REPRESS!!
These tracks were recorded by Kevin Low and Fiona Carlin in Kevin’s bedroom in Gayfield Square, Edinburgh, in 1986. Me and my dad, Kevin, dug out a huge bunch of his tapes over the lockdown (about 80 of the them at first). Some were…better than others, however, the Gayfield Square demos were the pick of the lot. Previously Kevin and Fiona were part of the Post Punk / indie band ‘Wild Indians’, whose first release “Stolen Courage” had come out in 1983 – released on Flexi Disc via the Edinburgh fanzine Deadbeat. Throughout the mid-1980s they performed across Edinburgh’s clubs, including at the Hoochie Coochie Club (name checked on track 7), where they played alongside bands and close friends Pop Wallpaper and Visitors. The band went on to release two 12” singles, “Love of My Life” in 1984 and “Penniless” in 1986.
After the band broke up Kevin sold his guitar amp and 7inch collection, Fiona her saxophone and they went out and got themselves a Yamaha RX-5 drum machine, Yamaha QX7 sequencer and a Yamaha DX-100. These bedroom tracks are the fruits of their first venture with this hardware, combining their experimentation with synthetic sounds (mostly the DX-100’s famous pre-sets) with a post-punk vocal style.
These eight tracks are also, in part, the fruit of the “Enterprise Allowance scheme” - a policy venture of Margaret Thatcher’s UK government that gave unemployment claimants access to an extra £40 to top up the basic dole money. Following Thatcher’s election victories in 1979 and 1983, the policy sought to reduce the figures of mass unemployment which hung over Britain well into the 1980s. This policy, according to Kevin, helped to keep up the credit payments. He notes that, “when Fiona and I turned up at the DHSS office with the sure-fire money-making plan of making a business as a ‘song-writing’ duo they signed us up. However, I still think they thought we said, sign writing as they were filling out the form.”
Kevin and Fiona stopped making music together shortly after these tracks were recorded so unfortunately, they never saw the light of day…until now!
Fiona went on to work in Film and Television sound. Kevin became a photographer, working mostly in theatre. He is now an artist/painter working in Glasgow.
Buscar:deadbeat
Vinyl only imprint DMK (sub-label of Dogmatik Records) returns this November with the ‘Future Funk’ EP from Alex Jann.
Alex Jann’s material has amassed a wide array of supporters over the years, from Solid Blake and Alienata to Dave Clarke, Afrodeutsche and Posthuman his strictly hardware and modular synth workouts perfectly weave emotional synthesis with raw, gritty aesthetics. He’s released several EP’s over the years on labels such as his own Censor imprint with remixes of his work by such artists as Marco Bernardi & Animistic Beliefs, multiple EP’s with Clive Henry and shared label space on Rhythm Cult alongside Deadbeat, Barem, & Aquarius Heaven.
Title-cut ‘Future Funk’ leads with crunchy 808 style bumpy drums, tension building strings and squelchy acid licks at its core, while ethereal pad swells and wandering sub bass tones wander within the groove. ‘Robotic Prayer’ follows next, with shuffled percussion, soft atmospherics and a choppy bass line smoothly carried across five and a half minutes all subtly nuanced throughout.
Opening the flip side is ‘The Return’ which employs robust drums and murky synth flutters alongside cinematic string melodies before ‘Liberation Of Mass’ rounds out the release, fusing a broken rhythm and intricately programmed oscillating synth effects to create a hypnotic end to the EP.
As a contrasting follow-up to our first single from Rooteo &
Mahura's Metta album, the second single on Made In Green
Records keeps the format intact with entirely different results. Deadbeat's remix on part one was both respectful and subtly transformative; on part two, New York's upcoming Max McFerren, whose busy 2015 included EPs on Ultimate Hits, Allergy Season, and 1080p, brings us a startling reinterpretation of album closer 'Harmal' very much in keeping with the vein of raw, aggressive house coming from Brooklyn since that scene's resurgence. The original version of 'Harmal' finishes the album in fine style, blending tablas, celestial electronics, and short melodica phrases that gradually swell with layers of vocal samples and orchestal pads before reaching a climax and slowly dying away in gradually receding layers of ambient electronics. McFerren's remix leads off with only a bare framework of techno percussion. The entry of a sampled section of melody from the original signals a rapid transition to more abrasive territory, with sheets of metallic noise slashing through the high end, short vocal syllables stuttering, and an insistent bass pulse building up and breaking down with at least one element constantly in motion.
Copenhagen's Echocord Colour returns this August with Stephen Brown's 'Power Factor' EP, featuring three originals from the UK Techno stalwart.
Scottish producer Stephen Brown is a name synonymous with Techno across the globe having been releasing material since the mid nineties on imprints such as Derrick May's Transmat, Subject Detroit, Skudge Records, Ben Sims' Theory and Holland's Djax Up Beats amongst many more.
Here we see Brown join the roster of Echocord's sub-label Colour, slotting him in alongside the likes of Mike Dehnert, Nick Ho¨ppner, Luke Hess and Deadbeat in the back- catalogue.
Up first on the release is 'Sandtext', a stripped-back dubbed out opening cut fuelled by a robust kick and minute percussive hits running alongside a sturdy sub bass drive and spiralling dub stabs before 'Wet' takes things even deeper via muted kicks, shuffling shakers and delayed synth chords. 'Back Stroke' then rounds out the release with an amalgamation of airy reverberated stab hits, rumbling low end pulsations and a thunderous kick drum to once again create an understated, hypnotic composition.
Mathew Jonson's 'Decompression' was first released on Minus in 2004. To celebrate 13 years since it's release Mathew has commissioned 11 artists to remix this classic split over 4 releases. The first EP of the series features remixes from dBridge, Konrad Black and Nathan Jonson, each artists contribution provides a fresh approach to a package fuelled by the influence of Drum & Bass. dBridge steps up for two remixes, the first is warped and deconstructed, the second a high energy Drum & Bass belter. Konrad Black slows things down with a darker groove whilst Nathan Jonson's 'rewind to 96' utilises rave tropes and chopped vocal samples. The package is a magnificent addition to the legacy of 'Decompression' and coming next will be remixes from Seth Troxler, Deadbeat, Mike Shannon and Natalia Escobar. Mathew Jonson's 'Decompression' was first released on Minus in 2004. This is the first release on Mathew Jonson's new label entitled 'Freedom Engine' Mastered at Scape Mastering
Field Records is proud to present a new experimental mini album from Scott Monteith aka Deadbeat that touches on the traditional music of Qawwali. Entitled Qawwali Quatsch, it feature lots of transcendental sounds and hypnotic violins and voices across eight tracks. This absorbing album came about after Monteith--best known for his dub techno--attended the 2015 Wasser Musik festival in Berlin, which featured music from both the coastal and land locked regions of India and Pakistan. One performer was Asif Ali Kahn and his "Qawwali party," as Qawwali bands are appropriately known, and his show really struck a chord. The resulting music (which the artist admits is just a humble experiment galaxies away from the real power of the source material that inspired it) makes up this first album under his own name, and is a sympathetically infused album that ably captures the spirit of the revelatory, life changing music that is Qawwali, and an entry quite unlike any other in his now vast catalog. Collaborator and longtime friend Sophie Trudeau of Godspeed You Black Emperor! was involved for additional violin and voice treatments.
Two dubbed techno wonders on a 7' platter.
Lars Fenin,born and raised in Hamburg has been around the music scene
in berlin since the mid 90ties as reggae guitarist/songwriter/live-act/artist/producer/dj.
His first experiments in electronic music started in 1998 with some friends in Hamburg, followed two years later by his
first Ep release called 'Herr Pitzelberger dreht auf" for the Berlin based label Shitkatapult.
Since then Fenin has released several Eps and albums for his homies Shitkatapult as well as 12" s and remixes for
labels like Echocord, Revolver, Eintakt and Mitek among others. Along the years he could boast collaborations with artists
such as Deadbeat, Mikael Stavöstrand, D-meteo, k.j.gibbs,Horace Andy, der dritte raum, Eraldo Bernocchi and Jeff Milligan. Since 2008 he runs also his own label called "Dock-records"..
Soundwise, Fenin's productions range from roots reggae/dub pieces
to cordish/melodic techno sets and electronic alike soundscapes.
The future is unwritten.
Took a bit of a break from demos and releases after extending the family with a cute little boy, but now we're back with some of the best deep techno and house lined up for you! But first, something completely different.
Michele Mininni hails from the south of Italy and counts everything from post- and krautrock over new wave, house and disco amongst his influences. He's been a DJ for years, but only recently released his debut EP on Optimo Trax in Glasgow. He immediately found himself on the playlists of Beats In Space and Rinse FM. We were literally blown away when he sent us his music and didn't hesitate to release it although it's not what you're used to hear from us. It's hard to describe 'Endless Ceremony'. Epic, but not as you know it. Cosmic, definitely.
For the remix we thought of Rocketnumbernine. Two brothers with releases on Soul Jazz, Four Tet's Text label and more recently an album on Smalltown Supersound. Currently touring with James Holden and Neneh Cherry. Their remix could be described as almost dreamy electronica/idm.
We think this is a really special release. The following people already agree: Gavin Russom, Âme, Ripperton, A Made Up Sound, James Holden, Optimo, Deadbeat... First pressing on coloured vinyl!








