quête:gala

"...don't ask if there will ever be a Volume 2. We don't know yet. What we do know is that if we ever come across a similar tour de force as Don McCaslin's composition, Praise Poems, then there will certainly be one..." These were the final words of the sales notes for Praise Poems Volume 1 - which we proudly released earlier this year. And indeed, since then, we have discovered a tune which led us to continue to curate this series of obscure, soulful, jazzy and spiritual sounds from back in the day. The song to which we refer to is Abraham Battat's jazz-samba masterpiece, Fly Away. Fly Away is a righteous combination of sonorous jazz guitar, crackling drums and warm acoustic piano. Floating through the tones as if in a private concert for you in your very living room, it is an earnest, honest vocal performance bringing a rainbow message of freedom and liberty to the world. This is the standard by which we judged the entirety of this compilation. Though they may be known in some circles, selections by Richard Martian, Larry Covin, and The Gingerbread Express are in the same category of pure beauty. Of course, good luck finding a copy of Larry Covin's Masquerade or the Portis Brothers' Summer Love. The single hit you receive while doing an online search is the exact same copy from which we took the master. To find a needle in a haystack is a cakewalk compared to turning up a copy of some of these gems to be found here.

Drum & Bass duo The Prototypes, AKA Chris Garvey and Nick White release their much anticipated debut album 'City of Gold' on Viper Recordings. Already one of the hottest acts in the UK Drum & Bass club scene, The Prototypes are reaching new heights with their debut LP which showcases their trademark club sound, vocal anthems plus a few masterful tempo variations which will leave the listener wanting more.

This vinyl album sampler contains two of their biggest hits from last year with 'Pale Blue Dot' backed with 'Humanoid', both of which went #1 on the Beatport D&B charts.

'Pale Blue Dot'
Kicking off with a mysterious, immersive space-themed introduction, 'Pale Blue Dot' transports the rave into the far reaches of the universe. Building up the anticipation with rising synths, 'Pale Blue Dot' transforms into a dancefloor weapon. Crash landing with a stripped back, infectious melody and churning bass, the alien sounds of 'Pale Blue Dot' are sure to get the rave moving.

'Humanoid'
The B-side stays true to The Prototypes' heavy hitting, galactic-inspired sound, with the whirring 'Humanoid'. Exciting and rhythmical use of synth patterns alongside vocal interjections make this the ideal follow up to the hugely popular 'Pale Blue Dot.'

Six years on from his debut album on Cadenza, Swiss DJ/producer Mirko Loko comes with the follow up to 2009's 'Seventynine' as he catapults us into the techno and electronica galaxy with 'Comet Plan'. 'Un voyage entre toute mes influences,' Mirko Loko shares, breaking into his mother tongue to describe the essence of his sophomore longplayer that was conceived in Berlin and later birthed in his hometown of Lausanne after a two-year gestation period. Literally translated as 'to travel between my influences', it's a fitting summation of an artist whose work has respectfully mined early inspiration from Detroit and Chicago that laid the foundations of the emotion-filled productions that we know of him from today. In addition to this, Mirko sees his connection with Luciano's Cadenza Music, a relationship that's been in existence since dot one and saw the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Melchoir, Pedro and Rahdoo make up one of the most innovative crews in dance music, as leaving an indelible imprint on his musical DNA to this day. It's Mirko's strong sense of musical identity that is at the core of 'Comet Plan', a work that's equally informed by the artist's spiritual connection with the Motor City as his halcyon Cadenza roots. And one thing's for sure; he knows how to captivate: take 'Venus' whose trickles of melody and syncopated drum rhythms increases in intensity with each bar towards an eerie crescendo. Then there's 'U Special' that builds the kind of subtle party vibes you could imagine Luciano dropping to create one of those moments to a heaving blissed out dancefloor. 'Kolor' - the album's early single (also remixed by Carl Craig as part of an excellent EP package) is sprinkled with a dusting of xylophones, chimes and other bells as the melody is driven forward for a heady trip across the electronic galaxy.

Another Various Artists special from the mighty Bokhari camp...

Two fresh tracks from the Lord Lucan-esque disappearing Russian, Kirill Tipo, whom we've been chasing since 2012!

Creta Kano on the flip gives us a slice of electro that sounds like it could have been made in 1988, with a bassline that'll be in your head for days. Still high from the Scott Grooves props of his last venture with Bokhari, Joe Europe returns with another slice of deepness for those who like some musical content in their house !

30drop deepens in the mystique of Sacred Geometry with its second release, Vortex Resonance EP. Based on the theoretical and intentional, but not formal, Techno foundational precepts, a deliberately contemporary stylistic overdevelopment is build. This time, we find four cuts that highlight the rhythm in view if the Space dance floor. Beating pulses are interwoven with cosmic atmospheres to travel beyond our planetary borders.

Repress

Part 1 of Slam's Reverse Proceed Interpretations with reworks from Planetary Assault Systems, Flug, Edit Select & Slam themselves.

Confirmed Press & Promo:

Press - * DJ Mag, Mixmag, Tilllate, Raveline, Groove, Daily Record, Edinburgh Evening News, TopDJ Ua, Nightshade Mag, Nitebeat, Posivision, DJ Times, Time Out NY. Sound Effect Magazine

Radio - * Carl Cox Global, Laurent Garnier Radio, Kiss 100, Ministry of Sound, Galaxy Network, Radio Scotland, Dinamo FM, Acik Radio, BBC Radio Ulster, Future Radio, Reconwarriors, The Beat Delivery, Anton Banks, XM Satellite Radio, RTE. Dance Under The Blue Moon (Anja Schneider), WHCR, KVRX, Power FM, Dinamo FM, Rise, Pulse Radio, Proton Radio, BBC Radio Cardiff, The Radio Dept, Fresh FM (Holland), Mystic Vibes (NYC), Show B, An Taobh Tuathail, RTE RnaG, Untitled Music, Ibiza Sonica, 88.1FM WESU (USA), Sutil Sensations. Global Dance Sessions

Online - * Soundwall.IT, Ibiza Voice, Radio Magnetic, Mixxradio.fr, CHRY, WESU, Untitledmusic, Ibiza Global Radio, Paris_One Reverse, Doce Pulgadas Spain, Ibiza Sonica, Andres Aguirre - KVRX student radio, FACT, Little White Earbuds, mnml ssgs, Gridface.

Schlammpeitziger's album yields even more fruit. Six weeks after the release of his longplayer "What's Fruit" Pingipung releases this 12inch EP with remixes. The motley set of six electronic musicians and bands dice Schlammpeitziger's countless melodies into a delicious fruit salad! Candie Hank (Patric Catani) deals with the title track "What's Fruit" and beams the mantra-like vocals of the original unerringly to the dancefloor. Andreas Dorau, the infamous hero of German New Wave music form the 80s, is a year long companion of Schlammpeitziger. He sings about autumn leaves, on top of the instrumental hit "Balcony Sofaune", which is transformed into a disco piece by Dorau's producer sdfkt. (Golden Pudel Club, Hamburg). Springintgut dedicates himself to the complex melodic layers of "Pipe Claphorse", waves a giddy tambourine and tops it off with a three voiced cello chorus. The B side is opened by Mouse On Mars who turn "Balcony Sofaune" into an ever growing and collapsing bass monster, while focusing on the bold brass theme of the original. Thomas Mahmoud Zahl slows it down with a head- nodder. He thwarts the melancholy of "Schneid ein Stück aus der Zeit" with a stoically bouncing beat, which dubs and grooves like it wants to go on forever. Dub-Master hey (one half of Pingipung's Hey-Ø- Hansen) sends the same track through his studio, offers new harmonies with his quiet acoustic guitar and sugars it all with a galactic vocoder.

Davide Squillace, the Italian DJ and producer behind the This And That Lab and Hideout imprints, has kept up a hugely productive schedule since the 1990s, and lands on Luciano's Cadenza Music this fall with the 'Goiânia' single release. Previous musical output on a multitude of labels such as Primate, his own Sketch Music & Minisketch labels, Ovum, Supernature and M_nus has also seen the artist collaborate with plenty; Guti, Martin Buttrich and Philip Bader among those who he has conjured up some inventive and dancefloor-centric minimal electronic music with. On the lead track 'Goiânia', Squillace opens up a highly musical pot of orchestral stabs and brass hits, morphing bottom end and freestyle synth licks, cavorting around a steady percussive beat to great effect.'Blossom' comes heavier in vibe, but maintaining the classical atmosphere developed on the EP's opener. Pizzicato synths play a call and response with dramatic strings whilst an electro tinged drum pattern and sizzling hats lay the foundations of a track with more than a nod to the classic house sounds developed on labels like Innervisions and Ibadan. 'Unit 9 closes the release, and Squillace goes on a Galactic ride through meteoritic bleeps and humungous pads for a cosmic and pacey techno number, dubbing it up midway for a most enjoyable ride and a fitting closure to a classy release on Cadenza.

For this 14th release, we give you the opportunity to grab 6 fantastic trax done by one of today's hotest producer from germany : ANDREAS GEHM aka ELEC PT1.After a bunch of releases on MATHEMATICS, BUNKER, CHIWAX, SNUFF TRAX, he sent us his brand new tracks & we felt it was so good that we decided to release them straight !His sound is firmly rooted in proto-house and acid. A whirlwind of crystalline electronics, playful synthesizer riffs (with a dash of original chi-town jack thrown in), it comes on like a particularly cosmic jam session between Stevie Poindexter & drexcya. Jack Attack ! On this evidence, Andreas is clearly one to watch

Snuff Trax celebrates magic record release number 010: - Happy Jackin Birthday!' For this little anniversary we asked four great artists to rework chosen tracks from the label`s back catalogue. Leading us off, Mr White (you know him from his collaboration with Larry Heard) made an edit of Snuff Crew`s - Are You House'. Followed by Humandrone from Tokyo remixing Perseus Traxx - - Don`t Feel Alone'. On the flipside you hear a remix treatment for Raiders of the lost ARP - - Stealing My Love' made by our man Takeshi Kouzuki of Kobe/Japan. And last but not least DimDJ from Thessaloniki created his own version of - Galaxian Journey' by Elec Pt.1

The second of the Decadub vinyl-only releases dedicates three of its four sides to a volley of woozy and twisted footwork from most of the key members of Chicago's Teklife crew. Side One starts with DJ Rashad and Gant Man's squiggly 303 banger 'Acid Life' and moves onto Taso & Djunya's Darwinian banger 'Only The Strong Will Survive'. Side Two descends into DJ Spinn's bombastic 'All My Teklife' and then Earl, Rashad & Taye's 'Bombaklot' which takes Hyperdub full circle with a yardcore bomb like a 2014 upgrade of the label's early days. Side Three leads with DJ Earl's immaculate diva vocal cut-up of 'I'm Gonna Get You', then moves on into DJ Taye's fizzling R&B jam 'Get Em Up' and the stone cold, warped humour of 'Icemaster' by Heavee. On the fourth and final side, Tokyo-based ally Quarta330 returns to craft 'Hanabi', an epic, uptempo synthesiser jam. Young gun Champion follows with 'Power Cut', its minimal, energetic and militant kicks and bass molded with cowbell and lots of tight edits, before dropping some neat keys and a warping bassline two thirds in. Ikonika finishes things off with the solemn march of 'Tug Zone', opening slow but building in flickering high hats and gaseous cymbals into a track which could have emanated from Battlestar Galactica.

MF DOOM is the man in the iron mask. The most mysterious figure in hip-hop has also become one of the most popular, supplying beats and rhymes for Gorillaz, De La Soul, Madlib, Danger Mouse, and Wu-Tang Clan, and drawing praise from heavyweights like Just Blaze, Nas, and Mos Def. Since 2002, DOOM has released numerous volumes of Special Herbs, one of the longest-running instrumental series in hip-hop history. Now, volumes three and four of the acclaimed series are available on vinyl for the first time in years. With obscure loops and dusty samples galore, Special Herbs Vol. 3 & 4 is a must-have for any DOOM fan or hip-hop head. Also includes a limited-edition bonus 7', featuring two beats from DOOM's days as a member of 90s hip-hop trio KMD.

Next up on Magic Feet is a release by Dark Strands.

Tony's first release came via the first Magic Feet label sampler. Since then his releases have caught the attention of a number of acclaimed DJ's, with Daniel Avery citing one of Tonys tracks as one of the best he had heard last year.

This is Tonys first full vinyl release and shows exactly what he is capable of.
The title track 'Return Of The Oscillator' has had people running to the booth every time its been played from London to Croatia, as well as being fully road tested at ALFOS by Sean Johnston who also provides a superb remix under his Hardway Bros guise.

The second track 'Galactic' slows the pace down and is perfect for those warm up sets.

More extra-terrestrial, technoid vibrations from the Ill River nucleus.
This latest transmission delivered by the one and only Hakim Murphy; and received through biosynthesized artefacts planted on Earth by the higher civilizations during the Great Experiment.

Reports of strange noises in the sky have been circulating since 2010, posing many questions as to their origin.
Secretly, III Rivers have been communicating with the space beings, securing their place in the interstellar Shangri-la when at last we finally transcend the cosmos.

"Smog" is the initial signal to land - beginning with cascading bleeps and sonars before a buzzing sawtooth assumes first contact. Proceeding to encapsulate all Earthlings with its electromagnetic hum - it's no wonder people are rushing to the top of apartment blocks to try and bootleg this shit on their phones.

"Vortex" is next, taking us right through the wormhole into the domain of machine-elves and humongous multi-headed entities, all eager to show us the porthole to paradise. A blissful bubble of ricocheting snares, delectable synth rubs and celestial goodness awaits.

“Spanking Tables” concludes the set and sees Hakim display his amazing control of percussion and unusual sounds; comfortably easing us in with our new galactic friends. Synthetic toms, drifting pads and sharp hats all converging on our bodies.

Beautiful stuff. Maybe the Maya were just a year too early….

"Between Stars" is the debut album from Barcelona based Venezuelan producer and DJ Maurice Aymard. More than two years in the making, 'Between Stars' has been a labour of love for Aymard as he travelled the globe to collaborate with musicians and singers in Barcelona, Berlin, London and Venezuela who could help to bring his vision to life. Released on Aymard's own Galaktika Records (Garnica, James Teej & more), 'Between Stars' was recorded entirely live and features contributions from the likes of Brazilian star Gui Boratto, Columbian singers Andrea and Paulo Olarte, Argentian guitarist Mariano Godoy and many more, the resulting album takes the house music template and expands it to a grandiose level. In an age when anything that isn't packed full of buzzsaw bass and 'sick' drops gets labelled as Deep House, "Between Stars" is the real deal, and from the first bars of the albums opening (and title) track, 'Between Stars' quickly establishes itself as something truly special, a 'house' album that not only works as a coherent whole but sounds as good at home, by the poolside or in a club at 4am. If 'live' house albums have in the past had a tendency to verge on the polite, Aymard's skill as a producer and experience as a DJ keeps things rooted in club culture and nearly every track off 'Between Stars' deserves to find its way into DJ sets over the coming months. Rather than smooth things out the live instrumentation instead adds an energy to the tracks and the subtle touches, that the likes of guitarist David Rondon brings to 'El Final', lift the album up to another level altogether. Since moving from Venezuela to Spain and launching Galaktika Records, Aymard has become an integral part of the European house music scene. With releases on the likes of Berlin's Moodmusic, Hamburg's Einmusika and Denmark's Tic Tac Toe Records, and remix credits for artists such as Mario Basanov, Compuphonic and Combo, Aymard has built a reputation for delivering quality underground house music and with his debut album Aymard looks set to secure his position as one of the scene's most innovative artists.

Special Remarks: 12'' EP in 3mm spine sleeve with download card included.



1978 This EP is an extract from the Cosmic Machine LP compilation to be released on October, the 14th. The first track, Spirit, an Uncle O remix, originally released on Frederic Mercier's "Pacific" in 1978, synthesized on its own the whole concept of Cosmic Machine. Track 2, "Motel show" is a Pierre Bachelet remix (from the original soundtrack of "le dernier amant", also released in 1978). This mix is a dancefloor version by DJ Prins Thomas,famous space disco Prince from Norway (Lindström, Todd Terje...). The Cosmic Machine LP gathers stars (such as Cerrone, Juvet, Jarre, Marouani, Bachelet and even Gainsbourg with a rare proto techno track), talented pionneers (De Roubaix, Estardy, Massiera, Fèvre or Perrey) and even shooting stars (such as Rocket Men, Quartz, Chris Craft, Video Liszt, Milways...). Cosmic Machine combines all the major and inspired individualities that gave birth to the early 70's electro galaxy.

BNJMN pops up with another splendid and relevant EP.. featuring a remix from Legowelt/Xosar combo, Xamiga. TIP!
Artistic inspiration can come in many forms. On his latest 12' for Rush Hour - his third for the label since 2012 - BNJMN was inspired by one of the wonders of nature, namely the curious combination of speed and grace that is the humble hummingbird.

'I was really interested in how hummingbirds have much faster wing speeds to other birds, so they can hover and fly slowly,' he explains. 'This seemed to tie in with some ideas I'd been playing around with, to create tracks that are fast and accelerated, but could also sound slow.'

'Hummingbird', the title track of an impressive four-track EP that's noticeably cleaner, crisper and sharper than his most recent outing for Rush Hour, 2012's Unknown 2, captures this idea perfectly. Propelled forwards by a lone, 140 BPM kick drum, its waves of crystalline synthesizers and picturesque melodies seem to gracefully hover above the stripped-back rhythm. It's intoxicating, exciting and calming in equal measure, whilst retaining BNJMN's usual dancefloor punch.

'At a club recently someone came up to me after I'd played 'Hummingbird' and said he didn't realise how fast he was dancing till afterwards,' BNJMN says. 'I was really pleased with that, because I'm fascinated with how the energy and tempo of a track can feel different depending on the environment you're in, and how you're feeling.'

He took the same approach with the EP's other original tracks. 'Slow Wave', with its relentless sequenced arpeggio, tumbling melodies and sludgy groove, performs the same trick of the ear, thanks in no small part to clever combinations of fast and slow elements. The melancholic 'CRVD', with its mournful chords and darting, techno-influenced grooves, is similarly schizophrenic.

The EP concludes with its most straightforward dancefloor moment, an inspired remix from Xamiga (AKA Xosar and Legowelt). Decidedly cosmic - like layered, melody-driven analogue techno beamed down from a distant galaxy - it delivers a deeper, hazier alternative to BNJMN's pin-sharp original.

the second part of the in-demand " Cero" by Galarude ( DJ Kent and homies from Sly Moongose and Tokyo No. 1 Soulset ) that had been a secret weapon of a selected few DJ glitterati since it's original Japan-only release in 2004 delievers another set of knockout mixes: Prins Thomas flatens the originals tribal elements with hard whiping beats and a forceful steamroller of a bassline yet keeps the headmessing ingredients intact with all those swirling, spinning soundparts that one can also enjoy in higher dosage with the "ambient miks" for daytripping on your homecouch. Tuff City Kids aka Lauer and Gerd Janson corrborate how they persistently tweaked themselves to the a-list of remixing teams with two expertly constructed, infectiously swinging house mixes that keep the acid purity level high and carry the promise of a neverending summer of love.

True house music on The A side with Self Enemy and huge house beat also on the A2 with DJ Aakmael. SEEKER'S BAND with remixes by JACK THE BOX & CORES FOR SPIN !
Self Enemy aka as Parisian Professor Inc & Detroiter Kris Wadsworth play it slow here. Picking on some classic sample, highly tweaked synth and dj friendly structure. Second opus of this raw collaboration.
Dj Aakmael picks another Billie's song, This time it's heavy orchestra chords on a hard kick singing the blues on the house core.
On the B Side, the SEEKER'S BAND aka Miguel Benavides composes with at Vocals: Mathieu Boko, Percussion: Eric Konnert (plays with St Germain, Martha Galarraga..), Bass: Francois Barbe, Tenor & Soprano Sax: Stephane Becarie, Keys: M Benavides and produced by Professor Inc & Miguel Benavides ; inspired by the first house school, jazz accents, afrocuban classic percussion, a tasty radio version right here !
It comes with a remix by the Berliners Tyree Cooper & Bobby Star aka JACK THE BOX. Dj friendly and deeply rooted with one of the pioneers perpetuating the style.
To conclude this ep, a special short dub version by CORES FOR SPIN

Our next Stil vor Talent 12 sounds like a mysterious, alien soundscape transmitted straight from outer space to the peak-time dance-floors of planet Earth. Edu Imbernon has already demonstrated a brilliant ear for pulsating house music on his remix for Niconé & Sascha Braemer's 'Dreamer'. Here, he once again teams up with fellow Spaniard Triumph, while SVT favourites Kellerkind and Niko Schwind are on remix duty. The title 'Mystery Inside' couldn't be more fitting to the meteorite shower the duo conjure up with the aid of vocalist Sutja Gutierrez on the A-side: sharp hi-hats lead straight into a moody bass-line that meets a beautifully rounded kick and percussion-workout. Things get otherworldly as synths start flying through the speakers, finally beaming you to another galaxy once Gutierrez' heavily spaced out vocals set in. On the flip, Kellerkind slows things down considerably and builds on the original's UFO-synths, while Niko Schwind cherry picks his favourite parts of 'Mystery Inside' and contextualises them within his own 80s synth motif and fat breakdown. Extraterrestrial warning: the Spaniards have landed!

Der Ausnahmeproduzent Flying Lotus legt nach seinem vielbeachteten Debutalbum "Los Angeles" den Nachfolger vor! Auf "Cosmogramma" weitet er das Spektrum der integrierten Stile in Richtung Space-Jazz aus und lädt ein zu einem kosmischen Trip voller unendlicher Liebe und Begeisterung für Musik in all ihren Variationen.

A1 | In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)
A2 | Soundtrack 2 My Life
A3 | Simple As
A4 | Solo Dolo (nightmare)
B1 | Heart of A Lion (KiD CuDi Theme Music)
B2 | My World f. Billy Cravens
B3 | Day N Nite (nightmare)
B4 | Sky Might Fall
C1 | Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part 1)
C2 | Alive (nightmare) f. RATATAT
C3 | CuDi Zone
C4 | Make Her Say f. Kanye West & Common
D1 | Pursuit of Happiness (nightmare) f. MGMT & RATATAT
D2 | Hyyerr f. Chip Tha Rapper
D3 | Up Up & Away (The Wake & Bake Song)
D4 | BONUS TRACK - Day N Nite (Crookers Remix)

Eklo 010, new artist combo on the label. The labelhead Seuil and his parisian fellow Tolga Fidan (already known for his amazing work on Vakant and Cocoon) decided after spending months talking and sharing a common passion for hardware gear and modular sounds to step in the studio together and try to perform and record some complex orgainc grooves

Pursuing their explorations of international Funk and Disco music, Favorite Recordings and Patchworks present us Voilaaa. Following a first 2 tracks single acclaimed this summer and clearly revealing the Afro-Disco inspiration of this new experience, here comes Voilaaa's first album, titled On te l'avait dit. After his projects such as The Dynamics, Mr President, Mr Day, Patchworks Galactic Project, or Taggy Matcher, the insatiable French producer therefore returns to his first love and specialty, Disco music, staring this time at the African and Caribbean influences. The 10 tracks of the album are instantly up to expectations, chaining hit after hit tirelessly, and offering brilliant collaborations with Sir Jean, Pat Kalla, Renaud Bilombo, or label mates Hawa and Fouley Badiaga.