After three studio albums and over a decade deep into the music game, THE INTERRUPTERS deliver their new album, In The Wild. This 14-track opus is the real deal; it's a story of survival, a story of resilience, by a band being bold and rejecting the easy impulses of simply repeating what's worked before. Together during lockdown, Aimee Interrupter, partner and guitarist Kevin Bivona, and his younger twin brothers, Jesse (drums) and Justin (bass), decided to put idle hands to work. After building a home studio in their garage together, Kevin stepped up and took charge of production duties to become "the accountable one" this time around. The record took shape in an unforced and organic fashion, and the recording process was evidently a fun one, which is reflected in the sound of the album, gliding across a spectrum of breathless punk rock, doo-wop, gospel, dancehall, and the band's customary nods to the lineage of two-tone. It's further evidenced in the uplifting spirit and the glittering rollcall of guests (Tim Armstrong, Rhoda Dakar, Hepcat, The Skints) involved too. Thanks to the cocoon of the intimate environment they'd built and relaxed working practices, the results made for the most personal Interrupters album to date, as well as being the one all four feel most connected to. The follow-up to their 2018 breakthrough album, Fight The Good Fight, which spawned multiple singles including "She's Kerosene", with over 50 Million streams to date. This smash-hit sent the band to the top of the radio charts across the globe, playing live with everyone from Dropkick Murphys to Green Day. It was Spring 2020 as they were headed out on an 8-week Hella Mega stadium tour in support of Green Day, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy in the U.S., when like the rest of the world, the band's plans went kaput. The forced time at home gave them a period of much-needed rest, followed by an injection of creative energy that led the band to write over 80 songs, curate a live album and documentary film about their lives and their first trip to Japan. THE INTERRUPTERS will be back on the road in mainland Europe in 2023.
Buscar:dance inc
After three studio albums and over a decade deep into the music game, THE INTERRUPTERS deliver their new album, In The Wild. This 14-track opus is the real deal; it's a story of survival, a story of resilience, by a band being bold and rejecting the easy impulses of simply repeating what's worked before. Together during lockdown, Aimee Interrupter, partner and guitarist Kevin Bivona, and his younger twin brothers, Jesse (drums) and Justin (bass), decided to put idle hands to work. After building a home studio in their garage together, Kevin stepped up and took charge of production duties to become "the accountable one" this time around. The record took shape in an unforced and organic fashion, and the recording process was evidently a fun one, which is reflected in the sound of the album, gliding across a spectrum of breathless punk rock, doo-wop, gospel, dancehall, and the band's customary nods to the lineage of two-tone. It's further evidenced in the uplifting spirit and the glittering rollcall of guests (Tim Armstrong, Rhoda Dakar, Hepcat, The Skints) involved too. Thanks to the cocoon of the intimate environment they'd built and relaxed working practices, the results made for the most personal Interrupters album to date, as well as being the one all four feel most connected to. The follow-up to their 2018 breakthrough album, Fight The Good Fight, which spawned multiple singles including "She's Kerosene", with over 50 Million streams to date. This smash-hit sent the band to the top of the radio charts across the globe, playing live with everyone from Dropkick Murphys to Green Day. It was Spring 2020 as they were headed out on an 8-week Hella Mega stadium tour in support of Green Day, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy in the U.S., when like the rest of the world, the band's plans went kaput. The forced time at home gave them a period of much-needed rest, followed by an injection of creative energy that led the band to write over 80 songs, curate a live album and documentary film about their lives and their first trip to Japan. THE INTERRUPTERS will be back on the road in mainland Europe in 2023.
Labyrinth Records presents a release from mysterious London-based producer Picpoul. A distinct talent that has an abundance of experience producing dance music, and displays his genre-defying studio prowess here with a huge club three-tracker entitled ‘The Feeling’ EP.
Stepping off the precipice with the colossal title track ‘The Feeling’, where Picpoul flexes a distinct ability for crafting mind-altering sounds presented with a unique harmony amongst a super-tight arrangement. Funky clavinet chords swell across a splashing breakbeat with interjections of throbbing synth bass and nano-slivers of vocals diced in for good measure. The pinnacle of ‘The Feeling’ comes via a monumental build-up where vocoder vocals and cascading breaks amass at a critical point. 'The Feeling' is a track with a grungy bassline and rolling breaks that should appeal to the heads but equally has a vibrancy and sparkle that genuinely has crossover potential in the mainstream. For this reason, the EP includes an extended version and radio edit.
It's been so long but finally we are back with our 3rd release OTTEP20, brought to you by the Venezuelan artist Onoffon based in Barcelona and resident Dj in MAD Radio. The release has two original cuts that fit perfectly for the dance-floor with tracending melodies, acid basses and energetic drums patterns. It includes a sick remix by the well-known producer Len Lewis which is a track irresistible for the peak hour.
**Hardcore, FWD dance music from two leading sound artists. Edition of 500, Mastered and cut by Matt Colton** Mark Fell and Gábor Lázár ratchet the game with their razor-sharp debut collaboration, 'The Neurobiology of Moral Decision Making'. As promised in the wake of Gábor's acclaimed vinyl debut, 'EP16', the duo have colluded on a full set of ten tracks, ranging from short synapse bursts thru to an uncannily emotive 12 minute masterpiece on the closing side. As the 10th release on The Death of Rave, it demonstrates the distance travelled since the early '90s paradigm shift of original rave culture, effecting a radical recalibration of meter and tone conventions in electronic/dance music, and by turns, acutely probing our perception of time and space. Essentially it's incredibly "funky", if "funk" is taken to mean syncopation or a play on tension-and-resolution. By utilising the grid-morphing potential of Max/MSP software, they unlock mutant ballistic patterns cleanly weaving between and recoding the tendons and ligament of techno, garage, footwork and hardcore with muscle memory-reprogramming impact. Kicks, claps and visceral chromatic stabs land at irregular, blind-spot junctures, acutely rewiring our sense of rhythmic anticipation and offering a thrilling new freedom of expression and dancefloor discipline in the process. It's a masterful step forward from Yorkshireman, Mark Fell's Sensate Focus output and SND classics, and, likewise, a logical leap from Budapest-based Max whizz, Gábor Lázár. If you're into Mumdance, Errorsmith, Lorenzo Senni, Autechre, Actress or SND; we'd say it's as essential as they come.
The LP ‘All Welcome on Planet Ree-Vo’ due for release on 29th July could only really have been made in one city steeped as it is in Bristol’s decades of less conventional hip hop and bass music. Tweaked and fine tuned during the summer of 2020 the record punches with a mix of red eyed paranoia to a playful future funk.
The album was all recorded, produced and mixed by Andy at Christchurch Studios, Bristol (home of Mezzanine era Massive Attack) with all vocals written and performed by T. Relly.
During 2021 the first two singles from the LP were released. The first was the juggernaut that is ‘Groove With It’. T. Relly growling out polemic against the relentless cacophony spun by Andy Spaceland, The brutality of the bass and horns is temporarily smoothed with Relly’s soulful, swaggering placation of ‘Turn your speakers on/ Till ya speakers blown baby/ If you’re feeling strong baby/ We can keep it going baby’.
This was followed in April by the 12” release of Combat featuring a thumping remix by Surgeon (Tresor Records) and an extended electro remix by Ree-Vo themselves.
2022 began with the limited red 7” release of remixes by NØISE and Batbirds with stunning original artwork by Shepard Fairey who came to the project via mutual friend Joe Cassidy (Butterfly Child). The release was announced on OBEY’s website
‘Spacebox’ which will be the last single to be released in time with the album is their hookiest, a party throwing chorus spinning tipsy visitors around the intergalactic control booth of mission control.
“Lift off, blast off, shirt off, dance off! Naked in the dancehall SPACE BOX!” is the beamed mantra, Relly transmitting to all occupants of the galaxy.
“We wanted to make a hedonistic and colourful dancehall track, a bold response to the suppressive circumstances of the last two years”.
About Ree-Vo:
T. Relly is pure Bristol hip-hop royalty – known in the community variously for his links to all of the city’s major club nights, his passion and support for the most disadvantaged (through his work with the youth and prison leavers), through to compering stages at St Paul’s Carnival and his seminal 2018 LP with DJ Rogue ‘Let Them Know’. He collaborates with many crews including Innalife and Killer Crab Men.
Andy Spaceland (AKA Andy Jenks) got involved in Bristol bass music as soon as he moved to the city with Static Sound System and a collaborative 12” with Rudy Tambala (AR Kane) as Sugarboat Vs Sufi, before his band Alpha were signed to Massive Attack’s label Melankolic, whilst he also became one of their tour DJ’s. His CV of collaborations range from Smith and Mighty to Madonna. He has released music on Dj Die’s label, Gutterfunk as White Bully and he is also currently releasing music with US producer Butch Vig in the band 5 Billion in Diamonds, whilst working on new tracks with Mark Stewart (The Pop Group) including remixes by Adrian Sherwood. His signature sound can also be heard on this remix for Elizabeth Fraser -
The LP ‘All Welcome on Planet Ree-Vo’ due for release on 29th July could only really have been made in one city steeped as it is in Bristol’s decades of less conventional hip hop and bass music. Tweaked and fine tuned during the summer of 2020 the record punches with a mix of red eyed paranoia to a playful future funk.
The album was all recorded, produced and mixed by Andy at Christchurch Studios, Bristol (home of Mezzanine era Massive Attack) with all vocals written and performed by T. Relly.
During 2021 the first two singles from the LP were released. The first was the juggernaut that is ‘Groove With It’. T. Relly growling out polemic against the relentless cacophony spun by Andy Spaceland, The brutality of the bass and horns is temporarily smoothed with Relly’s soulful, swaggering placation of ‘Turn your speakers on/ Till ya speakers blown baby/ If you’re feeling strong baby/ We can keep it going baby’.
This was followed in April by the 12” release of Combat featuring a thumping remix by Surgeon (Tresor Records) and an extended electro remix by Ree-Vo themselves.
2022 began with the limited red 7” release of remixes by NØISE and Batbirds with stunning original artwork by Shepard Fairey who came to the project via mutual friend Joe Cassidy (Butterfly Child). The release was announced on OBEY’s website
‘Spacebox’ which will be the last single to be released in time with the album is their hookiest, a party throwing chorus spinning tipsy visitors around the intergalactic control booth of mission control.
“Lift off, blast off, shirt off, dance off! Naked in the dancehall SPACE BOX!” is the beamed mantra, Relly transmitting to all occupants of the galaxy.
“We wanted to make a hedonistic and colourful dancehall track, a bold response to the suppressive circumstances of the last two years”.
About Ree-Vo:
T. Relly is pure Bristol hip-hop royalty – known in the community variously for his links to all of the city’s major club nights, his passion and support for the most disadvantaged (through his work with the youth and prison leavers), through to compering stages at St Paul’s Carnival and his seminal 2018 LP with DJ Rogue ‘Let Them Know’. He collaborates with many crews including Innalife and Killer Crab Men.
Andy Spaceland (AKA Andy Jenks) got involved in Bristol bass music as soon as he moved to the city with Static Sound System and a collaborative 12” with Rudy Tambala (AR Kane) as Sugarboat Vs Sufi, before his band Alpha were signed to Massive Attack’s label Melankolic, whilst he also became one of their tour DJ’s. His CV of collaborations range from Smith and Mighty to Madonna. He has released music on Dj Die’s label, Gutterfunk as White Bully and he is also currently releasing music with US producer Butch Vig in the band 5 Billion in Diamonds, whilst working on new tracks with Mark Stewart (The Pop Group) including remixes by Adrian Sherwood. His signature sound can also be heard on this remix for Elizabeth Fraser -
King Tubby and Producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee are intertwined in the birth of Dub Music. After discovering a mistake that made a ‘serious joke’ (more of which later...) they went on to release the first pressings of this new musical genre namely ‘Dub Music’. Tubby’s vast knowledge of electronics and Bunny’s vast catalogue of rhythms would lay the foundations of what today is taken as a standard... the Remix / Version cuts to an existing vocal tune.
Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 28th January 1941 and grew up in the High Holborn Street area of downtown Kingston. He studied electronics at Kingston’s National Technical College and also on two correspondence courses from the U.S.A... When he had qualified Tubby began repairing radios and other electrical appliances in a shack in the back yard of his mother’s home. His work in the early days included winding transformers and building amplifiers for Kingston’s Sound Systems. Tubby built his first Sound System in 1957 playing jazz and Rhythm & Blues at local weddings and birthday parties. His reputation as a man who knew and understood both electronics and music grew steadily and as the sixties drew to a close. Tubby purchased his own basic two track equipment. He installed this alongside his dub cutting machine, a homemade mixing console and his impressive collection of Jazz albums in the back bedroom of his home at 18 Dromilly Avenue which he christened his music room.
Tubby and Striker were at Treasure Isle Studio’s one day while Ruddy from Spanish Town was working with the engineer Byron Smith....
“Tubby and myself was talking when Ruddy was cutting some dub but Smithy (engineer) made a mistake through we were talking and forgot to put in the voice. It was two track recording in those days. Ruddy said ‘No Man! Make it stay! and so they cut the rhythm. When I went over to Ruddy’s that Saturday night a dance was in progress and when they played the vocal to the tune... then he said we’re going to play ‘Part Two’. They never called it ‘Version’..and then he played the rhythm track. The song was a catchy song and everybody started to sing along and the deejay started to toast so everything went down well. On Monday morning I went up and I said ‘Tubbs the mistake we made was a serious joke. It mash up Spanish Town! The people went wild. So you have to start to do that now ‘cause when the man put on the ‘Part Two’ everyone start singing this song. It played about twenty times. I said you try Tubbs!’...Well the next Saturday night now when Tubby strung up down the farm U Roy said he’s going to play ‘Part Two’ but Tubby did it different now. He started with the voice then dropped it out and let the rhythm run and then he brought in the voice in the middle and from there Tubby started to get really popular.’’
Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
Dynamic Sounds upgraded to sixteen track recording in 1972 and Tubby purchased, again with the help of a deal brokered by Bunny Lee. The old four track equipment and the MCI console from their Studio B. The four tracks now gave him far wider scope to work with and he began to create a new musical form where the bass and drum parts were brought up while the faders allowed Tubby to ease the vocal and rhythm in and out of the mix. It was only a matter of time before Tubby’s dub plate experiments began to make it on to vinyl and the first ever long-playing King Tubby releases would feature a collection of his mixes to a selection of Strikers rhythms. So please sit back and enjoy this historic set of sounds, mixed by King Tubby and Mr Prince Phillip Smart and another set of scorcher Bunny Lee rhythms.
The second LP on Hot Concept from Yr Lovely Dead Moon, aka, Rachel Margetts. ‘‘Don’t Look Now!’ mixes post-punk, electronica and jazz influences alongside Margetts’ hypnotic vocal poetry, reminiscent of Jenny Hval or Anne Clark, to deliver an incendiary and captivating critique of the oppressive forces of modernity, easily walking a tightrope between tenderness and tension.
It's been almost 3 years since the first volume of Dancefloor Detonators enhanced our nocturnal revelries, so it's a welcome treat to see a second volume has now made an appearance.
As with the first release, Volume 2 follows a similar principle, namely to put on vinyl some of the most popular tracks from the label's digital catalogue alongside some exclusive new cuts, appearing here for the first time to keep things 100% fresh. The resultant 5-tracker is nothing short of sublime.
Label regulars Secret Circuit, Sordid Sound System and Bal5000 appear alongside Optimo Music regular Feon and newcomer Wanda Krak.
ft. Leia Contois
Crosstown Rebels has remained at the forefront of contemporary dance music for nearly two decades. Championing both breakthrough artists as well as those well-established, the 15th of April will see this perfectly encapsulated as label-head Damian Lazarus, global-house duo Gorgon City and rising vocalist Leia Contois team up on Start Over, Crosstown’s biggest release of the year so far.
Tribal-like drum patterns get things underway on Start Over, as we’re soon graced with the enchanting vocals of Leia Contois. Mesmeric and moving, her delicate lyrical offerings complement the electronic sounds of Damian and Gorgon City, with the introduction of a driving lead bassline in the track’s second half helping to create a hard, club-ready edge. It feels emotive and geared for the dancefloor simultaneously, showcasing an innate chemistry between each artist.
Damian Lazarus: DJ, producer, Crosstown Rebels label-head and internationally recognised talent. His contributions to electronic music speak for themselves, from championing the likes of Jamie Jones and Seth Troxler in their early days, to running and operating multiple festivals in the form of Day Zero and Get Lost. From global headline tours to achieving several UK Top Ten singles, Gorgon City have become one the UK’s most successful electronic producers in recent years. Crossing over into mainstream popularity whilst remaining true to their underground roots, the boys have sold out venues the world over, with London club highlights including Printworks, Tobacco Dock and O2 Academy Brixton to name a few. US-native Leia Contois is an actress, model and vocalist. Her contributions on Start Over marks her maiden appearance on Crosstown Rebels, setting the tone for a highlight year ahead.
Ending a break of twelve years, The Villains Inc. returns from the past to deliver four lost tracks from the label mastermind himself! Author of a short yet remarkable discography on Dominance Electricity, Electro Empire, and Drivecom just to name, Italian don Gab.Gato takes this opportunity to revisit some of his classics by a quatuor of undisputed electro heavyweights.
UK veteran Phil Klein opens hostilities on A side with his outstanding remix of "Electro Empire". Originally released on German Electrocord back in 2003, Gab.Gato's version sees a luminous electro-funk treatment in pure Bass Junkie style. Needless to say this electro banger will hit you hard with its untouchable sub bass, oldschoolish tones, hammering drums and retrofuturistic atmosphere!
Italian techno / electro legend Max Durante, coming next, propels "The Villains Inc" cut to another dimension. Taken from the "No Light Or Shadow EP" (ATVS002 in 2008), the track mutes into a milestone of an experimental slaughter tinted with industrial sororities. Following a catchy Speak n' Spell overture, the song introduces some hot and sexy female orgasms, while a heading acid line enhanced by a straight to the point rhythm will drive you on the dancefloor.
US DJ / Producer Sinistarr on the flip goes deeper into the realm with his "Couterterrorism" rework of "A Scanner Darkly". Published on Boris Divider's Drivecom in 2007, the tune evolves into a completely fresh and transformed version. A frantic bassline carries you away on a fast inducing grimey dancefloor boogie combined with hi tones and no nonsense electro beat!
Last but not the least, Drexciyan Dj Stingray closes the EP with its groovy "313 Psycotropic mix" of "S.N.A", a tune written by Gab.Gato and Matteo Merlo in 2007 on "The Systematik Network Attack EP" (ATVS001). Stingray's mix sounds like a sonic, ethereal and thought after assault based upon cutting-edge sororities over playful vocals.
Craftily written and designed (artwork project by Gab.Gato, and illustrated by Simonloop aka Urbanmagic, in 2009 was prophetic on his own: clones programmed to reappear from the past), nasty "Reprogrammed EP" features the almighty ATVS signature we all know, a dark, magnetic and rough sound ranging from breakbeat acid-tinged to Detroit-influenced electro and techno style. Should we mention that this limited 12" (no digital) is expected to sell fast and earn the status of collectible masterpiece, just like the previous releases on the label!
Emerging Netherlands-based pairing Parallells will land on Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels imprint for the first time next month. Gifting us an emotive offering in Ashes of Snow (The Rebirth Of The Phoenix), it acts as a tribute to their favourite Portuguese beach club, Yamba, which was tragically destroyed by a fire last year.
The title track hits a wonderful sweet spot between electronic elements and organic instrumentals. It feels raw and authentic, blending saxophone segments, electric guitar tones and a jazzy-like backbone to form a cut that feels ripe for both sunrise or sunset. On The Banks of The River comes next, manifesting as a more toughened dance music number thanks to deep bass components whilst still retaining the boys’ natural sound. Rounding off proceedings is Clive Henry, who’s remix of Ashes of Snow flies the flag for contemporary minimal. Weighty kicks reside next to delicate hats before ethereal synths are brought in, creating a romanian-inspired piece that you can’t help but dance to.
Parallells are two Amsterdam-based brothers hailing from the south of France. Multi-instrumentalists, composers, producers and label owners (Klassified), their music cuts across electronica, electro-jazz and underground dance music. Their live, hybrid and DJ sets have graced some of the world’s most esteemed stages, including DGTL, Robot Heart, Mayan Warrior, The Gardens of Babylon, Wonderfruit and many more besides. Their music is also heavily influenced by world culture, a feat that led them to launch their video series concept A Day In. Through this, they immerse in diverse cultures around the world, capturing sounds from their day-to-day life and unfold the story through the medium of music. Clive Henry is a linchpin of house music as we know it today. Cutting his teeth as one half of the tribal house duo Peace Division, he has held a long-term residency at Circoloco, Ibiza and has racked up bookings at standout venues and festivals including Printworks and Houghton to name a few.
Wah Wah 45s are proud to present the return of 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 over a decade now, Medlar.
The pair first joined forces seven 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 a perfect match.
Two years on from their first recorded output, the Full Moon EP - a record that received radio support from Gilles Peterson on BBC 6Music, as well as tastemakers and DJs across the globe, and was even featured on the latest edition of Grand Theft Auto -the duo return with the State Of Play EP. The heavy hitting four tracker features special guests Tamar Osborn of Collocutor fame, and South African rising star Zito Mowa, as well as a pair of Dele and Medlar's most popular jams from their live sets, perfectly baked for the dance floor.
Early support has come from Huey Morgan, Tom Ravenscroft and Deb Grant on BBC 6Music; Sarah Ward on Jazz FM; DJs on Resonance FM, Worldwide FM and many more besides.
The EP will be available on vinyl this summer with incredible artwork from our in-house art director Animisiewasz and eye-catching packaging.
Radio Slave & Dustin Zahn team up as Radio Zahn for ‘Berlin Sessions Vol. 1’.
Joining forces for the first time, Radio Slave and Dustin Zahn launch their collaborative works as Radio Zahn with a set of colourful, groove-laden techno tracks inspired by the sound of mid-90s New York on Rekids this May. Across all three mixes of ‘Twilo’ and ‘Power Muzik’, the duo deploys chunky, hard-hitting drums alongside building arrangements and masterful use of synths and dubbed-out FX, with the former featuring vocals by Toy Tonics member Kosmo Klint. A dream for fans of intricate, dancefloor-friendly techno, the release showcases why Radio Slave and Dustin Zahn are two of the most consistently exciting artist in dance music.
Responsible for some of the most recognisable tracks in the genre, including ‘Grindhouse’, ‘Don’t Stop No Sleep’, ‘Another Club’, and other timeless cuts, Radio Slave aka Matt Edwards’ work with Joel Martin as Quiet Village and solo work as Rekid has received critical acclaim, and he remains one of the most in-demand and consistent remixers around.
Since the late ’90s, Zahn’s hypnotic and driving techno has consistently caught the ears of top DJs and labels worldwide, best exemplified at his legendary marathon sets at Berghain. His vital work with Intellephunk includes the nearly two decades long running Communion after-hours events, cementing his invaluable contributions to the Minneapolis techno scene and beyond.
Ethno Service, a moniker for two electronic musicians based in Prague, are here with their debut long-player 'NMA'. Released via LBD Sounds tape series, it comprises six masterfully crafted original compositions and a couple of remixes, including an uneasy jungle rework by Exhausted Modern's new alias Oblaka and a spaced-out ambient escapism remix by voodoo priestess Lucie aka Avsluta. It's not an easy listening affair, broken and sometimes unnerving rhythms blended with duo's uniquely moody atmosphere, ever morphing and taking you places you didn't even know existed. Expect percussion-heavy tracks on a lower side of bpm spectrum. You may dive into this album horizontally, or try to find out if it's still danceable. Is it? Sure it is!
The Idealist is one of the many projects of Joachim Nordwall who has a long history in Swedish experimental music running the quintessential iDEAL Recordings record label since 1998, as a member of the psych-drone duo Alvars Orkester, avant punk rock trio Kid Commando and ritual drone rock group The Skull Defekts and through his many solo recordings and collaborations with people such as John Duncan, Aaron Dilloway, Mika Vainio, Mats Gustafsson, Leif Elggren, Gabi Losoncy, Mark Wastell and Christine Abdelour.
As The Idealist, he has been delving into an amalgam of experimental techno, dub and industrial music since 2006. His new A Lion Is A Lion And Not A Lamb continues this perspective unabatedly, conjuring up six tracks that shimmer with an almost psychotropic intensity, sometimes including acidic touches, dwelling in a confrontational minimalist musical stance where repetition, bursts of gorgeous noise and dubbed out skeletal rhythms make for wayward yet driving grooves at home on the dance floor and a set of headphones alike. The Idealist looks for engagement within rhythm, in its almost purest
form.
Cult South Asian New Wave! Naya Beat is proud to announce its second release, Tere Liye, the highly sought after and impossible to find New Wave album by the unsung pioneers of the British Asian music scene, Pinky Ann Rihal. Remastered for vinyl by multi Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt at The Carvery and available for the first time since its limited 1985 release, the album is as fresh and relevant today as it was 37 years ago.
South Asian New Wave. Four words that you will rarely see together. Pinky Ann Rihal were the brainchild of two London-based Punjabi immigrants and progressive rock musicians – Harry Rihal and Jati Sodhi – at a time in the U.K. when progressive rock musicians were almost exclusively white and Punjabi musicians were almost exclusively making Bhangra. Encouraged by their friend and disco pioneer Biddu (yes, that Biddu!), they cut ‘Tere Liye’ – a one-off Hindi-language New Wave album with producer John Hamilton and vocalists Pinky Rihal (married to Harry) and Anne Barrett (married to John). It is an album that exemplifies the cultural collaboration and musical synthesis of the time. Complementing the rich, cosmic and layered synths and drum programming of Hamilton and the distorted guitars of Rihal and Sodhi are the Hindi lyrics of vocalists Pinky and Anne. The result is an amazing one-of-a-kind South Asian New Wave album. Nothing like it has come out before or since.
Stymied on its original release by bungled distribution, poor marketing and plenty of bad luck, this incredible album seemed destined to be lost to history. With Asian electronic music in the U.K. seeing a rebirth and capturing imaginations around the world,‘Tere Liye’ can finally take its rightful place as one of the pioneering albums of the Asian underground.
This is Naya Beat’s second release in a series of reissues, reworks and remixes, and compilations dedicated to uncovering electronic and dance music from the overlooked ‘80s and ‘90s South Asian music scene. Their first release Naya Beat Volume 1: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1983-1992 was named by the Vinyl Factory as the Number 1 reissue of 2021.
Mr. K transports us to the golden era of the Loft with two disparate, but equally heavyweight classics from the Mancuso oeuvre mastered and cut loud, deep, and clear for club play.
First up is an edit of a track that embodies the spirit of early ’80s downtown New York City. Released in 1982, “Konk Party” was the band’s calling card and first hit, and represented their multicultural, no wave, hip-hop/disco hybrid perfectly, the opening sax riff itself a sly nod to Wild Sugar’s breakbeat classic “Bring It Here” that the Beastie Boys would later sample. A Loft staple — the video was even filmed there — “Konk Party” was also played widely across the influential clubs of the day, becoming an instant staple at Danceteria, Mudd Club, and other hot spots. The easy-going groove, heavy on the percussion and low-slung bass, complimented by bilingual lyrics from Angel Quiñones, has dated well, and sounds especially ready for action in this new edit from Mr. K, largely inspired by the original 12-inch’s choice Uptown Breakdown Mix. This is the first time “Konk Party” has been available on 7-inch.
The heavy percussion backing is perhaps the only similar element that links our A-side to its flip, but that only goes to show the breadth of styles that coexisted in the audio landscape of the Loft. “Hold On To Your Mind,” first released in 1970 by Northern Irish rock group Andwella, is a heavy, psychedelic tour de force that more than lives up to its cautionary, heady title. Mr. K has outdone himself with his new mix, a supercharged blend of extended percussion breaks — absent on previous 7-inch mixes — driving vocals, and fuzz guitar. For those who have never been able to track down the original single, an expensive proposition, and even for those who have, this new edit is certainly the definitive version.
The Konduko 7" series ends with the 4th and possibly best single with Noel Williams aka King Sporty's cover version of Bob Marley's Them Belly Full, here released as Dance To The Music.
First released on the Natty Dread album of 1974, it was Marley's first album working away from Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer and was a spiritually charged political and social statement, also featuring classics No Women, No Cry, Lively Up Yourself and Rebel Music.
As an associate and friend from their Studio One days, William's version makes sense, in the tradition of covers throughout reggae's history. Appearing a year late, the 1975 single came in Jamaican and US pressings, a nod to Konduko's roots, having started in Kingston before the move to Miami in the earlier part of the decade.
A warning against allowing the poor to go hungry, with the prophetic "a hungry mob is an angry mob", the cover includes a lot of the Miami feel Sporty was incorporating. With instrumentation again from the Ocean Liners KC And Sunshine backing band), the horns and guitar raise the soul, with counter keys, Part 1 is a straight vocal, while Part 2 is close to a Version but more than an instrumental and in its title, shows its funk and soul background too. A perfect end to the series, the uplifting tracking belies the powerful message, bringing the Miami swing to the JA groove once more.




















