quête:life s track

It was a tragic waste of a life, but the influence Cochran imparted on those he'd played and toured with, like Joe Brown, Georgie Fame and Marty Wilde, would ensure he'd not be forgotten. And with acts as diverse as the Who, Sex Pistols and Rush reviving his songs in future years, it was certain he would not be forgotten. But who needs an excuse to enjoy Eddie Cochran's music These tracks, some well known and others less so, tie up the first half of his tragically brief but unbelievably influential career. Pull your blue jeans on and enjoy!

Irish label Fatty Fatty spreads its wings with their 'International Disco Mafia' EP.
Extending from Dublin out to Drogheda and Galway and onward overseas, the EP provides something peak-time for all tastes.

The lead off track sees label top dog Pablo going off on a solo tip, delivering an end of nighter take on an eternal UK street Soul classic. Chopping together many different mixes to create an epic whole, this one has been road-tested thoroughly, and always brings the house down.

While Pablo was fiddling around endlessly with that one, usual production partner Shoey slithered off with newcomer Kellser to produce a dreamy, stretched out take on a late 70's staple , another guaranteed winner, and possibly the most bliss inducing song ever to run at 130BPM

The international part of the EP comes from Italian edit king Belabouche, who delivers a lovely take on 'Willie and The Hand Jive'.
Last but not least, Galway boy Island Time makes his bow with a straight up, brassy slice of soulful Disco aimed straight at the dancefloor...

Berlin's own Marco Haas aka T.RAUMSCHMIERE made an irreparable impression globally in the 00's as a sawtoothed, ANTI-rave radical thanks to his immense stage antics and larger-than-life releases on Novamute. Since then, Haas has established himself as a contemporary with emotive, dark ambient tales on his own imprints Shitkatapult/Albumlabel.
KOMPAKT's love affair with Haas goes back to our earliest days. Some of his first tracks were released on KOMPAKT in the form of two raw EP's entitled "Bolzplatz" (KOM021 - 2000) and "Musick" (KOM037 2001). These two formative releases elevated the "Schaffel" sound to raw and shameless places we never could have imagined. The results set a tidal wave in motion that to this day remains one of KOMPAKT's most infamous legacies.
In an off-chance reunion with Haas in his studio, we learnt about what he'd been doing since the "Monstertruckdriver" days. It turned out he's been ever so busy outside of the mainstream working with the likes of Dieter Meier of Yello, Caspar Brötzmann, Andreas Dorau, Fraktus, Ofrin or Barbara Morgenstern and his recent work with Ulli Bomans aka Schieres under the SHRUBBN!! monicker.

On the way out, he passed over his 2015 self-titled album - which proceeded to blow our minds. It was mutually decided that it's time for him to return home.
May 19, 2017, will see KOMPAKT releasing T.RAUMSCHMIERE's new, epic solo full-length HEIMAT. It presents another side of his work which was always there, but never got that much airtime: the artist, the author, the composer with the crystal-clear sound. HEIMAT is a stunning techno album that neither excludes Ambient, nor gets reduced to constant ass kicking. It's perhaps the best recording so far from this man who asks so deeply, so extensively, so much. And at some point even answers.

* Includes a DIN A2long poster inside the 12" sleeve with edition number and music download code

* Rogue Style 1 EP is an international homage to b-boy culture, where the worlds of breakbeat music and breakdance collide. Sinistarr (USA), Kiat (Singapore), Kabuki (Germany) and HomeSick (Canada) are connected in many ways, now they lay bare their hip-hop roots and give something back with a fresh take through the eyes of drum & bass and juke/footwork. Here is what they have to say:

Sinistarr: "As a teenager I grew up as a b-boy, dancing anywhere I could: schools, parks, festivals, you name it, my crew was there with cardboard and a speaker. I eventually got deeper into DJing and making music and learned to bring a sound that's not just for the crowds and the purists, but also for all the dancers!"

Kiat: "Hip Hop has taught me to keep evolving, to explore new forms in all my art. Progression is the key to evolution. -- I met Sinistarr online thru myspace and we had a musical connection which led to our first collaboration 'Black Diamonds' which is still one of my personal favourite tunes I've been fortunate to be part of it's creation. With Kabuki, i've always been a fan of his work since his 'Makai' alias on No U-Turn, despite meeting him only recently thru the label.I've always known him to be constantly progressing his ideas in his music which I respect alot."

Kabuki: "B-boy culture has always been a strong influence on how I pursued my art, mainly because of its DIY ethos and attitude of perfecting your craft. Incidentally these were also the aspects that drew me to Jungle when I first discovered it in the nineties. -- I'm happy to rub shoulders with Kiat, Sinistarr and HomeSick on this release, as I'm a fan of their music foremost, but also because we became friends through the music."

HomeSick: "I was only a child in the 90s and as a result I feel like my understanding of b-boy culture was experienced second hand thanks to 90s/early 2000s hip hop music. I appreciate the parallels I can see with footwork culture, particularly the similarities to the community mentality of break dancing. -- I know Sinistarr through booking him for our local party night in Alberta, Canada called Percolate. Our city must have left an impression on him because a year later he made the move here from Detroit. Had the pleasure of hosting him as a room mate for a little over half a year, the home was a very potent creative space during this time. Kabuki hit me up a few years ago and we very quickly got to sharing tracks and collaborating together. Mans a master of production and a super important part of the global scene."

The idea for a reminiscence of b-boy culture stem from label owner Booga:

"Why am I interested in this so much I grew up in East Germany and as the movie "Beat Street" premiered in 1985 over here I was age 13 and blown away by the energy, the music, the wit, the style - everything in this movie was better than everyday life in Leipzig. So I started saving for a cassette recorder and taped music shows from West German radio and prepared tapes for school disco gigs to the hope somebody would do the "robot" to Arthur Baker "Breaker's Revenge". Unfortunately that never worked out hahaha. But I was hooked since then and as the wall came down in 1989 I travelled to West Berlin just to buy the Beats, Breaks and Scratches 1-4 vinyl box by Simon Harris. The fascination for breakbeats never stopped and before I discovered Jungle around '94 I was down with the British cut up house thing from the likes of Marrs, Krush and Coldcut as another form of breakbeat music. The "do it yourself" spirit from hip hop culture inspired me to start a local website called breaks.org in 2000 to locally promote the drum and bass scene with emerging producers, djs and mcs for a wider audience and I threw in some interviews with Storm, Kabuki, Rob Playford, Klute and John B. That turnt into a multi author blog called itsyours.info in 2004 which still exists - that is where I had the pleasure to introduce Kiat and Ash in 2007. All these years I was listening and playing drum and bass tunes when the occasional "bboy tune" came up, some were obvious like Alex Reece "B-Boy Flavour", Lemon D "B Boyz", Commix "Change" and some were not so much self-explanatory like Digital & Spirits "Phantom Force" and the remixes by T-Power & Codeine or Fracture's Astrophonica Edit - but I felt the hidden force of breakdancing nevertheless. With the Rogue Style series I have the first class opportunity to ask established and new Defrostatica artists to present a current interpretation of b-boy culture. This is a dream coming true."

Until he was about 20, Texas-born Melvin Sparks was a rhythm & blues guitarist, backing Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye as a member of The Upsetters. But Sparks gave up his seat on The Upsetters' bus in New York City, where a chance introduction to George Benson led him to a place in soul jazz history. Melvin played and recorded with Lou Donaldson, Leon Spencer, Bernard Purdie, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Idris Muhammad, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland, Grover Washington Jr., Reuben Wilson and so many more. Even during the quietest years of soul-jazz Melvin stayed relevant through hip-hop and r&b, a quick search at WhoSampled turns up more than 150 samples of his funky chicken scratch. And Melvin's legacy is heard in contemporary soul/funk bands like The New Mastersounds, Soulive and The Greyboy Allstars, all of whom he also guested with several times before his early departure from this realm in 2011.

This release documents Melvin's final band just months before his death. Organist Beau Sasser and drummer Bill Carbone had been working with Sparks for several years, and, despite the power dynamic - they were in their early 30s, Melvin an elder-statesmen of the genre - the unit was sharp, relaxed and performed Melvin's music with a jovial spirit. The trio played the Burlington, VT club Nectar's regularly, but this night featured two "onlys." Per the recommendation of Nectar's agent they used the "Grippo Horns," the only time Sparks used a horn section in the last several years of his life, and they allowed a multitrack recording of the show. Both were strong decisions.

The tracks on this album, lovingly mixed by guitarist, producer and Melvin Sparks fan Eddie Roberts, demonstrate that Melvin played as well in the final months of his life as at any time. Sparks counts "Whip! Whop!" off at what he said The Upsetters called a "showtime tempo," and peppers it, as well as most of the album, with quotes from jazz standards, pop songs and cartoon themes, all woven effortlessly into the bebop-funk dialect he helped create. He unfolds amiable melodies, patiently and methodically, through his several-minute lead on "Breezin'." And Sparks is audibly uplifted by the Grippo Horns helping him perform his 1973 arrangement of "Ain't No Woman" for the first time in decades.

ll Camille, LA hip hop's female perspective.

Ill Camille has been a vital member of the LA music scene for some years. Kendrick Lamar used her vocals prominently for the 'good kid, m.A.A.d city' track 'Sing about me', she has been working with other TDE artists occasionally and spend a lot of time writing for different projects Terrance Martin was involved with.

At the same time Camille was developing her own material with her fellow peers such as MNDSGN, Iman Omari, DJ Battlecat, Like (Pac Div) Georgia Anne Muldrow & SIR who are all featured on her album 'Heirloom' just like TDE co-president Punch. 'Heirloom' productions range from smooth, g-funk esque west coast beats to live & organic soulful beats, working as the perfect backdrop for Camille's powerful, intelligent and thought thru lyrics

The album is deeply personal revolving around the issues that mater in her life from friends and family, her role as a woman and the heirloom of her and her surrounding: 'I feel like everyone are heirlooms of our mothers and fathers. An heirloom is just something that's passed down through a family. We get heirlooms in the form of game, encouragement or wise words. I know everyone has an aunt or uncle that's given them some bars about life in general. I have a village around me that have given me heirlooms in the form of conversations'.

"Tiff's Joints returns for its second release with two hefty bubblers bursting with life from Deoke. Deoke is South London's Dave Koor, an esteemed DJ, producer and killer on the keys. He also co-runs the label Albert's Favourites, is one half of Modified Man and plays with his band the Expansions, regularly backing up acts like Andrew Ashong and Connie Constance.""Kamby Version"" was premiered by Stamp the Wax and both tracks have received early support from the likes of Alexander Nut, Brame & Hamo, Jimpster & more."

We were very happy to be asked by Connaisseur
Recordings if they could put out another album with our
music! Now it's all come together and they've asked us to
do our own press release for it and quite like the album,
we want to do it in our own way, personal and from the
heart. It's been a few years since our last Connaisseur album, and
a lot has happened since. We've built a new studio,
matured musically, acquired new gear, sold old gear, done a
lot of gigs, lost faith in music and regained it again.
The process of making The Loneliest Man In Space (this
album) was a genuinely pleasant experience, as we never
really set out to make an album at all. We didn't
conceptualize or have any grandiose plans, we simply
enjoyed ourselves in the studio.
Inspiration was running high, so we focused on making a lot
of music uninterrupted, rather than signing tracks, which
left us with quite a bulk of unsigned material. The idea to
release these tracks as an album came from our friend
Alex, at Connaisseur. We instantly jumped on the idea,
listened through the material, taking some tracks out and
composing a few new ones, to make it sit more together as
a whole. We tried to come up with a title that would ft
the feeling of the sum of tracks and settled on The
Loneliest Man In Space. As the album, to our ears, sounds a
little melancholic and a little spacey.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy the album either as a
listening experience, a dance experience or something in
between!

Thank you, and much love!
Vegard & Chris // Of Norway

In this space between chaos and conformity disorderly moments welcome new phases into existence, leading to the awakening of an elevated version of the self. Between highs and lows, Transitions of Life remain; the concept behind Synthek's first solo full length sound narrative on his Natch Records imprint. Unfolding across a vexing two-year transformation phase, Synthek's crossings along rough roads are the tribulations to reveal this intimate personal journey of reve- lation through emotional downshift, spiritual upheaval and cerebral quandary. In this dominion, Synthek shapes the eleven track escapade along a sophisticated array of synths and warm analog drums, while contrasting the build and decline of atmosphere through deep bass soundscapes.
Pivotal turning points execute the programming of the album's three part sound design; beginning from darkness and repression, evolving to a more colourful aerial majesty of lucid dream state, morphing into the developed nature of life lessons learned; Transitions of Life making its incarnation into the discovery of the self and re-entry into reality.

*Transitions of Life is a 2x12' release made available through Natch Elements, intro- spective extension to the Natch Records imprint. Visual embodiment of the project artfully presented with photographic time capsule by Salar Kheradpejouh of Berlin, Germany with graphic work curated by Jacopo Saveritano, co-founder of Natch Records.

Acclaimed Russian producer, DJ and live musician Kito Jempere is back with a stunning second album, this time on Italian label Hell Yeah. Entitled Sea Monster and due for release in early 2017, the nine track album is a fantastic fusion of live instrumentation and electronic production.

Kito Jempere is a musical polymath. The Russian artist, producer, multi-instrumentalist and band leader has been involved in many projects over the last ten years plus. These range from rock to acid jazz to electronic bands and often call upon a rotating cast of other members who are all equally talented.

From playing in small bars to headlining big shows for thousands of people in Saint Petersburg, he has put out a number of albums and singles on labels like Freerange, Room With A View and Hell Yeah and DJs around Europe.

Jempere plays live as the Kito Jempere Band, and here he calls upon his bandmates for their many skills to lend the album a richly musical feel.

Mixed and co-produced by band member Roman Urazov, the album features Artemiy Gunbin aka Noteless, the voice of the Kito Jempere Band and front man of his own rock band Videatape, as well as Ruslan Gadzhimuradov, a long time drummer on many projects, plus Matvey Averin, the bassist but also co-producer for cult group Manizha and finally Sergey Lipsky who here plays guitar and is also half of Simple Symmetry as well as having played for Kito's other project Saint Petersburg Disco Spin Club group.

Sea Monster kicks off with Lifetime Theme, a heavenly groove with loose drums and percussion and gorgeous keys. Form there, Artemiy Gunbin's ethereal and crystal clear vocals take centre stage amongst balearic guitars on album single 'Ampa', and then 'To Talk' is a deeper cut with bumpy drums, long tailed pads and shiny synths all making for a curious and whimsical atmosphere.

'Grid Cells' is a lush instrumental track with clever revel and echo adding a sense of grandeur to the freeform jazz drums and frazzled synths, 'Uohha' is as sunny and laid back as an afternoon on the beach and 'Puzzled' then layers up scuzzy basslines, popping hits and suspenseful synths into something smooth and seductive.

The final third of the album closes out with blissful guitar licks, lazy broken beats and brilliant drum playing that all have you wishing it was summer again.

This is an album with elements of jazz, house, disco, balearic and many more sounds all smoothly blended into one coherent and captivating album full of soul and musical skill.

REPRESSED !!
Originally released in 2005, this sought after 12' from West End offshoot West End Blue gets an exclusive reissue for 2017. A four track slice of night time Detroit Soul comes backed with a remix from fellow Motor city resident Theo Parrish.

After turning heads with their first three releases, Tape Archive's fourth release is its boldest yet: a thrilling five-track traversal across genre boundaries that finds the label occupying a sound all of its own and further identifying it as one of Berlin's most vital new imprints.

'This is a journey into sound...,' These familiar words, accompanied by the rumble of a distant train, signal the opening of 'Let's Take A Trip', the sophomore album from Terrel Wallace aka Tall Black Guy. Since 2013's '8 Miles To Moenart' TBG has cemented his position as a standard bearer for the current hip-hop / beats scene. Born in Detroit and now residing in the UK, Wallace's signature style of incredibly clever sample flips and deft production chops has won fans across the globe including Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Jazzy Jeff and House Shoes.

Since his debut release in 2011 (a daring and addictive flip of Fela Kuti), TBG has become revered for his unique take on soulful hip-hop production. The swing of the drums, the textures of the instrumentation as well as a fearlessness in taking on the classics (his Soundcloud page includes flips and chops of tracks from James Brown, De La Soul and Michael Jackson) have marked him out from the crowd. One of the best-kept secrets in the scene, his singular talent is now beginning to get the recognition it deserves. In the last 12 months he has remixed Little Dragon and been invited to take part in Jazzy Jeff's Playlist Retreat alongside the likes of Eric Lau, James Poyser, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, Questlove and countless others.

For this album Wallace had a simple inspiration: 'This album is all about taking a journey. As simple as that. Be it physical, emotional or spiritual. It's asking and answering personal questions from myself within some of the tracks and also touching on social issues i.e. racism, inequality and privilege...that have been at the forefront of my mind over last three years.' Sonically there is also a shift: 'Jazz has definitely been more of an influence in this project, as I have been really inspired by so many up and coming musicians who I've been blessed to connect with'. Some of these musicians, including Kenny Keys, Miles Bonny, Diggs Duke and Dee Jackson feature on the project as well as regular collaborators Ozay Moore and Mario Sweet and fellow Playlist alumni Daniel Crawford and Masego. But this is one man's vision, and for Tall Black Guy this trip is just the beginning...,.

In the fourth Modern Cathedrals release, Altstadt Echo crafts three original works with a focus on experimentation with broken beat structures and grainy percussive texture, against a backdrop of austere atmospheres. Varg contributes a remix that emphasizes the despairing tones of "The Descent," contrasted with glistening treble percussion and and stumbling bass. To end the release, Evigt Mörker offers an extended hypnotic version of the track that slowly develops from a functional framework into an atmospheric drift.

The thematic aspects of the release follow the development of Modern Cathedrals as a label, expressing existentialist themes centered around the search for meaning in a life that forbids it. The label art features photographs of the beautiful remains of one of Detroit's many unused churches.

New Order Presents Be Music is a compilation of productions by members of iconic Manchester group New Order, including classic dance and electro tracks released on Factory Records between 1982 and 1985, as well as more recent remixes for current artists such as Factory Floor, Marnie, Tim Burgess and Fujiya & Miyagi.
The generic tag Be Music was first used in 1981 and covered studio production work by all four members of New Order: Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert. Sumner often teamed with Donald 'Dojo' Johnson of A Certain Ratio, including the pioneering electro cuts featured here by Quando Quango, 52nd Street, Marcel King, Paul Haig and Surprize. Morris and Gilbert worked with Thick Pigeon, Life, Red Turns To and also 52nd Street. Although more rock orientated, Hook proved he was no slouch on the dancefloor either with the mighty Fate/Hate by Nyam Nyam.
'Producing was a really important sideline,' recalls Bernard Sumner of the Factory era. 'It's OK doing it because although all the groups are skint, you learn a lot and you're helping somebody.'
After 1985 the band focused more on producing their own records, both as New Order and solo projects such as Electronic, Revenge, The Other Two, Monaco and Bad Lieutenant. However in recent years Stephen Morris in particular has remixed several newer artists, notably London industrialists Factory Floor, as well as former Factory workers A Certain Ratio and Section 25.
Bonus tracks on the 3xCD box set include Knew Noise by Section 25, produced by Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton of Joy Division way back in 1979, and the complete 22 minute version of Video 586, recorded by New Order themselves in 1982.
 All tracks (12 on vinyl, 36 on the CD) are newly remastered. The liner notes feature commentary on the tracks by the artists and the members of New Order. Design and packaging are by Matt Robertson/Peter Saville Studio.

Jamal Moss AKA Hieroglyphic Being with another huge comp of quality Gherkin inspired cuts. Combining tracks from two CDRs released earlier this year he's really found a sound - and DJs need to find these tracks. Comes with riso print insert. Pickled TIP!

Art, of any kind, encompasses the unique and distinctive output of its creator: an inimitable human being. It points to a blueprint map of who this creator is, encapsulates their experiences and somehow points to how they arrive at their creation(s). This blueprint, although lending glimmer into one life, connects deeply into an unfathomable amount of other lives - lending an expression and effect. With this in mind, we go on a journey with Dowinowe - the first solo artist release for the Gqom oh! label - on his debut "GQOM004" Dominowe is a 19 year old producer from the Newlands east township of Durban, South Africa who started out making music just for his friends. This release snapshots important themes in his evocative personal journey - expressed in his own very unique style. Releasing on Vinyl in 27th of January 2017, the EP, titled SiyaThakatha', showcases Dominowe's original style in the context of the Durban electronic music scene especially when paced beside Gqom and Sghubu. The listener gets a real sense of his complexity and the variety of styles Dominowe is capable of producing. "SiyaThakatha", the EP name, is translated _black_ _magic,_ or, _we witching - _ which is right at the heart of this release: that listening to these sounds invite you into the universe of an unseen world, putting you in touch with what can only described as invisible energy - a combination of the ideal, the intangible, the unattainable and the other-worldly whilst on journey with a 19year old from Durban whose music is composed of influence and innovation. It is about gqom working its magic on the dance floor for people to move - to the distinctive beats and cultural rhythms. It features four tracks - including one skit outro - as well as three tracks on digital download. The tracks were chosen specifically as a reflection of the variety of styles Dominowe produces and the originality of his productions.

COMPILED BY PETE PASQUAL, ERICA OLSON & DJ KINETIC

Following on from acclaimed compilations like 'Down Under Nuggets' and 'Heavy Soul' (and two other new titles 'Running The Voodoo Down' and 'Dodgy Bossa (& Silly Sambas)' - details below), Festival Records presents another deep dig into the archives, this time shining a light on rare Australian soul-jazz, jazz-funk, and freaked-out groove rock from the late '60s and '70s.

BACK ON THE STREET AGAIN - AUSTRALIAN FUNK, SOUL & PSYCH (MOSTLY) FROM THE FESTIVAL VAULTS is a stunning 20 track CD and 2LP release that highlights a point when the previously disparate styles of rock, jazz and soul all started influencing each other, and exciting new genres were created. To quote the liner notes (by DJ Kinetic):

Australia produced some amazing music during the 60s and 70s that sat outside of the normal rock mould. Avant guard artists like John Sangster pushed boundaries and experimented with the fusion of local and overseas influences, artists like Dalvanius recorded soaring disco music that was lost amongst the popular music of the time, only to be rediscovered by DJs overseas who were searching for unknown sounds, composers like Brute Force and His Drum took risks and recorded left-field funky sounds hidden within their more mainstream compositions, and popular artists like Billy Thorpe occasionally strayed from their A&R directions and took leaves from the books of American artists who were largely unknown in Australia at the time. Beneath the veneer of bland rock and roll lay an unknown multitude of funky sounds hidden from mainstream view.

In addition to the artists that Kinetic mentions (and the compilation features two John Sangster tracks - stunning versions of 'Hair' and the Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'), the collection includes iconic names of the era like the Daly-Wilson Big Band (featuring Kerrie Biddell), Renee Geyer and the Johnny Rocco Band. '60s sides from Ross D Wyllie and The ID (featuring Jeff St John) reveal the various styles' roots in American rhythm & blues, and the unexpected inclusion of some legendary Australian rock outfits like Tamam Shud and Blackfeather reveals the psychedelic and progressive rock influences at play. The full range of the music is highlighted by the inclusion of both cabaret/daytime TV performer Al Styne and outrageous Kings Cross club act Count Copernicus & The Cosmic Fire as well as the in-house studio 'pops' orchestra, Festival Studio 24 Orchestra.

Co-compilers Pete Pasqual, Erica Olson and DJ Kentic to undertake interviews with specialist media around release. Facebook ad's around release.