Buscar:dj samples

Welcoming the inimitable DJ and Producer Dan Shake with his forthcoming EP Verde, set for release on May 26 2023.
Renowned for his infectious charm in the booth and an expert ear for funk, soul and disco rarities, the producer who cut teeth making maximum impact dancefloor groovers is now taking an introspective new direction. Dan was inspired after his relocation to Devon from London where a new found feeling of escapism and appreciation for nature allowed him to experiment with his own sound more than before, including using his own vocals at the forefront for the very first time.

Dan Shake (Daniel Rose-Weir) began his notoriety with the Mahogani Music released 3AM Jazz Club / Thinkin’ in 2014, using Moodymann’s seal of approval as a springboard for his ambitions. Even as dancefloor-igniting releases piled up year on year, such as the Ibiza-smashing ‘Claudia’s Trip’, or any number of Shake Tapes white label edits, Shake’s expertise as a DJ began to match his production chops. This makes for two combined sides of what Dan Shake represents: an explosion of colour, variety and flavour, no matter whether he’s jamming on a rotary in the booth, or juicing fresh joy from old samples in the studio. Basements, lofts, tents, festival stages with the production dialled up to 11 – all are welcome opportunities to let loose. But as his sound has evolved and his reputation as a killer DJ has grown, Shake’s love of connecting to the dancers in front of him has remained, well, unshakable.

Egyptian-Australian DJ/producer moktar announces his second boundary-pushing five track EP, ‘Immigrant’. An expressive and considered journey that combines his Middle Eastern heritage and influential club sounds in one.

‘Immigrant’ sees moktar continue to bring traditional Arabic instrumentation into the club by weaving samples like polyrhythmic drumming and the Arabic Oud into experimental club music which has captured the attention of many tastemakers. Giant Swan, Anz, Tash LC, Raji Rags, Jamie XX, Bonobo, Groove Armada, Hudson Mohawke, Mary Anne Hobbs and Jamz Supernova all championed his highly favoured self-titled EP in 2021, which topped the Australian community radio charts as a number #1 most played alongside the global support it received. The release represented re-learning the value of his Egyptian heritage following racism and stereotyping growing up. ‘Immigrant’ expands on the story.

Debut single ‘Immigrant’ was released in September and served as a backdrop for moktar to air the stories of many as well as his own, told through a chopped vocal sample of Arsenal Football Club’s host and hype man, Frimpon. ‘North Africa’ and ‘Al-Duqqi’ are a homage to moktar’s roots. ‘Crossroads’ represents his need to push himself and grow in life and music, and ‘Send it’ (a term in Australia that means you're about to do something wild) also aims to represent Middle Eastern communities in Bankstown, Sydney.

moktar explains - “Through Immigrant I wanted to highlight the struggle many people all over the world go through to be accepted, while representing the community in Egypt, North Africa and Australia. Fusing Middle Eastern sounds into sounds into my music has been a big part of helping me become proud of who I am. I feel passionate about bringing these sounds to a wider audience in the hope it helps others in the identity struggle feel a sense of pride too”

The EP falls just as moktar’s highly anticipated debut EU tour comes to a close, playing b2b with DJ Plead at Phonox for Yung Singh, Adaptations Festival, Repercussions Festival, Werkhaus Festival, b2b with Mr Scruff at Field Day, Lost Village, Amsterdam for ADE with Kode 9, Rex Club in Paris, and Takseer festival Berlin.

Der Sound von Blue Note wurde im Hip-Hop bereits in seinen frühen Tagen durch Samples und Remixe fest verankert. Aber als der DJ, Produzent, Rapper und Multiinstrumentalist Madlib 2003 die Blue-NoteArchive für sein Meisterwerk “Shades Of Blue” “plündern” durfte, legte er die Messlatte auf ein neues Niveau. Das Resultat war ein visionäres Album mit Remixen und Neuinterpretationen klassischer BlueNote-Aufnahmen von u.a. Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Hutcherson und Wayne Shorter.

U.S legendary producer Debonaire returns to Fdb Records to deliver his third EP to date!!! Thirteen years after “The Rise Of The Bass Planet” on French imprint run by Vstee, one of the Miami Bass pioneers, Claudio Barrella introduces “Badass”, a future classic EP taken from his eponymous album published in 2022 on Debonaire Records Inc.

Fulfilled with timeless electro references, this collection of four untouchable joints pushes once again the boundaries of old-school sound to the next-level. Ode to the glorious days of electrofunk, relentless “He Is The Master” on A side serves up a brilliantly dancefloor Hip-Hop/Electro monster enhanced by a nice flow of cut’n’paste samples featuring Newcleus, Schooly D, Dynamix II, Man Parrish, Cybotron and thousands of other unmissable classics. Here comes an outstanding Time Machine that will definitely break out your linoleum.

Second tune of the opus, slow “Badass Reprise (Wax Version)” signs a hip-rock masterpiece a la Rage Against The Machines characterized by a dirty Californian spirit. Fat!On the flipside, robotic “Computer Program”, written along with his partner in crime DJX aka Maggotron, offers a cutting-edge mayhem bas(s)ed upon crystal clear sororities, some heading vocoder robot lyrics fusing with Sci-Fi tones in the background. Ace!

The Absolute climax of the 12’’, “You Feel Me Now” brings a massive cocktail of beats and low frequencies, injecting serious 80's vibes over frantic scratches and sharp 808 programming.

Packed in a beautiful white sleeve and brilliantly illustrated by DJ and Plastic designer Julien Dumaine, this collectible wax will provide intense cyber vocals and retro flavored electro to your subwoofers! Must have!

Naarm alchemists Sleep D's revelatory new synthetic 'Electronic Arts' is ready for circulation.

Having released 4 EPs of mind-altering club tackle since 2019's 'Rebel Force', the duo overcome second album syndrome, boiling down their chaos with a more developed sense of songwriting. Never banging one drum, 'Electronic Arts' mirrors the anything goes mania of their DJ sets, tactfully shifting through different sounds and styles. Tempos intensify and decelerate, at times pushing the threshold to 150 bpm from docile canine dreamscapes to full tilt Space Invaders in AR mind games.

Largely built on road tested material from their live performances, the album is a tangible Butter Sessions gathering, busting out the gate with Martian rave initiation Planet Waves, Outdoor System's polyrhythmic beatdown and the Orb-like hero dose affirmations of Sunrise In The Crater (I Exist). While 'Electronic Arts' is otherwise a self-dependent effort, Punch Drunk is brewed ever more potent by the hypnagogic vocals and lucid trumpet cycles of former futsal team member YL Hooi. Their unified energy incidentally manifests a profound matrix of ambient techno, motorik, Don Cherry and Everything But the Girl.

Also touching on apocalyptic doof and minimal, the album is not exclusively peak time with Maryos Syawish and Corey Kikos' specialty curveballs also playing their part. From Village To Empire finds the duo rooting down in Syawish's heritage with a tapestry of purposefully deployed Iraqi and Syrian ethnographic samples and field recordings, dubbed within range of Muslimgauze and On-U Sound. As minimal techno finale Textile trails off into footsteps wandering back to base camp with a satisfied exhale, one wonders where Sleep D's existential pathfinding could possibly take us next?

A1 - Dreamcatcher

A gentle kickoff to the EP sees ASC flex the ethereal side of his compositional range with Dreamcatcher. Bleeps and subtle bongos intro the track before a cymbal-heavy beat rolls into play, urged along by warm 808 basslines. Several samples will trigger the scene veteran's nostalgia glands, and as the Arthur O'Shaughnessy quote proclaims: "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams", you cannot help but smile.

A2 - Tranquility

Filtered breakbeats with emphasised kicks begin our journey through Tranquility; a calming piece enriched with luscious synths, glorious pads and echoing vocal samples. ASC takes the listener through a crash course in DJ-friendly classic atmospheric drum & bass, inviting the crowd to take a step back from the chaos of the world and bask in the tranquility of the moment in true Spatial style.

AA1 - Drifting Thru

Remember Demon's Theme? For many it was their introduction to a new world of amen breaks in a birthing jungle / drum & bass landscape, and here ASC pays homage to that break - as well as a certain iconic classic on the Deejay catalog - rewritten impressively with a pure, intensely driven atmosphere and a thumping sub bass to boot as the eerie melody allows this incredible break to take center stage - as it should.

AA2 - Flotation

Closing the EP is Flotation, a building track which fuzes classic breakbeats chopped and punctuated with a slow-burning, gradually intensifying atmosphere. The interplay between breaks, bassline, pads and washing vocals is a delightful experience to behold, the bassline never relenting. Flotation is curiously catchy and will stay long in the memory.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

repress

The 7-inch edition of the Ep includes 2 songs and 2 scratch cuts made with vinyl samples, akai mpc 1000 and synthesizers.

Written & produced by Dj RosviL for Remedy Music 2021.
Mix & mastering by Jorge Alamar.
Design by Noema aka Gogals illustration

Fredfades is finally ready with his second album as a solo artist. The producer and DJ and has remained active as a musician ever since his debut single in 2008. Since he released his debut solo album 'Warmth' six years ago he's ben diving into a bunch of different genres and cross-ing musical landscapes such as ambient, hip-hop and house, which has led to releases and productions across labels like his own Mutual Inten-tions imprint, as well as bigger labels like Stones Throw, Fresh Selects and Jakarta Records. This sonic voyage has resulted in ‘Caviar’ - an album that tells the story of a producer who's ready to let go of his youthful love and indulge himself to electronic music.

Fredfades name is more often seen on foreign club posters than back home in Norway. This has colored the musical expression of the Oslo-born multi-artist, and on ‘Caviar’ he is gathering inspiration from every corner of the world where he has traveled. You can clearly hear the inspi-rations from the sounds of Rome, Manchester, South-Africa, Detroit, New York, Berlin, Paris and the Balearic ocean, which are all well repre-sented throughout the album's eight tracks. If you close your eyes and put your ears close to the speakers you will hear loons, running water, African percussion instruments, roaring saxophones, bit-crushed samples, moaning women, TB 303’s, bottom-heavy basslines and recordings of whales communicating at the bottom of the ocean. Everything seamlessly put together for Fredfades’ own sonic world view. The album features a bunch of talented friends of Fred, such as Telephones or the vocalists MoRuf and Kristian Hamilton.

Despite being known as more of a progressive and edgy DJ that haunts down a lot of indie and private press electronic music, Fredfades has cultivated a more elegant and controversial output in his own music. His progressions often consist of dwelling jazz chords from electric pianos or mellow sub-filtered synth patches that creates space where he can unleash rowdy basslines, rhythm sections and leads just as confident and captivating as the man himself. On the jazzy ‘Tenerife 1994’ you can hear a tribute to one of Fred’s greatest heroes in music: Pharoah Sanders, while on ‘My Heart Is On The Edge’ and ‘Summer of Love’ the energy and euphoria is boiling over and directs your mind towards the summer raves which Fredfades is known to throw down in Oslo.

On the LP covers backside Fredfades is posing with a Korg Wavestation in front of the block where he grew up in the suburbs outside Oslo, while the front cover is showing an airbrushed illustration of Caviar from sturgeon - ‘From block to Beluga’. The black vinyl contains magic grooves created by an electronic musical convertite, with the power to transport the listener from a perpetual winter to the 90s warm dance floors and the 'Second Summer of Love’.

Black Light Smoke is the electronic music moniker of Jordan Lieb - producer, songwriter, and award winning film and TV composer. A Chicago native, Jordan transplanted to New York City in 2001, where his career as a multi-disciplined musician has taken flight in many forms.

Currently residing in upstate New York, Black Light Smoke returns to Scissor and Thread for his first full length debut-album: Ghosts.
The 12 tracks (plus three digital bonus tracks) span everything from 90s house, smooth and deep soulful beats, dusty grooves and thoughtful treaties on the state of creativity, capitalism and identity.
It’s a collection that sits together as a listening experience perfectly, building peaks and sliding into serene troughs, all with a strong sense of radical thought and creative experimentation. Tracks bend and warp in unexpected directions, while gritty, distortion and overdrive counterpoint classic rave stabs and vocal samples. Taken as a whole, the album could be the soundtrack to a night drive through the city, as much as certain tracks will no doubt find themselves woven into the sets of the more leftfield and genre pushing DJs. Either way, it’s an essential release from one of the most exciting and vital producers out there and the first artist signed to Scissor and Thread back in 2011.

The album title, Ghosts, tells two stories. One is personal - an artist embracing the shadows of his past in order to move forward and complete a body of work. The second story is a search for the original meaning of house music - not just the usual sample, appropriation or casual nod to the originators of house - but a meditation on the living story of Black America in which house music is an inseparable chapter. Both stories are a reflection on grief and the transformation of trauma into celebration.

100% of Jordan Lieb’s personal proceeds from this record will go to Little Bit Foundation, empowering students living in poverty to achieve their academic goals.

Altered Circuits dives deeper in the world of playful and versatile club music with roots in the early 90's! There's an obvious parallel between Ildec's DJ performances and his own music.

Part of a scene with a focus on extended, broad-minded sets, the Ibiza-based artist lets his yearning to unearth and play obscure gems flood into his production process. The "Ahora Si EP" is testament to this adventurous spirit as it tackles a wide array of tempos, styles and moods.

Opener "El Principio" and closer "Grt Plschr" display Ildec's fondness of hazy, recondite atmospherics. With its sustained ambient chord, delay-washed newsreader samples and manipulated themes, the former sounds like a fever dream radio bulletin.

On the latter, a broody motif meanders alongside loosely played drums, while a buried bass guitar occasionally reveals itself. "El Break Del Dia" furtherly explores some of these elements, but this time with the dance floor front of mind.

Languidly morphing bass sequences and staccato synth salvos build up anticipation. When a slowly emerging, ceaselessly arpeggiating organ lead finally materialises, the track explodes. Natural flow is partly traded for sturdier form on the remainder of the EP. "El Break De La Noche" lets an ever-modulating lead groove alongside rigid, dry drum beats.

Descending tom fills, truncated squeaks and a top layer LFO gone haywire complete this sparse yet exciting cut. "La Nueva Version" has a similarly efficient bassline as its bedrock. An interplay of zaps, risers, transposed percussion, and other dusty cartridge samples pulls it left and right while subtle disorienting hints of speech thicken the mix.

On "Modificacion", Ildec moulds his take on progressive and tech house into its toughest shape. A druggy, bleepy lead twirls in and out of the track, carried by the road-tested combo of a taut drum pattern and a piercing backbeat bass. Ominous chords and equally menacing vocals mark its aim: to create tension in the club. It is a standout on a diverse, daring EP we are delighted to present as the fifth release on our label.

Jammy Fader Breaks by JFB. JFB needs no introduction, an absolute MONSTER on the turntables and 3 times DMC World Champion, he has nothing left to prove on the battle scene or club circuit.

However, Woodwurk are very proud to bring you a first from this legend in the game, JFB’s first ever battle break record - JAMMY FADER BREAKS!

Side A contains a huge library of JFB’s personal scratch sample collection including original and hilarious vocals from beatbox innovator Beardyman.

There are 9 skip-proof vocal phrases perfect for scratch jams, practice and battle sets plus a large selection skip-proof beats and drum phrases ideal for beat-juggle and drumming practice. The side ends with a never ending locked groove electro beat for scratch sessions.

Side B contains another 2 huge sections of scratch samples from the JFB volts plus a selection of beats and sounds from some of JFB’s World conquering routines, allowing you to try them out for yourself or create something new. This side again finishes with an electro beat lock groove to jam over.

Buy 2 copies for twice the fun, this record is a must for beat jugglers and scratchers alike! Much like the man himself, Jammy Fader Breaks is a beast with something for everyone!

Artwork comes courtesy of Woodwurk Records head honcho DJ Woody, bringing to life some of the suggestions made by JFB fans as to what the letters of his name really stand for.

• Produced by 3x World DMC Champion turntablist JFB.

• Skip-proof scratch phrases, drumming phrases, 133.33bpm juggle beats, full sentences, instrumentals, routines and lock grooves.

• Features hundreds of unique battle samples from JFB’s own collection, including vocals by Beardyman.

• Perfect for battle routines, freestyle scratching and juggle practice.

• Artwork by DJ Woody

• Black vinyl

Otik drops the four-track ‘Xoul Trap EP’ on Will Saul’s Aus Music this May.
Otik, aka Ashley Thomas, has been steadily making himself known as one of the finest exponents of leftfield UK club music since his debut in 2013 through a string of heavy releases on the likes of Midland’s
Intergraded, Martyn’s 3024, and his own Solar Body imprint. Arriving now on Aus Music, the London-based DJ/producer brings a set of atmospheric, breakbeat-laden techno tracks for his first appearance on the label.
‘Xoul Trap’ kicks off the A-side with moody vocal chops, emotive pads, and thunderous kicks combining to form a hair-raising late-night affair. Following is the shuffling ‘Temptress’, which sees sharp and detailed percussion fuse with dusty chords and speaker-rattling subs.
On the flip, ‘Inertia’ begins with a pumping 4/4 pattern as washed-out synths reverberate alongside shining plucks and warm, inviting low end. ‘Unorthodox’ sees shimmering leads swirl around choral samples and UK Funky-tinged drum hits, rounding out yet another standout record from both Otik and Aus Music.

Following their much loved NTS radio shows and parties of the same name, the highly rated DJ/producers re:ni and Laksa have announced a brand new label, also called RE:LAX.

On ‘Body Score’ Laksa continues to traverse the same 150bpm territory as his releases for Hessle Audio and Timedance, but here we also find influences from his job as a social worker.

Chiseling bass weight, swung beats/loops and FX into new shapes with confident hands, ‘Body Score’ conjures mental images that’re equal parts wild humid rainforest and dystopian industrial complex.

‘Soulz’ sets the agenda from the outset; Featuring pumelling gut-punch bass and frenetic percussion, this tightly-wound ball of energy takes you deep into a dank cerebral vortex.

Acknowledging the darkside of life – 'Bodies' samples the psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk.

Like an ancient ritual, ‘Mind’ evokes scenes of drummers whipping dancers up into a frenzied higher spiritual state, and with its huge snare adding head-cracking accents, the unstoppable momentum thunders along ‘til the very last bar.

Early support from the likes of Pearson Sound, Zenker Brothers, Darwin and Om Unit.

repress

The 7-inch edition of the Ep includes 2 songs and 2 scratch cuts made with vinyl samples, akai mpc 1000 and synthesizers.

Written & produced by Dj RosviL for Remedy Music 2021.
Mix & mastering by Jorge Alamar.
Design by Noema aka Gogals illustration

Veteran artist Sebra Cruz releases his debut album ‘Don't Worry Psy Happy’ on DJ Tennis’ revered Life & Death imprint. The daring eleven track LP is as experimental as it is definitive and encapsulates the Italian spirit in perfect style.

The LP follows two previously teased singles; ‘Margaret’, an ode to Cruz’ girlfriend which is a deeply passionate and expressive melodic house offering and album title ‘Don’t Worry Psy Happy’ a hedonistic, tripped out soundscape.
The lead track ‘Sunfish’ is a melange of powerful synths overlaid with sporadic vocals and a swinging breakbeat which make the record the perfect soundtrack for early morning dancefloor euphoria.

The album continues its genreless motif and is hard to pin down. It broaches a variety of styles including cinematic and ambient leaning sonics such as ‘Optimist’ and ‘Poliziesco’, the latter which includes Gabriele Fabbri’s atmospheric guitar riff throughout.

‘The Siebel Road To Mars’ is a similarly powerful yet emotive record which samples current Italian President Sergio Mattarella between the piano and the extraterrestrial sound palette. Continuing with the more abstract tracks ‘Flying Junior’, which was named after Cruz’ own sailboat, emulates the peacefulness and tranquillity of the sea. It’s yet another reflection of Sebra Cruz’ artistic personality.

Juxtaposing the calm and serene records from the album, ‘AltreCose’, inspired by the energy of the Neapolitan people during Sebra’s DJing residency in the 90s, is a more high energy disco-infused record. Similarly ‘When Life Was Slow’, released on Life & Death back in 2020, is another upbeat dance interpretation and a tribute to Cruz’ passion for Italian composers from the 60s and 70s.

Speaking about the album Sebra says: “What emerges is in my opinion an album with predominantly Italian spirit, disco, house with both edgy and gentle influences. I never decide what to do first, I simply follow my spur of the moment instinct. Releasing an album for Life & Death is cool because I've always had huge respect for Manfredi.”

Sebra Cruz and DJ Tennis have a long lasting and trusting collaborative relationship exhibited by the former's numerous releases on Tennis’ Life and Death label. DJ Tennis’ encyclopaedic musical brain and shared passion for Italian composers perfectly complements Sebra’s stylings.

Striking an impeccable balance between abstract and obscure sonics and more methodical and conventional melodies, 'Don't Worry Psy Happy’ is a body of work that exquisitely expresses Sebra Cruz’ personality via different worlds and mediums.

GAB002 sees Gimme A Break Records keep things local with a rowdy EP from Leeds-based DJ and producer BEERUS. Over the last six months, BEERUS has demonstrated his production power through two bodacious releases on Gunfinger Food’s new sub-label, Booty Frooty Records. Fusing UK styles including hardcore, acid and jungle with US staples such as electro, juke and footwork, BEERUS has established a playful sound primed for the dancefloor.

BEERUS’s “9000” EP opens with a hardcore weapon which combines rave stabs with Dragon Ball samples and an acid line threatening to spiral out of control at any given moment. “Play This Shit” sees the EP take a sensual turn as BEERUS channels the sounds of Chicago with an enticing juke number. “Booty Acid” follows suit, offering up a particularly self-explanatory track title: luscious electro meets 303s. “Love4U” is BEERUS’s love letter to the happy hardcore scene as a thumping 4x4 bassline collides with melancholic vocals and piano lunacy. Finally, BEERUS rounds off GAB002 in style with the junglist mediation “DO U WANT ME”.

The latest on Warehouse Music comes courtesy of Joshua James: ‘Love To Do It’ which samples the iconic, pleasure-seeking vocals of American drag vocalist Roxy and The Ride Committee.

For the original mix, the London DJ gives Roxy’s ‘90s house lyrics an electro makeover, twisting around mangled samples, vibrant snares and bubbling slapback delays. Keeping true to the artist's wild vocal stylings and referencing the queer underground sound James has called home.

On the flip, label boss Mella Dee takes us back into four-four territory on the first of two remixes. The ‘Law & Disorder’ mix works James’ dialled-up modern sass into a hypnotic loop, rolling into the heart of the club via a deep house bassline.

Meanwhile, the 'Split Your Wig’ mix strips the track down to body-poppin’ 909s and swirling percussion, paying tribute to NYC club culture via drum machine.

Archetype is known to many as one of the frontmen from cult classic Granville Sessions, plus a
founding Moose Funk Squad member. Now, after 5 years in the making his debut album, The Zip
Folder LP is ready for release.
Archetype called upon Granville Sessions MPC don Giuseppe 'Zippo' Falcone for a selection of
samples. After some deliberation and delay these were then fully recreated with live instrumentation, played largely by Ed Koral (another Granville alumnus and multi-instrumentalist); plus the help
of Berlin-based sax and trumpet players Christoph and Yannick.

Emotional Response is delighted to present elsewhere LVI. The 4th of soFa's compilation series, this double LP takes us to the darker side of the elsewhere ouvre, via another 12 artist / 12 track travelogue.

With certain future-retro feelings, this is club music for the open minded. An album that roams from dreamy ambient territories to rhythmic patterns - internationalism for the adventurous DJ.

Rusty slow-mo bangers and post-industrial synth-wave kidnap the listener to a dystopic and shady wasteland. Elements of ethnic folk, vintage vocoders and Gamelan samples all united on one homogeneous selection.

With artists now known to welcoming new brethren, this is an audio trip to leave reality behind. Exotic, hypnotic, tactile, trance-inducing meditations, washed down with a spoonful of magick.

Metro is one of the most recognized underground rap producers. He has already collaborated with Guilty Simpson, Wildchild, MED, Oh No, Rakaa, DJ Babu and Percee P to name just a few.

The album "Blunted Fusion" 2LP is his most refined album. This time without guests - only sophisticated samples, cuts and fat beats.

Plus amazing graphics designed by SewerX. This is the most beautifully released album in the 21-year history of JuNouMi Records.

Ground Groove, the third full-length release from the LA-based, Iranian-American producer and DJ, Maral, begins with an invocation: the sprawling, achingly heavy Feedback Jam opens the floodgates of history. Conventional (linear) spacetime collapses, crushed beneath the track’s lumbering 4/4 heartbeat and successive waves of distortion. As each wave recedes, samples trickle forward in the mix — seeking, perhaps, to fill the void. Voices and instruments rise and fall in uncanny reverse. Overlapping, implied melodies flicker into focus, then flit away. Feedback Jam is at once an initiation ritual, and a thesis statement for the record that follows.

Drawing upon a vast personal archive of Iranian folk, classical, and pop recordings (some sourced from mixtapes made by her parents in the eighties/nineties), Maral presents, on Ground Groove, a further refinement of the signature “folk club” sound she developed as a live DJ— a sound she would later codify on Mahur Club (2019) and Push (2020). By collecting, dissecting, and re/presenting sonic fragments from Iran, Maral practices a kind of dance-floor ethnomusicology. The subject of her inquiry: Iranian


culture and contexts, throughout history and in the present. But, crucially, this inquiry is instantiated within and throughout the body of the listener, whether this listener is dancing in the club, or riding the train, nodding along with headphones on.

Maral speaks of being in collaboration with her samples, treating each as a distinct bandmate, often consulting with an artist’s catalog (or even a single recording) as one would a trusted creative partner. In so-doing, Maral claims to seek to transcend the self. In this regard, her output neatly triangulates contemporary dance and heavy music with much of the traditional religious music that she samples. Broadly speaking, each of these idioms addresses a desire —shared by audience and performer alike—to transcend the self through volume, repetition, and movement.

Having, in her youth, studied the Setar under Nader Majd (the founder of Virginia’s Center for Persian Classical Music), Maral cycled through various genres (ex: punk, emo, dub) in her adolescence and early twenties, all the while expanding her knowledge of, and appreciation for, Iran’s diverse musical traditions during regular summer trips to Tehran. In college, Maral taught herself to make beats with a ripped copy of Ableton (which remains her DAW of choice), eventually transitioning to playing and hosting various club nights. Forever abiding by an autodidactic, DIY impulse to create art and foster community, Maral relocated to Los Angeles in 2013, where she quickly immersed herself in the city’s numerous overlapping music scenes.

Collaboration (beyond sampling) has proven an important component of her process, with notable spoken word contributions from the likes of Lee Scratch Perry and Penny Rimbaud, as well as a 2021 Panda Bear collab track (On Your Way), which the Animal Collective founder co-produced. Maral is equally attentive to the visual components of her records (album art, music videos, etc.), drawing upon the work of peers and friends for inspiration.

Indeed, the genesis of Ground Groove can be traced back to an audio-visual collaboration between Maral and the artist Brenna Murphy, originally commissioned for the 2021 Rewire Festival — a project that would eventually serve as the album’s foundation. Tracks eight through eleven on Ground Groove comprise Maral’s half of this installation, with tracks one through seven composed afterwards, inspired by the fruits of Maral and Murphy’s collaboration. Murphy’s visuals will be released alongside Ground Groove as a visual accompaniment. Additionally, Murphy designed the album’s art, directed the video for the lead single (the aforementioned Feedback Jam), and is featured on track six, Shy Night.

Composed largely on Ableton, Ground Groove features more frequent and more prominent live recordings from Maral (guitar, bass, and vocals) than either Push or Mahar Club. The cult favorite Roland MC-909 groovebox rears its head on Mari’s Groove. Mixed by Trayer Tryon (Hundred Waters) and mastered by Daddy Kev, the attention to sonic quality on Ground Groove constitutes another significant step in Maral’s development as a studio artist.

Ground Groove’s eleven tracks are “grooves” in the obvious sense, in that they are each driven by a persistent, propulsive rhythm, but the album’s title may just as well suggest the glacial passage of time—the scope of human history, in which individual voices, like streams, carve paths (impossibly) through earth and stone, winding their way to the vast sea of the present.

Joshwa heads to Hot Creations for his label debut, unveiling his two-track ‘Bass Go Boom’ 12”.

After surging into the spotlight in 2022 via a series of high-profile collaborations alongside Lee Foss, CID, and Martin Ikin, UK-based DJ/producer Joshwa is looking to keep things moving for 2023 as an artist at the top end of Beatport’s top-selling tech house charts. Up next, late March brings a milestone release as he steps out on Hot Creations for the first time, delivering a pair of heavily requested and lively productions across his ‘Bass Go Boom’ EP.
A boisterous and low-end heavy production loaded with vocal samples and spiralling synths, ‘Bass Go Boom’ is a tined for peak time use, while ‘Supersonic’ offers by rolling drums, and vibrant glitches and pops.

After several years of intense performance activity, the Italian sound artist and
vocalist SARA PERSICO releases her debut EP "Boundary", to be followed by a full album.


Born and raised in Naples, Berlin-based sound artist / vocalist SARA PERSICO cut her teeth
experimenting on the fringes of Naples' fiery underground experimental/noise scene, developing a
technique that would integrate her voice with analogue electronics, field recordings, and samples.
PERSICO holds a BA from the Conservatory of Napoli and a Master's Degree from the
Conservatory of Bologna and gained several residencies and scholarships like Temp Studio,
Lisbon (2018), Amplify Berlin (2021), Sonoscopia, Porto (2022), Sardegna Teatro - V2 Unstable,
Argentiera (2022). She presented her work in festival and events like Ballroom Blitz Beirut, CTM
Festival, Ortigia Sound System Festival/Bosco Colto, Codex Club, Documenta Fifteen, Dancity
Festival, Radical DB, Life Libertas Festival, among others.


As improviser and performer, she has collaborated with a wide spectrum of artists, joining EVELYN
SAYLOR's vocal ensemble for CATERINA BARBIERI's acclaimed "light-years" show at Rewire
Festival and London's Southbank Centre, and worked on projects alongside THE EX's ANDY
MOOR, TONY ELIEH (KARKHANA), LUDWIG WANDINGER, DIRAR KALASH, ELVIN BRANDHI,
RECORDAT, and many others.

She's also a fearless DJ who's able to straddle vastly different worlds, offering just as much
attention to abstract electronic sounds as she does bass-heavy club music, noise, and vocal
experiments. She is currently a resident on Bethlehem's Radio Alhara.

All this energy and experience radiates from her solo debut "Boundary": PERSICO's expressive
vocals play a central role, but her command of precisely sculpted electronic textures and dynamic
rhythmic structures is just as crucial to the overall experience.
Deconstructed beats, experimental voice, harmonic music, distorted rhythms craft a dense
introspective work that explores intimately the boundaries of the self. Identity rupture as a survival
technique, a voice-research climax with an unconventional approach - multi-faceted ideas melt in a
heavy-aesthetical 6 track solo EP that brings together different styles like noise and clubby sounds.

On Al Hadr, Sabrina Bellaouel taps into myriad influences: from spirituality, astrology to club culture, romance, the body and self-love. Creating a balance between places, identities and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she’s finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future.

Following two solo EPs, also on InFiné — 2020’s We Don’t Need To Be Enemies and 2021’s Libra — the French-Algerian producer and vocalist’s unique style of electronic R&B blossoms with Al Hadr, a 13-track album featuring collaborations with dance producer Basile3, experimental club DJ and writer Crystallmess, jazz musician Monomite and pop singer Bonnie Banane, among others.

Born, raised and based in Bagneux, outside the southern périphérique of Paris, Bellaouel lives between worlds. At home, her Algerian heritage and Muslim faith have fused tight familial bonds and a keen sense of history and culture; as “Berbers”, she speaks French and Arabic. In her headphones, she finds comfort in the sparse experimentalism of Radiohead and romantic tales of Jill Scott. On the hot club dance floors of Paris, driving house beats connect her to her body.

In swirling these private and public passions together on Al Hadr — which translates from Arabic as “the present time” — Bellaouel is the most vulnerable she’s ever been on record. Classic neo-soul and silken R&B blend with club electronics. Tender harmonies are sung and rhymes are spoken in English, French and Arabic, exploring love, faith and identity. Samples of drum machines are the backbone for wisps of woodwind, strings, keys and environmental ‘found sounds’, including Bellaouel’s own live recordings.

Creating a balance between places, identities and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she’s finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future.

We're glad to welcome St. David in the Groovin new releases series.
Davide Disanto aka St. David is dj, producer and musician born in Bari, Italy in the early 90's.

His production style is groovy and heavy stomping with classic drums, disco jazz samples and old school Akai Mpc rhythms which perfectly define his classic house signature.
Timeless EP is definitely a great example of St. David house style which is a perfect mix of classic deep-house combined with live instruments. Not to miss !

First time on vinyl, expanded version of Japan-only CD album from 2006! Now a double LP with unreleased tracks on audiophile grade colored vinyl (Disc 1: Opaque Baby Blue, Disc 2: Opaque Brown) The Jungle Bros embraced of a range of styles -- including house music, Afrocentric philosophy, a James Brown fixation, and of course, the use of jazz sample , on this reissue double LP Release on Colored Audiophile grade Vinyl , the I got U album is remastered and re-released with additional tracks .Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam), and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Known as the pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hip-hop group to collaborate with a house-music producer. The trio released their debut album, Straight out the Jungle in July 1988. Their hip-house club hit single, "I'll House You" was added to the album in late-1988 reissues. Fostered by Kool DJ Red Alert, the Jungle Brothers success would pave the way for De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and eventually the Native Tongues collective that they founded. Hip-Hop-House with a jazzy feel including "I Got U", a re-recorded "Sunshine" and four bonus tracks/versions. -- The Jungle Bros embrace of a range of styles -- including house music, Afrocentric philosophy, a James Brown fixation, and of course, the use of jazz samples -- _John Bush, All Music

Pink Vinyl
Canadian producer Dylan Khotin-Foote has kept his Khotin alias going for the better part of a decade; the impressionistic electronic project shifts with the movements in his life. Sometimes it leads, like when the club-friendly grooves of 2014's Hello World immersed him in the heart of Vancouver's underground dance scene, and sometimes it follows, like 2018's Beautiful You, a downtempo salve for DJ fatigue His melodic sensibility and playful ear for atmosphere remain the rippling core of the project's fingerprint; whether beat-driven or ambient, a foggy smear or a dusted and pristine print, a Khotin track has a distinct and instantly recognizable swirl. During and after the 2020 release of Finds You Well, his second LP on Ghostly International, Khotin-Foote settled back into a slower vibe in his hometown of Ed- monton. Even before the pandemic, his pivots to softer production, and away from DJing, left him with fewer opportunities in Vancouver and club bookings overall, and as a self-identifying introvert, he was fine with that. But the change of pace did open space for Khotin-Foote to grapple with concepts of adulthood and career. At his lowest, he almost walked off this musical path altogether; instead, he doubled down on the craft _ the tone, pacing, and dynamism of new material _ arriving at a definitive full-length. With Release Spirit, Khotin releases himself from the pressure of expectation, fusing and refining everything we know about his music. The warmth and familiarity of Khotin's dreamy, dulcet style meet new ideas and frameworks, a natural progression, a modest revelation; Khotin confirms it is okay to move slowly and he's never sounded better doing it. The album title borrows from the "release spirit" mechanic in the video game World of Warcraft. When players die, they are prompted to release their spirit and return as ghosts to find their corpses and come back to life. Khotin sees it as a worthy metaphor for the impending change his return home presented and the resulting process of purging artistic expectations to find his creative self again. On this go- around, he is freer, more playful, and more intentional within his palette of warped synth, breakbeats, and piano sounds _ including the classic Casio SK-1 presets he's used since the start _ mingling with wistful samples, field recordings, and other abstract snippets. For the first time, he enlisted Nik Kozub to do the mix and assist with sequencing. Khotin-Foote has long worked with the Edmonton-based musician and engineer in the mastering phase, as well as their days co-running the label Normals Welcome, and this time was able to involve his ears earlier given their newfound proximity. "I think it's my best sounding record to date." We begin on "HV Road" or Happy Valley Road, where Khotin-Foote spent time during a family vacation in British Columbia's Okanagan Lake. His plans to record crickets at night are quickly foiled by his younger siblings; the cute exchange orients the listener to a core memory of sorts, setting the tone of universally understood warmth and wonder that has defined some of Khotin's most transportive tracks. Hazy percussion takes hold, and we are swept further into the wisp of "Lovely," a grooving, melodic standout built on the interplay between the beat and human voice-like hums. Khotin knows this zone well; equally suited for a reverie or a club warm-up. The bubbling atmosphere and absurdity of "3 pz" offer a cosmic/comic interlude and also speak to reflections on his family's move to Canada two generations ago, and the audio tutorials they used to learn English. "I can only imagine my grandpar- ents repeating some of the bizarre phrases." "Fountain, Growth" finds Khotin in collaboration with Montreal's Tess Roby (Dawn to Dawn) for the project's first-ever vocal track. Roby's soft cadence echoes atop spiraling air pockets of rhythmic production, lending a breezy, almost shoegaze pop feel. Throughout the single and the album, wind gusts between the compositional layers, akin to the roaming spirits of its namesake, curving around the birdsong of "Life Mask" and seamlessly reaching "Unlimited <3." The latter bumps in slow motion; disembodied whirrs from his Casio collide with 808 drums and sub-bass for a vibe that teeters on trap and instrumental hip-hop. Release Spirit rests in a dream sequence. Oscillating synth lines dance around the heartbeat of "Techno Creep," a hyperactive REM state before the digitized ambient sprawl of "My Same Size." In the final pass, Khotin imagines transcontinental travel from the glow of his screen. He recorded "Sound Gathering Trip" to soundtrack a genre of YouTube videos he's taken to that follows train routes through Europe and Japan. The scene is serene and moving; piano keys warble as static-filled sound design shimmers off the rails, from cityscapes to the countryside, an introspective ride through a world beyond his bedroom. It doubles as an apt parting image for Khotin's project as a whole: dreaming big but happiest when riffing on the details, shaping environments from the inside out. Over the last decade, he has stretched from his core in Edmonton, leaving a trace in Vancouver and beyond; but when all signs point home, he loops back to see it all from a different vantage, revitalized, refined, and free.

Canadian producer Dylan Khotin-Foote has kept his Khotin alias going for the better part of a decade; the impressionistic electronic project shifts with the movements in his life. Sometimes it leads, like when the club-friendly grooves of 2014's Hello World immersed him in the heart of Vancouver's underground dance scene, and sometimes it follows, like 2018's Beautiful You, a downtempo salve for DJ fatigue. His melodic sensibility and playful ear for atmosphere remain the rippling core of the project's fingerprint; whether beat-driven or ambient, a foggy smear or a dusted and pristine print, a Khotin track has a distinct and instantly recognizable swirl. During and after the 2020 release of Finds You Well, his second LP on Ghostly International, Khotin-Foote settled back into a slower vibe in his hometown of Ed- monton. Even before the pandemic, his pivots to softer production, and away from DJing, left him with fewer opportunities in Vancouver and club bookings overall, and as a self-identifying introvert, he was fine with that. But the change of pace did open space for Khotin-Foote to grapple with concepts of adulthood and career. At his lowest, he almost walked off this musical path altogether; instead, he doubled down on the craft _ the tone, pacing, and dynamism of new material _ arriving at a definitive full-length. With Release Spirit, Khotin releases himself from the pressure of expectation, fusing and refining everything we know about his music. The warmth and familiarity of Khotin's dreamy, dulcet style meet new ideas and frameworks, a natural progression, a modest revelation; Khotin confirms it is okay to move slowly and he's never sounded better doing it. The album title borrows from the "release spirit" mechanic in the video game World of Warcraft. When players die, they are prompted to release their spirit and return as ghosts to find their corpses and come back to life. Khotin sees it as a worthy metaphor for the impending change his return home presented and the resulting process of purging artistic expectations to find his creative self again. On this go- around, he is freer, more playful, and more intentional within his palette of warped synth, breakbeats, and piano sounds _ including the classic Casio SK-1 presets he's used since the start _ mingling with wistful samples, field recordings, and other abstract snippets. For the first time, he enlisted Nik Kozub to do the mix and assist with sequencing. Khotin-Foote has long worked with the Edmonton-based musician and engineer in the mastering phase, as well as their days co-running the label Normals Welcome, and this time was able to involve his ears earlier given their newfound proximity. "I think it's my best sounding record to date." We begin on "HV Road" or Happy Valley Road, where Khotin-Foote spent time during a family vacation in British Columbia's Okanagan Lake. His plans to record crickets at night are quickly foiled by his younger siblings; the cute exchange orients the listener to a core memory of sorts, setting the tone of universally understood warmth and wonder that has defined some of Khotin's most transportive tracks. Hazy percussion takes hold, and we are swept further into the wisp of "Lovely," a grooving, melodic standout built on the interplay between the beat and human voice-like hums. Khotin knows this zone well; equally suited for a reverie or a club warm-up. The bubbling atmosphere and absurdity of "3 pz" offer a cosmic/comic interlude and also speak to reflections on his family's move to Canada two generations ago, and the audio tutorials they used to learn English. "I can only imagine my grandpar- ents repeating some of the bizarre phrases." "Fountain, Growth" finds Khotin in collaboration with Montreal's Tess Roby (Dawn to Dawn) for the project's first-ever vocal track. Roby's soft cadence echoes atop spiraling air pockets of rhythmic production, lending a breezy, almost shoegaze pop feel. Throughout the single and the album, wind gusts between the compositional layers, akin to the roaming spirits of its namesake, curving around the birdsong of "Life Mask" and seamlessly reaching "Unlimited <3." The latter bumps in slow motion; disembodied whirrs from his Casio collide with 808 drums and sub-bass for a vibe that teeters on trap and instrumental hip-hop. Release Spirit rests in a dream sequence. Oscillating synth lines dance around the heartbeat of "Techno Creep," a hyperactive REM state before the digitized ambient sprawl of "My Same Size." In the final pass, Khotin imagines transcontinental travel from the glow of his screen. He recorded "Sound Gathering Trip" to soundtrack a genre of YouTube videos he's taken to that follows train routes through Europe and Japan. The scene is serene and moving; piano keys warble as static-filled sound design shimmers off the rails, from cityscapes to the countryside, an introspective ride through a world beyond his bedroom. It doubles as an apt parting image for Khotin's project as a whole: dreaming big but happiest when riffing on the details, shaping environments from the inside out. Over the last decade, he has stretched from his core in Edmonton, leaving a trace in Vancouver and beyond; but when all signs point home, he loops back to see it all from a different vantage, revitalized, refined, and free.

At the very coalface of the UK rave/breakbeat/techno/call it what you like scene since the 1990s, Jerome Hill is something of a hidden treasure amongst the plethora of DJs and producers to have dropped both bangers and bloopers over the ensuing three decades. With minimum of fuss and fanfare, Hill has steered record labels like Super Rhythm Trax, Don’t, Fat Hop and Hornsey Hardcore to revered acclaim, as well as firing out a consistent stream of releases for imprints such as Matthew Herbert’s Accidental Jr, Exalt Records, and I Love Acid, to name but a few.

Surprisingly, ‘Flow Mechanics’ is Hill’s debut album after a production career that kicked off in 1998 as one half of Groove Asylum. And its collection of unabashed acid and rave bangers is a perfect fit for the Hypercolour label, whose personnel over the last few years has included Luke Vibert, DMX Krew, Shelley Parker and Gary Gritness. Tracks produced directly for club play; the album features 8 cuts destined to fit in cross-genre sets.

With pumping electro cuts such as ‘Deafening Lull’ and ‘Knob Jitter’, four to the floor acid stompers like ‘Walk The Plank’, the mutant garage of ‘Brought Up Badly’ and the house groover ‘Stax Had The Funk’, ‘Flow Mechanics’ is a joyous romp through rave’s sound palette, replete with playful samples and skits (featured on the vinyl LP version), and a mischievous demeanour that affords the listener an lively album that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

REPRESSED

Defending the 2014 titles for both DMC World DJ Championship and the Battle for World Supremacy. The only DJ in history to win the UK DJ Championsh and Battle for UK Supremacy 2 years running. Ritchie Ruftone brings a skip proof DJ battle tool.

Both sides of the vinyl contain the same scratch samples, one side is 4/4 at 100 bpm and the other utilizing 3/4 ultra-pitch. The 'go to tool' tool for all your scratching needs, regardless of bmp tempos. All samples land on 6 and 12 o'clock. Drop the needle anywhere and practice yo cuts!

Back in 2010 Caribou's Dan Snaith hosted a remix competition for his track 'Sun' from his then-new album Swim. The winner was an unknown producer called altrice.

Hailing from Tucson, Arizona of Iranian/Mexican descent, altrice took the bright euphoric highs of the original and crumbled them into rumbling lows, the crystalline edges becoming rough and undefined. Along with a bursting goody-bag of prizes, Snaith also provided altrice with the stems for the rest of Swim and the offer to remix the whole album track-by-track, creating 'stem'. Aside from a further dream-come-true remix of Radiohead, this is largely the last we heard from altrice in the past 12 years.

A year and a half ago though, having kept up correspondence with Snaith over the years, altrice began sending new material. With encouragement from Snaith he eventually wound up with an EP which has since become essential DJ material for Snaith and the cohort of friends he's shared it with, as well as appearing in Leon Vynehall's Radio 1 Residency, KH (Four Tet)'s recent Essential Mix and more.

With three tracks already released from the EP receiving further DJ support from Avalon Emerson, Floating Points, Yu Su, Sofia Kourtesis, Mano Le Tough and more, today the EP is released in full officially via Snaith's own Jiaolong label. compciter is a collection of music that for the first time is entirely altrice's own sound, alluring and off-kilter, a wealth of sounds and styles that are tied together by an irresistible warmth.

Speaking of the EP, altrice says:

"This EP is the result of allowing my stylistic boundaries to be nudged in a new direction, putting away a self-inflicted notion that I’m only fluent in certain subgenres of electronic music. I made some production choices that, for better or worse, will make this project stand out. I’ve been overwhelmed by the reactions in clubs and at festivals, and individuals reaching out with kind words about the music. It’s surreal."
From the huddled and obscured yet comforting vocal samples - described by Pitchfork as "a beacon of light in an uncertain landscape" - of 'bda creature' to the swinging 90s eurodance drums of 'places faces' and the way the welcoming guitar melody and soulful vocals of 'eyes' gives way to a full on bass pummel, the tracks that have been released so far from the EP are already causing a stir both on and off the dancefloor. Today, the chopped up vocals and vast roomy sound of 'yoni' along with '1609km' - which would almost be straightforward house if it didn't pull the rug out to make way for delicate piano and harmonica flourishes - complete a set that fulfils a promise 12 years in the making..

Scene Unseen return with their second release, following the debut release from Jinjé and this time we see a release from a pioneer in the Chilean electronic music and Hip-Hop scenes, DJ Raff.

Having released more recently on the label Big in Japan (the previous label from the Scene Unseen camp), with his beautiful Resistancia EP, the label were keen to welcome him back onboard for the new project.

Raff’s routes were originally in the Hip-Hop scene back in his native, Chile. His influence of this scene cannot be understated, as his name appeared in the credits of over 50 Hip-Hop releases coming out of the country. Most notably with Anna Tijoux and Makiza, as well as seeing his own track ‘Latino & Proud’ used in the EA Sports game, FIFA 2012 and then later as the theme music for the Comedy Central show, Broad City.

As time moved on, so did Raff’s sound and he started to move into more of an instrumental focus, moving away from any vocals and the Hip-Hop rhythms. Since then he has released on Mutante Discos, Nacional Records, Wonderwheel Recordings and his own Pirotecnia label, among others. As well as remixing for the mighty Dengue Dengue Dengue, Landikhan and more.

DJ Raff has played events like Sonar Barcelona, Mutek.ES, Lollapalooza (US, Argentina, Chile), RBMA Mexico and Red Bull also invited him to mentor at the 2015 RBMA Bass Camp academy in Chile. His last album 'Movimiento' was released in 2017 on Nacional records and earnt him a nomination for best electronic music artist at the Pulsar awards in Chile.

Raff’s new EP for Scene Unseen, Estado Líquido, is an EP of true beauty once again, showcasing four tracks that combine his signature Latin American vibes with his hip-hop influences.

The title track opens the EP with the calm samples and inspiration from the sound of the ocean, an emotive nod to the people attempting to travel from Africa to Europe over the years and the struggles they have faced.

“Basta” translates to “Enough” in Spanish, this track is inspired by the large-scale protests in Chile back in 2019 and lasting until March 2020. An electronic hip-hop beat alongside a constant synth arpeggio that was something more common to his early productions. Casualidad is a reference to a more personal stage of Raff’s life, with soft, bright, and uplifting melodies flowing between more fine percussive works.

Final track, Ceremonia, combines percussive African rhythms with melancholic Synth leads and pads, alongside a deep solid bass line and repetitive chants. The repetitive chants and percussions hold together the opposite worlds of happy festive rhythms and nostalgic melodies, taking the song to a place where both feelings combine in harmony.

Artwork is made by DMNC (Francisco Meneses) a designer, art director and VJ from Santiago de Chile. Previous work is linked to 3D animation and he actively collaborates with various electronic music projects across Latin America.

Time to Play Records strikes back with a new 4 tracks ep, late night club-ready, with heavy bass-kicks tracks straight to your chest.

Filippo Tazzer, label manager and executive producer, continues in his search, musical sensitivity and evident production skills. After having entrusted the baptism of the label to Reekee and Colosimo, the moment is propitious to introduce another Italian Producer:
Phonorem, fresh with a new album called “Algorythm”.

Phonorem production skills in those 4 tracks embrace different styles forged by his 90’s hip-hop and drum and bass roots, by mixing synthetizers and drum machines with samples.

SEAMLESS, the track that gives the EP its title, is a deep-house track with double bass – bassline and atmospheric scenarios by manipulating old Italian movie soundtracks samples.

PREE, is a downbeat track which made homage to DJ Premier beats, with some melodies created with a Chinese hammered dulcimer.

FLIP DOWN gives a high contrast experience: fusing a raw drum machine rhytm with dreamy pads and a mysterious vocal.

LOW FAT is a heavy bass kick track with some sythetizers-melodies with a story to tell. With a happy end :)

Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’ label Hot Creations will deliver a combined EP by Aix en Provence-based DJ and producer MALIKK and Marseille-born duo Chicks Luv Us in August. Bridging chunky tech house with dub techno, Can We Dance displays their collective love for bright and playful beats.

On the title track, the producers work in symbiosis to create a club-driven chunker with chopped-up vocal samples and a squishy bassline. Bouncy ‘til the last beat. On the B-side, Chicks Luv Us drop a Balearic-flavoured banger with Makelene. High-pitched vocals pulsate throughout the track, as huge kickdrums and playful sound FX amp up the energy. MALIKK offers a quirky closing track on Walkie Talkie, packed with punchy drums, bleepy percussion and techy vocals—perfectly aligned with Hot Creations’ colourful aesthetic.

Chicks Luv Us are two Marseille-born pals with a penchant for groovy house and minimal techno. Their back catalogue echoes the textures that bring them together as producers, with releases on Loco Dice’s Desolat, Steve Lawler’s Viva Limited and many more. They cut their teeth in DJing during their residency at Spartacus Club in Cabriès in the south of France from 2009 and 2018. Today, the pair continue to grow a legion of international fans while finessing their craft in the studio, and soundtracking dancefloors worldwide. MALIKK is an Aix en Provence-based artist whose early appreciation for 80’s disco, funky and soul still occasionally seeps into his current club-focused music. Previous releases on Hot Creations, Hottrax, Toolroom, and Solotoko display his multi-dynamic palette, nodding to several genres and moods. Having played in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and his native France, MALIKK’s DJ sets reflect his fun and explorative approach, marking him as one of Aix en Provence’s finest exports.

Boggiedown Base has been a producer and remixer since debuting as part of Die Reimbanditen in 1993. His CV includes productions for Die Coolen Säue/DCS, Albino, Chaoze One, and Die Deutsche Reimachse. In 2005 he met the Backspin-Magazine-DJ DJ 12 Finger Dan and the two formed a production duo. As Soulbrotha, the two produced mainly for and with American artists such as Sadat X from Brand Nubian, DJ Premier from Gangstarr, Large Professor, Big Shug, Blaq Poet, Masta Ace, Beneficience, Cella Dwellas, El Da Sensei, Kev Brown, Edo G and much more. The two came into contact with the producer Roccwell from Munich by chance. Through the common love for soul samples, hard drums, the clanking of the E-MU SP-1200, dope raps and spectacular cuts, the idea of a collabo-album came up.

"In Good Company" is a celebration of the classic boom bap sound and comes up with top-class feature guests. Among others, the New York cult rapper J-Live was won for the song "Real Reconize Real". Q Ball & Curt Cazal aka QnC from the legendary D&D Studios in New York show on "Classic Position" why they are still relevant after more than 20 years in the game and the Boston MC M-Dot proves on "Toil" why there is a hype around his person. But there are also other top artists on the guest list, such as DJ Eclipse, DJ Riz or KORE. "In Good Company" is to be understood as a homage to the many rap classics of the last three decades and sees itself in their tradition, but always remains modern thanks to the contributions of many young and talented artists such as Wildelux, Duo Pesci, Resolute or Empulse.

Repress of the 2010 classic “The Jazz Files” by Dexter from the legendary Hi-Hat Club series. Jazz is the subject!

Dexter is taking an new look at the long going love affair between hip-hop and jazz. From Stetsasonic to Gang Starr to Madlib, it is not an easy path to follow, but the 26 year old producer is adding a new and fresh style to it. The sound design of Dexter's "Jazz Files" is dusty but with an unmistakable 2010 twist. As much inspired by Wes Montgomery and Ramsey Lewis as by Sun Ra and Dave Pike, Dexter's tracks are never just "jazzy". They live and breathe jazz by combining the freedom and artisty of jazz with the craft of a free-thinking beatsmith.

And the "Jazz Files" are fun too. By implanting quotes an samples from interviews and tv shows such as the classic NBC program "The Subject Is Jazz", Dexter is telling his own little story of jazz. One that had it's starting point in the massive record collection of his father and grew into shape during a long hot summer blasting nothing but Ahmad Jamal and Sun Ra.

About Dexter: The 26 year old producer, DJ and MC is part of the Wortsport collective from Heilbronn. He has made beats for Morlock Dilemma, Damion Davis, Jaques Shure, Audio 88 & Yassin and Retrogott. He likes Flylo, Madlib and Oh-No as much as libary music, psych rock and Amiga Schlager. Dexter is one of the founding member of the Generation Tapedeck blog and has just started a new project with Suff Daddy.

About the Hi-Hat Club: MPM have teamed up with photographer Robert Winter to take a look behind the beat, into the bedrooms and makeshift studios of today's beat generation. Every Hi-Hat Club volume consits of an LP packaged with Rob's photos and accompanied by more pics on the Hi-Hat Club blog plus additional infos, free beats and drinks. Exhibitions in records stores and galleries are in the making too. Hi-Hat Club parties have been taken place in Cologne and Berlin so far. Watch out for more nights in 2010.

Musically the Hi-Hat Club promotes total artistic freedom. We are not bound to any sound or school. A Hi-Hat Club record can be anything from boom-bap to aqua crunk or whatever is fresh and dope.

Repressed! Illmatic, the 1994 studio debut of Nasir "Nas" Jones, was more than just a critical success for the Queensbridge-based rapper. At a time when East Coast hip-hop was increasingly being taken less seriously than their West Coast counterparts, Illmatic's raw jazz and soul-based production, dire atmosphere and lyrics, coupled with Nas' uncompromising flow was integral in restoring interest in the East Coast as a hotbed of hip-hop artistry. Along with key releases from Wu-Tang Clan and Notorious B.I.G.,it shifted attention away from the funky, dayglo synth-based G-funk coming out of California and back to the grimy streets of New York. After such an unprecedented debut record, expectations were understandably high for Nas' follow-up. What came next threw critics and fans for a loop, but was no less influential than Illmatic, and would become the most commercially successful album in the entirety of Nas' discography. The 1996 sophomore follow-up was titled It Was Written, and in contrast to the urban bleakness of his debut, had Nas dipping his toes into the world of mafioso rap. Amidst production from heavy hitters like Trackmasters, Dr. Dre, L.E.S., Havoc of Mobb Deep, and Illmatic-collaborator DJ Premier, among others, Nas weaves evocative narratives of gang warfare, downtrodden neighborhoods, drug deals gone awry, and gangsta triumph, against a backdrop of samples from Sam Cooke, Etta James, the Isley Brothers, and even Chuck Mangione. It Was Written was not hard up for top-tier guests either, featuring major guest turns from Lauryn Hill and Joel "JoJo" Hailey of K-Ci & JoJo. It also introduced the world to The Firm, the brief Nas-led supergroup featuring rappers AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. It even managed to cause some minor controversy in the hip-hop community for its collaboration with West Coast producer Dr. Dre, at a time when the East Coast/West Coast rap feud was reaching a fever pitch, briefly attracting the ire of one Tupac Shakur. Not only was It Was Written received warmly by critics, but became a major commercial success, reaching the top of the Billboard 200 charts, reaching platinum sales status four times, and alongside albums like Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, helped usher in the era of mafioso rap in the mainstream. It rendered chart hits out of singles like the Eurhythmics-mimicking "Street Dreams", and the Grammy-nominated "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)", and proved to be a major influence on artists like Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco, and many more.

Cyphon Recordings continue their deep dive into the rich heritage of UK and Detroit electronic sounds with their second label release, this time from Danny Was A Drag King label boss DJ Rocca.

Active since the 90s, the Italian producer is a dedicated explorer of the Italo Disco-inspired sounds native to his home. He’s been plotting his sonic journey for decades, making pit stops at labels across Europe including Rekids,Toy Tonics, Slow Motion, Rotten City Records and Roam Recordings. On top of his solo outings, collaboration has played a big role in his production journey to date. He’s worked with artists like Howie B, Jazzanova and Zed Bias, as well as joining forces on ongoing projects with fellow Italian stalwart Daniele Baldelli and Dimitri From Paris, the latter under the name Erodiscotique.

Now back on his solo pursuits for Cyphon, Rocca proves he’s still very much at the top of his game. The four cuts on ‘Code 041’ explore all shades of electro, from raw, old school machine funk to futuristic cosmic sounds. It’s electro done the Rocca way.

The title track sets the tone. An eerie bass line crawls along, providing a bed for reflective pads to glide and mysterious synth sounds and echoing vocal samples to ricochet above. ‘No Gym’ greets us next, bringing that Italo flair Rocca’s mastered so well. It’s the most vibrant track on the release, matching colourful pinging synths and tropical-tinged melodies with a signature driving acid bass line.

On the flip, ‘The Bigger Lake’ takes the EP in a different direction, on a trip through dark glistening pads, tittering percussion and sub aquatic bass before the dusty breaks and moody, jazzy keys of ‘Omega’ bring the release to a close. Mirroring Cyphon’s label ethos, Rocca showcases the best of the past and present of a timeless sound.

Bad Colours is back with his sophomore album, "Always With U," out on Bastard Jazz Recordings in November, 2022. The London-born, Maryland-raised, Brooklyn-based DJ, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist - aka Ibe Soliman - continues to build on the well-deserved acclaim from his 2021 debut LP, "PINK," as well as a slew of standalone singles and collaborations with the likes of Shabazz Palaces, Jarv Dee, and Stas THEE Boss.

"Always With U" sees Ibe further develop his talents as a songwriter and producer, while maintaining the signature balance of banging dance music and dense bars that he's quickly becoming known for. The album expands Ibe's role to a collaborator, band leader, and all-around star-of-the-show; it's certainly still a dance record, but there's also so much more. Live instrumentation accompanies every track, with the notable contributions of Nigerian bassist Akin-Alade Ogo heard across the album, as well as the NY-based saxophonist Carras Paton on the jazzy, upbeat house number, "Heartache + U."

The lead single, "Maybe I Should Move to LA," sees the proudly Brooklyn-based Bad Colours contemplate a move out West – an idea that came about following a trip to LA for the 20 Years of Bastard Jazz anniversary party (which he DJed) in November last year. Bright pads, a thumping four-on-the-floor beat, and a catchy vocal line make it the perfect accompaniment to a top-down joy-ride up PCH. The album's second single, "You Don't Know," features frequent collaborator and PNW darling Jarv Dee, as well as KAS and JVDE who have both been making waves in the Brooklyn scene (KAS for his work with Grammy- nominated producer Harmony Samuels featured on BET, and JVDE as the lead-singer of alternative band Blind Benny). "You Don't Know" turns up the heat with Jarv and KAS trading dense, rapid-fire verses over a high-tempo beat and detuned vocal; the kick cuts out for the bridge, replaced by syncopated keyboard stabs and JVDE's stacked vocals. "You Don't Know" is high-energy hip house at its finest: Super catchy and irresistibly dancey.

The two singles are emblematic of the rest of the album, which largely alternates between vocal and hip house, sometimes jazzy, other times touching on R&B or dancefloor influenced pop. Dave Giles II and Cor.Ece (who recently both contributed to Beyoncé's chart-topping "Renaissance" LP and Honey Dijon's "Work" single) feature on "Flow," while Toribio (of the acclaimed Brooklyn band Conclaves) provides vocals for "Do Better;" both tracks are on the mellower side, reminiscent of late-90s New York mid-tempo garage. Rising artist N.O.V. features on the second track, "Ready," rapping over a bass-heavy beat; MarcusHarmon makes a return after appearing on "PINK," with smooth vocals on the romantic "Come Closer." Aforementioned JVDE can be heard throughout the album, contributing to "You Don't Know," "Flirtation Avenue," and "Easy Come, Easy Go."

While Ibe's career has spanned nearly two decades - as both a DJ (alongside the likes of James Murphy, Mark Ronson, and Q-Tip) and producer (for Kendrick Lamar, Faith Evans, Keyshia Cole, and Rick Ross, among others) - the Bad Colours name only came into being in early 2020, with the debut LP, "PINK," being released in February, 2021 on the Brooklyn tastemaker label Bastard Jazz. By tapping into his deep network of artist friends, Ibe compiled a treasure-trove of vocal samples, snippets, sketches, and fresh instrumental loops into a beautiful debut record that touches on hip-hop, house, and left-field electronic, while remaining danceable.

A slew of singles throughout 2020 and 2021 included "Feelin' Like," featuring the Seattle rapper Jarv Dee, has become an underground hit, popping up everywhere from Best Buy ads, Hulu's "Woke," celebrity Peloton instructor Emma Lovewell's playlist, and even as a soundtrack to the Mayor of Madrid's TikTok video. Most recently, "Feelin' Like" had a prominent placement in the #1 Netflix film "Spiderhead," directed by Joseph Kosinski ("Tron: Legacy;" "Top Gun: Maverick") and starring Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and Jurnee Smollett. The breakout success of "Feelin' Like" further led to a collaborative EP with Jarv Dee, titled "BLAKHOUSE," which saw additional features from fellow PNW natives Shabazz Palaces ("Clouds," featured in Hulu's "Shoresy") and Stas THEE Boss ("Black Skin"). This year, Bad Colours dropped the early Summer banger "Hit The Breaks," and served as the musical director for the influential MADE New York festival, a two-day fashion, music, and arts event presented by Public School NYC and Paypal, that saw performances by Nas, Heron Preston, and Bearcat among others.

"Always With U" is a testament to Bad Colours' versatility as a producer and artist, which has allowed him to bring together such a diverse group of friends and collaborators. Yes, the house and hip-hop roots remain, but "Always With U" shows an evolution of the Bad Colours sound into masterfully crafted dancefloor sounds. It's a truly stunning follow-up from an artist undoubtedly on the rise. The album is out on all platforms, via Bastard Jazz Recordings, November 11th, 2022.