quête:dark

Blood Debts' is the compulsive debut album from Years Of Denial, the alter-face of London-based French musician/producer and DJ, Jerome Tcherneyan.

Though his formulative Marseille youth was spent exploring the darkest corners of post-punk, New Wave, not to mention Public Enemy and the inspirational Mille Plateaux and Basic Channel labels, Tcherneyan, already an extremely capable drummer, quickly extended his sonic palate toward and beyond the bass-heavy electronic isolationism, insistent beats and drone experimentation that's still very much prevalent in his work today.
One should not either pass over his integral contribution to the much-lauded, though stolidly underground "ghost-rock" unit, Piano Magic, which engineered sublime collaborations with Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance), Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil) and Alan Sparhawk (Low). Tcherneyan, always prolific, can also lay claim to impressive collusions with Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah (African Head Charge), Damo Suzuki (Can), 70's psych folk legend, Mark Fry to name but a few.
In 2005, Jerome founded and promoted the infamous 'Flesh' parties; guests including Andy Stott /Claro Intelecto/Edit-Select/James Ruskin/Kirk Degiorgio/Mark Broom/Oliver Ho/Sigha/Steve Bicknell and many more. These nights served as an invaluable education in Techno and Dubmixology; marathon sets played deep into the sunrise.
Skip forward a decade and the DJ bug is even deeper embedded, with Tcherneyan sharing the booth with, amongst many others, Orphx/Phase Fatale/Joefarr and London Modular Alliance.

Tcherneyan's muse and foil on 'Blood Debts,' his first for Oliver Ho's splendid and already essential new Death & Leisure imprint, is Maya Petrovna, an entrancing London-based vocalist, film composer and performance/physical theatre artist, whose voice perfectly evokes Billie Holliday, Diamanda Galas and all stations between.
There's a black neon heart at the centre of 'Blood Debts,' a fetishtic ritual of contorted flesh and altered states; a feverish, infectious paradox of primitivism and modernity. Years of Denial is the ghost in the machine.

Moonshine Recordings continues to coordinate dub into all sorts of directions with its steady throughput of vinyl releases. This time around, it's the Spanish-based Bukkha to uplift all followers with two up-tempo rollers that take part in his crucial 'Ruling Sound' EP. His name has been all over the news inside bass culture lately, as the American released highly noted physical music on critical labels like Killa Sound and Dub-Stuy Records. He's been working his way to the top and the only thing the Moonshine Recordings imprint can do is support his efforts in pushing dub music to the masses at any given moment of the day.
On top of this wicked news, Portland's dub producer and engineer 'Skelli Skel' joins this session to frame the taste of the 'PDX Mandem' collective from back home. His love for complex rhythms and heavy bass lines fuel his adventure inside dub culture, something you'll hear when listening to 'MS028'. And with the familiar voice from don Junior Dread, who jumps in on the hype by illuminating the dub with carefully selected freedom of speech, it's the collaboration that speaks for itself. To top it all, TMSV is added to the release roster, a producer whose been dealing some serious damage with his inventive music repertoire. Whether it's music on the darker tip, or the more laidback sound, both Bukkha and TMSV know how to uplift and please their followers with bass-heavy, eardrums-teasing bass music.
Bukkha's 'Ruling Sound' leads his way through musicality by portraying the right balance of instruments and not to mention the gigantic bassline that disperses vibrantly through the lower bottom of the mix. The reigning vocal support from Junior Dread and dub techniques from PDX Mandem family Skelli Skell work out fantastically, as it makes this record come to life. Listen to the instrumental part that propagates in the exact sense of 'dub music', regardless of spinning on a higher beats per minute. The version 'Ruling Dub' by Bukkha himself plays a more meditative part inside your headspace; a clipping where basslines and effects will act up in a blurred version. It's the real attention to detail the American producer shares with remix boss TMSV, who hits fans with a darker joint that pays homage to Drum & Bass. It's aggressive stance forms the pinnacle of 'the right' B-side of a Moonshine Recordings plate. Just make sure you experience the second drop of this absolutely mammoth interpretation, as TMSV shuts down the place!

The Micronaut creates the soundtrack for those moments when the screeching of the subway and the steps on the wet pavement have echoed away into the dark city sky. Those moments when the ghosts of fumes and stop lights haunt the empty streets, when behind glowing windows dreams and urban exit strategies get ready for bed. When everybody is close to each other, but everyone is on his own. When the city comes to a standstill, but the wheels inside the heads of its inhabitants keep spinning. Stefan Streck discovers the musical equivalent for this epic atmosphere somewhere between Bass Music, Electronica and Pop. The cinematic soundscapes of his nocturnal City Blues have a somewhat tragic vibe, which is very noticeable both during the impulsive, passionate live shows of The Micronaut and on 'Forms', his third studio album on Acker Records, distributed through Kompakt. Between moments of deep melancholy and sudden eruptions of blissful euphoria he creates a feverish state of tension.

Repress

This is the third release on the fledgling Genosha Basic label. Ghost in the Machine is back to serve up four dark and brooding industrial techno dance floor destroyers that are guaranteed to mess with your sensibilities. This record's got everything: huge intros, huger kickdrums, hugerer breakdowns and cute little hi-hats. It's a winner.

Following releases on labels such as Greco-Roman, TTT and Templar Sound, Dro Carey (Eugene Ward) returns to the scene with his new offering, the industrious yet delicate track 'Queensberry Rules' featuring the vocals of KUCKA, taken from his Dark Zoo EP, out now via Australian label Soothsayer.
Where his previous releases have been firmly focused on the smoke-riddled clubs, Queensberry Rules sees Dro Carey traverse new territory. Working with KUCKA and Collarbones' Marcus Whale on the track, 'Queensberry Rules' sees the Sydney producer creating a unique pop sound, however maintain the gritty DNA that he is so distinctively known for.
As Dro states ''Queensberry Rules' are the set of rules that outline the general code for boxing matches. It's a document about fairness and sportsmanship in a pretty violent activity. That immediately struck me as a great title for a demo. Working with KUCKA and Marcus Whale (of Collarbones) as a co-writer, I think their lyrics perfectly hit upon the sense of irony that I wanted the song to have.'
The track was the first official taste from his Dark Zoo EP which sees Ward push the limits even further within his musical explorations. Whether it's the pop moments of 'Queensberry Rules' and 'Dark Zoo' where he employs the vocals of both KUCKA and FKL respectively to elevate the sonic sensory overload to new levels, to the brooding club explorations that are 'Grow Lithe' and 'Hidden Halls'; the EP is his musical coup d'état from the outset - simultaneously sinister, restrained and intoxicating.
We are absolutely thrilled to present this little gem on Vinyl. This special vinyl release also includes not only the single, but two remixes from heavy weights Mall Grab and Cassius, and a very special new track titled 'Under' which is and will always only be available on the vinyl release of this. Dive in!

Semper Memor's fourth Ep, a timeless dance floor winner for the darker hours from Berlin based artist Uqbar (aka Solune from Arcarsenal, BCR). Uqbar merges electro and techno elements with acid lines, electronica/IDM references, and spatial aesthetics. Including EBM infused remix from Detroit stalwart Chris Mitchell.

The 5th Myor Massiv release also marks FFF's 3rd outing for the label. No split this time, but a full 4 track solo ep by the Dutch Amen manipulator extraordinaire. No time for funny business on this one. FFF takes you straight into moody sci-fi territory and heavy yet intricate choppage on 'It Began In Man's Mind', followed by 'We Sleep', on which he takes a slightly less throat-cut approach, slowly building things up to a dark hoover climax. 'Would D Think It's Smooth Enough' displays a beautiful mish mash of slick sounding synth stabs, 808 Juke drums and break beats. Dedicated to Dyanko. The ep is finished off in style with 'Murder Comet', which kicks off with a loud and clear clash message to all soundboys out there, followed by a spot of smoothness, only to take a turn for the worse again after about a minute or so, before all mayhem is finally unleashed via a set of mentasm stabs halfway through the tune. No prisoners, no mercy..

The Europe-centered techno scene might be thinking: Where is techno in a city as vast, dynamic and electric as New York It's alive and well, and keeps growing through aptly-named NEW YORK TRAX. Founded in 2016 and based in Brooklyn, NEW YORK TRAX is an outlet for New York music, by New York artists, in New York city.
New York Trax 02 was written by Boris Brenecki (Ontal, Impulse Controls), who has recently relocated to New York, starting a new chapter in his life and artistic career. This record is the very first material he produced in New York, heavily inspired by the city and its people. 'The Oven', with its continuous filthy groove intensified by metallic percussions, is a serious candidate for an instant classic and a deadly weapon when used on a dancefloor. The grittiness of "The Oven" was depicted through images of the less beaten paths of New York in a well-received official video published recently by the label. Dark yet insanely dynamic "Transit System", based on field recordings of the New York City subway, opens with a bang the B side of the record, followed by "Strictly Hardcore", a sonic manifesto of brutality. Get it while it's hot!

Here comes R-Zone 05, this time coming from a pair of established producers who work both solo and as a duo (and one of them runs a prominent German label). The first track is 'Jungle Fever', a slowed down, dub-culture tinged track of sampled loon bird calls, tooting melodies and raw metallic drums that churn deep down below. It's the sort of track that needs to be played in summer, ideally with a reefer on the go. 'Down-E rave' again calls on druggy references for its inspiration - this time E'd-up dancefloors in the mid-nineties. It's a lazy beat with curious vocal stabs, prominent drum breaks and plenty of deft synth work that takes you up, up and away in style. The flip-side sees two versions of 'nRg Zone'. The Happy Mix is a rinsed out and tripped out track of streaming melodies, more old school and rough drums and plenty of bright, pixelated melodies stabs as well as softer background pads. The Moody Mix operates much more down in the darkened doldrums. It seems to have heavy heart and sultry mood as the percussion churns on beneath golden streaming pads and like everything on the R-Zone series, is stuffed with plenty of very real atmosphere.

American experimental musican Shane English continues in a long tradition of outsider electronics as he's been humbly prolific in his output though the years involving himself in numerous recording projects.Collaborating with Jonah Lange in their group Corporate Park as well as an ongoing collab with Beau Wanzer (seeing a release last year under the CP/BW name), English now commits his second full length solo offering to vinyl in the form of the General Dimensions lp.Sparse machine driven electronics dominate the recording providing a back drop for the occasional pulsating rhythm, metallic clank or floating obscured vocal. While it is a dark and sparse affair there is a quiet downtrodden beauty throughout giving the recording a sense of uncertain serenity in an almost shoegazey way. Highly recommended for those into early electronics.

It's been five years since his acclaimed debut 'Severant' and time has proved it prescient, its futuristic trap influence is now ubiquitous. 'Slow Knife' seems to return to where 'Severant' left off, but with the intricate sound design of last year's haunting EP 'Assertion Of A Surrounding Presence' subsumed into the compositions, making them more exacting and beautifully crafted. Between albums Kuedo has been working as a sound designer and composer for hire and the application of intent and widescreen rigour that commercial work requires has definitely found its way into the new album. 'Slow Knife' has the subtlety, ambition and pacing of a brilliant soundtrack - a sense of an album of scenes, that easily lends itself to an impressionistic narrative. But, as with 'Severant', the title suggests relationship unease, with the slow knife being a metaphor for the building resentment in any close relationship. 'Slow Knife' is almost two albums, the first half, according to Kuedo, invokes the seduction of the city, taking the music of Michael Mann's 'Manhunter' as a cue, with the latter half being inspired by the bloody starscapes and voodoo wilderness of films such as 'Angel Heart', 'Night Of The Hunter' and more recently the 'True Detective' series. Both halves of the album are also in thrall to Mica Levi's inspiring 'Under The Skin' soundtrack, especially in the turbulence of the mid-section. The songs of the albums first half are synthetic and seductive, a gelatinous veil with shades of the pseudo-sophisticated trance of Enigma, of all things, underpinned with dusky unsettling shadows and atmosphere. 'In Your Sleep', perhaps surprisingly, features the vocals of Hayden Thorpe from Wild Beasts, who settles his dark, whispered vocals into the moonlit shadowy atmosphere. 'Floating Forest' is the first track to allow back some of Kuedo's experimentation with the Southern rap template, which he explored before it became commonplace, with echoed drum splashes and a sinister repetitive motif, ending with a haunting growl. The second half of the album enters wilderness territory with 'Approaching's slow descending notes, before 'Broken Fox - Black Hole' throws the record into the cathartic darkness, as undulating chords play hide and seek with riotous reeds and scratchy strings grown from challenging collaborations with cello player Koenraad Ecker (from Lumisokea). 'Breaking The Surface' shivers and coils, before metal and strings dominate while 'In Your Skin' feels like being lost in a vast hinterland before 'Warmer Light' introduces some memories of sunshine, with its plucked bassline and spiralling dub. 'Halogen Light' opens with the sound of crickets and a clear piano, cleansing the soul before 'Lathe' brings things down to earth with a short, yet powerful coda.

A veteran of the music industry, Dave Ellesmere is way past his hardcore drumming days. Harboring the accumulated skills with a multitude of instruments, his electronic productions are intricate and meticulous. His passion for Detroit and Chicago soundscapes is evident in his latest vinyl release for MixxRecords.

'Caught In A Moment' starts off the EP with a steady techno grip engulfing a serene melody interspersed with sharp and gritty accents.

The second track opens up with solemn piano progressions combined with high pitched synths, conjuring different spheres of the musical spectrum. Aptly entitled Universal Vibe', the track evokes a very diverse array of sounds layered on top of a dubby bassline.

The sub-bassy 'From Now On Only Good Things Will Happen' kicks off in a very introspective manner, developing into a dreamy yet dark journey filled with anxiety ridden chords and drum pads.

Label chief's Tony Rodriguez aka Brothers' Vibe is on duty for the 'Universal Vibe' remix. Percussion takes the main lead, giving the track a rolling pace. Stripping down a lot of the global elements but keeping some bell chords, Rodriguez's reinterpretation offers a tribal infused piece with a completely different mood that is just as contagious as the original.

Population One delivers a stripped down auditory urban narrative full of the city's industrial internal conversations. Haunting, compelling and raw; looming in the darkness.

After last years 'Legohead EP' which featured on Fabric 085 mix cd, Fatdog returns this time to his own label. With 'This is how i feel' we get a bumper selection of sun soaked stylings with dub touches chugging along nicely with the type of shuffling slo-mo rhythms that he is becoming known for. Flip leans into funkier old school & electro territories, conjuring up slightly darker moods yet still keeping within the fat dog flavour, ending with a flip from D train - keep on, to great effect.

Collabs Records is back with this second release ! This time with 2 major tracks from Rene Reiter and 2 excellent remixers, from Germany. "Defqon 4" is a hard percussive techno-monster and comes with a dark techno remix from Markus Weigelt.
"I love my gameboy" is a funtrack including 8 bit samples and comes with a dark deep techno remix from M.A.R.L.O.N.
This promo-vinyl is specially pressed for the Halloween party at the Sakog Club in Austria !

Vercetti Technicolor joins crimes of the future for the labels first release of 2016 complete with an outstanding remix from Minimal Rome's Heinrich Dressel. The Golden Taurus EP combines vintage Vercetti Technicolor tension and darkness with a real sense of Scott & Tim's love of the dancefloor soundtracking the early evening in the club. Kicking off with Golden Taurus the title Cut, a dark moody building 707 driven future classic. On Topaz Fear the tension keeps building and building over sparse drums and melodic leads. Side B's Death Wish Combines huge reverb, drums and soundtracks a long drive along some dystopian highway hurtling us along with a killer bassline. Finally Dressel takes the controls on Golden Taurus with a beautiful slowed down more emotive take on the title cut and presents 6 minutes of blissed out electronics.

Spanish techno master Reeko makes his mark on Detroit Underground with a release exploring the darker facets of humanity in mesmerizing fashion, with rhythm and drone taking equal importance. "Lovers and Bandits" sets side A off with a brutal broken march, hard kicks building slowly into caverns of sonic noise. "BDSM" twists the sounds of pleasure and pain into an endless dark delay, leading you to the edge and right into "Hard Sex Club", roiling with indecipherable voices and a hovering synth build that teases but never quite strikes.


Side B straightens the beat with "Slaughter", a searing background noise underpinning an evolving rotation of menace that pushes the beats forward into a pit of noise and sludge. "Sex With God" is a fierce techno rhythm, wet, crunchy, and percussive without the ubiquitous kick drum, building to a crescendo of heat and buzz. Finally, "Submissive Behavior" is a massive paranoid drone, prickly with hunger and menace. On "We Are Bandits", Reeko strips down his explorations of sound and texture to the barest essences, making for an unsettling and intriguing listen. Graphic design from The Designers Republic. This is the first release in a collaboration with tDR called DU-TDR/GRD with a grid font designed for 2016 - 2017 DU releases.

Post Pluto's third release "Abercrombie St" brings together Sydney based producers Adam Stromstedt, t.hanks and Subaske for a diverse EP suitable for the dark room. All three producers bring their own flavour to the release which traverses tripping techno, booty shaking house and dubby electro

Taken from the acclaimed "Migration" album, "Kypoli" sees Poirier sharing production duties with fellow Ninja Tune alumni and hot property Machinedrum. Taking vocal samples from Aleisha Lee (co-writer of Tinie Tempah's recent smash "Girls Like" amongst others) and twisting, chopping and manipulating them into a completely new composition, the pair create a brooding post-dancehall/soul fusion, gaining the perfect balance between ethereal beauty and heavy dancefloor menace. Bukem-esque pads and deep dub elegance give way to pounding kicks and floating harmonies, relentlessly building a wall of sonic beauty.

Remixes come from France's dub mad scientist Moresounds, who ups the jungle influence with a classic Reese-style bassline and signature rolling snare chops, whilst retaining the balance between dark & light and Montreal-based newcomer Thomas White who flips the vibe completely for a slo-mo Soulection style builder.

Following their album SAVE! AKA COLDER & MUTADO PINTADO are back on DLM, with another deadly attack! Kamikaze style. We've been waiting a longtime for an I-CUBE remix. We've been fans and friends since his debut and we love that he strayed from his more technoey recent work, as great as it is. This is full on psychedelia, almost rock in its approach. A trip, not a track. Russia's great hope (not Ivan Drago), LIPELIS, hot on the wheels of his MacDonald Flack And The Ack-Ack Pack Pack remix delivers two radicals/tangents. Police & Robbers. They fly high, both in their own manner. RAINY MONDAY is dubbed out in space with that "jungle screw" feel. Slowed down breaks that are all the rage with the yoof, apparently but LIPELIS takes it to another level. Last floor his version of DARKNESS IN THE MIDDLE is a trickster, you'd think almost ambient kraut before you end up on an italo-piano-expansives beach.

The Turbo debut from Gilmer Galibard is a collection of four dark, visceral techno floor-destroyers from a young Canary Islands-based producer about whom we know relatively little. It also marks the label's first release to feature a swear in the title, offering a foreboding glimpse of the paranoid machine-driven warehouse terror contained within. "By now you will have heard the demo in its entirety and are still dancing whether you want to or not. For my purposes, you will use the Search Engine Optimization terms "Dark," "Visceral," "Techno," "Floor-Destroyers" and "Paranoid Machine-Driven Warehouse Terror" to ensure that it finds its way to the 83 people who need to hear the release through this specific channel. You may tell people I am 26 years old and from the Canary Islands; both facts are true and sound comforting enough but as you now know this does not matter. Print this in its entirety and leave the release title unchanged. I would say I've said too much but that is impossible because as you've come to understand all of this has already happened.

Focusing on the darker and un chartered spaces of techno music, the Ravage Black Series kicks off first with fellow Dutchman and upfront upstart S.A.F with The Hunter EP. Five lead heavy, uncompromising techno tracks that are unrelenting and rhythmic until the very end, it's a heavy affair from the start. For those into uncompromising, yet challenging tracks on the dancefloor, the first release in Ravage's Black Label series is a great glimpse of things yet to come.

**LP + Download - Bonus track 'Three Tears' on download***Natalie Mering, the being behind Weyes Blood, embeds her sublime song in a harmonic gauze of arpeggiated piano, acoustic guitar, druggy horns, & outer space electronics. Propulsive, spare drums carry us across the album's course. There is a faded California beauty to Front Row. A gentle honesty that recalls the finest folk music made on the West Coast of the '70s. The hue hangs in the sweet-spooky harmonies, the pulsing sway of the vibrato & the ecstatic chord resolves. But this beauty is scratched with shadow, with dark foreboding, alienation, & acceptance of change. Love & loss balance together in suspended alchemy, as the earthiness of the singer-songwriter tradition wears digital sounds like feathers in its hair. Mering, together with co-producer Chris Cohen contrasts live band intimacy with the post-modern electric sheen of A.M. radio atmospherics. The experimental flourishes sparkle amid the succinct, thoughtful arrangements.The closeness of this record - how personal, alone, & frank it feels - conceals its aspirations to the outside, to the "Earth" of its title. Weyes Blood harbors devastating weight while also universalizing the strange ways of identity & relationships. These are not typical love songs or protest songs -- they are painful, poignant riddles that celebrate the ambiguity of love & affirm the conflict of harmonious life within a disharmonic world.

The second imprint of Another Earth is upon us and this time it's all about proper Detroit techno combined with distorted left wing machine house. The label combines 2 acts together in a Split EP series which compliment each others sound. For the A-side the highly talented producer, Plural (Separate Skills, Metroplex, U.S.), created 2 essential Detroit techno tracks. The A1 is a warm uplifting peak time bomb and the A2 has a darker vibe concentrated on the groove. The B-side hosts 2 tracks from the intriguing mind of Hakim Murphy (Machine Dreams, Chicago, U.S.). The B1 is a heavy distorted peak time house banger while the B2 is quite the opposite, deep and obscure.

Remember how badly we wanted to join them and be part of those sea-faring adventures: Jack London’s The Sea-Wolf, classic TV shows based on his novel The Road, on Radu Toduran’s novels... back then, a couple decades ago, the titles of these shows alone were enough to trigger some strong gusts in our hearts, salty squalls perfect for imaginary downwind journeys we dreamed of with billowing sails. We wanted to cruise alongside albatrosses, seagulls, and fellow sailors. Floating high above a three-masted vessel, we watched our own adventures unfold far below, an imagined movie scene complete with a whole crew that worked the rigging, and all the rest. Cutting waves. Amidst the storm and stress of sounds hitting our eardrums far out in the ocean. Combined with the sounds of rotors, of tropics crossed, of marimbas and cabin wood pounded, of strange music spotted in the distance. And even though it was merely for an hour or two that we were rescued by that seal-hunting ship “Ghost,” as Jack London had it, plus, even worse, often found ourselves surrounded by villains: it was a great escape, for we’d successfully set sails – to new and exciting places.

Both around their own Weilheim shores and elsewhere, brothers Markus and Micha Acher have launched various musical vessels, bands and free-floating constellations over the past three decades – and yet: amid all these other speedboats and unlikely sonic barges, The Notwist has always remained the mother ship. This new album documents the latest live incarnation of this very band, which also features Andi Haberl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Cico Beck. Recorded on December 16, 2015 on the second of three consecutive, sold-out nights at UT Connewitz in Leipzig, Germany, "Superheroes, Ghost-Villains & Stuff" indeed feels like a first-hand live experience caught on triple vinyl. That’s why it’s the definitive album of The Notwist’s career.

Although there is one song that points to the early, “louder years” of The Notwist – “One Dark Love Poem” off the album Nook –, the rest of the night’s set sees the band perform all the major hits off Neon Golden, The Devil, You + Me, and Close To The Glass. However, these are different, organically enhanced versions, new interpretations and combinations that feel much more alive; thanks to Olaf Opal’s incredible mix, they sometimes even outshine the original studio recordings. Listening to "Superheroes, Ghost-Villains & Stuff" feels like watching these songs evolve and change, moving from one frame to the next, much like a baroque triptych.

What starts out like ‘wimmelbook’ imagery, the music soon folds and unfolds like a Moebius strip: Sans bottom or top, sans inside or outside, the inside becomes the outside and vice versa. It’s all about sonic interconnection, about music as entanglement, music as reconciliation. The rather majestic, cinematic (indie) pop and experimental, kraut- infused jazz, the spirit of the enlightenment and baroque playfulness, the traces of modernism and minimal music, dub leanings, hip-hop lessons, and even hints of house music: here is where they all come together, reconciled in a sound that’s both melancholy and romantic. And ultimately, the spirit of these songs is set free – and the band has released itself, is free at last.

As for the album title, it’s lifted from the song “Kong,” and encapsulates Markus Acher’s motto. Throughout the track, the water theme first appears as a dangerous threat: a force that’s strong enough to wash away an entire house; and yet the fluid state keeps transforming and eventually releases that sense of threat into something rather hopeful, a new musical beginning, a melodic departure that ultimately leads to euphoria and a renewed spirit of adventure. These are the strong gusts mentioned above, it’s the spirit of discovery, the urge to set sail together. The crew’s back at it, working the instruments, the rigging, with sails a- billow, launching the next voyage of discovery, assuming the East in the West and vice versa. And thus the adventure saga continues.

Pico Be (Das Weiße Pferd)

After a few digital releases, Lunar Convoy delivers a masterfully executed debut EP to inaugurate newcomer belgian imprint NORITE's vinyl series. Counting Northern Electronics, Hypnus Records, Semantica and Prologue among his main influences, Lunar Convoy's first effort is utterly coherent while not failing to evoke a plurality of emotions. Imbued with sacred atmospheres, infiltrated with mysticism, ritualistic melodies and aesthetically charged rhythms, Outer Rim Territories is a testimony of his love for deeper realms. On the A side, Seswenna's trancey lead synth and pumping bass opens the EP with an excursion towards distant planets. Ryloth ventures into darker fields, scattered with whirring and saturated analog complains and haunted by ancient voices. On the flip side, Eriadu sets a more mystical pace with syncopated kicks and floating eerie pad, to embark on a parallel dimension. Allen's take on Ryloth is symptomatic of the US-based producer, speeding things up and offering a stripped down version filled with devastating hi-hats and firing toms to end this solid 4-tracker with the hypnotic-yet-effective sound that got him signed on Attic Music, M_Rec Ltd, PoleGroup or more recently Granulart Recordings. With such a captivating release, Lunar Convoy has set a high bar for the upcoming releases and left us under his sway.

Marcel Dettmann has mixed the latest edition of the highly respected DJ-Kicks compilation series.
Whilst Dettmann is well-known for his incendiary sets at his residency at Berghain, his DJ-Kicks mix is crafted for listening, and displays a more reflective side of the DJ and producer. The mix explores a wide array of selections from various subgenres; ranging from the a new vocal-led Strictly Rhythm release, to rapping on Clarence G's 1991 release 'Cause I Said It Right', recently reissued by Clone Records.
Over the course of its 1hr 14 duration, Dettmann reveals multiple new original productions; most notably a collaboration with Levon Vincent, 'Can You See It'. The pair have collaborated once in the past, releasing 'Vengeance' on Levon's own Novel Sound label towards the end of 2015 to critical acclaim. 'Can You See It' sees the duo venture into darker territory; a stripped back, sub-bass laden affair, the quality of this production immediately stands out in the early stages of the mix.
Dettmann also collaborates with MDR affiliate Wincent Kunth on 'Possible Step'. In addition to five brand new original Dettmann remixes and edits, there's an unreleased remix of Marcel's 'Let's Do It' from Ostgut Ton labelmate Rolando.
Designed to be enjoyed by both the critics and more casual listeners, this mix is the latest in a long series of lifetime achievements over the course of Dettmann's career - and with so many new unreleased original Marcel Dettmann productions included, this is a landmark release for the producer

Pampa is ecstatic to welcome Berlin's Mike Denhert for his label debut. Known for an uncompromising, heads-down approach to moving dance floors, whether as a producer, a DJ, or in his live incarnation, Mike has provided 2 original tracks that are as distinct as they are relentless, possessed of a cerebral quality that belies their tough and stripped back aesthetic. How Close To Be' is a stuttering march of half heard and half imagined discourse, broken by bright synthesis which disappears before it can fully form, with the disorientating sonics held in check only by the rigidity of rhythm running throughout the tracks length. It's both surprising and linear. Dark and uplifting. Me Too' is also a creature of opposing ideologies. Warped moving Jazz plays with static Motorik patterns, automation curls around repetition, and textures change position throughout. Bright keys warp, and swing ebbs in and flows out, all to an eventually breathless but ultimately compelling sum of these parts.

The fourth episode of D.A.N.C.E. (Detector for Advanced Neutron Capture Experiments), the various artists series of Attic Music, presents only italian artists. On A side UNC shows us his vision of techno with an obsessive sound track. Distorted drums and dark pads for the second track by Assalti Industriali (Luciano Lamanna and Cosimo Damiano). On B side PVS writes a real journey with a ten minutes track where 4/4 and broken beat meet pads and melody.

The second release on TB Arthur's (312) label finds the mysterious artist revealing a collaborative project with Magda as Blotter Trax. The pair first encountered each other at the famous Motor City record store Record Time, when Detroit artist BMG introduced his then co-workers Magda and Derek Plaslaiko to Arthur, who was visiting the shop from Chicago. Sometime after that meeting, Magda and Arthur went into the studio and jammed together for a week, the session was recorded live on analog 1/4" tape and then three tracks were selected for release. 1A is six and a half minutes of modulated synth sounds that are psyched out and sci-fi, spooky and truly atmospheric. Full of cerebral cinematism, acid lines and ghoulish textures all add up to a truly standout track. 2A then marries dark wave pops and clicks, unsettling alien lifeforms and menacing, slo motion industrial drums into a physical and imposing groover riddled with paranoid sirens and drones. Last of all, 2B snakes and slithers its way through undulating drums, cosmic freakiness and gloopy synth sounds that are all seductive and subversive in equal measure. This, then, is a truly fascinating pairing.

The first volume of the new remixes series is up next on BLD Tape Recordings. Original tracks previously released have been revisited by artists that support the label since the early days and give shape to this varied and solid 3 remixes EP.

On side A, Eric Cloutier blurs the line between Deep House and Techno with a signature Theorem remix of The Transpose layered with acid basslines and scuffled Dub chords.

Stojche pops up on B1 with an advanced Power House-ish vision of Crawling showcasing drums, chords and leads precisely crafted.

And on B2, Copenhagen-based Anastasia Kristensen delivers her take on Bubble Games bringing us into a trippy and faster dark mood charged by repetition and enigmatic pads.

10 track Album from Willie Lindo released by Dub Store Records

First complete Sonic Youth album is one of Thurston Moore's favorites. Includes live cover of The Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog'. Vinyl includes digital download. Originally slated to be a 7' to follow up their self-titled debut, Sonic Youth's Confusion Is Sex blossomed into the band's first album: a brain-bludgeoning, completely fried endeavor of dissonance and disarray, a perfect soundtrack for running from a chain-wielding gang near the SIN Club. This was the sound of 1983 New York City, nothing like the jangly roots of college radio rock starting to formulate in Athens, Georgia. It sounded like no one else on Earth, for that matter. The raw, Wharton Tiers 8-track production is dark, the Kim Gordon- scrawled cover figure art of Thurston Moore is dark, Lee Ranaldo's back cover photo-collage and Catherine Ceresole's crumpled-xeroxed images that adorned the inside are dark. It's an album that moves Sonic Youth forward from their first EP almost by devolving backwards into true ugly, lo-fi primitivity. The bareboned arsenal of junkpile guitars and implementation of alternate tunings was growing, and so were the songs that matched the individual attributes of each instrument: certain ones groan and growl a specific way that the band started to realize itself could become the compositional germ of a song. Herein is the threshold of a new explosion of the band's creativity, replacing the comparatively cleaner buzz of the Sonic Youth EP with guitars that spew fractured, uglier chunks of sound everywhere, held down by menacing minimalist basslines (actually played by Thurston on half of this LP, and for the only time ever on Protect Me You,' Lee) and the brutal-yet-controlled metronomic drumming of Jim Sclavunos, augmented with replacement drummer Bob Bert's notable bashing on Making the Nature Scene' and grotty no-fi live rendition of I Wanna Be Your Dog.' Hearing the crashedwindow intro of Inhuman' and subway-brake screech of The World Looks Red,' you can attest that while Sonic Youth's guitars are not quite yet being utilized in the totally controlled, lyrical fashion seen later on albums like Evol, Daydream Nation et al., they were well aware of the colors and tonalities that were unfolding and the possibilities presented. Also, they were getting a grasp on adding colors to the chaos with tempered, simmering moments like Gordon's Shaking Hell' and Renaldo's chimy, home-taped Lee is Free.' Making the Nature Scene' and The World Looks Red' even toss in glints of hip-hop vocal approach way ahead of its time, albeit through a blender. While its confrontationalism might have put off some critics, time has rewarded Confusion with a truly distinctive air and atmosphere in the Sonic discography, enough to have Moore declare it his fave along with the band's swan-song The Eternal. Brian Turner, WFMU.

With a title that suggests great things, making reference to 6 Victoria Crosses awarded to the Lancashire Regiment in World War 1, Mr Fantastic and Coherent (of Journeymen fame and much more) have set themselves a tall order. Before you have even listened to the music, the presentation points to success in this venture, with original artwork by the brilliant Stilts and marbled camouflage coloured vinyl to boot!

100 years after the press reported 'the winning of 6 VCs before breakfast' during the Gallipoli campaign in World War 1, S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive) opt for beats and rhymes rather than guns and bombs, and the resulting record is essential. The initial salvo is fired in 'Ready For Combat' which sees Mr Fantastic combine hard-hitting drums with stabbing guitar chops for Coherent to set the tone. The result is an instant smash which will have you rewinding, as I was, time and time again! From there, the duo, joined by Rola (The Numskullz/Journeymen) and Truck (also a member of The Journeymen), stage a three pronged assault over a haunting beat, spitting verse one after another like a creeping barrage before Mr Fantastic delivers the final victory courtesy of his trademark tight scratches. The concept for this EP is highly original and perfectly apt and on 'Foreign Lands', this is perfectly demonstrated as Coherent weaves tales of carnage that would sound at home on a jungle warfare documentary. 'Lyrical Assassin' once more sees Coherent dropping vocal hand grenades over double bass and electric piano skilfully fused together by his fellow soldier Mr Fantastic. Throughout, the subject matter and music is dark and 'Heavy Artillery' encapsulates this perfectly - Mr Fantastic's thumping, bass-heavy production would have sat perfectly on Show & AG's sophomore LP next to tracks like 'Night Time'. On 'Carcasses', Coherent shows the enemy why he is such a skilled MC, delivering surgical strikes with his tight metaphors and hard-hitting punch lines.

The question, then, given the highly ambitious nature of this project, is whether S.O.E. have won the battle they set out to win. With meticulous artwork, dark brooding beats and Coherent's masterful wordplay, the result is clear. They didn't just win the battle but the whole darn war!

Munich based pair Jorkes are something of an enigma, having appeared on the scene recently with a fully formed sound and a desire to let their music do the speaking for them. Musically the duo seem to be operating with few boundaries, looking to express their emotional states through their music with scant consideration for styles or genres. This latest release sees Jorkes team up with fellow Munich resident and vocalist Karol Schmejchel to deliver a slice of evocative, slo-mo nu-disco. The release kicks of with the original mix of 'Thank You', marrying chugging drums and warm bass with stirring pads and the emotionally charged vocals of Schmejchel. It's a perfect track for dark backrooms and home lounging alike. The remix comes from Manchester trio Menage a Trois who deliver a sonical beautiful reworking built around heartwrenching keys and heavily reverbed guitar parts. Simple understated drums carrying the record along as their vocal treatment soars towards the heavens, this is sublime stuff. The vinyl release will also feature an exclusive instrumental of the Menage a Trois mix for those who like things a little more stripped back. In keeping with Jorkes' creative outlook, and following on from their previous release, there will be an exclusive music video of 'Thank You' forthcoming which is likely to set pulses racing once again! Thanks for purchasing a real copy!

Ascorbite resurfaces from the depths of the notorious Malmö underground with his second release on Corseque Records. This time, Ascorbite takes the old school route and puts the heavy arsenal on the A-side and the late night swings on the B-side.

The title track Actuator is nothing less than a behemoth, crushing and trampling everything in its way like one of Tolkien's Oliphaunts on speed. Spore Crawler is darker and just as sinister as its name, sounding like a suitable soundtrack to a combat scene in a dystopian Richard Morgan sci-fi novel. The warm and dub-hefty Cast Adrift and the clever tech-stepper Mara on the flip side are completely different species - tracks that makes you want to close your eyes and make sweet love to the smoke machine. The two sides combined, Actuator EP shows great versatility and character on Ascorbite's side. A record sure to be found in a great number of diverse record bags come fall.

Many of you will remember Manuel Göttsching by his Masterpiece E2-E4 and know the fact it got sampled by far more than once. Think Sueno Latino' to start with... and the plethora of further re-recordings by Derrick May, Joe Claussell, and a bootleg by Carl Craig that prove how Now' and Iconic Manuel´s Work is. The 2006 edition Joaquin Joe Claussell meets Manuel Göttsching' is the first attempt to bring these once illegal mixes finally to a broader and wider audience. It comes with 2 very rare and first time officially released tribute mixes of 1970´s Göttsching Classics, carefully remodeled by Joe Claussell (21.12 minute Deeper Distance' plus 10.17 Minute Ain´t No Time For Tears"). The last words, however, are left to MG himself, with Shuttlecock", a final eighteen minute excursion, which has Manuel improvise over a soft carpet of delayed bell sounds, before the guitar fades away and the track deepens and thickens, like a dark river sweeping along ever more motives and harmonies. A perfectly balanced collaboration released on both CD and LP. Consisting of 3 concert recordings which were originally released on the 6th CD Album Private Tapes : Tracks 1 und 3 were recorded at Bataclan in Paris, 12/1976, Track 2 in Berlin 8/1979

In My Room proudly presents 'Fixion', the fourth full-length offering from Anders Trentemøller. With 'Fixion', Anders has crafted a logical successor to 2013's 'Lost' - a record that in many ways managed to truly capture the visceral live experience of Trentemøller as a full-band. In much the same manner that 'Lost' built on from the somber cinematic classic that was 'Into The Great Wide Yonder', 'Fixion' has embraced the Danish artist's trademark melancholy and matured it into something uniquely atmospheric and darkly romantic.

Limited Deluxe Collectors Edition 2LP,180g, Gatefold with Spot Varnish+ MP3 Download + Download Bonus Track Rework!

In My Room proudly presents 'Fixion', the fourth full-length offering from Anders Trentemøller. With 'Fixion', Anders has crafted a logical successor to 2013's 'Lost' - a record that in many ways managed to truly capture the visceral live experience of Trentemøller as a full-band. In much the same manner that 'Lost' built on from the somber cinematic classic that was 'Into The Great Wide Yonder', 'Fixion' has embraced the Danish artist's trademark melancholy and matured it into something uniquely atmospheric and darkly romantic.