The 2 Smooth World Vol. 1 Album broadcasts a highly addictive tale of electronic frequencies. A whole universe of musical explorations, ranging from twisted electro to more dubby compositions, beatless ambient ballads, classic house nostalgia - naturally flowing into oceans of acid & bass.
Paperbark is the ambient project of Jon Mulville, who has been shaping rhythmic and textural soundscapes since 2016. His music is rooted in memory, as a way to process emotional fragments. Guided by time spent in nature and created in response to a culture that often feels lacking empathy, his work aims to create space for reflection.
He has released eight albums, primarily on Seil Records, as well as Constellation Tatsu. 'Light Behind Me' marks his first CD release and only his second appearance on vinyl.
Inspired by Sam Kidel’s ›mimetic hacking‹ concept, Berlin-based composer Jasminev Guffond pipes opiated brass and woodwind motifs into a reverb chamber modelled on an Amazon fulfilment centre.
»Muzak for the Encouragement of Unproductivity« is a poetic inversion of Muzak’s traditional role in stimulating seamless productivity in the workplace. Beginning as a pre-radio music distribution network (1934, U.S.), Muzak was transmitted along electrical wires with the intention of being at once ubiquitous and indiscernible, always present yet easily ignorable. As a pseudo-science the aim was to capitalize on the potential of music to have a psychological effect on listeners, and with the goal of maximum productivity, was employed as a sonic disciplinary force in the work place.
Previously installed for Dystopia Sound Art Biennial (2024), at the Amazon Packing Station located before HAUNT-Frontviews in Berlin, Muzak for the Encouragement of Unproductivity sonically addresses utopic notions of seamless, efficient productivity, inherent to capitalist cultures, and their very real dystopic effects from labour exploitation to the impacts of over-production on the environment. This poetic inversion, further developed as an album, is not meant as a kind of melodic control but rather a reflective space in which to consider the benefits personally, globally and environmentally, of slowing down.
Reverb, essential to the Muzak aesthetic, is programmed (using convolution reverb) with the dimensions of the Berlin Amazon fulfillment centre, DBE2. Amazon fulfillment centers are global contemporary factories, promising a consumer utopia of next day delivery of almost any product imaginable. Inspired by Sam Kidel’s concept of »mimetic hacking«(1), the reverberation characteristics of the DBE2 facility perform a symbolic sonic break-in to the guarded Amazon fulfillment center, a trespass to the flow of production.
Guffond’s ambient Muzak with its drifting horn, clarinet and synth-like modulations is just too down-tempo for upbeat spending. If this is Muzak it is possibly Muzak for the end of the world, thoughtfully seeking transcendence through implied questioning after all avenues for shopping have been exhausted.
Happy to present what is sure to be one of this summer's standout soundtracks. Nic Jalusi, an up-and-coming DJ and producer based in Munich, has been making waves for some time now with his refined house style rooted in the '90s. One of the creative minds behind the fantastic label Super Sound Global, he now lands on MM Discos with Eternal Sunset.
Eternal Sunset brings together all the influences and styles that have shaped Nic Jalusi's sound over the years. From the Italian-rooted dream house of "Sunset 92" and "La Noche," to the Kwaito, Dub, and African-Synth flavors of "Mystic Rythm" and "Gamballa Acid," all the way to the late-night breaks of "Eternal Dance" and "X-break."
A perfect summer cocktail to beat the heat - whether you're in your living room or on the dance floor.
Secrets ist das zweite Studioalbum der US-amerikanischen Sängerin Toni Braxton und wurde ursprünglich 1996 veröffentlicht. Das Album markierte einen entscheidenden Moment in Braxtons Karriere, indem es R&B-, Soul- und Pop-Einflüsse miteinander verband und einen Sound schuf, der sowohl zeitlos als auch modern ist. Mit kraftvollen Tracks wie dem Grammy-prämierten "Un-Break My Heart" und dem sinnlichen "You're Makin' Me High" präsentiert Secrets Braxtons unvergleichliche stimmliche Stärke und ihre charakteristische emotionale Erzählkunst.
Best known as the DJ for multi-platinum band Sugar Ray, American DJ, musician, rapper, singer, record producer and radio personality Craig Anthony Bullock aka DJ Homicide_ has been active for more than three decades. His solo work finds him flipping a wide range of source sounds into his own fat, club-ready joints, all informed by years of working various crowds into party mode. He opens here with 'Se Acado Fl', and brings a light touch to heavy beats that are overlaid with impassioned Spanish vocals that add a florid edge next to the excitable horns. On the backside is Big Syphe'd 'Our Generation Flip' which is soul music welded to a low slung and dusty hip-hop foundation.
After 23 years, The Difference It Makes by The MFA returns. A cult lo-fi house anthem with a surprising roster of fans (including Orlando Bloom and the Olsen twins), it’s now reissued with a fresh set of remixes and a new lease of life. Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) delivers a deep, floor-ready rework, equally at home in the club or during a solo kitchen dance. Nathan Fake – a long-time friend of The MFA – offers a remix that’s pure rave inception: euphoric, strnge, and unforgettable. The MFA’s own new version brings the energy up to date with a stadium house tribute to the original. This is the debut release from Deskbound Complex, a new label from The MFA focused on timeless, alternative electronic music. Less algorithm, more experience.
Transition features the inimitable Nathan Haines on saxophone and flute, and Laroye on remix duties
Written as a reflection on movement, change, and creative renewal, Transition captures the emotional landscape of an artist evolving through sound.
The original version is a warm and melodic six-minute trip through soulful house textures, layered keys, and Haines’ fluid, expressive sax, a record built for that moment when the dancefloor exhales and reconnects.
On the flip, Tom Laroye reimagines Transition with his signature jazz-tech fusion, fusing broken rhythms, deep house stabs, and afrobeat-inspired percussion into a sophisticated, floor-ready reinterpretation.
SUPPORT FROM:
Jimpster, Fouk, Peter Kruder, Craig Smith (6Th Borough Project), Pete Herbert, Mr Redley (Rinse), Louise Chen (NTS), Pete (BBE), Bill Brewster
NDATL Records continues with the return of Detroit legend Reggie Dokes with his new 12", The Alkebulan EP—a deep, spiritual, and sonically adventurous record that finds Dokes fully in his element while pushing into new emotional territory.
Side A opens with “Unknown Valley,” where shimmering chords and a haunting vocoded voice glide across a hypnotic groove, setting the tone for an EP rich in warmth and mystery. Dokes follows with “Still Exist,” an excursion into his darker instincts—moody, driving, and steeped in the grit that has defined his most revered work.
Flipping the record reveals Dokes in a more expansive, jazz-inflected mindset. “Soul Searchin” stretches into expressive harmonic territory, showcasing his ear for introspective, cinematic sonics. The journey culminates with title track “Alkebulan,” both featuring longtime collaborator Skip Pruitt, whose saxophone floats and weaves through Dokes’ musical landscapes, forming a Psychostasia blend of jazz, deep house, and spiritual energy the dancer simply cannot resist.
The Alkebulan EP is both a celebration of lineage and a forward-moving statement—classic NDATL quality with Reggie Dokes’ unmistakable fingerprint.
Dragon’s Breath is the new signature release from Airual Recordings, a project that highlights the label’s forward-thinking identity through a curated selection of tracks crafted by some of the most distinctive names in the contemporary electronic landscape. Featuring exclusive contributions from Heirs of Wave (Mario Lauriano & Baz!), Samuel L Session, Claudio Mate & Submoon, the release delivers a refined blend of cutting-edge production, rhythmic precision, and modern club energy.
Designed for both DJs and listeners, “Varius” showcases a wide sonic palette — from driving, floor-oriented grooves to more atmospheric and immersive moments — all engineered with attention to detail, clean dynamics, and powerful low-end structure. Each track has been produced to perform at its best on large club systems and high-fidelity streaming platforms, ensuring maximum impact across the full range of listening environments.
By combining established international artists with rising talents, “Dragon’s Breath” positions itself as a high-value release with strong commercial potential, appealing to DJs, curators, and electronic music enthusiasts worldwide.
Another DINTE tape curated by cult WFMU show and blogger Bodega Pop; Gary Sullivan's long-running project rooted in a passion for digging for music in bodegas and cell-phone stores across NYC's boroughs. This edition focuses in on late 1990s and early 00s hip-hop & rnb from across Southeastern Asia.
"While on a work trip to Chicago in the mid-2000s, I was craving a bowl of pho. A bit of sleuthing led me to hop on the red line "L" up to Argyle Street, ground zero of Chicago's Little Saigon. In the 1960s, Chicago restaurateur Jimmy Wong invested in property on Argyle Street with a vision to build the city's new Chinatown, a kind of mall with pagodas, trees, and reflecting pools. In 1971, the Hip Sing Association, a labor/criminal organization, established itself in the area, and along with Wong, they bought up 80% of the buildings on a three-block stretch of the street. Wong reportedly broke both hips in an accident, leaving his dream to wither; in 1979, Charlie Soo of the Asian American Small Business Association brought it back to life.
Soo expanded the area into a vibrant mix of Chinese, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian businesses, pushing for renovations, including an Argyle station facelift and the Taste of Argyle festival. At the time I exited the station and crossed the street to get a better look at a shop with a poster for A Vertical Ray of the Sun in the window, the area was home to some 37,000 Vietnamese residents.
Opening the door, I was gobsmacked by a cavernous Southeast Asian media store, bigger than any I'd been to in Dallas, Montreal, New York, or Seattle. I spent some time at the bins, pulling out collections by some of my then-favorite singers — Giao Linh, Khánh Ly, Phương Dung — before approaching the register to ask the young woman behind the counter if the they carried any Vietnamese rap. It was a longshot, I knew, but if such a thing existed on physical media and anyone carried it, it would be this place.
'Have you heard Vietnamese rap?' she replied, her tone of voice and facial expression betraying a comically exaggerated level of distaste. I admitted my ignorance but assured her that I had long cultivated a high threshold for cheesy pop music of all kinds and genuinely tended to like hip hop from around the world.
She rolled her eyes and pointed to an area I had missed. I walked toward a far corner of the store and knelt over a small box on the floor sparsely populated with CDs, VCDs, and cassettes. I pulled out half a dozen Vietnamese hip hop compilations and a strange-looking CD with a cavalcade of odd typefaces in a queasy multitude of colors: THAILAND RAP HIT, it boasted, with 泰國 "燒香" 勁歌金曲 below it. The information on the back provided an address in Kuala Lumpur and the titles in Thai and English translation. The first track included three simplified Chinese characters after the English-language version of the title, "The Chinese Association": 自己人.
WTF was going on here? Walking back to the register, I waved the CD, asking "What's up with this one?" She gave me a look. I placed it on the counter so she could bask in the cover's full glory. She shrugged. "I'm guessing it's Thai rap?" She looked disappointed in me when I said I'd take it.
It turned out to be a Malaysian pressing of half-Chinese Thai hip hop artist Joey Boy's third album, Fun Fun Fun from 1996, and it completely changed my sense what the genre could sound like. The rapper's self-assured, effortless, silly-but-cool rapid-fire delivery weaved in and out of the most bizarre, antic beats I'd ever heard. The six Vietnamese hip hop CDs were a mixed bag, mostly "serious" sounding mimicry of US rapping over predictable production, but the highs were very high. When I got home and listened to it all, I made a point to find as much hip hop from this part of the world as I could.
The tracks collected here provide a limited but potent reflection of the two-decade ascendency
and ultimate world-takeover of hip hop, as it displaced rock and its endless variants for millions of listeners. This not a fair and balanced overview of regional production: I've only included tracks from Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nor is this a biggest or most important artists collection; instead, I've tried to recapture the pure visceral thrill of that first time I heard Joey Boy, choosing bangers that sound like nothing else, from nowhere else."
—Gary Sullivan
Real Lies’ new album ‘WE WILL ANNIHILATE OUR ENEMIES’ will arrive on April 16th 2025 via Tonal. The album is about taking the hand of someone you love intensely and running headlong into the chaos and noise and grinding forces that dominate modern life. It follows gilded 2024 collaborations with Mall Grab, Kettama and Drain Gang’s YEAR0001 label. Lyricist Kevin Lee Kharas and producer Patrick King created the record in their studio, hidden away under a railway bridge somewhere in London’s Zone 3. Three pictures stared down at them from the walls throughout, including an image of a young Sasha Shulgin in the relief print style of Che Guevara t-shirts sold at Camden Market, and a photo of an orbiter fairground ride in flight, taken sometime in the early 2000s. Kharas’ lyrical inspiration comes when he steps away from the tsunami of data flooding his consciousness and paces London’s rain-soaked streets late at night. “I wanted the songs on WWAOE to confront modern reality head-on, unflinching,” he explains. “I didn’t want to whine about a lost past. I didn’t want nostalgia. I wanted to learn to love the modern world, with all its horrors and futility.” After a teenhood spent playing in hardcore bands, the duo found ecstasy at a squat party for the first time, and moved to London. Since then, they’ve made music about finding romance and fun when the moon is up, becoming a cult act in the process.
Funky Trip makes a striking debut on LOK.ltd with the Kong EP, a refined showcase of his deep, groove-driven minimalism. Seamlessly blending hypnotic rhythms with subtle emotion, Funky Trip crafts an immersive listening experience that pushes the boundaries of Romanian-inspired minimal.
Adding to the release’s allure, Romanian maestro Barac joins it with a stunning remix of the title track, infusing it with his trademark hypnotic flow and cosmic depth. Together, they deliver a record that feels both timeless and forward-looking.
A standout vinyl for collectors and selectors alike, Kong EP is essential for those seeking stripped-back yet transcendent dancefloor narratives—proof of Funky Trip’s growing influence within the deeper realms of minimal house.
A future classic - a project resurrected from a collaborative effort of the minds of late and great tastemaker and creator Mike Huckaby & Echospace's, Stephen Hitchell. Coming up on over 15 years since this project was conceived while working together on the Model 500 "Starlight" remix project back in 2008, this project truly captures a beautiful moment in time. During this period there was something magical in the air, a creative synergy and understanding of all things deep! The original mix (2008) results from a few sequences and patterns developed out of Wavetable ideas Mike was creating for a sample library he was curating at the time. The sweeps and transients found in these lofi wavetables truly add to the Detroit sound Mike's legacy was built upon, always staying true to his roots. After a few projects together (and more forthcoming) another collaboration was born with SF based (via Glasgow) producer, Federsen who simply put gives us a deeper than deep tribal stomper we're certain Huck would be dropping at peak hour! On the flip, cv313 + federsen reunite to surf Mike's wavetables once more, creating an addictive hook with a sick DETROIT saw bass deeper than the ocean floor! Intrusion's Dub closes out the EP and sends the listener deeper into the abyss, offering sonic designs from another planet, dubbed out into eternal bliss! We truly hope this project resonates and captures some of Mike's creative spirit and sound design. This 12" is a tribute to a true Detroit hero who's contributions to music and the culture are few and far between, a true legend.
R.I.P. HUCK
Black Version[13,32 €]
For the first time on Little Beat More, Sweden’s Cumbiasound deliver a vibrant 7” that expands their ever-evolving exploration of tropical soundscapes. Led by Daniel Fridell, the band has long been pushing the boundaries of cumbia while keeping its analogue heart beating strong, blending classic Colombian and Peruvian sounds with Afrobeat, reggae, jazz, funk, and beyond.
The A-side Mas Paz (Rework) breathes new life into one of Cumbiasound’s most beloved tracks, originally featured on their album Cosas del Universo. Vocalist Lis Flores Varela brings her unmistakable smoothness, while Chilean rapper Boogie Castillo lays down thoughtful verses with his signature flow in a track that captures the essence of the band: rooted, soulful, and globally connected. And to top it off, this new version has a fresh new vocal feature by Congolese singer José Pereelanga.
On the flip side, Jinsei, is a collaboration with Japanese cumbia band Mumbia y Sus Candelosos, led by composer and percussionist Mutsumi Kobayashi. With its breezy guitars, soft tropical groove, and the warm vocals of José Pereelanga, the track drifts like a slow river, effortlessly bridging continents and traditions.
With this 7”, Cumbiasound once again affirms its place among the most interesting projects in today’s nu-cumbia landscape with a vision that crosses borders with ease.
Made with Love by Little Beat More 2025 “We Dance We Think”
"Next up in Mr Bongo's Groove Merchant Records reissue series, we present the only solo album saxophonist Ramon Morris recorded as a bandleader. Having cut his teeth playing with the iconic band Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and working with other jazz greats, including Reuben Wilson, Shirley Scott, Rashied Ali Quintet, and Woody Shaw, 1973 saw Ramon take the step into solo territory. The resulting album Sweet Sister Funk became a certified classic and a landmark showcase of the cherished ‘70s jazz-funk sound, later sampled by the likes of DJ Premier, The Alchemist and DJ Shadow.
Originally released on Sonny Lester's iconic Groove Merchant record label and produced by Lester himself, Sweet Sister Funk is a jazz-funk masterclass. It features a slick line-up including Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, Mickey Roker on drums, and Albert Dailey on electric piano. Rich and beautiful, the seven songs ebb and flow in energy, fusing jazz funk and soul jazz with style and swagger. There are bags of groove with Ramon and Cecil trading off on sax and trumpet in an effortless conversation throughout the LP, supplemented by brilliant solos from the rest of the players.
A gold mine of sampling material, the album includes a sublime cover version of The Stylistics' much-loved 'People Make The World Go Round', which was sampled by DJ Shadow on Blackalicious's 'Swan Lake' in 1994. Elsewhere, the percussion and bass intro of the opening track 'First Come, First Serve' is a sampler's delight - a deep, heavy groove with a fine saxophone workout by Ramon. Head to 'Don't Ask Me' and you’ll find the swinging horn intro that formed the basis of 'You Came Up' by Big Pun featuring Noreaga from 1998, whilst 'Wijinia' has echoes of ‘70s indie jazz by labels such as Strata East & Black Jazz.
Here at Mr Bongo, we are proud to be delving into the vaults of Groove Merchant Records once again, reissuing this iconic LP from Ramon Morris."
Itay Dailes & Eran Ben-Zeev A collaborative EP between veteran producer Itay Dailes and label owner Eran Ben-Zeev.
Two sides, two visions — one spirit. A nod to ’90s traditions, each track offers its own distinct flavor, ranging from deep, dub-infused minimalism to warm analog grooves. A versatile release for selectors who value subtle contrasts and timeless dancefloor tools. Higher State Minimal deep house with a hypnotic pull. Built on warm, dubby pads and a rolling, understated groove, *Higher State* draws the listener into a meditative zone — subtle, emotional, and deeply immersive. Dub Rounds A deep, edgy minimal cut powered by a rolling bassline. Vocal fragments weave in and out, while jazzy chords add a dreamy, soulful lift to the groove. Unicorns Can’t Fly A lush, emotive journey of floating grooves, warm pads, and delicate textures. Designed for late-night introspection while keeping the pulse alive on the dancefloor — equal parts body and soul. Jupiter 1 Diving deeper into raw analog territory, Jupiter 1 pairs a rolling bassline with smooth acid contours. Stripped-back percussion channels early ’90s energy, perfect for long sets and locked-in moments.
