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For the last seven years, sound artist, technologist, and electronic musician Moisés Horta Valenzuela (aka Hexorcismos) has been studying artificial intelligence and generative art, wondering how these new technologies might be augmented into his musical process. Born in Tijuana and currently based in Berlin, Hexorcismos has long attempted to break down the permeable borders between musical styles and expressions, using the spaces in between to reinforce his politics and worldview. And on 'MUTALISMX - becoming sonic network', he expands his vision, inviting artists from across the globe to collaborate on work that questions the biases inherent in AI models, offering a collective alternative that could serve as a blueprint for further research.

The majority of AI art at this stage works with "big data", taking ideas from the cultural canon and muddying them with our contemporary reality. But if we accept that mass culture is always politically biased, always swaying towards historical prejudices, then there must be a counter-narrative. Hexorcismos began to develop a bottom-up approach, using "small data" to interrogate his idiosyncratic approach to art; he built a tool called SEMILLA.AI based on neural audio synthesis that could not only mimic his sonic fingerprint but transform it into another. So when he offered the synth to his network of collaborators, he gave them the option of either using only their data or sharing the signatures of each other artist involved in the project, blurring their identities into a mutual voice.

The result is a compilation that unspools with the coherence and fluidity of a single-artist album or adventurous DJ mix, genreless and boundless but unified by a singular message. Hunanese-American artist Kloxii Li for example takes rugged percussion and tense, industrial ambience, smudging her soundscape into a swirling gust of ghostly dissonance. Hexorcismos himself contributes two compositions: the lengthy, hypnotic 'Acaso de veras se vive con raíz en la Tierra', an AI-powered scramble of his pointed tribal guarachero experiments; and 'Interferencias', a collaboration with Mexican club veteran Bryan Dálvez, aka El Irreal Veintiuno that drives intense dancefloor rhythms into a dense haze of frozen drones and radio static. Elsewhere, Berlin-based Lebanese artist and writer Jessika Khazrik dissolves her voice into a mesh of obscured rhythms and dissociated whirrs, blending the organic with the artificial but retaining an overpowering sense of humanity.

Some artists were drawn to the nebulous aspects of the technology, searching for truth in a soup of different sounds, while others, such as KMRU, used Hexorcismos's synthesizer the examine their output. On 'hidden options', the Kenyan sound artist fed his immense catalog into the neural net, bringing out his mannerisms and tendencies in the process. Each track is singular but myriad, prompting both mutual respect and a sonic becoming, a feedback process between the artist and the tool, the individual and the collective. Data sets are made by people, and by engaging directly with musicians, Hexorcismos suggests a new way of utilizing a technology demonized and glorified without careful examination. Each artist owns their AI model, and alongside the album Hexorcismos will release SEMILLA.AI to the public (with custom-made models to start the process), allowing anyone to access this revolutionary technology.

Even the album's artwork reflects the political message, conceptualized by Chilean duo hypereikon, who used AI processes to develop a visual reflection of the technology and its possibilities. Operating outside of academia and capitalist enterprises, MUTUALISMX proposes an alternative future - one without borders that's not beholden to the Western canon, where independent labor can be prioritized and celebrated, and where creativity can truly flourish.

Repress!

HI-LO returns to Adam Beyer’s label for a sharp new outing ‘WANNA GO BANG’. The new track comes almost a year on from his energetic Drumcode debut ‘Hypnos’, which was followed by his remix of Adam Beyer & DJ Rush’s ‘Restore My Soul’. Oliver Heldens’ techno alias HI-LO has been building steam over the last 12 months, remixing Nina Kraviz’s ‘Skyscrapers’, sharing line-ups with everyone from Erol Alkan to PanPot and Enrico Sangiuliano on the world’s biggest stages, while also collaborating with Reinier Zonneveld, Eli Brown, and Space 92. All the while he’s kept in contact with Beyer, a sophomore offering on Drumcode always on the cards. ‘WANNA GO BANG’ is a high-powered Chicago-influenced weapon, that takes its vocal from the DJ Deeon classic ‘2 B Free’. HI-LO’s cut sees the vocal combine with a volley of drums throughout the mid-section, which adds a clever dynamic energy to the track. Already teased in HI-LO’s sets, and widely supported by the underground’s finest including Beyer, Amelie Lens, Enrico Sangiuliano, ANNA, and many more, ‘Wanna Go Bang’ is set to dominate clubs worldwide. Included in the pack, ‘LOKOMOTIF’ is five minutes of pure machine funk as HI-LO crafts a fantastic little groover driven by 90s house synths stabs. The track which has been in the works for the past two years has been teased in HI-LO’s sets over the summer, also garnering support from Carl Cox. On both tracks, Oliver Heldens says “‘WANNA GO BANG’ is my take on Chicago legend DJ Deeon’s classic vocoder vocal sample (from his 1992 song “2 B Free”, but it’s pitched down 5 semitones now which gives it such a dark vibe). I’ve always wanted to make my own DJ weapon version of it since I heard Bjarki’s trippy version in 2015, and I’m really happy with how it turned out, it’s such a monster! “LOKOMOTIF” is a high-energy groover, driven by 90s House synth stabs, funky percussion and banging drums, and it sits very nicely in between Techno and House. Both are really ‘dance floor’ focused, so I’m very pleased that many noteworthy DJs have been banging out these tracks in their sets already pre-release. And I couldn’t be happier than to see them released on one of my all-time favorite labels, Drumcode!”

Clear Vinyl

Blue Lake is the musical moniker of American born, Copenhagen based multidisciplinary artist and musician Jason Dungan, who signs to the Tonal Union imprint for the release of his new longform album ‘Sun Arcs’. It follows 2022’s release ‘Stikling’, earning a nomination for ‘Album of the Year’ at the Danish Music Awards plus warm praise from The Hum blog and musicians and DJs alike including Jack Rollo (Time is Away/NTS) and Carla dal Forno. A self taught player, Dungan began freely experimenting with self-built multi-string instruments, preferring to build his own hybrid 48-string zither and working in the realms of left-field ambient music, off kilter folk and improvised acoustic minimalism.

The starting point of ‘Sun Arcs’ saw Jason travel for a week alone to Andersabo, a cabin set in the idyllic Swedish woods just outside of Unnaryd, known also as the music project, festival and residency space which has been run by Dungan since 2016, hosting artists like Sofie Birch, Johan Carøe and Ellen Arkbro. Whilst writing 1-2 pieces per day, a conscious decision was made to leave behind everyday distractions and shut out the outside world to instead focus on the natural passage of time as Dungan recalls: “My only sense of time came from these daily walks out in the woods with my dog, and an awareness of the sun’s path as it moved across the sky each day.”

The album’s immersive world unfolds with the opener ‘Dallas’, an ode to his home state and a musical synthesis of these two disparate spaces (Texas and Denmark), the touchstones of Dungan’s life. A folk-esque single acoustic builds to a flowing arrangement of clarinets, organ and cello drones coupled with percussion. ‘Green-Yellow Field’ chimes in as the first of two solo oriented zither recordings twinned with the dreamlike title track ‘Sun Arcs’, both densely rich as cascading and overlapping harmonic tones resound. ‘Bloom’ emerges with a krautrock psyche before an eruption of cello drones, slide guitar and free-ranging zither playing, ushering in the anticipation of spring. With half of the recordings conceived in Andersabo, Jason returned to Copenhagen to form the album's centre piece ‘Rain Cycle’ which features a tempered Roland drum machine alongside shifting zither improvisations. ‘Writing’ explores the shimmering harp-like qualities of sweeping playing figurations with Dungan mapping out adjusted tuning “zones” on the zither for unconventional but creatively liberating effects. ‘Fur’ captures the feeling of openness and the momentum of time, seeing Dungan perform waves of solo clarinet, often in one takes and embellished with textural drones, a zither solo, and layers of guitar. ‘Wavelength’ the album's closer is fondly inspired by the film works of Michael Snow and Don Cherry’s seminal live album ‘Blue Lake’ (1974), as it builds out from a drone-generated zither chord and features an alto recorder solo. Dungan found a deep connection to Cherry’s stripped back performance ethos, focusing on the core beauty of minimal instrumentation creating a genre-less meeting between folk and jazz. A dialogue is formed between the solo and the bandlike performances, interlinked in a geographical duality with all finding a sense of commonplace as musical sketches of visited landscapes. The bountiful instrumentation ebbs and flows as further layers emerge with Dungan constructing his material much like an artist would, recording and reviewing, adding and subtracting.

Musically it portrays a form of double life led by an American-identifying person living in Scandinavia, and a new found presence in Denmark, seeking out underdeveloped marshlands and barren stretches of beach adrift from other rhythms and distractions. Highlighting their individual and potent importance Dungan concludes: “Both places feel like “me”, I think on some level the music is always some kind of self-portrait.” ‘Sun Arcs’ depicts the intricate balance of nature’s cycles and the paths outlined by the seasons, from a winter dormancy to a warm sun drenched scene. The album scales new glorying heights and further defines Dungan’s musical narrative, inhabiting a unique space in left-field, improvised and experimental music, borning his most accomplished compositions to date. A singular and visionary expression, drawing on an array of instruments and sound worlds with a renewed sense of joy and discovery.

The album's rich tapestry was mixed by Jeff Zeigler (Laraaji, Mary Lattimore, Kurt Vile /Steve Gunn) and mastered by Stephan Mathieu (Kali Malone, KMRU, Félicia Atkinson).

Agrio is a duo from Madrid, Spain and using a "what if..." methodology they write instrumental songs that they send later to a revolving cast of their talented and generous friends so they can add their magic. With this in mind they sent music to MARK LANEGAN, Enablers frontman PETE SIMONELLI & to SCOTT MCCLOUD from Girls Against Boys, Soulside and so much more. 'El Amigo Americano' is the result of these collaborations, 10 tracks of some of the most beautifully striking music around. The work with Mark Lanegan and Pete Simonelli were originally released as two vinyl EPs and Scott McCloud as a digital EP. EP 1 - EP one 'La Murga Ep' with Mark Lanegan was their debut on feb. 2020. EP2 - followed it that same autumn with The Thin Man EP featuring Pete Simonelli (Enablers). Both were originally released on vinyl via the San Francisco based label Broken Clover Records. These records sold out fast. EP 3 - "Repeat to Infinity EP" (digital only), with Scott McCloud's (Girls Against Boys, New Wet Kojak, Paramount Styles) on voice and guitar. The three EPs are compiled together on one LP as "El Amigo Americano". La Murga Ep* + The Thin Man Ep** + Repeat To Infinity EP*** = EL AMIGO AMERICANO AA I. Nike Italy France *** II. Dj's In Heaven*** III. People Used To Dream*** IV. A Mayores * V. Nomeolvides ** B I. A Drink Of Poison Water * II. Cisnes * III. The Scales Of Embrace ** IV. Waking ∦ ∆** The album is mastered by John McBain (Monster Magnet, Wellwater Conspiracy) Agrio is David Flores and Jorge Fuertes with Mark Lanegan, Pete Simonelli and Scott McCloud.

Currently celebrating ten years of releasing music on vinyl & cassette and following hype for recent releases from Moscow (via Tallinn)’s Galun (glagol album) and Osaka's Kiji Suedo (Hosek EP & Riot album), Edinburgh's Hobbes Music label continues to mine a leftfield seam with this brand new album from singer/songwriter George Demure (Tirk, Output) aka DJ/producer George T (Greco Roman, Optimo), better known as George Thomson to his mum. And it’s another absolute peach if you have a taste for post-club sounds of a more leftfield persuasion.

This is the follow-up to his 'The Record Store' EP which came out via George's own All Noise imprint in 2021. He has also released the Roll On, King's Cross single via Hobbes Music under his George T moniker last November (plus various bits for the Paradise Palms and Ramrock labels in the interim).

“It all began with the Record Store EP in 2021,” explains George. “Limit my options. No samples, one drum machine, two analog synths (mono and poly), computer simply to record. I was so happy with the results I began with what you hear today. Same drums, same machines (or lack thereof) maybe some real percussion and melodica but hey, I only answer to me.”

Imagine, if you will, Scott Walker jamming with Kruder & Dorfmeister in a very small studio…

Bonus Album ‘Dandy In Dub’ features dubs, instrumentals and bonus tracks, with yet more regular flashes of pure brilliance. Be sure to check out opener 'After' and closer 'Blue Lou', which sound like George might well have sound-tracked some French 80s flick of the 'cinema du look' period (Betty Blue, Diva et al) in another life. Plus ‘Mr Minilogue’ with its clarinet-like synth.... Does it really get any better than this?!!

Sleeve art by the amazingly talented Bernie Reid, another local legend.

Feedback/Reviews to date:

'He's so talented!' JD TWITCH (Optimo)
'Love the LP. Sounds really together, production is awesome. I love the aesthetic. Vocal tracks sit nicely with instrumentals. Vocals sound light-hearted' THE MAGHREBAN
"On a bobbled and float-y, light sunbeam dappled vapor of deep house, garage, electro, kosmische, leftfield pop electronica, dub and new wave (both the German and UK’s), the Edinburgh DJ/producer and singer-songwriter George Thomson continues the good work he laid down on the last EP... It’s a most lovely, swimmingly blend of motivations, feels and deep grooves that effortlessly comes together in a generous offering of electronic music: the very epitome of the Hobbes label’s remit in delivering leftfield unique visions of now techno, house and club sounds." MONOLITH COCKTAIL
‘I love the album’ LEO MAS
‘Lovely stuff’ S/A/M (Music For Dreams/DK, Cafe Del Mar, Pikes, Playasol Radio and many more, Ibiza)
Plus play/s from Andy Wilson on ‘Balearia’ Ibiza Sonica Radio
+ DJ Dribbler (Pikes, Ibiza // Paradise Lost, Red Light Radio, Pure)

Jonny From Space is the moniker of Miami-based producer, DJ, and co-founder of Impacto, Jonathan Trujillo.

After two EP’s on Omnidisc and a few more self-released, Incienso is excited to announce his debut solo LP, ‘back then I didn’t but now I do’.

Loping drum loops, warbling synth lines, sun-streaked pads and voice amble into the depths of the humid world Jonny’s music inhabits, where tempos shift and often float off into the ether altogether.

In the words of JFS himself- this album is “built 2 chill”

All & Nothing has become one of the icons of Spanish underground rock of the 70s and their records are among the most sought-after pieces by collectors. With a short discography consisting of just two singles - one of them was even released in Argentina with an alternative cover- the band All & Nothing has become one of the icons of Spanish underground rock of the 70s and their records are among the most sought-after pieces by collectors. The group was really nothing more than a studio project, put together by journalist and record producer José Luis Alvarez, who never performed in public. Their goal was to record songs in the same style that the emerging Andalusian rock scene was already doing in the south of Spain under the influence of the latest international rock trends -imported through the US military bases- and the local musical idiosyncrasy. Although most of the recorded songs - some of whom remained unreleased for years- succeeded in reflecting the original goal, for this first single of All & Nothing their producer instructed the band to record something similar to Iron Butterfly's classic 'In-a-gadda-da-vida', and 'Underground Vibrations nº 2' seems to be a very accomplished effort. The record has become a very sought-after item for those collecting the lesser-known side of 70s Spanish underground rock. The stunning rhythm section on both sides of the single plus the overwhelming organ solos and firing wah-wah and fuzz guitars explain the high interest on this elusive 45, a must in the top DJs record boxes. We are happy to reissue this amazing All & Nothing debut 7" for the first time, remastered from the original tapes and featuring the 1970 sleeve artwork.

Specimen Records will kick off with "Zero Plague" January 2024 after a long hiatus from 2022 through to 2024. Specimen are now proud to present such a prolific artist as MANASYt whose level production has reached so many labels, along with extensive Dj work throughout Europe.

Zero Plague - another neurovision broadcast by replicant agent MANASYt. The opener - is a dystopian death march anthem, guided by a rolling snare, thick kick and throbbing bass. Arpeggios sounding like wasps on acid hover in the background, adding to the atmosphere of imminent danger!
Angellust - a hectic breathless industrial electro monster. Fuzzy distorted bass is driving us through a dark desolate territory. Complete with chaotic claps, minor synth stabs, a siren-like clinical pad and Petar's hopeless vocals (reminiscent of his days fronting metal bands).

Next is the Pestilent Mix for SNS Sensation new wave masterpiece "Mirror Radio". Sebastian is also the voice of UK duo Heartbreak (with synth wizard Ali Renault). Petar says : "It's a very impulsive work that sounds nothing like the original! Blending two different beats, mangled voices and psychotic off-kilter leads. Total madness."

First on the flip is the Novichok Mix for Poladroid. Petar and Vadim go way back to Roulette Rekordz in 2003, so this colab is natural, to say the least. It's the only time where the tempo slows down a bit on this EP. Bubbling worm-like bass, metallic percussion, cold windy pads and a classic electro lead take you on a journey to a soulless barren planet.

At last "In Deep Tongues". A heady schizophrenic exercise. A commanding beat, a grotesque polka bass followed by a paranoid synth lead pull you through a darkened maze with no exit. Underwater gurgles and fearsome corroded effects fill the air, no escape!

After 20 years, MANASYt hasn't slowed down or mellowed his intense immoderate sound one bit! And "Zero Plague" is undoubtedly a true testament to that!

He is an artist who couldn't care less about trends or hype, and whose main driving forces authenticate passion for this genre. Some of his tunes resemble future horror movie soundtrack, others a visit to a mental clinic, but most sound like what hostile aliens would listen to while attacking Earth.

Bulgarian dark mastermind Petar Tassev Manayst has been rocking his brand of Nuroelktro since 2003. He is responsible for a vast array of menacing titles on labels such as Touching' Bass, Kommando 6, Musar, and the infamous Bunker, along with 40 others.
MANASYt is currently based in Xiamen, China.

Part two of the retrofuturistic 12’’ compilation series introduced by To Pikap Records. LEGACY inaugurates the release with an acid JeffMillsian ode to Detroit’s techno-electro sound, Future Draft takes us back to Europe with a euphoric broken house, while The Jaffa Kid concludes side A with a number of quirky melodies floating over Autechre’s (or Aphex Twin’s) memories of the genre previously known as idm. On side B, Odpein updates the Drexciyan electro palette slipping in elements of Chicago’s footwork combined with heavy acid bass, subsequently Dj Tsoug’s misty atmosphere crawls over some dry city bringing catharsis with its most anticipated drops of acid and finally happy99 enforces us to open up our eyes with a stripped and muffled techno-acid anthem of the future. It’s a must have till the next one!

Sharpshooters is the long-awaited collaborative album from Destruct & DJ Zole. The two Natives from Southern California who have been true contributors to the Los Angeles Hip-Hop scene for over a decade now. Sharpshooters showcases a vast arrangement of styles blended into one solid LP with a hint of nostalgia hence the title of the project.

Sharpshooters while paying homage to the golden era of Hip-Hop also has a fresh perspective on how the culture sounds today and at the same time inspired one of the greatest wrestlers, Bret Hart.

In a refreshing way it all culminates into a unique experience for the listener with amazing guest features to back it, at the end of the day Sharpshooters represents two genuine and diverse artists entering their prime and creating a timeless piece of art appropriately named after a legend’s finishing move.

Sharpshooters is released on vinyl by the label Mind The Wax as of March 8th, 2024 and includes 11 tracks.
Destruct has been in the music scene and has released over 30 studio albums including two with his live band "Inner City Soul". He has been blessed as well to run his own studio "Area 52" where he provides recording and executive producer services. He also has a film production company now called “The Resident People” where he has directed and filmed several music videos and short films with much more to come.

By today, Destruct has rocked hundreds of shows with legends like KRS-One, Slum Village, Dilated Peoples, Rakim, Psycho Realm, Method Man from Wu-Tang & more. He has also collaborated with artists such as Grammy award-winning Sirah, Sean Price, Kev Brown, Blu and Exile to just name a few.

All and all Destruct is here to be much more than your everyday Hip Hop artist, but a true contributor to the culture and lifestyle, progressing the movement forward. Destruct is here for a legacy, not a trend.

DJ Zole is a DJ/Producer from Southern California. He gained his experience coming up as a touring HipHop DJ and Producer/ Turntablist who has been a DJ for major acts ranging from Sage Francis (Strange Famous Records), Atmosphere, Abstract Rude, Project Blowed, 2Mex, and many others.

Since 2004, DJ Zole has travelled the globe performing and creating. He's a highly decorated engineer and producer with his degree in Audio Engineering Mixing and Mastering Certified through Musicians Institute Hollywood.

Rayko the Spanish Disco Producer and DJ extraordinaire has been busy in his Madrid based Studio burning the midnight oil to deliver Vadillo Vice Volume two.

Four reworked funk fuelled bass heavy cuts, tried and tested by the man himself on dancefloors across the globe and due to be released on vinyl only later in the year.

Deeply rooted in the golden era of the 70s and 80s, Rayko’s influences are masterfully interpreted and transformed into modern day dancefloor bombs, and are a key signature sound of his long established label Rare Wiri (Since 2008) an outlet for his productions alongside other likeminded artists such as Daniele Baldelli, Man Parrish, Gazeebo, Ilija Rudman, Ichisan, Spirit Catcher, Mushrooms Project, Eric Duncan among many others.

Bristolian producer Claude Cooper returns with hot new single ‘Stay A While’, inspired by the vinyl discoveries made from months of digging and cataloguing the bulging inventory of Bedminster’s Friendly Records record shop.

‘Stay A While’ introduces some delightful twists to Cooper’s psychedelic-funk sound. Blurring the lines between sampling and performance, lush string flourishes are sliced with 6Ts girl-group vocals and rollicking piano chords resulting in a dreamy, end of night, lights up anthem in-the-making. The track is backed with the insistent ‘Dance Tonight’, a ragged bass-boogie surf-rocker that doesn’t take no for an answer.

Cooper’s irrepressible debut album ‘Myriad Sounds' (Jan ‘22) caught the attention of the UK's press and radio alike. Mojo's four star review described it as “Bristol’s beat scene backdrops late night jams”, Uncut enjoyed the "rugged psych-funk romp" and Louder than War declared "it’s vital and vibrant and exactly what we need to kick start the year”. BBC radio DJs including Cerys Matthews, Gideon Coe, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Stuart Maconie, Tom Ravenscroft rinsed the singles, with Huey Morgan inviting Cooper to contribute a Block Party Mix for his show.

Bonus round 'More Myriad Sounds' (Apr ‘23) added Brooklyn vocalist Brain Fog to the melange with a bounty of pyretic vocal performances. DJ Mag called it “A fierce, kaleidoscopic trip” while Bandcamp Daily said “This album of cross-genre influences is as likely to get it included in any number of best-of columns, with the theme of serious fun as their common element”.

Behind the release is Friendly Records, the best little record shop in Bristol and now a burgeoning record label. Opened by Tom Friend on North Street in 2016, it’s gone on to become a hub of the local musical community. As well as Claude Cooper, the label has reissued two of Alison Cotton’s albums, 'The Twenty-Three Views' by outernational ambient jazz project Floating World Pictures, and Christian Madden & The Enemy Chorus’s organ heavy ‘The Extra Weight’.

Claude Cooper will return with a new album on Friendly Recordings this year.

Two years after the release of his first self-titled album, DJ producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea presents the new 'Sacred Love', in which he once again avails himself of the collaboration of his friend producer and bass player Salvo Dub, as well as a combo of respected musicians: singer Kadi Koulibaly - originally from Burkina Faso - already featured on the first album, Giulia La Rosa, author of the lyrics and performer of the title track, pianist Mario Pappalardo, percussionist Sergio Spitaleri and drummer Luciano Cantone.
'Sacred Love' is definitely a more mature, intense and profound journey than the previous album of the same name, which enhances the magical dreamlike and spiritual atmospheres of a certain African culture.
The album guides the listener along a path of multi-ethnic contaminations: "Divinité", "Ouaga" and "Koloko", well interpreted by Kadi, touch on the sacredness and mysticism of the African continent and blend well with the Spiritual Jazz sounds that have evolved in the West.
"Divinité", through the spoken word of French poet Diego Hernandez, tackles the themes of faith, life and the relationship with one's 'self', with references to French chanson productions, in which Kadi's spiritual song, at times 'Saharan', intersects and expands into cosmic space.
The title track, the first single from the album, also released on 7" (45rpm) in two versions, is an Afro-American gospel with a typically afrobeat rhythm, vaguely reminiscent of Nina Simone's 'See-Line Woman'.
North Africa is represented by "Equator", while we climb further north into the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with "Medican Blues", to land in Stromboli with the Deep Jazz of "Ginostra", whose title recalls the village of the marvellous island in the Aeolian archipelago.
Then we have the Cuban track "Caminito", a sort of Cha-Cha with a romantic piano melody (à la Chucho Valdez) well performed by maestro Mario Pappalardo; and then again "Eos", strongly Balearic with a Brazilian mood; "Impression", a dreamy journey of impact; "Sirens", already present on the first album and here reworked in a new Spiritual-Ambient version produced by Agosta.
"Sacred Love" is thus an original and musically borderless album, which expands a certain African sacred culture and naturally blends Afrobeat, Jazz and Blues atmospheres with the Balearic sounds of Mediterranean culture.
Enjoy listening!

Wonderwax returns with yet another 12″ filled with the distinctive soulfulness that has been a stand out point for the label since its inception.

DJ Spinna has been a fan of R&B/Neo-Soul queen Carmen Rodgers since her debut album 20 years ago, so it was just a matter of time before the two teamed up for something special. The result is an epic soulful house journey on Side A, where Spinna gives his typical Galactic Soul touch to Carmen’s jam “Again and Again”. The og version of the song was released originally in her “Hello Human vol. 1” EP together with “Say So”, which also gets Spinna’s twist on Side B: a progressive Hip Hop/Soul flip for the downtempo heads. Classic!

Jason Grimez is a Cincinnati-based DJ and producer. He has a long history of record collecting, sampling, and creating new sounds with analog gear. Grimez works with some of Cincinnati's finest studio musicians to create raw, soulful, instrumental hip-hop under the moniker Doctor Bionic. The next LP, In The Infinite, is due out 12/01/2023 via Chiefdom Records. Grimez fell in love with music during the golden era of early 90's east coast hip hop - when digging for jazz and funky samples were the backbone of beats. He became comfortable scratching on a pair of 1200s and sampling records with an MPC 3000 in high school. After years of collecting music and working on his sound behind the scenes, he has compiled a huge discography of original songs. In 2015, Grimez started his independent label Chiefdom Records. His studio persona Doctor Bionic was one of the first to see a release on the new imprint. The project features a studio band of session musicians. Grimez is responsible for writing, recording, producing, mixing, and releasing the records. He gathers a group of musicians in his studio, presents a few ideas, and hits record. Due to a rotating cast of musicians and ever-changing inspirations, no two sessions are alike. "There's no set pattern," Grimez explained. "I'll invite some session players and have them jam on a few ideas. Sometimes we'll start with a drum break and add melodies over top. It's mostly improv, and I can always go back and chop it up." One common thread is the fresh, original sounds. "I like to call it Organic Groove," he shared. "I'm inspired by all kinds of music - instrumental hip-hop, soul, classic rock, jazz, you name it. When we get in the studio, all of the pieces add up to a new sound." In The Infinite features some of the best players in the Cincinnati music scene. Cameron Brown played guitar on several tracks. Brian Batchelor-Glader, an award-winning pianist, was also involved. All 12 tracks provide the perfect backdrop for hanging with a group of good friends or cruising in the car. The drums are solid, consistent, and lay an effortless foundation for all kinds of instrumentation. Jazzy trumpet lines, ethereal keyboards, choppy soul guitar licks, and much more. "Do You Remember?" (track 2) heroes a busy, poppy guitar and a head-bobbing bassline. The record scratching and tape-recorded drum tones on "Plastic Art" (track 7) feels like a hip-hop instrumental from the early aughts. From top to bottom, this record has a lot to offer. Pick up a copy of In The Infinite on vinyl or stream the album on 12/01/2023

Record Kicks presents two northern soul belters on limited edition 45 from The Tibbs

Record Kicks presents a new Soul 45 from Dutch combo The Tibbs that features two northern soul belters taken from the new album "Keep It For Yourself". The 45 will hit the streets on January 12. On the A side the soul stomper "Ain't It Funny" which is also the first single taken from the upcoming album, while on the B side "Give Me a Reason" an uptempo R&B soul stomper. Copies are limited to 500 worldwide, which makes it an instant collector's item and an essential buy for soul fans and djs.

Produced by Paul Willemsen (Lefties Soul Connection, Michelle David & The Gospel Sessions) both tracks are taken from the new album Keep It to Yourself, the third Long Play from The Tibbs that is set for release on January 26th on LP, CD and digital format. Based around Amsterdam, The Tibbs took off in 2012 working right from the start with producer Paul Willemsen (Beans & Fatback, Lefties Soul Connection, Michelle David & The Gospel Sessions). In 2016, their first LP Takin' Over marked their debut with Milan-based imprint Record Kicks. The release of Takin' Over delivered the band rich rewards, like playing sold-out shows and wonderful festivals across Europe. In late 2018, singer Elsa decided to focus on a solo career and The Tibbs duly began their search for a truly worthy successor, bringing astonishing vocalist Roxanne Hartog and the band together for the first time with their sophomore album Another Shot Fired, released in November 2020. Now, with new recordings in the bag and an astounding third album ready to be released, The Tibbs are once more ready for lift off.

Brilliant rough and funky two sider from Charles Barnwell's band The Funnybone express. A very obscure deepfunk spin with that splash of modern sound that was so appreciated at the time (I can't actually remember whether it was Ian or Keb that first played this).

It has remained an extremely rare and sought after slab of wax and this limited run of 500 will serve to sort out the heads that know the score. Big up DJ Mr Big Happy (check out his NTS show) and Daniel Mathis (Check his show Reachin' Out on WYXR) for helping unearth this rare banger.

Mista Sinista officially started DJing in 1986 and joined the X-Men in 1992. They later became the X-ecutioners and released two albums. Mista Sinista toured the world several times with the X-ecutioners and was a tour DJ for Common, Beatnuts, Joe Fatal and Lauryn Hill just to name a few. Some of his album credits include The Beatnuts Street Level LP and Common’s Resurrection LP. His work was also highlighted on Fat Joe’s sophomore release, Jealous One’s Envy. He continues to perform worldwide and is featured on The Rewind with DJ Safire which airs weekly on Beatminerz Radio. Mista Sinista’s debut LP is a mix of well-produced tracks along with live turntablism. The project features emcees Mr. VooDoo, Ill Bill, Vinnie Paz, The One Chadio, U.G. & The former MC Jean Grae to name a few. This album also features Rugged One, Q-Bert, The Cut Lieutenant, Ace & Rob Swift. Production credits on the project include Mista Sinista, Steve Dee, Nick Wiz, Statick, Eitan Noyze, Cee da Cuban & DJ Safire

Will Long is an American artist. He curates and manages the label Two Acorns, as well as producing music since 2005, in various forms under his own name for Terre Thaemiltz's Comatonse Recordings, and as Celer for his own label and many others.
Here he joins the perfectly aligned Scissor and Thread label of Francis Harris and Anthony Collins for the Too Much EP.
"Too Much" is a deep cut from the same grooves as the Long Trax series," says Will Long, "a further entry for the downtrodden, the overwhelmed, and those that think change has come. A midnight meditation of intentional simplicity, strained, and on that night train."
The title track is lush, loose deep jam that combines wistful, warm pads with an insistent groove and choice samples.
Francis Harris steps up to provide one of his signature reforms, adding a little more percussion and drive to the track, while DJ Aakmael (Greg Stewart) offers up another version that takes the track somehow even deeper, adding some additional instrumentation and raw sounds.

Finnish Electro flashback! For the first time on vinyl, German label Electro Empire rereleases Polytron's crispy analogue produced and 808-loaded Electro Empire theme song from 2003. The Finnish ElectroBass cruiser is accompanied by another classic, the Polytron 2003 remix of Pimeyden Jousi (Bow of Darkness) by legendary gothic rockers Two Witches from 1988. With vocoderized Finnish vocals and dark synth work, this remix is pure Electro-Disco magic. For fans of raw analogue Electro like DJ Overdose, Cosmic Force or I-F's Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass.

Following the reissue last year of Fairuz's classic 1979 album "Wahdon", Wewantsounds pursue their exploration of great Lebanese music with the reissue of Fairuz's highly sought-after LP "Maarifti Feek," released in 1987. Recorded in Beirut around 1983-84, the album features the Diva's superb voice combined with Ziad Rahbani's jazz and funk orchestration, making it one of the most in-demand albums on the Arabic funk scene. The release will coincide with "Arab Divas," a major exhibition set in the prestigious Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris, celebrating the greatest singers from the Arab World and starting 13 May 2020. One of the greatest singers of the Middle East, Fairuz started her career in Lebanon in the 50s and quickly established herself as the most renowned Diva in the Arabic world, playing the most prestigious venues in the world. At the end of the 70s, Fairuz was at a turning point both professionally and personally. Her Husband Assi Rahbani, who, with his brother Elias, had penned her biggest successes, has suffered a stroke a few years earlier. This setback ultimately led to both the demise of their marriage and the end of their professionnal partnership. Enters Ziad Rahbani, Fairuz and Assi's son, a young musician, playwright and producer who had cut his teeth writing a handful of Fairuz's song - including her 1973 hit "Sa'alouni El Nas" - at just seventeen. Ziad Rahbani swiftly took over from his father and uncle as the singer's musical director and composer and this fruitful association, which started in 1979 with the album "Wahdon," broke many new grounds for Fairuz with funkier rhythms and edgier lyrics. It was recorded at the same time as Rahbani's own 12 inch "Abu Ali" which became a sought-after disco classic in its own right. The association between the two continued with a second album, "Maarifti Feek" ("Our Encounter"), recorded between 1983 and 84 in Beirut but only released in 1987. The album was another groundbreaking mix of influences ranging from the traditional arrangements of "Oudak Rannan" and "Ma Kdirt Nseet" to the brazilan flavour of "Version 1" via the synth funk of "Ouverture 83" and its follow up "Reprise 83". Also featured on the album is a beautiful remake of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concerto de Aranjuez" in the form of a tribute to the lebanese capital, "Li Beirut." This blend of Oriental grooves with jazz and funk orchestrations by Ziad Rahbani is a unique document of Fairuz's career development in the 80s and explains why "Maarifti Feek" is such a sought after album on the DJ and collector circuits which Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue for the first time since the album first came out.

Delasi, the Koforidua-based producer, singer and rapper has released his new single ‘Amplifier’ featuring Nii Noi Nortey.

Prophetic, spiritual and frenetic, ‘Amplifier’ is Delasi’s testimony in musical form. A manifestation of Delasi emerging triumphant after many years in limbo as he searched for a long-awaited breakthrough in the music industry.

Produced by Delasi himself alongside Morgan Greenstreet, ‘Amplifier’ is underpinned by the texture of coastal rhythms indigenous to Accra and tightly ornamented with bustling drum breaks, electronic synth lines and jazz sensibilities.

Veteran Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist and sound designer Nii Noi Nortey appears on the track to deliver an explosive and rhythmically intense saxophone performance throughout as it tastefully builds to an emphatic crescendo.

Self-described as a prayer, the track’s maximalist and percussive instrumentation is cleverly juxtaposed with minimal lyrics where Delasi’s faint vocal repeats a series of repeated phrases like evoking the mood and semblance of a meditative chant and religious experience. Harkening to the work of afrofuturistic jazz musicians like Sun Ra and Pharaoh Sanders.

Speaking on the track’s meaning, Delasi said: “‘Amplifier’ is my prayer and like with other songs of mine it can scare me because I write things and then it’ll manifest in exact detail. The song is basically outlining how hard I’ve worked and how I need an amplifier to have my desires fulfilled. It's like a mantra and that’s why it's not so lyrical”.

‘Amplifier’ marks Delasi’s first release as a lead artist since his 2015 self-released project ‘#thoughtjourney’ which garnered support and praise from Rolling Stone, BBC6 Music, Worldwide FM, KCRW, Afropop Worldwide, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, NRK and legendary French DJ/Producer Laurent Garnier. Additionally parlaying into touring and festival gigs across Nairobi, Berlin, Morocco, Denmark and Sweden.

Delasi is an artist that has been quietly prolific for over a decade. Honing his musicianship exploring sonic possibilities with Ableton and Teenage Engineering. Eventually entrenching himself in the Ghanaian rap scene via collaborations with Hammer of The Last Two, Reggie Rockstone and Yaw P with whom he would release a joint project ‘Imperfections: The Break Up Vol 1’ in 2013.

He was musically raised on a diet heavily influenced by his father who exposed him to the sounds of Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Bobby McFerrin, Jim Reeves and Billy Ocean alongside the soundtracks for movies like Doctor Zhivago, The Sound of Music and La Bamba. Delasi’s own tastes would be heavily informed by linchpins of US Hip-Hop like Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Onyx and M.O.P in addition to alternative R&B artists Frank Ocean and James Blake.

After many years of operating as a proudly independent and self-contained artist, Delasi has now partnered with Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings. One of the world’s leading indie labels, famed for their instrumental role in breaking the likes of KOKOROKO, Yussef Dayes, Swindle, Joe-Armon Jones, Shabaka And The Ancestors, Zara McFarlane and Ghostpoet.

With Delasi now being granted resources to give his music the grand and worthy footing, he is now on the cusp of the artistic breakthrough that was long out of reach. Speaking further on how the deal with Brownswood inspired the new single, Delasi said:

“The music I’ve created this go round is so strong that I can’t handle it all by myself. Though I had a lot of fun doing it all by myself with ‘#thoughtjourney’, this time around I needed it to be with a home who could properly amplify it.”

Sasu Ripatti's complete "Dancefloor Classics" series. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label Rajaton.

”Look up, into the light” she said, while the camera shutter clicked. ”Like this? Does it look holy?” His neck felt stiff. Her reply: ”Yes, just like that. What do you mean holy? Like religious? ”No, more like trying to look very far, somewhere beyond what we can see.” ”Okay, stand still, I’m going to come close to you now. The light hits your face great.” click, click, click.
He noticed her fingernails. They were not polished. Natural. Even somewhat rugged, as if something wore out the fingers slightly. What had these hands held besides the camera? What made the edges of her fingernails drift off?
He thought it’s weird to look straight into the camera. The photographer had closed her left eye, the one not looking into the lens. Then it opened, she looked up, perusing the surroundings, then she closed her eye again, then looked up, closed, looking up, very quickly. It all seemed very professional. Maybe she calculated the light, making sure it’s close to perfect. ”What will these photos look like?” – the thought popped into his head briefly. It was liberating to think it wouldn’t matter.
”What’s that song playing?” he asked. ”Wait a sec, Ol’ Dirty Bastard?” she replied. ”Oh yeah, right. But the sample?” ”Hey, could you look up again, like that. No, lower.”
New directions: ”Look out from the window, turn left.” ”My left or yours?” ”Yours, I always try to think from the direction of my model.” How professional! This is a good shoot, so natural. Should I worry about how the photos look like? No, I don’t want to. His thoughts bounced around. What would the story be like? It’s a big newspaper, everyone will read it. Maybe someone drinks coffee and eats a stroopwafel while they do it. Will they place the waffle on top of the mug for a brief while, so that it gets hot and the syrup melts a little? Then it feels wet, and you can bend the cookie.
She broke his train of thought off midway through: ”Now turn right, but look left, and slightly up, but don’t turn your face right.” ”Umm, like this? Sounds like a set of pilates instructions.” she laughed ”You do pilates?” ”Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. Have you tried?” ”No”, she said. ”I’m not good for sports that are done in groups.” ”Yeah, but in pilates you can just be inside your mind, drowning in your private thoughts.”
”What are you thinking in pilates?” she asked, taking more photos. ”Well, mostly just which way is right. And which left.” click, click.

Q&A with Sasu Ripatti:

1) Tell us something about the EP series ”Dancefloor Classics”, what’s the idea and what can we expect?

I’ve been slowly writing these sort of dance music pieces and finally curated them together for a conceptual release. I like to create music for a dancefloor that exists only in my imagination and doesn’t try to suck up to the standardized reality.

2) Your vinyl format is 10” which is quite special (as opposed to LP / 12”). Why did you choose it?

It’s my favourite format, absolutely. The size is perfect, and you can make it sound really good @ 45 rpm. And you still can make great artwork.

3) You seem interested in sampling/repurposing, what does it mean to you as an artist to approach something already existing from a new angle? How does the source material inform you about the approach to take?

I guess i could flip it around and just say I’ve outgrown synths or electronic sounds to a great extend, and having gotten rid off all my synths already good while ago I’ve used samples as my main source material a lot. It’s obvious on this series that i’ve sampled existing music, but I also sample instruments and things in the studio and resample my own library that I have built over the years, it’s quite large. To me the end result matters, not so much how I get there. Once I have something on my keyboard and play around, it’s all an instrument, though with sampling other music it becomes a really interesting and complex one as you’re possibly playing rhythm, but also harmonic content and maybe hooks or whatever, all at once.
I never sample premeditadedly, like listening to records and looking for that mindblowing 3 sec part. I just throw the cards in the air and see what lands where, just full intuition and hopefully zero mind involved, playing tons of stuff, trying things, just recording hours of stuff. Then comes the interesting part to listen to hours of mostly crazy stuff and finding that mindblowing 3 sec part.

4) What is your relationship with the dancefloor (conceptually and/or in experiences / as a performer)?

Very complicated. I have never really felt comfortable on a dancefloor but have always wanted to. There’s something in club music, in theory, that really speaks to me. It has never really materialized for me – speaking mainly from a performer’s point of view who goes to check on a dancefloor for a moment after a concert. I never have DJ’d or felt much interest towards it. But again, I love the idea and concept of DJing. As well as producing music for imaginary DJs. Lately, as in the past 10+ years, I haven’t even performed in any sort of club spaces. So my relationship to the dancefloor is quite removed and reduced, but there’s quite a bit of passion and interest left.

All tracks composed and produced by Sasu Ripatti.
Artwork & photography by Marc Hohmann.
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu for Schwebung Mastering.
Vinyl cut by SST Brueggemann.
Publishing by WARP Music Ltd.

Nusantara Beat strikes back with a brand new 7""! After the success of Djanger / Borondong Garing, Bongo Joe Records and Lamunai Records cooperate again to delvier these two amazing tracks fusing modern influenced grooves and traditional Indonesian sonorities!

The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series Entry #7: Producer/multi-instrumentalist Joe Harrison (El Michels Affair/Gunna) fuses modern production with vintage instruments, drawing a line between J Dilla and David Axelrod. This is the next up in a series of music library releases, with future volumes produced by DJ Muggs, Karriem Riggins and more. The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series was created by Madlib and Egon to give their creative friends a chance to stretch out and indulge in whatever type of music they wanted. This music was created for easy, one-stop clearance in film and television synchronization usage and for sampling. You can also enjoy these albums in the way that many do with the best of the best vintage library catalogs – listen, ponder, repeat

Straight Up Breakbeat rounds up the first full year of operation with a special compilation YEAR ZERO. Featuring the best in modern jungle and forward-looking drum & bass the album features brand new tracks by FANU, OUT OF FUEL, INFADER & DDOG together with 2019 label highlights by RESOUND, AEON FOUR, ESC, HMR and more. The album is preceded by a vinyl EP and a set of digital singles.


DJ Support
Two Hungry Ghosts -
“Sounds like if Dj Shadow made a track for Metalheadz”
DNB Dojo - “Solid! <3 FANU”
Life Support Machine Blog -
“Goldie level excellent”
FFF (Myor) - “Wicked!"
Yorobi (Rupture) - “All bangers”
Moresounds (Astrophonica) “Ouch!!”

Matthew Herbert and Goldsmiths University's in-house record label NX Records presents the latest in their series of experimental electronic vinyl 12"s.

NX14X showcases the work of two boundary pushing Goldsmiths students: first, UK born and South Africa raised composer Galina Juritz, whose chopped and spliced RnB doused in lush string arrangements enduces a fidgety unease and zero gravity lushness in equal measure.

And second, rising DJ and producer Harry Rodger, with two cuts of organic, summery techno that would sound perfectly at home pumping out of the NTS Radio speakers into a sun-baked Gillett Square.

New Zealand juggernaut Fat Freddy’s Drop return with a new studio album, ‘Special Edition Part 1’, due for digital release on 15th November, with 2LP Vinyl and CD following up on 10th January. The 45rpm vinyl edition is produced with
a different track order across four sides and promises to deliver super fat loud audio.

Part 1 of a double album, ‘Special Edition Part 1’, comprises of six tracks of which ‘Raleigh Twenty’, ‘Trickle Down’ and
‘Six-Eight Instrumental’ were written and recorded undercover at the band’s Wellington studio, BAYS, while the other
tracks; ‘Special Edition, ‘Kamo Kamo’, and ‘OneFourteen’, have all been developed and evolved from the band’s celebrated live jam sessions, whilst on the road in front of audiences worldwide.
Supremely crafted at Freddy’s own BAYS studio in hometown Wellington, the deep musical and rich vocal layers reflect
Freddy’s inspiration from the black music lexicon and is a response to the crowd energy at their world dominating live
shows.

‘Special Edition Part 1’ is the first release of a long envisaged double album project with separate chapters. The next
journey, Part 2 will be released in 2020 after stringent road-testing with audiences over 35 shows across New Zealand, UK and Europe celebrating the release of the Part 1. These upcoming live performances will allow the band to fully explore new song-writing technology and give rise to a slamming Part 2. The new album follows on from 2015’s ‘BAYS’ LP, which saw support from Financial Times, Resident Advisor, Dummy, the DJ Mag and Clash-acclaimed ‘Blackbird,’ second album ‘Dr Boondigga and the Big BW’ - which gained rave reviews by The Guardian and BBC Music - and the band’s record breaking debut album ‘Based on a True Story’, which went nine times platinum and remained in New Zealand’s top 40 charts for over two years after its release in
2005.
The album cover artwork is by Wellington artist Otis Chamberlain, a continuing evolution from his creation for the its first single ‘Trickle Down’, a work that's morphed from digital cover art to the band’s massive summer tour backdrop and the recently released late-night buttery steppers ‘Kamo Kamo’. Fat Freddy’s Drop have been performing and recording together for more than 15 years, establishing themselves as one of New Zealand's most internationally successful acts. Considered one of the best live experiences in the world, they will embark on their biggest European and UK tour since they sold out a double hitter at London’s 02 Academy Brixton in 2018. Including an already sold out show in Dublin, the band will headline Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on 29th April 2020, Liverpool’s Invisible Wind Factory on 30th April, returning back to London’s Alexandra Palace on 1st May – the palace was the scene of two triumphant sold out headline concerts in 2014 and 2017 - before heading north to Glasgow’s Barrowland on 3rd May.

DJ Monchan returns with a killer two track EP.

The sound experience is similar to his previous releases and continues to explore the void between old-school 80's house and 70's disco.

'Love Me' has that 80's house backbone but loops and filters the disco samples into a real journey...proper Loft biz if you ask us.
'U&Me' is a serious boogie stepper that is as bumpy as it gets and together with the smooth vocals this will sound ace at any disco jam :)

Four essential cuts from Ghana & Cape Verde, compiled by Arp Frique...

Music is a great connector, bringing people together in many ways. On his journey in music so far, Arp Frique has been fortunate to meet many beautiful artists. The songs on this first edition of "Radio Familia" are deeply connected to the musicians he performs with. Join the music family on a trip through exciting sounds from Ghana and Cape Verde and listen to their story in both words and music.

Arp Frique never played a show without including Americo Brito’s epic song “C’est Dudu”. The song originally appeared on his album “Fidjo Di Mizeria” from 1989 but he had been performing his anthem for years and it came in many shapes and forms. After spending a lot of time in Paris, he (like many others in those days) got inspired by new records from Guadeloupe and Martinique, especially “kadans”. Incorporating latin piano motifs borrowed from salsa and merengue and a bold choice to sing in French, the song and album became an instant success for Americo in and outside the clubscene (note: DJs were not the primary source of dance music in those days, bands played all night to keep the dancers moving). The addition of C’est Dudu to this compilation became especially relevant since Americo recently passed away. Fortunately, his anthem just like all his other music will remain with us for decades to come.

While going through the archives with Americo Brito for the Radio Verde compilation, he introduced Arp Frique to a band called Imilux Star, of course again well connected with Americo. This Cape Verdean band residing in Luxemburg (where there is a substantial Cape Verdean community) definitely added a different flavor to the musical pallet the islands are famous for: heavy syncopated rhythms coming from the drum computer. They released two albums which both became very popular in their scene and the track “Yolanda” from their 1988 album “Jota Dê” got to Arp Frique’s attention too late to add to the Radio Verde comp. The band is still performing to this day in the Luxemburg-Cape Verdean live circuit.

While Arp Frique was on the road with his lead singer Mariseya, they talked much and deep about Ghanaian music (especially highlife) and he learned a lot about the community from Ghana in the Netherlands, mostly in Amsterdam and The Hague. Mariseya’s dad, Nana Adomako Nyamekye, came to see their liveshow while in the UK which was very special to them considering he is one of the highlife artists Arp Frique has grown to be very fond of. His deeply funky and bubbly bass driven song “Obra Twa Owuo” is about life and death, telling us we should all love each other as we still have life to live. Originally released on “Ano Plan” from 1982, the album is filled with philosophical advice. In his own words: “A message to all humans that something awaits us all at the end of life. Let’s live together with love.

Bnnyhunna, from the Ghanaian community in the Netherlands, joined Arp Frique’s live experience several times playing keyboards and synthesizers. His dad Elvis Kwasi Ankomah, just like him, developed a high level of musicianship while performing regularly in church. The song “Fa Wokoma Mame” (give me your heart) from his only studioalbum “Mfa Menko” released in 1995 is about showing his love to a lady but only if she puts her trust in him completely. The album talks about love, pain, relationships and life. Having worked with artists like Daddy Lumba, Nana Ampadu, Amakye Dede and many other hiplife and highlife legends, he still plays in church every week and has been doing so ever since he was 15 years young.

Driving weirdo techno, warm melodic acid and daring sound experiments - Killekill welcomes a new duo on board: SKEW & SATIRIST are Max Cooper and Gareth Williams who met in the Not- tingham, UK club scene in the early 00s, living together for a number of years, leading to an effec- tive collaboration.
Max learnt production from sitting and watching Gareth in the studio, Max helped show Gareth the way with his DJing. Both became successful in their solo projects, Max as a regular guest
on stages all over the world, Gareth starting a music technology business with partners such as Richie Hawtin, John Acquaviva or Daniel Miller.
Over the years the musical collaboration between the two friends has continued in the background and they've finally found the time to bring it to fruition and start this project for their darker, more extreme and twisted techno which has been lying dormant over the years.

'London-based DJ/producer Soreab returns to Baroque Sunburst with a highly anticipated follow-up to 2020's 'Kraepelin Avenue' EP. The new four-tracker also marks his label's 10th release.

The concept of 'Maschera' revolves around Luigi Pirandello, an Italian dramatist and novelist. His ideas of the 'mask' and 'trap' take centre stage. Pirandello believed that the concepts of 'self' and 'identity' are lost and unachievable in human beings, who are all trapped behind a metaphorical mask concealing their identities.

Each track on 'Maschera' has two masks: they can be played at both 33 or 45 rpm, a dream for DJs mixing in wide tempo mode.The title-track draws inspiration from Pirandello's masking ideas. Soreab's half-time stomper moves with the slithering grace of a snake, evolving into intricate IDM melodies riddled with complex drum patterns. ‘Trappola’ is a melodic hide and seek, with a captivating slow tribal rhythm that gradually intensifies. In ‘Specchio’ the snake returns, biting his own tail in a continuous loop, a birth and death cycle. The closing track sees the opener remixed by KRSLD, a collaborator with Soreab on the BSUN and XCPT co-release 'Marmo'. His rework builds on all the concepts Soreab explores, infusing dub with a half-time modern dancehall mood. The snake, no longer masked, is now looking for you.'

‘WAVES’ will make you dive deep in bodies of water, making you get lost in a mixture of downtempo, modern music with sounds of nature and passing time. The dualities of sounds were gathered on a sampler and used to produce beats, rhythms, deep reverbs and delayed echoes via a vintage drum machine.
The opposites of nature are felt through this release, side A containing Cosmic dance tracks and side B relaxing tunes to meditate to at any time. Take it easy and enjoy the slow, lapping atmosphere.

With lush seascape artwork on body and case insert, two inserts with download code.

Blind Prophet returns to Dub-Stuy with a 12'' featuring the mystical voice of Daweh Congo, the renowned roots reggae singer from Jamaica. Good Morning Zion is an uplifting cut blending deep dub vibes with positive roots lyrics from Daweh, a heavyweight steppers cut backed by two dub versions. All tracks were mixed live by the engineer McPullish to give this release a deep analogue resonance.

Early DJ Support:

Iration Steppas, OBF, Ras Kwame, Don Letts, and RSD

For the next, 21st release on Whiteloops, DiSKOP presents PAN4EZ, the producer and Dj from Ukraine with his two-tracker nod into the sound of the oldschool UK breakbeat.

A1 - Synergy
A long-awaited release for seasoned fans of the label familiar with ASC's DJ sets since creating Spatial, Synergy has been requested for release many times and is finally here - and it hasn't aged a bit. A track which lifts you gradually through a true journey of escalating, dynamic atmospheric soundscapes with crisp detailed break patterns that ebb and flow to an intricate collage of synths, keys and vocal hits to an inquisitive melody. A
stunning piece which somehow has something new to offer each time you hear it.

A2 - Suspended Animation
Conjuring an ethereal feeling with grand atmospheric backdrops reminiscent of early Intense, Suspended Animation is a calming yet suspenseful track which slowly builds with expressive break patterns and minimal kickdrums as subtle basslines rumble below. Long echoing effects and melodies gently nudge the proceedings forward, ASC once again showcasing the diversity of his production toolset.

AA1 - Repetition
It's been a while since a pure two-step drum loop has had this much impact - make no mistake - the breaks of Repetition will bore their way into your brain like Pulp Fiction did in the mid 90's with a thumping kickdrum and stabbing snare tweaked to perfection. While the beats drive the track along, a collage of audio texture surrounds them with a signature female vocal sample closing out phrases filled with finely tuned synthwork.

AA2 - Pharaoh
Landing with immediate impact and building the mood with a subdued urgency, the Hot Pants breaks of Pharaoh surf the dunes of sound to an abundance of sheer atmosphere as ASC crafts a stunningly evocative track which is aptly titled, transporting the listener to mystical Egyptian sands, the synths and horns whispering like the echoes of of a bygone era demanding their timely reprise through the medium of Spatial.
Epic.

Words by Chris Hayes

Repress!

On 22nd October, the Nottingham-raised and highly-praised musician/DJ/producer Matt Cutler, AKA Lone, presents his 8th album – and first in 5 years – ‘Always Inside Your Head’. It marks two major changes, with both a new label and new approach – featuring vocalists for the first time.

This deeply textural and ethereal artwork is situated high above the clouds, amidst the heavens, occupying a stratospheric state where swathes of synthesized vapour and azure rays sound like a literal breath of fresh air.

A varied selection of music influenced the record, but two main influences were Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. “I wanted to approach a range of different styles, but attack them from their angle in a way, so for example on 'Inlove2' I tried to imagine what a Balearic / acid house tune might sound like if it were produced by Kevin Shields”, comments Lone.

Another key example of Cutler’s strange but successful combination of elements is the halcyon bliss of ‘Echo Paths’, where his trademark fat drums and love for hip hop meet double-time pan pipes, dub effects and dream pop, mixed into a wonderfully lysergic concoction.

This rarefied auditory stratus was previously evident in tracks like ‘Alpha Wheel 4 (Ambient Mix)’ from ‘DJ Kicks’, ‘Under Cherry Blossoms (Minds Eye Reprise)’ from ‘Ambivert Tools, Vol. 2’, ‘Pulsar’ (from ‘Ambivert 4’), and ‘How Can You Tell’ (from ‘Abraxas’), but is now more fully-fledged, broader in scope and even more celestial.

In addition to the above, the LP exists somewhere between trip hop on Mo' Wax, 90s Warp, intelligent drum & bass and ambient house. There are heavier forays too, like ‘Mouth Of God’, where darker clouds emerge, but are pierced like acid lightning with fierce, tearing tech-step bass.

Although still firmly rooted in club culture – here Lone shows a definite leaning towards a song-based sound, with several tracks edging towards the same crossover space as the nineties hits which also inspired him – particularly William Orbit’s production on Madonna's 'Frozen', and Olive's 'You're Not Alone'. This is especially evident on the bright, spacious brilliance of 'Hidden By Horizons', where vocals and synths swirl around one another, with crisp breakbeats and reggae rolls pushing purposefully through the ether.

Despite initially seeming almost entirely sunny of disposition, upon deeper immersion there’s lot more beneath the album’s surface, both in its deep pools of immiscible layered elements, and also thematically. When recording Cutler kept in mind a loose narrative based on birth, death, and our existence in-between.

He then extended this idea to reach what may happen after death, which is reflected in the sequencing: By penultimate track ‘Undaunted’ the life reflected in this longplayer has come to an end, which is then followed by 'Coming In To Being And Passing Away' – an afterlife epilogue, which evokes a transition from this world to the next.

Despite producing countless 7” scratch records and being the host of the DMC World Championships online Portablist battle since it’s inception, turns out that Woody’s been saying the word ‘portablism’ wrong the whole time! Referring to the genre as ‘Poor-tablism’. But let’s face it, if you choose ’scratch DJ’ as a career path, the odds are that it’s a pretty accurate description!

This record switches up the predictable format of the traditional 7” skip-proof’ scratch tool. Each track contains 1 scratch sound that repeats every rotation (making it fully skip-proof) with the other samples in the phrase repeated every 2 rotations (allowing for more variation in the samples). Side A is arranged at 100 bpm whilst Side B is arranged at 133 bpm, each side contains 6 different tracks and end with a full scratch sentence.

The record combines freshly dug and unused samples with original vocal recordings from UK rap legend MC Mercury of the group Gunshot alongside DC born MC and longtime collaborator BluRum 13.

‘The Poortablist’ is pressed on Gold vinyl with full colour picture sleeve illustrated by Woody himself.

• Produced by 2x World Champion DJ Woody

• 12 unique scratch phrases and full sentences

• Features original samples from MC Mercury and Blu Rum 13

• Perfect go-to record for any portablist jam or 7” DJ set.

• Artwork by DJ Woody

• Gold vinyl

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of LA the Darkman’s Heist of the Century LP, Coalmine Records has partnered up with the Brooklyn native for a special edition vinyl reissue, marking the first time that the record’s been repressed since its original release. This album is widely regarded as one of the strongest and most underrated releases from a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate, and it’s easy to understand why once you hear its dynamic 18 tracks. The Killer Bee embodies the raw spirit of the Wu while adding his own signature gritty flavor throughout Heist of the Century. He shines whether he’s spitting solo on standouts like “Shine,” “Street Life,” and the title track, and when he’s joined by rap heavyweights like Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Havoc, and Masta Killah. Rae actually delivers two show-stopping guest performances on”Az the World Turns” and “Spring Water.” The production lineup is just as serious, which boasts credits from the likes of RZA, DJ Muggs, Havoc, 4th Disciple, as well as Carlos “Six July” Broady who produced 10 tracks among others. Whether you were there day one, only started diving into the Wu’s vast discography recently, or somewhere in between, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better representation of their sound than Heist of the Century. “Heist of the Century undeniably continues in the vein of the surrealistic, orchestral sound that branded the Wu-Tang Clan as one of the most revolutionary hip-hop groups of the decade.” MTV.