quête:hug

* The original sister label to Ram Records from the old Ram HQ studio in Essex, Liftin Spirit Records now celebrates it’s 25th year with a special ‘RELOADED’ limited vinyl series of remastered classics, alongside rare and previously unreleased tracks since the beginning in1992.

* DATs from artists such as Andy C, Ant Miles, Shimon, Joint Venture, Interrogator and Red One have been located in the archives. Also from the Ram & Liftin HQ came tracks for the Deep Seven label in 1993 and all these rare DAT masters have been located and now re-cut by Simon, the original Ram & Liftin vinyl masterer at ‘The Exchange’. Initially, Deep Seven remasters will present on a printed white label and unreleased tracks will have a black label.


* What can we say about Desired State? Their alter ego to Origin Unknown and an absolute force in the 90’s. Andy C & Ant Miles’s Hardcore roots grew into the emerging Jungle/Drum & Bass scene with huge success. Deep in the original RAM HQ archives was a DAT tape containing two tracks from 1992. Never before heard, let alone released, these breakbeat gems were created in the golden era of Hardcore. 27 years later they get a full master and release on Liftin Spirit Records, that are sure to please collectors of Oldskool Hardcore and early Jungle alike.

Promotion across chosen internet websites and Hardcore 12” vinyl communities.

The Last Day Of Pompeii is a compilation of hidden gems by Retina.it -most of them released via Chicago’s Hefty Records in early 2000- and few unreleased coming as a double EP. The records will have inserts presenting 2 halves of Karl Brullov painting from 1830 (that gives the name to the project). On the backside of the insert there will be anecdotes and pictures from the archives. Midgar want to pay tribute to the Pompeian duo, whose life has been entirely dedicated to music. Retina.it is respected by the likes of Frank Bretschneider, Olaf Bender, Donato Dozzy, John Hughes considered ‘big’ and ‘seniors’ of electronic music industry, but modern public is lacking informations about them. The project ‘The Last Day Of Pompeii’ talks about their origins, early history and relationship with Hefty Records.

The Last Day Of Pompeii is a compilation of hidden gems by Retina.it -most of them released via Chicago’s Hefty Records in early 2000- and few unreleased coming as a double EP. The records will have inserts presenting 2 halves of Karl Brullov painting from 1830 (that gives the name to the project). On the backside of the insert there will be anecdotes and pictures from the archives. Midgar want to pay tribute to the Pompeian duo, whose life has been entirely dedicated to music. Retina.it is respected by the likes of Frank Bretschneider, Olaf Bender, Donato Dozzy, John Hughes considered ‘big’ and ‘seniors’ of electronic music industry, but modern public is lacking informations about them. The project ‘The Last Day Of Pompeii’ talks about their origins, early history and relationship with Hefty Records.

Italy meets Miami via Holland - A truly international and classic feel all over this latest essential release from high Fashion music!
Disco powerhouse Moplen takes on this true-blue Disco classic from the legendary TK crates and turns in 2 brilliant and fresh reworkings of T-Connection's anthemic 'Do What You Wanna Do'. The A-side 'extended vocal mix' is a killer new version of this now cult record, as always Moplen's deft touch is felt in the tidy rearrangements and respectful tweaks, don't get it twisted though, this is prime-time dancefloor dynamite, it twists and turns in all the right places and still sounds huge. This new version and mix breathes some new life into this cut, a surefire inclusion in any DJ's bag for the next 30 years for sure. Don't forget, on the B-side, there's the mammoth 'Rollercoaster Dub', again Moplen steps up the heat on this version, it's exactly what you think it is, just under 9 minutes of dubbed-out T-Connection chaos, making this 12" a 'do not miss' release.

ProForm Series hits you hard with another debut artist on label. This time it is musically very versatile record from Happopumppu exploring different sides of acid house, acid, techno and possibilities of 303 in these genres. A-side starts with a huge acid banger called 'This Is Da Acid' repeating this mantra all over the track where as 303 delivers some treats from the silver box. Next one is deep acid house track called 'Superfluous' which might as well be coming out from Detroit in the late 80s. On B-side there is something more distorted going on when rough floor burner 'Pain' will rip you apart! After this mayhem it's time to relax with some laidback and mellow acid perfectly named as 'Heat Of The 80s'. Once again limited and numbered edition of 200, after that it's gone, no represses, no digital, so you know what to do!

Huge dancefloor acid original track from the legend that is Orlando Voorn plus killer peak-time remix action from Polymeric record's Maxx Rossi plus a bass-heavy, deeper funkier cut from label boss Pat Hurley.

The first of The Beatles's five historical concerts at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo in 1966. The Beatles were the first Rock 'n' Roll act allowed in the Nippon Budokan, an iconic and celebrated venue originally built to house martial arts exclusively. The Fab Four performed in front of a huge and excited audience producing a major event in the whole history of Rock Music.

Like a phoenix from the ashes, the mighty Cécille Records is back, and return with their 2008 club smash, ‘Nesrib’ which launched the career of label mainstay SIS, and here is catapulted into the present day with a remix from Fuse hero Archie Hamilton.

Established in 2007 by Nick Curly and Marc Scholl, Cécille quickly became a trustworthy and steadfast purveyor of deep tech-influenced music. With its reputation for quality unsurpassed, Cécille attracted a
wealth of talent, none so much as SIS. German-born Burak Sur’s origin story is evergreen. Caught up in the rhythms of DJ Karotte at U60 club in Frankfurt one night, he decided that dance music was his life’s mission and began to plot his future. Already a proficient rock drummer, he learned to DJ and produce at the age of 21, releasing his first tracks in 2006.

‘Nesrib’ catapulted SIS on a furious 4-year musical journey which saw him win multiple awards for ‘Track of the Year’, ‘Producer of the Year’ and ‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year’ across the music press. Still
performing at clubs and festivals today, SIS has perfected his live/DJ hybrid show which continues to take him around the world.

For his remix, Archie Hamilton has dug deep into his roots to transform SIS’s original bumpy minimal techno vibe into a fully formed rolling tech monster. Aquatic FX and sparse percussion open the track before that huge growling bass shifts things into high gear. Carefully holding back on the vocal chops, Hamilton carves out a muscular groove before unleashing Williams’ diva lyrics.

PLAYED BY Marco Carola, Martinez Brothers, Luciano, Reboot, Nick Curly, Archie Hamilton

The DJs Pareja have been flagging they’re a DJ duo in love long before the recent trend. ‘Pareja’ literally translates as ‘couple’, and that is just how Diego and Mariano do life; in tandem. It may not seem so radical these days, but the Pareja’s have been unapologetically queer trailblazers in their hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina - throwing raves and putting out pop dance records for decades. It took us years to get these boys to come play for us in San Francisco, but when they finally did, minutes off the plane we were hugging and shedding a little tear in front of the Castro theatre sign. I always knew that one day we would get them on the label, and this EP is a product of how far this new gay techno underground has come. So it is with great pleasure we present 4 tracks produced south of the Equator, mixed for the gods, with some signature vocals and some sounds we’ve never heard from these Argy boys sleeping in a Queen bed.

Leifur James released his debut album A Louder Silence in October 2018 on Late Night Tales original artist label Night Time Stories; home to Texan trio Khruangbin and the iconic Late Night Tales series. The record attracted immediate support from Pitchfork, KEXP, XLR8R, Mixmag 8/10, Future Music UK 9/10, Electronic Sound 9/10. In April 2019 ‘Wurlitzer’ was the first piece of music he revealed from a new creative period after those sessions. The video was created by animator/director Balázs Simon, premiering on Boiler Room and was nominated for the BMVA Berlin Music Video Awards in the experimental music category, airing at the British Film Insitute BFI Southbank London.

Now in September 2019 he has prepared a remix EP 12" of the debut album A Louder Silence, featuring a slew of the finest musicians in electronic music today. Blueberry Records founder FaltyDL aka Drew Lustman comes first with a deep, skipping 2-stepping reversion of Mumma Don’t Tell. Bruce coming off the back of his hugely well received debut album for Hessle Audio has a “resymph” of Osho in typical mind-bending austere electronic style. Whities producer and Tirzah/Mica Levi collaborator Coby Sey reconstructs Suns of Gold with his sampler, and also accompanying it, is Leifur’s own remix of suns of Gold.

For the latest release in their ongoing ‘International’ series, Into The Light Records takes us to Sydney and the dreamy, softly spun musical world of talented multi-instrumentalist Max Santilli.

“Surface” is Santilli’s debut album following years spent working alongside Jacob Fugar in Ken Oath Records-signed downtempo duo Angophora. It draws on a personal archive of home recordings made between 2016 and 2018 using a range of guitars, synthesizers and acoustic percussion instruments.

As you’d perhaps expect, it’s an intimate and hugely personal set that wraps drowsy, slowly shifting musical flourishes around gentle, sun-kissed rhythms and suitably spacey chords. Santilli offers subtle nods towards his various inspirations – think the mesmerizing ambient-jazz fusion of Michael Bierylo, Steve Hillage’s timeless early ambient works and the intricate acoustic guitar playing of Steve Tibbetts and Miguel Herrero – while forging his own distinctly lo-fi and otherworldly path. As a result, “Surface” is an album of impressive depth and diversity, held together by Santilli’s reflective, emotion-rich vision.

Following his debut on Phantasy earlier in 2019, Joshua James returns to the label with ‘Journeys In Love’, complimented by a propulsive remix from Joe Goddard. Flipping the ruthless sleaze and hi-NRG of ‘Coarse’ on its head, the XOYO and Rinse FM resident presents a release that soundtracks the deeper, more vulnerable and always joyous aspects of London’s queer nightlife culture. ‘Journeys In Love’ lands with immediate effect, building steadily and confidently around a trippy sample and the hugely pleasurable push-and-pull of James’ synths. Breathing deeply and suspended in red-light, James’ new production tastefully recalls the late-hour, sensual attitude classic NYC deep house, while transmissions of a bottom-heavy bass weight anchor the track in the capital’s defiant after-hours scene. As a digital exclusive, the Super Drama remix utilises skittering percussion and cymbal rushes to drive things forward, dissolving with a playful acid coda.
Needing little introduction, Hot Chip and Two Bears co-founder Joe Goddard delivers a soaring and complementary reinterpretation of ‘Journeys In Love’, one built on halcyon, analogue sounds and further bathed in ecstasy and melancholy.

PLR is proud to host a variety of talented producers from around the hemisphere, from Berlin to Montréal to San Francisco. The label is a brainchild of independent artist Experimental Housewife and was kicked off by prolific producer Roche (100% Silk, Jacktone, Hobocamp) and his breath-taker A Genuine Effort To Make You Comfortable. Soon after, the spring saw italo-sprinkled dance floor beats followed by slamming techno and weirdo-tronica, a non-genre made of intriguing sounds that play tricks on DJs. In closing, the roster will be opening ears up with a wonderful miniseries of ambient releases before the final EP: arpeggiated pop from conceptual two-man band Star Service .

Premiere producers like Lily Ackerman (As You Like It, Mioli Music), CMD (Jacktone, basic_sounds), Golden Diskó Ship (Monika Enterprise, Spezialmaterial, Klangbad), BLEIE (B.O.D.I.E.S., 3am Devices), Mo Kudeki (Noctuary, Public Works), and Tape Ghost (Asterisk, Night Sea) have all signed up to the roster, releasing fierce and excitable works that they have had for a while but hitherto were not able to release to the public.

Reverenced names like Ryan Merry (now Elexos Park but formerly Ghosts On Tape), Roy England (Make Mistakes, Communikey), Caltrop (In The Dark Again), Loren Steele (Wolf + Lamb, Jacktone), and Philadelphia warriors Sean Thomas (Drumsong, Sound Between Movement) as well as bpmf (Schmer, Serotonin, Prototype 909) have all offered exclusive productions.

Mysterious and up-and-coming producers like Emmett Perlman (Wage Slave, Make Mistakes), Bad Person , gayphextwin (Jacktone), BIlagáana (VODER), and Atlas Of Nothing can be explored in the catalog alongside new names like Memeshift, The Hug , and Jaclyn Kendall .

Our spotlight mastering engineers for digital releases include David Last, Abe Duque, Dark Star Audio, David Tatasciore, and Helen Heß. Our resident and extremely generous/talented engineer for the year has been the one and only Roy England.

The mysterious Urban Inc producer that gave chills to many with its first release “pleasure planets” is back 4 years later with a HUGE LP ! (the first one on WAX CLASSIC). And honestly we are proud to say that this one of the best release we've ever done. ESSENTIAL ! SKYLAX RECORDS 4 EVER

This month has seen Liam Gallagher make a typically full-throttle return. Super intimate sold-out show at Hackney Round Chapel? Biblical. Premiere and release of the long-awaited ‘As It Was’ documentary? Completed. Featured on the cover of Q, who described him as “rock’s finest frontman”? Naturally.



Liam wrote lead single ‘Shockwave’ with two of the key collaborators behind the all-conquering ‘As You Were’ album: Andrew Wyatt, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Song as co-writer of ‘Shallow’ from the film ‘A Star Is Born’, and the multiple Grammy-winner Greg Kurstin who also produced the track. It was recorded in Los Angeles.



Liam Gallagher’s debut solo album ‘As You Were’ was a critical and commercial smash. It debuted at #1, out-selling the rest of the Top 10 in the process, and was soon certified Platinum. Liam was back where he belonged, selling out huge outdoor shows and earning major awards from Q, NME and GQ.



More details regarding ‘Why Me? Why Not.’ will be revealed imminently. “It’s a better record than As You Were,” promises Liam. “Which is saying something, as that was epic, wasn’t it?”



Liam’s next double-bill of huge UK shows comes at the end of the month. He’ll play a sold-out Eden Sessions show on the 26th before hitting Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage on the 29th.

Official remastered limited edition of Cellophane project from 1984 produced by Alessandro Novaga, one of THE major influences on Chicago House Music with his trio of releases -Drums-, -Electronic Drums- and -Faces Drums-, all essentially EPs of tough electronic bonus beats, creating the blueprint for many early Windy City productions. He was also behind other such hugely influential cuts as Stopps -Im Hungry- and -Ali Shuffle- by Camaros Gang. Here on his Cellophane album, which came after the huge -Gimme Love- single, we get what I guess you could describe as his magnum opus. The album consists of just two long tracks (or suites perhaps?) that take the listener of on an epic psychedelic italo /space disco trip like no other. Heavy use of synths and drum machines expecially on the part 3 !

audioMER. is honoured to announce the release of a new LP; Make Visible the Ghosts with music by Aki Onda (US/JP) and artwork by Paul Clipson (US). This album is the follow-up of Aki Onda’s Cinemage project Lost City—with Loren Connors and Alan Licht—released on audioMER. in 2015.

On Make Visible the Ghosts, New York-based musician Aki Onda composed the soundtrack for the images of the San Francisco experimental filmmaker Paul Clipson, who suddenly passed away on February 3, 2018.

In 2009, Clipson and Onda met at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for the first time and shared a ride to the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where they presented audio-visual works in the same bill. Since then, the two artists – known for their highly personal approach with Super 8, 16mm, cassette Walkman and radio – maintained a close friendship over the next nine years. Their works deal with memory, time, space, and those reflections, and they had a lot to share.

Onda and Clipson completed their collaboration work Make Visible The Ghosts—a combination of vinyl LP of Onda’s music and large-size collage artwork by Clipson—a few months before Clipson’s departure from life. The work is composed of the materials they used for their performance in New York in 2012 and developed over the three years from 2015 to 2017. Onda notes:

“The loss of Paul has left a huge hole in our mind including his friends and collaborators. Paul is no longer here, and this is a chance to remember him and his images that extended and expanded our perception of how the world can be seen and heard.”

In 1986, Uruguayan vocalist and musician Mariana Ingold took the advice of a storied Uruguayan composer and musicologist and recorded her first album (Todo Depende) for the now legendary label Ayuí/Tacuabé. In the early ’80s, the introduction of the synthesizer fostered an experimental new approach to traditional Candombe rhythms. Ingold’s influence on the scene looms large. Pairing elegant vocals and majestic harmonies with complex arrangements, she pushed the Montevideo-specific sound — loosely termed Candombe fusion — in new directions and thrived working collaboratively with artists including Eduardo Mateo, Jaime Roos, and Hugo Fattoruso.

With the assistance of Chris J. Morris, Left Ear Records has extracted a collection of tracks that encapsulate this period between 1986-1991, lifting from her albums Todo Depende, Cambio de Clima, and Haace Calor. Full liner notes translated in English and Spanish with archival photos included.

Cromby returns to UTTU with 2 blissed out classic house tracks.

DJ Support
Skatebård - “will play!” 4/5
Amy Becker - 5/5 "Fire"
Anja Schneider - “Both tracks are great !!!!! Great work as usual. Cant wait to play. Big Hug” 5/5
Catz 'n Dogz - “this is proper music” 5/5
Kornél Kovács - “:)” 5/5

Reviews
Resident Advisor - "Acid licks and big basslines to sends clubs into meltdown."

The second full-length LP from Jungle Brown, ‘Full Circle’, drops on Mr Bongo in September 2019. Featuring collaborations with Sampa The Great, Fliptrix (High Focus) and Terri Walker amongst other super-talents.

The trio – Ric Flo, MAEAR & Tony Bones – have spent the last two years redefining soulful hip-hop – the sound is bigger, more thought-provoking, and it has matured with a rich soulful underpinning. They have also entered territories fans are yet to hear from them as they glide effortlessly over Tony Bones’ productions that introduce trap and house into their repertoire. The
project is an eclectic array of their influences, twisted and blended together to create a ground-breaking release for UK music.

Jungle Brown’s debut album ‘Flight 314’ has achieved more than a million streams without any budget for marketing or promotion. They spent much of 2016 in Apple Music’s ‘Best of 2016 category, featuring on Spotify and SB.TV, were requested to curate an exclusive playlist for Tidal and attracted attention from New York with Beats 1’s very own, Ebro.

They’ve shared the stage with the likes of De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Lowkey, Akala and Donaeo, played major festivals including Glastonbury, Boomtown and Lovebox as well as a huge number of clubs shows across the UK.