And now for something completely different ! - The second vocal lead EP on FireScope - This time introducing KineStatics ... A collaboration between Steven Rutter and Karla Hajman/Stereochemistry.
Downtempo techno and quirky vocals are what this EP is about, covering challenging topics such as labyrinths and obstacles we place in our own heads ; war ; destruction ; and the end of the the world.
Labyrinth a lush techno vibe with a marching drum; a song about the twists and turns of our own minds; leading into Grmi Seva where a balkan vibe built around a conflict themed remake of a Yugoslavian children's song continues our journey. The last track on Side A 'Till The End Of The World is a very downtempo affair where a baseline provides the underpinning for Karla to tell her tale of a world on its way to its own demise.
The B Side provides the beats and baselines of Grmi Seva followed by a dubby alternate rendering of Labyrinth
Finished in Clear with Blue splatter vinyl with exclusive artwork by Mass Roman.
'World' is the debut album dreamt up by Barcelona based DJ / Production duo Memorial Home. Comprising of Paul Roux (France) and Jeremy Pinchasi (Belgium), 'World' is the exciting result of their shared desire to push the limits of their own brilliant musical foresight. It's an ambitious 20 track longplayer which effortlessly showcases the incomparable sonic space shared between both musical masterminds.
Sitting somewhere just to the left of Nicolas Jaar, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Mike Dehnert and Ostgut Ton, Memorial Home has managed to craft an album absolutely unique to their sound, impossible to categorise and sure to catch the attention of music lovers of all shapes and sizes. Techno without a dancefloor, experimental electronica fit for the warehouse raves. It's an exciting, perfectly confusing album which simply works wonderfully.
Heavily textured in incredible atmospherics, dub effects and crisp, clear percussion, 'World' spreads over an excellent array of individual tracks full of groundbreaking musical magic. Incorporating a stunning fusion of live instrumentation and electronic craftsmanship, 'World' is an audio adventure into emotive soundscapes, with a clear focus on the subtle saturation of melancholy. It's a soundtrack for a dystopian film yet to be written. A sonic painting for the coming winter months where the trees are all but dead and frozen; and the ground a thick layer of glowing white snow.
Memorial Home are the founders of the independent label Rapid Eye Movement, which has seen a breadth of incredible EPs riding the balance between experimental Techno and introspective electronica. They first met by random chance in their newly adopted home of Barcelona, Spain. This unexpected encounter quickly developed into a full-fledged musical kinship through their shared interest in crafting cinematic, experimental techno music. Each release from the label and duo showcase their clear passion to unearthing sounds beyond the expected. With their debut LP about to drop, the future is looking certain for the duo, the label, and the changing face of modern day electronic music.
The mysterious Kayroy appears on his second Whiskey Disco record bringing the heat by way of sampladelic dancefloor collages packed with funk and a slight left-of-center aesthetic. 'Like Damn!' and the titular, 'Pavlova Casanova', are both hands-up, disco gaiety that will rip the heart of your chest.
'Sandy Shackles' closes out the EP conjuring the disco dub vibes of editors like Idjut Boys or Ray Mang. Just who is Kayroy - and who was he on his first Whiskey Disco appearance
The Australian Nightime Drama Label Hits Release Number Ten With A Various Artists Ep. It Features A Mix Of Returning Artists And New Signings, With Hiver, Stefan Vincent, Artefakt, Eric Cloutier & Trinity All Featuring On A Release That Once Again Mixes Styles From The Past With A Forward Thinking Vision.
First Up Is Dutchman Stefan Vincent With His First On The Label After Releasing Tracks On The Likes Of Anagram And Dynamic Reflection. It's A Deep Techno Voyage With Far Sighted Synths And Colourful Pads All Bristling Away To Bring A Sense Of Energy Yet Serenity To The Track. Curle And Let Recordings' Hiver Duo Then Go Even Deeper, With Warm, Elastic And Rubbery Basslines And Icy Hi Hats Softened With Broad Synths That Stretch Off To Infinity.
A Gentle Acid Line Finishes Things Off Before Another Duo, This Time Artefakt From Delsin And Field Records, Serves Up The Beautiful Ambient Techno Of Faces Of Others, Which Has Soft Pads Suspending You In The Cosmos As Subtle Rippling Rhythms Drive Things Along. Last Of All, Eric Cloutier Collaborates With Label Regular Trinity On 'hidden Places', A Patient Bit Of Early Evening Dub Techno That Exudes Warmth And Soul.
Glitched out, sub bass roller from the masterfully mysterious EEE camp with a warped noughties vocal for good measure. The previous four releases have flown out of the racks - don't sleep!
Heavy support already from the likes of Raresh, East End Dubs, Barac and Priku. As always - one-sided, 180g, hand-stamped gear!
The - here & Now Ep' Is The Second Instalment Of A Three-ep-series Coming Up In 2018. Christophe Salin Is Taking Us On His Musical Journey And Paves The Way For Cooperation With Future Artists On His Very Own Imprint - salin Records' That He Runs With His Wife Daria Salin As A Platform For Electronic Music And Art.
No Intro Needed As - dreams Sometimes Come True' Instantly Takes Us On The Groove Line. - astra Perle' Keeps The Groove Alive With Some Heavy Jazz Samples. You Maybe Remember Sitting In Your First Car (christophe's First Car Was Named - purple Pearl' And Was An - opel Astra ) And Just Cruising Thru The City. Imagine To Be Suddenly Overwhelmed By A Creative Hole, - ohh No, Not You ... Turn Over To - can You Pay My Bills' The Journey Continues With More Jazzy Vibes To End Up With A Downtempo Lounge-dub-work Which Is Indeed - different But Sweet .
22 Digit LTD is the vinyl only off shot of UK based 22 Digit Records, and this new release is upfront House
music in the style of artists like Mr. G. This 22 Digit LTD release is a collaboration between UK stalwart Moodymanc and label boss William Welt
with solo remixes from Appleblim and Alland Byallo. Moodymanc also known to many as Dubble D, is a Manchester based artist who boasts seminal releases on labels including Tsuba, Local Talk and 20/20 Vision among many others of a similar calibre. William Welt is a young artist who now based in Manchester, cut his teeth in Newcastle upon Tyne, and has releases on labels including Traum and CONSTRUCT.
The first of the remixes comes from Appleblim, whose bass heavy sound has been a regular feature of
imprints inclouding R&S Records, Aus Music, Tempa and Skull Disco. Second of the remixes comes from Alland Byallo, who has previously released on labels including Third Ear, Get Physical, Poker Flat, Moodmusic, Dirt Crew and Rawax.
Time for a cheeky, under the radar one from new Delusions signing Flight Mode. One track either side for extra-loud full-fatness. Two variations on a theme, taking us on a deep, dubby, disco tip. A crisp, rolling groove and echoing stabs swirling around one of the best bass lines ever produced. Global Communications getting stoned with DJ Pierre on the A side. Carl Craig and Moroder hanging out in the kitchen of the after party on the flip side. Play loud, live long and prosper!
Australia's Nightime Drama welcome Steven Tang and label associate Trinity for a new collaborative EP that comes with two originals and remixes by Basic Soul Unit and Daniela La Luz.
Tang has long been serving up space age techno sounds on his own Obsolete Music Technology and the likes of Smallville, and Trinity is a DJ, live act and producer from Sydney who plays key clubs around Europe and releases on Counter Pulse and Coincidence as well as this one.
Innermost Search opens the EP with supple and rubbery drums carrying you off into the cosmos as spaced out pads bring real scale and emotional depth. It's a cinematic house track with vivid imagery. Then comes a remix from Dekmantel's Toronto mainstay Basic Soul Unit that is much more busy and robust. A wide lead synth line sprays about above drums which are much bigger and heavier. It's prime warehouse material to get people marching.
Tang & Trinity's Adrifting Voyage then slips back into a deep, cerebral house groove with oodles of reverb and dubby chords cut though by icy hi hats and transcendental pads. Last of all, Berlin's Daniela a La Luz (who has released on the likes of Cocoon and !K7) remixes this one into a lively, nimble house track with curious melodic riffs and tough drums appealing to both head and heel. It rounds out a fresh and powerful EP of futuristic house music.
The Viennese label forTunea finishes 2017 with another rendition of their forTunea Cookies recipe. The ingridients on the A-side were added by Klaus Benedek and the newest member of the forTunea bunch, Lukas Poellauer. - Splattered is another typical melancholic KB trip. A chopped hookline, heavy reverbed synths and a vocoder are the signature features in this track. Lukas delivers us on the other hand his interpretation of - Underground house music with Chicago and UK influences. The B-side gets a little spicier. Jakobin & Peletronic serve with - Morning Glory some funky seeds on the plate. Last but not least the Schampus Ghost teams up with Anemona to the baking session. What they are adding to the cookies What they are adding to the cookies Well, it is certanly not sugar. ;-) It is for the better not to unveil the secret ingridient. But lets just say, their tune has some cool disco-techy vibes innit. All in all an enjoyable treat
Already support by Iron Curtis, Blueshift, Dubble D, Paul Cut, Rainer Trüby, Manuel Sahagun, Roman Rauch, Franksen, Claudio Ricci. Tyree Cooper, Sarah Wild, Bart Ricardo, Janefondas, The Soulbrozerz, Eric Davenport, BTO Spider, Jaymz Nylon, Snooba
Every piece of paper has its own role in the big picture of a complex collage. Every fractal structure finds the same pattern as we continue to zoom into it. Apply these facts to the echoes and reverbs wrapped around the atmosphere that resides into distant dub references and you can catch a fair glimpse from the newest Motif release.
A master in applying the laws of reductionism within his signature sound, Adrian Niculae signs yet another powerful statement under the Motif vision: Consensual EP
forTunea presents its new member Peter Czak with his first ever vinyl release! Before The Rise is a deep and mysterious piece with a stomping broken beat and almost eerie sounding synthlines. Heavily experimental and detroitesque. The remixes have something to offer for everyone. Peletronic's aproach is a darker dub that can be played in techno clubs aswell as on deep house partys. The opposite of that is KB's Rising Sun remix. He rearranged the track that much, so you would almost believe it is a new composition. My Beat closes the ep with a heavy drum machine rhythm and synth-fanfares. All in all an interesting release for this summer. Do not miss this one!
Limited to 300 copys ///// Mastering by Patrick Pulsinger
Support by Tensnake, Red Rack'em, Anderson Noise, Siggatunez, Lenny Fontana, Manuel Sahagun, Robot84, Simonlebon, Lönya, Tom Lown
Following 2016's much-acclaimed solo album Mondo Alterado (HIPPIE 008CD/LP), original Pachanga Boy and Hippie Dance mentor Rebolledo returns to the limelight with the jam-packed Mondo Re-Alterado, tapping into his vast and varied network of friends and fellow soundsmiths. Artists such as Superpitcher, DJ Tennis, Maceo Plex, Red Axes, Fango, or Fantastic Twins deliver stunning takes on Rebolledo's unique signature sound, creating a full suite of exclusive remixes, cover versions, and reinterpretations. From the super-energetic club rumblings of Maceo Plex's "Discótico Pléxico" to DJ Tennis's dreamy "Pimiento Drive Version" of "A Numb Gas To The Future" or Fantastic Twins' party bomb "Fantastic Pow Pow", the journey through Mondo Re-Alterado is full of twists and turns -- a world where an epic, cinematic soundscape such as Superpicher's "Rainboy Super Space" sits comfortably alongside the claustrophobic, punishing banger that Fango sculpted from stand-out cut "Pow Pow". Meanwhile, Red Axes turn the casual narrative of "Life Is Strange, Life Is Hard, Life Is Great" into a bouncing workout -- a great companion piece to "WANT", Danny Daze and Shokh's propulsive, jagged dub version of "Fears Come True". Other highlights include Jörg Burger aka The Black Frame with the lush "Black Rainbow Woman", Paulor's country rock extravaganza "Discótico Desértico" and not one, but two excellent contributions from former Italians Do It Better honcho Mike Simonetti. It's a magical, surprising ride that finds beauty in contrasts -- while staying tuned to Rebolledo's spirit of adventure and powerful sense of style.
We are so happy and proud to embark Ambient Noise Level on the Mfd Ship for the 5th release! A.N.L. is a project from our dear friend Daniel Sanchez, who has recently been exploring new sonic territories, fetching sounds from the deepest corners of his universe. He produced a masterpiece of an EP/mini album with seven ambient, dub infused tracks, ear candy all the way. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: 'The soul within them'
Beneath their rugged skin and scalding flesh, there is a human soul trapped in eternity, burning with excruciating and insatiable energy.
Chapter 2: 'Inside their lair'
In the mountains old as the world itself, warlocks from across the lands has gathered inside their cavernous lair to celebrate and bless the birth of a hundred dragons. As they chant, their mother roar.
Chapter 3: 'They soar through flames'
Up in the endless sky, the hunters are soaring in the flames blasting from their jaws. With scales hot as the sun, flesh like molten iron, the fly in honor of this day of legends.
Chapter 4: 'Hatchlings, hatching'
As the celestial portals align, the hatchlings start to hatch. Catching their first glimpse of starlight and screaming to the eternal void as their tiny wings start to flap.
Supported by:
Deepbass, Ness, Rraph, Svreca, Antonio de Angelis, Arnaud le Texier, Hector Sandoval (Exium), Kwartz, Takaaki Itoh, The Noisemaker, Unam Zetineb, Valentin Corujo (Exium), Vilix, Mattias Fridell, Oscar Mulero, Refracted, DJ Sandrien, Eric Cloutier, Giorgio Gigli, Nihad Tule, Attemporal, Ben Buitendijk, Brendon Moeller (Echologist), Etapp Kyle, Nima Khak, Rasmus Hedlund, Retina.IT, Victor Martinez, Antonio Ruscito, Dubit, Periskop, Shaded Explorer, Warmth, Astronomical Telegram to name a few.
Rating 4/5 "Independent UK"
This solo debut by Air’s Nicolas Godin explores various elements of Bach, but without slavishly transposing his music to modern instruments in the manner of Wendy Carlos.
Instead, Godin uses themes and fragments from Bach as the jumping-off point for diverse musical explorations. In “Club Nine”, he borrows the “Take Five” rhythm, brushed out behind a cyclical piano figure, stained with resonant Bach chords on vibes and keyboard; and for “Clara”, the husky Latin croon of Brazilian singer Marcelo Camelo swoons over a stately dub arrangement of strings and woodwind.
The seven-minute “Bach Off” is the most dramatic piece, a suite shifting between interlocking Latin percussion, African highlife sax, stalking piano and harpsichord/woodwind interplay; while the blend of music-box, cellos, French horn, pizzicato and vocal pad makes “Elfe Man” sound like an outtake from Pet Sounds. A rich, rewarding indulgence.
After starting up the infamous Invite's Choice podcast series in 2011, Tim van Paradijs (a.k.a. Invite) notes that the time feels right to contribute to the techno scene in a totally different way. The long cherished wish of starting up a recordlabel under the Invite moniker and thus propagating his view on electonic music is now to be fulfilled.
Phonology is a deep and droning track which lends itself perfectly for building tension. Plenary is a more repetitive track with less of a deep vibe than the A-side track, but nonetheless is a track that manages to form a bridge between deep tracks and more straight forward ones. The EP is concluded by a short, funky and frivolous track dubbed Bisonspoor. All together the first Invite's Choice Records EP is a very versatile and thought through record with three tracks that stand alone and somehow still manage to form one entity.
Since 2010, Jackie House aka Jacob Sperber has been driving the A&R side of the San Francisco dance-music troupe running the HNYTRX label and producing remixes with other members under the Honey name. Putting label duties on hold in 2013 Sperber cocooned into his music studio, entering as a brave brunette and exiting as an ambitious blonde. "Stydive" is Jackie's debut to wax and has as much house-party in it as it does warehouse 4am. With a vocal sample nod to punk's past, 'Stydive' pogo dances to dusty and stuttering live/analog drum rhythms and skips along a rude and infectious bass-line. Bound to find lovers of all persuasions for its dub-esque qualities, instantly recognizable hook, and open relationship with house music, this tune begged to have it's own side. That said, there is always room for some Matrixxman who takes Stydive to a strobe lit South of Market darkroom in his remix on the B. Spurting erotic lazers around a cavernous kick, this tune finishes off even the most experienced edger.
A hypnotic melodica-led instrumental from singer, composer and
multi-instrumentalist G.T. Moore who first recorded the track at Harry J's Studio in
Jamaica in 1980. This later cut was originally released under G.T's `The
Outsider' guise for Rej Forte's Jah Works label back in 1991 appearing on the
long-deleted album 'The Outsider Meets The Hi-Tech Roots Dynamics at Channel One UK'.
*Now appearing on 45 for the first time backed with a dub version from the deepest vaults..
German Mark Jackus and Marcus Sur collaborated on this beautiful piece of music with singer/songwriter Golden Parazyth.
Noir Music is delighted to have signed the incredible 'In The Night' song which sits somewhere in between electronica and deephouse. This one works both as a club track and a treat for the ears when you just want some quality music in your life.
Timo Maas and Ed Ed deliver the more clubby vocal versions of the track and Tiger Stripes makes it a club-dub effort. All 3 remixes are a bit more edgy and functional for club plays.
Hit play and get sucked into the sweet melancholy of this track.
Having recently joined forces with Dubfire to bring us the third instalment of their successful Elements Series, Ideal Audio boss Oliver Huntemann flies solo again on his latest double-header, Licht & Schatten. Whilst we are all aware of the Oliver's arena conquering techno credentials, his latest work finds the German producer taking his foot off gas, just a touch, and allowing the groove to dominate these tracks. The driving, pulsing and cascading bassline of Licht provides the backdrop to crisply synced, stiffly arranged hi hats and kicks, before dropping into a minimal but funky melody. On the flip, Schatten treads a similar path. The track is anchored by an industrial, mechanised kick and flash-like synth touches before swollen, acidic stabs set the pace on the drop. Both show a different but equally welcome face to Oliver's sound.
Jel Ford kicks off his return EP with two tracks of clean big room techno. The title track 'Backyard' is a moody affair with a low drone throughout that is complimented with layered synth stabs.
Using reverb to create atmosphere within the track it subtly breaks down before a vocal hook transcends the track to deliver a killer blow. 'Meeting of Minds' is dubbier and uses a tripped out synth to add rhythm whilst working alongside a synth pattern to keep the track chugging along.
The slow evolving pads add texture and keep the track nicely filled out whilst this timeless classic keeps on givin
Belgian talent Ilario Liburni looks to the release of his debut LP, 'Travel So Far', forthcoming on his own label, Invade Records. The eight track affair comes on a double vinyl pack as well as digital form which will follow a month later and proves the man behind it to be a superb producer with plenty to say.
Combining elements of house, minimal and intricate sound design, Ilario also heads up the Cardinal label and first emerged back in 2011 on Monique Musique. Since then he has gone on to release on a number of respected imprints (including Riva Starr's Snatch! And Memoria Recordings), has had his tracks licensed to compilations including Noir's In the House album for Defected and has continued to make a big impression as a DJ around Europe.
The album kicks off with 'Travel So Far', a synthetic and stripped back groove with lots of squelchy sounds, scurrying synths and feathery percussive lines all working their way into your brain. 'Sudden' is another Ricardo Villalobos style track that is elongated, intricate and immersive as it unfolds on soft edged drums. Next up, 'Carrie' is a smooth, dubbed out affair that demonstrates plenty of restraint yet really locks you into its hypnotic groove as static hiss and crackles alongside distant synths colour the spaces left behind.
'Steampunked Sewing Machine' ups the ante a little with a hollowed out drum line rocking back and forth on its heels, and 'Can't Fool Data' starts all waify and minimalistic before getting pulled apart to the sound of whirring machines, and then it drops again; you can imagine dancefloors going wild to its hooky rhythms. 'Jenndrum' is all about the pinging drum kicks and globular toms that make for a peppery groove, 'Pherthothal' toys with a sense of abstract funk and closer 'Schwalbe' is a gloopy, gluey, druggy fusion of slurred synths, hiccupping drums and dark textures that make for involving listening.
This is a genuinely inventive album riddled with fascinating sounds,
a real attention to detail and plenty of otherworldly moods that really stick with you.
Ideal Audio presents the fourth and final instalment of Oliver Huntemann and Dubfire's seminal ELEMENTS series. These techno heavyweights have worked together on numerous projects over the years, but it is their Elements collaborations that have shone impressively as a complete body of work. AGUA is the final piece of the music puzzle and completes the series that first saw the light of day back in 2010 with the scorching FUEGO.
2011 brought us TERRA, firm and powerful with its devastating breakdown. 2013 saw us breathe in the mystical AIRE, harnessing the elements of the previous tracks to build a fresh and magical moment. AGUA, as its name suggests, flows effortlessly, helped in no small part by the sultry vocal of Xenia Beliayeva, but kicks in equal measure.
Signing off in such style has also lead to Ideal Audio drafting in some heavy weight talent on the remixes. Carl Craig, under his C2 moniker, dives straight in to strip the original to its core. A single drum beat, siren, clap... and then the kick. Petar Dundov twists the original's elements into a bubbling acidic stream that washes over us. An impressive package for an impressive finale!
Cellaa Music are very happy to welcome our great friend Marc Faenger and Label Head Sven Jaeger back to the fold. This one - obviously called B2B Volume 1 features two artists, two universes, two different ways to approach the music theory to form a B2B Cellaa relationship.
Young, skilled and supremely talented, Marc Faenger, is an artist set for great things on the international scene. Marc´s - Nip' contains an infectious groove an elegant labyrinth of percussive dub textures and sinusoidal tones and fast shuffling hats. Deep, fresh and seductively satisfying, this tune was designed for the discerning dancefloor.
Sven Jaeger returns to Cellaa Music with his second release for his label. - Get The Fuck' is a track that immediately commands attention with it's rolling, rich bassline surrounded by punchy, organic drums that delivers a soothing atmosphere. The track is really powerful and works really well on all dance-floors. People love it!'
The first of the remixes comes from the in form, Reelow. His releases have been huge hits, ruling the DJ charts. Here he strips the oringinal of Marc Faenger to it's essential parts. The super dry kickdrum and percussion in combination with the deep subs together create Reelow´s own techno vision.
Next we have Dan Noel providing a soulful tech house surrogate to the original of Mr. Jaeger. His remix has a deeper twist with glittering sounds and a concrete percussive arrangement to convey a fantastic Remix.
For they debut release on Cellaa Music, Bjorn Wolf & Youri Donatz stepping up themself with the fantastic 'Put Your Mind On Zero'EP and demonstrate their love of electronic Music.
"Put Your Mind On Zero" swirls into a heavy upright bass groove seething with woody percussions and plenty of sonic details flesh out the languorous but slightly tribal groove to make this a dancefloor mover.
The Höhenregler head Basti Grub built a Remix on a rolling, almost bouncy groove on the "Put Your Mind On Zero" that keeps gaining momentum with the additon of new percussive elements that gets more and more swinging, this slowly evolving track create a unique atmosphere.
The EP continues with the dub-influenced "Bred" with a broken beat and mild-mannered percussion, before a bouncy bassline kicks in and transforms it to a dancefloor smasher. If this is the most banging track of the EP, then it's been a while since a banger's been so catchy.
"Before Singing We Must Leave The Church" is a rabid beast of a track that contains with an infectious groove and chuggy drums. With its hypnotic vibe, tripped out sounds, It is taking you on an interstellar trip.
The duo have taken care to show huge respect in creating a EP that is intended to leave unforgettable magic on the dancefloors.
Debut release on Mira from The KVB's new project
Full colour, stickered picture sleeve designed by Silent Servant AKA Juan Mendez
MIRA005 by Burma Camp is the fifth release of Avian's 10' inch sub-label Mira. Following their collaboration with the British DJ and producer Ventress (who also co-runs Avian and Mira) on the recent winner on Mira (Worn - Mira004), minimal synth duo 'The KVB' return to the label with this new project.
This release again incorporates the band's nostalgic, shimmering guitar sound but also treads a darker, more dubbed feel across its 3 unnerving tracks.
Mira began in 2012 as an outlet for material sitting outside of Avian's general aesthetic - a home for more esoteric & experimental techno, noise, drone and industrial. Previous releases have come from Bleaching Agent and Covered In Sand.
Musik Krause, the label with that special funk and the wide view releases the fourth album in their 10-year history. The circle is complete. In 2002 they started with Metaboman. Now there is the album. As a part of the record-spinning Krause Duo he's known a number of escapades having to do with the 'bash' or rather party culture. Inventively they go about things on a winding path. The have a developed a completely singular metaphoric like a Krauzy schroud and trashno effect. Even if on this long player there is a good deal of gravitation and disengaged handbrake, the beloved notorious krause-vibe swings in every beat, as Metaboman forges the iron. He wants to go further and let himself be taken away, and above all with the musicians he has won over with his live-project to massage the masses from the stage. Krause Duo remains. The album comes in this regard as a gesture providing the direction. Solo here is the conductor, the arranger and the composer in one. Various artists is the keyword, good ol' Metaboman. On all ten songs our friendly neighborhood sonic meister sets the notes and vibes between the skillful, grooving rhythms. In this way there is a bonafied club album in the room that understands rhythm-feeling. Music that in the club context brings an attribute that stands far above the plain acoustic shock and scream. Party But of course, yet still both feet in the game with not a little insubordination, depth, plumes of smoke and indulgence. Metaboman has always had his own vision, which plays out and mirrors his own authentic uniqueness. He doesn't find sounds. He finds shapes and forms and that is the progressive aspect, not the new sounds but rather the new forms. He 's not merely about the subteranean bassdrum, but rather telling his own story. He gives his pieces space and depth. The music itself is positioned somewhere within a sonic cosmos. The listener can functionally hear the record in a club. A freak and his freaks invite you and in your heart you know long before it is apparent that you belong. You can clearly hear that this dude and his folks want me to be there! This album encompasses the moment and keeps it safe for posterity. This music is the language of Metaboman and it is the understood. inkl. digital download code
Crying Outcast returns with its third release, landing close to home with legendary dub innovator The Rootsman. Bradford’s own and a true pioneering force in experimental dub since the 90s, The Rootsman’s influence runs quietly but deeply through the underground. Roots Return gathers three essential works from his catalogue, including collaborations with Celtarabia and Russ (The Disciples) as Pachakuti, alongside a light-headed reinterpretation from label head Miles J Paralysis. Spiritual and subtly psychedelic, yet deeply rooted in dub tradition throughout, drawing on influences from Pakistani devotional hymns and Celtic folk traditions. An essential modern day EP, displaying a meeting point between the heritage and the future sound of dub music.
180g Heavy double vinyl LP with liner notes by Tyran Grillo. Limited Japanese Obi for the first pressing. Original artwork by Russell Mills and photography by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
The third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations by celebrated producer Bill Laswell of Ethiopian singer Gigi. Curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka, it is the first time Illuminated Audio is pressed to vinyl after its CD release in 2003.
Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer Bill Laswell.
Around the same time, Chris Blackwell had stepped away from Island Records to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He took an interest in Gigi and together with Laswell, pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for her self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter. It won international critical acclaim, not just for its musicianship but for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community”, as journalist Tyran Grillo praises in his Time Capsule liner notes. From the nation-defining 1896 victory over Italian invaders to the quiet revolutionaries who wear simple shemma garments, Grillo believes the themes in Gigi make it “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles.”
After its success, Blackwell encouraged them to go back into the studio to rethink the album and Illuminated Audio was born. “Anyone can make a voice sound worldly”, Grillo remarks, “but rare are those who can make one sound inner-worldly.” Gigi was clear with Laswell to give her vocals a minor role “because it’s already been done.” Instead her Amharic verse is fleeting, exhaling through the textures like ghostly fragments; soaring yet muted. Yet the album is still titled under her name, an assertion by Laswell of her central role in the album’s creation. Not only was it a fully endorsed project by Gigi, but she would be present throughout its development, giving feedback on half-finished ideas as Laswell played them back in the studio. “It works perfectly”, she reflected after the album’s release. “We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place”.
This new vocabulary takes its lead from a technical approach that Laswell had been perfecting during a furtive creative period at the turn of the millennium. Much like his ambient interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell approached Illuminated Audio by returning to the original multitrack masters. Gigi wasn’t just reworked, but recomposed into an expansive lattice of instruments, submerged in a watery ambience of dub and trance undercurrents.
Sonically, this new language that Gigi refers to, is manifested by the original album’s more understated parts being pushed to the fore. Explaining his contrasting methods, Laswell saw Gigi as being “put together in a way that fits”. Contrastingly, in Illuminated Audio, “a lot of things that I featured in the remix weren’t as audible in the original.” Instrumentation laying near-dormant, deep in the mix, are brought to the fore: the acid rock guitar and Wayne Shorter’s saxophone on ‘Tew Ante Sew’, Graham Haynes’ flugelhorn on ‘Nafekeñ’, Laswell’s bass on ‘Kahn’, the melodica in Mengedegna or the floating synths and talking drums in ‘Gud Fella’.
Brought to his attention by mentor DJ Nori, Hidaka describes Illuminated Audio as a “masterful sonic exploration into ethereal ambience and dub” and made sure this reissue also contained a full remaster to give its “deep musicality” much better dynamics and density in the overall sound. Hidaka admits that Laswell's music “is sometimes so out-there, it is often misunderstood” and, indeed, to dub album non-believers this might seem like a prolific producer imposing himself on another artist’s work; eternally developing rearrangements that never quite get to its destination. But that’s missing its true power and triumph. This is more than the reissue of a remix, but “a wholly unique musical entity”, as Hidaka describes. Illuminated Audio refers to the illuminated manuscripts that comprise the major part of Ethiopian art and its new compositions stand in proud solitude as a rare body of reworks that both informs and enhances their originals.
Rob Smith, RSD is not only a successful dubstep producer and pioneer of the Bristol sound, but also a very popular deejay travelling the world sharing his music. Coming from a reggae background and well-versed in sound system culture, Rob kept some of his best productions for his exclusive use when deejaying, the only way you would hear these gems was being played in one of Rob's sets. Fortunately, we've managed to persuade Rob to let Reggae Archive Records share these dubplate specials with a wider audience on a limited-edition vinyl LP. Compiled and sequenced in conjunction with Rob, the LP features nine tracks newly edited and mastered by Rob to enhance the bass playback on vinyl - it's cut heavy!
The tracks were recorded between 2006 and 2011, a time when one strand of dubstep heavilyembraced reggae and dub. Rob calls these tracks reggae infused dubstep and that's what they are, but Reggae Archive Records is a reggae label and this selection of dubstep tracks will most certainly appeal just as much to reggae and dub fans. Fusing dubstep beats, reggae samples, and seriously heavy basslines, this is a joyous celebration of musical cross fertilisation that has been tried and tested in clubs worldwide. In keeping with the dubplate origins of the tracks, we have designed the labels to replicate an old school acetate, while the sleeve pays tribute to seventies pre-releases albums with a replica stamp giving just the artist and title on a plain white sleeve with aged effect.
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Indie shops only. Limited red vinyl rerelease. 500 for the World (just 80 copies for the UK) After falling out with Sir Coxsone, the legendary head of the Kingston label Studio One, Lee Perry first founded his own band and then, in 1973, set up his own studio in his backyard. What was born out of necessity developed into a unique success story. With both the Upsetters and the Black Ark, Perry made music history - most notably with the 1976 release of the album Super Ape, on which he made the genre of dub bubble and boil from the mixing desk in previously unheard ways. For Perry, the studio is like a living organism. Whether he truly experiences it that way or simply lets too much ganja go up in smoke, for Perry the equipment is organic, empathetic, and intelligent. The catch is that the results sound exactly like that as well. Long before sampling was invented, he layered tracks of deep basslines, echoes, and reverb with various self-recorded sound sequences – often played in reverse - on top of, into, and beneath each other. In other words, Perry was the first producer who made the music instead of the band. Among other things, this earned him the title ‘Salvador Dali of Dub.’
Compiled onto one vinyl album for the first time, Landlocked (Numbers, 2026) presents Hallucinator’s 1999 debut album originally released under Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald’s label Chain Reaction. Writing much surrounding the culture of what would be later considered ‘Dub Techno’ and its’ primary distribution center, Hard Wax, leads one down roads of shifting primary sources and decades old overheard smoke break recollections. Maybe brevity primes the listener to the paralinguistic to approach the sound on its terms; focusing on how things are uttered and not what.
This theory will remain unconfirmed. Hallucinator original press release left us with three or so gestures to consider over the years since:
“A new act on CHAIN REACTION”s distinct productional thesis. HALLUCINATOR are 3 people from he UK/London and this their first release ever- that’s all what the artists want to let us know…. This record is dedidacted to the memory of Stephen Lawrence!”
The first gesture is one of personnel. Since ’99, we’ve gotten to learn a bit more about the artists behind the Hallucinator project. All London-based, all writers, composers, and sound-designers— Anna Piva, Edward George, Trevor Mathison. These three seem to flow between parameters as aesthetic tactic and tacit structure to the work itself. For example, other collaborative shapes have come from this lineup including Flow Motion (Piva, George and Mathison) as well as the now defunct Black Audio Film Collective of which George and Mathison are founding members.
The second gesture is in the second line of the previous press release, “distinct productional thesis.” Much of Landlocked’s affect and sequencing seems to suggest an emotional study of entropy at the level of sediment. Rhythms play with space and capacity through polyvalence. The production chose subtractive vertigo, often switching and bringing back in elements that vanished from the track 6 minutes ago. Dubbing out so much of a track, one begins to associate sound akin to memories held in the experience of running your hand across a concrete block as a child. Felt (re)memberance in lieu of narrative tale. Using textures that flicker between colour and percussion, Hallucinator’s 12-tracker of loudspeaker perception music might be a mediation on the psychic wake of the Cold War. Intermittent strata of ambience and groove convects an active margin rifting event underneath a scorched geology of power in Western Europe. Again, this is all grapevine hearsay.
But it’s silence that voices the third gesture. The album’s sparse application of the written word touches on the ennui paradox of being landlocked on an island. Stuck. Trapped in the psychosis of occidental hypercentricism. A looping silence of Black British tragedy: “to the memory of Stephen Lawrence”. 18 year-old Lawrence was stabbed to death at a bus stop in southeast London by six white men in 1993. The rift of grief and implicit reiteration of modern subordination left by this hate act went legally silent for almost two decades until Lawrence’s killers were ultimately sentenced to virtually life in jail in 2012. Only six years removed at the time of Hallucinator’s initial invocation of rememory, the mind-numbing accretion of what Black Studies Professor Denise Ferreira da Silva might call “unpayable debt”, finds demonic ground across Landlocked, forming an aural sense of what continues to be refused.
The album ventures through spaces of overactive non-happenings: ‘Red Angel’’s factory floor dub flashes between smokestack and jungle visions, or the halfway mark’s stilted breath of ‘Dusk’ lending its mood to the sort of sedated dreams built from daily life under colony rule for instance. That linked rhythm links us back to our linked fates across Black and Brown folk is real, thus the syncopated signals through this work behave on the level of transnational radiotelegraphy, sounding out its windswept tension of a body negotiating a meat-grinder schema of linear production and wage for others to know that unspeakable thing can be broadcast in every drum tongue.
As the silence continues to reverb, we return to the sort of meaning-making that cannot be told but felt. Soothing to some, disturbing to others. Landlocked, a Rorschach test for a crumbled empire.
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Since starting Bytes in 2019 we’ve fielded a lot of messages along the lines of, “Is this ever going to be released on vinyl?” The bulk of these requests have concerned remixes of artists on Bytes done by Andy Bell (RIDE/Oasis) under his electronic alter-ego GLOK. And on realising that he has done four for us now (Franz Kirmann, Steve Queralt & Michael Smith, Herrmann Kristoffersen and Seagoth), it seemed silly not to compile them all together on a four-track 12” EP. The super limited edition 12” is on black wax and comes in the original Bytes house bag with a vinyl sticker containing all the release info signed by Andy. Edition of 250. No repress.
A1. SOLITARY (GLOK REMIX) - FRANZ KIRMANN
The first remix Andy ever did for Bytes was a radical reworking of ‘Solitary’, the towering ambient closer to Franz Kirmann’s ‘Madrapour’ album, which was released on Bytes in 2019. Andy’s remix is a heartbreaking, melancholic 3am banger. This is one for fans of Four Tet and Jon Hopkins, a slowburner with billowing plumes of distortion that builds towards an ecstatic rush of a finale.
A2. CHALDEAN ORACLE (GLOK REMIX) - STEVE QUERALT & MICHAEL SMITH
In 2023 Andy took ‘Chaldean Oracle’, a track from the collaboration between his RIDE bandmate Steve Queralt and the writer Michael Smith, down the K-Hole, eschewing Michael’s vocal almost entirely and turning in a Detroit dub-techno monster with echoes of Bandulu and Carl Craig in its shimmering melodies, eerie distortion and pounding drums.
‘Gone Gold’ was the title track of the excellent second album by ambient-techno group Herrmann Kristoffersen (2021). Andy taps deep into the dub at the heart of the original, with echoes of John Carpenter's soundtracks and his own extended electronic excursions under the GLOK moniker.
B2. ETERNITY (GLOK REMIX) - SEAGOTH
It was Andy who brought Seagoth to the attention of Bytes when he played ‘Eternity’ on his Soho Radio show in 2020. It all came full circle when Bytes released ‘Eternity’ as a single in 2021, with a stunning remix by Andy in his GLOK guise on the flip. Andy strips the track back to showcase the resonant vocal in all its glory before the blissed-out outro that makes full use of the track’s dancefloor-friendly drum break.
'Double Seven, released by Trojan in late 1973, was the last album Lee 'Scratch' Perry would release on the label for some considerable time, and it was essentially the final album project he put together before establishing his own Black Ark studio. Opening track 'Kentucky Skank' sets the tone with a slow creeper whose frying sounds underscore its role as a praise song to the Colonel's KFC recipes; the cosmic Moog blips come courtesy of Ken Elliott at Camden's Chalk Farm studio, also prominently featured on U-Roy's double-tracked, stereo-panned gambling ode 'Double Six.' David Isaacs' 'Just Enough' was cut a few years prior, which makes it slightly out of phase with the rest of the set, though the enigmatic 'In The Iaah' sounds mightily fresh, with its uncredited chorus said to come courtesy of the Wailers. Perry's own 'Jungle Lion' has hilarious roars from the maestro at the start, strangely grafted atop a reggae re-make of Al Green's 'Love and Happiness.'
'Overall, Double Seven melds the soul, funk, reggae and dub elements that were constant in Perry's work during this phase. His enhanced audio spectrum and endless reference points would keep his music continually apart from that made by his peers.'
—David Katz (excerpt from the liner notes)
Djrum's first release since 2019, the Meaning’s Edge EP is an introduction to a whole new world. For the artist also known as Felix Manuel, it was created in the final stretches of six rather traumatic years work. Having carefully honed his techniques and aesthetics, and learned some hard-won emotional lessons over this time, finally he began to work in a quicker, lighter fashion – and to cleanse his palate a little by bringing in a fresh ingredient: his own flute playing. For listeners, though, it will serve as an appetiser, a way into the delights and complexities of this new phase of his creativity.
It’s a serious work in its own right, mind. The use of flutes – including Bansuri, Shakuhatchi, Western Classical, and synthesised all blending and blurring into one another – gives it a coherence and a sense of airiness that unites the five tracks over half an hour, however divergent their beats get. And as in all his music, Felix’s whole life is in here. Ethnomusicology studies, untold hours of DJing everywhere from the gnarliest squat raves to the most rarefied deep house clubs, explorations of his own neurological and emotional makeup, and the technical finesse of someone who is never not creating music or art, all roll into an experience that’s dazzling, delightful and keeps on giving.
Just the opening track ‘Codex’ alone touches on OG dubstep, Aphex Twin-like braindance, post-classical exploration, movie themes and more. The gentle tones and melodies that rise up out of it perfectly conjure Felix’s running theme of a protective bubble that provides a sense of safety and tranquillity even as the beats and acid gurgles and spurts all around it conjure up the slings and arrows of life’s difficulties.
The tone set, the EP moves through ultra-rarefied glass-like percussion in an almost ambient setting, hints of grime’s counterintuitive patterns, and even more hectic patterns influenced by Tanzania’s hyperspeed singeli style of dance music – but always with that perfect balance of chaos and control, unpredictability and protection. It rewards playing and replaying endlessly, it’s a profound and often joyous experience… and it’s only just the beginning. This is the return of a master craftsperson more focused than ever on his vision and vocation and ready to blow your mind all over again.
Mastered and cut on 140g black vinyl by legendary mastering engineer Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, London. Pressed at optimal media, Germany.
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Last delivered 19 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
AUDIO VERSATILE RECORDINGS is an independent record label dedicated to producing and promoting high-quality electronic music. With a passion for discovering and supporting unique artists, Whether you're an artist looking for a label or a listener seeking fresh, cutting-edge tracks, Audio Versatile Recordings is your destination for diverse and dynamic electronic music.
DJ Himitsu is a Tokyo-born, London-based producer and DJ, known for his understated approach and deep knowledge of Japanese vinyl and book culture. Following a debut EP of acid house on Australian imprint Lunatic Music in 2023, 'Exotic Animals' marks a new waypoint in Himitsu's artistic evolution.
On this debut full length, driving 303 basslines and kickdrums are traded in for obscure recordings and convoluted samples, which spiral and fuse to form shuffling, heady new compositions. Like shattered pottery reassembled into top-heavy sculptures with golden glue, 'Exotic Animals' shapes and juxtaposes opposing forms and fragments, with lolloping aplomb.
When not producing, DJ Himistu runs Caravan - a vintage Japanese record, ceramics and bookshop in London. It's with the same warmth, care and curiosity that he arranges his findings in the plunderous grotto of 'Exotic Animals'. In this way, stepping inside this work is like entering a remote trading post of instruments, memoirs and other sonic curios - as Himitsu stands patiently at the counter.
Recommended for fans of Jon Hassell, Giovanni Venosta, Discrepant.
Nous'klaer Audio presents Nikos: A central figure and driving force of the Rotterdam nightlife, behind the scenes as well as on stage with powerful, ever-evolving live performances. Four tracks to make your body move, cut loud and going deep. The release marks the start of a new series on the label dubbed Spine. Supporting the head, connecting the brain to the body, a base for movement. The Spine series will focus on flow, while remaining energetic and driving. The sound design is bending and twisting, the solid sub bass will keep you grounded. The release comes in a special sleeve designed by Alice Vink aka Dirtydms.
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Last delivered 7 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
