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Having recently appeared on Bosconi Records and Altzmusica, Daisuke Kondo is a producer on the rise at present. This outing on Vibraphone adds fuel to that particular fire with four distinctive cuts that push to the outer edges of house music without losing sight of the groove. "Hold On To Love" is, on the surface, an upbeat, disco-infused house jam, but there's a certain trippy approach Kondo takes in the processing department that edges the music into a different head space. "Life" meanwhile gets gritty and bass heavy at one end of the frequency range, and airy and melodic at the other. "Feelin Blue" gets even dustier and scratchier with its sample treatment, and then "Fallen Star" lays down some unflinching machine beats with wonky, distant piano licks.

The Afro-Funk side of the Latin Soul maestro!

Born in Gao (Mali), Boncana Maïga is one of the most talented and popular producer of West-African music since the 60's. He studied flute and Latin arrangements in Cuba during the 60's and founded the famous Les Maravillas du Mali' in 1968.

He became orchestra leader for the national Ivorian TV in Abidjan in the mid-seventies, and toured all over the world with the famous Africando band. During his recording sessions in NYC at the beginning of the 80's with a lot of Latin musicians' from Puerto Rico, Venezuela or Colombia, Boncana Maïga also recorded few rare Funky tracks with heavy breaks!

With the artist, we decided to reissue four rare tracks from 1978 to 1982 dedicated to dancefloor, including a really rare soundtrack for the oil company of Ivory Coast called Petroci'.

In 2018, he'll be back on tour with Les Maravillas du Mali', still have a weekly TV show on TV5 Monde and with this reissue will continue to warm your Afro-Funk parties!

Fully licensed, 12inch vinyl (45 RPM) including interview. Remastered by The Carvery!

Justin Chapman (half of the Kemeticjust duo) is back with 'Stay My Way', his first release on Visions Recordings.

Inspired by a distant collaboration with Alex Attias, the Soul Original version features Chapman's signature vocal harmonies floating over Latin influenced house rhythm and melody to provide the motivation for feet and hips.

The Just One Remix pushes things into the realm of Broken beats with a hard swing on the drums, and a deep and jazzy bass walk that gives edge to the keys and vox melodies. Classic Just One here!Justin has produced records for Neroli, RushHOur, Sonar Kollektiv and some collaboration with Recloose for Planet E and Deetron for Music Man .

This single for Visions is a long overdue collaboration with an artist we wanted to work with since 2001 when Visions was based in London, so you can imagine how excited we are to take Justin on board and release this single.

Fina Records strides into 2018 with another fresh new house EP, this time from PASO aka Pascal Pamme. Over the last few years this French artist has released on the likes of D.KO Records, Increase, and The Groove, and always showcases his knack for loose limbed, organic house grooves laden with jazzy keys and soul-infused synths. The four cuts he offers up here once again prove he is a producer with a truly authentic and musical style.

The warm and golden 'Idocracy' kicks things off with gently shuffling kicks, noodling chords and twinkling keys that together make for a perfectly cozy and intimate house track. 'Fuzy' is another perfectly louche and disheveled number with woody kicks stuttering beneath effusive Rhodes keys. Vinyl crackle and tinkling percussive sounds add to the immediately aged and lived in style of the track and mean it is one that will get smaller rooms well and truly involved.

On the flip, 'Limited Perception' ups the ante, with quicker drums decorated with more languid chords, plenty of smartly sampled sounds and a breezy sense of groove that is heartfelt and effortlessly feel good. Last of all, 'No Matter Where You're From' has great female vocals stitched into long-tailed pads as lazy, swaggering drums lay down a perfectly imperfect groove. It rounds out an EP of masterfully atmospheric house for those who like their beats with real feeling.

We are proud to announce the kick-off of a new Dynamic Reflections subseries: Dynamic Reflection LTD. A series that is set to explore a broad spectrum of electronic music, and aims to cross the barrier between the club floors and home listening. And to start in a proper fashion, we launch the LTD-series with a very special vinyl + full digital album package by Jonas Korbl.

Three years in the making, this anticipated album chronicles the musical, and in many ways, spiritual coming-of-age of Jonas Korbl. Having started producing house music at a very young age, this debut album under his birth name signifies a new direction for the young Dutchman. In these pieces you hear him shaking off the restraints of formulaic working, opting for more experimental paths instead. You could say Discovered 5 is a story about learning about music; An expression of the author's experience in broadening his horizons.

In the full release Korbl presents nine tracks with a sleek and undeniably dark aesthetic, taking you from ambient soundscapes to main room techno and back, touching down in Berlin and London along the way. Downtempo excursions comfortably rub shoulders with rough-and-tumble club destroyers, but as varied and idiosyncratic as the album is, the music feels far from contrived. Instead, the variation keeps you engaged, with the quieter moments acting as a counterweight to the pieces with a more straightforward approach. Somehow he manages to make all these different places and moods uniquely his own.

The most remarkable thing about this LP is Korbl's uncanny ability to take familiar elements and bending them to his will, creating a new context for the listener to experience his personal brand of electronic music in. The adventurous DJ will surely find a track to create that special dance floor moment on the vinyl release, containing four club-ready tracks. However, for the full experience the entire album is a must-listen, connecting the dots between the highlights placed on the physical LP. All in all, this debut bodes very well. With skills and experience beyond his years, Korbl's star is sure to only rise from here.

It's the big 5! Berlin - Frankfurt based label House Is OK is celebrating its five-year long presence and has decided to mark that period with something special Label's story started with a sticker Homeboy printed in his former hometown, Zagreb, saying 'House Is OK'. Catchy, right It became an underground slogan of the local scene. It didn't take long for people to embrace the idea stating that it's OK to be into melodic, fresh, groovy yet, at times, a bit awkward dance music. Just around the same time Homeboy's Frankfurt based bro's Oliver Achatz and Janis played with the idea of starting a record label. Guess what the logical choice for the name was Ten records, dozens of original songs and remixes later House is OK continues to grow. Literally. What was once a platform for the original three founders is now an international family affair supporting the talented artists from Frankfurt, Stockholm, Alexandria and Orlando. Nurturing the friendly approach this musical family continues to grow. Looking back at the first five years, not only at the music that connected them all but at the bonds that deepened through the production process, House is OK crew wanted to take create a proper reminder and thank the ones supporting them throughout the years. A double 12' pack titled 'Gemišt' seemed like a proper way to do that. - Gemišt' will be released as two separate EPs featuring the original music from Kornél Kovacs, Roman Flügel, Gavri & McQueen, TCB, House Of Life and the label makers themselves. Oliver and Janis deliver tracks under their known names, while Homeboy introduces his new project with fellow Wilde Renate resident The Swift, called Longhair. Croatian artist Ugruv Smek marks his yearlong collaboration with the label delivering yet another smashing artwork.

Mit "This Is London" veröffentlicht das Hamburger Label Tapete ein weiteres Schmuckstück aus seiner Reihe vergessener und nicht mehr erhältlicher Pop-Perlen. Ursprünglich kam "This Is London" 1983 als zweites Album der Band The Times auf den Markt. Kopf der Formation war der 1959 geborene Sänger und Bassist Edward Ball. Der gründete 1976 mit O-Level seine erste Gruppe, bevor er in seinem Schulfreund Daniel Treacy einen Geistesverwandten entdeckte. Gemeinsam gründeten sie die Bands Television Personalities und Teenage Filmstars. Ersterer stand Treacy vor, Letztere führte Ball an. Das Tandem hielt sich einige Jahre und ging dann in The Times auf. Zwischen 1982 und 86 veröffentlichten die Briten sechs LPs. Die beiden ersten Platten, "Pop Goes Art" und "This Is London",vancierten zu zwei Klassikern des ersten Mod-Revivals und machten The Times zur Kultband.

The second album by Istanbul's clarinet virtuoso Cüneyt Sepetçi is an intense trip into modern Turkish wedding and party music. The foundations go deep into Turkey and the surrounding regions' history, which each generation innovates and develops. These days, no wedding or circumcision party is complete without the sound of the micro-tonal keyboard. A new addition, these Turkish keyboardists can play between notes, and supply banging club rhythms in wide variety of time signatures.Sepetçi uses the bedrock of Volkan Sever's synth insanity as a jumping off point for some truly crazy solos. His fluttering sheets of notes tie knots around the pulsating, fried synthesizer. For this recording session, Sepetçi brought in two drummers, Fatih Özden (tapan) and Samet Sertol (darabouka), to play along with the Turkish drum machine. A dense nest of rhythmic complexity is the result. And to further connect to this music's rich past, the ancient double reed zurna of Ahmet Özden and Yasar Uçar's European violin weave ancient melodies and incredible solos throughout.
These musicians are some of the best in Istanbul, and all of these songs are first takes, recorded live with very little planning. Sepetçi essentially leads the band through these complex arrangements as they play them.In Istanbul, one may see Sepetçi playing for change on Istiklal Caddesi, the famous Turkish walking street at the center of the city. Or one may see him on one of the TV stations, playing Anatolian songs in his inimitable style. He's even begun touring outside of Turkey—at Denmark's Roskilde Festival, and at concerts in Italy, Beirut, and Israel. I want to go to America. He says. Do they have mosques there

After numerous concerts and performances throughout the last years, Summe 1 is Andreas O. Hirsch's first release on makiphon. The album concentrates on peculiar soundscapes and drony pieces, carefully inter- woven by means of pitched harmonicas, electric guitars, mini fans, de- lays and the electric palm leaf, an electroacoustic invention of the artist. The eight titles evoke a space somewhere between interstellar geography (Maxwell Mountains - a plateau on planet Venus), abstract physics (Teilchenbeschleuniger), botanical scenery and animality: Kemeri 5 am features nocturnal crane calls that Hirsch recorded on a bike trip in a swamp near Riga while he was busy with decoding bird messages via morse code. Opossum Pravda is dedicated to the tenacious marsupial that likes to wander around at night and which is able to hang from trees by its tail. Kautschukwaage seems to suggest an exotic setting and provides a link to the rubber bands which one hears resonating in the miniature.
Sleeve designed by the artist. 300 copies. Mastered by Joseph Suchy.

KosmoramaDisco Vol. 1 is the first of a series of compilations that KosmoramaDisco label wants to release from this year to the near future. The Vol. 1 shows a sampler of few of the first tracks produced by different electronic artists. The label presents a wide range of electronic styles all with a spaceship common ground, from Italo to Dark Disco and Slow Mo all wrapped in club dancing format

TERRANOVA kicks off 2018 with a bang with 'Cosmo EP' (KOM378). 4 top-notch tracks showcasing the strongest outings yet in his impressive back catalogue.
Following an excellent entry in our SPEICHER series with 'Speicher 94' (KOMPAKT EXTRA 94 - co-helmed by Reinhard Voigt), the much- acclaimed full length 'Restless' (KOMPAKT 327 CD 123) hit turntables two years ago, TERRANOVA aka Fetisch, the creative mind & producer behind the project he likes to describe as 'the deep space electric ark' has been in orbit since the release of 'Terranova DJ Kicks' (!K7) in 1997.
TERRANOVA* now returns to the spotlight with COSMO EP, a jacking four-tracker inspired by raw Chicago House, early NYC Electro , old school computers /A.I. and some very special analog &digital machines featuring 2 excellent collaborations with Milan based artists.

Opening track COSMOCHORD features the Italian DJ legend Flashmob. The result is a peak time monochord banger that takes both producers' extensive expertise in propelling dance floor cuts to new heights.
COSMOCODE feat VOLTAGUE intense psychedelic Techno again with peak time quality. LANGSAM is an elegant, driving example of classic dance floor electronica. A skilled combination of an 808 with an obscure vintage beatbox of eastern origin, an Oberheim OB8 and a 1970 Kunstkopf Mic Instructions mixed on the original Deutsche Grammophon 1950 Valve mixer. PERFECT HAPPINESS wraps up this action-packed release with some a twisted afro stomper lead by a drunk sounding computer bouncing on the mic.
*Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit

Inspired by a longstanding respect for the pioneering sounds of Cluster, Neu!, Harmonia & John Foxx, the legendary K. Leimer fuses tape loops, Moog tones and a variety of real and imagined instruments into an immersive journey brimming with electronic emotion throughout this homage, 'Mitteltöner.'

A key figure in America's musical avant garde, Leimer's experiments with tape manipulation, fractal loops and textured ambience have been well documented in recent times, with RVNG and VOD both offering excellent and exhaustive retrospectives of the artist's seventies and eighties output. Tracing Leimer's discography from 1979's 'Translucent: / Memory' to 1983's 'Installation View', via the dislocated rhythms of the Savant project, these archival releases detail a move from the pastoral synthesis of kosmische into more angular, experimental territories. Simultaneously looking to the past and the future, this Origin Peoples release is both a return to Leimer's earliest stylistic explorations, and his first vinyl release of original work in twenty five years.

Oddly for such a sonic outlier, 'Mitteltöner' (midrange to non teutophones) takes its conceptual cues from the idea that the midrange contains all the core information. Over ten tracks, Leimer employs subtlety and skill to navigate the emotional depth of the kosmische genre while maintaining the focus and detail which has remained constant in his work.

Opener 'Dunne Luft' owes as much to post rock as krautrock, evolving from chiming harmonics and understated rhythms into an optimistic roar of motorik percussion and towering guitars. From there, 'Webermelodie' dives into crystalline calm, tracing delicate arps around a processed groove before 'Anode' sends us skywards, drifting through glistening piano refrains and hypnotic sequences. Te dramatic 'As Long Ago As This' glides through a deserted city of metal and glass leaving the measured ambience of 'Entferntemusik ' to close out the side in a swell of static.

Leimer shifts tone as we move onto the flip, segueing the stomping, cybernetic Sturm Und Drang of 'German Defaults' into the propulsive electronics of 'London Interiors', a dynamic sample-topped suite in the tradition of Bill Nelson. The addition of graceful piano motifs and swathes of hazy synthesis lends a tranquillity to the pulsating bass of 'Auf Einem Fahrrad', while 'SHM' marries soothing melody and crunching rhythm into a thoroughly medicated experience. Finally, 'Café Florian' pays homage to Schneider or Fricke with a euphoric fusion of metallic percussion and esoteric energies.

Far from a simple homage to the electronic idols of his youth, 'Mitteltöner' finds K. Leimer reimagining their nuanced sonic framework through a lifetime of musical experience and experimentation.

If you're familiar with Public Release's sibling, FACE, a series of parties, you'll already know that Jee Day, né Dennis McNany, has been in the Bay Area label's orbit for some time; as half of the DFA act Museum of Love, he joined the inner circle years ago. Here, with Amot Herga Laxy, he makes his bold debut on Public Release itself.
The single begins with 'Crocodile Tears,' an abstract, impressionistic tapestry of African rhythms, meditative synth washes, Vangelis-esque horns and pads. It recedes and Jee Day plunges deeper into the jungle with 'Communication Masterbation,' a propulsive number built around a psychedelic, droney bass that's wrapped with gritty, distorted effects and layers of topline keyboard licks stacked high. A raw club track cut from transcendentalist cloth that'll lift you off the dance floor.
The B-side is a dub of 'Communication Masterbation,' with an emphasis being placed on pulling out, unraveling, extending the rhythmic elements and emphasizing the electronic veil the piece is shrouded in. A trancey, menacing sprawl that could be an extended Sonic Youth live jam if they swapped their stringed instruments for Roland and Korg gear—and dusted the whole thing in an unknown psychoactive slime.

Nach zwei ausverkauften 7inch Singles, Festivalauftritten auf so ziemlich jedem namhaften deutschen Musikfestival und Opener-Slots für Bands wie Balthazar, Future Islands oder Battles veröffentlicht das Kölner Quartet Xul Zolar mit - Fear Talk am 19.01.2018 seine Debut LP

auf dem von der Band mit-gegründeten Label Asmara Records. Um diese Vision in die Realität umzusetzen hat sich die Band sowohl mit dem Kölner Produzenten Marvin Horsch (Woman, Keshavara) zusammengetan, als auch die Besetzung mit Dennis Enyan zum Quartett erweitert.

Vielleicht ist es kein Zufall, dass die Musik auf Fear Talk, dem Debütalbum der Kölner Band Xul Zolar eine gewisse malerische Qualität aufweist. Immerhin hat sich die Band nach einem Maler aus dem 20. Jahrhundert benannt, dem Argentinier Xul Solar (mit bürgerlichem Namen Oscar Agustín Alexander Schulz Solari).
Genau wie die Bilder der Impressionisten vermittelt ihre Musik ein Gefühl der Nostalgie und Unmittelbarkeit und versprüht eine Aura, die man romantisch nennen könnte. Trotz der deutlich hörbaren Einflüsse von Künstlern wie The Smiths, Talking Heads oder sogar Phil Collins, ist Fear Talk - das vom visionären Kölner Produzenten Marvin Horsch aufgenommen wurde - ein Album auf der Höhe der Zeit, wie der Einsatz stark prozessierter Vocals, an frühen Dubstep erinnernde Sub-Kick Samples und von Electronica beeinflussten Clicks-and-Cuts belegt. Das Alte wird verbogen, verformt und in etwas völlig Neues verwandelt.
Textlich kreist das Album um persönliche Themen wie Liebe und Verlust, wenngleich auf höchst abstrakte und metaphorische Weise. Doch das Persönliche ist immer schon politisch und findet niemals in Isolation des Individuums von seiner Umgebung statt. Dies spiegelt sich auch im Titel des Albums, Fear Talk, wieder, der sowohl als Anspielung auf die wachsende Unsicherheit einer Generation verstanden werden kann, als auch als Kommentar zu der weltweit um sich greifenden Panikmache durch Populisten und Demagogen, die der Zeit, in der Fear Talk entstanden ist, ihren düsteren Stempel aufgedrückt hat.
Fear Talk wurde im Sommer und Herbst 2016 von Marvin Horsch (Woman, Keshavara) im Gottesweg, Köln aufgenommen und produziert. Gemischt wurde das Album von Marius Bubat (Coma) und Jan-Philipp Janzen (Von Spar, Cologne Tape), gemastered von Robin Schmidt. Die Album PR übernimmt Nordic By Nature, Berlin. Das erste Video wird premiert von Intro.de.

"Happy Freedom Tour 2017
präsentiert von INTRO, DIFFUS Magazin & Musikbox
24.11.17 Köln, Arthefter
01.12.17 Essen, Hotel Shanghai
05.12.17 Hamburg, Über & gefährlich
06.12.17 Berlin, Kantine am Berghain
07.12.17 Leipzig, Kulturzentrum So&So
08.12.17 Stuttgart, Kellerclub
09.12.17 Frankfurt am Main, Lotte Lindenberg
Tour 2018 TBA

Alan Abrahams aka Portable aka Bodycode is an artist very much defined by his past and his journey from South Africa to Paris via Berlin and Lisbon has seen him develop into a critically acclaimed producer, singer and video artist working with some of the biggest players in house and techno.Part of his constant drive to evolve and challenge himself, this autumn Abrahams launches new project RANGEr, teaming up with London label Waella's Choice for the debut release. The five tracks on Portable Presents RANGEr are a delicate mélange of jazz , soul and electronic and one of Abraham's most explicit nods to his South African roots.
On the A-side, the EP makes a steady start with 'Bazokonwaba' accompanied by a lullaby from South African a capella group Korus, hailing from the small township of Mbekweni in the Western Cape. They also feature heavily on the EP's most exuberant moment in 'Nomaliso' - already a favourite in Esa's recent Boiler Room - and the more languid B-side opener 'Indaba' with a choir of cowbells all harmonizing in unison. 'Reset' and 'Vessel' provide a self-reflective conclusion to the EP, holding their own as instrumentals with Cameroonian bass player Stan on bass and Parisian saxophonist Chisneg lending a hand on the latter. Early support from Tama Sumo, Lakuti, Gilles Peterson, Rinse FM, Esa, Stamp The Wax, Dimensions Recordings

Villa Åbo in the alternative solo project of Swedish musician and Villa Åbo in the alternative solo project of Swedish musician and producer Jan Svensson, who has been making electronic music for the better part of 30 years as the artist behind such aliases as Frak, Studio SS and Alvars Orkestra. Svensson also runs legendary Swedish dance and experimental music label Börft, the product of a mutual appreciation for Severed Heads and Terse Tapes. As Villa Åbo he released two records in 1997 on Börft and remained inactive for 17 years until the Dutch label Bio Rhythm coaxed him into revisiting the project and released a double 12 in 2014. Jan has since followed with a steady stream of 12' singles for Kontra-Musik, Noise In My Head and Radio Lundberg. 'Magnetic Moves' is Villa Åbo's debut album, originally released inan limited edition of 65 hand-numbered cassettes by Funeral Fog in 2016. Clocking in at over 46 minutes, this first-ever vinyl edition spreads the 8 ragged techno tracks across four sides for maximum loudness. Some songs are aggressively potent, with cyclical synth riffs and razor-sharp acid lines riding a heavy, funk-fuelled techno groove. Others tracks are more fluid, vintage Underground Resistance or Derrick May with killer drum machine workouts that come in handy as DJ tools. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is housed in a custom made jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, featuring a photograph of Jan's mother's house, the meaning behind 'Villa Åbo'. Each copy includes a double-sided postcard with notes.producer Jan Svensson, who has been making electronic music for the better part of 30 years as the artist behind such aliases as Frak, Studio SS and Alvars Orkestra. Svensson also runs legendary Swedish dance and experimental music label Börft, the product of a mutual appreciation for Severed Heads and Terse Tapes. As Villa Åbo he released two records in 1997 on Börft and remained inactive for 17 years until the Dutch label Bio Rhythm coaxed him into revisiting the project and released a double 12 in 2014. Jan has since followed with a steady stream of 12' singles for Kontra-Musik, Noise In My Head and Radio Lundberg.'Magnetic Moves' is Villa Åbo's debut album, originally released in an limited edition of 65 hand-numbered cassettes by Funeral Fog in 2016. Clocking in atover 46 minutes, this first-ever vinyl edition spreads the 8 rgged techno tracks across four sides for maximum loudness. Soe songs are aggressively potent, with cyclical synth riffs and razor-harp acid lines riding a heavy, funk-fuelled techno groove. Others tracks are more fluid, vintage Underground Resistance or Derrick May with killer drum machine workouts that come in handy as DJ tools. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is housed in a custom made jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, featuring a photograph of Jan's mother's house, the meaning behind 'Villa Åbo'. Each copy includes a double-sided postcard with notes.

Nested Structure is the first Great Circles release from artists outside of Philadelphia. THRIVE are Tetsuya Yoshida and Hitoshi Kojima. They both grew up in the North Kanto area of Japan. They first met at the club run by Tetsuya Yoshida called SOUND A BASE NEST, which is known as having the best sound system in the North Kanto area. In 2007, the duo started their DJ / Producing unit THRIVE. Previous releases have included a split 12' with Keia Yano for Japanese label Struct, and recent solo releases by Hitoshi for Always Human Tapes and for his own label Ambivalent Deviation. This record almost didn't happen! --- Tetsuya and Hitoshi were picking up Great Circles records in Japan and, having periodically communicated with each other about music, they sent us the Struct 12' to check out. While
cleaning out the back of the car a few months later, the presumably empty record mailer was about to land in
the recycle bin when we fortunately discovered a demo CD of unreleased THRIVE material inside. We drove
around listening to it and week later we agreed to release a 12'. The music on the Nested Structure 12' is dark, foreboding, even outwardly threatening. It's hypnotic, textural and rhythmically complex.

Rat Life Records presents Serial Error a Project by Credit 00, Jacob Korn & Sneaker. This outfit was brought to life in 2013 when Red D called for some New Beat style tracks for his "Our Beat Is Still New" Compilation. Flying a bit too low under the radar ever since Rat Life decided to reissue Drum Abuse on a Super Sound Maxi Single. The Track was made in Jacob Korn's headquarter studio / synthesizer museum. The task distribution was hit quickly: Jacob squeezing the acid out of his huge Formant modular system, Credit 00 beating the drums on the Boss DR 660 and Sneaker throwing his unique vocals on top!

'Afro Rock Vol. 1' is one of the most important compilations of heavy original '70s Afro funk and soul to be released in recent years. Originally surfacing on Duncan Brooker's indie Kona label in early 2001, the album single-handedly kick-started the thirst among jazz, funk and soul fans and 'diggers' to rediscover lost music from Africa made during the '60s and '70s from a time when many countries were gaining independence and celebrating a Pan-African identity within their music. The album was one of the first to reach a far different audience to the traditional 'world music' market and spawned many further projects and labels in its wake. A year later, the 'Nigeria 70' compilation surfaced on Strut and labels like Soundway and Analog Africa would continue to unearth amazing lost gems from the Motherland.The album is testament to the determined work of Brooker following several research trips, especially to East Africa - Kenya and Zaire. It brought to light East Africa's finest funk band, Air Fiesta Matata, led by the recently deceased Steele Beautttah, 'The Nigerian James Brown' Geraldo Pino from Port Harcourt in Nigeria, and the storming Afro jam 'Yuda' by Dackin Dackino, a previously unreleased gem from Zaire discovered on a discarded reel. The album has remained influential since its release with tracks appearing on other Afro compilations and on TV and the big screen - Jingo's 'Fever' featured in Kevin McDonald's 2006 hit film, 'Last King Of Scotland'.Out of print since 2015, the album is being reissued on Strut in its original form with the extra dynamite unreleased psychedelic cut by Kenya's Ishmael Jingo, 'Keep On Holding On' taken from the original master tape. The package features the original sleeve notes by Duncan Brooker along with new additional notes providing further background to the album and tracks.

Mother of Mars is the latest evolution of Vito & Druzzi, two New Yorkers who have provided the 21st century with some of its most innovative dance music. The duo first came to fame as the rhythmic backbone of The Rapture, NYC pioneers who found global fame with their angular post-punk and howling disco. Since then Vito & Druzzi have had a prolific career as remixers and producers, producing leftfield disco killers for a range of labels including Warp and Throne of Blood. Seed 2 Sky - their first release as Mother of Mars - sees the duo fuse live krautrock drums with pulsating synth loops, creating two epics of space and rhythm that owe a debt to '70s kosmische pioneers like Tangerine Dream.

As Huntleys + Palmers events has drawn to a close, 2018 will see a big focus in releasing some brilliant new music and introducing some amazing new artists. First up is Wheelman - straight out of Glasgow and fresh off the back of his debut for our Studio Barnhus buddies. To our shame, it took a Kornel Kovacs trip to Rubadub to bring to our attention a real talent who was under our now the whole time! He'd even been to a bunch of our parties and we'd never made the connection..Righting this wrong, we promptly hit him up for music to include on a 'Clyde Built' compilation and they were so good, we designated the bulk of these tracks to this release - 5 absolute BELTERS!

Nach der "Komfortzone" kommt was "Plaste", und damit die nächste EP der drei ambitionierten Jazzmusiker, die sich Komfortrauschen nennen, elektroakustische Tanzmusik spielen und manchmal eher wie ein DJ als eine Band klingen. Das heißt: Hier wird mit der klassischen Rock-Besetzung aus Gitarre, Bass und Schlagzeug verspielter, eingängiger und tiefenentspannter Techno mit Open-Air-Spirit zu Gehör gebracht. Folgerichtig passen - wie auch bereits beim Vorgänger - die fünf neuen Tracks gleichwohl in dunkle Kellerclubs sowie auf sonnenbeschienene Festivalbühnen: "Plaste" bietet Mensch-Maschinen-Musik, die sowohl zum einfachen Zuhören als auch ausgelassenen Tanzen anregt.

A kind of intimate scrapbook of the startling collaboration between the techno maestro and this long-standing musical collective based in Bishkek, devoted to the roots music of Kyrgyzstan. Loose-leaved but balanced, lucid and intimate, it sets out from stunning a cappella and virtuosic komuz and kylak, mouth harp and traditional percussion: not field, but expert studio recordings, using marvellous vintage microphones, made over several days in Berlin. Further, a few of these are deftly treated by Moritz, using Reichian de-synced double-tracking, and discreet effects. Also two ten-minute dubs: a deadly, signature Berlin steppers, plus its version; and an echoing, mystical drum session, recorded live on stage in Bishkek. And a side-long, dream-like summation: the locomotive, oceanic, clangorous, dread Facets. Ravishing, rooted, searching music; beautifully presented.

Buenos Aires-based imprint Unlock Recordings release the fourth instalment of their 'Collaborations' series featuring cuts from Ryan Crosson, Jonas Kopp, Guti From Downstairs and more.The stripped back aesthetic of previous 'Collaborations' vinyl-only releases have garnered some heavyweight support from the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Sonja Moonear, Raresh and Laurent Garnier, to name a few. Gonzalo Solimano's label now returns once again, showcasing some of Argentina's most exciting talent alongside other distinguished names from the scene - further establishing Unlock Recordings' reputation for delivering high quality, jazz and dub-infused house and techno.

Like a message in a bottle, carried round by the ocean streams for decades, Henrik Rylander's album 'Fran En Obestamd Plats I Rummet' has floated around in the space of Swedish underground music. Hoga Nord pulls the cork and unfolds the message that is a piece of music that was ahead of its time, sounding 'now' 20 years after its first release in the late nineties. This album is a well-kept secret even for the most initiated music lovers in Sweden! The music, influenced by Flying Saucer Attack and other reverb/distortion drenched acts from the early nineties, Harmonia and some of Kraftwerks earlier works and minimalism, still sounds fresh!

Rylander, a member of legendary acts such as Union Carbide Productions and The Skull Defekts, has been pushing the envelope for electronic music, varying between ambient and noise. Rylander's solo works could be described as sophisticated music and 'Fran En Obestamd Plats I Rummet' combines the sophisticated sides with his band oriented works that holds another kind of tension.

This record is the first release on the sub label 'Hoga Nord Arkiv' on which releases from the past, that hasn't got as much attention they deserve gets re-released in an appropriate context.

Neue EP des Electronic Duos Emptyset, bestehend aus James Ginzburg und Paul Purgas, auf dem Chicagoer Kultlabel Thrill Jockey. Die Beiden loten mit jedem Release die Grenzen des Machbaren aus und experimentieren mit minimalistischen Ansätzen und kreieren gänzlich ungewöhnliche viszeral-raue wie auch hypnotisch-rhythmische Klangwelten. Emptyset waren bereits Teil diverser Kunstprojekte, zum Beispiel der Architecture Foundation Installation im Ambika P3 Raum, in der Nähe der Londoner Baker Street, oder dem Tate Britain's Performing Architecture Programme, in dessen Rahmen sie gemeinsam mit dem Konzept-Künstler Cevdet Erek die Installation Spike Island realisierten, welche im Londoner Victoria and Albert Museum zu sehen war. Eine überaus ungewöhnliche Performance lieferte die Band auch letztes Jahr in Berlin, als sie live während der Show Signale via Radiowellen einmal 1000km durch due Ionosphäre nach Frankreich und zurück schickten und inklusive der dadurch entstehenden Einflüsse auf den Klang in den Auftritt integrierten.

Re-issued again, with new liner notes. A wonderful, rare record wrapped in a mysterious yet playful ambiance. Or maybe it's just the impression that the Japanese language often gives me. ''Suiren'' is an odd jazz-fusion-wave tune that sounds like its boiling, waiting to burst but somehow manages to stay in control. Like the nervous tick of a leg fidgeting under the table of a restaurant on a first date. Yasuaki Shimizu is a Japanese composer, producer and saxophone player born in 1954. He worked with Ryuchi Sakimoto on certain arrangements, with the South Korean artist Nam June Paik on art+sound installation pieces and even DJ Towa Tei (of Deee-Lite fame). ''Suiren'' was released in 1981 and is the opening title on the sought-after ''Kakashi'' album and is my personal favorite on this overall brilliant record. It weaves behind new wave, jazz, fusion, ambient and experimental music.Repetitive and hypnotizing, punctuated by exclamation marks on most first mesures, the muted triangle percussion hits me straight in the heart. About 90 seconds into the song, the saxophone makes its appearance and the song goes from ''this is cute'' to ''oh, this is some serious shit!''. Shimizu's saxophone frees the song from the rest of the elements which are more calculated and repetitive.A joyful, mysterious slow-moving train ride led by the artist's mellow voice that rocks us with this calming but funky lullaby. Every phrase is punctuated by the xylophone there to energize the piece, albeit very subtely.

* 2017 year marks TEN YEARS OF INTEGRAL RECORDS and looking back upon the label's incredible back catalogue, what a decade it has been for drum & bass music that we hold so close.

* Initially set up as a passion project and a platform for showcasing future talent, the label has been consistently releasing cutting edge drum and bass since 2007. The ethos of the label has always been about quality control and finding those special vibes that no question capture heart and soul. Honing their unique musical language, selections are carefully handpicked by head honchos Artificial Intelligence and more recently in collaboration with label manager Emma G that fit with the forward thinking, original spirit we know as Integral.

* Now 40-odd releases deep and renowned for breaking some of the most exciting artists on the roster today, the label also boasts signature classics from some of the scenes most prolific residents. Names include the likes of Lenzman, Lomax (one half of Loadstar), Alix Perez, Calibre, System, Zero T, Technicolour & Komatic (Technimatic), LSB, Steo, Dawn Wall, Mohican Sun, Phil Tangent, Satl and just recently, A.I. themselves.

* Celebrating the seminal journey thus far, a double album will mark this very special occasion. Part One will showcase a selection of the finest from over the years in a chronological journey of the label's sound (for digitial release.) A second curation will simultaneously launch across all formats of entirely new and most exclusive material to date, reinforcing Integral's place at the round table of bass.

* A perfect teaser for what's to follow, the Album Sampler will drop this November featuring two stunning tracks. First up, '1000 Souls' comes courtesty of A.I. - tones of the deep, lush and soulful set the sultriest of grooves. Beautifully moody keys entice, chill and soothe. On the flip, 'Defiance' from Mohican Sun follows suit. With a gritty percussive edge, haunting melodies and a desperately emotional vocal to boot, this music will draw you all into the most mesmerising of dancefloor spells.

* Mark November 24 as the official release of the TEN YEARS OF INTEGRAL Album Sampler across all formats. Bag your limited vinyl copy now.

Nordische Minimal Electronica, gefühlvoll instrumentiert. Inkl. Tale Of Us Remix. Nach ihrer "Looped EP", die zum Record Store Day im April 2015 veröffentlicht wurde, bringen sich Kiasmos kurz vor Jahresende noch einmal mit drei neuen Titeln und einem Remix von Tale Of Us in Erinnerung. Kiasmos besteht aus dem isländischen Komponisten Ólafur Arnalds, der für seine Mischung aus minimalistischen Klavier- und Streicher-Kompositionen und elektronischen Sounds bekannt ist, und dem Färöer Janus Rasmussen, zugleich Kopf des Elektro-Pop-Projekts Bloodgroup. Die EP wird vom vierminütigen Track "Drawn" eröffnet, einem perkussiven Titel mit seichten Klavier-Motiven.

"Gaunt" begeistert mit Ambient-Synthies, einem Drum Loop und langsam sich bewegenden Akkorden. Der Titelsong "Swept", den das Duo bereits bei Konzerten als Überraschungsgeschenk in Form von Download-Karten an Fans verteilte, stellt eine clubtaugliche Beat-Struktur in den Vordergrund - einhergehend mit der von Kiasmos bekannten gefühlvollen Instrumentierung. Abgeschlossen wird die EP durch einen Remix des in Berlin ansässigen Duos Tale Of Us.

Dieses stattet den Downbeat-Charakter des Titelsongs mit einer sehr dunklen Ästhetik aus. Pulsierende Hi-Hats und ein treibender Bass-Loop geben dem Track mehr Tempo, während er sich zu einem epischen Ende auftürmt.

First official reissue of Nigerian Boogie Disco Grail LP produced by Grotto for EMI Nigeria and originally released in 1978. Contains dance classic'Bad city Girl'. Liner notes by Nigerian Music expert Uchenna Ikkone, include previously unpublished photos and extensive interviews by Temitope Kogbe.
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Odion Iruoje was the A&R manager at EMI at the time,' Benson says, and he auditioned us, liked he material and signed us.' Odion Iruoje of course had groomed and produced Ofege. Now he was looking to repeat the formula with other high school groups such as Tirogo, Apples and Question Mark. Grotto's deep rock would be a welcome addition to this schoolboy rock' series.
Work on their album started immediately, with Iruoje in the producer's chair. Adapting to the tastes of the times—as well as their own maturing musical sensibilities—Grotto started transitioning from acid rock towards sleeker, more dance floor-friendly grooves. As I grew older I think I got a bit jazzier,' Benson says. I also listened to Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Isley Brothers, Prince and a lot of funk groups from that era.'
Hard rock was the content of the first album,' Amenechi agrees, and funk/jazz/R&B the focus of album number two. Especially with the late Toma Mason Jr. joining as bassist.' The group's second album, Grotto II: Wait... No Hurry (released in 1979) reflected the growing sophistication of its members' musical outlook. Fat, funky bass grooves rubbed shoulders with jazzy flute lines, space-age synthesizer tones punctuated good, old-fashioned crunchy rock riffs.

Rauch is a sonic interpretation of the work of photographer Friederike von Rauch, composed collaboratively by Berlin-based producers Felix K, Marcel Dettmann, Sa Pa and Simon Hoffmann. Arranged and mixed by Marcel Dettmann, the recording stands in dialogue with von Rauch's architectural images of post-World War II European monasteries, including La Tourette by Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis near Lyon, Roosenberg Abbey near Ghent and Maria Regina Martyrum in Berlin. The images were first exhibited together with the music on this LP as part
of an installation for von Rauch's solo show insgeheim ('in secret'), held at the Goethe-Institut Paris during the international Paris Photo art fair in November 2017.
While the complimentary relationship between the sounds of Rauch ('smoke') and the images exhibited in Paris invites interpretation, both can also be experienced as separate artistic entities. On the 42-minute-long LP, drones, modulating harmonic soundscapes and implied rhythms maintain an abstract emotional core while occasionally taking on vaporous, amorphous qualities. Similarly, von Rauch's images - often borderline abstract in composition - resist being identified by location or spatial context. Nevertheless, they also hint at their spiritual origin.
Rauch is part of an ongoing artistic collaboration between Marcel Dettmann and Friederike von Rauch, which includes 2011's Ash installation and three photographic works for Dettmann releases on Ostgut Ton.
(de) Rauch, geschrieben und produziert im Kollektiv von den Berliner Producern Felix K., Marcel Dettmann, Sa Pa und Simon Hoffmann, zusammengestellt und abgemischt von Marcel Dettmann, ist als ku¨nstlerische Anna¨herung und Dialog zu den Fotografien von Friederike von Rauch zu verstehen. In ihrer Ausstellung insgeheim im Goethe-Institut Paris, anla¨sslich der Paris Photo 2017, zeigt die Ku¨nstlerin Arbeiten, die in verschiedenen Klo¨stern der Nachkriegsmoderne - von La Tourette von Le Corbusier entworfen u¨ber Roosenberg Abbey nahe Gent zur Klosterkirche Maria Regina Martyrum in Berlin - entstanden sind und klanglich untermalt werden durch die Musik von Rauch.
Die Musik und die Bilder menschenleerer Ra¨ume stehen in unmittelbarem Bezug zueinander, suchen die Auseinandersetzung durch Begleitung und Interpretation. So entstand die 42-minu¨tige Komposition modulierender Klangschleifen und angedeuteter Rhythmik, den Namen von Rauchs beim Worte nehmend, musikalisch abstrahierend und doch im Detail ergreifend. Die Arbeiten Friederike von Rauchs lassen dabei kaum Ru¨ckschlu¨sse zu, welcher Ort sich dem Betrachter offenbart, der ra¨umliche Kontext bleibt verborgen und dennoch transportieren die konzentrierten und beinahe abstrakten Kompositionen, etwas von ihrem spirituellen Ursprung.
Rauch ist auch die Fortsetzung der ku¨nstlerischen
Kollaboration zwischen Marcel Dettmann und
Friederike von Rauch. Die beiden in Berlin
lebenden Ku¨nstler arbeiten hier nach Ash (2011)
zum zweiten Mal an der Schnittstelle Fotografie-Musik, daru¨berhinaus pra¨gten Friederike von Rauchs Fotografien drei Dettmann-Vero¨ffentlichungen auf Ostgut Ton.

* Walton drops his third instalment on Tectonic in fine style, calling upon Japanese influences to create a truly unique sonic across both tracks in the release. Asian instrumentation meets directly head to head with the cutting edge sounds of a UK grime-techno axis to great effect.

* 'Praying Mantis' captures all the charm of a fine Japanese watercolour painting by means of some spectacular midi-harp programming. Hi-hats and detailed percussion set a shuffling pace, building the mood up before a beautiful harp section unfolds and takes over, expertly programmed by Walton to sound as if a master harpist had stepped into the room! As drums and bass join the party we have all the makings of a low-slung grimey masterpiece, both soothing and energising in a perfect zen balance.

* Flip then for 'Koto Riddim' which again brings Japanese influences to the forefront of the track. Walton programs classic sounding Japanese percussion sounds along with grunting vocal cuts and a charming flute-based melody. As the track drops, it switches into a more familiar, grime-based palette of sounds, deftly arranged for most dangerous impact.

Recently, Superpitcher was invited to go on a safari in South Africa. He bought a custom made safari hat at his favorite milliner in Cologne (Ju¨rgen Eifler) and set off with big eyes and a pair of binoculars. It was wild and wonderful and he saw many exotic (and big!) animals, even a leopard in a tree that told him the secret of the universe. He forgot what the leopard said because his mind was still playing and replaying the sound of what he heard on the first night of his arrival - the hypnotic and moving sound of the voices of Africa, the voices of the wonderful Tanda Tula staff choir. There, the choir members work during the day at the camp and at night entertain the guests with their captivating voices and energetic dancing. So impressed was he with their songs and beautiful Shangaan language that he decided to record a CD for them to sell in the shop at their camp and now this precious recording is also available through Hippie Dance / Bush Recordings on vinyl and CD for you in whatever wherever camp you are. The LP of the Tanda Tula Choir comes with a very pretty poster.

Felix Kubin (org, electr,sampler)
Milosz Pekala (vib, xyl, sampler, perc, effects)
Magdalena Kordylasinska (mar, perc, effects)
Hubert Zemler (glsp, dr, perc)

Music composed by Felix Kubin, tracks A1+2 together with Milosz, Magda and Hubert.

The pieces are soundtracks to educational and industrial 16mm films dealing with the subject of "work".

They were commissioned by NDR das neue werk (North German Radio).

Recording engineer: Robert Migas, Black Kiss Studio, Warsaw
Mix: Tobias Levin, Electric Avenue Studio, Hamburg
Mastering: Rashad Becker, D&M, Berlin
Production: Felix Kubin

Film archive: Metropolis Kino, Hamburg
NDR editorial department: Dr. Richard Armbruster

Artwork: Stephen O'Malley

Originally developed as a film score "Takt der Arbeit" is inspired by a handful of industrial and instructional films from the early 1960's until the early 1990's that portrait different forms of work. Felix Kubin is translating these historic documents into a musical poem of conceptual depth. "Takt der Arbeit" - the beat of work - is not only serving as a title but also as constructive element in this endeavour.

Being hunted down by the ever accelerated pulse of our reality is an omnipresent issue in capitalist societies of the the Western world. Living in times of constant exhaustion, it's not only our bodies that have been disciplined by and synchronized to the rhythms of working processes, but also our minds that rage in the tempo of our surroundings. Following an almost analytical effort, Kubin and an ensemble of 3 percussionists are investigating the different qualities and intensities of time that are catalyzed in working processes. While picking up precise temporal and motoric motives of the films, condensing paces and excavating rhythmic patterns, the ensemble is mapping out an animist choreography, shifting from a time when labour was still relying on bodily efforts to a time when machines and ticking clocks seem to reign and model our perception. While Side A is dedicated to procedures that are still based on manual and mechanical movement, Side B is inspired by the digital age, marked by invisible processes and subcutaneous pulses that we internalize.

The result is a critical and poetic reflection on the rhythms of our daily life and yet another example of Felix Kubin's skills as a composer, placing him in the field of orchestral music.

The wait is finally over. The greatest living female voice in African music, Oumou Sangare releases a new album "Mogoya" (meaning "people today") on a new record label with an all-new production team and a wonderful new set of songs.

The power of Oumou's voice and the potency of her message remain as strong as ever and, while her sound is rooted deep in the continuity of Malian tradition, Mogoya has a strong new sound. Co-produced by Andreas Unge in Stockholm and by the French production collective A.l.b.e.r.t. (who have worked with among others Air, Tony Allen, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Beck, Franz Ferdinand) in Paris, it draws on a rich musical heritage whilst also looking to the future.

"We wanted to emphasise the raw power of Oumou's voice and songs. We wanted to find a new modernity" says co-producer Ludovic Bruni, one of the three members of A.l.b.e.r.t. with Vincent Taurelle and Vincent Taeger.

On the album, traditional African instruments - the kamele n'goni (harp), karignan (metal scraper) and calabash percussion - are augmented by electric guitar, bass, keyboards and synths with Tony Allen on drums. As Oumou puts it, "This time round I wanted to go for more of a modern sound, to satisfy young people in Mali but being careful, all the while, to respect my culture and tradition".

The songs describe what Oumou knows best human relationships. She addresses difficult topics with incredible frankness - jealousy, ingratitude and betrayal never afraid to sing about the day-to-day problems faced by African society, particularly women.

Oumou has a high international profile, touring all over the world, collaborating with artists such as Alicia Keys, Tracy Chapman, Bela Fleck and Dee Dee Bridgewater and featuring on the soundtrack of Toni Morrison's Beloved. She is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation and has three businesses in Mali a range of SUVs called 'Oum-Sang', a hotel in Bamako and 'Oumou Sangare 769, Rice', grown in her own fields.

She has released six albums on the World Circuit label: Moussolou, meaning "women"(1990), Ko Sira (1993), Worotan (1996), Oumou (2003), Seya (2009) and Kounadi (2012).

Music is at the absolute centre of Oumou's life: "without it I'm nothing and nothing can take it from me" and Mogoya represents an exciting new chapter in her career, something which she approaches with a mixture of boldness, humility and confidence."It was new for me because my music has never had this kind of arrangement and sound before. I've been totally in the tradition for years now so to get out of that and have a look around elsewhere was a total pleasure," Oumou Sangare.

First Word Records are very proud to present an EP by Manchester's finest Hip Hop and Soul exports, Children of Zeus. This is 'The Story So Far...'

Konny Kon & Tyler Daley met back in 2005, after both performing a show near Paris in their respective crews, Broke'N'£nglish and Body Roq. The duo met up back home in Manchester, spurred on initially by a mutual admiration of each others music, and produced their first track together, aptly entitled 'Coming Home To You'.

A few years later, Tyler approached Konny about producing a full EP together. These sessions included the creation of a track called 'Still Standing', which ultimately saw the light of day last Summer on First Word. Still a highlight in their live sets, the Lenzman rub won "Best Remix" at the 2016 Drum & Bass Awards. The original has become somewhat of a British Soul anthem since its release, with people that missed it first time round still clamouring for it on wax. So we've included it on this EP.

As they've grown within the family of Manchester's music scene, they've provided a tonic to the city's bass-orientated club scene, breathing Soul back into the city, whilst maintaining their heritage of Hip Hop swagger. As an MC, Konny takes no prisoners, whilst Tyler (a prolific MC in his own right) has gained a rep as one of the UK's strongest Soul voices. Both artists have been blessed with the talent of beat-making. A combined craftsmanship upon the boards and in the booth.

From building a grassroots following of fans, they've since travelled the globe, sharing stages with giants and catching the ear of peers far and wide, from Pete Rock to Zed Bias. As well as hosting their own monthly radio show on NTS, they've collaborated with numerous Hip Hop acts, both sides of the Atlantic, as well as Soul royalty in the form of Caron Wheeler and Drum'n'Bass legends, such as Goldie (Tyler featuring heavily across his latest album).

Children of Zeus have finally begun the process of crafting together their debut album. This EP is a compilation of the creations the duo have produced themselves over the past decade, put together to appease their loyal followers thus far, and as an introduction to those yet to discover their talents. A snapshot of what has been, and a mere taster of what's to come. It features brand new tracks such as 'Smoke With Me' and (vinyl-only cut) 'Tonight', the anthemic 'Crown' (featured on First Word's 'Two Syllables' compilation previously) and fan favourites such as 'No Sunshine Tomorrow' and 'Push On'. A collection of raw, gritty, Hip Hop Soul music.

The debut album will drop in 2018.
This collection signals the end of the first chapter. A prologue even.
Get on board now. The time is right. This is the story so far...

Tom Ware is a Grammy nominated engineer, producer and musician from Omaha Nebraska. Throughout the 70s and 80s Tom was the drummer for many bands, including Norman & The Rockwells, Toy boat Toy boat Toy boat, and Hit N Run. Because of his love for electronics, mechanics, and machines of any kind, he was always the only one who truly knew how pa systems worked. Tom got an entry level job at a Rainbow Studios and would work at the recording studio during the day, play evening gigs till 2 in the morning, then go back to the studio and work on new ideas all night. During these teeth cutting sessions, Tom worked by himself, following his instincts and creating sounds he loved to listen to.

His reckless abandon approach and thrill to learn was a high octane fuel that resulted in his first solo self-titled album. The album's 10 songs were recorded and mixed between August & December of 1983 and self-released in early 1984. The album would be re-released in 1985 by independent Krautrock/Kosmische Musik label Sky Records in Germany and re-titled 'The Fourth Circle'. Some of the instruments used on the LP were a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, & Pro One, Simmons SDSV electronic drums, Roland TR-606 drum machine, & Hammond B3 organ. While recording this album Tom was influenced by new wave sounds of Yellow Magic Orchestra, the Berlin and Düsseldorf schools of pulsing synth music and the celestial realms of Jean Michel Jarre. All songs have been mastered and lacquer cut by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is housed in a replica cover with computer graphics by Lars Erickson and photos by Ken Mayer and includes a postcard with liner notes by Tom Ware.

Time for some gentlemen cuts - again! Quintessentials spotted some hot european talents and welcomes Kian-T, Replica, Giovanni Damico and Kolja Gerstenberg to the family. Expect some freakyness, some funkyness, some deep basslines and some dope beats. And a lot of coolness. 4 cuts not to be missed! Thank you.

Nach seinem im August 2016 erschienenen siebten Studioalbum "Partners" schließt Peter Broderick das Jahr 2016 mit der außergewöhnlichen EP "Grunewald" ab, die wie gewohnt via Erased Tapes veröffentlicht wird. Für alle die Hall mögen, ist "Grunewald" ein wahrgewordener Traum. Die fünf Tracks entstanden in nur einer Nacht in den majestätischen Räumen der etwas abgelegenen Berliner Grunewald-Kirche. Sie erkunden die faszinierende Partnerschaft zwischen der Raumakustik und Brodericks Solo-Darbietungen auf dem Klavier und der Violine. Während des Mischens der Aufnahmen wurde kein künstlicher Hall oder Delay benutzt, nur der natürliche Klang des epischen Kirchenraumes kommt zur Geltung. Die Größe des Kirchenraumes und dessen natürliche Interaktion mit den genutzten Instrumenten wiederspiegelnd, ist die "Grunewald"-EP zugleich auch eine Hommage an einen ungewöhnlichen Ort, der Zufluchtsstätte für eine ganze Generation zeitgenössischer Komponisten geworden ist. Tatsächlich war die Kirche zwischen 2008 und 2011 ein Hotspot für eine bestimmte Künstlergruppe um Nils Frahm.

2022 Repress

Our POP AMBIENT compilation series returns for its 2018 instalment, with series curator Wolfgang Voigt presenting another batch of hand-picked recordings from genre veterans and newcomers alike. The more seasoned among this year's contributors are easily identified by their individual artistic sensibilities, ranging from the morphing, organic rhythms of THE ORB's sample collages (on SKY'S FALLING) to KAITO's ethereal, trance-infused soundscapes (TRAVELLED BETWEEN SOULS) and MIKKEL METAL's intimate ambient songwriting (SHAME).
They join the ranks of Pop Ambient scholars such as MAX WÜRDEN & THORE PFEIFFER (co-authoring the sparkling PANORAMA), Magazine's JENS-UWE BEYER (creating rich drama out of cinematic textures on ATHOS) or Adjunct's KENNETH JAMES GIBSON (who pairs soaring strings with bubbly percussion on DISINCLINED TO VACATE). Pfeiffer can also be found working with genre mainstay LEANDRO FRESCO on opener SPLINTER, crossing the growth rings of the Pop Ambient family tree with a subtle, atmospheric collaboration. Another welcome return to the roster, Jörg Burger dusts off his iconic TRIOLA project last heard on Pop Ambient 2013 (KOMPAKT 269 CD 103) with the floating, echo-drenched cut L'ATALANTE.
After making his Pop Ambient debut on last year's instalment (KOMPAKT 365 CD 135), YUI ONODERA continues his exploration of deep, intricate string sounds on PRISM and NINE CHAINS TO THE MOON (CD only) - it's compelling material that shows the Tokyo-based musician and architectural acoustic designer as a strong addition to the Pop Ambient talent pool. He's joined by the two latest recruits to the series, both well-established artists in their own right: techno provocateur T.RAUMSCHMIERE flexes his drone muscles on the elegiac ETERNA, while pedal steel guitar maestro CHUCK JOHNSON creates expanding sonic spaces on the meditative BRAHMI - a uniquely immersive cut that draws from the idiosyncratic country post-rock he established on his acclaimed 'Balsams' full-length released earlier this year.
(de) Unsere POP AMBIENT Compilation-Serie kehrt für 2018 ins Rampenlicht zurück, natürlich kuratiert von Wolfgang Voigt, der auch für die aktuelle Ausgabe eine handverlesene Auswahl an Genre-Veteranen und Neuzugängen präsentiert. Bereits vorhandene Erfahrung mit der Mission macht sich unter den diesjährigen Beiträgen schnell bemerkbar - dank individueller Künstlerperspektiven,

von den organisch-rhythmischen Samplecollagen THE ORBs (zu hören auf SKY'S FALLING) zu KAITOs ätherischen Trance-Klanglandschaften (TRAVELLED BETWEEN SOULS) und MIKKEL METALs intim wirkendem Ambient-Songwriting (SHAME).
Im 2018er Line-Up treffen sie auf die neue Pop-Ambient-Schule, vertreten durch MAX WÜRDEN & THORE PFEIFFER (die gemeinschaftlich für das glitzernde PANORAMA verantwortlich zeichnen), Magazine-Mitbetreiber JENS-UWE BEYER (der auf ATHOS reiche Dramatik aus Texturen zaubert) oder Adjunct-Boss KENNETH JAMES GIBSON (mit aufsteigenden Streichern und sprudelnder Percussion auf DISINCLINED TO VACATE unterwegs). Pfeiffer findet sich ausserdem auf dem Albumopener SPLINTER wieder, eine subtile, stimmungsvolle Aufnahme, die er zusammen mit Genre-Wegbereiter LEANDRO FRESCO produziert hat - gewissermassen generationsübergeifend über die Jahresringe des Pop-Ambient-Stammbaums hinweg. Als weiteres altvertrautes Gesicht der Serie entstaubt Jörg Burger sein beliebtes TRIOLA-Projekt, welches wir zuletzt auf Pop Ambient 2013 (KOMPAKT 269 CD 103) gehört haben, und legt das durch die Wellen gleitende, echogetränkte

L'ATALANTE vor.
Nach seinem Pop-Ambient-Debüt auf der letztjährigen Ausgabe (KOMPAKT 365 CD 135) führt YUI ONODERA seine Erkundung tiefer, vielschichtiger Streicherklänge mit PRISM und NINE CHAINS TO THE MOON fort - zwingendes Material, dass den in Tokyo ansässigen Musiker und Architektur-Klangdesigner als besonders überzeugenden Zuwachs zum Pop-Ambient-Talentpool kennzeichnet. Zu ihm gesellen sich zwei Serien-Neuzugänge, die bereits äusserst erfolgreich an anderen Fronten tätig waren: der Techno-Provokateur T.RAUMSCHMIERE lässt auf dem elegischen ETERNA seine Drone-Muskeln spielen, während der gefeierte Pedal-Steel-Gitarrist CHUCK JOHNSON mit dem meditativen BRAHMI stetig wachsende Klangräume erschafft - ein herausragender Track ganz im Stile des eigenwilligen Country Post-Rocks, den er auf dem zuvor in diesem Jahr erschienenen 'Balsams'-Langspieler verewigte.

Marco Bailey's 5th full-length album, one that he personally claims to be the best overall representation of his sound. With seventeen tracks comprising almost an hour and a half of music, he has ample room to stretch out and to give listeners an excellent portable version of his potent live show.

By maintaining a consistently high-quality output that does not merely ride the wave of current trends, multi-faceted producer Marco Bailey has managed to survive through decades of mercilessly shifting adjustments to popular taste in dance music. From his beginnings in the late '80s spinning eclectic sets comprised of everything from punk to old school hip-hop, to his present interest in pure unadulterated techno, the Belgium-based DJ and producer has won over audiences with his keen knowledge of how to squeeze the greatest physical and emotional impact out of a few well-placed elements, along with his instinct for seeking out the most innovative and resilient kindred spirits (his impressive number of professional friendships includes artists as diverse as Markus Suckut, Jonas Kopp, Alex Bau, Edit Select, Speedy J, Steve Rachmad and many more). These combined talents have led to his formation of several different labels: MB Electronics in 2001, the 'limited edition' label MBR in 2013, and lastly the new Materia Music label begun last year. His similiarly named event series, Materia, has also been a truly worldwide 'state of the art' summit for advanced techno artists.



The full-length personal releases by Marco Bailey, which stretch back to his mid-'90s period as a trance producer, have been gracefully arcing and anthemic affairs composed of individual tracks that follow that same blueprint. He is now about to drop his 5th full-length album overall, one that he personally claims to be the best overall representation of his sound. With seventeen tracks comprising almost an hour and a half of music, he has ample room to stretch out and to give listeners an excellent portable version of his potent live show. Of course, an epic running time alone is not the marker of a great audio experience, but an epic running time in which one loses track of time completely is - Bailey accomplishes this feat by never rushing the payoff; by organically building up each track until listeners are fully immersed in his alternate universe.



This skill can be heard on banging, sweat-saturated tracks like 'Ash', 'Genetix' and 'Hasai,' but also on comparitively gentle pieces like 'Klauth' (which straddles the line between disciplined electro and something more dreamlike and weightless), or the blissed out 'Suoh,' which feels like a fresh snowfall in audio form. Low-key cuts like 'Rex,' driven by echo FX and other windswept sounds, form natural counterparts to busier tracks like 'Ruth,' with its spring-loaded sequencer attacks, or 'Reboot That Device,' which is ingeniously driven by a psychedelic organ whose sound evolves with various filter settings. Minimalist vocals are occasionally injected into the mix - i.e. on the 'The Darkness' - to impart a subtle message of constant, ongoing expansion into unexplored galaxies without and within. It's as good a definition of the artist's musical mission as any.

Bei allen, die den Tiefgang bei Eminems Können oder seine Fähigkeit, drastische, aber faszinierend offene Ehrlichkeit zu liefern, angezweifelt haben, bei denen werden diese Zweifel schon bei dem ersten Track von The Eminem Show in alle Winde zerstreut. "White America" lebt von seinem flotten Flow und einem krachenden Rhythmus-Track (für die Produktion der Platte war schließlich der langjährige Mentor und Partner Dr. Dre verantwortlich), und wir erleben, wie Eminem wild auf all die Hände einschlägt, die ihn doch eigentlich ernähren, wie er auf seine Kritiker einprügelt, ebenso auf die Industrie und auf den Rassismus, der in mancherlei Hinsicht Marshall Mathers mehr auf die Beine geholfen hat als sonst irgendeinem Rapper. Nach dem spektakulären Auftritt bei The Marshall Mathers LP und Eminems gezieltem Einsatz von sexuellen Ausdrücken klingt diese Art von Material noch mehr nach Kontroversen, denn es erscheint tatsächlich als die Wahrheit. Angefangen von einer brutalen Antwort an seine ihm längst fremd gewordene und verwirrte Mutter ("Cleaning Out My Closets") bis hin zu einer überraschend zarten Ode an sein Kind ("Hailie's Song") nimmt Eminem alles kritisch unter die Lupe: sein Leben, seine Liebschaften, seine Festnahmen, seine Sucht, sein Versagen und seine Erfolge, und das mit einer verblüffenden, selbstkritischen Einsicht.

Repress
Leuk en Ko is the Dutch bastard child by Unit Moebius members Jan Duivenvoorden and Richard van den Bogaert. Creating a vault of hard to classify material from mid eighties until early nineties, it didn't get out there for whatever reason. After ''De Snoei 1'' appeared on ''World of Rubber 3'', the big follow-up is here â an album of 13 selected ''songs'' mastered from tape, pressed on vinyl and put in a nifty package (song texts included!) that works like a charm at home, on the floor or at a funeral.

Mnestic Pressure' is Lee Gamble's first album since 2014 and his first with Hyperdub, a reset that sees a noticeable change in his sound and the concepts that feed into his music. Lee says 'From Diversions 1994-1996' (2012) through to Koch' (2014) - my music felt like I was dealing with signals from elsewhere - signals from the unconscious, sub-aqua, hallucinated, dreamt. Mnestic Pressure' feels like their decoded offspring, a terra interpretation.' The title Mnestic Pressure' comes from Lee's thinking about how our contemporary memory is pressured, individually, but also collectively. 'We live in these strobing, visual times, like a constant subliminal advertisement but, also over the last few years the world seems to have become more and more dreamlike, alien, and parodic itself and there was this part of me that wanted to drag my music back from this Shangri-La, but fully drenched and infected by its ghosts.' Mnestic Pressure' as a whole is a simulation of this experience, a flow of targeted information, through contrasting and quickly changing terrain, from one track to another you're dragged into a new space. The pressure to move is intrinsic to the flow of the album, one thing morphologically transforms into another, zooming in and out from wide angle to detail, reshaping into new forms at a speed Lee's music hasn't before. The music on Mnestic Pressure' has a hardness, with a structure and melody that was sublimated in Lee's previous LPs. It builds on his more recent experiments with more functional dancefloor forms. Here his hypermodern production and crunchy, dissembled beats feel like they could be malfunctioning holograms projected onto the hallucinated memories of his early work.

Professor Rhythm is the production moniker of South African music man Thami Mdluli. Throughout the 1980's, Mdluli was member of chart-topping groups Taboo and CJB, playing bubblegum pop to stadiums. Mdluli became an in-demand producer for influential artists (like Sox and Sensations, among many others) and in-house producer for important record companies like Eric Frisch and Tusk. During the early '80s, Mdluli projects usually featured an instrumental dance track. These hot instrumentals became rather popular. Fans demanded to hear more of these backing tracks without vocals, he says, so Mdluli began to make solo instrumental albums in 1985 as Professor Rhythm. He got the name before the recordings began, from fans, and positive momentum from audiences and other musicians drove him to invest himself in a full-on solo project. It was the era just before the end of apartheid and house music hadn't taken over yet. There wasn't instrumental electronic music yet in South Afric a. As the '80s came to a close, that was about to change. Professor Rhythm productions mirror the evolution of dance music in South Africa. They grew out of the bubblegum mold - which itself stems from band's channeling influences like Kool & the Gang and the Commodores - into something based on music for the club. His early instrumental recordings First Time Around and Professor 3 mostly distilled R&B, mbaqanga and bubblegum grooves into vocal-less pieces for the dance floor. Musically, these were a success and commercially the albums all went gold. There were countless bubblegum albums flooding the marketplace, with nearly disposable vocalists backed by mostly similar-sounding rhythm tracks. Most of the lyrical content was light and apolitical. But the keyboards used formed the musical basis for what would come next. By the time Professor 4 and this recording Bafana Bafana - the name references South Africa's national soccer team - were released in the mid-1990s, k waito had fully emerged. Access to instruments and freedom of expression helped its rise in influence among youth. According to Mdluli, "Once Mandela was released from prison and people felt more free to express themselves and move around town, kwaito was becoming the thing." Lyrically, kwaito championed the local township lingo while adapting "international music," house music, into the local context. "International Music," as house music and early kwaito were interchangeably known, in many ways reflects the sounds coming from America. But South Africans made it their own. Today, the largest part of the music industry is occupied by house music and its relatives.

Konstellaatio is another Mika Vainio masterpiece as his original alias Ø on the native label Sähkö Recordings that Mika co-founded in 1993.

The return of Brain Machine, with their Peaks album, was one of the highlights of last year for Emotional Response. Juan Tripp (aka Jon Tye of Seahawks), Guido Zen (Vactrol Park) and Kyle Martin's (Spectral Empire/Land Of Light/Vactrol Park) acclaimed kosmiche opus is followed up with 2 remix EPs featuring some of the best proponents, peers and friends of deep electronic music.
Remixes One is given over to a quartet of trusted hands including man of the moment, Tolouse Low Trax, ambient visionary Gigi Masin, afro-techno-dub specialist Harmonious Thelonious and stalwarts Ronny & Renzo.First Detlef Weinrich shows his mastery of a unique percussive sound that has seen his identity become as respected outside of his native Dusseldorf as he is in it for his role as one of the founders and curator of Salon des Amateurs. A brooding, propulsive culmination, the original's haunting ambience is retained for a subtle, driving rework that hits the mark.
Surprise of the EP is Gigi Masin's remix of Crystal Clouds. Eschewing the original's celestial soundscapes, scattered percussion interplays with sub-bass to change the context, giving a rhythmic dimension while retaining the shimmering guitar and arpeggio infused cohesion.Starting the B-side is another Dusseldorf elder statesman, in the afro-visions of Harmonious Thelonious. Solo, as well as one third of The Durian Brothers, Stefan Schwander, has carved a distinct sound. Chrematistic percussion is matched with an atmospheric, dub-techno feel that perfectly fits the EP. Play loud for full understanding.
Finally, Remixes One concludes with the return of Ronny & Renzo. Long time associates of Brain Machine, their 10 minutes plus remix takes the glacial original's ambience to a darker plain, fusing rhythmic pulses with alluding acid intent.

Antique Fragments EP is the third release of our Kommuna Tapes imprint. The A side starts with a quirky fast-paced track created by a mysterious producer named Schematix in 1997. Thinktank, an electro/breakbeat act who signed his first and unique EP only a few years later in 2000, takes us on a punchy yet dreamy techno journey. On the flip side, after Schematix undusted his hardware to extract the stems for the occasion, wizard Sergio Moreira mastered the challenge of creating a slower and deeper version of the track, while upcoming Madrid talent Javier Moreno closes the release with a bouncy acid burner.

Track by track, we build a Kommuna of artists who share our insatiable appetite for music discovery, guided by a certain vision of the dancefloor: deep stripped-down grooves, sometimes challenging, always with character.

After showcasing his knack for emotive productions via various EPs throughout his career, including chart-topping singles on Hot Since 82's Knee Deep in Sound and Dave Seaman's Selador, the Swiss artist Several Definitions now reveals his first full-length album. It should come as no surprise that the artist found familiarity in what he calls the Berlin style' of electronic music and notably, that of Oliver Koletzki's Stil vor Talent. Reborn After The Road is an intense and emotional affair, consisting of 14 tracks crafted using field and live recordings, switching between analogue and digital to mould a sonic atmosphere that emblazons the artist's core ethos. Although the personal experience that sparked the inspiration for the LP is far from pleasant, Several Definitions' style is audibly resolute. Reborn After The Road, the album's eponymous track, creates a fitting intro for the healing process that is to follow. Its airy pads and majestic strings sonically stand at the epicenter of the expressive album. Several Definitions continues to explore these sounds on vaporous slices like Pontceard 32 or the more acidical Last Breath. The mellifluous, feminine vocals of LaMeduza on Learn To Feel and Her, as well as Spanish singer Goldsun's crooner talents on the introspective Trust, on the other hand, showcase Several Definitions' ability to work the human voice into his musical explorations. Taking introspection one step further towards darker realms, Senelity then feels like a rite of passage into the deeper and more intense segment at the album's core. Over You briefly signals a turning point, with its alarm-like synths and grave leads, which is then followed by the glitchy resistance on Modular Spaces. The Escape

'Afro Rock Vol. 1' is one of the most important compilations of heavy original '70s Afro funk and soul to be released in recent years. Originally surfacing on Duncan Brooker's indie Kona label in early 2001, the album single-handedly kick-started the thirst among jazz, funk and soul fans and 'diggers' to rediscover lost music from Africa made during the '60s and '70s from a time when many countries were gaining independence and celebrating a Pan-African identity within their music. The album was one of the frst to reach a far different audience to the traditional 'world music' market and spawned many further projects and labels in its wake. A year later, the 'Nigeria 70' compilation surfaced on Strut and labels like Soundway and Analog Africa would continue to unearth amazing lost gems from the Motherland. The album is testament to the determined work of Brooker following several research trips, especially to East Africa - Kenya and Zaire. It brought to light East Africa's fnest funk band, Air Fiesta Matata, led by the recently deceased Steele Beautttah, 'The Nigerian James Brown' Geraldo Pino from Port Harcourt in Nigeria, and the storming Afro jam 'Yuda' by Dackin Dackino, a previously unreleased gem from Zaire discovered on a discarded reel. The album has remained infuential since its release with tracks appearing on other Afro compilations and on TV and the big screen - Jingo's 'Fever' featured in Kevin McDonald's 2006 hit flm, 'Last King Of Scotland'.Out of print since 2015, the album is being reissued on Strut in its original form with the extra dynamite unreleased psychedelic cut by Kenya's Ishmael Jingo, 'Keep On Holding On' taken from the original master tape. The package features the original sleeve notes by Duncan Brooker along with new additional notes providing further background to the album and tracks.

Fresh from wowing us with that crazy limited promo 45, Krikor Kouchian delivers 11 tracks of expertly executed, shimmering boogie funk. BIG TIP!
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Think of the neon lights of the boulevard or a late nite drive through the lonely hills, Krikor Kouchian's "Pacific Alley" propels you to a world of sleaze and excitement, where passion, money, and illicit substances take precedent and the sun beats down in a relentless unforgiving fashion.

Spending time as a youth in Southern Cailifornia, the French-born Kouchian developed an obsession with this Americana and the magic of everything California. The music on the radio, from pop, to funk, to hip hop fueled his impressionable mind, later on taking influence in his own music.

Pacific Alley is a snapshot of this lost period, full of juicy low slung basslines, slow bpm cruisers, Linn drum crashes, and ride or die melodies. The elements all meld together through this 11 track lp, it's equal parts uplifting and melancholic, downtrodden, yet not without rays of light; the soundtrack for days hanging in front of the corner stores and nights on the strip, both a naive love affair and backstabbing doublecross.

This is boogie funk for the grift, a dollar here buys a bottle there so step into the shade, pop the tape in the deck and enter into the concrete dreamworld.

After introducing Jin Cromanyon end of last year with a special 7'' single, we asked him to prepare an LP for 2017.
Few weeks ago he sent us his tracks which made us so anthousiastic ! a pure OVNI in between Electro, Acid-House, Synth-Pop and J-pop, rough but romantic, a sort of « Viewlexx meets Depeche Mode meets A Guy Called Gerald with the Japanese twist » !! Takuti Takuta !!

New Leipzig label Kontra's inaugural record presents a richly diverse collection of music that spans from world music infused house in the vein of many Sex Tags releases to break ridden, hard hitting, low-fi techno through to considered ambient music. Despite the variation Kontra is held together by a unifying underground style that every track shares. An excellent first release from a label that's sure to become a major underground player.

- Beautiful 1 LP Edition with heavy 350g Sleeve, Poster Inlay with Liner Notes and Photo, includes CD with incl Bonus Tracks - 33 rpm LP mastercut by Emil Berliner - Midori Takada and Masahiko Satoh's 1990 masterpiece LUNAR CRUISE LP available on vinyl for the first time ever, as well as on CD, sourced from the original studio masters, with all new liner notes. - Featuring Yellow Magic Orchestra's Haruomi Hosono (bass) and Kazutoki Umezu (saxophone, clarinet). *** TERRITORY RESTRICTION - NO SALES TO JAPAN *** Following the successful reissue of Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, WRWTFWW Records is delighted to announce another release from the legendary Japanese percussionist: 1990's LUNAR CRUISE, her superb collaboration with jazz pianist, synth master, composer and arranger Masahiko Satoh. Arguably the best kept secret in Midori Takada's fascinating discography, LUNAR CRUISE is an under the radar masterpiece that captures Takada (on marimba and minimal percussion set-up) and Satoh (on Korg M1 and Yamaha DX7II synths, Ensoniq EPS sampler, and acoustic piano) vibrantly fusing traditional African and Asian percussion with jazz, ambient, and minimalism. The album also features the great Haruomi Hosono (Yellow Magic Orchestra, Happy End...) and Kazutoki Umezu. LUNAR CRUISE is available in two versions: a first-time-ever vinyl LP cut at Emil Berliner Studios, housed in a 350g sleeve and including a bonus CD of the album with 2 extra tracks, and a standalone digipak CD version. Both versions are sourced from the original studio masters (DATs) and come with new liner notes. Tracklisting Vinyl LP

Quartet Series is back with the Bodybuilder Series after Scott Franka's popped the new offshoot's cherry in the spring. For this sophomore release, Nachtbraker sourced some serious production talent from Eindhoven, The Netherlands. While it's the Portamento Boys' first ever release, they have the chutzpah to go full-frontal Italo and pull it off with great panache with a moody and energetic EP. The record is characterized by catchy melodies, quirky vibes and warm analog grooves. Connoisseurs will instantly recognize the TR-606 and 707, SH-101, Ensoniq Esq1 and a Casio CZ-3000. The Italo express jets off and takes no prisoners with 'Been There Come Back", a banging workout paying homage to the glorious 80's. Shoulder-pad boogie anyone 'Portamento 101 feels like you're playing the 1986 version of Outrun on your Sega. On the flip 'Final Dinner' serves up some fine Asian-Italian fusion Cuisine, and finally the P Boys drop 'Eighty Ain't", acknowledging that even though the tracks are clearly inspired by the 80s, they didn't just emulate, but innovate instead. Now let's introduce the Portamento Boys. Some say it al began when the first episode of 'Jacques, zo is het wel weer genoeg geweest' was aired on the Dutch box back in the second half of 1988. Others say it was the respect he got for robbing the local Albert Heijn with the famous saying, 'Hallo, Jumbo' that made him end up in solitary confinement. His colleagues say he never let go of Piet, his last undercover assignment. But the only one to help him in these times of mental distress, identity crises and general psychosomatic turmoil was Koos. After all these years there is a mantra to find in Piet's life that keeps him going.

You take a trio of the fnest traditonal griot musicians from Mali and put them in a studio with Western music's most revolutonary string quartet - and the resultng album is one of the most richly rewarding musical collaboratons you are likely to encounter.
Together the Kronos Quartet and Trio Da Kali have created an album that is rich in texture, hauntngly melodic and strikingly inventve as violins, viola and cello combine with balafon, ngoni and the powerful female voice of Hawa 'Kassé Mady'
Diabaté in transcendental style. David Harrington, who founded the Kronos Quartet in 1973, describes the album as one of the most beautful Kronos has done in forty years.' All three Da Kali members come from hereditary musical families, Balafon
player and musical director Lassana Diabaté was a long-tme member of Toumani Diabaté's Symmetric Orchestra and has recorded with Salif Keita, Taj Mahal and many others. A musician of great subtlety and inventon he has honed a virtuoso
two-balafon technique to perfecton. Bass ngoni player Mamadou Kouyaté is the eldest son of the instrument's greatest exponent, Bassekou Kouyaté and he holds down the groove in his father's band 'Ngoni Ba'. Singer Hawa 'Kassé Mady' Diabaté
is the daughter of Mali's greatest traditonal singer, Kassé Mady Diabaté, and the power, range and phrasing of her voice led David Harrington to compare her to the late queen of American gospel, Mahalia Jackson.
Kronos Quartet have earned an enviable reputaton collaboratng with contemporary composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Laurie Anderson and with world music icons from Argentnian tango hero Astor Piazzola to Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle.

(en) Constantly on the move, never standing still. Always looking ahead and never back. Everything sooner rather than later. This is what our modern lifestyles feel like, keeping us prisoners in the wake of time while everything around us is in a permanent state of change. It seems as though Andrei Anto- nets, aka OID, could sing a song, or at least produce a track about it. But rather than the soundtrack to our hurriedness, the Russian musician has seemingly created the opposite with his new track - Perma- nent Departure'. He achieves this by letting various sounds meander alongside a bass drum for about eleven minutes. Guitars, pads, Hi-Hats, everything comes and goes, arranged with tremendous flair. Antonets has already proven his capability to do exactly this with his project Alexandroid or with his work on labels like Pampa and Sealt Records.
The French Band dOP's remix on the B-side is much shorter but sends us on the same trip as the ori- ginal. Shortened to just eight minutes with a slightly new route, the dOP remix takes us directly to the club and peak time for the advanced. If we have to have a departure, then this is the way.
Also available as a digital mini album together with the MMR 28 and four other tracks by OID.
(de) Stets auf Achse, immer unterwegs. Den Blick geradeaus, nie zuru¨ck. Und alles lieber heute als morgen. So fu¨hlt es sich an, das moderne Leben, das uns gefangen im Sog der Zeit und alles um uns herum im permanenten Aufbruch ha¨lt. Es scheint so, als ko¨nnte Andrei Antonets alias OID ein Lied davon singen - oder zumindest einen Track dazu produzieren. Doch statt den Soundtrack zur Hast, erschafft der Russe mit - Permanent Departure' lieber einen kontemplativen Gegenentwurf dazu. Knapp elf Minuten lang la¨sst er dafu¨r weitla¨ufige Sounds entlang der Bassdrum ma¨andern. Gitarren, Pads, Hi-Hats, alles kommt und geht, arrangiert mit massig Gespu¨r statt purem Geto¨se. Dass Antonets genau das kann, hat er bereits zuvor mit seinem Projekt Alexandroid oder auf Labels wie Pampa und Sealt Records bewiesen.
Fu¨r die Ru¨ckseite lo¨sen die drei Franzosen von dOP mit ihrem Remix von - Permanent Departure' hin- gegen nur ein Kurzstrecken-Ticket - das uns aber genauso auf einen Trip wie das Original schickt. Auf acht Minuten und eine neue Route verku¨rzt, steuert der dOP-Remix ohne große Umwege geradeaus gen Club und die Peaktime fu¨r Fortgeschrittene. Wenn schon Abfahrt, dann bitte so. Auch als digitales Mini-Album zusammen mit der MMR 28 und vier weiteren Tracks von OID erha¨ltlich.

Story writes the first tale for Koepel, sketching his 'Object' on this first 12" on our new imprint.
Out of this Object emerge three evolving tracks, with a trace of melancholia and wayfaring, that unveil the artist's explorative nature

Aus großen Melodien und strapazierfähigen elektronischen Teppichen gestrickt, ist "Love What Survives" gewissermaßen die Essenz ihres bisherigen Schaffens, indem verschiedene Gesangsgäste und Musikerpersönlichkeiten (James Blake, Micachu, King Krule) hinzukommen, um gemeinsam zu experimentieren, Formen neu zu denken, Dinge auszuradieren, mit Pop-Überlieferungen zu spielen, alles zusammen wachsen zu lassen. Die neuen Tracks enstanden größtenteils auf zwei Vintage-Synthesizern (Korg MS-20, Korg Delta), die beide, so die Band, diese "punkige, schloddrige Qualität hätten, die an Robert Wyatt erinnert", die mit ihrem Industrial-Einschlag und dem unverkennbar direkten Sound Mount Kimbie zu ihrem neuesten Sound-Update bewegen sollten. Der pulsierende Motorik-Beat der Single "Blue Train Lines" zum Beispiel schickt King Krule direkt auf die Überholspur, von wo aus er seine zerklüfteten Vokalsalven abgeben kann. Die offene, ausladende Aura der Platte ist ferner der Tatsache geschuldet, dass sie zwischen London und Los Angeles entstanden ist, zwei Standorten, zwischen denen das Duo pendelte, um gemeinsame Sessions zu veranstalten und Ideen zu verfeinern.

After dropping their first various, Figures, Slowciety is about to release Guru, Sunrom's next EP. The artist has already worked with prestigious labels like Kompakt, Ancient Future Now and The Bricks. The EP lays down four organic tracks for a blend of deep house, world music and techno. The title track sounds like a ride on acid and is followed by Quirigua, a rich track conjuring transcendent Mayan rituals. The B side opens with Elephant's deep muffled kicks and takes off with Utopia's elegant arpeggiator for a final flight. This strange and personal EP will cast a spell on the dance floor.

22 track double gatefold vinyl version of the album (CD) which was released July 7th. Collaborators include Beyonce, Jay Z, Nas,Travis Scott, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Bryson Tiller, Rick Ross, Big Sean, Calvin Harris, Justin Bieber, Quavo, Lil Wayne, Chance the Rapper & more. Support across radio, TV & press. Online & social media activity.

This is the second 12" from Taken, the duo effort of Elias Landberg and Nihad Tule.
The duo has done a local show at Under Bron in Stockholm as well as Herrensauna in Berlin, this new EP sounds inspired and fresh as their live sets, setting the course straight away.
The reminiscent sounds of Techno's adolescence goes everything but unnoticed as the reduced and powerful 'Cluster' on the A-side showcases Taken's ambitions.
Going into deeper territories, the B-side 'Elysia' almost smells of strobes and smoke machines for the eye-opening moments of a proper party.
With this new EP from Taken, the sounds have really developed and show their excitement for things to come, from their almost three year debut on Skudge Records.
This is a keeper!

Patrick Schütz (Groove Magazine) '

'both good tracks''



Objekt

''cluster is nice and subtle''



Shifted

''Both track are sick. and its great to see the Skudge sound evolving!''



Anastasia Kristensen

''I dig Elysia a lot, good job

thanks!''



Markus Suckut

''both tracks a sick!''



Jonas Kopp

''Top release , thanks''



Ben Sims

''cluster def my fave, thx!''



Albert Van Abbe

''Taken for President!''



Henning Baer

''CLUSTER!!!!''



Cosmin TRG

''Deep, driving, euphoric, well done Elias and Nihad!''



Anthony Parasole

''dope as fuck''



Eric Cloutier

''"cluster" is massive! love it!!''



Norman Nodge

''Proper relaxed holiday techno, many thanks!''



Blue Hour

''Sounds dope''



Baikal

''cluster is dope''



Matrixxman

''great release''



Mark Broom

''Thumbs up from the Broom''



Mano Le Tough

''nice one. thanks''



Anthony 'Shake' Shakir

''Cluster has a dope groove for the entire track.

Elysia has a spell binding feel that is unrelenting
d
Skudge brings it all the time''

Last volume of this compilation series, again a great one.., Holding amazing tunes from across the globe that you probably already have been looking for.... TIP!!
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Over the last five years and as many volumes of their Beach Diggin' compilations, Guts and Mambo have explored the reefs of five continents, dredged the sea beds of countless seas and oceans, examined every single seashell with the aim of making sure that no vinyl pearl should escape their notice.

Tunisian reggae, Japanese disco, West Indian jazz-funk, the duo's aesthetic dribbling skills would stop the savviest Brazilian football player dead in his tracks, and it was with this in mind that they proceeded to select their discoveries. With a marked preference for meditative free-diving rather than tour package scuba diving, and isolated spots rather than massively overdeveloped beachfronts.
For this latest instalment of their adventures, Guts and Mambo have organised another expedition around the world, to salute the spots where for the last five years they have uncovered rare specimens, saving some of them from total extinction, while shining a light on others that amply deserved it.

Though each Beach Diggin' compilation can be listened to independently of the others, the five together now form a kind of navigational chart signalling with its green flags the places where, in Africa, Europe, Asia, America, and the South Pacific, they gambolled on sandy beaches, avoiding the well-trodden path, becoming more and more demanding with each passing year.
Beach diggin' is a state of mind...

Limited triple coloured vinyl pressing. Do not sleep. Brand new label from Copenhagen exploring the universe of chord/dubtechno run by the host of the legendary TweakFM show, Johnny Fredsgaard aka Kvadrant. First release contains four solid dub influenced tracks made by Ohm and the label owner himself. Ohm needs no introduction as he is a well established Icelandic artist and a part of the label family around the Thule label. Over the years he has teamed up with artists such as Exos and Octal Industries with whom he already released two EPs in 2017 on RAWAX and Taped Artifact. Ejer is made for the dancefloor with its heavy rhythm, characteristic Roland Space Echo delayed chords and a stunning break which will make the floor burn as soon as the bass kicks in. Laki is a fast paced track with repetitive chords and heavy kick. Octal Industries takes Laki to a deeper level and delivers a stand out groovy remix of the track and adds a bit of a melodic flow to it. Yding is a groovy crossover track which fits well in the world between techno and house. Watch out for the phat funky bassline.

Species Of Fishes was created in 1993 in Moscow during the experimental home sessions of Igor Kolyadny and Vitaly Stern, which resulted in the recording of the Songs Of A Dumb World, a sampledelic album, published on the sublabel of the Dutch Staalplaat - Kormplastics in 1994. It was followed by the album Trip Trap (1996) on the domestic label Exotica, which immediately affirmed Species of Fishes as one of the leading electronic groups in Russia. It is this seminal album that marks the first release of Nina Kraviz's new label GALAXIID.
GALAXIID runs as a sub label of , illuminating the listening side of Nina's musical taste with a focus on experimental, ambient and psychedelia. As with , GALAXIID has a strong connection to art through it's visual identity, with all the cover artworks drawn by psychedelic artists.
Trip Trap was so ahead of its time upon initial release and still sounds modernistic as it is rereleased almost 20 years later. Here, Species Of Fishes explore different genres of electronics, somehow interpreting them and creating their own unique out-of-genre stylistics, marrying different styles such as breaks and experimental in 'Health 100%', electro and ambient in 'Crash Recovery', IDM and techno in 'Bfg9000 vs. Barons Of Hell'. The 10 tracks range from short interludes '(Backspace)' and (Alt+Tab) to more lengthy tracks '(The Web)' and 'Access Depth'.

Two years on from the release of his debut album called 'Natureboy', Dario Rojo Guerra, aka Natureboy Flako, is back with a new six-song Mini Album EP on Five Easy Pieces.

Two years on from the release of his debut album called 'Natureboy', Dario Rojo Guerra, aka Natureboy Flako, is back with a new six-song EP on Five Easy Pieces. 'Natureboy Flako' is a self-titled collection of music culled from over 200 recording sessions since Guerra moved from London to Berlin in late 2015. It's the first work that unites the artistic identity of Flako with that of the Natureboy persona at the heart of his debut album, and is the debut for a new artist name: Natureboy Flako. Moving away from the live instrumentation of his debut LP, 'Natureboy Flako' is the most electronic-sounding record he's made, using old analogue equipment such as Korg's MS-20, ARP Odyssey and Roland's SH-2000 synthesisers, as well as new instruments such as Arturia's MiniBrute. Where previous songs relied on overdubs, most of these songs were recorded in one take, with little overdubbing, making it his most live record to date. As with 2015's album 'Natureboy', the six-song EP sees Guerra searching for musical balance. Both sides of the record offer contrasting energies, with the A-side featuring some of the heaviest tracks he's made and the cinematic B-side made up of more reflective compositions. However, both sides are equally propulsive, with driving arpeggios forming the backbone of much of the EP.

Emotional Rescue starts its 5th year by shining a light on one of Europe's best underground 80s' label in Spain's Auxilio De Ciento. Their Terra Incognita Volumes I and II collated an international mix of synth-pop, new wave, world and industrial sounds to a small but appreciative following. Released in 1985 and 1986, the Volumes have become highly regarded and rightly sought after, finding a place in discerning playlists from London to Amsterdam and Dusseldorf to Glasgow. Here, taking a premise of avoiding the songs unearthed on other recent reissues, is a unique album itself. Starting with Denis Mpunga & Paul K's esoteric Criola, a fusion of fourth world ideals and poly-rhythmic funk. The music of Mal, Bene Gesserit and La Caida De La Casa Usher, however, soon highlight that the decade also belonged to dark, minimal synth as to shiny balearic ideals. The inclusion of Hector Zazou with Bony Biyake and their contribution Komba, is a fitting continuation from their cult Noir Et Blanc LP before, things continue with US avant-artist Danny Alias and his humorous Big Brother "response" to Laurie Anderson's Superman O. Image Pour Image loose indie-pop and the inclusion of seminal Beast Of Burden lead again to a Zazou contribution, this time in his collaborative Stranger In A New Light, before the compilation eclectically ends with the dadaesque Lakota and the post punk dub of Instead Of's closer, Angels .

The 2nd release from I Walked by Night comes firing out of the southside of Glasgow. A young man by the name of The Burrell Connection has been flying under the radar for a few years now... A Perth native / Glasgow immigrant has been making music since he was 15, his first release came via West End Communications (003) in 2015. Since then he has released most recently with Craigie Knowes on the amazing 2nd annual War Child fundraiser along with Legowelt, Shanti Celeste, Neville Watson and many more. 'Southside' was made with a Juno 6, Yamaha Dx21, Roland TR8, Korg MiniLogue and twisting samples and recording most tracks in one take with little post editing. This EP oozes raw energy and shows off a delicate deft touch. After debuting at the Warehouse Project in 2016, The Burrell Connection will be producing his first live show in 2017.

(en) While the last Kompakt offering from legendary Russian synthesists SCSI-9 dates back to 2008, when the duo released their album Easy As Down' (KOMPAKT CD 068), co-founder and techno/house virtuoso ANTON KUBIKOV kept himself busy cultivating his own label Pro-Tez Records - and establishing a career as solo artist with a clear penchant for dub-infused soundscapes and ambient music. WHATNESS is Kubikov's first solo full-length under his proper name, weaving airy and iridescent sonic tapestry that takes up where his excellent contributions to our Pop Ambient compilations left off.
ANTON KUBIKOV's special ear for ambience and tonal spaces was always an integral part of SCSI-9's musical DNA that would alternate between tight dance workouts and vast melodic range - but it's as a solo artist that he truly started to explore these spaces, following mysterious sonic trails into foggy, reverb-heavy territory. Kubikov's contributions to the several instalments of our Pop Ambient compilation series announced the arrival of a promising new project in our talent pool - a promise more than satisfied with the immersive sound bath of first solo outing WHATNESS.
Going from the richly layered electronic drones of LIQUID MIRROR or ENTRANCE to the lush ambient dub of OTHER THE SEA and KURT'S FOREST, or the minimalist, evocative piano of OKTOBER and PIA, the album covers lots of stylistic ground, but remains committed to its overall aesthetic of misty mountains and serene valleys. With the endearing APRIL, a true Pop Ambient classic from the 2016 compilation (KOMPAKT 345 CD 128) makes a welcome return, priming the canvas for the subtle bass throb of NORTH and its charming synth bell orchestra. Masterfully refining and extending his sonic pallet on WHATNESS, ANTON KUBIKOV can claim his spot among the very best of today's ambient composers.
(de) Obwohl die letzte Kompakt-Offerte aus dem Studio der legendären russichen Synthesizeristen SCSI-9 schon eine Weile zurückliegt - 2008, um genau zu sein, mit dem Album Easy As Down' (KOMPAKT CD 068) -, hat Co-Gründer und Techno/House-Virtuose ANTON KUBIKOV nicht auf der faulen Haut geaalt, sondern sein eigenes Label Pro-Tez Records gepflegt - und eine Karriere als Solo-Künstler mit klarem Drang zur verdubbten Tonlandschaft und Ambient-Musik in die Wege geleitet. WHATNESS ist seine erste Solo-Album-Veröffentlichung unter eigenem Namen und webt einen luftigen wie schillernden Klangteppich, der genau da weitermacht, wo Kubikovs exzellente Beiträge zu unserer Pop Ambient Compilation-Reihe aufgehört haben.
ANTON KUBIKOVs besonderes Ohr für Ambientes und tonale Räume war schon immer integraler Bestandteil von SCSI-9s musikalischer DNA, die gerne zwischen fokussierter Tanzathletik und ausufernden Melodieräumen changiert - doch erst als Solo-Künstler macht er sich daran, diese Räume wirklich auszuloten und geheimnisvollen Klangspuren in neblige, hallende Gegenden zu folgen. Kubikovs Gastspiele auf mehreren Ausgaben unserer Pop Ambient-Serie deuteten auf ein vielverprechendes neues Projekt im Talentpool hin - ein Versprechen, das mit dem mitreissenden Klangbad von WHATNESS mehr als erfüllt wird.
Von den reichhaltig verschichteten elektronischen Drones von LIQUID MIRROR oder ENTRANCE zum üppigen Ambient-Dub von OTHER THE SEA und KURT'S FOREST, oder dem minimalistischen, andeutungsreichen Klavierspiel auf OKTOBER und PIA erstreckt sich das Album über viel Stilgebiet, bleibt aber der eigenen Ästhetik dunstiger Gebirgszüge und einsamer Täler true. Mit dem überaus reizenden APRIL macht ausserdem ein echter Pop Ambient-Klassiker von der 2016er Ausgabe (KOMPAKT 345 CD 128) seine Aufwartung und bereitet den Boden für den subtil pochenden Bass von NORTH nebst charmantem Synthieglockenorchester. Meisterhaft veredelt und aufgebohrt, ist ANTON KUBIKOVs Klangpalette auf WHATNESS Grund genug ihm einen Platz zwischen den besten Ambientkomponisten unserer Tage zu sichern.

Gidge is a production duo consisting of Jonatan Nilsson and Ludvig Stolterman. Based in the northern parts of Sweden, Gidge quickly built a solid fan base with releases of their albums Autumn Bells, LNLNN and Lulin. The music of Gidge seems to affect their audience in an emotional way, which eventually resulted in the duo taking the top spot as Best New Artist at XLR8R's readers poll, as well as having the 3LPs ending up on numerous end of year lists. Their main source of inspiration is the vast, snow-covered woodlands of the North. Gidge have for instance recorded all of their percussions in the forest, using only the sticks and rocks that can be found there. 'For Seoul' though came about after the duo went on a trip through Asia, and spent a number of days in the South Korean capital. They fell in love with Seoul, and later on created this two-part hymn for the giant city. Applescal created a remix for the track, which you can listen on the b side.

(en) French soundsmith Sebastien Bouchet has a well-documented knack for deep, eccentric techno and house - as well as a reputation for keeping his solo releases few and far between. Seeing him return to Kompakt under new monicker SEBASTOPOL is a pretty special treat, then - his last contribution to the Kompakt label family dates back to the year 2014, when he dropped the much-acclaimed Speicher 77 (KOMPAKT EXTRA 77). Naturally, expectations are high, and his latest offering GAHALOWOOD does not disappoint, seamlessly merging Bouchet's leftfield sensibilities and unlikely riffs with a strong dance floor drive.
Opener and title track GAHALOWOOD gets things off the launch pad quickly, thanks to its stoic kickdrum and surging synths - but it's those vocals that really pull you in, evolving from atmospheric swabs of texture to full-blown mumblecore imbued with all the deadpan romanticism of an early 80s New Wave act. B side follow-up FLASH POOL seems equally committed to the human voice, deploying its intimate groove whispering upfront, but takes an unexpected turn into psychedelic cowbell territory where feral bleeps roam the lands and hooklines grow in the weirdest of places. Closing cut HEAVEN presents a comparatively straightforward house arc - while still sniffing out some trippy goodness that'll leave your thirst of sonic adventure wholly satisfied.
(de) Der französische Trackbastler Sebastien Bouchet ist bekannt für seinen Hang zu tiefem, exzentrischem Techno und House - und seinen Ruf nur selten etwas zu veröffentlichen. Seine Rückkehr zu Kompakt unter neuem Projektnamen SEBASTOPOL ist deshalb ein ganz besonderer Leckerbissen, datiert doch sein letzter Eintrag ins grosse Kompakt-Buch ins Jahr 2014 zurück, als er die hochgelobte SPEICHER 77 (KOMPAKT EXTRA 77) ins Rennen schickte. Dementsprechend sind die Erwartungen hoch und zahlreich, werden allerdings mehr als befriedigt mit der neuesten Scheibe GAHALOWOOD welche Bouchets Talent für ungewöhnliche Ohrwürmer mit einem kraftvollen Drang zum Tanzflur synchronisiert.
Titeltrack GAHALOWOOD bringt den Fluss schnell ins Rollen, dank einer stoischen Kickdrum und drängelnden Synthies - aber es sind diese Vocals, die einen wirklich in den Strudel hineinziehen und von atmosphärischen Tupfern zur lautstark gehauchten Hymne ausarten, getränkt mit all der matten Romantik einer 80er Welleband. Auf der Kehrseite scheint FLASH POOL ähnlich investiert in die menschliche Stimmgewaltlosigkeit und mischt das intime Groovegeflüster in den Vordergrund - nimmt dann aber eine unerwartete Wendung in psychedelisches Kuhglockenterritorium, wo wilde Bleeps auf den Wiesen umherstromern und Hooklines auf den seltsamsten Bäumen wachsen. Zum Abschluss präsentiert HEAVEN einen vergleichsweise geradlinigen House-Bogen, kommt aber nicht umhin einiges an vertrippter Güte zu erschnüffeln - in jedem Fall dürfte der Durst aufs Klangabenteuer hier vollstens gestillt werden.

Immer noch unerreicht2001 der Hammer - 2007 ein Klassiker! Der House-Rap-Techno-TripHop-Mix des Londoner DJ-Kollektivs Faithless wird vor allem von den Fans als das Beste bezeichnet, was Faithless in den vergangenen Jahren veröffentlicht haben. Wie wahr: sanfte Grooves, sweet Melodies, wummernde Beats und sphärische Gesänge machen Lust auf mehr. Anspieltipps: "Donny X", "Evergreen", "We Come 1" und "Crazy English Summer".

Celebrating the imprint's 10th anniversary, Mike Dehnert returns to his own Fachwerk label with a new full length LP available in 2x12" and digital, following a striking 12" on DJ Koze's Pampa Records at the end of 2016. Across 10 tracks, here Dehnert explores new territory with a restrained and subtle sound while retaining his commanding touch when it comes to creating deep club music. Intro sets the tone of the album, providing an profusion of tidal tones and textures that soak the listener in sound. Before long though, you're listening to the percussive stabs and pensive drums of Between No Words. Here we hear for the first time on the record the subtle but remarkable vocals of Albert Vogt, who returns throughout the LP. Listeners will also be reminded of Dehnert's skill for crafting complex and emotional music with very few elements, which becomes only more evident as this LP opens up. From here Dehnert traverses through dubbed out techno, deep house and downtempo, all with an experimental playfulness and a lightness of touch that only a producer with his talent and raw experience could pull off. The album peaks with the storming Providing Home 2. With swirling, unpredictable arpeggios, hard hitting drums and a sparingly used vocal hook, this is the track that'll ignite ecstasy across dancefloors for years to come. From here, Dehnert quickly cleanses the palette with the beatless Starground, a ringing and pulsing synth piece, pierced by all manner of klangs and bleeps. This perfectly sets up the album's final epic, Laxwax. Another one aimed squarely at the club, but this time it's for darker dancefloors. In stark contrast to its predecessors on the record, this track is insular, hypnotic and raw. Not content to end on such a note, Dehnert provides one last exertion. Outro is bombastic and pounding, with a rave inspired synth line and heavily swung percussion. Topped with cut up and percussive vocals, the track lives up to it's name summing up the LP and adding to it at the same time. This thoughtful record takes elements of modern pop music and extrapolates them with a patience rarely found within the genre itself. Backed by Dehnert's exceptional experience when it comes to producing club music, the result is an album that's simultaneously poppy and experimental, yet fundamentally rooted in techno. It's for that reason that this will surely be such a crossover hit; it has a palette that is broad yet refined, that will undoubtedly reach new ears while appeasing and surprising familiar ones.

Repress!

Berlin based Arttu has been dropping his dusty fat beats across numerous techno labels including Philpot, Clone and 4Lux for a few years but it was 2016's track 'Hoodies' on Arttu's own imprint Cyblo that caught the attention of Accidental label boss Matthew Herbert (and which remains firmly in Herbert's record bag). Arttu was invited onto the Accidental Jnr roster and has delivered a chunk of techno with so much swing it made Donkey Kong blush.

Arttu takes the most simple of jazz bass hooks and loops across a rigid kick, it's when those hats kick in that the groove goes fucking wild. The presence of US native Roberto Q Ingram on vocals brings a full Detroit gangster flavour to the party. Initially Arttu and Roberto had an idea to record a simple and sweaty track with Roberto on the mic and Arttu at the control of some dusty old machines. The result, 'Bass Trakk' is exactly that: Roberto dropping lyrics over a raw beat and a massive bassline. The EP is rounded off with a deep bit of techno 'Debris' with all the trappings of the darkest hour of a Berlin winter in which it was recorded.

Echocord returns late June with a new release, Joel Alter under his Jor-El alias, entitled 'Tilted Reality' and comprising three originals from the Swedish artist.
Currently based in Copenhagen, Sweden born producer and DJ Joel Alter is a name synonymous with
the contemporary Techno scene on both his home turf and across the globe, his back catalogue to date features a long player for the Uncanny Valley imprint, solo EP's for D'Julz' Bass Culture, Sweatshop and collaborative works for Kontra Musik alongside Henrik Johnsson amongst much more.
This time round though we see Alter return under his Jor-El guise under which he first started releasing material on DJ Hell's Internation Deejay Gigolo imprint. Up first is title-track 'Tilted Reality' laid out over seven minutes with a slowly unfolding dynamic feel, encompassing spiraling atmospherics, distorted rhythms and blooming stab- sequences.
'Elevation' follows and takes a more direct groove-driven approach via straight four-four percussion and hooky bass chops, whilst tension building pads and fluttering dub echoes gradually build around the foundation.
'Solitude' closes out the package deliving into deeper realms with soft ethereal dub chords, acid tinged leads and emotive strings.

New, furiously exhilarating Tsapiky music from the south-west of Madagascar, beside the Mozambique Channel. A rough, electric, rural take on the classic Congolese, Kenyan and Mozambican urban dancefloor styles of the 60s and 70s — hyper-fast interplay between pumping bass and clattering drums, overlaid with cranked-up high-life guitar — nourished with the musical traditions of local villages, especially in the singing and other passages of acoustic respite. Ace.

'Spirit Reflection' is the third album LP from Los Angeles singer-songwriter
Gaby Hernandez. Blissful layers of instrumentation, electronics, vocal harmonies and folkloric percussion intertwine with west coast feel to create aunique, beautiful and multi-layered album.
The album features a stellar line-up of LA talent, jazz star Kamasi Washington, Stuart Howard (AKA Lapalux), Kelis and Gaslamp killer collaborator Dexter Story, plus Ninja Tune, Plug Research and Soul Jazz artist Carlos Niño, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Gabriel Reyes-Whittaker all accompany Gaby, with stunning results. Even before Spirit Reflection had been finished, the demo mixes caught the ear and gained support from Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Toshio Matsuura (U.F.O.) and JRocc (Beat Junkies). Born, raised and based in Los Angeles and of Chilean descent, Gaby Hernandez has been writing and recording since 2001. She was a founding member of the 'creative music ensemble' Build An Ark alongside others including Carlos Niño, Dexter Story and Dwight Trible.

Gaby was the only vocalist on Teebs' debut Brainfeeder release Ardour. She made major contributions to AmmonContact's Ninja Tune releases New Birth and With Voices, plus The Life Force Trio's Plug Research album Living Room. She was also the vocalist on Dimlite's Outernational Duet - released as part of his highly acclaimed Sonar Kollektiv longplayer This Is Embracing.
Hernandez was invited by Mia Doi Todd to sing on the Jonathan Wilson produced song Canto de Iemanja, which was included on Todd's City Zen record Cosmic Ocean Ship and the Red Hot + Rio 2 compilation, which also featured Beck, Seu Jorge, Aloe Blacc, David Byrne and Madlib. Among her main musical comrades is the prolific multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Dexter Story, for whom Hernandez sang on the track Water Bearer from his LP Seasons, on Kindred Spirits. David and Graham from Mr Bongo met Gaby and Carlos Nino at the end of their hugely successful Arthur Verocai album launch and rare record sale at the RAPPCATS venue in LA. Gaby and Carlos passed us a copy of 'Spirit Reflection'.and we put it on the deck. It immediately grabbed us and we couldn't stop listening to it. When we got back to the UK we got in contact straight away and signed the album. We're very proud to be releasing it'... ...this is a future classic, an 'album' in the truest sense of the word. Brilliant.' says Graham.

Welcome to Poland: Another country in the midst of fearful flux; where a huge proportion of the country feel their voice is no longer represented by the government; where raw emotions are being exploited cheaply by media to distract, divert and crudely divide; where there is more of a need than ever for like-minded positive souls to unite without prejudice and work together for a better future. The headlines sound too familiar for many of us in the world. But just as Trump does not represent most people in America and Brexit doesn't define everyone in Britain, Poland's right wing government does not exemplify the majority of Polish people. Like all world citizens, our generation and younger are good-minded, thoughtful people who do want to bring down barriers and work together. Their vision is one of inclusion and one of a proud future and how we can improve the lives of our children and grandchildren... Not become entangled in embittered roots of the past. It's evident in Poland's thriving creative cultures from the provocative art of Katarzyna Kozyra to the literature and poetry and films of Wojciech Kuczok. It's evident in the stark optimist architecture of Daniel Libeskind. It's evident in Krakow's thriving club scene and the country's bubbling pools of electronic music talent. It's everything Catz N Dogz do: their attitude, their music, their labels, their WOODED festival and, perhaps most importantly, their friends. Not just there to carry you home; friends carry you everywhere. And right here on 'Friends Of Pets' Catz N Dogz are carrying their companions' creativity with the same esteem and pride they host their Polish festival. A cultural statement and powerful showcase of their country's great thinkers, creators, collaborators and disrupters in electronic music, across 16 tracks

Welcome to Poland: Another country in the midst of fearful flux; where a huge proportion of the country feel their voice is no longer represented by the government; where raw emotions are being exploited cheaply by media to distract, divert and crudely divide; where there is more of a need than ever for like-minded positive souls to unite without prejudice and work together for a better future. The headlines sound too familiar for many of us in the world. But just as Trump does not represent most people in America and Brexit doesn't define everyone in Britain, Poland's right wing government does not exemplify the majority of Polish people. Like all world citizens, our generation and younger are good-minded, thoughtful people who do want to bring down barriers and work together. Their vision is one of inclusion and one of a proud future and how we can improve the lives of our children and grandchildren... Not become entangled in embittered roots of the past. It's evident in Poland's thriving creative cultures from the provocative art of Katarzyna Kozyra to the literature and poetry and films of Wojciech Kuczok. It's evident in the stark optimist architecture of Daniel Libeskind. It's evident in Krakow's thriving club scene and the country's bubbling pools of electronic music talent. It's everything Catz N Dogz do: their attitude, their music, their labels, their WOODED festival and, perhaps most importantly, their friends. Not just there to carry you home; friends carry you everywhere. And right here on 'Friends Of Pets' Catz N Dogz are carrying their companions' creativity with the same esteem and pride they host their Polish festival. A cultural statement and powerful showcase of their country's great thinkers, creators, collaborators and disrupters in electronic music, across 16 tracks