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Alésia Cosmos was a collective of musicians led by Bruno de Chénerilles formed in the early 1980s in Strasbourg, France. The group consisted of Pascal Holtzer (guitar, synthesizer, tapes, drum machine, vocals), Pierre Clavreux (vocals, gong), Marie-Berthe Servier (vocals), Bruno (guitar, tapes, synthesizer, drum machine, vocals) and Tunisian percussionist Lotfi Ben Ayed (darbukas, bendir). In 1981 Bruno composed and wrote some sci-fi radio plays for French state radio channel France Culture. Under the influences of William Burroughs, John Cage, Pierre Henry and others, he developed tape music studio work. By 1982 he appeared for the first time under the name Alésia Cosmos Furi Show. It was a solo performance on guitar, voice, analog synth and tapes. This experimental show lead to a music project based on Bruno and Pascal's compositions to be performed and recorded with other musicians in the beginning of 1983.

Exclusivo! was the group's debut album recorded and self-released in 1983 on Planetarium. Pascal and Bruno would compose tunes in their personal home studios. Then they would bring the tapes, electronics, guitar lines and lyrics to experiment and rehearse with the other members of the group. Improvisations and adaptations brought more ideas and the album was recorded in a few days. The result was a musical mixing of electronic music, field recordings, North African and Asian percussion, electric guitars and voices, compositions and free improvisations. All four musicians take turns singing onomatopoeic phrases and backing vocals, even sometimes in an unknown language, a sort of mixed bag between Breton and Japanese. All songs have been remastered cut by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is housed in a replica of the 1983 cover and includes a 6-page insert with photos, lyrics, reviews and liner notes by Bruno de Chénerilles.

HIKARIGASASHIKOMU translates as ‘Light Shines In’, a Japanese phrase conveying a sense of hope in a difficult place. Opening new creative possibilities for Foodman, this astonishing album is an introspective yet hyperactive body of work, representing the clarity and light found after a period of self-exploration. While this is a deeply personal record, it also captures the now-universal sound of a brain stretched between 500 open tabs, multitasking into oblivion in a world in which attention deficit is a global media environment, not merely a privatized psychological malaise. Focusing more on the use of voice, the album incorporates Foodman’s own looped vocals, singing elements of Japanese children’s songs and playground rhymes, and his everyday thoughts. Despite its charm and innocence, this soundworld leaps around manically, fractures and dissolves. Foodman’s voice repeats, disassembles, speeds up and down and is bounced around deliriously, as sound elements call and respond around him. Structurally and vocally, influences are drawn from footwork, ghetto house, and baile funk, all of which are maximally abstracted into bursts of spiralling psychedelic effects.

Tiger Stripes unveils part one of ‘A Tiger Never Loses Its Stripes’ on Rekids. The series will culminate in the Swedish artist’s sophomore album later this year.

Sweden’s Tiger Stripes, aka Mikael Nordgren, drops the first part of the ‘A Tiger Never Loses Its Stripes’ EP series on Rekids. The EP previews his upcoming sophomore album, his first in two decades, due out later this year, and follows three recent releases and a remix for Dino Lenny on Matt Edwards’ Rekids label.

Tiger Stripes kicks off the ‘A Tiger Never Loses Its Stripes’ EP with ‘Slow’, a snappy groove driven by weighty bass and vocals that are as playful as they are drenched in soul. ‘Twelve’ picks up the pace with irresistible low-end and funky, jazz-inflected key riffs, before ‘Stay Hypnotic’ takes things somewhere more dream-like, pairing shimmering synth sequences with glitched-out percussion and fragmented vocal snippets on the flip. ‘Shape The Future’ closes the first instalment with a squelchy bassline, slightly off-key strings and gorgeous dubbed-out chord progressions, bringing a classy, club-ready finish to this preview of Tiger Stripes’ next album.

Founder of the Strange Idols label, Tiger Stripes has spent over two decades forging his own path with standout releases on Hot Creations, Kaoz Theory, Kwench Records, and more. After stepping back to focus on his indie-rock project Little Lies, he made a full return in 2024 and quickly recaptured the form that’s made him an international favourite, returning three times to Rekids since.

For its second chapter, Esoteric Ears switches up mood, presenting two tracks for extended sessions, memorable moments and special sunrises.

Lead track ‘Minute Machine’ comes from mysterious new entity Sektor 13. A sleek, contemporary take on Kraftwerkian Teutonic electronic funk, it slinks and slides its way onto any open open-minded dancefloor.

On the flip, bonafide legend Carl Finlow provides a remix, operating under his renowned Random Factor alias. This retains the spirit and vibe of the original, but amps up the funk and composition, swaggering its way into an epic emotional crescendo. Up there with Random Factor's finest work, it’s a true honour to share this with the world. Gracias Sr. Finlow.

Arno E. Mathieu returns with a new EP on Musiq Voyage

A Mediterranean horizon in motion.
Arno E. Mathieu returns with a new Balearic journey where electronic disco grooves meet funky guitar, atmospheric synthesizers, mystic chants and driving percussion.
Rooted in the warmth of the Mediterranean but built for movement, the EP unfolds like an endless landscape — from the coastline to the distant horizon. Organic guitar lines, hypnotic bass and percussive rhythms lock into spacious electronic textures, creating a sound that feels simultaneously earthy, cosmic and deeply danceable.
Balearic in spirit, disco at heart, house and psychedelic in atmosphere and driven by a strong sense of place.
After releases and remixes connected with labels and artists including Compost, Real Tone, Earthrumental, Joe Claussell, I:Cube, Mark E, Beanfield and Max Essa, Arno E. Mathieu continues to build a body of work where dance music becomes a form of landscape painting.
Sun on the water. Bass beneath the feet. Guitar in the distance. The horizon keeps moving.

TORRE return to Musiq Voyage with Phocaea Vol. 2, a new chapter in their ongoing Mediterranean journey. The Aix-en-Provence duo, Jean-Marc and Patrick Torre, deliver two original tracks, Sormiou and Les Sirènes du Frioul, inspired by Marseille, its coastline and the deep connection between the city and the sea. Blending disco, house, boogie and Balearic influences, TORRE once again shape a warm, hypnotic and distinctly Mediterranean sound.

The EP is completed by two remixes from leading figures of the Italian underground. *Gigi Testa, one of the most respected names in Naples’ deep house scene, brings his signature soulful, deep and groove-driven approach to the TORRE sound, while **Giovanni Damico* delivers a refined rework infused with funk, cosmic textures and dancefloor energy. Together, the four tracks offer different perspectives on the same Mediterranean landscape, moving seamlessly from sunlit afternoons to late-night club atmospheres.

With more than two decades of musical exploration behind them, TORRE have built a distinctive sound between disco, house and electronic music, earning support from artists such as Carl Craig and releasing underground favourites including Corps à Corps and Baleora. With Phocaea Vol. 2, Musiq Voyage and TORRE continue to explore their own Mediterranean mythology — from the turquoise waters of Sormiou to the mysterious shores of Frioul — with a release that feels equally at home on a Balearic beach, a Marseille terrace or a late-night dancefloor.

BOOTS FOR DANCING — “DANCE & RESIST”

A band born from a UK-only JBs compilation and a refusal to be bored by rockism, Boots For Dancing present “Dance & Resist” — ten tracks of funk, protest, and dancefloor testimony.

Boots For Dancing (BFD) trace their roots to probably one single record: Giving Up Food For Funk, a UK-only JBs compilation released in March 1976. The band cross-pollinated P-Funk with the raw energy of Richard Hell & The Voidoids and No Wave. They were chasing adeliberate drift away from the “1,2,3,4” boredom of rockist punk, and toward something else entirely, band members all pulling in different musical directions.

The band came up during the era of the euphemistically-named Standard Music Business Contract — young, naive, and part of Thatcher’s mass youth unemployed, willing to be exploited by the “honest capitalism” of the music industry with little expectation of reward. Anything to get off the Giro.

About the Album

The title Dance & Resist captures the band’s guiding contradiction: that you can acclaim and celebrate something while still seeking to change, challenge, disrupt, or overturn it — the same spirit found decades later in people doing the Electric Slide at BLM protests.

Bridgeport Records is a new venture from Windy City house heads Jerry Morrison and Vick Lavender, and they kick off with a serious EP of delicious Chicago house depths from some standout stars. Glenn Underground opens up with one of his deepest and most serene sounds in some time: 'Slander' rides a rolling kick drum and is infused with dreamy, wispy pads and gentle cosmic details that empties your mind perfectly. Anthony Nicholson brings a little funk to the dancefloor with his equally classy 'Boogie Aftermath' and its jazzy melodies, while Lavender himself offers 'Deep Funk Dance', a timeless and soul-drenched gem. Dejay Cease's closer 'Seeing Is Believing' has a more pronounced, subtly off-kilter groove with loungey piano chords and lush strings. Pure class.

Released by Polydor Records on April 1, 1972, Mandrill Is is the second album by Mandrill, the Brooklyn seven-piece led by brothers Carlos, Lou, and Ric Wilson.


Recorded at Electric Lady Studios during the winter of 1971?72, it finds the band refining the adventurous blend of funk, soul, jazz, rock, and Latin rhythms established on their acclaimed debut. With its powerful horn section, deep grooves, percussion-rich arrangements, and flashes of psychedelia and jazz-rock, Mandrill Is sounds both tighter and more ambitious than its predecessor. "Ape Is High" and the horn-driven "Git It All" deliver the album's most immediate funk, while "Cohelo" and "Kofijahm" explore Latin and Afro-diasporic rhythmic traditions. "Children of the Sun" and "Lord of the Golden Baboon" stretch further into expansive, progressive territory, revealing a band as interested in atmosphere, arrangement, and instrumental interplay as in the groove itself. The album's strength lies precisely in that refusal to settle into one category. Mandrill use funk as a foundation for moving freely between soul, jazz, rock, Latin music, and psychedelic textures, creating a sound that is unmistakably their own.


Mandrill Is captures the group at an important early peak: more focused and confident than their debut, yet still willing to follow the music wherever it leads. Pressed on 180g vinyl.

Four tracks moving between deep house warmth and dub house shadow. please welcome two very talented italian producers from pisa. funksonik had an exceptional track on the goodies 4 u. The record stays close to the floor, understated, built more for the peak of a long night than the first hour.

Following the success of the inaugural all-Jiri Jiri edition, Batov Records returns with the second instalment of its Give Me Disco series, once again curated by label co-founder and globe-trotting selector DJ Kobayashi. Rather than revisiting familiar disco classics, Give Me Disco Vol. 02 digs deeper, bringing together four dancefloor discoveries from across Europe and Asia, including two previously unreleased tracks available here for the first time.

Spanning Portuguese jazz-funk, Norwegian cosmic oddities, Japanese-inspired psychedelic disco and cinematic groove, the EP reflects the breadth of Kobayashi's record bag - a carefully assembled selection of tracks that have soundtracked his DJ sets for years alongside exclusive material rescued from the vaults.

Opening the record is The Bam Jam Band's brilliantly understated "Theme", a soaring slice of jazz-infused disco from Portuguese musicians Sérgio Alves and Pedro Tenreiro. Originally released only as a now long-sold-out 7 inch on Mad About Records, the track has become one of Kobayashi's trusted secret weapons, championed by discerning selectors including Darryn Jones and Red Greg. Built around Alves' dazzling synthesiser work, "Theme" finally gets the wider audience it deserves. The EP's first exclusive arrives courtesy of D. Apal, instrumentalist and member of Norway's Flammer Dance Band. His only solo release, issued on the band's Lysketrekk Records, has become a cult favourite among adventurous record collectors. Batov now unveils the previously unreleased "60 Meter'n (Rytme)", an extended instrumental dub that strips away the vocals to let the handclaps, cavernous bassline, dub effects and wonderfully eccentric synthesisers breathe, transforming an underground favourite into an irresistible dancefloor weapon.

Side B opens with YĪN YĪN's "Tokyo Disco", taken from the band's acclaimed third album Mount Matsu on Glitterbeat Records. Long-time admirers of the Dutch quartet, Kobayashi has championed them since first hearing the breakthrough pairing of "Dis ̄ kô Dis ̄ kô" and "Dion Ysiusk" on Bongo Joe. Since then, he has hosted the band twice on Soho Radio and supported them live in London. "Tokyo Disco" perfectly captures YĪN YĪN's distinctive blend of Japanese-inspired psychedelia, Southeast Asian influences, post-punk funk and shimmering disco grooves, making it a natural fit for the Give Me Disco series.

Closing the EP is another exclusive from Jiri Jiri, whose contribution helped launch the series on Vol. 01. Ahead of their forthcoming album later this year, the duo unveil the previously unreleased "Spaghetti Western", a wonderfully off-kilter fusion of Morricone-esque cinematic atmosphere, taut funk rhythms and the soulful modern groove of SAULT. Equal parts soundtrack and dancefloor curveball, it provides a fitting finale while offering another tantalising glimpse of what's still to come. With two exclusive cuts sitting alongside two carefully chosen modern classics, Give Me Disco Vol. 02 is another lovingly curated snapshot of DJ Kobayashi's musical universe: borderless, groove-driven and unapologetically built for adventurous DJs, discerning collectors and open minded dancefloors alike.

The Disco Express presents Best of 2026 - a deluxe, special edition 12" pink vinyl celebrating six of our favourite records from another landmark year on the label.

Showcasing the breadth of The Disco Express sound, the compilation journeys through funk-fuelled disco, jackin’ house, soulful grooves and peak-time dancefloor energy, bringing together some of the standout moments from our 2026 catalogue.

Featuring music from Make It Disco, Bustin’ Loose, MGR Mike, Ayce & Spirit of House, LEFTI, La Felix and more, Best of 2026 captures a label continuing to push forward while staying firmly rooted in the spirit of disco.

From the feel-good vocal energy of “What You Gonna Say” and the funk-driven swagger of “Less Struggle, More Hustle”, through to the 70's inspired “The Movers”, the soulful lift of “Stronger” and the irresistible drum rhythms of “Muchacho” and “Run It Up”, this is music made first and foremost for the dancefloor.

The music featured on Best of 2026 has already picked up support from some of the world’s most respected selectors, including Roger Sanchez, Danny Rampling, Marco Carola, Jamie Jones, Joseph Capriati, Paco Osuna, Claptone, Danny Krivit, Sam Divine and Arthur Baker, alongside many more.

Pressed on limited edition pink vinyl, Best of 2026 is a snapshot of The Disco Express in full motion.

Original disco for 21st century dance floors.

And this train ain't slowing down anytime soon…

LA-based producer Real Bad Man and multi-JUNO Award winning Toronto-based artist TOBi release their collaborative album The Perfect Blue via the producer’s own Real Bad Man Records. The album collects a diverse array of sounds,highlighted by the album’s two advance singles “When I’m Home, ” which Stereogum described as “a moody,graceful soul song with a serious groove, ” and the funk-laden “Over The Moon, ” released last week.

TOBi and Real Bad Man’s work together on The Perfect Blue encapsulates the producer’s mission for 2025, a year in which he released intricate collaborative albums with a wide swath of artists. His work with TOBi was seamless and began quickly after the two first met, finding kinship in their ability to push past their comfort zones in genre and familiar sounds. The result is eclectic and boundless, jumping from straightforward and unflinchingly personal rap moments, to the flared funk of “Over the Moon” and understated contemporary soul flourishes that prove the Toronto emcee can confidently make each of these sounds his own.

The Perfect Blue marks Real Bad Man’s fifth full-length collaborative album of the year, bookending a prolific 2025 that began with his collaborative album with ZelooperZ, Dear Psilocybin. Over a celebrated catalog spanning years, Real Bad Man, also known as Adam Jay Weissman, has cemented himself as a force in underground hip-hop, but his impact extends beyond work with contemporaries like Boldy James, Pink Siifu, Blue and more. Each of Weissman’s five collaborative albums this year showcases a different side of his craft, appeasing fans familiar with his gritty hip-hop production on his third album with Boldy James Conversational Pieces. He also surprised listeners with a bold turn in sonic direction, well outside of his traditional production palette, with his reunion with former Pollyn bandmate Genevieve Artadi on Everything Is Under Control.

Nigerian-born, Toronto-raised artist TOBi has carved out a distinct lane for himself with a celebrated discography of releases that explore themes of vulnerability, self-reflection and contemporary masculinity with a pointed nuance. His 2023 album PANIC swept the rap categories (Best Rap Album, Best Rap Single for “Someone I Knew”) at the 2024 JUNO Awards and his catalog has been praised by the likes of Billboard, Rolling Stone, i-D and more. Expanding on his ELEMENTS project series with the second volume released earlier this year to high praise, The Perfect Blue cements TOBi’s bonafides as an adept collaborator.

Als Adebowale Osunnibu mit dem, was später ,Kilofese" werden sollte, auf uns zukam, wussten wir, dass er etwas Besonderes hatte. Abgesehen von Fela Kutis eigener Band ,Egypt 80" (die mittlerweile von seinem Sohn Seun Kuti geleitet wird) ist es erstaunlich selten, dass Afrobeat-Musik in ihrer Heimatstadt Lagos, Nigeria, gemacht wird. Tatsächlich spielte Adebowale viele Jahre lang bei Egypt 80 am Baritonsaxophon und vertiefte so sein Verständnis für die Musik, mit der er aufgewachsen war. Als er uns erzählte, dass er seine eigene Musik schuf, seine Stimme in den Vordergrund stellte und mit der nächsten Generation von Studenten in Lagos zusammenarbeitete, konnten wir es daher kaum erwarten, sie zu hören. Angesichts seiner Ausbildung in der traditionsreichsten Afrobeat-Band aller Zeiten hätte uns das, was er uns schickte, nicht überraschen dürfen: ein Album voller kraftvoller Gesangspassagen, kaskadenartiger Bläserlinien und unerbittlich treibender Grooves. Vom langsam aufbauenden ,AJO" bis zum rasanten ,Kilofese" wird jeder Song von einem rhythmischen Kraftpaket getragen, um Botschaften von Freiheit, Kultur und Freude zu vermitteln. ,Kilofese", was auf Yoruba ,Tu, was du tun willst" bedeutet, steht in direktem Gegensatz zur staatlichen Kontrolle. Der Grundpfeiler des Afrobeat, der sich von seinen Vorgängern Highlife und Funk unterscheidet, ist die Verachtung der Kolonialherrschaft, der staatlichen Korruption und der Unterdrückung des einfachen Volkes. Mit einem Fundament aus James-Brown-inspiriertem Funk, yorubanischer Sensibilität und Tony Allens genialem Schlagzeugspiel hat Fela Kuti diese Gefühle in Nigeria und dem Rest der Welt verbreitet - und sie hallen über Jahrzehnte hinweg bis in den heutigen Tag nach. ,Kilofese" ist ein Album, das diesen Sound mit Originalität an zukünftige Generationen weitergibt und dabei die Kraft des klassischen Afrobeat bewahrt. Für Fans von Fela Kuti, Ebo Taylor, Budos Band, Quantic

Light Touches Records is devoted to shed new lights on hot rarities, unknown grooves as well as forgotten classics.

As the attention to the older volume is rising, Light Touches camp pushes things further with four uncompromising tunes.
On A side, “Do It This Way” is an intense lost disco roller with oniric string machine and thundering bass, while “It’s True” goes deeper with a relentless Philly groove with psychedelic tones. On the flipside, “Jus’ta Funky Jam” opens things up with some killer groovy arrangement, and “Dance With You” closes the release with a dreamy, mellow jazzfunk tune.

All tracks have been carefully edited without overdubs, in order to bring the spirit of classic disco manipulators to today’s dancefloors!

12” limited to 300 copies (no digital).

Among the most influential hip-hop artists to emerge in the rapid creative expansion of the early 1990s, Queens duo Organized Konfusion helped reshape rap's aesthetic horizons with the 1991 release of a groundbreaking self-titled album. A dizzying display of lyrical dexterity and forward-thinking production, Organized Konfusion helped lay the foundation for what would become underground hip-hop, with intricate wordplay and cerebral rhyme structures. Both Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po shine throughout the album, revealing
the immense talent that would later establish Monch as one of hip-hop's most revered voices and spark Po's collaborations with producers like Danger Mouse, Madlib, Large Professor, Oh No, and more. From playful nostalgia to sharp social commentary to surreal linguistic explorations, the duo navigates chaotic drum breaks with dense rhyme patterns, vivid imagery, and ever-shifting narratives. After decades of limited availability and unofficial bootlegs, this is the first official vinyl reissue of Organized Konfusion since its1991 release. Featuring three rare bonus tracks, this 35th anniversary edition is available on 2LP and CD, giving a long overdue spotlight to one of hip-hop's most important albums.

Während West-Coast-Hip-Hop oft auf eine begrenzte Auswahl an Klängen und Stilen reduziert wird, war die Realität des kalifornischen Rap schon immer weitaus vielfältiger. Nirgendwo wird dies deutlicher als in Los Angeles, wo das ikonische G-Funk-Erbe neben einer florierenden Independent-Szene besteht, die den Hip-Hop in neue Richtungen treibt. Nur wenige Künstler verkörpern diese Schnittstelle so natürlich wie Blu. Seit langem von den charakteristischen Klängen seiner Heimatstadt inspiriert und zugleich verwurzelt in der Lyrik und dem Soul der L.A.-Underground-Szene, schlägt der gefeierte MC mühelos eine Brücke zwischen diesen Welten. Sein neues Projekt ,LA" ist eine prägnante Essenz dieser künstlerischen Identität, die den klassischen West-Coast-Sounds Tribut zollt und zugleich ein vielschichtiges Porträt des Lebens in der Stadt der Engel zeichnet. Um diese Vision zum Leben zu erwecken, tat sich Blu mit dem Produzenten Sndtrak aus Oakland zusammen, einem Mitglied von 9th Wonders Produktionskollektiv ,Soul Council", das für seine Arbeit mit Larry June, Rapsody und Smif-N-Wessun bekannt ist. Indem er klassische West-Coast-Grooves durch eine frische Perspektive neu interpretiert, schafft Sndtrak den idealen Hintergrund für Blus prägnante Texte und seine bodenständige Erzählkunst. Mit Beiträgen von Volume 10, Thurz, MED, Iman Omari, Trizz, ICECOLDBISHOP und weiteren Künstlern unterstreicht ,LA" die kreative Entwicklung in einer der dynamischsten Städte des Hip-Hop.

Repress!

Dan Kye is the mysteriously evoked moniker from multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocal sensation Jordan Rakei. The New Zealand-born artist - who now resides in London - presents his first long-player from Dan Kye, ‘Small Moments’, on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section INTL. An ode to the dancefloor, the musical project was born out of Jordan’s lockdown experience, created from the comfort of his own home. Recorded with just a laptop, extra live instruments and guest musicians, ‘Small Moments’ seamlessly transcends across electronica, jazz and funk, with each genre being effortlessly fused with Jordan’s melancholy vocals. Allowing himself to push the boundaries, Jordan’s Dan Kye moniker draws on the energetic and uplifting elements of house and techno and perfectly mixes it with the sultry vocals and emotion that come with the live elements we know and love from Jordan Rakei. The record offers listeners a journey through more floor-heavy tracks such as ‘Mogeri’ and ‘Raro’ to more groove infused offerings such as ‘Rainbow Road’ (which is named after one of the maps in Mario Kart and inspired by the energy of Prince’s iconic live concert at The Aladdin in Las Vegas), whilst tracks, like ‘Sober’, take on a more lyrical and anthemic feel.

Jordan Rakei: “Rhythm Section INTL was my entry point into dancefloor orientated music, and it was Bradley who asked me whether I could head in that direction so he could play my music out in the clubs. Dan Kye has still got melodies, but the main focus is to keep it high energy.”

After meeting Bradley Zero online whilst living in Australia, Jordan eventually moved to London in 2014. The same day he landed, he went straight to a Rhythm Section party to meet Bradley, and it was here that he first got a taste for house music. He enjoyed Rhythm Section INTL’s ability to draw on both live and electronic talent; and thus, after Bradley asked him for some productions for the parties, the idea for Dan Kye was born. ‘Small Moments’ is a musical masterpiece that can be enjoyed as much on the dancefloor as it can in the comfort of your own home and is a perfect step into Jordan’s landscape and idealism of dance orientated music.

Bradley Zero - “In around 2014 the proprietor of the famous Northside Records in Melbourne handed me a self released 12” from a new, unknown artist based in Brisbane. It was Jordan Rakei - Franklin’s Room. I’d been home almost a year before I actually got round to listening to it and I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I lay down on the sofa, put the record on and was transported! The Dan Kye project is a testament to the experimental and independent ethos Jordan lives by and is a product of an artist reaching full stride but not afraid to still try something new. This ‘Small Moments’ LP was conceived in a record store, born in a club on Rye Lane and is now flying the nest, throwing caution to the wind and making a bold statement.”

Early in 2018 he unveiled Zoning Out, Volume 1, an album intended for chilling while deep in thought, or for getting into that crucial head-nod zone, like when the DJ drops the dopest beat. With listeners ready for more rhythmic brain-food, Emapea provides with the anticipated next installment: Zoning Out, Volume 2. Developing the theme of Volume 1, Emapea takes his jazzy sensibilities and fresh drum patterns and ups the ante, delivering 18 mandatory cuts that swerve and shimmy while exhibiting pure dopeness. Take "Last Cypher," which is an infectious funk- hip- hop hybrid that flows with more than a few surprise embellishments. There's also the low-rider spy-hop of "Big Small Talks"; "Tantra" with its smooth, old school ride; the sensual boom bap of "Blue Almonds"; and the infectious, latin-lounge-tinged "Rainy Day". These are no- nonsense beat compositions, perfect for thinking, for grooving, for dreaming, for zoning out. Emapea and Cold Busted come correct once again.

Following up 2007s well received X-dub was the Phalaenopsis 12inch that came out later that year. A track selection that came from the same hyped mysterious MySpace track folder, but now transmitted through Frustrated Funks subsidiary, the now defunct Frantic Flowers imprint that was emerging through the early Clone channels. Signing there, without the staffs knowledge of the producers identity, further muddied the waters. Exploring a more housy dub-techno vibe and diving deeper into experimental dub territory. And with it deploying an even bigger smokescreen around Ovatows real identity. Both Phalaenopsis versions re-appear now, for the first time after almost 20 years, fully retouched and remastered, together with an unknown unreleased track (edit) called So It Goes. This is the second in a series of Ovatow work, revived for the heads that appreciate the foggy deep of the Undacurrnt.