'they've quietly found themselves elevated into the psych scenes premier league.' Drowned In Sound
'when they go pedal-to-metal it rarely fails.' Mojo Magazine
'The Lucid Dream are rapidly becoming major players in an ever-increasingly crowded psych scene..utterly seductive.' The Quietus
'one of the most enthralling bands in the UK.' Far Out Magazine
The Lucid Dream return in October with the release of their 4th album, 'Actualisation'.
Driven by fans raising £10,000 to help replace all equipment robbed after a Paris show in early 2017, a new album became the instant focus in the summer of 2017 for a rejuvenated The Lucid Dream.
'Actualisation' is soaked in the influence of acid house, amalgamated with dub and kosmische. It will again see them acknowledged for venturing into pastures new, setting themselves apart from 'genres', 'scenes' or what any other act are currently doing.
The album was penned over the summer of 2017 by Mark Emmerson (vocals/guitar/synths), using only the classic Roland 303/808 synths, bass and vocals as tools for writing. Inspiration for the writing was formed via continuous listening to the Chicago to UK acid house works of 1986-1992, the focus predominantly on the groove.
Several months on from those writing sessions and The Lucid Dream have completed their 4th album in 5 years. A record made for the dancefloor.
Recorded at Whitewood Studios, Liverpool, with Rob Whiteley, the album is produced alongside long-time collaborator Ross Halden (Ghost Town Studios, Leeds), with mastering via Dean Honer (All Seeing I/I Monster/The Moonlandingz).
The confrontational techno-punk of 'Alone In Fear' opens the album, a 9-minute attack fuelled by the frustration and anger spawned by Brexit, government and a realisation of what 2018 Britain currently is.
Recent single 'SX1000' (the first work from the album, unveiled via 12' vinyl in April this year) is the band's first move into pure acid house. The acid house fusion runs throughout the record, represented furthermore by 'Ardency', a track already praised by live critics when aired live for the first time earlier this year as 'even on first hearing, would've raised the roof of The Hacienda'.
The 2-part opus of 'Zenith' follows, commencing with a space-dub/house instrumental groove before building into a track that will go for your head as much as your hips. Only 'Breakdown' harks back to sounds of old for the band, a little reminder of the skull-crushing impact they can make when stripped to the bare bones. 'No Sunlight Dub' closes the album, a dark-dub that invites the classic acid-house tool (Roland 808) into the dub. The track makes a stop-off into drum 'n' bass/jungle along the way before rounding up in a manner suited to Lee Perry, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo and other Jamaican greats.
The Lucid Dream formed in Carlisle, Cumbria, in 2008. A string of sold-out 7s was followed by the debut longer player, 'Songs Of Lies and Deceit', in August 2013. The initial vinyl pressing of the debut album (500 copies) sold out within 2 days, and was backed by a main stage slot at Kendal Calling, and supports to Death In Vegas and A Place To Bury Strangers (full UK tour).
The bands 2nd album ('The Lucid Dream') was released in March 2015 to further acclaim. This included 2 BBC 6 Music sessions and plays across most shows on the station, as well as plays from BBC Radio 1 (Huw Stephens) and BBC Radio 2. Further press followed from Uncut, The Skinny, Louder Than War, and Drowned In Sound, who named the album #7 UK album of 2015. Supports to Clinic and A Place To Bury Strangers also coincided.
3rd album, 'Compulsion Songs' was released in September 2016, on Holy Are You Recordings. The vinyl pressing of the album sold-out within a day, prompting an immediate 2nd press, with pre-sales of the album topping 1,000 before release. The album was backed by a headline UK tour, and a main slot at Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia (for which they were singled out for major plaudits from The Quietus, The Skinny and Drowned In Sound). The album again received acclaim from the likes of Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock Magazine, BBC Radio 2 (Huey Morgan) and across the board on BBC 6 Music (Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley, Tom Ravenscroft, Gideon Coe, Stuart Maconie).
'Actualisation' is released on 19th October 2018 (CD/download/ltd red vinyl/standard black vinyl), via Holy Are You Recordings.
quête:jungle radio
'they've quietly found themselves elevated into the psych scenes premier league.' Drowned In Sound
'when they go pedal-to-metal it rarely fails.' Mojo Magazine
'The Lucid Dream are rapidly becoming major players in an ever-increasingly crowded psych scene..utterly seductive.' The Quietus
'one of the most enthralling bands in the UK.' Far Out Magazine
The Lucid Dream return in October with the release of their 4th album, 'Actualisation'.
Driven by fans raising £10,000 to help replace all equipment robbed after a Paris show in early 2017, a new album became the instant focus in the summer of 2017 for a rejuvenated The Lucid Dream.
'Actualisation' is soaked in the influence of acid house, amalgamated with dub and kosmische. It will again see them acknowledged for venturing into pastures new, setting themselves apart from 'genres', 'scenes' or what any other act are currently doing.
The album was penned over the summer of 2017 by Mark Emmerson (vocals/guitar/synths), using only the classic Roland 303/808 synths, bass and vocals as tools for writing. Inspiration for the writing was formed via continuous listening to the Chicago to UK acid house works of 1986-1992, the focus predominantly on the groove.
Several months on from those writing sessions and The Lucid Dream have completed their 4th album in 5 years. A record made for the dancefloor.
Recorded at Whitewood Studios, Liverpool, with Rob Whiteley, the album is produced alongside long-time collaborator Ross Halden (Ghost Town Studios, Leeds), with mastering via Dean Honer (All Seeing I/I Monster/The Moonlandingz).
The confrontational techno-punk of 'Alone In Fear' opens the album, a 9-minute attack fuelled by the frustration and anger spawned by Brexit, government and a realisation of what 2018 Britain currently is.
Recent single 'SX1000' (the first work from the album, unveiled via 12' vinyl in April this year) is the band's first move into pure acid house. The acid house fusion runs throughout the record, represented furthermore by 'Ardency', a track already praised by live critics when aired live for the first time earlier this year as 'even on first hearing, would've raised the roof of The Hacienda'.
The 2-part opus of 'Zenith' follows, commencing with a space-dub/house instrumental groove before building into a track that will go for your head as much as your hips. Only 'Breakdown' harks back to sounds of old for the band, a little reminder of the skull-crushing impact they can make when stripped to the bare bones. 'No Sunlight Dub' closes the album, a dark-dub that invites the classic acid-house tool (Roland 808) into the dub. The track makes a stop-off into drum 'n' bass/jungle along the way before rounding up in a manner suited to Lee Perry, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo and other Jamaican greats.
The Lucid Dream formed in Carlisle, Cumbria, in 2008. A string of sold-out 7s was followed by the debut longer player, 'Songs Of Lies and Deceit', in August 2013. The initial vinyl pressing of the debut album (500 copies) sold out within 2 days, and was backed by a main stage slot at Kendal Calling, and supports to Death In Vegas and A Place To Bury Strangers (full UK tour).
The bands 2nd album ('The Lucid Dream') was released in March 2015 to further acclaim. This included 2 BBC 6 Music sessions and plays across most shows on the station, as well as plays from BBC Radio 1 (Huw Stephens) and BBC Radio 2. Further press followed from Uncut, The Skinny, Louder Than War, and Drowned In Sound, who named the album #7 UK album of 2015. Supports to Clinic and A Place To Bury Strangers also coincided.
3rd album, 'Compulsion Songs' was released in September 2016, on Holy Are You Recordings. The vinyl pressing of the album sold-out within a day, prompting an immediate 2nd press, with pre-sales of the album topping 1,000 before release. The album was backed by a headline UK tour, and a main slot at Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia (for which they were singled out for major plaudits from The Quietus, The Skinny and Drowned In Sound). The album again received acclaim from the likes of Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock Magazine, BBC Radio 2 (Huey Morgan) and across the board on BBC 6 Music (Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley, Tom Ravenscroft, Gideon Coe, Stuart Maconie).
'Actualisation' is released on 19th October 2018 (CD/download/ltd red vinyl/standard black vinyl), via Holy Are You Recordings.
An Invitation To Disappear is the debut LP by British electronic musician Inland aka Ed Davenport - and his first release for A-TON. Based on his soundtrack for a video installation by conceptual artist Julian Charrière, Davenport has recast the material and field recordings into eight tracks of rhythmically intricate electronics and spectral, ambient techno, inspired by Charrière's visually striking, 76-minute tracking shot through a palm plantation toward a totemic soundsystem on full blast.
Both the album and original soundtrack were created in response to the 200th anniversary of the eruption of Indonesia's Tambora volcano in 1815, which plunged the world into darkness and caused a series of extreme weather conditions. At the time, the natural climate change crisis resulted in numerous global famines and is known throughout the northern hemisphere as 'The Year Without Summer', with global communities forced to adapt to sudden radical changes in temperature and weather.
An Invitation To Disappear offers a contemporary parallel, leading viewers - and listeners - down a seemingly endless direct path of gridded palms from dawn to dusk; a bio-commercial monoculture where ancient jungle once flourished. Light flickers between rows of fruit-laden trees and a distant fire burns in the undergrowth where the border between natural image and computer simulation breaks down. At the same time, formerly incoherent rumblings of sub-frequencies begin to transform into the contours of rhythm. This is reflected sonically in eight perspectives on the lush, synthetic jungle, made of myriad buzzing fauna, morphing melody and colossal bassweight. All paths lead toward an apocalyptic dancefloor, though speeds vary widely; rhythms dissolve from straight to broken, synth tempos operate by their own internal clocks (and logic). Juxtaposing industrial agriculture with rave culture, the album explores the industrialization and refinement of nature, and the new strange forms emerging from the synthetic grids of both.
As Inland, Davenport has previously contributed soundtracks to other installations by the Swiss-born Charrière, whose artistic practice focuses on bridging environmental science and cultural history, often taking place in remote geophysical locations, including ice fields, volcanos and radioactive sites.
Julian Charrière is a French-Swiss artist based in Berlin. A former student of Olafur Eliasson at the Institut für Raumexperimente, Charrière's art explores post-romantic constructions of nature, staging tensions between deep or geological timescales and those relating to mankind. His work has previously been shown across the globe, including at the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2017, a solo show at Kunsthalle Mainz this past Spring and an upcoming solo show at the Berlinische Galerie opening September 26.
Inland (real name Ed Davenport) is a British producer, DJ and founder of Counterchange Records based in Berlin. Known for his detailed and explorative house and techno releases on his own label, Infrastructure, Naïf and more, Davenport has recently gravitated toward the contemporary art world, finding inspiration in the cross-pollination between Berlin's art and music scenes. Previous sound design collaborations with Charrière have been exhibited in institutions such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne in 2014 and Thyssen- Bornemisza Contemporary in Vienna in 2017.
The gallery version of An Invitation To Disappear premiered this past April at the Kunsthalle Mainz and will be on display at the Berlinische Galerie as part of Charrière's solo exhibition As We Used to Float, opening September 26, 2018. The LP will premier live together with the video installation during a special presentation in Berghain the same day for Berlin Art Week.
Helixir's back for his second 12'' on 7even Recordings!
After the buzz of his Narcotik Dub / Springz and Wires cut some months back, Helixir do it again with 'Helicraft' and 'Dub 4 P.', blending in his music shaker all kinds of influences, from Dubstep to Techno, Jungle, Breakstep and Dub, produced and executed with immense attention to detail.
'Helicraft'is just a mad track! Wicked beats, Techno loops, Old Skool sounds and tricky mixing potential make it a proper killer cut, as heard in Mary Anne Hobbs' BBC Experimental radio show. The other side of this double A Side, 'Dub 4 P.' is a real smasher, rolling on a broken beat+bass 4/4 riddim bringing the horns to the dancefloor. Killer.
Ishio Dai (Japanese electro beat maker) is new generation of dance music talent in U.K capital London .He making new style' organic jungle/drum and bass dubstep jazzy Brokenbeats and contemporary techno. His music education are influence by 90's euro rave culture . But he is 100% japanese that this is special case .
His 2017' 12inc vinyl Mirage was quick sold out in London/Soho and east london. Richard Fearless (Death in Vegas) played on I.D magazin'mix. and Rinse FM' Jungle proguram DJ RON interviewed . A lot time NTS Radio' DJ's played his new dubplate.
U.K finest dubstep artist 'Horsepower production' (Tempa Swamp81) support his new label Effective96 .They colaborate new electro beats that's nothing others .(cutting number EF-011 )
Joe Powers is from Edinburgh, far outside the network of the Grime capital of London. His caffeinated productions as Proc Fiskal are faster than usual, with many clocking in at 160bpm. 'The Highland Mob', his 2017 debut EP, opened up his music to open-eared footwork and drum'n'bass fans as well as the grime crowd. After following that up with a jungle-inflected EP on Cosmic Bridge, 'Insula' switches the feel and intention towards a personal, and melodic music with one foot in Grime, infused with often comic, often wistful recorded moments from his environment. He says 'I wanted to be aware of where the music is coming from, referencing things I'm presently experiencing, like making Grime, my Radar radio show, phone addiction, alcohol, my surroundings, girls, depression, positivity, being unemployed, being employed and hating it, my friends etc. Trying to be true to myself instead of relying on other peoples' nostalgia, and focusing on now.'
The record is a huge leap in vision, with delicate, pointillist melodies and intricate edits reminiscent of Grime producers such as Terror Danjah. It also resonates with Japanese video game music like that recently explored on the 'Diggin' In The Carts' compilation.
'I think I probably make tunes to get out emotions I don't express in day-to-day life. I used clips of my friends talking, drunk folk, and general Scottish life to preserve and represent what my experience is like right now, like a time capsule. Social media notification sounds are designed to release serotonin, which is what I'd like my music to do, to make me, and other people happy, and in using these manipulative noises in a positive way, I like to think I'm taking back the power of the manipulation.'
Proc Fiskal is adventurous and thoughtful as a producer, and at the young age of 21, his debut album is very advanced in its ideas and execution.
Second EP of the label Lowlife Cartel. An all star, six-track release from sixl key artists in various genres, from cutting edge techno to leftfield house, confirmes the versatility of Lowlife Cartel.
The EP begins with "Butt Dub Pregost", dubby downtempo atmospheric track, by one of most innovative and versatile artist of the last years: Buttechno (Rassvet records, Collapsing Market..)."Out For A Walk" by Fmy (Too Rough 4 Radio) is a leftfield house track, face covered and steps muffled through a deadening blizzard of tape saturation and white noisey envelops that find a balance between deepening the sense of immersion and a retained rhythm. "Unusual Mondai", hypnotic track by Sammy T Thompson, an alias of S.Olbricht (UIQ, Opal Tapes..), fits with an introspective melody and atmosphere.
"Mr Hodge Appreciation Society" is a quintessential Machine Woman (Ninja Tune, Peder Mannerfelt, Where to Now) club track, spanning sexy house and bold techno.
"Celestial Body" by PRESENTE oscillates between jungle and drone like a futuristic comet.
"Y'alll" by the rising producer Voyd, is a abstract house piece. Setting skittish drums and altered vox sample, smothered against a grey-ish canvas of blurry, washed-out pads.
Raw and indisputable quality of production.
Nubian Quadrant EP sees Dutch producer Philou reaching for that sweet spot between Afro and Electro to produce three pulsing new tracks for Byrd Out. As Philou says, "All good music ultimately comes from Africa", and true to his African roots, the EP was part recorded in Malawi. With his tracks being picked up by the likes of Erol Alkan and Eats Everything, this EP is sure to provide the rhythmic backdrop to the summer. If you imagine the driving force of Fela Kuti matched with the acid sqwelch of Phuture, you're part of the way there. It's dancefloor sunshine on vinyl. Mastered by the legendary Noel Summerville, artwork by G.S-L Studio.
Biog: Philou Louzolo, a vibrant human being showcasing a diverse sound: born and raised in between the forests and the salty ocean breeze of Southern Zeeland (The Netherlands). Blessed with deeply rooted ties to the townships of Sierra Leone, the jungle surrounding the Congo river and Nigeria - where the birth of Fela Kuti's Afrobeat took place - his music sounds like Pan-African propaganda packed with sounds from urbanized cities, the Sahara and Africa's many jungles. He's been making waves with a Mixtape for the Feel My Bicep guys (it's #84), and getting airtime on BBC Radio 6 with Erol Alkan, and on BBC Radio 1 with Eats Everything, and playing Resident Advisor's GAIN stage at DGTL in Amsterdam in March, and playing at Morocco's boundary-pushing Altas Electronic festival later this year.
On 30thMarch, Wah Wah 45s will release ORANGE WHIP, the new album by their latest signing, Honeyfeet. The outfit, who have received praise from the likes of The Guardian, have also set festivals alight up and down the country with their unique melange of sounds.
For the last couple of years the Honeyfeet (who name from a line in the Blues Brothers film) have been a conduit for the ideas and expressions of an exotic mixture of Manchester based musicians. This genre-defying band incorporate styles including jazz, folk and hip hop into their music. Someone once called it Folk-Hop and Barrelhouse-pop, and that's just vague enough to make sense.
The band are fronted by Ríoghnach Connolly - also known for her work with Real World artists Afro Celt Sound System and The Breath - "a remarkable singer and flautist who...can ease from Irish traditional influences to soul" (The Guardian). The line up is completed by Rik Warren (vocals/harmonica), Gus Fairbairn (tenor sax), Biff Roxby (trombone/vocals), Ellis Davies (guitar), Lorien Edwards (bass guitar), John Ellis (keyboards) and David Schlechtriemen (drums).
ORANGE WHIP finds the band at their most incredibly diverse. Opening with recent single Sinner (received radio play from the likes of 6 Music and BBC Manchester), which showcases Ríoghnach's extraordinary agile and emotive voice, the album moves with dizzying swagger on songs covering a wide range of subjects. Quickball tells the story of being so infatuated with someone you want to eat them, while Whatever You Do addresses the fear-mongering of the press over folk-hop and oom-pah, and Demons deals with love and redemption on a blast of harmonica-driven country, sung by Rik Warren.
Rik also takes lead vocal on a re-working of Robert Johnson's Love in Vain, a song showing Honeyfeet's more reflective side, his Skip James-esque drawl bringing an eerie quality to the lyrics about a doomed relationship. The band reshape the progression too, swinging the tune slowly and creating a little underground blues club in the midst of the recording.
Elsewhere the band go all New Orleanian on Colonel Hathi's Trunk Juice, a sinister tale inspired by trombonist Biff Roxby's horn riff recalling one of the elephants of The Jungle Book. Further showcasing their virtuosity, on one of the album's best moments - especially the nuanced vocal performance by Ríoghnach, who was raised on Irish folk - on Hunt and Gather the band do their own take on prog-folk, with a flute and cello melody running alongside a brass counterpoint.
Ríoghnach turns in another incredible vocal on the album's final track - future single Meet Me On The Corner. With a pounding beat, it is one of the album's main highlights. Guitar and brass propels Ríoghnach to sing lyrics that could be straight out of the playground, but suggest something deeper, possibly mystical even, in it's demands for a dalliance on the street. It closes the album on a high note, for a band who have that rare ability to distil all their disparate influences, while always sounding like their unique selves.
ORANGE WHIP heralds the sound of a remarkable band going overground.
The early 2000s were a time of upheaval for hip-hop. The underground and mainstream divide that had dened so much of the previous decade was showing the rst signs of irrelevance. Timbaland and The Neptunes made radio rappers sound futuristic while independent artists struggled in a quagmire of backpacks and misguided claims to keep it real. Away from this, in a misunderstood middle ground between hip-hop and electronic music, a new generation of artists were busy imagining a new sound for hip-hop.
One such artist was Scott Prefuse 73' Herren, whose perpendicular MPC chops on his 2001 debut for Warp Records set curious minds racing with possibilities. That same year Tadd Mullinix released his debut as Dabrye on Ghostly International, a sonic wildstyle that appealed to both hip-hop heads and IDM nerds. Sometime that same year Herren and Mullinix met after sharing a bill in Detroit. CD-Rs were exchanged and a year later Eastern Development, Herren's newly launched label, released Dabrye's Instrmntl, a short album with a big impact. On its fteenth anniversary Ghostly International is reissuing Instrmtl on vinyl and making it available digitally for the rst time.
Instrmntl is a continuation of the beat experiments Dabrye began with One/Three and a bridge to the diverse textures that would dene Two/Three four years later. About half of its nine tracks (ten if you lived in Japan) were created at the same time as One/Three while the rest were newer or made specically for the album. Once again Mullinix looked outside of hip-hop to techno, house, and drum & bass for stylistic and technical ideas while embracing the blissful minimalism of a good hip-hop instrumental and the rhythmic nuance of Detroit.
Despite the similarities between Dabrye's debut and this follow up, Mullinix didn't simply replicate what had made One/Three so arresting. He pushed and pulled further between the two cornerstones of his approach to reveal more potentials. Instrmntl takes you deeper into electronic depths — the rugged synth stutter of 'Won', the tumbling, wobbling bass in 'No Child Of God', the electro get down of 'Prospects (Marshall Law)' — while also treading more organic grounds by letting samples breathe and moods unfurl at a gentler pace ('Take Me Home', 'Evelyn', and 'You Know The Formula Right'). And then there are the moments where this push and pull nds balance and the result becomes more, as it does on the mournful march of 'D-Town Tabernacle Choir' and the twinkling daydream of 'This Is Where I Came In'.
At just over 30 minutes, Instrmntl offers a snapshot of a time when potentials seemed innite, when lines could be drawn between jazz, ragga jungle, techno, and hip-hop and the resulting shape divined an exciting future.
- Reissue of the out of print 2002 album, available for the rst time on Ghostly.
- Includes previously Japanese-only bonus track, Gimme Lowlands'
- Standard weight blue vinyl is housed in a matte jacket.
- Dabrye's beats are like Jay Dee getting crunked up with Autechre.' — Prefuse 73
Pillow Person is the new solo adventure from Sarah Jones who has previously made her name in showbiz from playing traps with the likes of Hot Chip et al. For her debut solo slab on Acid Waxa however, Pillow Person's catchy-as-owt digi-singles are given the remix treatment by 4 giants of modern darnce! Those being: Bogdan Raczynski (10 releases on Rephlex, 7 bad jokes, 4 mixes, 2 game soundtracks, 1 production with Bjork & 0 bad haircuts) Lechuga Zafiro (Co founder of Uruguyan, Afro-Latin label Salviatek) IYDES (aka London based badman Joe Brooks) and cellist/composer/producer Oliver Coates, who has collaborated with everyone from Leo Abrahams to Radiohead. 2 be filed (if you must) under: haus, Latin, klasical, phuture grime, jungle, electronic pop musique and so on!
- A1: Metriculation (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
- A2: Cracker (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
- A3: Peter Pan (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
- A4: Jungle Echo (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
- B1: La Snare (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
- B2: Game Show (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
- B3: Bells (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
- B4: Moscow Rules (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
- B5: Dinasaur (Feat. Matthew Bourne, Nostalgia 77 & Tim Giles)
Full UK Press by In House Press
Impossible ark international mailing list
Features Matthew Bourne (leaf label) on all synthesisers
Produced by Ben Lamdin / Nostalgia 77
A fully imersive radiophonic workshop experience fusing Jazz, inprovisation and studio electronics
2x12" Repress
Answer Code Request returns with his sophomore album Gens on Ostgut Ton, entering darker but equally bass-heavy territory.
Answer Code Request's 2014 debut LP Code was an exciting moment for electronic music in Berlin - one that offered a break from the eternal hall and monolithic 4/4 kicks that ruled the city's club landscape. As a hybrid gesture, the album's spirit recalled an especially fruitful era in the German capital from the mid-90s to early 2000s, when dub and paddriven Detroit techno cross-pollinated with Berlin's industrial aesthetic to create one of the city's most exciting musical chapters.
Today the musical vision offered by Berghain resident Answer Code Request, real name Patrick Gräser, has proved far-sighted. While at first glance electronic music in 2018 seems increasingly balkanized, borders between genres have once again become fuzzier.
Now, on his follow up LP Gens, Gräser looks beyond the bass euphoria of Code toward darker horizons and a desolate atmosphere befitting of current global circumstances.
In a sense, Gens (Latin for tribe or lineage) reverses the notion of the hardcore continuum as proposed by music journalist Simon Reynolds: embedded in a tradition of US andcontinental European techno, Gräser seeks its disruption through hardcore outgrowths, from ambient jungle to later variations of British bass music and IDM. It's an interesting twist when seen in the larger biographical context of Gräser who, born and raised outside of Berlin in early 1980s, jumped from East German youth radio DT64 to American hip-hop, acid and early UK hardcore - a radical shift of musical interest born of a radical shift in political circumstances. On Gens, the unsettling atmosphere is established early on with the fading rave opener of the album's synonymous title track, and continues through the scrambled military communications and post dubstep rhythms of 'Sphera'. From there, sci-fi pads, heavy phasing and alien syncopation lead explorative third track 'Ab Intus' out into space. Aglimmer of otherworldly positivity arrives with the warm, distorted breakbeats and interwoven synth melodies of album standout 'knbn2', while Gräser's most dancefloororiented melds jungle and techno, Amen and 4/4 kicks, on 'Cicadae'.
It's already been 5 years since the last Zombie Zombie album 'Rituels d'un Nouveau Monde', after which the group explored other territories by signing 2 film scores, namely 'Loubia Hamra' by Narimane Mari and 'Irréprochable' by Sébastien Marnier, as well as creating the music accompanying a contemporary circus show called 'Slow Futur' created by Martin Palisse and Elsa Guérin. Wouldn't these beautiful parentheses make you want to return to the sources After 10 years at Versatile Records, 2017 also marks the decade anniversary of the release of their first album 'A Land for Renegades' in 2007, at the time considered to be one of the 10 best albums of the year according to Rough Trade.
'Livity' - Zombie Zombie's latest opus seems to plunge us deep into science fiction, with a cover designed by the mythic cartoonist Philippe Druillet, who is also the founder of the cult Métal Hurlant comic series. The title of the album is somewhat misleading, as one could mistakenly think of a certain dub record made at
the famous Island Records Compass Point studio in the Bahamas. For the uninitiated 'Livity' or 'Life force' is actually a Rastafarian spiritual concept based on the idea that an energy exists within, and flows through, all people and all living things. The record was recorded last winter in Paris, in a very short time frame. 7 tracks played live in 7 days, by Etienne Jaumet (synthesizers / rhythm box / metallophone / sax), Cosmic Neman (drums / vocals / sound effects), and Dr. Schonberg (percussion / electronics / trumpet), recorded at the Red Bull Studios by Thibaut Javoy and Jerome Caron, 2 very competent engineers. To keep it in the family, the album was then mixed by another member of the Versatile stable, the mysterious and legendary DJ/producer I:Cube, done in the label's Victor Studio.
On this album the principles that are dear to the group rest being respected, still as far away as always from the standards of 'radio play', A living kind of music, composed of long instrumental moments recorded with analog synthesizers and drum machines, accompanied by drums and percussion. But I:Cube's touch may bring the unique energy that one may find at Zombie Zombie's concerts; on certain cuts like title track 'Livity' that the group recorded in Laos, a wild combination of 808 kick drums and bewitching jungle sounds that sound quite unlike anything else out there, and especially on 'Hippocampe', which gives the impression of hearing an old school hip hop rhythm with the power of a metal band who have replaced their guitars with an army of synthesizers: we recommend you listen to this particular track in a convertible while speeding down the highway.
As with all of Zombie Zombie's music the cinematic component is still strong, on titles like 'Ils existent..' 'Acera' which was originally composed for ciné-concerts accompanying the films of Jean Painlevé et Maurice Pialat. The energy of the beginning is still very present, as is - of course - the kraut inspiration. But it's also an album that takes new directions and sonic risks, like on 'Looose', which brings to mind the Art Ensemble of Chicago, or the groove of James Chance in New York in the early 1980's, featuring the free sax solos of Etienne Jaumet and Dr. Schonberg on the trumpet. The group also offers some slower and calmer titles, like 'Heavy Meditation' as well as exploring more experimental tracks in the line of French 70's groups such as Lard Free or Richard Pinhas, for example on the bonus track 'Black Moon'.
Please - Take your time, and enjoy listening!
SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION X 300 WITH BONUS 7 :
Limited special edition with the 7" containing the track "Lune noire", in 2 parts - one per side.
It's already been 5 years since the last Zombie Zombie album 'Rituels d'un Nouveau Monde', after which the group explored other territories by signing 2 film scores, namely 'Loubia Hamra' by Narimane Mari and 'Irréprochable' by Sébastien Marnier, as well as creating the music accompanying a contemporary circus show called 'Slow Futur' created by Martin Palisse and Elsa Guérin. Wouldn't these beautiful parentheses make you want to return to the sources After 10 years at Versatile Records, 2017 also marks the decade anniversary of the release of their first album 'A Land for Renegades' in 2007, at the time considered to be one of the 10 best albums of the year according to Rough Trade.
'Livity' - Zombie Zombie's latest opus seems to plunge us deep into science fiction, with a cover designed by the mythic cartoonist Philippe Druillet, who is also the founder of the cult Métal Hurlant comic series. The title of the album is somewhat misleading, as one could mistakenly think of a certain dub record made at
the famous Island Records Compass Point studio in the Bahamas. For the uninitiated 'Livity' or 'Life force' is actually a Rastafarian spiritual concept based on the idea that an energy exists within, and flows through, all people and all living things. The record was recorded last winter in Paris, in a very short time frame. 7 tracks played live in 7 days, by Etienne Jaumet (synthesizers / rhythm box / metallophone / sax), Cosmic Neman (drums / vocals / sound effects), and Dr. Schonberg (percussion / electronics / trumpet), recorded at the Red Bull Studios by Thibaut Javoy and Jerome Caron, 2 very competent engineers. To keep it in the family, the album was then mixed by another member of the Versatile stable, the mysterious and legendary DJ/producer I:Cube, done in the label's Victor Studio.
On this album the principles that are dear to the group rest being respected, still as far away as always from the standards of 'radio play', A living kind of music, composed of long instrumental moments recorded with analog synthesizers and drum machines, accompanied by drums and percussion. But I:Cube's touch may bring the unique energy that one may find at Zombie Zombie's concerts; on certain cuts like title track 'Livity' that the group recorded in Laos, a wild combination of 808 kick drums and bewitching jungle sounds that sound quite unlike anything else out there, and especially on 'Hippocampe', which gives the impression of hearing an old school hip hop rhythm with the power of a metal band who have replaced their guitars with an army of synthesizers: we recommend you listen to this particular track in a convertible while speeding down the highway.
As with all of Zombie Zombie's music the cinematic component is still strong, on titles like 'Ils existent..' 'Acera' which was originally composed for ciné-concerts accompanying the films of Jean Painlevé et Maurice Pialat. The energy of the beginning is still very present, as is - of course - the kraut inspiration. But it's also an album that takes new directions and sonic risks, like on 'Looose', which brings to mind the Art Ensemble of Chicago, or the groove of James Chance in New York in the early 1980's, featuring the free sax solos of Etienne Jaumet and Dr. Schonberg on the trumpet. The group also offers some slower and calmer titles, like 'Heavy Meditation' as well as exploring more experimental tracks in the line of French 70's groups such as Lard Free or Richard Pinhas, for example on the bonus track 'Black Moon'.
Please - Take your time, and enjoy listening!
Much may have changed over a two-decade period, but Drumcode's commitment to releasing the scene's most cutting-edge and refined techno remains resolute. 2016 saw releases from heavy hitters such as Adam Beyer, Alan Fitzpatrick, Dense & Pika, Sam Paganini and Joseph Capriati, as well as a much coveted Moby remix package. The label pushes forwards again in 2017; bringing fail-safe, club-ready music to the techno community. 2016 was a standout year for Alan Fitzpatrick, with the Drumcode stalwart racing out of the gates in spectacular fashion with the release of his fabric 87 mix. A substantial amount of high profile shows followed, including appearing at the inaugural Junction 2 festival and closing the car park to a packed-to-the-rafterscrowd at Drumcode Halloween.
He returns to Drumcode with 'Brian's Proper Dun One', marking his first appearance on the label since late 2016 when he remixed Moby's seminal 'Porcelain'. The release opens with 'Brian's Proper Dun One', a track which caused a Twitter meltdown on Alan's profile when he first started playing it at the tail end of 2016. Loaded with sharp and pounding drums, this is an ethereal experience from start to finish and packs a real punch. It's a no holds barred, certified main room anthem. 'Wait A Second' feat. mc r1bbz has been a staple of Adam Beyer's sets of late and has been getting a lot of air time on Drumcode Radio.
This rave inspired track takes a raw, stripped back approach and delivers a real killer blow. Alan sampled the vocals of mc r1bbz from an LTJ Bukem tape pack from the early 90s and the record tips its cap to early jungle raves around the M25.
The release closes with 'Trance, Init'; A homage to Alan's days first and foremost as a raver before he became a DJ, with his non-purist attitude when it comes to electronic music shining through. The breakdown is sure to be a hands in the air moment at festivals all over the globe this summer.
The one and only Joey Beltram delivers a remix of Jungle Love with a techno electrifying spinoff complete with strong drum basslines and favoured by the industry's best.
Techno - Matt Sassari gets deeper and darker than ever in this classic techno must have.
Audio KoDe is a beast calling to the signatory sound of De-Noize with driving techno, heavy drums and bass, and raw heart-stopping beats that have appealed to Richie Hawtin and the likes.Additional PR info to follow.
All tracks promoted through Press N Play distribution and Strikeforce Media, along with RuntheScene PR (Brooklyn, NY) and radio play across Europe. Tracks also featured within DJ Charts on Beatport and Traxsource.
Joey Beltram's Remix reached Beatport's Top charts at #47 and stayed there for almost a month, boosting both Audio KoDe and De-Noize Records. Support from Joseph Capriati, Richie Hawtin, Marco Carola, Danny Tenaglia, Paco Osuna, MonkiDJ, DMC WorldMagazine and plenty more!!
Matt Sassari's track met with early success reaching #29 on Beatport's Top 100 in techno and climbed to #19 Traxsource's chart, staying there for over a month. Support From Richie Hawtin, Romanolito, Marco Carola, Paco Osuna, Joseph Capriati, Skober, Hollen, DFormation and more..
Richie Hawtin played this track on his livestream several times and at Space Ibiza Opening party during Hawtin's ENTER Event. This was followed by plays by notable DJS during the summer festivals and numerous related tweets to Richie Hawtin and tons of support by his followers.
Track fully supported by more including Skober, Hollen, DubFire, Dj Boris, Danny Tenaglia, Nicole Moudaber, Tocadisco, Mark Antonio, Meat Katie, Anderson Noise, Angy Kore, Tom Laws, Tiga and more.
* Includes a DIN A2long poster inside the 12" sleeve with edition number and music download code
* Rogue Style 1 EP is an international homage to b-boy culture, where the worlds of breakbeat music and breakdance collide. Sinistarr (USA), Kiat (Singapore), Kabuki (Germany) and HomeSick (Canada) are connected in many ways, now they lay bare their hip-hop roots and give something back with a fresh take through the eyes of drum & bass and juke/footwork. Here is what they have to say:
Sinistarr: "As a teenager I grew up as a b-boy, dancing anywhere I could: schools, parks, festivals, you name it, my crew was there with cardboard and a speaker. I eventually got deeper into DJing and making music and learned to bring a sound that's not just for the crowds and the purists, but also for all the dancers!"
Kiat: "Hip Hop has taught me to keep evolving, to explore new forms in all my art. Progression is the key to evolution. -- I met Sinistarr online thru myspace and we had a musical connection which led to our first collaboration 'Black Diamonds' which is still one of my personal favourite tunes I've been fortunate to be part of it's creation. With Kabuki, i've always been a fan of his work since his 'Makai' alias on No U-Turn, despite meeting him only recently thru the label.I've always known him to be constantly progressing his ideas in his music which I respect alot."
Kabuki: "B-boy culture has always been a strong influence on how I pursued my art, mainly because of its DIY ethos and attitude of perfecting your craft. Incidentally these were also the aspects that drew me to Jungle when I first discovered it in the nineties. -- I'm happy to rub shoulders with Kiat, Sinistarr and HomeSick on this release, as I'm a fan of their music foremost, but also because we became friends through the music."
HomeSick: "I was only a child in the 90s and as a result I feel like my understanding of b-boy culture was experienced second hand thanks to 90s/early 2000s hip hop music. I appreciate the parallels I can see with footwork culture, particularly the similarities to the community mentality of break dancing. -- I know Sinistarr through booking him for our local party night in Alberta, Canada called Percolate. Our city must have left an impression on him because a year later he made the move here from Detroit. Had the pleasure of hosting him as a room mate for a little over half a year, the home was a very potent creative space during this time. Kabuki hit me up a few years ago and we very quickly got to sharing tracks and collaborating together. Mans a master of production and a super important part of the global scene."
The idea for a reminiscence of b-boy culture stem from label owner Booga:
"Why am I interested in this so much I grew up in East Germany and as the movie "Beat Street" premiered in 1985 over here I was age 13 and blown away by the energy, the music, the wit, the style - everything in this movie was better than everyday life in Leipzig. So I started saving for a cassette recorder and taped music shows from West German radio and prepared tapes for school disco gigs to the hope somebody would do the "robot" to Arthur Baker "Breaker's Revenge". Unfortunately that never worked out hahaha. But I was hooked since then and as the wall came down in 1989 I travelled to West Berlin just to buy the Beats, Breaks and Scratches 1-4 vinyl box by Simon Harris. The fascination for breakbeats never stopped and before I discovered Jungle around '94 I was down with the British cut up house thing from the likes of Marrs, Krush and Coldcut as another form of breakbeat music. The "do it yourself" spirit from hip hop culture inspired me to start a local website called breaks.org in 2000 to locally promote the drum and bass scene with emerging producers, djs and mcs for a wider audience and I threw in some interviews with Storm, Kabuki, Rob Playford, Klute and John B. That turnt into a multi author blog called itsyours.info in 2004 which still exists - that is where I had the pleasure to introduce Kiat and Ash in 2007. All these years I was listening and playing drum and bass tunes when the occasional "bboy tune" came up, some were obvious like Alex Reece "B-Boy Flavour", Lemon D "B Boyz", Commix "Change" and some were not so much self-explanatory like Digital & Spirits "Phantom Force" and the remixes by T-Power & Codeine or Fracture's Astrophonica Edit - but I felt the hidden force of breakdancing nevertheless. With the Rogue Style series I have the first class opportunity to ask established and new Defrostatica artists to present a current interpretation of b-boy culture. This is a dream coming true."
Trani has been representing the Detroit sound in Italy for some years now, with releases on Minimal Soul Recordings, as well as his own Pushmaster Discs (a label that has also hosted the likes of Ilario Alicante, Myles Sergé and Percyl). His latest outing will be his first full-length, an album inspired space travel, that continues to push Detroit sounds, as well as venturing into some jungle rhythms.
DJ FEEDBACK
early support from
Jeff Mills: I like the Alien Pattern Track!
Robert Hood: nice tracks from Mattia.
Dimi Angelis: Like this! Thanks!
Marcel Dettmann: Thanks.
Thomas Hessler / IMF: Nice one! Thank you!
Darko Esser aka Tripeo: Excellent album, right up my alley!
John Heckle: Thanks, some stuff I really like on here.
Marco Zenker: Sounds really dope! Thank you.
Jonas Kopp: Great stuff, will check carefully! Thanks.
Ben Sims: Plenty of great moments here, nice to hear some Detroit/real techno flavours on an album. Thanks!
Milton Bradley: Very nice tracks, 'Traffic 2 Traffic' is my fav.
Truncate: Downloading, thanks.
Donor: Really looking forward to giving this a good listen after download. Thanks.
Marcelus: Wow that's pretty... Very nice one, great tracks and the all thing makes sense, congratz!
Ben Gibson: Looking forward to having a proper listen to this.
Zadig: Really into electro stuff here, and 'Alien Pattern' is also great. Thanks.
Radio Slave: Great sounds here.




















