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OUTER HEAVEN return with their crushing new album, Infinite Psychic Depths! The album, an exploration into the darkest depths of extreme music, showcases OUTER HEAVEN's muscle, as the band churns out some of 2023's most visceral and frenetic slabs of twisted Death Metal. Taking advantage of guitarists Jonathan Kunz’s and Zak Carter’s penchant for technical prowess and rhythmic galloping with melodic catchiness, OUTER HEAVEN bridges the worlds of dark n’ dank despair and upbeat hookiness. Austin Haines' vocal delivery is as unchained as ever, barking and growling through interwoven stories of societal collapse, hallucinogens, mutations, and more, connecting Infinite Psychic Depths to their acclaimed debut, Realms of Eternal Decay. Methodological riffing swirls around muscular half-time clobbering in both “Soul Remnants” and “Unspeakable Aura". “Pillars of Dust” and “Liquified Mind” take the listener on a journey from the furthest reaches of the Earth’s exosphere to the sweat and spilled beer of a dive bar moshpit. “Fragmented Suspension” gives a backhand to the genre tunnel vision with a tendinitis-inducing palm muted shuffle that’s part Norwegian black metal iciness and part classic ‘80s L.A. hardcore skate punk. Recorded by Ryan Reed and mixed and mastered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios, Infinite Psychic Depths throws a few tricks and guest appearances into the mix with bass playing by Derrick Vella from Tomb Mold, as well as vocal contributions from Pig Destroyer’s JR Hayes, Morbid Angel’s Steve Tucker and Alex Jones from Undeath. The new album also features a special appearance by Dave Suzuki (Churchburn, ex-Vital Remains) doing a trade-off solo on “Rotting Stone/D.M.T.”

Eyolf Dale is an exceptional Norwegian pianist and composer whose exceptional nuance and expressive improvisational voice is of ever-growing importance in the European scene. The Wayfarers is his latest album with long-term collaborators Per Zanussi and Audun Kleive . His second trio album, The Wayfarers follows on from the success of Being (2021) as well as an extraordinary body of solo piano work. Evoking a journey through Norway's sublime landscape, The Wayfarers captures the highs and lows, twists and turns of life on the road - expansive, joyful grooves one moment turn to nostalgic solo piano interludes the next. A meeting of nordic folk, classical and jazz influences, Eyolf's music is profoundly lyrical and emotive. This is a beautiful album from one of Europe's finest piano trios.

Throughout 2022, The Wedding Present’s ‘24 Songs’ series saw the legendary indie band release two new tracks a month as double A sided 7”s, ultimately creating a much-sought-after box set. David Gedge has now re-curated full-length versions of all twenty-four tracks for a new compilation album that will also comprise five bonus recordings including one featuring The Wedding Present’s first guitarist, Peter Solowka.

‘24 Songs’ was a doff of the cap to The Wedding Present’s ‘Hit Parade’ project of 30 years previous. That series proved to be a real milestone for the band with them becoming only the second-ever artist to achieve twelve Official UK Top 40 hits in a calendar year – at the time something that only Elvis had achieved!

David Gedge says: “When it came to compiling the ‘24 Songs’ album, I decided not to sequence the tracks in chronological order. With six sides of vinyl, you have six ‘beginnings’ and six ‘ends’ to play with, and I felt that the opportunity to build some kind of a musical journey was too good to miss! Listening back to this collection, I have to say that I genuinely believe that, for this project, The Wedding Present have recorded some of the best tracks in our history. I loved releasing the singles, but it’s satisfying to have them all rounded up together.”

“The idea of releasing another collection of twenty-four tracks did initially seem quite daunting,” admits David Gedge in the deluxe-CD sleeve notes but, with Jon Stewart (also of Sleeper) having joined the band at the end of 2019 and their subsequent writing partnership flourishing, he began to feel confident that they would be able to produce a year’s worth of music. And, with one of the UK’s most influential independent record labels by their side in Clue, a key partner to EMI North who will be distributing the record - there was no looking back.




























[xa] 27. Jump In, The Water’s Fine [Japanese Edit]
[xb] 28. We All Came From The Sea [Utah Saints Remix]

Malmo-based producer Sacred Grove takes care of the second release of French label Parodia.

Taking his name from an important feature of mythological landscapes, Sacred grove music is like a hole in our dimension, a moment of levitation where everything stops for a minute.
« Through the Mire » is a fantastic 4 track EP of untouchable, fascinating sounds of dance music, taking influences in early deep house and twisting it in a very unique way.

Enter the trip with the EP opener « Dusk » , a mysterious track full of hazy pads and stabs blending together to make you enter into an imaginary forest. Subtle and classy, « Dawn » is the second track of the record, 9 minutes of introspective sounds yet dancable, with an unstoppable groove. If you're not already tripping, your mind is a about to hallucinate with the third track Neusea (Delay mix), the most impactful track of the record, with a laidback peak time roller keeping the same cinematic atmosphere as the other tracks.

Last but not least, B2 track « Loverz » is like reaching the Sacred Grove that you were looking for when you entered this forest, and finally your mind is going in a total trance.

2023 Repress

Alextrem Acid Fruit opens on a beautyfull 175 BPM banger, bringing a superb turning point after the break... Twisting tune ! The second track gives 186 bpm acid progressive Harfloor track. B-side opens on a 166 BPM old kickaz psychedelic and melodious, dark acid. EP finishes with a 167 BPM acid tune, carrying a long brealk intro turning 4/4... Gambling acid waves.

Wisdom Teeth co-founder K-LONE returns with his second full length project, ‘Swells’: a kaleidoscopic and expansive record that looks to deep house, synthpop, leftfield R&B and beyond for a spellbinding masterwork of melodic electronica.

His debut LP ‘Cape Cira’ became the accidental soundtrack of the long strange summer of 2020 - its lush marimbas, hazy atmos and synthesised bird calls providing the ideal soundtrack for some much needed collective escapism. The record was widely deemed one of 2020’s standout electronic LPs, gaining glowing reviews in Pitchfork, DJ Mag, Mixmag and Resident Advisor, and ranking highly in end of year lists by Crack Magazine.

Approaching its follow up, the Brighton-based producer felt a fresh perspective was needed. Originally landing on the name ‘Swells’ as a secret pen-name to write the record under, the intention was to keep the project as separate as possible from ‘Cape Cira’ to avoid settling into familiar territories - but as the record took shape it became clear that it made perfect sense amongst his already diverse discography.

Like ‘Cape Cira’, there is a distinct and intentionally limited sound palette at play on ‘Swells’. Looping vocal cuts, rich cluster chords and undulating arpeggios sit front and centre here - as does the lo-fi plonk of of the CR78 drum machine. But while the record clearly takes influence from a range of vintage sound sources, its overall aesthetic is unmistakably contemporary. Sounds are not artificially degraded nor obscured under washes of sampled tape hiss. Rather, everything is processed with a gloss, hi-fidelity sheen. The record’s rhythms are bright, dry and snappy, and its melodies are processed with a neon poppy glow.

The producer’s unabashed love of contemporary pop music is most obviously exemplified by the appearance of British singer-songwriter Eliza Rose. The pair met for a session at a North London studio back in 2021, and the now Brit Award-nominated singer’s warm, emotive vocal takes became an immediate source of inspiration early in the record’s conception. As such, Rose’s voice is heard in various states of manipulation throughout its duration - initially as reduced and looped phrases, and then finally in full form on ‘With U’: a low-lit, dubbed-out slice of leftfield R&B that beckons comparisons with Tirzah, Little Dragon and even Erykah Badu.

Elsewhere, there are references to G-Funk (‘Oddball’), Autonomic drum and bass (‘Shimmer’), hip-house (‘Love Is’) and even Metronomy-era electro pop (‘Love Me A Little’).

As always, the true magic of K-LONE’s artistry is to present complex, subtle and original ideas in ways that feel familiar and immediate. Melodies are introduced as effortless earworms, only to be twisted out of shape into strange and unusual formulations. Looping rhythms unspool into washes of hazy, dubbed-out ambience before rebuilding themselves. Refined and endlessly creative, ‘Swells’ marks a captivating next step for a producer and record label that have both reliably positioned themselves at the very forefront of contemporary electronic music.

‘Lindstrøm returns with his sixth studio album Everyone Else is a Stranger, and the first since 2019’s On a Clear Day I Can See You Forever. The title of the album was inspired by John Cassavetes’ original title for his 1984 film Love Streams, and contains four tracks of his signature chord-stacking disco epics and freeform cosmic voyages, stretching across nearly 40 minutes. An album that in many ways sums up his career, and gathers his different musical paths into one sound and one album.

Where his previous album had a slower and more mellow feel, 2023’s Everyone Else is a Stranger sees Lindstrøm take on a much more rhythm-oriented and uptempo approach, containing tracks that fit perfect with the artist’s revered live sets. That said, this album also contains the unexpected twists and turns that has become the Norwegian producer’s trademark, including recordings of him playing a cheap Chinese cello and violin for the first time alongside the old Solina String-Ensemble he has used on essentially every track since his debut.

Named «the king of space disco» by The New Yorker, Lindstrøm has always made a virtue of his obsessive work ethic, turning his city center studio into a factory floor for churning out monster tracks. He has collaborated with the likes of Todd Terje, Prins Thomas and Todd Rundgren, has remixed a slew of acts including LCD Soundsystem, Lana del Rey, Haim, Grizzly Bear, Flume, RAC, London Grammar and more.’

Steel City Dance Discs presents the ‘Wonder’ EP from fast-rising Italian artist Matisa. Fresh and filled with spirit, Matisa kicks off the EP with the transcendent, IDM-meets-Bingo Beats energy of ‘Brilliantine’, where twisted modulations fuse in harmony with angelic abstract vocals. Her original ‘Eyeliner’ is a euphoric breakbeat hardcore stomper, whilst Mall Grab’s take on the same track goes in harder with jacking drums, ecstatic rave stabs and menacing bass. Closing the EP is ‘Lip Plumper’ – a hypnotic stripped-back house cut which nods to UKG. This EP represents a significant moment in Matisa’s musical journey, as she evokes a combination of discovering yourself through creative expression with losing yourself on the dancefloor.

"Bills past due, what you gon do?"

2lanes is part of the latest resurgence in Detroit's techno underground whose infamy is built via amorphous live appearances / DJ sets, collaborations with contemporaries like AceMo and John F.M., and a steady, hilarious and blunt presence on Twitter. PGS is proud to present 2lane’s 2nd piece of wax, the AA side "Baby's Born To Fish'' / "Impish Desires'' following the "Giving & Receiving" EP on NYC's Ceramic Records, February 2020.

2 Lanes first appeared in Detroit ~six years ago and quickly made a name for himself in the local scene, promoting shows with international artists and friends from NYC, all while making an effort to respect the city's unique musical identity and history. He carries the tradition of Detroit's electronic pioneers who pursued new ideas in production and gear, bringing perfection to the craft, and developing unique twists in his process.

Participating in the contemporary electronic music world required splitting your time between 2 places at once: Online, always-on, in constant engagement with friends + foe alike; In Real Life, physically traveling city to city, DJing and collaborating, all while maintaining a sense of self. And now, all that's different.

"Lately, I've been, going, going through some changes"

Releasing a club-ready 12" in the midst of a global pandemic? That's the 2 Lanes. We heard an earlier version of "Baby's Born 2 Fish" what feels like 10 years ago, rinsing "Impish Desires" when there were still gigs. Do you remember the Apollo Masters plant fire in early February? How long were pressing plants closed, again? How long have we been living in this new reality? 2lanes hopes that the messages of this music; fear, isolation, friendship, love and how we exist at this intersection comes through for the listener.

"Baby's Born To Fish" / "Impish Desires" is a heavy hitting AA side, rejuvenating, explosive, off your face. They're ready for the eventual return 2 the dance floor, and sooner for your streaming DJ set. We don't know when we can see you IRL, but we know it'll be in mixes for decades to come.

"You’re gonna cast your reel out and you don’t know if you’re gonna get a fish that day, but you’re still gonna cast it out." - 2 Lanes

One of the most infamous and influential death metal bands of the past 10 years, DYING FETUS pummel and pound their signature-style brutality into the worldwide landscape with the subtlety of full-fledged war. Descend into Depravity takes DYING FETUS to new sonic levels, and is easily the bands finest hour.

Die Australier VOYAGER legen mit ihrem brandneuen Album "Fearless in Love" ihren bisher epischsten Electro-Progressive-Pop-Metal vor.
Das Album ist eine berauschende Mischung aus 80er Jahre Synthpop und modernem Progressive Metal und bietet ihr bisher mitreißendstes und hymnischstes Werk.
Mit den Eurovision-Favoriten "Promise" und "Dreamer", dem pulsierenden "Prince of Fire", dem beschwingten "Submarine" und vielem mehr ist "Fearless in Love" Prog-Metal auf höchstem Niveau, der alle Genregrenzen und Erwartungen sprengt!

Lindstrom returns with his sixth studio album Everyone Else is a Stranger, and the first since 2019's On a Clear Day I Can See You Forever. The title of the album was inspired by John Cassavetes' original title for his 1984 film Love Streams, and contains four tracks of his signature chord-stacking disco epics and freeform cosmic voyages, stretching across nearly 40 minutes. An album that in many ways sums up his career, and gathers his different musical paths into one sound and one album. Where his previous album had a slower and more mellow feel, 2023's Everyone Else is a Stranger sees Lindstrom take on a much more rhythm-oriented and uptempo approach, containing tracks that fit perfect with the artist's revered live sets. That said, this album also contains the unexpected twists and turns that has become the Norwegian producer's trademark, including recordings of him playing a cheap Chinese cello and violin for the first time alongside the old Solina String-Ensemble he has used on essentially every track since his debut. Named "the king of space disco" by The New Yorker, Lindstrom has always made a virtue of his obsessive work ethic, turning his city center studio into a factory floor for churning out monster tracks. He has collaborated with the likes of Todd Terje, Prins Thomas and Todd Rundgren, has remixed a slew of acts including LCD Soundsystem, Lana del Rey, Haim, Grizzly Bear, Flume, RAC, London Grammar and more.

From the trademark melancholy tone of Scandinavian Jazz, to cinematic synth textures and propulsive programmed drum machines, Danish quintet "Andorra" embodies the melting-pot spirit of jazz. Their sophomore album "Current", set to release March 23rd on April Records, brings a hard-hitting indie-rock-esque attitude to a sound which is bold, fresh, and full of twists. Jazz"s ability to evolve, grow, and remain relevant over the past century is arguably due to its capacity to transcend genre and classification. Andorra"s 2021 debut (conceived and recorded during covid) re-united five musicians who met at the Funen Music Conservatory in Denmark and work in a range of areas, from film music and orchestral, to large ensembles and chamber jazz. With their long-held desire to explore their creative potential together finally launched, "Currents" shows them diving deeper into their self described "modern vintage" sound. Distorted guitar riffs, modern effects processing, warm soaring trumpet melodies and deep grooves carry the listener through an exciting journey that pays homage to their roots whilst pushing confidently into the future. With a focus on lyrical melodies, the record features intricate compositions, open passages of ethereal texture, and virtuosic, interactive improvisations from all corners of the ensemble. Each member of the quintet is a highly active member of Denmark"s vibrant music scene; Mads La Cour is an award-winning horn player who runs his own band Almugi and plays in the DR Big Band; Morten Jorgensen plays with The White Album and Soren Huss; Nikolaj Bundvig has played for Alex Canasta and Blue Foundation; Simon Krebs has recorded with the likes of Tomasz Dabrowski; and Peter Kohlmetz Moller"s diverse back catalogue includes compositions for Den-mark Radio"s documentary department, and multiple theatre productions.

Everything about her her, the first full length album by Berlin-based Australian artist L.Zylberberg seems at first a little bit strange—in the best possible way. A little bit off yet playful, intriguing and perhaps a touch deceptive. Sounds, arrangements and images cajole the listener to second guess themselves and re-evaluate the listening experience as it's happening. It's a trip, it’s transcendental, but her her does not stylistically fall into such simple catagorisations. her her is a meticulously-crafted egress into a sonic world that is at times tense, lush, dense, and sometimes just hush.

This is the third offering by Zylberberg on Swiss publishing house Präsens Editionen, following a split tape with producer and singer Belia Winnewisser and a digital release that was accompanied by a silk foulard. Zylberberg has strong ties to Berlin's Sameheads family and Tbilisi’s Mutant Radio. She also co-runs the infamous party series Twista and is a deadly DJ.

Having announced that Snapper Music will be representing Porcupine
Tree’s Transmission label worldwide, new CD and LP reissues of the band’s catalogue continue to be rolled out throughout 2021.

The concept for ‘The Incident’ (the band’s much lauded 10th and most recent studio album from 2009) emerged as Porcupine Tree’s creator Steven Wilson, was caught in a motorway traffic jam whilst driving past a road accident.
“There was a sign saying ‘POLICE - INCIDENT’ and everyone was slowing down to see what had happened... Afterwards, it struck me that ‘incident’ is a very detached word for something so destructive and traumatic for the people involved. The irony of such a cold expression for such seismic events appealed to me, and I began to pick out other ‘incidents’ reported in the media and news, I wrote about the evacuation of teenage girls from a religious cult in Texas, a
family terrorising its neighbours, a body found floating in a river by some people on a fishing trip, and more.

Consisting of 18 tracks, each song is written in the first person, attempting to humanise the detached media reportage of each associated event. The first 14 tracks form part of a 55-minute song cycle, with the last 4 having been recorded later (and originally released as a second disc to stress their independence from the song cycle).

The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album and reached the Top 25 in the US and UK album charts. It was awarded “Album Of The Year” in Classic Rock and German magazine Eclipsed.

‘The Incident’ marked another step forward in the incredible journey of the band that began as a solo studio project and grew to a multi-Grammy nominated act and one of the world’s most revered live bands, selling out arenas across the globe and wowing fans with their incredible performances.

This new Transmission 2021 reissue of ‘The Incident’ remains faithful to the original artwork and all 18 album tracks are presented on one disc housed in a digipack with 8-page booklet or as a gatefold double LP on 140g black vinyl.

“An intriguing and truly inspiring album” - Rock Sound
“The title suite is the Tree’s finest hour: a mounting drama of memoir and realnews trauma, animated with slicing guitars, ghost-song electronics, mile-high harmonies and smart pop bait - Rolling Stone

Banging freetek electro twister... Reverbless kick, naturally evolutives electro ambiances, swinging tribe !

Prtinted sleeve / Plastic outers.

In the debut EP 'We Are The Ones/Fire/Forever', Chicago DJ legend Rahaan collaborates with an incredibly talented group of musicians, including Marcus J. Austin on lead vocals, Nancy Clayton on backing vocals, Carnell C. Newbill (also known as Spike Rebel) on keyboards and backing vocals, Todd Swope on guitar, and Lou Terry on bass. Together, they create a 3-track EP that perfectly showcases Rahaan's production skills and the musical talents of the entire group. Rahaan's experience and expertise as a DJ and producer are evident in each track, with grooves that are sure to keep the dancefloor moving. The title track, 'We Are The Ones', is a story of adventure and return, with a twist. Created by Rahaan and The Ones while under the influence, the track was lost for years as it was unnamed on his computer. However, Rahaan's determination to find it paid off, and with the help of Ohio Players' Kenny Anderson on the horns, he built upon the elusive skeleton track. With Marcus J. Austin on lead vocals and Nancy Clayton on backing vocals, 'We Are The Ones' delivers a soulful, 4-to-the-floor anthem that showcases the vocal talents of the group. And in 'Fire', Todd Swope's guitar skills shine through, creating an epic production that draws spiritual inspiration from traditional AfroBeat rhythms. It's worth noting that The Ones features some truly talented musicians, including Carnell C. Newbill (Spike Rebel) on keyboards and backing vocals. Spike Rebel is a well-known producer and musician in his own right. With his soulful vocals taking center stage, Carnell Newbill leads the charge on "Forever," he also superbly delivers on bass, keys, percussion, and guitar. Expertly mixed by Rahaan, this track is sure to become a dance floor anthem. In summary, 'The Ones' EP is an impressive collaboration between some of the most talented musicians in the Chicago underground House and Disco scene. With Rahaan at the helm, this project is sure to be a hit with anyone who loves to dance. Mastered with Love by the Grammy nominated The Carvery Studios, this is one for any worthwhile DJ’s record bag.

Back again, Dold and Blue Hour are teaming up on yet another split EP for Arsenik. The two explore new and diverse sounds, broadening the label output with four tracks ranging from dub soaked and dreamy house to early rave and obscure techno/electronica. Blue Hour hosts the A-side opening up the record with ‘Straight up’, a raw drum work out with dubbed out attitude, deep sub bass and tumbling chords. Next is ‘Phases’, which feels lighter in comparison with a mood embracing after-hours moments wrapped in warm pads and emotional string melodies that are reflective of his early productions and signature sound. The B-side by Dold switches the mood up with both tracks referencing the early years of dance music. Ninety-three is a enchanting tribute to when genre cross pollination in the UK was prevailing. Closing the EP ‘Odyssey’ traces further back with a surprising twist of techno/electronica reaching into a futuristic soundscape and through the cosmos.

Marc Richter aka Black To Comm released his debut record 20 years ago. In 2023 he is still busy releasing music under various disguises and is currently signed to the Thrill Jockey label. To celebrate this anniversary his own Cellule 75 label is re-releasing some classic out-of-print vinyl albums that originally came out on the defunct Type and De Stijl labels. The LP will feature a full-colour lyric sheet / poster exclusive to this edition.

After releasing the critically acclaimed Alphabet 1968 on the seminal Type label (Grouper, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Yellow Swans), Richter chose De Stijl for this 2012 album, an American label that had just put out future classics by the likes of Circuit Des Yeux, Hype Williams and Wolf Eyes.

EARTH is a 2009 silent film by Ho Tzu Nyen, one of Singapore's foremost visual artists. After hearing Black To Comm's Alphabet 1968 Ho Tzu Nyen invited Richter to accompany the film at Berlin's Asian Film Festival, Unsound in Krakow and several other art biennals and music festivals around the world.

In his own words: "Most of the music was composed under the influence of heavy pain killers while recovering from a broken leg (the recordings literally took place in bed). The music (like the film) is about slowness and decay, states of unconsciousness, sleeping and waking up, dying and being reborn. The film is a post-apocalyptic collage based on paintings by classical European painters (Caravaggio, Delacroix, Rembrandt, Gericault) -- the music translates this concept employing corresponding collage-based sampling techniques using loops made from vintage vinyl and shellac records combined with acoustic and electronic instrumentation and voice."

From the original De Stijl one-sheet:
"Richter’s already formidable expressive power stretches over all of EARTH. Reflecting the countless cyclical forces that make up, oh, more or less everything we know and are, the music on EARTH is bracing, lovely, bustling and still, and at times bittersweet, a commingling of sensations and emotions that can’t be neatly separated from one another. (EARTH is complex, as you know.) Guests on EARTH include David Aird, a.k.a Vindicatrix (on the Mordant Music label), contributing startling vocal work; Renate Nikolaus on an array of instruments and noise devices; Rutger Zuydervelt (singing bowls); and Christopher Kline (singing saw). EARTH is Black to Comm’s seventh album and his debut for De Stijl, following the acclaimed Alphabet 1968 (on Type) and last year’s vinyl-only collaboration with Mike Kelley of Destroy All Monsters (on the En/Of label)."

Alex Neilson in The Wire:
"The most marked aspect of Earth is the voice of David Aird, aka Vindicatrix. Imperious and dolorous, he has the gravity of post-Climate Of Hunter Scott Walker, David Sylvain or Klaus Nomi stripped of the pathetic ritz. This is something that's easy to do badly, but Aird pulls it off with aplomb. On "The Children" he breaks into a morose yodel, rolling the words around his palate and colouring each syllable black before gifting them to the air. The meaning isn't understood verbally as much as viscerally. Beneath Aird's ululations, Richter casts handfuls of angelic debris from keyboards and digital devices, generating a celestial electronic tapestry reminiscent of Japanese musician Nobukazu Takemura. Sounds vie and twist at frequencies you can't so much hear as feel in the bridge of your nose, and the variety and full-bloodedness of the accompaniment is what prevents Aird's vocal from occassionally lapsing into shtick."

INTERSPECIES RECORDS, an inter-disciplinary label that brings together not only DJs and producers, but also visual artists, electronic instrument engineers, and other specialists in sound and space, is proud to release its fourth 12-inch record!

For our latest offering we present the return of Recloose, a veteran producer who has created numerous masterpieces on labels like Planet E, Rush Hour, Peacefrog, and other global imprints since the late 1990s. He continues to explore his sound in this ambitious work, blending old and new influences, samples and synths, delivering two anthems for the dancers and heads alike.

This release also includes stellar remix work from Middle Point, DJ NORIZM and kashi, the label crew of INTERSPECIES RECORDS. In the spirit of their label, each remix presents a unique twist on the original by pushing musical boundaries, fusing elements of Balearic, Loft House, Dub, UKG, Jazz House, and African sounds.

As is the case with the world’s best DJs, this is a piece of music that conjures a new, unknown world by freely mixing without restraint.

West Seattle Soul is an oozing collaboration of 13-15 Seattle hot shots crammed into a raw, close quarters performance that is blatant and obscure. It's an accidentally defying, thoroughly enjoyable, relapse of Seattle funk. The group has spent the last two years honing their chops at a residency at West Seattle’s Parliament Tavern.

When writing original music, this outfit goes by the name "The Pulsations" as presented on the B-Side of this Juicy slice of Seattle Side A: "Soul Makossa" West Seattle Soul put an afro-soul twist on Manu Dibango’s pioneering afro-disco hit “Soul Makossa.”
Their arrangement boasts bubbling clavinet, a tenacious horn section, and energetic vocal chants reminiscent of the original with a modern, underground dance music twist.

Side B: "Black River Crisis" Forming an Artist for all original music The Pulsations summon the deep pocket in “Black River Crisis.” Spurred from a group writing session, the drum and bass groove pave the way for interlocking guitar parts and a topsy-turvy horn line. The group found inspiration in the cataclysmic nature of the Black River that fed Lake Washington in the Seattle area.

The river was inadvertently drained when a canal was constructed from the Puget Sound to Lake Washington. The dried-up river caused a catastrophic loss of a resource that affected local farmers, the salmon population, and Native tribes who still lived alongside the river. It beckons the reality of the inevitable briefness in all facets of life and thusly, “you gotta dig it while it’s happening.”

Sharing a mutual love for Dance Music in all its shapes and forms please welcome Philipp Lauer & Johannes Albert for the first time together. These Bucketheads overcame the franko-hessian border and give us a 3-Tracker on the A side that is "Based On Boss". The title track swims in 909 Drums, vocal samples shine through, and organ chords lead the way. You will be moving your feet with "Four 44", still all about a basement, a red light and lots of feeling. Rounding things up with the loopy powers of "Posh-O-Rama", if you are in need of soft breaks with a lovely twist. Now who's the boss?

Speaking B sides: Hamburg-Moenchengladbach-London? Probably not your everyday route. Three pillars in their own leagues team up for "Survivor": Boris Dlugosch, Marc Romboy and C.A.R. on vocal duties. Created in times of lockdowns and standstills "Survivor" is a midtempo stomper, slightly dark yet extra moving. Clocking in at 110 BPM a percussive beat is haunted by C.A.R.'s voice and a hypnotic robot bassline. Occuring melodies and pads do the rest. Remix time? Oh yes! Spicing and speeding things up a little the Johannes Albert remix arrives with additional chords, gated snare drums and maybe even happiness.

The first release from GREED singles club: Grove - Sound of the Underground.

“I whipped up this evil Bristol-soaked, bashment-heavy edition cover while touring, and have been playing it out at festivals throughout Europe, inspiring big queer mosh pits and walls of death.”

Grove have released a cover of the pop classic, “Sound of The Underground” by Girls Aloud. This is the first release under The state51 Conspiracy singles club and is available digitally and on limited edition 7” vinyl.

Doubling down on the D’n’B stylings of the original and adding a bashment twist, Grove moves the song into a propulsive new territory. The bass hits that extra bit harder, the lyrics given an extra sense of bite and bounce.

Super limited edition 300 vinyl

Hearing Colours is pleased to present their fifth EP, engineered by the master heads behind Melcure, the iconic duo, Felipe Valenzuela and Dani Casarano. These guys return with, "Under My Skin", showing us a touch of punk, techno and early uk tech house all mixed into one main idea.

This hybrid saw the light after one of their latest, but few, studio interactions. The 3 cuts were designed on the same day and composed mostly with a MPC, an unusual system in their classic setup. This approach has given their sound a new twist which is presented uniquely on this EP.

Cosmic afterburners dialled up to the max, Pamela Records voyage out to the ends of existence with their latest four track trip from Jo Sims. Taking the lead leap of faith is esteemed producer, remixer and DJ David Holmes, who provides a signature cinematic remix of the title track ‘Bass – The Final Frontier’. Like the climax of a sci fi space odyssey, Holmes molds the track into a synthtastic epic with otherworldly vocal refrains ringing around your brain and body. The original mix is up next, a new beat flexing stomper that will have any crowd begging for more.

Flip it for darker, twisted chugathon in the form of ‘Demons Of Dance’ before the trip hop tinged, downtempo delight with a distinctly space age touch ‘Mumbo Jumbo’, takes the final slot.

DJ Feedback:

AXEL BOMAN
Ouff amazing 12" !!!!!!! love love love it

JD TWITCH/ OPTIMO
Excellent stuff!

RON BASEJAM
Ruddy hell, Holmes with the spirit of weathers. love the hi-fi mixdown too, the music providing the power. epic.

JACQUES RENAULT / LETS PLAY HOUSE
Wow, demons of dance and the final frontier...killer 4 tracker

HOT TODDY/ CRAZY P
The David Holmes mix is superb!

EDDIE C/ RED MOTORBIKE
I love this!! The David Holmes Remix is outstanding!

JUSTIN ROBERTSON
Loving this very much

MAKE A DANCE
Huge yes from me. Loved the first release on this label so nice to see it back with more fire

PBR STREETGANG
Really feeling this e.p. every track is strong, and the DH remix is stunning. Can’t wait to play them out.

JKRIV / RAZOR-N-TAPE
I really like the machine boogie vibe of the original Bass and that remix really takes its time and builds to a beautiful peak. All winners here

SUB CLUB HARRI
Lovely stuff

LEO MAS/ AMNESIA
The Final Frontier (David Holmes Rmx) is great, love it

JAYE WARD
YES!!! Glad there’s another Pamela! David Holmes mix is deep and lustrous.. REALLY love the OG’s tougher more dance orientated version.. love the other two tracks too especially mumbo jumbo.. brilliant release!!!

Graham Lambkin (of Shadow Ring fame) returns with a long awaited epic double LP, Aphorisms, his first major solo outing since Community (Kye, 2016). Recorded mostly during the early winter months of 2022, in post-pandemic New York and post-Brexit London, Aphorisms assembles the sonic detritus of daily life into hauntingly intimate aural soundscapes. Made between Lambkin's residence in East London and Blank Forms in New York, Aphorisms superimposes the two spaces onto one another creating an imaginary stage where his musical dramas unfold. A transatlantic mediation on the rooms where Lambkin has lived and worked, Aphorisms summons up hallucinatory vistas by way of the composer’s collage technique, layering field recordings, piano, guitar, percussion, vocal fragments, and repurposed elements on top of one another in double, triple, and quadruple exposures. Like the Shadow Ring’s Lindus (Swill Radio, 2001) recorded between Folkestone and Miami Aphorisms ruminates on estrangement and displacement, catching Lambkin as he returns to London after two decades of living in the States, in his words, “leaving home to return home.” Aphorisms continues Lambkin’s synthetic-naturalist approach to sound-making, twisting disparate and unique elements together to create the sensation of a coherent sonic space. At the heart of his practice is the illusion of form, whereby Lambkin combines sonic elements, documenting the moment that they coalesce into music only to disintegrate back into incidental sound. The album is centered around two pianos, one in New York and one in London, sounding together as if through the ether, creating a spectral atmosphere that Lambkin fills with melodic snippets, fragments of songs, spoken-word musings, and guttural barks or “the animal purity of voice,” as he has it. The superimposition of the two spaces is maximized in the album's closing titular track, where, much like on earlier works such as Salmon Run (Kye, 2007) and Softly Softly Copy Copy (Kye, 2009) fragments of familiar melodies float through the mix as though being played from afar. Aphorisms is Lambkin at his best, extending methodologies only hinted at previously and taking his now-idiosyncratic mission statement to a new chapter.

Nothing compares to Lewis Taylor and nobody crafts a "B-Side" quite like him. Indeed, his long deleted B-Sides are the stuff of legend. So, gathered together for the first time on one slice of wax, we present The Damn Rest: an album's worth of B-Sides from the era of the 1996 Lewis Taylor ("Damn") album. More off-the-wall and abstract than the album proper, these rare, underheard tracks burst with Lewis's uncompromising genius. A lot more experimental, the music is still drop dead beautiful. The Damn Rest is the essential bridge between Lewis Taylor and Lewis II.

Lewis Taylor's self-titled masterpiece from 1996 was to be originally called Damn. You can see the word right there on the from cover. However, concerns over distribution in the US scuppered this desired title. When thinking about what to call this collection of essential B-Sides from the era of that first album, we thought The Damn Rest would be appropriate. But these tracks aren't simply throwaways or outtakes, as Lewis himself states: "each little group were recorded specifically for the release of each 'single'." These B-Sides were simply the next thing to happen after self-titled, and before Lewis II. In other words, you need this!

The collection opens with "Asleep When You Come", the A2 on the original "Lucky" 12". It's a slow-mo string-drenched soul offering, cast in cinematic soft-focus with a vocal performance from the heavens set against wonky, shuffling drums and delicate instrumental flourishes. Beautiful. Also from the "Lucky" single, "You Got Me Thinking" may actually be Lewis' funkiest moment and is definitely one of our favourites, a great, gently psychedelic funky club track, that's for sure. Next, the gorgeous, meandering "I Dream The Better Dream" is just sheer, metronomic bliss, with shades of Stevie Wonder. Just ask D’Angelo, who included the track on his Feverish Phantasmagoria show for Sonos. Not only a celebrity-fan-favourite, it's Lewis's, too: "My favourite has always been this track. In my fantasy it’s what early Soft Machine would’ve sounded like if Marvin Gaye was their lead singer."

As we move to the B-sides from the "Whoever" single, the first to feature is "Pie In The Electric Sky / If I Lay Down". It's a brilliantly sprawling classic. A head-nod funk workout in two parts; part psychedelic heavy soul jam, part breezy Marvin-esque near-instrumental of the deeply lush variety. It needs to be heard to be believed. Astonishing! Flip over for "Waves", a shimmering, dramatic, sweeping string-led fan favourite. The climax of the song is just too stunning for words. It's followed by the deep wyrd-soul of "Trip So Heavy" the final, dizzying track from the "Whoever" single and another celestial funk delight featuring strings, organ, twisted bass and heavy drums. From the "Bittersweet" 12", "A Little Bit Tasty" is a building, schizophrenic soul-jazz epic that starts out with Lewis performing a call and (distant) response with himself over a gentle mid-90s drum loop before snatches of heavy, crunching metal guitars blast apart the otherwise neat song structure. Ultimately, it's unarguable that The Damn Rest is worth it for the inclusion of the jaw-dropping "Lewis III" alone. A dazzlingly lush and stunningly sophisticated prog/soul hybrid that owes as much to "Pet Sounds" as "What's Going On" with arrangements that grow and unfold in layers. Just sparkling.

A compilation like this feels like one of those promo-only rarities they used to give out to a select few back in the good old days, so when it came to the artwork it only made sense to follow what Cally Callomon (head of Island’s art department) had done for the singles and promos back in the 90s. He even did us some fresh scribbles of “The Damn Rest” to match his handwriting that’s all over the first album and its singles. We hope you like it as much as the music contained within. Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering ensures these classic recordings sound as great as they deserve to. The record has been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. We've lost Prince. We still have Lewis.

Blue/Red Mixed Vinyl

Richie Culver had been waiting his whole life to record I was born by the sea. His debut album immediately and messily inscribed the artist into the canon of outsider music and experimental electronics, serving both as an arresting statement of intent and a painful reckoning with the difficult path that lead up to it, stealing one last glance back at a place he always knew he had to escape. Between grim lamentations, faded memories and anxiety attacks, all told with searing honesty and disarming openness, I was born by the sea excavates a space for hope, finding Culver digging through Humberside silt to find a world weary optimism, the raw material from which his visual and sound art is shaped. For this collection of expansions and inversions, Culver invites a collection of kindred spirits, contemporary inspirations and old heroes to wade into the salt water of his formative years spent living for impromptu raves and afterparties, connecting vivid memories of his birth place of Withernsea to artists hailing from as nearby as Preston and Bridlington, further afield, from Manchester and London, Berlin and Paris, before returning back to Hull, to where it all began.

For some, responding to I was born by the sea means diving even deeper into the record’s furthest reaches. Space Afrika clear away the pummelling loops of noise from ‘It’s hard to get to know you,’ revealing a cool and cavernous expanse in its wake. Distant chatter, previously heard as though through thin, plasterboard walls, now echoes from outside the maddening claustrophobia of the original’s Sisyphean sonics, illuminated as a dense storm cloud suspended amidst a more open scene, washed clean by a lighter rain, allowing the tender heart of the track to beat clear. London producer MOBBS stretches out ‘Pigeon Flesh’ into an epic, 10-minute, cold-sweat spiral, strung-out tension wrung from disconnected phone tones twisted in unexpected directions, snatches of Culver’s voice turned inside-out and deep fried bass threatening to tip the track over into oblivion, the build-and-release of a nervous breakdown experienced in real time. In an act of subversive self-reflection, Morgane Polanski switches one kind of ennui for another in her adaption of ‘I was born by the sea,’ swapping the sea for the city, English seaside towns in January for summer evenings in Paris and flashing lighthouses and sparkling oil rigs for the Eiffel Tower and the traffic around L’Arc de Triomphe. Even Culver finds time to revisit ‘Dream About Yourself,’ a track taken from his EP Post Traumatic Fantasy, breathing new words into its glacial drift, the half-remembered testimony of a shut-in: Woke up in the evening / Pray for me / Don’t trust anyone / Pray for algorithm. Reframed in a more melancholy light, the track’s reverberant keys even more clearly evoke a mournful nostalgia, fresh pain felt in old wounds.

Others find a parallel universe in Culver’s visceral world building. Rainy Miller flips the script with a scorched, avant-drill rework of ‘Daytime TV’, threading puncturing hi-hats and queasy low-end surge through the track’s steady ambient cascade, invoking the irresistible Preston beat magic of Miller’s own essential debut album, Desquamation. Aho Ssan melts away the crystalline textures of ‘Love Like an Abscess’ with the ominous crackle of a nascent fire, building through swathes of organic Max/MSP squelch and brittle, nails-down-chalkboard scrape, swelling and metastasising the original to spill over Culver’s desperate hymn to corporeal desire, at once flesh and not. Teresa Winter transports us an hour up the coast from Withernsea to her native Bridlington, replacing the sea wall of synthesis on ‘Nervous Energy’ with muffled ASMR murk and fever dream whispers, transforming Culver’s unflinching observations into a haunting call-and-response, filling in the blanks with her own eerie utterances, a fleeting conversation with a ghost. In a touching victory lap, Fila Brazillia, eccentric stalwarts of beloved ‘90s trip hop imprint Pork Recordings, whose performances at Hull institution The Lamp convinced a young Culver of the necessity to make his mark on club culture, resurface for their first remix in 20 years. Steve Cobby and David McSherry lead a low-slung, heartfelt stroll back through a suite of tracks from I was born by the sea, tracing a full circle saunter from Culver’s origins to his current musical practice, the sounds of his present repurposed by the sound of his youth. In a gesture that reflects the emotional complexity of the project, Fila Brazillia find joy at the end of Culver’s troubled reflection, picking out an undeniable groove in the stasis of feeling trapped in your hometown. Underlining Hull’s vital musical legacy, from Baby Mammoth to Throbbing Gristle, Cobby and McSherry demonstrate that, though there are certainly storms, by the sea there is also sun and through the fog, if you listen, you can hear a singular sound, a sound now carried by Richie Culver.

Participant is a record label and creative studio run by William Markarian-Martin and Richie Culver

Japanese folk-rock legend Morio Agata stunned fans with this way-outta-left-field dispatch - a synthesizer-laden, new-wave/post-punk classic. Originally released by Osaka’s Vanity Records in 1980 and back on vinyl for the first time in nearly 40 years, this fully authorized reissue has been remastered from the original analog tapes. In tip-on sleeve, with double-sided insert.

50 years ago, Hokkaido-born singer-songwriter Morio Agata released his debut single, Sekishoku Ereji (Red Elegy), an emotive, shuffling piano ballad that (shockingly) sold half a million copies in Japan. While he would never have another Top-40 hit, Agata would spend the next half century issuing a series of idiosyncratic, experimental pop albums. Today, he’s a beloved cult figure, still actively touring and recording in his seventies.

In his first decade as a recording artist, Agata released a stream of classics right out of the gate — Otome No Roman (1972) melded American-styled folk rock with traditional Japanese melodies, Zipangu Boy (1976) was a sprawling, Haruomi Hosono-produced psychedelic opus, and Kimi No Koto Suki Nan Da (1977) saw Agata tackle slick, lightly funky AOR. While this sort of stylistic schizophrenia might sink your average artist, Agata’s singular voice and magnetic charisma elevates everything he touches, and subsumes it all into Morio Agata World — a joyous, playful and frequently unhinged world.

Arguably the biggest left-turn of Agata’s early career, however, came in 1979, when legendary experimental label Vanity Records’ Yuzuru Agi paired Agata with major players from his label’s roster and the Osaka punk scene for an impromptu recording session. An impressive list of musicians took part (SAB, Yukio Fujimoto (Normal Brain), Masahiro Kitada (INU), Taiqui (Ultra Bide), Jun Shinoda (SS), Chie Mukai (Che-Shizu), and others) and even though they all came from different wings of the underground music scene, together they built an arresting, minimalistic bedrock of synthesized and acoustic sounds for Agata to work his magic over. The recording sesssions were tense and it took a while for the collective to find their footing. But the hard work paid off — Norimono Zukan is a masterpiece of ramshackle new wave and droning dirges, topped off with Agata’s unmistakeable croon, at times delicate, other times twisted. It’s a relatively short album, but a deep one, and Mesh-Key is honored to introduce it to a new generation of music fans.

Vaccine is Younger Brother’s third studio album. Now available on vinyl for the first time. Remastered. Heavy Weight 180 gram vinyl

Vaccine Electronic was the 4th album from Younger Brother and originally released in 2014. Now available on vinyl for the first time. Remastered. Heavy Weight 180 gram vinyl

Ravanelli Disco Club is a disco house label based in Marseille that was established 2019. Over its three short years they have worked with key artists including Ron Basejam, Jimpster, JKriv, Cody Currie, Retromigration, Joe Corti, and Scruscru, with releases in the wings by Prins Thomas and Pete Herbert.

Next up on Ravanelli Disco Club comes slick French duo Palavas who hail from the sun-drenched coast of the South of France, somewhere between Montpellier and Marseille. Named after the Pavalas resort - that was once the splendid queen of Mediterranean sandy beaches - the AZZUR Records founders are the epitome of the French dolce vita! With previous releases on Toucan Sound and Future Disco, their music is an intoxicating blend of nostalgia and cosmic futurism that dazzles discerning dancefloors every weekend with their shimmering solar odyssey.

On ‘Déesse D’été’ – which poetically translates to Summer Goddess - Palavas pay homage to the vibrant and infectious sound of the 80s, blending disco, funk, and new wave with a contemporary twist. This full-length journey provides us with a perfect summer soundtrack for the sunshine season, with upbeat rhythms and warm catchy melodies designed to get sun drenched bodies moving and grooving. Composed and sung in both French and English, the duo show case their tasteful aesthetic, versatility, and artistic flair effortlessly blending their musical influences resulting in a sound that is totally unique.

From the infectious beats of ‘We Are Strong Enough’ to the soulful ballad ‘One Night is Not Enough featuring Ryan Konline' or the new wave tribute ‘You Can't Get Away’, each cut is a beauty in its own right. Guaranteed to make you feel the warmth of the sun on your face and to lift your winter spirits.

Originally released back in 1999 via Mindfood Records, Tiny Elvis ‘Desire’ EP gets a much-needed reissue on Cosmocities, topped off by two incredible remixes from Bushwacka! and Max in the World.

A smoother-than-smooth introduction into Tiny Elvis’ deep and progressive headspace, ‘Desire’ blazes with a modern soul and timeless fire at heart. While there’s no denying the time and era emanating from the grooves, the record prefigures a lot of the mind-expanding house music that’s come to fill the shelves and crates of vinyl shops two decades on. A distinctive blend of pumped-up, 303-brined jazz and abstract-leaning vocal loops ushering us into a pulsating heart of LSD-fuelled visions and climax-seeking energies.

Adding his invariably genius spin to ‘Desire’, UK house maestro Bushwacka! tweaks the original’s trademark wonkiness into that of a floor focused weapon, geared up for deep boogie action down the basement but lacking none of that prominently silken, loungey magnetism either.

On the flip side, ‘Howze The Music’ cuts a path of squelchy, strings-driven hypnosis, beautifully combining the liquid-like essence of acid with a neo-classical sense of evolutive emotion, injecting it with a tang of trancey tribalism for good measure.

New York's Max in the World gives a further dreamy, cinematic twist to proceedings, taking us on a lush ride across flickering landscapes flush with honey-dipped synth stabs, a-propos sampling and blissful strings stirring all kind of emotional flows with unrelenting verve.

Repress!

One of the gems on the smash hit album 'Soulmatic', Purple Disco Machine & Boris D'Lugosch's, 'Love For Days' gets the remix treatment three ways.

First up the master Kenny Dope - crisping up that shuffling rhythm with some added percussion and synthesiser arps to turn what was already a peak time soulful anthem, into a close to 8 minute extended journey drawing you in more and more with each build up and breakdown. Next up the PDM offers up an extended mix of the original, a welcome sight for those DJs on the club scene who have been rinsing this since the album dropped last year.

Finally, Motez takes you into raunchy, r&b tinged, garage territory, really honing in on Karen Harding's incredible vocals whilst incorporating brooding pads and sweeping fx's to create a special twist on the original.


DJ Support:

Aeroplane (Aeropop / Eskimo Recordings), Klingande / Kungs / Michael Calfan c/o (Unity Group Promo Sorter), Autograf (Counter Records), Treasure Fingers (Psycho Disco! / Fool's Gold), Malente (Southern Fried Records), Satin Jackets c/o (Eskimo Recordings / N.E.W.S.), Eric Sharp (9G Records), Gregor Salto c/o (Spinnin' Records), DJ Blake Jarrell (Armada Music), Jerome Price (Throne Room Records), DJ Licious (Spinnin' Records), Travis Emmons (Weapons Music), Electronic Youth (KMS), Solidisco (Fool's Gold / Ultra) :: Mark Knight c/o (Toolroom Knights), Mike Mago (Boemklatsch), Muzzaik (Spinnin' / Toolroom), The Disco Boys (We Play Music), Trevor Mac (Jalapeno Sound System), Ferdinand Weber (Spinnin' Deep), LCAW (Ultra), Plastic Plates (Sweat it Out), Mark Lower (Nurvous), Don Diablo c/o (Axtone / Spinnin' Records), Eton Messy, Après (Love & Other Records), Spada (Ego Music / Hysterical), Eelke Kleijn (Spinnin' / Suara), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Adriana Lucia (Get Physical), Broc Roc (Dj B-Roc of The Knocks), Chordashian (Mullet Records), Hector Romero (Saw Recordings), Just Kiddin (Nervous Records)

Idris Elba c/o (Connaisseur Records / 7Wallace), Klingande / Kungs / Michael Calfan c/o (Unity Group Promo Sorter), Shiba San c/o (Suara / CUFF), Malente (Southern Fried Records), Rudimental (Asylum / Big Beat), Sirus Hood (Under No Illusion / Dirtybird), Marc Spence (This Ain't Bristol / Skint), Martin Solveig c/o (Spinnin' Records), Horsemeat Disco (Strut Records / K7! Records), Riva Starr c/o (Hot Creations), Mike Mago (Boemklatsch), Kokiri (Love & Other), Fred Falke (Work It Baby Records), Claptone c/o (Exploited), Roger Sanchez (Stealth Records / Astrx), Don Diablo c/o (Axtone / Spinnin' Records), Icarus (FFRR / SubSoul), Pezzner (Dirtybird), Jourdan Bordes (Phonetic Recordings), Mahalo (Toolroom / Bunny Tiger), AC Slater (Night Bass), Chordashian / Felix Feygin (Mullet Records), Fei-Fei Wang, Kristina Sky (Ultra / Armada), Thee Cool Cats (Toolroom / Bunny Tiger), Solidisco (Fool's Gold / Ultra), Infected Mushroom c/o (HOMmega Productions), DJ Blake Jarrell (Armada Music),Travis Emmons (Weapons Music), Human Life (LIFEX / Exploited), Treasure Fingers (Psycho Disco! / Fool's Gold), Hector Romero (Saw Recordings), and Danny Howard (BBC Radio 1 / Nothing Else Matters)

It's always good to have Norbak onboard again with this brand new slice of plastic. Four cuts of precise and gymnastic techno aimed for the most advanced dancefloors energetic and intelligent at the same time, as we like.

A side starts with "Tell me I'm wrong" a fast paced hypnotic exercise with adrenalinic synth lines running over complex rhythms, properly arranged in a constantly changing structure.

"Amongst Them" follow, textured flanged sounds running across the stereo field, shuffled beats and lots of space, the definition of how profound techno should be.

Flipping the vinyl, B1 is "Pure and Faithful", funk infused sequences constantly altered in shape, complex grooves and as always a profound structure full of twists.

Last cut in this exercise is "Unbearable Lightness", continuous and repetitive randomized synth lines spiced with lots of reverb over a well crafted drum workout, intense and spacious at the same time.

Another demonstration of studio skills and sound design from this young Portuguese producer.

blue + red marbled vinyl
"Dog Eared"! Named as such as it marks a turning point in my productions and releases. Made while moving from Bristol back to London this as a theme pops up throughout the EP.

"Ithaca Vox" is the name of my first ever favourite preset - a CMI-inspired pad from GarageBand which I've been using since I was 11 but never on a release. The track also samples the screeching of Victoria line on my way back from nights out.

"Bubble Trouble" caused many headaches to finish hence the addition of the word "Trouble". The track pops, floats and bursts into the space between simplistic cartoon sound sources and excessively over the top sound design and production.

"Dive" dives further into these production ideas swapping tight space tiny bubbles for wide grinning resonance. The twisting track cuts these resonances leaving a large valley of missing frequencies that gets suddenly filled by an unrelentingly simple bell centring the listeners balance.

"From Window to Wall" gives a not so subtle nod to one of my favourite excessive chart hits as well as a further nod to the source of some of the track samples (see if you spot them).

"Calpohol" is the first collaboration Ive released (another reason to Dog Ear this release). Made from an afternoon of recording with Delay Grounds on his custom Eurorack the track was shaped by us over the weeks that followed.

Back in 2018, two mysterious twelve-inch singles appeared in underground record sthops. Credited to Blotter Trax, a previously unknown outfit who cherished “faceless” anonymity, the pleasingly twisted and mind-altering music on show was a mutant form of electronic psychedelia. The included tracks were variously informed by analogue techno, acid, electro and minimal, but inhabited their own clandestine sonic space. These tracks were, we later discovered, lightly edited “straight to tape” jams, crafted on the fly by their creators in one of Berlin’s most admired studios.

By the time Blotter Trax delivered their follow-up on Clone offshoot Frustrated Funk a year later, the secret was out: the project was in fact a collaboration between two storied artists, techno titan Magda – a DJ/producer who should need little introduction – and serial underground aggravator (and man of many aliases) Jay Ahern, sometime Hauntologists member and acid techno royalty thanks to years spent releasing similarly shadowy EPs as T.B Arthur.

In the years that followed, and before the COVID-19 pandemic grounded them in Berlin, the pair took their incendiary, modular-driven live show to esteemed clubland institutions (Fabric included), on an acclaimed tour of Japan, and onto the stages of festivals across Europe.

Four years on from that appearance on Frustrated Funk, Blotter Trax are back in updated and expanded form. Now a trio thanks to the addition of bassist Hannes Strobl, the band is set to release their far-sighted, funk-fuelled debut album, Super Conductor – a pulsating, thrill-in-minute ride includes contributions from a swathe of notable guests (Nina Hynes, Ilhem Khodja and David Moss provided vocals, Shigeru Tanabu played guitar, Matthew Styles mixed the set and old friend John Tejada mastered it).

While rooted in electro and acid, the album is impressively low-slung, stylish and funky, with nods towards Blotter Trax’s mutual love of Arthur Russell, early ‘80s NYC downtown disco, leftfield new-wave pop and flash-fried punk-funk. Released by JD Twitch’s Optimo Music imprint, it charts the ongoing dancefloor evolution of a band whose days of mystery and mischief are now a distant memory.

Next up is an overdue reunion with a familiar face. After his outstanding contribution to Cocoon Compilation S and his first solo EP on Cocoon Recordings, Raxon is back with a more than equally fascinating sound. The Egyptian-born and now Barcelona-based artist is back on it again, delivering two tracks that will take you on a journey through the depths of robotic soundscapes.
Intricate beats, hypnotic synthesizer melodies, deep bassline grooves, and distinctive EFX sounds create Raxon’s very special signature sound.

Straight drum programming paired with chirping percussions takes us away to embark on a travel through space and time while distinctive claps poke through a futuristic nebula of floating and shifting sequences. The twisted melody of “Robotalia” carries us to a parallel dimension of machine sound and if you listen closely, you can hear the robots’ screwing and sawing. Warping bleeps and mechanical effects complete the robotic feeling. Raxon’s understanding of structures and architectural abilities are reflected through the arrangement, slowly increasing to ecstasy.

“Kryptonite” scores with alien soundscapes. Stuttering vocals are the questions, while futuristic and dramatic chord stabs are the direct answer. A straight, radiant sound appears as an electronic trombone from outer space, offensively supporting the driving bassline. The symbiotic interplay between the euphoric synthesizer hook line and the relentless beat with pushing sharp hi-hats visualize powerful images in one's mind's eye. Suddenly the beat stagnates and results in a morphing break going head over heels developing a start-stop pitch effect that not only builds up tremendous tension but also bears an increased risk of melting your brain. We just love tape delay!