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The second release on Oktave Records is produced by Tokyo's Iori. The multi-talented Japanese producer and DJ has had his music released on some of the best labels in the business, including Prologue, Field Records, and Semantica. Iori's inimitable and distinctive sound has put his productions on turntables and headsets all over the world, while the man himself continues to extend his touring radius, hitting clubs and venues all over Europe and into the Americas. Oktave Records is proud to present his 'Circulate' EP.

The A side gives us 'Satellite,' a relentless floor-focused track, bursting with Iori's signature, looping sound he draws us into a hypnotic void and allows the listener to get completely lost in the polyrhythms so deftly layered on top of each other. 'Satellite' will mesmerize your dance floor.

The B side opens with 'Vortex,' which gives us more of that special Iori hypnosis, but this time we're carried along by a broken beat. Complex, understated and rhythmic, 'Vortex' is another stunner. The EP closes with 'Inversion,' an ambient track, which is an area of strength for Iori. He has long been producing compelling, cinematic soundscapes with his unique sound signature, and 'Inversion' continues in this tradition.

Iori has created a knock-out EP with 'Circulate,' and sets the bar quite high for the label.

Nottingham's Origin One returns with another bass heavy anthem. Traversing roots reggae, hip hop, dub and steppers this is a perfect example of Origin One's style of production, eclectic in influence and heavy on the bottom end. As the title may suggest the track is a tribute to the herb, delivered by Ghanaian born MC/rapper Kweku (K.O.G) who absolutely destroys the track. Already getting spins on some of the UK's biggest soundsystems, this should see some heavy rotation!

As one third of the Lisiere Collectif, Andu Simion learned early and often how to take a dancefloor on a hypnotic, grooving journey throughout the night. Now he's standing solo on the next release on Eric Cloutier's Palinoia label, delivering four bubbling, seductive house grooves for any hour of the party. From the evolving "Heavy Glow" to the proper house banger "Gen Y All," this EP is a sure win for anyone looking to get a little sideways.

Classic Original mix (Remastered) + 4 (!) long Ricardo Villalobos Remixes All
Get Physical's 16th year continues to serve up plenty of excellent and exciting new music with this, an EP full of mesmeric remixes from the one and only Ricardo Villalobos. The source material here is the classic 'We Are Phuture' by pioneering Chicago acid outfit, Phuture. The original is included in specially remastered form and the Chilean minimal techno hero serves up four of his own unique versions. Ricardo has been remixing for this label for well over a decade and just last year his 'Hauswiedermischung' version of Reboot's 'Are You Losing My Mind' was one of the standout tracks of Get Physicals´s oeuvre. The original is an abrasive and jittery house track that bristles with frazzled synths, dark filtered vocals, acid twitches and coarse percussion. It's one to electrify the floor, and still does plenty of damage 20 years after it first came out on Trax. Up first is Phutur I Remix, which strips everything away to leave a fluttering snare line, rubber drums and minimal synth that shapeshifts for nearly ten minutes. Add in some trademark Villalobos vocals that are alien and unsettling and you have a real classic in the making. The Phutur II Remix is busier, with deft drums that ride up and down and have a spoken word vocal floating up top. Alien sound designs and occult acid all join the mix later on, while Phutur III sits somewhere in between.

New year, new Skrufix release and this one is on vinyl once again! Following a return to form with stellar releases last year from Things With Wings with some Nigerian inspired beats, our 2-Step King, The Crane and an extremely well received release from new boy, Skwirl, we continue with quality production levels and one hell of a release from Nathan Jonson.

After a successful decade of releasing music under the Hrdvsion alias (Wagon Repair / Sound Pellegrino / Planet Mu), 2015 saw Nathan reach a turning point in his musical career and re-launch with a new direction under his birth name. The Jonson family are clearly one of good musical stock, his brother is the formidable Matthew Jonson and Nathan has recently released on 20:20 Vision as well as his brother's new Freedom Engine label, among others. We are therefore more than a little bit chuffed to get him on-board for this new EP, 'Space Between Breath'.

The release kicks off with the title track 'Space Between Breath', an ideal opener that builds into a lush, intricate Techno track accompanied by bouncy synth sounds. Label regular, The Crane brings his usual 2-Step talent to rework the first track exceptionally. On the flipside, things kick off with a darker feel and acid sounding synth lines on 'The Transfer', followed by a fine finale in the trippy and chugging sound of 'I'm All We Got.'

It's quite the release all round to be honest! And we're very excited to finally get this one out there. Look out for more excellence to come later in the year as label regulars, Turtlez and Skwirl prep new EPs, alongside some surprising new additions along the way!

The new release by POLY SONE on FRIENDSHIP & DECADENCE is an introspective trip with a bouncy, dubby flair that sets the scene with gritty synths and spacey arpeggios reminiscent of sci-fi soundtracks from the 80's and continues by avoiding the ordinary with some light Trance and a tinge of Acid. Get ready for this out-of-body experience and exit flesh!

Fina Records strides into 2018 with another fresh new house EP, this time from PASO aka Pascal Pamme. Over the last few years this French artist has released on the likes of D.KO Records, Increase, and The Groove, and always showcases his knack for loose limbed, organic house grooves laden with jazzy keys and soul-infused synths. The four cuts he offers up here once again prove he is a producer with a truly authentic and musical style.

The warm and golden 'Idocracy' kicks things off with gently shuffling kicks, noodling chords and twinkling keys that together make for a perfectly cozy and intimate house track. 'Fuzy' is another perfectly louche and disheveled number with woody kicks stuttering beneath effusive Rhodes keys. Vinyl crackle and tinkling percussive sounds add to the immediately aged and lived in style of the track and mean it is one that will get smaller rooms well and truly involved.

On the flip, 'Limited Perception' ups the ante, with quicker drums decorated with more languid chords, plenty of smartly sampled sounds and a breezy sense of groove that is heartfelt and effortlessly feel good. Last of all, 'No Matter Where You're From' has great female vocals stitched into long-tailed pads as lazy, swaggering drums lay down a perfectly imperfect groove. It rounds out an EP of masterfully atmospheric house for those who like their beats with real feeling.

Mutant jungle forms, hazy glitch experiments and trance inducing downtempo collide with sharp percussion and dense low end on this latest Alter 12'. Helm's recent 'World In Action' EP for The Trilogy Tapes is reworked by a whole host of favourites including Laurel Halo and Parris who offer up two distinctly different takes on 'Blue Scene'. No Symbols boss Beneath turns his hand to title track 'World in Action' with that typically murky, deconstructed club aesthetic whilst Parisian mainstay Low Jack gets deep on the A2, his five and a half minute version of 'Candy' sounding like a cross between Nuno Canavarro and Whitehouse. Delivering what might well be the records most subdued moment, Brussels' Sky H1 slows 'After Dark' way way down with some barely there auto-tuned vocals helping to bring things into the fold.'

Jonra & e:machinery are an electronic music performance and
recording duo comprised of long time Los Angeles based Designforms
Research label boss Jonra Babiracki and electronic music artist Eric Cowden aka e:machinery.

Combining analog hardware, software and processed vocals in a live performance setting, their music spans many styles including techno, house, acid, darkwave, and electro. Their improvisational technique results in tracks that twist and turn, keeping the listener's ears perked while always encouraging the dance floor. With releases on Designforms, Blaq Records, Superfreq and now Chem Club, this veteran duo plans to continue on their path of proud abnormality.

Frenzied and unhinged, the Ritual Casting EP by Jonra & e:machinery is the third vinyl release by Oakland based label Chem Club Records. The title track, Ritual Casting, coils into a bottom heavy head spinner that takes a left turn towards the end. The second A side track, Take A Trip, is indeed just that, a roller coaster ride using their signature vocal style paired with classic bass and percussive sounds. The DJ friendly B side kicks off with Douchebag Frog, a bubbling bass sequence centered track with pad stabs that get bounced around by those eerie vocals again. Lastly, Catch Me If You Can, with a heaving acid bassline, is a sure way to end the EP with a bang.

This superbly crafted recording features the versatile Japanese jazz/fusion keyboardist Jun Fukamachi as a veritable one-man band in a lively album that captures the essence of the original Beatles' tunes throughout. The innovative arramngements of the artist, tailored to get the maximum benefit from a surrounding instrument array, produce one of the best technical efforts. Synthesizer effects provide special flavor,' particularly at the close of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' on side one, and in the evocative opening of She's Leaving Home' on side two. Fukamachi blends a concert grand electric piano, Arp synthesizer, glockenspiel, bass drum, tambourine and other electronic instruments with results that indicate a group, not a solo, with ample display of each. Recorded ten years after the original, in 1977, this recording still sounds exciting, and an eye-catching cover with a mirror image of the famous photo shoot remains one of the most creative reworks of this 50 years old masterpiece' (Billboard)

The Tel Aviv based music label 'Raw Tapes Records' has been getting a lot of attention in the last few years, broasdcasted around the world (Gilles Peterson/BBC, The Gaslamp Killer, Toshio Matsuraa/Tokyo Moon FM, Dom Servini/Wah Wah 45 London, Peanut Butter Wolf/Stones Throw LA, Radio Nova/France, Wicked Jazz Sounds/Amsterdam, KCRW/LA, Andrew Jervis/Bandcamp).

With more than 70 albums released out of around 20 local artists within an 10-years work, this is no doubt the most productive independant music label in the history of Israel, and surely Tel Aviv's leading Beats/Hip Hop label and collective.

Puzzles vol.3 is the third volume in the Puzzles Compilations Series from Raw Tapes, featuring 13 of the current artists on the label, including Buttering Trio, Sol Monk & Nitai Hershkovits. The release features cooperations with MNDSGN, vocalist Jenny Penkin, Uzi Ramirez and more.

Curated by KerenDun, this album ranges from Beats & Hip Hop to Jazz and Electronics.

The album marks the 10-years-Anniversary for Raw Tapes.

Forceful grooves and trippy soundscapes here business as usual for Junes, whose latest EP adds to a string of releases getting bagged by those looking to work the floor with tight and atmospheric rhythms. The Galdoors man's flair for unexpected combos is on parade in Circuit Rift, where a UK-style low end is flung into the mix with rough drums and 4am melodics. There's a funkier bassline and rolling groove at work in Awake, this time with rich layers of pads and blips. Brass Hand uses a different palette a sparkling, loopy riff and crisp drums though it's still signature Junes.

Man Power his raw electronic sound, organic flourishes and diverse selection make him a perfect match for DGTL, both on stage as well as on the imprint. Next to releasing a steady flow of records on established labels like ESP Institute, Optimo Trax, Correspondant and Hivern Discs, Man Power is running his own shop as well: Me Me Me. This gives him an outlet to release music by both friends and himself. For his release on DGTL Records he created a three-track EP called Apologue EP, that showcases just two of different sides of his multi-faceted musical scope.

The a-side features two firm, acid influenced tracks. The first of these two, The Duelist, is an emotive house record, with a soundscape of piano melodies, synths and syncopated percussion laid on top of an acid bassline. El Mago del Tiempo features heavy hitting kicks combined with a sharp synth pattern. It has a long build up that keeps evolving throughout the entire composition. Halfway through, the track breaks in to a raw and fierce rhythm accompanied by yearning, drawn-out synth pads.
On the flipside, Put Your Hands on the Car (And Get Ready To Die) brings back memories of a long gone past with nods to Balearic Pop, EBM, and the Soundtrack work of Stewart Copeland, James Horner, and Jan Hammer. This multi layered production has a warm and analogue sounding feel to it that rounds off a 3 dimensional release.

You will find the new Man Power record in your favourite record shop, be it online or offline, on the 2nd of February.

Opening with a 130 BPM hard kicker techno tune, at the Doom frontier.... Full promess also of a good mix with De L'eauuuu : acid sirens and kicking Raving Hardtechno... And more to get on this delicious hard techno/ hardcore and acidcore record... With, to notice, some AcidTrance oldschool accents... BANGING and alive structures. Wake Up !

It's already been two years since Leonardo Martelli's debut with the four-tracker Menti Singole. He has since been following the direction he took with this first release, at a rather slow path, releasing a lone and haunted mini-album, Previsto, in the meantime. With Menti Singole Vol.2, Martelli establishes a picture of his music, an update of his aspirations in the feminine.
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Sparse, clear-cut and slightly nerve-racking, Micaella opens the record with the precision of a neurosurgeon. The song can be seen in many ways as a good introduction to the music of the Italian musician - past and probably future. Ethereal string machines balance the nagging acid leitmotiv: as often with Martelli's music, there's something going on in the background, some anonymous forces operating off-screen.

We can make the same assessment with Alice, the most obviously desperate tune on the record: the sad synth melody comes in as if it was trying to fill an emotional void, but the supposedly reassuring sentence is not complete, notes are missing. On Laura - just like with Alice - Martelli keeps on playing with the potential of abstraction of rap samples, a process we're familiar with since Previsto.

Sofia gives a particularly striking example of this weird game he likes to play as Biggie Smalls' words get progressively eviscerated from their meaning. Backed by bare percussive samples (a numerical metronome, copyright-free digital ersatz of percussions), Sofia depicts - without any artifice - despair in a post-industrial world, where everything has lost any sense of materiality - while Previsto was still set in a industrial world of steaming factories. Disarmingly simple, Menti Singole Vol.2 offers electronic mourning music at its most elegant.

**INITIAL 400 LPs CONTAIN A BONUS 7" BY MEL-O-MADNEZZ**

IT'S TIME TO PAAAARTY! Why The Universe knows that Tramp is celebrating their 40th trip around the sun in 2018. And what about planet Earth Well... it is as blind as it is in so many other situations. Therefore, it is time to shine the light on Tramp for all of its unremitting efforts. As musical diversity is vanishing, especially in the field of African American music from the 1960s/70s, it is our duty to stop the extinction of threatened species of music in the same way an animal welfare activist would do anything to save a gorilla's life. Tramp Records keeps this beautiful heritage alive, every single day, again and again and again. So we are here wondering why Earth people and especially to those from our beloved home country, why why are you just sitting there, going about your life unaware of this historic event What a pity!

The announcement is especially striking when it comes to the prestigious "Movements" series. Like all its predecessors, this ninth volume contains Rare Groove nuggets recorded between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. The fact that only one of the songs appear anywhere else is a jaw-dropping phenomenon! The chronological track listing starts with two amazing cover versions: "Fever" by Gee Gee Shinn & the Boogie Kings and "I'm A Woman" by Connie Kaye Trio. Bus Brown, Earl Demus and Chuck Finney remain in the same direction although their contributions are slightly jazzier. Chick Willis' gut-wrenching "Sometime Soon" easily rivals James Brown's "It's A Man's World" and the recordings by Australia, J.R. and Joe Akens are beautiful examples of privately produced soul from the 1970s. The latin-soul of "Cho Cho San" by Hummingbird 4 heads the sound in another direction for the next three tunes, highlighted by one more stunning cover version, Oscar Brown Jr.'s "Brother, Where Are You". The album closes with some pre-disco tracks from the mid-to-late 1970s. Funk 7" collectors will freak out to finally get a chance to listen to Mel-O-Madnezz' superheavy "What You Getting High On" but will certainly also enjoy The Counts, Reunion and Hot Cakes' dance floor bomb cover of "Harlem Shuffle".

Over a hundred great unknown songs have been re-released on the first eight volumes in the "Movements" series, the majority of which can not be found elsewhere, and Vol. 9 is no exception. The work of Germany's tiniest but grooviest record label is still incomprehensibly underestimated. We know you diggers, collectors, mavens, aficionados, fanatics, completists, enthusiasts, and just plain record geeks know what's up and we heartily salute you! Without your support there would be no Tramp Records. But now it's time for a broader cultural shift for good music and a sweeping move to uphold the legacy of the unsung heroes of funk and soul. Therefore, we humbly petition you: in 2018, Don't keep all this glory to yourself! Turn your friends and neighbors on! Thank you!

- initial 400 LPs contain a bonus 7" by Mel-O-Madnezz ("What You Getting High On")

- the double vinyl LP comes with a full album download code

- deluxe double-gatefold LP with detailed liner notes, label scans & unseen photographs

- all but one song appear on vinyl-LP for the very first-time

The word 'Icosahedrite' refers to the geometric figure icosahedron, and arises from the idea that the EP is an amalgam of electronic music styles with many other aspects of traditional musical genres, like jazz or blues. Metaphorically, those genres act as the multiple sides of an imaginary icosahedron. Something complex yet solid that sits outside of the conventional emerges as the final result. A1 'Phason Jazz' - This is a track where conventional jazz structures converge with electronica, and the influences Eduardo gets from Miles Davis and John Coltrane shine themselves. Twisted keyboards patterns mixed with delays and deafening effects form a place to get lost, and eventually repetition becomes hypnotism and turns into an automatic trance. B1 ' Mr Dewey D' - Mr Dewey D is referring again to Miles, and his first and second surnames.This song is much more influenced by Dark Comedy (aka Kenny Larkin) and all the records that he throws out on the french label 'Poussez' titled 'FunkFaker: Music Saves My Soul' Blues breath tirelessly in this composition where there is not much time for an objective analysis and where everything finally leads to an insane ending. B2 'Rhythmic Soundscapes ' - This track is, I guess, the most conventional part of the EP, Nonetheless, it retains special qualities. Floating pianos with delays are combined with bass sounds that go back and forth, forming a musical piece with techno sensibilities that I hope will give opportunities to the most daring DJs.

Following the success of our recent reissues of classic tracks from the vaults team-Jalapeno decided to start 2018 strong with another 7" release of two certified bangers from our very own breaks legends Skeewiff.

Our dear label co-founders and creative minds whose four Skeewiff albums set the agenda for the Jalapeno funk machine that you know and love - Alex Rizzo and Elliot Ireland have never been found wanting. These guys are the godfathers of the lounge and breaks scenes, they put the fun into funk, and if rumours are to be believed they could mix before they could walk!

From the very first opening horns salvo on 'Mexican Flyer' you know this track means business. A driving bassline and in-your-face drums provide the backdrop for all sorts of sonic madness with DJ cuts, horn solos and breaks galore. It's a bona-fide fiesta that fits neatly in your 45's bag.

With this little number in the arsenal the only worry that the DJ's will have is the stampede to the dancefloor...

Over on the flipside 'Delta Dawn' sees the guys get a little help from a famously little lady with one of the most recognisable voices in country music. But make no mistake - this is no barn dance... Breaks, bass and a healthy dose of Hammond wizardry inject the funk into proceedings to complete this 7" club weapon of mass destruction.

It's a double act that's up there with the best of them and a must have for fans of Jalapeno and high quality party music.

Releasing an album into the world is a special moment for any artist but when you're an artist who grew up in remote northern Ghana with no schooling, spending a life herding cows and goats, building your own instruments and teaching yourself to sing, then there's a particular sense of occasion and celebration in finding recognition and an audience for that music.

This is the case for Guy One, an utterly unique artist who is writing and performing Frafra music, a style that originates from a small area in the north of Ghana. Whilst Guy One is already loved and adored locally by now - building up a fervent following in local villages in which no funeral or wedding would take place without his soaring voice and deeply rhythmic playing, before then transforming into an award-winning, TV appearing artist in Ghana - his music is now to find a much wider audience through Max Weissenfeldt's Philophon label (Jimi Tenor, Hailu Mergia, Alemayehu Eshete) on this Berlin meets Bolgatanga release.

Guy One's international debut #1 is an album rooted in tradition as much as it is the contemporary ("Frafra music Made in Germany" says drummer producer Max Weissenfeldt if he's forced to put a label on it) but given the fact that the traditionalism of Frafra music itself is a largely unknown force, the results are more even more potent and stirring in their creations. Choirs, trumpet, organ, bass, drums, synthesiser, vibraphone, saxophone and piano, the album is as bursting with instrumentation as it is ideas and innovation.

The album's perfect positioning between the old and the new and in taking that middle ground and launching it into completely new territory is enough to completely unglue the definitions of what music can be.

(Disclaimer: release notes refer to the combined CD double-album release "Hot Flash: Best of The Voltags" on which all tracks appear together. "Electric Nightmare" and "Danger High Voltag" are released separately on vinyl format)

It does not happen that often any more that unreleased music from 40 years ago surfaces. Even more unlikely it is that the songs put on tape are such treasures. The Voltags were right at the forefront of the local Washington DC New Wave/Punk scene of the late 1970s. Influenced by Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, The Clash, and The B-52's, they have released only one 45rpm single during their existence. But during the time span of not even 18 months, they had recorded enough material for an entire album - but the songs remained in the can.

This is the story of The Voltags, a short-lived band which could have become famous and mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned music legends of that era - if their songs had been released back in the day. Dive in and enjoy the sound of The Voltags, it is truly special. We here at Perfect Toy are thrilled to be label to finally release their work and we sincerely hope that they are finally getting the appreciation they so richly deserve.

Detailed information:
Dave Bennett and Hangnail Phillips grew up in Brookside Park, Newark, Delaware, USA, a small suburban college town nestled midway between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Their first band project evolved into Pump Productions (Pump) under which they released their only 45rpm single in 1970 (one of the two songs, "Pappy's Rug", can be heard on "Down & Wired 3", Perfect Toy Rec.). Soon after the recording of the single the two graduated from High School and disbanded Pump. Both moved on to form two new Newark bands. Dave was a founding member of "Snake Grinder & The Shredded Fieldmice" and Hangnail co-founded "Rudy Baker & The Vegetables".

In early 1979, two friends of Dave's, Nick Norris and Mike Fisher, became partners in a music production company, White Clay Productions. One of White Clay's first artists was Dave Bennett who had just written two excellent songs: "Electric Jungle" and "Son Of Sam". White Clay set up a recording session and Dave assembled a group of friends to record the songs. Before the recordings were even mixed, Dave asked Hangnail if he would join in a band to support the single and other songs he had written. When James Keesey (drums) and Rick Reid (bass) were added the line-up was complete. For a while they didn't have a name and then one day Nick Norris was looking at a photo of Dave standing next to a "Danger High Voltage" sign. Dave's head was in front of the E in Voltage and Nick laughed "Danger High Voltag" and so it was soon suggested that the band should be called "The Voltags" (pronounced Vol'-togs). After months of preparing a repertoire they were ready to play out. Their first gig was (October 20, 1979) at a gay disco in nearby Wilmington called The Backstage. On December 30, 1979, White Clay decided to put on a big show at the State Theater to celebrate the end of the Seventies ("The End Of The Decade Bash").

For the next year, with the help of White Clay, they recorded 19 songs, both studio and live recordings with White Clay's mobile unit. If not for these "off the board" recordings, many of their songs would have never been recorded. There was always talk of a second Voltags single but the strains of working so closely together were taking their toll on them and Dave decided to leave the group in December of 1980. The Voltags couldn't be The Voltags without Dave, and by the end of 1981, Hangnail, James and Rick, too, were ready to disband.


- all songs previously unreleased
- mastered from the original reel-to-reel tapes
- limited vinyl release