the decade, it was clear to see that these once exotic 'fringe' phenomena would soon become 'mass' phenomena.
Early 80s
Dirty Talk by the Italian-American duo Klein & M.B.O. represents the most innovative phase of the Italo-disco genre in the early eighties like no other track. Mario Boncaldo (I) and Tony Carrasco relied entirely on the original synthetic drum and percussion sounds of the Roland TR-808, coupled with the raunchy vocals of Rossana Casale and guitar accents of Davide Piatto. Of course, other tracks from this period were also influential in style, most notably Unit by Logic System, which worked as the perfect soundtrack to the laser lighting system at the legendary Dorian Gray club. With stomping beats and robotic rap interludes, Bostich by Yello also belongs on Sven's eternal playlist - after all, it caught the attention of Afrikaa Bambaataa, who invited the Swiss duo to perform at the Roxy in New York in 1983.
EBM Wave - Mid 80s
From today's point of view, the almost ten-minute-long, downtempo track Giant by Matt Johnson's band project The The, would probably not be considered an obvious club classic. However, a closer (re)listen reveals the rhythmic intricacies of the percussion overdubs by JG Thirlwell (aka Foetus) on Johnson's composition, and it becomes clear why this exceptional piece of music is one of Sven's absolute favorites. Other classics from this phase include Kaw-Liga by the mysterious The Residents, the hypnotic-synthetic Our Darkness by Anne Clark (and David Harrow), and last but not least, the somber, monotonous anthem Where Are You? by 16Bit, one of Sven Väth's projects together with Michael Münzing, Luca Anzilotti from 1986.
US House - Late 80s
You certainly can't talk about Chicago house without mentioning Frankie Knuckles. The resident DJ at the Warehouse not only gave the name to an entire genre, but also produced epochal floor fillers on the Trax label like the timeless Your Love, sung (and moaned) by Jamie Principle. Acid house protagonists Phuture also hail from Chicago, and on We Are Phuture (also released on Trax) we hear the chirping acid sounds of the legendary Roland TB-303 in full effect. Another featured classic is No UFO's by Detroit's Model 500 aka Juan Atkins, who is rightly considered the 'Godfather of Techno' even if the genre-defining track from 1985 still breathes with the spirit of hip-hop and electro from the first breakdance era.
Afrobeat
Le Serpent, by Algerian-born Abdelmadjid Guemguem, is a track that sounds completely different from everything else on WIUTP. Made in 1978, it's a monumental, rousing groove created without bass or synths, just with five congas! Even though Guem sadly passed away in 2021, his immortal, acoustic beats are understood all over the world and will continue to enrich many thousands of DJ sets for years to come. Another classic that not only Sven appreciates beyond measure is Hugh Masekela's Don't Go Lose it, Baby. In addition to being one of the most important jazz pioneers, the trumpeter and freedom fighter from Johannesburg was very experimental, integrating electronic sounds into his music in later years, in a similar vein to Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. Dutch jazz pianist Jasper van't Hof's afrobeat project Pili Pili has also aged well. The trance-like, almost sixteen-minute-long track of the same name, manages to fill a whole side on the seventh of twelve vinyl discs in the WIUTP box.
UK-US-Euro - Late 80s
Time for a change of scene, in the truest sense of the word, and from a musical perspective, this section is like landing on another planet. First up is Andrew Weatherall's classic remix of Primal Scream's Loaded, featuring the iconic Peter Fonda sample (lifted from the 1966 biker film Wild Angels) that came to personify the mood triggered by the British Second Summer of Love in the late eighties: "We wanna be free to do what we wanna do, and we wanna get loaded...". This period also saw the emergence of M/A/R/R/S whose only single, 1987's Pump Up The Volume, became a club classic with support from DJ legend CJ Mackintosh. In this most eclectic of sections, we also encounter New York house and reggae producer Bobby Konders and his seminal Nervous Acid.
Balearic - Late 80s
Those who know him, know that Sven had already lost his heart to the 'magic island' of Ibiza as a teenager, so with that in mind, the WIUTP project couldn't end without a Balearic chapter. Inspired by Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4, the immortal, eponymously titled Sueño Latino belongs in there without question. Equally popular on the island was, and still is Break 4 Love by Raze, which thinking about it, would also fit perfectly into the house chapter. Last, but not least, there's an overdue reunion with Sven Väth himself, in his role as frontman of the successful Frankfurt trio OFF. Together with Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (later of Snap!) this 'Organization For Fun' created the off-the-wall club hit Electric Salsa in 1986 which incidentally turned into an international chart smash, putting Sven in the enviable position of having to decide between pop stardom and a DJ career. Well, we all know how that decision turned out and the rest, as they say, is history. A not insignificant part of his story is What I Used To Play. Enjoy!
Tod Dockstader's Aerial series, an electronic/drone masterpiece, is cherished among fans of the artist's work and this second volume is available in an audiophile quality double LP edition.
Tod Dockstader's Aerial series is sourced from his life long passion for shortwave radio. Dockstader collected over 90 hours of recordings, made at night, and comprised of cross signals and fragments plucked from the atmosphere.
Opening with airwave drones, Dockstader gradually allows elements to slowly come and go, summoning an ominous atmosphere of ethereal cloud clouds. Malignant placidity continues, giving the feeling of eavesdropping upon late-night audio activity not unlike discovering number stations while sweeping the dials. These sounds pull you in as their density and rhythms come and go.
Backward voices, deep echoing choruses of conversations flowing under the surface, ocean sounds, pulsing electro-rhythms, all seem to be created via the collaging of many hours of source recordings. A masterwork of collage and juxtaposition by an overlooked pioneer of American electronic music.
Artwork by John Brien (Imprec) is inspired by the propagation of shortwave radio signals throughout the earth's atmosphere.
"This return of Dockstader is something to cherish, not just because his output has been so limited and scarce but because what we do have is so intriguing, persuasive and cliche-free; the music of an inspired explorer who trails in nobody's slipstream." The Wire
"One of the great figures of musique concrete composition." Dusted
The Aerial project
I've written before of my interest in shortwave radio, in the notes to the Quatermass CD. Also, in the notes to the Omniphony CD (which has my first "Aerial" mix, "Past Prelude," in it), I mentioned "The Aerial Etudes," which was my working title for what became the three CDs you have. And, at the end of an interview with Chris Cutler (which can be found in the "Unofficial TD Website"), the piece I mentioned I was starting to work on at the time became Aerial.) When I was very young, people got most of their entertainment from radio. They called it "playing the radio," as if it were a musical instrument. That's what I've tried to do in this piece. About this time, a few people encouraged me to look into using a computer for this work.
I'd never used one, but I saw it would allow me to keep my mixes digital - no more transfer losses. So, at the end of 2001, I got a computer and an editing program for it, and spent what seemed a long time learning it. I began selecting mixes and loading them into the computer in late March, 2002. Out of the 580, I selected 90 "best" mixes - eventually reduced to 59, the ones on the CDs. Finally, in assembling the CDs, I followed David Myers' suggestion to allow each piece to flow into the next - making a continuous journey to the end. Tod Dockstader, 14 september 2003
About Tod Dockstader: Dockstader moved to New York in 1958 and became a self-taught sound engineer and sound effects specialist and apprenticed as a recording engineer at Gotham Recording Studios. It was around this time that he started to use his off-work hours to experiment with mixing and manipulating sounds on magnetic tape (musique concrète). By 1960 he had amassed enough material to assemble his first record Eight Electronic Pieces which was released on the Folkways label in 1961 (this would later be used in the soundtrack of Fellini’s Satyricon). The last of the eight pieces was later re-worked into his first stereo piece. In 1961 he applied to use the facilities at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center and was denied access by Vladimir Ussachevsky. Ussachevsky’s official reason was the “overstrained” scheduling of the studios, although many suspect that Dockstader’s lack of academic training was a factor in the decision. He continued to create music throughout the first half of the 60s, working principally with tape manipulation effects. His last piece at Gotham was Four Telemetry Tapes in 1965, after which he left to work as an audio-visual designer on the Air Canada Pavillion at Montreal’s Expo ‘67. It was around this time in 1966 that some of Dockstader’s pieces were released on three Owl L.P.s, and his work became known to a larger audience. He achieved modest recognition and radio play alongside the likes of Karlheinz Stockhausen, Edgard Varèse, and John Cage.
An aura of mystery is hidden on this magnificent album released on EMI Nigeria in 1974 and today a collector’s cult object was the only one named Moonrakers Band.
Steve Black tells: “We were the original members of The Moonrakers and were based in Zaria, then in 1972 we left band management and started The Elcados. The original management of The Moonrakers sold the name to his elder brother who had a club in Kano and they brought Prince Bola Agbana to get other musicians to continue The Moonrakers while we moved in as The Elcados.”
Moonrakers Band and Elcados were the two bands that inflamed northern Nigeria in the early 70s with a more rocking and virtuoso sound, and especially with tons of rare grooves, then everything else around it.
Coming to the album content tracks like Wait For Me, Cut Your Coat According To You Size, Yara Manyan Gobe, but also Enia Sa Pele and Move on, will make floating camels appear on the dancefloor, or in your house.
Originally released in 2023, Vakula’s 108 Mysteries is available again through a limited warehouse find of copies from the original pressing. The double vinyl marked the 25th release on Arma and brings together nine tracks from the Ukrainian producer, including collaborations with vocalist Amrita Ananda.
Philosophical and meditative, 108 Mysteries represents a distinctive chapter in Vakula’s discography. Across the album, he moves through deep electronic textures, hypnotic rhythms and spacious arrangements, combining his experimental approach with a strong sense of atmosphere.
Tracks including “Highest Love”, “A Breath Of Life”, “Щедрий Вечор” and “Spirit Okarine” bring together electronic production with Eastern and Ukrainian folk influences, creating an unusual but cohesive mixture of traditional elements and contemporary sound.
Official AFRODELIC reissue of the ultra-rare Tunde Mabadu’s debut album. Originally released in 1978 on Blackspot label (DECCA’s West Africa division), Bisu, which includes the supergroovy ‘Red Jeans’, differs from the later 1980 ‘Viva Disco’ album by a much more pure African style.
A beautiful and soulful production in which Tunde’s deep voice and sax move on the excellent horns arrangements, percussions, the wahwah rhythm guitar and weird keyboards and synths (at times psychedelic as in the ‘Blue Bird’ 9 minutes).
As wrote on the original liner notes of the era “His music will mesmerize you from the first track. A dedicated Musician especially to his African Roots with so much to offer Musically”.
We move forward... Daniel Broesecke & Vincentiulian. Early support from Herodot, Silat Beksi, Gescu, Ted Amber, userUNKNWN, Vern, Vlad Arapasu, VLF, Triptil and more...
14 years since it was originally released on Rephlex Records, Dopplereffekt's Calabi Yau Space (2007) finally gets a reissue on vinyl thanks to WeMe Records (following on their amazing reissue of Linear Accelerator). This album sees Dopplereffekt move even further out into their very own exploratory realm, where music and quantum physics meet. Eight tracks that when first released seemed challenging but with repeated exposure a strange almost supernatural event occurred as these new sounds and patterns gradually revealed a beauty and even simplicity about them. This is a brave album, epic in vision. An essential record for all fans of Techno in the sense that the term was originally intended.
In the wake of a 2020 edition of Movement in the City's second album Black Teardrops (1981), Sharp-Flat Records returns with a prequel by way of a reissue of the band's self-titled debut from 1979.
As the 1970s were drawing to a close, the epic Black Disco studio project with its signature pairing of drum machine and organ had run it course. After delivering a killer trilogy of cosmic lounge outings dating back to 1975, the group yearned for funkier grooves and the core trio of composer Pops Mohamed on organ with Basil Coetzee on tenor sax and Sipho Gumede on bass decided to hire a drummer and rebrand as Movement in the City. In contrast with the New Age detachment of Black Disco, Movement in the City was conceptually grounded in the bleak social realism depicted on its photographic album covers and leaned into the vivid sensibilities of library music from the era. Blending Cape jazz with funk and soul, the group's output evokes a soundtrack for South African city life at the outset of the 1980s while nodding allegorically to the subterranean movements that were in the course of shaking the cage for political change.
With its cast of jazz fusion all-stars, Movement in the City is the manifesto of a band in transition - a bold and slick first offering that delivers a modern South African sound capable of both the funky exuberances of "Mister Lucky" as well as the down-home pathos of "Blue Sunday." Restored from its original tape masters and released in partnership with As-Shams Archive and Pops Mohamed, this rare artefact of South African jazz history is back in print for the very first time since its original 1979 release.
