limited to 300 copies
New EP by Alixander III. After AZARI & III have finally split up, main man Alixander III joined the Toy Tonics records crew. Like his first TT release also this new one consists of raw and heavy machine funk. It's techno - but with a heavy dose of soul! The one that makes you swing. Not stomp! 'Heavy Friends 2 is a collaboration featuring guest vocalists and producers from his hometown of Toronto, Canada. A tight package of vintage, old school, Detroit soul techno. Bulging with hooks and unusual textures. A vast soufflé of bittersweet melancholy, a polished yet irreverent statement that congeals the far-reaching influences and intricate techniques that have defined Alixander's work since long before Azari & III met the world.
Witchfinder General formed in 1979 and were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement during the early 1980s. They are strongly influenced by Black Sabbath, and are widely recognised today as one of the pioneers of the doom metal style. Their 1983 classic "Friends Of Hell" has been re-issued for the first time with this new track listing featuring a rare live track on heavy weight 180gsm vinyl contained within a protective polypropylene bag.
Nine-time GRAMMY® winner Anderson .Paak and GRAMMY®-nominated rapper Cordae have been operating on the same wavelength for years. What started as pure chemical reaction on 2019’s “RNP” slowly turned into one of hip-hop’s most natural, low-ego partnerships, fueled by back-and-forth gems like “Two Tens” and “Summer Drop” and a series of dynamic TV performances that felt more like two best friends hanging out than a polished routine. On their debut collaborative album, Heavy Is The Crown, that organic bond gets the full-length treatment it’s always deserved.
At its core, the project is a tightrope walk between serious real-life stakes and uncompromising fun. The title isn't just bravado—it speaks directly to the shared weight both artists carry as the primary providers and anchors for their families. But instead of letting that pressure crush the vibe, .Paak and Cordae lean into each other. Meeting as total equals, .Paak’s elastic, soul-drenched musicality anchors Cordae’s razor-sharp lyricism, allowing both to unpack the heavy reality of success and family responsibility without ever losing their spark.
That balance is what makes the album tick. To drive the point home, the album art pays homage to the cult comedy Step Brothers—a nod to the silly, irreverent friendship that birthed the music in the first place. Heavy Is The Crown doesn't feel like a forced corporate crossover or a calculated career move. It’s a record about brotherhood, family, and what happens when two masters of their craft step into the studio simply because nobody makes them laugh, rap, or create quite like the other.
Nine-time GRAMMY® winner Anderson .Paak and GRAMMY®-nominated rapper Cordae have been operating on the same wavelength for years. What started as pure chemical reaction on 2019’s “RNP” slowly turned into one of hip-hop’s most natural, low-ego partnerships, fueled by back-and-forth gems like “Two Tens” and “Summer Drop” and a series of dynamic TV performances that felt more like two best friends hanging out than a polished routine. On their debut collaborative album, Heavy Is The Crown, that organic bond gets the full-length treatment it’s always deserved.
At its core, the project is a tightrope walk between serious real-life stakes and uncompromising fun. The title isn't just bravado—it speaks directly to the shared weight both artists carry as the primary providers and anchors for their families. But instead of letting that pressure crush the vibe, .Paak and Cordae lean into each other. Meeting as total equals, .Paak’s elastic, soul-drenched musicality anchors Cordae’s razor-sharp lyricism, allowing both to unpack the heavy reality of success and family responsibility without ever losing their spark.
That balance is what makes the album tick. To drive the point home, the album art pays homage to the cult comedy Step Brothers—a nod to the silly, irreverent friendship that birthed the music in the first place. Heavy Is The Crown doesn't feel like a forced corporate crossover or a calculated career move. It’s a record about brotherhood, family, and what happens when two masters of their craft step into the studio simply because nobody makes them laugh, rap, or create quite like the other.
Healing Patterns is the debut full-length release on Appendix.files from Clima, following 2025's Transient State EP. Written between 2025 and 2026 during a period of chronic illness, the seven-track LP translates physical restriction into deep, spacious electronic compositions. Using palatial pads, slow-decaying echoes, and bodily low-end, Clima reminisces over residual club ambience and shared listening experiences with friends.
The record moves from the gradual, dub-heavy pressure of "Weight" through ASMR-like vocal glitter and tight rhythmic clusters, before dissolving into the quiet introspection of the title track's theme. Healing Patterns is a patient study in focus, repetition, and the spaces left behind.
Artist Info: Clima is an experimental electronic music project exploring spatial sound, texture, rhythm and the emotional residue of club culture. Their work moves between ambient environments, dub-weighted rhythm and abstract electronic composition, with a focus on deep listening and subtle shifts in perception.
As part of the 20 Years of BM anniversary celebrations, Bondage-Music proudly presents Bondage Games Pt. 11 — a special five-part vinyl series. Each release is named after a constellation, together forming a unique tribute to two decades of Bondage-Music.
With Bondage Games Pt. 11, the label's iconic vinyl series returns in its most ambitious edition to date. Created to celebrate 20 years of Bondage-Music, the series unfolds across five constellation-themed releases, each featuring four exclusive productions from artists closely connected to the label.
The first chapter, Ursus, brings together four exclusive tracks from Roger Gerressen, Sascha Dive, Rhadow and Lola Palmer. From Roger Gerressen's hypnotic groove-driven Patterned Shards and Sascha Dive's unmistakable deep house craftsmanship on Dub Chronicles #10 to Rhadow's atmospheric Ripples and Lola Palmer's warm and emotional Slow Down, the record perfectly reflects the timeless musical identity that has defined Bondage-Music since day one — deep, soulful, groove-focused and made for both intimate listening and late-night dancefloors.
Pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl and housed in an individually printed sleeve, Ursus continues Bondage-Music's longstanding commitment to exceptional quality in both music and design. The artwork was created by BM's longtime Head of Artwork, Pete Bombart — a close friend and an integral part of the label since its earliest days. His unmistakable visual language has become inseparable from the Bondage-Music identity, earning a loyal following far beyond the music itself.
Whether collected as part of the complete anniversary series or enjoyed on its own, Bondage Games Pt. 11: Ursus is a celebration of the artists, the friendships and the unmistakable sound that have shaped Bondage-Music over the past twenty years.
As part of the 20 Years of BM anniversary celebrations, Bondage-Music proudly presents Bondage Games Pt. 11 — a special five-part vinyl series. Each release is named after a constellation, together forming a unique tribute to two decades of Bondage-Music.
With Bondage Games Pt. 11, the label's iconic vinyl series returns in its most ambitious edition to date. Created to celebrate 20 years of Bondage-Music, the series unfolds across five constellation-themed releases, each featuring four exclusive productions from artists closely connected to the label.
The first chapter, Ursus, brings together four exclusive tracks from Roger Gerressen, Sascha Dive, Rhadow and Lola Palmer. From Roger Gerressen's hypnotic groove-driven Patterned Shards and Sascha Dive's unmistakable deep house craftsmanship on Dub Chronicles #10 to Rhadow's atmospheric Ripples and Lola Palmer's warm and emotional Slow Down, the record perfectly reflects the timeless musical identity that has defined Bondage-Music since day one — deep, soulful, groove-focused and made for both intimate listening and late-night dancefloors.
Pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl and housed in an individually printed sleeve, Ursus continues Bondage-Music's longstanding commitment to exceptional quality in both music and design. The artwork was created by BM's longtime Head of Artwork, Pete Bombart — a close friend and an integral part of the label since its earliest days. His unmistakable visual language has become inseparable from the Bondage-Music identity, earning a loyal following far beyond the music itself.
Whether collected as part of the complete anniversary series or enjoyed on its own, Bondage Games Pt. 11: Ursus is a celebration of the artists, the friendships and the unmistakable sound that have shaped Bondage-Music over the past twenty years.
'What feels like a dream, a portal between worlds, a shimmering of ideas – that liminal space is the departure point for Midori Takada and Jakob Bro’s ever-unfolding musical friendship.
'On their second outing From Such A Blue Sky / かくも青き空から, arriving on Copenhagen's Loveland Music in October, the compositions are transformative, and the sounds travel between immediate emotional and abstract planes.
'The classically trained Japanese percussionist Midori Takada, later dubbed an ambient pioneer for the landmark 1983 album Through The Looking-Glass (another portal), left behind her Western classical training and found her own paths, drawing on African and Indonesian drumming, minimalism, theater, environmental music and instant composing.
'Similarly, Danish composer and guitarist Jakob Bro creates otherworldly sounds and beautiful, delicate melodies through intuitive creation and collective listening.
'On From Such A Blue Sky the music is co-composed and created in the studio over three days, from early morning to sundown. The compositions are increasingly open ecosystems, and the range of sound sources expands significantly from the puristic Until I Met You, with Thai gongs, heavy drums, ceramic flutes, electric guitar and pedals adding to the sonic imagery of From Such A Blue Sky.
'From Such A Blue Sky is the second album in a trilogy recorded at AVACO Studios in Tokyo, a studio in Shinjuku renowned for its sound works in Japanese film since 1952. The trilogy is an ongoing continuation of their musical friendship, which has already led them to duo performances at World Expo Osaka, Tessenkai Noh Theatre Tokyo, Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin and Roskilde Festival.'
DJ Support: Harvey, Balearic Mike, K Andrews, Apiento, Joe Morris, Idjuts, Piers Harrision, Flo Dill, James Holroyd, Andy Wilson, Kenneth Bager, Phil Mison, Colleen Murphy.
Following the success of the Lovehandles ‘Reworks’ EP, Oswego Music returns with a second volume of reinterpretations via the mysterious ‘Love from the Archipelago’ the alter ego of a renowned European digger, dj and producer.
First up here ‘Endless Ocean’ sees our island hopping hero reimagining an underrated antipodean 80’s track. Its pulsing synths and wistful vocal working as equally on a dancefloor as at the after party, or indeed the morning after the night before.
Track Two on side A ‘Carica’ takes us to South America recalling to some extent the west coast fusion of mid eighties artists like Pat Metheny. Brilliant percussion, vocals and synths combining into a heady, hazy workout- permed hair and tiny shorts optional.
First on the flip ‘En Route’ continues our journey (via the local library) with a gritty, synth heavy piece of post disco experimentalism extended here for your listening pleasure
Lastly, ‘A Grain of Sand’ reinterprets a folky aor number- long overdue in making it to vinyl- remaining (until now) a favourite digital secret weapon for the more ‘horizontally inclined’ dj.
Rounding out the EP, 1900-Isla provides a brief meditation on what it is to be free. A beautiful island in the middle of nowhere, with friends, as the sun sets…
Southern Fried Records return with the second instalment of Refried & Tested, a three track EP built for peak time festival business. Bass heavy and attitude driven, this one brings together friends old and new for a run of dancefloor tracks that don't let up. It's Southern Fried doing what it does best - club ready energy with real personality behind it. Elado opens Refried & Tested 002 with 'Don't Stare' - a bass-heavy, attitude loaded cut built for the dancefloor. It's peak time energy with a real sense of swagger, setting the tone for the rest of the compilation. Jordan Peak takes on Elado's 'Don't Stare' and delivers a whopping remix, reworking the original into a festival ready peak time weapon. A standout moment on Refried & Tested 002. lau.ra teams up with Bag Raiders for 'back2back', bringing dance floor energy and attitude to Southern Fried's Refried & Tested 002 - a collaboration between friends old and new that delivers exactly where it counts. Van Damn closes out Refried & Tested 002 with 'Hit You', a bass driven cut that keeps the compilation's dancefloor energy running right to the last track.
Plus Plus Traxx is here and we open things up with the label’s main guy, Louie Fresco, and his bass-heavy track "###" (Pound-Pound-Pound).
A track that feels like it was made by a mad A.I. on shrooms inside a lab on a remote alien spaceship. Breaks weaving through glitchy sounds and creepy leads make this tune a certified secret weapon for those DJs who truly dare to break the mold and play outside the trendy shit.
Next up, we got a banger of a collab between CHKLTE and San Dee, who met inside the 16bit realm and cooked up a trippy minimal late night heater that feels like you're creeping through the Doom and Duke Nukem corridors, a tune that will definitely be making the after-hours rounds around the world.
Coming up on the B-side, we got none other than Harry Wills under his Brazen alias, doing what Harry does: dope basslines, intricate drum work, unique creativity, and overall trippy madness. 135 bpms of brazen dopeness.
And if you want more fuel in your engine, here comes Gojnea76, who turns the track "Passive Aggressive" on its head and literally kicks the “passive” out of the equation, delivering a bomb of a remix that will definitely be traveling in many great DJs’ record bags for years to come.
This is Freaky Friends Vol.1
Nu Vision is the latest project of Duke Cooper, band leader and label boss of Nation, Kode and DirtyBlends. There are three humans who make up Nu Vision, and they all have their own stories and discographies, records released on labels you might know, gigs played in Chicago or Berlin or someone’s loft, lives lived, friends made, sleep lost - fighting for theirart, standing by truths, defending voices, honoring progenitors, whilst pushing a new paradigm. Time is both fleeting and heavy for us all, but it is not without receipts.
Nu Vision is a band in the classic do-you-believe-in-alchemy sense - equal parts rhythm, damage, and deep feeling. Drenched in nostalgia and futurism, The Seed is a singularity of sound + vision; as if heavily rotated by VJ Dave Kendall on MTV’s 120 Minutes but materialized via today’s technology.
The Seed 10 inch provides additional music inspired significant icons Section 25, Liaisons Dangeruses and Adrian Sherwood having paved the way with their prior successes..- this package of The Seed is no freshman effort; but rather, a masterclass in continuing sonic education, delivering a unified experience from beginning to end. A NU VISION.
The Seed 10 inch provides additional music inspired significant icon band: Section 25 from the period of 1981-1984 with a more electronic-dance direction, process which culminated in the album ' From the Hip ' and remix single "Looking From A Hilltop", both released in 1984 as "Insecure Man is about being true to manhood with Robert Lane leading the charge with his vocabulary message of the current state of society.
Insecure Dub focuses on the period of 1981-1984 with an alternative electronic-dance direction process as an inspired blueprint from Nu Vision inspired from Adrian Sherwood having paved the way with his individual success.
Inspired from electrifying songs produced by Chrislo Haas (DAF) and Beate Bartel (Mania D. / Matador) reinforced by Krishna Goineau’s French and Spanish Speech-Attack-Lyrics Liaisons Dangereuses created a unique style anything other than a Berlin or Düsseldorf ‘thing’ – that was propelled to an international underground phenomenon of fame.
Nu VIsion was inspired to create a blueprint from the period of their productions of 1981-1982 with an electronic-dance direction paying homage with passionate craftsmanship utilizing what equipment was possible in the studio at the time of this recording featuring new members; Zoe Murphy & Fletch The Stranger on vocals and James Chazz on Saxaphone with a Ring Modulator.
As Shadow Pressings hits its 10th release the fledging vinyl-only label bring us five heavyweight basement jams, hand-picked from DJ Split’s own circle of friends and musical conspirators including one track from Split himself. Dusty machines creating stripped back grooves, strange frequencies, and raw, late-night club pressure. A little Chicago, a little Detroit, a little somewhere else entirely.
WOW! An early ’80s New Wave, Electro, Proto-Electronica, Industrial and Kraut-Pop album that has never been released before is now coming out on Elaste Records and it’s a perfect fit! History is being made.
In the early eighties, Michael Heinkel was one of those quiet electronic musicians hardly anyone knew — at least outside of Munich. While machine rhythms were being perfected in Düsseldorf, dilettantism was elevated into an art form in Hamburg and West Berlin was soundtracking its own feverish coldness, Munich seemed to be a place where, apparently, nothing was happening. Or almost nothing. Because beneath the radar, far removed from the grand narratives of those years, Michael Heinkel was already creating his own electronic cosmos — stripped-down, idiosyncratic and often ahead of its time. Electronic minimalist music, born somewhere between a home studio, nightlife and the longing for a future that could only just be imagined back then. But the recordings disappeared into drawers, onto cassettes and tape reels. For decades, they remained a secret shared only among friends, insiders and a handful of close companions. It was only 45 years later that Andreas Dorau and Ralf Hertwig (Palais Schaumburg) — two defining figures of that early avant-garde — insisted that the recordings finally be made accessible. Not as an exercise in nostalgia, but as the overdue release of a missing piece in the history of German electronic music. This music is not a nostalgic retrospective. It is a delayed signal from a future that had already begun back then. Format: Heavyweight black vinyl incl. printed inner sleeve + download card
Quotes: -"Michael Heinkel's long-lost LP is a treasure trove. I'm constantly amazed at the musical gems from the early '80s that are still waiting to be discovered." - Hans Nieswandt (Whirlpool Productions) - „Some München musical history that somehow got missed at the time finally gets released after 40 years. Great album.“ - Hell (Gigolo) - “Awesome album! Today, we can only imagine just how groundbreaking electronic music at this level was back then. When gems like these are heard for the first time in perfect sound quality, it’s like a trip back in time to the early days of electronic music. Back to the future!!!” - Patrick Pulsinger (Cheap / iO / Sluts’n‘ Strings & 909 / The Private Lightning Six) - “Terrific material!” - Roman Flügel (Acid Jesus / Alter Ego / Sensorama / Warp 69) - “ELASTE has unearthed an 80s electronic gem! A German minimal wave gem-freshly unearthed! Minimal, rare, brilliant - an 80s Krautpop highlight.” - Sankt Otten - „Pure and delicious 80s Electronics from Munich. We love it.“ - Gorilla Aktiv
Hen & Goose returns to the shelves with a heavyweight compilation for their 6th installment.
Gathering friends and family for a versatile 5-tracker, this record explores the raw and emotive side
of House music.
The record opens with a bang: Dukwa delivers a raw, driving peak-time cut that demands attention,
followed by the dusty, swinging grooves of rising talent Moglis. On the flip, Bobby Cazanova sets
the mood with "Realidad" – a lush groover carried by warm pads and a Balearic touch. This paves
the way for label head Júlio Cruz, who delivers a nostalgic, vocal-led Deep House anthem that
blends pure euphoria with a touch of melancholy. Finally, Bobby Analog closes the affair, taking us
back to the roots with his trademark raw and dusty sound.
A record bag essential that works from the peak time to the early morning hours.
The album that launched a thousand heavy-hearted singer-songwriters on their not-so-merry way, Sweet Baby James was arguably the first shot in what became the soft revolution of the early '70s. Taylor struck commercial gold with Sweet Baby James by augmenting his acoustic guitar and soothing vocals with laid-back accompaniment and penning a slew of songs that drew upon folk, soul, and rock influences. Musically mellow and lyrically restive, it put Taylor in the Top 10 and set the tone for a popular school of '70s sound.
Barcelona's JULIAN RECA & LUDVIQ deliver hypnotic, cosmic, leftfield grooves- a 12" tribute to Andalusian roots with selections across the BPM spectrum. The record features LAS DEBLAS plus top-tier remixes from RIC PICCOLO, MARCELLO GIORDANI & NYC's PETER MATSON of UNDERGROUND SYSTEM. 7-27
Though of much of STAR CREATURE's catalog gets heavy rotation in Ibiza and Balearic themed events across the globe - this giant EP sets it off in the truest sense. Barcelona’s JULIAN RECA & LUDVIQ deliver hypnotic, cosmic, leftfield grooves on this 12"-- a tribute to Andalusian roots with selections across the BPM spectrum. The record features family friends: Flamenco pop/rumba disco legends LAS DEBLAS plus top-tier remixes from RIC PICCOLO, MARCELLO GIORDANI's ITALO DEVIANCE, and NYC's PETER MATSON of UNDERGROUND SYSTEM. Essential Balearic dancefloor heat just in time for the seaso
The free folk/jazz sound of modern Los Angeles. Featuring a heavy bunch of musicians and vocalists including Moor Mother.
"Fearlessly Accessing the Divine Spirit From Here on Out" is the vinyl debut from pianist, composer, and producer Diego Gaeta. He has previously released projects as Club Diego and with the trio Human Error Club (whose members Mekala Session and Jesse Justice helped produce this record). He has quickly become a fixture in a number of Los Angeles musical environments, working with Lionmilk, The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, Carlos Niño, Black Nile among others. This album is a synthesis of these many LA environments, and carries chamber, jazz, ambient, and folk influences, ultimately giving it an uncategorizable feel similar to works by Arthur Verocai or David Axelrod.
Gaeta recorded the initial ideas for the album by himself after experiencing a burst of creativity during the lockdown of 2020, in the aftermath of a season of protests in Los Angeles, on a piano at his home in El Sereno. "I was constantly not in tune with myself, always awaiting outrage and tragedy in a very unstable world. However, hitting the streets in support of various ongoing pandemic community actions felt necessary and it marked a point in time that ushered in large societal changes. The weight of that era made me feel allergic to making art at the time. All of these ideas came after that period, expressing my reflections subconsciously. I remember that the ideas came in a short amount of time, and then they developed."
Once he had created the tracks as Ableton sessions, he realized the gravity and context of how he was processing his ideas so he, as he puts it, "felt like taking them outside the hands of midi and into the hands of friends." Gaeta was able to assemble his dream band, which ended up being a 9-piece ensemble, or a nonet. "I felt that at some point I was channeling the geometrical balance of that nonet...it's almost as if I had a sextet and then the three of the sextet that's not the rhythm section were doubled. It's a really dense sextet, that's how I see it."
The recording process began the following summer in June 2021 as the musicians were all adjusting to the newfound dynamic of getting tested for COVID, waiting a few days, and then meeting up to record. "We were eating Indian food, some of us were smoking, it was a nice memory, but I felt a little stressed, because I was the bandleader, and I felt the emotional weight of my music."
The title track and single, featuring vocals by Jimetta Rose, begins with a speech by Gaeta delivered when playing with Black Nile in 2019 at the Levitt Amphitheatre in MacArthur park. Gaeta provides the following account: "Even though it was in 2019, socio-political tensions and issues were at the forefront for me at that time. I wrote a speech that was intended to be critical of the US but it ended up becoming a collage inspired by different women that had messages of freedom that spoke to me the most. I quoted Nina Simone and Georgia Anne Muldrow, it wasn't something that I read but something that she said "kicking it with consciousness and style" that phrase stuck with me, so I used it in that speech. Although critical, the speech had a positive feeling to it, and it was hopeful. I gave that speech while fireworks were going off."
Moor Mother & Zeroh are found on their respective tracks, Memory Screen & Eccolo - both delivering a distinct, commanding vocal performance. Low Leaf colors the track Soft Spot with harp, a beautiful ballad nestled in the center of the album. Other players include Gregory Uhlmann on guitar, Jon Kaye on violin, Devin Daniels on alto saxophone, Caleb Buchanan on bass, Dante Luna on vibraphone, Patrick Behnke on viola, Bryan Baker on tenor saxophone/flute, and Mekala Session on drums.
"I’d like for us tonight to embody a freedom oriented life. Freedom isn’t just a dream, it’s a place we must all arrive at together, as one by one the people of the Earth help each other to be Free of power, hate, and insecurities. Let’s kick it with consciousness and style. Can y’all dig that? YEAH. I can too. So now we’d like to present to you a spiritual transmission I like to call: 'Fearlessly Accessing the Divine Spirit of Freedom From Here On Out.' YEAH" - Diego Gaeta
Our latest Holy Grail reissue is this private press spiritual jazz gem out of California from Rickey Kelly and his vibes & marimba. Features Diane Reeves (vocals) & Adele Sebastian (flute)!
Heavyweight 180g LP with tip-on sleeve, individually numbered 1-1000, card enclosed for liner notes & audio download
"Rickey, I know these are your friends, the guys you went to school with, but if you wanna record an album, you record with musicians who have been playing their whole life; whatever you write, they'll put their whole life into it. You play with your friends; they may not even play in tune."
These are the words of Slave guitarist Kevin Johnson, and they were to change the course of young Rickey Kelly's life.
It was 1978, and music student Kelly had approached Johnson with a tape of rough demos of some songs he'd written. A San Francisco native, Kelly had recently moved the short distance south to study music at LA City College in East Hollywood. He was a member of E.W. Wainwright Jr.'s African Roots of Jazz, and was spending up to 10 hours a day in practice on both vibes and marimba. He also played with Horace Tapscott, and had his own band made up of fellow students, but it was his ambition to make an album that led to the conversation with Johnson. It was a turning point in his education, and a decision was looming.
The next thing Johnson said was "You call the best jazz musicians. How'd you like to play with Billy Higgins?", a line that would seal it for anyone; for a youngster like Rickey just starting out in the business, you just don't turn down the opportunity to play with the likes of highly accomplished musicians, especially those of the calibre of legendary jazz drummer Billy Higgins.
Some calls were made and the date was set to record at Studio Masters on Beverly Blvd, a studio set up just a few years previous in 1973, owned and operated by Dot Records founder Randy Wood with his son John. Some of the other music professionals set to record with Kelley that day were flautist Adele Sebastian, bass player Tony Dumas, saxophonist Charles Owens and vocalist Diane Reeves, none of whom had previously played with Kelly before.
Kelly was impressed with the studio, with the gold records displayed on the walls and the famous musicians hanging out. 'It took a lot of humility for me to record with them, I mean I was nobody, nothing, and for not a lot of money either' remembers Rickey in a later interview with Calvin Lincoln, 'It taught me a lot, to practice hard, and study for the rest of your life, to give your all, and there's a lot of all to give'.
As the recording session took place, John Wood was listening in. He was impressed. Kelly didn't have the funds to manufacture and release the album himself, so Wood suggested it was pressed up on his in-house studio label, Los Angeles Phonograph Records, and thus the LP 'My Kind of Music' was released early in 1979. The album also saw a subsequent pressing soon afterwards on Dennis Sullivan's New Note label.
Kelly remains humble and proud of his debut album to this day. 'I was still a beginner' he says, 'These masters walked in, smiling, and gave me something worth gold'.
The second vinyl release on Platz fur Tanz continues the narrative of techno's past and future. Experienced artists reinterpret the shadowy vibe of dancefloors around the world, giving it new form and depth.
The record opens with a track by Swedish techno futurist Lakej, featuring his signature sound of machinery on a working factory floor. The music immediately transports you into the industrial atmosphere of a rave.
This time, the Italian-born, Berlin-based artist VSK takes us on a journey through the emotional waves of deep techno. A slightly jazzy groove makes this track perfect for peak time dancefloors.
Latvian producer Ksenia Kamikaza stays true to her style, transporting us into a world of visualized melodies and rhythms. The bassline sets the groove, while the unhurried rhythm allows you to fully surrender to the dance.
Liza Aikin brings an uncompromising Berlin vibrations to the release, reminding us how a true rave should sound. Her style is not heavy but persistent. Liza never stops experimenting, and this track will be a highlight of any DJ set.
Another Latvian electronic talent closes the release. Igors Vorobjovs blends the best of electro and techno in his track. Nervous rhythms and loud sounds stir the emotions, while the raw, untamed resonance will leave no true connoisseur of feral techno indifferent.
Ruf Dug flies to Duca with 4 edits showcasing his Ruf Kutz have never been far from the mind.
Rhythm Section, International Feel, Pinchy & Friends, Wolf Music, Music For Dreams and Klasse Wrecks all released the Dug, it’s super honouary to board.
Manchester to Guadalope to Ibiza, his reputation as a DJ, producer and toker is example to all. Here we go. Dug dives in, drum machines ready, mutated across scenes. Street Soul, si! Industriale, buono! Beatdown, no problemo !
Ruffy’s Big Decision is UK Disco meets back alley Boogie, love pains galore over driving funk bass. You Are The One !
Ruffy’s TV Channel is metalica. Heavy beats, unrelenting. Funk to 11. Sherwood. Ciao. Pursuit of trivia. Television, The Drug Of The Nations !
Ruffy Electric Bill. Now we move. Cowbell chiunque? New York ‘81. Smoke stacks. Cars bouncing Downtown. Nobody gets to meet the Duke. Set. It. Off !
Emerging from a shared love of long-form storytelling and hypnotic groove, Techfui presents a stunning double album from Ada Kaleh and Wareika, a cross-continental dialogue between two singular visions of deep and micro house.
Romanian composer and sound alchemist Ada Kaleh channels his signature world of organic textures, dub-soaked spaces and slowly evolving rhythms, known from his forward-thinking work on R&S, Apollo and his own Ada Kaleh Romania imprint. His part of the productions unfolds like a ritual: subtle, detailed and endlessly spiralling, built for dancers who like to disappear inside the groove.
On the other side, trio Wareika bring their unique blend of live jazz sensibility, meditative dub and electronic body music, honed over years of improvisation and boundary-blurring club performances. Their contributions lean into fluid polyrhythms, elastic basslines and shimmering harmonies, tracks that feel alive, breathing and in constant motion.
The journey is expanded by a heavyweight remix cast: minimal house icon Thomas Melchior, Techfui founder and Bahrain mainstay Salah Sadeq, whose deep house productions are crafted to move both heart and floor, and the elusive studio force DUST. Each rework dials the hypnosis in further, stretching time and space without ever losing the warmth of the original material.
True to Techfuis ethos of bringing family, friends and fresh talent together to create honest, unconventional art, this double album is not just a collection of tracks, but a deep, carefully produced listening experience, timeless deep house and micro house for late nights, early mornings and every hazy moment in between.
In early 2025 Oakland-based Jerod S. Rivera released his second full length Dot-Dash, featuring a collaboration with CST co-founder Cat Lauigan and Jonathan James Carr. From the beginning we were mesmerized with the result, a perfect melding of Cat's processed spoken-word and Jerod's Buchla experimentations.
The thought of remixes presented immediately, the material extra ripe for interpolation. Enlisting friends from geographically and sonically disparate locations to present an ideal remix 12". Something for everyone, something for every setting, a tool with multiple functions...
The mysterious dub/techno/leftfield mastermind behind False Aralia dives further into territory explored on iri.gram, uptempo and dancefloor-ready in a more maximal Perlon-ish way while still embracing a half-time dub feel. Philipp Otterbach (Music from Memory, Offen, RIO) goes deeper into the guitar zone he’s been exploring, channeling Earth 2, Boris, and the like for some heavy drone. Oakland duo DJ ML and Wonja adopt their Motoko & Myers moniker (Future Times, Soda Gong), zeroing in on some choice vocal snippets that mesh perfectly with a live drum break and bassline for a Seefeel-esque version that could have come from a 90’s UK studio. Finally, Slowfoam embraces the more experimental elements of the original with a remix that starts sparse and minimal but builds into a glitchy rhythmic climax.
The 12” includes a 2-sided riso insert and a download code with access to an additional remix by close collaborator Jon Carr that twists the vocals into a throbbing industrial caucaphony.
Finally out is this eagerly-awaited release of SUNANDBASS Recordings, Hits Me In Waves EP by Mark System. Friends and close members of the SAB family know it's been brewing for the last decade, appearing in bits in aftermovies and we are beyond excited to now share it with the world.
'Hits Me In Waves' unveils three currents at once, the surging pull of inspiration, the sweep of new love, and the beautiful embrace of La Cinta's waters, all washing over in unison. Thus, each track of the EP explores a wide range of emotions and moods, expressed in multiple styles within drum & bass; the lead single 'On An Island', sets the tone with unmatched sound design, rich musical elements, and raw, uncompromising production. Next comes 'Point Of Reference', built for the dancefloor and eternally young in its refined appeal. 'Celebration' follows, a powerful track that ties the listening journey together, pairing heavy low-end weight with slick musicality to keep it both melodic and full of energy. 'Where's The Dog' stands out for its playability and tough bass synthesis, making it the hardest-hitting cut on the record. Closing the EP is the beautiful and introspective 'Started At The End', a deep dive into Mark's musical mind, offering a classic, emotive finale.
Hits Me In Waves is more than just a collection of tracks, it's a reflection of Mark's long-standing relationship with SUNANDBASS and our shared vision for music that speaks to the soul and stands the test of time. Spanning from Ibiza, this release embodies the SAB spirit: pushing the boundaries of drum & bass while fostering connection through rhythm, movement, and community.
British-Brazilian jungle artist Janaway announces his brand new EP International Luv via Up Ya Archives Records.
‘50/50 Vision’ is the defining statement of Janaway’s upcoming EP, a single that captures the project’s full essence in one. Blending pulsing jungle rhythms with the rich textures of Brazilian vocals, together, with his UK-centric underground lens, he creates this rolling, dancefloor-ready track that bridges continents and culture.
The title, a play on “20/20 vision,” reflects Janaway’s experience as a dual-heritage artist who views each of his cultures from a balanced perspective. This sense of duality runs throughout his work, expressed through a distinctive fusion of sounds, stories, and collaborations that mirror his own world. The accompanying visuals deepen this connection, featuring Janaway alongside his collaborators and friends, not only adding a personal and authentic layer but providing a snapshot of the community that shapes his music.
‘50/50 Vision’ is a collaboration with two incredible artists that represent each side of his heritage. MC Tchelinho’s (Rio’s Heavy Baile collective), dynamic flow injects raw Brazilian energy and is enhanced by Arinola’s signature mix of UK funk and Ragga vocals which layer in an infectious groove. Together, they create a dynamic intersection of contrasting sound that feels both global and grounded - full of rhythm, movement and connection.
Growing up between cultures, Janaway has always gravitated toward sounds without borders. Now based in Bristol, he’s part of the new wave pushing jungle forward while keeping its essence alive. His signature blend of heavyweight basslines and sharp breakbeats has earned support from Nia Archives, Tim Reaper, Sherelle and Fracture. His acclaimed high-octane DJ sets packed with unreleased tracks, move effortlessly through jungle, footwork, and jungle funk, keeping crowds locked in and dancefloors moving. After a European tour and standout appearances at Boomtown, Glastonbury, and Outlook Festival, Janaway is fast becoming one of the most exciting names shaping the next gen of jungle.
Cybernetic disco maestro Patrick Cowley graces Dark Entries once again with Hard Ware, an LP of far-out funk and synthpop celebrating what would have been Cowley’s 75th birthday. Best known for his chart-topping disco anthems, Cowley left us with an incredible body of work before his tragic death in 1982 due to AIDS-related illness. Since 2009, Dark Entries has been working with Cowley’s friends and family to uncover the singular artist’s lesser-known sides, including his soundtracks for gay pornographic films, which the label chronicled on compilation albums School Daze, Muscle Up, and Afternooners. Hard Ware presents the closing chapter in a trilogy of unreleased Cowley dancefloor bangers that began with 2022’s heavy-hitting Male Box and was continued with the soul and garage-inflected From Behind in 2024. The most expansive release in said trilogy, Hard Ware delivers ten tracks of pure, uncut Cowley: sultry, psychedelic, sarcastic, and just a bit sleazy. Cowley devotees will delight in “Tech-No,” a sparse instrumental demo version of his epically dystopian “Tech-No-Logical World.” You could soundtrack your next aerobics session with cheeky numbers like “Pajama Party Massacre” or “Shake It Up,” both of which feature Cowley himself on vocals. The frenetic “Big Ass in Motion” is built around samples from Rudy Ray Moore and The Madam’s infamous “Sensuous Black Woman,” an X-rated comedy record that would later feature in classic booty house records. Mid-tempo cosmic groovers are well-represented with jams like “Hellfire” and “Megablue,” which perfectly capture Cowley’s bathhouse-in-outerspace sensibilities. No collection of Cowley’s work would be complete without an interstellar floor-filler, and we’ve got quite a few here, like “Jungle Jump,” which pits whirling beats with dub-laced swirls of synth, or “Spellbinding Lover,” a Donna Summer-indebted melancholic boogie masterpiece that features Sylvester backup singer Jeanie Tracy. Hard Ware closes with the chilling synth-hymn ”Ice Age,” in which Loverde vocalist Peggy Gibbons sings of a coming frosty apocalypse. The story told in “Ice Age” mirrors the coming AIDS crisis and feels like a haunting premonition from Cowley. The record comes in a sleeve with a hand-airbrushed circuitboard-inspired design by Gwenaël Rattke, and includes lyrics as well as liner notes by Andrew Ryce and Peggy Gibbons. Hard Ware is another crucial document of a tremendous talent taken too soon.
Tesfa Williams' La Clique EP is a masterclass in house music's evolution - a sprawling, intricate journey that seamlessly connects the genre's past, present, and future.
Drawing from a well of deep musical knowledge, the Londoner continues to push things forward, offering a stunning five-track release that moves effortlessly through Deep, Afro, Bassline, UK Funky, and everything in between. He's also brought a few friends along for the ride: Zansika, Obi, and Tendai, each adding their own unique touches to this sonic exploration.
Opening track 'Beat & Break' is a perfect introduction to what the La Clique EP has in store, Tesfa leans heavily on a classic house sound and keeps the momentum with 'Don't Stop' featuring Obi Franky. 'Brain' is a rich and bass heavy swinger while 'Gonna Get Through' featuring Zansika hits all the right notes for an anthem in the making. Last but not least there is 'Shake It Up' featuring Tendai, a pairing that is a good as it gets when Tesfa's signature Uk house goes full into swing.
Each track stands as a distinct creation, unique in its flavour and style, but all delivering the same high level of quality we've come to expect from Tesfa Williams.
The latest release in the Party Tricks reissue series bridges rediscovery with new horizons.
Sebastian Barrymore plays a role in each project, appearing alongside friends throughout the record with unreleased gems and long-lost favorites.
On the A-side, Spilt Coffee (Barrymore & Steven D Wakeling) present two Electro/Tech-House explorations. One cut (A1) previously appeared on vinyl (SPC 001), while the other (A2) resurfaces after disappearing from their website and the realm years ago.
The B-side reveals two unreleased works from the past, which showcase different shades of Barrymore’s collaborations.
M3 Project - Editors (Barrymore & Dan Braine) blends deep house with strong synthpop influences, echoing the peak era of those sounds that once defined dancefloors.
Closing the journey on a life-affirming moment of calm, Droppenkiken - Take Life (Barrymore) delivers a heartfelt downtempo finale.
East Kilbride’s Scott Fraser finally comes good on a 25 year promise to his younger self with his debut solo album on his own label DX Recordings out of London. This record represents the closing of this chapter and the opening of a new one.
A truly international and collaborative project pulling together the help and talent of friends around the world with mastering by Radioactive man Keith Tenniswood, cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery and world class US visual art and design legends, Tim Saccenti and Nick Martin on photography, artwork and design.
Limited to 300 solid red heavyweight vinyl copies, brown kraft sleeves; individually hand stencilled and numbered by the artist, printed inserts feature a collection of moments and images from the last 25 years - the studio, the equipment, the people and the places that came together to make this release. Japanese rice paper inner sleeves.
Limited edition hand printed screen print by Niall Greaves at Newbridge Print Studios in Newcastle on the first 30 copies exclusively available via the DX Recordings Bandcamp page.
Musically diverse, crossing styles, flavours and moods, threaded meticulously with razor sharp Roland TR606 programming and glued together with a Space Echo, Expanded opens with the sub aquatic funk of ‘Eden And After’. Side one takes you through banging electro on ‘Energy In Constitution’, the dark dub techno of ‘To The Letter Of My Oath’, leaves you disappearing through a black hole on ‘The Path Of Helium Rain’ and the sound of aliens talking through FM synthesis on ‘Collected Stills’. On side two: a slice of dark, heavy instrumental hip hop gets things started with ‘Where Is That Perception? ‘. Next we get into some straight 4/4 club techno with cut up drums and bumping baseline in ‘Mi Dominante’ before moving through some blissed out Detroit vibes on ‘Earth Looking Inwards’, a rough as you like TR606 driven experimental electro groover ‘Object of Life’ and finally closing out with the Ectomorph inspired stark electro of ‘Steel (NB_BLOOD cut)’.
Mastered by: Keith Tenniswood at Curve Pusher, Hastings
Cut By: Frank Merritt at The Carvery, London
Distributed by: Rubadub, Glasgow
Artwork by: Timothy Saccenti, Nicholas Martin, Scott Fraser
Photography by: Kate Green, Javier Gonzalez, Scott Fraser, Timothy Saccenti
Solid red vinyl (300 copies), 30 coming with a limited edition screen print designed by Timothy Saccenti, Nicholas Martin and Scott Fraser, hand screen printed by Niall Greaves at Newbridge Print studios in Newcastle.
In the heart of a post-apocalyptic city, Spacelunch was making his way through the ruins, wearing a heavy armour of metal plates and flickering circuitry. Cat settled on his shoulder, listening intently to every sound. This time, they weren't just looking for an artefact — their target was the Singularity Echo, a mysterious device created right before the catastrophe. Legend had it that the scientists of the past, sensing the impending collapse, had put all their accumulated experience and knowledge together to create it. It was said that one day “Echo” would awaken and allow descendants to touch the wisdom of the ancients, learn the secrets of forgotten technologies and, perhaps, avoid the fatal mistakes of the past.
— We’ve been wandering around for how long? — muttered Cat, looking around warily. — And nothing.
— Sitting up there complaining, aren’t you? — Spacelunch grinned, deftly bypassing the debris and intertwined roots that poked out from under the asphalt.
Suddenly, a glow flashed before them, gradually taking the form of a palm-sized transparent crystal. It floated in the air, surrounded by silver lining that wove into intricate patterns, like a network of ancient runes. The symbols on its facets, flickering, cast soft reflections on the debris around them. As the professor slowly reached out his hand, the crystal shone brighter, and the low whisper of distant voices cut through the silence. Their minds were enveloped by the echoes of past events, filling their minds with images of the vanished world.
The friends froze for a moment, overwhelmed by shock and a sense of profound change.
— Well, — said Cat, not hiding his surprise. — It seems we've gotten a little smarter.
— A little? Now we have what has been lost for an era.
— So, we have a new adventure ahead of us. Where do we start?
The ghost town, once seemingly lifeless, now seemed to come to life: every collapsed building and every corner sparked with traces and clues as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for a sign.
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Italian producer, musician, DJ, and groove architect Sam Ruffillo drops his long-awaited debut album Tipo Così on Toy Tonics – a sun-drenched, genre-blurring statement that blends classic house with Mediterranean flair, romantic funk, and tongue-in-cheek Italo vibes. Over 11 expertly crafted tracks, Ruffillo delivers a dancefloor-ready, emotionally rich LP that connects deep musicality with irresistible rhythm and light-hearted elegance.
After three acclaimed EPs and collaborations with revered artists such as Barbara Boeing, Kapote, and Fimiani, Ruffillo has firmly cemented himself as a core artist on the Berlin-based label. Known for his unmistakable signature sound — a warm mix of vintage disco, 90s house, and Italian vocals — Sam’s music has garnered widespread DJ support from tastemakers like Gerd Janson, Palms Trax, Seth Troxler, and DJ Tennis, while becoming a staple on Italian airwaves. His infectious summer anthems like Danza Organica and Perfetta Così have soundtracked countless club nights and festivals, creating a loyal following that eagerly awaited this full-length debut.
Tipo Così is the natural culmination of a musical journey that’s both playful and profound — a travel diary written in grooves, synth stabs, and melodies that feel like postcards from a parallel Mediterranean universe. The album expands and deepens Ruffillo’s world into a fully immersive experience: lush emotional chords meet tight syncopated grooves, vintage synth textures collide with irresistibly catchy pop refrains, and the boundary between sincerity and playful irony is exquisitely blurred.
Entirely written, produced, and recorded in Italy, in his beloved hometown of Bologna, the album finds Ruffillo at the helm on keys, drum machines, and production, supported by a talented cast of musicians contributing live bass, guitar, and other organic elements — further enriching his trademark fusion of electronic grooves and natural instrumentation. There’s a tactile warmth in these tracks, a hands-on feel that adds soul and depth to every beat.
This album also marks Ruffillo’s heartfelt return to singing in Italian, with standout tracks like House Tipo Così, Mi Fa Volare, Ancora, and Dentro Di Me, where romantic naïveté meets pulsing club energy in a way that feels both timeless and refreshingly new. The vocal performances add an intimate, human touch to the music, reinforcing the personal stories woven into each song. There’s poetry in the casual, a bittersweet elegance in the way the lyrics float over groove-heavy production.
Having toured extensively across Europe, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Mexico — with sets at iconic venues like Panorama Bar and festivals such as Sónar Barcelona — Ruffillo has fine-tuned much of this album in front of live audiences. The real-world testing ground infused the record with a dynamic energy and immediacy that only comes from genuine crowd interaction. These songs weren’t just made in the studio — they were lived on dancefloors around the world.
Tipo Così is not just a collection of tracks. It’s a philosophy — playful, stylish and unmistakably personal. A modern club album bursting with heartfelt emotion and sophistication. Music for dancers with taste; for lovers of beauty, rhythm, and the little imperfections that make things feel real.
But what exactly is Tipo Così? More than just a phrase, it’s a way of being. It’s about embracing elegance without effort, mixing irony with sincerity, and letting nostalgia slip into the room without taking over the party. It’s Sam Ruffillo’s signature language: relaxed, confident, meticulous yet never rigid — where a chord progression can say as much as a lyric, and every beat carries intention.
The album’s visual identity complements this vision perfectly. The artwork and promotional materials lovingly reference Italian design from the ’80s and ’90s, combining bold graphic elements with playful pop culture nods. This aesthetic mirrors Ruffillo’s music — a fusion of vintage warmth and contemporary freshness, delivered with authenticity and charm.
Sam Ruffillo belongs to a new generation of European artists who are reshaping electronic music by blending past and present, analog and digital, groove and emotion — without nostalgia or pose. His artistic universe is coherent, vibrant, and alive; a rich tapestry of sound, images, and stories that coexist with lightness, precision, and a distinctive voice.
Reflecting on his artistic journey, Sam describes music as a vital, deeply human impulse — a tribal connection to rhythm and body that has driven him since he was a teenager. His creative process balances meticulous planning with room for spontaneity, usually sparked by clear melodic ideas that evolve naturally. Collaborations with close friends, especially vocalists like Ninfa, add warmth and authenticity, exemplified in tracks like “House Tipo Così.” For Sam, music is honest self-expression — crafted for listeners who crave memorable melodies and rhythms imbued with genuine feeling.
While technical perfection is tempting, Sam prioritizes emotion, knowing that what truly resonates is the soul behind the sounds. His long-standing partnership with Toy Tonics has been key in nurturing his vision, offering a blend of creative freedom and professional support. Looking ahead, Sam Ruffillo is excited to broaden his live performances, and release new projects that continue to blend electronic grooves with organic, heartfelt sounds — maintaining the delicate balance between playful irony and sincere emotion that defines Tipo Così.
Kurzversion:
Italian DJ, producer and musician Sam Ruffillo drops his debut album Tipo Così on Toy Tonics - a sunny blend of house, funk, Italo and pop, full of groove and emotion. Written and recorded in Bologna with live instruments and Italian vocals, it’s a playful, elegant journey shaped on dancefloors worldwide. A stylish, sincere club album where nostalgia, irony and rhythm meet in perfect harmony.
- Mi Fa Volare
Road-tested across continents and now finally released, “Mi Fa Volare” channels 90s uplifting euphoria with big breakbeats, lush chords, and Italian vocals built to stick. Somewhere between balearic bliss and piano house nostalgia, it’s a feel-good club weapon made for peak-time moments - already sung back by crowds after just one listen.
- Ancora
“Ancora” is a vibrant hi-NRG track inspired by 80s Italo disco, sung entirely in Italian. It blends driving rhythms with dreamy melodies, capturing the radiant spirit of the decade. This fresh yet nostalgic song delivers euphoric vibes and timeless energy, making it a perfect fit for both dancefloors and reflective listening moments worldwide.
- Dentro Di Me
“Dentro Di Me” channels ‘90s sensuality through a fast-paced, UK house-inspired lens. Entirely in Italian, it’s a bold and contemporary dance track where hypnotic vocals meet high-energy grooves. Blending nostalgic textures with forward-thinking production, the result is a seductive and euphoric trip - equal parts emotional and club-ready.
- Amigo
“Amigo” blends Latin groove, acoustic guitar-driven rhythm, and Mediterranean flair into a warm, magnetic, cross-cultural dance anthem. Sung in Spanish and Italian, it celebrates connection, inclusivity, and the joy of moving together - whether stranger or friend. With its unstoppable rhythm and vibrant energy, it’s a feel-good track with a unifying spirit.
- Ma Sei Fuori
“Ma Sei Fuori” is a tongue-in-cheek dancefloor bomb blending raw house energy with catchy vocal phrases and a nod to classic French touch. Driven by hypnotic vocal lines and a playful attitude, it doesn’t take itself too seriously - while still proving serious club impact. Built for late-night moments, it’s bold, bouncy, and impossible to ignore.
EXOTIC GARDENS is the dub focused solo project of Aaron Coyes. As a member of PEAKING LIGHTS, LEISURE CONNECTION, and a mainstay on both NTS and DUBLAB radio (among many other credits), Aaron should be nothing less than a household name. But here, in EXOTIC GARDENS, Coyes' only collaborator is a make-shift dub home studio that would make any tech head weep with ecstatic joy. For the last 6 months, little snippets and whispers of the project have been emerging on various social outlets, but here we find the culmination of those efforts: EIGHT DEEPLY HEAVY, DEEPLY DUBBY, DEEPLY PSYCHEDELIC, DUB TRACKS FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY.
Available on LP for the first time outside of Japan, experimental rock pioneers BORIS & noise mastermind MERZBOW present Klatter, the third collaboration between the two groups, and 04092001, a collaborative album featuring live renditions of the original Heavy Rocks LP!
Multi platinum-selling musician and multi-instrumentalist Jamie Cullum today announces The Pianoman At Christmas - The Complete Edition. Due for release on 19th November via Island Records. The deluxe album completes last year’s critically acclaimed hit album The Pianoman At Christmas Part 1, with its Second Part - featuring 11 covers of classic Christmas songs, as well as two original songs, including lead single ‘Christmas Don’t Let Me Down’, out now.
Drawing from the past and inspired by the present, The Pianoman At Christmas - The Complete Edition sees Jamie team up with London jazz innovators Kansas Smitty’s, as well as composer and producer The Vernon Spring and acclaimed LA-based jazz singer Lady Blackbird to complete a piece of work that is imbued with seasonal sophistication. Alongside his two original tracks, Jamie breathes new life into classics such as ‘Winter Wonderland’, ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Frosty The Snowman’, ranging from ‘Amazing Grace’ to ‘Man With The Bag’ and ‘Sleigh Ride’. The Complete Edition will be released on double CD and double black vinyl formats, alongside a limited run of 180G Heavyweight coloured vinyl in red and gold.
Speaking on the release, Jamie said -
“I had a huge amount of fun creating part two of TPAC. Recorded live, all in the room together - it’s the party after the big show, with friends, drinks and some of the finest musicians on planet earth.”
Released almost a year to the day before The Complete Edition is due out, The Pianoman At Christmas featured 11 original songs played by 57 of Britain’s best musicians, recorded in Abbey Road’s famous Studio 2 and produced by Greg Wells whose The Greatest Showman soundtrack spent 28 weeks at number 1. The album sold over 37,000 copies, spending 6 weeks in the album chart and peaking at number 11. In December Jamie broke the Guinness World Record for the largest music lesson ever, when he held a virtual piano lesson for 2,282 people, teaching them the carol ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ with special guests Robbie Williams, Sigrid and Dodie.
With 10 million album sales and over 890 million streams to date, Jamie is a celebrated musician the world over with loyal fans in every corner of the globe. With a career spanning over 20 years, his legendary live shows have seen him perform and work alongside artists as diverse as Herbie Hancock, Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar and IDLES - Jamie writing on the latter’s album Ultra Mono. The success of Jamie’s major label breakthrough, Twentysomething in 2003 and its follow up Catching Tales saw him nominated for a BRIT, Grammy and numerous other awards around the world. In 2020 he won an Ivor Novello Award for his track ‘Age of Anxiety’, taken from his acclaimed 9th studio album Taller. In addition to his enduringly successful recording career, Jamie has also established himself as a multi-award winning music broadcaster; his BBC Radio 2 show celebrated its 11th year on air this year.
With her debut album Black Acid Soul earning critical praise, Lady Blackbird is a revelatory new talent with music that transcends the jazz scene through which the LA-based artist is rooted. Reflecting influences as varied as Billie Holiday, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner and Chaka Khan, with critics drawing comparisons to Adele, Amy and Celeste, Lady Blackbird’s distinct and beguiling voice is not one to be missed.
UK band Kansas Smitty’s have developed a musical voice wholly unique from what’s happening around them. They are led by band leader and producer Giacomo Smith who's cinematic compositions feature on their releases, most recently 2021's acclaimed Things Happened Here for Berlin based label !K7. In 2015 they launched their own east London venue and bar, of the same name, which became one of the conception points for the current UK jazz boom.
Londoner Sam Beste aka The Vernon Spring is a polymath in music who has production, writing and performance credits as eclectic as Amy Winehouse, Matthew Herbert, Kano, Joy Crookes, Beth Orton, Blood Orange, Gabriels and MF DOOM. Since 2019 he has been making waves with solo project The Vernon Spring, which foregrounds his rare capacity to hold sophistication and simplicity in the same hands through highly intimate muted-piano compositions and improvisations.
Over the last ten years, Brazil’s Millos Kaiser has cultivated a reputation as a top-ranking selector passionate about bringing his home country’s underappreciated music to the world. After starting as a punk and indie musician in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, he turned his hand to DJing in the late 2000s and relocated to Sāo Paulo. There, he spent the 2010s rocking city squares, warehouse parties and street parties with DJ Trepanado in the Selvagem duo before cofounding the celebrated Selva Discos label in 2017.
Since 2019, Millos’s focus has shifted to his solo DJ career and ventures as an edit maker, reissue compilation curator, audiophile bar co-owner, and now producer. Planet Trip Records has been very good friends with Millos for a long time and is very pleased to present his first original release, the Te Quero Perto (I Want You Close) EP, available in vinyl and digital formats.
Assembled like a DJ-friendly 12” for late 20th-century nightclub specialists, Te Quero Perto kicks off with Millos’ original ‘club mix’ and an accompanying ‘instrumental’ version (digital.only). Driven by an uptempo machine beat straight out of the mid-'80s, rave pianos, 303 acid bass, and an explosive Brazilian pop vocal sung by Juju Bonjour, it’s an absolute belter of a tune and a masterclass in in-period styling.
Elsewhere on the EP, Millos’s European friends Lipelis & Orion Agassi turn in an equally belting Latin Freestyle remix in vocal, dub and instrumental mixes (instrumental is digital only). Rounding things out, fellow Rio de Janeiro producer Paco Cabana throws the tune into a cocktail shaker before pouring a sunkissed, percussion-heavy reimagining for us to sip on. Front to back, it’s an all-killer, no-filler debut from a generational talent.
The critically acclaimed Colours & Light, Project Gemini’s second album, takes on a new life in Deluxe Edition format. Firmly rooted in the mood and melodies of the original album, the Deluxe Edition features an unreleased album track, alternate versions and a whole host of remixes from friends of Project Gemini. To accompany the digital release, Jack Sharp’s (Wolf People/Large Plants) distinctive, distortion-heavy remix of ‘After The Dawn’, and the previously unreleased ‘Darkness Rising’, receive a special 7” pressing.
On the A side, Jack Sharp of the psychedelic, folk rock bands Wolf People and Large Plants, takes on ‘After The Dawn’. Sharp, who featured heavily on Colours & Light, dials up the distortion with this all-consuming, darker shade of a remix. Sucking you down into a wormhole of layered guitar reverberations and Paul’s spiralling, echoed vocals, it’s an intoxicating, driving hit of mind-bending, progressive rock.
Taken from the Colours & Light album recording session, the B side features ‘Darkness Rising’. A previously unreleased, original track that didn’t make it onto the album, Project Gemini leans in on the wah-wah fuzzed guitars, using it as the basis for a sonic brew of synths, percussion and bass-heavy, psychedelic rock synergy.
Ulrich Troyer has been producing music now solidly for over twenty years within a largely genre free framework, but whilst navigating forms such as avant-garde, techno, leftfield, field recording, electronica, glitch and ambient it is the aesthetics of dub that guide his creative direction. Not really recognisable in an orthodox form as remixed versions of roots reggae songs but in the way sonics are manipulated with space, the application and layering of delay, reverb and echo that fixes his output well within the scope of what might be called futurist dub.
The nearest comparisons to his new album TRANSIT TRIBE can only be established by a synthesis of some of the more adventurous explorations in modern music such as African Head Charge, Jon Hassell, Pole (Stefan Betke), Bill Laswell or even Miles Davis; featuring a diverse selection of artists and friends not only from Vienna and environs but also from around the world, sounds are not so much fused but allowed to float along the continuous flowing tide of warm waves of bass.
Rather than to allow the names of Ulrich Troyer's collaborators be merely listed in the album credits, what they bring to this joyful affair needs to be outlined, albeit briefly: Co-producer credits go to Osman Murat Ertel from Istanbul, who employed a variation on the old foolproof Nick Lowe method for checking out the impact quality of his own sound productions by playing tracks through his car sound system speakers!
Murat is a member of the electro-psych-folk group Baba Zula where he plays electric saz, oscillators and theremin and played a key part in the creative development of the album. Mamadou Diabate, the balafon master originally from Burkina Faso and now resident in Vienna, has developed his own unique technique of playing solos that replicate the sound of three instruments playing in unison; however the multi-talented Mamadou is engaged here on singing and playing the talking drum. From South Tyrol Reinhilde Gamper is a member of the experimental trio Greifer who are bringing the sound of the zither into the twenty-first century using new playing techniques and electronic gadgets. Susanna Gartmayer is an Austrian composer and bass clarinetist specialising in improv and multimedia sound research. Diggory Kenrick has been engaged with creating new dub fusions and also re-energising classic rocksteady and roots reggae classics, renowned for his interventions on flute. Didi Kern is an electronic dance musician and drummer from Vienna with a focus on free improvised music. Hamidou Koita, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, is from a traditional Griot family in Burkina Faso but now resident in Vienna and a regular musical partner of Mamadou Diabate playing drums and calabash. Austrian Lukas Lauermann is both a studio and live musician playing cello, also working on electronic sound design and writing string arrangements. He has recorded extensively and appeared on stage with both Mark Lanegan and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Martin Mallaun is a Tyrol-born specialist in both the development of the zither in modern music and also as a researcher in the effects of climate change on the vegetation of Alpine ecosystems. Mystica Tribe is the musical alias of Tokyo-based dub/techno producer Taka (Takafumi) Noda. He collaborated with Vienna's own Vegetable Orchestra on 2020's "Transplants (Mystica Tribe Version)". After studying classical percussion Flip Philipp is now a jazz vibraphone player and member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Wolfgang Pfistermüller is a member of the Vienna Trombone Quartet and the developer of the incredible bass-trombone Aurora with its uniquely warm and resonant sound. Roger Robinson is a renowned British poet, winner of many contemporary poetry prizes and member of the experimental music group King Midas Sound. Kwame Yeboah is a Ghanaian born UK based keyboard wizard who tours regularly with Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Ms. Dynamite and Pat Thomas.
So contained on the album is an astonishing mix of musicians and instruments: sounds of cowbells recorded in the South Tyrolean alps processed by modular synthesizers and heavy analogue bass synths combined with instruments such as zither, bass-zither, electro saz, flute, talking drum, trombone, cello, vibraphone, marimba, djembe, contra-alto clarinet, melodica, Farfisa - all bound together by organic live-drums and dub effects.
Its been an incredible journey so far for the Austrian label Fortunea Records. Founded in 2014 by Vienna-based dj and producer Klaus Benedek it was originally launched to release his own productions. But over time many of his friends and colleagues from the scene send him demos. And since then it grow exponential and is now an embodiment of the capitols house and electronic music scene.
Now they are celebrating the labels 10 year anniversary with a 2x12“ vinyl compilation called ‚Down The Danube River‘. This package features 9 tracks by already established figureheads (Peletronic, Dzc., Moff & Tarkin, Jakobin, Nick Hanzo etc.) aswell stunning new productions by new faces (gutinstinct) and projects (SXP). Ranging from bass dub heavy broken beats, deep and funky house tunes to experimental cosmic downtempo trips.
Ulrich Troyer has been producing music now solidly for over twenty years within a largely genre free framework, but whilst navigating forms such as avant-garde, techno, leftfield, field recording, electronica, glitch and ambient it is the aesthetics of dub that guide his creative direction. Not really recognisable in an orthodox form as remixed versions of roots reggae songs but in the way sonics are manipulated with space, the application and layering of delay, reverb and echo that fixes his output well within the scope of what might be called futurist dub.
The nearest comparisons to his new album TRANSIT TRIBE can only be established by a synthesis of some of the more adventurous explorations in modern music such as African Head Charge, Jon Hassell, Pole (Stefan Betke), Bill Laswell or even Miles Davis; featuring a diverse selection of artists and friends not only from Vienna and environs but also from around the world, sounds are not so much fused but allowed to float along the continuous flowing tide of warm waves of bass.
Rather than to allow the names of Ulrich Troyer's collaborators be merely listed in the album credits, what they bring to this joyful affair needs to be outlined, albeit briefly: Co-producer credits go to Osman Murat Ertel from Istanbul, who employed a variation on the old foolproof Nick Lowe method for checking out the impact quality of his own sound productions by playing tracks through his car sound system speakers!
Murat is a member of the electro-psych-folk group Baba Zula where he plays electric saz, oscillators and theremin and played a key part in the creative development of the album. Mamadou Diabate, the balafon master originally from Burkina Faso and now resident in Vienna, has developed his own unique technique of playing solos that replicate the sound of three instruments playing in unison; however the multi-talented Mamadou is engaged here on singing and playing the talking drum. From South Tyrol Reinhilde Gamper is a member of the experimental trio Greifer who are bringing the sound of the zither into the twenty-first century using new playing techniques and electronic gadgets. Susanna Gartmayer is an Austrian composer and bass clarinetist specialising in improv and multimedia sound research. Diggory Kenrick has been engaged with creating new dub fusions and also re-energising classic rocksteady and roots reggae classics, renowned for his interventions on flute. Didi Kern is an electronic dance musician and drummer from Vienna with a focus on free improvised music. Hamidou Koita, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, is from a traditional Griot family in Burkina Faso but now resident in Vienna and a regular musical partner of Mamadou Diabate playing drums and calabash. Austrian Lukas Lauermann is both a studio and live musician playing cello, also working on electronic sound design and writing string arrangements. He has recorded extensively and appeared on stage with both Mark Lanegan and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Martin Mallaun is a Tyrol-born specialist in both the development of the zither in modern music and also as a researcher in the effects of climate change on the vegetation of Alpine ecosystems. After studying classical percussion Flip Philipp is now a jazz vibraphone player and member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Wolfgang Pfistermüller is a member of the Vienna Trombone Quartet and the developer of the incredible bass-trombone Aurora with its uniquely warm and resonant sound. Roger Robinson is a renowned British poet, winner of many contemporary poetry prizes and member of the experimental music group King Midas Sound. Kwame Yeboah is a Ghanaian born UK based keyboard wizard who tours regularly with Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Ms. Dynamite and Pat Thomas.
So contained on the album is an astonishing mix of musicians and instruments: sounds of cowbells recorded in the South Tyrolean alps processed by modular synthesizers and heavy analogue bass synths combined with instruments such as zither, bass-zither, electro saz, flute, talking drum, trombone, cello, marimba, djembe, contra-alto clarinet, Farfisa - all bound together by organic live-drums and dub effects.
Open Space is proud to present our first ever full-length LP by LA’s newest 3-man band, Puli. Some words from our dear friend Matt McDermott below:
In recent years, a cadre of musicians from the east side of Los Angeles have reestablished the city of angels as the first city of Balearica. Alex Ho’s “Move Through It” followed in the lumbering footsteps of Project Sandro’s “Blazer.” Now, there’s a new landmark for the floating west coast sound. Swirling, the first album from LA supergroup Puli.
If you’ve got your ear to the ground you know the names involved here. Drummer and producer Damon Palermo’s pedigree stretches back a good 15 years or so, starting off with dub punks Mi Ami. Phil Cho is one of the busiest DJs, musicians and advocates for the deep stuff in LA, throwing legendary hillside parties under the Third Place banner. John Jones, the preternaturally talented guitarist and electronic tinkerer, records as AV Moves, is a key member of the Suzanne Kraft and Baba Stiltz live configurations and plays in The Trilogy Tapes-affiliated act Geo Rip.
But this listing of personnel and credentials puts too fine a point on it. Puli are three close friends who go to parties, DJ and get tacos together, repairing to their Chinatown studio a few times a week and coming out with remarkably textured, idiosyncratic downtempo jams. Building off the solid foundation of their 7-inch of heavyweight dubs for Melbourne’s Constant Delay, Swirling is an exploration of new horizons in chill out.
“Ramona” acts a statement of purpose—with halftime/double-time dub-tinged rhythms, hazy yet bright synth motifs and atmospheric guitar from Jones, not terribly far from the expansive approach of Japanese dub aesthetes Pecker. “Cloudy,” meanwhile, is a sort of deconstructed and bittersweet Balearic pop featuring Cho’s ethereal vocals. “Bongo Springs” is steppers’ house not far from close LA peer Benedek or the Mood Hut crew up north.
But what truly sets this record apart is the space and layers in the production—while it’s nominally an electronic record, Puli is a band that has slowly crafted these songs in the rehearsal space. “Havana Jam” cruises along a sliding roundwound bass guitar take with dubby chords and textural guitars. Palermo’s hand drums and live percussion enmesh perfectly with icy pads on “Leech Seed Dub.” Cho is back on the mic for the gorgeous closer, “C.S.B.”, underpinned by breakbeat and trunk-rattling sub bass. Puli doesn’t sound like anyone else, and is ultimately reflective of the city itself. Listening to Swirling feels like navigating a warren of side streets in the eternal sunshine. Take the drive and dive.
