Italian bass collective D-Operation Drop marks their debut on Dub-Stuy Records with “Pon Pause SP”, a heavyweight 12”single featuring legendary singer Al Campbell. Formed in 2010, the six members of D-Operation Drop have a wide range of experience and production styles, releasing on various labels such as ZamZam, Moonshine and Lioncharge. For their first collaboration with Dub-Stuy, they connected with the great Al Campbell, a singer with a storied career working with Studio One, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Black Ark, and more. Together, they crafted a modern steppers anthem that seamlessly connects old and new.
Cerca:d operation drop
- 1
Mowty Mahlyka Uptownft.Bukkha&D-Operation Drop
Moonshine Recordings Meets: Mowty Mahlyka Uptown ft Bukkha &...
2x7"
Brand new EP from the London's own Mowty Mahlyka aka Dark Angel, well know for his previous Moonshine Recordings killer release 'Propaganda'. Riddims for this double 7" beauty were cooked by the Moonshine all stars - Bukkha & D-Operation Drop. Expect some serious dubwise fayah!
After welcoming Saule with an appearance on SUBALT015, the incredibly talented producer steps up for a full EP on Subaltern - a tour de force of distinctive, dark and original productions.
*A: Gorilla Glue
Starting off the EP with a bang is 'Gorilla Glue', a heavy-hitting collaboration with original Subaltern badmen D-Operation Drop - pressure is the name of the game. A sinister intro paves the way to a stomping bass-line topped up with growling synth layers, which culminate into a captivating melody that will stick with you. Get ready for the ride!
*B1: World 8
'World 8' dives into a video game-like vibe through quirky 8 bit synths playfully matched with a massive wall of bass. Gnarly breaks round off a masterful execution of sub and space alternating in a trippy scenario: Super Mario had a little bit too many mushrooms this time...
*B2: Close Chatter
Moody dark pads set a bewitched vibe in 'Close Chatter' a goose-bump inducing drop will leave you constantly hungry for more. An oddly pleasing journey, this is the typical b side-that-could-have-been-a-side track.
Repress
We are extremely happy to welcome yet another talented crew from Italy in the Moonshine family. D-Operation Drop is a project born in 2010 thanks to the encounter of 5 university students wich found themselves sharing the same house and more importantly, love for music (In 2013 Zeemo joins the Crew, modifying the formation from 5 to 6 elements). After a couple of early collaborations, almost casual, Uniradio Cesena gives to D-Operation Drop the chance to lay the foundations of an underground music program on air twice a week. Thanks to this experience the group officially finds its frame and looks forward to its new goals such as producing, dj'ing and vj'ing. To date D-Operation Drop, after almost seven years of experience, has received support from Artists like J:Kenzo, Distance, N-Type, Icicle, Radikal Guru & many others. Releasing music with notable labels such as Lion Charge, Artikal Music UK, Subaltern and now Moonshine Recordings.
The eighth chapter of the Subaltern Records saga comes from Italian collective D-Operation Drop, celebrating their return to the label with a dark menacing EP that has shaken dancefloors all over the world.
Don't Breathe:
The title track opens the EP with an apocalyptic vocal which is quickly complemented by roaring synth-monsters and a stone-cold sub bass. This is the obscure side of D-Operation Drop manifesting, taking you to the edge of the dance with relentless fury.
Flumen:
This unreal collaboration with Subaltern's very own Piezo is a continuously evolving journey. Starting off with gentle harmonies, it quickly erupts into a carefully curated symphony of driving bass and cutting edge mids. Carried by truly haunting atmospheres, Flumen builds up and falls down over and over, until finishing in a mad broken-beat turmoil.
*Don't Breathe (Wayfarer Remix):
British young talent Wayfarer shows his takes on the title track adding his trademark melodies and devastating growls. With his razor-sharp sound design and production the man delivers a tight dancefloor stomper which will pose a challenge for most sound systems, driving them to full power.
Hypnotizing rhythms and stormy bass cuts make up Various Visions 2, as D-Operation Drop, Zygos, Hebbe and mrshl unite on the Copenhagen based label's 9th vinyl release.
Various Visions is a new series of vinyl releases by Circle Vision, launched to present an umbrella of artists from around the globe, who share the label's vision of sound design and affection for immersive bass music.
For our 13th release, Subaltern is proud to present a selection of various artists compiled on one record - different styles of sound, blending together like a Kaleidoscope... For the avid vinyl junkies the first 300 copies have been pressed with locked grooves from each artist and come in a full colour sleeve.
* Alter: Opening the release is Japanese producer Helktram, who debuts on Subaltern with a relentless hypnotic roller. Distorted drums and percussive interludes complete this banger, which has proven to mash up the dance every time.
* Fibers: Being the only resident Subaltern artist on the release, D-Operation Drop doesn't fail to prove why they have returned to Subaltern yet again with this trippy masterpiece.
* Bomb: German producer ILL_K makes his first appearance on the imprint with this mighty stomper. "Bomb" is probably the most accurate title this powerful tune could have been given.
* Landfall: The only collaborative track of the EP, - Landfall' concludes the record in style - dark and eerie atmospheres mark the signature sound of German producer Shu and Belgian producer Zygos.
A SIDE: "Smooth Co-Operator" 124 BPM
Deep within the Co-op laboratory, a timeless classic was lifted from the ether and reborn under the alchemists’ touch. "Smooth Co-Operator"
takes the silk and smoke of Sade’s iconic Smooth Operator and fuses it with the pulse of an uptempo soulful house rhythm. Sprinkled with the
magic dust of hip-hop and funk samples, the track moves effortlessly—grooving on a smooth, rolling bassline, locked into a four-to-the-floor
heartbeat. The result? A dance where elegance meets momentum, where the past is reimagined for the now. Let yourself be carried away—
this is RnB soul jazz, remixed for the future.
B SIDE: "Dream Alchemy" 120BPM
Summoned from the realm of dreams, "Dream Alchemy" is a hypnotic, Kubrickian voyage through sound and shadow. Co-op bends time,
doubling the original tempo into a driving force of tech-house vibes. J Diggns layers ethereal, cascading keys—melodies that flicker like lucid
visions—while Whiskey Drop layers in A$AP Rocky and grounds the experience with a deep, rolling bassline that pulses from the underground.
The groove is relentless, the atmosphere cinematic. Step inside—The dream and the Sandman await.
- Operation
- Golden Dragon
- Dead In Me
- Black Eyed Soul
- Side Steppin' City Streets
- Lsd And Me
- Take Me Down
- Roller Coaster
GOLD NUGGET VINYL[23,11 €]
Even the name is mysterious-Black Honey Cult evokes a sense of intrigue and the otherworldly, a fitting moniker for a band born out of deep roots in Los Angeles' storied underground music scene. The story begins in the early '90s, when Johnny DeVilla and Jake Cavaliere first crossed paths, performing in various bands at the legendary JabberJaw, a hub for raw talent and boundary-pushing sound. Fast forward to 2003, when Spencer Robinson joined forces with Jake and Johnny in The Lords of Altamont, solidifying a creative bond that has endured for decades. Over the years, this trio found themselves collaborating time and again, refining their chemistry and exploring new sonic landscapes. It wasn't until 2010 that Black Honey Cult began to take shape, though the journey to a definitive lineup was a winding road. After several incarnations, the band finally coalesced into its current form with the addition of Garey Snider on drums, and Travis Petersen on guitar, whose contributions completed the puzzle. Jake and Garey, longtime conspirators with a shared desire to work together, brought their vision to fruition, creating a group that feels both destined and uniquely fresh. Drawing inspiration from pioneers like The Velvet Underground and psychedelic icons, The 13th Floor Elevators, Black Honey Cult infuses their sound with shades of early goth, post-punk, and krautrock. The result? A hypnotic, genre-defying blend of dark, atmospheric psychedelia that transports listeners to another plane - like dropping LSD on Mars. The band's sound was brought to life by the legendary Paul Roessler (of Screamers and 45 Grave fame) at Kitten Robot Studios, a perfect match for their haunting and transportive vision. Black Honey Cult stands as a testament to years of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance, offering an immersive experience for those ready to step into their enigmatic world. Prepare to follow the cult and lose yourself in the spellbinding sounds of Black Honey Cult.
Gold nugget vinyl, limited to 350 copies. Even the name is mysterious-Black Honey Cult evokes a sense of intrigue and the otherworldly, a fitting moniker for a band born out of deep roots in Los Angeles' storied underground music scene. The story begins in the early '90s, when Johnny DeVilla and Jake Cavaliere first crossed paths, performing in various bands at the legendary JabberJaw, a hub for raw talent and boundary-pushing sound. Fast forward to 2003, when Spencer Robinson joined forces with Jake and Johnny in The Lords of Altamont, solidifying a creative bond that has endured for decades. Over the years, this trio found themselves collaborating time and again, refining their chemistry and exploring new sonic landscapes. It wasn't until 2010 that Black Honey Cult began to take shape, though the journey to a definitive lineup was a winding road. After several incarnations, the band finally coalesced into its current form with the addition of Garey Snider on drums, and Travis Petersen on guitar, whose contributions completed the puzzle. Jake and Garey, longtime conspirators with a shared desire to work together, brought their vision to fruition, creating a group that feels both destined and uniquely fresh. Drawing inspiration from pioneers like The Velvet Underground and psychedelic icons, The 13th Floor Elevators, Black Honey Cult infuses their sound with shades of early goth, post-punk, and krautrock. The result? A hypnotic, genre-defying blend of dark, atmospheric psychedelia that transports listeners to another plane - like dropping LSD on Mars. The band's sound was brought to life by the legendary Paul Roessler (of Screamers and 45 Grave fame) at Kitten Robot Studios, a perfect match for their haunting and transportive vision. Black Honey Cult stands as a testament to years of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance, offering an immersive experience for those ready to step into their enigmatic world. Prepare to follow the cult and lose yourself in the spellbinding sounds of Black Honey Cult.
GT Replacement stylus for tough handling - extremely sturdy for scratching DJs
GT was developed by Ortofon in close co-operation with SWS Audio GmbH. The cartridge was named "Great and Tough" and was based on the construction of the well-known Ortofon Series 500 design - mend for standard half inch mounting - in a black housing with white printing.
The vital parts in the GT are based on a very robust and reliable parts used in Scratch. Further, during development of GT, efforts were also concentrated on supplying a very high output of 8 mV and improvement of frequency response to give higher resolution and sound image.
Tracking avility is decisive for the DJs especially when scratching and back-cuing. In this situation raise of tracking force could be an immediate, but in many cases not very effective solution. The reason is that the antiskating adjustment, if not at a very moderate level, will double the skating effect when back-cuing.
As a rule, never use more than half of normal antiskating related to the tracking force! To make GT even more resistant against violent handling, such as drop or touch of fingers, we have made a rubber suspension of the cantilever even more rigid against axial pull.
GT Stylus Technical data
Output voltage at 1000Hz, 5cm/sec. - 8 mV
Channel balance at 1kHz - 1,5 dB
Channel separation at 1kHz - 25 dB
Channel separation at 15 kHz - 18 dB
Frequency response - 20-18.000 Hz +/- 2 dB
Tracking ability at 315 Hz at recommended tracking force - 80 μm
Compliance, dynamic lateral - 6 μm/m N
Stylus type - Spherical
Stylus tip radius - R 18 μm
Tracking force range - 3.0-5.0 g (30-50 mN)
Tracking force recommended - 4.0 g (40 mN)
Tracking angle - 20°
Internal impedance, DC resistance - 1000 Ohm
Internal inductance - 580 mH
Recommended load resistance - 47 kOhm
Recommended load capacitance - 200-400 pF
- Tracklist Subliminal Thoughts (1993)
- Originator Feat. Encore (1993)
- I'm Swayze (1993)
- Explanations (1993)
- Flow Feat. Persevere (1994)
- Critical Meltdown (1995)
- Cash Money (1996)
- Operations (1996)
- Downsides (1998)
- Player Status (1998)
- Fevea (1999)
- One Concept (1999)
- Popular Science (1999)
- Unite (2004)
- Cash Money (Mike B Remix) (2019)
- Pass Feat. 2 And Fro (Previously Unreleased Demo) (1991)
- Me And My Dj (Previously Unreleased Demo) (1991)
We will be dropping the second volume of Fraudulent by Homeliss Derilex on double vinyl for the first time ever. Just like the first volume released in 2004, this compilation presents tracks that originally only appeared on demos, tape promos, and vinyl singles. The music ranges from 1991 up to 2004 and as an extra you will get the Cash Money (Mike B Remix) and 2 of their earliest recordings taken from old 4-track tapes dating back to 1991. As always all tracks have been remastered and the album cover is an ode to their first tape release from 1993 where it all got started. ?
- X-Men Doctrine And Declaration: Target=40:40:11N 73:56:38W
- General P. Counterintelligence: Target=37:47:36N 122:33:17W
- ?Get Up, Punk! 0200 Hrs. (Joint Special Operations Task Force)
- Roc Raida: Riot Control Agent / Combat Stress Control
- Improvised Explosive Device 0300 Hrs
- ?Vaqueros Y Indios! (Joint Special Operations Task Force)
- Precision Guided Needle-Dropping And Larynx Munitions (Pgndlm)
- Duelling Banjo Marching Drill
- Battle Hymn Of The Technics Republic
- ?Fire In The Hole! 0400 Hrs. (Joint Special Operations Task Force)
- Convulsive Antidote For Nerve Agent Autoinjector (Canaa)
- Modified Combined Obstacle Overlay (Mcoo) …Or... How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Turntables
- Surprise Swing Insurgency / Tabla And Tongue Twist Counterattack / Dragon Seeks Path
- ?Kamikaze! 0500 Hrs. (Take A Piece Of Me)
- We'll Paint This Town -- Throat And Phonograph Fire Support Coordination Measures (Tpfscm)
- Imitative Electromagnetic Deception (Ied) / Digital Nonsecure Voice Terminal (Dnvt)
- A.w.o.l. Block Party Brawl 0600 Hrs
- Eastside Multichannel Tactical Scratch Communications (Emtsc)
- ?Pimps Up, Aces High! 0700 Hrs. (Westside Swashbuckling Parade)
- Warcry / Infrared R'n'b Hallucination / Jungle Operations Exfiltration System
- L.o.l. - ¡Loser On Line! (Hate The Player, Hate The Game)
- Low Altitude Vocal Parachute Extraction System (Lavpes)
- Battle Damage Assessment And Repair / White Flag Surrender / Wake Me Up In Heaven
Nächstes Jahr feiern Ipecac ihr 25-jähriges Bestehen. Um die Feierlichkeiten einzuläuten, veröffentlicht das Künstlerfreundliche Label das 2005er Album General Patton vs. The X-Ecutioners zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl..., in einer limitierten Silver Streak-Ausgabe.
Die Veröffentlichung bringt Mike Patton, den legendären Frontmann von Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk und vielen anderen, mit einer der angesehensten DJ-Crews des Hip-Hop, The X-Ecutioners, zusammen. Die Zusammenarbeit kam zustande, nachdem die beiden Gruppen einige improvisierte Live-Shows zusammen gespielt hatten. Der süße Duft der Chemie wehte schon bald durch die Luft, und so beschloss man, einen Schritt weiter zu gehen und gemeinsam an einem kompletten Album zu arbeiten. Das Ergebnis sind 23 Tracks, die einen direkten Zusammenprall zwischen Hip-Hop und der wilden und verrückten Welt von Ipecac darstellen.
- Ltd. Col. LP: (Silver Streak Vinyl; zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl erhältlich; mit einem 24x36 ausklappbaren Poster und einigen metallischen PMS Farben)
Trip Hill is a one-man operation by Fabrizio Cecchi out of Florence, Italy. With a naïve approach to making music and inspiration from all over the world he is making his own homemade and original version of trippy psychedelia and krautrock. Fabrizio Cecchi played in various garage and psych rock bands in the early 90's but by 1994 he set his own cause and started to work alone and in his own universe. Originally a bass-player he since taught himself guitar, drums, keyboards and various other instruments to be able to find his own way in making psychedelic music. Ain't Trip Ceremony is the latest output in a long string of experimental home productions recorded in his basement studio. Until recently it was only available on his Bandcamp and as a very cool limited edition CD-R with covers printed on thick cardboard with a special linograph technique. But now it gets the proper release on vinyl via Bad Afro Records that these recordings deserve. 1st print is limited to 500 copies on black vinyl.
Psycho Bummer is proud to present UFO!, a true originator for bass music in the United States and a hero to us since before we can remember. As part of San Francisco's Phunckateck crew in the 90's, UFO!'s early music staked out a militantly abstract form of techstep that was unlike anything else around at the time. Releases like "Science Fact / Enemy Infiltration" in 1999 were among the first US-produced drum'n'bass records that many stateside ravers bought, and while we can only speak for ourselves, UFO! was a huge inspiration in getting us to make our own music.
On the "Level Up" EP, UFO! continues a recent exploration of jungle, footwork, and juke-influenced tracks that are completely unpretentious and fun yet carry a certain strain of weirdness that links back to his early music. From heads down rollers like "Operation Drag n Drop" to the bizarre rush of "Level Up", this stuff is unmistakably UFO! and it's an honor to have him on our label. We hope you'll love these tunes as much as we do.
- A1: Tomorrow Never Comes
- A2: Mud Blood & Gold
- A3: Devil In Disguise
- A4: New American
- A5: Tomorrow Never Comes
- A6: Don't Make Me Do It
- A7: It's A Road To Righteousness
- A8: Live Forever
- B1: Drop Dead Inn
- B2: Prisoners Song
- B3: Magnificent Rouge
- B4: One Way Ticket
- B5: Hellbound Train
- B6: Eddie The Butcher
- B7: Hear Us Out
- B8: When The Smoke Clears
Rancid - the legendary Bay Area punk rockers are back with their 10th studio album, Tomorrow Never Comes on Epitaph Records. Emerging from the blue-collar swamps of Berkeley, California, Rancid has now been a living, breathing punk rock band for over a quarter century. Back in 1991, after the demise of their much beloved and still influential first band, Operation Ivy, founding members Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar) and Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) decided to do the impossible — start an even better band. Thus, Rancid.
Signing with Epitaph Records, the band released their first album, “Rancid,” in 1993. Shortly thereafter, Lars Frederiksen (vocals, guitar) joined the band and they went on to release incredible records from “Let’s Go.” (1994) to their classic - platinum selling “…And Out Come The Wolves.” (1995). Drummer Branden Steineckert joined the band in 2003, cementing the line-up that rocks out till this day.
- 1: Tomorrow Never Comes
- 2: Mud, Blood, & Gold
- 3: Devil In Disguise
- 4: New American
- 5: The Bloody & Violent History
- 6: Don't Make Me Do It
- 7: It's A Road To Righteousness
- 8: Live Forever
- 9: Drop Dead Inn
- 10: Prisoners Song
- 11: Magnificent Rogue
- 12: One Way Ticket
- 13: Hellbound Train
- 14: Eddie The Butcher
- 15: Hear Us Out
- 16: When The Smoke Clears
Rancid - the legendary Bay Area punk rockers are back with their 10th studio album, Tomorrow Never
Comes on Epitaph Records. Emerging from the blue-collar swamps of Berkeley, California, Rancid has now been a living, breathing punk rock band for over a quarter century. Back in 1991, after the demise of their much beloved and still influential first band, Operation Ivy, founding members Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar) and Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) decided to do the impossible — start an even better band. Thus, Rancid.
Signing with Epitaph Records, the band released their first album, “Rancid,” in 1993. Shortly thereafter, Lars Frederiksen (vocals, guitar) joined the band and they went on to release incredible records from “Let’s Go.” (1994) to their classic - platinum selling “…And Out Come The Wolves.” (1995). Drummer Branden Steineckert joined the band in 2003, cementing the line-up that rocks out till this day.
- 1: Tomorrow Never Comes
- 2: Mud, Blood, & Gold
- 3: Devil In Disguise
- 4: New American
- 5: The Bloody & Violent History
- 6: Don't Make Me Do It
- 7: It's A Road To Righteousness
- 8: Live Forever
- 9: Drop Dead Inn
- 10: Prisoners Song
- 11: Magnificent Rogue
- 12: One Way Ticket
- 13: Hellbound Train
- 14: Eddie The Butcher
- 15: Hear Us Out
- 16: When The Smoke Clears
Rancid - the legendary Bay Area punk rockers are back with their 10th studio album, Tomorrow Never Comes on Epitaph Records. Emerging from the blue-collar swamps of Berkeley, California, Rancid has now been a living, breathing punk rock band for over a quarter century. Back in 1991, after the demise of their much beloved and still influential first band, Operation Ivy, founding members Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar) and Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) decided to do the impossible — start an even better band. Thus, Rancid.
Signing with Epitaph Records, the band released their first album, “Rancid,” in 1993. Shortly thereafter, Lars Frederiksen (vocals, guitar) joined the band and they went on to release incredible records from “Let’s Go.” (1994) to their classic - platinum selling “…And Out Come The Wolves.” (1995). Drummer Branden Steineckert joined the band in 2003, cementing the line-up that rocks out till this day.
Emanating from a ‘prehistoric’ existence near the end of the last millennium, Andy Votel and his slightly older college mates were once best recognised in Mancunian clubs and bars as teenage vinyl nerds and bum-fluffed battle rappers under the collective name Violators Of The English Language (which in acronymic form explains Andy’s own exotic pen-name).
As steadfast supporters of the 1980s / 90s Brit-core rap scene coming out of London, the multicultural Violators’ Mancunian accents were perhaps a bridge-too-far to secure dream job contracts for humble labels like Kold Sweat and Music Of Life. An unlikely constructive meeting with Gang Starr’s DJ Premier (while Andy helped out at a radio station), plus playing warm up DJ sets for countless US rap heroes might have temporarily added inspirational fuel to the fire, but after an active period combining graffiti, rapping, scratching, obsessive record digging and beat making into their daily operations, adulthood eventually began to rear its unwelcome head.
A decade later, Andy Votel and his digging skills would begin to provide direct sample material for the likes of Madlib, Mos Def, Jay Z, Nas, Dr Dre, Ghostface Killa and Action Bronson, amongst others, and the Violators’ black book of breakbeats and catalogue numbers soon began to feed a same-butdifferent rap beast.
For a project that has taken thirty years, it would be totally inadequate to call the formation of Hypocritical Beatdown Records a lockdown-project. There’s a deep history and psychology in these records by Violators Of The English Language and their spin-off groups Magnets (Rap Group) and ProVerbs, that combines stage-fright, loss, pride, creative-schizophrenia, racial inequality, surrealism, personal politics, brotherhood, artistic-constipation, better judgment, love, anti-love, soul searching and much more.
As well as Andy Votel taking care of both production and part of the microphone duties, some might recognise fellow MC and solo recording artist Figure Of Speech as a prominent voice here. The trio of Magnets (Rap Group) sees Andy also joined by local B-Girl legend Jeni Chan aka Penny Chew, and rapper and DJ Benjamin Hatton who has previously recorded with Kid Acne, The Mongrels and Sheffield’s Invisible Spies’ long-running squadron. Widely respected visual artist Rick Myers (now living in Massachusetts) also contributed scratches for many of these recordings via file sharing and custom dub-plates to keep the Violators’ authentic line-up intact, as well as galvanising the crew’s semi-reluctant art-school roots.
Extra production credits for the label also go to Sean Canty from Demdike Stare, and the late great Dan Dwayre aka Black Lodge (Mo Wax) who sadly passed away during the completion of these recordings. The members of Violators Of The English Language who you’ve not yet heard of will quickly make themselves known as the needle drops on this long-mooted debut vinyl release.
Like a rediscovered Viking burial ship, Electro Nova compiles near-mythical drone recordings produced in 1998 and described by Helge Sten aka Deathprod as some of the most important music to ever come out of Norway. It's the work of Kåre Dehlie Thorstad and compiles two of the earliest releases on Smalltown Supersound, back when it was basically no more than a bedroom operation. It’s taken over two decades, but finally the label have given the material a first ever proper release on vinyl, complete with mixing and mastering by Deathprod. If you’re into the ice cold swells of anyone from Thomas Köner to Harley Gaber, Biosphere, Kali Malone or, of course, Deathprod - this one's as essential as they come.
Kaare Dehlie Thorstad's Elektro Nova produced just two releases during the late ‘90s that have since slipped into drone lore - Trans-Inter-Ference and Elektro Nova/Electro Nova. Admired not only by Deathprod and Joakim Haugland of Smalltown, but also by his contemporaries Lasse Marhaug and Biosphere, his work has evaded pretty much any attention outside of Norway these last two decades. Following a chance meeting with Thorstad at Oslo airport a few years back, Smalltown were prompted to give the recordings a second wind, presenting what is essentially a captivating new release, and crucial addition to the Norsk drone canon.
As the story goes, Thorstad was studying photography in the late 90’s in Scotland, but instead of delivering a photo for his final exam he made a record - a double album (2CDs) and a 10” to be precise. That should provide some idea of the textural synaesthetic and landscaping qualities evoked by his music, which he ended up sending to a then-young Smalltown label, who were mostly issuing tapes at the time. With no proper distribution the records largely bypassed wider attention, and become a personal favourite of Smalltown’s Joakim Haugland, as well as avowed fan Helge Sten (Deathprod), who helped render its diaphanous scale in mix down, and Lasse Marhaug who describes them as "two perfect records that deserved much bigger attention”.
Between its jaw-dropping opener; the post-apocalyptic vision of its untitled part; and the cinematic white-out of the 10” tracks; Thorstad comes as close as we’ve ever heard to evoking the inhospitable nature and stark beauty of the wild far north. We can hear those landscapes palpably internalised and alchemically transmuted into its coarse grained textural swells and a reverberating multi-dimensionality, variously sustained to extents that evoke an abandonment of the senses, or likewise squashed and isolated to imply the relative anxiety relief of atmospheric flux, where a few degrees temperature rise or a drop in the wind speed can make the difference between life and death.
Impressively, Thorstad realised after the release of Elektro Nova and just two live shows that he couldn’t really follow up the work and instead pursued a career as professional cyclist, eventually combining his visual skills to become a pro cycling photographer. In that sense, he’s a bit like composer-turned-tennis coach Harley Gaber, whose almighty ‘The Winds Rise In The North’ (1976) is in some ways richly prescient of this work. Like Gaber, Thorstad can remain safe in the knowledge that his contribution to the drone sphere will endure for the ages, especially with this important, impressive new edition.
Black Truffle is pleased to announce the latest offering from underground legend Richard Youngs. Hyperactive since the late 1980s, Youngs is widely celebrated for his remarkably extensive and varied body of recordings. His works range freely over a vast terrain, wandering from tender acoustic balladry to raging psychedelic noise and orchestral D-beat, always imbued with his distinctive, often mournful, melodic sensibility and irrepressible sense of joyous experimentation.
Comprised of two side-long pieces, CXXI carried on the experiments with chance operations used to generate material on many of Youngs’ recent releases. On ‘Tokyo Photograph’, a slowly changing, randomly generated sequence of 121 minor chords played by sine waves and accented with a brushed snare hit on every change provides the harmonic foundation for Youngs’ fragile yet impassioned vocal performance, shards of field recordings and electronics and Sophie Cooper’s long, tape-echoed trombone notes. While the melancholic drift of the chords calls up prime Robert Wyatt sides like Old Rottenhat or Dondestan, only the most vestigial sense of song remains here, as Youngs arranges his minimal ingredients over a spacious fifteen-minute expanse that often drops to nothing more than the rich hum of sine waves.
‘The Unlearning’ carries on directly from the first side, presenting another, more harmonically varied, sequence of randomly generated chords played by sine waves, distressed with tape echo flourishes and sparsely sprinkled with electronic touches. Like some of Youngs’ most single-minded instrumental works in recent years, such as his recordings of foot-played guitar or his shakuhachi pieces, ‘The Unlearning’ is deeply meditative but entirely remote from ambient or minimalist cliches.
Named after the number of chord changes on the opening piece and (Chicago-style) the number of records Youngs has released, CXXI arrives in a striking monochrome sleeve featuring play-along chord charts for both pieces. Both rigorously conceptual and endearingly off-the-cuff, CXXI is classic Richard Youngs.
- A1: Baodub Feat Jahvorem - Heavy
- A2: D-Operation Drop - Lockdown
- B1: Dubbing Sun & Blue Hill Feat Kali Green - Filtering Lies
- B2: Halcyonic & G Roots Vs Digid Feat. Vale - Enchanted Dub
- B3: Jahyu - Empowerment
- C1: Lapo - Legalize Vip
- C2: Ist3P - Steamroller
- D1: Blind Prophet - Righteous Stepper
- D2: Wudub!? & Irieginal Nutty Tree Feat Ras Tinny - Give Thanks
- D3: Kandee Feat Pijule - Apu Taita Waira
- E1: Professor Skank Feat Danman - Jah
- E2: Adam Prescott - Outernational Dub
- E3: 6Blocc Feat General Jah Mikey - Too Rude
- F1: Teffa - Coca
- F2: Tetrad - Kiwi Dreams
- F3: Frenk Dublin - Statement
Repress
After over five years since we've released the first chapter, we are nearly ready to drop "Steppin' Forward" 2, which will be our final release of 2019. This time the compilation includes 16 previously unreleased tracks from 27 artists and will be out on the 29th of November across 3x12" vinyl and digital.
Artwork by FromTheTrunk crew.
The third chapter in the vinyl installments on Gaze ill's Danish Cue Line Records is written by Belgian artist Zygos, Georgio Roumans. An unforgettable piece formed by 3 distinct original tracks plus an outstanding remix by Italy's most wanted, DPRTNDRP (D- Operation Drop).
The EP opens with the toxic symphony of 'Laicism'. By chest pressuring hits right from the beginning, we're pushed into another world where everything is moving though it feels like time stands still for a moment. Mellow melodies formed in layers of feedback alike sounds and endless reverberated stabs generate a persistent tension held tight by the static, marching drums. The title track 'Sudd' forms part 2 of the journey through Georgio Roumans' explorative universe. To think everything can move this fast yet keeping a minimal expression is beyond reality. From 8th to 16th to 24th notes - variations through the bass, percussion, and melody sections - a discreetly conducted progression is reached throughout the track. Accompanied by weird background soundscapes the sub bass takes the lead on the tight Halfstep- package of 'Tapered'. The drums are simple and hard, which is just what's needed to tame and control the strong movements from the sub. Super minimal for the sound system. Italian DPRTNDRP brings new life to 'Sudd', which awakens in a completely different light than the tempo- filled original. Strange sounds and rhythms, raw and dirty. DPRTNDRP makes the remix a must hear.
The vibe is intense from start to end, and the EP hits perfection due to Georgio's naturally alive style, and the clever remix from the ever boundary pushing DPRTNDRP. Signature sound, deluxe on 180 grams heavyweight vinyl!
With a title that suggests great things, making reference to 6 Victoria Crosses awarded to the Lancashire Regiment in World War 1, Mr Fantastic and Coherent (of Journeymen fame and much more) have set themselves a tall order. Before you have even listened to the music, the presentation points to success in this venture, with original artwork by the brilliant Stilts and marbled camouflage coloured vinyl to boot!
100 years after the press reported 'the winning of 6 VCs before breakfast' during the Gallipoli campaign in World War 1, S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive) opt for beats and rhymes rather than guns and bombs, and the resulting record is essential. The initial salvo is fired in 'Ready For Combat' which sees Mr Fantastic combine hard-hitting drums with stabbing guitar chops for Coherent to set the tone. The result is an instant smash which will have you rewinding, as I was, time and time again! From there, the duo, joined by Rola (The Numskullz/Journeymen) and Truck (also a member of The Journeymen), stage a three pronged assault over a haunting beat, spitting verse one after another like a creeping barrage before Mr Fantastic delivers the final victory courtesy of his trademark tight scratches. The concept for this EP is highly original and perfectly apt and on 'Foreign Lands', this is perfectly demonstrated as Coherent weaves tales of carnage that would sound at home on a jungle warfare documentary. 'Lyrical Assassin' once more sees Coherent dropping vocal hand grenades over double bass and electric piano skilfully fused together by his fellow soldier Mr Fantastic. Throughout, the subject matter and music is dark and 'Heavy Artillery' encapsulates this perfectly - Mr Fantastic's thumping, bass-heavy production would have sat perfectly on Show & AG's sophomore LP next to tracks like 'Night Time'. On 'Carcasses', Coherent shows the enemy why he is such a skilled MC, delivering surgical strikes with his tight metaphors and hard-hitting punch lines.
The question, then, given the highly ambitious nature of this project, is whether S.O.E. have won the battle they set out to win. With meticulous artwork, dark brooding beats and Coherent's masterful wordplay, the result is clear. They didn't just win the battle but the whole darn war!
Following almost two years of driving bass music promotion, in the form of compilation albums, free download round-ups, reviews, guest mixes & mix series CDs, the time has come to transcend from what first began as an online blog into our very own music label. After working with renowned artists such as El-B, Quest, BunZer0 and Phaeleh, as well as fellow promotional platforms FatKidOnFire & Deeper Vibrations - the Albion community has developed and grown to become recognised across the board of the bass music spectrum. This extension of our brand will help in pushing this music even more, enabling us to curate a fundamentally diverse sound beside the culture that we so passionately enjoy.The launch of Albion Collective Recordings is to be set in motion with In Pieces, a collaborative down-tempo effort conceived between Vaun and Jafu which is radiant in textural soundscapes. This particular piece has been doing the rounds as a clip on Deeper Vibrations' YouTube channel since 2013, inducing longing excitement for the song to finally surface.
Bristol based Daniel Brown, aka Vaun, has prospered into one of the scene's most prolific producers, covering multiple styles and turning out numerous releases for MindStep Music, Redshift-One and Soulstep Records. After recently hinting at the imminent release of an album, Brown can also reap in the keepsake of ALBION001 alongside Canadian artist James Fuller, aka Jafu, who likewise has blossomed astutely alongside his soulful Chord Marauders collective.In Pieces falls somewhere amongst immersive trip-hop and jazzy 2-step, an affectional arrangement that makes wonderful use of Marvin Gaye's a cappella in his classic Sexual Healing. The composition will certainly induce healing of the cerebral kind, with its stripped and delicate percussion work, dubbed out horns and soothing string sections. Encapsulated within Vaun & Jafu's musical offering is our label's statement of intent. That is, to champion unique music that emanates elegance such as this collaboration - and such as J.Sparrow's remix treatment. Ryan Wild aka Jack Sparrow, a Deep Medi Musik signee and one half of dubstep extraordinaire duo Author, has granted the scene with his tenacity to build profoundly stunning electronic music. Wild has the tempo notched up for his In Pieces edit but remains true to Vaun and Jafu's approach in the sense of its lavish spatial touch. The atmospherics breeze over with a soft vibrancy, as the electronic guitar solo recording from the original plays over the initial main section charmingly. This is all resulting in a simply sumptuous mix which goes right up there with his top drawer remix work for Annie Drury and De Niro & Y. To compliment J.Sparrow's sublime contribution and to also complete the package, the Black Butter Records assosciated and Bristol-based outfit Sly-One have whipped up an outright banger of a remix. Joe Cannon, Dave Constant and Oliver Read can already boast an admirable set of releases in the four years since they've joined forces, featuring on Shifting Peaks, Lost In Translation and 877 Records. Add that to a rude collaboration with fellow Bristol head & rasta emcee Buggsy and a remix for Bad Mojo on Meanbucket, Sly-One had clearly meant business from the offset - and have shown absolutely no let up for us at Albion Collective. Served with a side order of the trio's classic subtle cowbell hits, their 2-step/bassline fusion works wonders with the vamped-up vocal sample and is ready and waiting to rumble clubs & festivals for this summer and beyond. Early DJ support for the release has been noted from artists including Phaeleh, Quantum Soul, Thelem, J. Robinson, Walsh, K-Man, Nanobyte, Syte, Trashbat, Majora and D-Operation Drop & Foster. Radio airings to date stand at Sub FM on the BunZer0's legendary FOB Show, BBC Introducing showcased the release and Monki played the Sly One Remix on BBC Radio 1 Extra. The almighty
Dubstep duo Truth added the J.Sparrow Remix to their recent 'Chronicles' mixtape on Soundcloud, which was posted to their 75,000 plus following, Biscuit Factory Records owner and dubstep legend Walsh opened the edit on his latest podcast and J.Sparrow is set to showcase the version in a mix for the iconic Deep Medi label. Support is confirmed from digital publications such as FatKidOnFire,
GetDarker, Trusik and MTV Wrap up, which will involve a number of featuresm reviews, track premieres and artist spotlights. A review will also be printed in November's edition of Mixmag on Tomas Fraser's Grime/Dubstep page
- 1

























