Cerca:d star

Big Crown Records is proud to present Ekundayo, Liam Bailey’s debut record on the label. This album is a long time in the making, and after listening, clearly worth the wait. It didn’t take a long time to record, but it did take years for all the stars to line up.

Bailey, born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today.
Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle with hopes of landing a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician / producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still get spins at reggae spots around the globe. That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.

But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't."

While Liam’s career went through a bunch of record industry twists and turns he and Michels stayed in touch and would regularly connect and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. "This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels. Set to release in November 2020, the album is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. Anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics but they may join the masses who blame the city, while Liam points the finger at himself and sings praises to The Big Apple.

Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered throughout the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight." In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo.

ANRMAL ist Juana Molinas erstes Livealbum auf ihrem langen Karriereweg. Es wurde beim NRMAL Festival in Mexiko aufgenommen, kurz bevor die Welt im März zum Stillstand kam, und ist ein Zeitzeugnis, wie die Welt "vorher" einmal war. Durch das kraftvolle Set zieht sich ein so mitreißender Punkrock-Vibe, dass er uns auf bessere Zeiten hoffen lässt. Als Juana Molina vor mehr als zwei Dekaden als Musikerin startete, waren ihre Kompositionen eher reflektiert und auf das Wesentliche reduziert. Zumeist spielte sie Solokonzerte mit ihrer Gitarre, einem Keyboard und Effektgeräten. Über die Jahre wurden ihre Konzerte immer wilder und ihre Platten immer intensiver und extrovertierter, was bei den Tourneen zu ihren letzten Alben zu erleben war. Auf dem am 23.10.2020 erscheinenden ANRML wird Juana Molina von ihren Bandkollegen Odin Schwartz am Bass und Pablo González am Schlagzeug begleitet, die eine Extraportion Energie zum Auftritt beitragen. Das Set enthält Stücke aus Juanas letzten Alben Halo, Wed 21 sowie der Wiederveröffentlichung Un día und der EP "Forfun", alle erschienen bei Crammed Discs. Gemischt wurde das Album von Juana Molinas Toningenieur Marcelo Coca Monte.

Leroy Smart the self-proclaimed ‘Don’, carries much respect in the Jamaican musical community. His attacking vocal style gives his lyrics and tunes that extra meaningfulness.

Born in Jamaica and orphaned as a young child, Leroy was sent to Maxfield Park children's home and educated at the famed Alpha Boys School. The school was run by nuns who encouraged musical talent and would provide the world with the cream of Jamaica’s artistic talent. Such legends as Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Johnny’ Dizzy’ Moore, to name but a few, all learnt their musical trade in this strict environment.

Leroy worked with many Jamaican producers, but seemed to find his feet working with Bunny ’Striker’ Lee. With whom he cut many of his greatest tunes. It is from this period that we have compiled this album. Featuring lost to now dubs to many of his classic tunes, like ' Wreck up my Life’, featured here as ’Dub Wrecker’. ’God Helps the Man’ Help yourself to Dub, Pride and Ambition If I should Dub. Fittest of the Fittest Dub for the Fittest and the title track of this selection his self-affirming Mr Smart Mr Smart in Dub.

These work alongside less known cuts that he also puts his musical stamp on .’No Love’ No Love In Dub. which sees him working over the ‘Zion Gate’ rhythm, made famous by Mr Horace Andy. The ‘My Conversation’ rhythm originally cut by Slim Smith but made into Leroy’s own ‘Jah Jah Forgive them’ For They Know What They Dub. All portrayed in his enviable style.

Such was Mr Leroy Smart’s stature in his homeland Jamaica, that when the ‘One Love’ peace concert line-up was put together for the 22nd of April 1978. The best of Jamaica’s Reggae stars was picked to play alongside Bob Marley & the Wailers. Such greats as Dennis Brown, The Mighty Diamonds, Peter Tosh and Inner Circle were chosen alongside the Don himself, Mr Smart. Whose stage shows were always colourful and to say the least eventful..

Mr Smart has continued to release music during the 80’s & 90’s, most notably with ‘She Just a Draw Card’ & ‘I’m the Don’. But as a set we feel this stands up with the best of them. Hope you enjoy the ride...

Respect Jah Floyd.

Martin Deason “Race For The Vaccine” on Third Wave Audio or TWA. This is as some of you who are familiar with Detroit techno might be wondering. It is a collaboration of Detroit third wave artists Gary Martin and Sean Deason. A 2020 start up project for a new label. Perfectly defining the feel of the summer of 2020, “Race For The Vaccine” has the edgy anxious rhythms and epic chords describing a life or death situation. It comes with 2 versions, one with real drums for the more outside of the box DJ and one for the more straight forward DJ.

Four Flies are proud and honoured to release the first vinyl reissue of Bruno Nicolai's outstanding original score for GEMINUS, a 1969 Italian TV mini-series directed by Luciano Emmer and starring Walter Chiari, Alida Chelli, and Ira von Fürstenberg.

Originally released under Italian label Gemelli, Nicolai's soundtrack has been remastered from the original master tapes and comes in a glossy, tip-on style jacket featuring the restored original cover artwork, as well as extended liner notes by film critics Francesco Cesari and Roberto Curti.

Bruno Nicolai composed and directed an eclectic score that brings together different music genres and influences, from 60s beat, psych, and progrock to baroque and experimental music. He did not hesitate to mix classical forms and structures with new instruments andremarkable, eccentric arrangements.

In 'Giano' (Janus), the interplay between a distorted electric guitar and a hypnotic harpsichord creates a strange, somewhat troubling ambience.

The delicate, celestial voice of Edda Dell'Orso leaves its unique emotional imprint on the most lyricalpiece in the soundtrack, 'Tema Barocco' (Baroque Theme).

The main theme 'Il cielo cade' (The Sky Is Falling) features a luxurious arrangement and stunning orchestration enhanced by enchanting vocal harmonies sung by 'I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni'.

In other pieces, such as 'Larve' (Larvas), 'Il sognatore' (The Dreamer), 'Eclisse di luna' (Moon Eclipse), 'Visioni' (Visions), 'Catacombe' (Catacombs), and 'Notti romane' (Roman Nights), expressive and experimental solo passages played by instruments such as the vibraphone, sitar, harmonica, or percussions, contribute to the sombre, mysterious atmosphere of the score as a whole.

We are back on wax again with a very special release. It means a great pleasure for us to have one of the pivotal figures of the Madrid underground techno scene on board, Herr Unkle Fon.

Some years ago, Madrid clubscene was formed by conventional clubs in conventional locations with conventional opening and closing times and usually, conventional programming. Manuel Cano then founded Utopía Secret Society and things changed forever for the city’s underground nightlife.

Now as you may have noticed there is no club scene at all, neither conventional nor illegal, sign of the times.

Musically speaking, Manuel started as a guitarist and soon evolved into studio engineer, label owner, club promoter, record shop owner (Ater Cosmo), social agitator… and adventurous character that reflects in his productions all his knowledge of the dancefloor.

Jisatsu is a slow paced broken beat surrounded with smooth textures, soon joined by a repetitive synth line that adds the hypnotic component.

Genroku Ako follows with a cosmic approach, continuous percussive and synthetic lines run together on a fast BPM exercise obsessive, linear and mental.

On the flip side, 47 Ronin uses dreamy stabs over a relentless groove mixing liquidity with tension.

Closing the release Shuppatsu is an almost beatless exercise, just with 909 rimshots, toms and snares spiced with ethereal components

A timeless futuristic release that can wait on your record bag until things go in better directions.

This mini LP is an explicit message from Lustpoderosa's sonic continuum. These 7 tracks show the deep connection of Marlene Starks' work as a writer and an artist to her role as mother and DJ in times when there is an urgent need to dismantle the patriarchy in our society and rave culture.
Marlene Stark is telling us much more than a great musical story with the symbolic title "Hyäne". Marlene wants to direct our attention to a reviled creature while she reflects on its literary and symbolic meanings. Although hyenas live in a matriarchal society, its transmutation can be perceived as the ongoing struggle of the non-male body in an androcentric world view.
Marlene Starks reinterprets the figure of the hyena in a very poetic, self-ironical and honest way, as shown in the tracks 'Hungry As a Hunter', 'Hyäne' and 'Language Of Old Woman'. It's a neo-ceremonial call to rethink established structures without missing out the turbulent landscape of today's politics.
From early trip-hop to post-rave elements, Stark combines her sonic adventures with an impressively nonchalant and colloquial vocabulary. Her voice, as well as the voice of guest singer Stefanie Mader, achieves a remarkable vocal structure that goes beyond the mainstream.
This is the contemporary body music for the next generation.

"Colours is the new imprint of Dutch producer and DJ Taupe. Having released on labels such as Indigo Aera's much celebrated AE-X and the newly formed Impress Berlin, the time feels right for Taupe to start his own outlet. Premiering with 4 cuts of his own, Taupe sets the tone with 4 club-ready tracks, which vary from subtle & mystic groovers to primetime screamers. Paying homage to the Detroit would be an understatement, but Taupe's colourful representation is much more than a shade; it's an elegant palette of its own."

Unbegrenzt is the third in an ongoing series of archival records of the unheard music of Swedish composer Catherine Christer Hennix, co-released by Blank Forms Editions and Empty Editions. It follows Selected Early Keyboard Works and Selections from 100 Models of Hegikan Roku (named the #1 archival release of 2019 by The Wire), in addition to a two-volume collection of Hennix’s writing titled Poësy Matters and Other Matters.

Recorded in February of 1974 and featuring Catherine Christer Hennix (recitation, percussion, and electronics) and Hans Isgren (bowed gong), Hennix’s realization of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Unbegrenzt” (German for “unlimited”) from Aus den Sieben Tagen is an elaboration both rigorous and radically different from the canonical 1969 recording issued by Shandar. The collection of 15 text pieces written in Paris during May of 1968, Aus den Sieben Tagen, denies its performers notated direction and instead provides poetic cues that hinge upon Stockhausen’s conception of “intuitive music,” a Eurocentric perspective on improvisation antithetical to the vernacular forms Hennix had engaged with as a young drummer performing in Stockholm jazz clubs with musicians like Bill Barron, Cam Brown, Hans Isgren, Lalle Svenson, Allan Vajda, Bo Wärmell, and many others. While both Hennix and Isgren saw the formal prospect of Aus den Sieben Tagen as a productive development of and beyond La Monte Young’s event scores, she here steadfastly counters his rationalization of intuition with the Principle of Sufficient Reason. (Cf. Brouwer’s Lattice.) Eschewing the busy, conservatory-addled lapses into idiomatic citation of Stockhausen’s 1969 recording, Hennix’s alternative realization of the “Unbegrenzt” score’s instructions to “play a sound with the certainty that you have an infinite amount of time and space” is based on her concept of Infinitary Compositions, the trademark of her ensemble The Deontic Miracle which, at one time, considered adding Stockhausen, La Monte Young and Terry Jennings scores to its repertoire. Taking a mature, minimal iteration of Stockhausen’s compositional method of “moment-forming” to heart, her version’s dark, controlled feedback and amplified bowed gong subtly shift through an immanent sequence of formative moments, step by step. Its bubbling computer noise, percussion, and repeated ominous transient sounds of temple blocks over the bowed gong terminate with the integrated recitation of exotic text fragments from Hevajra Tantra which faithfully take Stockhausen’s score into deeper vistas of the unconscious and a more devastating opening to the unlimited time and space of a dreaming mind.

Audio restoration and mastering by Stephan Mathieu, with an essay by Bill Dietz.

Catherine Christer Hennix (b. 1948) started her creative life playing drums with her older brother Peter, growing up in Sweden where she heard jazz luminaries, such as John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor perform from 1960 to 1967. Directly after high school, Hennix went to work at Stockholm’s pioneering Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), where she developed early tape music, incorporating computer generated speech done at the Royal Technological University (KTH), where she was an undergraduate student. After traveling to New York In 1968, she met artists Dick Higgins and Alison Knowles who invited her to stay at the Something Else Press Town House where she had the opportunity to meet, among others, composers John Cage, James Tenney, and Phil Corner. During the following years she developed fruitful collaborative relationships with many composers in the burgeoning American avant-garde, including, most significantly, Henry Flynt and La Monte Young. Young introduced Hennix to Hindustani raga master Pandit Pran Nath and she would later study intensively under him as his first European disciple. While Hennix continued to make music performing alongside Arthur Russell, Marc Johnson, Henry Flynt, and Arthur Rhames, she also served as a professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at SUNY New Paltz and as a visiting Professor of Logic (at Marvin Minsky’s invitation) at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. In recent years Hennix has led the just-intonation ensemble the Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage, which has featured musicians Amelia Cuni, Amirtha Kidambi, Chiyoku Szlavnics, Hilary Jeffrey, Amir El-Saffar, Benjamin Duboc and Rozemarie Heggen. She currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey pursuing studies in classical Arabic and Turkish makam.

After the very successful EP releases of quickly, quickly’s “Over Skies” in mid 2018 (27m spotify-streams) and Please Wait’s “Black & White” in late 2019 (6,4m spotify-streams to this day) Jakarta Records and Ta-ku take their joint label to the next level presenting 823’s very 1st longplayer - a compilation feat. an international line-up of already established as well as up & coming Lo-Fi producers, handpicked and curated by none other than 823 label-head Ta-ku himself.
1st single to be released on 21st of August is „Serenity“ by prolific 27 year old producer eevee (1,5m monthly listeners) from the Netherlands aka „the queen of Lo-Fi“ delivering a loopy and very hypnotic tune w/ quite jazzy horns feeling like watching the sunset on a desert planet like Dune - from outer space.
2nd single will be a double-single, coming on September 11th w/ finnish indie-producer Idealism (2,5m monthly listeners) and his tune “Somehow” – a steady and softened beat w/ colorfull and chilled piano chords – on the one side and Ta-ku’s “Remember Me” - another powerful Lo-Fi anthem by the Australian allrounder and 823 patron - on the flipside.
The compilation’s 3rd drop will be a double-single as well featuring 19 year old, US-based self made producer Peachy! (2,6m monthly listeners), delivering his Shanghai inspired, very spheric walk-by tune “Stroll” on one side while Laguna contributes his slowly uplifting but very keen “Lone Rider” on the flipside, catching that specific moment when switching from boredom to euphoria right away.
All singles off the compilation will be accompanied by customized visuals from different filmmakers catching the songs’ very own vibes. The compilation’s artwork comes along in its very own and unique 823-style.
Worldwide web promotion for this release will be handled and taken care of by Jonathan Kim.
_____

Ta-ku’s 823 label represents the appreciation for the people, ideas and places that inspire and push their protagonists forward. The artwork is shot by the artists themselves and each release has an accompanying photo zine that acts as a visual story to compliment the music being showcased. 823 is also the numerical representation of the phrase 'Thinking Of You'.

“823 celebrates the simple beauty of everyday life and the people in it that inspire us. In that spirit we are proud to present our very first compilation featuring artists we love. All Things Considered Vol.1” (Regan Matthews aka Ta-ku)

studio mule is back with another amazement, opening the roster towards sophisticated spiritual sounds on the crossroads of electrified jazz, oriental fourth-world spheres and deeply composed experimental sounds. this time the label welcomes japanese artist ya-sukazu sato aka yas-kaz, a university-trained percussionist, that gained global success as a composer for the internationally known butoh dance troupe sankai juku, that tours around the world since 1975. his infrequent musical amalgamation of ancient eastern genres, airy soundscapes, and ritualistic dance percussions perfectly accompanied the modern dance movements of an avantgarde dance group that is known for slow, mesmerizing dance passages, whose repetitive body movements sometimes focusing only on the feet or fingers. besides his theatre work, yas-kaz composed scores for japanese movies, performed live along stars like us-american jazz saxophonist wayne shorter or legendary japanese new-age musical group himekami and recorded a number of collabo-rative and solo albums.

with “virgo indigo”, studio mule reissues his third solo album, originally published on the japanese label canyon in 1986. the album opens with “djidanda”, a composition whose melodic drive and percussive groove reminds on moondog’s spirit. melancholic strings, loose guitar riffs, spiritual cowbells and wild, yet mild rhythms form a repetitive maelstrom that is made for all sorts of acrobatic body movements. it gets followed by the album’s title track “virgo indigo”, a spiritual jazz leaning arrangement featuring wayne shorter on the soprano saxophone, delivering a crystal-clear performance above tribal rhythms and traces of gamelan. the story-arc of the ten-minute long composition brings also minimalistic percussive moments, oriental ambient zones and some electronic drones, all calm and lively at the same time.

a versatileness, that marks the other four arrangements on the album, too. “kara-kira ~windscape iii~” comes around as an airy spiritual illusionist, that melds joyful flute notes with gentle chime melodies. the b-side’s epic opener “wadji” starts industrial, just to break down into a manic, again moondogish atmosphere full of darkish sounds and nebulous ambient deepness. subsequent yas-kaz enters with “notarinotari” the oriental zones, seducing with a jazz-laden romantic soundtrack mood. the final tune is yet another surprise, as “jasmin” is percussive driven neon cocktail bar pop, that features a hum-ming female voice and mesmerizing synth and guitar melodies. six tracks that introduce six different locations of yas-kaz’s ramified artistic work, which combines sweetish melodies, dynamic percussions, statuesque minimalism and world music traditions in spacious compositions that stay surprising until the very last second.

Caught somewhere between environmental sound studies and surrealist sonic architecture, SUGAI KEN helps mark the 30th release of Field Records with an ambitious new album. Commissioned by the Dutch Embassy in Tokyo, Tone River is the product of a year’s intensive work between artist and label, created in part to examine the relationship between Japan and the Netherlands with regard to water management.

While its doors to the Western world were closed during the 17th and 18th centuries, Japan kept abreast of Western science via a Dutch trade post in the bay of Nagasaki. When the country changed from a feudal society to a modern democracy through the turn of the 19th century, Dutch engineers lent their expertise to large-scale water management projects. One of the most prestigious projects of the time was the Tone River, which stretches 322 kilometers across Honshu, Japan’s largest island.

For this project, SUGAI KEN travelled to three points across the Tone River and used regular, binaural and underwater microphones to record environmental sounds, seeking to express the change in landscape of the river in its flow into the Pacific Ocean. On Tone River, these varied recordings are interspersed and juxtaposed with Ken’s distinctive take on synthesis, where raw and precisely sculpted textures and tones interact in stark, neutral space.

On this conceptually rigorous, yet beguiling and free-flowing record, SUGAI KEN glides between the elemental and hyper-synthetic in a flexible exploration of sound and story

solid pink vinyl edition

De:tuned lines up the seventh release in their ten-part anniversary series. A blend of old and new material, deep grooves and inventive textures brought together by venerated producers Spacetime Continuum, Scanner, Ross 154 and Leo Anibaldi. A heartwarming ambient techno trip from start to finish makes for an immersive listening experience. Do yourself a favor, we love it!

Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. This 12" is pressed on 180 gr vinyl and a separate digital version will be available from the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!

3 x LP - Live in Sharjah Box Set + Booklet. designed by Lorenzo Mason Studio.

If you’ve ever travelled to Egypt and wandered through its crowded streets, you probably ended up buying a cassette or a CDR of popular synth based music heard in most cabs, cabarets, or alleys around town: the almighty Shaabi.Raed Yassin and Paed Conca based their project PRAED on research between Shaabi and Mouled (traditional trance music from Egypt) and the hypnotic structures of both these genres. Repetitive beats, loud Mizmar and loads of energy, with a strong influence from psychedelic rock, free jazz and electronica.

During the years in which the duo produced 4 albums and performed on an endless number of stages around the globe, PRAED started working on anambitious expansive project: an orchestra that could transpose this study of rural and popular culture into an immense, iconic work. In autumn 2018, supported by the Sharjah Art Foundation, PRAED Orchestra! premiered “Live in Sharjah”, interpreting new material merged with some of the band’s iconic pieces. The composition process started with the choice of musicians: the line-up consisted of some of the most innovative artists coming from a wide spectrum of musical practices. Each musician was chosen for a defined role, and the common denominator was their capacity to interpret written material, and their ability to improvise effortlessly. Each role was clearly set to work in unison with the rest of the group, while simultaneously sustaining a centrality in the choir. Solo parts masterfully drawn over the structure as a fil rouge connecting every piece of the entire concert; massive and powerful orchestral sections leading to a breathtaking trance-like state of mind; all of this material ultimately coalescing into an Egyptian Operette that narrates the sorrow, love, and deeply rooted culture of this urban music called Shaabi.

Paed Conca: Clarinet, Electric Bass, Electronics
Raed Yassin: Synthesizers, Vocals, Electronics
Alan Bishop: Alto Saxophone, Vocals
Nadah El Shazly: Vocals, keyboard, Electronics
Christine Kazarian: Electric Harp
Hans Koch: Bass Clarinet, Soprano Sax
Martin Kuchen: Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Sax
Maurice Louca: Keyboard, Organ
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh: Buzuk, Vocals, Modular Synthesizer
Sam Shalabi: Electric Guitar, Oud
Ute Wassermann: Vocals, Mouth Harp, Whistles
Khaled Yassine: Drums, Percussion, Darbuka
Michael Zerang: Drums, Percussion

Recorded live at Calligraphy Square on November 3rd, 2018 in Sharjah, UAE by: Sudish Suman & Shuaib Ahmad Poonthala
Edited by: Rabih Beaini at Morphine Studio, Berlin, Germany
Mixed by: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at Hotel2Tango Studio, Montreal, Canada. Mastered by: Harris Newman at Grey Market Studio, Montreal, Canada.
Artwork by Lorenzo Mason Studio.
Project manager : Simsara Music

NAPPYNAPPA and Pat Cain’s Model Home project realigns with Dolo Percussion for SE, their second album on Future Times. A deviation from their self-released run of numerically-titled LPs, SE builds on the impact of REV b/w Flesh - released earlier in 2020 on the label - and shows the Future Times formation of Model Home in full Special Edition mode.

If you’ve been sleeping on Model Home, Nappa and Pat have become a prolific and potent unit of “liberated sound, vision and performance” emblematic of DC’s thriving musical underground community. Self-releasing nearly 20 albums in two years, Pat Cain and Nappa have perfected a sound; a raw expression that is wholly their own. A perfect musical balance attained through intense experimentations in sonic and lyrical imperfection.

Nappa’s blurry-eyed spoken word raps should be recognised alongside the powerful polemics of Moor Mother or the explosive experimentation of Pink Siifu, or fellow DC legend Sir E.U. Nappa is an artist deeply entrenched in the expression of rap but one that recognises there are so many sonic ways in which to frame his state of mind. Which is why the frazzled sound design of Pat Cain has made Model Home such a perfect backdrop for Nappa to express himself. Rap existing in unison with raw electronixxx, dancehall, noise, industrial and whatever else they throw in the mix.

Add the crisply-programmed drums and chaotic FX of Dolo Percussion into the Model Home mix and SE zones into a murky yet richly detailed space that leaves you going “WTF?” multiple times and hammering the repeat button again and again.

Spread over nine tracks, the Model Home trio approach the game from various angles; swerving from the dizzying Bounce triplets and smudged Nappa vox on “Omnipresent Love” to the spacious lyrical interplay n’ woozy moog of “Bag” via the warped Pan Sonic curdle of “Are You Shur?” and the hyper-kynetic rhythmic aerobics of “Topic.”

SE showcases Model Home at their most expressive; plunging deeper into their own weird universe. “Like the seed in the soil,” as Nappa raps on album closer “Cold Gettin’ Dogg.

The eighteenth release on Second Circle is the label's second exploration into an artists archival works; this time presenting a selection of four early tracks by theatre, film and music producer Can Oral under his Khan alias.

Can moved to Williamsburg, New York in the early 90's along with good friend and fellow musician Jimi Tenor. Born in Germany of Turkish-Finnish parents, he would frantically start buying equipment (such as a TR808, TB303 and Korg Polysix) from junk shops across New York, becoming greatly prolific in his recordings which he would work on throughout the night. During the daytime though, Can set up and ran the now defunct Temple Records, a seminal Soho record store, and later label, largely importing Techno and Acid from Europe. Though a small store, Temple Records would count musicians and DJs such as Björk, Tricky, Dee-Lite, Josh Wink and Joey Beltram among its regular customers. Also he would host many such guests to play live or DJ at his weekly Techno party “Killer” which was held at Save The Robots in New York’s East Village.

Can Oral's nightly studio sessions eventually led to an almost inexhaustible discography with over a dozen monikers each representing a different aspect of his productions. SC018 focuses then on his early electronic works as Khan.

Named after the color painted studio where the EP was produced between 1993-1996, 'Blue Box Sessions' is a collection of four analogue machine driven cuts, covering different tempos and ethos within electronic music. Initially live recorded to an old DAT recorder, and without any overdubs, SC018 is a lost and found artefact to Khan's unquestioned raw talent and timeless relevance.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Ekundayo, Liam Bailey’s debut record on the label. This album is a long time in the making, and after listening, clearly worth the wait. It didn’t take a long time to record, but it did take years for all the stars to line up.

Bailey, born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today.
Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle with hopes of landing a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician / producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still get spins at reggae spots around the globe. That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.

But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't."

While Liam’s career went through a bunch of record industry twists and turns he and Michels stayed in touch and would regularly connect and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. "This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels. Set to release in November 2020, the album is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. Anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics but they may join the masses who blame the city, while Liam points the finger at himself and sings praises to The Big Apple.

Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered throughout the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight." In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo.

Isolation Tapes is a 3 part series from Audiojack, featuring guest vocals from Polarbear, Eli & Fur and Lady Vale.

'The Isolation Tapes came together accidentally during lockdown. Getting lost in the music-making process was our way to escape the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty which presented themselves with the emergence of Covid. We had no plan beyond escapism, but a cleared schedule gave us lots of time to explore new ideas. After we'd made a few tracks we started to realize the importance of bringing this music together under one project, a musical reference point for this strange period in time, and so the Isolation Tapes was born - a series of singles we made during lockdown whose titles all begin with a different letter from the word: I S O L A T I O N.' - Audiojack

Right after the beautiful album " The Aquarius Years", Cali-Soul queen Tiombé Lockhart is back again on Mother Tongue with a special follow up.
"Sexy Suzy on a Sunday" receives two cosmic treatments from jazz-star Christian Scott and Intergalactic Don Carlos Nino.
Expect to be transferred into another (Soul) galaxy!

We are back on Boogie Butt with a soul track just like back in the days, this time with a Lord Funk & Samm Culley collaboration. We’re bringing back to your ears this giant artist, who crosses decades of music with its great personality and many groovy songs.

Samm Culley is an R&B, soul & funk keyboard player and a dope songwriter. His music career started within the band Tiny Tim & The Hits with Tom Price & Bill Collier. This trio soon left Tiny to form their own group The Diplomatics with Irving Waters as the lead singer. They later on became the legendary Skull Snaps.

Over the years, Samm co-produced and/or played with many unforgettable famous artists such as Hot Chocolate, The Fatback Band, George Kerr, Patrick Adams, Vaughan Mason, Reggie Griffin, De-De, Van Mc Coy, Lloyd Price & even later in Hip Hop music with Marley Marl or Freddie Foxxx.

“Let It Go” brings you back in 1970 with a great killer dance floor track for Bboys and soul lovers: the dru break is hot and on the same time, the guitar hook and bassline make you feel James Brown on the scene. Close your eyes and easily imagine John Shaft dancing on “Soul Makossa”.

The B side is the instrumental reworked by our well-known Lord Funk, with Samm on bass. Enjoy & play loud!

We are delighted to finally make available as a 7-inch two of the most danceable tracks in the entire Black Emanuelle series of films starring Laura Gemser.

Both tracks were written by "dream-duo" Nico Fidenco (composer) and Giacomo Dell'Orso (arranger and conductor) for legendary cult director Joe D'Amato.

'Make Love on the Wing', from the original soundtrack of EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS, is a dance-floor banger sung by Ulla Linder, while 'Sweet Disco Funky' (from EMANUELLE AND THE WHITE SLAVE TRADE) is exactly what its name suggests: pure funky disco with an unmistakable Italian touch, featuring awesome vocal harmonies and strings.

DJs around the world will go crazy for this unique disco sound! Welcome to the funky side of Black Emanuelle!

Feeling, story-telling, ranging music-making by Tara Clerkin, Sunny-Joe Paradisos and Patrick Benjamin from Bristol, where they’ve been collaborating for around a decade.
Thumbs up from The Wire: ‘Drifting from dubby minimalism to smudged acid jazz, Tara’s stark and tuneful voice acts as the vehicle for her concise poetic lyricism. The group coalesce disparate influences into a cohesive sound, reflecting a romantic view of a familiar world.’
Check it out.

This 3 track EP comes out of the Limited E's vault called Retro Vol 2 produced by Potential Badboy. Each of these tracks represents when we started to push the boundaries of Jungle and being more experimental back in 1992.

New imprint beam dump curated and run by Chris Geschwindner starts its operation with the usual madness. Following the idea of a beam dump, a device that captures and dissipates large amounts of radiation, the label showcases music that strikes through its energy and coherent complexity.

For its first release, beam dump introduces the newcomer trio of SINM from Lima, Peru with their infectious blend of breakbeat-infused house and no-nonsense tech groovers. Including 4 tracks, Simulation EP is a fun and innovative approach to current electronic club sounds borrowing inspiration from tech house as well as twisted UK garage and 2-step.

Reissue of this mesmerizing record including an unreleased alternate mix of "Subterranean Zappa Blues". Hypnotic rhythms made of slow minimal beats, industrial textures, intoxicating drones and repetitive voices that seem to merge from dreams. Everything built by two of the most brilliant industrial music minds: Steven Stapleton and Colin Potter.

"This album arrived somewhere after a dream meeting of several individuals, Graham Bond, Joe Meek, Jacques Berrocal and myself. After a few beers and a heated disscussion of puncture repair we all lay down in a circle and point our penises at Venus, telepathic messages are sent out to Colin saying he can use the two golden microphones. He did, and here we are." Steven Stapleton, 17.1.94.

Rock 'n Roll Station began life with Steven Stapleton asking engineer Colin Potter to remix some of the more rhythmic elements of 'Colder Still' from 1992's Thunder Perfect Mind. As Potter gradually warped these sections into weirder and weirder pieces, a new album began to emerge. Potter himself explained it to David Keenan in England’s Hidden Reverse: “What I sometimes did in the studio was to ‘over-use’ effects and processors to totally mutate a piece into something completely different” while Stapleton observed how “it was almost as though telepathic messages were sent over to Colin. We’d started an album together at IC Studio that was never finished. He then sent me some vague mixes, which were just what I had in mind. So, from that basis, I started putting the album together.”

Potter would quickly become a key player in Nurse With Wound’s productions, a position he continues to fulfil to this day. He was first credited as a member on 1992’s Thunder Perfect Mind, a tour-de-force of cold, at times hostile, machined atmospheres, but considers Rock ‘N Roll Station from the following year to still be his favourite.

Building on percussion and drone elements, Stapleton and Potter throw in a huge range of bizarre and atmospheric elements: didgeridoos, chanting voices, and their usual selection of unidentifiable sounds.

Its strong focus on rhythm was erroneously surmised by some as an attempt to join the then rising electronic dance music scene. But it was Stapleton’s recent obsession with the music of ‘King of the Mambo’ Pérez Prado that was beating at the heart of Rock N’ Roll Station’s heady rhythms.

The album’s title alluded to two specifically rock-related stations of influence: the song of the same name by Jac Berrocal, of which a surprisingly straight cover opens the album in homage; and the tragic life of the Sixties British R&B organist Graham Bond who influenced bands such as Deep Purple and Cream. Beset by mental health problems (at one point believing he was the son of Aleister Crowley), Bond died under a train at a Tube station in 1989 and it is this tragic scene that Rock ‘n Roll Station’s closing track, ‘Finsbury Park, May 8th, 1:35 PM (I'll See You In Another World)’, sets in sound.

The Mighty Mocambos' new album "Showdown" sets another cornerstone in their prolific career as a globally active instrumental funk outfit. While maintaining their organic approach of recording real musicians live on tape, the group has refined their trademark sound with a dramatic edge, a hard hitting production and ventures into less obvious musical territories. While highly enjoying themselves as the tight unit they are, The Mighty Mocambos invited an exciting list of guests to contribute to their musical "Showdown": German film composer icon Peter Thomas, hiphop godfather Afrika Bambaataa, rap legends Charlie Funk aka Afrika Islan (member of the original Rocksteady Crew) and Donald D (of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate), plus Nichola Richards, Shawn Lee, DeRobert from peer label GED Soul in Nashville, Zulu Nation MCs Deejay Snoop & DJ Hektek and organ genius Guillaume Metenier all joined the group for their new musical adventure. "Showdown" is released on vinyl LP by Mocambo Records and on CD and digital incarnations by Légère Recordings.

About the Mighty Mocambos:

The Mighty Mocambos and their many incarnations have released dozens of 45s and several albums on their own imprint Mocambo Records and other labels such as Kay Dee, Truth & Soul, Tramp, Légère and Favorite Recordings, to name a few. They have collaborated with musical legends such as Afrika Bambaataa, Lee Fields or Kenny Dope, put new talent like Gizelle Smith and Caroline Lacaze on the map, brought Caribbean steel drums to funk clubs with their alter ego Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, and have toured through all civilized parts of the continent and beyond for the better part of the last years. Their unique style and trademark sound are loved by peers, fans and critics alike and distinguishes them from mere retro-copycat-acts as well as overproduced plastic soul. The Mighty Mocambos continue to deliver their brand of funk with blazing horns, soulful guitars, driving drums and basslines combined with an extra bit of quirkiness. When not producing records for one of their many incarnations and collaborations, the band is touring steadily. Whoever witnessed a concert will tell you about the musicality, passion, energy, humour and joy that the band loves to bring to the people. Background What started out years ago as a take on "deep funk" and its associated vinyl culture has completely grown into its own oeuvre d'art. With the launch of their production studio and record label in 2006, things started to gain momentum. Apart from self-releasing the group's own recordings, Mocambo Records became a household name by putting out highly collectable vinyl 45s by today's best funk outfits as well as unearthing lost library funk treasures. The Mighty Mocambos however did not restrict themselves solely to their own label. Their interpretation of the Furious Five classic "The Message", released under a pseudonym on an obscure phantasy label without proper distribution, got picked up and remixed by Grammy- nominated producer legend Kenny Dope (Masters at Work, Bucketheads). Their first single with UK funk singer Gizelle Smith, "Working Woman", became an overnight smash and a prime-time club favourite of funk & soul DJs worldwide. Initially released on the Finnish private press imprint Old Capital, it got the remix treatment by Kenny Dope and a re-release on Kay Dee Records as well. After earning their credits through vinyl 45s, the band stepped up their game with the full- length "This Is Gizelle Smith & the Mighty Mocambos" in 2009. The album received rave reviews, got lots of airplay - and sold a bunch of physical copies too. Its success led to an extensive tour throughout Europe with club dates from Marseille to Oslo, performances at massive festivals such as the Printemps de Bourges in France and live radio appearances at respected FMs such as the BBC and Radio Nova. With the following album "The Future Is Here" (2011), the band stepped further into the spotlight and explored new sounds with features by hiphop legends Afrika Bambaataa and Charlie Funk, French singer Caroline Lacaze and German rare groove queen Su Kramer, while manifesting their unique raw funk sound and refining their unmistakable instrumental style that had long gained international reputation. The album was toured extensively, including a legendary performance with Afrika Bambaataa at Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival (covered by ARTE TV), support gigs for Lee Fields and headline shows at renowned venues such as Amsterdam's Paradiso, Islington Assembly Hall in London, Paris' Bellevilloise, Tempo Club in Madrid, or at home at Hamburg's Mojo Club. After producing the critically acclaimed debut album "En Route" (2013) of French soul singer Caroline Lacaze, where their adapted their sound to deliver a stunning mix of French Beat, Soul & Psychedelic Rock, the band went on to record a full length under their moniker Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band. Their interpretation of 50 Cent's P.IM.P. had long become a cult classic and was often mistaken for the original sample. The group's approach in stretching the boundaries of funk by adding Caribbean steel pans caught the interest of Brooklyn's finest label Truth & Soul who signed the band for the album "55", an explosive mix of funk and hip hop cover versions as well as original compositions that showcase the band's singularity in today's funk circuit. The Mighty Mocambos' recent album "Showdown" (2015) sets yet another cornerstone in their prolific career as a globally active instrumental funk outfit. While maintaining their organic approach of recording real musicians live on tape, the group has refined their trademark sound with a dramatic edge, a hard hitting production and ventures into less obvious musical territories, with a diverse list of special guests ranging from German film composer icon Peter Thomas to hiphop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa.

The Cycle is the fifth album by Mourning A BLKstar. It’s the Clevelandbased collective’s masterwork -- a double LP spanning 20 songs and three singers, touching on neo-soul, hip-hop, and the cosmic expanse in between/beyond. It is a humble addition to the long legacy of James Baldwin’s adage of the artist as witness. It is their song cycle, written in a time that just may need a song or two in support of and in love and power to the living.

Catz 'n Dogz are back with album 'Moments'. Written and recorded in the midst of this crisis. Twelve tracks form the backbone to this wide-spanning sonic journey that document the highs and lows of this time. Drawn out of their comfort zone, it's safe to say this shift in their creative paradigm resonates throughout 'Moments'. Inviting you to gaze deeper inside, the album floats in a haze of dreaminess and cottony serenity. Though seemingly simple, the track titles point at themes more complex and universal that will strike a chord with every soul.

Traversed by a vaporous jazz vibe and highlighting an obvious lean towards laid-back atmospheres, 'Moments' effortlessly alternates between. Lo slung house 'Sunrise' features James Yuill, the heavy-lidded, funky bass-heavy 'Memories' and the rolling brass anthem 'Time', in collaboration with Jaw - and more doped up trip-hop-ness. 'Life', the slo-mo chugger that will get the feels on alert, the chillax of 'Nothing' and 'Love,' and the luscious 'Moment' feat. Angelika Nowak, a sample-heavy, soul jam whose naive charm will prove hard to resist, even for the stonehearted.

Catz 'n Dogz explore inwards the heart's non-spoken spheres, where the pop-infused hip-hop 'Meditate' introduces Heather Chelan. A more personal affair 'Listen' makes for a playful interlude. 'It's OK' invites you to let go of the shame at shedding tears, a memorable cut with its joyful whistling, elated guitar riffs and rousing bass.

To close off this sonic micro-odyssey, 'Tomorrow' casts a spell of positiveness. With blazing synth lines and robotised talk, unfolds an anthem for tomorrow's world. One where music holds the crucial place it's always had. So be the kids' dreams, the person they want to be in the future. Be Batman, be a firefighter, be a rock star.

In pursuit of new distinctive and wide-ranging music, Jupiter4 found DVLVCRVZ as an intriguing and enigmatic beatmaker from Texas, well known in the local scene for grow a very own and personal sound that comes from trap and hip hop but is coloured by shoegaze, ambient and noise, submerged in a constant dialogue with tape delays and big room reverberations, creating the sense of cold and distant emotions that represents his own life in music. Edge of reality is a sensitive and unique record that refuses to settle on a specific gender, starting with breaks, beats, pads and deep melodys in the first tracks, to then give space to some voices and lyrics from collaborators as Lunatic and STONEDOGG. The b side shows some New Wave influences with Anxious and concludes with an ode to darkness and a meaningful speech in Bound by evil.

3d amorphous characters are again present on the artwork, and short videos from this ones are displayed on the social media, developed by Buenos Aires based Narf Alvarez.

*** REPRESS VINYL *** Edition of 500 Clear Vinyl ***

The Space Lady began her odyssey on the streets of San Francisco in the late 70's, playing versions of contemporary pop music an accordion and dressed flamboyantly, transmitting messages of peace and harmony. Following the theft of her accordion, The Space Lady invested in a then-new Casio keyboard, birthing an otherworldly new dimension to popular song that has captured the imaginations of the underground and its lead exponents ever since, with the likes of John Maus, Erol Alkan and Kutmah being devotees.

Of her early street sets, only one recording was made, self-released originally on cassette and then transferred to a home-made CD. "The Space Lady’s Greatest Hits"(LSSN020) features the best of these recordings - mostly covers but with some originals - pressed on vinyl for the first time and features archival photographs and liner notes from The Space Lady herself. “Greatest Hits” contains The Space Lady’s personal favourites; her haunting take on The Electric Prunes’ “I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night),” a frantic “Ballroom Blitz” amidst other reconstructed pop music. Included are also 4 originals that easily match for the Pop canon. Following the release of this archive, The Space Lady will be issuing new material and travelling the world to present her message outside the United States for the first time.

In the mid 90's The Space Lady packed away her Casio synth and silenced her distinctive voice, retiring from the streets of San Francisco. Now, more than 30 years after her initial forays on Haight Ashbury, she has surfaced with the first ever official release of her timeless, startling music and, even more remarkably, has re-started her live career. Now in Colorado, The Space Lady continues to spread her message of peace, harmony and love.

Jamie Clarke is a producer, musician and DJ. His label Either// hosts his recent work. Its first release, ‘Mirror Talk’, features remixes by Pablo Mateo, Casanova, and Philippa with early support from Tensnake, Ame, Piem, Joyce Muniz, Alinka, DJ T, Acid Pauli, Gene Farris bc, Severino… You can find earlier work appearing on diverse labels of favoured artists. “The Gene Krupa of electronic music” an admirer commented of his style: rolling, syncopated, digressive but ultimately melodic. Now, late 80s, a dark Detroit basement, eyes shut, the pound and sweep of that sound - you’re there.

Residencies at home in Dublin include The Pod, Hospital and his own UP!, the renowned rooftop party. He regularly guests across the continent and has projects in development in the US. In recent years the Reykjavik music scene has been a second home where Kaffebarrinn is a favourite haunt.

Ltd 180g Clear Vinyl + DL Code (BU126LPC) is for Indies only. Black vinyl is 180g with DL. File Under: Funk, Dance, Breaks, Latin Soul. Harlem Hipshake sees the welcome return of The Bongolian AKA multi-instrumentalist and Big Boss Man front man Nasser Bouzida. This, the sixth album under The Bongolian moniker, follows the highly acclaimed Moog Maximus. Harlem Hipshake finds The Bongolian deeply immersed in his lifelong love for the music of the sixties New York's Latin Soul scene, particularly the music of Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria and Joe Bataan. Principally a drummer, percussionist by trade, Nasser has once again delivered another set of heavy breaks and percussive grooves underpinning this brand-new collection of songs which he has written and produced. Whilst Nasser performs many of the instruments (as is usual with Bongolian albums) on the album, it also features a prominent use of additional UK musicians on brass duties. These include Terry Edwards (Trumpet, Trombone, Sax, Flute), Gareth James Bailey (Trombone) and Craig Crofton (Alto Sax), James Morton (Alto Sax), Andrew Ross (Tenor and Baritone sax) and Ralph Lamb (Trumpet). From the East Side to the West Side, get ready for the Harlem Hipshake. Quotes about previous album 'Moog Maximus': All I know is that it makes me want to dance" Craig Charles House Party (Radio 2) // "That is sheer musicality" Cerys BBC 6 Music "Terrific stuff, that is" Gary Crowley BBC London // "Beautiful new breaks" Nemone BBC 6 Music "A brilliant, brilliant funk" Chris Hawkins BBC 6 Music (Googa Mama) // "Guaranteed to keep the party going" Vive Le Rock "This is the feel-good album. 9/10 " Louder Than War + // "Hipper, groovier, and funkier than ever before! Imagine Booker T & The MGs, The Duke Of Burlington, and Alan Hawkshaw taking a trip to the stars" DUSTY GROOVE (review of Outer Bongolia) // "A Latin-flavoured jazz-funk odyssey" Q "Forget your preconceptions, this is the REAL incredible bongo band." CLASH

Cameroonian Joe Bisso's earliest musical influences didn't come primarily from his homeland, but more from the neighbouring Congo, where the kind of early 60's Congolese Rumba played by the likes of Franco / TP Ok Jazz, and Tabu Ley Rochereau was establishing itself as a musical force in the region.

Alongside this exuberant, swinging, jazz influenced sound, the growing impact of the all conquering US soul titans became inescapable, and sprinkled with a bit of Johnny Halliday & Co's smooth chanson over the top, we get a snapshot of where Jo Bisso and friends post school musical experimentation was headed in the late 60's.

As that decade drew to a close, the single minded Bisso headed off to France to begin his quest for the future, and by 1972 could afford the journey to the US that he'd long dreamed of.

Enrollment at the Berkeley School of Music in Boston soon lead to a new band coming together, and by 1974 the all conquering, multi faceted approach that marks Bisso's musical career, meant he'd written, produced and sung on his debut single for the mighty Decca Records. 'Flying To The Land Of Soul' drew heavily from James Brown's propulsive dancefloor funk, whilst wearing it's African colours loud and proud via 'African Express' chants, and drums front and centre.

At the same time, Bisso and friends had started to immerse themselves in the fast emerging disco sound pulsing outwards from Downtown NYC into the Boston nightclubs, and by the time his debut album 'Dance To It' was released on France's influential Le Disques Esperance in 1976, it was the driving, 4/4 floor power of disco that was to define Bisso's sound on that, and the following two albums.

Whilst Bisso's immersion in Disco was based around it's energy and musicality (rather than any associated hedonism), 'African Disco Experimentals (1974 to 1978)' paints a picture of an artist dedicated to the underground club side of the scene, rather than focused exclusively on the fast emerging pop potential of the sound at the time.

The album's tone is set by 3.20 mins of building, tribal percussion and rolling rhythms of the opener 'Love Beat', a 'strictly dancefloor' approach mirrored in the near 11 mins of 'Love Somebody', building from soulful keys to deep bass funk, extended percussion breaks, joyous squelchy Moog licks, breathy vocals and more (interesting footnote : Bisso is credited as Producer / Writer / Arranger, but 'Recorded by' is attributed to Joe Chiccarelli, better known in recent years for his work with The White Stripes, Shins, and Broken Social Scene.)

Still clocking in at a healthy 6 mins plus, "The Mystery With Me" (1978) makes a nod towards more radio friendly waters with it's hooky, floaty choruses and tight structures (a then 22 year old Arthur Baker is credited as sole writer on Discogs - Bisso himself doesn't seemed convinced by this idea, but that's another story...)

'Let's Keep it Together' (1977) loops the song title over a slower groove, with free form electric guitar licks adding new textures, whilst 'Disco Madonna' (1976) showcases Bisso at his most playful, combining spoken word Hispanic vocals, rattling percussion and more of the always welcome Moog, switching up keys at the end for an unselfconsciously camp finale.

And if anything sums up the ambition of Bisso's work in the field at the time, 'Play Me' (1978) can lay claim to being the magnum opus. It's presented here as a continuous 16 minute extravaganza (as opposed to the 4 parts it came in originally) : lush strings, hypnotic vocal sections, irresistible basslines, crisp drums, the odd Barry White style interjection, disco moans, the occasional nod to a chorus vocal. None of it seeming in much of a hurry to go anywhere in particular, choosing instead to joyfully revel in the expansiveness of the form.

Having established himself in the UK's contemporary Jazz funk scene with a slew of high calibre releases, Dr Rubberfunk holds a reputation for quality productions surgically delivered by an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and producer.

After being hounded to join the roster in his early career, he signed to Jalapeno Records in 2008, and the years since have seen him release multiple albums, produce label artists, such as Izo FitzRoy, and be regularly called upon to bring his flair to remixes across the roster.

In 2018 he stepped back into the limelight to release a series of limited 7" singles, winning praise from fans throughout the 45s scene. This wide-ranging support led to the release of his LP 'My Life at 45' in early 2020, garnering critical acclaim from the likes of Bandcamp, BBC 6Music, Fatboy Slim and Blues & Soul Magazine, to name a few.

Now, and not a moment too soon, Dr Rubberfunk brings us a pair of outstanding beat treats from his back catalogue, pressed to 7" vinyl for the very first time. Featuring 2 tracks originally written for the 2006 Red Bull Beat Battle at the behest of Rocksteady Crew legend Mr. Wiggles, 'Come Back Breaker' & 'Beats Working' have become firm favourites with breaking crews worldwide.

Drawing on his continued influences from the sample-based collages of early cut and paste pioneers, 'Come Back Breaker' and 'Beats Working' suitably highlight the lessons learnt from that era. Coupled with the good doctor's signature drums and rolling basslines, spoken words snippets and needle-drop samples get the party started and carry it on well past bedtime.

Following the well received inclusion of Bonus Beats on all of the 'My Life At 45' series 45s, and upholding the noble drum-a-pella tradition, Dr Rubberfunk went back to his original session recordings to bring you 'Drums Working' - grab yourself two copies and keep the beats working for days!

Ike Yard remain a legendary band of early '80s New York City – at once immensely influential, yet obscured by a far-too-brief initial phase. Their debut EP, the dark and absorbing Night After Night, sounds almost like a different group, so rapidly would Ike Yard evolve towards the calmly menacing electro throb of their self-titled LP.

Originally released on Factory in 1982, the album put Ike Yard's indelible mark on the synth-driven experimental rock scene then emerging all over the planet. While historical analogues would be Cabaret Voltaire's Red Mecca or Front 242's Geography, opening track "M. Kurtz" makes starkly clear that Ike Yard is a far heavier proposition.

With a thick porridge of bass, ringing guitar and strangled/stunted layers of voice, these six pieces are densely packed and perversely danceable. "Loss" sounds like a minimal techno track that could have been made last week, while "Kino" combines Soviet-era imagery with sparse soundscapes à la African Head Charge's Environmental Studies.

Ike Yard somehow pull off the toughest trick in modern music: making repetition hypnotically compelling through subtle variation. The effect of Ike Yard's first LP can be heard in many genres – from industrial dance labels like Wax Trax to electro-punk bands and innumerable European groups (Lucrate Milk, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, etc.).

The fact that the cover artwork does not include any photos of the band, but rather features the original catalogue number (FACT A SECOND) only further illustrates the release's importance and Ike Yard's timeless mystique.

Kumail is a musician, producer, performing artist Mumbai, India. Over the last four years, he has ascended to the very top of India's burgeoning culture of electronic music on two parallel paths - as a gifted musician and bandleader drawing expansive canvases of rhythm, texture and emotion, and as a roughneck DJ notorious for breaking ankles. Having started off plunging deep into lo-fi ambient electronica, Those paths have led him to a DJ set at Dimensions Festival 2018 in Croatia, a string of several live festival dates across India, and extensive touring across the country. In the past, he has shared the stage with the likes of Shigeto, Four Tet, DJ Koze, Teebs, Ratatat, Mount Kimbie and Kutmah, and been featured on Boiler Room, Sofar Sounds and COLORS

The new album "Yasmin" was always meant to be the birth of a new sound for Kumail. After spending his formative years delving into textural lo-fi electronica and textural ambient music, he went searching for a new sound more in-tune with his older, more mature, and more thoughtful self. What began as a study of modern soul music – drawing heavily from R&B, jazz and hip-hop – eventually sprawled to include flavours from across the world and time. 80's Japanese funk, crackling gospel, shiny disco, cutting-edge LA beat music and the omnipresence of Dilla, all leave their faint but indelible mark.

But deep within, Yasmin is a gritty world in which not much is going right. That world borders on real-life struggles with sleeplessness and anxiety, and being cooped up in a room in Bombay, India, which is where (and how) most of this album came to life. Countless nights spent making music to distract from a lack of inner calm and rest.

Despite deliberately steering clear from sampling for his career thus far, a day spent digging in Istanbul ended up inspiring much of the album – not only did that day yield a discovery of Pierre Akendengue's 'Olatano, w'intye so du s' Afrika' (a sample of which appears on 'Obota') but also a range of 80's soul records that transformed Kumail into a student for the next two years. With a renewed focus on musicality, practising playing the piano, learning new songs and improving production skills, Yasmin evolved into a 30 minute mood-board of lush voicings and explorations beyond just beat-making. The ensuing recording sessions featured a line-up of both all-star local session musicians as well as invited collaborators - Sid Vashi and Pink Siifu both deliver memorable features. Despite vocal performances eventually making their way onto nearly all songs on the record, Yasmin was never meant to feature Kumail's singing. With or without vocals, Yasmin's triumph is that it is nevertheless unmistakably the sound of Kumail finding his voice.

Limited edition ruby red colour vinyl reissue of the smashing album from Germany's finest funk ensemble to celebrate its 5th anniversary. 11 cinematic deep funk instrumentals, celebrated b-boy breaks and vocal dancefloor killers with special guests Afrika Bambaataa, Charlie Funk, Deejay Snoop, DJ Hektek, Donald D., DeRobert, Nichola Richards, Peter Thomas, Guillaume Metenier & Shawn Lee.

Original note from 2015 release:

"The Mighty Mocambos' new album "Showdown" sets another cornerstone in their prolific career as a globally active instrumental funk outfit. While maintaining their organic approach of recording real musicians live on tape, the group has refined their trademark sound with a dramatic edge, a hard hitting production and ventures into less obvious musical territories. While highly enjoying themselves as the tight unit they are, The Mighty Mocambos invited an exciting list of guests to contribute to their musical "Showdown": German film composer icon Peter Thomas, hiphop godfather Afrika Bambaataa, rap legends Charlie Funk aka Afrika Islam (member of the original Rocksteady Crew) and Donald D (of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate), plus Nichola Richards, Shawn Lee, DeRobert from peer label GED Soul in Nashville, Zulu Nation MCs Deejay Snoop & DJ Hektek and organ genius Guillaume Metenier all joined the group for their new musical adventure."

Chris Stapleton veröffentlicht sein brandneues Studioalbum ”Starting Over”. Es beinhaltet 14 Titel und wird Chris’ erstes neues Studioalbum seit seiner letzten Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2017 sein. Die erste Single ist der Track ”Starting Over”. Er hat bisher 5 Grammy Awards, 7-ACM Awards, 10-CMA Awards und 5-Billboard Music Awards erhalten. Mit seinen ersten drei Alben hat er bis heute über 8 Millionen Units verkauft, darunter sein Debütalbum ”Traveller”, das sich bis heute über 4 Millionen Mal verkaufte.
Sein gemeinsamer Song mit Justin Timberlake ”Say Something” war auf Platz 1 der deutschen Radiohits.

The Futurists rejected tradition and introduced experimental sounds and this fact, that influenced a lot of composers during the 20th century, helped them to build a concept that started the career of Barcelona based duo Iro Aka. The evolution of their music started with this EP, fluctuating through psychedelic and esoteric influences, taking as its main references the continuous technological evolution and those new techniques to make electronic music. “Futur” is an extract of the first ideas of Iro Aka. They started the project at the beginning of the 2017 and this EP was produced then, showing the abstraction that they felt at that moment, a path drawn by different sounds that came from different people and different places.

Tapan leaves their mark on Zukunft with reimagining the original as a slowly building, tribal inspired and almost sitting in an alternative timeline. Clever use of percussive elements does not take away from the track being playable in the club.

The slightly psychedelic dance floor experience is delivered by Anatolian Weapons. Pulsating rhythms intertwine with classic drum sounds and paint a mood almost contradicting the vocals of the track. Perfect secret track for any dance-floor.

Tramp Records continues their pilgrimage to the soulful fringes of spiritual jazz and progressive rock and funk with their 3rd and 4th volumes of their "Peace Chant, Raw, Deep and Spiritual Jazz" series, and the world could not be more ready.

As we turn together on this tiny blue ball hanging lonely in space, and as we together face existential threats ranging from climate catastrophe, the rise of brutal authoritarian regimes, the breaking of the industrial storm and the imminent collapse of empire, not to mention the raging covid-19 crisis and the continuing racial and social struggles across the globe, we are thrust into a society-wide grand awakening that has been in the making for a very long time. Of course, our musical teachers have trod this path before us, and have worked out solutions to these problems, the songs of the Peace Chant series ring out loud and clear as our ancestors' proof of concept. They say history repeats herself, maybe it's because we weren't listening the first time. Thanks to Tramp Records, we have been granted another opportunity.

Today, the musical and spiritual truths enshrined within the spiritual jazz diaspora seem to be more and more sought-after, and crucial at a time when we as a society seek higher and farther for those bold truths. With each generation, that truth doesn't change, and the artists featured in the series speak those truths along a continuum that ranges from the late-60s up to the present day.

Volume 4, the second LP opens with a gorgeous and lush Wurlitzer-oriented big band piece that among its many treasures also features the 17-year-old visionary-saxophonist-to-be, Steve Coleman in his alleged first recording! The contributions of Brother Yusuf Salim and Bus Brown, figures who should be very familiar to Tramp Records aficionados, are consecrated here with a live recording of Freedom from one of Brother Yu's last public performances. One of the two European contributions to the comp, Attitude, by Organic Pulse 'onesemble', reads like a double entendre, the word "attitude" meaning simultaneously one's disposition or state of mind, and also one's orientation relative to the horizon. The Peace Chant series continues to touch all the sacred meridians: more devotional music with James Scales & All Stars' Ser-Vi-Tude, trance music of non-dominant traditions with Donn Preston Group's Ghana-Cha!, a modal and blue organ trio offering from Tommy Jones, and closing with a rich and righteous ballad, Quernemoen, from the Wayne Powell Octet.

Peace Chant is the center of the mandala, representing the nucleus of the post-bop, modal jazz, avant-garde, transcendental, spiritual, ethnic, and freedom music universe without necessarily suggesting anything immediately identifiable as any of the above. This is the soundtrack to the raising of human consciousness and the salvation of society's very soul.

We give thanks to Tramp Records for leading our thirsty hearts to this rich fountain.

The seventh (!) volume of high class reworks from rising star Young Pulse is here and it's a banger !.
With a mixed bag of jazz-funk, early 80's boogie and high energy disco there is something for everyone here.
But we really wanna give the A side track 'Bobo's Reason'(Willie Bobo) an extra mention...proper full on summer jazz-funk with a slight disco edge. Feel good material.

Russian and French politics all the same... says blahblah about the pandemic... The dark movies... Need a good Hardcore superhero !!!

After this first track inspired by the worldwide cleaner comes a banger hardcore rave, very very MOKUM 90's style called XTC.

The flip starts with a funny Hardcore Factory Gabba Dancefloor tune. Defienitly ideal for the ducks !

Finally EP ends with a Junkies 303 remix, leaded by a heavy bass and typicall Mokum early samples and beats... Crazy shit !!!

SUPREB Nordcore G-M-B-H OPUS !

Strut present the 4CD edition of Sun Ra's 'Egypt 1971' along with the original albums 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', 'Nidhamu' and 'Horizon' released as individual LPs, documenting Sun Ra's first trip to Egypt with his Arkestra in December 1971. In the years leading up to 1971, Sun Ra wrote many compositions and poems specifically inspired by the ancient African Kingdoms and many others with associated mythological and heliocentric connotations. As such, a visit to Egypt and the opportunity for the Arkestra to play there was a matter of necessity. Ra's first ever concerts outside of the US had occurred in late summer and autumn of 1970 with performances in France, Germany and the UK and a second European tour was arranged for late 1971. At the end of that second tour, Ra caught wind of cheap flights from Denmark to Cairo. This release comprises recordings made by Arkestra member Thomas "Bugs" Hunter made in December 1971 in the streets around the Mena House Hotel, Giza, from a concert held at the house of Goethe Institute ex-pat Hartmut Geerken in Heliopolis, from a live Cairo TV channel broadcast and a concert at the Ballon Theatre in Cairo. The impact and significance of these few weeks upon Sun Ra can be measured by the growth and development of his output over the next few years; the immediate post-Egypt period included new studio and live recordings on the Saturn, Blue Thumb, Atlantic and Impulse labels and the 'Space Is The Place' movie. Ra also edited the three LPs of the 'Live In Egypt' series which were subsequently released on his Saturn record label and its affiliated twin, Thoth Intergalactic: 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', 'Nidhamu' and 'Horizon'. These three albums are now reissued as single LP editions in their original artwork. The 4CD set features these albums alongside previously unreleased material from the December 1971 recordings. All tracks are remastered from the original tapes and the CD set also features a 24-page booklet featuring new sleeve notes and rare photos by Hartmut Geerken and background information on the recordings by Paul Griffiths.

Buenos Aires’ Santiago Garcia joins Upercent in his native Valencia, candidly integrating their own unique approaches to music and harmonizing artistries to render an unpretentious glimpse into the process of building a home, both literally and figuratively. Unveiling the birth of their new label, Interpret, the talented DJ/Producers draw on their personal and artistic connection, versatility on and off decks and penchant for metaphors to foster a safe space for interpretation and canvas for symphonic expression. INT01 is storytelling in its fine, sincere and genuine form, segmented into four distinctive and equally compelling tracks that naturally occurred upon graciously pushing sounds and nurturing instincts.

Carrer Bonaire EP is a mosaic of sounds traversing an infinite spectrum of emotions, handwoven by Interpret masterminds, Upercent and Santiago Garcia, with meticulous detail and quintessence through to the EP’s finish. But not to fret, Interpret is not only off to a good start, the label is here to stay, til imaginations run dry.

SUMMER OF SEVENTEEN are MONIKA KHOT (NORDRA, ZEN MOTHER), WILLIAM FOWLER COLLINS, DANIEL MENCHE, FAITH COLOCCIA (MAMIFFER), and AARON TURNER. (SUMAC, SPLIT CRANIUM).

Wildfires plagued Washington state during the summer of 2017, their smoke drifting westward toward the Seattle area and toxifying the air. Shortly before that trauma, MONIKA KHOT, WILLIAM FOWLER COLLINS, DANIEL MENCHE, FAITH COLOCCIA, and AARON TURNER had gathered at the latter two musicians' House Of Low Culture studio on idyllic Vashon Island with revered producer RANDALL DUNN. There they cut eight songs that capture the makeshift band's feelings of what COLOCCIA calls "a kind of doomsday lurking in the background." It's as if these highly attuned players had a premonition.

"Summer Of Seventeen" -which was edited and arranged by MONIKA KHOT, who records apocalyptic music solo as NORDRA and plays in the avant-rock band ZEN MOTHER—is a nuanced admixture of these musicians' sounds and a culmination of all of their previous collaborations. COLOCCIA and TURNER have created eldritch folk and chamber rock for over a decade in MAMIFFER while engaging in various solo and group projects that explore their profound spirituality in sound. MENCHE has been a fixture on the abstract composition scene for 31 years and COLLINS is a savvy explorer of drone and ambient forms. Their ephemeral summit meeting has yielded a masterwork for the ages.

A heaven/hell and beauty/beastliness dichotomy pervades the album—as if a titanic struggle was transpiring in that small studio. The fearsome trumpet fanfare that starts "Chorus Of The Innocents" heralds a baleful fate. With a subliminal industrial rhythm bristling beneath the eerie exhalations, the song submerges us in a slow-motion maelstrom, a horror-film facsimile of MILES DAVIS' "Bitches Brew". "Perceived Slight" threads death-metal screams through a stark, suspenseful atmosphere, with austere glints of guitar and beats like fists on a casket lid intensifying the dread.

Angelic chants and celestial drones perfume the air in several of the songs on "Summer Of Seventeen", countered with muted blast beats, serrated hums, jagged glitches, simulacra of grinding gears and lightning. It's as if no good deed goes unpunished. "Spirits Of Redeemer" could be an elegy for the human race while "Cultural Orphan" sounds like a symphony for a malfunctioning factory. The album ends with "Theatre Needs An Audience," a harrowing ballad somewhere between EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN and MERZBOW; it's a savage rent in the space-time continuum.

"Thinking about this record now," COLOCCIA recalls, "it seems like we were all sort of anticipating something like this current pandemic happening, although we were thinking about it as fire in the hands of man (literal fire, and also gunfire) that would overturn the normal running of things and reveal the current false beliefs systems holding up most of America."

That grave aura infiltrates "Summer Of Seventeen", However, a hopefulness bubbles beneath the foreboding architecture of sound and noise summoned here. The bunker is the new penthouse.

-Dave Segal, April 2020

The story of how Transatlantyk came to be is, in many ways, one typical of our times. We've grown accustomed to being isolated, even stranded, in recent months, and Technology has become our means of overcoming these aspects of quarantine.

For Lübeck-based producer David Hanke, a.k.a. Keno, and Los Angeles-based musician Tristan de Liège, their intercontinental relationship began long before the days of lockdowns and social distancing. The pair 'met' on-line through mutual friends back in 2018 and quickly realised they were, in a musical sense, kindred spirits. Their shared tastes meant that what started out as a single track quickly morphed into an EP, and finally the full length album that you're enjoying right now.

Tristan's experience as a neo-classical musician was the ideal foil for Hanke's skills with a sample and production expertise. Both shared a love of the more lush and cinematic end of instrumental Hip-Hop and Downtempo music. This sound partnership is evident throughout the album, but particularly on tracks like Nkosi, and the title track, where luscious string sections dance playfully with fractured, programmed beats; or the melancholic opener, Kouyou, where more laid back drums underpin muted horns and joyous harps.

The pair's perfectly formed fusion isn't the end of the story though, as French chanteuse Elodie Rama is on hand to provide not only some impeccable vocals, but also irresistible melodies to this already mellifluous long-player. Speak The Language sees this brilliant vocalist drift seamlessly between euphonious song and spoken word whilst delivering one of the ariose moments of the whole album. Elsewhere, on Dancing In The Dark, Elodie gives a slightly more sombre performance, combining with lavish strings and driving rhythms to a tee; and on To Find A Way offers up an even more emotional and almost heart-breaking performance, aided by wistful and forlorn instrumentation.

Transatlantyk is a body of work from an amalgamation of rare talents who combine beautifully to take us through myriad emotions; from the urgent and compelling Off The Mark via the pensive Forever We Were, and finally find their Way Across thanks to a shared love of graceful and refined musicality and a good song.

To this day the three have never actually met in person, but here's a last hopeful thought that one day soon, as we emerge out of the darkness, they can finally join together in a physical, as well as a musical, embrace.

Wah Wah 45s are proud to present a unique collaboration between the U.K.'s very own Afrobeat Ambassador, Dele Sosimi, and a producer who's been at the forefront of the South London electronic music scene for a decade now, Medlar.

The pair first joined forces five years ago, when Medlar was asked by Dele's label to remix the title track from his last album,You No Fit Touch Am. The result was possibly one of the most popular and cherished remixes to appear on the imprint. The producer's respect for the history of Afrobeat shined through in the mix of course, but it was his ability to finely balance that with his house music instincts whilst adding an infectious groove and classic 80s analogue synths that really stood out.

The track was an instant classic, and it soon became clear that the Afrobeat Ambassador and Peckham producer needed to make some music together. Having never actually met during the remix process, the dating began, and luckily the two were clearly a perfect match.

After some weeks of pinging ideas back and forth, and spending time in the studio together, it became obvious that this project was also something they could take out live. As so it has been, from their modest debut performance in East London last spring, to playing festivals across the UK and beyond. Never the same show twice, their shows are based around a bank of rhythms on MPC which come alive when combined with Dele's vocals and improvisational keyboard explorations, all of which are dubbed out live by Medlar. Their musical journey is always unpredictable, vibrant and often quite surprising!

With this in mind, when picking tracks they'd developed on the road over the last year to take into the studio,Full Moonevolved into what might be best described as a bossa nova meets country & western lounge track, suitable for sipping cocktails to on a beach, or perhaps in your back garden in the current situation!

"This is really great this track. Really great!" Gilles Peterson

The original version of the song dropped earlier this summer and has been championed by both Gilles Peterson and Moses Boyd on BBC 6Music. When it came to remix duties, there was only one production outfit who fitted the bill, and one who the label had been trying to coax a remix out of for a couple of years.

Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets, otherwise known as Detroit Swindle, have been turning out musical, soulful, tropical and always party starting house music for almost a decade now. Wah Wah label boss Dom Servini hooked up with the pair at a European festival a couple of years ago, and ever since has been waiting for the right project to come along that would spark their imagination.

"When we heard the original of 'Full Moon' for the first time, we really felt the retro style with the cr78 drum, the dreamy pads and that almost overly simple synth flute. For us, that really defined the direction of the remix and we looked for a hook that could make those elements pop in a more energetic way. The vocal is also super laid back so we chopped it up a bit to give it some more spice. I think it was when we wrote the chords for our remix that the dubbed out 80's synth vibe really started to take form. It turned out to be a really nice remix for this time of year and hopefully it'll warm some hearts when people hear it." Detroit Swindle

The follow up single,Gúdú Gúdú Kan,in turn received support from Tom Ravenscroft and Gideon Coe on BBC 6Music. It's Dele and Medlar's own take on an Afro-disco stomper. The title refers to the role the snare drum plays and its relationship with Ìyá Ìlù kan, or the kick drum. It's a simple but very effective metaphor for this unique musical collaboration where once again the pair forged a sound that's all their own.

Taking things back to The Shrine by way of a little Bugz style bruk magic, Daz-I-Kue's remix ofGúdú Gúdú Kanrestructures the tune more in the style of a Fela classic, albeit with a broken flavour and layers upon layers of keys galore! In doing so, Daz creates what we think is a sure fire future club classic.

For the first time you can enjoy the full length versions of both of these top class remixes on a single slab of gorgeous wax!

“Semilla” ist das Kollabo-Debütalbum von Multiinstrumentalist Pachakuti und Produzent young.vishnu. Pachakuti ist ein klassisch ausgebildeter Saxophonist und Pianist mit Hang zu Jazz und lateinamerikanischer Musik. young.vishnu ist Beatmaker, Arrangeur, Sampleologist und Gründer des Nima Composition Archive. Beide lernten sich vor 5 Jahren in Hildesheim kenn und freundeten sich auf einem gemeinsammen Raod-Trip ins Baskenland an. Pachakuti und young.vishnu gründeten eine neunköpfige Band namens Soularkestra die der Ausgangspunkt für ihr neues Projekt war. Auf “Semilla” vereint das Duo Hip-Hop, Jazz, Latin, Funk und Soul mit starken Botschaften zu Politik, Identität, Globalisierung und Neokolonialismus.

Giallo is the fourth in a series of five double vinyl releases that bring together some of Ennio Morricone’s greatest soundtrack music. Each collection centres on a different movie genre, together they allow the listener to rediscover the unmatched genius of the greatest movie composer of all time. The Maestro. This collection was announced before Ennio Morricone passed away on July 6, 2020. We’ll continue to release the series to honour this great composer.

When we think of 1960’s Italian pulp cinema, the spaghetti western is the genre that comes to mind. However, Italy was responsible for another classic cinematic exploitation movement around the same time, one that is equally as compelling, but less widely recognised. Giallo…

Giallo, meaning ‘yellow’, is the Italian term for crime fiction, it was named after the bright yellow colours of early pulp fiction paperbacks. Film audiences adopted it as the name for a peculiarly Italian sub-genre of thriller cinema that had its heyday in the 1970’s - just as the Spaghetti Western movement was waning. The Giallo can be difficult to define, but essentially it is an Italian crime film that draws from a pool of common themes: stylized murders, amateur sleuths, sleazy glamour, psychological crimes, enigmatic titles and all these themes are underpinned by creepily atmospheric Ennio Morricone music scores. Starting 70 years ago as an arranger for the piece Mamma Bianca, Ennio Morricone is the emperor of scores and soundtracks. Morricone has always been a huge influence for the likes of Hans Zimmer, Danger Mouse, Muse, Metallica and many more musicians. He was one of the most successful composers of all-time, selling over 70 million records and winning dozens of awards.

Giallo is available as a limited edition of 3000 individually numbered copies on “giallo and black marbled” (clear, yellow and black mixed) vinyl. The package includes a 4-page insert with liner notes written by Claudio Fuiano. The gatefold sleeve contains a silver foil spot varnish on the outside and images of iconic movie posters on the inside.

Don’t you realise that it’s getting warmer and warmer by the minute, that DJ JA’s “Warm”EP for hundert is just the beginning of something new while things continue to heat up?
Just think about hearing it on the news, that feeling of your skin crawling, shrivelling, theshrill alarm sounds ringing inside your head and you trying to keep your cool while theheat is rising. Just relax though, consider the Y2K panic – how everyone breathed a
breath of relief on the 1st of January once the clock had struck midnight and everything just stayed the same. After all, that’s maybe what we really need to be doing instead: wait for things and nature and this planet to settle this on their own terms. Wasn’t it all just a
hazy craze back then, and isn’t the same happening now? Aren’t we all susceptible for either apathy or paranoia, that bittersweet ambivalence also at the core of this EP, which navigates between harsh and nervous sounds, providing both heat and the (figurative and literal) chilling cool that we so desperately long for? Remember to stay calm when you can and that nature couldn’t give a fuck about whether or not we start acting only when it’s far too late; just consider your own insignificance while the melodies stretch out beyond the horizon and into the aether. May we suggest however that you wake up, take the first letter of each sentence, put them all together in order to see through the heat of the moment and the chilling anxiety in order to feel what’s true, real, and present?

"...while I like to think that creations are a 'moment in time', this, for me, is much more than just a moment."

Truenoys 2020

"Depression is not just for those with painful traumas but it can lurk in everyone who is willing to live in truth... this album can be a cure or a helping hand...soundwise and lyrically."

Amos 2020

A/T/O/S, pronounced 'A Taste Of Struggle' is a project by Amos & Truenoys.

Introduced by a mutual friend, A/T/O/S started creating music together. Their first creation, 'A Taste Of Struggle' was quickly picked up by dubstep pioneer Mala, who signed them to his label DEEP MEDi. Their debut release received an early spin by BBC 6 Music's Mary Anne Hobbs and impressive remixes by Skream and Commodo.

Their upcoming album 'waterman', is the 3rd on DEEP MEDi, following their self-titled debut 'A/T/O/S' and the follow-up 'Outboxed'.

'waterman' once again sees A/T/O/S exploring new territories with their formula of exciting beats and powerful vocals, accompanied by Michiel De Malsche (@MIDM) on the keys as their 'secret, not so secret' member in the studio & on stage.

Back in stock!!

Active as a professional DJ in Japan since the late eighties, DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite is also a renowned remixer, compiler and producer. An avid record collector and an expert of the Wamono style, Yoshizawa published the Wamono A to Z records guide book in 2015 which instantly sold-out. The book unveiled a myriad of beautiful and rare records from a highly prolific, but still then unknown, Japanese groove scene.

After many years working as a record buyer for several stores, DJ Chintam opened his own Blow Up shop in 2018 in Tokyo's Shibuya district. A member of the Dayjam Crew and a specialist of soul, funk, rare groove and disco music, Chintam is also an expert of the home-brewed Wamono grooves. He supervised and wrote the Wamono A to Z records guide book together with Yoshizawa.

With this first volume of the Wamono series, our two DJs here guide you through some of the best and rarest jazz funk and rare groove tunes produced in Japan between 1968 and 1980. Put the needle on the record, turn up the volume and dig right now into the Wamono sound - the cream of the Japanese funk, soul, rare groove and disco music developed throughout the years since the end of the sixties in Japan!

Ocean Moon is a solo project from Jon Tye of Seahawks. A long time explorer of the sounds of spaciousness, having released the ambient classic LP iO in 1994 as MLO, Crystal Harmonics is a document of Jon’s latest discoveries. An ambient/new age/modern classical library suite for KPM, this is inter-dimensional music for mind, body and spirit.

Island Visions, the recent collection of music from Seahawks for KPM, touched on the deeper, more spatial side of music and led to Jon exploring this territory in greater depth, again for KPM, under his Ocean Moon alter ego. This time he brought along some of today’s most visionary musicians: Jon Brooks (The Advisory Circle / Ghostbox) for his intuitive melodic mastery, Seaming To (Graham Massey’s Toolshed) for her extraordinary vocal talents, Steve Moore (Zombi) for his sophisticated and inventive rhythmic sensibility and Richard Norris (The Grid) for his sensitive and deeply resonant ambience. The initial recordings were made at The Centre Of Sound in Cornwall, with the collaborators various contributions coming from London, Derbyshire and the US.

The supremely serene electronic flute and bells of “Crystal Drift” ease us into our journey and we take our next steps with “Rainbow Ripples” as it gently folds space with arpeggiated synth swells and delicate machine beats. Light vocal tones, bells and breath FX on “And Breathe” keep us going, accompanied by synth drones and billows of electric piano.

We travel through the synth-space-surf haze of “Lost Oceans”, with soft bass and warm ambience, to reach the “New Infinity” of revolving melody, spacious pads and light electronic beats. The celestial tone floats of “White Mirror” close out the first side.

Temple bells ring out to running water flowing together with deep resonant vocal tones as the second side opens with “Peace Bells”. “Revolving and Evolving” follows, a tranquil electronic meadow of lush pastoral synth tones where we rest for a while for “Mountain Dreaming”, a light rhythmic dance of zither and birdsong.

The undulating “Forest Motion” ripples with synth arpeggios, dreamy Solina strings and percussive modular electronics before allowing the crackling ambience and Cantonese whispers of “Sleep Golden” to wash over us. Finally we find ourselves on “The Long Path”, its warm temple ambience of drones and chants guiding us home.

Crystal Harmonics is inspired by four particular albums from KPM’s catalogue. There’s The Electronic Light Orchestra by Adrian Wagner from 1975 and then Temple Of The Stars, Breath Of Life and finally Keith Mansfield’s Circles, these last three coming from KPM’s mid-1980s run of modern classical/New Age gems. For Jon, “making library music can be very liberating. I really enjoyed the additional focus it brought to the music working on different facets of composition with each collaborator”.

But Crystal Harmonics is no mere exercise in vulger pastiche. As the past, present and future sound of paradise, this fresh exploration of mid-90s ambient and original New Age sounds exists outside of our linear experience of time.

The cover started as a collage Jon made a couple of years ago, a different expression of the same impulses that guided the music. As a nod to the records that provided seeds of inspiration, the collage was framed by KPM’s house style of the 1980s for the finished sleeve by Richard Robinson.

Mastered for vinyl by Be With’s sonic shaman Simon Francis, cut by the legendary Pete Norman and pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry, Ocean Moon’s Crystal Harmonics is the tranquil balm for these turbulent times.

180g clear marbled vinyl + stamped sleeve + inside out printed cover

Mood of departure presents the 50th release of ORNAMENTS. "Roadmap" LP is crossing borders,
forests, mountains and deep atmospheres on a trip of finest electronics from the past and today
combined with recordings of destructions.

Some Previous here

Resident Advisor

German label Ornaments Music is putting out its 50th release, Mood Of Departure's Roadmap.

The album comprises twelve tracks of melodic ambient and trip-hop, and is due out next month. The LP will be pressed up on marbled vinyl on November 6th, while the digital album is slated for November 23rd release.

This summer, Ornaments Music put out Assemblage, a dub techno collaborative project from Paul St. Hilaire and Rhauder.

Groove MAG

„Man soll die Feste feiern wie sie fallen.” Hachja – 2020 ist wirklich vieles anders. Sogar manche Lebensweisheiten treffen in diesem Jahr nicht mehr zu, wie sie das noch letztes taten. Zum Glück dürfen wir uns aber über eines umso mehr freuen, über tonnenweise neue Musik. So feiert unter anderem Ornaments Music Release-Jubiläum. Das Berliner Label bereichert seit 2008 mit Künstlern wie Marko Fürstenberg, The Analog Roland Orchestra und Rhauder die Dubtechno-Sparte mit maßgeblichen musikalischen Beiträgen. Mit dem 50. Release Roadmap beschreitet Ornaments nun neue Wege und veröffentlicht ein emotionales Album, dass sich irgendwo zwischen Ambient und Electronica wiederfindet.

Mood Of Departure heißt die Person, die dieses Werk vollbracht hat. Wer dahinter steckt bleibt vorerst geheim. Nur soviel sei gesagt. Es ist nicht ihr erstes. Oder seines? Weil es nur spärliche Informationen über den/die Künstler*in gibt, stehen die einzelnen Stücke ohne Personenkult oder seitenlange Lobeshymnen an erster Stelle. Und wenn man mal ehrlich ist, gibt es schon genug Ablenkung in der heutigen Zeit. Durch das Intro des Albums, durch „Scan”, wird sofort deutlich, dass es sich hier nicht wie gewohnt um ein klassisches Dancefloor-Album handelt. Die Stimme der Sängerin, die auch in einigen weiteren der insgesamt zwölf Stücke vorkommt, verleiht dem Track eher Band- statt Producer-Charakter. Ein sanfter Ambient-Teppich aus luftigen Flächen und wiederhalendem Gesang wird durch simple aber präzise Hip Hop-Beats fortgetragen, und man ist nach dieser Einführung gespannt, was noch folgt.

Faze MAG

Mit dem Debütalbum „Roadmap“ von Mood Of Departure veröffentlicht das Label Ornaments sein 50. Release!

2008 startete das Label, das bekannt ist für sein marmoriertes Vinyl, mit einer EP von Marko Fürstenberg, Acts wie youANDme, Sascha Dive, The Analog Roland Orchestra, Steve Bug oder zuletzt Rhauder & Paul St. Hilaire haben hier auch ihre Spuren hinterlassen.

The first of three volumes: stomping, rollicking gospel music, intermingling with raw soul, searing blues, hard-rocking doo-wop and jazz, and storming r&b.

Infused and incandescent with the hurting, surging indignation of the Civil Rights movement, here are twenty-four precious scorchers by giants like the Staple Singers and Jimmy Scott, alongside devastating sides by less celebrated names like the Harmonising Five of Burlington, North Carolina, and teen-group the North Philadelphia Juniors, culminating triumphantly with slamming, sanctified versions of Hit The Road Jack and Wade In The Water.

Gatefold sleeve, with full-size booklet; beautifully designed, with stunning, rare photographs and original Savoy artwork.

Favorite Recordings presents an exclusive collaboration between French producer Bruno ‘Patchworks’ Hovart (Voilaaa, Mr President, Taggy Matcher, …) and Australian NYC-based rapper and poet Nelson Dialect. The two artists met two years ago after Nelson’s gig in Lyon and, of course, they discussed and seriously planned to collaborate one day, both having an everliving love for early nineties hip hop. Then came the quarantine and Covid-19 with Patchworks locked in Lyon, Nelson Dialect in NYC: it seemed to be the right time to do it. A few months later and they finally drop Blue Benz, the result of their long distance collaboration, coming as a beautiful 7inch filled with proper Jazz & Soul Hip Hop vibes.
On A side, « Blue Benz » reminds indeed the best feelings of the nineties hip-hop with its infectious slapped bass rhythm and subtle Rhodes chords, all fiiting perfectly with Nelson Dialect’s serious flow!
On B Side, « Jazzy Blue Benz » offers an alternate take on the same groove, focusing more on the electric guitar gentle slides with a more percussive beat and horns arrangements with a proper NYC jazz
feeling.
From Adelaide, Australia, Nelson Dialect now lives in New York working with Bronx label Red Apples 45 started by AG of DITC and Ray West. Making music since he was 16, he has received critical acclaim for his work with producer Must Volkoff and their most recent album Magnetism. Before moving to New York, Nelson toured extensively in Australia supporting some of the biggest international Hip Hop acts including Mobb Deep, Lupe Fiasco, Ghostface Killah, GZA, RZA, Pharoahe Monch and DJ Premier among many more. He just released a new album Opal Mind with French producer NuTone.

First timer ever Best Of Mano Negra on vinyl ! Double black 140G vinyl edition. 24 sons – all their hits : "King Kong Five", "Mala Vida" , "Pas assez de toi" , "Out of time man", "King of Bongo", "Sidi H'Bibi", “Santa Maradona”, “Senor Matenza”… Mano Negra are the legendary French alternative rock band whose leader was Manu Chao. Singing in French, Spanish, English & even Arabic. They toured throughout the world and recorded 4 studio albums : “Patchanka”, “Puta’s fever”, “King of Bongo” & “Casa Babylon” & a live album “In the hell of Patchinko” , all reissued by Because Music and still available on CD & Vinyl. After their split, Manu Chao started a solo carreer in 1998 with the classic “Clandestino” album.

November 2020 sees the 50th Anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World in North America. The album marks the beginning of a collaboration with guitarist Mick Ronson that would last through classic works including Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane—as well as the first in a 10-year series of indispensable albums stretching through 1980’s Scary Monsters…

Originally titled Metrobolist, the album's name was changed at the last minute to The Man Who Sold The World. The 2020 re-release of the album under its Metrobolist moniker has been remixed by original producer Tony Visconti, with the exception of the track ‘After All’ which Tony considered perfect as is, and is featured in its 2015 remaster incarnation.

The Metrobolist 50th anniversary artwork has been created by Mike Weller who was behind the historically controversial “dress” cover which Mercury Records refused to release.

As with the Space Oddity 50th anniversary vinyl, as well as a 180g black vinyl edition, it will come in 2020 limited edition handwritten numbered copies on gold vinyl (# 1971 - 2020) and on white vinyl (# 1 - 1970) all randomly distributed.

The 20th anniversary year of Dial Records couldn’t have been more exciting for us so far! After the extraordinary well-received release of Soela’s debut-album Genuine Silk and steady excitement around our ongoing series of digital anniversary compilations, we are more than thrilled to announce the second album release of this our very special year: XDB - Inspiron. As a longtime companion and true inspiration throughout the label’s twenty-year history, Kosta Athanassiadis aka XDB enriched our lives with his brilliant productions in the form of countless 12”s and legendary remixes. His long-overdue full-length debut album Inspiron in hand, we find ourselves unpacking the most beautiful jubilee present we could have ever imagined. For almost three decades now Kosta Athanassiadis aka XDB has been involved in the constantly changing world of dance music. His curiosity and dedication to electronic music spiral deep into the depth of House Music and Techno and where ever he appears he generously shares his unique knowledge in this field with equally dedicated crowds. Whether you follow his bloggish “Tracks I do really LOVE”, a collection of club essentials and a library of taste, or you witness one of his remarkable DJ sets from Panorama Bar to Freerotation Festival - XDB will elevate you to one of those unforgettably magical music moments. In 1993 Kosta Athanassiadis started his DJ career in the medieval hometown of Goettingen. To find what he was really looking for, namely, the newest and most exciting new records he frequently had to leave this picturesque city, that is most popular for inventing the traditional Baumkuchen pastry, but has not been on the maps of music connoisseurs necessarily. Frequent trips to visit records stores and clubs around Germany built a network of likely minded people. Some of his favorite and most thought after record labels of the time like the Chicago imprint Relief, or UK's Mosaic, are still fundamental to his very specific musical taste. By the turn of the century, XDB hosted a series of nights at Goettingen's Eletroosho, where he invited Dial’s own Lawrence and Carsten Jost in 2002- the beginning of a still ongoing friendship. He had established himself as a sought after and internationally active DJ and started his fist endeavors into music production as well. Later on XDB founded his own Label Metrolux and released on iconic labels like Sistrum and Wave to be followed by countless remixes for legends like Aaron Carl, Norm Talley and Patrice Scott. An extraordinary stream of gravity connects both, his productions and DJ sets. Once breaking through a seemingly transparent surface, one get’s lost in the beauty and depth of forms and figures. There’s barely DJs and producers who keep searching for this hidden formula in such a microscopically detailed way to pass a lifetime in House Music and Techno on to the world. XDB's Inspiron embraces this unique approach, filters and develops inspirations in an entirely delicate way, and magically emphasizes the desires of the most dedicated listeners and dancers.

Beyonce's sixth album Lemonade (when life serves you lemons, make lemonade) is an album that follows a clear story, the discovery of your partner cheating, the anger which is followed by her leaving him, reconciling, and ending with the beginning of a fresh start together. The music has a very Southern Blues feel to it overall (harking back to Beyonce's childhood and the roots of her parents), but also has a couple of the Beyonce-standard piano lead slower numbers, and a few feisty hip-hop leaning grooves that are a bit similar to the BEYONCE era tracks. Telling such a painful and personal story through the songs gives Beyonce's vocals amazing depth and power, from her vulnerability in Pray You Catch Me, the anger in Don't Hurt Yourself, defiance in Sorry, the sadness behind Sandcastles, acceptance in Freedom, to the hope tinged delivery of All Night - Lemonade delivers it all.

The hour-long film is composed of the music videos for every song strung together to form the visual story of the potential destruction of a relationship, the journey of emotions and self-discovery the wronged party goes through, and finding forgiveness. Beyonce did the 'visual' concept for the deluxe edition of B'Day and for BEYONCE, but Lemonade is heads and shoulders above them - the videos here aren't about Beyonce looking pretty, rather adding to the emotive tale of the songs.

- 12 TRACKS
- HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL
- FULL COLOR LABELS + PICTURE SLEEVE

Repress

Carthago: Rare Tunisian Disco Including Unreleased Instrumentals And Eight Page Booklet When we first decided to start Habibi Funk, a label dedicated to re-releasing "funky" Arabic music from the 1960s to 1980s, a band called Dalton was the first release we worked on. Dalton was a band from the Tunisian capital of Tunis and they played a unique mix of soul & funk with an Arabic DNA. We licensed the release from the band's composer Fawzi Chekili, and when we spoke to him on the phone in preparation of the release he mentioned another band he was part of, called Carthago. Our work with Habibi Funk is like a big treasure hunt. There are too many great bands that fully vanished into obscurity and didn't leave any traces in the digital sphere yet. We are so used to the internet providing all informations we might be looking for, but Carthago was one of those bands where the internet largely failed to provide any infos despite the fact that Carthago created some incredible music in the form of an highly infectious Tunisian take on disco music. Luckily most of the members of the 1970s musical scene of Tunis are still around to tell their story.

Carthago was founded in the late 1970s as a fusion of Dalton and a second band called Marhaba Band. Both bands frequently played at hotels and night clubs in Tunis and Sousse. They had similar musical influences and despite the fact that they were competition for the most part, they came up with the idea to join forces for a new band. Musically Carthago kept on walking on the musical path of Dalton and Marhaba but incorporated disco music, a new style that was making its way to North Africa from Europe and North America. The band had quite some success on local radio and played a number of big shows with thousands of people showing up. The band's concerts were a mixture of their own compositions as well as cover versions of the hits of the time from Stevie Wonder to Chicago. At the end of the 70s they went to Paris to record their only, self titled album. For our reissue we picked out two of our favorite tracks: "Hanen" and the outstanding disco version of the Dalton track "Alech" which has proved to work on every dance floor we played over the last two years.

When I came to Tunis for the first time after the Dalton reissue I met Fawzi in person. He still lives in Tunis and still works as a full time musician though his focus has shifted more towards Jazz over the years. Luckily he did not only keep a spotless copy of the Carthago album but he also kept the master tape of the instrumental versions of the album which to this day were unreleased. Being able to add exclusive content to a reissue is something that is rare and we feel highly privileged to be able to do so. Futher more we are so happy that we will be able to add something new to the bands legacy not only musically but also visually: One day I realized that most of the releases from Tunisia I liked, be it from Dalton, Carthago or Marhaba Band had the same photographer credit.Hassen Turki started taking photos at a young age and when he was 18 he started going to the gigs of the bands of the time that were playing in the Marhaba Hotel which was managed by his father at the time. He became friends with the bands and ended up being the person to be asked when it came to shooting the photos for the covers of the records. After some research I managed to get in touch with Hassen and met him in his hometown Sousse. Luckily he kept most of the negatives of the photos he took so we're more than happy to be able to share these unseen photos with whoever is interested.

The specially designed game and accompanying music video pertains to the overall theme of the EP, which shows an absurd society obsessed with social media descending into a dystopian world. It is a paranoid graphic vision, set in Brussels, Strapontin’s hometown, that puts you in control of a role playing game as you march round the city collecting social points with scant regard for others.

Besides being a dancer, performer and on-and-off “Madame pipi”, French-born, Brussels-based Strapontin is also a DJ and producer who mixes up slow and rough techno with thrilling soundtracks and groove driven disco. He has released on Nein and I’m Single amongst others and marks this 10th Hard Fist release in fine style.

Opening up the EP is ‘Nervous Days’, a gallivanting techno-disco groove with rugged loops and jumbled percussion that sounds like a rampage through a cityscape, as per the video. Then comes ‘But The Nice One!’, a stomping and rough and ready ride on lumpy drums and bass that is dark but playful. The quality continues on ‘Miss Mickey the Dumbs’, with some brilliantly heavy and reverberating drums making you jerk your body while sci-fi effects float and drift about up top.

Blindetonation label regular and esteemed modern disco man Thomass Jackson remixes ‘But The Nice One!’ In his capable hands it becomes a melon twisting workout with spangled synth lines, psyched-out synths and percolating drums that are finished with a vulnerable and eerie vocal. Last of all is a Damon Jee remix of ‘Miss Mickey the Dumbs’, His music can be heard on the underground’s most sought-after labels including Roam, Hafendisko, Suara and Sincopat to name just a few. His version is a more direct affair, with searching laser synths and a hypnotic space-techno vibe that carries you off to the stars at increasingly high speeds.

This is a fittingly brilliant EP from the vital Strapontin on ever-excellent Hard Fist.

Following on from the success of Demon Records’ sold out ‘Special Stuff’ box set, we present the three anniversary specials from 2017, pressed on 3 sides of 180g “Snowglobe” vinyl, with the
fourth side an etching of Tubs and Edward trapped forever in a ‘Phantom Zone’ like state. The Anniversary specials tell the story of Benjamin discovering that his late Uncle Harvey is far
from dead and buried, Tubbs and Edward setting up shop in a derelict block of flats, Pauline reliving her past with her jobseekers and the continued woes of Geoff Tipps. Starring Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, and featuring gatefold artwork
from horror maestro Graham Humphreys

Mariah Careys 30-jähriges Karrierejubiläum geht weiter! Nach der Veröffentlichung der Doppel-CD "The Rarities" am 2. Oktober erscheinen am 6. November ihre Alben "Emotions", "Music Box", "MTV Unplugged EP" (erstmals auf Vinyl), "Daydream", "Butterfly" und "Rainbow" - neu gemastert - auf schwarzem Vinyl.

Isolation Tapes is a 3 part series from Audiojack, featuring guest vocals from Polarbear, Eli & Fur and Lady Vale.

'The Isolation Tapes came together accidentally during lockdown. Getting lost in the music-making process was our way to escape the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty which presented themselves with the emergence of Covid. We had no plan beyond escapism, but a cleared schedule gave us lots of time to explore new ideas. After we'd made a few tracks we started to realize the importance of bringing this music together under one project, a musical reference point for this strange period in time, and so the Isolation Tapes was born - a series of singles we made during lockdown whose titles all begin with a different letter from the word: I S O L A T I O N.' - Audiojack

Hell Yeah call upon their merry crew of grown up groove makers to revisit key tracks from Quiroga's widely acclaimed Passages album, with Whodamanny, Jazz N Palms, A Vision of Panorama and My Friend Dario all stepping up.

The original album was noted as Piccadilly Records' Best Balearic Album of 2019 and a year on is still providing solace for us in these strange times. First to add his own spin to it is Periodica associate Whodamanny from Naples, whose magical take on 'Martinica Feelings' made it onto the excellent recent Buena Onda compilation, which is out now. It is a big hearted vocal reinterpretation filled with stomping kicks and twisted synths that bring the funk next to withering sci-fi effects and happy piano chords.

Then, up steps man of the moment Jazz N Palms, a resident at the cult Ibiza venue Pikes and regular at London's Ronnie Scotts. He has recently started his own self titled label and here offers a mad Latin jazz take on 'Africa Addio' that brims with energy and sunshines. The busy percussion will make you move your ass and the whole thing has a sexy 70s vibe.

Saint Petersbourg's very own balearic legend A Vision of Panorama is hailed as the king of the modern balearic sound thanks to EPs on labels like Omena. He takes care of 'The Zoist' with sentimental melodies and sunset grooves to die for. His arching pads speak to the soul and melt the heart.

Last of all, Hell Yeah's very own discovery My Friend Dario (who soon has an EP coming on NuNorthern Soul, recently remixed Calm and Gallo) tackles 'Chiaia Sunset'. The result is a laidback and cathartic track that slowly unfolds on tumbling drums and wooden hits as synths leave vapour trails high up in the clear blue sky above.

These are four more high class remixes that will keep the summer vibes alive long into Autumn.

After the initial release of ENV012 Kloudmen started sending music that was a level beyond what we had previously heard from the duo. Remixes of and Plays by major scene players such as Caspa and Hatcha as well as the fresh blood in the forms of Bukez, Samba, Sepia etc.

Then out of nowhere in a fashion that caught our ears Kloudmen x Rez. We had to know more! The result was this release.

Grammy nominated & Defected Records signing Michael Gray is a hugely respected and established British DJ and music producer, and is also one half of the dance music production and remixing duo ‘Full Intention’ who have been at the forefront of Dance music since the early 90s. He’s also known for his solo hits ’The Weekend’ & ‘Borderline’ and recently ‘the Sun’. #2 Soul /Funk /Disco Artist by Traxsource in 2019. Currently his latest remixes include Louie Vega produced Anane - ‘Get on the Funk Train’ (Michael Gray & Mark Knight Remix) which has recently gone to No. 1 on the overall traxsource chart, Serious Intention - 'You don’t know’, Raze - Break for Love, Sylvester - You make me feel (mighty real) Records) and his Sultra Remix of his single ’The Weekend’ (First played by Pete Tong on Radio 1) He has played for nights such as Glitterbox at The Ministry of Sound, Hi Ibiza, Fabric, Downtown Disco and recently for The Glitterbox Virtual festival.

Kelli Sae is a New York born and bred Performer, Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Composer, Comedian and Playwright. Born of Puerto Rican and African descent, her music is a masala of sounds, cultures and influences that drive her instincts.

Kelli has worked with Tina Turner, Paul Simon, Seal, Chaka Kahn, Gladys Knight, Lionel Richie and many more. Kelli is also a Principal Vocalist Monday night’s on ABC’s hit Reality Television Show Dancing With The Stars. Other Television shows she’s worked on are I Can See Your Voice, Rising Star and The Singing Bee.

Slick jungle, low-slung broken beat and even a deep house banger, 'Interlocked' assembles 8 tracks of some of the purest old-school vibes by a veteran of the scene under a brand new alias for a frustrated and precarious (post)-lockdown summer. Tapping the drama and energy of the largely pre-generic party days of '91-94 - a halcyon time of transition in which Drumskull himself, as a life-long skater otherwise stoked on the the raw energy of 80s skate video soundtracks - to Black Flag, JFA, Minor Threat, Stupids et al, to Primus, Gang Starr and Meat Beat Manifesto, made the passage into syncopated machine funk, to sub bass, time-stretched breaks and automated beat production.

Physically drumming in a couple of skate punk bands in the early 90s, exposure to hardcore and early jungle tapes in '93 by DJ Dimension and DJ Rob (Leeds Orbit, UK), amongst countless others, inspired an archetypal move to sell his drum kit so as to land a set of Technics 1210s. Spinning techno and jungle on the local free party scene and clubs as part of a DJ collective from '94-96, crafting early tunes on Amiga ProTracker software, and shortly after running club nights in mid-90s London with Mo' Wax and Ninja Tune artists, Drumskull expresses the eclecticism of the era across 8 big tracks of previously unreleased material. Evoking all the energy and excitement of being involved in those early years of dance culture, 'Interlocked' powerfully yet playfully connects then to now, reveling in a sense of timelessness, mutation and hybridity.

Album photography by Amir Zaki from his book with legendary Skateboarder Tony Hawk and author Peter Zellner 'California Concrete: A Landscape of Skateparks (2019). Graffiti lettering by original UK stylemaster and beatmaker REQ TDK.

East London record shop World of Echo debuts on the other side of the counter with a reissue of Two Wishes, the solitary 12" by Anglo-German collective, Mutabor!. Seemingly lost to time, Mutabor! were first brought to World of Echo's attention when drummer/singer, Gary Asquith, played at the shop's first birthday celebrations while promoting one of his other bands, Rema Rema. And so the story goes...

Mutabor! emerged wraith-like from the monochromatic grit of Berlin's art punk underground late in 1981 when Asquith left London to set up temporary residence in the city following a chance meeting with Malaria's Bettina Koster backstage at a Birthday Party gig at the Lyceum earlier that year. Beguiled by the possibilities of collaboration, musical and otherwise, he was soon to make his own contributions to what was an already fecund scene. Partnering with Koster, and Gudrun Gut and Manon Duursma also of Malaria!, Mutabor! were publicly birthed via an impromptu performance at punk rock polestar the Risiko. Asquith found himself playing percussion in what would be a first, while the rest of the band ossified in front of him in typically idealistic post-punk democracy. Little documentation of the performance survives beyond that which exists in the memories of those playing - that itself shaky enough - though there was clearly sufficient encouragement for them to commit to a recording session.

Later that winter, the four booked time at Music Lab, the studio operated by Harris Johns, for what would ultimately be their only studio visit. Two songs were laid to tape, and soon after a photoshoot was to take place at Koster's flat, resulting in a handful of images that, along with the music, comprise the sum total evidence of the band's existence. 1001 Nights and Treats both found their way to Peter Kent, a co-founder of 4AD who had recently left the label with the ambition of starting his own imprint. Entitled Two Wishes, the two track 12" was to be the first and only release on Loaded. It seems that Mutabor! were to represent a series of firsts and lasts, a trend that continues now as they open the World of Echo imprint.

It's fitting to think of Mutabor! in these prescient terms given how they sounded. Berlin at that time shared a spiritual axis with New York, the conceptual & aesthetic discordance of no wave and a nascent off-beat dance culture underpinning much of the respective creative activity. There are shared signifiers, but even in that context, Two Wishes sounds oddly out of step, moving to its own unusual rhythm. 1001 Nights stutters along on a tribal beat that seems to run independent of skronking sax, spidery guitar lines and deadpan vocal incantations, the ghosts of two songs meeting in some kind of incompatible voodoo union. On the reverse, Treats slows down and dims the lights further, as Asquith sardonically recites desirous threats as an increasingly malevolent sax and guitar grinds behind him. No surprise the darkness within the music given the parent bands and the backdrop of a crepuscular early 80s Berlin, though there remains a complex compositional element to these songs that suggests a broader spectrum of emotion - desire, romance, and ultimately, infinite possibility.

Recut and mastered, Two Wishes is now presented with the original front cover artwork alongside additional imagery, including a 16 page booklet, all culled from Asquith's own archive. A brief bolt of energy at a crucial juncture in music history, Mutabor!'s story is emblematic of the mutli-verse of post-punk and the creativity its ideology necessitated.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) is the award winning drama film adaptation of the novel of the same name, produced by (a.o.) Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment. The original score and songs were composed and conducted by John Williams (the Star Wars & Indiana Jones trilogies, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and many more). The album won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Directed by Rob Marshall, the film stars Zhang Ziyi and Ken Watanabe, amongst others. The story revolves around a young girl who is sold by her family to an okiya, a geisha house. Her new family then sends her off to school to become a geisha. The story focuses on her struggle as a geisha to find love, while in the process making a lot of enemies. The film was nominated for and won numerous awards, including nominations for six Academy Awards, and eventually won three: Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

Available as a 15th anniversary edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on white vinyl. The package includes an insert and the D-side contains an etch.

Gitkin's music exists somewhere between primal, rootsy memory and distant exotic yearning — A dusty bordertown where the familiar blends imperceptibly into the enchantingly foreign.

After a long and fruitful run as a bandleader with relentlessly touring party-rockers Pimps Of Joytime and a Grammy-nominated country blues collaboration with Cedric Burnside, multi-instrumentalist Brian J set out to "explore tonalities I'd never messed with," as he puts it. It was a release from "having to write lyrics or involve my voice," he notes, and so the (mostly) instrumental sound of Gitkin came into being.

Reviews of Gitkin's first LP grappled with descriptors, tagging it vaguely as "cinematic" and comparing it favorably with Khruangbin. True, the music is largely wordless, emotionally evocative, and guitar driven. But it possesses an alluring alchemy all its own.

Gitkin's first release, 2018's well-received Five Star Motel, amply demonstrated his ease with earthy funk and comfortably-cut rhythm. On his new full-length release Safe Passage, the itinerant guitar slinger broadens his already rich palette with melodies informed by Greek and Middle Eastern modalities, Peruvian Chicha and Tuareg Saharan guitar styles. No gimmick, this juxtaposition of gut-bucket blues and funk low-end with unexpectedly twisting lead phrases highlights the intense flavors found in each savory ingredient.

Recorded at his home studio in New Orleans, Safe Passage showcases a new batch of immediately engaging, repeatedly satisfying cuts, ranging from surf exotica ("Cat Nip") to raunchy roadhouse stompers ("Fools Gold" and "The Drive") to dreamy vocal cuts "Foot Steps" and "Hold On" to the floating finale of "Safe Passage."

Gitkin's production radiates character and warmth, leaning on soft-focus vintage mics, dubby spring reverbs and the quirks of a tape console. Further enhancing the intimate vibe are guests like veteran Chauncey Yearwood (congas) and New Orleans local "Spug" Smith, who provides a sousaphone low-end on the cumbia-not-cumbia "Spug Life." Carol C lends her striking voice to three tracks, including the strutting single "De La."

Safe Passage will be released by Wonderwheel on September 18th, 2020 and will be available on vinyl, CD and digitally.

Sam Gendel’s Nonesuch Records debut, Satin Doll, was recorded in Gendel’s native California, and is a futuristic homage to historical jazz. The album features three musicians — Gendel on saxophone, Gabe Noel on electric bass, and Philippe Melanson on electronic percussion — engaging in simultaneous synchronized sonic construction/deconstruction of jazz standards, including Miles Davis’ ‘Freddie Freeloader’, Charles Mingus’ ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat’, and Duke Ellington’s ‘Satin Doll’.

Sam Gendel is a musician and producer living in Los Angeles, CA. He is most known for his work with the saxophone, though he is proficient on multiple instruments. His work is diverse and includes significant collaborations with a wide range of artists including Ry Cooder, Blake Mills, Sam Amidon, Perfume Genius, Moses Sumney, Knower, Vampire Weekend, and inc. no world. Gendel’s previous discography includes the critically praised Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar with bassist Sam Wilkes and 4444.

Soweto-born Sello Twala emerged as a key figure in South Africa’s bubblegum scene, initially cutting his teeth in the early 80s as part of groups Umoja, Harari and Image, who in 1985 released the track that would give him his nickname: ‘Chicco’. Teaming up with co-producer Attie van Wyk, later that year he released his first single as a solo artist, ‘We Can Dance’. It was followed in 1986 by ‘I Need Some Money’. Both tracks add accessible English lyrics and catchy call-and-response vocals to infectious Shangaan-rooted dance rhythms, appealing to a wide audience that defied apartheid categories and established Chicco as a charismatic solo star, as well as a talented producer, both in SA and across the continent. Based on the success of these breakthrough singles, Chicco would go on to release politically charged pop albums We Miss You Manelow (1987), Thina Sizwe Esimnyama (1989), Soldier (1989) and Papa Stop the War (1990) and Nomari (1991).

2020 Repress!

After two self released EPs, Eterna joins the Modern Obscure Music family. In another musical life, Eterna is a drummer and a sound engineer. Here the Barcelona based artist presents a varied EP that features beautiful melodies backed by distinctive instrumentation and percussive arrangements. Remix duties fall to the wonderful LA based experimentalist DNTEL, aka Jimmy Tamborello. Regatta features choppy textured beats, a bold keyed melody and a smooth bassline groove. The “Jimmy Tamborello” Remix from DNTEL is composed of competing parts that fit together surprisingly well. A menacing bass, powerful stop start beats and spacey synths meet on this remix. 277 is the deepest cut, with emotional strings, almost steel drum sounding keys and layered percussion. A Day In The Life rounds off the EP with walking paced sturdy beats, modulating synths and a springy bassline. This is a truly versatile EP from Eterna.

Today internationally renowned composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and visual artist Tim Koh announces the release of his debut solo album ‘In Your Dreams’, set for release on 18 September via Tim Burgess’ O Genesis Recordings. The announce follows the release of recent single ‘Fall Into Your Dream’ in May.

In Your Dreams is Tim’s most straightforward and accessible release to date, and an exciting addition to his body of solo work, which hitherto can broadly be described as experimental noise. The poignant song collection tackles core themes of life’s calamities, broken love, and transitory relationships, yet counterbalances its essential melancholy with a whimsical, upbeat, and playful spirit throughout. While not strictly autobiographical, the songs draw from Tim’s recent personal experiences during his two-year isolation from friends and family, and create a compelling narrative of alienation, loss, and love.

Tim wrote In Your Dreams in Amsterdam, L.A., and London in-between his time touring with Ariel Pink, and subsequently recorded the songs at home in Amsterdam while recovering from a near-fatal 2018 accident. The recurring hospitalizations that Tim has endured in recent years subtly find their way into the album through phone recordings from Tim’s actual hospital stints, underscoring the album’s themes on this highly personal work. In Your Dreams deftly juxtaposes lush, densely layered sounds with stark simplicity through a series of quick turnarounds, creating the captivating feeling of tension and release that characterizes this remarkable song collection.

Guest musicians on In Your Dreams include Chris Cohen on guitar, and drum help from Jay Watson (Tame Impala, Gum) and Josh da Costa (CMON). Adding to the family feel of the album, longtime Ariel Pink and Tim Koh collaborator Jorge Elbrecht performed mixing duties along with mastering by Heba Kadry.

DOWNFALL is the first album under the name SAITO created by Lena Saito, aka Galcid, and produced by accomplished analog synthesizer guru, Hisashi Saito, aka Lena’s husband. Having descended from a long line of Japanese sword-smiths, the industrial sound of smashing steel is embedded in Lena’s DNA and reflected in her music, however there are also refined, hypnotic tones showing a side with more finesse. The music itself is not scored and is predominantly improvised. Words and vocals are ad libbed as well. Sometimes the machines respond as if through telekinesis, altogether emitting a sound which can be categorized somewhere in the range between modern experimental dance music and something possibly making more sense to enlightened minds a thousand years in the future.




There is a new addition to the forge of talents of Mille Plateaux, a Japanese musician by the name of Saito whose album has been released on the label under the title of Downfall. After a whole series of releases under the signature tag clicks & cuts, there comes out a work, much more suited for a dance hall, that is different in terms of the genre from everything that has been published so far.
Like a bucket of ice-cold water poured over the head, erratic agressive hardcore rhythms pour all over the audience in the first track, interrupted only by grinding noises and minimalistic technogenic clicks.
Downfall won't fail to infect even the most experienced music connaisseur with its out-of-control energy, while offering a wide range of techniques: at times, robotic voices, one second long fragments of looped melodies and many other audio gimmicks.
Lena Saito (that is the author's name) is not afraid of conducting experiments in her chemical laboratory, freely mixing sound reagents without taking any precautions. It feels like, this new chemical substance, that she has been working on so thoroughly, contains quite a long list of ingredients, although its main component is the various rhythm breaks.
The synthesizer part of Red Hammer sounds in the best traditions of the acid style, and the rhythm section is akin to African tribal dances of the future. Downfall is absolutely unrelenting in its concept.
The melody of the composition Nucleosome is a little bit like the melancholic IDM of the 00s, finding itself secondary to the dominating, yet again convoluted rhythmical web meticulously woven by Saito.
This album can be definitely named as a big contender aspiring to start a new golden era of Mille Plateaux, and Saito as the hidden treasure of the label that can challenge even the veterans for the right to be the headliner.

Nasser Baker’s talent precedes him. A handpicked protégé of Dennis Ferrer, the blossoming talent is now carving his own niche in the house space. His ascension continues today with the release of ‘Tribes Of The Metronome,’ marking his DIRTYBIRD debut.

“Tribes Of The Metronome” uses sputtering bass and distorted vocals to make its impact, maintaining a consistent, yet driving pace that keeps energy levels high from start to finish. “About You” sees Baker laying on the heavy grooves, with a reverberated bassline, off-kilter synths, and crisp hi hats joining together with its vocal elements for a tech house piece with a classic flair. Both have been sought-after set weapons for Claude VonStroke, making their release particularly exciting for the DIRTYBIRD flock.

Beyond his work with Dennis Ferrer, Nasser Baker’s keen ear for house has been recognized by plenty of industry greats. His ‘Say Something’ EP on Circus was an instant hit, receiving remixes from the likes of Paul Woolford and Rebūke. Nasser’s work has also appeared numerous times on Objektivity, and recently, he was tapped by Green Velvet for an EP on Relief. It’s clear this young producer is here to stay!