Light Touches Records is devoted to shed new lights on hot rarities, unknown grooves as well as forgotten classics.
While the older numbers are much sought after on Discogs, Andrea Passenger digs deeper into the best shades of disco, afro, boogie and funk to deliver the 10th release on the highly revered Light Touches Records.
On A side, “Roots” is a relentless disco tune for incendiary peak times, while “Psych Afro Roller” keeps faith to the name going into crazier territories. On the flipside, “New Dance” adds some boogie tones and quirky synth arrangements, while “Feel The Feeling” rounds things up with its moody and deeper vibe.
All tracks have been carefully edited by Andrea Passenger without overdubs, in order to bring the spirit of classic disco manipulators to today’s dancefloors!
As the tenth candle flickers atop the torta alla panna, Archeo Recordings play the Uno reverse card, breaking with tradition to give us a gift in celebration of its birthday: the first in a series of exquisite EPs on which the label's favourite contemporaries pay homage to past masters. Each re-polished gem is plucked either directly from the beatific back catalogue of the fine Florentine label or is at least Archeo-adjacent, perhaps a sign of future wonders to come. Like a musical version of Janus, who can be found at the heart of Bertoldo di Giovanni's frieze in the Medici villa, Archeo Recordings will continue to look forwards and backwards to provide sublime sounds for us all.
Pepe Maina officially joined the Archeo family in 2019 with the much-needed reissue of his 1979 masterpiece Scerizza (AR015), but his astounding music has been a constant companion to label head Manu for much longer. An inter-dimensional, multi-instrumental maverick, Maina weaves the frayed edges of prog rock, new age, organic jazz and global minimalism into a shimmering tapestry all of his own. The results are spread across fifty years and almost as many albums, largely self-released and always absolutely untarnished by commercial concerns.
Based in a small village in the hills of Brianza, just north of Milan, Maina translates the beauty of his surroundings into transformative tone poems, and the folkloric fusion of "The Infinite", originally released on his 2014 CD Tales From The Hill, is the perfect example of his practice. It opens with a recitation of Giacomo Leopardi's 1825s poem "L'Infinito" by famed Italian actor Vittorio Gassman. A leading figure in the romantic movement, Leopardi explores the idea of time and space within the natural world, and the peace that comes with an appreciation of the immensity of eternity. Manu, longtime digger and now a burgeoning producer, expands upon the original with tribal percussion, chirping electronics and a spheric bassline, folding Maina's elegant strings and gossamer pads into a new arrangement suited for a slow dance under the stars.
Unless you had a well-trained ear tuned to Italy's avant-jazz scene, chances are your first encounter with innovative flautist Roberto Aglieri came via the 2017 Archeo reissue of hisalmost untraceable LP Ragapadani (AR011). It's a true testament to Manu's digging credentials that he snatched this masterpiece out of the esoteric atmosphere and brought it attention it so richly deserved. A delicate union of digital synthesis and versatile flute - be it soft and silvery or
brilliant and clear - the 1987 album was a shapeshifting masterpiece, replaying scenes from Virgil, Verdi, Visconti and Pasolini with a neon glow. Quintessentially Italian, but uncanny and previously unimagined - Penthouse and Portico perhaps. Powered by a percolating prototechno sequence, cascading keys, hallucinogenic vocal snippets and a variety of tonal timbres from Roberto's reed, "Danza N. 1" long deserved the praise reserved for Jean-Luc Ponty's pinnacle, so many thanks to Manu for our collective introduction. The tall task of reinterpreting this particular paragon falls to Perugian polymath Daniele Tomassini AKA Feel Fly, whose peerless skills as both producer and musician have delighted DJs and dancers alike. Hot on the heels of his diverse and definitive remixes of Tony Esposito for AR027, Daniele delivers a radical rework of "Danza N. 1" perfect for both day rave sunshine and full moon party alike. Enhanced by snapping breaks and a rattling kick, the bassline gurgle emerges as a progressive powerhouse, laying the foundation for the trilling flute and circular keys to cast a psychedelic spell. As the slow-Goa revival picks up pace, this one is way ahead of the pack.
Archeo take us all the way back to the start of its story here - well almost. Though it bore the stamp AR001 (2015), this Radio Band reissue actually hit shelves months after Tony Esposito's "Je-Na' / Pagaia"; a false start perhaps but a true classic all the same. Radio Band were a group of DJs from Florence who all sailed the airways of Radio Fantasy in 1984 and whose one and only release was this super groovy slice of Italo-boogie. Following the example of Milanese DJs Band of Jocks but far surpassing their formulaic funk fizzle, Radio Band employed an intergalactic bassline, cosmic keys and that undeniably Italian style of rapping to deliver a sophisticated party-starter which even found its way to disco deity Ron Hardy. Back to the here and now, and if you've found yourself pumping an ecstatic fist to a supercharged Italian epic of late, chances are its from the mind of the mysterious Radiomarc. Operating on the ascendent Popcorn Groove imprint, this shadowy figure steers his country's lost classics into peaktime territories, finding a sweet spot between late Italo-disco, early Italo-house and contemporary cool. Pushing the tempo with a club-ready 4/4, setting the sequencer to stun and supplementing the original melodies with a series of synth riffs, the mystery producer send this one into orbit. Radio Band - Radio Rap - Radiomarc, the circle is complete.
Few have done more to develop cross-cultural musical exchange than Futuro Antico. A collaborative venture from musician, archeologist and ethnomusicologist Walter Maioli, keyboardist and tonal theoretician Riccardo Sinigaglia and multi-disciplinary artist and composer Gabin Dabiré, Futuro Antico formed in Milan in 1979, combining ancient international folkloric traditions with otherworldly electronics. The result is an arresting melange of Mediterranean, African and Asian instrumentation, mimicked by esoteric synth tones and hypnotic minimalism, which the group perfected on their acclaimed 1990 LP Dai Primitivi All'Elettronica. The meditative and transportive "Pan Tuning" belongs to their largely overlooked 2005 CD only release Intonazioni Archetipe, and has been amongst Manu's most loved tracks from the first moment he heard it. Who else is better placed to reshape this evocative opus into an immersive, transcendental dance floor journey than label favourites Mushrooms Project? The duo sows the original elements into a sprawling fifteen minute fusion of séance and science, at times propulsive with a ritualist rhythm of tuned percussion and crunching drum machine at others drifting off into ethereal ambience. Mushrooms Project continue to push the boundaries of the Afro-cosmic style, and this remix marks a new zenith.
A 2020 cover by a UK soul/jazz unit is now available on a 7-inch record!
It is the first time released as a 45 single in analogue, it was on the compilation double album 『Soul Togethereness 2020』 on a (track 3 side D 33rpm) Expansion Records LP EXP 62.
The UK soul/jazz crossover unit, formed in 1993, has released a cover of Melba Moore's classic song, which was only available on CD and digital in 2019, for the first time on analog.
Paprika Soul, a unit by Alan Barnes and Andrew Spiller, who have left many great works in the UK soul/jazz scene, has welcomed female singer Jacqui Hicks. This cover, with its uplifting and beautiful melody, features a warm, lovely, and urban Side A, and a more beat-driven, refreshing Side B Disco House Mix that would lift the mood on the dance floor in the early morning. This release is another excellent cover work that lets you indulge in smooth and Balearic sounds.
Brian d’Souza, better known as Auntie Flo, delivers his brand-new fourth studio album, ‘In My Dreams (I’m A Bird and I’m Free)’, set for release on 21st November. The album, a rich blend of electronic music, live instrumentation, and global influences features collaborations with the likes of Nicola Cruz, Joshua Idehen, Shingai Shoniwa, Yohan Kebede (Kokoroko) and even his Goan Auntie Florie, where the Auntie Flo moniker is derived from. Each track on the album transports you to a different location: Goa, Istanbul, Nairobi, Mexico City, Waiheke Island, Rio De Janeiro, Havana, Seoul are all destinations to nest in across its ten tracks. It will be available in both digital and vinyl formats on his own label, A State of Flo Records.
Auntie Flo’s latest body of work is the culmination of a five-year journey that has seen d’Souza expand both personally and musically. Known for his unique ability to fuse electronic sounds with rhythms and influences from across the globe, d’Souza takes his craft to new heights in this album, offering listeners an intimate look into the experiences, places, and stories that have shaped his artistic evolution. The groundbreaking DJ and producer presents an expansive, deeply personal exploration of global sounds, collaboration, and migration.
Following the success of the Afro-disco single Green City—a dynamic tribute to the legendary Fela Kuti and Luke Una’s ‘track of the year’—In My Dreams (I’m A Bird and I’m Free) ventures further into uncharted musical territory. The album, however, is more than just a continuation of Auntie Flo’s signature sound. It is a reflection of d’Souza’s life and career, capturing his exploration of identity, migration, and cultural fusion. With tracks that draw inspiration from field recordings collected around the world, the album resonates with a profound sense of place and memory.
In My Dreams (I’m A Bird and I’m Free) is not only a reflection of d’Souza’s creative journey but also a commentary on migration—both human and musical. The album draws on the freedom of birds to migrate across borders as a metaphor for artistic and personal freedom, juxtaposed with the challenges that political barriers impose on human migration. As d’Souza explains, “Birds have the freedom to migrate wherever they choose, while humans face constant barriers”.
A State of Flo supports Earth Percent. 10% of the revenue generated from this release will be paid to environmental charities.
Belgian independent label De:tuned, founded by Ruben Boons and Bert Hermans, celebrates its 50th release with the long-awaited 10-track studio album 'Analog Days' by Swedish electronic music pioneer Robert Leiner. During the first years of De:tuned, Robert Leiner (aka The Source Experience) played a vital part in kick-starting the label. He also graced the De:tuned parties with his outstanding dj sets and captivating live acts.
Continuing the label's 15th anniversary celebrations, De:tuned and Robert Leiner mark the occasion with an extraordinary collection of mostly hardware productions recorded between 2005 and 2015. These diverse jams have now been mixed and completed for this momentous milestone. On offer a unique interplay of rhythmic movement and soothing sounds, each presenting Robert's distinct characteristics. Enjoy the trip. It has always been there, you just have to discover it!
Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis. A separate digital release will also be available at the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!
Digital Finesse proudly presents Dischetto I, the debut album from Blinkduus Dischetto. This is a cathartic exploration, a raw, unfiltered ride from childhood to grown-man status.
Dischetto blends French Touch, IDM, and experimental sounds like a master alchemist, turning chaos into art to express the pain, the joy, the discoveries, and loss of innocence that come with the journey. Whether he's deep into Legend of Foresia with Barry White on repeat or just shaking off life’s small distractions, Dischetto is always in his zone, breaking new ground. This album is his journey—a sonic mission to claim that dischetto d'oro, Pioneer 10 lost-in-space style.
Wellington, New Zealand-based producer, drummer and band leader Cory Champion aka Borrowed CS delivers his second release on Planet Trip Records ~ Rise N Shine EP, expanding the infectious outsider boogie sound he explored on ‘Mystic Shuffle’ (off 2020’s Balance/Ascend EP) into a six-song suite of neon-lit machine funk, mutant post-disco and uptempo future soul. Draped in synthesisers that sparkle and glitter like summer sunlight hitting the harbour waters, the programmed Roland TR-606 drums and keyboard bass on these club tracks absolutely snap, wobble and groove.
From the space-aged melodies and throwback electro bounce of ‘All My People’ (featuring the pioneering British electronic soul vocalist Steve Spacek) to the dialled-in dancefloor weaponry of the title track and ‘Potplant’, the A-side of Rise n Shine unfolds like Friday night at a 1980s roller disco. On the flip, Champion reconnects with the idiosyncratic Māori singer-songwriter Mara TK to pen another golden-voiced chapter in the hi-tek South Pacific future soul story with ‘Hearsay’ before diving into some deep mid-tempo body music on ‘Subsonix’ and ‘Mystic Dream’. One for the dancefloor dreamers, Rise n Shine, will be available in 12” vinyl (limited to 300 copies) and digital versions.
Somewhere between Solid State Survivor, Force Majeure and Danzindan-Pojidon you’ll find Shinichi Omata’s Boku ・ Neko ・ Platanus. Or rather you won’t – throughout his captivating debut from 1984, reissued by chOOn!! in 2022, you’ll hear connections to other music but its unique unbridled will keeps pushing those references out of mind.
Shinichi Omata is a fascinating figure – an unsung hero of early Japanese electronic music who between 1981–84 recorded three albums of incredible DIY techno-pop while studying as a student in Tokyo. At University, Omata worked and collaborated as a sitar player and keyboardist with artists such as Hiroko Yoshihara, Takami, DEA and various members of the LLE music circle, where he developed an expressive fusion of minimal synth and psychedelia.
This selection, lovingly extracted from Omata’s unreleased early recorded output, dating from 1981’s Neo Modernism through to 1983's With My Dog Ricky, demonstrates just how closely he clung to the original abstract ideal of moulding 8-bit bleeps and ungainly drum patterns into lo-fi triumphalism. On paper you wouldn’t give this aesthetic clash a pass were it not for the aural evidence of a unique sensibility, precociously openminded and visionary, charmingly transparent in respect of its influences yet possessed of a need for individuality.
Throughout this kaleidoscopic collection, all the ghost plastic in Omata’s head, Kosmische synthesis, synth-funk squiggles, arcade games and early Ambient is thrown together, reimagined and regarded affectionately – through a glass lightly, so to speak. Beneath the pulsing arpeggiated bleeps, Omata’s compositions show a remarkable economy and poise hinting at European classical influences - like a reimagining of Erik Satie’s piano miniatures that swaps 19th century Parisian boulevards for Tokyo’s 1980s technopolis. The music is sheer skin- puckering delight throughout, a delirious, mesmeric collage of dark disco bubblegum and eccentrically enchanting atmospheres that you cannot quite believe you’ve never heard before.
Available for the first time on vinyl, With My Dog Ricky: The Early Works of Shinichi Omata 1981-1983 is a vivid selection of synth miniatures lovingly extracted from Omata’s unreleased early recorded output.
Produced in cooperation with the artist for chOOn!!.
Mastered for vinyl/digital by Josh Bonati. Artwork by the acclaimed book designer Luke Bird
Köhncke rides again with another 12“ having 2 sides that couldn‘t be more different: the A-Side, „Timecode“, is a clock-ticking electronic disco tease promising a joyous release by building up tremendous expectations over its course of 8 minutes – and of course not delivering the final dance floor orgasm since the night has to continue in mutual happiness and expectations on the floor. But well, surely lots of „pre-cum“ spreaded...
The „flip“, „The Answer Is Yes“, displays Köhncke‘s love with The Beatles or Prefab Sprout and the likes, in a masterly programmed digital simulation of the „played“ sound of the likes (Köhncke cannot play any „real instruments“ except for a bit of Barré-Punk-Guitar). It‘s a love metaphor about 2 photons in „entanglement“, which is a proven very psychedelic effect in quantum physics. The photons are „entangled“ and „know“ each other‘s „spin“ in immediacy, thus not bent to the speed of light, even if they are 100000 light years from each other - a theory that even Einstein considered absurd when the pioneers of quantum physics came up with this in the 1930s. So Justus put his fascination with quantum physics into a pop love song metaphor – how much more do you want?
Köhncke kommt zurück mit einer 12“ - 2 Seiten, wie sie unterschiedlicher nicht sein könnten: Die A-Seite, „Timecode“, ist eine tickende elektronische Disco-Versuchungs-Zeitbombe, die über ihre Laufzeit von über 8 Minuten extreme Erlösungsversprechen macht, sie aber selbstverständlich nicht in einem endfinalen Floor-Orgasmus auflöst, denn die Nacht soll ja weitergehen in gemeinsamer Glücklichkeit und Erwartung auf der Tanzfläche. Allerdings, eine Menge „pre-cum“ wird schon versprüht in dieser unwiderstehlichen Spannungserzeugung von Track.
Die „flipside“, „The Answer Is Yes“, stellt Köhnckes Liebe zu den Beatles oder Prefab Sprout etc. ins Licht, in einer meisterhaft programmierten digitalen Simulation des „gespielten“ Sounds der Großmeister (Köhncke kann keine „echten Instrumente“ spielen außer ein bißchen Baréegriff-Punk-Rhythmusgitarre, sein Instrument ist der Sequenzer). Es ist eine Liebesmetapher über zwei Photonen im Zustand der „Verschränkung“, was ein heute wissenschaftlich nachgewiesenes extrem psychedelisches Phänomen aus der Welt der Quantenmechanik ist: die Photonen sind „verschränkt“ und „kennen“ ihren aktuellen „Spin“ (Rotationsrichtung des Teilchens) unmittelbar, also nicht gebunden an die Lichtgeschwindigkeit. Auch wenn sie 100000 Lichtjahre voneneinander entfernt sind – eine Theorie, die sogar Einstein absurd fand („Spukhafte Fernwirkung“), als die Pioniere der Quantenphysik sie in den 1930er Jahren postulierten. Köhncke verewigt seine Faszination für Quantenphysik hier also in Form eine Retro-Pop-Lovesong-Methapher – was will man mehr?
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Fortunea Records is thrilled to present 2 great Italian producers for its 33rd record. DJ Rocca & Mike Riviera will release their 4 tracks packed Night Jamz EP this spring on the Austrian label to shake up the dancefloors with their combined power of raw and snappy warehouse grooves.
The former is a living legend! He began his career in the late 1990s with drum’n’bass-, breakbeat- and future jazz productions under the brand Maffia Soundsystem, which was also a club in Italy where he was the main resident dj. What followed was an impressive work history in the house and disco scene with many memorable tracks and collaborations with artists such as Dimitri From Paris as Erodiscotique or Marcello Giordani under the moniker Supersonic Lovers.
Michele Tessadri aka Mike Riviera resides in Berlin and is mostly known for his italo disco inspired productions with Luc Sauvage. But he released also solo under pseudonyms such as Fratelli Riviera on the labels Slow Motion and Bear Funk and occasionally works on impressive edits of disco- and funk records.
The Night Jamz EP will come out on all the digital stores and streaming services on may 24, 2024 and will be available on limited vinyl shortly after.
The follow up of the acclaimed first volume of this compilation, a real discovery for many DJs and music lovers worldwide who didn't know that much about Zouk or DIY electronic music of the french west indies.
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The selectors Julien Achard and Nicolas Skliris continue the excavation of French Antillas vinyl from the 80's and the 90's and for this second volume, they found some really exciting new references which should be soon « classics » on the dancefloors.
Re issue of 1996 classic house cut from Mood II Swing featuring John Ciafone.Containing 4 tracks including the absolutely essential B side 'Slippery Track'.
Taken from the original DATs this has been fully re mastered for 2014 and will sound better than anything on discogs. No digital release planned until summer.
Re issued in conjunction with Groove On Productions Inc / George Morel.
THE WORLD'S FIRST EVER 'LIVE-TO-DIGITAL' ALBUM RECORDING, RELEASED IN 1979.
This album - dedicated to Einstein on his centenary - is now viewed by fans as one of the highpoints of Giorgio's career.
Cash Box magazine named Moroder as Producer of the Year on the basis of this album. American music trade paper Record World rated 'E=MC2' as 'unquestionably Giorgio's most accessible work'.
Giorgio rode the disco tidal wave of the Bee Gees in the 1970s and went on to become a legendary producer, performer and composer. In 2013, he was once again at the forefront of a major comeback, through his work with award winning act Daft Punk, and his high profile continues to date.
After “Matjesfilet” or „Verbrennungsmotor”, the single “Supermarkt” by Berlin producer ACUD, released in 2023, was also very successful. On the radio, on streaming platforms or on the festival stages: the song was present
everywhere! A remix EP was just a formality and is now celebrating its awakening, digitally and on vinyl! Included are the Norwegian disco masters PRINS THOMAS and OST&KJEX, as well as the Mexican MIJO, the
Argentinian ANA HELDER and from Berlin: AMOUNT. There is also a new acid variant from ACUD itself, as well as the original. Reason enough to fill existing gaps in the vinyl case.
Moxy Editions Vol 7 is packed with 4 absolute gems from House, Disco, to Minimal & a Deep Bassy wobbler.
First up is Sosa with the track ‘bring it back’ which has been supported by such a long list of DJs we wouldn’t be able to list them all in here, this is a peak time bass heavy bomb track that is guaranteed to do the business
Jordan Peak’s Disco Nights is as the names suggests is a peak time dancefloor smasher with a thumping & on a disco vibe.
For those more into the nu skool minimal vibes the Adam Lance track is for you. Tried & tested by Darius Syrossian it has been stealing the show every time. As Darius says you know something is massive when you get hounded with track id requests for a track!
Finally it’s ’Tear The Club Up’ this is a classic from the Viva Warriors / Tribal Sessions days that was never released on Digital, & will never be released on Digital, this was made by Darius solely for his BBC RADIO 1 Essential Mix recorded live from Sankeys Ibiza in 2013, and was an anthem for a few summers, but never released, here it is Vinyl Only this one time, if you want a copy here is your chance
Bad Info is a new label set up primarily to reissue the music of Corker Conboy released first in the early 2000's mainly on London's Vertical Form which also released music by Pub and Pan American.
"Rich with cinematic overtones. 'Light...' carries echoes of tortoise, Ennio Morricone & Talk Talk, but its hardly just another remake, Slip into a world where the screen never goes dark"-XLR8R
"I discovered this album in 2007..The instruments felt small and delicate but collectively they elicited a heavy emotional response: a seductive moodiness, a soporific joy, soundtracking both post-party mornings and late night writing. it remains a record that still inspires me to this day." Adam janota Bjowski ( Composer- Black Mirror, Saint Maud, Femme, Out of Darkness)
Post-rock.electronic duo Corker Conboy aka Adrian Corker & Paul Conboy announce a newly remastered reissue of the project's debut album 'In Light Of That Learnt Later'.
Originally released in 2003, and available for the first time digitally, featuring new artwork by graphic designer Joe Gilmore. Alongside the reissue, Corker Conboy will release a limited edition 12" /digital single featuring a track from the album, backed with a new remix, sampling multiple tracks from the album, by acclaimed New York-based ambient dub trio Purelink (The 50 Best Albums of 2023 Pitchfork,'Ambient Dub that glows from within 'Philip Sherburne).
The album is remastered by Paul Conboy, with the remix single mastered/remastered by Stephan Mathieu.
Bs As deep brings us his latest work, where the sounds he uses in the three tracks are the faithful expression of achieving music that transcends time.
In this album of three original tracks BS AS DEEP clearly goes through a range of very classic house sounds, and at the same time it presents us with a fresh sound.
As an extra track, Maxi Iborquiza participates, who presents us with one of the tracks included in his digital album Delayed, released on compact disc by Omward Recordings.
4 great minimal tracks. A couple of Cumpas are brought together by showing their character within the music. Etro Hahn & Liro have been producers for years delivering different nuances and rhythms within the world of electronic music. Between 2010 and 2011 they released their first EP together which, was titled: “Nortesur EP- for an Irish label “Elevation Recordings” together with Chris Lattner + Rampa & Re.you.
Since, they have delivered multiple EPs (vinyl and digital) and have been able to interpret the evolution of electronic music with dynamic projects, managing to combine the necessary sound they seek. We present a story that began with the discovery of ethical and electronic sounds, managing to guide these works to the memory of a town that changed in southern Chile. Zbroyi is proud to bring forth a journey from these Chilenos.
Our seventh vinyl chapter at Small Great Things is presented by our residents Quadrakey. The limited vinyl and digital release, titled "Head Over Heels EP," consists of three original tracks and two remixes. This collection seamlessly fuses deep and classic house vibes with contemporary beats, ensuring a fresh dance floor experience.
Starting with the A1 side, 'Head Over Heels' kicks off the journey with a deep house groove complemented by stabs and a robust bassline. Moving to the A2 track, 'Yeah' takes center stage with its infectious groovy bassline, piano chords, and captivating drums. The A3 track, "2 Ways Out," adds a touch of nostalgia with hints of the 80s.
Flipping over to the B side, we come across two remixes. On B1, Luca Olivotto delivers a disco-house dance floor-ready cut, featuring vocals and guitars. B2 presents a fantastic remix from DJ Merci of the track "2 Ways Out," where he reinvents the entire production, crafting a deep house gem.
Group is a project with its own sound and a gradually expanding style, and Seedman perfectly reflects these attributes. With 160925_1145, the first cut on side A, the ritualism he has previously exhibited on other albums such as Esoteric Free Afrika, or more recently with Broken Faces, is somewhat apparent, due to the slow cadence, steady rhythm and tribal arguments. 160205_1066 is created from another perspective, however, it is not what it seems because from the first bars there is a syncopated and constant rhythmic pattern that places you in an industrial scenario, and gradually a simple two-tone melody appears that completely changes its initial musical context. 170218_1475 moves between an industrial and dark ambient concept, as it mixes gloomy atmospheres with deep breaks.
The sonic properties of 160131_0683, the cut that opens the B-side, connect with an unexplored environment, with a new, recently discovered and inhospitable scenario, since among other things we can appreciate sounds of machines, radio signals, filtered and choppy voices, combined with disturbing acoustic phenomena. 170213_1455 is a track that describes quite concisely the creative sense of Group, and for this we must take into account that it could be catalogued as a techno production, with groove and aimed at the dancefloor, however, he manages to minimise all these factors by giving it a volatile and atmospheric aspect. 170105_1398 closes the B-side of the vinyl, returning once again to the tribalism and ritualism that characterises many of Group’s productions, given that on this occasion his rhythm is not diluted, it has much more presence and manages to generate a hypnotic state.
In addition to these six tracks that make up the entire vinyl tracklist, Seedman also presents a couple of bonus tracks in digital format. And the first of them, The beast11, already arouses curiosity because its title is not due to a sequence of numbers, as is usual in this project. Musically, it once again shows Group’s ability to adapt any environment to a sonic degradation very much in keeping with his style. 150407_0166, the last track on the album, is an ode to chaos, a hodgepodge of frequencies devoid of rhythm that appropriately serves as an outro.
The Label famous for its outstanding organic and melodic music, is thrilled to announce the release of Jacob Groening's
debut album, „TIMEFADES,“. This remarkable album is set to release on his own imprint digitally and on vinyl preorder on November 24, 2023.
"TIMEFADES" is an introspective and immersive collection of eight tracks that weaves a narrative from start to finish. Each song contributes to a story that is both dancefloor-ready and equally at home in intimate listening environments. Jacob Groening's unique ability to craft music that resonates on multiple levels is showcased in this extraordinary album.
In a significant departure from his previous works, Groening has seamlessly integrated sounds from his childhood into
"TIMEFADES." The album features a captivating blend of 80s synthesizers, which evoke a sense of nostalgia, harmonizing effortlessly with his signature organic sounds. The result is a sonic tapestry that not only captures the essence of the past but also propels it into the future.
An exciting and personal addition to "TIMEFADES" is Jacob Groening's own voice. For the first time in his career as a
producer, he lends his vocals to the album, offering a deeper connection to the listener. This newfound layer of intimacy elevates the emotional resonance of the music, making "TIMEFADES" a profoundly personal and moving experience.
One of the standout features of the album is Groening's discovery of the electric guitar as a primary composition tool. The
electric guitar weaves its magic throughout "TIMEFADES," adding layers of melodic complexity that captivate the senses and set this album apart from the artist's previous work.
Soom T aka “The Raggamuffin Queen” will release her sixth studio album “The Louder The Better” on October 13, 2023. A combination of live band studio recordings and digital compositions, it took only 3 years to fully realize from the very first live band recordings in Brazil during the 2020 pandemic to its release this year. Entirely self-produced with her own music label Renegade Masters with Kunta as executive producer, Soom T called on her most trusted collaborators to produce this new Reggae/Dub gem, and it’s sunnier than ever.
“Path of the Wanderer” with its poignant and deeply emotive vocal, irresistible rolling bass line and driving rhythm was composed by French production maestro Tom Fire with “Ezekiel’s Vision” and “Michael” being the fruits of live band recordings at Pangea Studios in Sao Paolo Brazil under the skilled direction of Mauro Rabello.
“Fly My Bird” and sunny pop anthem “Good Will Come” are original compositions by Terry Vibes out of the USA while “Bad Road”,“Emergency” and “Normal People” were stylised digital productions by France’s own Dr Bud reminiscing on Soom T’s first love of digital. Additional synths were added by executive producer Kunta and studio partner Green Teddy of Highly Seen.
“Prophets”, “Free the Man”, “There is love”, “No worries” and “Don’t Make Me” composed and curated by Christian Cowlin who is the live sound engineer for The Wailers USA, takes the journey into a more roots direction with some solid harmonies and flashbacks to a bygone era. Many of the instruments on these songs were performed by Mr Cowlin himself among other seasoned musicians and recorded at his studio in the UK. Led by her great respect for activists whose aims and efforts are rooted in making society movw forward with dignity and honour, Soom T denounces the incarceration of businessman/politician Schaeffer Cox, unjust in her eyes and tens of thousands of others globally, in a call to “Free the Man”.
If “The Louder The Better” has definite roots influences, “Like a Dog” composed by French label and music production studio Irie Ites and “Walk the Earth” performed by legendary British drum & bass duo Mafia & Fluxy, added some more digital delight alongside a sweet roots trip for the listener to indulge in a medley soup of varying influences throughout this album, mixed by Mista Maff and mastered by Simon Capony at Basalte Studio.
« Hail to the Watchman », an easy favourite for more traditional reggae lovers was composed by Kunta in conjunction with Green Teddy, both of whom contributed to the production of the 2017 ‘Arch’ LP.
Finally, with this new reggae album, Soom T sticks to what is closest to her heart covering a multitude of topics from the corrupt state of the world, to the emptiness of politics and the urgent need to awaken to the reality of the condition of society.
Behind the need to inform and urge society moving forward, « The Louder The Better » delivers a positive and inspiring message, led by melodies and vocals at the crossroads of genres, that fans will love to listen to at any time.
See you on October 13, 2023 to discover this new opus by Soom T.
Adinda Dwimadasari and Dea Barandana take you on another dancefloor oriented voyage (to the Moon?) of originally written and produced contemporary disco wellness. Precious Bloom continues to carve out a sound of their own with 4 beautifully executed tracks. A selection of hand picked instrumentalists in addition to Dea's multi-instrumental studio prowess, the scene is set for Adinda's vocals to unravel in dreamy cosmic nuances from mysterious soft spoken word style voices to romantically sung lyrics in astrophysics. Truly refreshing in today's dance floor sound dominated by synthetic/digital convenience. Recorded in Jakarta and mastered in Berlin.
Welcome to the unmissable second part of this momentous collection, collecting the output of a true outlier in UK creative culture, an artist that has helped change the landscape of electronic music, KRUST.
Introducing 'Irrational Numbers,' a meticulously curated collection of five parts, available on both vinyl and digital formats. This compilation is a treasure trove of hand-picked records and archival gems from Krust's extensive discography, thoughtfully remastered and presented anew for both devoted fans and newcomers.
'Irrational Numbers' features a dizzying array of self-released 12" cuts, exclusive unreleased VIPs and dub-plates, alongside epic major label widescreen classics. It's an unmissable journey through the sonic output of one of the UK's most distinctive and forward-looking producers.
This 2nd volume of seminal and forward thinking music from the legendary Bristol producer and DJ boasts a plethora of unmissable cuts; the staccato and clipped jazz funk of 'Blaze Dis One', the widescreen epic futurism of 'True Stories' and the all-time classic anthem 'Warhead' all feature, proving what a formidable and original force Krust is.
For longtime Krust enthusiasts, this project serves as a fond reminder of the boundless creativity and originality that flourished during the early 1990s and beyond. For those new to his work, it presents an enthralling introduction to innovative electronic music that has comfortably set the tone for generations to come. Get ready to experience the evolution of sound and immerse yourself in the visionary artistry of Krust.
Welcome to the music of a true outlier in UK creative culture, an artist that has helped change the landscape of electronic music, KRUST.
Introducing 'Irrational Numbers,' a meticulously curated collection of five parts, available on both vinyl and digital formats. This compilation is a treasure trove of hand-picked records and archival gems from Krust's extensive discography, thoughtfully remastered and presented anew for both devoted fans and newcomers.
'Irrational Numbers' features a dizzying array of self-released 12" cuts, exclusive unreleased VIPs and dub-plates, alongside epic major label widescreen classics. It's an unmissable journey through the sonic output of one of the UK's most distinctive and forward-looking producers.
For longtime Krust enthusiasts, this project serves as a fond reminder of the boundless creativity and originality that flourished during the early 1990s and beyond. For those new to his work, it presents an enthralling introduction to innovative electronic music that has comfortably set the tone for generations to come. Get ready to experience the evolution of sound and immerse yourself in the visionary artistry of Krust.
Mouche (real name Tim Karmouche) returns to Australian label Research Records with another full-length of imaginary soundtracks, instrumentals and sun-kissed digital jazz. Active on the Melbourne scene in projects such as Crepes/The Murlocs/Swazi Gold/Dreamin' Wild, Tim's first album Live From The Bubble arrived back in 2020 as an ode to his aptly named studio space - The Bubble.
Lake Songs builds on those same atmospheres, showcasing the inward-looking craft of his one-man band. Cicada field recordings and light keys open proceedings, reflecting the warmer side of 80s new age, though before long we're introduced to a variety of stylistic shifts incorporating elements of cosmic funk, lounge and library-style compositions. There are traces of Steve Hiett, Max Groove or even the recently re-discovered Ronald Langestraat, though the strength of Mouche's talent for harmony shines through on its own level.
Shifting between moods yet reflecting an overarching sense of positivity, listening through the ten tracks gives off a real sense of place, though time is somewhat irrelevant. The warm climate and sandy beaches of Australia seem eternally embodied in 'Juice' or 'Crystal Water'. Perhaps where Live From The Bubble was dedicated to the very studio that birthed it, Lake Songs is dedicated to the vast land that surrounds it.
‘At the turn of the 1990s, there were few more successful New York house producers than Victor Simonelli. Under a dizzying array of aliases – Solution, NY’s Finest, Groove Committee, Critical Rhythm and Cloud 9 being amongst the better-known – the Brooklyn-born DJ/producer delivered a string of underground club hits during the city’s early ’90s house boom.’
BTG presents “Victor Simonelli: The Early Years Vol 1” a collectors edition double Vinyl release - 2 X 12’s in each Vol
Launching the first Behind The Groove collectors edition vinyl series is New York’s finest Victor Simonelli with ‘The Early Years Vol 1 & 2’ double Vinyl releases. Featuring seminal house tracks such as Cloud 9’s ‘Do You Want Me’, Solution’s ‘Feel So Right’, Instant Exposure’s ‘Wanna Be With You’ and rare mixes of Raiana Page and EZ-AL, this collection brings together classic and rare Victor Simonelli cuts that reflect the early raw energy and buzz of the New York House scene. With ‘Vol 2” scheduled to follow shortly after, this is the most comprehensive collection of rare Simonelli cuts that firmly establishes his esteemed role in 90s House Music as well as introducing new fans to his inimitable sound.
Victor Simonelli is one of the early kings of NYC sampling In house music. The real deal - Victor danced at the legendary David Mancuso’s Loft sessions and developed a serious appreciation for good music. He interned for Arthur Baker at his renown Shakedown Studios (where Arthur worked with the iconic Afrika Bambatta on the seminal dance floor ’Planet Rock’ track) and went on to release hugely influential releases on seminal NYC labels 4th Floor and Nu Groove. Victor’s music was championed by the hugely celebrated iconic House Music DJ pioneers, Larry Levan and Tony Humphries at Paradise Garage & Zanzibar/WBLS/Kiss FM respectively.
Revered as a New York house heavyweight and prolific producer since the turn of the 1990s, Victor Simonelli grew up in Brooklyn, NYC, nurtured by a music loving family, with an avid record collecting father who also worked as a local party DJ. He took music lessons in piano, drums, guitar and bass, before discovering his first love, tuning into NY’s Radio Mix Shows on WBLS, WKTU and WRKS,98.7 Kiss FM) where he discovered the art of mixing and in his own words, ’I just simply got lost in the music’.
Graduating from NYC’s Centre For Media Arts, Victor got an internship in the legendary producer, Arthur Baker’s Shakedown Studios. Soon graduating to editing, mixing and then producing he worked for artists David Bowie, Quincy Jones, Debbie Harry, Sinead O’Connor and Talking Heads. Teaming up with fellow NYC producer Lenny Dee to become the Brooklyn Funk Essentials, they released records ‘Critical Rhythm’ and ‘Subliminal Aurra’ on 4th Floor before Victor went solo as Groove Committee releasing the classic ‘I Want You To Know’ on the legendary Nu Groove Records. Paradise Garage legend, Larry Levan broke ‘I Want You To Know’ rocking 2 copies on his last tour of Japan whilst King of NY House Music,Tony Humphries broke Victor’s new ‘Feels So Right’ across New York on his WBLS/Kiss FM Mastermix show and at his legendary Zanzibar club sessions. It was only a matter of time before Victor’s name became synonymous with quality House music ensuring a worldwide platform for his productions.
In the early 90s alongside his own productions, Victor Simonelli worked on high profile projects, including James Brown’s album, “Love Overdue” BeBe and CeCe Winans single featuring Mavis Staples “I’ll Take You There” and Quincy Jones’ “I’ll Be Good To You” featuring Chaka Khan and the legendary Ray Charles. Never straying too far from his clubland roots, Victor worked with Danny Tenaglia on his classic “The Harmonica Track”.
DJ gigs across the world started flooding in and Victor found himself recording for a dizzying array of labels including Tribal America, Sub-Urban, Bassline, King Street Sounds and Vibe, under a wide range of aliases. He also produced, wrote and remixed for artists such Nile Rodgers (Chic), Afrika Baambata, Hall & Oates, Frankie Knuckles, Kerri Chandler, Madonna and Michael Jackson. Famed for his own productions “It’s So Good” by Creative Force, “I Know A Place” as Sound Of One - the first release on Roger Sanchez One Records -, “Dirty Games” as well as the “Street Players Vol 1 EP”, Victor went on to set up Suburban Records with Tommy Musto and Bassline Records with two other partners. Notable releases on this label include “Do You Feel Me”, Connie Harvey’s gospel inspired, “Thank You Lord”, Urban Blues Project’s “Deliver Me”, Colonel Abrams “Not Gonna Let”, and Mone’s “Better Way”. Never ceasing to produce, DJ, run his own label and host radio shows like Groove Lift, Victor has worked with virtually every NYC producer and has nurtured a next generation talents including Angel Moraes, Jazz ‘N’ Groove, Urban Blues Project, Harlem Hustlers, Jay Jay and Julius Papp. Victor’s releases have also been used on M&S’s “Salsoul Nuggett” hit and Eddie Amador’s underground smash ‘House Music’.
In the late 90’s Victor launched his new Westside Productions, notable for the “Latin Impressions 1 & 2” releases, opened up a studio in Italy as he found himself increasingly working in Europe and now divides his time between New York and Italy. Suffice to say his unique sound of uplifting and spiritual music has kept him at the forefront of House Music and he is credited as one of its leading exponents with his string of classic releases and remixes.
Behind the Groove, branches out from its digital platform to embark on a programme of releases from the iconic pioneer producers of House Music. Esteemed for their high quality features and mixes that continue to explore, celebrate and venerate the contributions of highly respected, scene-shaping Labels, Artists, DJs and Special Events, BTG seeks to bring these talents and tales to the attention of the wider community. Unlocking the stories surrounding the pivotal roles they played and continue to play today in shaping the underground music scene we have come to know and love.
BTG presents “Victor Simonelli: The Early Years Vol 1” a collectors edition double Vinyl release, released on May 12th 2023. ‘Vol 2” follows on May 26th 2023 . These releases are the most comprehensive collection of rare Victor Simonelli cuts that firmly establish his esteemed role in 90s House Music and introduces new fans to his carefree sound.
"Non Masse" is the new LP from Brussels-based artist and producer Apulati Bien.
After several notable releases on the Parisian label Promesses ("OO:NÉ", "RER TRACKS" & "Azone", jointly released on the Belgian label KRAAK) in solo or via the duo XOLOT he forms with artist Vica Pacheco, navigating in a neo-futuristic aesthetic with glitch and experimental influences mixed with juke, footwork and more broadly bass music heritage, Apulati Bien explores this time new territories, devoid of preconceived forms and leaving more space to each element.
Recorded at the time of the finalization of his last album "Azone" released in February 2022, with the will to proceed with a different method, even opposed to the one he knows, "Non Masse" (whose title is equivocal of the approach) is a more aerial object, with unquantified structures and sliding material, reflecting a feeling of "wanting to get out of (his) own mass", according to his words. A feeling certainly shared by many during the troubled period of the last two years, and which echoes a general desire for detachment, for withdrawal combined with a search for discovery in these overloaded times.
"Non Masse" is not however an object apart from Apulati Bien's discography, where we find the main elements of his music : futuristic references, glitch and digital contortions, which should not be approached as a light object but as a complex one, where the subtle details don't aim at diverting the attention, but on the contrary at nourishing a more global speech. The title "Alone Global" of one of the tracks is probably the most accurate definition of this project.
For this uniquely personal retrospective spread over twelve vinyl discs, Sven Väth takes us back to the early days of his DJ career. On What I Used To Play we meet great pioneers of electronic music, gifted percussionists, obscure wave bands, and innovative producers of a bygone 'new electronic' era. Rough beats and irresistible grooves from the identification stage of house, techno, and acid remind us not just how far electronic music has evolved over the past four decades, but how great it was to dance to EBM, techno, and house for the very first time.
If there is one protagonist of the electronic music scene who has remained curious, innovative and at the very cutting edge of music for over four decades, it's Sven Väth. His multi-layered artist albums and Sound of the Season mix compilations have been defining the genre for over two decades, and even today, he is constantly on the lookout for the next top tune to add to the highlights of his next set. At least, that's the case when he's not producing them himself as an artist or remixer. "Actually, it's always been part of my DNA to think ahead," and nothing had been further from his mind than looking back at his past, but when in spring of 2020 the international DJ circuit had to be scaled down to virtually zero, the 'restless traveler' suddenly had time. Time to stop and reflect on "how it actually was back then, at the very beginning of my career..."
"It was a great trip and with every track, beautiful memories came flooding back".
In the London apartment, he had just moved into, Sven has set up a "little music room", where he cocooned himself for several days, "to look way back for the first time and review my musical journey through the eighties, so to speak."
The interim result was six thematically oriented playlists with a grand total of 120 tracks from 'early 80s' to 'Balearic late 80s', together with excursions into afrobeat, European new wave, and EBM sounds and a few epochal techno/house tracks from the USA in between. From these 'Best of Sven Väth's favorites', the project What I Used To Play crystallized. Sven remembers how the Cocoon team reacted to his proposal: "They found the idea of making a compilation out of it MEGA from the beginning and everyone said 'Sven, go for it', but then, of course, the work really started, namely, to clear the rights and to get clean sounding masters of the up to 40-year-old tracks. There was also disappointment, of course. We couldn't clear certain titles because the rights holders in the USA had fallen out with each other or simply disappeared from the scene. In short, it wasn't easy, but now I can safely say we got the most important tracks."
Finally, after two years of research, curation, design, and administrative fine-tuning, the "little retrospective" from 1981 to 1990 is available. The exquisitely packaged, and three-kilo heavy box set is not only physically impressive, WIUTP is also the definitive record of Sven Väth's musical development. On each of the twenty-four sides of vinyl, you can trace track by track, what influenced him during which phase, and how he took off as a DJ from his parents' Queen's Pub straight into the spotlight at Dorian Gray. There and at Vogue (later OMEN), Sven became the style-defining player in the DJ booth that he still is today.
1981 - 1990: Future Sounds of Now
In the early eighties, the crowd in clubs like Vogue and Dorian Gray danced to what nowadays we call 'dance classics' - mainly disco, funk, soul, and chart pop. It was up to a new generation of DJs, including Sven Väth, the youngest protagonist in the Rhine-Main area at the time, to create their own club-ready music mix. Good new tracks and potential floor-fillers were rarities that had to be sought out and found, in order to prove oneself worthy.
Without MP3s, internet streaming, or other digital download possibilities, music didn't just gravitate to the DJ, instead, it had to be tracked down. In well-stocked record stores in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden or even in Amsterdam, London, or New York, Sven and friends sourced the material for countless magical nights. On WIUTP we can follow Sven's very personal journey through this wild, innovative era in which synth-pop, funk, hip-hop, and disco were successively replaced as 'club music' by house, techno, acid, and breakbeat. By the end of the decade, it was clear to see that these once exotic 'fringe' phenomena would soon become 'mass' phenomena.
Early 80s
Dirty Talk by the Italian-American duo Klein & M.B.O. represents the most innovative phase of the Italo-disco genre in the early eighties like no other track. Mario Boncaldo (I) and Tony Carrasco relied entirely on the original synthetic drum and percussion sounds of the Roland TR-808, coupled with the raunchy vocals of Rossana Casale and guitar accents of Davide Piatto. Of course, other tracks from this period were also influential in style, most notably Unit by Logic System, which worked as the perfect soundtrack to the laser lighting system at the legendary Dorian Gray club. With stomping beats and robotic rap interludes, Bostich by Yello also belongs on Sven's eternal playlist - after all, it caught the attention of Afrikaa Bambaataa, who invited the Swiss duo to perform at the Roxy in New York in 1983.
EBM Wave - Mid 80s
From today's point of view, the almost ten-minute-long, downtempo track Giant by Matt Johnson's band project The The, would probably not be considered an obvious club classic. However, a closer (re)listen reveals the rhythmic intricacies of the percussion overdubs by JG Thirlwell (aka Foetus) on Johnson's composition, and it becomes clear why this exceptional piece of music is one of Sven's absolute favorites. Other classics from this phase include Kaw-Liga by the mysterious The Residents, the hypnotic-synthetic Our Darkness by Anne Clark (and David Harrow), and last but not least, the somber, monotonous anthem Where Are You? by 16Bit, one of Sven Väth's projects together with Michael Münzing, Luca Anzilotti from 1986.
US House - Late 80s
You certainly can't talk about Chicago house without mentioning Frankie Knuckles. The resident DJ at the Warehouse not only gave the name to an entire genre, but also produced epochal floor fillers on the Trax label like the timeless Your Love, sung (and moaned) by Jamie Principle. Acid house protagonists Phuture also hail from Chicago, and on We Are Phuture (also released on Trax) we hear the chirping acid sounds of the legendary Roland TB-303 in full effect. Another featured classic is No UFO's by Detroit's Model 500 aka Juan Atkins, who is rightly considered the 'Godfather of Techno' even if the genre-defining track from 1985 still breathes with the spirit of hip-hop and electro from the first breakdance era.
Afrobeat
Le Serpent, by Algerian-born Abdelmadjid Guemguem, is a track that sounds completely different from everything else on WIUTP. Made in 1978, it's a monumental, rousing groove created without bass or synths, just with five congas! Even though Guem sadly passed away in 2021, his immortal, acoustic beats are understood all over the world and will continue to enrich many thousands of DJ sets for years to come. Another classic that not only Sven appreciates beyond measure is Hugh Masekela's Don't Go Lose it, Baby. In addition to being one of the most important jazz pioneers, the trumpeter and freedom fighter from Johannesburg was very experimental, integrating electronic sounds into his music in later years, in a similar vein to Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. Dutch jazz pianist Jasper van't Hof's afrobeat project Pili Pili has also aged well. The trance-like, almost sixteen-minute-long track of the same name, manages to fill a whole side on the seventh of twelve vinyl discs in the WIUTP box.
UK-US-Euro - Late 80s
Time for a change of scene, in the truest sense of the word, and from a musical perspective, this section is like landing on another planet. First up is Andrew Weatherall's classic remix of Primal Scream's Loaded, featuring the iconic Peter Fonda sample (lifted from the 1966 biker film Wild Angels) that came to personify the mood triggered by the British Second Summer of Love in the late eighties: "We wanna be free to do what we wanna do, and we wanna get loaded...". This period also saw the emergence of M/A/R/R/S whose only single, 1987's Pump Up The Volume, became a club classic with support from DJ legend CJ Mackintosh. In this most eclectic of sections, we also encounter New York house and reggae producer Bobby Konders and his seminal Nervous Acid.
Balearic - Late 80s
Those who know him, know that Sven had already lost his heart to the 'magic island' of Ibiza as a teenager, so with that in mind, the WIUTP project couldn't end without a Balearic chapter. Inspired by Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4, the immortal, eponymously titled Sueño Latino belongs in there without question. Equally popular on the island was, and still is Break 4 Love by Raze, which thinking about it, would also fit perfectly into the house chapter. Last, but not least, there's an overdue reunion with Sven Väth himself, in his role as frontman of the successful Frankfurt trio OFF. Together with Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (later of Snap!) this 'Organization For Fun' created the off-the-wall club hit Electric Salsa in 1986 which incidentally turned into an international chart smash, putting Sven in the enviable position of having to decide between pop stardom and a DJ career. Well, we all know how that decision turned out and the rest, as they say, is history. A not insignificant part of his story is What I Used To Play. Enjoy!
Tod Dockstader's Aerial series, an electronic/drone masterpiece, is cherished among fans of the artist's work and this second volume is available in an audiophile quality double LP edition.
Tod Dockstader's Aerial series is sourced from his life long passion for shortwave radio. Dockstader collected over 90 hours of recordings, made at night, and comprised of cross signals and fragments plucked from the atmosphere.
Opening with airwave drones, Dockstader gradually allows elements to slowly come and go, summoning an ominous atmosphere of ethereal cloud clouds. Malignant placidity continues, giving the feeling of eavesdropping upon late-night audio activity not unlike discovering number stations while sweeping the dials. These sounds pull you in as their density and rhythms come and go.
Backward voices, deep echoing choruses of conversations flowing under the surface, ocean sounds, pulsing electro-rhythms, all seem to be created via the collaging of many hours of source recordings. A masterwork of collage and juxtaposition by an overlooked pioneer of American electronic music.
Artwork by John Brien (Imprec) is inspired by the propagation of shortwave radio signals throughout the earth's atmosphere.
"This return of Dockstader is something to cherish, not just because his output has been so limited and scarce but because what we do have is so intriguing, persuasive and cliche-free; the music of an inspired explorer who trails in nobody's slipstream." The Wire
"One of the great figures of musique concrete composition." Dusted
The Aerial project
I've written before of my interest in shortwave radio, in the notes to the Quatermass CD. Also, in the notes to the Omniphony CD (which has my first "Aerial" mix, "Past Prelude," in it), I mentioned "The Aerial Etudes," which was my working title for what became the three CDs you have. And, at the end of an interview with Chris Cutler (which can be found in the "Unofficial TD Website"), the piece I mentioned I was starting to work on at the time became Aerial.) When I was very young, people got most of their entertainment from radio. They called it "playing the radio," as if it were a musical instrument. That's what I've tried to do in this piece. About this time, a few people encouraged me to look into using a computer for this work.
I'd never used one, but I saw it would allow me to keep my mixes digital - no more transfer losses. So, at the end of 2001, I got a computer and an editing program for it, and spent what seemed a long time learning it. I began selecting mixes and loading them into the computer in late March, 2002. Out of the 580, I selected 90 "best" mixes - eventually reduced to 59, the ones on the CDs. Finally, in assembling the CDs, I followed David Myers' suggestion to allow each piece to flow into the next - making a continuous journey to the end. Tod Dockstader, 14 september 2003
About Tod Dockstader: Dockstader moved to New York in 1958 and became a self-taught sound engineer and sound effects specialist and apprenticed as a recording engineer at Gotham Recording Studios. It was around this time that he started to use his off-work hours to experiment with mixing and manipulating sounds on magnetic tape (musique concrète). By 1960 he had amassed enough material to assemble his first record Eight Electronic Pieces which was released on the Folkways label in 1961 (this would later be used in the soundtrack of Fellini’s Satyricon). The last of the eight pieces was later re-worked into his first stereo piece. In 1961 he applied to use the facilities at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center and was denied access by Vladimir Ussachevsky. Ussachevsky’s official reason was the “overstrained” scheduling of the studios, although many suspect that Dockstader’s lack of academic training was a factor in the decision. He continued to create music throughout the first half of the 60s, working principally with tape manipulation effects. His last piece at Gotham was Four Telemetry Tapes in 1965, after which he left to work as an audio-visual designer on the Air Canada Pavillion at Montreal’s Expo ‘67. It was around this time in 1966 that some of Dockstader’s pieces were released on three Owl L.P.s, and his work became known to a larger audience. He achieved modest recognition and radio play alongside the likes of Karlheinz Stockhausen, Edgard Varèse, and John Cage.
From a research work started in full lockdown three years ago, finally sees the light (or darkness) Echi Senza Fine, a remastered collection of sound material by Tasaday. Inspired by the controversial media story in 1971 of the discovery of a tribe in the Philippines that apparently had technology that had stood still in the Stone Age, the project officially borrows the name Tasaday in 1984 from the evolution of Nulla Perreale, in turn union of Die Form (musical part) & Orgasm Denied (performative part).
To put it in the words of Marcello Ambrosini, the Tasadays find in Die Form the controlled destruction of the form after its careful design and construction, while in Nulla Iperreale the spontaneity free from any possible superstructure. They declare themselves new primitives, not in the perspective of a nostalgic return to a pre-industrial or prehistoric external world, but in the exception of an inner experience in stark contrast to the leviathan of the single utilitarian thought that has dominated the West for centuries.
Their production-action does not allow itself to be tempted by the repetitiveness used by many industrial groups of those years, thus resulting seminal in the evolution of the scene. Their impulse to go further and not remain caged in the format of the new wave is witnessed by their particular sound vocabulary that sees, along with the use of conventional instruments, the use of DIY tools such as Chopper Vox and highly sui generis tools, like the Camolofono, cariole loaded with sheets, stones, tubes, chains and “garbage” of various shapes and sizes.
A discography dotted with primordial electronic experiments that reaches the new millennium through several vinyl records and an endless number of cassettes. From this undefined and mysterious number of tapes that is born Echi Senza Fine: 14 tracks (+ 2 digital bonuses) remastered, collected by Asymmetrical, who also edited the release insert, a collage of visual and textual material from their fanzines. A series of 300 transparent vinyl + Insert.
Dies Lexic is a duo by Inês Tartaruga Água and Xavier Paes. Part of Favela Discos collective and label, they explore the channelling potentialities of sound, wandering between spectrums, ethereal soundscapes and zones of sonic subduction through means of DIY electro-acoustic instruments, amplified objects, electronics and composition processes based on repetition, language, chaosmosis and error.
Lexicon Hall, the long overdue debut album by the Portuguese duo of intrepid sound explorers, is a sort of digital ayahuasca, an intense psychedelic journey guided by drums and harshly bowed strings, channelling voices from other planes and fusing them with Dies Lexic’s very own distinctive voice. If you close your eyes hard enough you can probably see Tony Conrad waving hello in the middle of a dark jungle that is inhabited by tribes of our ancestors.
Artists bio:
Inês Tartaruga Água is a multidisciplinary artist, focused on the issues of deep ecology and radical regeneration, sound explorer and practitioner of DIY philosophy as well as collaborative and participatory practices in public space. Participates in collective exhibitions since 2013, highlighting the “XIII International Biennial of Artistic Ceramics” (Aveiro, 2017), “Убежище / Suoja / Shelter Festival - Laboratory” (Helsinki, 2019), «48 часов Новосибирск» (Siberia, 2019), or “Soundscapes” (Bahrain, 2019), and has her first individual artistic residency “Méhtēr: Matter, Form and Transformation” at Júlio Dinis Museum in Ovar (2018). Recently, Água has debuted sound pieces in Casa de Serralves (Porto, 2021) and in Casa das Conchas (Spain, 2021).
Xavier Paes is a transdisciplinary artist based in Porto. He divides his practice between visual arts, sound, performance, gleaning improvisation and multi-instrumentalism, focusing on ideas such as acoustic phenomena, repetition, resonant and sympathetic bodies, echo and ecology. He has presented his work at institutions, galleries, festivals, kiosks, raves and after-parties, highlighting places such as Serralves Museum, Oliva Arts Center, Porto Municipal Gallery, Stichting Centrum (The Hague), OCCII and Vondelbunker (Amsterdam), La Pointe Lafayette and L'international (Paris), STUK (Louven), Overtoon (Brussels) and Villa Arson (Nice).
Presence Unknown is a new vinyl and digital label curated by longtime producer and DJ, Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Neil has been behind the decks and deeply involved in all aspects of club and underground sound system culture since the early Eighties. He has released his music on numerous underground labels and performed all over the world, from plush clubs to dirty warehouses. Worth a read are a couple of published articles by Neil regarding his experiences on the dance floor of underground clubs in London and New York in the Eighties. See links at the bottom of this page for these as well as a detailed biography and discography. There is also a link to a recent 40-minute interview with Distant Planet TV that explores his cultured rave history.
The second release on Presence Unknown contains four future-retro house grooves from Controlled Weirdness crafted using a variety of analogue and digital hardware in his South London studio.
The next release in CUE Music's catalogue sees Butane teaming up once more with Riko Forinson for "Brainstorm" EP alongside Nima Gorji on remix duties. The record definitely adds extra magic to the label's discography, lining up to the previous releases from Elchinsoul, Sascha Dive, Sascha Sonido, Danilo Schneider, Dubphone, Heerd and label head Sven Jaeger, among many many others.
A firm believer that the long hours of studio work keep a musician grounded, Butane boasts an impressive discography, released by some of the most highly regarded labels in the business, such as Crosstown Rebels, Sci+Tec, Hottrax, Fuse Records, Lauter and Get Physical. As a label owner, he's the founder of three influential underground dance music imprints of his own, Alphahouse, Little Helpers and Extrasketch.
Riko Forinson is an Italian artist passionate about the sound of drums and piano which he studied intensively from an early age. After a while of exploring the acoustic dimensions of music, he immersed himself in the world of digital electronica, performing as a DJ at various events and releasing with labels like Orpheus Recordings, Lucidflow, Dushe Label and Bar 25 Music. Nowadays he's an author, composer and producer who loves to play with various techniques while integrating jazz, reggae or classical aspects into his compositions or sets.
In charge of the reinterpretation of the title track, Ibiza-based Nima Gorji is well-known on the international scene, with a career that spans more than three decades. In 1999 he founded Welt Recordings followed by NG Trax and Need For Sound, relentlessly following his passion for electronic music by releasing numerous personal works as well as promoting other artists. His rich discography includes materials published through labels like Sci+Tec, Deeperfect, Fuse London, Bondage Music, Out Of Orbit, Love Letters From Oslo, Indigo Raw, Out Of Orbit, Cocoon, Murmur, Natural Rhythm, Bla Bla Records, ÉTÉ,
Should we look back and bring something of the past back into the forefront of our mind?
We think yes!!!
Because Kellerkind's “Disco on the Dancefloor” remains to this day a huge milestone in Sirion Records discography and the original track is still 10 years later an absolute earworm.
Dedication, constant focus on music, care and respect for others, are attributes that continue to apply to Kellerkind and have moved us to a remake of this infamous title.
As the title of the main track says, “Disco on the Dancefloor” with its groovy basses, poignant disco stabs is ideal for the dancefloor and still perfectly suited to inspire the masses.
But Kellerkind doesn’t rest on the guaranteed success of the past, he immediately delivers a thriving remake that perfectly reflects his current musical taste. Percussive, hypnotic and an all-around successful job to dress the track in a new garb.
Fittingly, there are two remixes by 8 Bit labelhead Gorge and Bernese producer Youen, among others.
A housy framework paired with percussion, discoid bass line and the hypnotic synth surface in the usual Gorge manner, not only gets the legs bobbing and the head nodding, but animates to conquer the dance floor.
Youen's techhousy remix puts the focus more on kick and clap and therefore comes as a true stomper. Peppered with the discreetly used samples, this makes for a wonderfully danceable mix for peak time.
10 Years of “Disco on the Dancefloor” is therefore more current than ever and an absolute must in the record bag, either on vinyl or digitally.
When it comes to releasing groove-driven productions suited for the warm-up all the way through to the afters, there aren’t too many better than Michael James. A studio natural with innate talent earning him a reputation as a must-visit producer, the Manchester native’s growing discography has already welcomed stand-out material via Burnski’s Constant Sound and Constant Black alongside the likes of S.A.S.H., e1ven and INFUSE. Returning to FUSE for the first time since his huge collaborative ‘Weird Things’ EP in 2020 alongside imprint boss Enzo Siragusa, early May welcomes a big solo debut on the label as he drops his dynamic four-track EP, ‘Another Dimension’.
Lead cut ‘Nobody Does’ sees James skilfully fuse funk-fuelled bass licks with sharp drums and wonky synths, while title track ‘Another Dimension’ offers up weighty low-ends beneath skippy percussion and sweeping melodies for a powerful peak time anthem. ‘Downstream’ arrives full of swing as delicate pads float amongst the mix, before closing with the driving sonics and spacey electronics of digital exclusive ‘Underwater’.
Mind Eclipse completes Deetron’s triptych for Running Back. After Body Electric and Ego Rave, it’s the missing part in a tale of youthful exuberance told by a seasoned raver and transported into the here and now. Taking the essence of the carefree energy of those days, its warehouses and fields minus the (sometimes!) aural clumsiness, Deetron delivers four studies in the transformation of said emotional states.
Mind Eclipse aka Trancehouzztool does exactly what it says on the tin: big synths, swirl and twirl during an extra long break down for an uproar – serotonin shower included. HG acts like an umbrella to that. Almost melancholic in its presence and meandering between highs and lows, it’s the perfect counterpoint and offset.
On the other side, Phoenix sounds like a lost Border Community hymn that found its way near a Roland 909 for peak time purposes, before The Shore closes the book in a hybrid state between electro and disco or the soundtrack to IDM supporters in a gym workout (also available in an alternative version digitally for those who like their beats straight).
It won’t eclipse your mind though that Deetron knows what he does in the studio, so expect finest artistry, crafty tricks and technical expertise. „’Til the sweatshirts are falling down of us…“
London's SlothBoogie return with the second instalment of their 'Dancing With Friends' series this August, featuring exclusive new music from Kemback, Felipe Gordon, Mak z, Bill Mango, The Revenge and more.
Following the success of the inaugural 'Dancing With Friends', which featured the likes of Kassian, Letherette, Joe Cleen and Ruff Stuff amongst others, the crew are back with that ever so tricky... second album. This sequel however, will not disappoint. The team have scoured the four corners of the globe to provide listeners with a comprehensive follow up that showcases more brand-new music from their favourite producers.
'Dancing With Friends Vol.2' is a deftly curated selection of the diverse styles synonymous with the SlothBoogie sound, ranging from the hazy deepness of cuts by Amy Dabbs, DJ Counselling, Bill Mango, Metropolitan Soul Museum and Kristy Harper to Disco tinged, jazzy, bumpy numbers from the likes of Jesse Bru, T.U.R.F. and Felipe Gordon through to more tripped out acid workouts by The Revenge, Fede Lng & Mojeaux, Togethrs and Pablot.
With this latest collection you can trust SlothBoogie to bring some much-needed dancefloor unity and sun-drenched energy to the world for the summer of 2021. The perfect soundtrack to reconnect and begin dancing with friends once again.
The vinyl format will come as a Gatefold Cover with 2 x 12" cream speckled clear vinyl and will include the full digital album download cards.
Jon Gravy - another important figure of the Viennese house music scene - returns to Fortunea Records this spring! 3 years after his stunning compilation opener ‚Soul Groove’ many fortunate events happened in his career.
After several releases on Rough Recordings, The Basement Discos, Pets Recordings and his own imprint Gravy Trax he managed to finish his debut album ‚X To Love’ in 2020. And shortly after this release he also had the honor to remix soul-singer Lou Asril for his recent single. Now Jon comes back with another worth hearing versatile record, called ‚Restless Soul‘.
The journey starts with ‚G Energy‘. This track tosses the listener up to the sky with its stomping house beats and hypnotic vocal groove in the background. The other 2 pieces that come right after go in different directions. While the title track is a homage to the elektro pioneers from Detroit, ‚The Reason For‘ revels in melancholy with eerie pads, full throttle drum patterns and a piano.
On the flip Jon brings us sunny vibes with the track ‚Can’t Believe‘. And the name is really on point, because we couldn’t believe at first how awesome this baseline is! Beautiful strings and a clever arrangement makes this B-side outstanding.
And last but not least, Jon’s track ‚Over Now‘ - which will come out soon in the near future - has been handled by UK based dj and producer Red Rack’em. The friendly scotsman, who lived many years in Berlin and now resides in Bristol, did something very special while working on that remix. He used elements from 3 Jon Gravy tracks and modified them to use it on this production. A „Threemix" so to say. A very interesting deep house experiment that you should definitely check out!
The Restless Soul EP will be available digital and on vinyl. Limited to 300 copies. There will be no repress!
Mastering by Patrick Pulsinger
Support by Catz'n Dogz, Soul Clap, Jimpster, Black Loops, Roman Rauch, Rhode & Brown, youANDme, Milton Jackson, Dave Aju, Vince Watson, Tilman, Peletronic, Michel de Hey, Colin Dale, Ka§par, Replika, Dicky Trisco, Turbojazz, Cottam
Informed by a highly influential early 1980s electronic music classic, the title track literally mind-sets the theme of Llewellyn’s latest release, kicking off with a euphoric vibe and drums shimmering with digital artifacts. At times almost dreamy cinematic pads, upfront with energetic Moroder-esque propelling bass lines, are the sound signatures of Llewellyn’s journey through a warm and synthesizer laden EP, reviving the sound aesthetics of both the post-discoid VHS and today’s club era with a contemporary touch. Finishing off with a laid-back facet, this four track EP contains enough warmth and drive to get you safely through the cold months, into a warm and promising future.
Llewellyn is one of Martin Enke’s producer’s monikers, who is closely associated with the Riotvan crew and also known as Lake People. Past releases can be found on labels like Riotvan, Uncanny Valley, Permanent Vacation, Mule Musiq and others.
The next release in the Phonica Special Edition series comes from Ukrainian duo Asyncronous who first came to our attention after hearing their critically acclaimed debut on Berlin label Slow Life, 'The Art of Fighting In A Dream'.
A Phonica favourite, it provided the soundtrack to many days in the shop throughout the year, culminating in its inclusion in our top ten Best Singles of 2019!
The Phonica Special Edition series is focused on one-off projects, special remixes or collaborations, highlighting music that is slightly left of the dance floor and pairing it with unique artwork.
This time featuring a beautiful piece by celebrated Ukrainian artist, Mykyta Storozhkov.
The pair initially joined forces in an effort to explore human imagination and life experiences through music, focussing on creating feelings and atmosphere rather than be constrained by genre limitations. The result on this EP is a hazy cosmic trip through their universe of synth swells, deep sub bass and meticulous percussion.
The journey begins on 'Padma Kirtanam' with a constant drone providing the backbone to a building tension scattered with drums. The tension releases and makes way for A2 'Shinkansen', a beautiful track with minimal drums and dubbed out synths which echo around the listener's ear. Closing the A side 'Volta' continues this aesthetic but adds a 4x4 kick drum upping the groove to a cosmic deep house jam.
'Avalanche' kicks off the B side of the record with a syncopated bass line and skitterish hi hats. The energy is at its highest level here and only stops to make way for the next track 'Blocks of Despair'. The tempo drops and drum hits reverberate above stretched out bass notes creating arguably the most heartfelt tune of the release.
The EP ends with 'Midnight Sun' an ambient excursion that invites you to drift off with Asyncronous into outer space.
Today we have many opportunities to discover the world and travel through it without leaving your own room. In the age of globalisation, with the help of knowledge, technology and imagination, you can instantly teleport yourself to mystical temples of India or see the sun above the polar desert at midnight. No more borders - we are connected like never before, as if we are not at different ends of the globe, but on a single and indivisible continent that is not mapped but exists in a plexus of global events, information flows and digital environment.
This is our common home. Our new Pangaea.
Samosa Records 10 is the brand new spin off label from Samosa Records concentrating on 2 choice cuts from some of the finest producers at the label one each side of a 10” vinyl. It also see’s Samosa announce an exciting collaboration with another of the finest labels out there Tropical Disco who will be handling the digital release for this one down the line.
Launching the brand new imprint it’s only fitting for the label bosses De Gama and Les Inferno to lead things out.
First up is De Gama’s Sometimes Sometimes which see’s him creating a much more reflective track than his previous powerful peak-time percussive club jams. Despite its ever so bluesy laid-back sentiments it’s no less a sublime outing. Velvety smooth the lead vocal is definitely one of those once heard never forgotten magical musical moments. It’s a track of simplicity, a smooth bassline, subtle guitar licks and the wonderful vocal performance. It’s an entrancing life affirming track which has all the hallmarks of a track which absolutely must be listened to again and again. And yeah, maybe just one more time!
Over on the flip Les Inferno takes us off towards classic Philly territory with an equally subtle but ever so funky slice of feel-good disco in ‘Yeah C’Mon’. Smooth percussion, an ever so danceable bassline, brilliantly performed yet subtle keys and another absolute monster vocal. And did we forget to mention the disco flute? Yeah Disco flute, does it get any better. We think not?
This is a 10” which is quite simply undeniable. You must have this in your collection right now because you will need to listen to it time and again. Samosa continues its quest to dominate the disco vinyl landscape with yet another ridiculously superb release.
What are you waiting for just order this and thank us later.
Soul Jazz Records' are releasing their long-out-of-print album 'Hustle! Reggae Disco' in a new expanded 2017 edition which now features five extra tracks. This ground-breaking album features non-stop killer reggae versions of original funk and soul classics in a disco style. Reggae disco updates of seminal classics by Anita Ward ('Ring
My Bell'), Chaka Khan ('I'm Every Woman'), Michael Jackson 'Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough,' Sugarhill Gang ('Rappers Delight' here performed by Derrick Laro and Trinity for producer Joe Gibbs) and more, all showing the hidden but inseparable link between the dance floors of New York, Kingston and London.
New bonus tracks to this collection include Derrick Harriott's funky take on Eddie Drennon's 'Do It Nice and Easy', the classic disco reggae of Risco Connection's take on McFadden and Whitehead's 'Ain't No Stopping Us Now' and the London rare groove lovers rock take on Barbara Acklin's soul classic 'Am I The Same Girl'.
'Hustle! Reggae Disco' has been one of Soul Jazz Records' best-selling releases since its first release 15 years ago (and subsequently featured heavily in the early Grand Theft Auto games!). This new edition comes complete fully re-mastered and with all original titles plus new tracks. This new expanded edition now comes a triple album (+ download code), CD and digital album.
'The effect of American R&B and soul music on Jamaican reggae is well documented, but the story doesn't stop there, for disco (and more so now for rap and hip-hop) have also been subsumed into the reggae mix, and while one might suspect that the resulting hybrid would die of its own implausibility, the feral mix of disco with reggae rhythms is so darn infectious that it hardly matters. Once you take your brain out of the frame and just let your feet go, this collection is a dancer's delight all done up in full-blown disco style, but with huge dub-style rhythm tracks ... if you're looking for an impossibly infectious dance collection, this is
it.' All Music
The Liverpool-based DJ and producer ASOK returns to DVS1's Mistress Recordings with his most diversified EP yet: "Mistress 14" unfolds ASOK's raw, analog-heavy sound aesthetic full of broken kick drum patterns, stepping basslines, and lush synths.
With 25 years of record collecting, DJing, and promoting parties around the UK, there is little of the dance music spectrum that Stu Robinson has not been involved with. The Liverpool-based artist has amassed a fine understanding of a wide array of scenes, styles and sounds from drum & bass to electro-funk, disco to house and techno – underpinned by a love of breakbeat. The music under his alias ASOK is an amalgamation of this diversity that has found favor with labels like M>O>S, Lobster Theremin, Crème Organization, and Mistress Recordings.
"Mistress 14" opens with "Space Rockets" which is a nod to his breakier love affairs without using actual breakbeats. While second track "Is Anyone" displays his take on classic Chicago House with a little Roland JD-800 euphoria thrown in. On the flip, "Last Refuge" explores driving, rhythmical techno with ASOK's typical ravey pad-like break in the middle until "The Alchemist" closes the 12-inch by laying more focus on melody and texture with a growing, always changing bassline and an ethereal synth that carries the track's energy. The digital bonus track "Apano Sin" concludes the package with a scruffy somewhere in between everything vibe.
ASOK about Mistress 14:
"Mistress 14 is probably the most important EP I have ever made in terms of showing all the different things I am into. I’m difficult to pin down because I’m not really a techno DJ, or a house DJ, or anything like that. I like all forms of electronic dance music. As a DJ, I mix up old and new, familiar with unfamiliar, playing everything from Italo disco to really dark high-bpm breakbeat. As a producer, it’s not easy to put an EP together that covers a little of everything, yet still sounds cohesive. Especially considering that all my tracks were recorded in long live takes, then edited down with no ability to change parts. Sometimes that requires some pretty heavy editing, but that’s one of the good things you get when making music this way. I’m in control of the creative process, rather than feeling like some kind of colored block administrator drawing blocks out on arrangement view of my computer."
One of the key figures in the Austrian house scene is definitely Roman Rauch. The MPC wizard has released quality tracks on cult labels like Philpot, klamauk, Quintessentials, Dirt Crew and Faces Records during this decade.
After 3 remixes and a collaboration with Precious K as Twinpeaks, he will return this autumn on the Viennese based imprint fortunea with a 5 track ep, called Blackout.
The A-side features the title track and a remix by New York’s Let’s Play House chief Jacques Renault. Roman delivers here his typical signature sound of crackling, dustfilled funk and r&b samples in combination with weighty rhythm sections. Jacques’ take is from it’s mood similar. But what stands out here is the addition of congas and a heavy compressed and funky bassline, that puts the dancefloor into a tribal gathering.
The B-side starts in a low-key deep house direction with „Oh Yeah“. A smooth warm bass chimes together with psychedelic rhodes and twirling low-cutted synth progressions. In contrary to this, Janefondas member Precious K takes these elements and transforms them into 2 different versions. The „More Dips Remix“ is a garage influenced party grenade, while the digital exclusive „Rawmix“ turns this tune into an exuberant, dirty warehouse experiment.
The vinyl is limited to 300 copies. There will be no repress!
Mastering by Patrick Pulsinger.
Support by Laurence Guy, Krewcial, Tensnake, Franck Roger, Loz Goddard, Baldo, Orlando B, Nice 7, Severino Panzetta (Horse Meat Disco), Replika, Tim Toh, Drei Farben House, Michael Reinboth, Clandestino, OOFT!, Sean Brosnan, Lars Berenroth
Cute Heels is the solo project of Victor Lenis, a contemporary artist living in Barcelona, Spain. He grew up in Bogotá, Columbia during the 1990s, surrounded by the radial punk scene. Over the years, Victor's passion and fascination for synthesizers and drum machines to produce and compose resulted in various digital-only releases as well as his debut album Spiritual" for Dark Entries in 2014. Cute Heels has been called ''the new blood and spirit for the next step in techno music'' by Electro/Techno pioneer Juan Atkins. Third Skin' is a 4-track EP that connects the dots between Detroit techno, early Chicago house and Belgium electronic body music. Inspired by equal parts Liaisons Dangereuses, Drexciya and Black Devil Disco Club. On the A-side are two fresh compositions recorded in 2015. Third Skin' kicks things in a metallic EBM funk with a pounding bottom end. Lipstick Information' takes the listener on a dark, psychedelic and twisted journey through thrillingly intense arpeggiations. On the flip we present two remixes. The first is from Steffi, House and Techno DJ and producer born in The Netherlands and residing in Berlin. She picks up the pace for an uplifting, percussion-driven, DAF-eque dystopian stomper. The second remix comes from Michel Amato aka The Hacker, French born DJ and producer and frequent collaborator with Miss Kittin. His early musical influences of bands such as Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and Front 242 shine through on this pumping and sophisticated remix ready for any dance floor.
All songs have been mastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record comes in a custom-made jacket designed by Eloise Leigh featuring a photograph by Corinne Schiavone printed with hi-gloss finish. Each copy includes a postcard with with notes and image for fetish lovers
RFBCOLOURS 002 bring L'Atelier on board. This pair from Amsterdam bring you a 4 track EP with a digi only bonus. It starts off with Again, which hits that great sample hard and gets the party started on a disco vibe with a house twist. Then theres XTC which carries on where the A1 left off. On the flip we see a serious piano workout on top of a a grooving drum arragement. To finish off the vinyl package we see Times Are Ruff take the remix on a deeper tip with some seriously crunchy basslines and rolling groove. Then if that wasnt enough theres a digital bonus that will warm up any willing club room.
Feedback:
Telonius (Gomma)
'thanks nice one'
Laurin Fedora (Sleazy McQueen (Morris Audio / Paper Recordings))
'I'm looking forward to this vinyl. Nice return to late 90s filter disco!'
Cute Heels is the solo project of Bogota´ born, experimental producer Victor Lenis. Since the early 2000's Lenis has been working on a myriad of electronic projects, including the management of the labels Black Leather Records and Romance Moderne, in his current home of Brussels. Drawing on the influences of the radical punk scene that surrounded him growing up in Columbia while nurturing his passion for synthesizers and drum machines, Lenis developed the broody, gloomy brand of electro-techno that is Cute Heels. Deemed by Juan Atkins as ''the new blood and spirit for the next step in techno music'' Cute Heels has released various digital only releases over the years, as well as his first vinyl release, an EP on Gooiland Elektro. His debut album Spiritual, rides the line between cold electro-techno and left field electronic body music. Inspired by equal parts Liaisons Dangereuses and Drexciya, Spiritual takes the listener on a journey over 8 tracks and 40 minutes of music. Listening to "Spiritual" you can see why. The songs on this full length reveal a sublime influence from Detroit techno, early Chicago house and new wave; advanced electronics for the dance floor, pumping and sophisticated. The album was recorded and mixed by Victor at Sensorium Studio in Zagreb, Croatia in November 2013. Each song has been mastered for vinyl at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley by George Horn. Each LP is packaged in a custom-made jacket by our in-house designer Eloise Leigh and incorporates the geometry of analog synthesizers and celestial rose patterns.
Environments are sticky, they stick to whatever happens within them. They can’t help it. And neither can you.
Land of the Few and Far Between / Songs for St. Michel is a collection of musical ‘figures’ written and recorded in 2022 and 2023 using a method Lyckle and Kim call the ‘snelkookpan’, translated as the pressure cooker. The ’snelkookpan’ in essence is trying to write and live-record as many musical figures in a given timeframe in a specific place. For ‘Land of the Few and Far Between’ this was an afternoon and evening in an exhibition Kim had curated about collecting and memory in The Hague. For ‘Songs of St. Michel’ this was 6 days in the basement of an art institution in Maastricht where they were joined by Otto de Jong on guitar. The figures are usually worked out by ear, sometimes improvised, sometimes written down, but often they are simply remembered and soon after recording forgotten. For ‘Land of the Few and Far Between’ they recorded ten figures. For ‘Songs for St. Michel’ fifteen. Of each a selection of five ended up on this seven inch.
F. van Abeelen (one of whom’s drawings is pictured on the sleeve of this seven inch and of whom 750 drawings were part of the exhibition mentioned above) was forced as a boy to hide in a basement for years. Only a small window gave access to the outside world. That sliver was his reality. After these years in hiding he began drawing his sliver of reality obsessively. Daily series of similar drawings that he would meticulously catalogue in an organizer. We never met F. Our friend who discovered the drawings in a closet of psychiatric nursing home Dorestad never met F. We only recorded ten musical figures next to 750 drawings by F.
St. Michel is a house that stands on the outskirts of Maastricht. It is built on the floodplains of the river Maas and living there you see the river change daily. It is a river fed by rain. No rain means a low river. Rain means a river that sometimes comes frighteningly close to flooding. Which it sometimes does. Due to the ebb and flow of the Maas, stuff is deposited in the boggy areas that are its floodplains. A shoe, a CD, a drone, some wood.
Places impress themselves onto what you are doing. You become an unwitting prop in the place’s story.
The first ‘snelkookpan’ happened in 2017 in the water-basin of one of the earliest concrete structures in the Netherlands; a bunker that was part of Amsterdam’s defensive line, built around the 1890’s. Something that used to house water was now empty. For three days Kim and Lyckle recorded improvised music there, which is still alive on a hard drive somewhere. In 2020 they recorded ‘the third of May’ at an old pumping station in Den Helder; an eleven part piece of auditory historical-horror which was released by South of North in 2024. Since 2023 Lyckle and Kim have mainly recorded live shows. With a Clarinet, kawai K1, Ipad, organelle, samplers and a variety of instruments curated for their minimal size or odd sound they’ve made chains of brief and improvised mini compositions inspired by browsing environments (digital and otherwise).
Land of the Few and Far Between / Songs for St. Michel adds to this growing collection of recordings for environments that are somehow sticky.
"Back in 2022, Ban Ban Ton Ton raved about George T’s then digital-only release, “Roll On, Kings Cross”. We described it as a “dynamite dose of poetry and digidub.” Likening the prose – which describes a train journey from the coast to the city – to Michael Smith and Joe Duggan, while comparing the production to Dennis Bovell’s remixes of Jarvis Cocker’s “Swanky Modes”, and The Sabres Of Paradise’s “Wilmot”. Melodica-led with a hefty post-punk flavour, its dub, which focuses on manipulating and morphing the bass-line, we called “hollowed out house.”
These tracks have now been pressed to vinyl for the second release on new imprint Noetic Rhythm, where they’re joined by Leonidas’ “Great Northern” mix. Eschewing his usual futuristic ethno techno jacking, here he drops into roots reggae. Creating something more skanking, more stepping. An extended “discomix” showered in filtered, Mutron Bi-phased percussion, ghostly horns and peppered with the odd syndrum pop. Washes of sampled surf appropriately accompanying George informing us that “to the left there’s the sea.”
The 12 also features, “Dr Doctor”, a fresh collaboration with Yas Mine, The singer / guitarist’s French vocals countering George’s Matt Johnson-esque delivery, and a John Barry / “Midnight Cowboy”-like melodica melody serenading the song’s slow, squelchy, electronic skanking. The dub, instead, showcasing Yas’ fine fretwork." BAN BAN TON TON review
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"These tracks are massive! I love Roll On King's Cross the best" KAY SUZKI (Time Capsule)
"I played the dub (Dub On, King's Cross) at a club in Oslo alongside some Maurizio and it sounded great. Bit of an oddball." Also played on NTS Radio and in Mixmag mix. JONNIE WILKES // OPTIMO
"Really digging Mr Demure when he drops into dubwise" DR ROB // BAN BAN TON TON
"Yes. Nice" NICK THE RECORD
"Awesome" JONNY ROCK
"I really like this EP... Love the Leonidas dub!" CEDRIC WOO (Beauty & The Beat, LDN)
"Love the blend of Augustus P vibes with a post punk dub feel. Bingo!" DICKY TRISCO
"I love it and will be playing" TREVOR FUNG (Ibiza Legend)
"Yes this is dark but kinda friendly.... brilliant...It's like ghost town ...I love Leo's mix" FOR MANKIND (Pikes Ibiza)
"Love the release and LOVE LOVE LOVE Dr Doctor!!!! Psyched to play this one out all weekend." ZILLAS ON ACID // James Weissinger (Philadelphia, US)
"This is amazing. Dub on kings cross is a banger - really love this one" ARVEENE
"Loving the Leonidas dub" ATEMI (Blackbush Orchestra / Abstrack)
+
PREVIOUSLY
"Melodica heaven" JD TWITCH/OPTIMO (RIP)
"I love this" IVAN SMAGGHE
"It's hot!!" JONNY ROCK
+ plays/support from:
DON LETTS (BBC 6Music)
TOM RAVENSCROFT (BBC 6Music)
HARRI (Sub Club)
[f] Roll On, King's Cross [Leonidas' Great Northern Mix] 06:54
[g] Dr Doctor [Instrumental Mix] 03:25
A Modern Revisit to a Cult Classic: A fresh "Twentysix Mix" of the 2016 underground staple In Your Body, updated for 2026 dancefloors with contemporary BPM and sharp remaster.
Ten years after defining the early sound of his own label, Berlin-based electronic explorer Cosmin TRG revisits a cornerstone of his discography. In Your Body (Twentysix Mix) sees the Romanian-born producer breathe new life into the 2016 underground anthem that helped cement the Sportiv label's reputation for high-end, functional techno.
This updated iteration retains the propulsive, hypnotic spirit of the original while sharpening the edges for a contemporary club environment. The package is rounded out by the driving, industrial-tinged cuts "Erodat" and "Iradiat," plus an exclusive digital remix by mysterious newcomers TRYL. Delivered as a classic hand-stamped white label, this release continues the Sportiv tradition of marrying stripped-back, high-impact club aesthetics with meticulous sound design.
Grammy-nominated German producer and DJ, Mousse T is set to headline the next installment of Defected's celebrated House Masters vinyl series with a sprawling three-LP retrospective of his remix career. Spanning six sides of wax, the collection pulls together two decades of dancefloor alchemy, tracing his signature style from disco- inflected house to breakbeat- tinged funk and back again. Including four brand new "Shizzle" and "Re-Rub" productions that are exclusive to this compilation and one remix that has previously never been released on vinyl before, makes this a particularly essential release, offering vinyl access to mixes that may otherwise circulate only in DJ pools or digital crates. House Masters Mousse T. features classic and fresh takes on the likes of Dennis Ferrer, Martin Solveig, Moloko, Camelphat, Spiller, Shakedown and many more, cementing Mousse's reputation as one of house music's most versatile and prolific talents.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Brownswood Recordings presents Brownswood Remix Editions 010: SAMURAI Edits, a new 12-inch/digital release that reboots a much-loved classic from the early 2000s for a new generation of dancefloors.
At the centre of the release is “Samurai”, originally released on 12-inch in 2003 as the B-side to Jazztronik’s ‘Dance With Me’. More than two decades later, the track remains a cult favourite within the jazz, broken beat and dance music continuum, it’s a record that helped bridge the worlds of Japanese nu jazz and the bruk scene emerging from West London in the early noughties.
For collectors, the timing is particularly apt: the original 2003 12-inch has become increasingly sought after, with copies commanding significant prices on the secondary market. SAMURAI Edits offers a new way into a record that has long circulated among DJs and collectors, and a chance for a new generation to discover these incredible edits as well as the iconic originals.
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Last delivered 6 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Pleasurewood return with 'Electric Telepathy', their second full-length LP offering Simla Space Funk, Psych-Library and Vintage-Cinematic Raga-Rock grooves.
This new offering from the band embraces more of their vintage Hindi Cinema soundtrack influences — "Chump Change", "The Hoverfly" and "RAMMM" could easily fit into the middle of an R.D. Burman score, each with their incongruous synthesis of different genres, infectious percussion, classical modes and funk chops.
There is also a slight sweep across a too-slow-to-disco tempo and feel with the moody Johnny Guitar Watson-esque slow burn of "Good Falcon" up to the nonchalant four-to-the-floor of "Last Dance Saloon" with its lyrical warning of digital over-saturation in our social-media saturated world and a foreboding of the mini-monoliths sat in the palms of our hands that in a Kubrickian way threaten to cosmically absorb us all as a species into their individual jet-black abysses.
And then, coming into focus like a sweet slice of disjointed, lo-fi, 8 bit space disco, "Mojave Desert" is a slacker-strut with telephone vocals dub guitars, dry cosmic synths and futurist Farfisa organ driven by an almost Acid-Jazz meets Post-Punk Bass line. The song is autobiographical in its account of an excursion along the 29 Palms Highway reflecting on an escape from the City of Angels not so far away, up into the stark psychedelic desert realm.
There is a lot to unpack in this record and yet more to discover so it will be best to allocate 40 minutes in a comfortable dimly-lit room with eyes closed and maybe a cognac in hand, to have a deep-dive into its well-travelled and esoterically funky grooves.
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Last delivered 7 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Life Creates Itself is the new album by Bill Baird, releasing September 25th, 2026 on Royal Oakie Records. After years of restless wandering that took him from the Bay Area to India to Abbey Road and back again, Baird has returned home to San Antonio, Texas. Inspired by Lone Star legends Doug Sahm and Roky Erickson, the album inhabits a world where outsider country, avant-garde pop, and psychedelic folk dissolve into one.
Produced by longtime collaborator Jasper Leach (Tony Molina, Color Green) and mastered by indie-rock legend KRAMER (Galaxie 500, Daniel Johnston, Will Oldham), Life Creates Itself was recorded at Sear Sound in New York City in a single remarkable day — fitting for an album as indebted to Arthur Russell and Captain Beefheart as it is to Sir Douglas Quintet and Townes Van Zandt. The sessions brought together a constellation of collaborators around Baird and Leach, including Pedrum Siadatian (Allah-Las, PAINT), Phil Carluzzo, Austin Day, Oliver O'Haver, Jordan Johns, Michael Vattuone, Clara Kennedy, and Carluzzo’s dog Ernie.
Lead single "Yanaguana" — the original Payaya name for San Antonio, meaning either "land of many waters" or simply "where I am right now" — serves as a thesis statement for the album, a restless soul reckoning with what it means to finally come home. Meanwhile, "Karma Loan" is a fuzzy, sprawling psych track that spilled out of Baird during a deep immersion in Bach that features cello by Clara Kennedy and closes with a sound collage of spiritual gurus hawking easy paths to enlightenment. Then there's "Horse Moon" — built around pedal steel that shimmers like rays of moonlight, drifting through vignettes from a late night walk across New York City, with Pedrum Siadatian's lead guitar lending the whole thing an unhurried, dreaming quality. The night they tracked it, Baird climbed to the roof of Sear Sound and watched a full moon wash the city in a warm glow.
Baird has never sounded more at home, and Life Creates Itself may be his most cohesive record yet – a songwriter record through and through that stands apart from the rest of his discography. Royal Oakie Records is proud to release Life Creates Itself on September 25th, 2026, available on vinyl LP, CD, and digital download/streaming worldwide.
DE-CMG / DE15YR Dark EntriesBooks21.09.202621.SEP.26
Dark Entries Collected Music Graphics Compiled by Josh Cheon and Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh To celebrate 15 years of Dark Entries, this zine showcases the label’s visual aesthetic, bringing together some of the most iconic designs that we’ve released. While Dark Entries’ sonic mission has included sounds as diverse as synth-pop, Italo disco, darkwave, house, and techno, it is equally staggering to see the breadth of visuals the label has encountered and collected over the years. Included here are selected typography, logos, and illustrations from the label’s extensive catalog — well over 300 releases to date. Designs have been created using DIY analogue techniques as well as more contemporary digital approaches. A full discography is included at the end for reference and an essay by Shawn O’Sullivan (Led Er Est, Further Reductions). This zine serves as a source of inspiration for artists as well as a means of preserving and documenting these distinct graphics. DARK ENTRIES RECORDS is a San Francisco-based record label that was born in July 2009. Helmed by Josh Cheon, a vinyl-focused DJ and collector, the label has focused largely on excavating the 1980s underground era – but releases have spanned from sultry vintage disco to bleeding-edge contemporary techno. Graphic designer Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh has been responsible for most of the label’s artwork, whether reproducing original designs accurately for reissues or creating exciting new ones. Much care and attention is given to each release to represent the music in a memorable way as well as tell the stories behind these projects. Hand-stamped and limited to 200 numbered copies. 64 pages with neon cardstock covers. Measures 5×7 inches.
With a breathtaking pair of intimately interrelated new albums, he applies that bold passion to an uncharacteristically pared-down setting, then transforms those stunning sounds via a startling process of sonic reinvention. ResoNation Trio convenes a new chordless trio with master improvisers Scott Colley on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. The album's contemplative explorations feel like a departure from the raucous spirit that characterizes so much of the trumpeter's work, yet the trio discovers such an audacious beauty and celebratory gusto in these sparse environments that the music feels uniquely Bernstein's. It is also a rarity in his oeuvre for featuring Bernstein - whose mastery of the little- used slide trumpet has become so central to his sonic identity - exclusively playing valve trumpet and flugelhorn. In parallel with this captivating trio excursion, Bernstein handed the recordings over to his longtime collaborator, the pioneering producer Scotty Hard, to reimagine the album through his own iconoclastic lens. The result is the uncategorizable Ultra Resonance, which finds Hard breaking down the ResoNation Trio session into its constituent parts and redeploying them as the elements of a wholly original, mutant creation. The project will be released on June 5, 2026 via Royal Potato Family as a double vinyl or CD package containing both albums, and separately on digital streaming platforms.
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Opéra de Nuit emerge from their long slumber to grace Dark Entries with the frostiest of reissues. Formed in 1982 in Valréas in the southeast of France, Opéra de Nuit only released 3 records throughout their career: EPs in 1984 and 1986, with a full LP following in 1988. But devotees of dark music will need no introduction to this band, who are almost definitional of the coldwave genre, and whose rabid cult following has each record readily trading for three-digit prices. Opéra de Nuit’s sound is pure hellish heaven: frigid synths, jangly guitars, and sorrow-laden vox. Check out the pummelling desperation of “Annabella,” the uber-brooding vibes of “Boris Transylvania Camp,” or the elegant anthem “Karen Lloyd” (and don’t forget to watch the video!). This reissue collects their entire newly remastered discography - thirteen lucky tracks. This reissue marks the first time that their work will be reissued on vinyl and digital, and is presented in gatefold jacket with lyrics and photos. Whether you’re new to the genre or a veteran of the coldest waves, Opéra de Nuit brings the essential sound of immortal despair.
London's Spearmint follow-up their acclaimed 2023 record `This Candle Is For You' with the ambitious new concept album `Chase Me' New single "1986" evokes a time when the world wasn't connected by technology, but there was still a strong connection across the globe: music. Specifically in the song, it's folk in Newcastle and Madrid who are dancing to the same music. The vinyl version also features an exclusive track "Is It Just Nostalgia?" which sees the band time-travelling past `The Tube' and `Soul Train` to Friday nights of the past. Standby for the follow-up single in July_ Spearmint have been making great records since debut `A Week Away' in 1999 (`Sweeping The Nation', `A Trip Into Space', `We're Going Out'). Still the same line-up: Shirley Lee (singing, guitar), Simon Calnan (singing, keyboards), James Parsons (guitar) and Ronan Larvor (drums). This will be their eleventh album proper and the 65th release on their own hitBACK label. Re-united with producer Rhodri Marsden (Scritti Politti, Cardiacs), the `Chase Me' album tells a story of success, disillusionment, disconnection, peril, and resurrection. Anchored by three chases across a city at night, book-ended by two out-of-body experiences, and working towards a suite of uplifting love songs, it's a thriller, it's a horror, it's an allegory. Song-writer Shirley explains "The story would make a good movie I think_ but we don't know how to do that, so we did this." `Chase Me' will be available digitally, and on limited edition CD and vinyl. The vinyl version will be released on WIAIWYA records, and will include an exclusive 24 page full-colour lyric book, including photos and illustrations. Spearmint will premiere songs from the album alongside tracks from their catalogue that haven't been played for years, or ever in one instance, live at Colours in Hoxton, London, on Tuesday 29th September 2026.
Archaic Vaults is proud to present »Ley Lines«, the debut album by St Circul.
Concise collection of folkloric grime instrumentals to rise from a new moniker taken on by the elusive First Circle. A breadcrumb trail of effortlessly crafted early 2000s-era grime, trap and drill instrumentals can be found on a fairly sparse Soundcloud account and numerous NTS shows spanning the last ten years, on which he is known to play almost entirely his own material. Now a different energy takes hold on »Ley Lines«: ten tracks by the enigmatic producer to be released both on a label and in physical format for the first time.
»Ley Lines« was born from a meandering quest through South London’s more leafy dwellings. These cherished regions became a place of refuge in which to ruminate on the hopes that love and community can outlast the dwindling state of Britain’s social and political climate. Photo documentation was made which would later form the genesis for each track, and a return to the studio resulted in something which could not be fitted into the existing First Circle discography.
Harpsichord and brass samples (»A Plan Is Formed«, »Hilly Fields«) are underpinned by murky bass loops and tight militaristic percussion – motifs recognisable amongst white label grime’s most influential producers (Wiley, Skepta, Lewi White etc.) that push the formula into far more rapturous territories than any of FC’s previous productions. The more introspective moments of the album (»Wares at the Ivy House«, »Blythe Vision«) put local field recordings and devotional reverberant ambience to the forefront, alluding to St Circul’s proto-dungeon synth influences and giving the whole album a unique world all its own.
Archaic Vaults is proud to host an album which shares intrinsic roots with the label’s own South London birthplace. »Ley Lines«’ ten tracks of psychogeographic drifting are available in digital and limited cassette format via Archaic Vaults.
Mastered by Owen Pratt Design by Severin Black Artwork image by St Circul
The Toy Tonics crew is known for being addicted to two things: vintage music machines and old vinyl. 100% music aficionados. On the Tonic Edit series the crew shares some of their favorite old tracks - in a reworked version. This time COEO get back in time. They destroyed a couple of 1970ies disco jams. Recut & repasted them. And gave them their special COEO touch. Of course it's irresistible! This release comes on vinyl only first. Later maybe could be out on selected Digital sellers.. not sure yet.
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To mark its 10th Anniversary,
discover Awa Ly's Album "Five And A Feather" (Including one previously unreleased track) On Vinyl For The First Time !
One night, Awa had a dream.
The atmosphere was enchanted, almost mystical, enveloped in a setting that summoned the moon, the Earth, and the elements. An ancestral blend of Native American and African cultures, a shamanic being was there, speaking in an unknown language, narrating stories both real and imagined. She received these tales from others, made them her own, absorbed them, shared their joy, and soothed their harbored pain or sadness.
Upon waking, the shamanic narrator had vanished, but her presence was still palpable; Awa made her the storyteller of this new album: Five and a Feather.
Five, like all things counted by fives: the senses, the oceans, the lines of a musical staff, the fingers on a hand. And feather, the magical element that connects them-the very one Awa used to write and compose the ten tracks of this new album where, under the brush of SainaSix, she becomes the first Black woman immortalized in Mucha's Art Nouveau aesthetic.
Ballaké Sissoko's kora, Paco Sery's senza, Greg Cohen's double bass, Faada Freddy's vocals, the steel guitar, or the erhu (Chinese violin) are all elements that illuminate the shamanic storyteller's tales.
Produced alongside the duo Jean Lamoot and Pascal Danae (winners of the 2015 Victoires de la Musique in the World Music category with their band Rivière Noire), Five and a Feather faithfully captures the warm atmosphere of live-recorded sessions where instruments answer and interlock with one another, creating the perfect showcase for the album's principal instrument: Awa's voice.
Words that she delicately places or lets fall onto the notes like tears of joy or sadness, flowing from that source called love.
An album written, composed, and recorded like fine lace, starry with details that only reveal themselves to those who know how to seek them out.
Emerging from the shadows, Audio-Unknown is a vinyl-only imprint built on anonymity, intention, and pure sound. No names, no faces, no algorithms — just carefully crafted records designed to be discovered without preconceptions. Every release strips away identity to refocus attention on what matters: the music, the texture, the moment.
This is not a label driven by hype or visibility. It exists outside the cycle — no digital platforms, no previews, no tracklists. Each record is a closed object until the needle drops.
AUDIO-UNKNOWN 001
The first transmission.
An unnamed artist.
Untitled tracks.
Uncompromising direction.
AUDIO-UNKNOWN 001 delivers a tightly curated selection of cuts that move between tension and release, precision and rawness. Built for deep systems and attentive listeners, this debut sets the tone: functional yet elusive, minimal yet charged with intent.
Boy George's single "Generations of Love" has become a dance anthem. The single has been digitally released 12 times, with over 70 remixes. Mixes were created by Paul Oakenfold, Ramp, Phunk Investigation, Scream, De-Phazz, and The Scumfrog. So, like it or not, it's sure to be a hit whenever it's played on dance floors around the world.
Described as exuding joie de vivre (joy of life) and full of joy.
Suitable for clubs and house music: Praised for its laid-back, house-inspired grooves, perfect for clubs and living rooms.
One editor called it "full, smooth, and richly satisfying."
Considered a potential club hit, with critics urging people to buy it.
Smash Hits called it a "glossy, understated dance track."
Ultimately, reviews describe it as a feel-good dance track that successfully blends Boy George's iconic vocals with JL & Afterman's disco-house production, creating a joyful and very catchy remix.
This vinyl also includes The Scumfrog's fabulous version.
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Beggars Banquet veröffentlicht eine aufwendig überarbeitete 40-Jahre-Jubiläumsausgabe von Discover, dem entscheidenden Durchbruchsalbum von Gene Loves Jezebel aus dem Jahr 1986. Die Neuauflage erscheint als remastertes, erweitertes Doppel-Vinyl mit aktualisiertem Artwork und wurde von Henry Rudkins in den AIR Studios klanglich neu überarbeitet. Damit wird das Album in moderner Qualität neu zugänglich gemacht und zugleich als Schlüsselmoment der Bandgeschichte gewürdigt. Discover gilt als Meilenstein, da es Gene Loves Jezebel erstmals einem internationalen Publikum bekannt machte. Musikalisch vereint es die düsteren Einflüsse der frühen Jahre mit einem klareren, melodischeren Sound und prägnanten Gitarrenstrukturen. Besonders der zentrale Track "Desire (Come and Get It)" steht exemplarisch für diese Weiterentwicklung und wurde zu einem der bekanntesten Songs der Band. Ergänzt wird die Jubiläumsausgabe durch zusätzliche Inhalte: Die Liveaufnahme Glad To Be Alive aus Nottingham (1986) erscheint erstmals seit ihrer Originalveröffentlichung wieder auf Vinyl und zeigt die Band in einer energiegeladenen, raueren Form als im Studio. Parallel dazu werden ausgewählte Liveaufnahmen, darunter "Desire - Live in Nottingham", digital bereitgestellt. Insgesamt positioniert sich die Neuveröffentlichung als umfassende Würdigung eines Albums, das den künstlerischen Höhepunkt und internationalen Durchbruch von Gene Loves Jezebel markiert.
DJ NOTOYA, who was among the first in Japan to spotlight Japanese music and gained international attention with his mix CD “Tokyo 1980s”—which became an
instant classic upon release. Now, his compilation “Tokyo 1980s Victor Edition,” which focuses on Victor Records’catalog and showcases his deep understanding of
the essence of 1980s Japanese music—blending elements of disco, boogie, and modern soul—is finally being reissued as a long-awaited color vinyl edition!
This release features a carefully curated selection of gems—tracks that received high praise internationally in previous digital releases—specially compiled for vinyl.
Notably, Reiko Takahashi’s “Sunset Road” is included on vinyl for the first time, a long-awaited treat for fans as the original 7-inch is now extremely hard to find.
This must-have collection for fans of Japanese music and city pop is now complete, featuring cover artwork by Hiroshi Nagai. It’s the definitive album, perfect for
everything from club nights to casual listening!
T. VINCENT: LIVE IN LONDON! (Total Pleasure/Virgin Music Group) offers up the opportunity to relive or experience for the first time that enthralling evening, a historic occasion that found Annie Clark, Buckley and the orchestra reimagining 19 classics, staples and rarely played deep cuts spanning the St. Vincent catalog from 2007’s solo debut Marry Me up to 2024’s multiple-GRAMMY-winning All Born Screaming.
Album Background
A complete live recording of St. Vincent's triumphant BBC Prom performance at The Royal Albert Hall with The Jules Buckley Orchestra. Featuring reimagined works from across her entire career, this is a chance for fans to experience an evening that Rolling Stone UK called "A glorious re-imagination," what The Times Of London classified as "Here's how to do a classical crossover," and about which Far Out Magazine UK said "There are certain gigs that are always destined to be great -- like St. Vincent, at the Royal Albert Hall, with an orchestra."
Ikadub have been shaping their sound for a decade, oscillating between digital pulse and analog sounds. Character and rhythm that the duo offers to several singers according to style and mood, for a discography rich in beautiful encounters.
Tell The Truth is an example, if not the best, of a collaboration that rings true, hits hard and sounds killer! Prince Jamo delivers impeccable vocals to lyrics that resonate as current events prove him right, served by a riddim that makes you nod your head from the first bars. I want to say BIM!
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Norwegian folk artist Juni Habel's latest album Evergreen In Your Mind is largely an ode to letting go, and at it’s inquisitive heart can be found ‘Pearl Cloud Song’. An instrumental four-and-a-half minutes, it came from a guitar tuning that Habel stumbled upon, the song tumbling out of the discovery on its own accord. Lush and vibrant and bristling with life, it’s a beautiful backdrop to stepping into nature, bringing together a simple drum machine pattern, steel-string guitar, pedal steel, considered effects, and the flicker of a voice somewhere in the far-off distance. Juni says "it gives the sensation of flying." With such ingredients it was rife for a remix.
'Pearl Cloud Song Reformations' is a very limited 12" (also available digitally) which features two remixes/reformations from Tom Sharkett and Minotaur Shock and also includes Juni Habel's original version. There will only be 200 ever made.
Tom Sharkett is a producer from Manchester, now based in Todmorden. Having cut his teeth as a founding member of synth-wave band W. H. Lung. Tom has gone on to forge his own path as an electronic artist with music on Optimo Music, DFA and Test Pressing. His work leans towards dark, wonky and psychedelic electronics and his edit of LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Home’ grabbed the attention of James Murphy which led to an official DFA release. The cosmic choogle of his 'Pearl Cloud Song Reformation' is Sharkett's first remix committed to vinyl since.
Minotaur Shock is the long-standing electronic project of Bristol-based producer David Edwards. With a discography spanning labels like 4AD, Melodic and Bytes, Edwards balances pastoral charm with IDM sensibilities, creating soundscapes that are as much about the heart as they are the head.
H- side is etched
The American cable-television industry exploded in the 1980s, pushing broadcasts of diverse programming and emissions of low-laying cultures into homes. Community stations piggybacked on the digital developments of the time, extending their existence through telephony and broadcast a iliates. For those growing up in this time, in locations such as New York City, the localized communications beamed into their homes exposed them to an impressionable array of disparate sounds and visions.
Move into the 1990s and New York was filled to the brim of emergent cultures drawing from this ebullition of communication. From Rammellzee’s shapeshifting to the late Judy Russell and Frank and Karen Mendez’s Nu Groove imprint fusing reggae, poetry and house, nascent ideas emanated from the city walls, from within stores such as Sonic Groove store and on VHS releases such as Stakker’s The Evil Acid Baron Show, a legendary technicolor psychedelic trip along the wildest frontiers of acid house. As scenes expanded and identities developed, such individuals weather the events of the visceral now, expressing themselves right into an unpredictable future.
Function’s long career has seen him uncover a vast range of sonic identities, a mainstay through house, techno and industrial with collaborations with the likes of Regis, Damon Wild alongside his highly influential Infrastructure imprint. With influences deeply tied to pop art, rave and gay scenes, and early memories of block-parties emitting Kraftwerk and Strafe, he found himself seeking out the undercover illegal nights of the 90s on a quest of sexual unearthing, mixing the ever-yearning escapology mission of disco with the influential DJ sets of Jeff Mills.
For his new album Existenz, he marks a clear step away from the corporeal techno of his recent releases. Pivoting around themes of religion, sexuality, trauma and healing, it is a work expansive and celebratory, a clear liberation from a deeply internalized past. Formed from a collection of recordings made in a period from late 2016 to mid 2019, Existenz takes the form of a creative outburst in reaction to a number of traumas - recent, childhood and throughout Function’s life. Life partner Stefanie Parnow assisted the production process in its entirety, providing inspiration, spiritual healing and featuring vocal contributions.
Cosmic synths soar and swoop in ‘Pleasure Discipline’ through towering stacks of rhythm that stutter and creak to a halt before rebooting, a firm robotic response to human intervention. ‘Zahlensender’ reflects a spatial tetris of urban life, as digitalization set within an XYZ matrix confronts the sprawling city. Constant arpeggiated meditations echo synaptic transmissions, e ecting a dissolution of boundaries. ’The Approach’ recalls the unification of the self, a state of delirium non-subjective and smooth, as all connections and functions give way to simple intensities of feeling, crossing the threshold into spirituality. ’Golden Dawn’, featuring Stefanie Parnow, marks a further elevation of dubbed-out euphoria, as once more positive rays emerge. His ode to the effortless short-trip urban navigation 'Kurzstrecke' finds Function in motion, upfront and bold, snapshots of conversation and flickers of light. 'Ertrinken' finds metallic bass jabs swamping snipped synthetic voices, with hidden stores of emotion set as a nod to the history of vocoders as a tool for encrypted military communication. House icon Robert Owens features on 'Growth Cycle' and 'Be', entrenching a celebratory atmosphere over Function's clubwise leanings. Closing track 'Downtown 161' reflects the unmistakeable filtered and squashed interjections of television, and sampled dance vocals - a sound for the curious, dreamers and dancers.
With Existenz, Function reveals an essential body of work, spread over 4LP - thought experiments on the role of identity and spirituality after a lifetime of upheaval and trauma. Leading up until the release date, Function will undertake an album promo tour with select dates - A/V shows at Berlin Atonal and Rural festival in Japan, and three dates as part of his Bassiani residency.
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Norwegian folk artist Juni Habel's latest album Evergreen In Your Mind (BR025) is largely an ode to letting go, and at it’s inquisitive heart can be found ‘Pearl Cloud Song’. An instrumental four-and-a-half minutes, it came from a guitar tuning that Habel stumbled upon, the song tumbling out of the discovery on its own accord. Lush and vibrant and bristling with life, it’s a beautiful backdrop to stepping into nature, bringing together a simple drum machine pattern, steel-string guitar, pedal steel, considered effects, and the flicker of a voice somewhere in the far-off distance. Juni says "it gives the sensation of flying." With such ingredients it was rife for a remix.
'Pearl Cloud Song Reformations' is a very limited 12" (also available digitally) which features two remixes/reformations from Tom Sharkett and Minotaur Shock and also includes Juni Habel's original version. There will only be 200 ever made.
Tom Sharkett is a producer from Manchester, now based in Todmorden. Having cut his teeth as a founding member of synth-wave band W. H. Lung. Tom has gone on to forge his own path as an electronic artist with music on Optimo Music, DFA and Test Pressing. His work leans towards dark, wonky and psychedelic electronics and his edit of LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Home’ grabbed the attention of James Murphy which led to an official DFA release. The cosmic choogle of his 'Pearl Cloud Song Reformation' is Sharkett's first remix committed to vinyl since.
Minotaur Shock is the long-standing electronic project of Bristol-based producer David Edwards. With a discography spanning labels like 4AD, Melodic and Bytes, Edwards balances pastoral charm with IDM sensibilities, creating soundscapes that are as much about the heart as they are the head.
Maria is the debut album from renowned Brazilian electric bassist and composer Moyses Dos Santos. A homecoming for the London-based artist, Moyses’ debut reconnects him with his North-Eastern roots while assembling an international cast of collaborators including legendary Brazilian arranger Arthur Verocai, US trumpet sensation Theo Croker and London-based vocal star Lynda Dawn.
After relocating from Brazil to London in the early 2000s, Moyses dos Santos quickly became one of the capitals’ most in-demand players, sharing stages, studios, and writing credits with best-selling artists including Nile Rodgers, Janelle Monáe, Emile Sandé, Gregory Porter and Omar.
In 2022, Moyses toured with Brazilian jazz-funk legends Azymuth, completing the rhythm section alongside Brazilian drumming master Ivan "Mamão" Conti. "It felt like he was my wise Brazilian grandfather figure." Moyses recalls. "When you spend so many years working internationally, you unconsciously start to leave certain parts of yourself behind. Mamão encouraged me to reconnect with Brazilian music, and that's where this record really began."
Brazil’s North-east, where African, indigenous and European traditions collided and fused most intensely, produced a musical heritage unlike anything else on earth, Moyses dos Santos is a product of this syncretism. On Maria, named after his mother, Moyses brings the musical vocabularies of his youth to the fore. From the soul of the church band where he began to learn his trade as a musician, to the rolling batucadas – maractus, baiaos, sambas and frevos – which he played throughout his teenage years.
Drawing on the lineage of North American electric bass giants like George Duke, Jaco Pastorius, and Stanley Clarke, Moyses runs Brazilian musical traditions through jazz, funk, soul and disco: his sound charged with the cosmopolitan energy of London's contemporary jazz scene.
Lead single and album opener “Boa Viagem’ is joyous, carnivalesque dancefloor jazz: a timeless groove for the nightclub and street party alike. Calling directly to a higher power “Brazilian Spirit” is an astral-jazz phenomenon, featuring the transcendent trumpet playing of Grammy nominated Theo Croker. On “Saudade” Moyses calls upon iconic Brazilian maestro Arthur Verocai, whose signature string arrangements cascade around the divine vocals of ascendant London artist Lynda Dawn.
With impeccable style, charisma, warmth and virtuosity, Moyses steps forward with his stunning debut Maria: out on vinyl, LP, CD and digitally on the 12th June 2026.
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In ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" präsentiert JJ Weihl von Discovery Zone eine digitale Verzauberung der Realität, in der er das Materielle und das Immaterielle miteinander verwebt, um zu zeigen, dass es sich dabei tatsächlich um zwei Aspekte ein und desselben handelt. In Weihls Welt sind Natur und Technologie keine Feinde, sondern erschaffen sich gegenseitig in einem unendlichen Tanz aus Bedeutung und Reflexion. Ursprünglich als Raumsound für das Zeiss-Groß-Planetarium in Berlin geschaffen, ist ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" eine Schöpfungsmythologie für das simulierte Universum. Dabei handelt es sich jedoch nicht um eine trockene, bostromische, maskuline Fantasie einer digitalen Realität, der die Geheimnisse der Natur fehlen. Stattdessen fordert Weihl den Zuhörer auf, im Rahmen einer Simulation Raum für die beeindruckende Realität der natürlichen Welt zu lassen. Wenn unsere Welt simuliert ist, dann muss die Simulation in der Lage sein, die Schönheit und Pracht der Natur zu erschaffen. Auf diese Weise betreibt Weihl eine ambient-artige Alchemie, die eine große Versöhnung von Natur und Technologie fordert, während sie uns auffordert, darüber nachzudenken, wie und wo die Erfahrung transzendenten menschlichen Bewusstseins zwischen ihnen existieren könnte. Die Songs auf ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" entstanden, während Weihl gleichzeitig ihr zweites Album ,Quantum Web" fertigstellte, und spiegeln einen weitreichenden, inspirierenden Zustand aus Aufregung und Angst wider, der mit der Aufgabe einherging, Musik für einen so einzigartigen Raum zu komponieren. Die Songs selbst wurden durch Ambisonics geformt, ein spezielles Format für räumliches Audio, das direktional ist, anstatt auf Kanälen zu basieren (wie Stereo), und wurden über ein Mosaik aus 49 Lautsprechern übertragen. Da es für Live-Auftritte geschrieben wurde, war ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" nie als Album im eigentlichen Sinne gedacht, sondern als dreidimensionales Ereignis. Auf diese Weise spiegelte die Klanginszenierung wider, wie wir Klang in unserem Alltag wahrnehmen: uns aus allen Richtungen umgebend. Für diese Albumveröffentlichung hat Weihl alle Songs gemeinsam mit ihrem langjährigen Produzenten E/T von Grund auf neu abgemischt und die Konstellation der Tracks für ein Stereoerlebnis neu konzipiert und überarbeitet. Inspiriert von den Werken von James Gleick, LD Deutsch, Johannes Kepler und Jorge Luis Borges, erforscht ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" die kreative Spannung zwischen Realität und Wahrnehmung, Information und Mythologie, Harmonie und Unordnung. Im gesamten Album fragt Weihl, wie wir als Menschen das Universum um uns herum und den zugrunde liegenden Code, der es belebt, verstehen lernen. Was dabei entsteht, ist ein klanglicher Mythos, der von spiralförmigen digitalen Universen erzählt, die ineinander verschachtelt sind und in denen jeder teilnehmende Akteur gleichzeitig sowohl Teil als auch das Ganze der Realität ist. Auf diese Weise ist ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" ein cyber-Ausdruck zeitloser Weisheit: Anstelle von ,wie oben, so unten" könnte Weihl vorschlagen: ,wie der Input, so der Output".
Discotchari unveils a full deadstock run of this rare 7 inch from 1970, found in original factory boxes and reissued as the first release of the label. It features previously unheard material from oud virtuoso John Bilezikjian and percussionist Raja Zahr, a Burbank via Beirut collaboration. The record will be available on vinyl and digital platforms from November 3rd, 2023.
Recorded under the name Something Different, the duo produced a single 45 RPM that was shelved as their solo careers took off. At just 21, Bilezikjian handles oud, bass and harpsichord, while Zahr delivers rich and inventive percussion.
Side A, Zulu Man, blends late 60s psychedelia with a more experimental edge, closer to underground acts than mainstream rock of the era. Carried by evocative vocals and expressive oud lines, the track unfolds like an epic narrative.
Side B, Chemical Reaction, is harder to define, moving between cinematic moods and rhythmic tension. The track evokes shifting landscapes and contrasting atmospheres, making it as intriguing as it is unpredictable on a dancefloor.
The dogs bark and the heavy-metal caravan tears through everything in its path. What lies ahead is a twisting, high-voltage journey for anyone with a taste for contemporary sound, and this record offers no lukewarm sightseeing, no pre-retirement indie pop-rock playlist drift. You'll have to learn to dance off-beat, wringing out every neuron before the final rinse. Drink your sweat, not your tears, and burn off the bitterness: that's the intended destination of the trip. This monstrous album has a computer where its heart should be. Three humans are wired into it: Michel Cloup, Manon Labry and Julien Rufié. Layer after layer, they've fed this sandpaper-and-digital-custard mille-feuille. On the menu, heaped and hurtling by the wagonload, the beast is stuffed with screams, laughter, melodies, noise: a frantic feast. It even leaves you wondering who's driving whom. Who seized control? The flesh? The printed circuits? Michel as a Titanic-'n'-Roll conductor? Julien and Manon as demolition apostles? Doesn't matter. For now, it rips, it saws, it strafes, it smashes, without pause. Rock debris_post or not_grumbling Parmentier-pop mash, white-hot hip hop spinning out, electro-disco-kraut fissuring, furious new French chanson: everything shoves its way into the blender. The real free world is here. Michel veers between naïve chants of dwindling hope, barking tsunamis of black fury and other delights, recounting the world in full 360 degrees as well as the twenty metres outside his front door. As ever, he speaks of himself, of us, speaks a lot, speaks too much. The intensity barely drops below the danger line; even the lows are stratospheric. Foot to the floor, calmly. In the thick of it, you'll wander room to room through the small theatre of France's grand political tragicomedy (David, Goliath and Godzilla), the consultation chamber of our disappointments (2027), the community repair shop of our hopes (Catharsis), the literary gym (The Poison, The Antidote), the torture room (H&M, with old Toulousain comrade Fredo Nonstop), the nightclub in flames (Shame, RIP), the electronic shooting gallery (Maria, Background Noise), the XXL confessional (For Whom? For What?) before ending in the Munch Room, the chamber of the primal scream (SISRAHTAC). "In the end, there are no words left. It howls, it howls, and it doesn't stop."
Mannequin Records presents Electronic Corporation 1998–2006, a compilation bringing together rare and long unavailable recordings by the German electronic projects H.E.I.M. Elektronik and MAS 2008.
Active around the turn of the millennium, both projects share the involvement of producer Ive Müller while developing distinct collaborations and approaches to electronic music. H.E.I.M. Elektronik was founded in 1996 by Holger Erlenwein and Ive Müller (after the two artists split in 1999, Müller continued using the name), while MAS 2008 is the project of Ive Müller together with René Kirchner. Though separate entities, the two projects explored a similar sonic territory: stripped-down electro, minimal electronics and machine-driven body music shaped by analog hardware and a raw DIY production ethos.
The roots of Müller’s work go back to the final years of the DDR. As a teenager he worked as a licensed DJ — officially known as a “Schallplattenunterhalter” — operating a travelling disco across Saxony. With limited access to official Western releases, music circulated through cassette recordings taped from West German radio stations such as RIAS Berlin, NDR2 and Bayern3. Together with friends he travelled between youth clubs and discos around Leipzig with a “rolling discotheque”: a Russian Wolga pulling a trailer loaded with Electro-Voice sound systems sourced through the black market.
At the turn of the 2000s this background in underground electronic culture resurfaced in a series of recordings rooted in electro, EBM and minimal machine music. The tracks collected on Electronic Corporation 2000–2002 capture this moment: cold sequences, driving rhythms and stark synthetic textures produced with a direct and uncompromising approach.
Compiled and remastered by Rude 66 from the original sources, Electronic Corporation 2000–2002 documents a small but fascinating chapter of German underground electronics from the early digital era.
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On June 5th, Tectonic Recordings will release Beatrice M.’s debut LP, Sinking, on a vinyl triple pack and digital download. The vinyl edition will be split across 3 separate 12” vinyl releases, packed in matching printed disco bags. This is part 1 of 3.
Beatrice M. pushes the needle forward for a sound and scene that nestles among a niche that blends UK dubstep, techno, and the golden era of tech house. The Paris-born artist is in their mid-20s and has been building up a grassroots following and plenty of momentum over the last few years, through their Bait label and its output of sonically resonant artists, alongside numerous remixes and collaborative and solo releases for labels such as Tectonic, Tempa, and Rinse. There are plenty of accolades coming in for Beatrice's work too, with notable DJ mixes for respected heavyweights such as Mixmag as well as featuring in Resident Advisor’s best mixes of 2025.
Beatrice is known for making deep explorations into the history of the scenes that have interested them, tracking and highlighting connections between dubstep, tech house, jungle and beyond across various self-produced, one-off radio shows, often taking a journalistic approach to subjects of true passion. They travel across Europe on a packed-out DJing schedule, avoiding air travel, and doing it mainly by train. Many of the LP's tracks started life as sketches put together on these long journeys, as the sights of different countries rolled past the window.
Having taken inspiration from Tectonic artists such as 2562, the label – a home to music that was originally placed in the dubstep-techno crossover spectrum—feels like the perfect place to host Beatrice M.'s debut album Sinking, beginning a new chapter for this kind of sound.
Opening track ‘Ever’ plunges us into deep waters with a sense of dubwise command. The momentum picks up on ‘Ocean’, where the vocal snippet "everyday life" circles around reverbed stabs and intricate hi-hat moves. ‘Motion’ sets the pace with its jumpy but rolling rhythm, leading straight into the eyes-down, party-time energy of ‘Disco Corner’.
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On June 5th, Tectonic Recordings will release Beatrice M.’s debut LP, Sinking, on a vinyl triple pack and digital download. The vinyl edition will be split across 3 separate 12” vinyl releases, packed in matching printed disco bags. This is part 2 of 3.
Beatrice M. pushes the needle forward for a sound and scene that nestles among a niche that blends UK dubstep, techno, and the golden era of tech house. The Paris-born artist is in their mid-20s and has been building up a grassroots following and plenty of momentum over the last few years, through their Bait label and its output of sonically resonant artists, alongside numerous remixes and collaborative and solo releases for labels such as Tectonic, Tempa, and Rinse. There are plenty of accolades coming in for Beatrice's work too, with notable DJ mixes for respected heavyweights such as Mixmag as well as featuring in Resident Advisor’s best mixes of 2025.
Beatrice is known for making deep explorations into the history of the scenes that have interested them, tracking and highlighting connections between dubstep, tech house, jungle and beyond across various self-produced, one-off radio shows, often taking a journalistic approach to subjects of true passion. They travel across Europe on a packed-out DJing schedule, avoiding air travel, and doing it mainly by train. Many of the LP's tracks started life as sketches put together on these long journeys, as the sights of different countries rolled past the window.
Having taken inspiration from Tectonic artists such as 2562, the label – a home to music that was originally placed in the dubstep-techno crossover spectrum—feels like the perfect place to host Beatrice M.'s debut album Sinking, beginning a new chapter for this kind of sound.
Given Beatrice M.’s reputation as a prolific collaborator, the LP naturally features a few heavy-hitting joint efforts. Bristol-based Sir Hiss features on the subby, 140bpm techno thumper ‘Juice’, while the LP title track, ‘Sinking’, brings forward Beatrice M.’s fresh take on influences from Tectonic’s past in a bass-driven 4/4 number that demands physical movement. ‘Dear Dubstep’ allows a moment to reflect, placing us in a spacious aqua-cave where atmospheric sounds are punctuated by wumping sub-bass, before we surface with ‘Help’ to catch our breath in the melancholy of the moment.
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Last delivered 82 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
On June 5th, Tectonic Recordings will release Beatrice M.’s debut LP, Sinking, on a vinyl triple pack and digital download. The vinyl edition will be split across 3 separate 12” vinyl releases, packed in matching printed disco bags. This is part 2 of 3.
Beatrice M. pushes the needle forward for a sound and scene that nestles among a niche that blends UK dubstep, techno, and the golden era of tech house. The Paris-born artist is in their mid-20s and has been building up a grassroots following and plenty of momentum over the last few years, through their Bait label and its output of sonically resonant artists, alongside numerous remixes and collaborative and solo releases for labels such as Tectonic, Tempa, and Rinse. There are plenty of accolades coming in for Beatrice's work too, with notable DJ mixes for respected heavyweights such as Mixmag as well as featuring in Resident Advisor’s best mixes of 2025.
Beatrice is known for making deep explorations into the history of the scenes that have interested them, tracking and highlighting connections between dubstep, tech house, jungle and beyond across various self-produced, one-off radio shows, often taking a journalistic approach to subjects of true passion. They travel across Europe on a packed-out DJing schedule, avoiding air travel, and doing it mainly by train. Many of the LP's tracks started life as sketches put together on these long journeys, as the sights of different countries rolled past the window.
Having taken inspiration from Tectonic artists such as 2562, the label – a home to music that was originally placed in the dubstep-techno crossover spectrum—feels like the perfect place to host Beatrice M.'s debut album Sinking, beginning a new chapter for this kind of sound.
The album's lead single and sole vocal track, ‘In Touch’, showcases Beatrice M.’s split UK-France upbringing. The track unites French MC Kaba and UK MC Jinnal for a bass-driven anthem that seamlessly trades French and English lyrics. Next up is a vinyl exclusive track: the ‘Remedy Mix’ VIP of ‘Poison’, a rolling, bass-driven tech house/techno crossover version of a track originally released on the Tectonic Sound collection from last year.
‘Here’ sees Beatrice M. collaborating with Jay Carder to create a soulful broken-beat flavoured track as ‘Years’ rounds off the journey with contemplative melancholy, providing a deep and dubby closer.
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Composer Vasco Mendonça presents his third album “Third Places”. The album brings together a collection of landmark performances and features some of the leading names in international contemporary music, including countertenor Iestyn Davies, mezzo-soprano Barbara Kozelj, the Porto Casa da Música Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble Het Muziek, and conductors Brad Lubman and Ernest Martínez Izquierdo.
More than just a record, “Third Places” stands as a space for artistic and political reflection on the present. Inspired by Ray Oldenburg’s concept of the ‘third place’ – a space beyond home and work where community life takes place – the album’s title refers to the venues where these works came to life, Casa da Música and the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ in Amsterdam: spaces for encounter, dialogue and cultural resistance. For Vasco Mendonça, these spaces symbolise “the ability to elevate the way we communicate with one another and to resist our most primitive and violent impulses”.
The voice lies at the heart of this work. The compositions explore the theatrical, intimate and political dimensions of vocal expression, drawing on texts of great social and emotional weight to create a shared space for listening and questioning the current state of the world.
One of the album’s central works stems from a profound contemporary concern. Inspired by the turbulent political climate in the United States following the 2016 elections and by his discovery of the poetry of Terrance Hayes and Tracy K. Smith, Vasco Mendonça composed a cycle of songs initially conceived for voice and percussion, later transposed for orchestra. The result is described by the composer as “a kind of imaginary American folklore”, where excess, transcendence, fascination and fear coexist.
The album also includes a reworking of material from the opera “Bosch Beach”, created in 2016 to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Hieronymus Bosch, commissioned by the Dutch foundation Stichting Bosch 500. Based on a libretto by the writer Dimitri Verhulst, the work reflected on the European migration crisis through a scathing portrait of human indifference. In “Third Places”, Mendonça revisits some of this musical material to construct an incisive reflection on contemporary political discourse, transforming the opera’s numbers into archetypes of election campaigns, populism and performative communication.
Straddling contemplation and confrontation, lyricism and political tension, “Third Places” stands as one of the most ambitious recording projects in contemporary Portuguese music, offering an experience that is both aesthetic and critical, where music and thought intersect in a visceral way.
The digital version of the album will include a bonus track, “Marathon”, which explores the analogy between music and long-distance running, creating a piece in which time is transformed through breathing, the heartbeat and the ritualised repetition of movement and the body, in a constant tension between exhaustion and survival.
The Coyote-affiliated Magic Wand wafts its mercurial charm over a series of mega-useful and equally effective edits here. Robot 84 kicks off with a slow, cyborg-infused and digitally finished dub of a Prince classic and Ali Renault brings sugary synth charm to 'Indovina Key'. Bratley himself then steps up with the whacked out piano house of 'PNO', a slow jam with oversized impact. 'Song To The Hills' gets a Secret Soul Society mix that's infused with subtle psychedelic charm and fresh disco chug.4 new heavyweight reworks from Secret Soul Society, Robot 84, Ali Renault and Craig Bratley.
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The ENSOULED EDITS series begins by showcasing the work of Cee Alassad, a Moroccan producer famed for his previously digital-only reworks of historic cuts from his native country. It's these reworks Alassad offers up on his first vinyl outing for the freshly minted series. He begins with 'Tekere', a lightly house-style revision of a simply sublime workout - all bouncy, layered percussion, glistening guitars, righteous horns, heady vocals and chunky kick-drums. Over on side B, he tackles another cut from the same artist, joining the dots between 21st century Afro-house, synth-laden Afro-disco and far-sighted, tech-tinged grooves.
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Parissior, moving between EBM, dark disco, indie dance and electronic music while blending analog and digital production.
The album brings together tracks that originally didn’t belong to previous EPs but eventually formed a coherent narrative exploring themes such as digital identity, illusion, authenticity and human imperfection.
From the sense of social pursuit in “The Chase”, to reflections on artificial validation in “True Connection” and “Smoke and Mirrors”, the record balances introspection with dancefloor energy.
The album also includes “Sintes Guarros” featuring Size M, and two additional digital-only tracks, expanding the project beyond the physical format.
Human Control ultimately works as a sonic map connecting machines, emotion and underground culture.
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Church Andrews and Matt Davies return with Tilt, a pinpoint collection of skewed microtonal and discordant compositions for percussion and digital synth.
Tones ascend but don’t resolve, rhythms loop, collapse and reassemble, patterns wriggle with geometric precision, sounds tilt, the edges fray.
Kinetic, elastic, wonky without being obtuse, Church Andrews (aka Kirk Barley) and Matt Davies new LP Tilt is the culmination of six years of creative collaboration, refining and redrawing the relationship between Davies’ virtuoso percussive practice and Barley’s off-kilter synthesis.
Where their 2024 release Yucca, took rhythmic cues from the Fibonacci sequence, Tilt explores a more intuitive approach, returning the duo to a minimal sound interrogating the interplay of chance and control, system and body, freedom and mechanisation. Featuring prepared guitar, finely resonant muted percussion and a crisp palette of digital synths, it draws on the pair's long-standing interest in alternate time signatures.
Here, a tripped-up 11/8 beat gives ‘Yokai’ a disorientating quality, threading unusual paths through the playful, mysterious 5-note Hirajoshi scale - a pentatonic scale from Japan hinted at in the track’s playful reference to a supernatural spirit in the country’s folklore.
Using a simple on-off system between drum and synth to trigger a Shepard tone - an auditory illusion of a sound that ascends or descends in pitch without actually changing - ‘Shepherd’ revels in the stripped-back simplicity of its sonic palette, where the nuance lies in what Barley calls “subtleties in the timbre of the sounds” as they dialogue with Davies’ warped loops.
It’s these finely tuned melodic drum tones and an eerily abstracted prepared guitar that give ‘Debris’ its uncanny feel, yet never feeling overly controlled. Like the album’s meticulous, graphic artwork, Tilt seeks the shifting ground between the physical and the digital, as acoustic tones are tweaked and disambiguated into new and unexpected forms.
Tilt represents Church Andrews and Matt Davies’ ongoing collaboration in its purest form - a hyper-defined evocation of gravitational potential in their live sound.
More than a decade into one of contemporary folk’s most quietly extraordinary careers, Alela Diane returns with Who's Keeping Time? The Portland songwriter’s seventh full-length came as the consequence of intuition, coincidence, and community. “I came to the end of a season last year,” Alela shares. “My daughters had grown a bit. I no longer had babies waking me in the middle of the night. I could hear myself think again.” More and more, those thoughts circled music.
The ultimate spark for Alela’s return to her music community came in April of last year with the death of her close friend and mentor Michael Hurley — folk legend and indispensable presence in the Portland music scene. Tracked live in the attic of her 1892 Victorian home, Who’s Keeping Time? was produced by Sam Weber (Madison Cunningham, Anna Tivel) and brought to life with staples from the local music orbit, including members of the bands Lucius and Blind Pilot and fellow singer-songwriters Anna Tivel and AC Sapphire. Over the years, Alela's lustrous discography has gathered major critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR Music, The Guardian, and plenty more. UNCUT counted her work in their ambitious “50 best singer-songwriter albums” of all time roundup—a canon comprising John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Paul Simon—with Consequence echoing that significance, declaring, “Hers is a timeless sound, that of a wayfaring troubadour, which only seems to come a few times a generation.” The Portland songwriter’s seventh full-length album, ‘Who’s Keeping Time?’ will be available on LP, CD and Digitally.
In ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" präsentiert JJ Weihl von Discovery Zone eine digitale Verzauberung der Realität, in der er das Materielle und das Immaterielle miteinander verwebt, um zu zeigen, dass es sich dabei tatsächlich um zwei Aspekte ein und desselben handelt. In Weihls Welt sind Natur und Technologie keine Feinde, sondern erschaffen sich gegenseitig in einem unendlichen Tanz aus Bedeutung und Reflexion. Ursprünglich als Raumsound für das Zeiss-Groß-Planetarium in Berlin geschaffen, ist ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" eine Schöpfungsmythologie für das simulierte Universum. Dabei handelt es sich jedoch nicht um eine trockene, bostromische, maskuline Fantasie einer digitalen Realität, der die Geheimnisse der Natur fehlen. Stattdessen fordert Weihl den Zuhörer auf, im Rahmen einer Simulation Raum für die beeindruckende Realität der natürlichen Welt zu lassen. Wenn unsere Welt simuliert ist, dann muss die Simulation in der Lage sein, die Schönheit und Pracht der Natur zu erschaffen. Auf diese Weise betreibt Weihl eine ambient-artige Alchemie, die eine große Versöhnung von Natur und Technologie fordert, während sie uns auffordert, darüber nachzudenken, wie und wo die Erfahrung transzendenten menschlichen Bewusstseins zwischen ihnen existieren könnte. Die Songs auf ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" entstanden, während Weihl gleichzeitig ihr zweites Album ,Quantum Web" fertigstellte, und spiegeln einen weitreichenden, inspirierenden Zustand aus Aufregung und Angst wider, der mit der Aufgabe einherging, Musik für einen so einzigartigen Raum zu komponieren. Die Songs selbst wurden durch Ambisonics geformt, ein spezielles Format für räumliches Audio, das direktional ist, anstatt auf Kanälen zu basieren (wie Stereo), und wurden über ein Mosaik aus 49 Lautsprechern übertragen. Da es für Live-Auftritte geschrieben wurde, war ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" nie als Album im eigentlichen Sinne gedacht, sondern als dreidimensionales Ereignis. Auf diese Weise spiegelte die Klanginszenierung wider, wie wir Klang in unserem Alltag wahrnehmen: uns aus allen Richtungen umgebend. Für diese Albumveröffentlichung hat Weihl alle Songs gemeinsam mit ihrem langjährigen Produzenten E/T von Grund auf neu abgemischt und die Konstellation der Tracks für ein Stereoerlebnis neu konzipiert und überarbeitet. Inspiriert von den Werken von James Gleick, LD Deutsch, Johannes Kepler und Jorge Luis Borges, erforscht ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" die kreative Spannung zwischen Realität und Wahrnehmung, Information und Mythologie, Harmonie und Unordnung. Im gesamten Album fragt Weihl, wie wir als Menschen das Universum um uns herum und den zugrunde liegenden Code, der es belebt, verstehen lernen. Was dabei entsteht, ist ein klanglicher Mythos, der von spiralförmigen digitalen Universen erzählt, die ineinander verschachtelt sind und in denen jeder teilnehmende Akteur gleichzeitig sowohl Teil als auch das Ganze der Realität ist. Auf diese Weise ist ,Library Copy Do Not Remove" ein cyber-Ausdruck zeitloser Weisheit: Anstelle von ,wie oben, so unten" könnte Weihl vorschlagen: ,wie der Input, so der Output".
Shrouded in mystery when it first appeared, Tiger & Woods’ debut album quickly took on a life of its own. With little more than whispers surrounding the project, the music spoke loud enough: a set of extended disco constructions carefully tuned, remixed, over-dubbed, sliced and diced by the elusive duo of Larry Tiger and David Woods. What began as a cult phenomenon soon caused a stir across dance floors and record bags worldwide.
Now, for the first time ever, that legendary debut finally arrives on vinyl. Through the Green captures Tiger & Woods at the moment their distinctive language of groove first took shape. Rooted in the spirit of disco edits but already stretching beyond the format, the album blends loop-driven funk, house-leaning propulsion and the unmistakable bounce that would soon become their signature.
It’s the sound of two producers refining a craft that would later blossom on albums like On The Green Again, where their approach expanded into a wider palette of boogie, electronica, Italo and uptempo house. But here is where the story begins.
Before world tours, live sets and the creation of their own T&W Records imprint, there were these tracks: hypnotic, playful and engineered with a dancer’s instinct for tension and release. Each cut unfolds like a perfectly extended club moment, full of warmth, swing and that unmistakable Tiger & Woods sense of fun and function.
Years after its original digital release, Through the Green remains a cornerstone of modern disco-house culture. Pressed to wax at last, it finally receives the physical format it always deserved: grooves built for the turntable, the dance floor and the crate.
The mystery might be gone. The magic, however, remains very much intact.
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First Word Records proudly present the second single from Above The Clouds (aka kidkanevil & Magic Manfred), taking on another underground hip hop classic, 'Change'.
'Change' was originally performed by Shadez of Brooklyn, produced by Da Beatminerz and most notably appeared on DJ Premier's legendary 'New York Reality Check 101' mix compilation back in 1997.
This 7" vinyl release follows on from last Summer's MF DOOM cover 'Arrow Root', which received strong support from the likes of Japan's DJ Koco and Philadelphia's DJ Jazzy Jeff.
This new instrumental reinterpretation also features cuts by Leicester-based turntablist, Jon1st - a DMC World Online Champion, as well as being a producer & musician in his own right, collaborating on music with a number of hip hop, D&B and electronic artists.
One of the original First Word roster, UK Producer/DJ and all-round laptop music geek kidkanevil has developed a distinctive and progressive sound over the years, gleefully exploring the beats and bleeps of the electronic music universe to international recognition. Leeds born, sound system bred and raised on a (un)healthy diet of video games and anime, his solo work inhabits the curious space between bass frequencies and otaku culture. But as a devoted teenage backpack rap nerd, somewhere in the back of kid's mind was a lingering desire to reconnect with his first love, hip hop.
Not long after moving to Berlin he joined a studio space in graffiti plastered Kreuzberg, where he met multi instrumentalist wizard Magic Manfred; a disciple of all things boogie, disco, funk and soul. Born and raised in Berlin, and currently a touring musician for many an act, Manfred's musical map joins the dots from piano lessons at four, to starting a band with his teenage friends, leading him to his true calling - the bass - via the club vibrations of his hometown, which introduced him to the world of DJing and production, and a stint studying in the explosive London jazz scene to finalise his Jedi training.
Bonding over their mutual love of '90s hip hop, a friendship and musical kinship developed, coupled with a desire to honour past eras but push things forward, Above The Clouds was born; named after their joint favourite DJ Premier beat, with a touch of irony regarding their basement based studio of a windowless variety.
kidkanevil explains further "We started the project with a few covers, just as a way to get warmed up and in a certain creative headspace, of which 'Change' by Shadez Of Brooklyn was one. We both loved DJ Premier's 'New York Reality Check 101' mix when we were teenagers and this track was a favourite. The elements really lent themselves to live interpretation, and as an instrumental there was space to bring some nice movement with the bass and stuff. Hopefully we found the balance between paying tribute and finding our own pocket. For the final seasoning we hit up the homie and turntable wizard Jon1st to recreate the cuts, of which he did an immaculate job of course.
The b-side 'Urgh' is one of our favourite beats we've made so far; the title is just how it makes us feel! We actually recorded the piano with two iphones as left and right and it sounded kinda cool so we went with it..."
'Change / Urgh' is released on limited 7" vinyl & digital platforms, April 24th 2026.
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Critically acclaimed American producer Tomu DJ (Pitchfork, Dazed, NPR++) debuts on sound as language with her fourth album, 'antagonist.' Recorded in the artist’s Oakland, California home throughout 2025 using only a digital piano, her intention for the album was to “free myself from conventional notions of electronic music”. This is perhaps seen clearly on standout tracks “loose interpretation” and “careful deliberation”, which in their cinematic splendor evoke the beauty and thoughtfulness of classical music. Even so, 'antagonist' is “not intended to be like classical music, rather a stream of consciousness akin to spoken word poetry”. It is easy to see what she means on tracks like “antagonist” and “dance” which weave familiar elements into personal narratives of loneliness, perseverance and redemption. Despite its specific sonic palette, 'antagonist' fits right in with Tomu DJ’s discography, continuing to build on the musical ecosystem she has thoughtfully tended to over the course of the last decade.
Saxophonist, producer and composer Brian Allen Simon explores darker hues, transposing waking and altered states under his studio veil Anenon. On the deeply evocative new album 'Dream Temperature', he shifts electronic processing to the foreground, introducing digitized wind instruments and unworldly atmospherics, not heard since his innovating mid-late 2010s output.
A longtime Los Angeles resident, born and raised, Brian Allen Simon has expressively operated under the moniker Anenon, releasing the highly revered 'Petrol' (2016), 'Tongue' (2018) and the viscerally beautiful 'Moons Melt Milk Light' (2023), in a line of unwavering musical dialogues. While the penultimate album was a deliberate, reductive, entirely acoustic detour that was born out of a want to unplug, 'Dream Temperature' sees Brian primed with a newly discovered wind synthesizer as his central compositional tool, alongside acoustic piano and tenor saxophone. The entirety of the album's electronics are triggered by Brian's lungs, generating otherworldly synths modulated by expressive breath control, channelled through the laptop as the core processing chamber for added textural components and field recordings.
A free floating and heavy emotional resonance marks 'Dream Temperature' from beginning to end, invoking the feeling of waking up, still heavy from a night of half-remembered dreams, and continuing one's day in this state. Simon maps out the album's spatial voice early on the statement title track, a deep, yet compact cut, generated from digital saxophone rasps that whistle by in close proximity, along with haze filled textures and sub bass. There is a sonic oscillation of urban grit and pastoral drift throughout as tracks pass by like introspective thoughts, fueling both a tense and ethereal quality that underpins the album. Interluding solo and part-solo piano improvisations 'Last Sun 1' and '2' are positioned adjacent to the buffering digital soundscapes. Their softer, still processed timbres pierce the melancholic exterior, offering a contrasting tenderness that could echo the grace of Ry?ichi Sakamoto, the spiritualist rigor of ECM's Keith Jarrett and a touch akin to Aphex Twin's piano miniatures. 'Nulle Part 1+2' signals the first appearance of an acoustic wind instrument, as tenor saxophone flourishes are juxtaposed against noisy drones, all shouting at the void, with notes resurfacing like lost digital data.
The album was recorded at home during either sunset or nocturnal hours between September of 2024 and October of 2025, a period in which Brian found himself craving more lengthy and intimate studio time as he searched for more pronounced textural qualities amidst his new sonic ambitions. 'When The Light Appears, Boy' shows further evidence of this deeper universe, revealing a grittier edge as the album's essential blueprint is sonically inked. A sprawling expanse of wind synths rhythmically encircle the listener before a dreamy, ghostly ambience blankets 'Toyama'. The sound is evocative of the productions of post dubstep era luminaries such as Burial or the productions of HTRK's Nigel Yang. More isolating and enveloping than the previous all acoustic record, this is music both disorienting and yet warmly inviting all at once. A sonic diarist at heart, personal field recordings were also taken from Sardinia, Japan, Big Sur and LA which intersect at unexpected moments throughout the album's 31-minute play time.
'Dream Temperature' is a vital coalescence of both Simon's electronic and acoustic practices with repositioned electronics akin to earlier works, both haunting and elegant, yet still profoundly personal. Simon continuously resonates as an experimental outlier treading an enthralling, non-linear musical path. This music resolutely glows with an unknowing aura, like an untapped energy source waiting to be discharged.
What is Tentacletek? Don't you know? Then listen to the new album by those fellow underwater friendos LOS PULPITOS. The two legendary music producers Felipe Salmon (Dengue Dengue Dengue) and Dirk Leyers (one half of Closer Musik and A08 formerly known as Africaine 808) have spent the last two years in seclusion deep down in their hidden diving station creating a bigger than life wave breaker album! From the very first track, gently gyrating, digitally processed, electro-acoustic sound tentacles spiral into your techno ears. These seducing limbs will suck you directly to all the festival dancefloors of the seven seas. Caribbean 3/4 disco polyrhythms meet state of the art techno UK dubby bass music.
"Mola Mola" floods your body as if you had fallen into the Mississippi and been dragged back to Atlantis by Drexciyans. While the wonderfully deep, monstrous dancehall-like bass of "Lab Lab" describes the metallic burst of a sinking spaceship. The cumbia-dancehall-drum&bass "ii ii ii" effortlessly equalises that pressure. In the Bermuda Triangle, a well-camouflaged "Antennariidae" fishes for its diving listeners with endless deep dub, giving them ice-cold shivers down their spine until all their legs and teeth are rattling voodooesque. "Sirens" sings of West London broken-beat strings while "Squidler" gallops fluidly on a seahorse down the Aquabahn straight to Detroit. "Catfishy"! rides in the wildest water bull in reverse-cowboy rodeo style. "Pannetronica" overflows like an Abyssopelagial pool?
LOS PULPITOS debut album is a wonderfully playful and stringent, excellently produced electronic concept album. The 10 tracks are unrivalled in their merciless yet extremely balanced bassiness.
KITCHEN. LABEL is proud to present AGATE, the latest album by Japanese artist MEITEI, marking a deepening of the world he first shaped through his Kofū trilogy released between 2020 - 2023.
Named after the mineral agate, a stone formed through slow accumulation, pressure, and time, the album reflects MEITEI’s patient approach to sound. AGATE brings together extended and newly rearranged works from across the Kofū cycle alongside new compositions and passages, refining material developed through years of performance and sustained practice.
The album presents seven tracks:
HAŌ (Previously unreleased track)
SHIN-OIRAN (Remodeled from Oiran I, Kofū 2020)
SHIN-SADAYAKKO (Remodeled from Sadayakko, Kofū 2020)
SHIN-WAROSOKU (Remodeled from Wa-rōsoku, Kofū III 2023)
KYŪGEKI (Remodeled from Shinobi and Akira Kurosawa, Kofū II 2021)
SHIN-OIRAN II (Remodeled from Oiran II, Kofū 2020)
SHIN-EDOGAWARANPO (Remodeled from Edogawa Ranpo, Kofū III 2023)
Across these works, MEITEI expands the musical vocabulary first introduced in Kofū, a sound he once described as “lost Japanese mood.” While Kofū drew from fragments of folklore, theatre, ghost stories, and forgotten urban memory, it was never an act of historical reconstruction. Rather, it reflected a sensibility of the past observed from the present. With AGATE, this worldview is clarified as Shinpu, a process of discovery in which historical awareness becomes a foundation for contemporary creation rather than a constraint.
During five years of Kofū tours across Japan, Europe, and Asia, MEITEI performed this material in a wide range of spaces, from underground live houses and listening rooms to culturally significant sites. These environments influenced pacing, dynamics, and structure, shaping how the material evolved over time. AGATE is therefore not only a studio album, but the result of material refined through repeated performance.
If the Kofū albums were windows into forgotten eras, AGATE explores what lies beneath, sediment and strata formed through time and pressure. MEITEI’s approach to sound mirrors the nature of agate itself. Grains become texture. Texture becomes narrative. Voices drift through decaying layers of sound, while ancient instruments are used in non-traditional ways, forming distinctive percussive rhythms and melodies that appear and vanish without fixed resolution.
The album’s visual materials were developed under MEITEI’s direction through physical art-making processes. The cover artwork originates from a letterpress print created by Kamisoe, a Karakami atelier in Nishijin, Kyoto, using Kyo-karakami paper. The original artwork, produced through traditional woodblock techniques on handmade washi, was subsequently reproduced on print for the album edition. Kamisoe continues to reinterpret this historical Kyoto craft with a contemporary sensibility.
The title calligraphy was created by Bio Xie, whom MEITEI personally invited to participate in the project. During his performances abroad, MEITEI encountered in Taiwan a lingering atmosphere reminiscent of “Shitsunihon” — a sense of old Japanese memory that quietly endures beyond time. He was deeply drawn to Bio Xie’s distinctive use of Chinese characters, which resonated with this experience, and asked him to contribute to the visual expression of AGATE.
In parallel, MEITEI continues to reinterpret Japanese sensibility through his concept of “Shitsunihon,” presenting it as a contemporary musical language. The refined Kyoto motifs envisioned by Kamisoe and the distinctive calligraphic expression by Bio Xie intersect with MEITEI’s singular artistic direction, weaving together a newly articulated worldview.
The accompanying visual imagery, including the liner photographs, was created by photographer Hiroshi Okamoto, who was also responsible for the visual direction of MEITEI’s previous work, “Sen'nyū.” It draws from MEITEI’s lived experiences of winter seas, solitary cliffs, and breaking waves. These scenes symbolize the inner conflicts of the ten years he spent living in Hiroshima, and his confrontation with solitude and the sounds he creates.
AGATE will be released on 17 April 2025 via KITCHEN. LABEL on 180g vinyl, CD, and digital formats. The album is mastered by Kelly Hibbert, known for his work with Flying Lotus, Madlib, and J Dilla.
With AGATE, MEITEI returns to the material of Kofū with greater focus and discipline, continuing an ongoing process of working forward with inherited material.
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Heavyweight psychedelic improvisers EarthBall are back with their third and most monstrous record to date: ‘Outside Over There’, released on Upset The Rhythm (Nov 7th). Born from the haunted basements of Nanaimo, Canada, the quintet thrives on spontaneity, shaping improvisation into jagged hallucinations and ecstatic eruptions.
Recorded live-off-the-floor in 2024 in Jeremy, Izzy, and Kellen’s basement, and mixed by drummer John Brennan, ‘Outside Over There’ is an album that feels both summoned and inevitable. Each track lands with uncanny purpose, as if uncovered rather than written.
The opener, 100%, features a cameo from comedian and English icon Stewart Lee, who lent his blessing for the band to use a fragment of his stand-up. The album was mastered by John Dieterich (Deerhoof), with liner text contributed by longtime comrade John Olson (Wolf Eyes). Olson describes the album in his unmistakable style:
“This eight-track odyssey unfolds like a dreamscape, where whispered incantations brush against the shadowy fringes of the cosmos, and wild, Cézanne-inspired rock anthems erupt like geysers of color in the midst of a western warm and wet rain storm… culminating in the sprawling eleven minute masterpiece, ‘And The Music Shall Untune The Sky,’ aptly dubbed the Earth Crusher. A creation so utterly deconstructed and intertwined with the pulse of nature itself that if AI was called upon to conceive ‘Outside Over There’ anew, it would just spit back, “F.U. in Tree Font”. An enchanting invitation for even the flat-earthers to join the circle, if only just a little.”
EarthBall’s trajectory has been relentless. Their 2024 album ‘It’s Yours’ was praised by The Quietus as “fully aggressive and fully life-affirming,” and by The Wire as "a boisterous mind-melting album”. The band’s live double set LP ‘Actual Earth Music Vol. 1 & 2’ (2025) captured blistering performances: a performance opening for Wolf Eyes at the Fox Cabaret, and a Café OTO improvised throw-down featuring Chris Corsano and Steve Beresford. These releases on their own confirm them as one of Canada’s most vital experimental exports, not to mention the impressive self-released discography on their Bandcamp. The band’s reach has stretched far beyond their west coast roots with a UK tour May 2024, plus this past June, EarthBall closed Montreal’s Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon. This November they will perform at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, with a European tour to follow (tour dates below). Outside of EarthBall, each member carries their own torch. Jeremy Van Wyck, founding member of the legendary Shearing Pinx, has toured extensively, released over 100 records, and has been a vital force in the Vancouver and West Coast underground for the past 25 years. He and Isabel Ford (Izzy) play together not only in EarthBall, but also in Psychedelic Dirt, Shearing Pinx, Behaviours, and Crotch.
John Brennan collaborates widely, including recently with Endlings (Raven Chacon and John Dieterich), Evichen (Victoria Shen), Francesco Fonassi, Plan Your Future (with Greg Saunier of Deerhoof), Brennan/Corsano duo and Physics with John Dieterich. Kellen Maclaughlin performs with KVMP and Ora Corgan, while saxophonist Liam Murphy is a west coast staple, playing with the best across Vancouver Island and the mainland. On three of the tracks of ‘Outside Over There’, the band is joined by their comrade Justin Patterson, who also plays with Brennan in the duo Modale. This cross-pollination fuels EarthBall’s sound - a collective improvisation, psychically overdriven, and grinding into bloom.
Outside Over There’ is more than an album though, it is a ritual, a gathering of sound at the forest’s edge; where feedback, saxophone screams, and ecstatic vocals dissolve the boundary between chaos and clarity. EarthBall invite you into their circle, to share in the joyful terror of spontaneous creation. ‘Outside Over There’ will be released on November 7th through Upset The Rhythm digitally and as a limited blue-in-black vinyl LP.
Outsider Records UK presents their first Vinyl & Digital Release, and they're coming out storming with this one, including slamming tracks from Smay & Tio-Toni, Punto, Chief303 & Vic-Zee, this one has every base covered and is guaranteed to have the rigs rockin'! Don't miss out on this absolutely killer release! Only 150 copies pressed !!
Light Touches Records is devoted to shed new lights on hot rarities, unknown grooves as well as forgotten classics.
While the older numbers are much sought after on Discogs, Light Touches pushes further and invites Irish underground heroes Frawl and Blackout (respectively founder and one of the resident djs of the connaisseur Backwards parties in Limerick) for the new release on the highly revered Light Touches Records.
On A side, “Fortune Teller” is a masterpiece of a lost disco tune with infectious funky bassline, while “Foxee” goes deeper into a brass driven relentless grooves with psychedelic melodies. On the flipside, “Me, Me, Me” is a 10 minutes journey, with a strong moody and deeper vibe.
All tracks have been carefully edited without overdubs, in order to bring the spirit of classic disco manipulators to today’s dancefloors!
12” limited to 300 copies (no digital).
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James Ruskin's Blueprint Records continues its 30-year celebrations with a new EP by Kr!z who returns with his fourth EP for the label. Kr!z made his Blueprint debut in fine style with his "Neutrino EP" in 2022 and went on to deliver the "Revelation EP" in 2023 and "Horo EP" in 2024 so it's fitting that he's back to join in this landmark label anniversary.
Kr!z has been at the forefront of techno for more than a decade. Influenced by the hypnotic and energetic sound helmed by veterans such as Jeff Mills, Steve Rachmad and James Ruskin, he gradually but steadily developed his own identity in the international techno scene.
After making a name for himself as a skilled DJ with sharp focus and a quick mixing style in home country Belgium and the Netherlands, Kr!z launched Token Records in 2007. It has since been a leading outlet for heady, purist sounds. He rapidly established the label as a fixed value with a timeless and powerful sound and took it around the world with label nights on every continent. Token remains important in defining techno today - always straightforward, sometimes weird, often catchy - all under the helm of Kr!z as avid A&R.
After 12 years spent assiduously focused on curating the Token discography, showcasing artists he has nurtured and supported over this time, and incorporating the connoisseur's knowledge and experience he has cultivated in his work as a DJ, in 2019 he released his own debut EP "Mantra" on the label, earning high acclaim from both media and key DJs. Since then, he has continued to develop a strong body of work, regularly releasing on the influential Blueprint Records and SK_eleven alongside his own Token imprint, and producing aseries of notable remixes. This steady output has established him as a key figure within the techno landscape, recognized for both consistency and artistic depth.
Kr!z's latest Blueprint EP "Footprints" is released 13th March on vinyl and digitally.
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Dr. John Chowning (b. 1934) is a pioneering computer musician, composer and professor who, in 1967, discovered the FM synthesis algorithm. This breakthrough in electronic music allowed for simple, yet rich timbres described as sounding "real." With this discovery, Chowning composed singular, dramatic electronic music and changed the timbre of music forever.
Chowning utilized the potential of computers to synthesize sounds according to programmed instructions. The composer's use of his own FM algorithms, digital synthesis with computers and the new compositional concepts offered by a programmable musical structure combine to create some of the most original and unique electronic music ever created.
The compositions on this LP were realized between 1966 and 1981 and the music on this LP, with the exception of Stria, was originally released on CD in Germany (Wergo, 1988). The version of Stria included here contains a section not included on the Wergo CD. Thus, this version of Stria is complete. This is the first time these purely digital recordings have been released on an analog medium. The original dynamics of these groundbreaking compositions have been preserved on this LP. As a result, listeners are advised to increase volume with caution.
In 1975, John Chowning founded the CCRMA - Center For Computer Research In Music and Acoustics at Stanford University. Through Stanford, Chowning licensed his groundbreaking algorithms to Yamaha resulting in numerous new instruments including the iconic DX series of keyboards. In 1972, his composition Tureens which is included on this LP, was the first to create the illusion of continuous 360-degree space using four speakers.
Technical Notes:
All pieces on this LP are originally quadrophonic. The illusion of moving sound sources is thus projected from the surrounding environment given by four loud-speakers on the stereo-basis.
STRIA was composed using Chowning’s own program to compile the musical structure into note-lists and MUSIC 10 (by D. Poole/Tovar) to generate the sounds in software-synthesis. The original quadrophonic version utilized 12 bits, two different sampling rates being used to accommodate the enormous amount of data on the magnetic disc-packs available at that time. The original sound-data was processed by sampling-rate conversion and digital mixes to achieve the stereo version presented on this LP.
SABELITH and TURENAS were synthesized originally using Smiths’ SCORE and MUSIC 10. However, their format was changed from direct sound-samples to a command stream for a special purpose computer, the System Concepts Digital Synthesizer, designed by Peter Samson, one of the first large-scale digital synthesizers for real-time sound processing - one was designed for CCRMA in the late seventies. For this recording the sounds were recorded directly from the synthesizer computing the samples in real-time.
PHONÈ was realized with the System Concepts Digital Synthesizer using again Chowning’s own program to create the note list.
The master tape of this LP was made directly from the computer system at CCRMA which generated and stored the sound data in digital format. No analog recording was involved at any stage of the production and editing process.
Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell’s music to be released after his death in 1992. Released in 1993 on Point Music it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With revisits this first compilation for a new gatefold double vinyl version and a triple-fold digipak CD reissue.
Both versions of Be With’s 2021 reissue of Another Thought have been mastered by Simon Francis and the vinyl cut by Pete Norman. The original artwork has been restored and tweaked at Be With HQ for the gatefold sleeve and the triple-fold digipak, with the essential help of Janette Beckman. Each version comes with an insert reproducing the liner notes and lyrics from the original CD release.
Together with Calling Out Of Context, Soul Jazz’s World of Arthur Russell, and much of the ongoing work of Audika, Another Thought is absolutely essential for even the most casual Arthur Russell collection. In fact we’d argue it’s essential for any fan of non-obvious pop music. This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur’s most recognisable tunes and it’s an album that absolutely deserves to be kept in press.
We’ll assume that by now you’re all at least a little familiar with the story of Arthur Russell, the farm boy from Iowa who moved to 1970s New York. Arthur Russell the genuine musical genius who died just 40 years old, leaving behind a wealth of music that dwarfed the few 12"s and LPs that were released during his short life.
Although Arthur had been working on an album for Rough Trade during his last years, with the label no-longer operating it was Point Music (Philip Glass and Michael Riesman’s label set up together with Philips) who stepped in to help Arthur’s partner Tom Lee start working out exactly what Arthur had left behind.
Tom suggested that Arthur’s friend Mikel Rouse was the right person to make the first catalogue. Working in Tom and Arthur’s apartment he had only two weeks to go through what turned out to be around 800 tapes.
As Tom explained “at the end of each day he would generally wait for me to come home and I would, to the best of my knowledge, name and identify pieces in question from that day’s work. As he worked Mikel compiled about a dozen cassettes that he thought would present the most finished sounding songs for Don/Point to use. As Don listened he would then suggest and ask me and thus we collaborated on the choices.”
Don is Don Christensen, Another Thought’s producer. With a final selection of songs from recordings made between 1982 and 1990, including sessions with some of Arthur’s regular collaborators Peter Zummo, Steven Hall, Mustafa Ahmed, Elodie Lauten, Julius Eastman, Jennifer Warnes and Joyce Bowden, it was then Don’s job to turn these into a finished album.
Another Thought is a little different from the compilations of Arthur’s music that came out since. In our conversations with Steve Knutson (who founded Audika Records and who manages Arthur’s estate together with Tom), he explained that “more than any project released by Arthur during his lifetime or posthumously by Audika, ‘Another Thought’ is the most worked over. The material was significantly edited and rearranged from the original source tapes”.
If the aim was to release a comprehensive exploration of every facet of Arthur’s music, from the most avant-garde of his avant-garde compositions through to the most disco-not-disco of his disco-not-disco tunes then the project was a spectacular failure. But as a coherent album of non-obvious pop music Another Thought is wonderful.
Starting with the sparse voice-and-cello of the title track, A Little Lost adds some guitar along with the sneaking suspicion that we’re listening to something nowhere near as simple as it first sounds. By the time we get to This Is How We Walk On The Moon - it could be the moment you notice the congas, or the percussion that’s been building behind them, or maybe it’s that blast of trumpet and trombone - we realise we’ve gone from splashing around to being completely submerged in the musical world of Arthur Russell.
From here the album heads off on its journey around the sounds of the left-field contemporary classical music of the time, re-directed towards pop ears, with minor detours through the swirling woozy disco of the half-remembered night before on In The Light Of The Miracle and My Tiger, My Timing. Whether it’s just Arthur, his cello and some bleeps on Just A Blip, or whether he has some vocal help as he does on the bounding Keeping Up, this is difficult music made so, so easy. And through it all is Arthur’s voice and cello. Sometimes drowned in distortion and sometimes clear as a bell, but always there somewhere.
A Sudden Chill finally returns us to the calmer waters we started in and this last track closes the album with a melancholy that’s not surprising given how soon after Arthur’s death the album was put together.
Whilst Another Thought holds together with the consistency of a proper album, there’s still no getting away from the fact that this was put together from audio recorded in different ways, in different places, with different people at different times. Those with keen ears will hear traces of tape hiss, the occasional blown-out note and some digital fuzz, all fingerprints of those original recordings as well as of the 1990s digital equipment that was used to piece Another Thought together.
Add to this Arthur’s obvious pleasure in making music from the sort of sounds that can make microphones, speakers and ears uncomfortable, it’s no surprise that Another Thought isn’t glossy and pristine. Don Christensen’s productions have been careful to not scrub up those original recordings so much that they lose their original vibe, understandable given that Arthur wasn’t around as a guide. We’ve applied a similarly light touch with the mastering for these Be With versions, just working to make sure they sound like they should on both the vinyl and the CD.
Despite the Discogs rumours, Another Thought was never originally released as an LP. So when it came to the sleeve for this Be With vinyl version we took the original CD artwork as a starting point to come up with something that looks like it could have been in the record racks back in 1993.
We have to thank Janette Beckman for helping us reproduce her iconic photograph of Arthur in his newspaper boat hat. One of many photographs she took of Arthur, Janette shot this in her New York studio back in 1986 for a short article in the January ’87 issue of The Face Magazine. Those with eagle-eyes will notice we’ve used an ever-so-slightly different shot from the one that appeared in The Face and then again on the original cover of Another Thought. The original has long since been lost so we’ve worked with what is left in Janette’s archives. And we also have to thank Tom Lee for giving us permission to reproduce his liner notes from the original CD booklet, together with Arthur’s lyrics.
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Impatience is thrilled to present Leaving Memory, the latest album-length work by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova. Leaving Memory is a searing distillation of the duo’s ouevre - it’s eleven prismatic electronic seances combining for a mind warping wormhole with it’s own internal (il)llogic, where pop, ambient, and industrial music convene beneath a rugged HD of digital processing and brain fog. Equally rosy with nostalgia as it is ominously forward looking, Leaving Memory defies easy categorization and makes for an astounding, confounding listen.
By turns violently abrasive and disarmingly touching, Piper and Lena deploy sounds that fracture and disintegrate, burn up and explode, synthetic supernovas that give the record an unmistakable, inimitable texture. Song structures often abide by their own blueprint - heading in one direction before making an abrupt dive elsewhere. Bursts of vibrant colour lurk below layers of grayscale noise. Unidentifiable voices deliver secret messages from the murk. When rhythm’s emerge they ground the tracks to some unknown terrain and invigorate.
Lame Line veers towards the sweeter end of their spectrum, a hazy plaintive repetition increasingly lashed with friction, before Exit erupts with clanging rhythm and shards of distortion. Diagnosis is an almost sweet alt-pop song, Lena’s vocals yearning beneath a dubby shuffle, while Keeper Of The Void’s possessed incantations open up to a ripping, fried climax. Beryl Grey releases the pressure gauge, a gently lilting drift arpeggiating as the sun sets, and Lost Cars sweats through claustrophobic drones and bird song before the clouds part on a serene scene. Leaving Memory closes with Shin, offering a genuinely sweet resolution and a gentle landing back down to earth of either footsteps or fireworks, swelling synthesized horns and woodwinds, a kiss on the cheek for making it out the other side.
On Leaving Memory, Piper Spray & Lena Tsibizova share their uniquely discordant take on freaky music for unsettled minds, an intensely energized set that offers a deeply evocative, unimaginable otherworld for adventurous ears.
Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova have been producing music together since 2020. Leaving Memory is the first to be presented in the LP format. Piper has previously released music via Orange Milk, Hausu Mountain and Gost Zvuk, as well as his own Singapore Sling Tapes label. Lena works predominantly as a photographer, and together Piper and Lena have released music via radio.syg.ma and Kartaskvazhin. Both make music as part of Air Krew, who have released music on the Echotourist and Motion Ward labels. They’re both currently based nowhere.
Leaving Memory was written, produced and mixed by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova, and mastered by Sergey Podluzhniy. Cover photo by Lena Tsibizova, design and layout by Justin Sloane.
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C.L.A.W.S. comes to Dark Entries with a new ripping LP, Splat City II. C.L.A.W.S. is the solo project of musical luminary Brian Hock, who has been a key figure in the Bay Area underground for over two decades via his involvement in projects like Bronze and The Vanishing, as well as helming the record labels Squirrels on Film and Immortal Sin. With C.L.A.W.S., Hock takes on the dancefloor, picking up cues from the Hague’s Giallo-dipped electro, the skewed minimalism of Chicago acid, and the mind-rending forays of San Francisco post-punk icons like Chrome and Tuxedomoon. Following 2019’s inaugural Splat City EP, Splat City II continues to map the psychogeography of a metropolis both alien and immediately recognizable, one where life is cheap, but so are the thrills. Previously released on Squirrels on Film in digital-only format, this expanded vinyl edition of Splat City II features two new cuts. Things kick off with “Route 505” and “One Tear,” a duo of rompers that vibe like Tom Ellard and Chip E locked in a room with a vial of liquid. Next up, Bay Area deckmaster Tyrel lends his editing chops to “Vigilant Slimy Monsters,” sculpting a moody space disco beast. Squirrels on Film co-founder Solar teams up with Hock for “Black Magic Carpet Ride III,” a cavernous downtempo banger. The slow-mo pace continues with “Wild Slugs United,” which features the no wave-esque clarinet work of Paul Costuros. Closer “Don’t Flip the Crystal Ship” pays homage to Bayview venue Bay Area 51 with melancholic strings and a quartz-solid electrofunk bassline. Splat City II comes in a sleeve with artwork by Bert Bergen, which features a vampiric cat and sci-fi cityscapes.
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‘DISCOMBOBULATED’ is the confounding and haunting new album from Hen Ogledd, the collaborative project of artists Dawn Bothwell, Rhodri Davies, Richard Dawson and Sally Pilkington.
· This album is perhaps their most complex and emotionally charged record to date, involving meditations on political tumult ,personal crisis and mental wellbeing in a world gone mad, yet also their most warmly inclusive and accessible.
· ‘DISCOMBOBULATED’ features collaborations from avant-garde legends, family members, animals and even elements.
· By turns emphatic and vulnerable, subtle and direct, joyous and furious, DISCOMBOBULATED is a strange, complex and moving a record as we have come to expect from Hen Ogledd.
· LP with four-page booklet and digital download card
Twelve Il Bosco edits of new wave bangers tried and tested down in the Manctalo Disko at The White Hotel and beyond...
No digital will be sold. Again as we said plenty of times before the reason we don't sell the digital tracks is out of respect for the original artists. We make no money on pressing vinyl.
It's expensive. time consuming and nobody fukin buys it anymore.
We do it because we love this shit and the chance to share our discoveries with ya'll.
We hope our compilations serve as an advert for the original artists.
You fall in love with a track, find out who it is and then go and discover more about them.
Shouts here to Hysteric (Mothball Records) for track 3 and Kelvin Andrews & Balearic Mike (Down To The Sea And Back) for putting me onto Car Crash Set leading me to discover track 1.
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wHIMSY finds DESTIN CONRAD at his most free, playful, and musically adventurous yet. Blending smooth R&B with touches of jazz, neo-soul, and laid-back groove, the project feels like a late-night jam session with friends—loose, soulful, and full of feeling. Across the tracklist, Destin lets his voice glide effortlessly over warm production, exploring themes of love, curiosity, and self-discovery with a wink of humor and a lot of heart. Following the success of LOVE ON DIGITAL, wHIMSY shows Destin leaning deeper into his artistry, embracing imperfections, and finding beauty in the in-between moments. It’s intimate, imaginative, and unmistakably him. 1xLP, black vinyl, housed in a gatefold jacket and cut at 45 RPM.
Group Rhoda returns to Dark Entries with Phase 5, a new LP of synthesizer-driven art-pop. An integral member of the West Coast electronic music scene, Mara Barenbaum has been writing, performing, and plunging into oneiric depths as Group Rhoda since 2009. Barenbaum’s songcraft is at once stylistically diffuse and laser-focused, a synesthetic approach that allows her to effortlessly glide between genres and soundworlds while centering her singular poetics. On Phase 5, her fifth LP as Group Rhoda, we find Barenbaum waxing nondualistic. Lines between fairytale and fact, between nature and art, between subject and object all dissolve under contemplation.
The songs on Phase 5 are perpetually in-between states, deftly shifting form at the blink of an eye. With sleight of hand, “Field Tone” transmutes from brooding John Carpenter-esque electro into vocoder-driven space disco. “Dragon Pine” darts from cosmic dub to cybernetic dancehall and back again. The uptempo darkwave-leaning number “Aeolian Crossing” dissolves into the void, like sand falling through one’s fingers, like a retreating wave. The cover artwork for Phase 5 is by Shawn Reed, and features purple lilies and light refracted through water. All songs on this album were mastered by Ruud Lekx. The digital version of Phase 5 will be released via Katabatik, a label and sound system that Barenbaum has had close ties to for the past decade.
Una interpretación de Soinuarenbidea II debería partir de esta premisa: todo es posible, nada es aleatorio, y en sí mismo es un imposible de aleatoriedades. El escenario planteado explora la idea de realidad aumentada desde una percepción sonora, ambiental y colectiva. La obra transita hacia adelante y hacia atrás recreando experiencias extintas de porvenir incierto, tratando de facilitar un fin pacificador. Cada pieza sonora se crea, se despliega, se repliega y se destruye, en una torsión permanente de toda la realidad que hace posible cada fragmento musical, cada identidad acústica, cada espacio sonoro. Lo onírico, la ficción, y el viaje están continuamente presentes, y es en el transitar de cada fragmento donde se produce el diálogo de la exposición musical. Los elementos de esta ficción se recrean continuamente, en un continuum donde se entrelazan y se van contorsionando a medida que crecen o decrecen con cada fragmento de síntesis concreta. Los temas explícitamente musicales son el magma que conduce a dar voluptuosidad al disco, siendo la piel un contexto o límite que en sí mismo fluctúa indefinidamente en texturas y configuraciones posibles. Y la urdimbre del silencio es la síntesis que está continuamente presente y que trata de cohesionar los fragmentos en continua colisión expresiva. Las grabaciones de campo proporcionan el material sonoro concreto, y como un fractal sonoro cada una de ellas ofrece diferentes grados de interpretación que a su vez conduce a nuevos fragmentos y nuevas creaciones. Así que se puede pensar que esta es una síntesis de una posible realidad, pero interpretable en infinidad de maneras. Un movimiento y una estaticidad implícitas que generan estructuras y dinámicas acústicas. Lo que se escucha no es real, pero en sí mismo forma parte de la realidad, creando un escenario expectante. Lo cinematográfico, plástico y teatral, danzante y dinámico cobra importancia en este juego, porque se trata de contar una historia, una experiencia recreada desde los puntos de vista del arte visual. Es a su vez hilo conductor y entretenimiento, discurso político y puro divertimento. Es desde este espacio de convivencia artística que tiene sentido la totalidad y justifica el formato sonoro planteado. La contradicción de la obra es patente en el formato, y es a su vez el planteamiento de una accidentalidad en el devenir vital. Contenedor de Ruido recoge todas estas contradicciones y las manifiesta en la obra Soinuarenbidea II. Es una historia sonora, es un cuento acústico. Es un fragmento de vitalidad en imágenes audibles. Es una invitación a la reflexión, a la crítica, al disfrute, a la meditación, a la celebración. Y sobre todo es esperanzadora apreciación de la realidad como algo maleable que confeccionamos colectivamente, que requiere de una paciente observación y la participación colectiva global, en un mundo finito pleno de diversidades y del que ignoramos prácticamente todo, al que deberíamos volver con respeto y devoción.
Soinuarenbidea II-ren interpretazio batek premisa honetatik abiatu beharko luke: dena da posible, ezer ez da ausazkoa, eta, berez, ausazkotasun ezinezko bat da. Planteatutako agertokiak errealitate areagotuaren ideia aztertzen du, soinu-, ingurumen- eta talde-pertzepzio batetik abiatuta. Lanak aurrera eta atzera egiten du, etorkizun zalantzagarriko esperientzia desagertuak birsortuz eta helburu baketsua lortzen saiatuz. Soinu-pieza bakoitza sortu, hedatu, tolestu eta suntsitu egiten da, musika-zati bakoitza, identitate akustiko bakoitza eta soinu-espazio bakoitza ahalbidetzen dituen errealitate osoaren etengabeko bihurdura batean. Onirikoa, fikzioa eta bidaia etengabe daude presente, eta pasarte bakoitzaren joan-etorrian gertatzen da musika-erakusketaren elkarrizketa. Fikzio honen elementuak etengabe birsortzen dira, continuum batean, non sintesi zati zehatz bakoitzarekin hazi edo txikitu ahala elkar lotzen eta bihurritzen diren. Esplizituki musikalak diren gaiak diskoari atsegintasuna ematera eramaten duen magma dira, azala testuingurua edo muga izanik, testura eta konfigurazio posibleetan mugarik gabe aldatzen dena. Eta isiltasunaren irazkia etengabe presente dagoen sintesia da, zatiak etengabeko adierazpen-talkan kohesionatzen saiatzen dena. Landa-grabazioek soinu-material zehatza ematen dute, eta soinu-fraktal batek bezala, horietako bakoitzak interpretazio-maila desberdinak eskaintzen ditu, eta horrek, aldi berean, zati eta sorkuntza berrietara eramaten du. Beraz, pentsa daiteke errealitate posible baten sintesia dela, baina hamaika modutan interpreta daitekeena. Egitura eta dinamika akustikoak sortzen dituzten mugimendu eta estatikotasun inplizitu bat. Entzuten dena ez da erreala, baina, berez, errealitatearen parte da, eta agertoki espektakularra sortzen du. Zinematografikoak, plastikoak eta antzerkikoak, dantzariak eta dinamikoak garrantzia hartzen dute joko honetan, ikusizko artearen ikuspegitik birsortutako istorio bat, esperientzia bat, kontatzea baita helburua. Aldi berean, hari gidaria eta entretenimendua da, diskurtso politikoa eta dibertimendu hutsa. Elkarbizitzarako espazio artistiko honetatik osotasunak zentzua du eta planteatutako soinu-formatua justifikatzen du. Obraren kontraesana nabarmena da formatuan, eta, aldi berean, bizi-bilakaeran istripu-tasa bat planteatzea da. Zarata-edukiontziak kontraesan horiek guztiak jasotzen ditu eta Soinuarenbidea II obran adierazten ditu. Soinu istorio bat da, ipuin akustiko bat. Bizitasun zati bat da, irudi entzungarrietan. Hausnarketarako, kritikarako, gozamenerako, meditaziorako eta ospakizunerako gonbidapena da. Eta, batez ere, itxaropentsua da errealitatea modu kolektiboan egiten dugun gauza xaflakor gisa hautematea, behaketa pazientea eta partaidetza kolektibo globala eskatzen dituena, dibertsitatez betetako mundu mugatu batean, ia guztia kontuan hartzen ez duguna, eta errespetuz eta debozioz itzuli beharko genukeena.
An interpretation of Soinuarenbidea II should start from this premise: everything is possible, nothing is random, and in itself is an impossible randomness. The proposed scenario explores the idea of augmented reality from a sonic, environmental, and collective perception. The work moves back and forth, recreating extinct experiences of an uncertain future, seeking to facilitate a peaceful end. Each sound piece is created, unfolds, retreats, and is destroyed, in a permanent twisting of all reality that makes each musical fragment, each acoustic identity, each sonic space possible. The dreamlike, the fictional, and the journey are continually present, and it is in the transit of each fragment that the dialogue of the musical exposition takes place. The elements of this fiction are continually recreated, in a continuum where they intertwine and contort as they grow or diminish with each fragment of concrete synthesis. The explicitly musical themes are the magma that leads to the work's voluptuousness, the skin being a context or boundary that in itself fluctuates indefinitely in possible textures and configurations. And the warp of silence is the synthesis that is continually present and seeks to unite the fragments in a continuous expressive collision. The field recordings provide the concrete sound material, and like a sonic fractal, each one offers different degrees of interpretation that in turn lead to new fragments and new creations. So one can think of this as a synthesis of a possible reality, but interpretable in an infinite number of ways. An implicit movement and staticity that generate acoustic structures and dynamics. What is heard is not real, but in itself is part of reality, creating an expectant scenario. The cinematic, plastic and theatrical, dance and dynamic aspects take on importance in this game, because it is about telling a story, an experience recreated from the perspective of visual art. It is at once a common thread and entertainment, political discourse and pure entertainment. It is from this space of artistic coexistence that the whole makes sense and justifies the proposed sound format. The contradiction of the work is evident in its format, and it is, in turn, the presentation of an accidentality in the course of life. Noise Container gathers all these contradictions and manifests them in the work Soinuarenbidea II. It is a sound story, an acoustic tale. It is a fragment of vitality in audible images. It is an invitation to reflection, to critique, to enjoyment, to meditation, to celebration. And above all, it is a hopeful appreciation of reality as something malleable that we collectively craft, requiring patient observation and global collective participation, in a finite world full of diversity and of which we know practically nothing, to which we should return with respect and devotion.
Paisajes sonoros, diseño sonoro, drones y música grabada, realizada y arreglada para Contenedor de Ruido por David Aranaz. Coro: Basandere Ahotsak. Producido y mezclado por David Aranaz. Mástering: Estanis Elorza. Fotografía: David Aranaz. Texto: David Aranaz. Traducción: Saioa Aranaz Oreja. Trabajo y Diseño artístico: Cristina Martinez. Edición: Contenedor de Ruido Producciones y Sarbide Music. Distribución: Contenedor de Ruido.
Contenedor de Ruido agradece el apoyo en la realización de Soinuarenbidea II al coro Basandere Ahotsak y en especial a Eva Orbara Goicoa.
Soinuarenbidea II está dedicado al pueblo palestino.
Paisajes y objetos Sonoros, samplers y otras músicas transformadas para Soinuarenbidea II
Burlada: Paseos sonoros matinales por Merindad de Sangüesa, Calle Mayor, Capuchinas, Parque Uranga y varias iglesias y plazas. Pasajes del cotidiano: basura de papel, cristal y plástico.
Pamplona: Cementerio de San José. CEIP Sanduzelai /// Quinto Real: Fábrica de Armas, Puerto de Urkiaga y alrededores. Suite del silencio, bosques en movimiento /// Fábrica de armas de Orbaiceta: regatas, biosques, paseo sonoro hasta regata /// Belate: Puerto de Belate y alrededores. Vacas en pradera junto a las turberas /// Bardenas Reales: Suite de guitarra y Suite del silencio, estepa desértica /// Austria: Tranvías de Graz y Viena. Muchedumbre del metro de Viena.
Voces cinematográficas de: Matanza en Texas, Robocop, Espíritu Sagrado, Solo los Amantes Sobreviven, Voces de Gaza, Yojimbo, Terciopelo Azul, Los 7 Magníficos.
La pista A2 está dedicada a la memoria de David Lynch.
La pista B4 está dedicada a Eva Orbara Goicoa.
Pista A4: Contiene interpretaciones de piano de Three Piano Pieces Op.11 de Arnold Schoenberg.
Pista A5: Es una interpretación expandida con síntesis FM del Concerto Op. 24 - Etwas lebhaft - de Anton Webern.
Pista A7: Contiene la canción Besarkatu ninduzun (Letra de Josune López y música de Josu Elberdin) en interpretación de Basandere Ahotsak en la iglesia de Burutain bajo la tormenta.
Pista B2: Contiene la canción Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Fernando Tárrega) en interpretación torsionada de David Aranaz Sarasa.
Pista B14: Contiene la canción Agur María (Letra y Música de Estíbaliz Robles “Estitxu” y arreglo exclusivo de Alfonso Ortiz para Basandere Ahotsak) en interpretación de Basandere Ahotsak.
Equipamiento para Soinuarenbidea II.
Micros de condensador SE7, configuración XY y ORTF; Micros de cinta ORTIZ LUTHIER configuración XY y Blumlein; Grabadoras MARANTZ y ZOOM; Sintetizadores y samplers Elektron MONOMACHINE SPS-1, MACHINEDRUM SFX6 y MODEL:SAMPLES. Dave Smith MOPHO. Torso Electronics S-4. Sintetizador Modular 333 DIY; Guitarra clásica ALHAMBRA 6P; Esculturas Sonoras tipo Baschet, cristal y metales; Mesa Soundcraft FX16ii; Interface de Audio RME Babyface Pro FS; DAW Logic Pro; Procesamiento de modelado analógico con Acústica Audio, Waves, Softube, Brainworx, Sonible, Analog Obsesion, Tokio Dawn. Metering de Logic y RME DigiCheck . Amplificación Hafler PRO2400. Monitorización BW DM602 S3. Mezcla digital; Mastering híbrido.
Guess who's back! It's Niju & Ninze!
Magic Roads is their second studio album after the legendary LPs as Wide Awake – back then still as a trio.
The journey continues, and with each track, the two tell their own story. A colorful bouquet of organic and synthetic sounds that blend seamlessly into the sound that some call Ketapop, which shaped the style of an entire downtempo generation.
In addition to the vinyl tracks, which include collaborations with friends such as Ringo Chambre and Raz Ohara, the digital package consists of an ambient mix of Moment in Time as well as remixes by Chris Schwarzwälder and RSS Disco. That's what we call "a package"!
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In 2016, a year after the 50th entry in the long-running series, none other but the iconic Detroit artist, DJ and producer Moodymann stepped up to helm the next landmark edition of DJ-Kicks, his first ever multi-artist DJ mix compilation. Following !K7's 40 th anniversary, this classic DJ-Kicks mix is now being repressed on coke bottle clear vinyl.
Born Kenny Dixon Jr., Moodymann is a one-of-a-kind electronic music icon, hailing from, and wholly synonymous with the Motor City. He is an outspoken, impossibly charismatic artist who has been putting a distinctive and soulful stamp on house and techno since the early 90s. Melting together jazz, funk, soul, blues and rock in captivating ways, he is responsible for some of electronic music’s most definitive tracks, EPs and LPs on labels like Planet E, Peacefrog and his own KDJ and Mahogani Music imprints. As able to serve up the sweetest and most sensual sounds as he is the darkest and most depraved grooves, his own unique voice and stream of conscious musings infuse expertly sought-out samples for music that is decisively alive and authentic.
Across 75 minutes and 30 tracks, Moodymann does not disappoint: despite being a notorious vinyl fetishist, Dixon’s aim is to present music of quality, not to one-up fellow collectors. Rather than serving up ridiculously rare or hard- to-find records, he instead focuses on creating a libidinous, blues-drenched mood that takes in heart-breaking soul, gorgeous hip-hop and love-fuelled house.
In addition to cuts from his own creative circle, the mix features 11 exclusive Moodymann edits. Like everything Kenny Dixon Jr. touches, his DJ-Kicks showcases the taste, skill, and soul of a dance music original.
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The combination of Todd Terry and Hard Times is synonymous in the world of House Music. The legendary DJ/Producer, a true pioneer of the genre, was among the first US artists to play at the intimate, vibrant gatherings in the North of the UK in the early ‘90s. Forever linked by "A Night In The Life," the live mix released in 1995 that set a new benchmark for mix-tapes, it is a collaboration that has continually blossomed, forging a bond that remains strong over 30 years later.
1995 also saw Todd Terry make his first impact on the label with the seminal club smash "Bounce To The Beat." Following his chart breakthrough with 'Can You Party’ in ‘88, the legendary 'The Unreleased Project’ series, which spawned club hits such as “Jumpin’”, and just a few months ahead of topping the charts with his remix of Everything But The Girl’s ‘Missing’, label boss Steve Raine seized the perfect moment to bring his friend on
board at Hard Times Records with the signing of Bounce To The Beat. "I can still remember pressing play, hearing those beats for the very first time and thinking we had big track on our hands" says Raine. "It was our second release on the label, but it would be the track that firmly placed us at the forefront of the scene, both here in the UK and globally."
Hard Times & Todd Terry now revive 'Bounce To The Beat' with a 2024 reimagining, featuring two of house music’s most exciting young stars, delivering two powerful remixes that promise to dominate dancefloors this summer and beyond.
Dutch producer and Up The Stuss label head, Chris Stussy, takes the track on a '90s- inspired journey, blending progressive strings, high-energy bassline and original vocal, for an exhilarating ride. "I remember discovering Todd’s productions back in the days when I started to dig for that 90’s sound. He’s one of the artists that inspired me massively. He has proven that he owns the art of making timeless music as his productions are still being played till this day all across the globe. To be remixing ‘Bounce To The Beat’ is something special for me personally and I tried to give it a 90’s touch with a modern twist." says Chris.
London’s own Dan Shake offers a fresh twist with a 2Step-inspired remix, featuring an Armand-esque bassline that pulsates and evolves, building to an epic crescendo that is set to ignite mass hysteria on the dancefloor.
"Bounce To The Beat was actually one of the first records I bought when I started collecting house music. So to come back 15 years later and remix this iconic track for the legendary label Hard Times was both surreal and very, very fun," shares Dan.
Two exemplary reworks of Todd Terry presents Sound Design’s 'Bounce To The Beat'. For Vinyl and Digital release on Hard Times alongside the Original and ‘Tee’s Freeze Mix.’
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Crypt of the Wizard is proud to present Ginger Wizard - The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World on vinyl and digital formats.
About ten years ago in a record store in Prague, the Ginger Wizard discovered a copy of Bo Hansson’s Lord of the Rings LP. Although initially unfamiliar with the record, the reference to Tolkien’s masterwork and the incredible cover art drew him in and, rather fittingly, sent him off on a journey of discovery that would reshape his creative trajectory.
Years later while working in cassette tape manufacturing, Ginger Wizard noticed that most fantasy-inspired music fell into two camps: metal and dungeon synth. With little interest in the former, but intrigued by the latter, he began writing a few songs imagining a beautifully packaged and tactile cassette tape. However, dungeon synth he soon realized was “the most boring music to make”.
So began the Ginger Wizard’s own mythological discography. In 2022 came The Feast for the Dead King and Other Musical Themes recorded at home in a cold kitchen, is conversely an album full of warmth drawn from sheer exploration. A year later Can I Choose My Own Psychopompos? was recorded for the legendary Stoned to Death label - a 7” séance of semi-improvised noise and melody featuring allies from the Ginger Wizard’s live backing band The Peter Jacksons. The following year with Bathysburg Tales, a new approach was needed in order to keep the project interesting. Drawing inspiration from Popol Vuh and the inclusion of vocals lent by Protomartyr’s Joe Casey and Jakob Battick, a new more cinematic sound began to emerge.
Now, we present The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World marking a step into something stranger while still channeling the spirit of Bo Hansson. The new album rejects swords and sorcery for the mythology of the natural world “the ancient stuff,” he explains in the record’s insert, “has a similar taste for me as fantasy.” These songs bloom, creep, and shimmer like forgotten plants under distant suns while rooted in something real and organic. Inspired by the myths of nature rather than heroic quests, it’s an album that feels alive, equal parts archaeological dig and psychedelic garden.
Currently at work on a soundtrack for an imagined 1970s fantasy film in collaboration with The Peter Jacksons, the Ginger Wizard continues to expand his strange universe while The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World serves as a new map to somewhere ancient, beautiful, and unknown.
KEG announce new EP Girders set for release September 2nd on Alcopop! Records/BMG. The band also share the frenzied and whip-smart new single Kids. The band, who have been hotly tipped across the board for 2022, will also play their debut UK headline tour plus festivals which include Green Man, End Of The Road, Latitude and more. Kids strides into the deep lineage of British art-punk songwriting that is both self-referencing and outward-facing - while being consistently innovative. Few singles manage to take aim at both the restaurant chain Itsu and the comedian Michael McIntyre, but KEG somehow pull it off.
Following a widely successful debut single release Heyshaw in the summer of 2021, KEG saw major support from publications such as NME, DIY, Dork, So Young, Clash etc. Leading into their debut EP Assembly, released October 2021, KEG toured with contemporaries such as Squid and Talk Show.
KEG are a seven piece. Albert (vocals), Joel (bass) & Will (synth) grew up together around the seaside Yorkshire town of Bridlington; and like many artists growing up in removed quarters of the country, they shared a yearning to leave. Spreading to different parts of the country after leaving school, they found their bandmates in their respective cities and found one another once again on the southern shores of Brighton.
Frank (guitar), whose background resides mostly in hip-hop, afforded a unique pulse with a guitar sound which is manic, discordant but firm. Jules (guitar) whose songwriting sensibilities come from a love of cadence and craft of beautiful soul ballads, imbued the band with his structured sense of composition. Both Charlie (trombone & shell) and Johnny (drums) come from classically trained Jazz backgrounds.
The announcement will receive digital marketing support and will launch with new tour dates announced (below) with pre-order for presale access available.
“Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open.” To hear Randy Holden describe the audience’s reaction in 1969 to his solo debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps is about as close as one will get to truly experience the moment heavy metal music morphed into existence. However, at last Riding Easy have unearthed the proper fossil record. Population II, the now legendary, extremely rare album by guitarist / vocalist Holden and drummer / keyboardist Chris Lockheed is considered to be one of the earliest examples of doom metal.
Though its original release was a very limited in number and distribution, like all great records, its impact over time has continued to grow. In 1969, Holden, fresh off his tenure with proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer (appearing on one side of the New! Improved! Blue Cheer album and touring for the better part of a year in the group), aimed for more control over his band. Thus, Randy Holden - Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. “I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before,” Holden explains. “I was interested in discordant sounds that could be melodic but gigantically huge. I rented an Opera house for rehearsal, set up with 16 Sunn amps. That’s what I was going for, way over the top.” And over the top it is. The six-song album delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It’s incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic, sensibility.
Troubles with the album’s release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. It was bootlegged several times over the years, but until now hasn’t seen a proper remaster and has yet to be available on digital platforms. “The original mastering just destroyed the dynamics of it,” Holden says. “They flattened it out. Now we got a really nice remaster that should be the closest thing to the original recording.”
'In collaboration with the children of Nico Kasanda, better known as Docteur Nico, Planet Ilunga proudly presents an anthology dedicated to African Fiesta Sukisa, available as a 3LP set and a digital release with bonus songs. This release is the result of many years of preparations and was realized in close partnership with Liliane Kasanda, Nico’s eldest daughter. Marking forty years since his passing, we felt that the year 2025 was the right time to honor Docteur Nico’s legacy with this original collection.
'Almost all of the African Fiesta Sukisa songs were released on Nico’s Sukisa label which translates in Lingala for “the final accomplishment”. The music on Sukisa, crafted by Nico and legendary vocalists such as Chantal, Sangana, Apôtre, Mizele, Lessa Lassan and Josky, embodies the essence of that powerful phrase with genius, class and depth. The label ran between 1966 and 1975 and released approximately 280 songs. Ngoma also issued the group between 1967 and 1971 and, in addition, reissued material from the Sukisa label. Many of these songs have become part of the collective memory of Congolese society and are still heard, discussed, and analyzed daily across digital platforms worldwide, as well as on numerous Congolese radio and TV stations.
'The album we put together features some of Nico’s signature songs alongside never before reissued tracks from the Sukisa catalog. It furthermore contains a large booklet with song commentary, testimonial interviews from well-known musicians, journalists, fans and Nico’s entourage, besides never before published photography about his personal and musical life.
'Alastair Johnston, author of the book ‘A Discography of Docteur Nico’ and longstanding Planet Ilunga collaborator, designed a stylish booklet and cover using all our collected material. Audifax Bemba, longtime admirer, compiler and connoisseur of Nico’s music, and the author of most of the song commentary in our accompanying booklet, offers his portrait of Docteur Nico:
“After displaying technical virtuosity with African Jazz, expert and accomplished guitar with African Fiesta, which musicologist Sylvain Bemba described as a dream guitar, Nico Kasanda was consecrated ‘dieu de la guitare’ by the public in the late sixties. With his band African Fiesta Sukisa, Docteur Nico displays his wide palette of unusual sounds. While exploring the Hawaiian guitar with its clear, airy, plangent, psychedelic effluvia, he continues to replicate the piano comping technique, and adds two missing strings to his bow: a simulation of the sanza (likembé or thumb piano), whose sounds he reproduces right down to the noisemakers of the tiny tin rings, on the one hand, and the sounds of the Luba balafon on the other. The right note, in the right place, at the right time, is the triptych on which Nico Kasanda’s playing is based, a note dressed in the perfect sound. A guitar of pure emotion. With African Fiesta Sukisa, his playing takes a ‘Chopin-esque’ turn, sending out more notes in a sublime adagio. The true artist is the one who simplifies everything. Docteur Nico is a genius of our time, whose style makes him the supreme exponent of the most important guitar school in Congolese music. He is recognized by his peers as the greatest African solo guitarist of all time. Sculpting sound in a tireless quest for beauty, Nico Kasanda has sublimated the guitar throughout his career.”
"Cake" was a New York band formed in 1973, following a line-up tweak and a change from their previous name "Mixed Company» (referring to the racially mixed personell). At Arabellum Studios in Colony, Albany, NY, the band recorded their only 7-inch single. "Make Up Your Mind" / "Let Your Body Go» was released on Key Records in 1979.
Half a life time later, after appearing in DJ mixes and online auctions in the late 2000s, the single started gaining notoriety among DJs and diggers. Working its way up to "holy grail" status on the modern soul and disco collector scene, original copies of the sought after record would eventually sell for as high as $1000.
In 2012, Hans Jørgen Wærner (Mutual Intentions Co-Founder and notorious disco collector) got in touch with Arabellum studio owner Art Snay who produced the record. This lead him to lead singer Bob Treffiletti who had a cassette tape with unreleased long versions of the songs. The sound quality of the tape was not adequate for what Hans had in mind, and so the hunt for the original master tapes began! Unfortunately, Art Snay later passed away. At one point chances of finding the original recordings seemed so slim, the project was all but abandoned….
Luckily, Bob managed to get hold of the master tapes via Art's wife and they were sent away to legendary disco mixer / remixer John Morales, who transferred the tape to digital format. After several rounds in one of Norway's best mastering studios (Strype Audio), noise reduction and sound surgery were done while retaining the soul of the original recordings. The songs were finally ready to be pressed on the format they have always deserved: the 12-inch disco single!
The 12-inch comes with four 5 min + long songs and can be pre-ordered now. The high-quality lacquer cut pressing is produced at Optimal Media in Germany and limited to 300 copies worldwide.
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Schema Records proudly presents PRELUDE, Stefano “S-Tone Inc.” Tirone’s tenth album in his 30-year career. It is available from October 10th, 2025, in the usual digital/streaming formats, as well as LP (10 tracks) and CD (15 tracks); the latter contains, in addition to the tracks on the vinyl, the singles already released on 7” (“In the Sand”, “Tudo Pra Ela”) and remixes of “Pressure”, “Vento Doce” and “Longe De Voce”.
Various different styles harmoniously coexist in “Prelude”: the soul, funk, disco and house tracks embellished by Julia St. Louis’s black voice and Laura Fedele’s jazz-blues timbre alternate with Latin and Brazilian atmospheres in the tracks that host the precious collaboration with Toco, up to a stunning reinterpretation of Santana’s “Guajira” performed by Manuela Ravaglioli, a long-time S-Tone Inc.’s guest vocalist, and German Leguizamon, an Argentine artist with a brilliant career in the 90s dance music.
The title “Prelude” is a double homage: to the legendary homonymous American record label that defined the New York disco sound between 70s and 80s, and to Eumir Deodato’s masterpiece released on CTI in 1973, a sublime example of cross-genre fusion that has always been a source of inspiration for the refined and cosmopolitan blend of music styles that has made S-Tone Inc.’s sound unique and that is firmly reaffirmed in this new record.
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Clear Vinyl. Luxurious jacket with embossed logo and details plus cut-out on the side. Explore an emotional sci-fi game with a unique blend of survival, adventure, and base-building elements. Help the sole survivor of an ill-fated space expedition create alternative versions of himself to escape a hostile planet and tackle personal turmoils with this unconventional crew. 11 bit studios, the creators of the award-winning games This War of Mine and Frostpunk, present The Alters, an ambitious sci-fi survival game with a unique twist. You play as Jan Dolski, the lone survivor of a crash-landed expedition on a hostile planet. To survive, you must form a new crew for your mobile base. Using a substance called Rapidium, you create alternative versions of Jan -The Alters- each one shaped by a different crucial decision from the protagonist's past. The one-of-a-kind soundtrack for The Alters was created by Piotr Musial best known for his compositions for games like The Witcher, Frostpunk and This War of Mine. For The Alters, Musial chose to stray from the obvious path when it comes to this genre of games and head for something more original: "While many sci-fi soundtracks these days favor the sound of analog synths, the idea behind the music of The Alters was a bit different. We wanted the music to feel more untraditional and mix digital, glitchy elements, unstable reverb with organic sounds, all of which together could support this unique story." With this approach, Musial dove deep into the world of The Alters to turn abstract ideas and atmospheres in very concrete music: "We aimed for the planet to feel overwhelmingly strange and hostile at first. The music starts as more abstract and based on dense atmospheric sound design. Our circular base, a place of safety and comfort inspired to create a theme that 'goes round' by a repeating leitfmotif. You will always feel at home there, unless there's something bad happening, and that's where the theme will get changed, broken." Musial further explains: "One of the key elements we get to discover in the game is the Rapidium crystal. A strange mineral, with yet unexplored properties. We felt like it could have its own theme too, and therefore, wherever you find it, it 'sings' to you with it's strange, bassy voice, supported by a trace of live recorded strings, that were digitally destroyed to create this translucent texture, that sound unlike the real thing. A glitch crystal, is what they call it after all. But the more we explore the planet, the more the story we uncover. We wanted the music to gradually gain momentum and show the leitfmotifs more often, guiding you through emotional moments, fun moments, tough ones, reaching a grand finale. I hope you'll enjoy this ride." Enjoy playing and listening to The Alters!
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AOKI takamasa and Tujiko Noriko’s 2005 album »28« has become a cornerstone in the artists’ respective discographies. 20 years after its initial release, Keplar issues it on vinyl for the very first time. Three years in the making, »28« saw the sound artist and the avant-pop singer-songwriter combine their distinct aesthetics for an album that defied categorisation. Their combination of advanced electronic experimentation and pop appeal paved the way for a new generation of artists and turned »28« into an enduring fan favourite. Remastered by Stephan Mathieu, the reissue comes with a brand-new artwork by Joji Koyama and a changed track listing—authorised by Takamasa and Tujiko—for the vinyl version to fit it on a single LP, while the digital version remains identical to the original release.
Tujiko and Takamasa first shared the stage together after the turn of the millennium. Both were emerging solo artists, with Takamasa a mainstay on the Progressive Form label and Tujiko forging a connection with Mego in Vienna, Austria. »I simply liked Noriko’s voice and music, and since we often performed at the same events, it felt like a natural progression for us to start working together,« remembers Takamasa. They first collaborated in 2002 for two shows at the Fondation Cartier in Paris and at SonarLab in Barcelona, respectively. The first joint piece was a rework of Tujiko’s »Fly« from »Hard Ni Sasete (Make Me Hard)« by Takamasa, appearing as the album opener »Fly2« on »28.«
After that, the Paris-based Tujiko and Takamasa, still based in Osaka, worked sporadically and remotely on new material. For the first two years of their collaboration, the two met in the context of live events or Takamasa’s visits to the French capital to discuss their process and exchange hard drives while also occasionally sending each other CDrs in the mail. »Aoki made beats and sounds that complemented my music perfectly, building the foundation on which my voice could float,« Tujiko says today. Takamasa used hardware such as the Nord Modular, the Korg Z1, and the Korg ER-1, while also working with different kinds of software and plug-ins as well as Logic. Tujiko was using Cubase, her preferred piece of gear at the time being an AKAI MPC.
After Takamasa moved to Paris in 2004, this enabled the duo to finish the album together in person. Starting with its subtle use of glitches to the almost-anarchic way in which it deals with the structures of a song, »28« came to be an incomparably intricate album. 20 years on, it remains timeless because of its flawless synthesis of the cutting-edge avant-garde ideas of early 2000s electronica with an idiosyncratic but accessible pop sentiment. Both artists look back fondly—though not uncritically, with Takamasa noting a certain »youthfulness« in his contributions—to the album that was titled after their respective age at that time. »Maybe we should make ›51‹ now?,« quips Tujiko. See you in three years, perhaps.
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Roy Ayers – Delfonic Reworked #1 A soulful rework story – from an edit to an official release Berlin’s own Delfonic kicks off a very special series of Roy Ayers reworks with this four-track EP on BBE Music. Originally sparked by a spontaneous edit of “What’s the T?”, which Delfonic shared with BBE’s Pete Adarkwah, the project quickly gained momentum. With listeners asking for a vinyl version, this initial idea soon grew into an official release – and the beginning of a larger tribute. Drawing from BBE’s 2004 compilation Virgin Ubiquity—a treasure trove of previously unreleased Roy Ayers recordings from 1976 to 1981—Roy Ayers – Delfonic Reworked #1 offers a fresh take on the legendary vibraphonist’s sound, rooted in soul, jazz and groove. The EP opens with Green and Gold, followed by the original spark What’s the T? featuring the incredible Merry Clayton.
Also featured are Sugar with Carla Vaughan and Oh What a Lonely Feeling, again showcasing Clayton’s emotive vocals—all reimagined with Delfonic’s signature flair for rhythmic depth and dancefloor flow. Known for his extensive output of remixes and EPs on respected disco and edit labels, Delfonic brings a deep understanding of groove and arrangement to these respectful yet forward-thinking versions. His connection to Roy Ayers’ musical universe is evident in every bar. Mastered by Frank Merritt at the Grammy-nominated The Carvery, Roy Ayers – Delfonic Reworked #1 is available on vinyl and digital download—a must for fans, collectors and groove connoisseurs alike.
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Heavyweight psychedelic improvisers EarthBall are back with their third and most monstrous record to date: ‘Outside Over There’, released on Upset The Rhythm (Nov 7th). Born from the haunted basements of Nanaimo, Canada, the quintet thrives on spontaneity, shaping improvisation into jagged hallucinations and ecstatic eruptions.
Recorded live-off-the-floor in 2024 in Jeremy, Izzy, and Kellen’s basement, and mixed by drummer John Brennan, ‘Outside Over There’ is an album that feels both summoned and inevitable. Each track lands with uncanny purpose, as if uncovered rather than written.
The opener, 100%, features a cameo from comedian and English icon Stewart Lee, who lent his blessing for the band to use a fragment of his stand-up. The album was mastered by John Dieterich (Deerhoof), with liner text contributed by longtime comrade John Olson (Wolf Eyes). Olson describes the album in his unmistakable style:
“This eight-track odyssey unfolds like a dreamscape, where whispered incantations brush against the shadowy fringes of the cosmos, and wild, Cézanne-inspired rock anthems erupt like geysers of color in the midst of a western warm and wet rain storm… culminating in the sprawling eleven minute masterpiece, ‘And The Music Shall Untune The Sky,’ aptly dubbed the Earth Crusher. A creation so utterly deconstructed and intertwined with the pulse of nature itself that if AI was called upon to conceive ‘Outside Over There’ anew, it would just spit back, “F.U. in Tree Font”. An enchanting invitation for even the flat-earthers to join the circle, if only just a little.”
EarthBall’s trajectory has been relentless. Their 2024 album ‘It’s Yours’ was praised by The Quietus as “fully aggressive and fully life-affirming,” and by The Wire as "a boisterous mind-melting album”. The band’s live double set LP ‘Actual Earth Music Vol. 1 & 2’ (2025) captured blistering performances: a performance opening for Wolf Eyes at the Fox Cabaret, and a Café OTO improvised throw-down featuring Chris Corsano and Steve Beresford. These releases on their own confirm them as one of Canada’s most vital experimental exports, not to mention the impressive self-released discography on their Bandcamp. The band’s reach has stretched far beyond their west coast roots with a UK tour May 2024, plus this past June, EarthBall closed Montreal’s Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon. This November they will perform at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, with a European tour to follow (tour dates below). Outside of EarthBall, each member carries their own torch. Jeremy Van Wyck, founding member of the legendary Shearing Pinx, has toured extensively, released over 100 records, and has been a vital force in the Vancouver and West Coast underground for the past 25 years. He and Isabel Ford (Izzy) play together not only in EarthBall, but also in Psychedelic Dirt, Shearing Pinx, Behaviours, and Crotch.
John Brennan collaborates widely, including recently with Endlings (Raven Chacon and John Dieterich), Evichen (Victoria Shen), Francesco Fonassi, Plan Your Future (with Greg Saunier of Deerhoof), Brennan/Corsano duo and Physics with John Dieterich. Kellen Maclaughlin performs with KVMP and Ora Corgan, while saxophonist Liam Murphy is a west coast staple, playing with the best across Vancouver Island and the mainland. On three of the tracks of ‘Outside Over There’, the band is joined by their comrade Justin Patterson, who also plays with Brennan in the duo Modale. This cross-pollination fuels EarthBall’s sound - a collective improvisation, psychically overdriven, and grinding into bloom.
Outside Over There’ is more than an album though, it is a ritual, a gathering of sound at the forest’s edge; where feedback, saxophone screams, and ecstatic vocals dissolve the boundary between chaos and clarity. EarthBall invite you into their circle, to share in the joyful terror of spontaneous creation. ‘Outside Over There’ will be released on November 7th through Upset The Rhythm digitally and as a limited blue-in-black vinyl LP.
