Search:hum

Under meters of concrete in central Cairo, a relentless buzz rebels and forms a melody. A tired man tunes his machines to catch a snatch of it, and accidentally creates a playground where these abandoned sounds can flourish. They develop a sense of humor and an acid tongue. A few children with bent ears find their way to an alley with an entrance to the playground. They would later describe what they heard as a delicious hybrid: one part cream, one part bubble gum. So, bend your ears and maybe you'll hear it too.

Dana V Andrews is a man who is still very much in love with music of all types. At 23 years old and far from living a perfect life, his love of music led him to go to Los Angeles, California in 1973 with a talented songwriter in search of fame and fortune.

Dana played a role while working on a song and album that was a big hit for the now deceased Mr. Barry White. In 1975 he met David Futch and together they formed a record and publishing company that recorded R&B and Gospel music.

One of the gospel Groups, the Highland Park Community Choir out of Highland Park, Michigan had a song nominated for a Grammy Award in 1976. That same year, Dana V. Andrews recorded two songs titled “Mr. Justice” because he was distressed by the social injustice he saw and still sees in our world. His humble hope was that “Mr. Justice” could be a rallying call for the majority of good people in the world.To unite and vote for responsible, fair, politicians who had helping the people foremost in their hearts. And “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” because he had faith that eventually right will win out over wrong. He still does to this day. He still believes today that when the majority of people stand for righteous justice with genuine love leading the way that governmental bipartisanship will defeat hate, prejudice, and injustice.

Repress.

Mong Tong's latest album, "Tao Fire 道火", not only continues the idea behind their previous work, "Indies 印", but also incorporates more local elements such as gamelan music, phin guitar, tabla drums, and Taiwan sisomi.

While sampling more sounds from the street of Southeast Asia, including weddings, funerals, and traditional celebrations, Mong Tong again explores different folk sounds around Austronesia. Different to their last Guruguru Brain release "Mystery 秘神", "Tao Fire 道火" will take us to a land that is both familiar and fresh. Feel the hot, the crowd, humidity, and ecstasy. This time, welcome to Mong Tong's subtropical world.

Here comes the fourth release by Almería-based electronica artist Mynationshit titled ‘The Tycoon’. This is another addition to the independent label ‘Waste Editions’, run by Mynationshit’s frontman Carlos Martín along with his brother Ale. This record highlights Martin’s latest musical touches. Its melancholic undertones juxtaposed with humble romanticism will inspire you. Indubitably, this Spanish artist’s distinguishable nature mixes elements of Electro, Dark Wave, Synth-Pop and Post-Punk. Picture Johnny Cash and Peter Murphy singing catchy tunes to each other while on a cosmic journey to an unknown planet where synths and prose accompany their melodies.

Salem Rashid Skourlis, a human artist and composer, defies limits to manifest his solo project "fatalism." Drawing inspiration from personal experiences with paganism, pacifism, and immigration, fatalism intertwines otherworldly sounds and post-industrial landscapes. His work, relentless and self-sufficient, illuminates a foreboding future. Founder of @bedouinrecords, he has captivated audiences worldwide in prestigious venues like Berghain, Berlin and KGR(n), Tokyo. fatalism's forthcoming debut album, "fatalism:Gh0st," explores human escapism and the power of music to transcend societal confines. Currently based in Bangkok, Salem continues to forge sonic journeys, prepare film soundtracks, and embark on a solo tour for the release of his new album.

St. Virus is a Covid-themed album born in Covid times. It processes the pandemic phenomenon from the aspect of the individual and sometimes of the pandemic itself on a philosophical level.

The opening track, "Isolation", takes the listener on a journey plagued by the sense of loneliness created by isolation. The ever-present melancholy slowly deepens into an overflowing anxiety without release. The eponymous "St. Virus" is a piece that considers the relationship between man and nature and the viruses that appear in it. They work in their own expected and, upon consideration, very honest way. Are we humans honest like this? Are human beings on some level similar to a virus? “Inherently Destructive” presents the idea of the unsustainability of the current situation. The events around us are fundamentally destructive for the individual person, for society and for the culture it carries. St. Virus is a personal soundtrack through Covid times. Record featuring artists are Tapani Rinne, Wimme Saari and Ville Kuukka.

Orphic Apparition follow up their inaugural release by RAFRAM, the collaborative project of Toronto's Raf Reza aka Raf Rizzla and UK acid house luminary Ramjac Corporation, with a new two-tracker from the transatlantic bass warriors. Where the RAFRAM 12" gifted us five variations on the same live jam cut from Grow Tottenham, here we have a spontaneous track written by Paul (Ramjac) on the A-side and a fully warped dancehall mix from Raf on the B. (short)

'Press 1 to Repeat' began as an on-the-spot demonstration of the musical self, a natural response to being asked 'What is it that you do?'. Within a few minutes Ramjac had his laptop out and was bashing out a quintessentially English sort of kitchen tabletop version of Kraftwerk - Numbers, the tongue in cheek automated voice on the other end of the line querying his account balance in tow. Proudly showing his friend Ryoko his improvisatory skills, a £10 hifi from a Japanese 2nd hand shop served as the portable monitors whilst the track waited to be brought back to his studio in London. The track is anchored by a bouncy, Irdial-reminiscent percussive workout which punches above its weight for its humble beginnings. Add the dubbed out synth pads and sort of electrical static FX in the background and everything syncs together in cosmic harmony. Hopefully Ryoko now gets the gist!

Raf Rizzla takes the stems and channels some inspiration from the Jamaican movie “Third World Cop” by turning the track on its head with a double-time baseline and half-time melody to craft a big dancehall version with a bit of a modern day On-U twist. Here Raf shows yet another side to his truly versatile production chops which have seen him release house, trance, breaks and downtempo cuts on a variety of Canadian labels prior to starting Orphic Apparition.

Debut album of heavy Colombian salsa by the obscure and short-lived El Clan Antillano. Founded in 1975 by singer Jacky Carazo and radio personality / composer Mike Char and backed by a studio orchestra comprised mostly of Fruko Y Sus Tesos band members. The record has been remastered from the original tapes, with an additional three bonus cuts taken from two rare 45 singles, including the sought after track ‘Alma’. First time reissue. 180g Vinyl.

El Clan Antillano was an obscure, short-lived salsa group started in 1975 by singer Jacky “El Caballo” Carazo, originally from Cartagena, and radio host / song composer Mike Char, from Barranquilla. The band was active only until 1977, with a mere two albums to its name. Carazo and Char, “los amigos costeños” (friends from the Caribbean coastal area) created El Clan Antillano as a fresh start after the previous group Carazo had been the lead singer for, El
Afrocombo, had become inactive.

Char primary passion was music, especially songwriting. One of his skills in this area was adapting foreign songs, often in a different language, rhythm, arrangement or genre, and refashioning the tune in an uptempo Caribbean dance mode as a salsa or cumbia. This formula, as well as his own original compositions, soon brought him success not only with costeño friends like Carazo and Vicentini, but also with Medellín’s Fruko, allowing him to make a name for himself with record labels in that city. It was at this juncture, in 1975, that El Clan Antillano was born. This is their first album and was recorded with local studio musicians. It’s been said that most on the first album were from Fruko Y Sus Tesos (the voice of Joe Arroyo can be heard on coro) as well as others involved with various groups like La Protesta (de Colombia) and Juan Piña’s La Revelación.

The album kicks off with ‘Donde ‘sta? Donde ‘sta?’, a medley of costeño lyrical phrases quoting various popular porros. Gradually changing the vibe, this is followed by Enrique Aguilar’s ‘El baile del
ratón’, a humorous cumbia that changes into a salsa halfway through. As if El Clan Antillano were not entirely confident about featuring purely salsa from the start, the same cumbia/salsa hybrid formula is used in the third piece, a faithfully rendered version of Eddie Palmieri’s ‘Mi cumbia’.

‘Estás equivocada’ rocks hard like the best Venezuelan salsa of the time. ‘Esta mañana’ is a cover version of an obscure bolero from Curaçao’s Erwin Castaneer with Super Combo Castaneer. ‘En la oscuridad’ is an interesting mashup of Puerto Rican bomba and New York style pachanga. ‘El despertar’ is a sunny sounding pop song reinvented as a Nelson y sus Estrellas style salsa/cumbia hybrid with a fantastic ‘montuno’ section.

Up next is a hard salsa jam in the ‘pregón’ (street vendor’s cry) genre, written by Fruko Y Sus Tesos percussionist Álvaro Velásquez (composer of ‘El preso’). The original album track list closes out with a fantastic rendition of Puerto Rican singer/composer Bobby Capó’s classic ‘El negro bembón’ that the world first leaned to love through Cortijo y Su Combo. Three bonus tracks have been added to the album as it was originally very short. Interestingly, there were four songs from two 45 singles cut by the band that were never included on either long play. While the ephemeral El Clan Antillano may not be as well known as the groups it’s related to, namely El Afrocombo and Fruko Y Sus Tesos, it certainly deserves credit as a worthy participant in the historical evolution of salsa colombiana.

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.

L+P-2 is Rivet's second album following his acclaimed debut, On Feather and Wire, released on Editions Mego in 2020. The wheels were already in motion for a subsequent album on the same label, but tragedy struck. Peter "Pita" Rehberg, the legendary owner of Editions Mego, suddenly passed away at only 53 years old, leaving the experimental electronic music community in a state of pitch-black grief. Rivet was among the many deeply affected by this loss. The inspiration and support from Rehberg had propelled Rivet to create at a level he himself was uncertain he had mastered. For Rivet, Rehberg's death felt like the death of music.

However, that brooding sentiment was abruptly shattered when Rivet's beloved dog and companion, Lilo, was diagnosed with incurable cancer just a couple of months later. They were inseparable, and now they would be separated nonetheless. The only way Rivet could cope with this double blow was to compose—for Lilo, for Pita, for his own sanity. L+P-2 is the result.

While the album naturally emerges from a place of despair, it's remarkably comforting. Partly, this stems from Rivet's singular ability to make machines not only sound human but also act human—sincere and warm, yet flawed. In more than one track on L+P-2, you'll encounter a distinctive melody and a gnarly bassline dancing hand in hand with Rivet's eccentric and captivating drum patterns. Then, seemingly on a whim, the melody takes off on its own, leaving the faithful bassline behind—much like a dear friend that suddenly vanishes from your life without warning. Yet life goes on, and so does the music. But never unchanged. Never.

L+P-2 is an album of lamentation, yet also of resolve—a dedication to those who go through life losing more than their share because they always carry too much.

L'estasi Dell'oro returns with 'Back From the Woodshed,' a 12" EP that showcases a finely-tuned sound and improved groove, marking this comeback on Danza Tribale. The opening track, 'The Best Yet,' features the vocals of Crystal Boyd-a familiar voice for those in the know, as she made her debut appearance with L'estasi on Voodoo Down 001 in 2012. Sadie LaPierre Ernst, known for her lyrical contributions on Field Records and Macro Recordings since 2015, lends her voice once again on this release.

Label owner Adiel offers a high-speed remix that complements Sadie's words with a steady gallop. The overall aesthetic of this record is beautifully encapsulated in 'The Marsh Flower, a Sad Human Head,' drawing inspiration from Odilon Redon's original illustration from 1885. The EP concludes with a beatless edit of 'The Best Yet' under L'estasi's resurrected Penalune alias-a project that debuted over a decade ago with two albums released on Something Records by STL, followed by a collection for TvO's Broken20 label.

The Dam Swindle curated compilation Heist Classics Vol. 02 delivers even more of the label’s biggest hits in a beautiful limited-edition package.

It’s safe to say that in it’s 10 years of existence, Heist Recordings has given us plenty of amazing music and has cemented itself as one of the key labels in today’s house scene. The first 3 compilations of this year have had an amazing response with radio and club tastemakers (re)discovering some of the best music that has come out on Heist. With support from Paul Woolford, Luke Slater, Antal, James Zabiela, Nightmares on Wax, a 10/10 in Faze Mag and various radio plays on BBC R1 with Pete Tong, Annie Mac and more, it’s safe to say that everyone has been loving these releases. Now, Dam Swindle conclude their 10-year anniversary releases with Classics vol. 2: a limited-edition collection with hits from Crackazat, Andy Hart, Kassian, Makèz and Nachtbraker.

The release kicks off with ‘Alfa’: Crackazat’s biggest hit to date (and that’s saying something, coming from a producer that has delivered jam upon jam in his career). It’s a signature Crackazat song with an off-kilter live key loop, shuffling percussion and pumping low end.
Andy Hart’s ‘Epsilon Girls’ was originally released in 2014 and has helped cement the artist and label’s position in the house music landscape. A vintage Barbara St. Clair loop gives the track a lovely human touch, which is countered by layers upon layers of glimmering electronics.

Different Planets is the track that really kickstarted the career of the talented duo Makèz. Released in 2019, the track has everything we’ve come to love from their recognizable sound: lively drums, catchy hooks and warm & jazzy chords. UK duo Kassian are represented on this package with their track ‘8th Movement’. Their sound has progressed towards techno in recent years which has given them support from artists across the board such as Ben UFO, Special Request and many more. Their Heist classic ‘8th Movement’ - still housey in its core - already has hints of their newfound style in its sound design and rolling energy.

We end the record with what might be Nachtbraker’s biggest track of his career: ‘Hamdi’. You’ll find him currently at work with artists such as Shanti Celeste where he recently released his Capichone EP, but the sound he developed in the early part of his career had Heist written all over it. ‘Hamdi’ is a proper anthem, with African drums, an ecstatic vocal sample and a killer groove.

The vinyl release of Heist Classics Vol. 02 is printed on colored 180grams heavyweight vinyl and is limited to 1000 records with a special design by our Art Director Bas Koopmans (Wellness.)

Enjoy the music and play it loud!

Lars & Maarten

Holeg Spies’ 7th album BRAVE NEW WORLD is a new step towards his creation of an immersive sound world intermixing his various music influences. The album features collaborations with YOUTH (Killing Joke, The Orb, producer of Pink Floyd and The Verve), well known Dub producer GAUDI, renown Australian percussionist RIP VAN HIPPY, psychedelic dub artist KUBA and French Goa-trance pioneer THIERRY GOTTI (Spectral/Blue Room).

This unshackled album escapes all classification, getting lost in the confines of Electronic, Progressive Rock, Dub, Ambient, Symphonic and Psychedelic music.

French trail-blazer electronic artist, Holeg’s 30-year music exploration has taken him from the early days of techno productions to composing music for films.

Touring Europe and Japan, where he was regularly invited to perform thanks to JUNO REACTOR, Holeg crossed paths with his first filmmaker, the notorious TAKASHI MIIKE, for whom he made an audiovisual remix of one of his most famous films, ICHI THE KILLER in 2001.

His film music duo SAVAGE & SPIES created the soundtrack for the cult classic THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE, BLACKSITE, a $15M thriller by the producers of SICARIO & JOHN WICK and ABRUPTIO starring Oscar-winner JORDAN PEELE. Released on Liquid Sound Design in 2021, his latest opus AXIS MUNDI RELOAD was based on personal immersive journeys in the steppes of Mongolia and among the Hopi tribe in Arizona and features collaborations with YOUTH as well as JAIA and DF TRAM.

The interstellar cosmonauts of Staatseinde create a theatrical mix of pulsing electro with nostalgic hopeful synthlines, all performed live with synthesizers, a sequencer and tantalizing vocals. From Wave to EBM, from NDW to Punk and everything else in and out of the box. It is like walking into a club meeting Kraftwerk on speed and The Sex Pistols on acid.

Their new release “De Nieuwe Golf” is characterized by dystopian prospects and hopeful sounds, confirming Staatseinde’s name as the founder of the “Neue Niederländische Welle”, in other words the New Dutch Wave.

The uplifting italo rifs in opening track “Grauw” take you on a journey through a gray world in which color cannot be taken for granted. Minimal wave track “Einzelganger” makes you feel like an outsider who can’t keep up with society. “Geef Me De Tijd” sounds like a schizophrenic dreamer swinging casually, but ending as a hard hitting track. Dystopian doom and pessimism is captured in EBM/techno floor filler “Doembeelden”. The raw West Coast Sound of Holland infused “La Haya” is a tribute to the city of The Hague which calls out on everybody to get wasted. The epic ode to space travel “Ruimtevaart Vooruit (2022 Refix)” is back in a rendition inspired by Rude66’s 2010 remix version. “Isla Inutile” is a dark and tropical delirium. In the hopeful “Alles is Weg”, Staatseinde takes you from the downfall on the way to…?

Staatseinde’s “De Nieuwe Golf” holds up a mirror to humanity…progress has not helped us any further. There is hope…but will this new wave be on time? Or is it already too late?

The Stallions compilations have become a benchmark of Bosconi's position as one of the leading house and techno labels operating out of Italy. This third instalment marks a shift in sound which also comes full circle to the music that first inspired founder Fabio Della Torre as a DJ and producer around the turn of the millennium, when punchy electro production was driving European house and techno into new zones.

All the artists featured on Vol. III are Italian, holding true to Bosconi's commitment to supporting local talent from Florence and across the country. Amongst the familiar faces is Della Torre's own Minimono collaboration with Ennio Colaci, which indulges a proudly manic palette of tweaked bleeps and dirty low-end. Elsewhere, recent additions to the Bosconi fold include veritable legends Alexander Robotnick and Marco Passarani, who infuse their unpredictable approaches to electro-techno and italo disco with ear-snagging synth-pop and driving analogue box jams respectively to create vibrant, impassioned dancefloor monsters.

The Mechanical Man is an alias from Nicola Altieri, who leans in on a classic Italo arpeggio to create a seductive club sound which builds on his recent Bosconi EXV EP, while Cixxx J switches from the mood of his own Bosconi appearance for a new alias Queen Of Coins and a pivot towards heads-down electro-techno-trance with a whiff of International Deejay Gigolos. Lapucci builds on the promise of his 2021 Bosconi 12" with a sentimental fusion track which lands somewhere between old school Italo house, the snappy pulse of EBM and crisp 00s-era electro house. Meanwhile modern day Italian techno legend Lucretio of The Analogue Cops makes his first appearance on Bosconi with the playful video game stylings of 'Gradius'.
A great deal of space on Vol. III is given over to emergent talent, ranging from Miguel Herr's twitchy detroitian synth-pop braindance and Twovi's vocoder-charged electro funk to DJ Rou's jacking ghetto house flavour. Giammarco Orsini and Jacopo Latini appear as Data Memory Access and deliver an emotive, punchy strain of machine soul. Feel Fly rounds the compilation off in bombastic style with an epic, cinematic workout which draws on Moroder-inspired drama without losing the forthright peak-time focus which binds the whole collection together.

Even the artwork on Vol. III serves as an opportunity to celebrate Italian creativity, as pioneering crypto artist Niro Perrone builds on his accomplished work in the field of NFTs and a background in music production to respond intuitively to the vibrant, synthetic sound of the compilation. For all the futurism in the music though, there remains a strong sense of human feeling which has marked Bosconi out since the beginning. The label remains as inspired and inspiring as ever, celebrating the fertile crossover when people manipulate technology to express themselves in an honest, playful way. Independent of wider trends or fashions, Bosconi remains true to its own idiosyncratic passions, and so Bosconi Stallions Vol. III stands proud as a compilation like no other.