Brand new 7' EP from Glasgow's Vital Idles, following on from the band's well-received debut LP and a rigorous Marc Riley BBC 6 Music session from last year. Vital Idles are touring Europe in support of the EP, finishing up in the UK playing a series of UTR showcase parties in celebration of the label's 15 year history.
If there isn't yet a tradition of following a magnificent debut album with a, shoelaces-tightened, excellent mission statement of an EP (one would be forgiven to think that the debut long player was the mission statement already, breaking in on the scene/ry with such unmissable and rarely seen sensory delight, but then upon hearing the subsequently released EP one is tempted to think: "Wow! That debut was truly astonishing but now they are REALLY on a mission!"), well, if this tradition doesn't already exist - and thinking about Young Marble Giants' scene-defining "Final Day" 7", Pylon's absolutely essential "!!" 10" and Carla Dal Forno's recent-yet-already-classic "The Garden" 12" one might argue that this tradition is undoubtedly fully existent (more so: alive and well) — then this self-titled extended play from much beloved Glasgow quartet Vital Idles would surely be a striking argument for the genesis of such a tradition.
On the other hand, when taking sides with the many seasoned critics arguing that this tradition has indeed long been established, one might confidently list this effort as a bona fide example of such practice, sharing with the aforementioned not only an astute and accomplished artistic ability but also a sense of minimalist psychedelia that transcends restrictions set by redundant referencialism and grateless genre parameters such as "Post Punk" or "Minimal Pop" (on which the same critics, of course, often disagree).
That being said, ping-ponging from gritty post punk smashes to minimal pop moments and vice versa, Vital Idles' sphere of stripped-down efficiency and sharp personal observation also brings to mind crucially overseen half-chord-wonders Glorious Din as well as antipodean contemporaries like Constant Mongrel (who also had their latest release mastered by the fantastic M. Young), Primo! (who also had their latest release mastered by the fantastic M. Young) and Terry (who also had their latest release mastered by the fantastic M. Young).
The EP reveals itself as a steady, hypotenusal rise of intensity and momentum, starting with the hallucinogenic restrain of opener "Break A", building tension throughout the gothic-noise flourishes of "Seconds" and "Rustle Rustle" and culminating in "Careful Extracts", a 2 minute burst of carefree introspection that might as well be the unintentional answer to early career highlight "My Sentiments": "just me and my/ tired ire/ a a a a a a a a a a"
In conclusion: Vital Idles' debut was truly astonishing but - wow! - now they are truly on a mission.
Suche:essé
Dutch producer Tripeo returns to his self-titled imprint this March to release four ethereal cuts entitled 'We Have Power In Numbers'.
With a discography of over thirty releases across nearly two decades, Darko Esser aka Tripeo has truly established himself as a key figure within the techno world. His open-minded and forward-thinking approach to music allows his ideas to continually develop and transform, which reflects through his vast material on his Wolfskuil Records imprint. The label recently hosted an exciting new wave of techno artists such as Shlømo, Rumah, PTA (Ambivalent & Physical Therapy) and Cadans, who collaborated with Tripeo on a Rekids release at the end of 2018.
'We Have Power In Numbers' kicks off with sparkling, acid arpeggios, encapsulating pads and weaving modulations before 'Hoax' delivers shuffling percussion, shimmering synth lines and stabbing, bass grooves.
'Pandora's Box' follows on the flip with haunting oscillations, growling resonations and an off-beat 909 clap throwing you right in the groove until 'Pay It Forwards' finishes things off with electro-tinged flavours, tantalising pads and stirring melodies.
Following on from last year's releases by Neue Grafik and Selectors Assemble, CoOp Presents step into 2019 with a new 4-track EP courtesy of Oliver Night; a DJ, producer & singer born and raised in North London.
In addition to joining the Selectors Assemble family recently, Oliver is a member and producer of Roots Manuva's Banana Klan. He established himself as a DJ some 15 years ago, and has since played across the capital, from the Tate Modern to Boiler Room. His music has been supported in the past by the likes of Tony Humphries, Kerri Chandler & Seth Troxler,
This four-tracker illustrates Oliver's diverse range of influences, from the initial inspiration of his Jamaican uncle, musician Hughie Izachaar (who worked with Lee Scratch Perry & others), through to his passion for London's broken beat movement. Oliver's sound epitomises tru-skool UK sound-system ethics; grounded in reggae and dub production sensibilities, whilst built solidly for the bruk and house music dances of today.
The set kicks off with title track, 'Make Believe', featuring the powerhouse vocals of BB.JAMES aka Bethany Barnett Bywater, who's had previous releases with EVM128, Spoek Mathambo and Waze & Odyssey. London-based singer BB is a talent to watch in her own right, as proven on this monster of a track, which has all the ingredients to crossover & damage dancefloors underground and over. Sassy soulful vocals ride a woofer-shattering b-line and synth stabs with devastating effect - a sureshot future anthem.
Next up is 'Swing For Life', an instrumental jazz-house affair, which features the talents of Vancouver-born trumpeter, Jay Phelps - a highly-prolific, highly-acclaimed musician in the jazz world, who found his base in the capital over a decade ago and has since worked with a veritable who's who of international jazz artists, including Courtney Pine, Wynton Marsalis, Amy Winehouse, Hugh Masakela & George Benson, to name a few.
Finally, the flipside brings with it two versions of the cut 'U Got To', remixed by Selectors Assemble family, Cengiz, and label founders IG Culture (fresh from receiving a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 2019 Worldwide Awards) and Alex Phountzi (formerly of Bugz In The Attic) aka NameBrandSound, delivering more of their signature bassweight business. Oliver unleashes his own vocal talents on this track, deftly demonstrating a rich, soulful Omar-esque quality to his voice, and completing a truly heavyweight debut for the label.
This record is huge. Essential business, no BS. A truly firing start to the new year for CoOp Presents.
Limited vinyl & digital available on ********
Mutima is the debut album led by bassist Cecil McBee recorded in 1974 and first released on the Strata-East label. In his review for Michael G. Nastos called it "A landmark recording in early creative improvised modern music" and states "McBee as a pure musician has staggering technique, rich harmonic ideas, and an indefatigable swing, but it is as a composer that he is set apart from other musicians of this mid-'70s era... Mutima (translated as "unseen forces") undoubtedly solidified his stature and brilliance as a major player". Dustygroove now calls it: 'A great bit of spiritual soul jazz - and one of the few albums as a leader recorded by the legendary bassist Cecil McBee! Cecil's joined here by a large group of players that includes Billy Hart on drums, George Adams on tenor, Onaje Allen Gumbs on piano, Jimmy Hopps on percussion, Art Webb on flute and Dee Dee Bridgewater on vocals - adding in just a touch of soulful color to the record as she did on a few other 70s sides like this.' Plus: 'The music's got that essential Strata East sound, with a rich and spiritual vibe on all tracks, and slight bits of funk hiding somewhere in the mix! Tracks are long and freely expressive - but never too outside, either.' A long lost classic we call it. And this latest reissue is the best vinyl version ever since it first appeared almost 45 years ago!
Hip hop heads, 7" freaks - Check this one!
Earth shattering early 80's Bronx sounds transmitted back to us as fresh as the day they were terraformed!
NYC's Easy Street label is known for it's contributions to house music, electronic disco and boogie, but there was a handful of early rap singles on the label too including this megaton bomb from the freshly monikered Lil' Jazzy Jay & Cool Supreme from '85, all the way live. This record has it all, dubbed out FX, vox, cuts and brain frying vocoders..... not to mention the monolithic drum machines and dope braggadocios rhyming.
This is the FIRST TIME this mid 80's rap rarity has been made available on a 7". Both the 'club vocal' & 'dub instrumental' are featured here, cut at 33 rpm for maximum sonics. Made available courtesy of Above Board distribution for 2019. Shout out to Easy Street, %100 legit re-issue, re-master & re-press, essential wax!
Shirley Wahls is known as one of the young pioneers of Gospel music. Singing in the church since the age of three, she began her singing career in the junior choir of the Mt Pleasant Baptist Church under the direction of Ruth Jones. Her professional career began with such legendary groups as "The Argo Singers", "The Ward Gospel Singers" and "The Dorothy Norwood Singers" before trying her hand on secular music around the mid 1960s. Between 1967 and 1976 she had released eight 45RPM singles on different labels such as King, Calla, Smash, Blue Rock, and Giant. The two songs featured on this 45 are probably her funkiest recordings and were long overdue for an official reissue. We'd like to say "Thank You" to Ms. Wahls for giving us the permission to re-release these wonderful songs. This is an essential double-sider which certainly fills any dance floor.
After More Than A Decade Turning Knobs Around Colombia, Gladkazuka Delivers His First Solo 12": Mucha Pimienta. Across Four Tracks, The Medellín Producer Displays The Lose, Genuine, Take On Machine-driven Funk And Electro That Earned Him The Reputation As An Essential Artist Of The South American Circuit. A Collection That Speaks Loudly For An Otherwise Reclusive Artist, This Record Provides Rare Insight Into One Of Colombia's Most Lauded Performers.
Payfone bring a double header of NYC styled heat for the inaugural release on their newly launched Otis Recordings. Marrying modern boogie and classic R&B, with cosmic leanings and Balearic touches, Payfone manage to keep all the essence of the early days whilst bringing a contemporary swagger to the floor.
Each element in 'I Was In New York' gets the space it deserves. Palm muted guitars and sashaying synth echoes flutter over the top of a strutting slap bass courtesy of Giulio Granchelli. A simplicity that sings - simultaneously giving your mind the space it needs to drift off into a daydream of sunsets over cityscapes. Introspective, meditative and innocent, Dayna Talley's spoken word vocals lull listeners into memories of tranquil times. Set to be one of 2019's standout songs, its refreshingly original and sure to cut through the noise.
The B side, 'A Prayer For Maya Angelou' takes a Balearic boat out across calming seas. Gravitating around a metallic, pulsating synth, modulated to bounce at points and brood at others, mystic flurries drift in the distance, as pads wash across the horizon. Len Xiang's melancholic tale reverberates throughout, with those sweet sax sounds from Billy Brooks Paul and a spring reverbed guitar riffing off into the ocean - elevating this into pure paradise.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this iconic release from Titonton we are reissuing these highly sought after tracks! Titonton is one of the very few artists out there who not only created their own individual production sound and DJ style but one of the few who has stuck to the creative energy that fueled the original works and continues to do so. And now, carefully remastered from the original DAT recordings these works sound fresher and better than ever!
On Pedro Vian's second album, the now Amsterdam-based artist opens up a new sonic chapter of his life, running through depths of emotions and feelings, traversing moments of euphoria, fury, serenity, hope and love. Recorded between 2014 and 2018, the self titled LP opens with a melodic flourish, drops down through mournful vocal driven pieces and lands on fast moving synths across a set of 12 deeply personal tracks.
A follow up to Vian's 2016 acclaimed debut album 'Beautiful Things You Left Us For Memories' - supported by Pitchfork, RA, XLR8R, Ransom Note, The Quietus, NTS - this sophomore LP shows the breadth and maturity of Vian's sound, falling in between the cracks of downtempo electronica, ambient and post rock. Pedro discloses: 'I have tried to be sincere, transparent and pure. During the recording process I have avoided artificiality. I do not like the overproduction of music. I like to feel the naturalness and the essence of the beat of the instruments. I like to look inside until I find something real with which to communicate'.
'Pedro Vian' arrives on Vian's own Modern Obscure Music imprint, home to like-minded artists such as Jamal Moss, Gavin Russom, Tevo Howard, Ivy Barkakati, Eterna and Sau Poler. Vian initially cut his teeth in the Barcelona scene, first as part of the duo Aster with JMII on Hivern Discs and Jamal Moss' Mathematics then as a solo producer on his own Modern Obscure Music, MM Discos and Spring Theory.
Albion Collective's first record release of 2019 celebrates the return of Reso to the dubstep arena, with his four track 'Focus inwards EP', featuring a version from TMSV.
Reso's title track Focus Inwards lures your senses in to a hypnotic state. A hollow, pulsing bass tears through the low end whilst sparkling drums and percussion punctuate a vivid and diverse rhythm, a soundtrack to an outer body experience. Immaculate production.
TMSV lifts the pace with his progressive tribal edit. The addition of woodwind and rolling percussion dance around the acid-step vibe in keeping in vibe with Reso's trip-out OG. Festival music.
A mythical and misplaced masterpiece of lost soft rock and acidic folk funk by a one-hit wonderer lost in the wilderness for four decades. From the producer of Margo Guryan, writer behind Wool, Gerry Mulligan collaborator, Tarantino soundtracker and Wendy & Bonnie confidant, Paint A Lady now emerges from folkloric obscurity, to bring a wash of soft psychedelic colour to your vinyl collection and quench the repeat requests of a thirsty new found audience waiting for the rain.
Within certain record collecting circles, especially those who gather under the umbrella that covers fragile niches like 'acid folk' and 'soft rock', it's difficult to imagine a time when the legendary Susan Christie album didn't exist. When Finders Keepers Records first shared the unheard 60's songs like Paint A Lady, For The Love Of A Soldier and Echoes In Your Mind with a wide-eyed audience thirsty for organic soul and festival friendly acoustic funk, Susan's new found fan base instantly felt like they had known these songs all of their lives, and with a single needle drop we saw the birth of what could rightfully be described as an 'instant classic'. Which is why it's hard to believe that the music on this lost 60s acetate was only pressed 12 years ago. As our lucky seventh release in an international discography that now surpasses the 100 mark (and one of a small clutch of English language recordings on the label) Paint A Lady has slowly become one of our most requested re-releases, and with this 2018 edition it is technically accurate to say that this pressing is the first-ever reissue of this elusive and essential LP.
The oft over used term mythical applies to this album on many levels. Perhaps it's the woozy nostalgia found within the pop craft of Paint A Lady that has led to false rumours that original 1960's copies used to exist on the collectors market, or the bizarre claim that songs like the head-nodding title track, and the acid-drenched sound effects on Yesterday Where's My Mind were just a product of a contemporary studio band trying to create a fake folk funk red herring. As a result Susan Christie and her producer and husband of 40 years, John Hill have happily taken the repeat phrase 'unbelievable' as a compliment to their songwriting skills and foresight. In all fairness, with a decade to ponder, the original 1969 song titles alone do seem custom-built for the nostalgia market... No One Can Hear You Cry might lament the unrequited yearning for a record deal which never quite followed Susan's won one-hit wonder novelty hit I Love Onions; similarly When Love Comes might allude to the subsequent 35 year wait for the right label to eventually come along. Echoes In Your Mind and the aforementioned Yesterday... could easily allude to the haunting melodies that sat in the can on John Hill's studio shelf while his projects for Margo Guryan, Wool and Pacific Gas & Electric sat proudly in record racks before benefitting successful French cover versions or making their way on to Quentin Tarantino soundtracks. The track Paint A lady itself, complete with it's future-proofed sample-worthy rhythm section, seems like the perfect title for a mock rock pseudo psych contender - at which point you eventually step back and see the bigger picture. These guys were simply one drop too far ahead of their time; a family force of experimental pop perfection that late 60's America simply wasn't ready for. It is just over 12 years since champion record rustler Keith D'Arcy (who you'll meet on the inside sleeve) stumbled upon one of the original acetates that led to the final release of Paint A Lady, and it's almost a longer 50 years since Susan and John added their final touches to these recordings which tragically went into hibernation for over four decades.
Whether this album has been on your wish-list for what seems like a lifetime, or you are taking a plunge into this deep puddle for the first time, when the needle drops on the first track you'll find that Susan Christie, John Hill and Finders Keepers have been saving up for a very rainy day.
This EP is an excerpt from one of my live sessions performed with modular synthesizer and samples provided by Field Recordings. I'm focusing my attention to the sound design and mixing, evolving tracks structure.
'Instead that Obscene' is the second vinyl release on Syncretism, this includes three massive original tracks inspired by post-apocalyptic and sci-fi environments, experimenting brilliant frequencies and psychedelic melodies with a remix distinguished from break drums and shocking scenarios. Special thanks to Simon for his contribution.
Nemrac shows his elettronic music concept in a way that goes beyond the categorization of genre, leaving the listener free to perceive the essence of the EP.
Fresh off their latest VA, The Press Group hand the reins over to up-and-coming Ukrainian producer Sasha Zlykh, here delivering his debut 12" effort. Clocking in with a quartet of club-oriented weapons and off-road house-y pumpers that shall bring dancefloors to a slow but steady simmer, the Kyiv-based producer blends in an avalanche of breaks-strewn rhythms, bleepy melodies and reshuffled UK bass patterns to create his own distinctive hybrids, halfway straight dance functionality and non-formulaic experimentality.
As playful in essence as it is serious in its execution, 'Lie To Your Mom' EP starts off with the title-cut, which works a wonky swagger that proves all the more infectious as bars fly by. Engineering a finely-woven mix of off-kilter drum programming, raucous analogue belches and volatile harp stabs distorted to the max, the track's shadowy intro is eventually offset by overlapping tides of luminous pads, released as one lets the light break through a vampire den. 'RnB Ritual' follows up close in the vein, meshing a brooding late-night-ish atmosphere with playful percussive mechs and sustained rhythmic accidents.
Flip sides and you'll be treated to a choice pair of remixes from in-house groove traders Rupert Marnie and Youthman. First in line, Marnie turns 'Lie To Your Mum' into a straight jacking and shuffling Chicagoan chugger. Going deeper into soulful terrains and lavishly-textured expanses, TPG's main operator exploits the whole melodic potential of Zlykh's original, bringing its anthemic power to further completion beautifully. More on the dubby end of things, Youthman adds his uniquely vibey touch to the main cut, deftly navigating betwixt a classic deep house kinda vibe, post-rave'y electronics and a Basic Channel-esque sound spectrum, which all in all should have people instinctively clapping their hands as their mind begins to sink into a weirdly introspective sense of euphoria.
Armagnac started in 2010 a label in metz all naked records & throwing up parties with his Fensch Groove Consortium (FGC) crew. After few years, he decided to move to paris france where between his writing for some famous french magazines & sites, he produced some marvellous tracks that keep the bobby konders spirit alive. This is spiritual deep house full of mystery and fuzzy textures that puts most 'deep' house to shame. ESSENTIAL ! SKYLAX RECORDS 4 EVER
NYC Veteran and machine wizard Charles Noel aka Archetype
reaches deep into his sonic archive to present another incredibly
special release on Bright Sounds.
Featuring exclusive previously unreleased material ranging from
abstract to sublime in the form of a new & unique alias, (CN)2.
Essential
*Highly recommended* 2019 Repress of Archetype ''CN2'' alias project.
NYC Veteran and machine wizard Charles Noel aka Archetype reaches deep into hissonic archive to present another incredibly special release on Bright Sounds.
Featuring exclusive previously unreleased material ranging from abstract to sublime in the form of a new & unique alias, (CN2). Essential
For the 27th release of la Vie En Rose Records, coming from the most romantic town in Russia called Saint Petersbourg, we have the honor to receive the talented Vadim Shatalov.
He delivered 3 tracks between cosmic textures, melodic bassline & classic house beats.
On the A-side we have "Maybe Tomorrow" a solid housey beat, built with some classics chords, surrounded by a special atmosphere almost chaotic, the strong bassline is keeping the track really groovy and catchy. There is no doubt that "Maybe tomorrow" define the world of Vadim original, funny & futuristic.
On the B-side we have "Get Together" a bit of poetry coming from Saint Petersburg, Classic housy rhythm, fat 909 snare with a heavy subbbass, helped by some intense fm harmonics sounds, the result is an inimitable swing groove. The melodic pads are reducing the intensity of the track into something really romantic & sexy Vadim is a russian lover!
To close the EP we have "Bring it Back" same process, sexy and warm pads with a classic house 909 beat with different style of hats & textures, some warm and intelligent motives making the melody of the track, nice ambiance to close this wonderful EP.
"Maybe tomorrow" is an essential release for fans of La Vie En Rose Records illustrating what will be the the next chapter, keeping the roots and the Adn of the label.
The first part of various artists samplers featuring numerous gems from the Big Shot archives.
From the vaults of seminal Canadian house label Big Shot we're proud to present a fully legitimate and remastered selection of classics and obscurities from the labels enviable catalogue and the masterful crew of Nick Fiorucci, Komix & co. Leaning on the late 80's and early 90's output of the label and featuring cuts from some of the first releases. Amy Jackson, whose sultry 1989 jam 'Let Me Loose' is a class example of the deepest vocal House done right kicks off proceedings, followed by Jillian Mendez's classic 'Don't Know What You're Missing', another '89 vocal burner punctuated by classic piano's and synth lines. These tracks are the real deal! On the b-side we are treated to In-Dex's classic 'Give Me A Sign', a perfect blend of Freestyle attitude and early House atmosphere that hits the spot just right. Finishing this essential collection of tracks is Dionne's tough and classy 'Come Get My Lovin', another classic Komix production that rolls nice with stepping drum machines and smooth organ riffs. All in all - this EP is an old school House heads dream right here, essential cuts from end to end.
Keep an eye out for more high quality Big Shot reissues, all remastered from the original source materials and with the full involvement of the rights holders. A collaboration between Above Board distribution and Big Shot records, Canada. Remastered by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK. 2018.
- A1: Daisy Fields
- A2: Sruthi Dub Resonance
- A3: Barefoot
- A4: Pollinator (Eternal Opuscule #120)
- A5: Stamens (Eternal Opuscule #121)
- B1: Oregano In Dub Minor
- B2: Sunken Forest
- B3: Daisy Dub
- B4: Beat Resonance (Eternal Opuscule #118)
- B5: Gyration (Eternal Opuscule #119)
- C1: Time Zone Conversations
- C2: Deeping Breathely
- C3: Oregano In E-Minor
- C4: All That Spins (Eternal Opuscule #124)
- D1: Sruthi Box Resonance
- D2: Galaxea
- D3: Be As You Are
- D4: Be As You Will (Eternal Opuscule #126)
- E1: Sundog Suite
- E2: Pear Strings
- E3: Pair Of Seeds (Eternal Opuscule #122)
- F1: Spiral Activator
- F2: Final Oscillator (Eternal Opuscule #117)
- F3: Sundog Reprise (Eternal Opuscule #125)
It gives me the greatest honour to finally be able to announce the release of this amazing triple vinyl masterpiece by log(m) and Laraaji on Invisible, Inc.
It's been over a decade since Laraaji first joined forces with log(m) in their Canadian studio in early 2007. In those ten years the trio recorded many hours of music. Over time these recordings, beginning essentially as live jams, were polished, dissected, processed, re-arranged and then finely and painstakingly distilled down to the 105 minutes of music that now form this album, which finally reached completion just earlier this year. The wait has been more than worth it.
The Onrush Of Eternity is a melding of minds like no other. Ever the pioneer of experimental ambience, Laraaji's signature hammered dulcimer, zither, mbira, auto harp, sruthi drone box and of course his exceedingly positive vibes are here combined with log(m)'s unique vision of gronky hi-tech psychedelic space dub. The resultant voyage into deeply meditative ambience and trance-inducing dub is as unexpected an outcome as it is a bona fide "Eureka" moment. It sounds neither like log(m) OR Laraaji....but of course like both. It is one of those rare collaborations that is, without a doubt, even greater than the sum of its already great parts.
Log(m) started making waves in the early '90s as Legion Of Green Men with their visually striking 12"s, complete with eternal opuscules (locked grooves) and mathematically inspired titles, all lovingly issued on their own Post Contemporary imprint. These deservedly got the attention of Richie Hawtin who promptly asked the duo for an album on his own classic Plus 8 Records. 20+ years later and the music (much like their name) has morphed into something more sophisticated: even more complex, atmospheric and deeper than ever.
Laraaji's reputation of course precedes him: he first came to wider attention when Brian Eno released his "Day Of Radiance" as part 3 of his Ambient Series in 1980. Since then, Laraaji has released over 40 albums, yet his stellar path seems still to be on the ascendant - a recent landmark being the 2017 "Sun" series of albums for the wonderful All Saints' Records.
This unique triple LP in tri-fold sleeve is limited to 200 copies on coloured vinyl and 300 copies on black vinyl featuring ten of log(m)'s signature eternal opuscules and cryptic engravings on all three discs.
The latest transmission from Francis Harris' exquisite Scissor And Thread imprint showcases the many talents of Tokyo's Tomi Chair aka Tominori Hosoya. The DJ and producer goes by both names, and here presents five tracks of lush, emotional music veering between ambient excursions and dance floor heaters. The original version of title track 'Tropical Imagination' opens the EP, and is a deep and thoughtful dance floor number. Elegant chords set the tone while the percussion adds a silky funkiness that's impossible to ignore. The 'Dream Version' strips the track down to its pads and atmospheres. Next up is Tomi Chair's 'Heat Exhaustion' - an exceptionally beautiful beatless piece that drifts through droney pads and occasional fragments of minor key melody. Using the Tominori Hosoya moniker, side B begins with 'We Are Here' - another powerfully restrained piece that merges woody percussion with low key pads and field recordings to create a magical whole. Francis Harris adds his touch to 'Heat Exhaustion' with his respectful Reform version, adding skittering percussion and underpinning the piece with a leftfield ambient house edge that builds and builds. Another essential addition to the Scissor And Thread catalog
Estimated shipping date: 18.01.2019
In 2012 Important Records released a historic 12 CD box set compiling much of Pauline Oliveros' early and unreleased electronic work. Reverberations 1 is the first release in an ongoing series dedicated to releasing the entire 12 CD box set on vinyl.
Organized chronologically by studio (here: Pauline Oliveros Home Electronic Music Studio, 1961 & San Francisco Tape Music Center, 1964-1966), the complete Reverberations not only documents Pauline's earliest electronic music but it also functions as an early history of electronic music itself.
Pauline Oliveros, composer, performer and humanitarian was an important pioneer in American Music. Acclaimed internationally, for four decades she explored found, forging new ground for herself and others. Through improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation she has created a body of work with such breadth of vision that it profoundly effects those who experience it and it eludes many who try to write about it.
In partnership with the Pauline Oliveros Trust, Imprec will be releasing essential titles from Pauline Oliveros' catalog on vinyl including the complete Reverberations box set, Tara's Room, Sounding/Way (with Guy Klucevsek) and many more.
"On some level, music, sound consciousness and religion are all one, and she would seem to be very close to that level." John Rockwell
"Through Pauline Oliveros and Deep Listening, I now know what harmony is. It's about the pleasure of making music." John Cage
A never before released version of a truly, legendary house record from the late great Frankie Knuckles...working in collaboration with The Frankie Knuckles Foundation who will receive 50% of the profits from this project, SoSure Music is proud to present the Director's Cut re-production of 'Baby Wants To Ride'. Alongside this, a vinyl exclusive edit by Jimmy Edgar, which was originally a tribute release after Frankie's passing in 2014, finally gets an official release.
2011 saw the launch of Frankie and long-time production partner Eric Kupper's 'Director's Cut' project, with the aim to release new music, whilst re-producing classic cuts to fit with the modern dancefloor. SoSure Music is now working alongside Eric Kupper and Hector Romero, with the blessing of both Def Mix and The Frankie Knuckles Foundation, to bring a renewed focus to some of this material.
First up, the illustrious, evocative 1987 anthem, 'Baby Wants To Ride'. Rightly regarded as a masterpiece of early Chicago house and a pioneering classic through and through. Knuckles and Kupper extend the intro and outro to allow for those sweeping blends, whilst adding deft touches and reprogrammed lines to give a crisper, more detailed feel to this sumptuous slice of definitive house music. Couple that with newly spiritualised vocals and fresh erotic ad libs from Jamie Principle and prepare to rekindle that infectious energy 32 years down the line.
On the B side, Jimmy Edgar showcases his trademark touch to provide a fresh spin on the original whilst staying true to its essence. Reworking the arps, adding atmospheric drops and crunchy percussive elements, whilst holding off on the iconic vocal till the last section, all combine to give this version a unique, big room character that nods to the past, yet reinterprets for the present. A fitting tribute from an artist whose own productions are clearly laced with influence from Frankie Knuckles.
The great jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell on one of his most celebrated sets of all-time. Recorded live at the Five Spot Café in New York City on August 25, 1959, this is the second set and the band is really cooking. Featuring the brilliant drummer Art Blakey as well as the wonderful, but unfortunately under-recorded tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks, Burrell's band is in tip-top shape on this set of compositions ranging from originals to Gershwin to Gillespie. An essential live jazz set for any fan of the golden era of modern jazz.
Jaye P Morgan's 1976 million dollar private press featuring the cream of the LA jazz and funk scene and one of David Foster's first productions is finally reissued. Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release on deluxe LP and CD of Jaye P. Morgan's ultra rare private press originally released in 1976. This lost classic recorded in LA at the legendary Sound City Studios is also the first full-blown production by David Foster two years before he co-produced Earth Wind and Fire's album I Am and went on to become one of the hottest producers on the scene. Featuring an extraordinary line up of the best LA musicians including Harvey Mason, Ed Greene, Jay Graydon, Ray Parker Jr. Tower of Power, Ernie Watts and many more, it's probably one of the most expensive private press ever produced and a delight of sophisticated Los Angeles funk featuring Jaye's superb soulful vocals. The LP edition will come with the original 4 page insert full of session photos and credits.
With a line-up that reads like a who's who on the 70s Californian scene, this album was a bold move for the singer who had made her mark in the 50s and 60s as a popular music singer and actress. Hiring Foster was a masterstroke as he hadn't yet produced any noticeable hit but together they gathered the most impressive crew of musicians you could think of including two of Foster's closest associates, guitarist Jay Graydon and singer / arranger Bill Champlin (of Sons of Champlin's fame) and created the perfect white Soul album with a breezy California feel.
Featuring masterful renditions of such iconic songs as Stevie Wonder's songs as Seems So Long and Earth, Wind And Fire's Can't Hide Love (for the anecdote, Foster, Champlin and Graydon would soon pen After The Love Has Gone which would become a mega hit for Earth Wind AND Fire two years later), together with a handpicked selection of originals, the sound alternates between uptempo funk and soulful mid-tempo ballads, all served by Morgan's superb vocals. The missing link between Steely Dan and Earth, Wind and Fire, Jaye P. Morgan is pure, undiluted Funk music and an essential LA classic which Wewantsounds is glad to make available for the first time.
I Marc 4, the brilliant quartet that collaborated with Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Armando Trovajoli, Gianni Ferrio, Piero Piccioni, Piero Umiliani, Alessandro Alessandroni, and their fantastic sound, now again available on a unique and really representative release, their holy grail session: G.L.P. 1007 from 1971. The best and most valued volume of the GLP series featuring the fantastic modal madness of "André", "Peroche", "Suoni Distorti" and the milestone 'Alfio' feat the flute by Alfio Galigani. The music goes from insane Psychedelic tunes to Jazz, Funk and more Bossa and Lounge tracks with plenty of Fuzz guitars, amazing Hammond job, and totally catching drum Breaks. An insane trip into early gold Italian Psychedelic and Underground vibes with loads of laden beats and grooves with the mark of the legendary Italian quartet. Simply essential!
Working with artists like David August and Daniel Brandt, Frieder Nagel is known for managing projects in venues ranging from theatres to clubs, for concerts to audiovisual experiments. He finally signs his first solo work Distract Robots to be released on January 18 on InFiné and invites his listeners to get lost in an universe that spans from euphoric to devastating excitement. - mastered by Zino Mikorey, the magician behind Nils Frahms latest album.
Frieder Nagel invites his listeners to get lost in a universe that spans from euphoric to devastating excitement. He is known for managing projects in venues ranging from theatres to clubs, for concerts to audio-visual experiments - working with artists like David August, La Boum Fatale and Daniel Brandt (Brandt Brauer Frick). The first time he appeared on stage, in 2016 at Berlin's infamous Radialsystem V, armed with several synthesizers, effects, drum machines, one grand piano; and backed by the German Symphony Orchestra (DSO). This critically acclaimed debut was streamed by Boiler Room later and led to further collaborations with Philharmonie Essen or his ensemble show at Reeperbahn Festival.
Now finally Nagel Žs first solo work Distract Robots will be released by French label InFineŽ. This 12" has become an album in miniature with a final polish by mastering guru Zino Mikorey known for his work for Nils Frahm Žs All Melody. This EP offers up a mystical world, full of warm synths and detailed sound clusters morphing into each other to form utterly dark and dystopian ballads. Nagel gets lost in obsessively endless sessions with his instruments. He isolates himself and spends night after night drifting away from reality. The result is that his tracks carry moments of utterly deep relief and deliverance, as well as despairing sadness and stoical escapism.
Following the best-selling first volume, Robert Ouimet returns to Basic Fingers with a second 12" volume of edits. Another essential selection of extends and amends from a real connoisseur
BIOGRAPHY
Ouimet's career as a deejay started in the early 1970's
His obvious talent for moving and grooving the crowd was soon noticed and he was approached to join the in-house staff of a newly opened club on Stanley St. called The Limelight where he remained as their principal deejay from 1973 to 1981.
In 1977 Robert also went on to win Billboard Magazine's Best Canadian DJ Award. Similarly he received Gold records for introducing his public to such artists as Boney M, Donna Summer, Musique and Gino Soccio to name but a few, plus a special commemorative plaque/mirror from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
Robert was also the driving force behind the Montreal live performances of The Salsoul Orchestra, James Brown, Grance Jones, to name but a few. He co-produced many records licensed in the US by such labels as TK Records, RFC/Warner Bros., Arista, and Quality Records of Canada.
Lance Ferguson's Raregroove Spectrum is a collection of newly recorded versions of classic funk, soul, jazz and latin vinyl rarities, which features some of Melbourne's finest musicians across the album, including past and present members of The Bamboos, The Putbacks and Hiatus Kaiyote.
As the man at the helm of many musical projects over the years including Cookin' On 3 Burners, Menagerie & his solo project Lanu, Lance is no stranger to the art of imaginative musical re-interpretation, be the material soul, funk and jazz based or the works of James Blake, Roxy Music and Prefab Sprout.
For Raregroove Spectrum, Lance explains that much of the inspiration for the re-works comes from his experience as a DJ, "Some of these versions can almost be looked at as DJ re-edits, sometimes we're extending what may be a really short track into something longer, or teasing out the elements in a song that really make it work on a dance-floor. It's essentially what someone does with a club re-edit, except we went the extra step and re-recorded the whole thing with a live band".
In other cases, top-shelf classics have been re-imagined in different guises: James Mason's 'Sweet Power, Your Embrace' as a sun-drenched Samba, or Anderson Paak's sure shot tune 'Am I Wrong' given an 1980's style Boogie/Jazz Funk makeover. Stir into this musical gumbo stew the raw Deep Funk of 'Egg Roll', the swinging Mod R&B of Googie Rene's 'Smoky Joe's La La' to the epic, widescreen Jazz-Funk of Pleasure's 'Joyous' - Rare Groove Spectrum provides new perspectives on the obscure to the well-loved, from old-school to new sounds - this is rare grooves re-grooved... beautifully.
The second release on 4GN3S (pronounced Agnes) is an angular and shadowy 5-track EP by The Golden FIlter. The 'Dislocation' EP is five pariahic pieces paying equal homage to minimal wave, post-punk, no wave, and electro, but retaining Stephen and Penelope's inventive presence. Before 'Talk Talk Talk' became a 2018 summer festival anthem by accident, it was always meant to be the lead track on this EP. Like Siouxsie vs early Human League, but heavier. Originally available only as an extremely limited edition duplate at Rye Wax, 'All The Way In' is a jittery electro beat workout sounding as if Anne Clark were fronting Drexciya. Beatless and odd, 'Dislocation' first premiered on Fort Romeau's Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1. It's Part art-piece, part word association, and part No Wave experimentalism. A mutating arpeggiated bass and an ominous tone drive 'Cut My Hair' into a incongruously sci-fi dark dance netherworld. 'Temple' is classic Golden Filter, with modular bass blurbs, soft vocals, and an 808 beat doused in analog reverb. Dance music to sit in the corner and think to.
Seit Dem Plötzlichen Und Völlig Unbemerkten Erscheinen Ihres Manifests Im Jahr 2016 Schwor Das Weird Folk-songwriter-duo The Mañana People, 100 Lieder Zu Schreiben, Die Die Wege Des Pop-genre-diskurses Erkunden. In Der Mitte Ihres Kampfes, Während Sie Eine Reihe Von Hausgemachten Freak-folk- Und Psycho-country-kuriositäten Erfanden, Wurden Ihre Bemühungen Gnadenlos Von Dem Deutschen Kult-label Unique Records Unterbrochen, Das Sie An Den Ohren Packte Und Ihnen Sagte, Dass Sie Aufwachsen Und Eine Richtige Platte Machen Sollten.
Das Ergebnis Ist Ihr Bevorstehendes Debüt "princess Diana", Ein Hauch Frischer Radioaktiver Luft In Der Welt Der Autorenmusik. Die Exzentrische Sammlung Von Melodien Bietet Theremin-getriebene Honky-tonk-kracher, Zombie-themen-electro-pop-balladen Und Horror-spirituals, Sowie Eine Zusammenarbeit Mit Dem Besten Troubadour Selbst, Bonnie 'prince' Billy.
Die Erste Anstrengung Der Mañana People Schafft Es, Harmonisch Zwischen Experimentierrinnen Und Der Angenehmen Leichtigkeit Der Popmusik Zu Schwingen. Tim Weissinger Und Alvaro Arango Trafen Sich An Einem Winterabend Auf Den Grünen Wiesen Ihrer Universität.
Ihre Musikalische Chemie Und Das Kalte Wetter Zwangen Sie Quasi, Sofort Musik Zu Machen. Ihre Debüt-ep "the Mañana People" Wurde Am Halloween-abend 2014 Online Veröffentlicht. Ihre Musik Wurde Sofort Von Ihren Freunden Gelobt, Von Ihren Feinden Gefürchtet Und Von Vielen Anderen Ignoriert.
Seit Anfang 2015, Und Mit Hilfe Von Tobi Mercer (keyboards) Und Simon Mead (schlagzeug), Haben Die Mañana People Ihr Wort Verbreitet Und In Jeder Bar, Café Oder Straßenecke Neue Seelen Gefordert.
Nach Einer Zweiten Ep - "horror Songs" - Ist Es 2016 An Der Zeit Für Ein Komplettes Und Mit Spannung Erwartetes Debütalbum Auf Unique Records!
Die Jungs Supporten Honig Auf Seiner Herbsttour.
Live
14.09.18 Ulm Roxy
15.09.18 Mainz Schon Schön
16.09.18 Dresden Beatpol
17.09.18 Berlin Privatclub
18.09.18 Leipzig Werk 2
19.09.18 Nürnberg Club Stereo
20.09.18 Essen Zeche Carl
21.09.18 Köln Kulturkirche
22.09.18 Bremen Tower
28.09.18 Konstanz Kulturladen
29.09.18 Saarbrücken Kleiner Klub
30.09.18 Aachen Musikbunker
02.10.18 Langenberg Kgb
03.10.18 Haldern Pop Bar
04.10.18 Hamburg Knust
05.10.18 Münster Sputnikhalle
Für Anfang 2019 Ist Eine Kleine Eigene Tour In Planung.
Cestrian (aka Ali Renault) lands on Mechatronica for the Berlin label's 10th release with a remarkably wide electro-driven EP, exploring different rims of the genre from the transporting melodic peripheries and weirder edges, to the raw core.
Two hypnotizing journeys in "Gradients" and "Rake & Pikel" make up the A-side along with the frenzied styles of "Cat Strain". "Speak & Spell" blasts open the flip with an anthemic groove and potent basslines, before "The Weir" rounds off the EP in heavy and atmospheric fashion, concluding an essential electro record - for the mind and for the floor.
Les Disques du Crepuscule presents Signals Into Space, a brand new studio album by acclaimed electronic duo Ultramarine. SIS is their seventh album, having debuted on Crepuscule back in 1990.
The new long player was conceived by Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond over a three year period and features four songs co-written with North American musician Anna Domino, a firm favourite of the group since her leftfield pop releases on Crepuscule and Factory in the 1980s. 'For this project we wanted to do something more ambitious and perhaps more accessible than our last album in 2013,' explains Paul. 'We were keen to start collaborating with other musicians again, as well as develop our method of performance-based writing and recording, which is partly improvised.'
Signals Into Space also features contributions from saxophonist Iain Ballamy (ECM, Food, Loose Tubes) and percussionist & vibraphone player Ric Elsworth. It was recorded and mixed in London with Andy Ramsay (Stereolab) and mastered by Noel Summerville.
'To some extent Signals Into Space is an escapist record,' reveals Ian. 'Our rehearsal space is a small windowless room on an industrial estate in Essex. Possibly as a result we ended up with a collection of visually suggestive tracks, conjuring mental images of cities, deserts and tropical islands, which gradually came into focus as Anna's lyrical ideas developed. So while the music might have been conceived in a closed space it's imbued with a positive spirit - looking outwards, seeking contact.'
Cover art by Studio Heretic. Available on CD, digital and vinyl LP (vinyl format includes a free digital copy on MP3).
Sinnamon's '83 NYC boogie scorcher 'I Need You Now' gets the official remastered, reissue treatment - complete with the 'Fierce Reprise' dub mix alongside the accapella, providing essential sampling material.
Marrying the old with the new, 'I Need You Now' is drenched in funk bass slickness and colourful chords, yet embraces a wealth of synthesized sounds from electro sequencers to synth-based strings, giving it that early '80s post disco, boogie feel. Bernard Fowler of Peech Boys fame steps up on guest vocals bringing a deep, R&B tone to proceedings, complimented by the all-female vocal prowess of Sinnamon adding their trademark feminine touch to the track.
First up on the flip side, the six minute 'Fierce Reprise' mix. Reversed rides that suck back into the skull, tape delayed vocals and spacey synth echoes blend together, as elements are overlaid and dubbed out for maximum, heavyweight, proto house vibrations.
Last up, a favourite and much used vocal accapella that's been sampled by a whole host of early house, hardcore and garage producers from 808 State and Criminal House to Ray Keith and Paul Johnson.
An essential bit of kit for anyone with a penchant for that early '80s boogie flavour.
- A1: Lokonon André & Les Volcans - Mi Kple Dogbekpo
- A2: Picoby Band D'abomey - Mi Ma Kpe Dji
- A3: Gabo Brown & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo - It's A Vanity
- A4: El Rego Et Ses Commandos - Se Na Min
- B1: Napo De Mi Amor Et Ses Black Devil´s - Leki Santchi
- B2: Orchestre Poly-Rythmo - Gbeti Madjro
- B3: Roger Damawuzan - Wait For Me
- B4: Ouinsou Corneille & Black Santiagos - Vinon So Minsou
- B5: Orchestre Super Jheevs Des Paillotes - Ye Nan Lon An
- C1: Tidjani Kone & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo - Djanfa Magni
- C2: Discafric Band - Houiou Djin Nan Zon Aklumon
- C3: Le Super Borgou De Parakou - Congolaise Benin Ye
- D1: Vincent Ahehehinnou - Ou C'est Lui Ou C'est Moi
- D2: Les Volcans De La Capital - Oya Ka Jojo
The Analog Africa label delves into the amazing history of music from 1970s Benin and Togo.
This compilation highlights forgotten raw and psychedelic Afro sounds, and the well-researched liner notes tell fascinating stories to accompany the mind-blowing music. The essence of Analog Africa is clear, searching in dusty warehouses for forgotten music to keep the sound alive!
Process Blue was formed in the fall of 1981, at Antioch College near Dayton, Ohio. The group essentially consists of Chel White (tapes, keyboards, percussion) and Dan Gediman (keyboards, vocals, bass). Additional members contributed at various points to both recorded works and live performance. Process Blue's original interest was in electronic music and the interfacing of electronic sounds with acoustic instruments, non-musical instruments, and tape-manipulated sounds. The group's primary objective has been to strive for creative experimentation within the format of contemporary pop music.
We are proud to release a 12-song LP featuring music recorded between 1981 and 1982. 7 of the tracks were originally self released on a cassette album in 1982. The only song in this batch to ever appear on vinyl is 'Control Panel' released on a French LP compilation called 'Folie Distinguee Alternative Funk.' The songs range from experimental dance music to quieter, more melodically-oriented pieces. They used an array of synthesizers used were Moog Sonic-Six, Casiotone MT-30, Korg MS10, Roland SH 101, Casio VL Tone. Analog instruments included electric guitar and bass, and drums. Guest musicians included Gil Belton (melodic rototoms percussion and synthesizer bird sounds) on Industrial Park, Eric Zimmerman (Korg synthesizer) on Up to $100 and Subterrania, Patricia Yarborough (vocals) on Pink Razor and Air, Mike Pummel (engineer) on Control Panel, and John Flansburgh (of They Might Be Giants) engineer on Up to $100. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each LP is housed in a jacket designed by Maycec featuring original drawings by Chel White and include a double-sided insert with photos and lyrics.
Don't Bite Records are happy to announce the release of producer/rapper Tom Dice's solo LP. The witty title has been more than prophetic. These are not just rhythms of Dice but rhythms of life. Reflection, auto biography and idiosyncricity are abundant, as shown on the final track, 'Irrepressible'. 'Put on a uniform, conform, consume, dance to another man's tune that's off key. That never was and never will be the essence of a man like T.o.m D".
From 'The Death of Me''s dark refrain 'How ironic I died from a shock electronic.....clutching at the MPC, finally..... music got the better of me, the energy', we know that Dice is fearless in pushing the envelope and the boundaries of what can be lyrically possible. However Dice acknowledges his influences and the importance of their recognition on 'Authentic'.
On 'Tears Run Dry' Tom touches on feelings of alienation: 'I'm not a loser cos I can't win, I'm just an outsider still looking in' whereas on 'Feelings' he examines the connection between emotion and physical feeling. 'Feelings- computers don't have it, they try to emulate that basic human magic'
On the LP Rhythms of Dice and particularly the track 'Rhythms of Dice' he is rhyming from a producers point of view. 'All you guys who do like 6 tracks a day...how good are they You need to focus your mind or really just stay...wondering....You heard my beat in a studio and just wandered in'
Tom is ably assisted by long time collaborators/ label mates The Phantom and Jumpsteady. While he explores the exploitation of the thug genre on 'Thug killer', he also comes with a new style on 'Interchange' where he and Jumpsteady rap the first 4 bars of each others rhymes causing 1, seamless, verse. We hope you enjoy this tenth release from Don't Bite Records which continues to strive for individual style and originality and embrace our motto that "Only pirates take that which is not yet theirs!"
Santo Sangre is a project by San Francisco-based artist, producer and DJ Gonzo Manuel. On its first release, Quetzal, perhaps a reference to the central-American bird with bright, ornate plumage Gonzo taps into a Latin-accented, tribal feel that is ably carried on rolling, syncopated percussion with an organic essence, a birdsong-like chant, sporadic and light bursts of actual song and haunting string chords that cut across the sound spectrum, adding dark energy and urgency to the track. This one will sit nicely out on its own, bringing a hybrid organic/robotic essence to the dance or would work equally well rinsed around in the mix, with all its elements appearing and disappearing at just the right time as a transition ascends and peaks.
Oakland producer Indy Nyles remix builds on the tribal theme by enhancing the syncopated aspect of the percussion. He augments this further with a pretty and drifting melody line composed of glassy keyboard sounds. The sense of drama this creates is boosted further by a breathy and repetitive voice sample. This concoction drives along nicely until around the 5 minute mark when Nyles drops a menacing, snaking thread of 303 bass, stabs of icey strings and echo and delay effects that amplify the shadowy, seductive allure of his remix. Its a new sounding track but the acid line and syncopation bring to mind some of the psychedelic, breakbeat classics of San Franciscos halcyon, rave era.
Rounding things up is the Slope 114 Remix. Here Dmitri Ponce and partner
Elise Gargalikis take the track on a house journey that is, like Indys mix, brand new sounding but possessed by the spirits of the classics. Elises vocal flourishes bring to the mind the Latin house, tribalist dynamism of Louie Vega and Indias River Ocean numbers while Dmitri nudges the bassline from chunk and funk to acid and massive without sacrifcing the subtlety of the maneuver. The subtle aspect being that a techno, a tech-house and a straight up house heads will be able to bounce this one to the box without leaving her generic comfort zone: the true mark of a classic.
This release is a strong start for this new artist, look out for more fire from this Bay Area talent
Fresh out of the OdD archives Tapes of Old 3 is enveloped an air of antiquity. Cut straight from the tape reel, A1 'Oops' is charged with reams of static percussion and low frequency oscillation. B1 'Abhorrent SNIP' captures a galactic essence where waves of bass meet synth in a beckoning symphony of creation. B2 'I'm Complete' marches in to close the EP with tight snares cutting into the undulating it's flow and grounded with smooth session of kicks. This postmodern production is pure energy in motion, constructed with an otherworldly soundscape and a purpose for mindful mysticism.
Jonny Rock is somewhat of a sorcerer, an omnipresent eye that gathers secret ingredients from far and wide—old school House oddities, hypnotic melodies of the Orient, the furthest reaches of Disco, the easy pace of Turkish psychedelic funk—fusing it all into his own shrouded code, a string of immaterial messages, both subliminal and lucid, that highlight his eccentric sense of storytelling and nuance. He imbues a sense of familiarity in his music, implying history that might not be studied but still feels learned, a quality inherent to productions born from a vast catalog of influence (and the inseparable sample material). Jonny conjures euphoric acid flashbacks, herds of crowds through Istanbul alleys, the misty morning residue from raves of yore, orchestral winds blown across the Aegean riviera, and he manages to concentrate their essence into singular details such as a snare drum. Both sides of his eternally-awaited ESP debut lean toward his dark arts—'Tye Die Techno' drives a relentless hard-edged drum kit that could throw an otherwise self-respecting Goth into a heated breakdance battle, while the title track and theme, 'Ode To A Happening On Earth,' plays with the imagery of ritual, fantasy and role-playing—but throughout this malevolent stew, there is a sustained hint of the artist's playful nature. No matter how murky the trip becomes, Jonny is always there, a light at the end of the tunnel, with a big hug to reassure that everyone will be OK. He is one clever bastard—if you know, you know.
One year after his debut, the label Hidden Tapes is proud and pleased to present CMBM 'cosmic microwave background radiation' by Dark Division, a 2×12' inch gatefold in stores on 12 November: a techno experimental project that range from ambient dimensions to more dark and industrial techno. The release features 8 new tracks including 2 astonishing remixes.
In this new release Dark Division reaches a more abstract dimension with emerging cosmical and spacial feelings, swirling and deep sounds obtained with dark pads, disruptive deep basses, with ever present echoes and focused distortions: the entire projects sound pleasant and challenging.
It's a small journey, lasting 8 tracks, that envision a unique point of view on the scientific theory about multi-universes. His primary and essential sounds blend with other rhythmic elements. The result are rich dynamics and a unique metric structure. It takes multiple listenings to discover a complex blend of sonic fluxes.
On each record there's a remix: the first one features PRG-M, and the second features Matter. Both artists enhance Dark Division's music making this double vinyl an extremely interesting release...
Our final physical release of 2018 at First Word comes courtesy of Souleance, aka the DJ producer duo consisting of Soulist and Fulgeance, with a double A sided single, and a glimpse into one of our forthcoming 2019 releases, 'French Cassette' which follows on from Souleance's acclaimed 'La Beat Tape' release from 2013, and again delves into crates of samples with a distinct French flavour.
'François' is a track dedicated to the one and only François de Roubaix, legendary film score composer, jazz aficionado and one of the duo's biggest French influences. A delectable slice of 100 bpm instrumental boom bap, built around a seriously infectious jazz-funk groove, and chopped-up vocals.
'Sète' heads to the south of France, to the beautiful Mediterranean city where Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival takes place. A region that the duo have had love and appreciation of, for many years. This one touches up the tempo a little, with some sun-glazed boogie riding beneath ethereal vocals, samples and sizzling synths.
With a decades worth of collaboration between them, and persistent party rocking across Europe, Souleance continue to create tried & tested nuggets of magic for the dancefloor. This double-sided 7" is no exception, and should give you an idea of what to expect from the full beat tape next year. Meanwhile, here's another essential one for the record bags.
- A1: Dave Porter - Breaking Bad Main Title Theme (Extended)
- A2: Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Tamacun
- A3: Working For A Nuclear Free City - Dead Fingers Talking
- A4: Glen Phillips - The Hole
- A5: Darondo - Didn't I
- B1: Mick Harvey - Out Of Time Man
- B2: The In Crowd - Mango Walk
- B3: Ticklah - Nine Years
- B4: Fujiya & Miyagi - Uh
- B5: The Silver Seas - Catch Yer Own Train
- C1: The Walkmen - Red Moon
- C2: The Be Good Tanyas - Waiting Around To Die
- C3: Los Cuates De Sinaloa - Negro Y Azul: The Ballad Of Heisenberg
- C4: Calexico - Banderilla
- D1: Far East Movement - Holla Hey
- D2: The Black Seeds - One By One
- D3: Blue Mink - Good Morning Freedom
- D4: Yellowman - Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
- E1: Chuy Flores - Pollos Hermanos Veneno
- E2: Los Zafiros - He Venido
- E3: Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete - Ginza Samba
- E4: Teddybears Feat. Eve - Rocket Scientist
- F1: Prince Fatty - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
- F2: Son Of Dave - Shake A Bone
- F3: The Association - Windy
- F4: Quartetto Cetra - Crapa Pelada
- F5: America - A Horse With No Name
- G1: Alexander - Truth
- G2: Ana Tijoux - 1977
- G3: Bang Data - Bang Data
- G4: Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart
- H1: Apparat - Goodbye
- H2: Thee Oh Sees - Tidal Wave
- H3: Taalbi Brothers - Freestyle
- I1: Whitey - Stay On The Outside
- I2: The Peddlers - On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
- I3: Knife Party - Bonfire
- J1: Tommy James & The Shondells - Crystal Blue Persuasion
- J2: The Limeliters - Take My True Love By The Hand
- J3: Marty Robbins - El Paso
- J4: Badfinger - Baby Blue
First time on vinyl
10th Anniversary of the Breaking Bad TV Series
5 x 10' vinyl in 5 different jackets, 1 relating to each season
Each 10' is the same colour, Strictly Limited Edition Albuquerque Crystal Coloured (transparent with a hint of turquoise) Vinyl!
Lift off box-set with Breaking Bad logo on front with special drip-off varnish
Exclusive Breaking Bad Poster & Pollos Hermanos plastic ID badge
Booklet with exclusive pictures and extensive liner notes by Thomas, the musical supervisor of Breaking Bad
One run only of this very exclusive BOX-SET
Individually numbered the manufacturing qty for Worldwide is est 4000 with 800 for the UK - we could get some more
PLEASE ORDER BY 12.00 TUESDAY 25 SEPT TO BE GUARANTEED YOUR QTY
Available worldwide
Weight ESTIMATED 950g
All the essential Breaking Bad songs by Badfinger, Calexico, Far East Movement, America, Fever Ray, Apparat, Whitey, Knife Party, The Peddlers and others
Various dialogies by Walter, Jesse, Skyler, Mike, Gus, Saul and many more
This release will be heavily promoted on social media, including the social media accounts of Breaking Bad (facebook, over 11 million followers!!!).
MOV proudly presents the OST - BREAKING BAD (MUSIC FROM THE ORIGINAL SERIES) 5 x 10' BOX-SET!
A TOP PRIORITY RELEASE with WORLDWIDE RIGHTS!
So far only the score music has been released on vinyl and now finally, for the very very first time, the original soundtrack music is released on vinyl!
Breaking Bad is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time and celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2018.
The legion of fans have been waiting for this to be released for a long time. There will be a huge demand for this exclusive BOX-SET!
This release was never released in any other format (CD, vinyl, digital) before and will only be available on vinyl!
OST - BREAKING BAD (MUSIC FROM THE ORIGINAL SERIES) is presented in a beautiful Lift off box-set with Breaking Bad logo on front with special drip-off varnish. The box-set includes a selection of defining songs, devided in five 10' records on coloured vinyl, each representing a season with accessory artwork. The numbered box-set also includes a booklet, poster and Pollos Hermanos plastic ID Badge. Next to all essential Breaking Bad songs by Badfinger, Calexico, Far East Movement, America, Fever Ray, Apparat, Whitey, Knife Party, The Peddlers and others, the 10' records also include various dialogies by Walter, Jesse, Skyler, Mike, Gus, Saul and many more. The box-set is a ONE-RUN-ONLY and is STRICTLY LIMITED!
Breaking Bad is an American neo-western crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The show originally aired on the AMC network for five seasons, from January 20, 2008 to September 29, 2013. The series tells the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling and depressed high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer. Together with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), White turns to a life of crime by producing and selling crystallized methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal world. The title comes from the Southern colloquialism "breaking bad", meaning to "raise hell" or turn toward crime. Breaking Bad is set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Walter's family consists of his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) and children, Walter, Jr. (RJ Mitte) and Holly (Elanor Anne Wenrich). The show also features Skyler's sister Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt), and her husband Hank (Dean Norris), a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent. Walter hires lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), who connects him with private investigator and fixer Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and in turn Mike's employer, drug kingpin Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). The final season introduces the characters Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons) and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (Laura Fraser).
Breaking Bad is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. By the time the series finale aired, it was among the most-watched cable shows on American television. The show received numerous awards, including 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, eight Satellite Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Peabody Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards and four Television Critics Association Awards. For his leading performance, Cranston won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times, while Aaron Paul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series three times; Anna Gunn won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series twice. In 2013, Breaking Bad entered the Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed show of all time.
Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.
One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Queen Constance was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, its catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. This latest repress from the vaults is a real biggie - a true NYC underground disco CLASSIC!
High Voltage is one of the more familiar names in the P&P / Queen Constance galaxy. Led by Peter Brown and Patrick Adams right hand man and producer Michael Campbell who presided over some of the biggest and best sides the labels put out. This one is a must, essential, do not sleep business. 11.00 minutes of Disco fury! One is forgiven in thinking that this would've been huge had it have come out on one of the 'bigger' Disco labels, but that hasn't stopped 'Rock, spank, freak' becoming a true blue club anthem. Appearing in the playlists of DJ's and selectors as diverse as Larry Levan, Danny Krivit and Daniele Baldelli. Rough n'ready, unpolished but musically explosive the sounds contained on this here 12" are indeed High Voltage! As with a lot of these jams, this one's been badly bootlegged, so ignore those wack counterfeits that are out there and bag you a fully licensed reissue of this absolute bomb. Dope.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, lovingly remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.
Same track on both sides
New label MIC launches with some previously unreleased and unheard material from UK DIY jazz funk maverick, Mike Collins, better known as the brains behind the spacey Loft classic, Sun Palace - 'Rude Movements'. MIC presents a small archive of Collins' material (recorded around the time of 'Rude Movements') and reveals the more experimental side of Collins' production. Five tracks that explore early, proto-house music, electro, and fascinating drum machine observation. Essential issue!
'Sounds from the Great House! Outernational Sounds proudly presents a Nimbus West spirit jazz essential: the Creative Arts Ensemble's classic debut One Step Out. Mastered at 45rpm on double vinyl for enhanced sound, this release features all tracks at full length for the first time on wax.
One of the most sought after and highly regarded titles to have appeared on Tom Albach's celebrated Nimbus West imprint, the Creative Art Ensemble's One Step Out is a timeless work of spiritualised jazz. A true gem from the Los Angeles jazz underground, the album was pianist and composer Kaeef Ruzadun Ali's first recording as leader of the Creative Arts Ensemble, the only large ensemble group that emerged directly from Horace Tapscott's legendary Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra community jazz group.
A Los Angeles native, Kaeef was introduced to the Tapscott circle in the late 1970s. His first experience of the Arkestra's ethos was through PAPA tenorist Michael Session, who took him to the famous 'Great House' at 2412 South Western Ave., LA - a large mansion house which members of the Arkestra had taken over as a space for communal living. Life in the Great House was a continuous stream of music, dance and community events. 'When I walked in there,' recalled Kaeef, 'it was like this whole rush came over me, just from going in the front door...It was like a very, very warm feeling of love. I went and I came out with 'Flashback of Time', and that was my first arrangement.'
Kaeef quickly became a significant contributor of compositions to the Arkestra's songbook - his piece 'New Horizon' would be recorded by Horace Tapscott for the latter's Tapscott Sessions series. But 'Flashback of Time' would eventually appear on One Step Out, played by the new group he had put together from stalwart Arkestra members. Inspired by both Tapscott's example and by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Kaeef had wanted to follow their lead by assembling a larger unit. 'I would like to form a group that would be an extension of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra,' he told Tapscott. The group was to be known as the Creative Arts Ensemble, and One Step Out, released in 1981 by Nimbus West, was their debut.
Featuring seasoned Arkestra regulars including reedsman Dadisi Komolafe, drummer Woody 'Sonship' Theus and altoist Gary Bias, with veterans Henry 'The Skipper' Franklin on bass and George Bohannon on trombone, One Step Out is a key document of the Los Angeles radical jazz underground. Featuring the sanctified vocals of Kaeef's sister, B. J. Crowley, the album is a tour de force of spiritually energised independent jazz music. Community uplift and sacred vision straight from the Great House, back on vinyl for the first time since 1981!
LP,180g, 2018 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART
Veteran library musician Alan Parker recorded with session vocalist Madeline Bell for his Themes International Music label and the result was 1976's The Voice of Soul.
The sensational uptempo dancer 'That's What Friends Are For' is probably the most well known track on the record, and is a big hit on the rare groove scene, but it is by no means an anomaly. The Voice of Soul is essentially a perfect, sophisticated soul album with heaps of swagger and sass from beginning to end.
Its once generic-sounding title is now deservedly defnitive.
And the whole LP oozes sex. It oozes sex so much that it could have soundtracked a period porn flm. Indeed, parts of it did. 'Love Is All' and 'You've Got What It Takes' both featured on the infamously banned Pretty Peaches from the same year.
As is usual with library records, The Voice of Soul was hard to get even when it was frst released. It's next to impossible now. So here's your opportunity to own what is in our opinion one of the fnest rare soul LPs of the late 70s, and a superb example of Madeline Bell's superlative vocal talents.
But that's not the whole story. As well as pitching the record as 'a varied selection of modern female vocal features which are equally suitable for background or radio programme usage', the original release notes go on to explain that 'the corresponding backing tracks are issued on TIM 1022 The Sound of Soul. Therefore it is possible to edit from vocal to instrumental version and vica versa where commentary or scene changes occur.'
So yes, all of the backing tracks from The Voice of Soul were released as The Sound of Soul, and we couldn't re-issue one without re-issuing the other.
As with all ten re-issues, the audio for The Voice of Soul comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.
LP,180, 2018 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART
The 'vivid contemporary sounds for a fresh visual image' make up the now canonised Synthesis from Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett. These two greats go deeper than usual on this collection, and the end result is a synth concept record of sorts. Released in 1974, it's an essential companion piece to
their Synthesizer and Percussion LP, released on Themes International Music in the same year.
Like most of our favourite library records, Synthesis has that gloriously funky, 'weird electronic music' vibe without ever being inaccessible. With the awesome ARP Odyssey at the fore, Hawkshaw and Bennett have created a blissed-out soundscape that, whilst laid back in all the right places, somehow remains heavy on the funk. It's a sort of throbbing, proto-G Funk sound and you can fnd it on many of these low-lit basement workouts.
Take the ice-cool 'Alto Glide'. It's a sunset-funk highlight with an electro-fute refrain that conjures those dreamier Dre / DJ Quick instrumentals from '91 to '92.
Stereolab, Koushik (again) and all those Ghost Box artists were clearly listening very closely in the years since. The equally relaxed 'Mermaid' glides efortlessly with soft, shimmering piano, understated percussion and kaleidoscopic synths.
It's a really beautiful piece.With these two soft-focus closing tracks allowing the LP to foat away over the horizon, the preceding ten tracks have a more insistent, neck-snapping rhythm
section to back the synth overload. Highlights include the head-nod funk of 'Getting It Together' and the synth break in 'The Executive', which informed classic video game soundtracks.
For once Be With really is stuck for words to describe just how good this record is.
Best just to listen. As with all ten re-issues, the audio for Synthesis comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.
- A1: A. Hawkshaw* / B. Bennett* - Mon Amour
- A2: A. Hawkshaw* / B. Bennett* - Oddball
- A3: A. Hawkshaw* / B. Bennett* - Daytripper
- A4: Alan Hawkshaw - Mile High Swinger (Vers. A)
- A5: Alan Hawkshaw - Mile High Swinger (Vers. B)
- A6: A. Hawkshaw* / B. Bennett* - Auto-Pilot
- B1: A. Hawkshaw* / B. Bennett* - Pacesetter
- B2: A. Hawkshaw* / B. Bennett* - Home Run
- B3: A. Hawkshaw* / B. Bennett* - Driving Force
- B4: A. Hawkshaw* / B. Bennett* - Action Man
- B5: Alan Hawkshaw - Funky Chicken
- B6: Alan Hawkshaw - Jolly Roger
- B7: Alan Hawkshaw - Dumbo
- B8: Alan Hawkshaw - Plain Song
- B9: Alan Hawkshaw - Fanfair
LP,180, 2018 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART
Released in the same year as Synthesis over on KPM, 1974's Synthesizer and Percussion is its essential companion piece. 'This record features the many distinctive sounds of the ARP Synthesizer plus percussion in various moods and tempos' is the even more underwhelming than usual library record sales pitch for
Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett's second collection of what is basically minimal G-funk, with overtones of primitive acid house. This is ridiculously good.
This is one of Hawkshaw and Bennett's wilder joints and aeons ahead of its time.
Bennett's tough drums provide the underpinnings for the prominent bass, keys and bubbling synths high up in the mix, alongside Hawkshaw's deranged clavinet-funk-rock. There are heavenly break loops galore.
Opener "Mon Amour" is ultra-smooth funk, all inter-weaving melodic lines whilst the seminal "Oddball" is an incredible hard electro strut with a knocking break.
"Mile High Swinger" is a tranquil Spaghetti Western whistling theme over double tempo rhythmic movement and the pulsating "Auto Pilot" has a percussive groove elevated by electric piano and synthesizer. Check "Driving Force', 'Home Run' and "Pacesetter" for electroid prog-funk dripped in acid squelch.
All fve fnal tracks are beatless synth workouts, because they can.
As with all ten re-issues, the audio for Synthesizer and Percussion comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.
LP,180, 2018 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART
Alan Hawkshaw (piano/Hammond) and Shadow's drummer Brian Bennett are responsible for some of the slickest, funkiest and most sought-after library records ever made in the UK, particularly ones recorded on the legendary KPM label. Their work has now become the go-to place for sampling in music today.
Artists such as Dilla, Nas, and the xx, right through to the billion selling Kanye & Drake have taken Hawkshaw's and Bennett's immaculate beat-driven soundscapes for their own usage.
Their new album, in full, iconic KPM cover is a return to the laidback jazz-funk that helped Alan and Brian demonstrate their library chops. The album is classic Hawkshaw/Bennett. It swings, it grooves, moves and thrills with a fair these two have perfected over years.
Standout tracks such as "Hole In One", "In The Clouds", "Interchange", "Oasis", "On The Nile" and "Corcovado" are no mere excursions in nostalgia, for they carrylots of deft studio work that many a producer would give their right arm for.
Hawkshaw's arrangements allow the drums, guitar, bass, strings, Hammond, fute and brass to swirl elegantly around the 12 original tracks; a masterclass in recording.
Cut by Pete Norman, housed in a beautifully designed Richard Robinson sleeve and pressed at 180g by Record Industry in Holland, this release has been aforded the care and attention it rightly deserves. Essential.
Bear Bones, Lay Low links up with Pizza Noise Mafia's Carrageenan and comes with a monster of a miniLP. BIG TIP!
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Matthieu Levet (Carrageenan / Pizza Noise Mafia) and Ernesto González (Bear Bones, Lay Low / Tav Exotic / Maitres Fous ...) are two musicians based in Brussels who have cut their teeth in the city's freeform underground for well over a decade. Having spent time at numerous shows and parties together, they solidified a friendship after a two week tour around Europe with fellow electronic explorer , Accou, in April 2017.
It was shortly after this moment that the label Random Numbers approached the two with the initial intention of releasing a split cassette with music from their respective solo projects. Several exchanges later, the plan quickly changed into realizing a full-fledged collaboration between both musicians who, while having deep respect and interest for each other's music since they first met, had never found the opportunity to create something together.
The result is the CARCASS IDENTITY EP: a combination of Levet's raw and dub-infused electronics with González's kosmische psychedelic touch. This is music meant for strange parties: the kind where dancing and laying down are equally accepted and ncouraged, where there might be more silence than talking between participants, where small gestures and events reveal their transcendental meaning...
Play It Say It welcome New York artist David Berrie for a first EP on the label and one that offers three dynamite pieces of punchy, high impact and inventive house music.
Raised amongst the diverse culture of NYC's nightlife, Berrie started sneaking into clubs as a youngster and since then has risen through the ranks to have now played iconic rooms like Output NY and DC-10 Ibiza. Fusing his musical history with other genres to create his own, unique style of house and techno, David has taken his passion to the studio and served up essential tunes on Hot Creation and Cuttin' Headz.
Opening the account is 'Revolution', seven superbly programmed minutes of slick and involving house beats and knotted bass. It's a restless, body shaking track to make the floor move with futuristic synths fleshing it out and bringing a vital sense of machine soul.
The equally compelling 'JB Loop' is another dynamic bit of electronic house music. Rubbery drums bobble and bounce about with wild computer sounds and infectious bass all ramping up the energy levels and making for a standout track.
Last but not least, 'Rear End' is a supple, intricately designed track with slippery synths, spinning hi hats and bass surges all wrapping around each other to make for real minimal funk. It's a track that oozes Detroit vibes and cannot fail to sweep up the floor.
These are three characterful and masterfully produced cuts of high-class dancing music.
Manana presents a new remix EP bringing together some essential re-works of Sound Species and Ache Meyi's collaboration recordings.
Originally recorded in 2016 in Santiago de Cuba during the lead-up to the Manana Festival in the city, the original sessions were an inspired fusion of Ache Meyi's deep folkloric Afro-Cuban styles with Sound Species' subtle electronic touches. The new re-works have attracted some familiar names from clubland: broken beat don IG Culture keeps the roots of 'Ogún Meyi Meyi' intact with a bass-heavy, percussive attack; brilliant UK drummer and producer Tom Skinner strips back 'Egrem Bata Jam' on a pulsing new version; Chicago legend Ron Trent creates a more melodic dancefloor re-work of 'Alina's Calypso' while Sound Species themselves beef up the original Afro-Haitian rhythms of the same track for a dubbier treatment.
NYC's Disco powerhouse West End Records should need no intro. The home of too-numerous-to-list club classics for over 30+ years is still impacting today on what we know to be club culture. The label started by one Mel Cheren (RIP) with assistance from Larry Levan and more way back in 1976 is still held in such high regard today with it's catalogue constantly being played, rediscovered, reinterpreted and loved by waves and waves of new fans and admirers.
From the West End vaults we are pleased to present Ednah Holt's 'Serious, Sirius Space Party', a thundering, slo-mo, bass-heavy slab of NYC electronic funk that will sound familiar to those who paid close attention to what the maestro Larry Levan was doing in his sacred booth at the Garage in 1981, or to those who tuned in to peep what the master Afrika Islam was doing on his now semi-religious, hip-hop blueprint 'Zulu Beat Show' on WHBI. That's right, you can guarantee if those 2 guys were playing your record in the city at the same time then you had an underground 'hit' on your hands. The fact that it crossed over from the discotheques to the streets and back again speaks of the appeal of this super heavyweight jam, the legendary team up of Kenton 'Kenix' Nix, Larry himself on the mix, and former Ritchie Family vocalist Ednah Holt makes for some heady listening. One for the after hours dancers, B-Boys and B-Girls and lovers of the downtempo workout. A true and essential NYC classic.
All tracks featured re-mastered, re-pressed and re-released with the permission of and in conjunction with West End Records, New York City / BMG.
Lance Ferguson's Raregroove Spectrum is a collection of newly recorded versions of classic funk, soul, jazz and latin vinyl rarities, which features some of Melbourne's finest musicians across the album, including past and present members of The Bamboos, The Putbacks and Hiatus Kaiyote.
This 2 track single provides just a hint of what delights the full Raregroove Spectrum album contains - Lance explains that much of the inspiration for the re-works comes from his experience as a DJ; "Some of these versions can almost be looked at as DJ re-edits, sometimes we're extending what may be a really short track into something longer, or teasing out the elements in a song that really make it work on a dance-floor. It's essentially what someone does with a club re-edit, except we went the extra step and re-recorded the whole thing with a live band".
First up is a reinterpretation of a super obscure deep funk acetate 45 released by Keb Darge, Egg Roll - the follow on track is Lance's take on The Soul Vibrations The Dump.
The forthcoming album reaches further - and includes James Mason's 'Sweet Power, Your Embrace' as a sun-drenched Samba, or Anderson Paak's sure shot tune 'Am I Wrong' given an 1980's style Boogie/Jazz Funk makeover to the epic, widescreen Jazz-Funk of Pleasure's 'Joyous' - Rare Groove Spectrum provides new perspectives on the obscure to the well-loved, from old-school to new sounds - this is rare grooves re-grooved... beautifully.
Reclaiming her original moniker of Kittin, electroclash pioneer - formerly known as Miss Kittin - presents Cosmos, a continuous twelve-track LP of organic, leftfield electronica due 2 November on Dark Entries. Throughout her illustrious career, Kittin has carved a considerable niche for herself, assimilating references from New Wave and 90s techno to form an inimitable sound that resonates with electronic music fans the world over. Despite being most recognizable with 'Miss' before it, Kittin was in fact her original artist name - the prefix often added without her consent at promoter's will and eventually becoming the norm.
Cosmos is her most spiritual release yet, influenced by her time in the French countryside after a bout of touring exhaustion. She gives up any formulas from her past; verses/chorus, pop or club beats, to come to the essence of chords and textures, peeling away the non-essential to find joy in music yet again. In retrieving her chosen name from more than 20 years ago, Kittin also returns to the essence of her musical journey. By liberating herself from the constraints of formal structure she opens the door to a new set of aesthetics, exploring her influences without restraint. Sonically, the voice acts a central instrument, whilst the album drives continuously forward with no breaks, paying homage to her love for ambient and electronica whilst wandering calmly into the unknown. 'With Cosmos everything is energy. We go back to the core with curiosity and freedom.' - Kittin
November 5th, 2018 would have been Charles Bradley's 70th birthday. In celebration of his extraordinary life, Daptone imprint Dunham Records is proud to announce the release of his fourth and final album, Black Velvet. Black Velvet is a celebration of Charles Bradley, lovingly assembled by his friends and family at Dunham/Daptone Records. Though chronologically the material spans Charles' entire career, this is no anthology, greatest hits or other shallow rehashing of the songs that already made him famous. Rather, this album is a profound exploration through the less-travelled corners of the soulful universe that Charles and his longtime producer, co-writer and friend Tommy "TNT" Brenneck created in the studio together over their decade-long partnership.
It features new songs recorded during the sessions from each of his three albums, heard here for the very first time in all their scorching glory: "Can't Fight the Feeling," "Fly Little Girl" and the heart-wrenching single "I Feel a Change"; hard core rarities like his funk-bomb duet with LaRose Jackson, "Luv Jones," the psychedelic groover, "(I Hope You Find) The Good Life" and the ever-illusive alternate full band electric version of "Victim of Love"; sought-after covers of Nirvana's "Stay Away," Neal Young's "Heart of Gold" and Rodriguez's "Slip Away"; and the title track "Black Velvet," a stirring Menahan Street Band instrumental to which Charles was never able to cut a vocal.
Charles was truly a transcendent singer who led a remarkable life, overcoming unimaginable adversity to achieve great success and international acclaim very late in his life. What was really special about him and made him different from everybody else in the world was how he understood his pain as a cry for universal love and humanity. He felt that if he loved enough—if we all loved each other enough—we could take away the world's pain and sadness. That is why he jumped off the stage and literally tried to hug everybody he could. It's why he took such great care of a mother that had abandoned him. It's why he sang and danced like a lunatic. It's why he screamed like an eagle. And that's why we love him.
Black Velvet is a celebration of his life, and is destined to join Charles' first three albums alongside the cannon of essential soul records for the ages.
- A1: Hyper On Experience - Lift Me Up (Luna-C Remix
- A2: Pete Cannon - The Box (Sunny & Deck Hussy Remix
- B1: Alex Jungle - The Need In Me (M-Project Remix
- B2: Shadowplay - Calling Me (Clayfighter Remix
- C1: Wislov - You Make Me Happy (Audio X Remix
- C2: Paul Bradley - Magic (Empyreal Remix
- D1: Sunny & Deck Hussy - Only You (Mannik Remix
- D2: Ant To Be - Nobody Likes Me (Scartat Remix
- E1: Demcore - Believe (Ant To Be Remix
- E2: Rock Deh Riddum (Dj Ham Remix
- F1: Anglerfish & Lucider - Rumba! (Shoreman Remix
- F2: Audio X - Set Your Feelings Free (Liquid Remix
* This triple pack LP is the 100th release from Kniteforce Records, and is a showcase for the brand new 'old skool' styled hardcore. Containing a spread of big name artists from the originals, such as Liquid, Hyper On Experience, Luna-C, Alk-e-d, Dj Ham and Future Primitive, to newcomers such as Pete Cannon, Alex Jungle and Ant To Be, every track slams home the new old sound of today (yesterday) with the style and competence expected from the Kniteforce Family. Full of variety, and the very essence of the music from 1991 - 1996, this is not to be missed!
Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others
Dubstep veteran Sukh Knight kicks off his brand new DAKU imprint in style with an EP featuring much sought after tracks by himself and a remix by Dubstep O.G Kromestar. All 3 tracks have gained much support over the past year by many dj's including Mala, Coki, N-Type, Hatcha, Kromestar, Chefal, Sleeper and many more.
The EP starts with the sci-fi sample laced dubby roller 'Moonrunner' which takes you on a journey through the galaxies, before going to the flipside for Sukh's trademark Bollywood influenced dancefloor smasher 'Paid Off' and ending with Kromestar's hypnotising 'Dark Of The Moon' remix of 'Moonrunner'. DAKU001 is essential in your record collection with all 3 tracks guaranteed to cause destruction on soundsystems and dancefloors. Prepare yourself for many more exciting releases from this brand new label.
In 1990, raising their voices over the sound of Neuropolitique's 'Mind you don't trip' Sebastian S. and Mike DMA (Direct Memory Access) met, breaking the ice by swapping opinions on LFO and 808 State. They later went on to create the first live configuration of BWP Experiments (Bad Woofer Posse Experiments, for more info see basicmoves), and produced dozens of tracks together which, for the most part, were live takes and remain unreleased. Only
a few made it out into the world, and to this day have stayed well under the (discogs) radar:
Our Techno Theory' was put out on an 8-tracker cassette by Research and Development,
while only two productions 'Escape' and 'Pay your taxes' were pressed on vinyl for the same
imprint. Now Sebastian S. (aka Caustic 14) returns to the label with two previously unreleased tracks
found in his personal archive. 'Excalibur' was produced in tandem with Mike during the last
session the pair ever did in Sebastian's studio (Z'ha'dum) in 1996. It's a vibrant hommage to
their common passion outside of music: Sci-fi. This track refers specifically to the series Babylon
5 , which was a revolution in the genre, and the first tv series to outdo Star Trek (the intergalactic
reference since the early 1960's). The idea of being 'united against darkness' was key to the
series, and the motto remained essential for Sebastian, Mike and Deg's music productions,
collaborations, live shows and dj sets. The influence of what had been a passion since
childhood can be felt in their sound: unconsciously they had dreamt up the soundtrack to their
own space journey. The second track 'Cliffhanger', a solo production by Sebastian S., is a dig from several years
earlier (1994). The Detroit influence is strong here, yet the signature Caustic 14 "space opera"
melodies hold their ground and shine out.
We are very proud to propel this Belgian electronic music heritage out into the world.
In memory of Matt Cogger.
walrus & islas , September 2018.
Please meet the young production duo of Davin Coady and Geoff Foley known as 'Between Ourselves' from Water-ford/Ireland, one of the Irish key cities for the more deeper flavours of underground House-music. They have previously released on labels such as Republik and Galaktika. Their offering is comprised of 2 tracks. The first track 'Red Mist' is a melodic driven tune with an epic monster-break that hur-tles the listener to an uplifting climax. The 2nd Track 'Guidance' hits the spot with a catchy bassline in the break, the 'hook' of the tune. None other than Berlin based Ruede Hagelstein created a remix for 'Red Mist'. Indeed he is a man for those special tunes that will always stay on your mind. He stripped down the original to its bare essence keeping the epic feel - a dirty dark masterpiece. Andre Lodemanns edit of 'Red Mist' pushes the floor potential to the max with his customized drum sounds.
Following on from the three highly-acclaimed CoOp Presents 'Selectors Assemble' compilation EPs from the past year, it's now time to focus on some of the individual talents from the ever-evolving movement. As the international foundation grows, we invite aboard the extremely talented Neue Grafik into the fold.
French producer, instrumentalist and DJ, Neue Grafik, has been building a strong rep for himself over the past few years, releasing records previously on labels such as Rhythm Section, 22a and Wolf Music. His sound is a hybrid of jazz, house, broken beat and hip hop, all with his unique geographical flavours of African ethnicity, Parisian roots and a love for London thrown into the mix.
So to the music - two brand new tracks, 'I Miss Something' and 'Bed Stuy's Mood', complete with remixes from EVM128, Danvers, Xtra Bruk and NameBrandSound (aka label bosses IG Culture & Alex Phountzi) respectively, making this one essential package for the bruk soldiers and beyond.
In Neue Grafik's words...
"I remember the first time I was at a CoOp party and met IG - I just said something like "unbelievable party, well done! Thank you, man". I didn't expect to be a part of this brilliant family a few months after that; it's totally insane to think about it now.
I began to hang properly with the CoOp fam during a DJ session at The Flex in East London. I was so happy to live in this moment; surrounded by these talented performers, artists and producers, excitedly talking about unreleased music on everyone's USB sticks.
This EP is a personal vision of the broken beat scene and my love for that. A meeting with artists who build my own taste, with friends keeping the same vibrancy and desire for this music. 'I Miss Something' and 'Bed Stuy's Mood' are two tracks dedicated to Porte Des Lilas (Paris), and Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York). One was made in my house, the other on holiday. These two tracks, as well as the remixes from the Selectors Assemble crew, represent a real and deep friendship."
More essential music from the CoOp Presents camp, available on limited vinyl and all digital services. Don't sleep.
Released on the Music For Nations label. In the wake of their triumphant Bloodstock Festival headlining show this Summer, the kings of viking metal return with a live album/documentary film. This will be followed by a brand new album in spring 2019. Recorded live from 2017's headlining show at the Summer Breeze Festival in Germany. Tracks include 'Raise Your Horns' and 'A Dream That Cannot Be', where they are joined on stage by heavy metal legend Doro. The documentary covers the band's 25 year career in great detail and is essential viewing for fans of the band old and new. The band will be in market for promo around the release. There will also be a premier of the documentary at a central London cinema with a Q&A with the band and director. Specialist promo/marketing activity across all media outlets.
- A1: Ohiyee
- A2: Yabaal
- A3: Heelo
- B1: Hiyeeley
- B2: Aw Baahilowlow
- B3: Doon Baa Maraysoo
- C1: Intro Vol 2
- C2: Jaceyl Mirahiis
- C3: Dab
- C4: Saafiyeey Makaa Saraayeey
- D1: Jaajumoow Jees
- D2: Diinleeya
- D3: Caashaqa Maxaa I Barayee
- E1: Keene Gardaran
- E2: Jubba Aaka
- E3: Aduun Hawli Kama Dhamaato
- F1: Salkuu Dhigey
- F2: Haddi Aanan Gacaloy
In the expansive sleeve notes accompanying this superb triple-album, Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb accounts, in great detail, the epic tale of Dur-Dur Band, a Mogadishu-based deep funk outfit that took Somalian radio by storm during the early 1980s. It's a remarkable story, all told, but nowhere near as remarkable as the music contained on this essential retrospective. Redjeb has managed to license both of their previously cassette-only albums, stretching them across three slabs of wax. Brilliantly played and performed, the songs mix killer American and African style funk grooves with hooky Somalian vocals, spacey synths and occasional nods towards other styles (most notably reggae on later period cut "Diinleeya" and Juju on "Salkuu Dhigey"). Simply essential.
Emotional Rescue returns to the music of Elaine Kibaro with a special 7" single to accompany the Pour L'Amour album collection (ERC066). Here then are two bonus versions of songs from the LP with a unique Arabic recording of her "hit" Aurore and also, the previously unreleased on vinyl instrumental version of her balearic / boogie jam, Ne Doute Pas.
Having moved from Tunisia to France at the age of 13, Kibaro's duel sensibility has long been apparent in her music and performance. The early success of her debut 7" De L'autre Cote Du Miroir in 1977, was soon followed by her most 'successful' song in Aurore, first released as a 7" in 1978, before appearing again as 9 minute extended version on the 1979 Miroirs LP.
In the same year she recorded a special 7" single on the little known World Music label. Singing the lyrics in Arabic - renamed here to its true translation - much else remained the same. The music of the original, the spoken intro soon gives way to what is essentially a leftfield disco groove, with building strings, funky bass and some late archetypal 70s Euro drumming. Atop this the vocals are delivered in Kibaro's ubiquitous chanson delivery, her heartfelt singing, the congos breakdown and then chorus, as the songs builds, all lead to head-nodding smiles all round.
With this is Ne Doute Pas. A stand out from Pour L'Amour, the vocal version appeared in 1989 as a single and on the now sought after, Kiroel album. This instrumental simply let's the music shine. A Linn rise and fall bassline, soft, layered keys and mode horns are run and rerun in a catchy, incessant flow like a PWL demo. The 10 years between the 2 tracks is apparent in the instrumentation but the link between the two - Kibaro herself - is clear and worth enjoying for that.
'Breathe The Machine' is the first installment of Dojostudio and presents a musical world rich in harmonics, low frequency and melodic impact, yet with enough space in between to allow that perfect breathing room essential for powerful dance cuts. 'Breathe The Machine' portrays a world that initially feels robotic, yet instills an organic fluidity known only to come from humanoid beings, breathing life into a system littered with code and coldness. Billy Dalessandro presents 3 original cuts, plus a rendition of the title track by Mike Shannon.
Both for 'Breathe The Machine' and 'Tractor Beam' the Waldorf Microwave XT 2 and the Jomox 888 were the primary sound sources. For 'Breathe The Machine' the 888 was processed through a Jomox T-Resonator, which added harmonic distortion, and also spread the stereo spectrum out a bit offering the drums a more washed-out feel. The XT was layered track by track by performing patterns live into an editor until the desired ideas were properly recorded. Mike Shannon was brought on board to offer a contrasting expression of 'Breathe The Machine' and when asked how the process went he stated:
"I took the source sounds, edited them and processed them to work with a groove I had written for this remix. I mainly used the pad, lead synth and synth effects from the original. The rest of the gold I engineered."
On 'Tractor Beam', subtle use shows that ample space in between ideas make things seem larger than life. By allowing a more minimal approach in the production process the sounds can easily co-exist, allowing for that 'big room' sound without overwhelming the overall experience.
The digital exclusive 'Deliverance' was created using NI's Maschine for the drums, and FM8 and Reaktor were the sources of the synths. Drum patterns were created in Maschine and then recorded in realtime back into the DAW as it played, with real-time tweaking of the hi-hat to create the desired impact, especially at the break. The synth and pad patterns were recorded as MIDI into the editor, and then automation of the synths' VCF rounded out the expression needed to complete the emotional process.
All in all, DOJ001 is mostly an all-hardware showdown, with 'Deliverance' being the only 'virtual' attempt. Life is in nature, not in machines, yet the culmination of the two worlds can be beautiful, if only properly tamed and understood. Lest we beware! Stay tuned... and thanks for listening!
Roman Flügel needs no introduction, so lets not hammer on about his lengthy history as a kingpin of contemporary German dance music, his essential contributions to the musical evolution of Darmstadt and Frankfurt, his achievements as a virtuosic multi-instrumentalist traversing genres with remarkable grace, his sense of dynamism and urgency in the construction of big-room anthems or the meticulously woven textures of melancholy found throughout his minimalist work, his ability to pay homage to pioneers of his musical heritage without diverting to pastiche, his fearless combination of familiar melody with synthesized aberration and imperfection, his approach to instrumentation as Haiku poetry where the ordinary is made profound through simple isolation, his rejection of stylistic pretense and acceptance of comforts found in the constructs of folk and pop, his contrast of cold efficiency with a warm naivete´, his yearning to return down previously-forged paths with a new accumulation of experience, the confidence to paint the room blue when it was meant to be black, his belief that a beautifully executed idea will always transcend the need for incessant polishing, the way in which he leads arrangements to the edge and only implies a resolve, his framing of musical narratives as sketches, outlines, or skeletons where the listener's perception compliments the whole, or his notion that sometimes stories might not need a clear articulation but might only come through in hints of mood, pace, and color, a language which doesn't rely on words to communicate but which paints for us in Themes. Yes, rather than hearing our attempt to elaborate on Roman's Flu¨gel's debut album with the ESP Institute, lets just simply listen.
Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.
One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Queen Constance was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. Wayne Forde's super heavyweight 'Dance To The Music Freakout' is the second reissue from the label for 2018!
Yet again, not much is known about Wayne Forde, or his band 'Stereo'. Could it be another Peter and Patrick studio project Another selection of local, neighbourhood players and singers Who knows What we do know, however, is that this record is a TOTAL disco bomb. All of what you want from a Queen Constance record is here, it's dripping in funk, raw and soulful. Essential stuff for anyone with even a passing interest in disco or anything funky. These jams are super long, percussive dance-floor melters that will do damage! Super rare, too. You won't find one of these nestled in the racks in your local chazzer, which is exactly why these (legit) represses should be in your cart. Essential.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, lovingly remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.
Sarah Davachi presents her masterpiece, Gave In Rest. Her most fully studio-recorded album ever, she collaborates with Montreal heavyweights to create an album that uses both modern minimalism and early church music as departure points.
Sarah Davachi has quickly risen in prominence since her first release five years ago, and Gave In Rest represents her highest artistic achievement. By infusing her compositional style within a predilection for medieval and Renaissance music, Davachi unearths a new realm of musical reverence, creating works both contemplative and beatific, eerie yet essentially human. Gave In Rest is a modern reading of early music, reforming sacred and secular sentiments to fit her purview and provide an exciting new way to hear the sounds that exist around us.
Between January and September of 2017, Sarah Davachi lived in flux; storing her belongings in Vancouver, she spent the summer in Europe, occasionally performing in churches and lapidariums and seeking respite from her transitional state while surrounded by such storied history. This latest album echoes that emotional state of solitude and ephemerality, reaching towards familiar musical landscapes but from oblique perspectives.
'I named each track after a particular time of day as a way of expressing my experiencing different moments of quietude, how morning and night are both independent and interconnected entities in this regard,' she says. Her titles evoke canonical phrases referring to morning or evening prayers, as well as Latin and German phrasings for metaphors about the time of day. 'From my perspective, there is a lot of loneliness on this record, and I think it is as much about beginnings as endings,' she continues. 'In a way, it's about the prospect of the unknown as it manifests alongside a very inward form of grieving—really the essence of what constitutes a period of transition.
Davachi has mined a bottomless landscape where listeners can witness music's participation in their solitudes. Gave In Rest lends a voice to her personal exploration with a firm, intuitive stance.
Tracklisting
Welcome to JANX Records' first release. The debut EP features Kevin Over, Sarp Yilmaz, Frag Maddin and Boj Angler. Four friends and four cuts of naughty sample-based house music. All tracks recorded with love in Berlin, Istanbul, Essen and Ibiza. Available as digital release as well as strictly limited vinyl with silk screen cover art, hand-printed and packaged by the artists themselves. Vital Sales Points: Various Artists EP featuring Sarp Yilmaz (Istanbul) with former releases on Apparel Music, Swink Music Kevin Over (Essen) with former releases on e.g. Madhouse Records, 4Lux, Rough Recordings Frag Maddin (Berlin) with former releases on e.g. Madhouse Records, Upon.You, Kakudo Records, etc. Boj Angler (Ibiza) with former releases on Esance
We are very happy to announce the 13th release of Cabrera with two special remixes from the label boss', J.C., 'Vertigo' record that came out in the summer of 2017. Side A comes with a special Shed rework. Rene is a huge influence for us and we are thrilled to have him on our catalogue. Keeping the essence of the original, he made a proper raw dub techno banger. On the flip side, Kastil, already part of the family, took Nyame in a whole other level and made a fresh blend of fierce techno.
Coloured Vinyl[12,82 €]
All tracks produced and arranged by DJ Don Carlos, 8 tracks never released on vinyl taken from the album "The Cool Deep".
2 separate vinyls for 2 essentials release...
The Second 12" include A1. Temptations A2. Bora Bora B1. Turquise B2. This House Music...
Big release from the master of Italian Deep House!
All tracks produced and arranged by DJ Don Carlos, 8 tracks never released on vinyl taken from the album "The Cool Deep".
2 separate vinyls for 2 essentials release...
The Second 12" include A1. Temptations A2. Bora Bora B1. Turquise B2. This House Music...
Big release from the master of Italian Deep House!
Beautiful contemporary African music. Deep percussion with great guitar playing and vocal chants on top. Driving basslines all over the album. Spiritual feel! Tip
.
Son of the legendary Dr Philip Nchipi Tabane and heir to the malombo sound that he originated and pioneered in the early 1960s, Thabang Tabane has been touring the world playing with his father's band and other South African luminaries (such as Thandiswa Mazwai, Madala Kunene and Mabi Thobejane) since he was 8 years old.
Emerging into his own with his debut solo album, Matjale, this energetic percussionist carves a driving, joyous and worldly version of the malombo genre that takes in his continental travels. The album brims with ambition and an appetite for life. Employing brisk tempos, nimble basslines and intersecting polyrhythms, Thabang crafts songs cognisant of the hardships of life, but chooses to deliver them with an irrepressible optimism.
Expanding parameters of what is essentially an artform patented by his father, Thabang and his cohorts seem unburdened by pedigree, infusing the sound with a modern sensibility. His reverence for the vibrational resonance and drive of the bass guitar, not to mention his explosive bursts of hand drumming, gives the album an undeniable, cathartic exuberance.
Following on from Bodyjack's landmark "Nataraja EP" this summer which marked the 10th DEXT release, we welcome back our good friend Lo Shea to the label to continue the next phase in our journey. He comes to us fresh off his recent outings on Rekids and Dusky's 17 Steps, His first DEXT EP 'Durga' is one of the standouts from our early catalog.
We first heard "Activation" when he dropped an early version at our Fabric takeover earlier this year, and it grabbed us immediately. What essentially starts off as a super sharp rhythm track ends up very differently. This is a DEXT track through and through without a doubt!
Liam delves into his drum and bass roots for 'Pressure', marrying rolling broken beats and dark rave synth work but cleverly keeps the tempo right down and really adds to the sense of foreboding.
- A1: Jilali Bouhalam (Trad. Arr. Mishalle) 03:29
- A2: Brown Dakka (Mishalle) 03:18
- A3: Tchor Kerira (Trad. Arr. Mishalle) 06:10
- A4: Straks (Mishalle) 03:59
- A5: Megafonix Hymn (Trad. Arr. Mishalle) 03:28
- B1: Misschien (Mishalle) 03:07
- B2: Mektou I & Ii (Mishalle) 07:21
- B3: Ageshe (Trad. Arr. Mishalle) 04:25
- B4: Merhaba (Trad. Arr. Mishalle) 04:22
After years of playing with the Moroccan community of Brussels, music maker and jazz musician Luc Mishalle knows every trick of the cross-fertilization of gnawa music, jazz & brass. Gnawa is the Northern African islamic sufi music with healing vibrations and spiritual lyrics, played by the descendants of African slaves. The album title 'Beats & Pieces' refers to the collaborations with Belgian percussionist Roel Poriau (Think of One, Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra), Tunisian electronic producer Sofyann Ben Youssef (Ammar808, Kel Assouf) and Moroccan-Belgian gnawa master Maalem Driss Filali. 'The album is significantly less 'jazz' than past collaborations with Byron Wallen and Trevor Watts,' explains Mishalle. 'It's based on gnawa songs I transcribed and arranged together. Half of the songs contain vocals, which makes it more radio-friendly.' There are also fragments of Beninese traditionals and which bring us to another thread through the album: trance. You can find it in gnawa music and even more in Benin, the cradle of voodoo. 'Trance music aims to create obsession through constant repetition. We kept the essence of that music, adding jazz and brass colours,' Mishalle finds these musicians in Brussels, and together they search for the sound of this city known for its hyper-diversity. 'Brussels' context is unique, in Belgium and beyond. Our metropole has quirky vibrations. To catch them, you have to fully submerge.'
The second in a series of all-time CLASSIC hip-hop anthems from the Nervous vaults, pressed onto high quality dinked 45's.
Remastered from the original source material and featuring the unedited 'dirty' version on the A-side, and the full instrumental on the B-side, these 45's are for the heads who know what time it really is! 'How Many Emcee's Must Get Dissed' is that raw, NYC, Beatminerz flavour, even the video that dropped on MTV in 1993 is legendary featuring the whole Black Moon mob in their native Brooklyn posting up with their crew. Everyone remembers that Timberlands & Philly Blunts rap from the mid 90's onwards, raw SP1200 beats, dusty loops and samples pulled out of crates in the darkest corners of the five boroughs, a truly creative period in rap music and popular culture with many artists who came up in the era shaping the future of music from the streets upwards. Black Moon are one such group, their indelible mark on music is still felt today, the blend of streetwise raps and sturdy, murked out, jazzy beats supplied by the Dewgarde brothers is timeless. They sure don't make em like this anymore and if they did we're sure Black Moon would continually crush the competitors as they always did. Essential New York rap classics right here! Don't front. Fully legit, licensed and reissued by Above Board distribution in conjunction with Nervous Records, NYC. 2018.
Danyb returns with another essential volume of Busted goods !
The A side expertly reworks an early 80's Canadian Disco/Funk rarity for maximum modern dancefloor devastation
On the flip Janis Joplin floats over a cleverly pitched Tom Tom Club classic for a slow-burning groover of the highest order...
Denis Sulta has announced new offshoot to his Sulta Selects imprint, 'Silver Service'.The debut release comes from Cromby - an Irish born, Berlin based producer on the up. Following a thumping set at Belfast's beloved AVA Festival, his new EP will be released on 21st September and features three peak-time club weapons, inspired by the sounds of classic Chicago House. The lead Futurola is a hard-hitting, jacking house track that packs a fierce bassline and emotive punch, whilst B1, Barneymania is a Chicago-tinged acid roller that layers melodic chords, the EP ends with the dark and sci-fi-tinged electro of Fandango.
The new label follows on from Denis Sulta's Selects imprint - home to three volumes of his own essential 12' series
The Strictly Rhythm imprint is legendary and is instantly recognisable by connoisseurs worldwide. It's a label that has contributed time and time again to dance music culture across it's almost 30 year lifespan. Countless classics passed through the NYC offices of Mark Finkelstein and Gladys Pizarro and this brand new 'Strictly Classics' series looks to celebrate this cornerstone dance label and it's immense catalogue by going back to the archives and presenting some double-header action for diehard fans and newcomers alike. That's right, the 'proper' mixes, reissued from source and remastered to the highest spec, each track spread across one side of a 12" for optimal sonic playback.
Number 3 in the series kicks off on a proper old-school tip with CLS' mammoth 'Can You Feel It' from 1991, a collaboration between Todd Terry and Benji Candelerio CLS made a huge and lasting impression with this euphoric and anthemic slab of dancefloor madness. Instantly recognisable from it's ravey riff and funky drum programming, file this one under 'rave classic'! Over on the flip side we have South Street Player's smoothed out '(Who) Keeps Changing Your Mind', a rolling and deep jam from Roland Clark and George Morel that came out in 1993. This one's some lights down, honest to god soulful house music, skipping garage drums and that organ driven groove offer the perfect vehicle for Clark's gorgeous vox to soar over. Yet another set of absolutely essential SR cuts from the archive!
Remastered with love by Optimum mastering, Bristol from original master sources. Made in conjunction with Strictly Rhythm 2018.
The free fall, to dive head first into something, is scary for most people.
For some it is the most exciting thing however and the only possible path anyways. Florian is one of those driven artists who never sounds the same, his signature tone is the free fall into new soundscapes, new ways of using his analog electronic instruments and carving out the essence for the dancing individual.
HINOSCH are a duo of Koshiro Hino from Osaka and Stefan Schneider from Düsseldorf, they first (met and) began their collaborative work of musical interaction and exploring contrasting possibilities in 2017. After a number of concerts in the EU and in Japan a debut EP (HINOSCH EP/TAL05) was released in late 2017. Fully instrumental, their first full-length album HANDS offers a more steeply focussed approach than its largely improvised predecessor.
Encouraged by the momentum generated during a number of on-the-spot recordings in Osaka, where Schneider had held a residency in April 2017, the overall sound of the album has been honed down through meticulous studio engineering. One of the outstanding qualities of HANDS certainly is an unprejudiced approach of sound and song structures. The instrumentation is condently reduced to a small range of analogue and digital machines. Snatches of tape-loops deliver lower-pitched vocal and drum machine samples. This characteristic technical set up soon proved ideal in order to dene a tactile vocabulary of fully unsynchronized rhythm patterns. The word tactile perfectly conjures that quality which is the very essence of HANDS. It is the result of the manner in which interdependent threads of rhythm units are deliberately disconnected to form a cohesive, soulful and exible whole. Most tracks on HANDS are devoid of a central motif and examine an unpredictable dialogue. A fantasy of constant change and a search for musical suggestions is the most vital ingredient in this abstract environment.
The album title HANDS refers to physical aspects of electronic music production. Every live concert of Hinosch usually starts out with a hand shake between Hino and Schneider. The general process of collective music making, programming, button pushing, playing, recording, decision making, all demand utmost concentration. The image on the front of the abum sleeve (designed by Takashi Makabe) reects the general approach of HANDS: layers of tuckled fabrics confronting one another to articulate a form for themselves to no other end than their own orchestration.
After having emerged from the ever thrilling Osaka music scene onto the international playgrounds of electronic music just a few years ago Koshiro Hino's solo activities as YPY and his involvement with the band GOAT have already garnered him a very favourable international reception. Stefan Schneider has over the years produced and collaborated with a.o. Joachim Roedelius (Cluster), Arto Lindsay, Klaus Dinger (NEU!), Dieter Moebius (Cluster), Alexander Balanescu, John McEntire (tortoise), Katharina Grosse, Bill Wells and St.Etienne.
Composer Tashi Wada has performed for years with his father Yoshi Wada—artist, composer, and early member of the Fluxus movement. However, they have rarely appeared together in studio settings. Nue, the fourteenth entry in RVNG Intl.'s intergenerational FRKWYS series, finally brings Tashi and Yoshi, along with an eclectic group of close friends and extended family, together on tape.
Nue draws on aspects of Tashi's background for his widest vision to date—among them the minimalist bagpipe music of Yoshi, who co-composed three of the tracks, the psychoacoustic and perceptual explorations of his mentor, composer James Tenney, and reimagined forms of ancient and devotional music. The album, however, is not a tribute to the past or a recapitulation of familiar sounds. Instead, Nue is an intertwining of people and ideas as a means of growing, of looking inward to move outward, and of looking back to move forward.
To achieve this growth, Tashi assembled a core group of fellow travelers, including Yoshi, composer Julia Holter, producer Cole MGN, and percussionist Corey Fogel, to give life to this multifaceted suite. As an experience, Nue subtly navigates the interactions, intimacy and spaciousness of this group.
The album's title itself is a nod to Tashi's abiding interest in duality and the unknown: nue is a mythological Japanese chimera with the face of a monkey, the legs of a tiger, and a snake for a tail, a composite form, at once disturbing and otherworldly. But, as the composer points out, nue is also French for naked—stripped of complexity, bare and exposed, but also raw and essential.
From the doubling of tones—and the world of harmonic nuances such an action produces—to the rich interplay between individual musicians, all baring their own personalities and experiences through shared performance, Tashi's compositions allow space for these elements to join and grow. The multipartite creature that is an ensemble melds in the simplicity and purity of the music itself.
As explained by Tashi, each part was written with an individual in mind, not simply an instrument. And each individual performer makes their mark, from Holter's vocal performances on the cresting, oceanic 'Mutable Signs' and 'Ondine' with guest vocalists Simone Forti, Jessika Kenney and Laura Steenberge, to Fogel's resonant, precise percussion on 'Bottom of the Sky.' Producer Cole MGN, who has worked extensively with artists like Beck and Ariel Pink, helped to create a world of sound with minimal yet multi-dimensional materials. Like many of its influences, Nue uses deceivingly simple means to create complex, coherent worlds and narratives.
Tashi notes the influence of legendary Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, whose work looked inward, investigating memory and emotion and dream, to understand the often overwhelming world outside the self. Like Lispector's classic novel Near to the Wild Heart, Nue cleaves these archetypal dualities—world/self, old/new, complex/simple—to create a work that allows them to coalesce into something singular.
As Tashi states in his liner notes: 'My desire was to create something both old and new sounding—ancient and futuristic—and ultimately something of its own world and other. Nue is a vision, an endless night of dreams, and a personal history of sorts, full of joys and demons.'
After more than a decade of deep, expansive productions on labels such as Detroit Underground and CPU, Annie Hall arrives on MUSAR for a record typically rich in texture and understated grooves.
Opening track 'Linium' immediately seduces listeners with a complex drum pattern that somehow feels spacious, subtly twisting and turning its way around Hall's analogue world. Dutch artist Mattheis maintains this understated feel but adds a soft, compelling kick in response on his suspenseful remix of 'Lavandula'. The original, moodier version of this cut the follows to open the B side, gradually erupting around a killer distorted bassline. The EP continues to hit a more urgent note with the tense machinations of 'Silene', where dense layers of stuttering, frenetic drums interweave with Hall's trademark, melancholy keys. The record concludes on a weightless, transcendent note with 'Santolina', taking each visceral element featured thus far and slowing each down, with affecting results.
Indebted to vintage electro and IDM, Hall's music is no throwback, always looking forward and moving dancefloors in the most unexpected ways.
DJ FEEDBACK
Early support from
Michael Mayer (Kompakt) : Nice vibes from Mattheis... will play for sure!
James Zabiela (Born Electric) : Linium is a nice one, thanks.
Arnaud Le Texier (Cocoon / Chronicle) : Nice music. Thx!
Marcel Dettmann (Ostgut Ton/MDR) : Thx!
Carl Craig (Planet E) : Thx!
Gonno (Beats In Space Records / Endless Flight) : I like Mattheis' :)
Thomas Hessler (Index Marcel Fengler) : Nice one! Thank you!
Slam (Soma) : Thanx
Âme (Innervisions) : Thanks
Blasha & Allatt (Meat Free / Manchester) : Amazing!
EREZ / John Byrun : A superb EP
Tom Lye (Melodic Distraction - Liverpool) : Big fan of the whole EP. Strong, building electro with different moods. Essential!
Afrodeutsche (NTS / LuckyMe / Skam) : Glitchy melodica... Right up my Strasse...
DJ Shiva / Noncompliant (Valence / Detroit Underground) : Stellar music here. Moving beyond "DJ music", this is just really fantastic to listen to in headphones. Gorgeous stuff.
Lonya (Asymmetric Recordings) : Great stuff here!
Nori (Posivision) : Cool work.
Cinnaman (Rush Hour / Naked Naked) : Lavandula and Santolina are my favorites! thanks
Dj Windows XP (E-Beamz) : Dope E.P. Will play Lavandula.
Ambivalent/LA-4A (Delft/Cocoon/Ovum) I'm a huge fan of Annie Hall and Mattheis!!! This is a FANTASTIC release!! One of my favorites of recent months just on first listen!!
Benoit C (Tsugi) : Linium for me
Ian Blevins (ESP Institute / Sulk Magic) : Linium and another bit of top work from Mattheis. Santolina is pushing my buttons too. Aphexy vibes.
Joe Europe (Ransom Note) : Very nice!
Azterisco: Very interesting record. Nice remix!
Oded Peled : What a fantastic release! Was hard to choose a favourite between Linium and the Mattheis Remix of Lavandula. Both will come in handy in my sets. ....Thanx a lot and keep em coming.
Naduve (Cocktail d'Amore / Disco Halal) : Both A1 and A2 are great!..Thanks.
Anastasia Kristensen (Nous) : I dig this a lot, it's a crazy well produced record.
Demia E.Clash (Darknet) : Such a good ep-.i love them all,quality production yess.
Pedro Martins (Karakter Records) : Nice EP overall. Linium, Silene, and Santolina are my favorites. Thank you so much!
Xinobi (Discotexas) : Great record. I'm specially enchanted by the original version o Lavandula. Congratulations.
Scan Mode (DJ Mag Spain) : Lavandula in both mixes for me
John Osborn (TANSTAAFL) : Can't pick a fav. it is all Devine. thank you.
Madloch (Sound Avenue) : Nice EP, Linium & Lavandula original are my favs, thanks.
DVS NME (Transient Force) : The standout track is Lavandula.
Black Truffle is honoured to present the first reissue of a true underground masterpiece, Massimo Toniutti's Il Museo Selvatico (The Wild Museum), originally self-released on LP in 1991. Like his better-known brother Giancarlo (whose classic 1985 Broken Flag LP La Mutazione was reissued by Black Truffle in 2015), Massimo Toniutti was active in the vibrant underground industrial/noise scene of the 1980s, contributing to releases on legendary labels such as Broken Flag and RRR and self-releasing a series of cassettes between 1984 and 1988. Existing in a private world apart from the noise and dark industrial tropes of many of his contemporaries, Toniutti's Il Museo Selvatico is an entirely singular work of domestic electro-acoustic exploration. Made up primarily of what Toniutti calls 'small and rare noises' or sonic 'knick-knacks' recorded between 1987 and 1990, the five pieces that make up the original LP usher us into a crepuscular space populated by mysterious traces of everyday life. Toniutti weaves a loose net of distant clanks, dull thuds, metallic resonance and skittering percussive sounds, allowing the sounds to breathe against a backdrop of near-silent atmosphere. Although the haunted ambience recalls the work of contemporaries like Organum, Toniutti generally steers clear of long tones and drones, preferring to arrange brief, sometimes staccato sonic objects into patters of repeating figures and isolated events whose overall compositional shape remains somehow ungraspable. Although glimpses of recognisable location recordings and instrumental sounds can occasionally be made out, for most of the record the sources of the sounds we hear remain teasingly mysterious, an abstracted memory of everyday actions and atmospheres. l Museo Selvatico is accompanied here by an additional LP of material recorded at the same time, composed especially for this reissue into two side-long suites that inhabit the same haunted space as the original LP while occasionally making use of more maximal compositional strategies. Black Truffle is pleased to return this overlooked masterwork to the world. Essential listening for fans of Organum, Nurse With Wound, Christoph Heemann, and the tradition of outsider musique concrète. Lovingly presented as a double LP in a lavish gatefold with printed inner sleeves featuring archival images and notes. Remastered and cut at D&M, Berlin
'Jump Trax' is another essential piece of early Chicago house music crafted by the legendary Duane Thamm JR back in 1984. Fusing together a myriad of influences including early 80's Euro pop, Italo Disco and HI NRG, Thamm JR was responsible for helping create and influence the burgeoning House sound that would emanate from the city all throughout the second half of the 1980's. Not only were these sounds new and fresh, they were experimental too, 'Jump Trax' sees the BPM's gradually shift throughout the duration of the tracks seamlessly giving the more adventurous DJ's out there more ammunition and room to experiment with styles and BPM's. A truly visionary approach to production and all recorded and mixed within Chicago's city limits by Thamm JR at his Reel To Reel Studio located in Villa Park, Illinois. 'Jump Trax' continues to be as influential today as it was back in '84, with many top DJ's still citing the record as a 'go to', powerful indeed.
Chicago's Still Music are proud to present this fully legit, remastered and repressed piece of Chicago house history. A truly pivotal record now made available again for 2018. Essential sound for those who love the real deal - snoozing not advised, OG copies of this monster are hard to come by!
Cadans continues an incredibly strong run of releases with 'Curved', his first drop for Ben Sims on-point Hardgroove imprint.
Previous output for Clone Basement Series as well as Darko Esser's Wolfskuil and Balans as well as a collaboration with Randomer for Tasha's Neighbourhood imprint have quickly established Cadans' (Dutchman-in-London, Jeroen Snik) rep.
On 'Curved' we're treated to yet more of the rising star's strident and sometimes disorientating rhythms. 'Creep' and 'Dank' open the EP with blistering purpose - all distorted 909 kicks and and hazy memories of strobes on seething dance floors. The title track kicks off the b-side with an aptly undulating and enjoyably unsettling slant to it's main riff while the EP wraps up with 'Chant' - a brilliantly effective drum-machine and vocal/horn sample workout.
(180 gram pressing) Their second album Águia Não Come Mosca (Eagles Don't Eat Flies) released in 1977 and the ensuing US tour firmly established them as a household name for rare groove aficionados worldwide. Tracks include Voo Sobre O Horizonte, Tamborim, Cuíca, Ganzá, Berimbau, Tarde, Circo Marimbondo, and many more. Essential!
Long time scene stalwart Darren Price is stepping out on brand new label, Kilsha Music, with a fantastic EP of monster house tracks arriving on both vinyl and digital.
Opener 'Charm Offensive' is a fantastic ten-minute trip into loose limbed techno. Drums, bass and percussion all wrap and weave around each other and melt your mind in the process. A rasping lead synth eventually becomes the focal point as background chords bring real soul.
The brilliantly bristling 'Everybody Jack (UW Live Maschine Mix)' is a full fat track with busy textured synths, sci-fi effects and old school jack vocals that will really work the dance floor into a lather. It's dynamic and ever evolving, with plenty of tense peaks and troughs throughout to keep the 'floor on its toes.
The final vinyl track is 'This is House Music', a deeper cut with warm, warbling bass and a muted acid line spraying about the mix. It slowly builds the pressure in heady fashion and is one to really hypnotise.
This is a fresh EP from one of the techno scene's most enduring and essential talents.
Here at Death & Leisure we are on a continuing mission to surprise and experiment, and so with our new release we present something very special, Blackmoon1348 and The Tibetan Monks of The Tashi Lhunpo Monastary. This project sounds like nothing else, it fuses heavy drone guitar sounds with traditional tibetan throat singing and live instrumentation.
BlackMoon1348 in collaboration with the Tibetan Monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (Tibet/ India). 2017 BlackMoon1348 embarked on a cultural experimentation of cultural diversity in the arts, forming a collaboration of ancient Tibetan ceremonial practises and instrumentation with sub-harmonic drones and industrial soundscapes. The music amalgamates sacred mantras that date back to the early teachings of Tibetan Buddhism practised in the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, with heavy detuned western instruments, synths, and electronic music for the first time in recorded history. The Tashi Lhunpo monastery was once home to the Panchen Lama who subsequently 'disappeared' under the oppressive Chinese rule of Tibet. A handful of the Tashi Lhunpo monks were fortunate to escape into exile and have since re-built the monastery in Mysore, South India - now flourishing with over 400 monks practising within the monastery. Tibetan Buddhism is an outlawed ancient tradition within Tibet - monks, nuns, and Tibetans cannot openly practise their heritage and traditions, forcing Tibetans to inhabitable plateaus, with such areas are now under 'Chinese Re-development', the land being stripped of natural resources for China's ever growing economy and totalitarian rule. Tibetans face persecution for as little as owning a Tibetan flag, or picture of the Dali Lama, with such actions landing you in jail, tortured, poised, and/or being released just before the point of death. It is important for us to remember and celebrate the traditions of the Himalayas and its sacred, peaceful practises.
The music was recorded live in one take at Flesh and Bone studio in Hackney for NTS Radio's Black Impulse show. Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Oliver and Owen at Flesh and Bone, capturing the raw, ethereal essence of the collaboration and ceremonial sounds buried deep within the Himalayas. This was the first time in history for such collaboration of tradition, ideology from Adeline Rozario and orchestrated by David Kerry of BlackMoon1348 who created this music to diversify and bring together ceremonial instruments, diversifying the metaphysics of transcendence through ceremonial Tibetan practises.
It is important to understand that BlackMoon1348 are not attempting to change the fundamental meaning or belief of the Tashi Lhunpo Monks, or assume to have a deep-rooted understanding of the ancient traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, This is our understanding of Tibetan culture and practices as truly and honestly as we see and feel it, and our attempt to spread this beautiful, sacred, culture, and keep it alive within today's society.
Liberation through hearing.
Solar Phenomena continues a high quality and high rate of releases after EP's from the likes of STL and Fluxion with a new one from Mystica Tribe - the musical alias of Tokyo-based producer, Taka Noda. Here he draws on everything from dub, soul, bass music, rhythm and blues and will always freak you out with his unusual sounds.
This excellently absorbing EP starts with Love Is All Right, a fusion of Asian percussion and reggae drums that is high tempo and funky. The bright steelpan sounds offset the razor sharp percussion and make for a sunny dub that will get any crowd going. The same fusion vibes continues but in more blissed out and slow motion fashion on 'Lawn Track', the beautiful cosmic psyche-out that is 'Ash' and supple space journey that is 'Voyage' with its intoxicating melodies and loose, tumbling percussion. This is unusual but essential music from an exclusive talent.
For the next installment on Darko Esser's Balans imprint the Dutch producer Tetelepta brings his slick, laidback tech house vibe to the label with 'Waiting For The Flash' EP. 'Waiting' opens the EP gently with a crisp, hypnotic groove and half way it turns into a beast of a tune sure to move any dancefloor. On the flipside 'Flash' opts for a more tribal sound, with a dreamlike, slow burning melody that builds up to a trippy frenetic rhythm.
- 1: The Room
- 2: Hbw
- 3: Rythm A
- 4: Groovin' With The Eternal Now
- 5: Don't Move!
- 6: Feel Better
- 7: Like A River
- 8: Just The Rain
- 9: Haha Lol
- 10: Two Doors
"The Room", Fenster's fourth album and their first release on Altin Village & Mine marks the beginning of a new chapter for the band. After releasing three albums, a feature length film, and touring extensively throughout Europe and North America since 2012, "The Room" serves as an entry point into their sonic evolution. The essential characteristic of the band is transformation - within and between genres, albums, and songs. Their sound is a window framing psychedelic, groovy, hypnogogic, playful pop.
Fenster is Elias Hock (Germany), Jonathan Jarzyna (Germany), Lucas Ufo (France) and JJ Weihl (USA). Their mission in creating this album was to compose and arrange every song together in a room. It is an experiment in collective creativity that pushed all of them to transcend their individuality and create something together which is greater than the sum of its parts.
The songs were tracked live in a house where the band ate, slept, and played together. Often the songs were recorded without implementing a click track. They were intent on finding and locking into a human groove—one open to imperfection—while still maintaining a tightness between them. They wanted to make the songs feel alive—as if the listener were present in the room with them in the moment of creation.
The album's title track "The Room" opens the record like a rollercoaster ride. There is a tension in the first bars that ties us to earth, a minimal riff that guides us to the first chorus where we feel we are slowly lifting into the air—and by the time we reach the second chorus it has exploded into a space far away from the planet's gravitational pull.
The band's use of juxtaposition is not just a way of channeling a vast library of musical genres and concepts, it is a means of expression. Combining tender pop melodies with kraut-beats, disco grooves and psychedelia frees the band from any one sound and creates a genre all its own.
This playfulness is especially vibrant in songs like "Rhythm A" and "HAHA lol" which deconstruct and fuse together disparate moments of explosive rock, tender harmonies, percussion made of splashing water, voices from a radio, and electric piano. Even "Feel Better", a sparkly pop ballad is cracked wide open by a long trippy interlude that appears unexpectedly within an otherwise classic structure.
The cover art, created by the band's own Lucas Ufo, invites us into a room in the shape of a human skull. If one looks "out" the window in the picture, one finds oneself looking in to an infinite portal of rooms within rooms. The record plays a lot with this idea of perception. In "HBW", the relationship between the bass and the drums creates the feeling of an infinity loop. The lyrics lend an enigmatic tint to the landscape of so called objective reality v. perceived reality: "I was a phase — you were going through — said I was the one but there is no one — there's only the sun — that gives shape to the moon"
The record starts with "The Room" and ends with "Two Doors". Maybe one door is an exit, and one leads to another room... who knows The song has something mysterious and expansive, like a digital ocean flooding the room, carrying everything away. The whole process of making a record is about capturing a moment in time. This is the record they made - in this point in time, all together, in a room. The last words of the record roll out with the waves: "What you leave behind for someone else to find — Two doors inside — neither one is right"
Tracklisting
'Garage bands suddenly obtain cult status and become the antithesis of their initial appeal'
Garage Class were a group of reluctant outliers who produced one of the finest contributions to the wave of UK DIY music that emerged during the late 70s and early to mid-80s.
Hailing from Alsager in North West England and comprised of Tim Shutt (vocals) Phil Murphy (lead guitar) Clive Williams (guitar) Lynne Sanders (bass) and Phil Bourne (drums / bass on studio recordings) Garage Class originally went by the name of The Pits before their then manager Steve Hurt imposed an alias which, though unpopular within their ranks, would nevertheless reflect the shambolic art they would eventually capture on their first and only single.
As The Pits the group offered a loutish inflection on glam-punk flamboyance, evoking Johnny Thunder hitting the north and remaining disowned yet undeterred in a dreary old boozer. But as Garage Class the group distilled a roughcast and homespun primitivism that felt quintessentially their own. In this they proved too unruly to be assimilated into any wider scene. Early gigs descended into acrimony and recognition proved elusive. Yet what they managed to make back then now sounds like an extraordinary article of underdog ambition.
Released in 1984, four years after it was originally recorded, the Terminal Tokyo single is an unlikely triumph of exceptional messthetic punk. Though raw and unpolished the songs here are precariously pop-minded and indisputably anthemic. The titular A-side reveals the dry and detached drawl of Shutt aka The Subliminal Kid, a sharp, jaded and poetic voice that has some of the most iconic lines never heard in punk. Accompanied by second-hand guitars, on-the-fly handclaps and a chorus like a terrace chant this is the cult hit that never was, a heroically artless masterpiece that has all the ragged character and misfit euphoria of Swell Maps and The Buzzcocks if they were more impulsive and boisterous, and left to their own devices in the remote margins of a Cheshire town. The original B-side is here substituted for I Got Standards, a track that, until now, has somehow remained unreleased. An ideal twin to Terminal Tokyo there's the same brusque and dog-eared quality to the band's delivery, as well as the same upfront emphasis on strong hooks and insistent momentum. Yet again, Shutt is on impeccable form, perfecting an inflated, adolescent antagonism that has all the sardonic, malcontented charm of similarly 'shirty' buggers like Dan Treacy (Television Personalities), Patrik Fitzgerald and Mark Perry (Alternative TV).
Although never accepted in their own time both tracks represent a brief but inspired moment of fervent imperfection, one that epitomized the best of a diffuse and autonomous underground movement spearheaded by The Desperate Bicycles and built upon by the likes of Amos & Sara, The Homosexuals, The Cleaners From Venus and Family Fodder. Like them Garage Class were situated at a point where punk, art, humour and a sense of stubborn independence all intersected.
In the years since Terminal Tokyo has accumulated a retrospective appeal among certain trusted circles, with Jon Dale celebrating the single in his exhaustive and essential Story of UK DIY for Fact Magazine, and original copies regularly changing hands for a foolish forty quid or so. With this inaugural release on the Outer Reaches label Terminal Tokyo is not only restored for the very first time but given a worthy expansion courtesy of JD Twitch (Optimo).
Continuing his own fascination with the fringe history of UK DIY - documented on his own outstanding compilation Cease & Desist: DIY! (Cult Classics From The Post Punk Era 1978-1982) and in his re-edits of Crass Records classics for an early release on RVNG INTL - Twitch reinterprets I Got Standards as an incisive, dubwise outing that pictures Jaki Liebezeit and Muslimgauze on a bender in England's provinces, tasked with remixing the raw product of local punks. A new slant on Garage Class' crude magnificence, built to play loud on contemporary soundsystems.
Although the latter part of 1980 spelled the end for Garage Class with members moving on to other projects (Bourne fell in with The Colours Out of Time, Murphy went on to front The Regular Guys and Shutt eventually left to form Happy Refugees) this reissue attempts to give their fleeting time together and the unique single statement they made the treatment it deserves. If this means Garage Class have obtained cult status, their initial appeal remains. Just listen for yourself.
Boredom, anxiety, pain killers and frustration make a heady mix for both reflection and action. For three weeks I stared out of the window of the tower block onto the tall brick towers of the old asylum chimneys. The past was a strange land suddenly out of reach, the present confusing and claustrophobic, the future something I could only visualise and idolise.
From the balmy Autumn day of my release a light was switched on, buzzing urgently like a neon street light on my path. Life took on new vigour and meaning. Pleasures starkly illuminated, annoyances inconsequential. Old work was re-examined and appreciated. Machines were treasured and connected. My basement filled with ever greater warmth and excitement.
The toy towns of our inner minds are constructed of a million tiny building blocks of experience. But there's a freedom that comes from realising what might have been. Peace in reflection, untethered from the everyday distraction and I take pleasure in the hum drum. Unhampered by trends, untethered to a scene, stripped back to essential carnal influences and desires. Who are we but the sum of our experience.
'Everything Is Quite Now' meanders through a reimagined landscape of personal history, releasing musical fragments to dri* amongst soaring treetops, hollowed lakes and labyrinthine concrete structures, liberated from genre and form - alive at last. In these great expanses, light and dark are presented not as polar opposites, but as a limitless, unified whole.
References to EBM and industrial techno manifest within the sporadic percussive framework whilst gauzy ambient backdrops form an entire world of their own, constructed from the gentle hiss of a looping tape, the booming caverns of a muffled kick, the vivid distortions of a crystalline synth. In the depths of a misty forest, warmth permeates, absorbing inside it all of the darkness, pain, romance and beauty from before.
Prequel Tapes is a work of deep synthesis. Fragments of melody and memory orchestrated into densely layered tapestries; a deeply emotional study on a life characterised by a shi*ing relationship to electronics. The pieces serve as a chronology of desire and reflection, reconciling a nascent passion for industrial music with a history in the club. Oscillating between utopian to claustrophobic, the evolving synth work, deep techno atmosphere and traces of clangorous energy of early European ambient and industrial tell a distinctly German tale, forged between the forest and the autobahn.
Everything is quite now. What else can it be.
Often inspired by the cosmology, sonology, and culture of indigenous people from Borneo, Nursalim Yadi Anugerah is a Pontianak based composer well-known for his peculiar approach on instrumentation and composition. Adapted from Kayaan people oral literature Takna' Lawe', HNNUNG is a chamber opera that amplifies the cosmic dramaturgy of Kayaan culture—in which the narrative of matriarchy is essential. HNNUNG the opera was performed by Balaan Tumaan Ensemble and Kerubim Choir using various instruments ranging from kaldii' and sape' to tenor saxophone and contrabass. For this edition, he selects nine recording pieces from his opera HNNUNG in the form of sonic-fiction—he lets his composition works as a narrator.
Cat.no.: XVIII-IV
Format: MC
- A1: Double Exposure - Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons Disco Madness Mix)
- A2: Luv U Madly Orchestra - Rocket Rock (Walter Gibbons 12" Mix)
- B1: Loleatta Holloway - Catch Me On The Rebound (Walter Gibbons Disco Madness Mix)
- B2: Loleatta Holloway - Hit And Run (Walter Gibbons 12 Mix)
- C1: Love Comittee - Where Will It End (Walter Gibbons 12" Mix)
- C2: Love Comittee - Just As Long As I Got You (Walter Gibbons 12" Mix)
- D1: Cellophane - (Dance With Me) Let's Believe (Walter Gibbons Disco 12" Mix)
- D2: First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder (Walter Gibbons Disco Madness Mix)
Walter Gibbons, a true master of the mix, a disco legend, a pioneer of dance music. There's literally very few who can lay claim to progressing the artform of studio mixing and technique than the late Gibbons. His contribution to contemporary music cannot be understated, first as a DJ where his drum laced experimentation captured the ears and minds of his peers and the dancers, then later as a mixer and studio genius where he continued on his quest. Often fixated on the percussion and breaks within records his versions would often dive into spaced out, dubby and stripped back territory that very few of his peers were even contemplating at that time, fervently reconstructing the tracks themselves and often the time, space and dancefloor within which the record was being played. A true original, Gibbons was behind many of the 'definitive' versions of the classics, his unique style often catapulting records that were just fine in their original form into brand new colourful, cosmic interpretations that flourished sonically and rhythmically with brand new sounds that bristled with vision.
Salsoul Records thought a well programmed and thought out retrospective of this legends output was in order and this incredible collection of tracks is where we find ourselves. A stellar compilation across 2 heavyweight slabs of wax featuring of some of Gibbons' finest works. Included you'll find genre defining cuts like his mixes of Double Exposure, Loleatta Holloway, Love Committee, First Choice and many more.
A truly essential package for the die-hard Disco aficionado or for those who are exploring this most important movement in dance music for the first time. Curated with the full input and backing of Salsoul Records and carefully selected to reflect the truly timeless nature of the music contained within. For listening, for dancing, for turning on a party!
Remastered by Optimum Mastering. Artwork & design by Million Dollar Disco. Fully authorised.
Fresh from 1986, all time Garage-House-Afro crossover classic... Absolutely timeless House anthem!
Need we say more "Ma Foom Bey" is one of THOSE records, totally flawless, big in the dance everytime.
Stripped back drum machines, that cavernous, instantly recognizable bass-line & those chants, killing sound-systems stone dead!
As we said before, dropped on Easy Street in '86, edited by the legendary Tony Humphries & subsequently caned by 3 generations of DJ's across the galaxy ever since. Every home should have a copy of this, no collection is complete without it. A record that will never go out of style & will always provoke some buckwild reactions on any dance-floor it's dropped on!
Shout out to Easy Street, %100 legit re-issue, re-master & re-press, essential wax!
The first in a series of all-time CLASSIC hip-hop anthems from the Nervous vaults, pressed onto high quality dinked 45's.
Remastered from the original source material and featuring the unedited 'dirty' version on the A-side, and the full instrumental on the B-side, these 45's are for the heads who know what time it really is! Black Moon's 'Who Got The Props' needs no introduction, it's place in hip-hop history is fully solidified. The combination of vintage Beatminerz SP1200 beats paired with the legendary MC's Buckshot and the 5 Ft. Accelerator's streetwise NYC raps is a heady mixture indeed. Often speaking of street life in New York in the 1990's, Black Moon gained cult status via their 1993 debut LP 'Enta Da Stage', one of the most celebrated hip-hop debut albums of all time. The Beatminerz production changed the game, their deep knowledge and understanding of samples, records and digging in the crates gave their sound a real style and edge. 'Who Got Da Props' is the perfect example of this, one of those timeless rap records that appeals to the hardcore and can ignite the party. Truly essential. Every home should have one (or 2!).
Fully legit, licensed and reissued by Above Board distribution in conjunction with Nervous Records, NYC. 2018.
Thomas Fehlmann steps away as co-member of The Orb following two acclaimed full lengths on Kompakt (COW - 2016, Moonbuilding 2703 AD - 2015) and embarks back on his solo career with a career defining album 'Los Lagos' - from Detroit to Schaffel techno he conducts a broad spectrum of electronic music into a seamless flow.
Thomas Fehlmann has been active since the late 1970's from Palais Schaumburg, the Tresor defnining trio 3MB (with Moritz von Oswald and Juan Atkins), Ocean Club (together with Gudrun Gut) and of course The Orb.
Artwork direction and design by DESIGNERS REPUBLIC.
'Los Lagos' is Thomas Fehlmann's seventh solo full-length, his 4th for Kompakt following his Berlin inspired 2010 full length 'Gute Luft'. in the musician's own words it's about "checking the juice".
Establishing a picture of his current artistic condition, as suggested by the title - los lagos / die lage / the situation (literally translating to 'the lakes' but taking the meaning of 'wassup' in the context of a relaxed discussion between friends), the album refers to Fehlmann's "musical motivation, dreams and wishes" through the language of music exclusively: a way to "allow myself to techno" he says, "to techno as a means to deconstruct and rebuild again. Set up an area of tension, loose it in the flow of the grooves. Magnifying some detail out of proportion, regroup around that and slowly knit a texture. Expand."
"It was time to take a bend and head where the sun rises or sets, wherever my heart drives me." This is pretty much the kind of decision Thomas Fehlmann has made. 61 and shining, longstanding member of The Orb, multi-talented composer and boundless experimentalist, had to make in the twilight of his collaboration with Alex Paterson, eager to taste the flavours of the unknown on his own again. "It was the moment when felxibility would have become compromise'. Far from being the demise of their joint dream, this was bound to split it in two distinct, parallel fantasies - rich of their own singularity.
As goes with that essential love of his for the free-flowing nature of electronic music, a fascination born out of its "lack of borders", capable of "inventing, changing the emphasis, experimenting with an unpredictable outcome", 'Los Lagos' "freely connects disparate extremes. Art, disco, minimalism, schmalz, jazz and funk". As he likes to say, Fehlmann's head functions as a sampler, capturing elements and re-assembling them under his own embracing perspective ; not afraid to leap from a deep, dubbed-out hypnotism ('Window', 'Morrislouis', 'Freiluft') to the playfulness of '90s-style bleepy schaffel ('Tempelhof' featuring Max Loderbauer), through out-there, muscle-flexing dancefloor cuts ('Triggerism') onto the calmness of ambient ('Geworden').
In need to keep his inner balance in check, Fehlmann committed himself to "switch off the control" and follow his intuition, which isn't so much of an easy process as he also wanted to incorporate the side disturbances experienced: "it's a complex process of search and destroy to bring out a new beauty trying to expand my vocabulary". With 'Los Lagos', Fehlmann looked at finding "the structure that's surprising, disturbing and rewarding". The artwork for the record, courtesy of contemporary artist and friend Albert Oehlen whom he shares lots of artistic ambitions with, echoes the producer's "funky use of shape and space, sludge and clarity" like a second skin. A search for light and harmony that Fehlmann sums up eloquently: "Does your inner musical voice respond", that is the question. Then "doors open up in unexpected corners, rays of light appear; you follow through and you're in - in your oasis."
Columbus, Ohio may not be spoken of in the same glowing terms as Detroit when it comes to '90s Techno from the Mid-West. However, the Columbus-based 21/22 Corp label was responsible for some of Future Primitive's favourite techno from this era. We've tracked down the multi-genre 'president and production manager' behind 21/22 Corp, Charles Noel, for our next release. Formed of two exclusive productions, this Archetype 12" is the essence of techno at its most individual
Ce Ce Rogers' spine tingling, seminal hit 'Someday' gets a much-welcomed official remastered, reissue 31 years after it first took the scene by storm. Produced by Chicago's master, Marshall Jefferson, every element is unmistakable - from the dynamic bass and sweeping flutes that set the scene for that instantly recognisable piano riff, to the raw soulful beauty of Rogers' vocals. 'Someday' is a record that truly captures the euphoric, loving nature of the early house music scene - epitomising a timeless spirit and hope for future harmony within society.
Often cited as one of the greatest dance records of all time, it's influence is clear to be seen from the sheer number of covers and records that have since sampled it. An indisputable masterpiece, complete with dub mix and accainstrumental versions, this is an essential 12" for any record collector out there - house head or not.
Nny Records Is Back With A Compilation That Includes Four Songs Loaded With High Quality, An Ep That Is Like A Swiss Army Knife And That It Will Serve To Animate Any Kind Of Party. On The A Side We Can Listen To Nicson (flumo Recordings) Who Delivers An Excellent "straight To Heaven" In A Deep-house 90's Mood, Full Of Energy And Class; After Him F. Vinuesa (solid Tapes) Approaches Lo-fi And Acid Paths With "highlands", A Tune That Is Is Capable Of Transporting You To Another Dimension. On The B Side Mateis E. Aqir (jungle Gym Records) Presents "natural Sense", A Track That Also Takes You To A Different Dimension, This Time More Oriented To Open Spaces, In A Balearic And New Age Mood Fused With A Leftfield Touch Which Is A Delight; And To Close The Compilation We Have The Great Work Of I See You In The Plants, The New Aka By Pablo Diskko For Productions In An Ambient Techno-dub Wave That Absorbs You And Catches You. A Superb And An Essential Work.
Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.
One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Land Of Hits was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. Mistafide's colossal old-school rap behemoth 'Equidity Funk' has long been a record that makes the serious collectors salivate and is now here in full 12" form repress, too legit to quit.
Not much is known about the crew behind 'Mistafide', their government names are listed online but this is the only record they put out using this name. Suffice to say, this has no impact on the fury and style with which the MC's deliver their raps, backed with the studio nous of impresario Peter Brown. Across 12 minutes 'Equdity Funk' is a slamming Disco-rap monster, interpolating elements of the evergreen B-boy jam 'Theme From SWAT' it sounds like everyone just got into the studio and went for it. In the style of the times this is the real hip-hop flavour, a live band, some MC's and some death defying bars being dropped, proper old school. A truly rare recording, 'Equidity Funk' has been one of those records fans of the Disco-rap era have been fiending for for decades - often commanding prices over the $1000 mark you can now grab this slice of essential NYC street Funk.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.
- A1: Billy Fury - Halfway To Paradise
- A2: Dusty Springfield - I Only Want To Be With You
- A3: The Breakaways - He Doesn't Love Me
- A4: Helen Shapiro - He Knows How To Love Me
- A5: Sonny Childe - Giving Up On Love
- A6: Tom Jones - Little Lonely One
- A7: Los Bravos - Black Is Black
- B1: David Bowie - Love You Till Tuesday
- B2: The Walker Brothers - Make It Easy On Yourself
- B3: Ivor Raymonde - Mylene
- B4: Burr Bailey - Chahawki
- B5: Cindy Cole - He's Sure The Boy I Love
- B6: Ottilie Patterson - Jealous Heart (With The Ivor Raymonde Group)
- C1: Dusty Springfield - Your Hurtin' Kinda Love
- C2: Dave Berry - I Got The Feeling
- C3: Jon Gunn - It's My Turn
- C4: Paul & Barry Ryan - I Love Her
- C5: Ivor Raymonde & His Orchestra - Grotty
- C6: Barbara Ruskin - Beautiful Friendship
- D1: Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Superman's Big Sister
- D2: The Flies - (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone
- D3: The Ivor Raymonde Orchestra - It's The Real Thing
- D4: The Majority - Wait By The Fire
- D5: The Honeybus - She Sold Blackpool Rock
- D6: Alan David - I Found Out Too Late
- D7: The Walker Brothers - My Ship Is Coming In
Classic singles like Billy Fury's 'Halfway To Paradise', Dusty Springfield's 'I Only Want To Be With You' and The Walker Brothers' 'Make It Easy On Yourself' would not have been hits without Ivor Raymonde. As their arranger, and in the case of 'I Only Want To Be With You' songwriter too, he shaped the final recordings. He decided on the orchestration and backing
vocals, chose the instruments and determined what was heard on the radio - and what record buyers bought.
'Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde' is a long-overdue celebration of Ivor Raymonde, collecting his work as an arranger, musical director, producer, singer and songwriter. The story of a British musical great is told for the first time.
Billy Fury, Dusty Springfield and The Walker Brothers are heard. So is the only vocal performance for which Ivor Raymonde received a credit on a record label. He worked with the pre-fame David Bowie and Tom Jones. He spotted the potential of Los Bravos, steering them into the charts with 'Black Is Black'. Near-misses and obscurities made with Brit-girls Cindy Cole and
Helen Shapiro, the soulful Sonny Childe and confrontational protopsychedelic London band The Flies are as fantastic as the hits. With these and more, 'Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde' distils the essence of the magic of Ivor Raymonde.
'Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde' is released by Bella Union, the label run by Ivor's son, former Cocteau Twins member Simon Raymonde.
Compiled by Simon and Kieron Tyler, it is a very personal tribute to a sadly missed father. Born in 1926, Ivor Raymonde passed away in 1990. The previously untold story is revealed through a moving reminiscence written by Simon and in-depth liner notes and a track-by-track commentary by Kieron. Ivor Raymonde played on the ocean liner The Queen Mary in 1949. In the Fifties, British television viewers saw him in legendary comedian Tony Hancock's 'Hancock's Half Hour' but music was always going
to be most important - the hits with Billy Fury and Dusty Springfield in 1961 and 1963 meant he was in demand. The 26 selections balance the wellknown with collectable rarities and tracks drawn from - until now - barely heard-of singles. Each is a gem and each shows the magic of an Ivor Raymonde recording.
'Paradise: The Sound Of Ivor Raymonde' is issued on CD and 180g heavyweight double vinyl album with digital download code. The vinyl version is sequenced slightly differently for listening flow. Every track was originally issued as a single issued in mono for the pop market until 1968 / 1969. Keeping the integrity of the compilation in mind, all but four tracks appear in mono as they did originally. The masters used are those of the original singles.
Classic funk-soul material of the highest order from the brilliant, Cymande.
'Bra' and 'The Message' are two classic, essential Cymande tracks. Taken from
their awesome self-titled LP, respectively.
Mastered from original tapes to create the best possible reproduction, cut loud
on 7" vinyl.
You'd Think That Following "melodies Of Love" Would Be An Impossible Task. Not So, If You Happen To Be Genius Brit-funk Pioneers John Rocca And Andy Stennett. On Their More Understated - Yet, Pound For Pound, Stronger - Second Record, Pink Rhythm Stretched Out To Create A 4 Track Ep Of Richly Melodic, Exquisite Beauty. In The Process, They Trumped Their Most Well-known Release.
Cruising On A Funk-fuelled Journey From The Swaggering Title Track, Via The Blue-eyed Soul Of "trust Me", To The Stabbing Staccato Synth Heat Of "more And More" And Back Again ("india" Dub) This Ep Has Essential Seared Onto Its Substantial Grooves.
Aussteiger is a Berlin based German DJ / Producer. He runs the Dub Disco label in Berlin and DJ's around the world. Zusammenkunft is his debut album released on Copenhagen's Music For Dreams. Once upon a time a golden boy came back from the shadows. Rumors were told that he once left the big city in a time where the music scene and clubs were dominated by cold music and average beats. He left behind civilisation, living withdrawn in the woody mountains of a covert place. From there on people talked about him as Aussteiger. Connected to the nature and deeply rooted in the harmonic essence, Aussteiger became a part of the great whole. In a full moon illuminated clear night while experimenting with various unique herbs he accidentally found a recipe to create warm and ravishing music. He firmly believes that music is his infinite source to gather strength and positive energy After years of strengthening himself and shaping vibrant sounds Aussteiger decided to share his delightful music with the world. He returned from his retreat in order to enchant the music lovers all over the world with his feel good approach and supernatural sounds. Coming back to the city, he also co-founded the awesome Dub Disco Label with his buddy Serj Nosé.
The wonderfully monikered Golden Flamingo was one of many labels operating alongside the now legendary P&P Records imprint in late 70's to early 80's NYC. Fans of deep Disco, raw gritty Soul and rare as hen's teeth Electro and early Rap know of the cult status of it's brief but influential output and in recent years the P&P label and it's associated entities have enjoyed further popularity through the exposure of it's music by some of the world's most respected DJ's and selectors, and rightfully so. An amazingly lo-fi, endearing and overtly underground aesthetic runs through all of the labels, from the label artwork down to the music itself. This style is evident on Margo Williams' epic 'God Save And Protect All The Children', a colossally rare 12" from back in 1980.
A huge, drifting soulful Gospel number, 'God Save...' has been an oft overlooked gem in the wider P&P related catalogue. Not much info is known about Williams other than she contributed backing vocals to some classic Disco records including Inner Life's 'Inner Life II' and The Salsoul Orchestra's christmas LP as well as appearing on other P&P projects. The production on this record was handled by the absolute powerhouse duo of Peter Brown and Patrick Adams so it oozes that amazing quality that these 2 legendary studio figures brought to all of their projects - the trademark P&P sound. It's all here in this beautiful stirring plea to the lord to look after all of us set to some incredible arrangement and production. It's obvious these self-made music industry legends were at the top of their game back then and one only has to explore the rich and diverse catalogue of amazing music they've given us over the decades. Absolutely essential repress action here.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, lovingly remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK. Housed in original 1980 release full sleeve artwork.
The long awaited answer from the notorious southern-hemispherian sound system, Subtle Sound System. This debut release from their record label aptly named Subtle Recordings is bringing some heavy weight straight out of Christchurch, New Zealand, first up with local legend Headland. Exquisitely imprinted 'no holds bar' by the masterful Optimal Media in a full art sleeve, this 180 gram, vinyl only, no-repress recording superbly ushers in a new beginning for the sound system and is another pillar of foundation to the future sound of bass music.
Headland, with his atmospheric soundscapes, sparatic drums, jarring percussion and punishing basslines, has been taking his unique sound to the world for the past few years and has sequentially been picked up by some of the most forward thinking labels in the bass music scene. From notoriety like Innamind Recordings and Zam Zam Sounds, Headland is one of the most noteworthy artists on the scene today and is a staple in sets from artists including, Samba, Mala, VIVEK, Commodo, Sleeper, just to name a few. Headland's infamy continues on Subtle Recordings debut release with the two outstanding tracks, Quiver and Deathbed.
From a spacious beginning, Quiver quickly builds pressure, manifesting into a track that by the end of, you'll have to regroup your crew as all would have been taken on their own solo journey. Navigate through high level percussion, sonic stabs, sub-temperate basslines and menacing vocals, all encompassed within a 130 bpm landscape where the richters leave you feeling vulnerable and insignificant. Quiver is a force of nature not to be taken lightly. After setting the stage, this behemoth pushes to another level, with erratic note changes and misplaced beats, before opening up to a plateau of relative safety within rolling basslines and familiar haunts. Recollecting yourself, you are once again thrust into unknown territory. A barrage of death blows commences until eventually you find yourself on the other side, disorientated, demoralised, but thankfully unharmed. With support from dons like Gantz, Boofy, J Kenzo, Mr K, Quiver has begun to leave its mark through the next frontier of bass music.
A usually silent, still and chilly affair, Deathbed is anything but, with its uplifting groove, conscious beat scape and warm bassline. But don't get too cosy, cause this assortment of frequencies is cold. Foreboding basslines. Wholesome mids. Trademark Headland accents. Deathbed builds in monumental 140 bpm splendure, in a simplistic formation, that will have you calling home to tell Mum of your triumphant return. Bask in all the glory as the track sheds back into its essential ingredients before collapsing into a well rewarded breakdown. Another confident drop will re-immerse you within the ride, reminiscent of what has been conquered and celebrated in the dystopian sound Headland has crafted in this atmospheric masterpiece. Banging dancefloors worldwide by artists like, Commodo, VIVEK. Deathbed produces the goods for an old fashioned shelling.
Seth Troxler & The Martinez Brothers' Tuskegee Music welcomes Chicago legend K- Alexi Shelby for a new EP that features some essential solo cuts as well as two great collaborations with Tony Lovlesss.K-Alexi is a genuine Chicago great. He's been at the core of the scene since the eighties and releasing his raw grooves on DJ International, Trax and Transmat, as well as his own K Klassik label. He has recently remixed for Seth Troxler's other label, Say It Play It, but is now back serving up the sort of engaging originals that have made him such an enduring star.
Excellent opener 'Cherry K Moon' is a raw slice of deep and soulful tech. The driving bassline melts your mind as afro percussion and driving drums make for a solid groove below. It's one for the late-night hours that will twist and turn any crowd inside out. The superb 'Dark Smile' is less tense and more house oriented in nature, with preacher style vocals up top and busy kicks down low. Live, chattery hand claps bring an organic feel and synth stabs inject looseness that will get hands in the air.
The pressure then builds through the manic Tony Lovlesss collab 'Anal Probe', a powerful techno track with hi tech drums and taught synths freaking you out as they ride up and down the scale. Their second track together 'Fly Shit' is more playful with radiant synths opening it up to the skies and lively, funky drum programming bringing a real sense of a sun kissed terrace party. Last of all, the standout 'Run With Jackals' feat. A.D.M is another heavily percussive track with rattling toms, vocal chants and hammering hits all adding up to a compelling afro-house rhythm. These are all innovate tracks that explore various different moods and grooves with a real sense of quality.
This month we have what is the start of a string of previously unreleased bangers from the soul, funk and disco legend Bobby Boyd, we have been working on this for a long time and really proud to be working alongside Bobby representing him.
First up we have Love Goddess, a floaty driving disco soul number thats bound to get some spins by the Northern boys as well as deep disco heads, i know its been doing this business when i play it, On the flip and classic horn driven Funky soul in Bobbys Classic style and solid songwriting, Essential.
If your not a rare soul or disco collector Bobby's name might not be a name your familiar with but as one of the founder members of Lafayette Afro Rock Band you will have experienced his music and influence which is far reaching.
From 'Breaking Bad' to Danish films and albums
Asger Baden is a productive composer and has created music for countless films, television productions and series. He has worked with directors such as Christoffer Boe, Nicolaj Arcel and Martin De Thurah, and his music is featured well known productions like 'Breaking Bad', 'The Wolfpack' and 'VICE' on HBO.
'Zarniqa' is recorded with a 40 piece major symphony orchestra in Prague. On the album, Asger Baden chases music's untouched essence.
Asger Baden is a composer and producer based in Copenhagen Denmark. 'Zarniqa' the 1st album in his own name - 16 cinematic, timeless compositions with a dramatic and dense expression ranging from melancholy to an etheric ease.
The main part of the album is recorded with a 40-piece symphony orchestra in the majestic Rudolfinum Dvoák Concert Hall in Prague. In stark contrast to the orchestra are the piano pieces - recorded solo by Asger Baden in Copenhagen. The contrast between the grand symphonic sound and the intimate piano pieces defines the album
Halleluja Mystic Garden contains two long sides of blissed out, super tight AMT jams that somehow stretch into the future while staying strongly rooted in the group's celebrated psychedelic history. Hallelujah!, another essential AMT classic including vocals from Cotton Casino ! First pressing of 500 copies. Packaged in a heavy duty single pocket sleeve with silver metallic inks. Part 2 will be released later this year on Important Records.Cotton Casino : voice, astral mama
Kawabata Makoto : guitar, fretless bass, bouzouki, organ, rhythm machine, electronics, tapes, speed guru Higashi Hiroshi : synthesizer, noodle king Mitsuko Tabata : guitar, guitar-synthesizer, voice, kisses & hugs Satoshima Nani : drums, another dimension S/T "Wolf" : bass, tapes, space & time recorded at Acid Mothers Temple, Jun. 2016 - Mar. 2017 produced and mixed by Kawabata Makoto
Stockholm's Linn & Freddie debut excursion with Dinked Records sees two wonderful summery tunes, taken from their their long-awaited second album Right Here in the Middle, pressed up on 7 vinyl for the first time. The aptly named Sunshine is the perfect head nodder for those summer BBQs and Festivals. Flipped with a reggae/ska-fused version of the William DeVaughn classic, Be Thankful For What You Got this essential for your crates. Limited pressing of 500 copies don't sleep!!
"Oozing.. oozing soul, oozing feel, oozing the essence of rhythm and the body. This is what Elbee Bad is about. A native New Yorker who has long since transplanted himself in Berlin, Elbee Bad AKA The Prince of Dance is back on Thema Recordings with a masterclass mini album that will resonate for years to come. "Crossing Dimensions" is more than just a record, it is a philosophy on turntablism and what it means to be engaged in this culture. Sitting comfortably on the shelf next to artists like Mr. G, Moodymann, and DJ Sprinkles, Elbee recalls this genuine house feeling while adding a spice that could only be summoned out of his creative nuance. From the anthemic knowledge of "Request Monster" to the bass blistering sonnets of "Crossing Dimensions", Elbee showcases the sound of an artist who is deeply in touch with himself, the crowd, and the history of this music. No filler, no bullshit, just truth, love, and HOUSE.
Text by: Nathan Levenson"
Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.
One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Queen Constance was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. High Fidelity will be the first in a series of Queen Constance rarities to be reissued, an extremely rare and coveted record that can change hands on the second hand market for big big money, avoid those low rent bootlegs that are out there and cop this fully licensed repress.
The group's self-titled sole long-player is a fantastic 6 track set of gritty, soulful and uplifting funky Disco with a DIY edge. Not too much is known about the artists themselves, or even when the record was performed, recorded or released but it certainly sounds like a group who knew their craft inside out. The energy is high across the record and the group sound like they're on fire, just check the outrageously funkified 'Magic Carpet' and you'll see what we mean. Amazing. The whole project has that enchanting lo-fi, back-street feel to it in terms of production and the mind boggles as to how such a record would have come off had it been recorded at a Motown or any other 'big' studio, but no matter as this release is perfect the way it is, an essential piece of street-level NYC Disco straight from the underground.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, lovingly remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.
Berlin based electronic mainstay Marquis Hawkes has announced details of his second LP 'The Marquis of Hawkes', due out 24th August 2018 on fabric's in-house label Houndstooth (home to Call Super, Aïsha Devi, Special Request and more).
Ahead of this, Hawkes will also release a new single featuring acclaimed UK soul singer Jamie Lidell. The single, entitled 'We Should Be Free', features, alongside the low slung but melancholic original version, three reinterpretations of the song, remixed by Hawkes himself. Both this, and the essential previous single, Don't U', which featured the vocal talents of Ursula Rucker, will appear on the forthcoming album.
Essential repress of stunning 1977 Disco-soul rarity, written, produced and arranged by the incredible team of Norman Connors, Reggie Lucas and James Mtume. Vitamin E, a a short-lived group that yielded only 2 singles and one long player during their time certainly knew who to work with in the studio. 'Kiss Away' is an absolute belter, raw and raunchy Funk riffing gives way to some ultra smooth, grown-up stepping Soul awash with some stellar string arrangements. This one is definitely for the dancers, it simply glides along with the utmost class and sophistication, an incredibly uplifting and funky cut that features here in it's 1977 special disco version guise as per the original Buddah Records release. On the flip is a cool cover of Neil Sedaka's 1974 hit 'Laughter In The Rain' - a sweet version, no doubt, but the real winner is the stellar A-side. Reissued, remastered and re-presented for 2018 by Above Board distribution - 100% legit and licensed.
Opening track 'In The B' kicks off proceedings in no uncertain fashion. It's 100% wall shaker material, the type of techno music best paired with strobe lights and towering speaker stacks. It mesmerises with its low-slung undulating bassline and Detroit rhythms before giving way to some riotous old school Essex stabs and sharp claps. No messing, this is a certified 3 AM red light burner! Track 2 'Chocolate Biscuit' accelerates proceedings! Beginning with unfussy drums and a robotic, bleep-heavy melody driving it off into a wonderfully off-kilter direction. Its arpreggio'd rhythms may be brutish and wrestle a growling sense of menace out of the track, but the overall feel, however, suggests considerable care and attention has been paid to make it sound this way. There's clearly an uncommon musicality at play here to make something this complex feel so simple.
The BPM drops next on 'Jenny's Hall' but from the offset, there's enough funk and thrust in the motorised synth line to get bodies gently grooving without the beauty getting lost in the slower loop. This is blissed out, psychotropic techno - the kind of track where it feels like you're floating and falling at the same time, but all the while making sure you still remain fit for purpose on the dancefloor. Ian Blevins takes on remix duties this time and the Berlin-based DJ/producer offers up a sleek peak-time banger that fizzes, bubbles and percolates. He gives the rhythm on 'Jenny's Hall' less space to swing and ties it to a tight motorik beat turning it into a slice of shiny, modern techno but with extra shoulder-checking force. Its vibe drawing from a sense of outsider-party fun with a wry smile, and a knowing wink running throughout before bringing the package to a suitably left of field crescendo.
Following a self-titled EP last year, Dario Rojo Guerra aka Natureboy Flako is set to release his second album 'Theme For A Dream' on Five Easy Pieces on 20th July 2018. Exploring the boundaries of music, science and spirituality through a prism of colourfully synthesised-sound, heart-pounding rhythm and cinematic soundtracks; the core essense of 'Theme For A Dream' is the exploration of the human inne space, the balance of musical energies and music's healing capabilities. 'Theme For A Dream' is a more electronic sounding record than his debut. Guerra makes extensive use of old and new analogue equipment such as the Juno 106, Korg's MS-20, ARP Odyssey or Roland's SH-2000 synthesisers, alongside recordings of vocals, guitars and other instruments. This serves to create a dynamic and eclectic sound spectrum, all unique to his musical handwriting. 'Theme For A Dream' will be accompanied by an experimental and interactive website that allows users to preview music while being an immersive, unique multi-sensual 4D xperience of its own. Snippets of the music from 'Theme For A Dream' become audio visual poetry and an immersive exploration of state of the art technology and oneself. 'I don't think technology necessarily means not being natural. Technology can be very much in balance with nature, since it is mostly just trying to imitate or trying to understand something from within nature. Around recording 'Theme For A Dream', Guerra also co-produced/co-wrote and engineered Kutmah's recent debut and Jitwam's forthcoming album, as well as produced almost half of Fatima's follow up album to 'Yellow Memories'. He is currently working on a film project with a London based production company and is already working on a new album, which is expected to bring back his vocal talent, previously released under the moniker Dirg Gerner.
Taking a turn to some of its roots, Emotional Rescue offers a reissue of Ramjac Corporation's UK house/breaks anthem Cameroon Massif!. First released on the increasingly cult-status Irdial Discs in 1990, this was very much the sound of the big bang explosion of Acid House morphing and splintering, as subsequent multi-genres developed, formed, imploded and reformed in new ways that still subsists today.
Within the melting pot of anything goes, chemically-enhanced optimism that spread across the UK during that return to the summers of love from 1987 onwards, the nascent sounds coming from Chicago and Detroit were mixed with a hybrid of 80s British influences, taking in European synth pop, US electro, new beat, hip hop and reggae. Out of this appeared a new sound, mixing that love of techno and house with dub bass and break beats into a proto-jungle swirl.
Like many growing up through the ever-evolving 60, 70s & 80s British music scene, Paul Chivers' early years of learning piano and guitar, moved from Beatles era pop to take in punk, jazz and anything an eager musical mind could explore. Developing a long-term interest and study of Cuban and Afro-drumming, his acquisition of an Atari and sampler soon moved to programming of both drum machines and TB303 and with that, Ramjac Corporation was born.
Playing live at some of the earliest raves in 1988, as often through luck and "right time, right place", including the infamous Back To The Future and Energy parties, Ramjac went from playing from 50 to 10,000 ravers in a matter of months, as the nation was gripped, depending on your cultural standing, by either a mixture of drug apocalypse paranoia or ecstatic celebration.
It was a meeting with Akin Fernandez, founder of Irdial Discs, that led some of the first studio experiments and creation of Cameroon Massif!. Utlising Akin's in-house studio and production skills, alongside Chivers' jazz influenced outlook of improvisation over arrangement, the track took shape, mixing the live programmed percussion, heavy doses of phase, delay and reverb and Sun Ra inspired keys that resulted in a number of mixes of Massif!.
Collected here are the original 12" "Massive" and "Massing" mixes, plus a special live version taken from the "Live At The Brain" reunion gig of 2009. The sought after 1990 versions and original Live mix are taken a step further with this 13 mins + mix, in essence a resampling and remixing reversion with didgeridoo and live on mic MCing, that gives a real glimpse of those early live sets. With more Ramjac Corporation material upcoming and a live reel-to-reel show appearing soon, the return of Cameroon Massif! is now.
The young Dutch DJ & producer Lewski debuts on Darko Esser's Wolfskuil Limited series with 'Folkloric Human' EP presenting four fine Electro / Techno cuts.The title track opens the EP with a blend of old school electro and distinctly modern techno, featuring rhythmic bouncy beats and a playful built up perfect for the floor, followed by 'Phase Mistress', a vintage sounding beauty with captivating bass sequences and plenty of analog flavor.'EreBus' kicks off the B-side with its twisted drive, cyborg samples and sinister attitude that justifies it's name been derived from the mythological god of darkness. The atmospheric, Detroit flavored 'Decommissioned Androids' rounds the EP off with tight basslines and relentless analog madness.Lewski's debut EP on Patron Records last year gained support by the likes of Ben UFO, DJ Stingray and Umwelt. Lewski is part of a select cut of young artists who are absorbing electro's legacy, carrying it into the future and with his release on Wolfskuil Limited we can be sure that the future looks very promising.
Next up on Francis Harris' exceptional imprint Scissor & Thread comes a collaboration with American Producer, DJ Aakmael. Aakmael has built a reputation for some of the deepest, rawest house music sounds coming out of the States, releasing well-received tracks on the likes of Freerange Records, Release Sustain, Kolour Dogmatik and NDATL. Returning to Scissor & Thread, Aakmael and label boss Harris cook up an intoxicating vibe across this 5 track EP. Each shares a track and work together on the fifth, while also remixing each other's solo cuts. First up Aakmael's Deep Muzik- a quintessential nod to its self-proclaimed mission statement. Skittering drums, a shuffling groove, deep keys, and chords make up this essential opener. Frank's (aka Francis Harris) All That Light Mix shows another side, finding pockets of space and developing the fizzing percussion to produce an equally affecting piece of dancefloor bliss. Sharing production duties from the outset on Mercy of Means, the guys slip into an easy mid-tempo groove with plenty of depth - the rhythm rolls along and offers the perfect basis for some sublime melodic touches. Frank's Part Song also hones in on the subtle deep grooves. Bumping, slightly filtered and saturated drums provide the main body, with beautiful washes and keys finding their way through, Aakmael's remix beefs up the groove somewhat, making the snares snap harder and kick hit a little stronger, but the essence of the tracks melodic atmosphere remains perfectly in place.
The second part of the Seltron 400 trilogy on MOST, Trans i Bas, sees the group re-embark on their singular journey in search of the essence of the rave. Since the first EP in the series - Zabawa Trwa - came out last year, they have augmented their back-to-back dj sets with a full-on live show, which again fed back into their recording process.
The record's title cut, Trans i Bas (also available in an earth-shaking drum version) is as uplifting as it is spontaneous, complete with trance-infused pads and heavy, tripping bass. Jest Nadzieja brings a little swing and a mental breakdown, while Oo is all crunched riffs and one-finger-string-solo glory. Nuff said.
In 2017, Benedikt Frey released his breathtaking debut album with the ESP Institute, Artificial, and now as we finally come up for air, we're more than proud to offer an eclectic collection of remixes that's nothing short of essential. Side A leads with H For Hysteria remixed by a beloved hero, Nicolas Chaix a.k.a. I:Cube, one of the most prolific and respected electronic artists Paris has to offer. His touch is considered and elegant, imbuing the track with a tasteful 303+808 backbone to support an array of patiently floating melodies and angelic vocal samples. Following this, Tolouse Low Trax of Du¨sseldorf's infamous Salon Des Amateurs remixes the same track, stripping instrumentation down to a skeletal palette of bass guitar and stabbing percussive punctuations, chopped up inna minimalist stylee that has become his beat-making signature. Side B leads with a remix by another Du¨sseldorfer, DJ Normal 4, whose re-imagination of Private Crimes takes us for an even more menacing ride, half-timing the tempo and skillfully rolling out a barrage of jungle snares from rave days of yore. Closing the release is the most aggressive remix of them all, a bonafide techno beatdown of the same track by DALO, the co-producing artist to whose haunting vocals lace the original version. Her dark vision opens with sparse industrial drums that blossom into a driving assault of raw machinery, definitely not for the faint-of-heart. An all-around solid release here, fun for all the family... more than just the tip!
- A1: There's A Break In The Road
- A2: 12 Red Roses
- A3: Mean Man
- A4: I'm Gonna Git Ya
- B1: Ride Your Pony
- B2: Show It
- B3: I Don't Wanna Hear It
- B4: Bad Luck
- C1: Hook, Line 'N' Sinker
- C2: Lonely Hearts
- C3: What A Sad Feeling
- C4: What'd I Do Wrong
- D1: Trouble With My Lover
- D2: Sometime
- D3: I'm Evil Tonight
- D4: Nearer To You
- D5: All I Want Is You
Betty Harris' The Lost Queen of New Orleans Soul collects together the steady stream of amazing soul and funk singles issued by Betty Harris from 1964 to 1969, under the musical guidance of legendary composer, musician and producer extraordinaire Allen Toussaint, a collection which truly captures the heart and soul of the city of New Orleans during this era.
Betty Harris's powerful, fiery soulful vocals found a perfect accompaniment with the New Orleans' players that Toussaint put together to back her, which by the time of her funk classic 'There's A Break In The Road' were the legendary super-tight, super-funk New Orleans group The Meters.
With the extraordinary song-writing skills of Allen Toussaint alongside the powerful, soaring, confident and emotive singer and the groove of The Meters, you have an unbeatable combination. That Harris never in fact lived in New Orleans (she flew in from Florida for all her sessions with Toussaint's local in-house players) seems almost an irrelevance, a geographical aside to the defining New Orleans sound captured on the recordings featured here.
All of these singles featured here were released on Allen Toussaint and his business partner Marshal Sehorn's local New Orleans label Sansu, widely distributed in the southern city but in only limited quantities elsewhere. As a consequence, Betty Harris' music failed to achieve the commercial success of other New Orleans artists such as Lee Dorsey (who she recorded with) and The Meters (who backed her). And so at the end of the decade she stopped recording, retired from the music business to raise her family in Florida.
This is no reflection of the stunning musical quality of all these songs which encompass everything from southern soul, heavy funk, deep soul ballads and northern soul. Betty Harris has been a cornerstone of Soul Jazz Records' New Orleans Funk and New Orleans Soul compilations. Always soulful and always funky, Betty Harris' music contains the essence of New Orleans music. She is the Lost Soul Queen of New Orleans.
This collection is released on CD, heavyweight gatefold double LP vinyl (+ download code) and digital and comes complete with full biography, original label artwork.
Moscow Is Mythologized For Its Grandeur And Gravity But Its Parable Pleasures Offer Splendor And Even Absurdity. Over The Ten, Symmetrical Pieces Of For, Kate Nv Scores Her Native Urban Environment With Just Enough Whimsy To Gurgle Through The City Cracks And Grow Psychotropic Foliage. Each Sound Assumes Its Own Personality, Moving Through The Album Metropolis Like Miniature, Mutating Molecules Viewed From Nv's Apartment Window.
Alternately A Guitar-wielding, Post-punker And One Within The Multitude Of Moscow Scratch Orchestra's Avant-garde, Nv Is A Versatile Artist That Maneuvers Instinctively In Whatever Musical Environs She Finds Herself. Nv's Second Solo Album Is An Even More Abstract Endeavor Than The Hybrid Pop Of 2016's Binasu. Inspired By Casual Moments Of Ephemeral Sound From Within And Beyond Her Apartment Walls, The Record Has A Clarity Arrived Altogether And From Right Under Her Nose. Recorded At Home, Nv Says It Was As If The Music Was Not Written By Herself, But Her Chair.
For Inhabits A Stage That Piero Milesi & Daniel Bacalov, Ann Southam, Or Hiroshi Yoshimura May Have Written Music For And Dresses It With Viktor Pivovarov's Psychedelic Depictions Of Moscow - Contorting Bodies, Flying Pencils, And Multi-dimensional Faces Dance With Subtle Arpeggiations, Conversational Voice Synthesis, And Anthropomorphic Midi. Animating Objects Is Essential To The Album. Like A Surreal Still Life, Each Piece Is An Alien Arrangement Of Common Elements That Extend The Everyday Ritual Into An Eternal Landscape Of Unconscious Activity. Somewhere Along That Landscape, Kate Awaits And Greets With Apples For Hands And Fish For Feet.
Like The Album Title, Each Composition Contained Within Is Represented As A Three Letter Word, In Russian And English. The First Half Of For Was Written In The Spring. Starting With yxo Ear,' Previously Released On The Peaceful Protest Compilation Cassette In 2017, Melodies Meander And Lollygag. a Two' Incorporates Human Breath Played Like Notes On A Pump Organ. Oak' Offers A Warm Tune To Tango. How' Loops Curious Notes That Bump Into Each Other With A Chirpy Acknowledgement. You,' The Only Track On For With Lyrics, Sets A Wassily Kadinsky Poem To Song.
The Second Half Of The Album Was Written In The Autumn. The Feathery Edges Of One' Extend Like Watercolors Bleeding Off A Rubber Scroll. See' Is A Subdued, Shadowy Variation Of How', As If The Same Song Were Played In Different Weather, Dimmer Light, Or By Kate's Devious Doppelganger. The Electronics Unravel And Unwind On Dog' Until The Final Track, Who,' Ends With Vague Solemnity And Rattled Metals.
A Short Online Film Series By Shura Kulak Will Accompany The Release Of For. The Films Follow A Solitary Figure Performing Ordinary Tasks Through A Slow, Warped Lens — Each Song Enacting A Daily Habit: Waking, Dressing, Reading, And So On. In Her Live Performances Around The Album, Kate Nv Will Play Each Song From Memory, Allowing For Variation From The Recorded Tracks, And Scenes From The Films Will Be Re-created And Improvised In The Moment.
Violet-the Color Of Royalty And Majesty, Of Dreamy And Calming Consciousness...here Translated To A Spirited Collection Of Absolute Music
Drivetrain (detroit, Usa) - breathe'
Derrick Thompson Engineers Another Captivating Late Night Soul-bender. A Commanding Filtered Bass Groove, Dominates Melodic Chord Progressions With Accentuating Dynamic Percussion And Spicy Vocal Support
Mattimoe-perrine (toledo, Usa) - llucid'
Nathan Mattimoe And Todd Perrine Return With A Composition Of Charismatic Rhythm Intelligence. As The Journey Builds, The Elements Become More Intense, Evolving To A Vocal Crescendo Of Synthesized Deepness
Trecci (paris, France) - sagami'
Soiree Proudly Welcomes Trecci And His Tribal Inspired Floor Filler. Drum Manipulation Integrates With Vocal Energy To Ultimately Dissolve In A Hypnotic, Quintessential String Refrain
Funtom (zagreb, Croatia) - french Connection'
Another Newcomer To Soiree, Funtom Musically Animates The Essence Of High-tech Sensuality. An Alluring Female Voice Subconsciously Unveils A Bed Of Infactuating Pads, Stabs And Inflections
From the church to the library, it's now time for 'A Sweet Excursion', courtesy of our favourite French funkateers, DJ Soulist & Fulgeance aka Souleance, offering up three tasty edits to feed the dancefloor.
'Fantasie' opens the set with an idyllically relentless rhodes-riff riding a slice of sugary boogie, with a super squelchy bassline and a healthy layer of disco percussion spread on top, for those with a sweet tooth.
The righteous horns of 'Lord' blaze into play next accompanied by a 4/4 disco kick, before the sugar rush kicks in and the band let loose an almighty groove. Even a soulful set of angels begin to sing, guaranteeing this one will bring out a lil' bit of that holy ghost within.
We end out with 'Funkin' which does exactly what it says on the tin. A solid five minutes-plus of delectable heads-down funk containing all the right ingredients, and the French duo's own special sauce mixed into the pot for good measure.
With a decades worth of collaboration behind them, and persistent party rocking at festivals and clubs, Souleance continue to create tried & tested moments of sweetness on dancefloors across the globe. This three-tracker is no exception, and makes this another essential one for the record bags.
'A Sweet Excursion' is released on Excursions on Friday 29th June 2018 on limited three-track vinyl 12" only.
Very little is know about the apparent duo Stevens & Foster who had this self produced release in 1977 on the Jerri Records label from Atlanta, Georgia that had national distribution though T.K. Productions Inc. Nevertheless original copies are now very scarce and crazy expensive. For decades, the B-side's piano intro has rescued a DJ's dancefloor all over Europe, with it's seductive qualities of lush strings, muted Wah-Wah, simplistic but addictive piano fuse into a must gulp down cocktail of soul delights. In more recent times it is the A-side, that formerly lived in the shadows of that essential DJ tool, is also gathering a strong following, using the same instrumental approach but taking the pace right down. Ballad fans will immerse themselves in the real feelings the girl lead projects as she gets more poignant the deeper she gets into the lyrics. Fully restored and officially licensed, this is your chance to obtain this great soul and funk record as a top quality European re-press at a regular price.
After previously releasing Starship Commander Woooo Woooo's - Mastership LP, Left Ear Records have continued excavating the archives of the artist more formally known as Omer Coleman Jr. The result is two handpicked mid 80's instrumentals salvaged from the original master tapes, as well as an extended vocal edit on the flip for good measure.
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After laying his alter ego to rest Omer made a handful of electronic releases on his own Kansas based 'Remo' label. Of these releases Left Ear has selected their two favourite instrumentals: 'Lovin 'Babe' Sure Is Fun' and 'So Good'. 'Lovin 'Babe' Sure Is Fun' was originally released in '85 and was created to celebrate a time in America where 'the economy was good, people were happy and love was in the air', the essence of which Omer captured using his Roland 808 and 303 in what may best be described as Acid-Boogie. 'So Good' on the other hand is a sensual downtempo cut shaped with heavy-bass, telephone samples and guitar solos that conjures images of late Night Rendezvous and compromising scenarios.
Whether or not techno music is destructive and to what degree is fair concern to have, but there's no denying that it can call upon our primal instinct of surrendering to rhythms together with everyone around the proverbial camp fire. Sure, the camps of today are the clubs, and the fires are strobes, but that doesn't change the essence of rituals that we continue practicing. The release stays close to 130 BPM and offers efficient tools for the dancefloor: Airy, for one, represents a syncopated narrative of wonder and magical realism, whereas in the
hands of Gotshell it becomes less contemplative, shifting to a more direct perspective.
Backed by cascading kicks XI takes a dive into atonal realm, and KUJIN —the most brutal number of EP—offers a densely packed treble range running above the hammering 3/3 kicks. With Hydra, it's a trip laden with wondrous soundscapes, shamanic percussion and
sensations of unexplored grounds emanating from the bassline, after which the closer Trioptic provides a rebellious theme fitting for times of unrest and resistance.
Beautiful 1 LP Edition with 350g cardboard old Stoughton tip-on sleeve, Sticker - MKWAJU ensembleâs highly sought-after album reissued on vinyl for the first time since 1981. Also available on CD. - 33 rpm LP mastercut by Emil Berliner from original tapes! WRWTFWW Records is over the moon to announce the official reissue of legendary album KI-Motion by Japanese percussionist Midori Takadaâs MKWAJU ensemble, sourced from the original masters and available in two versions: a vinyl LP cut at Emil Berliner Studios and housed in 350g old Stoughton tip-on sleeve, and a digipak CD. A highly creative and transcendental fusion of marimba, vibraphone, bamboo percussion and synthesizers, KI-Motion was recorded in 1981 and captures the birth of Midori Takadaâs exploration of minimalism, African rhythmic tradition, and ambient music. The album takes its conceptual inspiration from the tamarind ( âmkwajuâ in Swahili), a drought resistant tree notably used to craft some of the first mallets and marimbas but also known for its culinary and medical uses, an essential symbol of life and identity for the Central African grasslands. Drawing from the regionâs culture and music as well as the crucial notion that rhythms represent the very fabric of life, Midori Takada leads her ensemble into environmental heaven to create one of the highlights of her recording career and an absolute must-have from the golden age of Japanese ambientâ¦the ideal companion to her majestic Through The Looking Glass opus!
the producer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ and record collector Gabriel Cyr AKA Teleseen releases 5th album 'The Emotional Life of Savages' via French imprint Goldmin Music.
African rhythms, Latin heat and otherworldly electronics collide like neurons, processed through a New York state of mind. The pancontinental sounds are mirrored in his own life, which has oscillated back and forth between various countries.
A jazz background combined with a love for house and techno are ingrained in the grooves. Also key is the samba, baile funk and MPB that inspired him while living in Rio de Janeiro, plus the sounds he reabsorbed on returning to NYC's club scene.
This wide range of influences spanning the global underground coalesces into a rich, vital and coherent whole. Warm and soulful, but also evoking an intoxicating, heady atmosphere, the hypnotic and ultra-rhythmic tracks subtly shift and build to fever pitch, due primarily to deft polyrhythmic drums and percussion - both played and sequenced.
"Working on this record I finally found myself able to manifest a certain sound I'd been hearing in my head for years, combining the rhythmic intensity of afro-house and afro-Brazilian music with the more cosmic sounds of Detroit and deep house", explains Cyr on his musical vision.
The gentle sundowner glow of 'Myrtle Avenue' with its textured synth waves and wandering Parrish-esque keys acts as a precursor to the potent nocturnal adventure to follow: 'Espelhos' captures a similar essence to Black Science Orchestra's classic 'Save Us (The Jam)', before the heat goes up and heads go down for the eastern-tinged, autotune-laden fire of 'Khalil'.
The album then intensifies further still on the percussion-heavy, big bottomed cosmic throb of 'Jaguar', whilst Brazilian flavour meets tech house rush on 'Fundos', before the party reaches its feverish close on the wiggling batucada- meets-tribal-house of 'Temporada De Seca'.
Born in the north eastern United States, as an adult Cyr has always been nomadic. He has sought to live and immerse himself in other cultures and absorb their sounds, but eventually always succumbs to the Big Apple's magnetic pull. Back home, a key inspirational catalyst for the album was the Brooklyn-based party Africainoir, where he's a resident DJ.
Alongside cutting his teeth producing illbient/hip hop and working as an engineer, he ran his own studio for period, before starting his own label Percepts, on which to release his dub techno style debut. He has since released on 100% Silk, Boomarm Nation and Feel Up Records, and now 'The Emotional Life Of Savages' marks Teleseen's first album for Goldmin.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Applescal is the next in line for a release on DGTL Records, seeing as he has been part of the crew since day one, with multiple appearances at their shows to his name. The Atomnation label-head crafts out three tracks all coming from one single studio jam, aptly naming them Harmony One, Harmony Two and Harmony Three. The record is a special one for Applescal himself as well, as it's his first full EP in two years.
The EP starts off with Harmony One, a dubby and bass heavy track with a subtle vocal sample. It steadily builds up towards a more energetic part with synth stabs and heavy snares, while the pads in the background still make it keep its atmospheric feel. As all three tracks come from the same studio jam, it's obvious that this was the start of the jam, serving as the basis for the other two tracks. The second one, Harmony Two, was previously part of an Atomnation sampler and received a lot of great feedback, as well as airplay from a few big names in the industry. It builts around an arpeggio that playfully progresses and intensifies towards the break, where a raw synth is layered on top for the climax. With a more subtle bassline, but multiple rhythmic elements that add a proper swing, it makes an essential peak-time tune.
The flipside brings Harmony Three, which distinctly sounds as the final part of the studio jam. Hard hitting synth stabs and a rolling bassline set the track apart as the heavier hitter of the three, while still clearly building on the overall theme. It features an arpeggio that progresses along the break and into the main part, with sharp drum samples and tense synths. It wraps up this release perfectly.
Teste returns with The Box Man, a five-track EP that marks their first release of original material in 25 years. Formed during the early nineties in Hamilton, Ontario, they put out only three official records between 1992-1993 on Probe Records, most notably 'The Wipe,' which is regarded as a genre defining classic, while the follow-up 'Regions' also served as a template for the ensuing sonics of contemporary techno. With only a handful of live actions, the final chaotic show (public disturbance) occurred for Pure in Glasgow 1994. Afterwards, the original Teste lineup of juvenile delinquents disbanded but unwittingly ended up defining the hypnotic and drugged out strains of today's afterhours techno parties. The project vanished for decades until reactivating the chaos in 2014, promoting a slew of remixes 'The Rewipes,' by artists such as Rrose and Terence Fixmer, on the Edit Select imprint.
Since then, original member David Foster, still at large as //HUREN//, has been slugging it out in the fringes with influential output on the seminal Zhark Recordings Berlin and has collaborated as O/H with Rich Oddie of Orphx. First meeting on Mayday 2017 in Berlin, a new alliance with Martin Maischein aka Goner formed. Goner is likewise a veteran with essential output under various monikers on imprints such as Force Inc., Editions Mego, and Hospital Productions. From that pairing, The Box Man came into being for the second release on BITE, the Berlin techno label run by Hayden Payne and Florian Engerling.
The Box Man picks up where Teste last left us with their revolutionary vision of techno and continues to further their interdimensional manifestation of insanity and formation. Pure techno serving as a method of psychic expulsion and self-reckoning. From the opening, the eponymous track approaches full panoramic throttle as metallic synths creep 360 degrees around the listener, setting the tone for panic and loss of cognitive control. Teste then moves into the stealthier outpatient techno rhythms of 'The Long Term Care Facility' and 'Thieves Are Operating In This Area'. The EP contrasts its propulsion with different interpretations of its blueprint. 'Foaming At The Mouth' delves into Cabaret Voltaire-alike rhythm box violence until all is closed with the comedown melodies of 'Lyubov'. Through highly adept methods of sound design and neural interpretation, Teste once again cuts apart reality with their music, expressing nightmares and visions via new rituals and mind control techno.
The sun does not move. The sun has never seen a shadow. - Leonardo da Vinci
Paul and Alessio of Possible Futures believe that some essential fractions in the history of music need to be transmitted in new ways to budding generations. As we seek to bring together a new educational system around contemporary music, we urge anyone with homologous intentions to get in touch.
Over the last 15 years, Possible Futures have been witnesses to the wildest fauna and flora the great nocturnal jungle has to o er.
Possible Futures source their inspiration from the many shades of color that co-exist between black and white on the great designer's palette.
It is through their open and eclectic selections that Possible Futures turn the dancefloor into spaces of self-discovery and musical trance-en-dance.
Possible Futures believe that the eternal act of dancing is one of the most active form of contemplation. Facing our own selves in the mirror of movement, we realize that we indeed are reflections of one another at all times. Compassion forms and in turns gives way to kindness and love.
For this third record, Argentinean expert producer Leonel returns with two long pieces of poetry. Releasing on June 15th, this third edition in the Possible Futures catalog bridge spring into summer in a most gracious manner.
We Cherish Harmony, PF
Coming from different regions in France, Violent Quand On Aime's members have joined forces to canalize their energies into something truly essential. Far away from hype and expectation they have created their own peculiar world. Expect a certain electronic griminess with hints of 90's hiphop, postpunk alienation and an affinity for Musique Concrète. The overall experience is similar to the excitement one feels when hearing something genuinely original. This mini-album is the follow-up to their very impressive 7' on Le Syndicat Des Scorpions.
Fresh off the back of the languorous poolside disco and tropical pop of their debut album 'Shapes On Shapes' released last November, LA based duo Wild & Free return with a collection of essential remixes from label mates and influences alike by revisiting the heady disco of recent single 'Ferns and Stuff'.
Both multi-instrumentalists, singers and producers in their own right, Wild & Free duo Drew Kramer and George Cochrane came together in 2015 and have spent the past 2 years crafting a series of acclaimed EPs and remixes (for the likes of Joe Goddard (Hot Chip), Panama, Gigamesh, RAC and Ben Browning of Cut/Copy) that saw them tipped by the likes of Spin, XLR8R, Indie Shuffle, Clash Magazine, Data Transmission and many more and take their live show on the road playing alongside the likes of Brooklyn's Body Language.After releasing a few solid ep's and two full lengths album's Xinobi has gained real recognition among established and well-known artists and opinion-makers, and his underground cult has amplified. What has followed is remixes, edits and reworks for artists such as Sbtrkt, The Avener, John Grant, Toro Y Moi, Nicolas Jaar, Agnes Obel, Kris Menace and Tensnake.Along with Moullinex and Mr. Mitsuhirato he gave birth to the still-growing-influent Discotexas who here lend their label mates their expert musical arrangement skills with 'Discotexas Club Mix' thrown in for good measure. And it doesn't stop there, with legendary New Yorker Justin Strauss, who has produced and mixed records and remixes for the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Beyonce, La Roux and Goldfrapp contributing a 'Whatever/Whatever' mix as part of the slick and hugely influential production duo he formed with Bryan Mette.
Already noticed for his remixes and array of collaborators and with several releases under his belt (including a track on the 'Bonjour Colette' compilation), Tokyo-based Yuki Abe AKA producer/DJ Boys Get Hurt gets his inspiration from the melancholic feelings the end of summer inevitably brings about, a personal and evocative sensibility in tune with the land of the rising sun's delicate culture. Yuki expertly crafts bouncy disco-house music with sprinklings of electronica, indie, ambient, hip-hop and R&B. Here he adds a mix with a loose and joyful feel that fits the sentiments of what Wild and Free represent perfectly.
"The art of the future, therefore, will not be poorer, but infinitely richer in subject-matter. And the form of the art of the future will also not be inferior to the present forms of art, but infinitely superior to them. Superior, not in the sense of having a refined and complex technique, but in the sense of the capacity briefly, simply, and clearly to transmit, without any superfluities, the feeling which the artist has experienced and wishes to transmit." - Leo Tolstoy, "What is Art"
This statement can be made of Lucky Brown's attempt to "briefly, simply, and clearly" capture the feeling of the sound, soul, smoke and soil of the Texas Hill Country with his upcoming album "Mesquite Suite".
A little more than one year after the release of his firebrand "Mesquite Beat/Justice" single on imprint "Tramp Tapes" (TR-1040) Lucky Brown offers us here another glimpse into the sound and concept of the Mesquite Suite.
Saints & Beggars is a rustic pentatonic horn-led 6/8 anthem that builds upon a simple primitive melody assembled from two opposing figures set against two repeating figures. Brown conceived the motif while in meditation in a yoga-turned-composition studio in San Marcos, Texas. He later delicately draped the parts around it like woodsmoke. The overall effect of the composition is one of economy and restraint - nothing could be added or taken away. The horns, guitar and vintage electric combo organ begin in unison and then the figure brazenly explodes like a flock of white winged doves from a pecan tree in humid dusk. Here are featured extemporizations from Jason Cressey - trombone, Peter Daniel - saxophone, Colin Higgins - guitar, and drummer Ollie Klomp, with an exposition of open horns in the climax. The tune is drenched in shitty reverb which engenders a mysterious dimension begging the record diggers' favorite questions: "...when is this from", "...where is this from".
'Bout To Blow, remaining uncompiled in the upcoming "Mesquite Suite" (exclusively released on this single only), is a specimen of the generic Deep Funk on 45 that lit a fire in Lucky's heart more than 20 years ago. The use of the word generic here is not meant to be derogatory. Rather, it is to transmit the sense that this tune falls squarely within the confines of the so-called Deep Funk canon. 'Bout to Blow offers classic dancefloor essentials: driving bassline, hard drum beat, chanky guitar, and outrageously distorted horns fiercely executing a devastatingly primitive horn line. Also, for devout followers of Lucky Brown's recorded work, there is hidden in the bridge an easter egg in the form of a self-referential quote: the bridge of 'Bout To Blow is also the head of T.D. & The Jimmy James 3's "Jalapeño Pep" (TR-1025)!
It has been Lucky Brown's aim to paint for the world a picture of the vernacular jazz that America's neighborhoods once crafted as their own homegrown cultural heritage. Lucky Brown's music is a rejection of the elitism, classism, and status of the music industrial complex and is an antitoxin to it's resultant homogeneity. He wants with his heart and his art to transmit an everyday people's sound, made by everyday people, dedicated to the upliftment of all people. Could this be the "art of the future" that Tolstoy wrote of in 1904
Key-selling points:
- "Bout To Blow" is available on this 7" release only
- "Saints & Beggars" is taken from the forthcoming album "Mesquite Suite" (out september 2018)
It's been over 10 years since the release of Gui Boratto's breakthrough full length debut 'Chromophobia'. As to what its title suggests, he shook up the techno game with a contrast of lushly coloured minimal grooves and melody, whilst many will recall that the album included the highlight single Beautiful Life' which became a dance floor anthem for that era. Four albums in and countless EPs and remixes under his belt, the Brazilian producer's unique savoir-faire in carving out a functional album out of diversely routed singles and features is back at it on his fifth studio LP, 'Pentagram'. Here Gui Boratto lays down a nuanced 12-track narrative that reinvigorates his signature sound into a refreshingly different perspective that feels all too familiar - including the return of Beautiful Life' vocalist (and Gui Boratto's wife) Luciana Villanova on the single "Overload".
Through his signature kaleidoscopic approach, Boratto delivers an album built as a far-reaching hub-and-spoke system, broadly inclusive as can be. From the opening cut, 'The Walker' - hot on the trail of Tears For Fears 'Elemental' (one of Boratto's "favourite 80's bands") - to the hi-NRG euphoria of 'Forgotten' and its pounding tech alter ego 'Forgive Me'. "I was going into 2 different directions", Boratto says, "the typical indie- electronic-rock' Boratto kind of production like It's Majik' or Like You' and a much more techno approach." He goes on, "I decided to split them into two twin sister songs. When I play live I always put these two songs together."
The Brazilian Producer further embraces the pop-friendly essence of his past work on tracks like 'The Phoenix', featuring vocalist Nathan Berger, and 'Overload', both melding acidulous synthlines with laser-precise breaks, vox hooks and drops calibrated for extended radio and club use, although sieved through his distinctive rainbow-hued musical prism. For the symbolists out there, the album's pared-down closer '618' duration accidentally happens to equate the proportions of the said pentagram. "Coincidence" Boratto questions, and capsulises, "not so ufanista and supporter of Brazilian neo-concretism, but I guess the brazilian sculptor Lygia Clark also inspired me a lot. Not the meaning of her sculptures, but the shape of the hinge of most of her work. I've wanted to transmit the scientific pentagram's point of view. It's not a religious kind of thing."
Whereas 'Spur' (a field-tested 808 and 909-heavy "purist track", "very, very old school" Boratto insists) and 'Alcazar' are sheer smooth-edged four-to- the-floor epics, the album also shares its lot of startling moments, such as with the John Barry'esque 'Scene 2' (with a hint of Amon Tobin, 'Easy Muffin' style, throw in) and its refined string-laden buildup, 100% fitted for a 007 opening credit sequence, or with 'Hallucination' (feat B.T.) and the further James Holden-ish title-track 'Pentagram' (think 'The Idiots Are Winning'), "one of those exercises I did when I got my Buchla modular synth" Boratto analyses, "I think I've used more then 30 different snares, with different delays and reverbs. The whole song is alive". And so is 'Pentagram' in its entirety: alive and definitely just as manifold and hopeful as its architectonics are the stuff of science and dreams all at once.
Es ist zehn Jahre her seit der Veröffentlichung von Gui Borattos bahnbrechendem Debütalbum - Chromophobia . So wie der Titel vermuten ließ, war das Album mit seinen kontrastreichen Minimalgrooves und den üppig gefärbten Melodien ein Schocker im besten Sinne. Ihr erinnert euch sicher noch an die Hit-Single - Beautiful Life , eine Dancefloor-Hymne aus dieser Zeit. Nach vier Alben und unzähligen EPs und Remixen ist das einmalige Savoir-faire des brasilianischen Produzenten, aus vielfältigen Singles und Features stimmige Alben zu schaffen, auch auf seinem fünften Studioalbum - Pentagram zu hören. Hier legt Gui Boratto ein Zwölf-Track-Narrativ vor, das seine Handschrift auf erquickende Weise wiederbelebt. Wiederbelebt wird auch die Stimme von - Beautiful Life (die der Frau Gui Borattos gehört) auf dem Stück - Overload .
Durch seinen charakteristisch kaleidoskopischen Ansatz liefert Boratto ein Album, das gebaut ist wie die Speichen deines Fahrrads, von dem Opener - The Walker - direkt auf der Spur von Tears For Fears - Elemental (einer von Borattos - favourite 80's bands ) - zur Hi-NRG-Euphorie von - Forgotten und seinem stampfenden Counterpart - Forgive Me . - Ich bin in zwei unterschiedlichen Richtungen gegangen , sagt Boratto: - den typischen ,Indie-Electronic-Rock'-Weg wie in - It's Majik oder - Like You und den Techno-Weg. Er fügt hinzu: - Ich hab mich entschieden jedem Track seinen Zwillings-Track an die Seite zu stellen. Immer wenn ich live spiele lege ich die zwei Stücke zusammen.
Der brasilianische Produzent erschließt weiter die Pop-Essenz seiner vergangenen Arbeit auf Tracks wie - The Phoenix (feat. Nathan Berger) und - Overload . Beide kombinieren zwitschernde Synthi-Melodien mit lasergenauen Breaks, Hooklines, Drops und sind wie gemacht für die Rotation und den Club. Und für die Symbolisten da draußen: die Länge des reduzierten Closers - 618 beträgt zufälliger Weise genau die Proportionen des besagten Pentagramms. - Fügung , fragt Boratto und fasst zusammen: - Ich bin kein Anhänger des brasilianische Neo-Konkretismus , aber ich glaube die brasilianische Künstlerin Lygia Clark hat mich sehr inspiriert. Nicht die Bedeutung ihre Skulpturen aber die Form der meisten ihrer Arbeiten. Ich wollte den wissenschaftlichen Blickwinkel auf das Pentagramm übersetzen. Nicht im religiösen Sinne oder so."
Während - Spur (ein erprobter - purist track auf der Basis von 808 und 909, - sehr, sehr old school , wie Boratto betont) und - Alcazar glatte Vierviertel-Epen sind, hält das Album auch Überraschungsmomente bereit. Z.B. das John Barryschen - Scene 2 (auch eine Spur von Amon Tobins - Easy Muffin ist darin zu hören) und seinem Streicher-Aufbau, der hundertprozentig geeignet wär für eine Eröffnungssequenz in einem Bond-Film. Auch - Hallucination (feat. B.T.) oder der James-Holden-hafte Titeltrack - Pentagram (wir denken da an - The Idiots Are Winning ) wäre da zu nennen. - Einer dieser Übungen, die ich gemacht habe, als ich meinen Buchla-Modular-Synthesizer bekommen habe, war , erinnert sich Boratto, - mehr als 30 verschiedene Snares, Delays und Reverbs zu verwenden. Der ganze Song sollte am Leben sein. Und so ist - Pentagram im Ganzen: lebendig und sicher genau so vielfältig wie sein Bauplan, der auch der Wissenschaft und den Träumen zugrundeliegt.
The remarkable thing about BELP's new album is its two-dimensional function. It works both on a loud and a quiet volume. Some tracks would go down well as a club track, like opener 'Travelling Thru Galaxies'. This track brings back memories of the best work released on the Hyperdub label, with it's fine combination of synths and irresistible, dubby beats. Elsewhere, 'Off Ending' might start off as 'dancehall-but-not-quite dancehall' track but when half way the synths kick in they change the feeling of the track to a more cerebral level.
BELP is the artist name of Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer. Born in Munich, he partially grew up on the Seychelles islands off the coast of East Africa. Educated in classical piano, those two gravitational poles, European and African influences, form the basis for his musical development. Currently he has close ties to the (dub) Sausage Studio in Hackney, London. In his hometown Munich, the Bavarian capital, BELP took a central role in a series of discussions and events aiming to improve the image and possibilities of Munich, which to his regret is a predominantly posh and hedonistic city where optimistic and uplifting music take central role.
In different guises Schnitzenbaumer works as a much needed antidote. Since 2013 he runs the Schamoni label, focusing on supporting local artists like Leroy and Protein. Its sublabel Jahmoni is responsible for recent works by international artists like Aaron Spectre and DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess.
BELP's music is dark, serious and layered. His love for dub and dancehall shines through in his broken beats. At the same time the synth layered tracks give the album an atmospheric feeling.
This also is what makes this album essential: it's refusal to be pigeonholed. The last track on side A, 'By Beauteous Softness', is an a cappella rendition of a 17th century Henry Purcell piece, beautifully sung by Alexander Schneider. This track is preceded by 'Transmission', which is a brilliant abstract work, sounding like wind closing on you from all sides. And you can sip a cocktail whilst listening to the jazzy 'Time And Again' (BELP once worked as a jazz pianist).
It's clear to hear BELP took a long time recording this album. Every note, synth, drum beat, is carefully placed. But what the album might lack on spontaneity it more than compensates this with its sheer musical beauty. This also reflects on the abstract sleeve, like 'Elephants' designed by BELP himself.
Enjoy this album on big speakers, as background music or simply on headphones. There will always be new sounds and layers to be discovered!
Fresh on Francis Harris' Kingdoms imprint comes Rasmus Juncker's 'Ophold' - six tracks of sublime atmospheres and textures. The Danish musician, sound composer and DJ fits perfectly with the label's aesthetic, joining the dots between ambient, leftfield electronica and modern classical.
Juncker has a background in studying jazz drumming and has been playing improvised music within the jazz domain for many years. He also started to DJ at the age of 14 and was introduced to the world of electronic music production at the same time.
When Rasmus started to think about his debut album he spent several months trying to find his own way to combine his favourite musical influences, improvisation, electronics and classical music. 'Almost a year later', Juncker says, "I went to a sensory deprivation floating tank in Copenhagen while researching for another performance and while I was lying there, floating in the water, deprived from most of my senses, I got the idea to do something drastic in my musical process. Philosophers like Immanuel Kant describe this deprived state as a mental 'Cesura', which became some sort of guideline for the album."
So Juncker decided to start working on the album by leaving the process as well as the final result completely open. 'I wanted to create sounds and music that I had no idea what they would sound like, but would feel like a mental 'Cesura', an 'Ophold' (in Danish)' he states.
He invited musicians, one after the other, to his studio. "I had an electronic musician to improvise patterns and new interesting sounds based on my experience in the deprivation tank. I chose some of the takes and some weeks later I invited a jazz guitarist to listen and improvise on top of what he heard. Then a classical string quartet and a double bass player came to my studio months later, and finally I recorded myself on percussion and drums.
Throughout the recording process I've been experimenting with special microphones in various setups, used noises from the recordings and the room became absolutely essential for the pieces." Juncker states.
"The material I used was all first take improvision which I arranged, layered and edited into compositions. The final pieces were mixed by Andreas Pallisgaard with the same improvised and experimental approach of the recording and the production. None of the musician met each other, but their sounds developed into something completely fantastic I think. The presence of the acoustic instruments and the depth and complexity of the synthesized layers gave some kind of an indescribable sounding music from another galaxy.
Track by track:
'Norddrum' starts proceedings - ethereal, grainy sounds merge and disassociate, as a distant rhythm gradually finds its way to the fore.
The second track, 'Sora' , clocking in at under 2 minutes, is an interlude full of strings, pads, and percussive hits, rich in feeling. This strong sense of sound design and seemingly disparate sounds woven together into a whole carries through into 'Eksotisk Tirsdag' - the strings, plucked instruments and electronics harking back to 4th world adventurers like Jon Hassel and Brian Eno.
'Cyklus' dives into drone textures, pulsing and modulating to create an unearthly soundtrack.
'Havekunst' is another 2 minutes interlude, this time bringing a fully charged rhythmic barrage to the front.
'Cesura', the final track is in essence the EP's centerpiece - a sprawling 8 minute journey that traverses tense, fibrous sections and on into pulsing modular passages, before opening up into glorious moments of wonder and brightness. It's a hugely bold yet fragile endeavour, in line with the whole release.
- A1: Stillashy(91) 02:11
- A2: Lites 02:18
- A3: U 01:47 Video
- A4: B.c. 01:57
- A5: Somthnspecial.(Int) 00:28
- A6: On_Foot W. Pink Siifu 02:17 Video
- A7: Bait_ 01:43
- A8: Crybaby_Think 02:32
- B1: Larry 02:26
- B2: Coin-0P 02:33
- B3: No_Kavi.(Terri) 01:01
- B4: Pina 02:08
- B5: Nothnfree(94) 02:09
- B6: Cotton(2.Ths.day){Int} 01:31
- B7: Skies_Purple(Nuu's) 01:32
- B8: Only..human. 01:31
'Your mind makes it real.' - Ahwlee Vital Sales Points: Extensive Global Sticker Promo Campaign Special Bonus Tracks Release Full-Life April 2018 (digital only) Life2 Quotes : 'Once you press play you want to listen to it from front to back.' - Danny Veekens (The Find Mag) 'Life2 embodies the essence of the ancestors. The marriage of his kicks, snares and hi hats with those lush soul chops reminds me of the first time I fell in love with hip hop.
Benny Blanco debuts with a five-tracks "Staraya Ep" onto his Valkea Music. Every detail has been taken care, from mixing
to the master from the WHITE 180 GRAMS vinyl press to artwork. Following a short description about "Staraya EP"
STRY 1 by Ricky L Red "Is Not Dead Mix" intense and majestic, the track of rare and profound beauty.
STRY 2 "Original Mix" it's a tribute to Benny Blanco's origins and to the electronic/progressive sound of the mid nineties
that had great influence on him and became his trademark from the very beginning.
STRY 3 by Giammaria Coccoluto & Luca Vera "As Soul Sonic Remix" an ethnic rhythm full of grooves thanks to the addition
of percussive elements and a masterly used organ, which won't keep you still.
STRY 4 "The THC Revenge Remix" an atmosphere that captures and hypnotizes, where it extrapolates and magnificently
enhances the most melodic part.
STRY 5 "Erly Tepshi Dark Vision Mix" an esoteric and astral journey in the furthest and most remote corners of your mind.
This original project to the artwork that will in essence, satisfy your eyes and especially the ears.
Only those who read all the credits on record liner notes will know the full details: Areski is of course Brigitte Fontaine's partner in life, but also her creative alter ego, and the composer of the music of most of her songs. Even though it was his wife Brigitte and not him who wrote the lyrics, Areski is a poet in his own right. Furthermore, he is polyvalent: composing, arranging, singing, improvising, playing every possible instrument and even acting! Areski, to sum up, is the perfect mix of the tradition of Munir Bashir with the European sophistication' of someone like Jean-Claude Vannier, one foot permanently in Versailles (where he was born) and the maghreb. Areski, is left bank French songs without the stylistic effects, revised and updated through contact with arab-andalusian music. He is a Living Theatre style happening with a dose of cosmic free jazz, surrealist poetry viewed through the prism of Kabyle culture... All that and a lot more!
Areski honed his talent observing the stars of traditional chaâbi, testing it out in bars and dives before meeting, during military service, the singer Jacques Higelin with whom he would record his first cult album, and who would present him to his wife-to-be, Brigitte Fontaine. Between 1969 and 1980, with her, Areski would contribute an essential chapter to French underground music including classics such as Comme à la radio (with the Art Ensemble of Chicago), Je ne connais pas cet homme, L'Incendie, Le Bonheur and Vous et nous. For all that, Areski has never really tried to have a career under his own name, in spite of the wonderful Un Beau matin first published in 1970, and which it is high time to de (re)discover (better late than never). Those already in the know will not be surprised to see, especially, Jean-Charles Capon, author of the inspired L'Univers-solitude, Brigitte Fontaine of course, or Daniel Vallancien, author of a no-less inspired duo with saxophonist Philippe Maté. All contributing to an acerbic poetic universe, concerned but never militant, and open to worldwide influences long before they became a fashion.
Inspired, poetic, in a word essential: Un Beau Matin is one of the best albums of the French underground produced by Pierre Barouh on his label Saravah, alongside those by Maurice Lemaître, Catharsis, Claude Yvans, Mahjun, Barney Wilen, Cohelmec Ensemble et Michel Roques.
For its seventh offering, Sol Power Sound taps into the pulse of the French Antilles for Tambours de Martinique, a blistering EP of original and remixed versions of rare, drum-centric dance floor workouts. Licensed directly from the legendary Martiniquan label Hibiscus Records, the EP features cuts by Eugène Mona and Max Ransay, two of Martinique's most storied musicians. With reworks by Spanish DJ and producer Kiko Navarro and the Sol Power All-Stars, this one will be in the record bags of discerning DJs all summer long.
The A side features 'Lizo' by Eugène Mona, an essential figure in the folkloric music of Martinique based on the bamboo flute, bèlè drums, and the island's specific variant of Antillean creole. Lizo was originally released in 1990 on Mona's Blanc Mangé Blan Manjé LP and is anchored by frenetic percussion, a driving bassline, and house-evocative key stabs. Kiko Navarro's remix takes an already dynamic cut to deep Afro-space with thumping drums and a bubbling synth-bass groove that will put dancers through their paces.
With its powerful combo of urgent brass and ensemble vocals, Max Ransay's 1988 recording of the traditional Martiniquan folk song 'Ti Kanno' fills the B-side. 'Ti Kanno' was previously recorded by Ti Émile, Ransay and Mona's legendary forebear. Full of surprises, Ransay's version is a sonic melting pot of hand percussion, horns, unexpected synth lines, and bass. The Sol Power All-Stars edit fills out the low-end thump and teases out the groove for maximum impact.
This ridiculously soulful Summer-House EP is the first installment by Peter on Big Bait since 2015. We baked the essence of 3 years of studio work on 12 vinyl. Amongst two brilliant solo tracks, Peter brought in two coops with some exclitingly interesting producers:
Arpeggio Funk' is the first co-production by the Columbian shooting star Felipe Gordon with Big Bait label boss Peter Clamat. The guys met up on soundcloud and immediately started working out some tunes together.
She hates Getting Photos' and Tanzflächengebet' are solo productions by Mr. Clamat. Outstanding, colorful, perfect work as usual. Last but not least track no. four is the uplifting, 90's flavored remix of an unpublished Clamat-gem by Ugly Drums and Chesney. The two guys are old-stagers of the German House Culture and well known for their releases on Kalakutta Soul, AVA, Quintessentials etc.
































































































































































