Architectural returns to Wolfskuil Records with 4 exceptional cuts on his 'Beautiful Life After Death' twelve inch. Complex sound design and a warm and open atmosphere go hand in hand with the Spanish studio wizzard's sonic world. From lush ambient in the title track, the addictive groove in 'Piedras' to wobbly modular bass excursions in 'Luminous Path' and moody textures from the abyss in 'Gris'. Architectural covers a lot of ground in just 4 tracks. Diverse and coherent at the same time, few artists have such a recognizable sound signature as the Barcelona artist.
Cerca:j path
Saint Petersburg, Russia based producer Gradient has been steadily making his mark on the modern dub techno scene over the past decade and here we see him returning to grad_u’s Greyscale with more classy, dub-infused and atmospheric material. A study in landscapes exploring the pathways between the concrete jungles of the cities we reside in and the natural landscapes we visit to reconnect and find inner peace.
‘Landscape Two’ leads, employing choppy chord stabs, fluttering low-end pulses and dusty drums in an unfaltering, subtly modulating and evolving fashion before Fluxion offers a master class in restrained atmospherics, slowly teasing elements of the original into the depths of an ethereal, murky groove.
‘Landscape One’ leads the flip-side, taking a more upfront feel this time via robust drums and am amalgamation of spiraling dub chords ahead of grad_u’s ‘Landscape Two’ remix which lays focus on off-kilter, bumpy drums, fluttering subs and intricately modulating cuts from the original chords.
Released on 12’’ white 180gram vinyl, mastered and cut @ dubplates & mastering, Berlin.
Alt-rock icon Josephine Wiggs is best known as bassist in The Breeders, rising to superstardom in the '90s and continuing to draw crowds and critical acclaim in the wake of their 2018 album All Nerve.
But over the years, Wiggs has released several of her own albums, all of which delightfully defy genre. Her new solo record, We Fall, is both a departure and a distillation of an enduring personal aesthetic: moody and spare but also melodic, at once contemporary and nostalgic.
Some influences are clear: We Fall is reminiscent of the experimentalism of Brian Eno's Another Green World and recalls the delicate, languid minimalism of Harold Budd. The album's classical inflections, sharpened by a dialog with electronic elements, evoke Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto. This is an album of juxtapositions: minimalist at moments, richly layered in others; ambient while also sharply focused; melancholy yet resolute.
There's something both dreamy and scientific about We Fall. Wiggs, an enthusiastic amateur mycologist, has an impressive collection of mushrooms she's photographed in her travels. We Fall could be the soundtrack to what can't be captured in a single photo—the growth and decay of miraculous creatures that a less astute and sensitive eye might overlook entirely.
Composed, performed and recorded by Wiggs, with drums and electronics by her longtime friend and collaborator Jon Mattock (Spacemen 3, Spirit , We Fall is a lyrical, bucolic album with an undercurrent of disquiet. Think of a wintertime walk in the woods as dusk falls too soon. True to the classic album form, the 10 almost entirely instrumental tracks on We Fall form a compelling whole: a crystalline meditation on paths not taken and words unspoken, an elegy for moments lost and last embraces.
JOSEPHINE WIGGS BIO
Josephine Wiggs grew up in an unconventional family north of London. Returning home from a summer holiday with a donkey riding in the back of the family's 1927 Rolls Royce was not considered at all bizarre. Wiggs studied cello as a child, segued from college in London to undertake a master's degree in Philosophy, and then, in a move few would have predicted, joined a rock band.
After making three albums with The Perfect Disaster (1987-1990), Wiggs left to join Kim Deal (Pixies), Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses), and Britt Walford (Slint) in forming indie supergroup The Breeders, whose debut album Pod came out in 1990. Following a shift in line-up—with Kelley Deal on guitar and new drummer Jim Macpherson—The Breeders released Last Splash in 1993; with its hit single 'Cannonball' and 'Divine Hammer,' they became alternative rock superstars.
During the same period, Wiggs released two lower-key albums with Jon Mattock (Spacemen 3, Spiritualized): Nude Nudes (1992) under the name Honey Tongue, and Bon Bon Lifestyle (1996) using the moniker The Josephine Wiggs Experience. She also recorded and produced Klassics with a K (1996), the beloved and only album by the Kostars (Luscious Jackson's Jill Cunniff and Vivian Trimble). During a brief run of shows, Wiggs joined the band on drums, showing her range of musical ability.
In the late '90s Wiggs collaborated with Vivian Trimble as Dusty Trails, whose eponymous 2000 album is an homage to neo-noir soundtracks, spaghetti westerns, and Gallic pop. Time Out described it as 'one of the most subtly suggestive, understatedly elegant...things likely to have caressed your cochlea in years.'
Allusions in Dusty Trails to film music foreshadowed the next stage of Wiggs's career, writing scores for feature and documentary films—from Happy Accidents by Brad Anderson in 1999 to Appropriate Behaviour by Desiree Akhavan in 2014. Her new album We Fall began as a suite of short pieces for the documentary film Built on Narrow Land. Wiggs has also composed and recorded music to accompany live performance and short films by the acclaimed Brazilian choreographers chameckilerner.
In 2013, following the 20th anniversary of Last Splash, the classic lineup of The Breeders reunited for a world tour. Five years later in 2018 they released All Nerve, with Wiggs co-writing two songs and singing lead on the standout track 'Metagoth.' We Fall, Josephine Wiggs' third album of her own design and ninth album in a career spanning three decades, will be released on vinyl and available for download and streaming on April 12, 2019 by Sound of Sinners.
180g
In order to celebrate 5 thrilling and inspiring years, we gathered well-known artists, Goldmin regulars and emerging talents. It was really important for us to express the elusive nature of the Goldmin sound, in the form of a compilation tracklisting. Over the past 5 years, we had the chance to meet most of these guys in person, follow their very own creative path, share ideas, thoughts and there’s no doubt that they all had their part to play in crafting our sound. This intimate and stimulating kind of collaboration had to be expressed and there couldn’t be a better way to capture what we’ve been busily working for, than a serie of Various Artists 12″. What it comes down to is a quintessential, hard-to-follow Goldmin selection devoid of any specific standard or norm. And this whole compilation seems to reflect that non-septate artistic direction, this little something, which has grown throughout our whole catalogue, since the label’s birth.That’s why, picking these select few tracks, that could illustrate Goldmin Music’s essential freedom was probably our toughest work yet. It was also important to pick only the most original and iconic tracks from each artist. In the end each track had to be their most Goldmin one and they all have been tried in all types of situations, in club at 1 and 5 AM, on the highway at night or even staring at the ceiling during a sleepless insomnia session. They all fullfilled their duty.
Helsinki-based duo Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen present a new two-tracker on We Jazz Records and dive deep into different moods on this 7" / digital single release. Lassy plays sax, Mäkynen (who is also known as "Teddy Rok" and via his Stance Brothers alias) plays drums and handles production duties. First up, we have "Zomp", a deliciously slow funk piece with enough groove to move mountains. On the flipside, "Dark Magenta" takes things leftfield with its tech-like rhythmic approach applied here onto an acoustic jazz quartet and hinting at Mäkynen's interest in electronic music.
As far as the term "award-winning" goes, here we have two of the latest "Finnish jazz album of the year" winners joining forces and doing what they do best. "Zomp / Dark Magenta" is out on Helsinki's We Jazz Records on 3 May. The 7" vinyl single follows the label's path of producing their singles with beautiful heat-pressed labels and serving them just right in generic brown sleeves.
ZamZam 70 is our first team-up with the man of mystery known as Marcus Anbessa. An enigmatic figure whose identity must remain secret for the time being, his infrequent releases on labels such as Lion Charge, Tribe 12, and The Most High (as “Unknown Artist”) are eagerly awaited by those who know, charting an uncompromising vision down a path untrod by the weakheart or the follow-fashion. We love music that builds its own sound world with only passing reference to familiar genres or signposts, music that believes in itself utterly - for this reason we feel genuinely blessed to present these two sides.
“March of The Falasha” is pure roots music that, firmly planted in the soil of dub and sound system, reaches back even further into the mists of time through technological means. Downbeat steppers is the idiom, pure heartbeat is the pulse. Like an old soul young in years but full of wisdom, a distorted flute melody wanders ahead through the undergrowth of bass, light filtering through the ancient canopy above in the form of swung percussion and flickering echoes overlapping and intertwining like vines and creepers weaving on temple walls. Ancient-to-the-future.
“Creator” strikes a different yet equally dread chord, 140-ish post-apocalyptic Rasta business focused squarely on bass and space, hard, insistent drums and infinite echo trails flinging from the snares and percussion, creating hypnotic tracers like sparks swirling heavenward from a well-tended fire in blackest night.
Imagine African Headcharge on Jah Tubbys, or a rootsman groundation resuscitating ancient machines in the crumbling ruins of a near-future world and you begin to see what Marcus Anbessa brings. This music reminds us that nature herself will some day claim Babylon and grind it to dust, regardless of our efforts to save it or hasten its fall.
Eagerly awaited debut album from oft-cited UK's most out-there band, features in the works with The Quietus and Wire already.
180GM PRESSING - 500 COPIES ONLY.
Difficult times required difficult music, my Yarns, that's why we had Guttersnipe; with its own sort of energy-kind there then.Reiner: A singular yield, a singular yield now.Barns: A whot
Reiner: A singular yield mate! Rich guitar strang, flow motive pounding underneath.Vox like Death come winding through the fields. Barns: Hell of a way to describe a vocal style.
Me: Nah but for real my Donny, Have you read a presser 1 sheet lately It's the most
They say the PR era, circa late 80's killed the golden age of music journalism:
They say Guttersnipe have continuously melted all the forms that they come up against. They are right. Because Guttersnipe is not part of a tradition we know well. You will identify the departure from it though, immediately, upon hearing My Mother The Vent. This LP, the promotional version of which, likely sits in your hands (disk, whatever). The innovation here is a FIRM commitment to the flowmotive polyrhythm underwriting the seared, nay fried, tonal rainbow and de-reasoned vox.
Not Nate Nelson, nor John the masseuse dude from Sightings but TIPULA CONFUSA. Don't want to put the captain obvious pants on so tight I can't jump around the yard because why waste a good yard hang. I'll put on my blighty nighty instead. UROCERAS GIGAS has bridged so many gaps, finally unlocked the AxeWeld CODE and is really playing the thing. Not to mention bringing forth a world-view so utterly unique. Good luck finding anything like it.
Finally some REAL disjunction in the music; clear and intended. In an age when most computer music composers use stochastic systems and still manage to drop some linear pathground shit, the brawler drums and slanky guitar constructions on My Mother The Vent are a genuine treat. I've spent too much of my adult life so far hearing too much of this shit to not recognize REAL GAME. And here it crawls out of the grey shadows of ol' BLIGHTY.
Our post-music age: after the fine human endeavour known as music, the result of letting the cybernetic run ITS horrible game on us. I'm not waxing confusingly in a rarefied tone here. Nor running the boring sci-fi script. I really think that is were we is. We left the human-music-on-a-human-scale behind and much to our detriment. Here we sit in our crumbling reality. But Guttersnipe come paleo, like the rhapsodes with long ass memories rattling off Homeric verse well into the age of manuscript culture, but here, with future tones. Luckily. Otherwise, me and the record label here wouldn't be wasting our time and yours with a 1 sheet for My Mother The Vent.
So a proper first time on wax for these amazing creatures is a welcome addition to the world of things. These drums and these guit-lines are so cranké, as they say here in my odd neighborhood. These voices are so utterly expressive without even the damn language at hand ; like the great horns. We'll rinse this record out, I'll put on my old blighty nighty and go dance in the street. Alex Moskos, Montreal, August 2018Guttersnipe is:UROCERAS GIGAS - Guitar, Analog Synth, VoxTIPULA CONFUSA - Drums, Drum Synth, Vox
Remix extravaganza ahead! What started as an attempt to transport Feater's brillant outsider pop 'Time Millionaire' (taken from the Socialo Blanco album) onto a dance floor with one or two remixes, ended up as a feast served on three different platters with some heavy hitters. First up, Pépé Bradock and Ricardo Villalobos are crossing their beams. Spread over two 12s, the masters of idiosyncrasies and splendid aural design, Bradock and Villalobos treat the voice of Vilja Larjosto with love and care and bring it into their respective universe during peak time: vocals, dubs, acapellas and bonus bits included. Expertly, tricky and inventive. Remix EP no. 3 merges different trajectories of UK dance music traditions (or Ireland for that matter). Man of the moment Krystal Klear takes the material down to love town: the sound of 1980s Island records meets NYC boogie and UK street soul sounds. Hessle Audio's Pangaea follows the other path: uptempo bass fun with a driving dub and an instrumental pass. Last but not least, Feater & Sam Irl themselves deliver a blissed out dub of the original. Oh, and if you have enough time, flip over to the 10 with an Aba Shanti-I approved UK reggae and lovers rock take on it by Blood Shanti.
Remix extravaganza ahead! What started as an attempt to transport Feater's brillant outsider pop 'Time Millionaire' (taken from the Socialo Blanco album) onto a dance floor with one or two remixes, ended up as a feast served on three different platters with some heavy hitters. First up, Pépé Bradock and Ricardo Villalobos are crossing their beams. Spread over two 12s, the masters of idiosyncrasies and splendid aural design, Bradock and Villalobos treat the voice of Vilja Larjosto with love and care and bring it into their respective universe during peak time: vocals, dubs, acapellas and bonus bits included. Expertly, tricky and inventive. Remix EP no. 3 merges different trajectories of UK dance music traditions (or Ireland for that matter). Man of the moment Krystal Klear takes the material down to love town: the sound of 1980s Island records meets NYC boogie and UK street soul sounds. Hessle Audio's Pangaea follows the other path: uptempo bass fun with a driving dub and an instrumental pass. Last but not least, Feater & Sam Irl themselves deliver a blissed out dub of the original. Oh, and if you have enough time, flip over to the 10 with an Aba Shanti-I approved UK reggae and lovers rock take on it by Blood Shanti.
Laid back and chilled out, Andrew never lets anything or anyone bother him. He has an air of mystique about him which others often envy.
(Andrea Solitario) ANDREW SOUL Andrew from his real name, Soul as the part where his inspiration come from, is a native italian producer born in 1986.
Music has been the first and everlasting love for this guy who soon came into his city's underground scene: he was 15 years old when he walked into a club for the first time. Then everything came by itself: a fusion of house and techno, the passion for the acidized sounds filled his mind and his heart.
But listening wasn't enough: the love for the music was to much for not to create something.
So Andrew started a path made by wicked grooves, dropping acid synths and emotional vibes, huge baseline, soulfoul vocals, roland tr-707 on the drums: these featuring characterize at best Andrew's sound.
The love for the analog sound push him over the years to purchase some vintage drum machine and keyboards, to make his sound as better as he can, and to add to his sound some cool old flavour.
Having DJd for years in his native Italy, Andrew turned his hand to production a few years back and promptly set about making some of the most emotive and engaging analogue house and techno around.
Vinyl collector, record lover, for him there's nothing better than watching a wax riding a turntable and listen the music that come from it.
As an eclectic artist, in his sets, Andrew likes to mix from deep to techno, through the house, but people never know what to expect from his large underground music knowledge; old, classic, brand new tunes and own productions makes his set really sophisticated and different each time.
After working on music collaborations for several years, with some friends , early 2011 was time to start sharing solo productions with his first release on Paulatine Records, wellknowed Uner's label. 4 tracks that take attention of many wellknowed djs, like X-Press2 that played the tracks at MOS and on their radioshow, Adam Port who said "Finally something different..." and many others..
Then two vinyl release: first one on the great Barcelona based Kiara Records "Too Much Love Will Kill You", Julien Chaptal on remix, and second one on the New York based imprint Stranjjur Inc, on remix Kris Wadsworth and Baldo; "Close To You" placed 29th on RA Chart.
A great tune with the close friend Frank Naht alongside a remix for Fabio Monesi on friend's label Blackrose Records, and an EP on Espai Music to follow.
End of 2012 was good: EP come out on the Defected's sub label "Tenth Circle"
November 2012 was also time for releasing on Safari Numerique with David Labeji on remix, and the track "No Way" played by Richie Hawtin.
2013 full of work and innovation, with 2 remixes on italian Moan Rec for Meeph, and U.S. based Undulate Recordings for Frank Nath, a really deep EP on his new family Popcorn Records, and jacking mode on for the new release on Safari Numerique.
2014 starts with a vinyl only release on Popcorn Records Ltd, special collaboration with Peter JD and remixes from Amir Alexander and Franco Cinelli.
The path is long and Andrew's research is still long way to end...
Nothing Makes Us Jump Up From The Desk, Shouting 'whaaaaat ' Like A Bitter End New Release !
The Label Continue To Forge A Path That's Entirely Their Own, With Another In The Limited Pre-release Series...
'kneel B4 Thelma' On Side A, Flips One Of Her Biggest Hits Into An Utterly Futuristic Cyborg-soul Anthem !
Almost As If We'd All Forgotten How Good One Of Earth's Greatest 20th Century Divas Might Sound Over A Filthy 21st Century Klanken-banger !
On The Flip 'mast Song' Transports Us To A Seaside Tavern, Where The Old Folks Sit In The Back, Evoking (and Imbibing) Strong Spirits, With Traditional Shanty's While The Next Generation Find Communion In The Gentle Throb Of The 4/4 In The Tap Room Next Door
Light Years Ahead !
First Terrace Records is thrilled to announce that Justin Wright - the Montreal cellist & composer hand-picked for support duties by luminaries such as Colin Stetson, Hauschka, Bing & Ruth, and the late great Jóhann Jóhannsson - is gliding calmly into the spotlight with his debut long player.
With an assembled quartet of violin, viola, cello and double bass, the record was tracked in Rolston Hall at the Banff Centre, in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and carries in its sound the location's stately beauty.
Over the duration of Music For Staying Warm, nine experimental compositions and improvisations are unwound for the listeners pleasure, each with its own gentle patience, as Justin invites you to 'relinquish your sense of anticipation' and enjoy the drift.
Announcing itself like sunshine on frost, Harmonic Loops opens the record and begins to thaw the path ahead. Throughout the album, woollen strings swell at their unforced pace and combine to swaddle the brain's pleasure sensors in frequent moments of pure hygge.
Transversales Disques presents KSHATRYA, (The Eye Of The Bird), never released before
recording by french avant-garde electronic composer Igor Wakhevitch, who composed a bunch of
major experimental albums in the 70's such as Logos, Docteur Faust, Hathor, Les Fous d'Or,
Nagual and Let's Start.
During this 10 years period, Wakhevitch was close to Jean-Michel Jarre, the Pink Floyd, the Soft
Machine, and legendary choreographer Maurice Bejart having with him many conversations around
dance and music, human body and soul, spiritual path, collective life, new society, human evolution.
As a composer Igor Wakhevitch collaborated with Salvador Dali, Carolyn Carlson, and Terry Riley to
name a few. He's considered as one of the first French composer using synthesizers like Synthi
AKS, ARP2600 or Moog modular systems.
After spending almost 30 years in India, Igor Wakhevitch dug in his archives this unreleased work
recorded in 1999 on his 'Mysterious Island 88' system. Esotheric, sacred and cosmic, KSHATRYA,
(The Eye Of The Bird) is the logical follow up of Igor's early works and a monumental piece of
electronic music. A must!
- A1: Síria (Diana Combo): Por Riba (Beira Baixa)
- A2: Random Gods: Gazulo À Estronca Da Santosa (Beira Alta E Trás Os Montes)
- A3: Ondness: Malta Inquieta (Beira Litoral)
- A4: Filho Da Mãe: Manta (Outras Regiões)
- B1: Live Low: Montemor (Baixo Alentejo)
- B2: Banha Da Cobra - Asylo (Alto Alentejo)
- B3: Fantasma: Lamento Das Beiras (Beiras)
- B4: Gonzo - Tromba Rota
- B5: Luis Natero - Pastagens Sonoroas Ii
In 1959 Michel Giacometti moved to Portugal and dedicated the following thirty years of his life recording traditional music all over the country. In the present decade Portuguese music has been thriving and finally travelling abroad, long gone are the days those hidden gems were kept in secret in this distant corner of Europe. The discovery of current Portuguese music sparked an interest to Portuguese music, past and present.
With both of those ideas in mind, Giacometti and the interest in Portuguese music, 'Antologia de Música Atípica Portuguesa' creates an anthology of current sounds to the future. You can see it as history being made or a broad catalog of sounds that live and breathe the experimental and electronic that is happening in Portugal. The first step happened two years ago with the releasing of the first volume on this anthology, 'O Trabalho' ('The Labour') and we now move onto Vol. 2, 'Regiões' ('Regions'), with each track connecting with a different province from Portugal.
Some names return to this volume, like Live Low with the beautifully haunting 'Montemor' or Gonzo (our own Gonçalo F. Cardoso), affirming his path in building detailed and processed field recordings music. More than a list of names, or songs, this second volume of 'Antologia de Música Atípica Portuguesa' recreates a passage throughout different landscapes of Portugal, constantly leaving a trail of past, present and future. The trail doesn't limit itself to the music, but to the traditions contained in the sounds and the stories spelled by the words.
The beautifully slowed haunting-waltz 'Por Riba', by Síria (Diana Combo), sets everything in motion and builds the way to Random Gods' upbeat march 'Gazulo à Estronca da Santosa'. 'Malta Inquieta' (Ondness) embraces the most modern/contemporary side of this volume, proving that 'Regiões' goes beyond the idea of catalog or even its own concept of 'anthology' and provides music that's hard to categorize or even judge by modern standards. We are not afraid to say it: 'Malta Inquieta' is an experimental jazz-electronic modern gem.
It's followed by the guitar of Rui Carvalho, aka Filho da Mãe, with 'Manta', closing the A side with one of his enchantments. B side strikes with the aforementioned 'Montemor', setting the tone for a different trip, building up on more abstract and freeform music by Banha da Cobra ('Asylo'), Fantama ('Lamento das Beiras') and the track by Gonzo. 'Regiões' finishes with the right tone, fields recordings worked by Luís Antero, that tie the connection between Giacometti and the now - with the now still happening and building up on the story of the future 'Antologia de Música Atípica Portuguesa'.
- A1: Sea (3:02)
- A2: Island (2:46)
- A3: Tree (3:21)
- A4: The Archway (3:10)
- A5: Waiting (3:24)
- B1: Seed Change (3:49)
- B2: Moments (3:14)
- B3: Adjustment (3:14)
- B4: On Rope (3:06)
- B5: A Different Tree (2:56)
FLOAT proudly welcomes their second artist into the fold. UK electronic artistand Szun Waves band member Luke Abbott, presents a special 10-track album tocelebrate Piano Day 2019 - an international event series initiated by NilsFrahm which acts as a platform for piano-related projects. 'Music From The Edge Of An Island' sees Abbott divert from his typicallyexperimental electronic style to explore a more compositional approach centredaround VST instruments. Rather than the usual themes of synthesis andimprovisation, the album is lead by piano motifs, structured around emotivemelodies and sparkling arrangements. The record began as a part of asoundtrack commission by producer / actor Jessica Hynes for her film 'TheFight' and ultimately became a fully-realised album. The film script had acoastal setting that created the record's thematic idea: "I had this ideaabout being on the edge of England, almost ready to fall off a cliff into thesea but keeping your balance on the edge." The idea of writing for the piano had been ruminating for some months asAbbott found himself spending an increasing amount of time playing on theinstrument. Without a piano of his own though, he found a strangely enchantingway to fulfil his creative impulse. "I used to have an upright piano, but I'dgiven it away when I last moved house, so I ended up using a piano VST in thecomputer, which I actually really enjoyed. Writing the music became a bit of aweird fantasy process, I was in an odd headspace for a few days." The writing process was remarkably quick, resulting in simple yet inspiredpieces that subtly blur the lines between MIDI computer music and liveperformance. 'Music From The Edge Of An Island' can be seen as a collection ofgentle reveries that sway between the twilight hours, marked by moments ofsoft, contemplative ballads and more active and expansive motions. Openingtrack 'Sea' begins with a mysterious piano waltz before unnerving synth dronestake over. 'Island continues with piano triplet figures plus addedorchestration of cello strokes and airy glass pads, before heading into themelancholic 'Tree', bringing in more strings and added pathos heard in therestless piano motif. Quieter passages are contrasted with the Gamelan-esque'Moments' and the uplifting 'On Rope', whilst more lyrical moments on thealbum can be found in tracks such as 'Adjustment' and closing track 'ADifferent Tree'.
As An Undisputed Heavyweight And One Of The Leading Figures Within The Electronic Music Scene, Icicle's Recognized As A Highly Respected Producer - Among Other Ventures Through Steaming Releases Via Hospital Records, Critical Music And Shogun Audio. Propelling His Technically Advanced Production Style Into The 140 Bpm Spectrum, It's A Sight To Behold As Dj Youngsta Reveals The Next Ace Up His Sleeve. The Uk-based Veteran Conveys His Awe-inspiring Take On Dubstep With Four Tracks On A Twelve-inch Platter - Vehemently Battle-tested As A Dubplate And Ready To Off At A Dance Floor Near You.
We Are Immersed In Dense, Granular Fog. 'raising The Dead' Begins The Ritual With Hypnotism And Anxious Unrest. Eerie Lead Melodies Lure Listeners Onwards As Relentless Percussion Takes Hold. Rigorously Increasing The Intensity With Mesmeric Style To The Ruthless Beat Of The Drums - Fragmented Vocals Flicker Through The Mist. As Ethereal Spheres Seem To Vacate, A Disturbed Melody Guides A Path Into The Low-frequency Behemoth That Is 'nt'. Driven By Its Intense Groove And Sonorous Sub-bass Emissions, The Erratic Lead Staccato Does The Rest To Keep Us Fiercely Bouncing To Icicle's Percussive Pulse.
As If It Could Get Any Hotter, We Flip To A Promising B-side Only To Be Proven Wrong Twice. Initiating The Ceremony With 'shout Me' - Haunting Female Choirs Entrance Amidst The Thunderous Sense Of Anticipation. Evolving From Intricate Breaks To Straight Shut-down Maneuvers Without Skipping A Beat. In A Final, Fulminant Outburst, 'noughties Riddim' Goes On To Wrap Up The Masterpiece In A Most Mischievous Fashion. Cutting Through The Noise, Profoundly Satisfying Mid-range Distortion Surges Flare Up In The Distance, While Continuous Pressure Continues To Evoke Cries For Rewinds.
Fifth part of the Strata-East Dolphy Series, Glass Bead Games is arguably the crown jewel of the Strata East movement, an amorphous genre that treads an unusual path between post-bop, 70's avant-garde and spiritual jazz, with a groove.
Glass Bead Games is full of revelations at many levels. First, the decade of the 1970s did produce genuinely creative, "human" new music flowing from the jazz mainstream; second, Bill Lee was more than Spike's dad: he was a superlative bassist, a team player of the first order, a powerful catalyst who, if anything, deserves to be better known than his son; third, Billy Higgins was, as so many musicians insist, a once-in-a-lifetime drummer—the bellows inspiriting the collective flame.
Most importantly, Clifford Jordan was an artist of the first order, his playing so effortless and unforced, unselfconscious and focused, mature and wise that, at a time when altissimo fury was all the rage, it's small wonder his authentic voice frequently went unheard. His musical rhetoric is so personally expressive, its substance so compelling, the listener couldn't care less about the extraordinary technique required to convey its captivating message. Compared to some of his more acclaimed peers he's a less aggressive yet paradoxically more directive and shaping influence. The climaxes, rather than spelled out, are merely suggested, registering with deep and lasting impact on the listener. It all comes down to learning the language, those precious little beads. Not every player, including Jordan or the listener, can use it like Shakespeare, but all can learn to read Shakespeare and understand its principles of arbitrariness and serendipity, of invariance and transformation.
Jordan, no less than Shakespeare, requires a like-minded cast of players—in this case four musicians of such redoubtable proficiency that each remains committed to keeping the beads in play. He's not a man content with a mere musical "dialogue" with his fellow musicians nor is he about to take the initiative in pulling his troops up to his level. Instead he begins to tell a musical story that's so compelling his three comrades are inspired equally to contribute to a collaborative narrative. This is brilliant music-making by a Coltrane- influenced successor who feels no obligation to mime the predecessor. It may be the most significant saxophone performance on record since Coltrane and, providing the listener stays with it for any length of time, the most deeply satisfying. Jordan's game—so effortless, unforced, and "level"—erases distinctions between composed and improvised, soloist and ensemble, narrator and narrative, the dancer and the dance. It seems incapable of wearing out its welcome.
By Samuel Chell/All About Jazz
It's safe to say that Detroit, a city steeped in economic, cultural and musical history, will soon weave its way into your soul should you spend any sustained time there. This rings all too true for Monty Luke. He has immersed himself in Detroit's scene since moving to the Motor City in 2008. His new eight track LP, released via Dogmatik, showcases the style of a new generation of Detroit producers carrying the beacon for a deep, Detroit sound that blends analogue weight and punchy drum programming together with masterful synth work and raw emotion.
Even at first glance the polarised artwork, an aerial map of Detroit, shows the more introspective nature of this Motor City ingrained release, with Luke purposefully steering away from writing club ready material. Introductory track 'City Lights' gives a first taste of this, combining swelling synths, dreamlike arps and crisp percussive hits. There's a real weight to the bass synth that compliments Abi B's soulful vocals all too well. 'Anton's Room' & 'Crime Wave' follow suit -the former with itslayered gritty bass, expansive stabs, glitchy bleeps and undulating arps and the latter creating a sonic swell between your ears manifested by a surging, panned arp, alongside sirens and punchy, gunshot like snares. Inspirations from Moodymann to Theo Parrish are clear to be seen in tracks like 'Move', taking a range of jazzy loops and samples and chopping them into a low slung, bouncing MPC laden jam.Progressing into the 2nd half of the album there's a transition from deep, Detroit house into harder hitting, electro territory. 'Willie Maze' with its killer drum programming, reverberating Rhodes and dynamic bass and 'Roja', combining emotive late-night chords and melancholic synth melodies, really honeinon that pensive, thought-provoking aesthetic. One of the highlights, 'Wasteland', is the best example of this transition -interlacing a commanding electro drum pattern with squelching, synth melodies and Serene Arena's introspective lyrics.
Then taking it full circle, closing track 'Block Is Hot (Black Hole Mix)' -co-produced by King Britt in Philadelphia (alongside City Lights, Crime Wave & Willie Maze), returns to the 4/4 path with a thumping party track, carrying through that raw nature emanating from the dark melodies and Monty's adlibbed vocals.
'Hard Work/ Not Hype' is a record flying the flag for those underground artists working tirelessly behind closed doors to produce material that's based on feeling, emotion and skill, rather than riding off the back of an inflated, socially constructed image. Monty Luke, as someone that follows that mantra, has been able toconstruct an album showcasing this, creating a real weight and depth to this release; it's raw, powerful and thought provoking, expertly capturing the soul of Detroit -the city that's had such a profound effect on him
DETROIT SWINDLE
Ouch that's HOT! Bring it on.
KRISTIAN RAEDLE/ INNERVISIONS
Yes please. Very nice.
AYBEE
Fanatastic Work Monty!!
ASHLEY BEEDLE
Thanks for sending over the Monty Luke album to listen too. It's a great
contemporary album with of course Detroit running through it's veins! It
really pulls you in and I think the arrangements and productions are great.
Fave tracks are City Lights, Roja, Willie Maze and Block Is Hot.
LAURENT GARNIER
Oh yes..This is so elegant and sexy. Love it Would love to play it
OSUNLADE
This one is a guilty pleasure vibe..hate that I love every song equally
New album from London-based Dutch-Zimbabwean pop
innovator Rina Mushonga.
Mushonga doesn't follow a linear path. The artist's music -
a blend of Afropop, indie and electro flourishes - is
informed by her own zigzagging life journey: Mushonga
emigrated from Zimbabwe to the Netherlands, then to the
diverse South London suburb of Peckham, where she now
lives and works.
Having read 'Metamorphoses' for the first time,
Mushonga's self-confessed 'year of transformation' ensued,
drawing upon myriad ideas and personal experiences.
Full of reflections on the cosmos and our place within it,
'In A Galaxy' is the musical embodiment of these musings,
whilst Mushonga also admits there's more than a passing
nod to the opening text on 'Star Wars' but on the whole
refers to how relative space and time are in how we
interact.
Four years in the making, 'In A Galaxy' was recorded in
Mushonga's adopted home in Peckham with producer Brett
Shaw, whilst having laid much of the foundations of the
tracks together with musical bestie and synth whisperer
Frans Verburg in his Rotterdam basement studio. The
resultant cornucopia of intelligent, diverse pop - that
Mushonga herself describes as sounding like 'Paul Simon
in a sweaty, African dancehall club' - is a welcome
introduction to 2019.
LP pressed on pink vinyl
Acclaimed UK producer, Cella Records label operator, and swiftly aspiring talent Turner has already stirred up the scene with quality shells more than once with his own acclaimed productions, receiving air-play from venerated key figures such as Mala or Youngsta. Laying down the law for its first three releases, it's time to showcase his undoubtedly equally effective A&R skill - welcoming none other than the Rochdale-based artist duo BFM (Bloodklart Fiyah Mandem) to the label roster. Consisting of JFO and Sativa, their collaborative output cuts through the noise - support from the likes of Grime veteran Slimzee and physical releases via Glassy Records and Hooded Up. Now stepping back on the controls to set the new year ablaze in style, BFM delivers a total of four extensively weighty cuts for Cella's fourth vinyl release. As the needle picks up the records' first grooves, 'Magic Carpet' sets path on a ride into a distant and barren territory - at once being enamored by its contemplative atmosphere. Unraveling its dynamic interplay of sound and silence, the authentic old-school instrumentation and lavishly saturated low-frequency surges keep us coming back for more. Catching a swift breath, 'Niyaz' lures us into spheres of droning reverberations - phasing in and out amidst vigorous square-wave leads and meticulously crafted foley effects - conveying its story with full force on a minimal platter. No exception to the rule, 'Shade Riddim' conjures another isomere of their signature ambience - wailing voices, enigmatic strings leading the way through dimly lit, high-pressure alleys. Droning along as conclusive proof of this releases' unquestionable intensity, 'Limitless' wraps up the madness - delivering a fourth, flawlessly executed bass-weight meditation. Timeless music on a twelve-inch platter.




















