Cerca:ext

For the 5th in the Ele Records catalogue esteemed producer Cottam brings two killer edits to the table. The A side sees a joyous disco rework, extending and expanding elements to really hone in on that exuberant bassline and string section.
Flip it over and 'Jigsaw' delivers a dusty mixture of afro rhythms and stirring spoken words to entrance any audience it's set before.

"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.

GIULIO ALDINUCCI is an Italian sound artist working in the fields of experimental electroacoustic music, field recording and ambient soundscape. Born 1981 in Siena, his catalogue comprises four solo albums on labels like DRONARIVM (CHIHEI HATAKEYAMA, AIDAN BAKER),TIME RELEASED SOUND or HOME NORMAL plus EPs and collaborative albums (a.o. with PLEQ). Furthermore , he wrote music for theatre, video art, documentaries and short movies and was awarded with an honourable mention at the 18th International Electroacoustic Composition Competition Música Viva 2017 for his composition "Mute Sirens". Together with ATTILIO NOVELLINO, ALDINUCCI launched the project "Postcards From Italy" which consists of an album published by OAK EDITIONS, live events (the first one took place at Cafe OTO, London) and an installation by AIPS collective & GIANMARCO DEL RE.
"Borders And Ruins", his first album for KARLRECORDS, is a reflection on the instability of borders - borders as an extreme attempt to discriminate and rationalize that turns into a source of chaos and cultural ruins on both sides - and their impact on the relationship between people and territory. It is also a sonic diary: a constantly mutating soundscape where electronic sounds and field recordings (taken during several travels around the continent) blend into an ambient masterpiece of sublime beauty and sacral majesty.

Mastered by Alexandr Vatagin
Vinyl cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin
Artwork by Joe Gilmore

Warehouse Find!

Scottish producer Austin Ato has been making waves the last couple of years having had well received releases on Futureboogie and Phonica White and this year looks to be his best yet! Remixes for Folamour on Classic, Balako on Greco Roman and an EP for Man Power's label Me Me Me will be dropping in the coming weeks, paving the way for his Delusions Of Grandeur debut double A side; Ella / Putting It In My Way.

On Ella we see Austin deliver some pure, unadulterated, house pleasure over eight minutes (although for us it feels like it could go on for days!). A filtering disco loop, synth melody, string stabs, all reinforced by punchy drums and that all important vocal chop. A simple recipe for a track when cooked up in the right way with love, passion and experience.

Flipping over to the AA, Putting It In My Way drops in somewhat bipolar fashion, a barrage of percussive beats and rolling snares building to a drop where Austin Ato skilfully switches the vibe completely, bringing in deep pads, rolling bassline and his own inimitable vocals. A totally unique track which harks back to the good old days when house music had a soulful and musical touch which connected instantly with the dance floor. This feels to us like a producer marking his arrival as an artist to watch closely for, and whose talent extends way beyond the confines of your standard four on the floor fodder.
Closing the release we have an Instrumental Version of Putting It In My Way which may well be your choice for the deeper moments, letting the groove push to the fore and the lush chords shine through the haze of dubby stabs and twisting synth line.

Commix completes his Generation EP series with part 3, carrying on from where the 2nd instalment left off. Again, the EP explores Commix's influences from electronic music and beyond, culminating in an extremely polished final part that we're excited to release.

Planet E are proud to present 'AW18 Collection', a 3 track EP from British producer Tom Flynn due September 14th. Drawing upon a broad and learned musical understanding, 'AW18 Collection' fuses disparate strands from the worlds of fashion, club culture and sound design to forge a highly atmospheric, singular release. 'Packard', the title of which is inspired by parties in the historic Detroit power plant of the same name, establishes an unrelenting energy from the get go. A bouncing kick lays the foundations for rolling synths, unnerving vocal samples and delicate piano refrains to wander. 'Anna' is an indulgent nod to the catwalk, marching with intent amidst immersive chords and subtle melodies. The B side hosts a trippy cut full of interplanetary glitches and melancholic harmonies. Drawing upon hints to the extraterrestrial, 'Marx' creates a dizzying swirl with glistening textures. Carl Craig was sold straight away: 'When Tom sent me his demo of 'Packard' I knew I wanted to release it on Planet E. The mix of looped electronics with soul of the piano brought me back to when I first heard the post-Disco classic 'Beyond the Clouds'. I can imagine the kids on The Scene rockin' hard to this.'

repressed !

Following the 7' revisiting Candi Staton's much-loved gospel anthem, this Glitterbox Recordings 12' features four diverse remixes of 'Hallelujah Anyway', three of which are new to vinyl. Kicking off with Larse's Vocal mix, touching deeper territory with a mid-tempo house rendition, Dr Packer's indulgent piano-littered mix is next, picking up the energy and re-introducing the disco beat. Italian producer Moplen delivers a 90s-influenced Classic Club Vibe mix, maximising Candi's uplifting vocal. Finally is FK's Director's Cut Signature Praise 12' Edit, a Frankie Knuckles and Eric Kupper production which is available here on vinyl for the very first time. Picking up the pace with soaring synths and a grooving beat, the mix takes the anthem firmly back to the dancefloor, compelled by the original song's call for jubilation. Four must-hear mixes from Glitterbox, breathing fresh energy into this timeless record.

Tired of reading the words 'classic', 'masterpiece', 'missing link', 'cult', in every press release Just trust us on this one: We have no choice but to use those words and urge you to(re)discover one of the ultimate Afro-Disco lost classics.
How could such a masterpiece stay in obscurity for so long Well, no one knows where N'Draman is. He's presumed dead, and so is Mr Patrick, the label owner, an ex-football player
who turned his focus into fashion after suffering a career ending injury. Selling jeans from an outlet in Monrovia (Liberia), he only ventured in the music business for a short period of time,
releasing a handful of incredible albums on his Cosmic Sounds imprint. The word on the street was that Nigerian legend William Onyeabor was somehow involved with the production of the album, or maybe playing synths on it. Both were inaccurate, although N'Draman Blintch's previous and first record Cikamele, was indeed recorded at Willfilms, Onyeabor's studio. And some of the musicians playing here were also key members in his pool
of session musicians. Cosmic Sounds is many things: Psychedelic, politically engaged, funky to death, full of synths,
with an artwork to die for, a perfect crossover of African and Western culture: Music for the body and soul, Cosmic disco before the genre even existed. Did DJ Danielle Baldelli hear it
Was it ever played by Larry Levan or Mancuso In a pre-internet era, it's unlikely but not impossible. We are extremely honored in carrying the reissue of this gem and have treated the task with
utmost respect: both artwork and audio were restored by specialists, and liner notes were written by Temitope Kogbe, Afro-Funk expert who runs the Odion Livingston label, founded
with legendary producer Odion Iruoje. 38 years after its original release, the world is finally ready to hear Cosmic Sounds in all its glory.

Fresh from starting his own label Insult To Injury, Timothy Clerkin returns to Ransom Note Records with the 'Knife Edge Heart' EP. Three tracks of stirring techno for dark basements and warm hearts. Timothy is a very interesting man, but he's also the sort of person who'd rather let his music do the talking, so we'll move on swiftly. The MVP here is 'Knife Edge Heart', an unabashed pop song whose shimmering exterior is cut through with flashes of steely darkness. Frequent collaborator Natalie Reiss' glacial voice is held at the perfect level of remove, while Timothy allows his love of shoegaze to blossom with a guitar line that seems to extend like a ladder to the stars.'With You' bridges Timothy's opposing impulses, balancing sparkling synths and a celestial vocal sample with churning low-end, while 'Divisive' is paranoid warehouse techno at its very best. With his debut solo album out soon on Phantasy, Gabe Gurnsey of Factory Floor stops by for a lurching, seasick remix of 'Knife Edge Heart' that sounds like the onset of the robot apocalypse we've all been promised for so long. After cutting his teeth as one half of Eskimo Twins, Timothy launched his solo career in 2014 under the now-retired Heretic moniker. He's since released on labels including Throne of Blood, Hard Fist and Days of Being Wild. Timothy's last release on R$N was the 'Serenade' EP, which brought us plenty of special moments last year - most memorably Andrew Weatherall closing out his Houghton quarry set with 'Execute'. Here's to many more this summer and beyond.

The Allergies are back with another corking new single - Dance Now is a super-sweet slice of sista funk that packs the sass to shake your ass. Honey Larochelle just wants to dance now and that's what she's gonna do with The Allergies providing the jams! Throw in some killer sax licks from brass man extraordinaire, Mr Woodnote, and it's almost impossible not to get down to this stylish selection of delectable grooves.

These guys are becoming well known for their sought-after double-header 45 records which have a knack of quickly becoming collector's items, and it's easy to see why when they pack out their single releases with quality cuts like 'Fade Away (feat. Andy Cooper)'.

It's another classic fast rap attack from the Long Beach-based MC of Ugly Duckling fame, as he spits rhymes over the 60's inspired samples and fat beats. So, something here for both the dancers and the hip hop heads in one neat little package.

Flexuous, Synchronous , Capricious

Bit-Tuner's "Arabian Nights" is based on field recordings, tapes, radio snippets and sounds recorded and produced in Cairo. The gleaming heat of Egypt was processed into a grinding 40-minute live set, contrasting the layered atmospheres with Bit-Tuner's signature staccato beats.

Swirling sounds fall into place as the recording evolves. As blasts of wind carry away the dust, sights of a dense and vibrant metropolis are set free. After his previous works "The Japan Syndrome" and "The China Syndrome", Bit-Tuner's new recording "Arabian Nights" takes an edgy approach: Bit-Tuner extracts grainy physicalness from his sounds and brews them in his high-energy arrangements. It is this directness, that marks Bit-Tuner's distinctive qualities as a live act. He manages to tell stories through waves of sonic pressure.

A live performance by Bit-Tuner based on field recordings & tapes from Cairo.
Recorded live at Helsinki Klub, Zurich.

Texas-based electronic music producer Phillip Washington aka Cygnus was on bit of a hiatus since his phenomenal "Cosmos" long play on Fundamental Records, released near the end of 2016. With this EP, titled "ne0 ge0", he's breaking the silence and we're extremely happy to see it happening through Barba imprint. The record consists of 4 cuts; "Zone Shifting", "Vertexing", "ne0-ge0" and "Astronoot" which all share common qualities of his previous work - deep, spacey, richly textured and really well crafted. "Zone Shifting" is what electro in 2018 should sound like. Deep, emotional and futuristic but well grounded in the human condition through the vocal line which seems to haunt from the distance. "Vertexing" is a slightly more paced, moodier affair with slow enveloping Vangelis-esque synth lines bleeding all over traditional electro sounding beat. However, in this case that's exactly what's needed. Title track, "ne0-ge0" is the first one on the flip side and the busiest one. Creasing of multiple synth lines and pads is done in such an expertly elegant manner that you just can't resist but play it loud on a big soundsystem and see what it does to the dancefloor. And finally, record closes with "Astronoot", and as B2 tracks usually are - it's the deepest of them all, reserved for those heady moments when you need something to bring the magic to the next level.

On Respective Edges Of America — Oregon And Maine — Keith Kenniff Records Quiet Music At Night. 'when Things Are Calmer,' He Says. 'my Mind Is Less Distracted When I Know That Everything Is Dark Outside.' For Over A Decade, Such Has Been The Mode — Nocturnal, Unrushed, Using The Same Mini-cassette Recorder, "a Lovely Little Imperfect Way To Treat Sounds" — For One Of The Country's Most Understated Composers. Kenniff Has Housed Dozens Of Ambient Releases Under The Name Helios Since 2004, Alongside Post-classical Output As Goldmund, Shoegaze Pop With His Wife Hollie As Mint Julep, And Commissions For lm And Television. It Is A Reliably Transportive Body Of Work That's Earned Kenniff A Cult Following, And A Genuine Modesty That's Kept Him On The Fringes, Right Where He Prefers, In The Dark.

Kenniff Mostly Lets His Music Breathe Free Of Explanation, Open To Interpretation. As Listeners, We Follow Subtle Suggestions — The ery Sky On The Cover Of 2012's Moiety, The Countryside Daydream Of 2015's Yume — Extracting Meanings From Imagery And Inscriptions. Veriditas, The Sixth Helios Full-length, Shares Its Name With Twelfth-century Philosopher Hildegard Von Bingen's Notion Of "the Greening Power Of The Divine," The Term Derived From The Union Of Two Latin Words: Green And Truth. Bingen Saw The Abundance Of The Earth As Vitality To Be Cultivated, Interconnected With The Body And Spirit. Take The Concept In Concert With Veriditas' Vistas Of Sound, Gazing Beyond The Tree-lined Wonder On Its Artwork, And We Undoubtedly Recognize The Album's Rooting. Kenniff Elaborates, "while I'm Not A Very Spiritual Person As It Relates To A Religious Belief, I Do Feel An Overwhelming Connection Between The Aesthetics I nd Pleasing In My Experience Of Nature And My Experience Of Writing Music."

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."

The keeping of pets marks humans' attempt at taking possession of a part of reality that is not at his disposal. Dressing a piece of the real that lives according to entirely non-human rules and which only in the saddest case does not resist the discipline of the human symbolic order vehemently and in a sustained matter, is a violent act of protection. Because in the non-place of the real, all that which we are helpless in the face of looms: the non-logical and the nameless, the violence and the noise, yet also the unrestrained and unfiltered desire.The innocuous figure of the pet marks a gateway to an investigation of these eerie milieus, while electronic dance music lends itself to this investigation in an outstanding way. This constellation marks the subject of Column's 'Pets II.'

Column is the name of Cologne based renaissance man Jan Philipp Janzen, who, as chief emissary of Cologne's pop internationalism, has been playing the field in various functions for Von Spar, Cologne Tapes, Urlaub in Polen, Owen Pallett, Scout Niblett or The Field, and who has also, in one way or another, been involved in most relevant records coming out of Cologne for the past number of years. After his excellent solo debut 'Pets I' (Areal, 2016), Janzen presents another extraordinary record in 'Pets II,' perfectly complemented by another ghostly oil work of Burkhard Mönnich on the cover.Sonically, 'Pets II' marks a clear development for Column. In its exploration of the thresholds of the real, it sets two points of focus, corresponding with the split in sides A and B.

Side A, on which Janzen teams up with long-time friend myr. (PNN), explores the uncanny as a fissure of the symbolic order, and the subsequent breaking in of the real. It opens with two peaktime rockets that have their wooden, nether-regional groove narrated by grim, down-pitched vocals. The ethereal remix by Leibniz (hundert) seems to be observing the situation from a hiding place, and is the side's clandestine and no less dark closer.

Side B, for which Janzen invited studiomate Marvin Horsch (Dorfjungs/Beats in Space) along, delivers two swaying synthesizer workouts, the second of which, 'Molly and Swerve,' is directed firmly at the dancefloor again. What is at stake here is the transition between a free, undirected jouissance of the real and a more ordered becoming-lust. Here, as in Map.ache's (Kann/Giegling/Altin Village) remix which closes out 'Pets II,' it becomes clear what connections dance music can foster between a free, impersonal desire and the sphere of interpersonal wanting, but also the losses that are negotiated in it. Above all, however, it becomes evident what a courageous daring project 'Pets II' is in all of its conceptual and aesthetic determination; with Von Spar's standout 'Garzweiler' 12' (Altin Village & Mine, 2017), it documents a New Cologne Realism.

Sugardaddy are a UK electronic music duo formed in 2006 and is the musical brainchild of Tom Findlay (one half of Groove Armada) and singer song writer Tim Hutton (Hybrid, Groove Armada, Way Out West).

Hypnotise" has an altogether late 80's heavy, low slung, boogie vibe, caressed with beautifully haunting yet soulful vocals.

Greg Wilson remixes an extended rework, holding the vibe of the original and effortlessly extending certain aspects of the groove, creating a 9 minute dancefloor monster!

Situation are next up with a late night, deep house dub interpretation which builds to a discoesque guitar licked, infectious, yet hypnotic bombshell.

BitterSuite finish the release with a chunky funk fuelled version, full of slap bass and a bucketful of soaring, atmospheric synths, cleverly weaving those wonderful vocals and building to an electro jazz funk masterpiece.

Originally from West Yorkshire, but now resident in Manchester, composer, bassist and producer Phil France is probably best known as a key collaborator alongside Jason Swinscoe in the Cinematic Orchestra, where he co-wrote, arranged and produced on classic albums including Everyday, Man With The Movie Camera, Ma Fleur and also the triple award winning soundtrack for The Crimson Wing nature documentary. In 2013 France released his debut solo album, The Swimmer (GOND016), an emotive, epic record influenced by the great second wave of film composers including John Carpenter and Vangelis, as well as minimalist composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass

Five years later, France presents the follow up, the enigmatically titled, Circle, which again represents a very personal journey for the artist. For France the album is an extension of work he began on The Swimmer. A process he has described as: " blocks of sound containing intricate minimal arpeggiated patterns and electronic textures that develop and shift in subtle, original and melodic ways. The trancelike quality, mood and electronic character of title track Circle led France to think of the circular patterns which eventually became a potent concept for the album. "Ideas and fashions repeat themselves in cycles. Events are said to travel 'full circle' and this is important to me because it represents my own recent personal and musical journey after 15 years touring as bassist and composer with The Cinematic Orchestra. I consider circles to be a strong symbol of unity, strength and inclusiveness and ultimately I've aspired to make something beautiful with those values at its heart".

The album opens with the title track, Circle, built on a minimal looped pattern with melodic embellishment and shifting additional harmonic textures. Bells was developed from the arpeggiator and offers a nod to the melodicism and atmosphere of French electronic music. The Jackal features an idea originally developed for The Crimson Wing score but which finally bears fruit here. Cathedrals features an improvised intro, Philip Glass inspired organ and vocal textures inspired by the work of Colin Stetson. Finally, the album ends with a reprise of Circle this time featuring layered pianos. But it isn't the conclusion of the journey, for France: "The Circle is infinite - During the process of making this record, I have been constantly reminded that nothing ever stays the same and that all is in constant flux. The challenge for me is always to respond positively, be aware of and seize the opportunity for progression constant change provides" And it is that sense of movement and flow, but also calm and beauty that permeates Circle and make it such a worthy successor to The Swimmer.

The first release on the newly established Greyhound Days imprint comes from Christian Kroupa alias Alleged Witches, hailing from Slovenia, who proved his skills and innovation as a participant at the Red Bull Music Academy in 2014. Since then he became one of the most prominent names of Slovenia's techno and house scene, with making appearance on the mighty Fabric mix compilation, producing a remix of Alex Smoke for legendary Belgian label R&S, while also releasing a 12" entitled Serve The Spirits on R&S sub-label Meda Fury.»One Skilled In The Black Arts« EP consists of four tracks, meant for dictating the dance floor with their drum workout, as well as luring you into its deep ritualistic feel, with distant native tongues echo.For an extra wonderful hypnotic polyrhytms, a rework has been provided by Passarani, one of the Italian leading dance music producers and DJs, who continues to be an inspiration and providing his knowledge and skills to younger generations. While Bristol based Jacob Martin alias Hodge demonstrated his expertise in percussion, resulting in an slamming rework, not meant for the faint-hearted. Just shows, why Hodge is one of Bristol's most exciting new names.