London-based producer, vocalist, and DJ System Olympia is set to unveil her latest project, M3 Opera,
a five-track EP that fuses her signature sensual synth soundscapes with a bold conceptual twist.
Dropping on April 25th 2025 via her own Okay Nature Records, the EP features a unique collaboration with five distinct female vocalists, each lending their voice to a standalone "act" in this sonic drama.
Inspired by the sleek power of the BMW M3 and the theatrical grandeur of opera, M3 Opera reimagines the EP format as a multi-act narrative.
Each song accelerates through a different emotional gear—romance, tension, liberation—while the lush pads, gritty drums, and dreamy melodies System Olympia is known for provide the horsepower. "This is about motion and drama," System Olympia explains. "The M3 is that late-night drive, the pulse of the road. The opera is the story unfolding with every voice, every act."
The EP showcases an all-female lineup of vocalists, each bringing their own flavour to the journey. From sultry confessions to soaring crescendos, the tracks weave together a tapestry of feminine energy that’s both intimate and expansive—think *Delta of Venus* meets horsepower under green neon lights.
Following the success of 2024’s *Sanctified* EP with Working Men’s Club and her acclaimed NTS Radio residency, M3 Opera solidifies System Olympia’s reputation as a visionary who blends retro-futuristic
sounds with raw emotion. The EP promises to be a ride worth taking, whether cruising the streets or losing yourself on the dance floor.
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'Epiphany' is an album by composer and arranger Vince Mendoza, released in 1999, it is appearing here on vinyl for the first time and features the London Symphony Orchestra and seven jazz soloists, including John Abercrombie, Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine, and Kenny Wheeler. The album consists of eight original compositions by Mendoza, ranging from the lyrical "Impromptu" to the rhythmic "Barcelona". The music is a blend of classical and post-bop, with influences from show tunes and Spanish folk music. Mendoza's orchestrations are subtle and evocative, creating a rich and varied sonic palette. The soloists interact with the orchestra in different ways, by blending in, contrasting, and often improvising over the written parts. This prefund musical journey is a testament to Mendoza's creativity and versatility as a composer and a conductor.
Cosmological returns with the second chapter, 4 tracks for the dancefloor different from each other, with raw drums and acid electro synths that lup and evolve into exuberant but at the same time mysterious melodies, with kicks and bass lines that go from progressive techno to house with a side dish of sharp vocals.
As rRoxymore, Hermione Frank has been exploring the outer edges of the dance floor and producing music that goes beyond traditional genre boundaries for more than a decade. In that time she has covered plenty of ground from caustic and abrasive techno to long-form and immersive grooves, always with a focus on contrasting tempo, texture and tone. On previous albums she intertwined the electronic and the acoustic with elements of psychedelia and jazz. With Juggling Dualities, Frank takes a sideways look at New Age and Wellness culture.
Writing the album came about after many months of being unable to create during a complicated personal time which left her lacking inspiration, feeling creatively stuck yet emotionally uprooted. What helped was distance - taking time and space to disconnect from the struggle. That brought a different rhythm to life and a fresh perspective that allowed exploration without any expectations. A six-week surge of intense creativity followed in which the majority of the album was written. As she explains, "The record represents a journey of reconnection that conveys an underlying message of hope and healing at its core. I think it is my most honest
work to date."
Initially conceived as a New Age project but with a signature personal twist and some subtle humour, there is a familiarity to Juggling Dualities. It is warm and comforting with a sound palette that is refined but familiar - there are soothing signifiers and organic designs that nod to the motifs of New Age but passed through a more contemporary lens.
Juggling Dualities is an invitation to reconnect with yourself. It's music that encourages you to take a pause, be in the moment and reflect on the fact that no matter what challenges come your way, they shall eventually pass.
Teasing dread atmospheres and zooming in on microscopic details that bring every beat in every bar to life, Seb Uncles returns to Samurai Music with another deep dive into his exquisitely crafted, cinematic progression of the drum & bass tradition.
Even a cursory glance at the Eusebeia back catalogue tells you Uncles is an artist committed to the storytelling promise of breakbeat culture. His work has been heavily tipped towards albums since he first broke through around 2015, and across more than 10 long-players he's cultivated a strong line in moody, evocative jungle and drum & bass more concerned with world-building and subtle detail rather than aggression and intensity.
Following up on his 2023 LP for Samurai, X, on Undertones Uncles applies his signature meditative tones to a broad expanse. There's a consistent sound palette that leans on the warm snarl of monosynth low end and aqueous pads, delicately edited breaks and crisply sculpted synth percussion, but Uncles moves with dexterity around different tempos and structures within this considered sound world. The overarching notion is one of things lurking beneath the surface - a comfortably open theme to be approached and understood from any number of angles. It certainly chimes with the upfront detail and brooding tension that gives the Eusebeia sound such depth.
There are moments of direct drum pressure, such as fierce opener 'Undertones' with its diced-up breaks and icy chords, the boisterous jungle dread of 'Uncover' and chasmic roller 'Root Out', but on the likes of 'Beneath The Surface' and 'Out In The Open' it's the mellow elements that take precedence over the deft drum science. The motion is persistent and nuanced, but it's achieved without deferring to default dancefloor tropes.
'Emergence' marks a pointed shift towards a delicate strain of techno that maintains the album's sound at a mid-paced pulse, focusing on synth shapes and textures to achieve propulsion with only the lightest of drum parts. Alongside the energetic intrigue of Uncles' sonic choices, the melodic make-up of the track is a compelling showcase for his emotionally ambiguous approach, both rousing and chilling in the same curious chord shapes.
From the half-time prowl of 'Lifting The Veil' to the creeping textures and haunted phrasing of 'Brought To Light', Undertones is another stunning exercise in widescreen jungle. It flows naturally from the rich body of work Uncles has cultivated over the past 10 years while carving out its own unique pocket - a reminder if you needed one of the profound sound bedded into the Eusebeia project.
For our ninth chapter, X/Y/Secret hands the controls to Sira. Surfacing is a study in tension: grooves tight enough to steer a packed floor, yet spacious enough for long blends or sudden cuts. Each element arrives with purpose, opening pockets of air to breathe just before the pressure rises again. Both sides speak the same language while delivering different messages. Phil Berg distills the title track into a focus-sharpening remix, before Sira closes with a late-hour mover built to steady the room while the lights stay low.
Fresh out of Leeds, Kitchens inc. are back with their second release for the new label. This edition sees four unique cuts with a slick remix from Carpet & Snares own, Jorge Caiado on the A-side. And joining forces with Triform for a collaboration project on the flip along with more of their own material. All four tracks have a different flavour, versatile and genre crossing grooves on a house / breaks vibe.
Belgian DJ / producer down under Gratts is back with his most intriguing collection of songs to date.
Different shades of house music are on offer - always raw, real, and full of personality.
‘Off My Feet’ is dedicated to Restless Soul and features Durban force Venessa Jackson on vocals.
Adelaide’s Ed Temple destructs, rerubs and transforms it into a sleazy slice of hardware boogie.
‘Smiling’ chronicles hazy London days and nights some 20 odd years ago, brought to life by the
illustrious JPHiLo. A track both for club and airwaves use. ‘Better Days’ is a warm and uplifting chunk
of balearica, in which Rose ensures us better days are soon upon us (surely), while Belgium’s
Steven De bruyn shines on harmonica. The ‘Moody Beatdown Dub’ pulls things firmly into Detroit
territory. The EP concludes with title track ‘New Horizons’, an emotional piece that fuses a juicy acid
line with the cascading magic of Adelaide pianist (and techno veteran) Antony Coppens.
Pt.1[13,03 €]
The fourth release on ALT, the sub label of Cartulis Music, sees the return of AV1, the freshly formed French duo composed of Chris Carrier and Le Loup. Following the success of Waves + Plants Pt. 1 (ALT004.1), the pair now delivers the highly anticipated second chapter, pushing the boundaries of their sonic exploration
AV1 is the result of a deep-rooted connection between two of the most respected names in the Parisian underground scene. Chris Carrier, a prolific producer and DJ since the late ‘90s, has carved out a legacy with his unmistakable approach to house and techno. Le Loup, equally revered for his refined touch and forward-thinking productions, brings his own signature style to the table. Together, they craft an electrifying synergy built on a shared love for acid, deep grooves, and classicist house/techno foundations.
Waves + Plants Pt. 2 (ALT004.2) expands on the energy of the first release, offering a fivetrack journey through a diverse soundscape. Blurring the lines between trance, techno, breaks, and experimental sounds, the EP showcases AV1’s ability to merge different sonic textures into a cohesive, cutting-edge release. From hypnotic acid sequences to raw drum programming and ethereal atmospheres, each track presents a unique side of their creative vision.
This latest installment solidifies AV1’s place as a standout project in contemporary electronic music and reaffirms ALT’s commitment to releasing forward-thinking, genre-defying sounds.
- A1: Kajagoogoo - Kajagoogoo (Instrumental)
- A2: Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me)
- A3: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - If You Leave
- A4: Oingo Boingo - Weird Science
- A5: Furniture - Brilliant Mind
- A6: Dave Wakeling - She’s Having A Baby
- B1: The Flowerpot Men - Beat City
- B2: The Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink
- B3: Flesh For Lulu - I Go Crazy
- B4: Dr. Calculus - Full Of Love
- B5: Lick The Tins - Can't Help Falling In Love
- B6: Steve Earle & The Dukes - Six Days On The Road (A
- C1: Kirsty Maccoll - You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Bab
- C2: Suzanne Vega & Joe Jackson - Left Of Center
- C3: Pete Shelley - Do Anything (Soundtrack Version)
- C4: Carmel - It's All In The Game
- C5: The Dream Academy - Power To Believe (Instrume
- C6: Kate Bush - This Woman's Work
- D1: The Beat - March Of The Swivelheads (Rotating He
- D2: Nick Heyward - When It Started To Begin
- D3: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Tesla Girls
- D4: Big Audio Dynamite - Bad
- D5: Killing Joke - Eighties
- D6: The Specials - Little Bitch
- F2: Echo & The Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Hor
- F3: General Public - Tenderness
- F4: The Blue Room - I'm Afraid
- F5: Belouis Some - Round, Round
- F6: Thompson Twins - If You Were Here
- F7: The Dream Academy - Please, Please, Please Let M
- G1: Yello - Oh Yeah
- G2: Book Of Love - Modigliani (Lost In Your Eyes)
- G3: Otis Redding - Try A Little Tenderness
- G4: Patti Smith - Gloria In Excelsis Deo
- G5: Westworld - Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo
- G6: Divinyls - Ring Me Up
- G7: Topper Headon - Drummin' Man
- E1: Gene Loves Jezebel - Desire (Come And Get It) (Us
- E2: Flesh For Lulu - Slide
- E3: Love And Rockets - Haunted When The Minutes Dr
- E4: Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Love Missile F1-11 (Ultraviole
- E5: Lords Of The New Church - Method To My Madnes
- F1: The Jesus And Mary Chain - The Hardest Walk (Sing
6LP Edition[79,79 €]
Demon Music group in conjunction with the Hughes family are proud to present the first official compilation of music
from the movies of legendary filmmaker John Hughes, covering the classic eighties period 1983 – 1989.
For anyone growing up in the 1980s, the films of John Hughes are some of the most iconic of the decade and have
created a lasting cultural impact still felt and referenced across TV, film and music. As well as the characters and
stories created in these iconic movies, what made John Hughes’ movies different from the rest was the symbiotic
relationship between scene and music. Whether Cameron Frye staring at the painting in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off set to
The Dream Academy’s “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (Instrumental)”, Duckie and Andie from Pretty
In Pink at prom set to Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s “If You Leave”, or even Neal and Del’s classic “Those aren’t
pillows” scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles set to Emmylou Harris’ “Back In Baby’s Arms”.
“Music was a huge part of filmmaking for him, it was a thing he seemed to like the most.” Matthew Broderick
Curated by John Hughes’ music supervisor Tarquin Gotch, this 6LP vinyl boxset includes 73 tracks from the movies
National Lampoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Planes, Trains And Automobiles, She’s Having A Baby, The Great Outdoors and Uncle
Buck.
“Back when we were working on these movie soundtracks, the best way to send music around the world was the
cassette, by Fedex. We sent John cassettes of newly released music, of demos, of just finished mixes (and in return he
would send VHS videos of the scenes that needed music).” Tarquin Gotch
The films of John Hughes spawned many classic tracks, some licensed for the films, some commission specifically, and
many going on to become huge international hits from acts such as Simple Minds, Kate Bush, Furniture, Yello, and
The Psychedelic Furs.
“It serves as a reminder not just to the musicians he championed in the 1980s, but to how intensely his search for
music expanded beyond this era. Until his final days, he was still collecting outrageous amounts of music from around
the world, galaxies removed from the New Romantic and new wave sounds that, to many, still define him.” James
Hughes
Also includes an extensive 24-page booklet including memories from Matthew Broderick, James Hughes, Tarquin
Gotch, Ron Payne, plus track-by-track sleeve notes.
“John said he only made movies so he could choose what music to put in them, so as his success at the Box Office
grew, and thus his power with the studios, the number of tracks in his films, by up and coming UK bands, steadily
grew.” Tarquin Gotch
A new album, a new era for Adam Beyer and his music. The revered Swedish producer, DJ, and label head of Drumcode and Truesoul has consistently pushed the boundaries of techno in his own 30+ years of releases, while his imprints have launched many new artists and boosted the clout of major stars.
‘Explorer Vol. 1’ see's Adam Beyer showcasing his inspiration from his whole past creative journey whilst continuing to explore different sounds and new genres. It reflects permutations of Adam’s headspace and who he is, celebrating his personal interests and influences including in sci-fi, both musically and visually. A new age for Adam Beyer, after a prolific slew of superb EPs, singles and collabs which have spanned 20 years since his last LP.
Italian artist Raffaele Attanasio kicks off the New Year for Mutual Rytm with his superb 'South Signatures' EP, channelling multiple techno styles into one potent package.
Landing as Raffaele Attanasio's second outing on SHDW's Mutual Rytm label, following his incredible debut 'Quasar' and recent appearance on the third instalment of the label's Federation Of Rytm compilation, the EP is a showcase of an exciting artist with a new school take on techno while bringing real respect for the roots of his sound. He has played live on stage with the legendary Jeff Mills, and is involved in several other musical projects in different genres but reserves his finest techno for his own name.
'Madrigal' opens the EP, with Attanasio crafting an apocalyptic anthem composed of one sound, the Nord Wave 2 synthesizer and a pumping groove. It is pure dance floor heat with unrelenting drums that lock in the crowd. The brilliant 'Heat' then brings tribalism, with a powerful rolling groove peppered with chord stabs that bring it to life. 'Aogiri Tree' features rousing drums that emerge from the undergrowth and accompany the macabre lead synth. Its mischievous notes hint at hidden danger and keep you on your toes.
Keeping the energy high, 'Stratford Fog' delivers a battle between drums and the constantly pulsing bass. Edgy chord stabs and raw percussion make for a breathtaking groove that never lets up and keeps you utterly engaged. The title track is a laser-focused production that harks back to the golden age of Neapolitan techno with a perfectly designed groove, before digital bonus 'Eleven' brings hints of stylish Detroit techno with its lush chords and arpeggiated saw bassline, creating a continuous flow right to the last beat.
Berlin techno talent Regent returns to Mutual Rytm with second 12" release, 'Delta Hyve' - a five-track package lined with peak-time heat.
Regent is an ever-growing voice in the global techno conversation. His tracks have found their way into high-profile sets worldwide and are renowned for their impressive blend of the past and the present. Versatile but always designed for maximum impact, delivering an impressively crafted sound made for powerful systems, this new outing offers a wealth of different moods and grooves for various parts of the night. Returning to SHDW's Mutual Rytm imprint following 2023's successful 'Coral Knife' EP, he unveils a fresh selection of cuts that emphasise his emergence with 'Delta Hyve'.
The title cut 'Delta Hyve' opens up with devastating low ends and busy synths that scurry about the mix to bring dynamism to the rooted drums, while 'Ophaal' delivers thumping kicks and coarse, textured hits scrape and scratch, while supersized hi-hats bring the intensity to all new levels. 'Hygea Core' brings the pressure with hunched-over drum patterns and a sense of urgency in the bass, while creepy pads create an unsettling atmosphere. 'New Narrative' powers on like a train with high-speed rhythms and metallic percussive surfaces, all sweeping you off your feet, before 'Ree 54' switches things up with bright synth flashes and more extraverted grooves that hark back to the machine soul of early Detroit techno.
The first digital bonus, 'Presence', is intense and tinged with the grit of a warehouse and menacing vocals, while 'Rheplica' delivers unrelenting loopy drum funk with shattered glass melodies to close the show.
- A1: Timothy Gray - Its Raining
- A2: Stephen Ross David Mason - Untitled
- A3: Planetary Peace - Song Without Words
- A4: Lee Underwood - Quietude Oasis
- A5: Terry Garthwaite - Sacred Within
- B1: Martin Scott - African Sweet Fantas
- B2: Donald Eggers - Full Moon
- B3: Clay Play - Ancestress
- B4: Darrell Devore - Untitled
- B5: Martin Espino - Mexicayotl
A collection of obscure and unheard metaphysical sounds, 1980-1992
Lost Coast: Some Visionary Music from California assembles little unknown sounds from California’s metaphysical underground. Each recording is stylistically different—dream pop, guitar soli, fourth world, avant-electronic—but they are held together by a regional ethos of the “visionary.” This is music that envisions, seeing through the mind’s eye and conjuring new worlds.
Some people say that California is where “the nuts stop rolling”—where those too eccentric to fit in elsewhere ended up. What was meant pejoratively is easily reclaimed as a celebration of the free-thinking and the freely-freaking. Until the turn of the millennium, all manner of seekers rolled westward until they hit the pacific. Stationed along this edge, music was a way to roll still further: to imagine territories unencountered and wavelengths as yet unheard.
Lost Coast is a commemoration of the people who made these journeys and a resurrection of recordings they made little effort to broadcast. While some of the tracks were originally released on cassettes with modest distribution, others were only shared among friends or never shared at all. Assembled from the personal collection of House Rules operator Zully Adler, these recordings were all found on cassettes in flea markets, barn sales, rural thrift stores, and even stranger places—outside a gem and mineral shop, for example, and on the ranch of a retired mescalin dealer.
Nonetheless, these recordings are eminently listenable. California is a place where the strange and the pleasurable are frequent bedfellows.
Facta returns to Wisdom Teeth with ‘GULP’: a zippy, hi-def mini-album full of scrambled vocals, blown-out basslines, dripping synths and spring-loaded grooves that together map out his playfully psychedelic corner of contemporary club music. Written in a quick creative burst in late 2024, the record brings together a range of the producer’s distinct creative strands into a sharp, cohesive whole. Sitting snugly within the stylistic niche carved out by his A&Ring and DJ sets (alongside label co-founder K-LONE), we hear the influence of 00’s minimal, tech house, UK soundsystem music, ambient electronica, dub and more rubbing shoulders in a way that feels effortless and personal. Many of the tracks began life as sketches penned on the road - dotting between festivals, European club shows, and on tour in Japan - and so the record carries with it a sense of movement and forward momentum, and feels populated by voices, memories, people and places.
The Londoner’s characteristic approach to sound design and genre interplay are on full display here. Generative vocal hooks melt and warp into strange fluid forms, while synths stretch, detune, bend and dissolve into space before snapping back into shape again. Keyboards mirror human vocal formants, forming melodies that feel at once organic and alien. Basslines warp and distort, as if being re-moulded out of different synthetic properties.
Across the record there’s a commitment to expressing simple or familiar ideas in new and unexpected ways, whilst experimentations and innovations are presented clearly and intuitively. Cherished genre references are lovingly deployed as personal touchstones across the record - bleeping minimal- and tech-house; breakbeat dubstep and funky; Chicago house; dub techno - yet sounds and influences are combined and meshed in unexpected ways. Each track is tightly engineered and reduced down to its key elements, which are then manipulated, flipped, warped and pushed to breaking point. As is typical of Facta’s music, uncanny contrasts are worked throughout the music in unexpected ways. Warm, balmy moods come laced with seams of tension or uncertainty, whilst the record’s darker moments are handled with a light, playful touch.
With 15 years experience writing, DJing and A&Ring under his belt, ‘GULP’ is testament to Facta’s love of creation and curation - of seeking out, absorbing, experimenting, and channeling new sounds to create your own sonic world. A record borne of playful experimentation and happy accidents, ‘GULP’ shines bright with a simple, pure energy - a testament to writing quickly and intuitively and, above all else, enjoying the process.
The album’s artwork features photography by award-winning Boston-based photographer, Pelle Cass, whose complex time-lapse composites present hyperreal yet impossible tableaus of seemingly simple everyday scenes - an approach that parallels the record’s blurring of the familiar and the unfamiliar. Cass’s work has been widely exhibited, collected, and published, including solo shows at Gallery Kayafas, Boston, the Photographic Resource Center, Boston, and the Houston Center for Photography, and in collections such as the Fogg Art Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He was twice a Critical Mass Top 50 photographer and has received two fellowships from Yaddo and one from the Berkshire Taconic Foundation.
Efficient Space charts Ghost Riders’ North American roadmap, crashing into 1973 New York to ignite the unfiltered teen dreams of Dennis Harte.
In the late ’60s, 11-year-old prodigy Dennis Harte was handed a Sears-bought Silvertone 1448, its in-case amplifier primed for street-level incantations. Recruiting two neighbourhood friends, the trio hammered out raw rhythms, drawing in Brooklyn’s wandering bohemians, keen to glimpse a prepubescent Alex Chilton in the making.
Also jamming with his older brothers, Bart and John, a family friend introduced the siblings to budding music exec Carl Edelson, who had spent the better part of two decades hustling through a string of local labels. A father figure of sorts, Edelson backed them immediately, facilitating sessions at the famed A-1 Sound Studios and Sanders Recording Studio and pressing four 7”s on his newly minted Roundtable Records. To maximise his chances of courting major labels, he strategically assigned each release a different artist name - Dennis Harte, Pure Madness, Harte Brothers and the wryly titled Harte Attack.
Dennis’ emotional maturity and sheer talent bleed into the defining ‘Summer’s Over’, penned by Edelson and once recorded by mid-'60s New Jersey garage vocal group The Wouldsmen. Morphing into an unfathomably teenage, blue-eyed soul/psych lament, it aches for a season slipping away forever. Its Harte Attack edition counterpart - the candied ballad ‘Running Thru My Mind’ - delivers unison harmonies and kinetic guitar interplay with a streetwise punch, channeling the spirit of NYC-area icons The Rascals, The Lovin’ Spoonful, and The Youngbloods.
Roaring like the Spencer Davis Group, Pure Madness’ organ-driven bruiser ‘Freedom Rides’ screams of biker gangs, yet its true subject - ’60s civil rights activists the Freedom Riders - looms as another towering theme for an adolescent perspective. Meanwhile, the loose, bluesy ruckus ‘Treat Me Like a Man’ digs back into Edelson’s catalogue, covering the Beatles-inflected Levittown group The Shandels.
Though Dennis later found success touring with Wilson Pickett and now doubles as a piano tuner to the stars, these four snapshots frame ambition on its outer edge - a heartfelt homage to an unbreakable brotherhood.
Gradually, the latest album by Julien Mier, is a sonic journey that delves into the transitions of life, identity, and the blurred boundaries between art and personal growth. With a trilingual brain, Mier reflects on how language shifts have shaped his sense of self throughout his life and the music that he writes. Gradually is his exploration of shapelessness—an urge to break free from rigid musical genres and get closer to his most fundamental expression. The album is composed of nine tracks, each representing a distinct cultural and linguistic influence, all tied together by the theme of gradual evolution.
The first section, Ciel, Soleil, and Espace (French for Sky, Sun, and Space), draws on Mier’s French heritage, evoking the feeling of childhood memories bathed in a warm, nostalgic glow. This fluid, atmospheric section mirrors the soft, ever-changing air, symbolising a time of pure, untainted intention. It feels like a hazy, sepia-toned dream, as fleeting and elusive as the scent of an old friend. The gentle flow of the music mirrors the flow of wind, effortlessly shifting from one element to the next, a reflection of the innocence and clarity of youth.
The second section, Steen, Zee, and Zand (Dutch for Stone, Sea, and Sand), channels the influence of Mier’s childhood in a small Dutch dune village. These tracks are grounded in the hard-edged textures of electronic dance music, a genre that introduced him to a world of rhythm and movement. With a sonic palette of blues, greys, and more defined shapes, this section captures the solid, enduring forces of nature—earth, water, and stone. It’s a sonic landscape rooted in stability, a foundation from which everything can grow. The tracks build from the fluidity of the first section into more structured, rhythmic territories, mirroring the natural transition from childhood innocence to the discovery of deeper, more grounded musical influences.
The final section, Scrap (a collaborative track with the Japanese producer Daisuke Tanabe), Soil, and Spark, dives into the exploration of the world beyond familiar borders. Mier’s relocation from the Netherlands to Australia in 2016 is reflected in these pieces, which grapple with the contrast and complexity of different cultures and environments. These tracks are tinged with rust-red hues and a sense of eroded beauty, evoking a more fragmented, distorted view of the world. The music here is marked by tension, conflict, and the erosion of once-solid forms—symbolic of the digital and ecological storms that shape our modern existence. The closing piece, Spark, signals a new beginning, a hopeful initiation into the cycle of renewal.
The album artwork for Gradually is a conclusive visual representation of this journey, captured in the final frame of an analog film roll that began in the Netherlands and concluded with an image of the streets of Sydney, Australia—a perfect metaphor for the album’s narrative of gradual transition and discovery.
Growing up in Atlanta, Chris Brann discovered house and electronic music by the somewhat longwinded way of getting sent tapes from Europe. He began assembling a home studio but it wasn't until
1994 that he began his music career in earnest and formed Wamdue Kids with DJs Deep C, and Udoh.
In 1995 they released the classic Higher on the Acacia label, which led to the Wamdue Kids signing to
Peacefrog and the release of their seminal debut album These Branching Moments. Following the success
of this the next year Chris released his first solo album Deep Fall, reflecting a different direction to that of
his productions with Wamdue.
Deep Fall originally released in 1997 is delicious collection of deep tech-house. Stand outs are the aptly
named title track with beautiful synth washes and a single mournful modulated violin at its centre and the
emotional Journey To The Centre which if it doesn't move you then nothing will.
A nice mix of funk, hip-hop and reggae influences go into the melting pot on the latest SuckaSide, with 'Even After All' proving to be a laid back, blunted jam that's backed up with some hard hitting, sturdy beat manouevres. On the edgier sounding flip, meanwhile, a female MC spits with impressive ferocity while a lovely warm - and somewhat familiar - analogue-edge loop works its magic. Both are key components for use at different points in the jam, some badly needed heavy weaponry that Donald Trump can't withdraw from service here.




















