quête:demons

Standard Edition, Mastered at half speed, 140g vinyl, Sticker We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records' new sister-label) is thrilled to present the official reissue of criminally overlooked Japanese jazz gem Mellow Dream (1977) by Hokkaido pianist wunderkind Ryo Fukui, released in conjunction with the its legendary predecessor Scenery, sourced from the original masters and mastered at half speed. Firmly standing on the foundation he laid down with Scenery, Ryo Fukui continues his exploration of modal, bop and cool jazz sounds with meticulous grace and absolute mastery. As its title suggests, Mellow Dream ventures into slightly mellower, more soulful, and sometimes more contemplative territories (the Bill Evans-reminiscent 'Mellow Dream' and 'My Foolish Heart") while still packing the commanding punch Fukui's work is loved for, as heard on the amazingly bombastic 'Baron Potato Blues' or the gigantic McCoy Tyner/John Coltrane-influenced 'Horizon' which sees each member of the trio (Satoshi Denpo is on bass and Yoshinori Fukui is on drums) demonstrating their virtuosity for 9 exhilarating minutes. With his sophomore album, Ryo Fukui swings from melancholy to vibrant joy with ease, reminding us that jazz is best served with a pinch of blues, and displays an immensely rare combination of pure talent, unique personal approach and focused discipline. The man undeniably deserves a spot in the pantheon of all-time great jazz pianists. After releasing the outstanding Scenery and Mellow Dream back to back, Ryo Fukui worked on developing his live skills, often performing at Sapporo's Slowboat Jazz Club (which he co-founded with his wife Yasuko Fukui), and even releasing 2 live albums. He sadly passed away in March 2016, leaving behind a legacy of works that all jazz lovers should explore.

Hauke Freer flying solo on Pen & Paper 03 for the first time since his infamous XK XK. Well, not entirely, as austrian beatsmith Sam Irl took PART 1 on to his Studer Console, equipping the beautifully trippy composition with that exact ammount of sonic glitter and gold. On the B, Hauke drags us far out into an enchanting chord progression, as the seductive 4G demonstrates filigree elegance to an almost fragile degree - bewitching we say.

Kalita Records and CC:EDITIONS (a new venture by
Australia's CC:DISCO) jointly announce a 12' EP
comprised of four of Nana Tuffour's greatest electronic
burger highlife tracks, accompanied by interview-based liner
notes. Here, in partnership with Nana, we select two highly
sought-after songs from his 1993 release 'Genesis', namely
'Sikyi Medley' and 'M'Anu Me Ho', and pair them his with two
lesser known yet equally deserving tracks 'Asamando' and
'Jesus' from his 1997 CD-only release 'Highlife Tropicana'.
Hailing from Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region in Ghana,
Nana Tuffour is by far one of the most important exponents of
modern highlife music. He studied piano at college and cut his
teeth in the '70s as an organist and vocalist for the incomparable
Kyeremanteng Atwede and Dr. K Gyasi's Noble Kings Band.
Fast forward to 1981 and Ghana was at the apex of its golden age
of music. This era was brought to an abrupt end by political
upheaval when the military took over the government and as a
result a restrictive dusk to dawn curfew was imposed between
1982 and 1984. This resulted in a total obliteration of the country's
night life, and Nana just like many other prominent musicians
including Pat Thomas and George Darko left Ghana for greener
pastures, the most popular destinations being Nigeria and
Germany. The Rheinklang Studio in Düsseldorf run by a young
inimitable German sound engineer Bodo Staiger and another
'exiled' Ghanaian musician Charles Amoah played a crucial role
for those musicians who had chosen Germany. This studio
became the focal point for Ghanaian musicians and the birthplace
of a new sound, now known as 'Burger highlife' - traditional
Ghanaian highlife infused with the more up to date electronic and
disco sounds of the West. It is arguable that Nana has played a
crucial role in Burger highlife and developing the sound of
traditional Ghanaian highlife more widely to what it is today, with
his innovative use of electronic accompaniment pushing its
boundaries to its creative extremes.
It is Burger highlife's transcendence of traditional musical
boundaries that helps make it so accessible to listeners,
appealing not only to Ghanaians back home but now highly
regarded and sought-after by those in the West interested in
more occidental disco and electronic sounds. We hope that you
enjoy the four songs offered here, each chosen to demonstrate
Nana's singular influence on the development of Burger highlife.

They say we are a product of our environment, you are what you eat and you reap what you sow. But what happens when you can no longerdig the earth and your food is toxic Amselcom has forever been near the forefront of change, exposing new ideas and giving insight through music and creativity. Our goal was always to bring the world closer by removing barriers and letting sounds and rhythm demonstrate humanity's true, loving nature. That is why a transformation has taken place and with this latest release we hope to give back and contribute without the shallow, meaningless compensation that feeds the music industry.
Geplantes Nichtstun demonstrates this concept perfectly, by saying it is time to remove ourselves from the machine and make our own way, in our own time. These tracks look to offer introspective that can only be found after eliminating barriers like money and fame. Taking time for idleness lets us forget about the things that try and control our lives, a necessary respite in a time of increasing global noise.Tracks like Opak offer the perfect accompaniment to a quiet time of soulful reflection and Mario Wagner's wonderful Control Room image brings us the idea of self direction and taking charge of your own destiny... one rest at a time.

Composer Tashi Wada has performed for years with his father Yoshi Wada—artist, composer, and early member of the Fluxus movement. However, they have rarely appeared together in studio settings. Nue, the fourteenth entry in RVNG Intl.'s intergenerational FRKWYS series, finally brings Tashi and Yoshi, along with an eclectic group of close friends and extended family, together on tape.

Nue draws on aspects of Tashi's background for his widest vision to date—among them the minimalist bagpipe music of Yoshi, who co-composed three of the tracks, the psychoacoustic and perceptual explorations of his mentor, composer James Tenney, and reimagined forms of ancient and devotional music. The album, however, is not a tribute to the past or a recapitulation of familiar sounds. Instead, Nue is an intertwining of people and ideas as a means of growing, of looking inward to move outward, and of looking back to move forward.

To achieve this growth, Tashi assembled a core group of fellow travelers, including Yoshi, composer Julia Holter, producer Cole MGN, and percussionist Corey Fogel, to give life to this multifaceted suite. As an experience, Nue subtly navigates the interactions, intimacy and spaciousness of this group.

The album's title itself is a nod to Tashi's abiding interest in duality and the unknown: nue is a mythological Japanese chimera with the face of a monkey, the legs of a tiger, and a snake for a tail, a composite form, at once disturbing and otherworldly. But, as the composer points out, nue is also French for naked—stripped of complexity, bare and exposed, but also raw and essential.

From the doubling of tones—and the world of harmonic nuances such an action produces—to the rich interplay between individual musicians, all baring their own personalities and experiences through shared performance, Tashi's compositions allow space for these elements to join and grow. The multipartite creature that is an ensemble melds in the simplicity and purity of the music itself.

As explained by Tashi, each part was written with an individual in mind, not simply an instrument. And each individual performer makes their mark, from Holter's vocal performances on the cresting, oceanic 'Mutable Signs' and 'Ondine' with guest vocalists Simone Forti, Jessika Kenney and Laura Steenberge, to Fogel's resonant, precise percussion on 'Bottom of the Sky.' Producer Cole MGN, who has worked extensively with artists like Beck and Ariel Pink, helped to create a world of sound with minimal yet multi-dimensional materials. Like many of its influences, Nue uses deceivingly simple means to create complex, coherent worlds and narratives.

Tashi notes the influence of legendary Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, whose work looked inward, investigating memory and emotion and dream, to understand the often overwhelming world outside the self. Like Lispector's classic novel Near to the Wild Heart, Nue cleaves these archetypal dualities—world/self, old/new, complex/simple—to create a work that allows them to coalesce into something singular.

As Tashi states in his liner notes: 'My desire was to create something both old and new sounding—ancient and futuristic—and ultimately something of its own world and other. Nue is a vision, an endless night of dreams, and a personal history of sorts, full of joys and demons.'

Some time around 20 years ago, the artist known as Dub Surgeon made an absorbing album of beautiful dub infused with ambiance, found sounds and horizontal rhythms. The Lost Future was recorded at the former Amsterdam Film Academy where Dub Surgeon. The recording engineer for the project was Ricardo Villalobos. Dub surgeon and Ricardo Villalobos then mastered it together, putting it through several vintage mixers and recording it to 2 inch tape. Then, tragedy struck: a storm surged and ignited a fire that ravaged the studio. The master copy was thought to have been lost forever. Dub Surgeon stopped making music and disappeared into the shadows after just two EPs on Future Dub in 2002/3. But one day 15 years later, totally out of the blue, he received a demo of The Lost Future. "Pay attention to this," it said. Attached was a demo version of the long lost album and now, finally, it has a perfect and impossibly poetic home on Dubai's Ark to Ashes, which is named in homage to the story of Lee "Scratch" Perry burning down his Black Ark studio to rid it of demons. Sounding as fresh as ever, The Lost Future is an authentic dub experience with a story as special as the music itself

"Dueños de Nada" announces itself as a strong and tough proposal. It comes with the intention to get away from what we are used to hearing from the Chilean producer. As a first album, and by incorporating broad influences into a range of genres, industrial sounds and punk, the debut by Tomás Urquieta feels huge and accurate.


The "Dueños de Nada" sample, which belongs to Martin Sorrondeguy, is used by Urquieta to assemble a classic techno piece mixed with a new sound proposal, and by uniting these elements, a catharsis and collective osmosis movement is generated on the dance floor that does not need further explanation.


The proficiency that Tomás has developed when creating percussion doesn't go unnoticed either. It is the sensation of a new breath in his music, a replacement, a much more mature sound is demonstrated by the high instrumentation mixed in with a full on Techno base. The rhythms are wild, futuristic and with a completely personal vision. There are tracks that lock you up and there's others that leave the need for a club ajar. It is a heavy album, political, metallic but very organized. There are voices in Spanish of direct protest towards the system, voices where he invites us to be part of a march to despair, a liberation march for the dance floor . If we could summarize "Dueños de Nada" we would say it's a cry for freedom, a cry which asks us to enjoy the feeling of complete freedom across 11 tracks that embrace this anarchy in which Tomás Urquieta invites us to join.

Lockjaw introduces his upcoming LP 'Human Research' with the release of the 'Human Research Sampler EP' on Locked Concept. A longtime curator of adroit, technical drum & bass through his Locked Concept imprint, Lockjaw now steps to the foreground, revealing four tracks from his forthcoming album that exemplify a continued dedication to this guiding principle, whilst displaying his expert abilities across an eclectic array of tracks that give a tantalizing taste of what is to come from the full LP.

The titular 'Human Research' opens with glistening chimes and a pensive drone, quickly joined by a wandering bassline that sweeps through the shadowy milieu of the track's opening, winding its way forwards amongst a series of increasingly sharp and distorted pulses towards the track's main section, where the combination is joined by a frantic drumbeat that rushes forwards with single minded determination.

'Without You' bears a tangible nostalgia, its opening drums carrying a classic, rave inspired piano riff and vocal reminiscent of an earlier era that reaches its climax amongst rising saw stabs, before locking into a dynamic bassline groove still rippling with the same jubilant energy introduced at the track's beginning.

'Velveteen' features the vocals of QUAILS, who provides an ethereal verse that daydreams about possible affection over soft, floating keys and a pulsating bassline, which drift aimlessly until the track grows with excitement in the second chorus amongst rising percussion & desirous guitar. 'Second Chance' considers the prospect of beginning again, as its sweeping pads grow from muted beginnings to produce an originally subdued drumbeat which exudes a humanizing growth in confidence that waxes as its complexity increases, with a rolling bass and stirring percussion introduced alongside wistful pads still wary from the outcome of the unspoken first attempt.

With the 'Human Research Sampler EP', Lockjaw, demonstrates in brief his unique ability to bestow deeply human qualities to his musical productions across a wide array of tones. In debuting these four sample tracks, he issues firm assurance that the forthcoming 'Human Research LP' will be no less mystifying as its researches the condition of humanity and the emotions most central to it.

Ben Buitendijk returns to his Rotterdam based label, Oblique Music with three stirring techno cuts entitled 'Alternative Hypothesis'.

After Buitendijk's quintessential 2013 'Promised land' track on Mosaic, his sound's transition into tougher territories, prevalent in his series of releases via Oblique that demonstrate a palette of space-induced modulations. The label continues to create
emotionally driven techno of a deeply layered nature, having also released music by Deniro, Koen Hoets, Emmanuel Top, Refracted, and more.

Kicking off with a journey enveloping 9-minute track, 'Contamination Zone' is delicately filled with synthetic ambience and undulating minimalism. The track's energy gently grows throughout as the bleeped synth line and looping percussion patiently rises in intensity. 'Stardust' follows, continuing to transcend visionary type melodies in symmetry with acutely composed drums.

'Alternative Hypothesis' adopts a left-of-centre drum groove, harmonising authentically with the uplifting, otherworldly swells constant throughout, keeping the force of the track totally balanced.

Label boss Cali Lanauze is joined once again by Jonny Cruz to deliver the fifth release of Opulence's catalogue.

The duo perfectly demonstrates through the 'Flyg EP' the versatility and sounds that Opulence brings to the table: Deep, Trippy, Dark, Groovy & more.

Taking on remix duties of Cali Lanauze & Jonny Cruz's originals, Germany's legendary Roman Flügel delivers a dark warehouse electronica roller remix of 'Flyg', whilst Disco Halal head honcho Moscoman delivers a deep summer instrumental interpretation of 'May The Wind Always Be At Your Back'.

or 22 years now Zhark Recordings Berlin has been operating relentlessly on an alternative technoid vision. The keystone of this vision is an approach of full artistic autonomy in full front against the demons of the momentariness, reproduction and stagnation, which were ever present in these past 20 years. This endeavor intensified over the years leading to numerous releases on all types of medium. With the vinyl catalogue number 30 the big K is setting out ONE more TIME to settle the score presenting yet another wrenching collection of DANCE Variations.

The Haunting chains of a demoralized sorcerer in HINRICH, the shattering congas of a sinister entity in RATTLE DISCO, the euphoric bawling of a merciless god in LET ME FLY AWAY FROM YOU, the alternating motives of growing tension, clarity and unavoidable obscuration in the UNDERNEATH the 4th Alignment. All these motives are entangled in layers of a fierce percussive bombardment.

The first release on the newly established Greyhound Days imprint comes from Christian Kroupa alias Alleged Witches, hailing from Slovenia, who proved his skills and innovation as a participant at the Red Bull Music Academy in 2014. Since then he became one of the most prominent names of Slovenia's techno and house scene, with making appearance on the mighty Fabric mix compilation, producing a remix of Alex Smoke for legendary Belgian label R&S, while also releasing a 12" entitled Serve The Spirits on R&S sub-label Meda Fury.»One Skilled In The Black Arts« EP consists of four tracks, meant for dictating the dance floor with their drum workout, as well as luring you into its deep ritualistic feel, with distant native tongues echo.For an extra wonderful hypnotic polyrhytms, a rework has been provided by Passarani, one of the Italian leading dance music producers and DJs, who continues to be an inspiration and providing his knowledge and skills to younger generations. While Bristol based Jacob Martin alias Hodge demonstrated his expertise in percussion, resulting in an slamming rework, not meant for the faint-hearted. Just shows, why Hodge is one of Bristol's most exciting new names.

Lucrecia Dalt's Anticlines is a volume of bodily and geological substrates within poetic theory and sound. It is a place where skins and minerals dissolve and commingle, where gaseous subterranean leaks inflate lungs, where brain cavities echo interplanetary waves bent from passing through atmospheres.

A former geotechnical engineer from Colombia currently residing in Berlin, Dalt's concern with boundaries and edges shape the lyrics and music of Anticlines, her sixth album. Paying careful attention to pace, breath, and texture, Dalt microtonally shifts the distance between speech and song while using traditional South American rhythms to support her contemporary electronic composition.

Lucrecia arrived at the atmosphere of Anticlines after several months of studying and creating new patches for the Clavia Nord Modular, forming a rhythmic feedback flow with it, a Moogerfooger MuRF, and her voice. The overall effect of cavernous space backdroping Dalt's intimate vocal phrasing rewards contemplation, supported in the physical formats of Anticlines by a lyric booklet documenting Lucrecia's collaboration with Australian artist Henry Andersen.

The album opens with Edge,' bordering on a pathological circlusion of self upon other. The lyrics depart from the Colombian myth of El Boraro, an Amazonian monster who turns its victims insides to pulp before sucking them dry and inflating their bodies like balloons to lifelessly float away. Tar' ponders human dependence on earth at the boundary of the heliopause, where to inhale might be like breathing tar. Dalt's distant and obscured vocals end with, we touched only as atmospheres touch.'

The sonic rise and fall of Analogue Mountains' is inspired by martian traces found in Antarctica embedded by meteorite ALH84001, suggesting that we might well be living in mountains transferred from Mars.' The steadily winding music on Concentric Nothings' descends with the lyrical exercise of dissolution let my touch be indistinct and instinctive.'

Interspersed with the lyrical pieces of Anticlines are instrumental interstitials that demonstrate preceding concepts — as if to say, this is what antiforms sound like, and this is what the universe's indifference sounds like.' Dalt's ongoing experiments with visual artist Regina de Miguel support these ideas, their practice allowing the objects of their attention to slip in and out of being.

Mystic of matter, Lucrecia Dalt has previously performed and worked with Julia Holter and Gudrun Gut, her slippery spoken word and performative nature recalling the work of Laurie Anderson, Robert Ashley, Asmus Tietchens, or Lena Platonos. While touching stones, The Thing by Dylan Trigg, Cascade Experiment by Alice Fulton, and Wretched of the Screen by Hito Steyerl are but a few formative scripts that support Dalt's exploration of the betwixt and between.

In preparing a live set for Anticlines, Dalt plans to stage an uninterrupted configuration, like a kind of alienated lecture, aiming for gestures that create tensions with non-existent objects.' Dalt intends to provide meaning and a place for the listener to meditate or relate to the concerns and ideas' she presents.

- Lucrecia Dalt is a Colombian recording artist, songwriter, and producer.
- After studying civil engineering in Colombia, Dalt worked at a geo-technical company for two years and has since lived in Barcelona and Berlin, where she currently resides.
- She has released five solo albums and has collaborated with musicians Julia Holter, Laurel Halo and Rashad Becker, to name a few.
- Dalt has composed for sound design installations and performance pieces for institutions such as the Santa Monica Art Centre, Reina Sofia Museum and the Maisterravalbuena gallery of Madrid, in collaboration with visual artist Regina de Miguel.
- Anticlines is Dalt's sixth solo record, and her first on RVNG Intl., following the release of 2015's Ou.
- Anticlines explores the boundaries and limitations of human consciousness. The album's poetic lyrics were written collaboratively between Dalt and Henry Andersen during a weekend in Brussels, Belgium.

N8noface Was The Vocalist For Underground Synth-punk Legends Crimekillz. He Is The Younger Brother Of Tucson-bred Modern Boogie Rocket Man Zackey Force Funk, Both Now Residing In Long Beach, Ca.in 2017, Hit+run Released N8's Visceral Debut Album Stories Of Those, As Well As Demos And Demons Vol. 1, A Ten-track Collection Of Home Demos Recorded Between 2015-2016. On Dia De Los Muertos 2017, Noface Also Unleashed The First Single From His Forthcoming New Album True Story, The Haunting Double A-side Lathe Cut idgaf / Say Goodbye.'
True Story, The 14-track Lp Due This August, Reads Like A Collection Of Compelling Mini-narratives, Brief Yet Honest Tales Of Personal Struggles, Anti-establishment Rants, Dead End Loves, And Real-life Tragedies. N8's Minimal Wave Sound Is Not About Nostalgic Lo-fi Nor Home-recorder Formulas, But His Own Instinctive Style That Defies Categorization And Comparisons. The Result Is A Distinct Sound Of Rapid-fire Hardcore Punk Moshing With Awkward Pop Music. Standout Tracks On The Dense 18-minute Album Include not Like You', bad Day', men Who Dress Well' And glasgow Smile'.

Brooklyn trio Forma's latest LP continues their mission to 'broaden the idea of what an electronic music ensemble can sound like.' Semblance emerged from exploratory sessions at The Schoolhouse, the Bushwick loft where members Mark Dwinell and John Also Bennett live, then was tracked at Gary's Electric studios, where their previous album Physicalist was also recorded.
Inspired by polyrhythmic composition, the human voice, and conceptual improvisation strategies, the songs are striking in their textural detail and emotional nuance, alternately synthetic and sentient, futuristic and intuitive. Incorporating flute, piano, guitar, saxophone, acoustic drums and cymbals alongside an array of synthesizers, the record persuasively demonstrates the group's unique playing abilities and fluid chemistry - attributes they credit to 'techniques we've developed to trick our electronic machines into mimicking the spontaneous character of live instruments.'
Members George and John Also Bennett also cite as an influence their recent stint in minimalist composer Jon Gibson's ensemble, performing his 1973 proto-ambient masterwork Visitations. The long- form modal piece requires restraint and deep listening to execute, qualities especially apparent in the more muted moments of Semblance, such as 'Rebreather' and 'New City.'
The group states the intent of the new album as 'to be more direct and exacting', which it is. Over half a decade spent writing and recording together has distilled Forma's hybrid electro-acoustic interplay into an attuned and astounding language, capable of articulating impossible symmetries and reflective states.
The stunning visuals of the artwork are by frequent collaborator of the group Peter Burr.

After A 20-year Hiatus, Respected 90's D&b Imprint Odysee Recordings Launches Its Return With A Digital Re-master And Remix Of Bewildered. Originally Released In 1995 (ody04), This Track Featured On The First E.p. Under The 'mirage' Moniker, A Collaboration Between Jim Baker (source Direct) And Odysee's Founder Tilla Kemal (t-mirage).

The Original Is A Classic Example Of Mid-90's 'intelligent' Drum & Bass, From Its Warm Bed Of Strings And Sweet Vocal Ad-libs, To Its Crisp And Curling Drum Programming And Deep Subs. This Track Clearly Demonstrates An Exquisite Blend Of Jim's Celebrated Production Style With Tilla's Keen Instinct For Placement Of Abstract Soundscapes, Which Was Instrumental In The Development Of The Source Direct Sound.

On The Other Side Is A Modern D&b Take Engineered By Andy Odysee. This Remix Manages To Successfully Tread That Fine Line Between Faithfully Preserving The Vibe And Flavour Of The Original, Whilst Simultaneously Lifting The Tempo And The Potency Of Both The Drum Programming And Bass-line Work In Line With The Modern D&b Sound. Andy References Much Of The Original Break Work, Sample Selection And Arrangement, But The Undulating Sub Punctuated By Torn Synth Falls, And The Punchy Kick & Snare Give The Track Its Modern Twist.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Trojan Records comes 'Trojan Ska & Reggae Classics', a double vinyl album comprising 24 of the most celebratory Jamaican music hits from the iconic label's legendary catalogue.

Released in tandem with the TV advertised 3CD version of the same name, this joyous collection showcases the very best in classic Caribbean sounds, from rude boy ska to dancehall anthems, with the set featuring an incredible 22 Top 50 UK chartbusters, including 4 UK Number 1s and 13 Top 10s.

The perfect musical accompaniment for the summer of 2018 and beyond, this blistering 2LP vinyl collection compilation ably demonstrates just what makes Trojan so special and why it remains the world's greatest reggae label, half a century since its launch.

As an integral part of the Trojan 50 marketing campaign, the LP will be heavily promoted via the label's website, Facebook & Twitter pages, Instagram and YouTube channel.




















[T] D2 | Desmond Dekker - You Can Get It If You Really Want

Banoffee Pies Records drop their third Beats release 'Samba Del Sol' with Clifford Brown & Jeen Bassa Ft. Ella Mae Sueref - The album is influenced by Carnival and Latin sounds with Hip Hop drums and Soul roots - meeting in middle ground as an expression of the production duos upbringing, John's heritage in Mauritius and Cliffords childhood in South America. Partnered with Ellas Spanish language fluency and soft Badhu acclaimed voice as previously heard on the single 'Stop Rewind' credited by the like of Gilles Peterson and Mr. Scruff.

The tracks were recorded on Garageband by Clifford Brown and Jeen Bassa with 2 Karaoke Microphones, mixed in Bath and later buried on a hard drive for over 6 years never to be heard again. Sliding into the forgotten darkness of lost tracks and rediscovered in 2017. The production, originally just an instrumental, was then found and reignited, revamped with a vocal insert from the wonderful Ella Mae Sueref.

The 10 track album demonstrates a flurry of drums, latin inspired sampling, and mesmerizing vocals from start to finish. For the music and the lovers. Living room jams made in smoke. Banoffee xx
In Loving memory of Anna Sueref.

Winter thaw marks the return to Furanum of Uncto, the Silesian dyad Domink Muller and Rafal Furst, with their first full release of collaborative material since 2013's seminal FU009. Like its predecessor, Unctuous offers four cuts of viscerally engineered and rhythmically exacting dystopias, each ably situated within a striking 'synth-etic' narrative. It is this latter aspect of each arrangement that perhaps most noticeably demonstrates the pair's singular and evolving approach to composition, born out in the calculated emphasis on hardware-based expressionism.

The opening title track stands as a testament to the above: while deceptively sparse at the outset, its ponderous advance, both heavyset and indomitable as it gathers pace, is framed in the midst of an unfolding panorama of stark analog wails. Further interspersed with resonant timbres more akin to the vocalizations of some hell-beast luring its prey, the eponymous behemoth ingratiates its listener, beckoning submission to its will with the promise of exhilaratory assimilation. Such a hive-mind state attained, exhilaration does follow, yet so does a concomitant loss of agency, leaving one thoroughly subjugated and enslaved to its cadence. Perhaps as a manifestation of dramatic resistance to such a fate, 'Trust No One' daringly defies the impositions of its predecessor. Instead, it animates and emboldens the beholder through its rhythm, ineluctably driven by a sense of accelerating linear intensity. Thus arriving at a climactic percussive build whose isochronal blows shatter any remnants of doubt, angst transforms into raw conviction as one is propelled into a delirious realm of solipsistic certitude.

Situated amidst the foreboding sound of blade clashing with blade, 'Cold Knife', on the other hand, is driven by an entirely disparate off-beat progression. As its anticipatory rhythmic thrusts cut through an advancing fog of shivering drones with frigid precision, one seemingly undergoes a cyclical plunge into a state not unlike one marked by the visceral dopaminergic rush of contact with extreme cold. Finally, 'Metzgers Tochter' ('Butcher's Daughter') closes the EP with a ruthless exploration of the contrast between the gruesome and the feminine. In a similar way to the opener, the track's meter is staggered and undulating, yet also steadily punctuated with breathing room between its crushing blasts. Such scenery thus serves as a canvas for the expression of the titular character's 'beauty and the beast': a paradoxical synthesis of attraction and aural brutality, held in tension by the unceasing throbbing of the composition's beats.

Mastered & cut by CGB at Berlin's Dubplates & Mastering,

To celebrate the 10th vinyl release on Lossless Music, Soul Intent delivers 4 cuts on dark and moody drum and bass as only he can. The title track 'The Tide' sees Soul Intent collaborate with label regular and dark vibe master Paragon. 'Cypher' hails the first production outing from Ben Repertoire (from the Repertoire label) who happens to also be Lossless graphic designer and fellow lover of Co-Op Pickle Pork Pies.

Also on the B-side is a solo effort from Soul Intent called 'Lose Yourself' which demonstrates yet more of his love of that classic Headz sound, turning heads whenever it's played. Lastly, as a digital exclusive Soul Intent raided the archives and unearthed a rugged roller called 'Helpless' which along with 'Cypher' has received Radio 1 airplay from Rene LaVice.