Flowers’ is an homage to the journey of my first love, the patience it requires, and the pivotal moment I met my wife. It reflects on our memories and tells the story of the comfort I feel in that relationship.” This new single from Jordan Rakei showcases his affecting vocal and ability to reveal his truest feelings, wrapped in his captivating production.
Buscar:hom
Fate is a funny old thing. One day in 2011, DJ/producer Tom Trago found himself sharing a train journey with Steven Van Lummel, a DIY musician, artist and co-founder of PIP, an underground nightclub and cultural hub in The Hague. Over the course of a rambling, open-ended conversation, the idea of making music together came up; a few weeks later, Trago travelled to van Lummel’s place – a former industrial unit that was now home to a rotating cast of artists and musicians – and didn’t leave for a month.
Cossetted away from the outside world in van Lummel’s loft, with multi-instrumentalists Janneke Nijhuijs and Wieger Hoogendorp joining them to create a musical four-piece, MEGA WEGA was born. Over the course of four weeks, the quartet embarked on an almost continuous creative session punctuated only by impromptu parties and mixing sessions. Life-long bonds were made and over 70 tracks recorded before the mundanity of day-to-day life came calling.
For one reason or another, the project never saw the light of day, with tracks sat gathering dust on hard drives for the best part of a decade. During the madness and loneliness of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trago rediscovered the tracks. Delighted by what he heard, a collective decision was made to add finishing touches and release the resultant album on van Lummel’s PIP Records imprint. Further instruments and vocals were added over two days at Hoogendorp’s studio, before mutual friend Tom Ruig got on board to mix the album.
So, what can you expect from Haunted, Mega Wega’s debut album? First and foremost, it’s the sound of pure creative expression – the distillation of a freewheeling, no-holds-barred, spontaneous musical journey variously inspired by the do-it-yourself ethos of musical counterculture, shared inspirations and influences, epic jam sessions, distant stars (Wega, sometimes known as Fidis or ‘the harp star’, is one of the brightest in the night sky), imaginary journeys across dusty deserts, and the comradeship of four new friends.
Enchanting and alluring, it’s an album that gleefully denies lazy categorization and ploughs its own eclectic, atmospheric musical furrow in vivid sonic detail. It’s a collective exploration of heady musical eclecticism unified by saucer-eyed vocals, low-slung bass, loose-limbed beats, sweaty percussion workouts and hazy electric piano motifs.
Haunted begins with the woozy and hallucinatory slow-burn soundscape of ‘Get Things Done’ – an effects laden shuffle akin to lying flat on your back tripping under an intense desert sun – and ends with the creepy, mind-mangling post-punk funk of ‘Brain Carpaccio’; in between, you’ll find spaced-out, low-tempo lo-fi soul (‘Move Around’, ‘Haunted’), tactile synth-powered boogie revivalism (‘Make Me Work’), deep and off-kilter opioid jazz (‘Copenhagen’), intoxicating psychedelia (‘Last Night on Earth’), piano-laden dream-pop epics (‘Shake Or Fall’), and Latin-infused, percussion-powered hedonism (‘Chopping Heads’).
Born out of spontaneous collaboration and immersive, almost endless recording sessions, Haunted is an album shot through with imagination and boundless energy, captured for posterity by four friends and collaborators at the top of their game.
Official Reissue of the Rare Sophomore LP by Cloud One. Rare Disco-Experiments from the legendary Patrick Adams. Cloud One was always a studio outlet for Patrick Adams to experiment. Even after the success of Atmosphere Strut, Adams continued to experiment with synthesizers (in particular the minimoog) to make this his signature sound or 'voice' as he called it. An indeed his usage of the synth was completely different from some of his contemporaries. With titles like Jump, Jump, Jump, Funky Track, Stomp Your Feet and Dance or Music Funk, it was clear the spirit of this music was in Harlem. It's no surprise Adams felt at home in the many P&P subsidiaries. 'P&P became this place where artists could be free, as opposed to an Atlantic Records or a Columbia Records, where everything is high spit and polished...We never told anybody on P&P what they could or couldn't do, what they should or shouldn't do. It was like, 'Go for it, if you want to bang pots and pans together, that's your sound.' And what a Funky Sound it was. 'I was trying to get the most out of the instrument. I was experimenting.' - Patrick Adams
"Two elevator bangers to get through the gloomy holiday season by Japanese artist, Sonoko, probably made somewhere in the 90's. Merry ye ye"
- A1: Intro Feat Persa
- A2: Endless Dream
- A3: Live Your Live Feat Jae Franklin & Persa
- B1: Fred P Skit
- B2: Track For Clau
- B3: K-Brain Tribute Feat Nblue & Damian Schwartz
- C1: I Thought You Were The One Feat Jae Franklin & Persa
- C2: Rl Stadium 92 <3
- C3: Friends And Family Skit Feat Letras
- D1: Halftime Report (For Little José)
- D2: For Princess L Feat Jae Franklin
- D3: Mg Skit
- D4: Outro
Accomplished Spanish artist José Cabrera enters a fresh creative chapter with the new album Le Bateleur. The storytelling and hugely personal record arrives on his own A Harmless Deed label and is a deep dive into the house music he has always loved.
Over the last two decades and under several aliases, Madrid- born Cabrera established himself as a leading techno producer. He has released on influential labels like Fred P's Soul People Music, Tresor, Deeply Rooted and Ron Moreli`s' L.I.E.S. records and co-runs A Harmless Deed with friend Damian Schwartz. As a DJ he has toured Europe, Asia, North and South America and proven himself to be an experimental DJ with a long-standing residency at Tresor in Berlin.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Cabrera felt detached from the techno world so used his time at home to explore new sounds. He has always had a love of house so set work on making a proper house record in the mold of greats who went before. He worked with other musicians and vocalists, made use of an array of Roland drum machines, Juno synths and Casio keys to cook up a raw and authentic sound and drew from a wide range of the back music that has soundtracked his life. The resulting album is packed with life and energy, skits from friends and timeless grooves.
The album opens up with cosmic synths radiating warmth and jazzy melodies then 'Endless Dream' is a steamy house thumper with aching r&b vocal fragments next to swirling pads. It's a passionate house cut followed by 'Live Your Life' feat Jae. This one brings classic piano energy and another gorgeous female vocal that explores dancers to cut loose and live. Following a dusty downbeat skit that features spoken word encouragement from former collaborator Fred P, 'Track For Clau' is hyper-speed future house with bumping kicks and busy synth arps bringing the light.
A prog rock guitar rings out in the cosmos during 'K-Brain Tribute' feat. NBlue and Damian Schwartz, and 'I Thought You Were the One' feat. Jae & Persa layers up booming kicks and claps with a spine tingling vocal and fat bassline. 'RL Stadium 92' taps into classic Chicago house and 'Halftime Report (For Little José)' gets down and dirty with a menacing bassline and dusty 909 sounds. Another US house heavyweight in DJ Qu features on the atmospheric ''Friends and Family Skit' alongside some of Jose associates and 'For Princess L (I Love You)' feat Jae is an exquisite deep house cut with crisp snares and a heart swelling that is loved up and blissed out. Another skit leads into the outro which is a melancholic ambient synth excursion that sends you off feeling utterly calm.
Le Bateleur is another captivating entry into the ever-evolving discography of José Cabrera.
Here's the first vinyl record release by Alien Rave. We still can't explain the strange circumstances surrounding this record, which came to our attention in a mysterious and unexpected way. A coded message through Ableton Live led us to a strange place where we found the recordings. The instructions were very clear - all we had to was follow them You'll find the results on this interstellar '94 electro-break track. Alien Rave sets out to get inside your head, introducing evocative and epic mental moments that give way to energetic tunnels built on a solid rhythmic foundation carefully designed to withstand elegant ultrasonic bass frequencies. For electro-break fans, this record could be seen as a journey which originated in the German-inspired Florida scene before eventually finding its way back to Spain. It's funny how Florida, home to some of the most robotic and extraterrestrial electro-break music, is also one of the hot spots of the global UFO phenomenon. Coincidence? Maybe, but we're looking forward to the next contact: we know it's coming.
Mood Child label owners Sirus Hood and Manda Moor curate a sonic journey featuring global talent as they proudly present their latest compilation, ‘Various Moods’. A kaleidoscope of experiences, the release showcases six tracks from diverse artists, each contributing their unique vibe to this eclectic musical package.
Hailing from Brazil, Wayne Le’s ‘This is How’ pays homage to the origins of electronic music with a rolling bassline and a vocal tribute to classic Roland machines, the 808 and the 303. The track’s energy crescendos, making it a highly sought-after ID. Spanish duo Fourth Phase brings ‘WTF’ to the compilation, a groovy masterpiece characterized by 909 drums, a massive bassline, and a playful vocal, reminiscent of the 90s. From Curitiba, Brazil, guerrA. presents ‘Storno’, a fast-paced old-school beat that weaves chopped vocals from a rap DJ tool into a groove enriched with analog drums and a powerful bass sound.
A fusion of French and Taiwanese influences, Nathan Alzon’s ‘Flashback’ captures the essence of a new beginning. The track features a vocal saying “take me away”, blending seamlessly with the groovy sound characteristic of Alzon’s productions. Representing Mexico, Gama delivers ‘Tatata’, an explosion of Latin percussive elements blended with a hypnotizing groove. Inspired by his hometown Cancún, Gama experiments with new rhythms and sounds, infusing a significant Latin influence into the track. Marseille’s Malikk, known for his releases on Hot Creations and Hottrax, collaborates with Palermo-based Side B. The duo draws inspiration from '80s disco, funky, soul, and retro movies, crafting ‘How I Feel’ with punchy drums, a heavy bassline, and unique grooves.
Reissue of the highly sought-after 7” from 1979 by Chicago
reggae outfit Gypsy Fari.
Gypsy Fari was a project born in the south side of Chicago
after a chance meeting between St Kitts expat Leroy Webster
and local music grad Kevin Coleman. The pair set out to blur
the boundaries of genre with their unique brand of music,
spearheaded by Webster’s Caribbean roots and fused with
the soul and blues the midwest is famous for.
A striking stand-out of the band’s repertoire comes via their
debut recording, laid down at Curtis Mayfield’s legendary
Curtom Studios. The EP opens with Chi-Town Reggae - a
super-charged blend of reggae and disco, led by Websters
infectious vocal, steeped in soul and powered by a relentless
rhythm section. Hail Jah follows closely, written on the hilltops
of the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica, it’s a deadly roots reggae
missile that pays homage to Websters beginnings.
Once dubbed by a local news outlet “Gypsy Fari are to
Chicago reggae what Muddy Water is to Chicago blues” -
now remastered, repackaged and made available again for
the first time since its initial release
“Dual Realms of Sounds” emerges as the latest vinyl masterpiece from the enigmatic Soul Button, an audio diptych that distills the essence of his sonic signature. This meticulously curated double-vinyl collection showcases the dualistic nature of Soul Button's artistry, encapsulating the dynamic range of his most compelling works across two distinct auditory domains.
The first vinyl pays homage to the night - a pulsating journey through Soul Button's most successful, club-oriented anthems. Here, the beats intensify and the rhythms beckon you to the dance floor, with tracks like the fiery "Incendiary" and the enigmatic "Qabila" poised to ignite the crowd.
Vinyl 2 presents a shift in narrative to a more introspective realm, featuring the most melodious and soul-stirring hits from Soul Button.
The ethereal "Utopia" and the haunting "Wraith”, stand as cornerstones of this auditory expedition, channeling the essence of deep house with a dreamlike introspection, steering away from the dance floor and into the vast landscapes of the mind.
“Dual Realms of Sounds” is more than a mere collection of tracks; it is a portal to contrasting universes where rhythm and emotion converge. This release invites you to secure your passage and delve into the duality of rhythm and melody that defines Soul Button's unique sound.
A compilation of Hearn Gadbois' tracks, published here and there along the years (1983- 2020). Most of them are home recordings with very little or no diffusion, so this release tries to shed some light on these amazing compositions. A sound related to Hassell's 4th world, but developed in a very personal way (he even designs & makes some of his instruments) that feels different and goes far beyond. Using mostly acoustic instruments, Hearn combines a love of traditional trance/ecstatic rhythms with the sensibilities of an outsider artist, creating a music that is both archaic and post-modern. A really original and rare work, difficult to classify or explain... In Hearn's own words, included in the liner notes:
"The pieces compiled here tend to fall, with some overlap, into a few broad categories as near as I can tell: Mystery Psychedelic Crime Jazz (Tuba City, Flesh of the Spirit), Ayahuasca Hut Bachelor Pad Music (Night, Take the Waters, Wood), or Party Music that just fell from the sky or bubbled up through a crack in the earth (Flown Home, What the Goatherd Heard)"
As a percussionist, composer for dance and film, instrument designer/ builder, session musician and teacher, Gadbois worked with Meredith Monk, Sussan Deyhim, Gabrielle Roth, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega, The Master Musicians of Jajouka, and Wim Wenders, to name but a few.
Club U Nite Records is excited to announce the 4 Track EP "Deep Trax Volume 2"
Side A, Track 01: Blak N Orange - Feeling Real Good
Blak N Orange delivers a deep house masterpiece with "Feeling Real Good." This track features a mesmerizing baseline that harkens back to the old-school era of house music. The irresistible vocal example “Feelin’ real good” will make you feel really good on the dance floor!
Side A, Track 02: Black Chunes - Don't Hold Back!
"Don't Hold Back!" by Black Chunes is a house-stomper that combines minimalism with a powerful punch. Its dope and dirty beat is a secret weapon that will ignite dance floors, making it a standout track on this release.
Side B, Track 01: Black Chunes - Feel The Flow
Black Chunes returns with "Feel The Flow," a track that exudes a jazzy, soulful, and groovy vibe. It's a feel-good masterpiece that is sure to bring positive energy to any dance floor, setting the mood for a night of musical delight.
Side B, Track 02: DMA - That Crazy Thang
DMA's "That Crazy Thang" takes us on a journey through classic organ house territory. With a straight, deep, and kicking groove, this track is both timeless and contemporary. Jazzy vocal samples add an extra layer of dopeness to this minimal yet highly effective dance floor weapon.
"Deep Trax Volume 2" is a testament to the enduring appeal of classic house music. Club U Nite Records is proud to present these four tracks, each offering a distinct experience while paying homage to the roots of the genre.
Jackie Mittoo is one of the most important artists in the history of Jamaican music. As founding member of the legendary Skatalites, as in-house arranger/producer at Studio One and as a solo artist in his own right leading groups such as The Soul Brothers, Sound Dimension and Soul Vendors.
These classic and rare recordings were made in the mid 1960's at Studio One. The Soul Brothers bridged the gap between Ska and the arrival of Rocksteady mixing it all up with Funk, Jazz and Latin styles. The Soul Brothers recorded at Studio One between 1965-1967. This was the transitionary period between Ska and Rocksteady where the music was a mixture of Funk, Latin and Jazz sometimes with a reminder of Ska and the hint of Rocksteady.
The previous era of Ska had been dominated by the Skatalites, the first in-house band at Studio One who created classic hits such as "Guns of Navaronne", "Man in the Street", "El Pussy Cat" and many more. Unfortunately the strong personalities in the group meant that The Skatalites stayed together for less than two years. It was also around this time that the mentally unwell Don Drummond was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, the dancer Margerita.
In August 1965, barely a week after the demise of the original Skatalites, The Soul Brothers (featuring ex-Skatalites members Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Johnny Moore and Lloyd Brevitt) were up and running as the new house band at Studio One.
The Soul Brothers were essentially a collective, releasing material under their own name or under a nominal leader (usually Jackie Mittoo or Rolando Alphonso). The group line-up changed over time with Bobby Ellis (trumpet), Bryan Atkinson (bass), Dennis Campbell (Sax), Harry Haughton (guitarist) and Joe Isaacs (drummer) replacing various members alongside the ever present Jackie Mittoo.
REVIEWS
"Jackie Mittoo was a true star of Jamaican music; a founder member of The Skatalites, a prolific composer and the keyboard powerhouse behind many a classic tune. His simple, often hypnotic approach, to ska, rocksteady and reggae made him one of the most distinctive sounding musicians of the era." BBC.
"Jackie Mittoo was one of the great names in Jamaican music, manning the keyboards for the Skatalites, the Soul Vendors, and Sound Dimension-- three of the greatest house bands of the 60's
(and I mean anywhere, not just in Jamaica)." PITCHFORK.
The flesh withers to the pulses of thunderous cave reverberations, while the spirit is united with the psalms of the Glorious Dead, the Ancient Entities that have conquered Death and become Life, dominant, absolute and victorious. This Work consists of a ritual deriving from the darkest corners of the Mind, the deathlike spheres of the Netherworld and the truest essence of the Afterlife, to become a homage to the Force of Life Eternal.
Guided by Her Luminous rays, it is dictated to be experienced solely in chamber-like conditions, below the waxing Moon, accompanied with Myrrh and lunarian incenses and agharbattis, to be properly roamed within its uncharted corridors. Listen, experience and conquer, setting aside the mundane aspects of realities, explore the unmapped pathways, with every preconception burnt to the altars of this Magnum Opus.
SHIBALBA's music is saturated with the mysticism of the East. It's richly detailed and multidimensional, while layered with chanting and broadly defined elements of traditional ritual and shamanic music. Apart from contemporary synths and guitar drones, the band makes use of bones and skulls as percussion instruments, Tibetan Horns, Tibetan Singing Bowls, bone & horne trumpets, Darbuka's (goblet drums) as well as ceremonial bells and gongs, to name a few. The Spirits behind the Shamanic Halls of Shibalba are V.P. Adept & Aldra-Al-Melekh.
CD edition of 300 copies in 6 panel Digisleeve, Matt Lamination. 7 Tracks. Running Time: 43:04
Vinyl LP edition of 300 copies in 3mm sleeve with printed innesleeve, Matt Lamination. 7 Tracks. Running Time: 43:04
T4T LUV NRG presents “Call Me G”, the new album by Brooklyn’s Russell E.L. Butler, their first full length LP since the release of 2018’s critically acclaimed “The Home I’d Build For Myself and All My Friends” on Left Hand Path. In the intervening years, Russell has experienced an accumulation of personal subjective experiences which are explored through captivating musical modalities and expressions on this sprawling, gorgeous, and deeply emotional album. Russell’s work on “Call Me G” can be described as a unique amalgam of early NY house music, dub techno and poetry. The album’s title track, as well as its instrumentals, are a kind of storytelling for histories that continue to exist without observation as well as for secrets and the power they hold in spite of their truth being obscured and sometimes lost.
Storytellers like Russell have the ability to collapse the past and future into discrete experiences of non-linear time through the emotional landscape of music and voice. Each song contains a palatable loneliness and hurt to which many in this modern world can relate, but each track also suggests the possibility of genuine connection and the formation of the self through communing and reintegrating with the natural world. These parallel concepts are the subject of “Accumulation”, a writing by Russell which accompanies the release of the album. The emotions, conflicts and resolutions that accompany Russell’s storytelling are felt acutely on tracks such as “I’m Dancing No One Is Watching” and “Stare Into The Light Beam”, among others.
On the title song, which closes the album, Russell sings “Can you call me? Will you call me? All that I want is for you to call me by my name...My name is G.” Context is part of interpretation and thus it is left to the listener to feel in the music and lyrics the concept that what may seem erased never truly dies, the traces still exist in the thing that takes its place. The T4T LUV NRG label is in part a continuing effort to facilitate the documentation of true stories that don’t get told—rather than representing a singular vibe or genre. Russell’s album is a stunning and profound entry in this evolving catalog of music and art. The beautiful cover of “Call Me G” is based on a hand drawn portrait of the artist by Diego Guzman.
Jimmy Whoo and Muddy Monk have definitely never left each other's side. Since their first - and divine, like the title of the song - collaboration in the summer of 2019, the French producer and the Swiss singer have enjoyed meeting up in the studio to compose four-handed. Their budding friendship has quickly developed into a lasting artistic bond. There's an instant chemistry between them in their joint compositions. After once again inviting Muddy Monk on the track Aqua from his Motel Music trilogy, Jimmy Whoo has come up with a more developed collaboration for a fascinating EP, To the Moon, which will brighten up the autumn.
Gathered in the Ciel Rouge Studio in Paris, the two acolytes bring their instruments and machines, a priori to compose instrumentals, and we know their affinity for contemplative, floating and addictive music. When we work together, we produce sounds that have a common touch," explain Jimmy Whoo and Muddy Monk. We share the same taste for freedom, travel, dreams and the desire to ride in music". As always between them, their circumstantial meeting leads to a healthy emulation, an obvious magnetism. There's a clear cinematic quality to the heady melodies and harmonic patterns, reminiscent of some of the big names in dreamy electronica (Boards of Canada) or retro-futurist pop (Air).
Of the four tracks on the EP, To the Moon and So Close to You sound like potential singles on first listen. Muddy Monk must have written a few lyrics on these instrumental tracks, and you'll immediately recognise his free-spirited style ("Walking on the moon/Let me please come home", co-written with Jimmy Whoo on vocals) and pensive style ("Perdu en terre étrangère/J'éliminais quelques doutes"). Mixed by Stéphane 'Alf' Briat and illustrated by a graphic cover by 22note, this EP brings together two talents for a superb musical journey from the earth to the moon.
On March 26, 2015, a surprising announcement sent shockwaves through the Belgian music scene. Noe?mie Wolfs declared her departure from Hooverphonic, the band she had fronted as the lead singer for over five years. She described it as the end of an incredible chapter in her life and expressed her desire to forge her own musical path, which she did by releasing her critically acclaimed debut album "Hunt You" a year later.
In February 2020, the long-anticipated second solo album by Noe?mie arrived, titled "Lonely Boy's Paradise," brimming with melancholic hues. Taking her time to craft and record this album, Noe?mie delivered a collection of songs that resonated even more deeply with her. At the production helm was Yello Staelens (also known as Yong Yello). With "Lonely Boy's Paradise," her confidence grew, allowing her to embrace risk and unconventional ideas. However, the international lockdown soon threw a spanner in the works, as the society shut down a day after her celebrated sold-out release show at the Ancienne Belgique. Rather than sit by, she therefore retreated to her home studio to work on new music.
Making music from the heart has always been in the DNA of Belgian singer Noémie Wolfs and yet this time it is a tad different as she's gearing up to release her third album, "Wild At Heart," in November. This time around, she joined forces again with her partner in crime, Simon Casier (of Balthazar and Zimmerman), to write and produce the album in their home studio. Despite being in the business for years, the upcoming project also immediately presented a challenge for her because this time she was involved both as a writer, but more importantly as a producer, giving the album an even more personal touch. Everything was done from an emotion or a vision, you notice and hear the love for enchanting arrangements immediately.
The ten tracks on "Wild At Heart" promise a distinct sound, enriched with meticulous attention to detail. The melodies are interwoven with dreamy, melancholic strings and an array of synths, revealing a new facet of Noémie's musical evolution. The new sound of Noémie evolved from a hip-hop-oriented use of samples on her second album "Lonely Boys Paradise" to a more electronic approach, where danceable beats with analog synths join forces with big orchestrated strings to capture the different facets of a love story.
"Strings are actually very hopeful or often form a warm blanket for many people, but can also be very frightening, oppressive, dark, and sad. It might even be my favourite instrument, which is why I definitely wanted to use them on this album. Sometimes you can even hear 42 violins at the same time, with which we wanted to capture the grandeur of Hollywood," she says about including strings.
The upcoming album is not a sonic continuation of her previous albums, but a deliberate exploration of what has always inspired her. "Wild At Heart" tells the story of two lovers who cannot live with each other, but also cannot live without each other. The dramaturgy of the album also reflects itself musically, which is immediately evident with the first single "Lonely Heart". In almost eight minutes, you feel the matchless passion in her music and her voice remains the narrative thread that makes you forget time and space around you for a moment. Noémie Wolfs' new music is therefore the perfect way to take a break from the daily grind and digs deep into all forms of romance.
"Wild At Heart" is Noémie Wolfs' reintroduction and her most personal project so far. For dreamers, lovers, and travelers.
Seoul duo Salamanda arrive on Wisdom Teeth with their latest and most focused LP yet: 'In Parallel' - a vividly textural and immersive record that brings a new level of clarity to their typically psychedelic, expansive approach. Since arriving in 2019, the pair - comprised of friends Uman Therma (aka Sala) and Yetsuby (aka Manda) - have been fast at work mapping out their elaborate, dream-state sonic world - prolifically honing their sound across four albums and over a dozen singles to date. Across their already-extensive discography the pair have established a few key calling cards. Mallet instruments and tuned drums play out playful music-box melodies. Thick washes of gaseous ambience invoke otherworldly or ancient soundscapes. And buried fragments of found sound and manipulated vocal give their otherwise synthetic compositions a warm sense of first-person narrative. Ambient and Reich-school minimalism are the music’s most obvious sonic touchstones - yet the pulse of contemporary club and pop music have never been totally out of earshot. All of these themes come in to play here - but 'In Parallel' signals a step well beyond Salamanda’s work to date. Since 2022’s 'ashbalkum' (released on Wisdom Teeth alumni Tristan Arp’s label, Human Pitch), the duo have toured extensively: at classical institutions like London’s Kings Place as well as DIY club dens like Manchester’s White Hotel, all via a series of globally renowned festivals like Mutek, Nachti and Dekmantel. Their creative set-up has grown steadily alongside to incorporate a whole suite of new machines, processes and perspectives, taking their music in bold new directions in the process. The clearest development here is in the duo’s use of vocals - a shift that has been slowly taking place over their last few records, but that comes to a head on In Parallel. The album’s lead single 'Homemade Jam' is the closest the duo have come to writing an all-out pop track: its buoyant beat and autotuned vocals sounding like something SOPHIE and Charli XCX could have written after a particularly potent batch of mushroom tea. It’s a razor-sharp slice of alt-pop that offers a mouthwatering first look at what happens when Salamanda’s sprawling, unbridled creative energy is distilled right down into something concentrated and polished. At other points their sonic explorations lead them to embrace a more upfront approach to rhythm, skirting closer than ever before to the dancefloor in the process. The meandering drums and vocal chops on 'Paper Labyrinth' are underpinned by a firm 4x4 pulse, while the dembow groove of 'Tonal, Fluid' would feel right at home in a Nick León or DJ Plead set. 'In Parallel' is a record about connection, and the warmth and nostalgic simplicity of friendship is felt vividly throughout. Its title refers to the harmony the duo have found between them as friends and collaborators - and sonic parallels are traced throughout the record as testament to this. Motifs come and go before reappearing at later points: take, for example, the melody underpinning ‘Sun Tickles’, which returns in a different key and tempo on album closer ‘Mysterious Wedding’. Parallel lines are traced between each artist and through their music, linking back to their past and pointing ahead to the future. Only Salamanda know where these will take us next.
After his first album on BLESSYOU "Turquoise", Mogwaa aka Seungyoung Lee from Seoul is back with another stellar contribution this time re-visiting his earlier days of musical appreciation in Reggae music.
This album is another entirely instrumental work with 8 tracks, effortlessly displaying his confidence in the studio when it comes to dreamy dubbed out ambient sounds intertwined with heavy digi/stepper and even dancehall influences.
A refreshing treat to the ear when it comes to contemporary productions as Mogwaa approaches the Jamaican genre with a refined aesthetic of his own. From Korea with much craft and dedication for the music, a pleasure to have him back. Mastered at Manmade mastering.
"Pulso is about sexual desire, my desire. Me as the subject, not only the object of it. I sing my pleasure and daydreams, because it's my body and my imagination, so I know what I like to feel."
Sonically inspired by reggaeton, a genre that is personally nostalgic and reminiscent of times spent at parties listening to the imported genre as a teenager in her home country, Spain.
Clara! works with producers who don’t usually dabble in the genre - SKY H1, Pearson Sound and Low Jack - in order to mix their own, unique universes with it.




















