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For a number of years now, A Guy Called Gerald has largely made music only for himself. But this special EP is borne from Gerald’s unique and long-lasting friendship with Analog Room founders Mehdi Ansari, Siamak Amidi and Salar Ansari. They first met in 2013 when Siamak booked Gerald to play his Analog Room party in Dubai – a leading underground light in the UAE’s then emergent scene. Away from the glossy VIP hotels and expensive bottle service parties
typically associated with Dubai, Analog Room only deals with quality bookings of the caliber of Move D, Roman Flügel, Moritz Von Oswald and the likes. Gerald immediately fell in love with the party. Its strict music-first, no-nonsense policy appealed to him and he’s returned many times over the years.

By then, of course, A Guy Called Gerald’s musical legacy was already assured. The Manchester icon is best known for his 1988 hit single Voodoo Ray – the touchstone of his hometown’s dawning acid house scene. As well as being an early member of 808 State, Gerald embraced breakbeat and jungle, ran his own Juice Box Records label and worked with the likes of Columbia, Perlon, K7! and many other vital labels. His skills on everything from synths to keys, samplers to
drum machines stood him apart then – and still do today.

“This release is based on a real friendship,” Gerald explains. “I feel part of the Analog Room family. Back in the early days, that’s how it was. These days, it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re famous, let’s do something.’ I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in being a celebrity or living that life. I’m the same as I was 30 years ago, all I care about is the music. With Mehdi, we have spent hours jamming in private in Dubai, we have partied together. We’ve vibed together for so long and he’s shown me new parts of the world I should be making and playing music in, away from the trendy scenes in other places. So this is an exclusive just for him.
I’m not looking at doing anything else with anyone, and the music is just about celebrating individuality rather than trying to fit in anywhere.”

When Iranian-born Mehdi decided to start Moozikeh Analog Room – which translates from Farsi as “the music of the Analog Room” – Gerald was one of the first artists he asked to release on the label. It might have taken some time for Britain’s Dirty Little Secret to materialize, but boy it’s been worth the wait.

Says Mehdi, “The magic comes through proper relationships and friendships.
That’s why Analog Room worked. It was a great room, an amazing sound system, with amazing artists doing their thing. Bookings were so on-point because we had agents around the world, on the dancefloors, spying up artists who were killing it,
and Gerald was one of them. He was a perfect fit from the first gig and our friendship grew from there. He’s always been very kind to me. We have this common language of music without any bullshit, and that is where this EP comes from.”

The EP is a mixture of different things. Some of it is unreleased material from the vaults revisited, some of it is brand new. It opens up with the devastating Old Skool – a writhing, physical track with naughty bass. The drums hark back to Gerald’s early days of making jungle but reimagined through a modern perspective. As the synths spray about the mix and the percussion bounces atop the jostling drums, muttered vocals draw you in deeper. Sugoi is an experimental
track that fuses ambient synth design with the spacious and eerie atmospheres of jungle. Nimble drums get you on your toes as the spangled synths twist and turn in all directions. It is a thrillingly original, impossible to define track.

Flash Fight is built on a captivating rhythm that sits in the area where house, techno and jungle intersect. It is warm and cavernous, physical yet elegant as it bounces on rubbery kicks and lithe synths roam in and out of earshot. Perfect for those sweaty, cozy back rooms, it’s another masterclass from Gerald. Closing out the EP is False Religion, a deep-rooted house track with elastic drums and
haunting, wispy pads. As a subtle acid bassline rises and falls way down below,
Gerald’s own mystic whispers leave listeners hypnotized.

Following on from Analog Room co-founder Salar Ansari’s debut release on the label, this EP is a statement of intent. More releases will follow from some of Analog Room’s most frequent international guests, but only when the time is right. Moozikeh Analog Room is a label of love, one that is focused on putting out the best possible music at all times rather than chasing hype.

A timely reminder of why A Guy Called Gerald is one of the world’s most enduring electronic artists.

Back in the 80s I became a big funk, jazz, and soul vinyl collector; which opened the incredible world of the late, great Mr. Weldon Johnathan Irvine. Back in the 90s I was lucky enough to meet him; Mr. Irvine was such a calm and gentle person; he just oozed music. This laidback, kind quality resonates in his music. On this 45, we trip through the jazzy journey of Weldon’s innovative keyboard work through to the double bass, and horns on the A. On the B we’re in a smoky bar, with yer homies,, chillin n grooving, as the melodica and guitar head-nod us along. Sublime.

It is a great honour to be able to release some of his music from his Nodlow music label on to 7” for the first time.

Welcome to the jazz funk world of the late great Mr Weldon Johnathan Irvine. This great man managed to write music that both inspired and in awed 50 years ago, as it still does today. He takes you to another world, with his gentle yet almost crazy energy. He was way ahead of his time producing these monumental, instrumental masterpieces. Mr Irvine was such a calm and kind gentleman, who just oozed music. He sadly passed away in 2002. It is a great honour to be able to release some of his music from his Nodlow music label on to 7” for the first time.

In 1974 Weldon released his “In Harmony” LP. The two tracks we chose are, “Fat Mouth” which, as expected, features the signature Weldon rift. This Clavinet-heavy groove is backed up with the mighty Joe Jones on Hammond organ; and is all held steady with the pumping drums from Napoleon Revels
“Turkish Bath” is a laid-back jazz groove, with Weldon laying down a superb lead Rhodes story and melody. Backed up with Joe Jones on the piano. Weldon’s keyboard echoes throughout his music with such simplicity.

These recordings, made in 2001 in the weeks before September 11, constitute a unique historical document. They are spoken-word adaptations of scenes taken from Destroy All Monsters, the first book by acclaimed writer and 'pop culture alchemist' Ken Hollings. A multistranded postmodern epic, Destroy All Monsters offers a radical retelling of Desert Storm, America's military operation targeting Iraq, using imagery derived from MTV videos, CNN news reports, Japanese kaiju movies and anime, Hong Kong action flicks and tales of alien abduction. The book's entire narrative nervously unfolds in an unstable of world of terror monsters, wrecked cities and dangerously tall buildings: where an event like 9/11 is inevitable. The book was officially launched on September 13, but distribution in the United States was delayed when ports on the Eastern Seaboard were closed to shipping post 9/11, leaving copies of the book stranded in the Atlantic. 'Published the very week of the "attacks on America",' Toby Litt wrote at the time, 'Destroy All Monsters is genuinely, spookily prescient…as a progress report on Planet Earth, it seems to have timeslipped onto the front pages.' Lydia Lunch praised it as 'a hallucinogenic spiral into future nightmare', while The Scotsman called it 'mind bending reading.'

In the summer of 2001, Ken Hollings was approached by sound designer and electronic music composer Simon James, who wanted to create an audio adaptation of scenes from the novel to share with subscribers to a spoken word channel launched by totallyradio. The idea was to record Ken reading his own words and then embed them in a soundscape that evoked the fragmented complexity of the original text. Ken concentrated on a small handful of threads from the overall narrative, while Simon directed and engineered the final recording. This resulted in the two sequences of words, sounds and electronic tonalities contained on this audiocassette: an unsettling portrait of people about to be overtaken by events.

In October 2001, having just got married in London, Ken and Rachel Hollings went to New York for their honeymoon, just as they had originally planned. They spent an unforgettable week in a city struggling to recover from the seismic changes that had just taken place while a sudden wave of anthrax attacks on government and media offices filled the news cycles. Rachel took a photograph of Ken at Ground Zero, where crowds of onlookers continued to gather, and the air still smelled of burning.

Ken Hollings is a writer and broadcaster whose main concern is the relationship between culture and technology. He has written and presented numerous critically acclaimed features for BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and Resonance 104.4 FM His other books include Welcome to Mars, The Bright Labyrinth, The Space Oracle and Inferno all available from Strange Attractor/MIT Press. His latest book, Purgatory, is due from Strange Attractor in Spring 2022.

Simon James is a producer, musician and sound designer based in Brighton, UK, whose work combines electronic sources with field recording techniques and sound treatments, using sound to transport the listener to fantastical audio worlds. Simon's latest release, Electro Smog, collects electromagnetic field recordings from Shenzhen's electronic markets, recorded while he was in China at the invitation of Musicity and The British Council.

The Destroy All Monsters audio adaptations marked the first occasion Ken and Simon worked together – subsequently they collaborated on the 12-part series Welcome to Mars for Resonance 104.4 FM and Connecting, an audio portrait of the original 'phone phreaks', for BBC Radio 3. In 2021 they teamed up again to make Fast Forward, a six-part documentary series for Kasperksy Lab.

OK, it’s taken us to get to our 11th release for some filthy organ funk to grace the label, and who better than The King Rooster.
Hailing from London, The King Rooster are a heavy funk quartet consisting of Ian Stevens on bass, Mark Claydon on drums (both
from another heavy funk band - The Getup), Sam Montero on keys and James Forster on guitar.
Collectively the band have played, recorded and shared stages with the likes of Sir Joe Quaterman, JTQ, Gizelle Smith, Reuben
Wilson, Speedometer Pee Wee Ellis and many more.
The band have released a clutch of heavy duty organ funk 45s on various labels over the last few years (Our Label, FNR, Dinked,
Burning Soul) and a spectacular LP, also on Dinked. But it was when we heard ‘Snitchin’, Stitchin’ & Bitchin’ on Funk Night Records
that we decided 45 Live needed some Rooster funk on the label!
It is entirely evident that the guys all have a deep love for raw funk, that gritty, slightly shambolic garage sound, punchy instrumentals
designed to hit you in the gut, pure soul from the pure funk perspective. It’s all about the ‘nasty face’!
Here we have 2 hard hitting organ screamers kicking off with ‘Snake Bait’ on the A side, a raucous 144bpm dancefloor burner.
Scratchy guitar, thumping bass and manic drums underpin a swirling and ever building Hammond Organ into a firey crescendo.
Whilst over on the B ‘Stickin’ it’ takes some cues from The Meters sound with its trance like organ riffs and bluesy flavour. It’s a raw
mid-tempo head nodder which, like the A side, keeps building and building into such a cookin’ groove.

Clear Orange Vinyl w/ bone splatter. Limited edition of 300. Linernotes written by Josh Homme. Originally released on CD in 2001 on Josh Hommes own Rekords Rekords-label and now on vinyl for the first time! 20th anniversary! Remastered for the vinyl release. There must be something in the sand of sweltering Palm Desert, a California town that has birthed Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, as well as Fatso Jetson. Like Kyuss/QOTSA, Fatso Jetson built a name for themselves by putting their own unique spin on the Sabbath sound, but unlike their counterparts, larger than life singer/guitarist Mario Lalli's true love lies in both jazz (Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy) and experimental rock (Frank Zappa, Devo). On paper, this conglomeration of different styles sounds like the perfect recipe for a train wreck, but it somehow all comes together on disc, as evidenced by the trio's 2003 offering, Cruel & Delicious. Issued on old pal Josh Homme's label, Rekords Rekords, the trippy songs perfectly fit the feel of the album's cover (a sun-bleached photo of a long stretch of desert highway), especially such standouts as the saxophone free for all "Drinkin Mode," the melodic "Light Yourself on Fire," the bouncy instrumental "Heavenly Hearse," a barely recognizable cover of the Devo obscurity, "Ton O Luv," and the jazzoid freak-out, "Pig Hat Smokin." Cruel & Delicious is an enjoyable slice of hard rock, well off the beaten path

Strut present a definitive vinyl edition of the groundbreaking compilation 'Nigeria 70'. Originally released in 2001, the collection set the benchmark for a new generation of archive labels and releases mining the vaults for rare Afro funk and Afro jazz fusions and helped to paint the wider picture of the 1970s Lagos scene beyond Fela Kuti's catalogue for a legion of soul, funk and dance music enthusiasts. This definitive reissue features the original LP remastered and pressed on 180g triple vinyl in a gatefold sleeve.
Narrated by Wunmi with commentary by the late Nigerian academic "Elder" Steve Rhodes, this one-hour piece is an essential snapshot of the 1970s Lagos scene and the cultural and political context from many of the key players of the time. It includes interviews with Ginger Baker, Fela Kuti, Ebenezer Obey, Segun Bucknor, Joni Haastrup of Monomono and many more.

On 180 grm audiophile black vinyl and is stickered to say this. This six-song, half-hour CD the band’s affecting a more rural, lonesome-sounding tone and a moodier, more deliberate pace; the more traditional feel meshes well with Anton Newcombe's twisting of country-gospel lyrical clichés into rock & roll attitude. The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a psychedelic rock band originally from San Francisco, California, led by guitarist/singer Anton Newcombe. Since 1995 The Brian Jonestown Massacre has released numerous albums, first for Bomp! Records, the label which gave them their start, and later for TVT and Tee Pee. BJM has been essential in the development of the modern U.S. garage scene, and many LA and SF musicians got their start playing with Newcombe, including Peter Hayes of The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

- 2021 repress / comes in label sleeve -

After having traveled around the world and performing his own music since 2006, Re:Axis delivers a new record for Planet Rhythm. 'Energy In Motion EP' is the newest work from the Lisbon based producer. Energy in Motion is a 5 track pack that covers a lot of Re:Axis' sonic pallette.

VIDO's way of independence with her first vinyl release on her own label. Coming from Frankfurt(Main), over many milestones to Berlin. "With limited given medium, creating something".

Enjoy the journey of a trippy, meditative, still a bit obscure danceable record of the VIDO Alias and her Alter Ego "M-Drive" that shows the last track with a voice insert.

For nearly two decades, four-time GRAMMY® Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, producer, arranger, and songwriter Michael League has been an innovative force in modern music, whose grass-roots approach to the industry has made an imprint across multiple continents and genres. Known best as the leader of the instrumental ensemble Snarky Puppy, League has performed thousands of shows, released dozens of studio and live albums, and garnered accolades from the New York Times, Downbeat, Jazz Times, and Rolling Stone, among many others. The busy artist is also a founding member of the GRAMMY®-nominated supergroup Bokanté and oversees GroundUP Music—a fiercely independent label which he established in 2012. As a versatile producer and songwriter, League has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists, including David Crosby, Esperanza Spaulding, Kirk Franklin, Joe Walsh, Daedelus, and Terence Blanchard. Throughout his many ventures, however, League has always felt most comfortable within a collaborative setting, whether he’s bringing musicians together from across the globe, planning the latest edition of the GroundUP Music Festival, or writing one-on-one with a partner. While the notion of a solo record first took shape in 2015, League’s demanding schedule always prevented him from pursuing it in earnest. And then, in March 2020, the world went into lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With tours canceled, studios shuttered, and projects on hold indefinitely, League finally had the time to make this record—titled So Many Me. Yet, lyrically and musically, his first solo album was a very different project—and process—than what he had initially envisioned five years earlier.

Swedish vinyl only label Kvalia Records breaks a 9-month silence by introducing a meticulously executed 3 track ep by DJ Nobu and Artefakt. Hiiro consists of two original, psychedelic techno trips produced by DJ Nobu, and one re-interpretive sonic journey by Artefakt.

Ever-evolving Australian outfit The Possé debut on cult deep house label Pulp with Moods & Vibrations. Their fresh new four-tracker includes a remix from Space Ghost.

Andrew Elston and Ross Ferraro are the core members of The Possé, but the group often expands or contracts with various other musicians. Since 2017 they have released on the likes of Plastic World, Ken Oath Records and Kolour LTD, and bring plenty of Southern Hemisphere heat to all their productions.

'Parting' opens up with plenty of soulful Detroit house flavours. The dusty drums get you in the groove while subtle acid and silky pads bring a feel-good, sun-kissed vibe. Remixer Space Ghost is Sudi Wachspress, a real album specialist who has released on Tartelet and Apron Records. He has a uniquely lo-fi house sound that draws on funk
and soul. This remix is a late-night jam with gorgeous trumpet motifs and scuffed-up drum patterns all finished off with warming sunset chords.

Then comes 'In Focus', a brilliantly loose and jazzed-up jam. The skipping drums are run through with playful keys and humid chords that cannot fail to bring the party. 'Prime Mover' is a little more direct and dynamic but no less heartfelt, with more expressive melodies and infectious drums. A liquid Mix of 'Prime Mover' layers in fatter bass and more crisp percussion to take you to another level. Moods & Vibrations is an EP of rich, musical house grooves that are overflowing with soul.

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...

Channel One production, Discostyle double header as originally released on the J & J label in 1980.

Both sides come complete with extended mixes running into the version.

On limited red vinyl and housed in Channel One's Super Charge inner sleeve in a quality art board spined sleeve.

Vice Squad are a UK Punk Rock band who’s first single releases included the classic ‘Last Rockers’ 7” in 1981. This was followed by the landmark albums ‘No Cause For Concern’ in the same year and ‘Stand Strong Stand Proud’ in 1982 which were both released on EMI. Since then Vice Squad have delivered short sharp songs with incisive political lyrics and a dash of humour spat out over a thunderous rhythm and machine gun Rock ’n’ Roll guitars. Their latest releases are the EPs 'Born In A War' and 'Ignored To Death V2' taken from the forthcoming album ‘Battle of Britain’ set for release on their own Last Rockers label in May 2020. The band have become 100% DIY since forming Last Rockers Records in 2009. In keeping with the DIY ethic the previous albums were recorded in the band’s own ‘Sci Fidelity’ studio South London and the new album ‘Battle of Britain’ continues this with the band maintaining full artistic control with the benefit of global distribution via Cargo. Their last album ‘ Cardboard Country’ was launched on the back of a very successful Pledge campaign raising funds for the Shelter homeless charity in line with the album title which was inspired by 'Cardboard City', the name given to the settlement of homeless people living in cardboard boxes near London's Waterloo station. Vice Squad is fronted by raucous voiced singer/guitarist Beki Bondage who was famed for being a teenage champion of Animal rights long before the current popularity of veganism. Vice squad’s song ’Humane’ was one of the first ever Animal Rights songs. Beki has been featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such at Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, Record Mirror and Smash Hits. After a hiatus, Beki formed a new version of Vice Squad in 1997 featuring longstanding members of her post VS outfit The Bombshells and they have released several quality albums of powerful punk songs that have been very well received across the world. Vice Squad are considered one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time, paving the way for other female Punk and Rock singers and influencing male performers such as Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame who was introduced to Vice Squad via his sister’s record collection. The first rule of Punk is there are no rules and Vice Squad ably illustrate this with ‘Battle of Britain’. Written, Recorded and Mixed by Beki Bond and Paul Rooney in their home studio. The 13 track album opens with the blistering ‘Ruination’ which cuts through the bullshit of small time promoters and blaggers with consummate swagger and melody while ‘I Dare To Breathe’ is an amphetamine driven anthem to paranoia. ‘When You Were 17’ is almost-tender and tells of first tattoos and under age booze whilst the more chilling ‘Ignored To Death’ rails against isolation and homelessness. The explosive ‘Born In A War’ rages along like a missile ravaging a third world country and warns ‘See how they treat refugees? That’s how they’ll treat you and me’. Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ reworked with a pulsating industrial bass segues into title track, 'Battle Of Britain' where Beki's vocals soar like a Spitfire over the crunching de-tuned riff and spit fury over the hypocrisy of putting war memorials before people. The dystopian ‘Poverty Face’ hits you with the opening line ‘Disinheriting the meek, slyly killing off the weak’ and is counter balanced by the more upbeat ‘How The Other Half Lives’. ‘No Evil’ is a relentless attack on the normalisation of the suffering and death of billions of animals for the meat industry. Battle of Britain's hard hitting collection of anger and riffage pulls no punches in covering topics from austerity and factory farming to the pernicious influence of the Mainstream Media - ‘Led by lies lambs to the slaughter, tax exiles say who you vote for’. Brexit, fake patriotism and cognitive dissonance all get a good kicking too. The penultimate track, 'You Can’t Fool All Of The People' mixes baritone guitar with violin and Celtic rhythms climaxing in an epic James Bondesque heavy guitar/orchestral blend and breaks every rule in the Punk Police hand book whilst pleading for unity against a rigged political system. ‘Pulling Teeth’ with its ominous riff and hilariously frustrated lyrics ‘Dithering jibbering solid as jam, is it fair I’m both the woman and the man’ closes the album in manic style

Vice Squad are a UK Punk Rock band who’s first single releases included the classic ‘Last Rockers’ 7” in 1981. This was followed by the landmark albums ‘No Cause For Concern’ in the same year and ‘Stand Strong Stand Proud’ in 1982 which were both released on EMI. Since then Vice Squad have delivered short sharp songs with incisive political lyrics and a dash of humour spat out over a thunderous rhythm and machine gun Rock ’n’ Roll guitars. Their latest releases are the EPs 'Born In A War' and 'Ignored To Death V2' taken from the forthcoming album ‘Battle of Britain’ set for release on their own Last Rockers label in May 2020. The band have become 100% DIY since forming Last Rockers Records in 2009. In keeping with the DIY ethic the previous albums were recorded in the band’s own ‘Sci Fidelity’ studio South London and the new album ‘Battle of Britain’ continues this with the band maintaining full artistic control with the benefit of global distribution via Cargo. Their last album ‘ Cardboard Country’ was launched on the back of a very successful Pledge campaign raising funds for the Shelter homeless charity in line with the album title which was inspired by 'Cardboard City', the name given to the settlement of homeless people living in cardboard boxes near London's Waterloo station. Vice Squad is fronted by raucous voiced singer/guitarist Beki Bondage who was famed for being a teenage champion of Animal rights long before the current popularity of veganism. Vice squad’s song ’Humane’ was one of the first ever Animal Rights songs. Beki has been featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such at Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, Record Mirror and Smash Hits. After a hiatus, Beki formed a new version of Vice Squad in 1997 featuring longstanding members of her post VS outfit The Bombshells and they have released several quality albums of powerful punk songs that have been very well received across the world. Vice Squad are considered one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time, paving the way for other female Punk and Rock singers and influencing male performers such as Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame who was introduced to Vice Squad via his sister’s record collection. The first rule of Punk is there are no rules and Vice Squad ably illustrate this with ‘Battle of Britain’. Written, Recorded and Mixed by Beki Bond and Paul Rooney in their home studio. The 13 track album opens with the blistering ‘Ruination’ which cuts through the bullshit of small time promoters and blaggers with consummate swagger and melody while ‘I Dare To Breathe’ is an amphetamine driven anthem to paranoia. ‘When You Were 17’ is almost-tender and tells of first tattoos and under age booze whilst the more chilling ‘Ignored To Death’ rails against isolation and homelessness. The explosive ‘Born In A War’ rages along like a missile ravaging a third world country and warns ‘See how they treat refugees? That’s how they’ll treat you and me’. Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ reworked with a pulsating industrial bass segues into title track, 'Battle Of Britain' where Beki's vocals soar like a Spitfire over the crunching de-tuned riff and spit fury over the hypocrisy of putting war memorials before people. The dystopian ‘Poverty Face’ hits you with the opening line ‘Disinheriting the meek, slyly killing off the weak’ and is counter balanced by the more upbeat ‘How The Other Half Lives’. ‘No Evil’ is a relentless attack on the normalisation of the suffering and death of billions of animals for the meat industry. Battle of Britain's hard hitting collection of anger and riffage pulls no punches in covering topics from austerity and factory farming to the pernicious influence of the Mainstream Media - ‘Led by lies lambs to the slaughter, tax exiles say who you vote for’. Brexit, fake patriotism and cognitive dissonance all get a good kicking too. The penultimate track, 'You Can’t Fool All Of The People' mixes baritone guitar with violin and Celtic rhythms climaxing in an epic James Bondesque heavy guitar/orchestral blend and breaks every rule in the Punk Police hand book whilst pleading for unity against a rigged political system. ‘Pulling Teeth’ with its ominous riff and hilariously frustrated lyrics ‘Dithering jibbering solid as jam, is it fair I’m both the woman and the man’ closes the album in manic style

Das Label Crammed Discs stellt in einer weiteren Folge seiner Komponistenserie "Made To Measure" einen Soundtrack vor, den die Bands Tuxedomoon und Cult With No Name 2015 für die Dokumentation "Blue Velvet Revisited" geschrieben und eingespielt haben. Die Doku basiert auf Bildern, die der deutsche Filmemacher Peter Braatz auf Einladung von David Lynch 1985 am Set von "Blue Velvet" machte. Für den Soundtrack haben sich die englischen Elektronik- und Neue-Klassik-Band Cult With No Name und die legendären amerikanischen Post-Punk-Kammerpop-Pioniere Tuxedomoon zusammengetan. Im Ergebnis verschmelzen Elemente zeitgenössischer Klassik ("Lumberton") über Jazz ("So Fucking Suave") bis hin zu Ambient-Electronica ("Do It For Van Gogh") und Krautrock ("Jeffrey Nothing"). Außerdem mit dabei ist ein Pate moderner elektronischer Musik, der Brite John Foxx.

The classic debut LP by Dub Narcotic Sound System, originally released on K Records and unavailable on vinyl for 25 years. The oddball indie-funk collective Dub Narcotic Sound System was spearheaded by vocalist Calvin Johnson, the former frontman of the legendary Beat Happening as well as the founder of the famed K Records label. Named in honor of Johnson's own Olympia, WA-based basement studio Dub Narcotic, the project was begun in 1994 with a rapid-fire series of funk-, rap-, and reggae-influenced singles including "Bite," "Fuck Shit Up," "Booty Run," and "Shake-a-Puddin'"; from the outset Johnson was the group's sole constant member, although over the course of subsequent releases, including the EPs Industrial Breakdown, Ridin' Shotgun, and Ship to Shore, the revolving lineup grew to include Olympia scenesters like Lois Maffeo as well as Larry Butler, Todd Ranslow, and Brian Weber, all three members of the hip-hop unit Dead Presidents. The first Dub Narcotic Sound System full-length, Rhythm Record, Vol. One: Echoes From the Scene Control Room, appeared in 1995; later efforts included 1996's Boot Party and 1998's Out of Your Mind. Sideways Soul, a collaboration with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, followed in 1999. Trouser Press wrote that "when not delving deep into the usual sorts of ambient studio trickery, the songs hit a '60s R&B stride, bathing in the stoned soul picnic ambience with uplifting spirit."

Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.
In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces.
In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo).
In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the United States, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison's recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase.
It is on WENHA that Harrison released the opus: DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME (1980), which we are presenting you today.
DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin (Freddie Hubbard, Solomon Burke, Mulatu Astakte) on trombone, Harold McKinney (Tribe) on Keyboards and Roy Brooks (Yusef Lateef, Chet Baker, Mingus) on percussion. Although you can hear the 80ies creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record. The record’s an irresistible blend of soul jazz combined with funky electric instrumentation…a groovy sound which is very much of its time, yet overtly timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released.
Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first ever vinyl reissue of ‘Dreams of A Love Supreme’ since its release in 1980. This official reissue is now available as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (limited to 500 copies) and comes with an unreleased bonus track.

Not just a super-rare set of dreamy soul jazz but also a neat piece of independent label history: JSR were a Jersey-based imprint with an open source attitude to their business, allowing ambitious young musicians their first break contract-free (albeit with limited pressings) In 1980 Coleman took them up on the offer, played most of the instruments himself and even designed the artwork: Taking Care Of Business is quite a literal title. It's literally brilliant, too; just check the Shuggy style vocal leans on "Due Consideration" or the swooning Roy Ayers style vibraphone magic of "Sweet Bird" and you'll see exactly what we mean. Stunning.

Part of the joy of collecting soul music is searching for and discovering lesser known gems. Phoenix, AZ, might not be known as one of the main American cities for black music despite spawning artists such as Dyke & the Blazers and Eddie & Ernie, but the city holds a cult status among rare soul collectors thanks to the small output of labels like Artco, OK&T, Poorman’s and Raina.
One of the state’s well kept secrets is Bobby Barnes, who had a small number of 45 releases on local labels. All strong tracks which really deserved wider recognition than they got.
The 14th S4R release contains two previously unissued songs, from 1977 and 1984 respectively, recorded for the Raina label with Lawrence Carroll producing and arranging.
”Super High On Your Love” is in my opinion his best song - a super soulful floater type of modern soul dancer. The flip is an alternative, extended version of “I’ve Had My Share”, to my ears superior to the original with a sparser backing and keyboards replacing the guitar. Two truly sublime sides!

Twang, Hmmm, click, thunk.



When XTC finally downed guitars after the recording and release of “Wasp Star”, their last album to date, one of Andy’s ideas about what to do next, was to become a songwriter in the traditional sense, writing songs for others…



It was something he had been asked to do throughout the XTC years, but never had the time.



Songs were written. Songs were sent. Sometimes speculatively, often specifically requested, many tailor-made for an artist's requirements, but then choppy waters could still lay ahead. Even where everyone seemed to think that newly written song A would be wonderful if recorded by singer B, whose manager C had initiated the request via music publisher D for album E on record label F…



Well, you begin to see the potential problems of such an approach – almost a quarter of the way through the alphabet and not a note recorded beyond Andy's original demo. That’s without detailing the sort of horrendous politics that makes a fresh batch of alphabet spaghetti of any of the above as they interact.



Still, songs are like children. A songwriter gives birth to them, feeds them, watches them grow before sending them out into the world. So it’s unfair to abandon them as orphans just because their first experience outdoors might be a traumatic one of being cold shouldered.

As a loving parent, Andy brought them all back together, re-Andy-fied them and buffed them up in his home studio, et voila! Here is the first selection of song siblings that resulted from all of this work, four brothers and sisters, happily reunited and presented as a family group aural snapshot for your entertainment and delight.



The story has a happy ending after all. It is almost as if The Sound of Music, had been set in Swindon.



If only we all failed so well…

Eclectic Limited, an Eclectic Production sub label dedicated exclusively to the vinyl production, celebrates its first release.
This production is a split EP which launches 4 explosive tracks. 2 original pulsations by Kenny Dahl and Entropia Techno Department remixed by ONTAL in an extraordinary earthquake deep industrial versions.
The techno darkest side has been glorified by these four tracks releasing pure electronic energy.
This is an exclusively vinyl Eclectic Limited production in a limited edition.

FJAAK present the next instalment in the Spandau20 series: On catalogue number 007 the label owners team up with Apollo Studio owner & dance music legend Tobi Neumann for a diverse EP of dancefloor sweepers. The trio are joined by french stalwart Kittin on A1 for an acidic cut of electro boogie and NYC based singer Justice on the classic Technohouse leaning B Side. A2 sees FJAAK & Mr Neumann handle business themselves on F-Zero, a cut which would surely work a treat had it been included in the video game series its is named after.

New 9-track EP and inaugural release from Detroit label 100 LIMOUSINES.

A fixture in the Detroit DJ world—Todd Modes has spent the last decade quietly releasing music on Going Good, FIT Sound, Golf Channel, M1 Sessions, Still Music, Fat Finger Cosmic, and Detroit Electronic Quarterly. Inspired by the birth of his son and the death of his grandfather—New Life is a deeply personal meditation on the cycles of life and time. An examination of the past and present assembled from recordings spanning the last 20+ years—this EP is an outstanding representation of Modes musical depth and artistic purpose—a prime example of the quality to be expected from 100 LIMOUSINES in the future.

The third release on U-TRAX in 1993 was also a third debut, this time by Natasja Hagemeier and Jeroen Brandjes. Early in their career, they used several artist names, but became most commonly known as The Connection Machine. With their debut mini-album The Dream Tec Album they more or less described their style: dreamy techno. It became an instant Dutch techno classic and U-TRAX is proud and delighted to offer a fully remastered re-release, including three never before released bonus tracks (one of which is digital-only).

Natasja and Jeroen resided in Utrecht back in the 90s. In 1991 they assembled all their ideas and recorded the track "24 Hours" with DJ Paradize. Soon after this experience, they started to buy their own gear, all strictly MIDI (which wasn't too obvious in those days). In their early recording years, they had three producer-names (Syndrome, The Connection Machine and Bitch&Bites), that were all collected under the The Utroid Machine Missions umbrella, which was used for their debut on U-TRAX.

All tracks on The Dream Tec Album are The Connection Machine's earliest works, from the 1991/1992 years.

"An Overflow of the Mind" is a beautiful, dreamy track with almost divine sounds and strange voice-samples that serves perfectly as an introduction to their entire repertoire.

Their first production was "24 Hours", and what a brilliant one it is! A well-known jazz-musician talks about a "24 hour party going on", on top of a sinister and trancey rug, woven of sampled sounds from pioneers in electronic music and nailed down to the floor with a deep pounding bassdrum. At the time they made this track, 141 bpm was unbelievably fast...

"Evilish Cosmos" is all about a very sad and personal emotion, so everything we say about it will be absolutely wrong. Just listen to the meandering piano line, distorted voice samples - and feel it.

The first bonus track on this release is "Recognized Pain", which was intended to be part of the original The Dream Tec Album. It had appeared on the Phuture Classical Section C cassette in 1993, on the famous Drome Tapes label that formed the roots of U-TRAX. It truly is an amazing track: pure sonic terror with haunting rhythms, psychedelic synth lines and shards of voice samples that make the listener feel slightly uncomfortable.

"X_Manray" is many electronic music lover's favorite track. It is sooo deep that it is hard not to get hypnotized by it. Warm strings are coupled with deep beats that show up and disappear every now and then. Could serve perfectly to start off any DJ's set, as long as she or he has the guts.

Though "Braindrain" is probably the most danceable track on this album, it is carefully designed to tease the listener. Everything in this track drops in too late and every tone, melody or loop last exactly a few bars too long. Designed as a DJ-teaser and so it is.

The second bonus track, "Cafe d'Anvers", is another previously unreleased work, of which unfortunately no master recording was saved. All that is left, as far as we know, was an old VHS Hifi tape from the U-TRAX Archives. And that is where this bonus track was taken from. Mastering engineer Thee J Johanz managed to restore the quality of the recording somewhat, while at the same time maintaining its dark, clubby sound, a tribute to the famous club of the track's name in Antwerp, Belgium.

"Dream Affected Dream" is one of the most recent productions on this album. It was recorded with CNN playing live on top of it. At this exact moment, CNN was having an interview with David Koresh, the leader of the infamous Branch Davidians sect from Waco, Texas, while they were under siege by an armed police force. Natasja and Jeroen were just ready to record Dream Affected Dream, and spontaneously decided to mix in the audio from CNN. Not very long after that, the cult members set fire to themselves. A very strange and oddly funky track, that also serves as a time-document.

The final track is another bonus track. Like Cafe d'Anvers, "Voight-Kampff" is taken from on old U-TRAX VHS Hifi tape and masterfully mastered into a lovely relaxed dreamtech piece. Very suitable to start the Sunday after a long night of clubbing. This track is available for free to buyers of the complete digital album only.

Original release date: July 1993.

Drummer/producer Teppo "Teddy Rok" Mäkynen shares two unreleased cuts by his alias The Stance Brothers on We Jazz Records. The 7" color vinyl single goes by the title "Commercial Music", as both tracks are originally commissioned for promotional purposess. The tough-as-nails A-sider "Hard Deal" is an old-school Stance groover made for the Finnish clothing brand Samuji's men's Spring/Summer collection 2015. Stance fans will recognice the signature Teddy Rok groove which cooks and rocks, and displays nice depth as well. The drum break is pure fire like only Teppo can deliver. "Dwayne's Shuffle", known to local Finnish jazz aficionadoes as the opening theme of the popular Yle Radio 1 "Jazzklubi" show is slightly more mellow offering, yet the full swing and intensity is right there in the pocket. The crunchy guitar and minimalist vibraphone melodies carry the tune way beyond your average radio show jingle into a full existence of its own.

"Commercial Music" by The Stance Brothers is released by We Jazz Records on color 7" vinyl single, delivered with heat-pressed old school labels and a stylish plain brown sleeve.

Habibi Funk presents a selection of works by Algerian-born, Amazigh artist Majid Soula. Majid’s music blends the best of Arab-disco, highlife and groovy funk into something wholly unique.

Born in Kabylie, Algeria - a place that remains fundamental to his career - Majid Soula is a self-made musician, artist and producer. With no formal music education, Majid’s tenacity has led to a career that is still blossoming. His synths, driving drums, guitar & strong lyrics make a unique sound. A strong proponent for the rights of the Amazigh, he has a band that to this day plays shows, most linked to cultural events of the Amazigh diaspora in France, as well as in Belgium, Russia the UK and Sweden. He was part of a new wave of widely popular and successful Kabyle artists in the 1980s, such as Ait Menguellet, Lounès Matoub, Takfarinas, Idir and many more.

Habibi Funk as a label is dedicated to re-releasing music from “The Arab World”, but this release shows how reductive this term can be, as the countries from North Africa and West Asia being summarized under this term include a vast number of languages and identities. Obviously, headlines sometimes come with limited space, and one can’t avoid using terms that paint a half-finished picture. That being the case, however, we are even more happy that Majid Soula liked our idea to work on a release of a selection of his music with us. The tracks here are incredible and need to be introduced to a new generation of listeners.

For Majid Soula music is more than just entertainment. He considers himself an activist through music, and foremost a “chanteur engagé”, as he says of himself: „I take my inspiration from the daily life of my people and I share all their aspirations, mainly the official recognition of Tamazight as a language, culture and identity.”

He still works on new music in his small home studio in Belleville and occasionally plays concerts for the Amazigh community of the city.
We sincerely hope that for you reading this and listening to Majid’s album, his music will have the same revelatory feeling it had on us, and that this will be part of a momentum that will allow Majid to keep on working, playing, and sharing his message for many years to come.

Four Flies' new record series, ITALIAN LIBRARY SONGBOOK - Masters of Cinematic Music Reimagined into Song, hopes to build a bridge between the modern and the contemporary. Producers and songwriters from today's music scene put their spin on hidden tracks and outtakes from the catalogues of Italian soundtrack maestros, reimagining them into new, previously unheard songs poised between pop and club culture – a sound nestled somewhere in between Balearic, downtempo, and organic grooves.

Volume I focuses on Alessandro Alessandroni, a composer whose trajectory is emblematic with respect to Four Flies' journey as a label and publisher. Despite being best known in his lifetime for his unmistakable whistle in Ennio Morricone's soundtracks for Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, Alessandroni was way more than that. He was a refined composer and multi-instrumentalist, and one always ahead of his time. Partly thanks to Four Flies and its contribution to the rediscovery of the Maestro with releases such as the EP "Afro Discoteca" and the compilation album "Lost & Found", this has become unquestionably clear in the past few years, which have seen his name climb to the top of collectors' want lists and gain recognition in the international music industry.

This release goes back to one of Alessandroni's lesser known film scores, Sangue di sbirro (written for Alfonso Brescia's 1976 poliziottesco Cop's Blood), where he created his own version of the soul-infused jazz-funk music typically found in 70s Blaxploitation movies.

More specifically, Neapolitan producer pAd and London singer-songwriter Jessica Duncan reimagine the original "Philadelphia", which appears on Side B and whose title clearly refers to the city that, back in the 70s, saw the birth of (mellow) disco. The result of their collaboration is "Do You Wanna Get Close?" on Side A, a downtempo, jazz-funk and Balearic gem pervaded by warm, sexy and elegant pop-soul vibes that make it a perfect club track to enjoy the night until the early hours of the morning.

To ensure maximum audio quality, the mastering was done by Fabrizio De Carolis at his Reference Mastering studio in Rome's Prati neighborhood (the same neighborhood that was once the epicenter of Roman library music) while the vinyl cut at the The Carvery, the multiple Grammy-nominated London studio behind some of the best organic grooves records of the past decade. The result is a deep, full, rich and three-dimensional sound that enhances the beauty of both tracks.

The series and volume artwork is by graphic designer and calligrapher Luca Barcellona, an artist used to working with analog tools such as ink, brushes and pencils. He drew inspiration from the world of literature, imagining each release as one of the volumes in an elegantly bound classics book series - an analogy that reminds us of the tactile element that makes vinyl records so unique and precious, while also suggesting the cultural value of a music that aims to connect the legacy of the past and the creativity of the present.

As debut on his own label Hyperjazz Records, with 'The Great Oxidation EP', electro-shaman Khalab comes back to his natural habitat: the dance floor. With these three instrumental tracks, the visionary artist aims to drive the listener on a backward journey, down to rediscover the most ancestral human rite: to dance. A return to the origin in a radical way to reach a brighter future, but also a bridge for another world - a new space where meet new life forms and uncover new feelings and new consciousness. To embellish this EP, the presence of two very special collaborations.

His music evolution is a seamless journey – from the most ancestral tribes to the unexplored cosmos; from the black jungle to the skyscrapers; from the remotest subconscious to the furthest and real projection of future Africa. His wide-reaching musical tastes can be heard regularly on his monthly Worldwide FM show, Love from Rome. Already working on a new record ready in 2022, Khalab pulls out of his laboratory the first experiment with this EP.

Marshall McLuhan’s famous edict ‘the medium is the message’ has never been more apt than with regard to modern remix culture. Although the idea of the remix goes way back to the Jamaican dub pioneers and New York disco remixers of the 1970s, the form didn’t truly come into its own until the acid house explosion of the 1980s, when remixers’ credentials often subsumed — and sometimes surpassed — the original source material. Some, among them our lost friend Andrew Weatherall, used remixing as a springboard into multiple other directions, and became auteurs in their own right.

Forged in the white-hot heat of post-acid house Britain, these Heavenly remixes are perfectly weighted with respect and irreverence, the remixer in each case carefully chosen to add heft to the song (as on Al Breadwinner’s dubwise reworking of Mattiel’s ’Guns of Brixton’— the pairing more a game of chess than a best-of-three arm wrestle).

Although Heavenly was founded in the wake of huge upheavals in electronic music, it was still imbued with its own curious parallel life. I’ve always thought of Heavenly as one of the UK’s alt-pop labels; a place where brilliant pop bands live and record, if the general public would only realise. Some of them have ended up in the real, actual charts (Saint Etienne, Doves), but that’s missing the point about Heavenly, who are, like Factory and Fast Product before them, pop music’s conscience.

There is no sense of order to this compilation and we make no apologies. It’s the Heavenly way. Think of it as a present from Loki, the Norse god of mischief. You’ll find a smattering of older tracks: album openers Saint Etienne are taken on a Poseidon Adventure with Underworld, who inject ‘Cool Kids of Death’ with typically manic energy. Elsewhere, ’90s Brum duo Mother add dancefloor pzazz to Espiritu’s innate glamour on an all-funked-up reworking of ‘Los Americanos’, and Mark Lusardi’s remix of Moonflowers’ ‘Get Higher’ is an early Heavenly classic.

On ‘Terracotta Warrior’, a perfect, psyched-out, Mancunian union is created betwixt Jimi Goodwin and Andy Votel, whilst Goodwin cohort Simon Aldred, in his Cherry Ghost guise, receives a proper Tamla-Motowning from Richard Norris (aka Time & Space Machine) on an inspired cover of Cece Peniston’s glam-house hit, ‘Finally’.

There are several of Heavenly’s current darlings here too. One of the most exciting young British prospects, Yorkshire’s Working Men’s Club, effectively remix themselves, as Minsky Rock — WMC’s Syd Minsky-Sargeant and producer Ross Orton — cleave ‘X’ into a riotous industrial racket. Jagwar Ma’s Jono Ma takes the Kraftwerkian leitmotif on ‘Automatic’ and drives the Australian jazz-funkers Mildlife down an electro-convulsive psychedelic tunnel (thankfully no-one was harmed during the making of this remix); Sheffield’s DJ Parrot and Jarvis Cocker deliver one of the outstanding remixes of 2018, turning Baxter Dury’s ‘Miami’ into a lovelorn minor opera; and, making its first appearance on vinyl, David Holmes’ Unloved project is taken on a panoramic Welsh waltz thanks to Gwenno.


There may well be no rhyme, nor reason, to how these compilations have been put together, beyond the fact that they are assembled with love, an innate understanding of the power of great pop music, and a skilled marriage of song and remixer — but does one really need anything more than that for an album to make sense? I’d suggest not.

The independent label Six Nine Records Ltd. UK, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, proudly presents their first ever 12” release which contains the stunning Christopher Williams tune “Fine As Gold”!
This release is definitely worth its weight in gold, the Bronx (New
York) native Christopher Williams delivers an amazing tune and most
certainly lives up to the nickname “The modern Teddy Pendergrass”. The track is penned and produced by Stone Paxton and on the flip we are spoiled with an exquisite remix by genius Yuki “T-Groove” Takahashi.

Definitely not to be missed as it is a very limited UK press with full
colour printed picture cover!

Limited vinyl featuring producers Seldom Seen, Force Placement, DELINSTR, and IvanAM. 4 underground trax ending out 2021 with this bang for your buck release!! L.A. West Coast focus: Caltechno, deep groove and electrofunk beats! Digital download code included (code sealed inside behind label sticker)

UK label Wisdom Teeth closes out 2021 with a synchronised double drop from label heads Facta and K-LONE.

K-LONE’s Zissou follows on from where his 2019 EP Sine Language left off, bringing together the four corners of his broad yet coherent style. The title track is a ruthlessly efficient Baltimore club tool driven by duelling vocal chops and rolling sub-heavy kicks. Next up, Airtight is bustling and bright, with a winding bossa melody rolling out on top of a wildly syncopated percussive groove. On the flip, K-LONE continues his exploration of UK garage and proto-dubstep styles with Deluxe - a warping, hi-tek 2-step banger that reimagines the early Tempa sound with a newly refurbed hi- spec gloss. To close, Softie contrasts vast dubtechno chords with a bone-dry woodblock beat and nimble microhouse edits.