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Albion Collective's first record release of 2019 celebrates the return of Reso to the dubstep arena, with his four track 'Focus inwards EP', featuring a version from TMSV.

Reso's title track Focus Inwards lures your senses in to a hypnotic state. A hollow, pulsing bass tears through the low end whilst sparkling drums and percussion punctuate a vivid and diverse rhythm, a soundtrack to an outer body experience. Immaculate production.

TMSV lifts the pace with his progressive tribal edit. The addition of woodwind and rolling percussion dance around the acid-step vibe in keeping in vibe with Reso's trip-out OG. Festival music.

The latest transmission from Francis Harris' exquisite Scissor And Thread imprint showcases the many talents of Tokyo's Tomi Chair aka Tominori Hosoya. The DJ and producer goes by both names, and here presents five tracks of lush, emotional music veering between ambient excursions and dance floor heaters. The original version of title track 'Tropical Imagination' opens the EP, and is a deep and thoughtful dance floor number. Elegant chords set the tone while the percussion adds a silky funkiness that's impossible to ignore. The 'Dream Version' strips the track down to its pads and atmospheres. Next up is Tomi Chair's 'Heat Exhaustion' - an exceptionally beautiful beatless piece that drifts through droney pads and occasional fragments of minor key melody. Using the Tominori Hosoya moniker, side B begins with 'We Are Here' - another powerfully restrained piece that merges woody percussion with low key pads and field recordings to create a magical whole. Francis Harris adds his touch to 'Heat Exhaustion' with his respectful Reform version, adding skittering percussion and underpinning the piece with a leftfield ambient house edge that builds and builds. Another essential addition to the Scissor And Thread catalog

Sit down in your comfiest jawn, strap those noise-cancelling jawns on and prepare for those jawns in your eye sockets to tumble out your head when you hear this collection of thumping jawns whipped up by Philadelphia's BPMF. One half of legendary electro duo Synapse with John Selway (who he co-runs the equally-esteemed Serotonin imprint with), BPMF has been churning out no-nonsense electro smangers and experimental techno since the early 90s. Currently he holds the title of Eastern Pennsylvania's premier live-PA electro dad while also running his own label, Schmer. Various Jawns is exactly that; four varied jawns packed on one plate. 'Tell Mommy Bye' is an electro ripper in the true American lineage while 'Trunq' and 'J'pn' are lighter, more noodling affairs. This plate's entrée, 'House of Jawn', is a fourteen-minute knob-twiddling trip through the twisted fever dream of a raver long past. Thankfully our esteemed producer has given us a respite from the beatdown about halfway through. Drop the needle there to start the adventure at the Lower House of Jawn if brevity is your thing, man.

Black Label Series 03 on Banoffee Pies Records welcomes new additions to the fold with another low slung collection of minimal house and breaks. Opening with patient mystery the label debut from Monotronique delivers 118 bpm sample heavy 'Baggage With A Secret'. Nicely warmed, the A2 turns for the floor with Freerotation resident Tom Ellis in control on 'Third Morning', a groovy roller with glitched vocal loops. The curveball of this release comes on the B1 with a garage inspired high tempo d&b track, '23 Ghettobee' from Filip Szostak - One to cool or shake the dance. The B2 invites Lyssna Records own Flord King with another micro gem for the head bopping late nights on 'Shanti'. Together the four tracks investigating different moods with a similar style. BP X

Domestic Exile are proud to present the devastatingly deplorable and malevolent recordings (that are sure to corrode yet electrify your ears) by Glasgow's very own KLEFT.

KLEFT aka Vickie McDonald is rooted in and has actively propagated the underground DIY radical queer punk and feminist movement here in Glasgow. Their projects have included the skull crushing sludge doom of Cartilage, the unflinching and infamous multi- membered hard core stars that were DIVORCE and the sacrificial, druid drone glitch of MOURN. Alongside these projects they have uncompromisingly disrupted, motivated and facilitated collective endeavors to take down the capital power structure of the dominant system of patriarchal club venues and abhorrent fuckers in this town.

For this record 'H+ Sexualis', KLEFT explores the neo-modern space where flesh is left behind. Negotiating, analyzing and tearing to shreds the relationship and balance between flesh and technology. KLEFT's expansive and palpable sonic offerings delve into themes of transhumanism and body hacking and seep into our collective skin begging the question; can flesh ever be created digitally. Does a lack of physicality alienate human experience in a post transhumanism society Are we all destined to be skinless yet digitally connected Will the body become superfluous Toward "the utopian dream of the hope for a monstrous world without gender," as stated on Donna Haraway's essay ''A Cyborg Manifesto.'

From the opening track 'Ossein' the listener grasps a foreboding lethargic build up, lurking out of the spatial ritualistic shadows into a sea of suffocating nothingness. A void where there is no gravity. Skeletal and brittle shattering rhythms which echo DMZ / Skull Disco dubstep alongside the more frozen, glacial ominous explorations of grime are often felt proving KLEFT is an artist whose inspirations run deep and wide and generally exist in the darkest recesses of our subconscious. These fearful, disjointed rhythms are set against weightless atmospheric oscillated synths, as if roaming through bleakly opaque, claustrophobic narrow corridors on a first person survival horror video game such as Resident Evil.

Moving through to 'CMBR', KLEFT's dissonant, degrading soundscape ferociously ascends. The resilient kick drum is propulsive and pulverizing akin to 'ardcore tekno - or intense gabba if you have the guts to adjust the tempo up to +8 - aesthetics that overwhelm and agitate finally revealing it's grotesque biological / amorphous bio structure. Elevating the repetitive 4/4 kick to a destructive, distorted banger of a track as layers of converging atonal noise and sound design simultaneously further enhances the sense of imminent radioactive contamination.

Next is 'Writhe, Squirm, Broken' continuing the convulsive, nauseating permutations of the prior track but reconfigured like a mangled, gruesome Cronenberg-esque parasite that has infiltrated an open wound, excruciatingly feeding off of the inner anatomy of it's hosts body from within. Repulsively reformulating the shape and dimension. The intro is akin to a panic stricken bouncy ball contracting and expanding, the spring reverb building momentum and traveling further away in distance and speed.

'Hackfleisch Deluxe' is a muuurrderous stomper and is one of the more grime / bass orientated tracks that deconstructs and disrupts the tempo familiar to sub-low producers on Black Ops / Jon E Cash / DJ Dread D. The crawling, plummeting frequency of the synth is a nauseating rush of coagulating blood to the heed; a deep throbbing sensory depravation in sharp, paradoxical contrast with the driving harmony layered on top which proves to be infectiously addictive. Furthermore are splintering programmed vocal samples that gives a sense of artificial disorientation, mind over matter, a possible hint at our evolving sentient cognition within a nightmarish simulated, augmented reality

Second to last we have 'Keratin' which is filled with the near fatal dissolving thud of Djax-Up acid that gives the impression that you're a biologist peering through a microscope into a petrie dish and witnessing the rapid and furious genetic cellular replication of bacterial and viral organisms.

Culminating in 'Bruised and Bleeding Hands' where the squashed density of a deflated and depressurized helium filled balloon and elastic umbilical cords, barbed wire and copper wires grind n' coil around the lens of a zooming camera. Taking no prisoners, this is a punishing grime weapon. A phat, surgical kick drum bulldozes its way thru causing carnage, syncopated punching snares after every rave stab and dizzying third beat. It won't be long until ye hear this on Silver Drizzle's youtube channel in the near future.

This record transports us to the hyperkinetic mutation scene on the cult cyberpunk film Tetsuo The Iron Man where the organic flesh / mechanical rust of the Iron Man metamorphoses with the Metal Fetishist during the rebirth sequence and we say 'LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH!''.

Jac Berrocal, David Fenech and Vincent Epplay return with Ice Exposure, their second album for Blackest Ever Black. A sequel and companion piece of sorts to 2015's Antigravity, its title couldn't be more apt: sonically it is both colder, and more exposed - in the sense of rawer, more volatile, more vulnerable - than its predecessor, capturing the combustible energy and barely suppressed violence of the trio's celebrated live performances with aspects of noir jazz, musique concrète, no wave art-rock, sound poetry and spectral electronics all interpenetrating in unpredictable and exhilarating ways. While there are moments of great sensitivity and even a cautious romanticism, the prevailing mood is one of anxiety, paranoia, and mounting psychodrama: close your eyes and Ice Exposure feels like a dissociative Hörspiel broadcasting from the seedy backstreets of your own troubled mind. Before he picks up an instrument or opens his mouth, Berrocal's unique and compelling presence can be felt: a combination of studied, glacial cool and anarchic, in-the-moment intensity that has served him well over a long and storied career. It was honed during his time as a theatre and film actor, and in the 70s Paris improv scene, it powered his influential Catalogue group in the 1970s, numerous seminal, sui generis solo sides, and far-sighted collaborations with the likes of Nurse With Wound, Lol Coxhill, Pascal Comelade and James Chance which have seen him come to be valorised by two generations of avant-garde agitators and eccentrics. Now in his eighth decade, it comes with an added gravitas, perhaps, but no less energy or vitality. On Ice Exposure, his lyrical, instantly recognisable trumpet playing is a key feature - see especially the ghostly, dubwise take on Ornette's 'Lonely Woman', the dissolute exotica of 'Salta Girls', and the sublime echo-chamber soliloquy 'Opportunity'. But more often it's his voice that commands centre-stage, whether casually discharging surreal poetic monologues or moaning in animal despair - a vocal tour de force that transcends language and culminates in the Dionysian frenzy of 'Why', Berrocal's half-spoken, half-howled exclamations jostling with David Fenech's slashes of dissonant guitar, over Badalamenti-ish, panther-stalk drums. Fenech's origins are in the mail-art scene of the early '90s, when he led the Peu Importe collective in Grenoble, and since then, in addition to his own recordings he has worked as a software developer at IRCAM and played with Jad Fair, Rhys Chatham and many others. Together with Vincent Epplay he is responsible for Ice Exposure's inspired arrangements and vivid, vertiginous sound design. Epplay is a visual artist and composer with particular interest in aleatory composition, concrete, and the reappropriation of vintage sound and film material. He and Fenech fashion a remarkable mise-en-scene for Berrocal to inhabit, one that embraces cutting-edge electronics while also paying homage to the best traditions of outlaw jazz and libidinous rock'n'roll ('Soundcheck' invokes the brutish spirit of Berrocal's hero Vince 'Rock N Roll Station' Taylor). On 'Blanche de Blanc', Berrocal's voice is framed by a groaning, ghoulish orchestra of industrial drones, while 'Equivoque' evokes the most humid and hostile Fourth World landscapes and 'Panic In Surabaya' lives up to its name, a hectic, pulse-quickening concrète collage that leaves you gasping for air. This is a searching and singular trio operating at the absolute peak of their powers, with an interplay that transcends studio and stage and occurs at an almost telepathic level. Ice Exposure is a triumph of that group mind, an underworld dérive as life-affirming as it is unnerving and psychologically precarious.













Panic In Surabaya

For their second release, NBN Records select Walter Mecca, the enigmatic character out of Paris' suburbs, who built an extensive catalogue over the last decade under various aliases on his own imprint Weirdata.
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He steps up here to deliver his first vocal opus "Lose Control" under the moniker of Waltaa as we discover another side of the multi-faceted artist. The result is a truly unique hybrid R&B project spiced up with touches of Jazz fusion.

Blending contemporary vibes and early Timbaland productions on the hit single "Ready Or Not" , his song writing and arrangements are further illustrated on the smoothed-out low funk of the two-part title track - "Lose Control" .

An alien in the music industry, Waltaa reaffirms his eccentric character, staying out of step with current trends while maintaining a timeless quality, rooted one foot in the next.

Miss Information is Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto, Smokey & Miho, Gorillaz, too many all-star Lower East Side collaborations to name).

Miho Hatori created Miss Information while in residence at Brooklyns contemporary arts gallery/creative hothouse, Pioneer Works. Miho began with a simple concept, What if information was a woman She had been

contemplating information not as dominating with ofthidden data-points, but something akin to the moon, a mysterious natural energy that, in her words, brings change to the planet.

It has been bubbling for almost four years now inside the walls of a basement in the small-town idyll of Salzburg. Word gets around about ecstatic nights in an intimate atmosphere in the Heizkeller location of the cultural association FREAKADELLE. The monthly events held by the club culture collective, which formed in 2011, have long since become known beyond city and state borders, and so, national as well as international guest artists would frequently pay visits to Mozart town in the last years. Following the club members' wish to maintain relations to the artists beyond the fleeting transience of a night in the club, this release aims at strengthening and cementing these interpersonal ties. The compilation includes tracks by Hüseyin Evirgen aka MAGNA PIA (Cassegrain), Institut fuer Zukunft resident PERM, techno pioneer PATRICK PULSINGER and Pop theorist Didi Neidhart aka LOW PROFILER.
Limited hand-stamped 12'' edition. Comes in five different versions of screen printed sleeves.

The fifth issue of Blacksilk sees the return of label head Marc Ash. Following the debut of his one-project moniker Plovdiv in 2016, a tape EP on Clan Destine and appearances on labels such Helena Hauff's 'Return to Disorder', he now comes forth with a work that reveals a deeper side of his obscure and multifaceted vision of electronic music.

Rejecting any fixed musical categorization, the listener is left free to decide how to deal with these compositions, each one exploring different areas of Marc's approach to existence through seductively articulated synth lines.

A work of self-reflection and a stark celebration of controversial times of uncertainty and doubt.

Deadpan vocals extracted from Godard films, eerie Teutonic fairytales and Marc's own deconstructed voice take the listener by the hand on a rollercoaster of anxiety and active resignation to the absurd post-everything age in which we live.

Silent Servant's reinterpretation of 'Take your Judgments' crowns the EP with a shadowy march built on repetitive sequences, abruptly waking us up from the sinister dream and leaving a sweet yet sour taste in our mouths.

The Copenhagen Duo Wilma (lower Case W) Aka. Jeppe Willumsen & Dan Madsen Formed In 2014 And Soon Got Off To A Hectic Start. Despite Their Varied Backgrounds The Two Quickly Bonded Around Their Common Love Of Early Dance Music. The Resulting Output Was Picked Up By Then Panorama Bar Resident Prosumer. He Used Their Tune Fabio On His Fabric 79 Mix Cd And Released A Four Track Ep With Wilma On His New, But Unfortunately Short Lived, Potion Imprint. Fast Forward A Few Years And The Duo Behind The Multiplex Reboot Have Just Gotten A Distribution Deal, When They Receive A Couple Of Tracks From Wilma - It Was Love At First Listen.

When the new Halloween movie hits theaters in October 2018, it will have the distinction of being the first film in the series with creator John Carpenter's direct involvement since 1982's Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Carpenter serves on the new David Gordon Green-directed installment as an executive producer, a creative consultant, and, thrillingly, as a soundtrack composer, alongside his collaborators from his three recent solo albums, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.

The new soundtrack pays homage to the classic Halloween score that Carpenter composed and recorded in 1978, when he forever changed the course of horror cinema and synthesizer music with his low-budget masterpiece. Several new versions of the iconic main theme serve as the pulse of Green's film, its familiar 5/4 refrain stabbing through the soundtrack like the Shape's knife. The rest of the soundtrack is just as enthralling, incorporating everything from atmospheric synth whooshes to eerie piano-driven pieces to skittering electronic percussion. While the new score was made with a few more resources than Carpenter's famously shoestring original, its musical spirit was preserved.

Bear Bones, Lay Low links up with Pizza Noise Mafia's Carrageenan and comes with a monster of a miniLP. BIG TIP!
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Matthieu Levet (Carrageenan / Pizza Noise Mafia) and Ernesto González (Bear Bones, Lay Low / Tav Exotic / Maitres Fous ...) are two musicians based in Brussels who have cut their teeth in the city's freeform underground for well over a decade. Having spent time at numerous shows and parties together, they solidified a friendship after a two week tour around Europe with fellow electronic explorer , Accou, in April 2017.

It was shortly after this moment that the label Random Numbers approached the two with the initial intention of releasing a split cassette with music from their respective solo projects. Several exchanges later, the plan quickly changed into realizing a full-fledged collaboration between both musicians who, while having deep respect and interest for each other's music since they first met, had never found the opportunity to create something together.

The result is the CARCASS IDENTITY EP: a combination of Levet's raw and dub-infused electronics with González's kosmische psychedelic touch. This is music meant for strange parties: the kind where dancing and laying down are equally accepted and ncouraged, where there might be more silence than talking between participants, where small gestures and events reveal their transcendental meaning...

Bruce - Aka Larry Mccarthy - Is Set To Release His Debut Album Sonder Somatic This October On Uk Imprint Hessle Audio. The Album Packs 11 Singular Uk Club Tracks That Evoke A Distinctly Emotive And Dense Energy, Channelling Detailed Sound Designs, Tangled Textures And Club Anthems For 2018 And Beyond.

The Record Is Deeply Varied In Styles, Ideas And Tempos, From The Tight Rhythmic Groove Of Album Opener 'elo' To The Weaponised Onslaught Of Ominous Club Cuts 'what' And 'cacao' - Through Drifting, Meditative Techno And The Skeletal Sound Design Of 'ore' And 'baychimo.' Each Track Shifts The Tonal Mood In Subtle And Distinct Ways, Whilst Retaining A Consistent Icy Sound Palette Infused With Colour And Human Warmth.

The Shapeshifting Hessle Audio Imprint Is Run By Pearson Sound, Ben Ufo And Pangaea. For Over Ten Years, Through Their Combined Tastes They Have Continued To Unravel And Explore The Edges Of Sounds And Ideas From The Wider Dance Music Scene, Across The Boundaries Of The Functional And The Experimental, With Consistently Innovative Results. As A Long Time Follower Of The Label, Bruce Wanted To Craft An Album That Continues Their Singular Attitude And Approach, Incorporating Vibes From Uk Soundsystem Music As Well As Music From His Home Town Of Bristol.

"from Being A Fan Of Their Work From The Very Beginning, It's Not Only The Music They Have Released That Has Informed My Taste/work, But Also The Journey They Have Formed Through The Application Of Their Attitude And Approach." - Bruce

Much Of Sonder Somatic Was Shaped By Bruce's Own Understanding Of Club Culture As A Whole, And Predominantly His Personal Relationship With It Both Professionally And Recreationally. The Album Was Partly Written As An Attempt To Capture That Rare Transformative Feeling That Can Cause You To Fully Lose Yourself In A Club Space, Disconnecting From Your Immediate Environment For A Short Time.

Sonder Somatic Follows Eps For Timedance, Livity Sound, Idle Hands And Hemlock, And Comes 4 Years After His Debut Ep 'not Stochastic' For Hessle Audio. The Album Pushes The Boundaries Of What Club Music Can Be Whilst Expertly Refining His Work As Both A Club Producer And An Experimental Sound Designer. With A Unique Sense Of Flair That Sets Him Apart, Sonder Somatic Is Set To Raise Bruce's Profile Across All Corners Of The Dance World.

'Breathe The Machine' is the first installment of Dojostudio and presents a musical world rich in harmonics, low frequency and melodic impact, yet with enough space in between to allow that perfect breathing room essential for powerful dance cuts. 'Breathe The Machine' portrays a world that initially feels robotic, yet instills an organic fluidity known only to come from humanoid beings, breathing life into a system littered with code and coldness. Billy Dalessandro presents 3 original cuts, plus a rendition of the title track by Mike Shannon.

Both for 'Breathe The Machine' and 'Tractor Beam' the Waldorf Microwave XT 2 and the Jomox 888 were the primary sound sources. For 'Breathe The Machine' the 888 was processed through a Jomox T-Resonator, which added harmonic distortion, and also spread the stereo spectrum out a bit offering the drums a more washed-out feel. The XT was layered track by track by performing patterns live into an editor until the desired ideas were properly recorded. Mike Shannon was brought on board to offer a contrasting expression of 'Breathe The Machine' and when asked how the process went he stated:

"I took the source sounds, edited them and processed them to work with a groove I had written for this remix. I mainly used the pad, lead synth and synth effects from the original. The rest of the gold I engineered."

On 'Tractor Beam', subtle use shows that ample space in between ideas make things seem larger than life. By allowing a more minimal approach in the production process the sounds can easily co-exist, allowing for that 'big room' sound without overwhelming the overall experience.

The digital exclusive 'Deliverance' was created using NI's Maschine for the drums, and FM8 and Reaktor were the sources of the synths. Drum patterns were created in Maschine and then recorded in realtime back into the DAW as it played, with real-time tweaking of the hi-hat to create the desired impact, especially at the break. The synth and pad patterns were recorded as MIDI into the editor, and then automation of the synths' VCF rounded out the expression needed to complete the emotional process.

All in all, DOJ001 is mostly an all-hardware showdown, with 'Deliverance' being the only 'virtual' attempt. Life is in nature, not in machines, yet the culmination of the two worlds can be beautiful, if only properly tamed and understood. Lest we beware! Stay tuned... and thanks for listening!

Nick Klein is an artist making electronic music born in southern Florida and based in Brooklyn, New York since 2012. Upon moving to New York the concentration of his works output has been to mine and investigate the troped qualities in various forms of electronic music, and then to realize singular directions in how to communicate these ideas himself. Alongside Miguel Alvarin~o he runs the music imprint Primitive Languages.

His latest offering since the January 2018 EP "Lowered Flaming Coffin" (Alter) is a continuation of his burnt dance music explorations with "The Bathroom Wall" on Bank Records. As a totem to reflect onto with text, to rest ones eyes in blur, or to physically hold ones self up in the throes of intoxication, the bathroom wall takes and gives numerous gestures of use. Klein uses the symbology of the bathroom wall to construct five disparate wall scrawlings and hazed meditations into the compositional grounds for four meaner mid-tempo, rhythmic purges. Tracks "The Worst Band In The World" and "American Gut" take on the pulsing build of an intoxicated night out. The record divides in on and itself in tone with "Rather Be Your Enemy", an homage in title to the legendary Lee Hazelwood song, wherein the synthesizer convulses slowly conjuring the bleaker qualities of tinnitus taking the lead over your senses. Side B of the record throbs quickly with the blown bass drums and hissing rhythms of "Pushing Your Luck" and comes to a drawn conclusion with the ten minute come-down at sun rise burner of "Poor Me Another".

The record was recorded using a modular synthesizer to tape by Nick Klein and mastered by Josh Bonati. Design work taken on by visual provocateur Chris Norris (Steak Mountain).

Danish producer Asmus Odsat debuts on Iceland's FALK DISKS with four leftfield dancefloor cuts entitled 'Ecstatic Half Truth' this September.

Before moving to Iceland, Asmus Odsat was a key figure within Copenhagen's electronic music scene for nearly a decade. A former resident at Culture Box, Odsat was also co-founder of Ritual Malmö as well as the BULK club night, which has hosted artists like Surgeon, Dasha Rush, Lucy and Sleeparchive. Odsat now joins FALK DISKS, the club focused sub-label of FALK Records (Fuck Art Lets Kill) with his 'Ecstatic Half Truth' EP, receiving early support from names like Courtesy who included it in her guest mix on B.Traits' BBC Radio 1 show.

'Deal With It' sets the tone of the package with frenzied synths, warped atmospherics and a crunchy kicks before title track 'Ecstatic Half Truth' delivers a cacophony of percussion alongside twisted melodies and off-kilter breaks.

Up next, fast paced arpeggios meander alongside metallic top lines and a filtered 303 that unfolds throughout, making way for 'Soften The Clocks' which rounds off the package utilising disjointed rhythms, intense acid sequences and thundering low-end throbs.

Fifteen track completion of deep biguines and Gwo Ka from the '60s French West Indies. The vinyl edition included a 4 page booklet + download code.

Biguine is a rhythmic style of music that originated in Guadeloupe and Martinique in the 19th century, which fuses 19th-century French ballroom

dance steps with African rhythms. Gwo Ka is found among all ethnic and religious groups of Guadeloupean society.

It combines responsorial singing in Guadeloupean Creole, rhythms played on the Ka drums and dancing. Gwo Ka is the musical and cultural product of the

region's African ancestry, forcibly brought to the Caribbean through slavery. Gwo Ka exists only in Guadeloupe, which is a very different island from much of

the Caribbean, in that it remains a 'department' of its original colonial master, France. Here the currency is the Euro and the baker sells croissants and café

au lait. This constant 'European-ising' of the island means that Gwo Ka plays a fundamental and important role in the defining of Guadeloupean identity.

'Antilles' Méchant Bateau', a low-tempo number with a bolero feel, indeed a pure case of the blues, and a terrific saxophone solo. What else would you

expect to set the tone for this selection, in which beguine regains its original colours, in the darkness of the Gwo Ka drums. This 45 by André Mahy, released

under the Aux Ondes sublabel, was recorded in the 1960s at Célini's, one of Guadeloupe's two main houses. Through its drum rolls and harrowing chant, it

recalled how, long before the mid-1960s, the Antilles' history was written in an ocean of teardrops - namely the Black Atlantic.

Warehouse Find!

Helsinki-based producer Saine makes his Delusions debut following amazing output on such revered labels as Voyage Recordings, Odd Socks, Omena and Fina. A producer who can flit from hazy instrumental hip hop through to raw, dusty house at the flick of a switch, Saine has built a solid following amongst lovers of left field leanings we've come to expect from the likes of Max Graef, Glenn Astro, Henry Wu and Leon Vynhall.

On lead track Act Natural we find Saine in perhaps his heaviest mood to date, delivering a crunchy uptempo house jam which retains his unique sound despite being aimed firmly at the dancefloor. A speaker wobbling eighth note bassline locks down the groove whilst familiar, much-loved frag- ments from the rave days punctuate the crackling beats. Add to this some simple syncopated chords and you have a winning formula for a timeless track which looks to the future whilst respectfully doffing it's cap to the past.

Jus Right continues in a deeper, more musical fashion with Saine getting busy on his synths, building up layers of warm pads and soloing Moog lines. A prominent vocal brings a soulful touch whilst the minimal, almost hihat-less groove adds an original and fresh feel to this blissful track.
Flipping over we have Low Key, a shuffling deep house number loaded with sliced Rhodes samples, echoing vocal hits, clipped percussion and sublime bass. As the atmosphere thickens, everything falls away to silence before rebuilding, creating some nice tension in the arrangement.

Finally we have Pontchartrain offering up an excellent remix of Jus Right. The Detroit native responsible for some mighty fine releases for the likes of Rocksteady Disco, Lovedancing, Soul Clap, Kolour LTD and Whiskey Disco takes things in a more straight-up house direction with heavier beats, 909 hats pushed to the fore and a distinctively old school feel to the mix.

At 83 Years Of Age, Lee Scratch Perry Is Proud To Present To The World His Next Full Length Solo Album (with Dub Versions) , Continuing His Inimitable Roots Reggae Legacy.

Lee's Brief For The Album, Was To Blend The Vintage And The Obscure, During The Sessions Lee Referred To The Sound And 'black' And Wanted Space, Light And Darkness In The Songs And Their Respective Dub Versions.

The Result Sees Lee Having Mixed Up An Analogue Concoction Of Ultra-rare Effects, Sonic Wizardry And Deep Heavy Roots Rhythms.

Over 2017 and 2018, Lee Scratch Perry re united with Producer and Mixer Daniel Boyle, to start work on their second Solo album project for Lee.

Picking up where their last efforts ''Back on the Controls'' left off. Lee wanted to continue the raw analogue sound they had cultivated together over multiple past releases, and take it to the next level with new effects devices to create another sonic signature.

They entered the studio in 2017, to begin to put together ideas for the tracks, which were then taken to RAK studios in London with their ever changing Rolling Lion All Stars session band; to lay down the rhythm versions.

Using strictly vintage analogue equipment, they employed Neuman valve and RCA Ribbon microphones, and RAK's early model vintage API desk to record, the 'sound' for the album was sculpted in these sessions. Vintage, but punchy, which was then blended with Lee's choice of super rare and custom analogue effects. Ursa Major Space Station and Stargate delays and reverbs, old choruses, Plate and spring reverbs, and tape delays were used to create a tight vintage feel but retaining the rawness of the 'Low Fi' roots sound Lee was aiming for.

With the music coming together, the vocal sessions were held in Abbey Road studio 3, again using vintage RCA ribbon mics, over driving their EMI TG console and Fairchild compressors to create a pleasantly distorted Lo Fi vocal sound.

Lee and Daniel then returned to Daniels Rolling Lion Studio, to mix and Dub the album, live, on the mixing console.

'Rolling Lion All Stars' Musicians: Vocals: Lee 'Scratch' Perry Drums: Ed West Bass & Guitar: Hughie Izachaar Keys: Robbie Lynn Additional Keys: Calvin Bennion Percussion: Daniel Boyle Kete Drum: Mathias Liengme Hurdy Gurdy: Brian McCoy Horn Section: Rory Sadler, Robert Landen Melodica: Puraman Backing Vocals :

When the new Halloween movie hits theaters in October 2018, it will have the distinction of being the first film in the series with creator John Carpenter's direct involvement since 1982's Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Carpenter serves on the new David Gordon Green-directed installment as an executive producer, a creative consultant, and, thrillingly, as a soundtrack composer, alongside his collaborators from his three recent solo albums, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.

The new soundtrack pays homage to the classic Halloween score that Carpenter composed and recorded in 1978, when he forever changed the course of horror cinema and synthesizer music with his low-budget masterpiece. Several new versions of the iconic main theme serve as the pulse of Green's film, its familiar 5/4 refrain stabbing through the soundtrack like the Shape's knife. The rest of the soundtrack is just as enthralling, incorporating everything from atmospheric synth whooshes to eerie piano-driven pieces to skittering electronic percussion. While the new score was made with a few more resources than Carpenter's famously shoestring original, its musical spirit was preserved.

ADULT. '20 years ODD.'
Over the course of the last two decades, Detroit-based duo ADULT. (Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller) have released six albums and nineteen EPs and singles across some of our favorite labels: Mute, Ghostly International, Thrill Jockey, Clone Records, Third Man Records, and their own label, the revered Ersatz Audio. November 1998 marked their first release: the five-song 12" 'Dispassionate Furniture'. This September, twenty years later, Dais Records is proud to announce ADULT.'s seventh full length album: THIS BEHAVIOR.
The album began as 23 demos written and recorded in a remote cabin in the woods of Northern Michigan during the dead of winter. In total isolation, and with a reduced amount of gear (a modified version of their live setup) on the cabin's kitchen table, the duo were completely immersed in an incessant inescapable studio of their own making - looping, repetitive analogue sequences grinding away day and night. At the end of the intense demo session, a handful of peers were enlisted by the band for the difficult task of paring down the demos into the final album.

The result is 10 tracks of uncompromising dark electronics, showcasing ADULT.'s return to aggressive and energetic dancefloor mastery. Album opener 'This Behavior' alongside the follow-up 'Violent Shakes' (which ascends into synths wailing like warning sirens over Kuperus's commanding vocals) set the stage for an on-edge listen, while the heartbreaking 'Silent Exchange' unfolds as a beautiful sad synth dirge.  'Perversions of Humankind' breaks the mood - driving the listener into a slow and low groove before the frantic album midpoint of 'Irregular Pleasure'. 'Does The Body Know' is the album's post-punk anthem, with irresistible singalong 'we're out of order - we're undefined!' The latter half of the album drives forward with 'On The Edge (You Put Me...)' and 'Lick Out The Content', refusing rest and demanding movement and response. 'Everything & Nothing' emerges slowly from sparkling synth textures, snowballing with nervous energy into an acid techno stomper before the album comes to a close on the icy landscape of 'In All The Debris', a goose-bump inducing slow electronic mantra that closes the curtain on a massive album.

Artist statement on the album's writing process:
'It's confounding how often we negate the importance of disconnecting, getting weird, getting lost. Discomfort and joy intertwined. Day to day, theatrical self-presentation set to rest in our frantic social world. Public becomes private, almost too private. Looking out into frozen woods as you deliver your vocals. For who For what Taking walks along icy shorelines as you try to overcome writer's block, as you try to overcome yourself. Not seeing anyone for days and weeks on end. Overwhelming thoughts and feelings come rushing in; anxiety, fear, purpose, banality, futility of task, power structures, power struggles, pointlessness, collapse.You're faced to face yourself. Your awareness is heightened. You are neither here nor there. You are in a liminal state As you work in this isolated cabin your windows become mirrors.'

"Are we distortions. Are we distortions, perversions of humankind.Are we distortions. Are we distortions, twisted somewhere in time."

ADULT. '20 years ODD.'
Over the course of the last two decades, Detroit-based duo ADULT. (Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller) have released six albums and nineteen EPs and singles across some of our favorite labels: Mute, Ghostly International, Thrill Jockey, Clone Records, Third Man Records, and their own label, the revered Ersatz Audio. November 1998 marked their first release: the five-song 12" 'Dispassionate Furniture'. This September, twenty years later, Dais Records is proud to announce ADULT.'s seventh full length album: THIS BEHAVIOR.
The album began as 23 demos written and recorded in a remote cabin in the woods of Northern Michigan during the dead of winter. In total isolation, and with a reduced amount of gear (a modified version of their live setup) on the cabin's kitchen table, the duo were completely immersed in an incessant inescapable studio of their own making - looping, repetitive analogue sequences grinding away day and night. At the end of the intense demo session, a handful of peers were enlisted by the band for the difficult task of paring down the demos into the final album.

The result is 10 tracks of uncompromising dark electronics, showcasing ADULT.'s return to aggressive and energetic dancefloor mastery. Album opener 'This Behavior' alongside the follow-up 'Violent Shakes' (which ascends into synths wailing like warning sirens over Kuperus's commanding vocals) set the stage for an on-edge listen, while the heartbreaking 'Silent Exchange' unfolds as a beautiful sad synth dirge.  'Perversions of Humankind' breaks the mood - driving the listener into a slow and low groove before the frantic album midpoint of 'Irregular Pleasure'. 'Does The Body Know' is the album's post-punk anthem, with irresistible singalong 'we're out of order - we're undefined!' The latter half of the album drives forward with 'On The Edge (You Put Me...)' and 'Lick Out The Content', refusing rest and demanding movement and response. 'Everything & Nothing' emerges slowly from sparkling synth textures, snowballing with nervous energy into an acid techno stomper before the album comes to a close on the icy landscape of 'In All The Debris', a goose-bump inducing slow electronic mantra that closes the curtain on a massive album.

Artist statement on the album's writing process:
'It's confounding how often we negate the importance of disconnecting, getting weird, getting lost. Discomfort and joy intertwined. Day to day, theatrical self-presentation set to rest in our frantic social world. Public becomes private, almost too private. Looking out into frozen woods as you deliver your vocals. For who For what Taking walks along icy shorelines as you try to overcome writer's block, as you try to overcome yourself. Not seeing anyone for days and weeks on end. Overwhelming thoughts and feelings come rushing in; anxiety, fear, purpose, banality, futility of task, power structures, power struggles, pointlessness, collapse.You're faced to face yourself. Your awareness is heightened. You are neither here nor there. You are in a liminal state As you work in this isolated cabin your windows become mirrors.'

"Are we distortions. Are we distortions, perversions of humankind.Are we distortions. Are we distortions, twisted somewhere in time."

HINOSCH are a duo of Koshiro Hino from Osaka and Stefan Schneider from Düsseldorf, they first (met and) began their collaborative work of musical interaction and exploring contrasting possibilities in 2017. After a number of concerts in the EU and in Japan a debut EP (HINOSCH EP/TAL05) was released in late 2017. Fully instrumental, their first full-length album HANDS offers a more steeply focussed approach than its largely improvised predecessor.

Encouraged by the momentum generated during a number of on-the-spot recordings in Osaka, where Schneider had held a residency in April 2017, the overall sound of the album has been honed down through meticulous studio engineering. One of the outstanding qualities of HANDS certainly is an unprejudiced approach of sound and song structures. The instrumentation is condently reduced to a small range of analogue and digital machines. Snatches of tape-loops deliver lower-pitched vocal and drum machine samples. This characteristic technical set up soon proved ideal in order to dene a tactile vocabulary of fully unsynchronized rhythm patterns. The word tactile perfectly conjures that quality which is the very essence of HANDS. It is the result of the manner in which interdependent threads of rhythm units are deliberately disconnected to form a cohesive, soulful and exible whole. Most tracks on HANDS are devoid of a central motif and examine an unpredictable dialogue. A fantasy of constant change and a search for musical suggestions is the most vital ingredient in this abstract environment.

The album title HANDS refers to physical aspects of electronic music production. Every live concert of Hinosch usually starts out with a hand shake between Hino and Schneider. The general process of collective music making, programming, button pushing, playing, recording, decision making, all demand utmost concentration. The image on the front of the abum sleeve (designed by Takashi Makabe) reects the general approach of HANDS: layers of tuckled fabrics confronting one another to articulate a form for themselves to no other end than their own orchestration.

After having emerged from the ever thrilling Osaka music scene onto the international playgrounds of electronic music just a few years ago Koshiro Hino's solo activities as YPY and his involvement with the band GOAT have already garnered him a very favourable international reception. Stefan Schneider has over the years produced and collaborated with a.o. Joachim Roedelius (Cluster), Arto Lindsay, Klaus Dinger (NEU!), Dieter Moebius (Cluster), Alexander Balanescu, John McEntire (tortoise), Katharina Grosse, Bill Wells and St.Etienne.

"Uplifting boogie grooves to set your spirit free." (Paul Kane / Jordan Valley Records)

When The Unbelievable Two appeared on the scene in 2014, their pure underground, analogue boogie and disco sound mirrored what was going on in the vinyl infected bars and small cellar clubs in their hometown of Hamburg/Germany. "The Unbelievable Two" was inspired by the golden age of the genres, played live with skills and insight. Four years later, boogie and disco are all around us. So it is about time that these pioneers release their second album. Honest and authentic, "Power Plant" recalls late 1970s New York Disco and mid 1908s UK Boogie.

The Unbelievable Two still is Mzuzu and Mucka, who lead us through nine new songs of speedy disco, down low boogie and even some smokin' reggae. Recorded in late 2017 and through the spring of 2018, "Power Plant" tells stories beyond the surface level. "Even though our music is purely instrumental, it doesn't mean we haven't got anything to say," explains Mzuzu, a respected and well-travelled vinyl DJ on the Germany funk/disco scene. "Boogie and disco are a universal language. With the influence of Afro, Latin, Reggae, even European electronic music you do not need a lot of words to tell a story which gets everybody connected. These songs are about our friends, our everyday life, how we life and what we feel."

"Power Plant" is available as a limited edition vinyl LP (300 copies).

As we reach our 30th release on the label, Animal Farm is proud to present Stephanie Sykes' first solo EP since 2016's effort on Prodigal Son. Those two years have seen her presence in the techno scene explode, with a flurry of appearances across Europe - our own Animal Farm night in Glasgow among them + residencies at Tbilisi's KHIDI and the infamous after hours Jaded crew in London, Corsica Studios.

Title track 'Interference' is an impeccably crafted tool in the vein of her recent DJ sets - boomy in the low end with sweeping peak time sensibilities. It's a brand of unpretentious techno purism Sykes has become synonymous with, also making her a firm favourite with the Animal Farm crowd.

The electro-informed 'On The Other Side' shows a new side to Sykes' production; contrasting mean drums with opulent synth work to craft something that is simultaneously dreamy and floor effective. The elusive Janice turns his hand to 'Interference' on the flip, providing a razor sharp mind-trip of a remix that's as affirming as it is abrasive.

All tracks mastered by Conor Dalton @ Glowcast Mastering.

Lowrider soul heads for a south-of-the-border surf date on these two sizzling originals from Alba & the Mighty Lions. A perfect soundtrack for cruising with the bad girls in a drop-top or soothing a late night heartbreak, "La Verdad" and "Esperando" are your tough, no-nonsense friend with a heart of gold who always has your back. Soulful vocals paint a mood while the band's nimble arrangements follow every move. Alba Ponce de León is a multi-talented artist who cut her teeth in the swirling scene of Brooklyn's indie underground, backing up Daptone acts Charles Bradley & Naomi Shelton as well as playing a major role in the fearsome feminist freedom fighters, The Resistance Revival Chorus.

"It is not often that we hear STL's music reworked and in this instance, it was not an easy process, since the parts to the originals were unavailable, resulting in a uniquely interesting approach for this release.
Juniper lead the way on the A side, delivering two dynamic versions of Haze & Kraze. Dark and shuffly edits of the original that keep you drawn in from beginning to end.
On the B side, Fold reinterprets Hide & Seek into a low tempo dub house piece. Heavy on the low end. Lush with the pads. And suited for your warm ups. B2 sees Jonas Friedlich work a loose electronica / techno edit of Hide & Seek, complete with twists and surprises.

In the 80s, a Nigerian DJ named Hycentto Junior was notorious for making Onitsha people dance on his grooves. Soon, influenced by U.S hip-hop artists, he began rapping on top of the music he played.

His eccentric style drew the attention of the biggest name, and the famous Nkono Teles decided to work with him on his next LP, Mama Groove. Their project was released in 1991. Due to unfortunate circumstances, the number of copies available was really low, making it very hard to find.

More than 25 years later, working for a motor company, Hycentto met online with French music passionate collective 'Lorem Ipsum', that had randomly found his Mama Groove LP.

The result is a reissue auditioning all the 1991 Mama Groove's tracks and two bonuses selected from his first 1984 album, At A Party Last Night. The unique variety of sounds and genres, covering Electro Hip-Hop, Digi Reggae and Disco-Funk, will carry you from poolside to late night dancefloors!

Thomas Fehlmann steps away as co-member of The Orb following two acclaimed full lengths on Kompakt (COW - 2016, Moonbuilding 2703 AD - 2015) and embarks back on his solo career with a career defining album 'Los Lagos' - from Detroit to Schaffel techno he conducts a broad spectrum of electronic music into a seamless flow.

Thomas Fehlmann has been active since the late 1970's from Palais Schaumburg, the Tresor defnining trio 3MB (with Moritz von Oswald and Juan Atkins), Ocean Club (together with Gudrun Gut) and of course The Orb.

Artwork direction and design by DESIGNERS REPUBLIC.

'Los Lagos' is Thomas Fehlmann's seventh solo full-length, his 4th for Kompakt following his Berlin inspired 2010 full length 'Gute Luft'. in the musician's own words it's about "checking the juice".

Establishing a picture of his current artistic condition, as suggested by the title - los lagos / die lage / the situation (literally translating to 'the lakes' but taking the meaning of 'wassup' in the context of a relaxed discussion between friends), the album refers to Fehlmann's "musical motivation, dreams and wishes" through the language of music exclusively: a way to "allow myself to techno" he says, "to techno as a means to deconstruct and rebuild again. Set up an area of tension, loose it in the flow of the grooves. Magnifying some detail out of proportion, regroup around that and slowly knit a texture. Expand."

"It was time to take a bend and head where the sun rises or sets, wherever my heart drives me." This is pretty much the kind of decision Thomas Fehlmann has made. 61 and shining, longstanding member of The Orb, multi-talented composer and boundless experimentalist, had to make in the twilight of his collaboration with Alex Paterson, eager to taste the flavours of the unknown on his own again. "It was the moment when felxibility would have become compromise'. Far from being the demise of their joint dream, this was bound to split it in two distinct, parallel fantasies - rich of their own singularity.

As goes with that essential love of his for the free-flowing nature of electronic music, a fascination born out of its "lack of borders", capable of "inventing, changing the emphasis, experimenting with an unpredictable outcome", 'Los Lagos' "freely connects disparate extremes. Art, disco, minimalism, schmalz, jazz and funk". As he likes to say, Fehlmann's head functions as a sampler, capturing elements and re-assembling them under his own embracing perspective ; not afraid to leap from a deep, dubbed-out hypnotism ('Window', 'Morrislouis', 'Freiluft') to the playfulness of '90s-style bleepy schaffel ('Tempelhof' featuring Max Loderbauer), through out-there, muscle-flexing dancefloor cuts ('Triggerism') onto the calmness of ambient ('Geworden').

In need to keep his inner balance in check, Fehlmann committed himself to "switch off the control" and follow his intuition, which isn't so much of an easy process as he also wanted to incorporate the side disturbances experienced: "it's a complex process of search and destroy to bring out a new beauty trying to expand my vocabulary". With 'Los Lagos', Fehlmann looked at finding "the structure that's surprising, disturbing and rewarding". The artwork for the record, courtesy of contemporary artist and friend Albert Oehlen whom he shares lots of artistic ambitions with, echoes the producer's "funky use of shape and space, sludge and clarity" like a second skin. A search for light and harmony that Fehlmann sums up eloquently: "Does your inner musical voice respond", that is the question. Then "doors open up in unexpected corners, rays of light appear; you follow through and you're in - in your oasis."

Brendon Moeller offers up his 'Set In Motion' EP on Echocord sub-label Echo Echo this September, comprising three originals from the Dub Techno veteran. South Africa, New York based producer and DJ Brendon Moeller aka Beat Pharmacy/Echologist has long been respected as one of the pioneering figures in ethereal, dubbed-out Techno with regular appearances at global hot spots like fabric, Berghain and Cielo as well as releases on labels like Third Ear, Kimochi, Neovinyl and Echocord. Here though we see Moeller joining the roster of the latter's sublabel Echo Echo, marking its fourth release. Title-track 'Set In Motion' leads with Brendon's signature murky synth textures at its core whilst lumpy low-end tones, shuffled hats and spiraling dub echoes fluidly undulate amongst one another throughout. 'Eastern Beach' follows, and as the name would suggest, nods towards brighter sounds with airy pads, soft bell chime synths and pulsating subs driving the composition alongside swinging, heavily reverberated percussion. 'Economy' then closes the package, stripping things back to gritty dub stabs, dusty 4/4 drums and billowing noise sweeps.

In search of the sublime, contemporary electronic musician Steve Hauschildt has designed grids and panoramas of sound across multiple releases through the rise and dissolution of his former band, Emeralds, an American touchstone of 2000s home-recorded psychedelic noise music. Consistent with his solo work is Hauschildt's ability to coil his craft in precise, varied, and distinctly physical forms. Gently spinning arpeggios converse with post-industrial decay. Sonic bers sway like pendulums from static melancholy to motorik bliss. Dissolvi, the artist's rst full-length with Ghostly International, engages sublimation from an ontological perspective: by dissociating the self. Hauschildt steps out from the singular path, for the rst time in a traditional studio, to compose and arrange contributions from friends. As a result, his most collaborative work to date extends a vast, vibrating framework in which to consider the state of being.

The album's title — a reference to cupio dissolvi, the Latin phrase meaning "I wish to be dissolved" — needn't be taken one-dimensionally or as purely solipsistic. It does, however, serve an apt reference. Physiological phenomena are of interest to Hauschildt. These back-of-mind ruminations nd their way out. Songs are cerebral in orientation, but beyond explanation, the music is truly visceral.

Involuntary eye movement inspires the serene, sanguine-nearing-suspicious "Saccade." Hauschildt feathers soft percussion beneath the echoed refrains of Los Angeles musician Julianna Barwick, together shaping a svelte suggestion of the anxieties brought about by modern-day surveillance; if everyone is being watched constantly, there is no individual, no self, only a broadly monitored and clumsily cataloged populous. The work of Chicago poet Carl Sandburg comes to mind: 'I am the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass.' The individual dissolves into the taxonomic crowd.

Minimalist techno impulses provide a stylistic through-line for Dissolvi. Understated synth phrases and drum grooves take hold in selective moments, like synchronistic structures onto which nebulous mists, like the rapturous voice of Gabrielle Herbst aka GABI on "Syncope," cling to and cloud, producing a dazzling rift in consciousness. The 7-minute centerpiece "Alienself" reiterates this creative logic, burbling like an amorphous body of water on a low-gravity planet, on the verge of dissolving, but never fully dematerializing.

The album was constructed in Chicago (where Hauschildt now resides) and partially in New York. "Much of it was recorded in a windowless studio which removed elemental or seasonal references to time in the music," says Hauschildt. "The focus this time was on mixing the album and incorporating a broader set of instrumentation. I describe my compositional approach as being quasi-generative." Embracing new methods and philosophical curiosities, and in turn, expanding the range of his repertoire, Hauschildt proposes a fascinating and profoundly rich experience in listening, being, and deliquescing.

Echocord's Echo Echo sub-label continues with its third releases this August, courtesy of German producer and Credo founder Alex Bau with his 'Zenstory' EP. Germany's Alex Bau has been a prominent name on the underground DJ circuit on his home turf, and further afield, for three decaces as well as racking up an impressive back catalogue as a recording artists for labels like Cocoon, CLR, Sleaze and of course his very own Credo label which has been a platform predominantly for his own material whilst welcoming the likes of Kyle Geiger, Takkyu Ishino and Electric Rescue onto the imprint also. Here though we see Bau joining the roster of Echocord's fledgling sub-label Echo Echo with a new four-track EP and taking the lead on the package is 'Clouds' with pulsating low-end tones, hissing analogue noise and dusty drums samples all flowing in unison with ethereal chords and sweeping pads. 'Contour' follows, tipping the focus over to bubbling delayed stab hits, fluttering sub bass and evolving white noise bursts throughout. The 'Prelude' of 'Zenstory' opens the flip side and as the name would suggest it's a cinematic build up to the title-track featuring tension-building, expansive atmospherics ahead of the original mix which features a thumping muted kick, stuttering atmospheric echoes and spoken word vocal tucked into the depths of the record.

Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.

One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Queen Constance was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. High Fidelity will be the first in a series of Queen Constance rarities to be reissued, an extremely rare and coveted record that can change hands on the second hand market for big big money, avoid those low rent bootlegs that are out there and cop this fully licensed repress.

The group's self-titled sole long-player is a fantastic 6 track set of gritty, soulful and uplifting funky Disco with a DIY edge. Not too much is known about the artists themselves, or even when the record was performed, recorded or released but it certainly sounds like a group who knew their craft inside out. The energy is high across the record and the group sound like they're on fire, just check the outrageously funkified 'Magic Carpet' and you'll see what we mean. Amazing. The whole project has that enchanting lo-fi, back-street feel to it in terms of production and the mind boggles as to how such a record would have come off had it been recorded at a Motown or any other 'big' studio, but no matter as this release is perfect the way it is, an essential piece of street-level NYC Disco straight from the underground.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, lovingly remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.

* "Of all the dubplates in my bag from this last few years, the ones I've selected most often have Walton's name scribbled on the sleeve. 'Black Lotus' is a unique creative statement; I'm very proud to release it on Tectonic and to support Walton, who I believe is a true talent." Pinch

* On July 6th Tectonic recordings presents the game-changing second album by 26 year old Mancunian Sam Walton, better known as simply Walton.
* 'Black Lotus' follows his inclusion on Tectonic's landmark 100th release - Riko Dan's 'Hard Food' EP, plus the 'Praying Mantis'/ 'Koto Riddim' 12' (also on Tectonic) and the 'Taiko' EP on Kaizen - the latter two of which hinted at the album's sound, but didn't fully prepare us for the brilliance to come.

* Abstract electronics, grime, dubstep and new styles that don't even have a name yet coalesce perfectly on this classic in the making. It finds Walton at peak power, reaching just as far (if not more so) than anything on the Pan, Different Circles, Boxed or Tectonic catalogues for pure futurism and new-terrain-traversing brilliance.

* Spacious and modern sounding, with just the right amount of grit, on 'Black Lotus' Walton has taken things the next level - setting an impressive new high bar. This is the best music to take inspiration from far eastern culture since Photek's seminal 'Ni - Ten - Ichi - Ryu' and 'The Water Margin'.

* Cinematic may be a term bandied about too often, but on this record it unquestionably applies, with the whole thing playing out like an epic movie, full of highs, lows, action, reflection and changing scenes.

* The album kicks off with 'Black Lotus', which makes it quickly evident that this isn't just another generic longplayer; a weightless/sino style intro segues into a mystical kalimba line, which is then is enveloped by huge waves of synthesized, pitched-down brass.

* 'Point Blank' offers locked, harsh mechanical funk, full of aggravated excitement, before sleek, spacious grime and disguised pop garage achieve twisted anthem status, on the hugely satisfying 'Koto Riddim'.

* 'No Mercy''s Yakuza crime riff is perfect for Riko Dan's threatening menace, especially at the point his voice gets distorted into a guttral and unsettling, demon-like wretch.

* 'Mad Zapper' is abstract, comprised of simple yet challenging beats, tones and stutters, whilst 'Angry Drummer''s taiko/kumi-daiko style percussion has a rousing, heavy thump.

* 'Pan' sounds equally enthralling whether soundtracking a dark movie scene of impending danger, or carying enratptured ravers on a danceflor journey, especially one suited to the synapse-prodding drama of a high production, lazer-heavy festival set.

* Choppy drums and bouncy bass tones are laced with the georgeos melody of 'Ehru', and 'Vectors' is sleek 'n' deep breakbeat-garage-meets-IDM.

* Although already known for elements of musicality, Walton raises his game even higher with the beautiful closing track 'White Lotus', which has a wow factor akin to hearing Aphex's Twin's 'Jynweythek Ylow' for the first time.

* 'The title came from the idea that I wanted it to be sweet and melodic in areas, but dark and grimey at the same time', recalls Walton. 'I never really listened to much Japanese and Chinese music before working on this, and that element originally came from listening to a lot of Sino grime stuff. It wasn't until I was deep into the process of making the album that I started listening to loads of traditional stuff on YouTube for melodic ideas, which changed how it turned out. The whole dubstep techno crossover thing was also a big influence.'
* 'I'm really happy to have Riko Dan & Wen on there', he adds. 'I've done a few remixes of Riko tunes which have had a great response, so it's been wicked to get some original material done together. The track with Wen was first started a while back, so I'm glad it was finally finished and will see a release.'
* Walton has been steadily gaining serious clout through releases since 2011 on Hyperdub, Keysound, Tectonic and Kaizen, with supporters including Mumdance, Logos, Slimzee, Laurel Halo, Wen, Hodge, Mary Anne Hobbs, Giles Peterson, Paleman, Teki Latex, Commodo, Loefah and Kode9. Key club, festival and radio shows include FWD at Plastic People, Fabric, Outlook, NTS, Rinse and BBC 1xtra.

The Splinta Experience was made entirely by hand. And a foot. The record is the result of Splinta's turntable tricks and layering. It's simply drumming and scratching arranged on the fly with a loop pedal, with added effects from a basic, pocket-size bass module. Low in fidelity and high in humming, buzzing and hissing. No SP-404 effects needed.

This is scratch music that takes us to the Electric ScratchHappyLand. It might as well be a tribute record celebrating 50 years of Jimmy Hendrix Experience's last album. And 22 years of Kid Koala's greatest mix-tape of all time.

Splinta's a Slovenian. He's been deejaying & juggling for more than a while. This is his debut on plastic.

Sleeve illustration, design and print all also hand-made by Splinta. Really wholesome hiphop shit.

In 2017, Benedikt Frey released his breathtaking debut album with the ESP Institute, Artificial, and now as we finally come up for air, we're more than proud to offer an eclectic collection of remixes that's nothing short of essential. Side A leads with H For Hysteria remixed by a beloved hero, Nicolas Chaix a.k.a. I:Cube, one of the most prolific and respected electronic artists Paris has to offer. His touch is considered and elegant, imbuing the track with a tasteful 303+808 backbone to support an array of patiently floating melodies and angelic vocal samples. Following this, Tolouse Low Trax of Du¨sseldorf's infamous Salon Des Amateurs remixes the same track, stripping instrumentation down to a skeletal palette of bass guitar and stabbing percussive punctuations, chopped up inna minimalist stylee that has become his beat-making signature. Side B leads with a remix by another Du¨sseldorfer, DJ Normal 4, whose re-imagination of Private Crimes takes us for an even more menacing ride, half-timing the tempo and skillfully rolling out a barrage of jungle snares from rave days of yore. Closing the release is the most aggressive remix of them all, a bonafide techno beatdown of the same track by DALO, the co-producing artist to whose haunting vocals lace the original version. Her dark vision opens with sparse industrial drums that blossom into a driving assault of raw machinery, definitely not for the faint-of-heart. An all-around solid release here, fun for all the family... more than just the tip!

One of our humble imprint's closest allies and a longstanding pillar of Philadelphia's electronic music community, Billy Werner has been a constant presence in the booth at parties throughout the Northeast Corridor since 1998. We debuted his M//R alias in 2014 with the 'Gathering Response Data' 12" . Since he's been busy bringing the grit to points beyond the City of Brotherly Love, putting in work for the likes of DetailsSound, L.I.E.S. and JackDept. Most recently, he turned out a remix of Karen Gwyer's 'Why Does Your Father Look So Nervous' for the 'Rembo' remixes on Don't Be Afraid, as well as another for Chaperone's 'Grit Neglect' on the aforementioned 'SnapbackBalaclava'EP.

Written, recorded, and mixed over a period of 15 months,'Among The Methods' is in no small part a reflection of the affinities and sensibilities Billy holds as both selector and producer. Referencing a variety of influences from jazz to dub to electro, the album's allure stems from his deft ability to recontextualize those genres' disparate aspects into a familiar-yet fiercely idiosyncratic-musical context.The end result is at once wildly fractured and precision-focused as 'Among the Methods' finds its own seductive rhythm within a matrix of dub echoes and modulated low-end. It's heady ground,to be sure;as well as the most declarative aesthetic statement fromM//R to date.
Presented without further comment. The music is the message








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In 2015, something magical happened. We met a couple of talented young Swedes named Artur Bra¨ndstro¨m and Egil Kahlbom who excelled at composing and producing these lighthearted, breezy disco-hued house tracks (or house- hued disco tracks, perhaps) that both fit the aesthetic and character of LPH and brought something new into the fold. The result of that first encounter was Marathons, a full-length album, their debut to the world, and now, two years later, we're back for the much-anticipated follow-up.

Rehearsal is a little briefer than its predecessor—it's five tracks—and has a markedly different tone, one that's less about dusty, sun-bleached samples and more about tightly-engineered and delicately-crafted songs. If the first effort was marked by its carefree naivete´, the sophomore effort is, well, something a bit more advanced or, perhaps, rehearsed.

What hasn't changed, though, is these guys' ability to home in on grooves and coax something trasncednetally hooky, memorable out of them. The five tracks contained here are low-key in attitude but powerful and punchy in approach. They're uniquely juicy, nourishing numbers for mellow hours and fearlessly fun ditties for party hours.Lots of love went into the lot of them, and we hope all's you feel when you let them wash over you is that. Love.

Newly signed to Rhythm Rollers, Mr. Wonderful & Technical J introduce The Boss, a 7' vinyl scratched masterpiece with outstanding production and a compilation of diverse and unique scratch samples to DJ/Producer to utilize.
This unique piece of vinyl has a 'Skip Proof' scratch side dedicated for the DJ/Producer with over 4.30min of vocals, drums, synths, bleeps and basses that can make any DJ/Producer standout from the rest.
The Boss is a live Studio scratch track that will have any crowd rocking.  Super low sub frequencies, punchy drums and ear pricking scratches that only Wonderful and J could produce.
Samples
Choosing the right samples for our record was the major focus for this release. We wanted DJ's to standout from the crowd, so spent considerable time getting vocalists and secessionist in the studio to record some very individual samples for DJ's to use.
Skip Proof Technology
'Skip proof' technology - is a way of recording scratch records so that they do not skip from one sample to another. This is achieved by first calculating the time it takes for one revolution of the record (1.8sec). Once you have this information you can then customise your DAW to that specific measure (133.3333bpm). Then layout your samples so they repeat at the start of each bar.
Extra Deep Grooves
The record plant cut extra deep grooves perfect for the more aggressive style of scratching we all love (these will not jump). Making sure the weight of the vinyl was correct giving that nice feel and long lasting audio sound.

For the 12th installment of Jose Cabrera's self-titled imprint, Mario Castillo appears under his long running 'Kastil' moniker to deliver a four track EP of mechanical dance floor sounds. With 'Anemic Lust', the resident of Vitoria- Gasteiz, comes up with a worthy addition to his rapidly growing discography. After a period of DIY work through his own label STALE, Castillo returns to the imprint where he last released his collaboration album with J.C. in 2017.

Musically, Castillo's palette is ever expanding, threading into the murky waters of mechanical textures and balanced, hypnotic beats, Anemic Lust is showcasing Castillo's love for dubbed out chords, orchestrated string work and power driven drum programming. The opening track 'Submissive' is a firm work of dance floor techno which uses a drone-like scream as it's back bone. While the bass and drums alternate skillfully, the hats and percussive elements penetrate entire spectrum and act in a vanguard-like fashion.

'Omniscience' is a work of growling and low down dub chords that are supported by a vigorous kick drum, slabs of fx, and high spirited hi-hats that change throughout. 'Red River' is the first effort on the B side if Anemic Lust. Castillo changes the pace to introduce a more inky side to his music. The drum work and bass sounds are ominous but the mood is shifted by a more soothing ambiance around the two minute mark.

Also on the B side, label owner J.C. translates Red River into an experimental sounding work of wintry drums and notable sound additions.

Anemic Lust comes in a 12" vinyl package

3x12"

Mark Archer aka DJ Nex returns to Music Mondays for a limited edition, bespoke, shrink wrapped, collector's item, triple pack vinyl album of his legendry DJ Nex EP's.

Originally released in 1992 and 1993 The Nex EP and Poundstretcher EP have become incredibly sort after on vinyl. However, The Poundstretcher EP was always cut to low with 4 tracks aside. We are now taking both EP's and remastering them to 3 loud pieces of vinyl.

The sleeve will be a specially designed piece of art just for this project, while the label on the 3 records will represent the original releases, keeping that authentic DJ Nex vibe!!!

WHITE RING mark a triumphant return with a brand new full-length Gate Of Grief, due out on Rocket Girl on 22 June 2018. Their debut album arrives a full eight years since their benchmark EP, Black Earth That Made Me, which sold out almost instantly, making their records some of the most highly sought after on the underground scene and earning them a cult following across the globe. Swerving from aggressively abrasive to beautifully ethereal, musically they draw from varied and challenging palette, whilst tackling themes of loss and acceptance due to struggles with drug addiction and existential dread on a broader scope.

WHITE RING were originally formed by Bryan Kurkimilis and Kendra Malia, before they were joined by Adina Viarengo, with Bryan and Adina currently touring as a duo. One of the most acclaimed proponents of the "Witch House" movement, WHITE RING blend heavy, distorted electronics with eerie, unsettling vocals. However, their new material, created over the course of seven years, pushes the boundaries further, subverting genre ideas and mashing them all together, with industrial, metal, rave, chopped and screwed, rap, grunge, neo folk, post punk and new wave all in the mix. As Bryan Kurkimilis explains; 'We treat our influences like tools to create a certain feeling. We are interested in covering more ground than sticking to a certain formula.'
Bryan and Kendra originally met on Myspace in 2006. At the time Bryan lived in New Orleans and Kendra was in New York, and they didn't even meet face-to-face until 2008 after they had already released a few singles. In 2010 they released the EP Black Earth That Made Me, which was a collection of songs that they mostly recorded before they met in person. The record confounded expectations by selling out immediately on pre-order, making it very rare and highly sought after, with copies going on Ebay for large sums. It was reissued by Rocket Girl in 2011 and still continues to sell in voluminous amounts.

They started playing live in 2009 and rapidly grew a reputation for their captivating performances, usually bringing their own lighting equipment and putting on a spectacular laser show. They have played for large crowds in their hometown of NYC and toured the UK in 2010 in support of their sold out split 7" with oOoOO, playing InTheCity and SWN festivals - which were their first shows outside of New York. They have since shared the stage with the likes of Cold Cave, araabMUZIK, Liturgy, Blank Dogs, Gatekeeper, Blondes, oOoOO, Clams Casino, and others.  
They started recording Gate Of Grief in 2010, with the hope of exploring new musical territory, however they took a while to find their path. Bryan and Kendra had some tough personal battles to fight, a sense that pervades the whole album. Thematically it delves in to some pretty dark places whilst exploring the concept of time and what it does to people, relationships and society. As Bryan explains; 'There is a lot of tragedy in this album but there is also hope at the end of it.'
By 2016 pressure was building to finish recording, however due to Kendra's ill health, they needed to bring in someone new to assist with vocals. Fortunately they found Adina Viarengo, who had played in various bands and gave them the impetus needed to complete the album. Shortly after meeting in Brooklyn, Bryan and Adina moved to Joshua Tree, California to finish recording the album, before settling in Massachusetts. Her vocal style fitted in seamlessly with what Kendra had been doing, and although she sang on half the songs, it's almost impossible to tell who is singing on which track, thus making her the perfect addition to the band.
Gate of Grief can be considered the second part of Black Earth That Made Me, or rather, they are the first two chapters in an overarching trilogy about evolution. As Bryan explains; 'First you are born but then you realize what you are and what is against you and it's a flood of emotion that you can only hope to hold on for and let it pass.'
The album title, Gate of Grief, refers to the real gate between Africa and Saudi Arabia that is believed to be the spot where the first humans migrated out of Africa and went on to populate the rest of the world. The album art ties in with this concept, with an image depicting a group of settlers in the USA in early 1900 during a parade. They were actually from a cult in the early 1900s in Bryan's hometown of Fort Myers, Florida.













M 13) Burn It Down

Tachyon Audio is a vinyl label that's focused on sounds in the techno realm targeting sweaty, dark dance floors, with large, high-quality sound systems.

Inhabitants come back strong in Mutations Volume II, Tachyon Audio's second offering. These two primates are often found inhabiting dark spaces, forging ahead on complex math equations. Their distinct, driving, mathematical, and drumming techno is a result. Expect more solid work and performances from these two mysterious beings on Tachyon Audio as the label continues its progression.

Tachyon Audio's second release follows a similar format to the first, in that, TAC002 is a diverse EP that touches on techno sounds that are helping to lead the march forward into the future of sound production and style. The second Tachyon Audio release also comes from the mysterious dark studio of Inhabitants, who build off their first, and display their precise, technical forms of production.

The A-side track, Mut11 (A1) is a sci-fi exploration that pleases the ear with thick sub and low basses, along with a pitch-twisted melodic element, and the Inhabitants distinct sound effects and automation. The track has a strong impact immediately, as you can feel the intensity of elements being added, manipulated, and combined, and a sturdy, grimy feel pervades the piece with an interesting driving rhythmic percussion.


Side A ends with two separate open-source NASA samples. The first, Sounds of Enceladus - Radar Echoes from Titan's Surface (A2), is a locked groove and according to NASA, 'was produced by converting into audible sounds some of the radar echoes received by Huygens during the last few kilometers of its descent onto Saturn's moon, Titan. As the probe approaches the ground, both the pitch and intensity increase. Scientists will use intensity of the echoes to speculate about the nature of the surface.'


The second sample, Cassini - Saturn Radio Emissions #2 (A3), is another locked groove. The sound as described by NASA, 'Saturn is a source of intense radio emissions, which were monitored by our Cassini spacecraft. The radio waves are closely related to the auroras near the poles of the planet. These auroras are similar to Earth's northern and southern lights. This is an audio file of radio emissions from Saturn.' These samples are poised for reuse in production and make for good intro and looping material during performances.


The second side of the EP starts with Mut1 (B1), a track that is well-rounded percussively, with a strong kick drum driving the track forward. A simple looping and effected tom drum also helps keep a good movement to the track. An ominously melodic pad that evolves subtly throughout the track helps to keep the Inhabitants err present throughout the track.


Mut8 (B2), is another acidic venture with solid percussion. The looping and other melodic elements provide a solid stricture, with the more adventurous sounds being placed and effected incrementally with distinct Inhabitants flare throughout the track.

Mike Huckaby, Bergqvist, DJ Sports, Raam and LNS remix 'Deep Soundscapes', Takecha's album recently released on Sweden's Love Potion.

Released in March, the album incorporates Takeshi Fukushima's work between 1990 to 2013 and affirms why the producer is such a respected figure within Japan's electronic music scene. Now his compositions have been remixed by some of house music's best, featuring renditions from Detroit's Mike Huckaby, Aniara's Henrik Bergqvist, the elusive Raam, Firecracker and Regelbau's DJ Sports, as well as Wania and Freakout Cult's LNS.

Mike Huckaby inaugurates the release with his sultry take on 'Low Sentiment', blending deep synths with murmuring vocals to forge a proper deep house cut. Bergqvist then remixes 'Rhodes Deep' creating a bouncy minimal cut incorporating the original's scintillating melody alongside meandering percussion and twisted effects, making way into DJ Sports' remix of 'Gradual Atmosphere' with its intricate breakbeat drums and dreamlike atmospherics. Raam then reinvents 'Calm Imagination' taking it into subterranean territories complete with infectious keys, until LNS ties it all together with her mesmerising beatless reimagining of 'Factory 141'.

When Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller asked Martin Freeman ('The Hobbit', 'Sherlock', 'The Office') to do a jazz radio show they could hardly imagine the response. From around the world emails and tweets inundated the show and they swore to themselves that they couldn't leave it there.

Now, two years on, this compilation of their favourite jazz has
arrived. From the rolling hard bop of Lee Morgan and Art Blakey, via screaming soul organ, jazz funk original acid jazz onwards to the post modern spiritual jazz of Kasami Washington, this is an incredible journey.

Released on double CD, digital download and double vinyl with
deluxe gatefold packaging, this is the album that will launch Acid
Jazz's 30th Anniversary celebrations.

Lord Tusk has associated with acts like Klein, John T. Gast, Dean Blunt, Yasiin Bey AKA Mos Def, and released on Jon Rust's Levels, Funkineven's Apron, Soul Jazz Records and Low Income $quad.

Communiqué is made of breathy, glossy Sci-Fi electro, bitcrushed drum samples and Minneapolitan funk feng shui, the hits and stabs of new jack swing and FM boogie, all pieced together with a one-take energy but a meticulous attention to detail. It's songwriting for a miscellaneous kind of soundsystem music, body music, flamboyant across tempo, from the yearning thump of Shyne Eyed Gal to the puffed-up strut of Champion Lovers (sounding like a home-taped Electrifying Mojo opener), the staggered slink of Beyond Limitation's unfiltered tones to the 4x4 uptempo skid of Don't Be Shy or the veering slap-bass groove of Elevation. It's a record that shoots around corners, conjuring lazy romances and smokey vistas, lit by the nocturnal shimmer of an electrified city, streaked with gargantuan, shrill, birdlike call-and-response riffs and visited by the astral bodies of Teddy Riley, Gerald Donald, Prince.

Danny McLewin (Psychemagik) and Jamie Cruisey have a new label of original signed artists called SPIRITS. The first release is from Mexican hotness 'Lokier' of She Made Monster and 'Jason Greer' aka 'The Machine', one of the Californian undergrounds best kept secrets. They met in 2015 at a festival in London and after spending a few days together, became musically obsessed with each other. That summer, as Jason bounced around Europe, he stayed with Lokier in Barcelona for some weeks and after long night walks, some tapas and absinthe bars they came up with their first EP together.

A1 "White Room's" slo-mo headnod film score, kick starts the EP, brooding synths buzzing with electric cocaine gloss, their oscillators fluttering like cyborg butterflies around the pulsating strobelight beat. Creepy.
A2 "Stained Glass" hits tough straight out the gate with subterranean bubbling acid bass and charges headlong into deep psychedelic territory with a goth-inspired guitar, reverb on 11, turning the track into a next-level robo-Giallo monster!

B1 "Pearly Hate" begins as if a menacing swarm of bionic rave bees is slowly surrounding you, the tension of their impending drone amping up steadily as your brain thinks: Do I run This midtempo Carpenter-esque jam is atmospheric putty in the hands of sleazoned DJ's and sounds like the beginning of a long, strange trip.
B2 "Red Floor" is a chugging, barely restrained dark disco beast, flagrantly wearing its Weatherall and Neu Beat-ing heart on its tattered sleeve, elliptical melodies keeping you from your sanity with a solid drop for the dancefloor - another one for DJ's who ride it rough.

Thus completes the first release for new label SPIRITS. Four tracks exploring another corner of otherworldly analogue hedonism for extra-dimensional travel. Keep your ear on "Red Floor", as its potential for dancefloor uplift is proven and Machine-ready! Stay jacked in for more missives soon...

Ivan Smagghe:
"When your best Mexican chola low-rider meets our favourite Californian mechanic, you get a proper slice of (Lokier and) Machine funk. This is grease electronics, black leather under the very dark sun of 'Pearly Hate' or in the bright isolation tank of 'White Room''

Recorded in Philadelphia in 1969, The Deirdre Wilson Tabac's sole album is a beautiful blend of funk, jazz and soulful pop. Possessing the complex grooves, thrilling breaks and ethereal weirdness that The Rotary Connection pedalled so brilliantly, the LP failed to connect with audiences upon its original release.

In the decades since, it has deservedly attracted a considerable cult following. However, almost inevitably, it has become increasingly tricky to pick up a copy in good condition for anything less than eye-watering sums. As such, we're delighted to present the first officially licensed vinyl reissue of this undoubted masterpiece of freaky funk-rock, limited to just 500 copies.

The Tabac were, in fact, a trio. Discovered, managed and produced by Svengali Sonny Casella (who'd earlier managed garage band The Magic Mushrooms), they comprised Deirdre Wilson, Stu Freeman (formerly of said Mushrooms) and Barbara Payne (formerly with the James Brown Revue). They were backed by session players including jazz guitarist Chuck Anderson, bassist Hugh McDonald and keyboardist Roy Bittan (who went on to be a long-term Bruce Springsteen sideman).

Their first single coupled two fine Casella compositions, each featuring powerhouse vocal workouts, the supremely funk-fuelled blues beat of "The Other Side Of Life" and the psychedelic-flavoured "Look In My Face" - both of which are featured here. This 7" picked enough up airplay to merit an album, which duly appeared early the following year, but, as is often the way with these lost classics, it received barely any press. Correspondingly, sales where low and the trio didn't last long.

And herein lies the real tragedy. The rest of the LP deserves to be heard from start-to-finish - it's that good. A beguiling mix of funky folk and rocky jazz tracks, with some deep, string-drenched harmony soul ballads and a handful of remarkable covers elegantly presented througout. Indeed, they put some sauntered head-nod funk into The Beatles' "Get Back" whilst tearing through a version of "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay" which gives Otis' original a real run for its money.

But the real standout cut for most - with its soulful, haunting vocals, swinging hammond organ and stabbing horns, is the incredible 6/8 time jazz dancer "I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes." Staggering.

Next Up On Out-er Is Inland, Aka Ed Davenport, An Artist Who Has Long Been A Friend Of The Label And Whose Powerful Techno Sound Is A Perfect Fit. His Three Originals Come With A Remix By Tresor And Tiercel Artist Bnjmn.

Inland Has Collaborated With Out-er For Some Time Now, Contributing As A Remixer And Was Involved In Their Events In Italy, Germany And Holland, From Label Showcases To Workshops And Panel Discussions. He's Released On The Likes Of Ostgut Ton, Nonplus+, And Runs His Own Counterchange Label, Which Recently Celebrated Its 10th Release. Up First Is The Perfectly Driving 'r-13', With A Concrete Bass-end Down Low And Celestial Synth Patterns Up Top. The Train-track Percussion Locks In The Momentum, While The Beautiful Waves Of Sine Wave Bleeps Keep Your Heart And Head Closely Connected.

Flipping The Vibe Completely Is 'eminent Domain', A Surging Old-school Indebted Ride, With Its Hypnotic Mutating Synths, Overdriven Percussion And Icy Hats. It's A Majestic Track Followed-up By 'planitia', A More Twisted Modernist Techno Cut With Turbulent Synths Wrought With Tension And Steel Plated Drums Hitting Hard. Glassy Harnonic Layers Add Colour Resulting In An Utterly Absorbing Trip.

Long Time Friend Bnjmn Has A Unique Take On Melody And Texture In His Work, Proven By A Series Of Excellent Lps And Eps On Labels Like Rush Hour, Tresor And His Own Tiercel Imprint. Here He Flips 'r-13' Into An Eerie, Loopy Dub With Slithering Synths And Distant Bell Drones Fluttering In And Out Of The Mix. The Layered Drums Add Real Dynamism To This Floating Yet Intense Interpretation That Closes Out An Ep Of Inventive Modern Techno.

Grammy-nominated Ostinato Records presents "Abu Obaida Hassan & His Tambour: The Shaigiya Sound of Sudan" in a gatefold LP packaging with vintage photos and authentic Sudanese designs.
A complex blend of Arab melodies, Nubian rhythms, and signature Sudanese call and response by a legend of Shaigiya music from nothern Sudan.

Abu Obaida Hassan and the wonders of his five-string tambour remained largely a mystery. In the early 2000's, a prominent Sudanese newspaper declared him dead. Internet forums confirmed his passing. Many in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, said he had indeed died.
But rumors that he was still alive persisted.

What was always certain is Abu Obaida Hassan's mercurial talent.
His command of a modified tambour, backed by a chorus and two drummers, unleashed swirling melodies alongside complex Nubian rhythms and hypnotic Sudanese call and response. His bands roster constantly changed, but he remained at the helm, playing for sold out shows in cities across the country and capturing the dancefloors and youth of 1970's and 80's Sudan. This is a rich, raw example of the human experience with sound from northern Sudan, an ancient part of the world, and the birthplace of civilization. Music like this isn't mastered overnight.

The Ostinato team first came across Abu Obaida's recordings in 2011, finding scratchy bits and pieces along the years. We traveled to Sudan in 2016 to find the clues to piece together the Abu Obaida Hassan puzzle. Through some extensive detective work with our man in Khartoum, Ahmed Asysouti, and a generous dose of good fortune, we tracked Abu Obaida to the rural outskirts of Omdurman, the old capital just across the White Nile from Khartoum. Age has taken its toll, but he remains full of life and music, ready to jointly curate a selection of his eight best cuts. He has written over 100 songs, only 30 were recorded.

Abu Obaida comes from the Shaigiya people, whose culture is spread around the ancient city of Merowe, home of traditional Nubian culture, where pyramids older than those in Egypt still stand. They trace their entire lineage to one man, Shaig, who migrated from the Arabian peninsula in the 15th century. An endlessly rhythmic syncretism between Arab and Nubian styles, Abu Obaida's Shaigiya music was an in demand party affair in an era when a vibrant nightlife and roving sound systems were a staple of life in Sudan.

It was music for a modern era, and Abu Obaida, at just 19, rebelliously abandoned traditional Shaigiya music traditions, pioneering a new sound by adding an extra string to his tambour and electrifying an instrument adored across East Africa. The result was complexity in simplicity and a hyper-talented artist who mirrors the story of Sudan's highs and lows, from the leading tambour maestro of the hour to such obscurity on the fringes that he was believed dead. "They killed me!", he likes to joke.

Abu Obaida Hassan, his music and the musical traditions of the Shaigiya remain alive and kicking. A culmination of a 7-year journey — from first hearing Abu Obaida's distinct sound, found only in Sudan, to finding the man — has produced the first global release of Shaigiya music and is just the beginning of Ostinato's immersion into Sudan, with a full compilation of the lavish musical history of one the most diverse countries in Africa due later this year. All brought to you by the Grammy-nominated team behind last year's "Sweet As Broken Dates."

Wave Stu might just be the Platonic ideal of icy, emotionally fraught synth-pop. On his debut release for Origin Peoples, Stockholm-based musician Michel Isorinne puts paragons of this style like Orchestral Manoeuvres In e Dark in his slipstream. Laced with spoken-word passages from films and television shows, Wave Stu weaves a loose tale about the nature of time, physics, and mortality that can be summarized by the key phrase, uttered by a woman scientist somewhere throughout the album, 'magic is in the molecules...'

Isorinne essentially creates introverted minimalist symphonies in which sprightly synth leads peacefully coexist with melancholy, drone-y undercurrents. Throughout the record, Isorinne's melodies bear a fruitful contrast between the morose and the jubilant. He repeatedly places exceptionally delicate and beautiful tunes amid subliminal waves of pensiveness. It truly is a masterly balancing act. e zenith of this approach is Side A's closing track, in which gorgeous countermelodies intertwine like lovers on a tropical beach while a pistoning rhythm pumps up the libido. It's instant paradisiacal bliss.

Side B contains Wave Stu 's most cheerful, uptempo track yet it never bursts into full-on euphoria. Elsewhere, Isorinne reverts back to more somber moods: an eerie, methodical chiller full of quiet wonderment and subdued sparkle reminiscent of Casino Versus Japan, Plone, and others of their gnomic ilk; a low-key anthem in which '70s Vangelis grandiosi meets the workmanlike bass-synth chug of Ulrich Schnauss; an elegiac piece that conjures an intimate majes ; a bass-heavy dirge festooned with forlorn wisps of melodiousness.

The complex, paradoxical happy/sad pendulum at the heart of Isorinne's music lends Wave Stu a tingly resonance that will reward repeat listens. Please welcome an extravagantly rich synth-pop classic.

Following on from OTIS002 Jon & Hugh - Another view, one half of the production duo and OTIS label boss Hugh B steps out on his own for OTIS003. Floating On a Trippy Biscuit is a 4 track excursion through deep textures, roaming drum machines, sliced breaks and dub echoes. With a nod to early Jungle duos (RIP), a psychedelic love letter to UK Broken Beat, a remix from OTIS family member Sean Thomas that pays respect to the UK Deep scene of the late 90s and a deep, valium-laced House groove designed for post-rave reflection. OTIS003 is a dreamy meditation amidst the occasional chaos of the rave, a blissful trip through the styles of 'dance music' this label holds dear.

Early support from: Ben Fester, Simon Caldwell, Adi Toohey and a load of other selectors that are keeping it deep in twenty seventeen...

Med School's most innovative release series returns. Responsible for delivering the drum & bass scene early stories of Etherwood, Royalston, Stray and Whiney, 'New Blood' is definitive of Med School's ethos when it comes to discovering and nurturing quality talent. With artists constantly redrawing the boundaries of 170BPM, this '018' edition breaks the mould showcasing the weird and wonderful sounds from the genre's most promising new talent.

Interdimensional waveman Lakeway has mustered up a jukey-jungle hybrid in the form of 'Lock Off'. Panpipe synths and some big beat steps combine to make the ultimate banger. Keeping things correct is Bristolian serpent Constrict. Choppy snares and flirty 8-bit synth stabs slither together to create 'Tight Coil'. Both choice cuts for any DJ looking for that D&B curveball.

This internationally spread line-up also features some of Russia's best D&B exports. A.Fruit's 'Tender Love' is a delectable fusion of footwork and techno rolled into one and Soela's 'I Wish You Would Come' is an ambient spaced out down tempo number.

A myriad of styles from across the globe are the key ingredients for the 'New Blood 018' LP. Med School has once again proven its A&R prowess, signalling to the world there is no better home for fresh talent.

Both D-Malice and Kid Fonque are well-established players in their native cities, both boasting long-term involvement and impressive credentials. After meeting in 2013 and nurturing a very natural and obvious predilection for golden era hip-hop, 90s R'n B, soul and trip hop they decided to pool their creative resources and rope in a wealth of talent from their combined networks under a new moniker. Enter rkls.

On this debut offering the pair have worked with LA's broken beat visionary Marc De Clive-Lowe, legendary emcees John Robinson and Kev Brown, dazzling new vocal and production talent from South Africa - Sio, Melo B Jones, Daev Martian and White Nite to name but a few.

This diverse list of guests flex their dexterity allowing the album to shift easily between ballads and more up-tempo beats effortlessly. Punctuated with spacey interludes, the resulting twelve tracks glisten with sumptuous textures, swelling harmonies and organic instrumentation. Familiar but fresh, rkls feels like you're meeting an old friend with enthralling new stories to tell.

Dublin based musician Lerosa has built an impressive discography throughout the years. With his first efforts dating back to 2005 the producer who has a broad palette of sounds has already been around for over 10 years with releases for a vary of respected labels.

For the first release on SAFTX , Lerosa hands out a taster of the labels new series ambitions. Vivrant house music is most definitely the back bone of Playa De La Guancha as a whole. The opening is packed with a strapping rhythm section and a vocal cut that is reminiscent of the Trax Records classic House Nation . Julius Steinhoff (of Smallpeople fame) gives Soul Tracing a modern sounding treatment that completely shifts the feel of the original and turns it into an adventurous piece of contemporary electronics.

Lerosa opens up the B side with Bruised which is a work out of alternating basslines and brutal machine claps that give the piece a club oriented feel. Acidic sounds cut through the mix with determination and wobbly synth sounds serve as a pleasant sauce for this intergalactic sounding work. Marauder is a hefty bit at a slower tempo than it s predecessors. A loose rhythm section is causing for the listener the focus on the immense LFO threated sounds that float on to and the low down bassline that supports the overall atmosphere in a grounded manner. Playa De La Guancha will be available through all specialized retailers starting early April.

Molten Moods releases another finely curated various artists record with tracks by Skee Mask, Kessel Vale, Jonas Yamer and Konrad Wehrmeister. Kessel Vales opening track Voguing Geisha' is an unconventional breakbeat masterpiece following his sense of harmony and rhythm already shown through previous releases on Tanstaafl Records and Rhythm Nation. As the track unfolds it reveals musical storytelling by integrating a technoid polyrhythmic loop structure into melodic synth figures, slowly deconstructing in the end. Skee Mask collaborated with Molten Moods labelhead and Carl Gari member Jonas Yamer on Fanta Ocean', it being the first release ever outside of his Ilian Tape homebase. The outcome is a moody IDM piece with cinematic qualities, complex but soothing. The B-Side begins with Xenomorph' by Konrad Wehrmeister, who is known by his releases on Public Possession and SVS Records. This trancy yet distorted and detailed electro banger surely takes on the role of the records dancefloor highlight. The closing track Insgeheim' is delivered by Molten Moods head honcho Jonas Yamer. Here groovy kicks, distorted chords and a psychedelic pad are woven into one compelling 10 am techno track. The common thread of Molten Moods 4 is four young Munich artists going on a joint trip into idiosyncratic electronic music. The resulting tracks intertwine as one modern and diverse techno record. Out on 12 vinyl and wav by the end of March 2018. In the tradition of Molten Moods' cost-conscious design strategies by Paul Bernhard, the record comes with a xeroxed low budget sticker set.
Mastered by Manmade.

Limited Edition Clear Vinyl

Includes 12' Vinyl and Deluxe CD album, 30 page hard back book

Now that I've been to Nashville,' Kylie Minogue says with audible affection, I understand. It's like some sort of musical ley-line...'

Golden, Kylie's fourteenth studio album, is the result of an intensive working trip to the home of Country music, a city whose influence lingered on long after the pop legend and her team returned to London to finish the record: We definitely brought a bit of Nashville back with us,' she states. The album is a vibrant hybrid, blending Kylie's familiar pop-dance sound with an unmistakeable Tennessee twang. It was Jamie Nelson, Kylie's long-serving A&R man, who first came up with the concept of incorporating a Country element' into Kylie's tried-and-trusted style. That idea sat there for a little while, with Minogue and her team initially unsure about how to bring it to life. Then, when Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Wadge's publisher suggested Kylie should come over to collaborate in Nashville, a city Kylie had previously never visited, something clicked. You know when you're so excited about something,' she recalls, that you repeat it an octave higher and double the decibels I was like that. 'Nashville! Yes! Of course I would!'. I hoped it would help the album to reveal itself. I thought 'If I don't get it in Nashville, I'm not going to get it anywhere.''

Kylie's Nashville trip involved working alongside two key writers, both with homes in the city. One was British-born songwriter Steve McEwan (whose credits include huge Country hits for Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood), and the other was the aforementioned Amy Wadge, another Brit (best known for her mega-selling work with Ed Sheeran). It was then a truly international project: Golden was mainly created with African-German producer Sky Adams and a list of contributors including Jesse Frasure, Eg White, Jon Green, Biff Stannard, Samuel Dixon, Danny Shah and Lindsay Rimes, and there's a duet with English singer Jack Savoretti.

However, the album's agenda-setting lead single Dancing was, significantly, first demoed with Nathan Chapman, the man who guided Taylor Swift's transition from Country starlet to Pop megastar. If anyone knows how to mix those two genres, Chapman does. Nathan was the only actual Nashvillean I worked with. He's got a huge studio in his house, which is probably due to his success with Taylor... there's plenty of platinum discs of her, and others on his walls.' There's something of the spirit of Peggy Lee's Is That All There Is, of Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, even of Liza Minnelli's Cabaret about Dancing, a song which not only opens the album but sets out its stall, providing a microcosm of what is to come. You've got the lyrical edge, that Country feel, mixed with some sampling of the voice and electronic elements, so it does what it says on the label. And I love that it's called 'Dancing', it's immediately accessible and seemingly so obvious, but there's depth within the song.'

The experience of simply being in Nashville was an overwhelming one, before Kylie had even arrived. Once I knew I was going to Nashville, people talked about the place with such enthusiasm. They said without doubt I would love it and, I would come back with songs. They were sending lists of restaurants, coffee shops and bars. It really was a beautiful and genuine response and it felt like I was about to have a life changing experience and in a way, I did.' The reality came as something of a surprise, when she found a far more modern metropolis than the vintage one she'd envisaged. I thought it would be like New Orleans: little houses and bars, with music spilling out onto the street. It reminded me more of Melbourne: apartment blocks going up everywhere! The main strip, Broadway, where the honky tonk bars are, that's where the street was filled with music and it was just amazing.' Mainly, Minogue remembers the heat and humidity. It was 100 degrees. It was like it was raining with no rain.' She also relished the chance to wander around unrecognised, visit a few venerable music bars and soak in the atmosphere. I didn't get to the Grand Ole Opry or the music museums but I managed to go to a couple of the institutions there like The Bluebird Cafe and The Listening Room, and just by being there, through some kind of osmosis, you get this rejuvenated respect for The Song, and the writing of The Song. There's no hoo-hah around it. There's a singer-songwriter there, talking about the song and singing the song, to an audience who are there to listen. Although, I have to confess I was guilty of starting to clap too soon during a long pause at the end of one of the songs. The guy made a bit of a joke out of it and got a laugh from it, but I thought 'Of all people in the audience, no...''

It's probably no coincidence, therefore, that every track on Golden is a Kylie co-write, making it arguably her most personal album to date. The end of 2016 was not a good time for me,' she says, referring to well-documented personal upheavals, so when I started working on the album in 2017, it was, in many ways, a great escape. Making this album was a kind of saviour. I'd been through some turmoil and was quite fragile when I started work on it, but being able to express myself in the studio made quick work of regaining my sense of self. Writing about various aspects of my life, the highs and lows, with a real sense of knowing and of truth. And irony. And joy!'

The songwriting process allowed Kylie to get a few things out of her system. Initially, she admits, it was cathartic, but it also wasn't very good. I think I was writing too literally. But I reached a point where I was writing about the bigger-picture, and that was a breakthrough. It made way for songs like Stop Me From Falling and One Last Kiss. It also meant I had enough distance to write an autobiographical song, like A Lifetime To Repair, with a certain amount of humour. The countdown in that song: 'Six-five-four-three, too many times...'. I don't know if that will be a single, but I can just imagine a girl with framed pictures of past boyfriends, and kind of going 'Oh god, when am I going to get this right'' When she listens back to Golden, Kylie can vividly hear the Nashville in it. It is, she'll agree, probably the first time that a Kylie album has sounded like the place it was made. You wouldn't normally relate my songs to the cities. Can't Get You Out Of My Head sounds more like Outer Space than London. But Shelby '68, for example, was written in London but it was done with Nashville in mind. It's about my Dad's car, and my brother recorded Dad driving it! I don't think I'd have written a number of the songs, including Shelby '68 and Radio On without having had that Nashville experience.'

The latter, she says, is about music being the one to save you.' Throwing herself into the making of the record, she says, crystallised that idea. If there's one love that will always be there for you, it's music. Well, it is for me, anyway.' That song, in particular, carries nostalgic echoes of the golden age of Country, as heard through Medium Wave transistors and tinny home stereos in the distant past. Like any child of the Seventies, Kylie had a basic grounding in Country music, mainly absorbed from older family members. My Step-Grandfather was born in Kentucky and though he lived most of his adult life in Australia, he never stopped listening to his beloved Country artists.' If there's any classic Country singer whose imprint can be heard on Golden, it's Dolly Parton.

Kylie saw Dolly live for the first time at the end of 2016, at the Hollywood Bowl. It was like seeing the light,' she beams. It was incredible. Everyone, whether they know it or not, is a Dolly Parton fan. When I was in Nashville, I did pick up a T-shirt that said 'What Would Dolly Do' Maybe that should be my mantra.' And, whether consciously or otherwise, there's a timbre and trill to Kylie's vocals on Radio On that is distinctly Parton-esque. My delivery is quite different on this album,' she says. A lot of things are 'sung' less. The first time I did that was with Where The Wild Roses Grow. On the day I met Nick Cave, when I recorded my vocals, he said 'Just sing it less. Talk it through, tell the story.' This album wasn't quite to that extreme, but a lot of the songs were done in fewer takes, to just capture the moment and keep imperfections that add to the song. I remember on my last album, a lot of producers were trying to take out literally every vibrato they heard. And that's not natural to my voice. I mean, I can make myself sound like a robot, but it's nice to sound like a human!' Working within the Country genre also gave Kylie permission to write in the Nashville vernacular. Because we were going there, I wasn't afraid to have lines like 'When he's fallen off the wagon we'd still dance to our favourite slow song', 'Ten sheets to the wind, I was all confused', 'I'll take the ride if it's your rodeo'. The challenge of bringing a Country element to the album made the process feel very fresh to me, kind of like starting over. I started to look at writing a different way, singing a different way.'

If ever Kylie lost confidence in the Country-Pop concept, and found herself pondering This is great, but back in the real world - my real world - how will this work', Jamie Nelson was there to badger her into sticking to the path. We found a way to make it a hybrid with what we'll call my 'usual' sound. It had to stay 'pop' enough to stay authentic to me, but country enough to be a new sound for this album. The closer we zoomed in, and the more we honed it, I knew Jamie was right. We sacrificed good songs that weren't right for this album, because we wanted it to be as cohesive as possible. The songs that were hitting the mark were these ones, so we decided to be strong, and that's how we wrapped up the album. What he said, that stuck with me, was that 'I'd hate to get to the end of this and really wish we'd gone for it.'' Having worked with Kylie for so long, Nelson was able to put this latest shift of direction into perspective. He said 'You've traditionally done it throughout your career. You had your PWL time, then you did a complete turn when you went to deConstruction, then another complete turn with Spinning Around, and R&B dance-pop, and then another turn with Can't Get You Out Of My Head, icy synth-pop, and this is another one.' He was right. It felt like the right time to have a change sonically. New label, new stories to tell, and a new decade almost upon me.'

Kylie Minogue will, it's scarcely believable, turn 50 this year. This looming milestone is partly behind the album's title, and title track. I had this line that I wanted to use: 'We're not young, we're not old, we're golden' because I'm asked so often about being my age in this industry. This year, I'll be 50. And I get it, I get the interest, but I don't know how to answer it. And that line, for my personal satisfaction, says it as succinctly as possible. We can't be anyone else, we can't be younger or older than we are, we can only be ourselves. We're golden. And the album title, Golden, reflects all of this. I liked the idea of everyone being golden, shining in their own way. The sun shines in daylight, the moon shines in darkness. Wherever we are in life, we are still golden.' One of the album's shiniest moments is Raining Glitter, an exuberant banger which ventures closest to Kylie's traditional dance-pop comfort zone. Eg White, who is one of the producers and writers and a great character, was talking about disco one day. I said 'I love disco, but you know the brief.' We needed to be going down the Country lane, so to speak. But we managed to bring them both together. When I wrote it, I was thinking about the Jacksons video for Can You Feel It where they're sprinkling glitter over everyone. And I think there's a Donna Summer record that's got that feel to it. I think that's my job: I basically leave a trail of glitter after every show I do anyway.'

Kylie is looking forward to the challenge of incorporating the Golden material into her live shows. Mixing these songs in with my existing catalogue is going to be fun. And it could be fun to do some of those songs with just a guitar. It'll make my acoustic set interesting...'Her incredibly loyal fans - to whom one Golden song, Sincerely Yours, is intended as a love letter' - will, she believes, have no problem with her latest stylistic shift. My audience have been with me on the journey, so I shouldn't be afraid that they won't come with me on this part. I've had fun with it, and I'm sure they will too.'

The time spent making Golden has, Kylie says, been a time of creative and personal renewal. I've met some amazing people, truly inspiring writers and musicians. My passion for music has never gone away, but it's got bigger and stronger.' And if there's an overriding theme to the record, it is one of acceptance. We're all human and it's OK to make mistakes, get it wrong, to want to run, to want to belong, to love, to dream. To be ourselves.'

I was able to both lose and find myself whilst making this album.'

The early 2000s were a time of upheaval for hip-hop. The underground and mainstream divide that had dened so much of the previous decade was showing the rst signs of irrelevance. Timbaland and The Neptunes made radio rappers sound futuristic while independent artists struggled in a quagmire of backpacks and misguided claims to keep it real. Away from this, in a misunderstood middle ground between hip-hop and electronic music, a new generation of artists were busy imagining a new sound for hip-hop.

One such artist was Scott Prefuse 73' Herren, whose perpendicular MPC chops on his 2001 debut for Warp Records set curious minds racing with possibilities. That same year Tadd Mullinix released his debut as Dabrye on Ghostly International, a sonic wildstyle that appealed to both hip-hop heads and IDM nerds. Sometime that same year Herren and Mullinix met after sharing a bill in Detroit. CD-Rs were exchanged and a year later Eastern Development, Herren's newly launched label, released Dabrye's Instrmntl, a short album with a big impact. On its fteenth anniversary Ghostly International is reissuing Instrmtl on vinyl and making it available digitally for the rst time.

Instrmntl is a continuation of the beat experiments Dabrye began with One/Three and a bridge to the diverse textures that would dene Two/Three four years later. About half of its nine tracks (ten if you lived in Japan) were created at the same time as One/Three while the rest were newer or made specically for the album. Once again Mullinix looked outside of hip-hop to techno, house, and drum & bass for stylistic and technical ideas while embracing the blissful minimalism of a good hip-hop instrumental and the rhythmic nuance of Detroit.

Despite the similarities between Dabrye's debut and this follow up, Mullinix didn't simply replicate what had made One/Three so arresting. He pushed and pulled further between the two cornerstones of his approach to reveal more potentials. Instrmntl takes you deeper into electronic depths — the rugged synth stutter of 'Won', the tumbling, wobbling bass in 'No Child Of God', the electro get down of 'Prospects (Marshall Law)' — while also treading more organic grounds by letting samples breathe and moods unfurl at a gentler pace ('Take Me Home', 'Evelyn', and 'You Know The Formula Right'). And then there are the moments where this push and pull nds balance and the result becomes more, as it does on the mournful march of 'D-Town Tabernacle Choir' and the twinkling daydream of 'This Is Where I Came In'.

At just over 30 minutes, Instrmntl offers a snapshot of a time when potentials seemed innite, when lines could be drawn between jazz, ragga jungle, techno, and hip-hop and the resulting shape divined an exciting future.

- Reissue of the out of print 2002 album, available for the rst time on Ghostly.
- Includes previously Japanese-only bonus track, Gimme Lowlands'
- Standard weight blue vinyl is housed in a matte jacket.
- Dabrye's beats are like Jay Dee getting crunked up with Autechre.' — Prefuse 73

"Real name Takeshi Fukushima, Takecha has been a key figure within Japan's electronic music scene for decades and belongs to the same pioneering crew as Soichi Terada and Shinichiro Yokota. Now in his mid- fifties, 'Deep Soundscapes' is an album encompassing Fukushima's sound with every track written by the producer between 1990 and 2013. Intricate percussion and crystalline chords set the tone in 'Deep Drive' before a funky bassline joins serene synths in 'Midnight Things'. Appearing in Soichi Terada's mix for Resident Advisor (under its promo title 'Deep Loop C'), 'Gradual Atmosphere' is comprised of a galloping beat and saccharine chimes, 'Factory 141' sees Takecha demonstrate a murkier aesthetic, whilst 'Rhodes Detox' is a definitive example of Takecha's flair for expertly balancing elements within his productions. An homage to Shufflepuck Cafe´, an old Mac Plus video game Takecha would play on a black and white 9- inch monitor back in the day, 'Shufflepuck' blends ghostly melodies with clicks, whirrs and pops. 'Calm Imagination' is a poignant affair from start to finish with its hypnotising atmosphere, contrasting to the more up-tempo 'Warm Rondo' with its soulful keys and purring low-end. Tying it all together, 'Genuine Innocence' is a cut that Takecha made two versions of; one with a solo from a pianist and another with more emphasis on the beat, the latter of which appears on this album."

7"

Xen & Yovav return to Malka Tuti in 2018 with full thrust and eyes to the future. After being responsible for the first 2 releases on the label, this time the enigmatic singer and the influential producer collaborate and deliver 2 original songs. Hayom Etmol is a 100% good vibe diy post-punkish poppy song with a flowing synthetic bass line, balearic guitar riffs and dreamy vocals. The B-Side, Shavit, is a vocal led song, with a repetitive guitar bassline and, trip guitar riffs and a minimalistic drum machine. low fi in its production Shavit feels as if it has been dug out of an abandoned 80s record store in the outskirts of Glasgow or Amsterdam, with a strong cold wave feel to it.
This 7' will be the first in a series of more diy approach to electronic music, song writing and production. Some exciting names on the bill so hold on to your chairs...
Hayom Etmol's artwork design was made as always by Morey Talmor, with a printed inner sleeve designed by the Israeli artist Kobi Swissa and a special silkscreened outer PVC sleeve.

A sadistic God: He doesn't exist until he touches your body, and when he manifests himself he kills you without hesitation, leaving you on the ground, humiliated and stunned by the letal power of a breath that didn't even seem to exist until you inhaled it.

Air Lows is the debut solo album by Silvia Kastel. The Italian artist has been a fixture of the underground since her precocious teens, clocking up many miles in Control Unit with Ninni Morgia ('It's like Catherine Deneuve dumped two cases of post-Repulsion psychiatric notes over Pere Ubu's Dub Housing, lit the fuse and, ahem, stood well back" - Julian Cope), including collaborations with the likes of Smegma, Factrix, Gary Smith, Aki Onda and Gate (Michael Morley of The Dead C). Both solo and in her work with others, Kastel has explored the outer limits and inner workings of no wave, industrial, dub, extreme electronics, free rock and improvisation. Air Lows is both her fullest and most refined offering to date, a work of vivid, isolationist electronics which draws deeply on her past experience but assuredly breaks new ground. Prompted by a late-flowering interest in techno and club music, Kastel sought to create something which combines a steady rhythmic pulse with the otherworldly sonorities of musique concrete, and avant-garde synth sounds inspired by Japanese minimalism and techno-pop (Haruomi Hosono's Philharmony being a particular favourite). The formal artifice of muzak / elevator music, the intros and outros of generic popular songs, the extreme light-heavy contrasts of jungle, the creative sampling of hardcore, and the very 'human' synths in the jazz of Herbie Hancock's Sextant and Sun Ra: all were touchstones for Air Lows' conception and composition, and all strains of music addressing - or complicating - the relationship between the human and the technological. By extension, visual inspirations also proved important: anime, and the avant-garde fashion of Rei Kawakubo. What does that shirt or dress sound like Though used sparingly, Kastel's voice remains her key instrument, whether subject to dissociative digital manipulations as on 'Bruell', delivering matter-of-fact spoken monologues, or providing splashes of pure tonal colour. Recorded between her expansive Italy studio and a more compact, ersatz set-up in Berlin, Air Lows gradually takes on some of the character of the German capital: you can hear the wide streets and uninhabited spaces, the seepage of never-ending nightlife, the loneliness. Air Lows is The Wizard of Oz in reverse: the glorious technicolour J-pop deconstructions of its first half leading inexorably to the icy noir of 'Spiderwebs' and 'Concrete Void'. These later tracks are reminiscent of 2015's magnificent 39 12', Kastel in the role of numbed, nihilistic chanteuse stalking dank, murky tunnels of reverb and sub-bass. But in fact there is contradiction and emotional ambiguity to Air Lows from the outset, and throughout - a sense of both infinite space and acute claustrophobia; energy and inertia; fluency and restraint.

Fernando Pulichino is no stranger to Leng Records. The bass guitar-wielding Argentine made his first appearance on the label five years ago via the cosmic disco/psychedelic rock fusion of Blue Impala, returning two years later with the similarly inclined brilliance of Giant Desert. Pulichino then resurfaced on Leng late last year with a superb, digital-only three-tracker called Natural 77.

Now he's back on wax, buoyed by the success of the acclaimed Shining EP on Is It Balearic
Recordings. This time round he's in Search of Indigo, shaping hazy, sun-baked soundscapes around his distinctive basslines, echo-laden synthesizers, meandering Fender Rhodes solos,
gentle dub vibrations and glistening, early morning jazz guitars. This is music for the heads, hips and feet, soaked in Fernet and left in the afternoon sun to slowly ripen.

Arguably the most arresting of the four cuts is the title track, a head-in-the-clouds vocal number rich in bubbly electronic riffs, laidback electro beats, ricocheting percussion hits, swirling wind
effects and rubbery funk-rock bass.

Pulichino's penchant for intergalactic disco shufflers once again comes to the fore on killer Sundown Visions', a saucer-eyed chugger that simultaneously throbs, pulses and sparkles
thanks to sparring synthesizer motifs and eyes-closed space rock guitars. We suspect Daniele Baldelli and Andrew Weatherall would approve.

Elsewhere, Pulichino indulges his passion for sofa-surfing jazz-funk on solo-laden EP closer Frontera', a relaxed and undulating jam rich in cascading electric guitars, fluid electric piano, delay-laden flourishes and deep space synthesizers. You won't know whether to lie down, dance enthusiastically or wearily shuffle, either way, play at sunrise or sundown for maximum
enjoyment.

The EP also boasts a first vinyl outing for the title track of last year's digital-only EP, Natural '77'. Seemingly partly inspired by legendary West Coast funkateers Steely Dan, it's a lazy, low-
slung affair full of languid guitar solos, freestyle vocal improvisations, bongo-laden drums and one of his most inspired and elastic basslines to date.

'The Layered Effect' by US rapper/producer Andy Cooper offers a punchy reminder of the creative fun to be had in digging for breaks, stringing up loops and layering up stratas of sound. Brimming full of delightful inflexions from the world of jazz, easy listening, film soundtracks and Hollywood voices, it's a perfectly stitched sound patchwork that pays loving hommage to the classic, funky days of early rap. A touching testimony to the joys of Hip-Hop then and now.

More than just the skinny white dude who's into old school beats, Andy Cooper has won his stripes after a twenty year stint with Hip-Hop trio Ugly Duckling, then a couple more hanging out with The Allergies, not to mention the recent release of eight 7" singles, an EP and now his second solo LP.What is utterly charming is how enamoured and respectful he is of how it was at the beginning AND of how it still should be.Far from being the "old timer/delusional revivalist" he describes in 'Last of the Dying Breed', Cooper cares not about colour or age, but that rap stays fresh, exciting, competitive, similar to a precious martial art.

For Andy, rap is a noble form. He's a wordsmith extraordinaire, snappy and audacious, tipping his hat "to all the microphoners who still bring that dedication and expertise to their craft" and choosing to work with equally rapid sparring partners like Blabbermouf and MC Abdominal. Ownership of the genre is a constant theme throughout the LP. Like a contact sport, you punch and fight your way to the mic and once there "no one can take it from me". Reverance is constantly being paid to the dons that went before, overtly Rick Rubin & the Def Jam crew, but covertly the reggae sound systems and jazzers of old.

Not a sloppy note or shabby rhyme here.It's an album that pops and fizzes with quirky beats and funky rhythms from start to finish. With production lines neater and sharper than a pair of sta press trousers, it's impossible not to be seduced by the sheer bouyancy of the lyrics, beats and intention. A refreshingly entire body of work with no low points, only head-nodding highs. It's good to stumble across a hip hop album that has you giggling, thinking, singing and wearing out the soles of your shoes all at once.

Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin.

Hana's first and self-titled LP was recorded in Autumn 2010 at Facta non Verba and consists out of 5 tracks which are techno oriented with disposal of experimental and abstract elements.

Reviews

OMG Vinyl
Hana s S/T LP is easily the best promo records we ve gotten in months. This Greek duo has somehow, almost entirely below the radar, released one of the most exciting electronic records of 2011. Their wobbly brand of techno sometimes chugs ahead at full-speed, other times easing back into a wider waver, almost resembling some weird, warped IDM. I will be shocked if this record doesn t get wider appreciation very soon. Whether that happens or not, we fully recommend it, track one down.

Cyclic Defrost by Oliver Laing
Granny Records duo Hana come correct with their first album, offering a refreshing take on techno and IDM variants in the vein of Jan Jelinek, Raime, Actress and hints of the mighty Chain Reaction label. Mastered at Berlin s Dubplates and Mastering by none other than Rashad Becker, a name that often appears in the run-out groove of artists who inhabit a curiously funky techno-not-techno netherworld Hana s debut self-titled release grows in stature and listening enjoyment with every spin. With a sense of fun and adventure inhabiting the grooves, Hana (who are also part of label-mates, Good Luck Mr Gorsky), explore experimental timbres and ghostly vocalisations with a lightness of touch that belies their recording credentials.

Starting off with an abstract, Clicks and Cuts style intro, Liv slowly finds the sweet spot between mutant Detroit electro funk, a hint of the indie/dance territory of Matthew Dear and the abstract, yet rhythmic 12 releases on the Beatservice label, by Norwegian duo Information from the mid 90s. Obermaier implies the groove to begin with, until a wrong-footed man-with-two-left-feet rhythm leads into minimal acidic flourishes. Album opener SM heads in a Ricardo Villalobos vs. Nonplace Urban Field direction, as the lopsided rhythm and sepulchral vocals add a haunted edge to proceedings. CR80 uses beautifully syncopated live drums and urgent female vocals, and adds a driving, belligerent synth riff falling somewhere in between DMZ and Gary Numan. Echoic, boingy sounds threaten to derail the beat, but somehow it manages to maintain, reminding me of Shed and A Made Up Sound; more in overall feel than in the specific sounds. For those that enjoy abstract electronics that work just as well on headphones as on the dance floor, Greece s Hana are a duo to watch.

Textura
Hana's self-titled debut album arrives saddled with a (literally) cheeky front cover one would more associate with a 70s band like Wild Cherry than a Greece-based techno outfit formed in Thessaloniki last summer. Recorded in fall 2010 at Facta non Verba, the five-cut release finds Good Luck Mr Gorsky members Thanasis Papadopoulos and Thanos Bantis hunkered down in their chemical lab concocting formulae to go along with their material's stripped-down techno beats. Using analogue synths, samplers, and sequencers, the duo brings a decidely experimental edge to their productions, sprinkling as they do liberal doses of burble and flutter over bass-heavy techno rhythms.
The opening track, Sm, sets the scene with a heavy low-end pulse thudding alongside a steady kick drum and joined by acidy synths and percussive effects that suggest a lighter being repeatedly flicked open. On a slightly more aggressive tip, the B-side's Cr80 adds truncated vocal yelps to its bleepy, elephantine throb. A dubby dimension emerges in the track, too, when echoing waves drift repeatedly across the huge bass that slithers across the track's underbelly. The album's most elaborate track comes last. Liv opens beatlessly with flickering shudders and what could pass for the amplified workings of an ant community but then progressively fills in the dots with an insistent beat pattern, voice fragments, and even the demented meander of accordion playing. Though Hana hardly rewrites the techno guidebook on the release, it's nevertheless a pleasurable listen, in part due to the multi-dimensional experience provided by the vinyl format and the always superb mastering work done by Rashad Becker at Berlin's Dubplates & Mastering.

It's impossible to talk about this album without acknowledging the spectre of death that hangs over it - not only is it the third entry in Strata-East Records' Dolphy Series, a collection of archival recordings from some of the label's close associates honoring the recently deceased multi-instrumentalist, but it is actually dedicated to two members of the band, Wynton Kelly and Kenny Dorham, who died in between the recording sessions and its release. The point is driven home even further by the fact that the album begins with a tribute from Payne to the fallen Martin Luther King, Jr., a piece that acts as a de facto solo for Dorham - his playing all rosy elegance and regal warmth - before shifting into the lighter (though equally coolly-paced) "I Know Love," a showcase for Payne's sax. While not the most somber jazz track ever recorded, this opening suite is a low-key and mournful way to open the affair, but thankfully the album really picks off and shows these musicians more in their element the rest of the way.

"Girl, You Got a Home" is a funky piece, beginning very soulfully with some tight interplay among the rhythm section of Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Albert Heath. Ware is in especially fine form on this track, tying together the disparate passages of the piece by grounding the more ponderous moments in a deep funk, while Kelly's playing is especially ear catching in the way he stabs at his piano like it's an organ. After the first two tracks take up nearly twenty minutes, the four-minute "Slide Hampton" feels almost impossibly brief, a feeling that's enhanced by its quick, jittery, and infectious rhythm, driven by some really dexterous work from Kelly. The final track, "Flying Fish," may be the album's highlight, a Caribbean-inspired composition that casts the rhythm section as flighty ground for both Payne and Dorham to vamp on. The track is oddly danceable for something released on Strata-East, maybe the most fun moment ever for the label, and relentlessly uptempo. Though this release may be in part defined by the deaths that preceded it, it's clear that the recording process was actually a lot of fun for everybody, as their enthusiasm and energy jumps right out of the speakers. This is one of the first Strata East records I really got into and is still one of my favorites, a must-hear for any fans of the flightier moments of Dorham or Kelly's career, and a fitting tribute for both master musicians.

Bugsy hails from Milan where he is resident and co-host of the brilliant Take It Easy club night which brings many of the finest house DJ's to the city and remains packed week in and week out. With his featured producers Astroloop at his side Bugsy has come up with a quality debut loaded with fat, low-slung deep beats and Detroit-inspired grooves for Freerange entitled the Svegsy EP. The lead track sets the mood with mid-tempo loping beats that have 'Freerange' written all over them. We can't get enough of the simple yet satisfying warm-up vibe which oozes from this track. Understated, warm and relaxed yet with a bump and grunt which calls you to the dancefloor.
A2 is a track entitled New Vision where we find a straighter groove underpinned by a restless, pulsing, analogue bass and shifting block chords. With it's heads down attitude and simple, rolling arrangement this is Jimpster's personal favourite for banging on a big system. Flip over for the aptly titled Ghost Song. Here we get off-kilter vocals and fleeting glimpses of a melody which then disappear into the ether. All in all a slightly surreal yet groove-heavy track which has a charm of it's own.
Rounding off the EP we have Chicago house legend Boo Williams on the remix of Ghost Song, where he takes a minimal approach with a hint of acid but keeping his soulful touch. Enjoy!

Legendary Los Hermanos member Santiago Salazar's album 'Aspirations For Young Xol' is given a vinyl release courtesy of Rekids.

A heartfelt dedication to his son Isaias, 'Aspirations for Young Xol' takes us through the life of a pillar in the electronic music community - Santiago Salazar. From his formative years spent in California to his connection with Detroit and the passing of a childhood friend, the long-player's tracks signpost the musician's significant experiences, both positive and negative. This meaningful body of work was released digitally on Pastel Voids and now Rekids release the album on wax.

'Saturated Fear' sets a deep tone for the LP, flanging melodies and echoing claps float through the composition before the album's title track 'Aspirations for Young Xol' offers haunting arpeggios with occasional acidic overtones which are cleverly offset by beautifully designed lead synth transitions. 'Bloodlines' follows a similar musical vein with delayed bass riffs that are suspended above shimmering hihats and a weighted kick.

Santiago provides three beatless pieces throughout, which digress into more emotional territory whilst offering brief respite from his heavier drum work. 'Xol's Pain' combines orchestral strings and swelling synthesisers which build tension with a subtly complex, evolving motif. Both 'Dark Matter' and 'Ode to Stinson' use arresting atmospheres, warped arpeggios and ethereal pads which lull the listener into a retrospective mood.

An intensity builds in the later tracks, a gritty but powerful low end provides a solid foundation in 'Orange Blossom Thump', eventually making way for a hectic and elastic lead synth before 'Pachuco Dub' displays drones that build a dissonant pressure in which the complex tom rhythms and rolling hi hats can grow. 'Sarah Rivera' hypnotises with its delectable chord progressions and complimentary melodies which seem to float above a rigid drum composition to close the album with style.

This November will see Elia Perrone launch his new Jun'Ai imprint with his very own 'Flowers' EP, accompanied by a remix from Romanian minimal powerhouse Vid.

Tuscan producer and DJ Elia Perrone has long been one of the most respected figures in Italy's underground electronic music scene having co-founded the Klang Club in Arezzo which has seen him play alongside the likes of Simoncino, Juju & Jordash and Move D. Amongst this Elia, alongside brother and production partner heads up Unclear Records which plays host to their collaborative works as Easy To Remember as well as material from the likes of Baby Ford, Roman Fluegel, Christopher Rau and Dandy Jack amongst others.

Here though we see Elia turning a new chapter with the launch of his Jun'Ai imprint and taking the lead on the inaugural release is 'Flowers', a mind-altering slice of micro house fueled by pops, whirrs, clicks and sample cuts while fluttering atmospherics and bright string plucks ebb and flow throughout the murky depths of the composition. Vid aka Egal 3 steps up on remix duties to follow, delivering a straight edged take on things via crunchy organic percussion, billowing echoes of the original's atmospherics and a robust sub driven bass line.

Opening the flip side is 'Rain Smell', a slow brooding, hypnotic number employing dynamic string licks, modulating synth drones and bumpy 4/4 drums before 'Moshishi' closes out the package with airy ethereal textures, glitched out off-kilter percussion and rumbling low end tones.

Dungeon Acid, bred in Gothenburg's (Sweden) obscure music scene during the eighties and nineties, releases his second 7inch on Hoga Nord Rekords. Dog Acid and Sex Beat focuses on those remote corners where Jean-Louis Huhta have rooted his musicality. With legendary bands like Cortex, Anti Cimex and The Skull Defekts on his resume, Huhta is most definitely one of the most interesting artists in Sweden!
The music on this 7inch breathes sex, concrete and dark seas. The tracks differ in instrumentation but they expresses the same feeling: uncomplicated and straightforward components, perfectly balanced In relation to each other, shutting down unnecessary body function, aiming for your lower back. Spastic curling synthesisers rests upon soundwaves heavier than the swell against the Norwegian North Atlantic coast.
Dungeon Acid is the miner of your record crate - hard at work finding the nuggets in punk, rock and electro to develop the strict techno.

In 2017, the musical term electronic' is nearly obsolete given the ubiquity of computerized processes in producing music. Even so, the prevailing assumption is that musicians working under this broad umbrella must be inspired by concepts equally as electrified as their equipment. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has demonstrated in her still-blooming discography that this notion couldn't be further from the truth, and that more often than not, rich worlds of synthesized
sound are born from deep reverence of the natural world. Smith (who by no coincidence, cites naturalist David Attenborough as a contemporary muse) has embodied such an appreciation on
The Kid in as direct and sincere a way as possible by sonically charting the phases of life itself.
The album, which punctually follows up her 2016 breakthrough EARS, chronicles four defining cognitive and emotional stages of the human lifespan across four sides of a double LP.
The first side takes us through the confused astonishment of a newborn, unaware of itself, existing in an unwitting nirvana. Smith's music has always woven a youthful thread befitting of the
aforementioned subject. Here she articulates it in signature fashion on the track An Intention,' which serves not only as a soaring spire on The Kid, but on her entire output. There is playfulness here, but it's elevated by an undertone of gravity into something compelling and majestic that is fast becoming Smith's watermark. The emotional focus of side two is the vital but underreported moment in early youth when we cross the threshold into self awareness. The subject is profound enough to fill an entire album, but rarely makes its way into a single track, indicating Smith's ambition to broach subtler and deeper subjects than the average composer. This side offers up another highlight in the form of In The World But Not Of The World' which serves its subject well with epiphanic, climbing strings and decidedly noisy textures over a near-Bollywood low end pulse.

Side three emphasizes a feeling of being confirmed enough in one's own identity to begin giving back to the formative forces of one's upbringing, which is arguably the duty that all great artists
aim to fulfill. This side ends with the exploratory album cut Who I Am & Why I Am Where I Am' recorded in a single take without overdubs on the rare EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer. This humble
piece of sound design serves as a contrast to side four's verdant orchestral moments, all written and arranged for the EU-based Stargaze quartet by Smith herself. This final side represents a
return to pure being, the kind of wisdom and peace that eludes most of us until the autumn of life. On To Feel Your Best' this concept is voiced in the bittersweet refrain one day I'll wake up
and you won't be there' which Smith intended to be a grateful acknowledgement of life rather than a melancholy resentment of loss. The song has both effects depending on the mood of the
listener, and both interpretations are equally moving.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith belongs to an ilk of modern musicians who are defined by their commitment to creating experiential albums despite the singles-oriented habits of modern listeners,
and here she represents her kind proudly. The subjects on The Kid are not simple to convey, and yet through both emotional tone and lyrical content, Smith does just that. There is a similar
gravity to both birth and death, and rarely is that correlation as accurately and enthusiastically mapped as it is here.

Alan Watts, another logical inspiration of Smith's, once expounded that people record themselves to confirm their own existence, and as such, echoes and resonance are reminders that we are alive. You're not there unless you're recorded,' Watts muses, if you shout, and it doesn't come back and echo, it didn't happen.' The Kid speaks to this idea directly. As Kaitlyn Aurelia
Smith explores her existence through music, she guides us in gleefully contemplating our own.

47013 sees the first solo EP from the label head himself, Tommy Four Seven.

After releasing 8 dance-floor focused cuts across 47's VA series, 47013 follows three well received solo EPs from Killawatt, VSK and Headless Horseman. This record sees Tommy present perhaps his most diverse and resolute release yet, exploring merciless low frequencies and sound design across 4 diverse tracks, as always offering his forward vision of techno.

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

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



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



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

MICK HARRIS (SCORN, QUOIT, PAINKILLER) returns after several years of hiatus with ten tracks of blasting landmine bass and interlocking shrapnel rhythms.I've been asked to write a press piece for the dark lord MICK HARRIS.Where does one even start Especially for someone with decades of releases over various solo projects, collaborations and pseudonyms, whether it's doing blast beats in the original NAPALM DEATH to crushing techno brutality as MONRELLA, or savage drum & bass as QUOIT. Then of course there's the mighty SCORN and his numerous collaborations with fellow luminaries such as JOHN ZORN and BILL LASWELL (in PAINKILLER).Rather than being tied to genres or scenes, MICK HARRIS is one of those producers who creates a whole sonic world uniquely of his own, in which varying tracks, styles and tempos take form, but yet in which everything sounds unmistakably characteristic of the creator. Needless to say his work has influenced legions of producers like SURGEON, REGIS, ONTAL, VATICAN SHADOW / PRURIENT, FAUSTEN, SHAPEDNOISE et al, and pretty much anyone in the world of powerfully dark, abrasive music you could name-drop. And yet after all this time, it is impressive that HARRIS still stands way above his successors and has never been surpassed in his own production/performance game.After a hiatus of several years, he is back with a new album under the guise of FRET.Working at a faster tempo than his SCORN material, the FRET project first surfaced years ago on the DOWNWARDS label, rooting it firmly in the dark, industrial and technoid world, and appeared more recently on Tresor (Kern mix by OBJEKT), maintaining the characteristic colossal bass-heaviness and textural depth.And now a full album on KARLRECORDS, Berlin. HARRIS fans will be delighted to know that despite the 130 bpm tempo, the newest FRET still resolutely avoids any straight four-on-the-floor kickdrums, every track lurches, stumbles, staggers and charges forth with beats in beautifully broken asymmetry.We get 10 tracks of crushing, percussive destroyers, each itself a storm of precision chaos, with colossal low-end frequencies that'll cause stampedes in the right circumstances. The classic HARRIS sound is there, searing waves of feedback distortion, intricate, interlocking rhythms and cold, abattoir atmospheres, especially track 6 "Stuck in the track at Salford Priors" which sounds like you're being continuously suspended in the air from multiple explosions all around, each kickdrum throwing you up in the air, the next one going off before you can fall completely back to the ground.The lazy-minded would probably lump it in with the term "techno", but the disciplined brutality, blasting landmine bass and interlocking shrapnel rhythms are clearly HARRIS' own trademark style, sitting somewhere between SCORN and QUOIT.The tracks appear deceptively chaotic on the surface, yet each is meticulously and masterfully composed with great attention to layering and detail. MICK HARRIS fans rejoice, the dark lord still remains at the top of his game.

(Derek Szeto / Fausten / Combat Recordings)

On this new EP, DJJ's trademark jagged take on filtered French house is still present, but with Chicago bump, techno and more random elements thrown in for good measure.I Keep Trying To Convince Myself is the tougher, more rugged and even funkier cousin to DJJ's hotly-hyped 2016 summer anthem just a lil. Chi house meets soca in this carnivalesque new classic, which hits the perfect spot between sweetness and dirt.Yn Y Ty is fast, jerky funk and almost a new genre in itself. Both melancholy and pumping, think DJ Rush meets the Tetris theme in an oddball, groovy-as-hell work of genius.The cut-up, loopy loops and tough, tribal beats on Apilli are deranged in a good way and - as with the rest of the EP - demonstrate a quirkiness and subtle humour akin to Basement Jaxx's early golden period.A big sample drives the jacking, sweaty, glitz of Upsqwar's warped take on handbag, which channels the spirit of Modjo and features a ponderous, almost chiptune melody drifting subtly over the top.The EP closes with the Greek flavoured stomper Glas, which wouldn't sound out of place on Richie Hawtin's 1999 mix album Decks, EFX & 909. This new EP is first release since jus a lil for Crazylegs, which gained high praise from NPR, Resident Advisor, Indie Shuffle, Mixmag, Dummy, Hyponik and FACT - who commissioned a video and coined the tongue-in-cheek genre name 'outsider Ibiza'. Comparisons have been made to Thomas Bangalter, Alan Braxe, Todd Edwards and David Morales - albeit a skewed reinterpretation. Like the punks' assimilation of rock and roll, DJJ's fresh and irreverent take on highlights from dance music history make for some of the most exciting sounds since Daft Punk's first forays.Although distorted and with lowered bit-rates, to call theses tracks 'low fi' is to do them a disservice, as DJJ's manipulation of frequencies, distortion and samples is deceptively simple yet not easily matched. There's a mastery of sonics and leftfield sensibility at play, akin to fellow EQ tweakers Heiroglyphic Being, Aphex Twin and Adrian Sherwood.DJJ is a member of the Bristol-based label/collective Crazylegs, alongside artists including Gage, Sudanim, Finn (all of whom remixed just a lil). He's also one half of ISLAND, whose grime-flavoured Nokia EP was release in 2015 - also on Crazylegs.

After the first successful record, Danish label front man Gaze ill pursues another excursion through the ever-growing Dubstep-spectrum. He returns to his own physical outline of Cue Line Records with four hefty cuts that surely make up another stellar record, however he s not alone. Last time it was his partner in crime RDG, this time its frontline support from the Dutchman & bass mammoth TMSV , who s given Space-Time a completely different spin.

CLV002 opens up with a serious wobbler: one that is reminiscent to the golden days of the fundamental Dubstep sound, but housed in a completely different straightjacket. It swiftly sets the pace, as the wobbles escalate into the leading element of the destructive Space- Time . The second cut by the Danish producer adds the step to dub music so to speak and lively resembles King Tubby on a Dubstep flex. Watch out for that naughty second drop, which holds
nothing but booming vibrations that ll hang fans upside down. Spirit Of The Forces unveils an equally refreshing take on bass music thanks to the creative structuring of both low-and-high melodies. This allows listeners to take flight
easily and fly away from what we call reality an excellent track for both spring and summer time. TMSV s spin-off is as bright as its forerunner, but far more up-tempo and hypnotic. Utrecht s producer instigates a spacious stepper that defeats time & momentum by incorporating his raw remix techniques. The right remixer for the right record: Cue Line Records at its best!

Swiss-based, Jamaican producer Ezikiel returns to Cadenza for his another outing, this time dropping the 'Tales Of Roots' EP. With this new EP he demonstrates his flair for the musical side of club compositions, imbibing his productions with sultry atmospherics, deep emotion and organic keys and strings. The title track 'Tales of Roots' is a 15-minute opus, which unravels slowly but surely, working from a soft yet persistent bassline and a hypnotic rhythm. Samples of tribal singers add a distinct human element, entrancing you with their organic vibrations. As the voices continue to sing out you're transported to a vibrant sub- Saharan landscape, captivated by the irresistible guitar riff... On the flip we have 'Makha Poetry', a more experimental workout with a variety of warped and twisted effects spluttering and wobbling away at its foundation. The jaunty yet slightly eerie low end gives this track a naughty allure, as those strange bleeps and whirrs continue to bounce in and out of the background. There's a controlled restraint about 'Makha Poetry' which gives it a devastating simplicity and a very unique aesthetic.