quête:inte

“There's a clarity here that feels hard-won. Honing ideas first explored with his Organic Music series, Tiago Sousa unlocks the final puzzle pieces on Sustained Tones Vol 1. This music is enchanted, the way each layer moves in conjunction with the others: complex structures that feel less constructed than discovered, like stumbling upon ancient mechanisms still whirring beneath the earth. "Readily Reliance" opens as an effervescent sea, waves gilded in neon creating an enveloping sense of eternal motion. Bright organ timbres throw silhouettes and cast Sousa as the deft puppeteer keeping everything moving with an effortless precision. These evolving shapes suspend listeners somewhere between the physical and the cosmic, held in place by nothing but intention and sound.

Drones build rippling foundations in other places, using slower tempos to construct immersive, off-kilter sound worlds where minimalism becomes emotive, almost poignant. The fluctuating tones have a gossamer sheen, creating this interesting sonic dichotomy: a solid surface with fragile rotations beneath. It's music that commands attention; it is so much more than simply aural furniture. Sousa writes these beautiful sequences that are all interconnected, intricate sonic architecture that pulls us further into some kind of unknowable ether.

On the piano pieces, "Smooth Flow Into It" and "Swirling Mist and Thin Dust," Sousa shines sunlight through all the cracks. Washes of melody are effervescent, clouds clearing to reveal the day has not gone. Not yet. Positioned in the middle of Sustained Tones Vol 1, these pieces ground the album in something transcendent yet still earthen: moments of breath inside all that cosmic drift. Darkness finds its way through on "Restlessness," where Sousa smears sinuous electronics into a ghostly sonic mesh that seeps through the skin. It feels like a slow inhale, time suspended long enough to take note of where we are and how we feel before moving forward. Expressive, almost sparkling synth arrangements return to send us back into reality on closer "Becoming a Landscape." Its title hints at larger concepts at play throughout this album, where lines between our physical beings and the wider environment are blurred. The tones that echo throughout these six pieces mirror the echoes inside our bodies, from heartbeats and voices to something quieter, something much smaller and more elemental. By immersing us inside these mesmerising, beautiful soundscapes, Sousa immerses us within ourselves.’’

Brad Rose, 2025

With her new album, Spira (Sprout), Olof Arnalds has found her joy in writing songs rekindled. In many ways it harkens back to her debut: it is exclusively in Icelandic, the arrangements are markedly stripped back compared to her last two records, and it is mostly recorded in single takes in the control room of Sundlaugin, much like Vio og vio. Although a classically trained singer and violinist, Olof has been an active practitioner of popular music for thirty years, the watershed moment was the 2007 release of her debut solo album Vio og vio (Now and Again, wider international release in 2009), produced by Sigur Ros' Kjartan Sveinsson in the band's converted swimming-pool studio Sundlaugin. It seemed to appear fully formed out of the ether, and became a local classic almost overnight, winning accolades such as 'Best Alternative Album' at the Iceland Music Awards, named 'Record of the Year' by Iceland's principal daily newspaper and recognised as one of the decade's 100 best albums by eMusic. Spira is produced by Skuli Sverrisson, who also contributes bass and guitar. His mind-melting resume includes musical direction for Laurie Anderson, recordings with Blonde Redhead and work with artists such as David Sylvian, Jon Hassell, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bill Frisell and Arto Lindsay. Davio por Jonsson contributes piano and guitar to the record-much as he did during Olof's busiest touring schedule nearly fifteen years ago when the two of them toured the world for months on end. There is hardly a jazz musician in Iceland he hasn't played with but lately he is perhaps best known for his close collaboration with Ragnar Kjartansson, one of this century's most celebrated visual artists.

"Aroop Roy Vs Opolopo - Shigo Disgo" sees the two producers going head to head on another Canopy release, serving up club focused re-interpretations of two different Afro cuts : Chicco - Shigomase, a 1990s synth house bomb from South Africa and Spirit Konekson - Disco Party, a funky piece of 1970s Nigerian disco.

First up Aroop Roy takes on Chicco's proto house beast "Shigomase", dialling up the low end throb before bringing proceedings to a synthed out, hands in the air, euphoric crescendo.

Following on he takes his scalpel & bass guitar, chopping & flipping the Moog led funk of "Disco Party" into a restless Afro-boogie workout.

On the alternate side Opolopo channels extra sleaze into Shigomase, adding dirty dancefloor gristle and a raunchy back end, taking the vibe straight to the basement.

Rounding out proceedings Opolopo transports "Disco Party" into the present day with muscular drums and crunchy synth solos complimenting the loose limbed swing of the original

Originally released in 1999. A very hard to find piece now re-issued for the first time with a respectful remaster.

Berlin native T.H. Reingold (aka Tom Clark) has been an integral part of the scene there for for over 25 years - establishing Gold Plate and Highgrade Records along the way. Together on this E.P. with former Tresor resident Mad Max, the much sought after 'Sophisticated EP' is a heady blend of old school house, techno and loopy disco chops. Foundation music - part of the eclectic soup that became known as the Berlin club sound.

Second LP of duets by these longtime VHF family staples, here delivering 2 side-long epics of “minimalist” bliss. Both sides feature Daniel on piano and Richard on zither, with rippling waves of sound recalling classics like Charlemagne Palestine’s “Strumming Music” (Dan is a frequent collaborator with C.P.) and Richard’s “Advent.” “Persian Carpets I” is a real-humans performance full of tiny variants in rhythm and attack, rising and falling in intensity – sometimes a rush of sound, sometimes a cloud of soft overtones and phantom notes. “Persian Carpets II” is more spare, with quiet and careful piano alongside Richard’s subdued accompaniment – a gorgeous bath of pointillist sound that rewards close listening.

2025 repress.

Rhythm Section International proudly presents it's 8th offering from local boys Chaos in the CBD. Born in New Zealand, but based in Peckham for the last few years (literally just around the corner from Henry Wu and Bradley Zero), these brothers have made a real mark on the scene here in London town and with their latest set of productions are set to take this message further afield.

Having already released internationally on labels such as ClekClekBoom (Paris), Hot Haus (London) and Amadeus (Montreal), the duo's approach to production has matured immeasurably in the last year, as is evident in the restrained potency and poetic subtlety on the 4 tracks across this accomplished EP, Midnight in Peckham.

Taking it's title from the locale the boys have come to know as home, the record channels a delicate late night energy - equally indebted to the hypnotic incantations of Ron Trent as it is to the hazy suburban atmospheres of Burial. These 4 classic cuts pay homage to deep house in it's truest sense - at once sublime, melancholy and meditative . Chaos in the CBD have clearly taken their cue from the mid-west masters of the genre but have not been afraid to let their own influences and environ creep in, and in doing so have created something that is unmistakablely London and infact, timeless.

REPRESS !

Superb raggatek tunes here... with a massive kick, very interesting... Meeting with some gypsy techno... And also some acid hardfloor tribekiller, full of vitality and life and changes... And some really good ideas. Loads of ruptures and different structures mixed together into each tunes. A very interesting release, coming from the Psychoquake tribe ! FAT !

Rising multi-media artist Shaboozey intends to build his own world.

Determined to carve his own lane in the Alt-Country / Hip-Hop space; he crafts a sound that pays homage to a cast of traditional Western influences, such as Bob Dylan, Lead Belly, Johnny Cash, and Leonard Cohen, while looking into the future of what the two genres have yet to introduce.

Remaining true to his Virginia roots, Shaboozey hopes to continue the region’s long-standing tradition of producing some of the most prolific creatives of the new millennium. This time through elevating the scope of contemporary hip-hop and introducing a modern Americana culture to a global audience.

Fresh off of his inclusion in the groundbreaking Beyonce album, Cowboy Carter, of which he was the only featured artist to appear twice, Shaboozey is set to release his own album, Where I've Been, isn't Where I'm Going. An album that has been years in the making, it includes standout singles “Let It Burn,” “Vegas,” “Anabelle,” & the infectiously fun singalong anthem “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Millions of streams later, and appearances on esteemed programs such as COLORS and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Shaboozey is set to become the new face of modern American country music.

A student of the Weatherall school of DJing, Asa Tate has showcased an astonishingly mature approach to production over the years that belies his age. You’d be forgiven for thinking these 4 tracks had been discovered from a dusty DAT tape, locked away in the vaults of a northern Italian club and rediscovered after 30 years....Listen more closely and you’ll notice the contemporary production flair and more recent influences that make this EP a perfect reinterpretation of the mid 90s house sound: sitting somewhere between dream house and Morales finest work under the red zone moniker.

The EP wastes no time in setting it’s intentions with the A1 Title Track, “Replica” - after a brief and floaty progressive house intro the refrain “ E-e-e-e-e-e-e-ECSTASY” echoes loudly over sampled vocals, euphorias piano chords, throbbing lead synths and a bouncy tech house bass line.

“89” is a sultry deep house cut featuring rising Spanish star, Dariam Coco on Vocals. It floats like a butterfly, but stings like a bee, as the soft chords are interrupted with huge drum fills deftly transforming an after party jam to a peak time moment.

We continue to “ Unknowns” - a masterclass in building tension and holding it - this track simmers with restrained intensity for almost 6 minutes. It’s trademark Asa Tate production at its most understated and classy. We round of the EP with the fittingly titled “Last Dance” , a wistful composition that brings us back down to earth slowly, safely and gently; always grooving but never pushing - this one is the soundtrack to the end of a long summer day and reaffirms Asa Tate’s claim to be a modern master of Deep House.

Are you Looking for Love? Advice? Good Luck? Then you’ve come to the right place. Fortune Three, the third release in the Psychic Readings catalog, Peach continues to explore her sound bringing 4 tracks dedicated to the dance.

It starts with In Ur Dreams, an ode to the dreamers and lovers in your fantasies. Peach gives some subtle organ hits a whirl with deeper basslines and punchy drums. Next, a track inspired by and sampling an old Christina Aguilera interview, What U Got is a warm, beachy roller which is reminiscent of hotter temperatures. Pretty pads, shiny stabs, and a weighty bassline create an endlessly playful groove – a Peach signature.

On the flip, we see Brady’s Song mixed two ways – the first being the deeper cut of the two, Brady’s Song slowly unravels melody after melody, playing with sassy stabs and a bassline on the subbier side. The Afters Edit takes a more upfront and jacking approach, focusing on the ability of the bass to roll through the whole track – shimmering percussion and the same stabs from the B1 carry us through until the last second.

All the tracks are a testament to her many moods as a DJ. From club use to home listening, this is an EP dedicated to the dance.

At the end of the Sixties, the production of soundtracks for small and big classics of Italian cinema is now joined by another business which has proved to be less profitable but more creative and, in best case, free from the constraints imposed by clients on duty: the composition of music libraries. Almost all of the artists for the eighth art have finalized at least one or more music libraries. Names famous and not, old and young composers, real outsiders and meteors, usually hidden behind pseudonyms: this is the case, for example, of Braen and Peymont. The first needs no introduction, it was the one adopted by the former arranger, multi- instrumentalist, singer and composer Alessandro Alessandroni. The second is closely linked to the mysterious American composer, but resident in Italy, David Hoyt Kimball. The two are authors in different measure of an interesting album with an experimental background, “Paese Sotto Inchiesta” (1971), originally published by Flirt Records.

The titles of the tracks appear in connection with the socio-cultural climate of Italy after 1968 and can be relocated as a background for journalistic-like images. The latter is a hypothesis not supported by facts, but some titles seem to be referred to the perception of a subsisting economic backwardness of the southern regions compared to the other ones; to a situation of collective tension, thanks to the global revolutions; in addition to the new concerns with an ecological background. Overall, the seventeen tracks on the album are mostly 'dirty', characterized by an even atonal setting, with long repetitions in a noisy key, more fundamental reverbs and echoes for the different keyboard instruments. In a few words, abstract sounds, some guitar notes, echoes of Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, flute melodies and proto- ambient intuitions. Composers like Alessandro Alessandroni and David Hoyt Kimball deserve to be rediscovered.

*Following the essence of the work, for this press, MPI release a 100% recycled vinyl that reduce waste, minimize environmental impact and support the planet*

Beyond Structures by Giomini is an exploration of form and perception within deep house. Across four tracks, he distills the genre to its essential elements: rhythm, texture, and atmosphere. The result is a set of pieces that move between motion and stillness; grooves that evolve organically, and silence that holds meaning. Every tone is deliberate, every pause intentional.
This is music not made for distraction but for immersion; a deep listening experience that invites reflection through movement. Beyond Structures seeks the point where architecture dissolves into feeling, and the dancefloor becomes a meditative space.

Limited to 250 copies !

The Deadheads had never had much luck with spaceships. Their first mission had ended in a catastrophic engine failure, leaving them adrift in deep space for weeks. This time, their craft was hardly more reassuring. A hodgepodge of outdated technology and shoddy repairs made it more of a floating death trap than a reliable cruiser. As they began their descent toward the strange planet, the hull creaked and rattled, sending a wave of dread through the crew.

"Hold on," Matt's voice crackled over the intercom, without much conviction, as if he himself doubted they would make it out alive. Outside, a thick, grayish atmosphere swirled ominously, while the planet's gravity became far stronger than anticipated.

“Fuck, we’re gonna burn at the entrance!” M yelled, his hands flailing on the console as sparks flew from the control panel. The ship’s sensors were completely jammed, and the navigation system flickered intermittently, like a dying light. Below, the planet’s surface was a tangle of lava rivers and jagged rock formations, the kind of place no sane person would ever land. But the Deadheads had never pretended to be. They lived in a state of constant emergency.

As the descent intensified, the alarms blared. On the bridge, the screens lit up with red warnings and flashing messages: "SYSTEM ERROR," "UNSTABLE TRAJECTORY," "SUIVITY SYSTEM COMPROMISED." The lines of code scrolled by too quickly to be read, while a mechanical voice repeated relentlessly: "Imminent impact. Structural integrity at twenty percent."

The once pristine shell of the vessel began to disintegrate, with shards of metal breaking away and disappearing into the atmosphere.

With a final, piercing screech, the ship crashed onto the planet's surface, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. The crew was violently thrown from their seats, stunned but barely alive. They struggled to their feet amidst the wreckage, the ship reduced to a charred shell around them.

"Well," M said, wiping the dirt off his suit with a grimace, "at least the air is breathable." Matt scanned the hostile expanse stretching before them and smiled slightly. "Perfect. Let's hope we have better luck with the planet than with our ships."

With that, the Deadheads gathered their equipment and headed into the unknown, while the remains of their ship slowly sank into the unstable soil of the planet.

Rochelle Jordan is proudly stepping into her diva era. To those in the know, the Los Angeles-based British-Canadian singer and songwriter has long been an underground force coaxing together the mutually flirtatious scenes of daring alt-R&B and heart-pumping electronic music. With her longtime creative director/producer KLSH, she’s cultivated a singular marriage of sound — mixing soulful sensuality, house bump, DnB wildness, hip-hop swagger, and pure experimentalism — that’s spread not only through certain circles, but also to the mainstream. At the same time that her gauzy 2014 single “Lowkey” was going viral in 2023 — racking up 21 million streams on Spotify alone — she was in the studio cooking with tastemaking beatsmiths like KAYTRANADA and Sango, quietly preparing to melt dance floors and headphones alike.

Now, as the timelines merge, Jordan is approaching success with the sparkle of a brand new star and the stance of someone who’s earned everything she has. Her new musical chapter aims to carry forward the magic that fans feel in her coquettish vocals and bold soundscapes even as she reaches deeper into her pop bag. The fact that her first single of 2025, the darkly dazzling “Crave,” was produced by Chicago house legend Terry Hunter (Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé) speaks volumes to this exact moment in Jordan’s ascendent trajectory.

“My goal when I first started making music was to bring back something that I felt had started to fade away for me,” says Jordan. “That certain essence or sound that would give me butterflies in my stomach when I’d listen to music — it would unleash some kind of chemical that would make me feel happy and excitable and curious, something that would make my soul shine. My number one goal is always: How do I give people that feeling when they listen to my music?”

Jordan grew up in Toronto raised by British-Jamaican parents. She remembers hearing one of her older brothers cycling through a variety of music at maximum volume in the room next to hers. “Reggae to soul to drum and bass to garage music to gospel,” Jordan recalls. “It was all intertwining for me at such a young age.” She developed her own sound quietly, and soon met KLSH through MySpace. They traded multiple songs back and forth daily until he flew her out to L.A. to record what would become her debut project, 2011’s R O J O. That collaboration hasn’t faltered since, resulting in sonically surprising, subtly infectious sets like Jordan’s breakthrough 2014 album 1021 (with “Lowkey”) and 2021’s dance-steeped revelation, Play with the Changes.

“If you’re talking about Rochelle Jordan, you’re talking about KLSH,” she says. “It’s one and the same. We come from the same inspiration source.” With him at her side to this day, Jordan is crafting new listening experiences as radiant as refracted light glimmering through a prism — an incredible space from within which to explore love in all its iterations — from romantic infatuation to self-affirmation, and strength in womanhood to pride for what she’s accomplished thus far.

More than a decade into her career, Jordan has arrived at a new stage of life and creativity — she’s a seasoned professional, a fully realized woman, and she’s excited to continue growing. “I know my story isn’t necessarily a new one,” she says. “I look at 2 Chainz, who became 2 Chainz way later on in his life. I look at Tina Turner, who became Tina Turner at 40. I want to be another story of resilience for people.” As she prepares to unveil more of her vision, and fans clamber for a long-awaited fourth album, Rochelle Jordan is casting aside self-doubt, and appreciating and underlining her status as a verifiably influential reigning diva in her one-of-one sonic space.

The Dynamite Coorporation is the brainchild of Robbert Peperkamp aka @infestmusic and Tommy Willetts aka @thenightservicecommute. After meeting in music school their joint interest in jazz, breaks, tape and dark cinematic soundscapes resulted in a collaboration that led to this fantastic album.
Expect dark cinematic soundscapes, Drums, trumpets, guitar, keys and resample madness.

In keeping with tradition, the new year brings another offering from Portuguese pianist and composer Tiago Sousa.

The fourth volume of the Organic Music Tapes series concludes this cycle that has significantly transformed Tiago Sousa’s music. Compositions in a fluid state, forming nebulae of sounds with vague contours for piano, organ, and tape loops, based on techniques pioneered by American minimalism, particularly by composers such as Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Charlemagne Palestine.

While throughout this series the electric organ has played a more prominent role in contrast with pre-recorded loops, this is the moment when this technique is extended to the piano compositions. New opportunities arise for the repetition and variation of small motifs to induce subtle perceptions and psychoacoustic effects. This final edition represents the maturation of the Portuguese composer’s intentions surrounding the idea of organic music. In music, too, the organic world is quite different from the one built on the rules of syntax and grammar. It refers instead to a type of interdependent relationships and patient, repetitive processes that are simultaneously spontaneous and unpredictable, which shape rivers and mountains, the grain of wood, muscle fibers, or marks on a jade stone.

Enter then the fourth volume and be locked in a new theatre of eternal music by an artists that keeps pushing his own style to ebullient highs.

Melodies International’s next record features a previously unreleased collaboration between the Ariwa camp (Mad Professor’s label and studio) and rising UK R&B artist Abel Miller — a Lovers Rock cover of the classic 1960s Philadelphia soul track “Everytime I See My Baby” by The Delfonics.

A few years ago, Mad Professor teamed up with frequent collaborator and multi-instrumentalist virtuoso Black Steel — who regularly records bass, guitar, keys, and vocals for Ariwa Studios (“he can play anything” Mad Professor tells us) — to record a series of Lovers Rock covers of songs by The Delfonics. Mad Professor’s love for 60s and 70s US soul is no secret and shines through much of his production, but he realised he had never heard this particular song, originally written by Thom Bell and William Hart. For the session, they brought in Ashanti Selah on keys and Horseman on drums, with Abel Miller delivering the lead vocals. Mad Professor and his son Joe Ariwa recorded and produced the track.

Since their first reissue project with Mad Professor a few years back (Ariwa Sounds: The Early Sessions LP), he has occasionally performed with the Melodies crew — most recently on Floating Points’ Sunflower Soundsystem this past summer. At their Osaka gig a couple of years ago, he closed the show with this track, immediately blowing everyone’s minds. When asked what it was, he told the team that Melodies could release it!

The 7” single will be available in November, featuring the original studio version on one side and the live dub version Mad Professor performed in Japan on the flip (vinyl exclusive). Mastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, with printed sleeve artwork by Nevil Bernard.