Beats Vinyl New Releases - News

We are thrilled to welcome Phaction back to the label for a follow up to last years debut Metalheadz EP, one which garnered support far and wide.

This time jumping over to Metalheadz Platinum for the 'Ubiquitous EP', Phaction has conjured up 4 uncompromising solo cuts that combine his passion for creativity and discernible production talents. The Cypriot-born producer has taken the word 'ubiquitous' quite literally with an overarching soundscape bound to fit the dancefloor as much as anywhere else, constructing a body of work that impresses from start to finish.

For our 5th vinyl release on Bouquet. Recs, Trent is toeing the line between fresh and trippy, but undeniably dance floor heat on his first solo EP, and first release on our label.
We are proud to share his momentous solo effort. Recorded in Berlin between 2018 and 2020, 'Transition 35' takes cues from multiple eras of dance to characterise the ever changing colours of nightlife. C'mon ride the train - final destination? The limits of your sensual abandon. Stops along the way? 90's rave. Psychedelic space station.

Trent is a Berlin-based Italian DJ and producer who co-created the party series and label 'Oscillator' with fellow Italians Dama and Budino.
Alongside resident and cosmic pioneer Beppe Loda, they curated one of Berlin's remarkable events for obscure italo, disco and electro.

Taking lessons from the past Trent weaves together a highly sophisticated yet playful sound for the contemporary club goer. Having spent many years as part of collectives, his solo aesthetic is thoughtfully considered and always surprising.
A longtime fixture of the infamous playground party Cocktail d'Amore, Trent collaborates with Juan Ramos under the shared byname Greenvision, releasing together on Cocktail d'Amore, ESP Institute and Ene Tokyo.
'Transition 35' marks Trent's first solo EP sojourn and a triumphant showcase of his individual voice, on Bouquet. Recs

TRACK DESCRIPTIONS

A1. Like a fast train barreling out the station to destinations unknown, This is a Trip hurtles forward like a 90's rave classic, with new wave and nu beat inflections that keep you hooked through unexpected transitions to its explosive finale.

A2. Gasping lysergically, the sci-fi sounds of Don't Stop evoke ecstasy on the dancefloor. That internal scream as you summon more energy, eyes closed, enjoying the trip with a smile.

B. Touch Me is a spell of primal percussions and ominous warlock voices to make for a dark, hot situation

* This series of remixes, stretching all the way back to 1993, continues to astound with its breadth of talent and epic scope, never repeating a remixer and always bringing new talent to the fore. In this case, the headline remix comes courtesy of the legendary NRG, one of the longest running acts in the scene. And on the very same vinyl, we have newcomer Simon Holmes remixing KFs original Future Primitive. Throw in a Dj Revive and a Sunny & Deck Hussy remix, and you have an EP for the ages….

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Juy Cunningham, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Acen, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

Angel Tears in Sunlight is Pauline Anna Strom's first album in over thirty years; an assemblage of music that refracts the expansiveness, and minutiae, of imagined realms while embracing the kaleidoscopic echoes of our distant epochs. The capacity to collapse time might elucidate the enigma of Pauline Anna Strom. A mystic force in music, emerging during the dawn of new age as the Trans-Millenia Consort, the pioneering synthesist channelled primordial energies into future-facing sound through a series of full-length releases between 1982 and 1988. Little was known about her, except by a constellation of devoted followers who saw a unique legacy forming amidst the (mostly male) synthesist canon of the time. Following the 2017 release of Trans-Millenia Music, an anthology revitalizing the most evocative parts of Strom's catalog, the Bay Area visionary sensed the universe telling her to return to music. As with her work in the 80s, Angel Tears in Sunlight was composed and recorded in the same San Francisco apartment where Strom has lived for almost four decades in synthesis with her machines and "dinosaurs." Populated by a compact array of modern instruments that streamline the sound of her analog past and her beloved iguanas, Little Soulstice and Ms Huff, the terrarium of her home forms an intimate yet limitless ecosystem that defies the constraints of the outside world. Within this sanctuary, Strom becomes lost in time, drawing on the ancient energies of her inner visions. Her hardware forms the crux of translating these ideas into sound. "It's the only way this stuff can be pulled out of myself, the universe, Little Soulstice, an ammonite_," Strom notes. "It couldn't be done without this machinery, because there's no other way to draw and capture these frequencies into sonic interpretation." Strom's process of recording transient live-takes enriches the mystery of her work. She renders the machinery a composer itself, a cohabitation with a living other. "Many musicians wouldn't go that far because of ego," Strom muses. "The equipment has to become part of you and your creativity. That's how I think it all comes together." Music-making becomes a harmonic language of intuition with an instrument, where Strom cultivates sound for a harvest that defies season. Shaped by circadian contours, Angel Tears in Sunlight is a celestial observatory of earthborn phonic mosaics. Strom uncovers a symbiosis between hardware frequencies and apparitions of nature in the record's arena of organic tones, emulating the melodic pulses of primeval terrain. The album transcends both shadow and light, falling to hushed stretches of sound as if not to awaken antediluvian animals, before soaring through the treetops where ancient skies peer over reptilian traffic and unsparing rains.

Heavy Psych Sounds is really proud to announce a brand new series of split albums that will be called DOOM SESSIONS. We are going to release a bunch of compilations with doom bands from Heavy Psych Sounds roster featuring some of the heaviest bands of the world doom scene. Each volume will host two bands. This record you are holding is VOL. 2 - a split album with our heavy doom bands 1782 and Acid Mammoth. 1782 is premiering three brand new tracks "Bloody Ritual", "Hey Satan" and "Witch Death Cult". Acid Mammoth is releaasing three new tracks too: "Black Wedding", "Sleepless Malice" and "Cosmic Pyres".

Debut release from Costas on his new label. 3 ultradeep heady originals complimented by a slick hypno-roller remix by man-of-the-moment Cosmjn, fresh from his ‘Soul Things’ LP.

Party tribe in a balkantek style !! At least something to complete the famous Balkantekl 001 in the miw ! And the Pin Up and the Resh G stuff...
DON'T MISS you deejay of the "bad vibes Full-stop" !!

Melbourne’s Left Ear Records return with an EP release extracted from a lost ’93 CD only album by famed Nigerian artist ‘Jay U Xperience’. Here, modern technology meshes with timeless African Rhythms and the heartfelt influences of New York City.

Jay U Xperience is the pseudonym of acclaimed Nigerian musician Justus Nkwane.
His first release ‘Enough Is Enough’ was a heavy blend of psychedelic rock and funk epitomising 1977 and yet foreshadows Justus’ experimental and genre-spanning inquisitiveness. Justus wouldn’t record another album until 1993 while living in New York City. Here he emerged with ‘Ancestral Call’, an album that he describes as a “once in a lifetime event”, something from his “inner spiritual guts”. Equipped with a Roland R-5 drum machine and a Roland U-20 synthesizer to extract melodies he was able to create tunes that encapsulated contemporary technology with timeless traditional African rhythms, creating a work that sounds just as relevant Today as it did then. Tracks like ‘Back To Motherland’ & ‘Ancestral Call’ personify this sound, while ‘Okokobioko’, is an onomatopoeic excursion in losing yourself to the rhythm, the EP is then rounded off with the title track ‘Abuja’, a ghostly striped back piece.

Poole Music is thrilled to announce its inaugural commission, the Habu, the latest full-length from Belgium’s Lieven Martens. For the better part of two decades, Martens has been expanding his Aloha-bedecked musical vision, transitioning from the basement tape environments of his Dolphins into the Future project to the rich compositional tapestries of more recent post-exotica modernist works.

The Habu represents a true culmination of these identities in one of his most ambitious works to date. The album’s three pieces cast an omniverous net that explores those fragile tendriles between imagined and real, natural and fabricated, unity and chaos; concrete sounds enabling abstract inner landscapes. With the ecstatic revelry of Marco Polo returning to his queen, Lieven brings us gems from all corners of the navigable world: tales of an impossibly guilded Portugese palace, a fertility tonic conjured from a poisionous serpent, a simulacrum of Honolulu. At a moment when the world is more geographically isolated than it has been in generations, Martens’ the Habu is a welcome odyssey, a Charybdian travelogue of the psyche. About face.

The next release in our 'Perennial' series is from veteran producer Lee Norris, also known as
Metamatics, the pseudonym under which he has spent more than two decades creating
melodic IDM and sophisticated electro.

Norris is an artist who warrants his cult following with an extensive catalogue and countless
monikers, including his main work as Metamatics and alternative projects Norken, Nacht Plank,
Ishqamatics and Autumn Of Communion. This unflagging artist with an enviable track record
behind him has released material on labels such as Delsin, Hydrogen Dukebox, Dot, Numbers
and Clear, as well as running his own record labels Neo Ouija, ...txt, XTT Recordings and
Nagual.

His seminal EP series '01', '02', '03' and '04' was originally released between 1997 and 1998 on
the now defunct but influential Clear label. Compiled as 'A Metamatics Production', the tracks
breathed fresh air into the global IDM scene and were comprised of crystal clear futuristic
sounds, flirting with complex and funky drum & bass that carried both UK and Detroit
influences, a true masterpiece.

More than twenty years since its original release, Lapsus Records is proud to present the
British producer's original debut album 'A Metamatics Production', released in full and on vinyl
for the first time. All tracks on this special collectors double-pack colour vinyl release have been
remastered and will include a limited edition insert.

Mount Kimbie take the reigns of the DJ-Kicks series with a 23 track mix that includes one of their own new exclusives. Due for release on 28th Septem- ber, it's a snapshot of exactly what the UK duo sound like in the club right now and is accompanied by a DJ-kicks tour that takes the pair to DJ and live dates all round the world.

Watching Abul Mogard’s Live performance in Atonal Festival 2017 and his releases on Not Waving’s Ecstatic record label were somewhat of a milestone in Malka Tuti’s sonic aesthetics. His ability to touch us with those pulsating sonic textures com-ing out of his modular machine inspired us in MTHQ for years to come. We were more then happy that Mogard chose to contact Tapan about their album and eventually deciding to remix not one but two track from the Belgrade duo… It was like a circle coming to a close.

On the A-side Mogard take the original 17 minute sax infused piece that is EUROPA and drenches it with drones and low freq pulses and atmosphere, creating a some sort of a post apoca-lyptic intense atmospheric soundtrack. The effect of drowning the horns from the original track in a sea of drones and pads, contributes to the over all impression of listening to a distant memory of music… fitting for days like these....

On the B-side Mogard takes it to the next level, capturing a line from Tapan's original collaboration with Jerusalem In My Heart's Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, and passing it through his modular system, amalgamating an epic piece of tension build ups and repetitive movements...

The original artwork was made by artist Marja de Sanctis and adapted, as always, to the sleeve by Morey Talmor.

Berlin studio nut CV Vision washes ashore, surfing on sine waves with his second offering of 2021 and the fifth Patience release, Elemente. Following on from his recently released debut LP Tropical (South Of North), CV Vision takes his library chops, psych rock skills and analogue artillery and spreads them over two quarter hour sides, to brain melting effect.

Elemente soars from cosmic to kosmiche. A dizzying homage to the natural world, the two pieces pay tribute to those animals that glide (Gleiten) and those that float (Treiben). The A side Gleiten tears off on a gnarly, loping odyssey, embarking from the sand to faraway lands, stopping in at Beppe Loda’s Typhoon, Conny Plank’s studio, Bob Chance’s garage via the Transfer Station Blue. The B side Treiben is a more sublime animal, steadily cruising at 20,000 leagues, traversing a mostly calm sea of bubbling arpeggiated synthesis before beaching somewhere on the Med in the late 70s.

Elemente was written, played and recorded by Dennis Schulze, with drums by Uno Bruniusson and Rhodes by Boyd Alves. It was mastered by Wouter Brandenburg at Brandenburg Mastering. Artwork is by Luca Schenardi.

CV Vision is Dennis Schulze, a DIY boffin originally from Bayreuth who enjoys tinkering with electronics and cold water plunges. He has several more projects on the way in 2021.

Patience is an outlet for exploring further beyond the break than usual. Inspired by the music perpetually on rotation at HQ – with E2-E4 representing the format’s high tide mark – each release will be one artist’s deep dive down one inspirational wormhole spread across two sides of vinyl, or two side-long sojourns making full use of a round 12” piece of plastic. Set and forget, zone out to tune in.

Kosh exploded onto the electro scene in 2018 with his debut release 'Null 212' on Casa Voyager records. The track that received the most attention was 'Catch The Train' with it's faultless modern take on classic Detroit electro reminiscent of Cybotron and Aux 88. AIt became a big track for 20/20 Vision founder Ralph Lawson who quickly invited Kosh to record for the label.

Kosh - 'Vicious Love' is a diverse 4 track EP showing off the Moroccan producers faultless production skills with the A-side featuring 'An Arab in Space' that continues to bring the classic sound of Detroit right up to date while title track 'Vicious Love' pushes into new territories, incorporating acid tinged synths, vocoded vocals and an insistent fast paced bassline. On the flip side 'She Gets Mad' is a straight up dance floor filler from the school of Casablanca while 'Headache' is precisely the opposite experience from the title with a relaxed, lush jam that oozes Larry Heard influences.

Collective of producers sharing their passion for the break.

I was initially intrigued by the artwork for Mark's New Routes out of Innerland. It felt so familiar. I had to have a listen. Upon hearing it I was shocked to find out how much I loved the music. It was a beautiful blend of the things I loved about ambient music and what my partner calls "Space Rock". I had never heard Innerland and I was already taking New Routes out of it I needed to buy Innerland. So I did some research - found out Mark was on Sonic Cathedral label and contacted Nat over there who ended up being super helpful and friendly. I was able to get Innerland and A journey through Ambient Innerland in vinyl. It is no wonder I was drawn to the music, a frequent collaborator with Ulrich Schnauss, Mark's work is at once blues, ambient and psychedelic.

Influenced from bands as Suicide, D.A.F and the early UK electronic scene, Absolute Body Control was formed in Belgium back in 1980, influencing and inventing genresever since and achieving an underground cilut following that strongly resists nowadays. In 2020, 16 artists from around the globe pays this deserved tribute to one of the most influential minimal synth bands of all time. ABSOLUTE BODY CONTROL "1980/2020" Ltd. Edition 3x12" Vinyl + POSTER comes presented in ultradeluxe triple jacket in a ONE-OFF truly limited edition of 400 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid BLACK vinyl. All tracks have been specially remastered for LONG CUT vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young & Cold Studios.

Ai Yamamoto is a Japanese born and Melbourne, Australia based artist who has been making music since the early 2000's. With her first album on PITP, 'Love me Tender,' Ai composes free structured songs, brushed with gentle melodies using piano, strings, wind instruments, and various textures. Created over the span of 2018-2020, Ai's careful focus on the mixing process give the tracks a spacious yet intimate sound through mindful cultivation. Dedicating this album to family, friends and her children who have given her their hearts, 'Love me Tender' feels much like a love letter, whispering that we can always choose to find a way to be filled with hope (Kibou) and find ourselves again.-- PAST INSIDE THE PRESENT

ANMON was born from the collaboration of French producers DJ Saint Pierre and Ténèbre. Through rearranged recorded live jams, their music is a series of fast-paced experiments at the fringe of the techno spectrum. Built for the stage and trance-induced listening experiences, Anmon summons a renewed tribal spirit - an unexpected resurgence of the sonic aesthetics of freeparties via their very own interpretation.

“Gyropedie,” Anne Guthrie’s third record for Students of Decay, takes us further into her hermetic practice, wherein expertly captured field recordings, French horn, and electronics are woven into potent and richly imagined electroacoustic environments. In Guthrie’s own words, “Quite literally a record of pilgrimage from East to West. Remnants of Midwest and East Coast soundmarks, instruments sold to lighten the travel load, sketched out and then buried under the new. Winter birds and crunching snow, frozen playgrounds, broken synths - I spent a year decoupaging over this, but of course it's still there. A second moon appears occasionally in the daytime, and there are frequent, murky transmissions. California has something alien about it I'm still trying to grasp. Primarily vintage, unabashed, corny, I find myself becoming an impressionist.”

Anne Guthrie is an acoustician, composer, and French horn player. She studied music composition and english at the University of Iowa and architectural acoustics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she completed her Ph.D in 2014. Her music combines her knowledge of acoustics and contemporary composition/improvisation. Her electronic music has focused on exploiting the natural acoustic phenomena of unique architectural spaces through minimal processing of field recordings. Her composition has focused on the orchestration of non-musical sounds, speech in particular. Her French horn playing has focused on electronic processing and extended techniques used in improvisatory settings, as a soloist and with Fraufraulein and Delicate Sen, among others. Her acoustics research has focused on the use of ambisonics for stage acoustics.

Frequency Domain extends a warm welcome to the Apologist for their first release since 2006's 'Sorry Dub', a much sought-after 7", cheekily reimagining the theme from 80s BBC sitcom Sorry! as a delicious slice of Basic Channel-esque electronic dub. 'Air Foundry' converges at the crossroads of electronica, dub, electro and techno, with eight elegantly atmospheric tracks written for Frequency Domain in 2019. The full album will be released on cassette and digital formats, while this limited six-track mini LP version is first Frequency Domain release available on vinyl.

Following an acclaimed EP from Brussels duo The Untouchables, DNO Records stays in Belgium for the next instalment of its global bass odyssey, but offers up a wholly different kind of trip originating from Charleroi.

Leading the way are Clearlight & Owl. The pair typically operate together as Glÿph — producing glitchy, modern techstep — but the use of their independent aliases is an early indicator to expect the minimalist experimentalism found in their solo work.

Repress

DLR has launched his solo career with an astonishing rate of productivity and his release schedule has been packed full of
exceptional quality music. We are proud to bring you his next single, arguably the most anticipated to date.
'We'll See' is a collab with Bristol-based companion, Break. The pair have joined forces again after the success of their last
collaboration, 'Murmur'. The result is simply stunning and the duo deliver a neck-snapping monster of epic proportions. Despite the
mysterious track name, it's a devilishly lethal concoction; combining the immense talents of two of the scene's most respected
producers.
Carrying equally destructive prowess, DLR continues on a solo tip into the B-side with 'Tugboat'. The use of space in this hard
stepper provides the perfect antidote to its predecessor's intensity. The track is introduced with haunting atmospherics and ultra-tight
drums. An enchanted bass is released gradually throughout the track, mischievously swinging amongst the elements; injecting a real
technical funk into the track in a distinctive DLR style!

Inhabited Shadows” is the new album by pioneering, Berlin-based techno artist Headless Horseman. This is his most daring and emotional release to date: the culmination of live performance, studio experimentation, and global exploration.

A total sonic experience, “Inhabited Shadows” takes listeners on a deeply personal journey through Headless Horseman’s creative brain. Dark industrial synths and broken beats form the spinal chord. A spirit of lightness and compassion guides the way forward.

From its opening, the album sets hard edges and metallic surfaces against dense and delicate textures. A-tonal figures and percussive attacks merge with melodic flights and soulful rhythms. Classical counterpoint and cinematic soundscapes conspire together. The result is discordant joy.

Headless Horseman’s vitality comes from his determination to remain open and vulnerable as an artist. “Inhabited Shadows”, recorded over eight months in 2019, reflects a period of intensive growth. Each of its nine tracks ventures into uncharted territory, embracing many moods, changing climates, old ghosts, and new risks.

“Over years of trials and tribulations, music has been the antidote”, says Headless Horseman. “I’ve learned to live in shadows and darkness. Now I’m chipping off pieces of my shell and portraying directly how I feel without compromise. I still inhabit shadows, but I can move back and forth between darkness and light.”

Lee 'Scratch' Perry's Black Ark Studio opened its doors in 1974. Situated in his backyard at 5 Washington Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica. Using only basic
equipment, a Teac Four-Track Recorder, a Sound craft mixing desk, an Echoplex delay unit and later adding a Phaser effects unit that he used in conjunction with his Roland RE201 Space Echo. He managed mixing down the tracks from Four track to Two track to make his distinctive whirling sound that sets apart the Black Ark Sound from the other Jamaican Studios.

Born Rainford Hugh Perry, 28 March 1936, Hanover, Jamaica. He began his career at the grand age of 16, working for Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s sound
system, rising quickly to the position of record scout and organising recording sessions during his 3-year period 1963-1966. Restlessness and unsatisfied with credit he felt due to him he moved on to work with Producers J.J. Johnson and Clancy Eccles, the latter of which would help him set up his ‘Upsetter’ label in 1968, which would see his first of many recordings telling the injustices done to him by previous employers. ‘The Upsetter’ track itself pointed at Mr Dodd but reflected to Perry when he inherited it as a nick name alongside many others during the course of his career, including ‘Scratch’, again taken from one of his recordings ‘Chicken Scratch’ recorded in 1965/1966. Perrys work in 1968 with producer Joe Gibbs was fruitful and resulted in many successful releases, but again feeling a lack of credit and itchy feet, it was time to move on. Still not having a studio of his own, Perry recorded at the various Kingston establishments at the time, Randy’s Studio 17 on North Parade, Dynamics on Bell Road and Harry J’s on Roosevelt Avenue where the bulk of the aforementioned recordings with The Wailers were carried out. His dream was always to build his own studio and not to have to work to the constraints of the other studios and producers.

On opening the Black Ark studios, the hits seemed to come immediately. Firstly with Junior Byles' 'Curly Locks' and in 1975 the massive crossover hit Susan Cadogans' 'Hurt So Good' that reached No 4 in the UK charts.1976 saw Island Records releasing Perrys vast output, timeless material like the Heptones 'Party Time', Max Romeo's 'War Inna Babylon' Bob Marley and the Wailers 'Jah Live', 'Punky Reggae Party' and Junior Murvins 'Police and Thieves' to name but a few.But sometimes missing out on a few classics like Perrys own 'Roast Fish, Collie Weed & Corn Bread' and possibly one of the best reggae albums of all time The Congos 'Heart of the Congos'. Dub releases like 'Revolution Dub' (1975) showed a way forward for his production skills in this formidable arena. Having his own studio allowed him to build up a vast catalogue of tracks to work on. We have culled together some lost productions that Lee Perry carried out with singer Mike Brookes, a fine singer, arranger from that special time in the Black Arks history. Sounding like Junior Marvin in parts and Max Romeo in others but still carrying a distinctive Falsetto voice. Some classic tracks as you can see recorded with the cream of musicians at Lee Perrys disposal. Mr Perry works his magic that gives these songs that distinctive feel that his output.
carried around the mid 1970's.

So we hope you enjoy some more lost treasures from the Black Ark that we feel should be added to that mighty cannon of material that still sound so fresh and strong today.

*2LP ON WARP IN GATEFOLD SLEEVE WITH PRINTED INNERSLEEVES
*INCLUDES DOWNLOAD CODE

Iconic Warp mainstay Nightmares on Wax can now announce his long-anticipated return with new album Shape The Future. The marriage of soul, hip-hop, dub and timeless club sounds that N.O.W. has been mutating and perfecting for years finds perhaps its most fluid form yet on Shape The Future. Energized by globetrotting runs of studio sessions and DJ sets, this latest salvo is a masterpiece of contemporary and classic genre-blending that solidifies Nightmares On Wax's place as an inspirational electronic music figurehead.

Features guest vocals from Jordan Rakei (Ninja Tune), Mozez, Kanye West and Flume collaborator Allan Kingdom, Andrew Ashong, Kuauhtli Vasquez & Wixarika Tribe and Sadie Walker.

Ben Pest returns under his alias OverworX and the third instalment of banging acidic rave. With a firm reputation for jacking live sets and productions laced with hard funk, this 12” offers up 4 styles: Rumbling 808/303 electro, Chi-town influenced techno, 90s-esq breaks n’ acid and cold grimey bass. Mastered and cut by Keith Tenniswood. Artwork by Jamie Poulton and Mat Consume.

Stand closer when you have something to say documents two separate elaborations upon a single physical space: a studio in Los Angeles, California with concrete floors and large, wooden firehouse-style doors that face a moderately busy street. Tasting Menu—a trio of multi-instrumentalists Tim Feeney, Cody Putman, and Cassia Streb—give attention to the room by rubbing its surfaces; opening and closing its portals; allowing its natural resonances; and moving about it spatially, left to right and front to back. These two collective improvisations—“while shaking the box” and “i heard glass breaking,” recorded April 3rd and 18th of 2020, respectively—are full of texture, haze, sadness, motion, color, mischief, disjuncture, and gel, while leaving little trace of the slightly less welcome substance that is performer ego.

The ensemble took the album’s titular phrase as a sort of text score, a prompt inspired by the common bluegrass one-mic recording technique where an instrumentalist or vocalist in an ensemble positions their body closer to the room’s mic as they begin to take the lead line in a song. In this case, however, the performers do not have their mind towards a lead/rhythm ensemble relationship, but instead towards the establishment and curation of a gestalt texture, welcoming and incorporating all other sound present within the room and hearing it as a singular whole. In such a setup, each performer projects their listening, playing to the imagined ears of a future listener as represented by a stereo recording device. With each performer effectively playing producer on the spot, the recording has more in common with a collage work than a more typical documentation of a group improvisation might.

By nature of their site-engaging performances Tasting Menu’s slight oeuvre emphasizes the scenes and sounds of Los Angeles and the areas immediately surrounding. For instance, the ensemble’s 2020 release for Full Spectrum, Mueller Tunnel is “a site-specific performance that was recorded on-location within” its namesake tunnel, “located in the Angeles Mountains, roughly 20 miles north of Pasadena, California.” Accompanied by a beautiful book featuring photo documentation by Eric Basta and graphic transcriptions by the ensemble’s own Cassia Streb, the project carries a distinctive dry and rocky spaciousness unique to the Southern California landscape.

Following that, the first track on Stand closer when you have something to say was recorded during a rare Los Angeles thunderstorm. Rain in L.A. has a somewhat intoxicating effect. As the city’s toxic layer reaches land via precipitation, the city’s streets slicken with built up auto oil, trash makes its way to the shoreline, and recently scorched hillsides fall prey to floods and mudslides. These are the odd symptoms of a drought-stricken city at last finding long overdue nourishment and coming to life, like a body rejecting water after becoming dehydrated. Luckily, the city is already a slow wash of tan and gray hues with little organizing structure, so its inhabitants aren’t oblivious to the noisy static affect that a storm might bring. The trio engages in an Angeleno way, opening doors and letting the storm’s roar sweep the structure, not giving space for it and not competing with it, but playing within it, playing rough around it.

It’s only within the album’s final quarter that any ensemble member plays a pitched instrument. The eventual appearance of tone is somewhat startling following nearly an hour of noise-based textures, but the sudden harmony lends a proper cadence, an uncanny resolution which allows the listener’s own space to speak. For this listener—who does most of her work out of a garage in Los Angeles, CA—, that space happens to also be a small room with concrete floors and a large door which is often open to whatever weather the city might bring. - Leah Levinson (Happiness Journal, Tone Glow, Soap Ear)

It's for Breakbeat Paradise Recordingsto get back to business and follow up on the one of their most successful releases in the beloved series called Badass Funk! The volume one in the series is nearly impossible to follow but a dream team of 8 of the very best oldskool funky breaks producers has done just that on this epic volume two, which perfectly represents what BBP is all about: the uplifting and badass side of the funk!

The release makes room for both both originals, funky mashups and lots of big funky grooves. Some of the badass producers from volume is had to re-feature on volume 2 but there plenty of new blood making a big entrense on this funky piece of wax. Label-owner BadboEis letting loose on a new badass joint along with other BBP residence Breakbeat Junkievs DJPand Roast Beatzdoing their funky thang. B-Side& Turntill & Merlinare both bringing MCs along to push the envelope on their epic jams.

New talent to feature for the first time on the series are Morlack, Tossesand Ewan Hoozami, who has been invited to the exclusive club by bringing the biggest weapons in thier funky arsenals.

BBP is always on the spot to delivery the biggest and baddest jams in the scene - and puts big pride in offering this exclusively on vinyl. But fear not - there will be a digital release of this down the road.

Third and final record to complete the DUPLOC SELECTS - BEST OF album sampler.

zake box II is a collection of six previously out-of-print cassettes housed in a clear poly box. Two cassettes are vertically stacked on the left and right, and two cassettes sit in the center flip tray. Each cassette in this collection are loaded with FerroMaster C256 super ferric, ultra-high performance type-1 music grade analog tape.