Beats News

Repress!

NO COVER!

Having been given the seal of approval from Rolling Stone, NME, TheFace, Danny Howard (TOTW), Jack Saunders (TOTW), Zane Lowe, Mary Anne Hobbs, Matt Wilkinson and more. An artist on the rise and poised to soon be one of the world’s most recognisable names, in the last year alone, Nia has won a MOBO award for ‘Best Electronic/Dance Act’, the NME Award for ‘Best Producer’, been hotly tipped by BBC Radio 1 Dance as a ‘Future Star’ and Spotify as their ‘Our Generation’ cover star. With additional accolades such as #3 in the BBC Sound of 2023 Poll and a Brit nomination for the ‘Rising Star award’. Alongside her cover debut on one of the world’s most prestigious dance music publications, Mixmag, Nia Archives has been given the seal of approval from tastemakers across the board from British Vogue, Pitchfork, The Fader, i-D and CRACK. Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against The Wall is available across retail on Limited Edition Red Vinyl and will be released on Friday 10th March. This game changing EP features ‘Biana’, ‘So Tell Me’ and brand new single ‘Conveniency’ released on Friday 3rd Feb.

Black Vinyl Repress!


For the first time, these exclusive extended versions of NJOI's seminal tracks are available as a 3 coloured disc vinyl-only release. Carefully lifted from their original early 90's live sets, these tracks have been re-crafted, extended and mastered to todays sonic standards and we're very proud to present 'Collected' on Food Music.

This project is much more than simply re-issuing the cream of NJOI's catalogue. As we enter 2022, we begin a year long journey with the duo, eventually unveiling 30 year old unreleased sought-after material for the first time ever, together with remixes from some of the todays finest electronic artists. It’s a privilege to complete the circle with NJOI and their timeless music.

In 1990 Ronald Lee Trent Jr. was the teenage creator of Altered States – a raw, futuristic techno-not-techno anthem, which in retrospect was something of a stylistic anomaly for the young artist. Across subsequent years, with time spent in Chicago, New York and Detroit, came the development of his signature sound, and renown as a world class purveyor of deep, soul infused house/garage. This story has already been told, and on casual inspection, the well-worn platitude ‘house music legend’ is an old shoe that still fits. However, in fact, he’s actually so much more, and has been for quite a while. A genuine musician, songwriter, and ‘producer’ in the proper, old-school sense, the artist today has more in common with Quincy Jones than he does your average journeyman DJ track-hack.

To those in the know, these broader skills haven’t gone unnoticed, which is why on the highly collaborative, career-topping new LP ‘What Do The Stars Say To You’, it took little persuasion to recruit serious star power. Brazilian royalty Ivan Conti and Alex Malheriros from Azymuth, violin maestro Jean Luc Ponty, ambient hero Gigi Masin, hype band Khruangbin and more performed, whilst NY cornerstone François K provided mastering duties. At various points Ron himself played drums, percussion, keys, synths, piano, guitar and electronics.

Harking back to the 70s and 80s boom in adventurous, luxurious albums, WDTSSTY is a love letter to the longplayer, where rich musicality and a liquid smooth, silky flow make seemingly odd genre bedfellows acquiesce harmoniously. Each song its own high-fidelity odyssey, Trent incorporated a broad range of live instruments and electronics into a sophisticated, euphonic whole. Described by him as being “designed for harmonising with spirit, urban life and nature”, this is aural soul food, gently easing you into balmy nights, where everything is alright.

Originally wanting to be an architect, Trent’s views his approach to collaboration and music in general as having the same principles. A firm believer in the nourishing qualities of sound, he sees direct parallels between the two disciplines, being as the purpose of good architecture is to improve quality of life. “With WARM, through sound design, I built frameworks for the musicians, who furnished and occupied these structures beautifully, which was a big compliment for me”, he comments.

The conditions required for a good collab are more than simply structural though, as Trent expounds, “I’m a huge fan of everyone on the record, especially Jean Luc and Azymuth, who’re part of my DNA. Each track was made with that guest in mind – for example, when I started writing ‘Sphere’, I immediately thought ‘this IS Ponty’. I played the keys in his style, and did a guide violin solo using a synth, which he then re-did, amazingly. ‘Cool Water’ is based around Azymuth themes, so when I sent it to Ivan, he could immediately see himself in the piece; He got what I was going for straight away. For ‘Melt Into You’ I hit up Alex on Instagram, sent him the track, he liked it, and within 24 hours he’d sent back six different bass passes!”
“Conversely, Admira began with a sketch sent by Gigi and became something combining Jon Hassell-esque chords and the feel of ‘Aquamarine’ by Carlos Santana, which links back to Masin’s recurrent nautical theme”, he adds.

With community, history and the need for racial equality never far from Ron’s mind, ‘Flos Potentia’ translates from Spanish as flower power, but rather than promoting some hippy idyll, instead it refers to plants which drove the slave trade: tobacco, sugar and cotton. Joined by Khruangbin, together they propel Dinosaur L, Hi-Tension and afrobeat into an ethereal, clear-skyed stratosphere.
Aside from these esteemed guests, other key influences cited by Trent include ‘Gigolos Get Lonely Too’ by Prince, ‘Beyond’ by Herb Alpert, David Mancuso, Jan Hammer, Tangerine Dream, The Cars, Trevor Horn, Alan Parsons Project and pre-Kraftwerk incarnation Organization. A multitude of others are audible too, including George Bension, Vangelis, Loose Ends, Maze, Flora Purim, Weather Report, Atmosphere, Grace Jones, James Mason and Brass Construction.

On the subject of influences, although opposed to the fences erected by genre tags, to understand where Ron is coming from, and where he’s at, it’s important to acknowledge just how big the palette is from which he paints. Traversing jazz funk, quiet storm, sophisti-pop, new age, new wave, kosmische, Balearic, samba, afrobeat, Latin rock, soft rock and yacht rock, his deeply entrenched digger’s knowledge pays off in dividends.

Get cozy for fall with our all-new seasonal Chillhop Essentials 2022 compilation.

Soothing, laid-back lofi instruments welcome falling leaves and cozy hoodies. Quiet rains, games with friends. It's time for coffee or tea and an evening of relaxation. With over an hour of beats and vibes, the song project includes an impressive list of producers.

Three appearances on Andy C’s Nightlife 5 in 2010 signaled the start of Wilkinson’s journey with RAM Records. Three years later he would go on to drop his debut album ‘Lazers Not Included’, propelled by the success of ‘Afterglow’, featuring Becky Hill, making a dent in the UK Top 10 and going on to gold certified status with over 150+ million streams to date. Capturing his dancefloor ready sound, which helped make him one of the biggest names in electronic music in the UK and beyond, Lazers features the anthems ‘Take You Higher’, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Too Close’ and ‘Half Light’.

To mark the 10th anniversary of its release, the album has been pressed in full for the very first time on yellow vinyl. With a refreshed design, this special edition will make a great collector’s item for old and new Wilkinson fans alike.

In the late 1980s, Disco was taking a backseat to the burgeoning psychedelic scene in San Francisco, marking a pivotal shift in musical culture. A dynamic transformation was underway as the younger generation sought a fresh auditory adventure, all while the devastating AIDS epidemic cast a somber pall over the city's nightlife. Amidst this evolving backdrop, a subtle yet distinct sonic movement quietly emerged within the confines of San Francisco’s vibrant club scene, often referred to as "The Beat." Although Hip-Hop, New Wave, Gothic, Punk, and the burgeoning Modern Rock genre held considerable sway, the pre-RAVE clubs in SF witnessed the fusion of these genres into a unique amalgam of sound that insiders dubbed “The Beat.” This musical tapestry encompassed everything from Hip-Hop and Freestyle to Industrial, New Wave, Boogie, Miami Bass, and Techno – the unifying thread being the distinctive vibe that characterised this eclectic mix.

As House, Techno, and Raving gradually gained prominence along the West Coast, a distinctive interpretation of these evolving sounds took root. Drawing inspiration from influential hubs like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Europe, and notably the UK, which saw a wave of talented young DJs migrate to California, San Francisco became the backdrop for its own version of the second Summer of Love. While the exact chronology might spark debate – some recalling '92, while others leaning towards '93 – what remains indisputable is the era spanning from 1990 to 1994, an unparalleled epoch of exuberant dancefloor revelry on the western shores.

In the face of limited backing from major labels or established independent dance music entities of the time, a grassroots movement of labels and producers emerged organically, ardently championing this distinct sound and catapulting it onto the global stage. This sonic identity was deeply influenced by “the Beat,” acting as a creative wellspring that informed the musical landscape. While the tracks compiled in these volumes might not encompass the entirety of this transformative musical epoch, they offer a vivid snapshot of the melodious tapestry that coloured San Francisco and the broader West Coast during that era. Each track featured stands as a 100% Sure Shot that was played heavily by DJ Spun back in those very heady days.

The second installment of this remarkable journey into the underground scene maintains the same profound level of depth and significance as its precursor. Showcasing tracks from Electroliners, High Lonesome Soundsystem, Single Cell Orchestra, DJ Emma, and Spun's own Central Fire project, all harmoniously enclosed within the captivating and arresting artwork by Villain Standard, this release stands shoulder to shoulder with its forerunner. Beyond a mere compilation, it's an indispensable extension of the narrative that has indelibly shaped the culture of underground American dance music within the region, embodying the era and the individuals involved. This is the authentic underground sound that reverberated across San Francisco and its surrounding environs, a truly distinctive and exceptional moment in time and space.

The unstoppable DMX Krew returns for his third full EP on the label. As classy as ever and packed with different flavours.

The A side opens with the Wigged out and intense Techno assault of 'Spasm', clearing the path for the tortured alien beauty of Electro track 'Second Moon'.

Over on the flip, DMX revisits 'The Wiggly Worm', giving it some DMX Acid with a sardonic stomp for the dancefloor and the EP closes with a nod to Detroit with 'It Isn't What It Was' .

Also included are 2 tools, useful bridges for the discerning DJ !

The Tumbling Psychic Joy of Now, a ritualistic and expanding collaborative album between Holy Tongue and Shackleton: Street Date Friday 24th August

Holy Tongue are a trio composed of Valentina Magaletti, Al Wootton and Susumu Mukai. Accomplished musicians in their own right, they combined to create psychedelic, free-form, high energy, spiritual dub-dance music across a trilogy of critically acclaimed EPs and their debut album Deliverance and Spiritual Warfare. Their high energy live performances invoke the experimental dub of On-U-Sound, the frenetic rhythms of 23 Skidoo, Liquid Liquid and ESG, and the spiritual energy of free jazz.

The trio’s dynamic collaboration extends in their meeting with Shackleton, one of the most original and critically lauded voices in electronic music. Shackleton has moved from the depths of the early 2000s dubstep underground to a diverse range of international collaborations and commissions over the last two decades. After honing his hypnotic beats on the cult UK record label Skull Disco, his unique rhythmic touch is now heard on some of the most adventurous and progressive projects that have emerged from the European dance scene in recent years. Shackleton’s work explores conceptual and spiritual themes with an emotional depth beyond most artists working in European dance music today, and his visions of inner space, apocalypse and dread are more timely than ever before.

This record was conceived after Holy Tongue and Shackleton shared a festival line up in Sweden. Holy Tongue were initially keen to get Shackleton to remix one of their existing tracks but they soon decided to have a project together and work on some fresh new music, allowing Shackleton to do something more creative with it in the studio. Thus Holy Tongue recorded a collection of raw material in the studio and sent it to Shackleton. The result is far more than the sum of its parts. A psychedelic, ritualistic, dub trip, oscillating between the maximal and the minimal, the internal and the external, the micro and the macro, ecstasy and agony, all the tumbling psychic joy of now.

Leisure Dub and Armanious return to follow up their debut release ‘Weekend Waiting’ (one of Gilles Peterson’s records of the year in 2021). It’s electronic late night soul on the A side with a heavy baseline mix made for sound systems on the B side. Pressed on a dinked 7 inch.

Repress!

Amsterdam's The North Quarter releases an EP by enigmatic artist LIN000 who delivers a stripped back, Techno inspired four-tracker; LIN001-004.

Exploring minimal and experimental dance music, LIN001-004 was approached with a “less is more” ethos – and without conforming to current trends. Just 4 DJ-tools, each based around strong motifs, with depth and texture, and each with a strong individual identity.

Repress!

Twenty years ago, London Elektricity unleashed one of the most seminal drum & bass albums into the world. 'Billion Dollar Gravy' was Tony Colman's second longplayer, following the iconic debut project 'Pull The Plug' released in 1999. Widely acclaimed and well-respected for a multitude of reasons - from the iconic album artwork of Tony holding the 'Billion Dollar Gravy' picket sign, to revolutionary anthems such as album title-track 'Billion Dollar Gravy', 'Different Drum' and 'Fast Soul Music', two decades on, the album is revisited with a fresh sonic injection.

'Billion Dollar Remixes' is a meticulously crafted project which aligns a selection of some of the finest drum & bass talent with the album originals, making way for the likes of Watch The Ride, Whiney & Unglued, Mozey, Dogger & Mindstate, Zero T, Kimyan Law, Bop x Subwave, imo-Lu, Hugh Hardie and Conrad Subs to put their spin on the 2003 classics.

Pressed onto 2 x pink transparent heavyweight 12" vinyls.

Whereas many electronic producers aim at being the most prolific in their genre, or the most extreme, Lucy and Rrose have wisely chosen to be the most consistently curiosity-provoking representatives of their craft.


Whereas many electronic producers aim at being the most prolific in their genre, or the most extreme, Lucy and Rrose have wisely chosen to be the most consistently curiosity-provoking representatives of their craft. Their decision to team up as a production duo for the newest Stroboscopic Artefacts EP may have seemed inevitable, given their shared responsibility for shifting techno's focus towards the facilitation of profound psycho-acoustic effects. And yet, even those who saw this coming will still be in for a wild ride.

Lucy's skill as a studio technician - displayed capably over his trilogy of full-length albums - has always been enhanced by his skill as a storyteller and as an artist with reverence towards myths and the pull of the unknown. This sonic personality is a perfect complement to the scientific severity of Rrose, for whom the electronic pulse beat and subsonic massage permit entry to a febrile psychic landscape whose contents are never entirely what the individual listener might expect or be prepared for.

As with both of the artists' solo offerings, these recordings feel as much like the branching off point for new creative acts rather than as objects to be passively enjoyed. As such, the opening "Chloroform" is a somewhat ironic title for a piece that is anything but anesthetic: at high volumes, its monstrous low-end surge and prickly, scintillating sonic ephemera are very likely to bring attention to otherwise imperceptible phenomena. "Peeling" continues in this style with a more urgent tempo, developing its own cascade of sensory impressions from seemingly unstable deep-bass loops, injections of intentional surface noise, and pitch-shifted / harmonizer-effected phantom phrases.

"Stained Glass," maybe the most straight-ahead piece on the record, is still a potent distortion of the mundane primed with shivering bell tones, tamed feedback and hints of speaker cones fraying. The climactic "Foil Gardens" is an elegant study in harmonics whose time-dissolving ability nods to the works of composers like Charlemagne Palestine or Eliane Radigue, without being a pure homage to either. The undertow of distortion beneath the glistening tone waves, in particular, provides a distinct update to the legacy of so-called
tonal 'minimalism'.

The end result here is a record that feels uncannily lifelike: an organism that always seems on the verge of a heuristic breakthrough, and whose full potential may not even be known by its creators.

Words by Thomas Bey William Bailey

Return To Disorder welcomes Evighet Records label head Marco Bruno for some brilliantly controlled sonic chaos on this new electro exploration. His Sharp Focus EP brings together ambient, breaks and techno to snappy electro rhythms of the sort that he has already showcased in style on labels such as Blueprint Records and Machine. This one opens with the sleek, future-facing and speedy sounds of 'Storyteller' before 'Values Over Ego' gets more textured and raw with knick-snapping hits and prying synth lines making for real turbulence. 'Twist Of Fate' is a jungle workout that ducks and dives on warped bass and 'Karmic Pattern' is a slow but textural and intense closer with rueful chords.

You must surrender. Because if you’ve followed Naum Gabo over the past 15 years – across various 12-inches, styles, and notable labels - and you’re listening to “F. Lux,” their first proper album, then you’re probably wondering how you wound up here, all the way down, barely able to see through the brain-clogging atmosphere and towering low-end. “F. Lux” is a deep, enthralling listen, alternating between moments of pounding, world-ending techno (“Schinokapsala” and “This 1”) and sharply imagined, surrealist scenes painted with metallic machines (“Aora” and “Haerstag”). There is light to be found in the darkness, but the only way out is through. Naum Gabo are Glasgow’s Jonnie Wilkes (also known as one-half of DJ duo Optimo) and James Savage (prolific mastering engineer). F. Lux was written and produced entirely by them at their Glasgow Hottrax Studios and mastered by James Savage. The album’s front cover artwork is a painting by cherished Scottish painter, Andrew Cranston. The vinyl was pressed at MPO in France using lacquers cut by Bob Weston in Chicago.

Nexus 21's 1989 classic 'The Rhythm Of Life' LP is approaching it's 30th anniversary. For the uninitiated the LP is a perfect synthesis of UK rawness and motor-city funk, b-boy nous and sunrise soaked acid euphoria. Nexus 21's sole LP 'The Rhythm Of Life' is considered a classic for many reasons. Originally released in 1989 on the influential Blue Chip record label, and then purchased by Network when they signed Nexus 21 for (what became iconic) future recordings, the record span all of the above influences and styles into a unique rugged sonic tapestry that caused a sensation with DJ's and dancers on it's release, and for the subsequent 3 decades to follow.

Messrs Mark Archer and Chris Peat created an album that bore a handful of club classics, on both sides of the Atlantic. Their association with Detroit, and particularly Derrick May and Transmat, saw them go to the techno mecca to record some later material that will also be reissued in the wake of this 3 decade celebration of all things Nexus 21. 'The Rhythm Of Life' is easily one of the UK's most influential techno records, it's style, sound and attitude has reverberated through dance music across the years and this timely reissue will undoubtedly excite the old-school heads and the new-school appreciators of the real deal techno sound in all it's glorious forms.

Now, this incredible album has been repressed and remastered, and spread across 2 high quality slabs of vinyl by Above Board distribution. This essential reissue has been made with the full involvement of Mark Archer and the legendary Network Records with all tracks being sourced from the Nexus 21 DAT archive for maximum sonic playback quality. A true classic, in a new format, not to be missed.

repressed !


'Mercury Rising' is the third studio album to be released by Rae & Christian. The duo weave together exceptional musicianship paired with a British song writing sensibility and the finest elements of studio production. 'Mercury Rising' was created at producer/musician Steve Christian's studio in Yorkshire with additional recording at songwriter/vocalist/DJ Mark Rae's London base. In London a song writing bond was formed with Ed Harcourt and Gita Langley who make excellent contributions with vocals, songs, strings and keys. Sam Genders of Diagrams threads a story of redemption lost on the Ubahn on '1975', Kate Rogers is on imperious form and rising star Jake Emlyn unravels a whole new level of microphone skills on 'Favourite Game'.
The international guests include the one-and-only Jazzy Jeff and Australia's Agent 86 dealing out world class scratch treatments on 'Check The Technique' (Tony D's vocals taken from a session recorded at the birth of Grand Central Records), Brooklyn rapper Masta Ace and Mark Foster of Foster The People, a collaboration born from Mark's L.A. excursion.

'Mercury Rising' is the first new material in many years from R&C. Their 1998 Mercury Music Prize nominated debut 'Northern Sulphuric Soul' ("Vitally fresh and timelessly classic...deserving a place alongside Massive Attack's Blue Lines' Uncut) and 2002's 'Sleepwalking' ("Another triumph, brimming with soulful, languid grooves, deft samples and well-chosen guest singers' Q Magazine) were both released on their Grand Central Records label (Aim, Riton, Boca 45, Only Child), a defining imprint of the late 90s soul/funk/hip-hop/beats scene. Guest vocalists over the two albums included Bobby Womack, Texas, The Congos, The Pharcyde, The Jungle Brothes and Jeru The Damaja.

repress !

In Late 2020 Satl captured the global mood perfectly with his dense and claustrophobic masterpiece 'Lucid Dreams'. This summer, he flips the script channeling hope and optimism on a six track EP - Bedroom Producer with a a Dream. A rose tinted self-reflection perfectly suited for the summer.

Fresh underground talent straight out of Liverpool from certified herbalist Sticky Dub. The MC/Producer cooks up his own special blend of Broken Beat, UKG, Dub and Hip Hop, as styles collide to unique effect. His Northern roots man, rudebwoy energy is processed through an electronic, inner city engine, resulting in some of the most exciting club ready cuts we've heard this side of the Mersey. Melodic dub baselines rub with skipping dancefloor beats, all laced with Sticky's bouncing Scouse drawl, and lyrical insight, on his quest to understand nature and rhythm. And like Sticky says, if you want to keep the spiritual equilibrium of the world in check, then 'never give weapons to a man who can't dance"....

For the 15th anniversary of this timeless classic, !K7 Records are re-issuing Tosca’s seminal album ‘No Hassle’ in an audiophile 3LP format.

Multi-instrumentalists Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber have been friends since their Vienna schooldays. Richard later became half of the globally acclaimed DJ-producer duo Kruder and Dorfmeister, while Rupert worked in piano composition and sound-art installation. ‘No Hassle’ is Tosca’s fifth studio album.

A luxurious tapestry of analogue and digital sounds, submerged samples and live instruments, it evolves and expands into an hour-long ambient symphony. The title reflects not only the duo’s laidback approach to making music but their whole philosophy of life.

‘No Hassle’ is all about contemplation and concentration. While recent Tosca releases like J.A.C. (2005) and the remix collection Souvenirs (2006) were a move towards classic song structures and club-friendly grooves, their latest is a much more introspective journey into inner space.

With over 40 musicians across 28 tracks, Essentials Spring 2023 might be our most treasured one yet. Featuring a who's who of some of our favorite musicians in the community, we present a 2xLP to keep everyone vibrant and alive as the seasons change and days start to warm. Essentials Spring 2023 features recent Chillhop beat tape alumni like El Train, Evil Needle, illiterate, and Mr. Slipz, while also showcasing songs from familiars like Oatmello, SwuM, Toonorth, Blue Wednesday, HM Surf, The Doppelgangaz, and dozens of others.

This album features over 70 minutes of chillhop, jazzhop, lofi hip-hop, downtempo R&B, lounge jazz, soulful beats, boom bap, old school. However you might like to classify this. Study beats? Sure. Beats to go on a road trip to? Absolutely. Gaming beats, coding beats, beats to daydream to? You betcha. The essentials return for 2023, adding to the ever growing collection of limited edition seasonal releases on vinyl!

The 2nd instalment in Headset’s VA series, showcasing unsung Scottish artists making alternative club music.

Hectic Grub & LWS push forwards, bringing 2 broken techno-bass bubblers on the A-side.

On the B-side, Creep Woland goes deeper with a 160 floater and Fourth Precinct finishes with a spooked out electro breaks roller.

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since Błoto released their last album. Sadly, in Polish rivers it wasn't just water flowing, but also all sorts of sewage of unknown origin, which destroyed the condition of these once vibrant bodies of water; it eventually led to a real catastrophe on the Odra River, which, after all, surrounds the entire city of Wroclaw, the band's birthplace. It is time for a decisive response. Błoto is making a comeback with a seven-inch vinyl and their first singles in over two years - "Szlam" and "Ścieki".

Climate change had already led to a permanent hydrological drought, which was echoed on Erozje LP. Today, as many as 91.5 percent of Poland's rivers are in very poor condition. It is not only drought that threatens rivers, but also excessive salinity. This is precisely the kind of disaster that happened on the Odra river. It resulted in 360 tonnes of dead fish and death of the river along a stretch of almost 500 km, and the reason for that was short-sighted human activity that could have been avoided. Still, the decision was made to turn the river into a cesspool.

Two years of hiatus is far too long. During this time, reality has not let up for a moment, providing new inspiration. Szlam (eng. sludge) is the sediment that forms on the river bed and sometimes the river banks. The Polish word derives from German (Schlamm), which means swamp - or mud. Szlam is therefore a sticky and unsettling remorse that rests somewhere at the bottom of the human consciousness.

In "Szlam" and "Ścieki" tracks, you will not only hear references to Erozje, but also to Kwasy i Zasady LP. For it is also a metaphor for everything that pours out of the media, smartphones, and then flows into one's head. The constant bickering, conflicts and dirty play in political campaigns, scandals to which we are already numb. On top of this, hate speech, low-quality stupefying influencer content, resulting in an ever-decreasing cultural capital of a society that breeds conformists, individualistically-minded egoists and mindless consumers. This state of affairs spawns a society of egoists, incapable of critical reflection, questioning and rebelling against reality.

The sound and genres explored by the band are, as usual, difficult to pigeonhole. These two musical miniatures contain a lot of anxious and neurotic sounds, as well as synth glitches evoking emotions such as fear, anger, sadness and guilt. The quartet consisting of Wuja HZG, OlafSaxx, Cancer G and Latarnik managed to distill this mental state by encapsulating it in shades of breakbeat ("Szlam"), and broadly defined house music ("Ścieki").

The 7" vinyl will be released on January 08th 2024 by Astigmatic Records.

Music taken from the Carte Blanche performance »Monument 0.10 : The Living Monument« by Eszter Salamon. This album contains selections from Carmen Villain's score for the two-and-a-half hour performance, most of them edited down from the long-form versions that accompanied the ultra-slow scenes of the performance. These are Carmen Villain's first compositions for dance.

Acclaimed Choreographer Eszter Salamon’s dance performance The Living Monument is built on still life, slowness and the presence of the body. In the performance, the theatrical elements are equal and interdependent, and it develops into an installation of sound, movement and figures. Each tableau is bound together by Carmen Villain’s hypnotic score in which the audience is taken on a meditative journey through vibrant tableaus in a dreamlike universe. Carmen Villain's score is a suspension of time where her music is seeking a new form of slow-moving minimalism. credits

Cemento Atlantico, the electronic project of Italian producer and DJ Alessandro "ToffoloMuzik" Zoffoli, will release its new album Dromomania on June 21, 2024, via Bronson Recordings. Inspired by the concept of dromomania, or an irrepressible desire to travel, the album follows the critically acclaimed debut Rotte Interrotte of 2021. Dromomania will be available on CD, vinyl, and digital platforms, and features singles like "Garawek Khaos," "El Que Puede Hablar," and the newly released "Danza Negra." The album sees Cemento Atlantico blending house, future garage, post-dubstep, and world music, creating a darker, more rhythmic sound. Zoffoli's use of field recordings brings authenticity to each track, capturing the essence of various cultures. Reflecting on the pandemic's impact, Zoffoli notes that Dromomania carries a more critical tone, addressing the darker sides of humanity and society's failures during the crisis. With Dromomania, Cemento Atlantico embarks on a global musical journey, weaving historical narratives and cultural tales from Thailand, Mexico, Nicaragua, and beyond. The album's intricate soundscapes and compelling rhythms aim to enrich listeners' experiences, echoing the project's dromomaniac spirit

First aired by Ratpack on Centreforce , this first collaboration by Col Trixta &Dubble Dunk has already become a classic in-the-making
Much like the hugely popular 'Dubble Dunk Vol 1', both tracks bridge genreshouse, breaks and old skool - with slammin' old skool pianos, stabs and familiarvocals.
Colin and Duncan have been plying their trade on the UK rave DJ circuit since theearly 90's and both held residencies at Slammin' Vinyl, United Dance, Freedom@Bagley's and now Strawberry Sundae together.

AKO Arcade welcomes The King of the Jungle aka Dextrous with an unreleased track from 1994 produced with George Kelly.
This has been on DUB for nearly 30 years and we're glad we can give it an official release.

This is classic Dextrous production.
On the flip, we have a remix by highly rated DJ/Producer Dwarde who keeps all original elements and takes it to a new level which hits a lot harder.
We hope you enjoy this release and thank you for your support.

Brace yourselves for the Rise Of The Raptor! An eruption of rave latino and thunderous grooves with four timeless originals and a future sonic remix by cult dance mastermind Amor Satyr.

This action-packed collection includes, for the very first time on vinyl, DJ Babatr's legendary breakout club anthem "To-K." Additionally, he is unveiling three never-before-released Raptor classics from his vault: "Soundmind," "BUTTA (Piano Mix)," and "DANCE THE SQUAST." These tracks are fully loaded with all the signature trimmings and hallmarks we've come to love from the Venezuelan rave king.

LTD 112 Copies

Roman artist Heinrich Dressel delivers a sparkling gaze into the future with the glistening ‘Lambda 2077’. Opening with powerful, guttural drones and sweet sweeps from ‘Nebulosa’, the broad sonic scope of this LP is beautifully demonstrated.

Growling arps and magnetic, synthesised moans are throughout this record. Dressel cultivates a cinematic, cerebral experience throughout each track, delicately weaving a visceral soundscape. The rising, slicing tones of the atmospheric ‘CEM 8220’ provide a compelling journey through meandering arps with a defined structure. ‘Arpeggio Jawa’ swims into action with a watery, colourful arpeggio sailing through each intriguing section.

‘Francisco’ opens things up with an electro-tinged, thunderous remix. Building upon the chordal gravitas of the original, the remix provides the release with an acidic percussive journey. The swirling brilliance of the title track ‘Lambda 2077’ presents itself as stunning, emotive work which prepares you for the decade Heinrich Dressel is heading to next. The machine lead release shows Heinrich Dressel as a consistent unstoppable force behind the synthesiser, culminating in an astonishing, sophisticated record.

Biomes are little worlds of organic relationships, full of struggles, symbiosis, and sheer obsolete noise. In "De Silenti Natura," Henrique Vaz is meticulously crafting synthetic auditory biomes, sprouting from their own fuzzy logic. Unfolding across two distinct acts, the Brazilian artist interprets and replicates the complex, often ambiguous sounds of (un)natural environments, creating imaginary systems to inhabit over two sides of tape. The soundscape of the first side and title track is entirely algorithmically synthesized, with no samples used, leveraging Supercollider for real-time sound generation. The environment thus built is a flourishing one, seemingly unable to escape its own grandeur as insect-like buzzing and crackles expands into mountain ranges and forests of erupting sonorous drama. The second side introduces 'hydrophone' water synthesizers, submerged in a goldfish bowl to interface with the unfurling waves of electronic chords, creating a unique blend of damp and unwieldy sloshing movements, prismatically scattered into a luscious soundscape, and resembling everything from the bridge of a starship to the echoed drip-drip of stalactites.

Both sides of the album slowly unwrap and uncrinkle, revealing layers of hisses, distant digital choirs, warm enveloping chords, and juddering bleeps. Despite their unwieldy and strange nature, myriad elements convey a familiar sense of environment, flitting between the blossoming of new (manmade) life and the doom and destruction of the (real) world.

As the ringing of bells (fully synthetic; no samples were used) hove into view during the closing movement of side one, a simulacrum cacophony of voices is ushered in. It’s a reminder of the holy nature of sound itself, beamed into our heads intangibly. The flipside’s water ritual, frantically dunking ‘water synthesizers’ to birth swooping melodies and yawning tones, is jabbing at sleeping giants. It’s pushing and pulling the stars in the night sky into place. It’s both a simple act of beautiful creation, and a storm in a teacup.

2024 Repress

An absolute classic of the 1992 rave era, supported at many of the big raves of that year by Carl Cox. Justice (from Luton) and Mercy (from Dunstable) came together after the both of them had previously recorded for Chill Records; Justice as part of Blame & Justice and Mercy as part of Terra Incognita. They soon found out that Justices hardcore rave vibes and Mercy’s engineering prowess was the perfect combination. The outcome of the sessions is this incredible 5 track EP that was originally released on Rudebwoy Records as a limited white label. An original copy could set you back as much as £75.00 on Discogs!

Andrew Mercy ended up emigrating to Canada to work in the film industry and Tony Justice went on to a successful career releasing on Moving Shadow and these days runs his Modern Urban Jazz label.

Released in a Vinyl Fanatiks housebag on 180 gram heavyweight ORANGE vinyl.

The new solo album from João Branco Kyron, aka Kyron from Portuguese group Beautify Junkyards.

Dreaming Eden is an electronic reverie comprised of drifting melodies, dusty archive sounds and synthesised rhythms.It feels like the soundtrack to a dream, in that nothing stays fixed, melodies develop then collapse, strident rhythms strike up and then unravel into fragments. And like a dream it’s hard to pin down in time- the overall sound is not quite contemporary, and neither is it a vintage re-enactment. Taking inspiration from Christopher Priest’s novel A Dream of Wessex, the record echoes the 20th century take on the notion of virtual reality - one where participants escape the harsh reality of their world into a kind of consensus utopian future.

500 copies on orange vinyl with artwork by Kyron and Jim Jupp. Includes a free download code card.

Mamman Sani"s electronic organ music, first recorded in 1978, made him a national hero in Niger, led to him writing the Niger"s new national anthem, and has long been cherished by aficionados for its unique blend of traditional Nigerien melodies and synth experimentation. Mamman"s music embodies a sense of intimacy, echoing the presence of a solo artist in the room with the listener.

The unconscious and unknown must be really nice places. In any case, if you take the second album of Menelaos Tomasides under his given name as travelogue. A trip into dreamlike territory, yet concrete enough, a journey without target yet looking forward and looking back into familiar places, „dreamhike“ both continues and departs from the style Menelaos has found earlier, in “When the Moon Comes Through”, or his more conceptual-intentional “31 Minuten” works. As the album title - which roughly translates to “dream hiking” but also hints on “walkabout” and “songlines” – suggests, we are rambling between the real and the imaginary. From the bucolic border triangle of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands to the buzzing streets of the capital of Cyprus, where Menelaos has lived for many years, the tracks are about real places, about real experiences and emotions yet interwoven with a dreamlike fabric. Something that is just not tangible, yet substantial and palpable. Something concrete that manifests in the genuine and special sound design of this records - basically all of Menelaos’ works - his really special treatment of dynamics and loudness. It is one of the very few records where the established language of music making, specifically Techno, House, Dub, and early 2000’ Electronica, the clicks, thumps and plops from an earlier age of electronic music, transmogrify into slow movements of something new. Something that is gentle and truly personal, looking inwards. There are four-to-the-floor beats, there is wobbly bass, and dubby chords, even sublimated clarion calls. There is an immense energy in these tracks, the sheer materiality of low frequencies of a massive sound system manifested in a tiny room. Yet it is without any aggression, stripped bare of sonic pressure. It is quiet music no matter how high you turn up the volume. A rare treat, that requires exceptional skills and exceptional restraint and control on the technical side of music making. Probably it is a result of Menelaos specific combination of instinctual, intuitive approach to making music, which meets a genuine love for sound in seemingly endless loops of refinement that can lead to such a result as „dreamhike“. The elegant floating balance of control and playful experimentation manifests for example in a track that continues the ongoing collaboration with seasoned Cologne improviser Achim Fink on bass trumpet. Not only in this respect, the album can be described as a product of openness. It comes from a lot of taking in the world, of travel, of places and people met, of friendship and conversation (not necessarily with words). The deep trip of “dreamhike” further manifests Menelaos as one of the truly independent voices of electronic Cologne and beyond. Somewhat alike in character and attitude probably to what late Pete Namlook has established for Frankfurt with his label Fax +49-69/450464 (though ultimately warmer and much less uncanny) Menelaos has found his very own sound and vision. Music that answers to no one but speaks to everyone. Uncompromising yet gentle to the core: kind sounds from a kind spirit, arguably the most extraordinary and valuable quality music can have these days.

DJ Support: Gilles Peterson, Sean Johnston, Jaye Ward, Max Essa and Francois K

Limited to 300 copies

Having been long-time admirers of one another from afar, Hell Yeah and Michele Mininni finally come together for Pop Archetypes. It is a multifaceted debut album that collides broken beats, worldly rhythms, jazz, eastern melodies, live drums and much more into one thrilling 15-track opus that arrives on May 31st.

Italian artist Mininni has always had a leftfield take on electronic music and imbued it with rhythms, melodies and instruments from around the globe. He has released it on cult labels like R&S, Optimo Trax, Internasjonal and Curle Recordings but has saved his magnificent debut album for Hell Yeah. It is much more than a collection of sounds he has already explored and instead finds him heading off into all new territory without losing his signature sense of inventive and beguiling rhythm and melody. It is a multicultural journey that takes in heterogeneous styles and diverse influences but distills them all into one cohesive album with its own unique storyline.

Says Mininni of the record, 'I wanted each track to be like pieces of a unique, multifaceted picture, like walking through train cars or progressing through the levels of a video game, all filtered through my own vision and concentrated into 36 minutes. I wanted a pop album rooted in the extraordinary richness of popular music and projected into the future, a continuum where pieces communicate with each other and are received by the ears in symbiotic balance.'

Despite that concept, the album is a spontaneous listen full of surprises, left turns and original ideas that all hold together in thrilling fashion. It kicks off with the tumbling jazz drums and swirling synths of 'Spinning Around Cotton Candy', takes in mellifluous melodic layers and broken beats on 'Golden Room' and 'Slipped Air' casts you adrift amongst gorgeous piano keys and refracted vocals on the suspensory 'Vertigo'. There are jungle interludes with Eastern string melodies like 'Bangkok Tempo', lavish fusions of organic and synthetic sounds on 'Kundalini' and more charming Far Eastern rhythms on 'Muting Cat'. 'Congoflash' brings electrifying cosmic rays to busy hand drum patterns, 'The Magic Of Synesthesia' combines dark amen breaks and bright and uplifting flutes while 'Carousel Of Tears' douses you in watery melodies and celestial pads that awaken the soul.

Pop Archetypes is an adventurous work packed with meticulous and infinite details but all with an overarching narrative that makes it far more than the sum of its parts.

‘Musica E Computer’ is a momentous release from Slow Motion label head Fabrizio Mammarella and Rodion recorded in the legendary Marche Synth Museum (Museo Del Synth Marchigiano).

A fully functional recording space that houses a fusion of several private collections of Italian electronic musical instruments gathered over the many years since their creation. The Marche region, being home to some of the most ground-breaking and foundational instruments, has created the likes of Crumar, Farfisa and Elka with innovative use from the likes of Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd and Vangelis.

The opening track ‘Iris’ sets the exceptional tone for this release. Fully exploring the realms within the Marche with an eerie, metallic tropical soundscape showing their discoveries’ breadth. ‘A Corrente Alternata’ brings us back to Mammerella and Rodion’s revered partnership as unmatched creators of enigmatic, timeless earworms. The driving bassline sits beautifully within the characterfully saturated drums and tweets of an equally enigmatic synthesiser.

‘Un Segnale Di Speranza‘ launches us into the infectious, mind-bending signature arps of Mammerella and the rising harmonies of Rodion, with another ground-shattering bassline and arcane vocoders that transport you to peak time at Slow Motion’s Italorama Bar. ‘Musica E Computer’s’ soundscapes provide rich blends of the synthetic and organic sounds of the Italian region, acting as a geographic coda that can also be heard in ‘La Domenica Del Villaggio’.

‘La Memoria Dei Sistemi’ slips us back into the energetic, electronic environment that Rodion and Mammerella have so delicately crafted. Driving us through the celestial alchemy of this atmospheric track, which leads us to the chiming finish of ‘Una Nuova Era’. This ties together a transcendent homage to Musica E Computer’s recording surroundings and a bar-setting conclusion to another captivating masterpiece from the duo.

You now have the opportunity to purchase the first ever Enormous Mouse EP - Stu & Nee - The Lost Boys EP - that came out originally in the early noughties (with only 100 pressed of each back then - they were so underground they made their own labels and stuck them on by hand!). The record come in an awesome Enormous Mouse housebag with white inner sleeve.

You now have the opportunity to purchase the first ever Enormous Mouse EP - Stu & Nee - The Lost Boys EP - that came out originally in the early noughties (with only 100 pressed of each back then - they were so underground they made their own labels and stuck them on by hand!). The record come in an awesome Enormous Mouse housebag with white inner sleeve.

2024 Repress

Tone Def are from Bournemouth, UK and were signed to the legendary record label Moving Shadow in 1991, releasing 4 collectable releases. These two tracks were recorded in 1992 for the label but were never released.

28 years later they are available for the first time after being located on some lost DAT tapes that Rog Mogale from the band had found while relocating his studio to Gran Canaria. Rog Mogale is also well known as the man behind the famous Void Speakers that are used in the best clubs and biggest festivals around the world.

Step back into time and feel the rush!

Released in a Vinyl Fanatiks housebag on 180 gram heavyweight ACID YELLOW vinyl.

The second LP by Tokyo ambient conceptualists UNKNOWN ME began as a commission for historic Japanese cosmetic conglomerate Shiseido, conjuring audio approximations of seasons and scents, but soon flowered into its own refracted and rarefied environment: Bitokagaku. Translated as “beauty and science,” the album is the foursome’s first composed solely with software, reflecting the collection’s utopian, laboratorial muse. 
From levitational electronica (“A Rainbow in Meditative Air”) and vaporous downtempo (“Dancing Leaves”) to planetarium reverie (“Kitsune No Yomeiri”) and AI IDM (“Retreat Beats”), the music moves like weather patterns in a bio-dome: dazzling, microcosmic, and delicately calibrated. Percolating synths crossfade with field recordings from Shiseido’s research division; the sound of streams and distant birds blur into a processed haze; clinical voices read lists of precious stones. It’s a vision of new age as soft robotics, of serenity streamlined by sentient systems.
UM’s team of engineers (Yakenohara, P-RUFF, H. Takahashi, and Osawa Yudai) cite an eclectic swath of inspirations behind Bitokagaku – molecules, stars, Kenji Miyazawa, Akira Kurosawa, even “the sparkle of rainbows” – but their guiding artistic principle is as ancient as it is eternal: “beauty.”

This much delayed, and therefore much anticipated box set from Moondance, Dope Ammo and Kniteforce finally arrives. Containing too many epic tracks and remixes to mention, this is a truly incredible album of unstoppable music. The album has already streamed over 1/2 a million views, and the anticipation for the vinyl arrival is huge, not only because of the sheer weight of quality music on it, but because it was meant to be here in 2022, and due to the endless delays in vinyl production, has taken until now to land.

Warriors Of The Dystotheque begann als Onlineprojekt des irischen DJs Jonny Mac gestartet und ist nun zur vollständigen Band gereift, die sich zum ersten Mal im wirklichen Leben traf und ein Album mit kontrastierenden Sounds, Ideen und Einflüssen aufnahm. Aufwachsen in Nordirland, die 90er Rave-Tage, Leben im sonnigen Florida, ein Mashup aus Live- und elektronischer Musik, Freundschaft und Verlust, Ibizas Sonnenlicht und dunkle Wolkennächte, Verzweiflung und Erleuchtung, die Kraft der Musik, sich aufzurichten und Freude und Harmonie zu schaffen. Jonny Mac: "Es fühlt sich an, als hätten wir die Punkte auf diesem Album verbunden, es klingt mehr nach einem Zusammenkommen der Band als nach einem Onlineprojekt. It's a beautiful thing." Lp mit 12x12" Artprint.

Bristol based Arcane makes a thunderous debut on Over/Shadow with 4 tracks that have been creating a stir on dancefloors worldwide....

The Boombastic Plastic label was one of the most respected and interesting of the old skool labels, with each release cementing itself as a classic. Part 5 of the series continued the high quality run of epic breakbeat releases, with both Earthquake and Warped being massive tunes all over the country back in the day. Gloriously remastered from DAT, this limited repress ticks all the old skool boxes....

What a monster release... two total darkside classic by DJ Fokus and engineered by Pete Parsons at Monroe's.

The 11th release on Curtis Electronix comes from one of the most influential figures in the history of electro. Infinite Tetraspace EP is a mind-altering combination of ambient beauties, ice cold machine-funk and spaced out 4/4 kickers that play with the concept of space and time, as expressed almost clearly in the title. Four next level cuts that push their electro even more into the future. We are very much glad they are back.

An empty page is before us.
Inner silence takes over our mind. A silence louder than our anticipation of what's coming.
With each of our cells, we just do one thing: wait.
Then, we hear the whispers of the page turning. The next chapter is about to start.
----
Introducing Gnork's new album: Inner Ride. Influenced by the cosmic and psychedelic sound of the 70's, from Pink Floyd to Herbie Hancock, with a twist of the synths of the Berlin school.
The tracks were made between 2017, and 2022, though it's are not a collection of random jams. Inner ride is a conceptual, full-length musical work with 10 songs. A classic album that was designed to put on to your record player and to get lost in it.

An empty page is before us.
Inner silence takes over our mind. A silence louder than our anticipation of what's coming.
With each of our cells, we just do one thing: wait.
Then, we hear the whispers of the page turning. The next chapter is about to start.
----
Introducing Gnork's new album: Inner Ride. Influenced by the cosmic and psychedelic sound of the 70's, from Pink Floyd to Herbie Hancock, with a twist of the synths of the Berlin school.
The tracks were made between 2017, and 2022, though it's are not a collection of random jams. Inner ride is a conceptual, full-length musical work with 10 songs. A classic album that was designed to put on to your record player and to get lost in it.

While "Metal Zone" might be their debut, KAKUHAN are hardly newcomers. Koshiri Hino is a member of the incredible goat (jp), releasing a run of records under the YPY moniker, and heading up the NAKID label, while Yuki Nakagawa is a well known cellist and sound artist who has worked with Eli Keszler and Joe Talia among many others. Together, they make a sound that’s considerably more than the sum of its parts, as obsessively tweaked, cybernetic and jerky as Mark Fell, and frothing with the same gritted, algorithmic intensity as Autechre’s ever-evolving sets, stripped to the bone and carved with ritualistic symbolism.

The album’s most startling and unexpected moments come when KAKUHAN follow their futuristic inclinations, snatching grimey bursts and staccato South London shakes and matching them with dissonant excoriations that shuttle the mind into a completely different place. It's not a collision we expected, but one that's completely ruined us, welding obsessive rhythmic futurism onto bloodcurdling horror orchestration - the most appropriate soundtrack we can imagine for the contemporary era.

By the album's final track, Nakagawa erupts into Arthur Russell-style clouded psychedelia while wavering flutes guide bio-mechanical ritual musick formations. It’s the perfect closer for an album of taut, viscous, and relentless gelling of meter and tone, nodding to classical court or chamber music as much as contemporary experimental digressions.

Bristolian Stephen Redmore, known through his drum & bass alias Mako, is finally set to unleash his forthcoming LP on Metalheadz, something which he’s been working on behind the scenes for some time. The label head of Utopia is well known for his slick production and penchant for underground anthems, something which has been seen again and again on his own imprint, as well as across a plethora of labels which have acted as pillars for the drum & bass world. Having already made his presence felt before within the catalogue of Metalheadz, as well as Break’s Symmetry Recordings, Dispatch, Soul:R and Samurai Music, he’s a valuable part of the genre’s make up, which is why the announcement of his forthcoming LP ignited widespread anticipation.

Directly translated to ‘a body of art’, Mako’s LP ‘Oeuvre’ is representative of his life’s work in music production. The switching breaks of ‘Heartstone’, slamming, yet eerily hollowed snares of ‘Offline’ and grinding bassline of ‘Life Cycle’ alongside the late Andy Skopes, a testament to the legacy he left behind, set the tone. Meanwhile, Villem and Fields join Mako for the LP’s next collaboration ‘Liquid Groover’ before the emotive swelling build of ‘The Window’ gives way to a second drop beat switch up, continuing the journey. ‘Flip it’ has already been doing the club rounds, as the moody Photek atmospherics of ‘One Reality’ and more affectional twists of ‘Holding You’ adds to the tracklist’s versatility.

‘The Scenic Values’ underscores Mako’s love of Krust and Doc Scott production grooves, whilst the experimental soundscape of ‘Hoxton Home’ heralds back to old Lemon D. ‘Oh Really’ finishes the album’s more club-orientated offerings, which follows with a 170bpm techno style track via ‘Passive Aggressor’. ‘Oeuvre’ is a walkthrough of Mako’s many personalities as a musician and it finds a welcome home within Metalheadz’s historic discography.

"Bastian Epple makes an eagerly anticipated return to marionette under his elusive MinaeMinae guise that imagines rich sonic architectures for the journeying spirit to voyage to. Räumlichkeit is Epple’s debut album and third release to date following Gestrüpp from 2020, venturing further into melodic electronic nostalgia and percussive beat oriented soundscapes.

Growing up in a small village in southern Germany, Bastian Epple was never interested in kitschy folk sounds, rather he took solace in the time he would spend meditating to repetitive and hypnotic patterns. His guitar strumming and what sounded to his mother like a young Philip Glass on a cheap Casio keyboard encouraged little Epple to tread on this self-taught path of developing his own musical language. This led him to start experimenting with a tape recorder and layering sounds with non-musical samples to eventually working with a DAW.

Bastian went on to study Media Art at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe and graduated with a diploma in film and documentary media - where he now works as a freelance filmmaker and lecturer at Stuttgart Media University. However, this never stopped him from creating and playing with wide-eyed sounds, eventually amassing a vast collection of tunes and finally emerging from this anonymity.

Utilizing modular synth, self made tape echos, synthetic sounds, recordings of ethnic percussion and guitar, MinaeMinae understands musical material similar to documentary footage which he would splice, repitch, and rearrange intuitively into captivating worlds."

The Well is the second album by the duo So Sner, composed of Susanna Gartmayer (bass clarinet) and Stefan Schneider (electronics). Recorded over nearly two years in various studios and spaces, the album reflects So Sner's extensive touring across Europe. The final mixing took place in Vienna at the studio of Martin Siewert, who served as both co-producer and mastering engineer. Known for his meticulous attention to sonic detail, Siewert brings his unique techniques and distinctive sound enhancements to the album, resulting in a work that is both stylistically cohesive and daringly uncompromising.

So Sner’s critically acclaimed debut album REIME (TAL26, 2021) was celebrated for its innovative fusion of bass clarinet and electronic sounds in unexpected and surprising ways. With The Well, the duo explores both fluid and dissonant sonic landscapes, embracing different structural and sonic challenges. The result is a quieter, more introspective set of compositions than many might have anticipated. The album is a statement of two confident collaborators crafting complex, spatial musical moments in their own distinct manner.

The music on The Well generates a multiplicity of effects that transcend conventional oppositions such as hand-played versus programmed, composition versus improvisation, or analog versus digital. The album suggests a re-articulation of these categories, allowing the ten tracks to gradually blend one musical idea into another, and one musician into another, in a circular and complementary fashion. The polymetric permutations and exploratory reed components create a soundscape where all elements coexist harmoniously, without compromising or diminishing each other’s presence.

With its sparse sound architecture, The Well invites listeners into a space of effective emptiness, offering room for the mind and body to explore—a sonic island where one can develop sensuality through patient movement.

For So Sner, live performance is a passion of the mind, and since they began working together in 2020, their music has taken them to many different places. The live experience has deeply influenced the recorded music on this album, with the interplay between live performance and studio work informing their creative process. The Well captures the genuine act of exploring new territories, serving as a storage place for the time and space shared by the duo, re-filtering their experiences of performing and traveling together.

The Well is a lucidly playful and ambitious album by two contemporary musicians who are continually learning to create and respond to the subtle and significant changes in their music, maintaining momentum throughout the entire work.

In addition to her work with So Sner, Susanna Gartmayer has recently collaborated with artists such as Joe McPhee and Maria Portugal, and remains a member of her long-running band, the Vegetable Orchestra. Stefan Schneider, founder of the label TAL, has recently performed with Garth Erasmus from Cape Town and fine art luminary Katharina Grosse.

Dance music has always been grounded in a sense of place. Chicago, Detroit, London, Berlin—a zip code can tell you as much about the music as the year it was made.

But beyond the nuts and bolts of the here and now lies a netherzone where some of the best electronic music floats, impossible to pin down. Swayzak’s Snowboarding in Argentina is one such record.

The title hints at its uncanny placelessness. The music has nothing outwardly to do with Argentina, for one thing. The work of UK producers David Nicholas Brown and James S. Taylor, it was recorded in a number of locations—mostly bedrooms—around London. Yet there is little that is quintessentially British about the music.

Instead, Brown and Taylor drew much of their inspiration from, on the one hand, the luminous chords and silky heft of Detroit techno, and on the other, the staccato drums and clipped textures that were then beginning to bubble out of Berlin and Cologne.

That brings us to the question of time. For if Snowboarding in Argentina belongs to nowhere, it is equally a product of nowhen.

On a practical level, the music took shape in the mid to late 1990s, although it took nearly 10 years for it to come to fruition. Brown and Taylor began jamming on instruments, then machines, in the late 1980s. Then, after Brown suffered a serious car accident, the two musicians began working together more seriously. Trial and error yielded a promising single with a downtempo vibe that a hired-gun studio producer promptly ruined; Swayzak retreated to their bedrooms.

They learned about Chain Reaction from a radio show, found new ways to burrow into the circuitry of their machines, and by 1996 they had hit upon their sound. brought 10 copies of the first to Berlin’s Hard Wax, sold them directly to the shop for a fistful of Deutschmarks, and turned around and spent the money on records; that’s how DIY electronic music worked in those days.) The album itself appeared in 1998 on London’s Pagan label and quickly built a cult following. It was clear that the music was in conversation with its contemporaries: Heard from the right angle, it was possible to imagine it as a halfway point between the proto progressive house of Underworld and the monochromatic minimalism of Kompakt. But it also didn’t quite sound like anything else around; it was a dispatch from an unknown territory that needed no special understanding to decipher.

A quarter century later, Snowboarding in Argentina sounds simply eternal. Certain hallmarks of ’90s production are available—the music’s almost murky warmth is a reminder of what electronic music sounded like before software swallowed everything into its digital maw—but there’s nothing dated about it. The exploratory nature of these tracks, as the result of experimenting with their machines’ limitations, never eclipses their musical or emotional essence.

Long since been deemed a classic, Snowboarding in Argentina remains an underdog in the annals of electronic music. Its semi-obscurity was surely not helped by the decision to publish nine of its original 12 tracks on the CD, and seven on the vinyl, with only four appearing on both formats. Twenty-five years after its original release, Lapsus’ Perennial Series edition unites, for the first time, all the album’s tracks as a single triple-vinyl package, rounding out the 12 original songs with previously unreleased material. Working off the original DAT premasters, Swayzak have created new edits of all the tracks. The result might be considered the definitive edition of the album as it was meant to be, after a 25-year journey. It seems fitting that an album so timeless would continue morphing throughout its lifespan. For fans, it’s the chance to hear a beloved album as never before. And for newcomers, it’s the perfect introduction to a record that, in its own quiet way, reshaped the sound of electronic music, opening up new frontiers unbound by cartography or calendars.

The core of Snowboarding in Argentina appeared on a series of three two-track singles in 1997. (Taylor brought 10 copies of the first to Berlin’s Hard Wax, sold them directly to the shop for a fistful of Deutschmarks, and turned around and spent the money on records; that’s how DIY electronic music worked in those days.) The album itself appeared in 1998 on London’s Pagan label and quickly built a cult following. It was clear that the music was in conversation with its contemporaries: Heard from the right angle, it was possible to imagine it as a halfway point between the proto progressive house of Underworld and the monochromatic minimalism of Kompakt. But it also didn’t quite sound like anything else around; it was a dispatch from an unknown territory that needed no special understanding to decipher.

A quarter century later, Snowboarding in Argentina sounds simply eternal. Certain hallmarks of ’90s production are available—the music’s almost murky warmth is a reminder of what electronic music sounded like before software swallowed everything into its digital maw—but there’s nothing dated about it. The exploratory nature of these tracks, as the result of experimenting with their machines’ limitations, never eclipses their musical or emotional essence.

Long since been deemed a classic, Snowboarding in Argentina remains an underdog in the annals of electronic music. Its semi-obscurity was surely not helped by the decision to publishnine of its original 12 tracks on the CD, and seven on the vinyl, with only four appearing on both formats. Twenty-five years after its original release, Lapsus’ Perennial Series edition unites, for the first time, all the album’s tracks as a single triple-vinyl package, rounding out the 12 original songs with previously unreleased material. Working off the original DAT premasters, Swayzak have created new edits of all the tracks. The result might be considered the definitive edition of the album as it was meant to be, after a 25-year journey. It seems fitting that an album so timeless would continue morphing throughout its lifespan. For fans, it’s the chance to hear a beloved album as never before. And for newcomers, it’s the perfect introduction to a record that, in its own quiet way, reshaped the sound of electronic music, opening up new frontiers unbound by cartography or calendars.

limited repress on white vinyl This sacred piece of vinyl will blow all your worries away! No introduction needed for the true new-wave/italo lovers, because what we have here are two of the most sought after holy grails: New Life and Grace. On top you'll receive four extra unreleased Three Of You tracks retrieved from the Italian 80's. Diamonds for tears on the beloved Bordello A Parigi label. Limited repress on white vinyl

The Mental Groove Classic series returns with a treasure trove of rare and hard to find tracks plucked from the personal collection of label founder Olivier Ducret, a pivotal figure in Switzerland's acid house and rave-era party scene.

On Volumes Two and Three of the series - the first installment hit stores in 2017 - the Mental Groove and Musique Pour La Danse label founder takes us back to the turn of the '90s, a time he spent promoting parties in fields, squats, forests, warehouses and former factories in and around Geneva and behind the counter of a record shopof the same name. While others in Switzerland's emerging dance music scene gravitated towards US house and garage, Olivier and his crew opted for a bass, breaks and techno-focused sound inspired by regular trips to clubs, raves and record shops in the UK.

Drawing directly from his own record box and a memory bank full of snapshots of euphoric dancefloor moments, Mental Groove Classics volumes Two and Three sees Olivier reaching for cuts of near-mythical rarity, genuinely overlooked gems, and undeniably brilliant tracks that have left a long-lasting impression on the local raving landscape. It's an autobiographical audio document, historical archive and personal musical statement all rolled into one, inspired by a moment in time where musical boundaries were being redrawn in a wave of carefree optimism and freedom inspired new rave scenes across Europe and far beyond.



Matt Anniss

Original artwork by Soho's Brain Club co-owner and artist of early British club culture Mark Wigan.

File under house, breakbeat, techno and warehouse rave music

Australian bass collective Echo Chamber get busy with this supreme VA featuring a range of talented friends old and new. LQ takes the lead with the sublime 'Way Down' that bubbles and flexes in two system-primed forms: the spacious heavyweight Dubkasm mix and LQ and MSHCode's own breakbeat-heavier shakedown. Flip for more LQ goodies as he links up with Kloke for the fittingly titled groove-up 'Computer Bubblers' while Duburban and Galvatron finish the EP with the furious drum funk up 'Let Off The Music'. The only echo here is the reload.

Alfred's visit to Viktor's hometown of Utrecht resulted in the creation of a new EP in which rhythm and color meet. The entire piece is infused with the 90s mood, including the timeless elements of that era projected through the distinctive approach of both artists. PJM is highly recommended for fans of 90s breakbeat and forward-thinking electronic music that combines nostalgia and innovation.

Once the door is opened, the listener is saluted by "Wuwuwu," a liquid breakbeat meditation with a touch of yesterday's melancholia. "Nnt," "No Tomorrow," and "Sss'' are of a different nature: mischievous and antsy. They utilize vinyl backspins and scratches, old-school drum loops and vocal exclamations in a slightly accelerated tempo, making them precarious dancefloor nukes that are sure to set the crowd ablaze.

The second release on Calibre's label remastered for 2024 with new label artwork.

At age 18, after flunking all but two classes, Coco Bryce (ne Yoel Yair) attempted to take a sabbatical from uni.

What was supposed to have been a mere twelve-month orientational period turned into two and a half decades of hard graft, culminating in this here album: City Pop.

The results are stunning, tho that's hardly surprising given the fact it took nearly a quarter of a century to finish.

First aired by Ratpack on Centreforce , this first collaboration by Col Trixta &Dubble Dunk has already become a classic in-the-making
Much like the hugely popular 'Dubble Dunk Vol 1', both tracks bridge genreshouse, breaks and old skool - with slammin' old skool pianos, stabs and familiarvocals.
Colin and Duncan have been plying their trade on the UK rave DJ circuit since theearly 90's and both held residencies at Slammin' Vinyl, United Dance, Freedom@Bagley's and now Strawberry Sundae together.

ddwy the duo from London is back on Public Possession. Naomi and Ronan aka Nangi and Inner Totality continue to impress with their blend of organic, rhythmic dance music. Mystic vocals intertwine with layers of cosmic melodies. This record is a must for Balearic D.J.s, but will likely also be played out in sleazy dark basements or Pubs in the British countryside. You’ll place it, people will embrace it. That’s a guarantee!

Hard Drive, formerly appearing on Vibe Alive Records in the 90’s as a two track ep, now remastered and featuring two new remixes. The remixes see the highly skilled artist Vers-e-tyle make his debut on vinyl, with Ruff Jam doing the remix honours for “My Melody”.

Musica Per Immagini is about to go beyond vinyl reissues of soundtracks and music libraries, with a brand new series of products.
From 2024 onwards, it will release a series of albums of contemporary and electronic music often "inspired by" different sources, both sonic, if not literary and cinematographic. A way to embrace the future without forgetting the past.

Heinrich Dressel's “Polarlys” is the first album of unreleased tracks published by Musica Per Immagini, or a soundtrack for a imaginary noir film set in the icy waters of northern Europe, inspired by the book “The Mystery of the Polarlys” by Georges Simenon. Drones and ethereal atmospheres are paired with a cinematic background in order to describe the frost of the northern seas and the restlessness of the journey: beyond the classic analog sounds, a specific use of additive and vector synthesis particularly in vogue during the Nineties and typical of vintage synthesizers.

Announcing Icon Roller's Debut Vinyl and Digital Release: "Anytime EP"
Following the success of Icon Roller's two digital-only releases, we are thrilled to announce the of his debut vinyl EP titled "Anytime EP." This highly anticipated release features four exceptional tracks that have garnered rave reviews and support from some of the most respected DJs and producers in the Jungle scene.
Tracklist Overview

A1. Anytime. The title track, "Anytime," is a masterful blend of influences from Source Direct and Total Science. It features filtered pads, dubbed-out effects, and intricately chopped-up Apache and amen breaks.
This track has received significant praise from Double O, who featured an early version in his Juno Daily mix. Jungle originator Bizzy B has also highly praised this track.

A2. Peaceful & Orderly. "Peaceful & Orderly" starts with a pulsing beep and filtered-down pad, as the filters rise, so does the track's energy, transforming it into a true dancefloor banger.
This track has received significant acclaim from the Bristol Jungle scene and has been played on radio shows by Amy Kisnobo (SWU/RinseFM), Leftarm (Eruption), and Aftershock (Afterdark Radio).

B1. Personal Riddem. Kicking off the B side, "Personal Riddem" is a dark roller featuring a warped, time-stretched melody.
This track has been played by Double O on his Rinse FM show and was featured in Bizzy B's YouTube show "Dubplate Wars," where it won the popular vote against nine other contenders.

B2. For The Listeners. "For The Listeners" is a chilled track that begins with a 2-step flow break and sampled Rhodes. In the second half, it transitions into more jungle territory with a syncopated and pitched break, offering a unique blend of styles that cater to both casual listeners and jungle enthusiasts.

Mastering and Production
The "Anytime EP" has been mastered and cut by Beau Thomas at Ten Eight Seven Mastering, renowned as one of the best in the industry. His expertise ensures that each track is delivered with pristine sound quality, providing an exceptional listening experience.
Stay tuned for the release of "Anytime EP" and join us in celebrating Icon Roller's debut vinyl release.

John Davis is a sound artist and filmmaker based in the Bay Area. Active since the mid-aughts, he has published recordings on labels such as Root Strata and Digitalis, as well as on his own Bimodal Press imprint. “Landlines” sees a return to the SOD catalog for Davis, following a full-length release in 2013, and may be seen as somewhat of a spiritual successor to that album. In all of Davis’ work, there is a specific pastoral sensibility that feels firmly rooted in the forests and coasts of Northern California, moving with the delicate and erratic cadence of dust motes rendered visible in bright sunlight. Opening track “Verichrome” articulates the soundscape wonderfully, stitching together Music Mouse-esque formant synthesis and meditative vocal sampling with an exquisite minimalist suite for prepared piano. Of these recordings, Davis himself writes, “In a general sense the conceit here is nostalgia, a desire to reflect on the importance of connection – to ourselves and to the world around us. The title is, of course, a euphemism for the telephone, but I am also considering landscape, horizons, and infrastructure, as well as the invisible lines that connect us, the threads that bind us, and the communities that form us.”

Footnotes continues its busy 2024 with a collaboration that crosses the Atlantic and has been years in the making. ‘All my Life’ brings together 2 of the finest MC’s in Drum and Bass set against the backdrop of LSB’s unique take on Liquid Funk.

All my Life see’s T.R.A.C. rapping out the joys of being a record collector in his whilst and Stamina sings about how he’s been searching for this all his life, a love song where music itself is the protagonist.

The B Side Vibe follow a similar theme but rather than about the love of collecting music they trade bars about the love of performing over subtle beats and lush string samples.

The nostalgic feel as well as the theme of both records suited a return to the more traditional single format with an A & B side and a single 45 rpm 12″ Vinyl. DJ support includes Lenzman, Workforce and many more

Max Graef, the trailblazing German producer is back, this time applying his sparkling flair and infectious appeal to the widescreen spectrum of psychedelic, starry-eyed jams of his third album, comfortably nestled into a bean bag in the backroom. Natural Element coincides with the 10th anniversary of his revered debut LP Rivers of the Red Planet, which remains a cherished high watermark for label and artist alike.

The first creation of Unfolded. A breakbeat track with a very happy and sunny soul. Real guitar and bass samples used. The voice of the wise Alan Watts explaining us the nature of the vibrations.

Any experience that we have through our senses
Whether of sound or of light or of touch, is a vibration
And a vibration has two aspects,
One called on and the other called off
Vibration it seems to be propagated in waves
And every wave system has crests and it has troughs
And so life is a system of now you see it now you don′t.

"Evolution" wasn't originally planned as an album. While writing Subjects tunes, it felt like certain tracks were naturally fitting together, and could be part of a bigger project. Still, Tony and Lee decided we should only do an album if it truly felt like something special - the best release we've ever done. Otherwise, we'd just stick to smaller EPs. Well, after many months of work, I think we've reached our goal. We're both incredibly proud of "Evolution" - and hope you all like the tracks as much as we do.

Repress

Grey Vinyl

Laurent Garnier select new tracks for QRV.200.SPK.24 by six COD3 QR favourites Jules Wells, Skatman, Works Of Intent, Squal G, YANNLEAN and Joaquim Plossu.



Following June's "QRV.172.TAM.24", featuring tracks by Avision, DJ Deep and Deetron, Laurent Garnier's COD3 QR label is back with another vinyl-only release. This varied 6-pack, coded "



Skatman, the Berlin based, Tunisian born DJ, producer and label head of Cognitive Prophecy follows up his huge COD3 QR track "Tribute to a Dancefloor" with the deep, groovy and aptly titled "Transcending House". He has already gained recognition for his approach to electronic music, bridging the gap between classic and contemporary with tracks on Innervisions and Correspondent, becoming one of the most intriguing and captivating artists.



Jules Wells who delivered the infectious "The Clap" on COD3 QR 016 is back with the retro House sound of "Dreamer". Jules Wells is from Bordeaux, France. Strongly influenced by the Motor City, Jules has released on the likes of Submerge, Twilight 76, KMS, Planet E, Brique Rouge and Logos (Macedonia).



Works Of Intent, a core member of the UK South Asian collective DAYTIMERS and Emotional Weaponry label owner, has recently released an acclaimed guest mix for the legendary John Digweed's Transitions radio show. Known for his ability to blend emotive storytelling with rhythmic precision, he follows up his "Richer Sound" album (released last year on the label) with the intricate and uncompromising "Subversive".



Producer and manager of the Slates Records label, Squal G is a French artist who has been passionate about electronic music since the early '90s. Initially, he practised his art as a DJ before turning to machines and computers as he progressed with production. Never sticking to a single style, instead, allowing inspiration to lead him, he nevertheless remains in the Techno spirit, as heard on "Waiting 4U".

A multi-faceted composer and DJ, Yann Lean also works as a sound engineer for himself and other artists. Whether working as a duo with Madben and their side project Trunkline or as a solo artist, he has won the trust and support of prestigious labels such as KMS, Bedrock, Planet Rhythm, Skryptom and Materia, as well as COD3 QR who released "Hope" in 2020. Now he's back with tribal drums on "To Get Close".



French born, Mexican resident Joaquim Plossu has been making music as a producer, multi-instrumentalist and sound designer for the past 20 years with releases on COD3 QR, 31 Recordings, Fokuz, Repertoire, Deep Heads, Planet Rhythm and more. Both music composer and producer for TV and films, as well as Drum & Bass producer in his spare time, he teams up again with Leeds (UK) based Salem Focus (Fokuz Records / Soulvent / Galacy) for some energetic D&B on closing track "Cosmic".

After more than 6 years of silence, Abschaum is finally back with a new album, and it was about time because this new opus is sublime!!

‘Shamanic’ Chris (Abschaum’s mastermind), made alone this magnificent piece of Folk, Ambient, Kraut music, that he carefully recorded in the mountains of Jura, experimenting with his guitar and a little electronic set-up, composing beautiful melodies and singing French lyrics with powerful voice to bring us to another level of harmonies, the all merged with special atmospheres that are not without remembering Eno or Froese sometimes. In our opinion, this record could easily been recognise as a timeless masterpiece in the future.

Color Vinyl Repress

Inspired by The Twelve Ornaments, a group of ancient Chinese symbols and designs associated with auspicious qualities and virtues. Aleksi Perala uses the colundi scales to heal and inspire with this specially blended collection of tracks. The power of repetition paired with the selected frequencies makes for a transcendent ambient experience.

Raw Culture indulges one of its trusted crazy horses for a second time. Artistically born in some seedy basement in Livorno and raised on bread, voice and DIY, Anna Funk Damage presents his album Church of the Poisoned Minds.

8 sonic artifacts resulting from the combination of a well-established Italian talent and the alternating current running through the circuits of his synths (and probably to the curses on her bills). Post-punk attitude spanning wacky grids and wild bpm’s.