Vlad Dinu opens Mihai Bravu's 1st release starting the audio journey with 'Deep in my house' , a track that occupies the entire A side, just like a proper tool should.
As the name of the track hints, we find ourselves submerged in deep territory : a tight and groovy bass line, laced with a steady percussion, sprinkled with some 16bit arcade reminiscent accents and soothing intermingled vocal cuts. The deep vibe is crafty perpetuated by several synths at play,
which together combine in such a way to add a wide atmospheric feel to the composition. Definitely 'Deep in my house' sounds and feels more like of a 90's tune, and while listening to it, one could easily find himself drift into the nostalgia of the good old days.
Side B goes even deeper with two tracks defined by the notion of 'head tracks' . 'Gun Zah' continues the storyline with twisty percussive rhythms and a groovy atmosphere, tailored into a bangin floor choon while 'Questions Answered' submerges the listener into layers of groovy basslines, swifty percs and milky synths, all put together into the form of a most 'alive' track.
Optimo Music are delighted to present the second full-length from The Golden Filter, "STILL // ALONE".
After relocating to London and playing shows around Europe for a year and a half, self-imposed pariahs Penelope Trappes and Stephen Hindman delved into creating a two-sided existential opus by renting out old studio spaces around the UK and using mostly analog 80's instruments, machines and effects.
An album about being in love with pure solitude, when STILL // Optimo Music are delighted to present the second full-length from The Golden Filter, "STILL // ALONE".
After relocating to London and playing shows around Europe for a year and a half, self-imposed pariahs Penelope Trappes and Stephen Hindman delved into creating a two-sided existential opus by renting out old studio spaces around the UK and using mostly analog 80's instruments, machines and effects.
An album about being in love with pure solitude, when STILL // ALONE is separated into two distinct sides, record one, STILL, is a hypnotic meditation for the nightclub. Wavy patterns of sound and light bounce off of Penelope's literary vocal bursts, layered over the ominous deep synths and arpeggiators, held together only by a strict 4/4 beat. The rhythm, ironically forcing the body to move, however internally focused and mindful, still.
Record two, ALONE, takes the club offline and into the fringes of raw, odd pop.
Ever-prominent drum machine beats rule, while love and loss permeate the four atmospheric goth songs. Music for dancing alone.
"Behind the cotton wool is hidden a pattern... the whole world is a work of art... there is no Shakespeare... no Beethoven... no God; we are the words; we are the music; we are the thing itself." - Virginia Woolf
Outta the shadows and into the strobe-light, Alex Lewis aka Turinn debuts on Modern Love with a highly rinsable debut double-pack of sawn-off brukbeats and anxious, nerve-riding grooves brewed in the ravines of North Manchester. Turinn emerges from a new generation of producers in the city that include longtime spar Willow, and upcoming producer Croww, soon to offer up his own debut recordings.
Crooked and rugged AF, but tempered by an acute emotive sensitivity, 18 1/2 Minute Gaps renders a bleedin' cross-section of mongrel, hybrid style 'n pattern in a breathless, deceptively freehand fashion that comes riddled with an electric blue energy all of its own.
Committing ten trax of fractious, mutant funk and sore feels, 18 1/2 minute Gaps serves to cap Turinn's formative phase of production like a lead lid on a nuclear rave implosion; trapping original 'ardcore 'nuum, Detroit booty and dank post-punk elements in a perpetual flux of in-the-pocket grooves which ravenously attempt to split at the seams, alternately pushing into Muslimgauze-like buffer zones of distortion or resoundingly wide ambient dimensions, and often both at once.
On the first plate, this ambiguous dichotomy is epitomised between the rare surge of quick/slow torque in Ovum, which almost sounds like Chris Carter sparring with Burial Hex, and then in his nod to the Italian new wave with Elba, which seems to find the square root between Lorenzo Senni and some skudgy as heck Kassem Mosse grind, whereas the bittersweet soul of 1625 finds compatible links with his close peer, Workshop's Willow as well as Japan's Shinichi Atobe and scene enabler Move D, while Parratactico swaggers into quantum dancehall meters.
The second disc is no less deadly: the album title track runs at a nexx level Detroit momentum like DJ Stingray flipping Derrick May and Carl Craig's Kaotic Harmonies, before ESO cuts in like a super cranky El-B wearing itchy Primark underwear, and the bone-rattling hardcore jungle of Spawn soon enough gives way to the sweetlad couplet of Petrichor and Ondine, where his elusive, distressed melodic touch really shines thru.
Musically and emotionally, Superpitcher's third full-length studio album, The Golden Ravedays is a one sound autobiography that exhibits the skill, feeling and depth of style that the artist has honed over a period of twenty years, musically, and forty-plus-years, emotionally. And full-length it is: The Golden Ravedays is an epic album of 24 tracks that was released in January 2017 and is stretching over 12 respective chapter albums during a one-year period on record label, Hippie Dance.
The second chapter of The Golden Ravedays saga, due for release in February 2017 introduces two further tracks of the haunting sound adventure. Side A introduces a very surprising spectacle of sound entitled What do you miss This track is unlike anything Superpitcher has released in the past. What do you miss is diving into a river, serenely floating past visions that bring calm, just to be overwhelmed by jazzy white waters of saxophone and primal animal poetry all the way from forests long forgotten. Let's Play Doctor is aptly titled as one can't help but imagine a satellite-propelled ambulance meandering through the galaxies without any haste or emergency whatsoever. Almost 20 minutes in length, Let's Play Doctor never bores. It's a playful tribute to taking one's time in enjoying the very now.
The second chapter of The Golden Ravedays saga, due for release in February 2017 introduces two further tracks of the haunting sound adventure.
Side A introduces a very surprising spectacle of sound entitled What do you miss
This track is unlike anything Superpitcher has released in the past.
What do you miss
is diving into a river, serenely floating past visions that bring calm, just to be overwhelmed by jazzy white waters of saxophone and primal animal poetry all the way from forests long forgotten.
Let's Play Doctor is aptly titled as one can't help but imagine a satellite-propelled ambulance meandering through the galaxies without any haste or emergency whatsoever.
Almost 20 minutes in length, Let's Play Doctor never bores.
It's a playful tribute to taking one's time in enjoying the very now.
Einzelkind, Randy Fox, Robin Scholz and Philipp Boss join efforts to bring you HOER001. The Joint Effort EP, first instalment on the new Frankfurt-based imprint Einfach Hören, contains four hardware-driven house-jams, all ready for excessive club-use. Honoring the Godfathers of housemusic, the producers invite you on a journey into ecstatic rhythms, funky basslines, lush pads and wicked vocals garnished with the imperfection, roughness and the evolving character of a neverending jamsession in their shared Studio.
Simbad (aka SMBD) is a stalwart of the underground music scene in UK and because of his vast arrays of releases it's very hard to put him into any box or music category. Since his 2007 album Supersonic Revelation & his worldwide acclaimed dancefloor hit Soul Fever, the London based frenchy has been constantly travelling the five continents entertaining delighted clubbers with his super energetic dj skills or producing and recording various artists from many different genres including deeper Dubstep don Mala (DMZ), UK Hip Hop star Roots Manuva, Cuban songstress Dayme Arocena, Detroit House producer Kai Alce, Berlin based deep Techno artist Fred P, Seun Kuti from Afrobeat's most famous family, Brazilian superstar artist/actor Seu Jorge and being production mentor for the king of cool, radio DJ Gilles Peterson (who made him one of the resident at his Worldwide Festivals). With the Moon Theory EP Simbad demonstrates his talent on some deep analog frequencies for the very solid & ever growing label that is Apron Records. As the music wizard puts it himself : 'im just trying to make some timeless shhhhh man, soul in all forms really, trying anyway ! And I guess that the best is yet to come.
Following two staggering contributions from The Analogue Roland Orchestra and 2030 that illustrated to boundless sonic possibilities for the label, Deep'a & Biri return to their Tel Aviv-based Black Crow label with a pair of powerful, emotive techno cuts in the style for which the duo long since become admired. For a long time one of those admirers has been Detroit techno founding father Derrick May, who has been on a mission to push the new 12s A-side, 'Basic Cycle', into instant classic territory through his unwavering commitment to making the track a highlight of his sets. May has been far from alone, with the track being one that D&B have been asked about, if not outright begged for, over the past year or so. It finally becomes available to techno fans worldwide in January 2017, backed by the pummelling rhythms of 'OverDrum', which itself has the potential to turn heads and drop jaws all by itself.
After a first collaboration focusing on the City of Angels, LA legend John Tejada and acid innovator Tin Man (Johannes Auvinen), this time brooding on the latter's home city, and former's birthplace, Vienna. The Austrian capital is known as "the city of music" and the "city of dreams," two broadly aligning concepts that go far in describing this beguiling 12-inch. The four songs were mixed down live to 2 tracks, created in the real world without a daw, or multi tracking, which has really captured the spirit of performance and improvisation. Succeeding "Railjet," a tense drum workout, comes "Bim," referring to the colorful trams that run through Vienna. Here, Auvinen sculpts his 303 into near-pizzicato form. The acid box is accompanied by stately pads making for one of the duo's most memorable tracks yet. The next cut, "Danube Nights," references the mighty, ancient river, the flow motion mirrored by a couple of widescreen acid lines. A pensive lead and some melancholy chords emerge, but the drums roll right along like the water- tough enough for a heaving floor with a hint of fragility for the headphones. The record concludes with the acidic "Prater Allee," named after idyllic, sprawling park on the banks of the Danube. The duo's love letter to Vienna is well-suited for travel, for the dance and for dreaming.
VENT present the next step in Tolga's journey to explore the peripheral edges of consciousness and experience - a mental expedition beyond the fringes of reason into dark borderlands of cognisance. Swedish black metal band Totenwelt contributed to 'Illa Ki' providing vocals for the track. Our wish for this release is to help guide the listener to a stripped down state of being, free from thoughts and emotions, alone with nothing but one's living breath.
In the fourth Modern Cathedrals release, Altstadt Echo crafts three original works with a focus on experimentation with broken beat structures and grainy percussive texture, against a backdrop of austere atmospheres. Varg contributes a remix that emphasizes the despairing tones of "The Descent," contrasted with glistening treble percussion and and stumbling bass. To end the release, Evigt Mörker offers an extended hypnotic version of the track that slowly develops from a functional framework into an atmospheric drift.
The thematic aspects of the release follow the development of Modern Cathedrals as a label, expressing existentialist themes centered around the search for meaning in a life that forbids it. The label art features photographs of the beautiful remains of one of Detroit's many unused churches.
We welcome Ricardo Tobar for his debut label release. It's an honour; Correspondant is the latest in an elite line of select labels that the cosmic Frenchman has worked with over the years such as Cocoon or Border Community.
Consistent in all compositions, it's another pristine trip into the interstellar unknown. Each track measured, weighted and laced with Ricardo's signature creeping dynamic. Unhurried, elements gradually make themselves known and envelop your senses without you realizing. Deep, mystic and singular; the perfect debut.
Infernal Sounds is discharging its fifth hefty, system-affine release, adding another highly regarded talent to their roster. Having featured revered producers like Von D, Sepia, Causa, Shu & Perverse, the label has clearly positioned itself in the front row seat of the modern dubstep movement. Representing a combination of upholding the values of system music with a 21st-century take on sound - the next release, catalogued as 'IFS005' is stylistically congruent and adds to the discography in total.
It is now time for highly talented Sub Basics (Tom Woods) to augment the imprint's discography with his ridiculously massive incarnation of bass music. His debut vinyl release on the Canadian imprint 'Visceral Vibrations' in 2015 has garnered ample amounts of positive reception by esteemed figures in the scene like Versa, Syte and J:Kenzo. After an equally praised 10' dubplate release ( Give Dem') in 2016, we now find ourselves in the silence before the thunderstorm, that is this very record. His upcoming release includes three tracks, two of which will feature on vinyl (A. Horus/ B. Cartel), while the third 'Northern Lights' will be a Bandcamp-exclusive.
Diving into the sound at hand, his arrangements are closely aligned and firmly true to the origins of Dubstep - conjugated with extreme clarity, as well as preposterous amounts of weight and gravitas. The impeccable execution of his minimalistic sound design will leave this release rumbling on soundsystems around the globe - and will most stay a fan's favourite draw from the record bag for a good while.
Perfectly displaying a refined sense of dynamics with 'Horus', Sub Basics effortlessly squeezes every available ounce of air out of the system, while preserving an immense sense of space. The highly infatuating groove of 'Cartel' is mingled with a sweltering foundation - tied together through his meticulous attention to detail. As etheral pads complement the gnarly drum reverberations and bird's cries recoil - the listener is left in a surreal world of the 'Northern Lights' - apprehended by the sonorous magnitude of the bassline. Completed by creamy atmospheres with tape-echo-esque characteristics, this whole release is sure to tick all your boxes from top to bottom - IFS005 has already received support from J:Kenzo & Foamplate among others, therefore the pre-order is strongly advised.
Art, of any kind, encompasses the unique and distinctive output of its creator: an inimitable human being. It points to a blueprint map of who this creator is, encapsulates their experiences and somehow points to how they arrive at their creation(s). This blueprint, although lending glimmer into one life, connects deeply into an unfathomable amount of other lives - lending an expression and effect. With this in mind, we go on a journey with Dowinowe - the first solo artist release for the Gqom oh! label - on his debut "GQOM004" Dominowe is a 19 year old producer from the Newlands east township of Durban, South Africa who started out making music just for his friends. This release snapshots important themes in his evocative personal journey - expressed in his own very unique style. Releasing on Vinyl in 27th of January 2017, the EP, titled SiyaThakatha', showcases Dominowe's original style in the context of the Durban electronic music scene especially when paced beside Gqom and Sghubu. The listener gets a real sense of his complexity and the variety of styles Dominowe is capable of producing. "SiyaThakatha", the EP name, is translated _black_ _magic,_ or, _we witching - _ which is right at the heart of this release: that listening to these sounds invite you into the universe of an unseen world, putting you in touch with what can only described as invisible energy - a combination of the ideal, the intangible, the unattainable and the other-worldly whilst on journey with a 19year old from Durban whose music is composed of influence and innovation. It is about gqom working its magic on the dance floor for people to move - to the distinctive beats and cultural rhythms. It features four tracks - including one skit outro - as well as three tracks on digital download. The tracks were chosen specifically as a reflection of the variety of styles Dominowe produces and the originality of his productions.
Few artists have created a body of work as rich and varied as Prince. During the '80s, he emerged as one of the most singular talents of the rock & roll era, capable of seamlessly tying together pop, funk, folk, and rock. Not only did he release a series of ground breaking albums, he toured frequently, produced albums and wrote songs for many other artists, and recorded hundreds of songs that still lie unreleased in his vaults. With each album he released, Prince has shown remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity, constantly experimenting with different sounds, textures, and genres. Occasionally, his music can be maddeningly inconsistent because of this eclecticism, but his experiments frequently succeed, no other contemporary artist can blend so many diverse styles into a cohesive whole.
Following their much-acclaimed surprise debut album VERMONT from 2014, Motor City Drum Ensemble's Danilo Plessow and Innervisions' Marcus Worgull reunite for more synth daydreaming on the suitably titled II'. The new outing continues where the first full-length left off, strolling further down the luminous and undulating path that the duo turned into, influenced in equal measures by kosmische, krautrock, minimal wave and synth soundtracks.
This latest batch of instrumental cuts opens with the strictly balearic vibe of NORDERNEY, a softly swinging, light-footed recording with a keen sense for structure. Featuring a guest performance from Robbert Van Der Bildt (aka Kaap) on guitar, it's a telling starting point for the album that - similar to Vermont's self-titled debut - successfully navigates between economic, careful studio arrangements and playful, incidental exploration further pushing into jam session territory. Van Der Bildt's guitar returns on the plucky, curious UFER, where Vermont showcase a renewed sense for jazz-like improvisation - same as on the cuts DSCHUNA, CHANANG and WENIK, which also include contributions from Dermot O'Mahony and Tadhg Murphy on strings.
Still, Vermont's synth contraptions remain the album's main attraction, with the extensive array of gear encompassing an entire panopticon of analog bling - from Arp Oddysey and Moog Prodigy to Fender Rhodes, Juno and Prophet, list-studying gear heads will find lots to drool upon. Consequently, tracks like CHEMTRAILS, UNRUH or GEBIRGE err on the machine side of things, expertly interweaving arpeggiated sequences for maximum atmospheric effect. Foreboding, slightly menacing synth motives as on SKORBUT or CHEMTRAILS are perfectly balanced with the casual ambient of HALLO VON DER ANDEREN SEITE and the nostalgic warmth of DEMUT - while the gentle push of the masterful KI-BOU even carries a whiff of classic deep house, linking the Vermont project to Plessow and Worgull's main careers as dance floor movers and shakers.
Continually intriguing, immersive and texturally rich, each one of Vermont's new pieces betray the experience, precision and determination of the producers involved - while opening up Worgull and Plessow'a vocabulary for patient experimentation and subtle discoveries. A musical treat for synth aficionados - and everyone else, if you ask us.
COMPILED BY PETE PASQUAL, ERICA OLSON & DJ KINETIC
Following on from acclaimed compilations like 'Down Under Nuggets' and 'Heavy Soul' (and two other new titles 'Running The Voodoo Down' and 'Dodgy Bossa (& Silly Sambas)' - details below), Festival Records presents another deep dig into the archives, this time shining a light on rare Australian soul-jazz, jazz-funk, and freaked-out groove rock from the late '60s and '70s.
BACK ON THE STREET AGAIN - AUSTRALIAN FUNK, SOUL & PSYCH (MOSTLY) FROM THE FESTIVAL VAULTS is a stunning 20 track CD and 2LP release that highlights a point when the previously disparate styles of rock, jazz and soul all started influencing each other, and exciting new genres were created. To quote the liner notes (by DJ Kinetic):
Australia produced some amazing music during the 60s and 70s that sat outside of the normal rock mould. Avant guard artists like John Sangster pushed boundaries and experimented with the fusion of local and overseas influences, artists like Dalvanius recorded soaring disco music that was lost amongst the popular music of the time, only to be rediscovered by DJs overseas who were searching for unknown sounds, composers like Brute Force and His Drum took risks and recorded left-field funky sounds hidden within their more mainstream compositions, and popular artists like Billy Thorpe occasionally strayed from their A&R directions and took leaves from the books of American artists who were largely unknown in Australia at the time. Beneath the veneer of bland rock and roll lay an unknown multitude of funky sounds hidden from mainstream view.
In addition to the artists that Kinetic mentions (and the compilation features two John Sangster tracks - stunning versions of 'Hair' and the Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'), the collection includes iconic names of the era like the Daly-Wilson Big Band (featuring Kerrie Biddell), Renee Geyer and the Johnny Rocco Band. '60s sides from Ross D Wyllie and The ID (featuring Jeff St John) reveal the various styles' roots in American rhythm & blues, and the unexpected inclusion of some legendary Australian rock outfits like Tamam Shud and Blackfeather reveals the psychedelic and progressive rock influences at play. The full range of the music is highlighted by the inclusion of both cabaret/daytime TV performer Al Styne and outrageous Kings Cross club act Count Copernicus & The Cosmic Fire as well as the in-house studio 'pops' orchestra, Festival Studio 24 Orchestra.
Co-compilers Pete Pasqual, Erica Olson and DJ Kentic to undertake interviews with specialist media around release. Facebook ad's around release.
Not Waving takes 2017 by the scruff with his Populist EP, consolidating the myriad stripes of his acclaimed Animals album in four extended peaktime hammers forged for darkrooms, basements and warehouses alike.
If last year's LP saw you thru from day-into-night, or vice-versa, this one is aimed squarely at the gurny hours of abandon in between, with ferocious acid lines and jabbing drums stripped down and strapped up to prompt reckless behaviour on the 'floor.
Containing his first material written in the wake of Animals, the Populist EP is Alessio Natalizia a.k.a. Not Waving's strongest dancefloor statement since the one-sided Get Serious (2015) bullet.
It finds him taking the opportunity to make straight-up bangers, rather than 'songs', which were thoroughly tried and tested over successive tours of the USA and ountless shows in Europe too in
the last 9 months.
Too Many Freaks is an anthem in waiting, harnessing a barely-hinged sense of chaos between its careening synth lead, acid squabble and velvet-clad kicks, before the dry-rutting jag and plaintive vox of Vibe Killer takes a dog-grip like This Heat meeting Tuning Circuits.
Top marks go to the check-your-stylus intro for Control Myself on the B-side, which holds its fizzy line into a fetid crevice of what sounds Russell Haswell ramping with Powell, whereas the
crooked clampjaw groove of Ur Lucky Ur Still Alive pivots around a sample a lone raver at Atonal, Berlin 'who had no idea how she got there and what she did the night before'. A ruddy good night
all-round, then
Not Waving co-owns the Ecstatic label alongside Sam Willis. Not Waving is widely regarded a connoisseur of Italian new wave and post-punk music - he compiled the Mutazione (Italian
Electronic & New Wave Underground 1980-1988) set for Strut - and has issued a series of acclaimed, sought-after, playfully anachronistic twists on that sound since 2013.
After a short break Unison Wax returns with a brand new four-track collection of music from the bossman himself, Diego Krause. The Berliner took a year off in 2016, concentrating on other projects and letting the label have a rest, but now he's back with a refined sound. Unison Wax embodies a more sophisticated aesthetic, with warm analogue hues and subtle textures to push things forward a little. After all, we couldn't come back from a break without progressing, huh!
First out of the blocks is 'Nihilate', which helps introduce this updated Unison Wax sound, crisp beats lock us into a groove in conjunction with a dainty selection of analogue effects and a funky little b-line. Diego carefully adds new elements as the track progresses, keeping you interested right until the end.
Next is the title track, 'Rituals', which kicks off with an insistent bassline and spellbinding percussion that keeps you gripped from the off. He throws in some claps to add energy and muted pads, which slowly rise to prominence, giving the track an emotive atmosphere which wraps itself around you. One for the eternal dreamers...
Flip the record over for side B and 'Dysfunction', which turns things grimy. Marauding beats and bass conspire to create a morose atmosphere. Diego's penchant for super sharp beats is present here again, and the energy builds slowly but surely. A new layer creeps in every few bars and sucks you right into the track's lair. Expertly done, and impossible to resist, this is darkside pressure at its best.
'Eudaimonia' rounds things off, with more deep grooves. Initially propelled by minimal percussion, the track really gets going when more beats are added. It maintains a laid back feeling and, while the drums are solid, the atmosphere is mostly quite soft with swirling pads keeping things light in the top end. When they fall away towards the end of the track we have a rather gnarly close to the composition, as the beats and bass take over.
And there it is, the welcome return of Unison Wax - smooth and refined for 2017...
out of Stock
Last delivered 6 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Ricky L and Marcoradi have been friends for as long as they can remember. They frst met on the dancefoor of one of Italy's most iconic clubs, Red Zone in Perugia, where Ricky has been a resident DJ for the best part of 25 years. Now, they've joined forces in the studio for the frst time, uniting under the Hear &
Now alias for Claremont 56. Those with a keen knowledge of Italian dance music will know their impressive track records. Both have a history of producing fne deep house records and remixes for the likes of Ibadan, Uomo, Reincarnation, Top Tracks, Restricted Tracks and Vega Records. With Hear & Now, they've decided to step back from the dancefoor, instead producing hazy, emotion-rich music for after-hours listening, and mornings spent blinking into the sunshine. A-side 'Hirundo' is a thing of rare beauty: a gently fowering opus constructed from shuffing, mind-massaging drum rhythms, spacey pads, stretched-out
organ chords and Marcoradi's effortless guitar playing. Lilting, alien synthesizer refrains seemingly tumble from the heavens, intensifying the duo's blissful mood. Flip for an even deeper excursion, the softly spun wizardry of 'Sabbia Magica'.
Here, the duo's house infuences gently rise to the surface. This is slow, deep and dreamy house from the top drawer, with jazz-fecked guitar fourishes and undulating electronics combining effortlessly with hypnotic, metronomic drums,
cascading string lines and a wonderfully dexterous electronic bassline. You can dance if you wish, but you may just want a hug instead.
Returning to Hypercolour with a second volume of his Sugar Cane Chronicles, Gary Gritness lays down more devastating funk and classy riffing over his trusty Roland 606. After the first volume, released last April, sold out its vinyl run, Gritness delivers more explorations and adventures into his unique and soulful world. Having elusively built his reputation as an outstanding session player, live producer and fantastically dressed Funkateer, Gritness has delivered a handful of releases on labels like Clone Crown Ltd, Nyami Nyami and his own DIY and cassette-only Slikk Tapes. "Steady Choosin" gets downright fusion-jazz and Gritness fires out seductive melodies and latin piano playing of the highest order whilst "Countin Up With Starr" delves into a darker well of synth mania, with a sexual groove reminiscing of Rick James, all the while retaining Gary's signature licks and riffs. "Runner Joe's Revenge" on the flip ramps up the hysteria for a gritty and colossal production that typifies his love of cyberpunk soundtracks and the drama and narrative to be found in this style. "The Sugar Cane Chronicles Vol. 2 closes with the low-slung "Pool Shark Loot", wrapping up on a mysterious and captivating tone; its wandering bassline and melodic touches carrying all the signature Gritness sounds, with the P-Funk sleaziness on top.
'Deep session! It is rare to hear folk music from Japan in such beautiful fidelity and incredible dynamics. This recording is intensely gorgeous and hauntingly disarming. This should open up a whole new world of adventurous listening for folks outside (and inside!) Japan.'Brian Shimkovitz (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
'Sounds absolutely great! Super interesting and engaging.'Ben UFO
'Just Give Me That Old Time Religion, It's Good Enough For Me.'Japan Blues
A hotline to the gods! Kagura is a thousand-year-old form of Japanese Shinto sacred music and dance, accompanying the chanting of myths; the word "kagura" can be translated as "god-entertainment". Passed down over countless generations, the music is rare and recordings even rarer. Shigeo Tanaka was a master of the yumi (bow), an uncommon single-string percussion instrument, which is a true bow: arrows are fired off at the end of each ceremony to fend off evil sprits. The instrument is difficult to play; it's hard to draw out the proper sound and maintain the rhythm.
Yumi kagura is the oldest of all the various forms of kagura. The Tanaka family, based in rural Joge-cho, Hiroshima prefecture, has passed down this yumi kagura tradition for hundreds of years; this lineage continues to this day in the person of his daughter Ritsuko Tanaka. The Joge-cho yumi kagura, which prays for family well-being, bountiful crops and good fortune, was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1971. The piece featured here, "Takusa saimon", based on the myth "Ama no iwato" (The Rocky Celestial Cave), is mesmeric, reaching back across ages to the time before time, with Tanaka's voice and yumi, accompanied by flute and metal percussion, drawing us closer to the primal activities of the gods. Listeners may find affinities with aspects of musics as diverse as German electronic minimalism like E2-E4, certain Ethiopian music, "spiritual jazz" and more, all tapping into the deep root of forever. Previously available only on a ridiculously obscure 1990 cassette release, Yumi kagura is the first collaborative release by EM Records and Riyo Mountains, a Japanese folk song research team. Available on LP and CD, with the CD featuring a bonus track: "Inagahachiman jinja yumi kagura hono" recorded in 2016 by Tanaka's daughter and successor Ritsuko Tanaka.
+ Direction/liner notes by Riyo Mountains
+ English liner notes & lyrics
Next stop in our Journey on Transparent is ASC, is quite impossible to describe his immense skills,
to really know more you have to search for it. After 16 Years of music this artist comes to our label to guide us on another level of Sonic Spectrum.
'Internal Software' is one of the most charming sound design on a 4/4 scale we have ever experienced ever on the label.
Take your time and immerse yourself into his world. All on Transparent Green 12".
Banoffee Pies Records step into the realms of Contemporary Music with Ishmael Ensemble opening their release schedule for 2017 as the label drops their second LP and continues to investigate more musical landscapes. This time saxophonist and producer Ishmael leads the six piece electronic jazz ensemble on their debut release and thought provoking journey. A tribute piece - with love from Banoffee Pies x
Artwork and Text compiled by Ellen Pearson Watercolours by Chris Cunningham
Artist: Ishmael Ensemble
Written & Produced by Pete Cunningham Additional writing on Bembe by Holly Wellington Additional writing on Solace by Chris Hillier Engineered by Jake Spurgeon
Mixed by Caradog Jones & Pete Cunningham @ Secret Sundaze Studios Mastered @ Alchemy
Copyright Control 2017
In loving memory of Josh Edward Pearce x
This opus was recorded in a room transformed into a studio, where countless hours of work happened on an old computer, with trips back and forth to the grocery to buy liters of soda.
In between soundtrack, jazz-funk and house, the beginnings of this EP find their roots in the encounter between Lucien and DJ Gregory (Point G), spiritual guide, who pushed into an introspective work, where the feelings were ultimately revealed sincerely. This EP is also the meeting of 4 musicians who've known each other for a long time and, together, form Lucien & The Kimono Orchestra.
Awa Poulo is a singer of Peulh origin from Dilly commune, Mali, near the border with Mauritania. Largely pastoral and often nomadic, Peulh- (or Fula-)speaking peoples are found from Senegal to Ethiopia but predominate in the Sahel region of West Africa. Awesome Tapes From Africa is proud to release Poulo's newest recording of highly virtuosic folk-pop, fresh from the studio, broadcasting her vision of Peulh music beyond the grazing grounds and central markets of her remote home region in southwestern Mali. It's not very common to find a female singer performing publicly among the Peulh. But Poulo's mother's co-wife is Inna Baba Coulibaly, who is a celebrated singer most Malian music fans know. Coulibaly herself was brought into music by forces outside her control when a regional music contest required an entry from her village and she was chosen to be a singer. So, set in motion by a surprising series of events, young Poulo's entree into the music world was auspic ious as she gained popularity across the region. After several locally released tapes and CDs, this record is Poulo's first internationally-distributed record. On Poulo Warali, she and her band combine the hallmarks of Peulh music—warm flute floating over cross-rhythmic n'goni (lute) riffs and resonant calabash gourd hand percussion—with broader Malian sounds like lightly-distorted guitar and a heavier, rollicking inertia. Shapeshifting layers of rhythm and woody overtones match Poulo's commanding voice in a jocular yet deliberate dance. This is a relatively rare example of Malian Peulh music played in a modern, cosmopolitan context, reflecting the mixed society of Dilly, where Bambara, Soninke and Peulh-speaking people live among each other. Poulo's conscious lyrics about community concerns speak to the distinctive identity of her broadly-flung people. While Peulh represents less than 10% of Mali's melting pot of languages, the dynamic music here powerfully resonates well beyond the linguistic borders.
Elektro Guzzi combine club music and live performance to a unique, energetic mixture. They overcome the rigid boundary of analog versus digital, unifying the human being with his machines in an unprecedented way and surprising the listener with their innovative productions. Sónar, Roskilde, Melt!, C/O Pop or Mutek are just a few stations among others, where Elektro Guzzi fascinated with their dynamic live show, without the use of computers or loops.
With their new EP - Parade , the first release on German label Denovali, Elektro Guzzi broaden their trinity of drums, bass and e-guitar. With implementing trombones as extra oscillators, dissociating them from their conventional use, the trombones become part of the human-machine-universe and are used as an additional sound source in order to modulate and explore its variety live on the stage.
The four tracks emerged from commissioned work for the Artacts Festival for Jazz and Improvised Music. They move along familiar paths, but also show some new, unusual dimensions of Elektro Guzzi. Opener - Element starts gently, bringing the trombones slowly into appearance, culminating in that driving groove, which whips the melancholic sound of the track. Title track - Parade reveals the new source of inspiration of the Vienna-based trio. From Haitian Rara music, through New Orleans brass bands to Basic Channel dub, Elektro Guzzi create rhythms beyond four-to-floor, with that special, warm vibe, which remains in the ear of the listener.
Recording, mixing and sound design results from a collaboration with sound enthusiast Nik Hummer. The - Parade -EP hypnotizes the listener with its diversity of sounds, with floating and dubby rhythms, situated in a stunning sound aesthetic, in which the feeling of its live performance is conserved.
Marc Antona has been always in the pursuit of new expressions within music as he has continually demonstrated with his work. Following the jazz-infused adventures of the Rattle Snaps EP, he finally returns to his own turf to lay down another crucial exploration of beat science. "Hanging Gardens" is a masterclass in immersive programming, fusing the natural feel of live drums with crisp electronic tones that hover in a spacious mix. It's the perfect angle at which to appreciate the subtlety of sound design that goes into every inch of Marc Antona's productions, teasing elements in and out of the mix so gracefully, it's hard to tell where the joints are. The haunting touches of chords and lingering pad are deployed with poise, the intricate percussion progressively rising and falling throughout to create a truly immersive sonic journey. Where the A side deals with angular rhythms and a shape-shifting atmosphere, "Unrestricted" takes the sound palette of organic and electronic elements and feeds them into a rolling, techno-minded focus. The tribal thrum of the beat fills out an 'in-the room-ambience' while the psychoactive synth flurries speak out the pulse of the machines. It's a combination that makes "Unrestricted" as intimate as it is exotic. In combining these disparate feelings within his tracks, Antona once again brings a human feel to the technology, pushing the music into exciting new realms in the process.
For the first release coming in 2017 Macadam Mambo strikes very hard with a very special EP of radical dance music by the German band The Blech revisited by Hambourg's based artist Wosto. The Blech released 6 LP between 1985 and 1996. Their albums have become a treasure-trove of extravagant, groovy dance hall artistry. The forcefulness with which The Blech flung their conviction from the stage into the audience was at once hypnotic, irritating and erotic. Here Wosto has selected two tracks from the Zip Zip LP originally released in 1987 (Nichts Wie Vorher and Zip Zip) and one from the Ich Wollte Meine Schuhe Zerschneiden LP (Die Einame Trane) released in 1989, and transform them into strong powerfull dancefloor cuts. Be sure of the efficient of the product, no need to talk more, let the music speak by itself.Special mention for the magnificient artwork of Lyon's based artist Hugo Charpentier from the Mauvaise Foi collective !!
Gatupreto release their sophomore "Distino Di Nos Vida" on TINK! Music! The duo from Lisbon's hinterland return with a second round of their impeccable, futuristic theory on modern club music after the acclaimed "Modo Di Trabadja" EP, released in 2015. The tropical taste of Cabo Verde, the cool of that Lisbon dance floor fusionism, the appeal of classic vibes. Tracks too dark and twisted to be called "Afro", too sexy and melodic to be called "Techno", too smart and freaky to be called "House" and too cool and mature to be called "Kuduro", it is simply Gatupreto.
On the A side "I Became Me", deep afro dub with a killer sub bass and endless echoes, starring Portuguese soul and hip hop legend NBC as guest vocalist and a remix by afro Dutch master and fellow TINK! artist Philou Louzolo - who turns "I Became Me" into an irresistible deep house with african undertones.
On the flip side, the dark dramatic stomping tracks "Afrowerk" and "Gatu Di Noti", the first an eerie, irresistible peak time banger, and the later a stormer with sounds from natural Africa, harpy acid lines and an off kilter beat.
Julian Stetter might be best known as 'one half of the electronic pop duo VIMES', but he is no stranger to the Cologne club scene. His debut EP 'Insides' stems from a long history of djing and organising underground parties across the city. A resident DJ and collaborator at Cologne's famed JackWho club, it was these surroundings that drove Stetter to dive deep into producing. His first solo project is now set to be released on the label PNN. It features three tracks plus a remix by Beyou. Stetter's sound is polished and the precise production of each three tracks make this EP feel far from debut. 'Emily' is the first track set to be released this Friday. It draws you in on shimmering waves that rise and break into a deeper and spacier sound. Warm beats are interjected with random snippets of whale song. Listening to Emily feels like receiving a welcome hug at an after party.
After a very successful label launch last year with "In Aeternam Vale - Self Destruct EP". Linda Records returns with another straight talking, analog fuelled 10". This time welcoming aboard Berlin based Russian artist "Alexey Volkov". His three track EP "Cold Blooded Genius" comes finely presented on transparent red ten inch vinyl (limited pressing). Whilst staying true to its current white label feel, this time Linda's trademark eyes, also a fitting red. On the A Side at 45RPM the title track "Cold Blooded Genius" and on the B Side two tracks will spin at 33RPM, "Unfriendly Nation" & "Curtains Of Flesh". We hate to categorise and attempt to summarise what these pieces of music craft sound like into words, we'll leave you to indulge for a short time to the machine noise of the highly regarded talent that is Alexey Volkov...
Ichisan has been coaxed back behind the velvet curtain of the Bordello, this time for eleven track trip into a land of funk filled machine music. Aperitiv cruises with no single style, instead this Slovenian synthesist glides and slides through a scatting of sounds. Cosmic. House. Disco. Wave. Italo. All are plundered to produce an album overflowing with good feeling. And these feelings are pretty damn good. The road bends- The course changes. Bubrling acid bliss, crisp beats and stunningly delicate key shifts characterise this collection. Inviting strings pull you ever deeper. A soundtrack to coast line journeys along the Gulf of Trieste in a top down convertible, late night romances and evenings of endless warmth. Allow yourself to be whisked off by Ichisan, a trip you won´t want to come back from.
As a first follow up to his acclaimed 2012 J. R. Plankton release, Plankton teamed up with Robert Defcon and produced an astounding collage of european and afroamerican sounds, vocals and rhythms, both psychedelic and bass heavy. Licensed to groove, the 5 tracks on Oh Babe' merge the sonically improbable - highlighted by the artificial landscape of Armin Linke's cover photo and Max Dax' artwork.
When Krauts Rausch' (German for intoxication or noise) you know they're onto a winner: The fresh new release opens with a sizzling drone ascending the throne of psychedelic sequencer rock. The title tune Oh Babe' injects screwed, subtly lewd funk vocals into a slo-mo, yet ecstatic disco anthem, underscored by a pulsating filter funk bass, while Bass 'n' Hippies' and Get Up' fuse deep progrock killer grooves with raunchy vocoder rap and funky turntable scratching, which will have you on your feet for sure. After a night out dancing, the final track, Jealousy', evokes a scenery of solitary paranoia, both chilled out and chilling.
Defcon and Plankton are connected by years of friendship and a dedication to minimalistic grooves and collage techniques in the tradition of Stockhausen and Can and the turntable and sampling culture of early hip hop.
Presenting the new ssaliva release on Ekster: We Never Happened'. 180g vinyl packed in a pantone printed outer sleeve with drawing by Charles-Henry Sommelette. Comes with printed inner-sleeves and silk screened plastic oversleeve.
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I am a vessel. A muffled mass. A bulk. Extent. A womb. I move. So I am neither here nor there. Always somewhere in between. To give substance to this frame, I carve out a piece of me. Sometimes a shape, sometimes a form. Into this space I pour the siege of me: words, pictures, you. So we can become me. Viscosity and temperature dictate the time it takes. When it is done, I break the mold I am. I take the cast inside and place it by the others. Choose one and take it home.
Italian Roberto Clementi has really struck a chord in the hearts of Northerners, with releases on Scottish Soma, Danish Echocord Colour and Swedish Kontra-Musik. Perhaps it's his ability to create evolving and often emotional melodic landscapes over raw, punchy beats that's especially appreciated north of The Wall. This is very much true for True Rotary Recordings, in any case, bringing Roberto Clementi in for the label's second release. 'To Balance a Tide' is perfectly set in the True Rotary Recordings universe, combining analogue warmth with genuine musicality. There's no question Roberto Clementi has soul and has willingly poured some of it into this release, the music has a considerable thickness to it that's very pleasing to the ear, yet it's still exceptionally artful. Clementi's soul seems to be an ancient one, given the timelessness of his tracks - old SVEK releases come to mind but with an added futuristic twist. This is music for dancing and music for dreaming, all in one package.
True Rotary Recordings is run by Joel Alter and Ena Cosovic. Stemming from a longstanding mutual appreciation for the combination raw techno with more seductive sounds, the label is a natural development of Joel's and Ena's musical and personal partnership. True Rotary Recordings represents their mutual musical vision and vibe that they love. Keeping it raw and genuine.
Despite a discography that stretches right back to the late noughties, little is known about Turkish producer Ali Kuru. Perhaps he's publicity shy, or simply wants to let his music do the talking; either way, the music he makes is magical, and undoubtedly worthy of wider acclaim. Kuru came to the attention of Leng late last year, releasing the Luna 12' his frst vinyl release for six years - in January 2016. That EP boasted two typically exotic and fragrant tracks, both of which effortlessly joined the dots between dub disco, hazy house, gentle downtempo movements and snaking, Middle Eastern instrumentation.
Here, the Istanbul native further explores his unique musical perspective, serving up a quartet of tracks that eschew easy categorization. Twittering birds, throbbing dub basslines, crisp hip-hop beats, trippy vocal samples, and distant chimes combine on the moody 'Mandari', while 'Causa' peppers a jangling, acoustic guitar-laden loop-groove with futtering futes, deep space electronics and rolling hand percussion.On the fip, his more exotic musical inspirations return to the fore. There's 'Zurna' - the musical equivalent of a panicked dash through a bustling late
night market full of drunken jazz drummers, metronomic groove merchants and snake-charming pungi players - and the low-slung stomp of 'Avaz'. Here, sampled vocal chants and Bollywood-inspired instrumentation wind their way around a rubbery bassline and handclap-heavy rhythm track. If
there was such a thing as Turkish-Hindi jazzdance - and maybe there should be - then this would be a guaranteed foorfller.
All four tracks offer further glimpses into Ali Kuru's fertile imagination. It's the perfect teaser for the Turkish producer's debut album, which will be released by Leng in early 2017.
Translated from Spanish as 'The Shade', Chip Wickham's debut album La Sombra drops after a 25-year career touring, recording and experimenting across three decades of jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, Latin and electronica. La Sombra is a monumental record for Chip as it symbolises the moment he stepped out into the light as a director of his creations with freedom to explore his roots, express and tell his version of jazz and pay testament to his heroes Roland Kirk, Yuseef Lateef & Harold McNair.
Now living in Dubai after an intense and productive six years in Madrid, it was Manchester where Chip studied in the late '80s and became enmeshed in the chaotic and thrilling music scenes emanating from one of the world's most culturally prominent cities of the time. Recording and generally 'keeping things real' with Manchester's hip-hop collective Grand Central Records, Rae & Christian, The Pharcyde, Fingathing, Nightmares on Wax, Graham Massey (808 State), Chip was in a city that was undergoing a music revolution with the Haçienda as its temple. Yet it was the headlights of the M62 motorway and not the strobe lights that were lighting Chip's path during his student years ('88-'92). The lure of the jazz and funk clubs of Leeds, where The New Mastersounds were breaking out and building the blocks that would lead them to UK funk royalty status, proved too strong.
In the 1990s Chip continued to refine his craft in the rainy city and the gigs booked were growing in stature. It wasn't long before he was on the road with Roy Ayers and Badly Drawn Boy. Around that time Chip met up with trumpeter Matthew Halsall that was the beginning of a friendship that lasts to this day. Chip was a recording artist on Matthew Halsall's breakout album Sending My Love and continues to work with him, with live dates confirmed in spring 2017. This close connection with Halsall gave rise to other collaborations, such as with Nat Birchall and Go Go Penguin's Rob Turner.
Three decades after his late night excursions to Leeds, Chip found himself recording with Eddie Roberts from The New Mastersounds in Madrid, as part of their new band, The Fire Eaters, which he'd formed soon after he moved to sunny Spain in 2007 - the same year he released the Fried Samba album under his moniker Malena, his electronic Latin band that became a hit at the turn of the century for Freestyle Records. During his time in Spain he connected with the local scene and brought together many of his musicians colleagues from the UK to Spain and it was for a local and well established label, Lovemonk, that he released two 45s blending raw funk and Latin. These new roads and musical leanings led to an invitation to play for the prestigious Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band. Based on a poll from Craig Charles' top rated BBC6 radio show, Chip was chosen to play alongside the cream of the UK funk & soul scene: James Taylor (JTQ), Snowboy, The Haggis Horns (Mark Ronson), John Turrell (Smooth & Turrell), and Mick Talbot (The Style Council).
La Sombra takes an altogether more rooted direction than Chip's recent collaborative work, with the jazz of the late '60s and early '70s a dominating influence to the recordings. Comprising of seven tracks recorded in Madrid with musicians assembled by Chip from Madrid's jazz scene, it combines contemplative explorations akin to Yusef Lateef's early work on tracks like 'La Sombra' and 'Pushed Too Far'. There's a fiery cover of Camarón de la Isla's classic 'La Leyenda Del Tiempo' and tracks like 'Sling Shot' and 'Red Planet' are locked in a groove harking back to Freddie Hubbard's Blue Note era and Luv N Haight's Nathan Davis.
LumièresLaNuit is glad to welcome back French Berlin-based music producer and live performer Roisner. One year after his Piano
Roll EP (LLN003) that was released on the occasion of LumièresLaNuit's I anniversary, Roisner delivers this time a more dance floor-
driven EP while keeping some basic components that make his Piano Roll release so poignant and touching.
On the A side, Interstellar is a collaboration between Roisner and the French artist Sibéri. Interstellar is a journey that starts as
an invitation into a meditation state of mind, then slowly the rhythm takeover the pad, the kick and an other layer of percussions
bring you "back to earth".
Then, the B-side opens with Comet that proposes here a more dance floor mood with strong linear rhythms and dreamy melodies.
The gripping sub-bass line is the result of experimenting a patch of the modular system. Finally, the EP concludes with Shooting
Star, a rather mind-blowing and rocking song with a soft melody. Shooting Star remembers us directly of Roisner's Piano Rool, a
poignant and gut-wrenching track.
40 years after the huge international impact of OXYGENE, and 20 years from its second volume OXYGENE 7-13, Jean-Michel Jarre is fulfilling a trilogy of albums with OXYGENE 3, containing seven newly composed and recorded pieces, consistently titled parts 14-20.
His inspiration for the newly added parts on OXYGENE 3 was not to go back in time, but to add a sense of now' to his iconic piece of work. Plunging into the environment of OXYGENE with its highly original dark, moody and at times quite upbeat musical language, Jarre references some of the music from his entire body of work on OXYGENE 3. It's a state-of-the-art recording, embracing both classic and modern ways of music production.
This release is available on single LP heavyweight vinyl.
Villalegre Recordings is back with his second release after an acclaimed debut ep, which is already found in some 'real deejays' " vinyl cases, namely Dj Garth, Stevie Kotey, Timm Sure, Richard Sen and Massimiliano Pagliara.Discómanos ep consists of 4 edits of unknown gems, masterly revisited by collectors and artists as big as Mike Burns, Rayko , the great Sagittarius and Christian Beetz aka Frwctrl. Once again, Jorge Moreira and Crew dig deep down into many underground scenes around the world, to come up with an ep you'll always want to have in your case.
Listen carefully to Jose Rico's mastering work! A unique sound, which brings back reminiscences of Tom Moulton, Larry Levan, Dany Krivit or the very own Ron Hardy's reel to reel edits. Exotic love (Frwctrl mix) The trip starts with a Christian Beetz opus, which edits and extends a wonderful and unknown antique Spanish disco-funk track, with chorus voices flying like eagles to drive the dance floor to a unique climax. Sweat and pleasure lead by a smashing funky guitar, synths which drive you from the beach to the darkest, most hedonist dance floor. For your Love (Rayko edit)
Rayko is an edit master; he has presented his productions on the biggest disco dance floors on the planet, and this work reconfirms him. 'For your Love' tastes like Paradise Garage and nights of freedom and love. An original track with first class drums and a bass guitar, that reaches straight to the heart. The message comes with violins, which create the perfect emotion to wrap up a disco music masterwork that later becomes house. I want your body (Mike Burns Edit)The original track is a treasure that's hard to get, edited by Mike Burns, one of the strongest artists in the European underground disco scene. Mike selects this cut with a killer bass line, crazy synth effects and organs to turn the original track into an extended cut, which not only shakes the dance floor, but also the cloakroom and toilets. Programa Sintético (Sagittarius 1983 Tribute Edit)Sagittarius edits in a sublime way a mysterious track, loaded with energy, synths and effects. A production work, which transforms the original track into a technoid cut with a frequency in tune with Ron Hardy's proto-techno edits and progressive European music.
