Beats News

With a string of sought after releases since launching last year, London label 'OPIA' are set to debut their sub label, Euphoric State. The London based label have built a solid reputation in a short space of time with 6 releases since 2018, releasing many respected names that position themselves firmly in the underground.

'EuphoricState001' is a certain nod to sounds of the past as they call on A² and Stopouts for the inaugural release, known best for their adventures on Alien Recordings in the late 90’s. The ‘Go With the Flo’ EP is the outcome of several studio sessions between 1998 and 2002 at Penthouse Studios (positioned at the top of their parents house).

Opener ‘You Gotta’ picks up the pace from the off, swooshing pads create a dream like state, opposed to the slick drum work involved. Keeping it driving on the A side is ‘Bliss’ pushing tribal drums but elements from the title exist through out. On the B side ‘Techfest’ comes in more sub heavy, with trance like keys progressing the track, more broken and building compared to the other tracks. Rounding off the Euphoric State launch is ’Suits You’ killer highs, and wavy elastic synths are the flavour here.

The debut from OPIA Records sub label, Euphoric State.

Discos Transgénero re-issue the Marnie Weber classic first solo LP, “Songs Hurt Me” originally from 1989. This seminal record was an important part of the Los Angeles post-punk performative art rock scene. Brooding synthesizers, heavy bass, strange melodies, and poetic lyrics lead you through an industrial journey. These songs were born from Weber’s earliest performance art characters: a deer, an old woman, a manic courtesan, and a butterfly. Songs Hurt Me was originally co-produced by Phillip Drucker AKA Jackson Del Ray of Savage Republic and 17 Pygmies fame.

Marnie is a pioneer in art rock from the 80’s in Los Angeles. She emerged early in the music scene as the bass player in the Party Boys, a formative and important Los Angeles post-punk downtown art scene band. During this period, the Party Boys performed shows with The Minute Men, Savage Republic, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fourwaycross, The Blue Daisies, Perry Farrell’s first band Psi Com, Camper Van Beethoven, and many more. Bruce Licher of Independent Project Records, whom Marnie met in art school, released the first Party Boys record. After performing with the Party Boys, Marnie went on to become a noted solo performative art musician in her own right. She has released five solo records and numerous group album releases.

As a visual artist Marnie created the cover of Sonic Youth’s A Thousand Leaves album – interesting to note Marnie is the hamster girl on the cover. She also designed posters for Sonic Youth and did a co-release of her second album with Thurston Moore on his label Ecstatic Peace. Expanding from her musical roots, Marnie exhibits artwork, films, sculptures, collages, sound installations, and costumes internationally in museums and galleries. She has had two extensive survey exhibitions of her artwork ­– most recently at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Geneva.

Songs Hurt Me was remastered by Mark Wheaton at Catasonic Studios Los Angeles using the original tapes for an unprecedented restoration of this historic album. Discos Transgénero has thoughtfully designed and pressed the reissued LPs in Germany. This unique edition of Songs Hurt Me is a limited release of 400 copies distributed worldwide.

A new chapter of the very well received MINIMAL SIGNALS V.A. compilation series is here. Again, MINIMAL SIGNALS aims to capture what's hot on the international minimal dark and post-pyunk scene. On this occasion, the american solo project DANCING PLAGUE, the Berlin based MARTA RAYA, the german HOLYGRAM remixed by the french chevalier of synths COLD COLORS and the french SYDNEY VALETTE remixed by his compatriots THEREMYNTH makes of MINIMAL SIGNALS VOLUME 4 a must have for the autumn 2018. It the It arrives on 12 Maxi-Single EP format and produced in a ONE-OFF truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid WHITE vinyl. All tracks have been specially remastered for LONG CUT vinyl by Eric Van Wonterghem

Forever lost single track from Caroline K real name Caroline Kaye Walters - founder member of Nocturnal Emissions, one of the best UK experimental/industrial music groups in the 1980s. Conceived at her Brixton studio in 1983 during the same sessions of "Don't Believe It's Over, "Mirrorball" sounds heavily inspired by "Blue Monday" from New Order, unveiling an unexpected pop side from the British experimental artist, here with the help of Beverley Ireland at the voice.

Caroline Kaye Walters formed Nocturnal Emissions in 1980 with Nigel Ayers, contributing voice, synthesizer, bass and drum programming to the group’s early releases. She and Ayers also co-founded Sterile Records (1979-1986), one of the key underground imprints of its time, home to music from the likes of SPK, Lustmord and Maurizio Bianchi. In later life Walters retreated from the public eye, and in 2001 married Daniel Ayers (Nigel’s brother, also of Nocturnal Emissions, and her collaborator in The Pump), moving to Garfagnana, Italy, where she resided until her death from leukaemia on July 12, 2008.

Mannequin Records head Alessandro Adriani goes once again at the remix duties with a nearly 7 minute minimal-electro-balearic remix, overheating his Roland Tr-808/909/707 with delays reverbs and flangers and updating the original track for the dance - floor.

Der britische Synth-Wizard James Holden tut sich zusammen mit dem polnischen Klarinetten-Guru Waclaw Zimpel für die "Long Weekend EP" mit 4 faszinierenden Kraut-Improvisationen, die im Sommer 2018 zusammen mit Zimpels Langzeit-Kollaborateur, dem Gitarristen Jakub Ziolek, aufgenommen wurden. Die EP ist eine exzellente Kooperation zweier wahrer Meister ihrer Instrumente, deren unterschiedliche Wege sich hier in der gemeinsamen Liebe für hypnotische und trancige Klänge kreuzen.

"Like Robert Palmer on Es" - Piccadilly Records

"Hotly tipped British hustlers" - DJ Mag

"Radiophonic borderline funk that makes a mutha smile!" - Bootsy Collins

It's a third trip out on vinyl for us here at Sprechen and steering us through the surf is Manchester 6 piece 'See Thru Hands' who drop seriously sanguine vibes on their lazer guided single 'Connectivity'.
A self-produced alt-pop banger from the collective which fully delivers on all things 'disco-not-disco-synth-funk-dancefloor heater' vibes, which brings to mind peak 80's Chaka Khan partying with LCD Soundsystem & A Certain Ratio at Paisley Park.

Remixes for every occasion on this one with Skream cranking up the Italo disco-o-meter to 14 on his bass driven peak time banger for large room raving while Jorja Chalmers takes the party back to a smokey shebeen on her mix that sounds like Tricky sharing a blunt with Aphex Twin whilst King Tubby twiddles the dials!

Our very own Massey finishes off the package with a mucky tops-off style gutter pumper which belongs in those basements you'll often find him and many like-minded souls dwelling within.

Second Installment of the Sameheads’ bi-annual vinyl compilation highlighting the Berlin based bar, club, playground, space, collective, cult, - whatever’s musical mavericks. An-i, Franz Scala, Alexander Arpeggio & Marlene Stark, Epsilove & Ohlandy, Anklepants and Umlaut are all featured at the top of their game. A unique-clutch of oddball bangers. Essential!

Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Alexander Molero is no stranger to the exotic idealism that westerners have towards South America. A move to Barcelona a few years ago gave him new notions of how the Amazon was imagined by the west. The inspiration for this record came from the book by Anton Goering "Vom tropischen Tieflande bis zum ewigen Schnee" and was also influenced by the writings of Victor Segalen and the visions of Werner Herzog in “Fitzcarraldo” and “Aguirre”. The way that these artists explored and romanticised ideas of the unknown were the trigger for the creation of the sounds heard in “Ficciones Del Trópico".

Using a Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer, Molero creates an enigmatic and utopian voyage inspired by the tropical and exotic desire of European’s first contact with these foreign and unexplored sites. For his first record, he wanted to create soundscapes for the wilderness reminiscent of the European explorers that faced the unknown and beyond of the Amazon forest in the 19th century. Eight pieces, 44 minutes, with titles referencing birds, animals and landscapes that simulate a continuous discovery.

The spirited patterns of the pieces invite you into Molero’s mind and to explore the way his imagination materialises into sound. Developed and recorded during 2017 and 2018, “Ficciones del Trópico” resonates references and soundscapes that Molero has conceptualised over the last decade.

The constant structure and rhythms created a unique – and continuous – sound-aesthetic. Molero’s tropical fiction is like diving into the sea with Jürgen Müller, exploring Alpha Centauri with Tangerine Dream or building new exotica through the lens of Mike Cooper. But this time everything happens in a jungle.

320 is the first release of a series of various artists which has deliberately put together Dead Husband, WLDV, Mynationshit and Cold Colors. In fact, just like in future compilations, this will always be a substantial premise for the label considering that these artists will always be esteemed and sometimes part of the Waste Editions family.

You would think that a small country like the Netherlands has very few isolated places, but buried in the south-west corner you will find the region of Zeeuwsch Vlaanderen. Just before the Westerscheldetunnel was built in 2003, the area was only reachable by ferry or over land through Belgium. By the late 1970s, in the region's small city of Terneuzen, a group of like-minded music lovers were inspired by punk music and formed a series of bands together. A number of the musicians first met in high school, and it is here where we find Danny Bosten (Das Ding) and his label Tear Apart Tapes. If you played music you had to have a label to release it and because you had a label you needed to make music. It was a logical and circular process, and despite being isolated, nothing stopped them from bringing new music to Terneuzen. Up till today the label releases cassettes just like in the olden days as well as a string of 7-inches with new music by Das Ding, Les Yeux Interdits and Ian Martin. Each of these releases carries a similar visual aesthetic to the label's early 1980s output. All of them sold out quickly, but luckily they are now collected here on this LP.

Absolute Body Control was formed by Dirk Ivens in 1980 influenced by the sound produced by the likes of Suicide, D.A.F. and the UK electronic scene. Eric Van Wonterghem joined the project next year just after the release of the debut 7" "Is There An Exit?". They released together just some cassettes during its brief initial run, but this was enough to gain a following in and outside Belgium. A compilation of tracks entitled "Eat This" was eventually done in 1993 and a first edition of the collection "Lost / Found" was issued on CD in 2005.

Dirk and Eric took the project back on stage in 2006 and decided to re-activate it. They first re-recorded some of their classic songs for the album "WindReWind" and then continued releasing new material and touring all Europe and beyond.

"Lost / Found" is the definitive collection of this minimal-synth-wave act and is now available for the first time on vinyl record with a total of 52 songs including 8 previously unreleased.

Limited edition of 1,000 copies with 4 records on individual sleeves, insert and numbered certificate.

The italian project Zero Call produces pure Italo Disco with perfect brushes of ebm- infused retro synthwave. Punchy snares, pulsing basslines and dramatic synths behind monochromatic female spoken vocals. Including the main track “Stellar Wind” + 2 remixes by Technobeton and Arkademode + 2 recovered tracks from his past discography. All tracks have been specially remastered for LONG CUT vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studios.

On their self-titled debut album, the German-Indian project Hotel Kali present the results of what started as a brief residency for Theresa Stroetges a.k.a. Golden Diskó Ship in Kolkata and ended in her joining forces with double bass player Debjit Mahalanobis, synth enthusiast Varun Desai and the versatile songwriter Suyasha Sengupta. "Hotel Kali" is a living, breathing entity that theoretically picks up on many different musical traditions but in practice challenges them all. Four different individuals find a common ground somewhere between and far beyond cosmic rock, experimental dance music, and adventurous post-rock.

Coming to the table with a fresh mutant sound, Darker Than Wax is proud to welcome Leeds-based artist Captain Over to our sonic universe with his Deep Blue EP. A solo project from one of the minds behind the band Paper Tiger, Captain Over represents a firm focus on dancefloor experimentation, blending the sounds of grime, broken beat, house, and LA beat music to create an entirely new beast. Much like the chess-playing supercomputer of the same name, ‘Deep Blue’ occupies a space between electronic weight and the human touch, fusing together icy digital synths borrowed from grime with off- kilter grooves and jazzy motifs.

Following a string of releases led by vocal tracks with grime MCs, ‘Deep Blue’ is the first fully instrumental offering from Captain Over, lending the artist a platform to make a strong statement about his creative vision and technical prowess. From the expansive arrangement of ‘4D’ to the duelling sci-fi synths on ‘Mind’s Eye’, the Deep Blue EP is a deeply creative yet functional record, signalling a bright future for the Captain Over project.

“Long awaited debut single by young french-argentinian Luna Cedron. Having a very rich musical background from flamenco to trap, from french punk and noise to underground club sounds, Fiesta en el Vacio is developing a strange world of its own, dark, fragile and poetic. The present record is bathed in organ-like synth and spanish singing, very tense on A-side (walking too fast on an empty dark street) and almost numb on the B-side (lost in an unknown bright garden with no way out.)”

First vinyl release for Shingo, DJ and producer from Japan currently based in Berlin.
A three tracks EP characterized by deep and engaging bass lines, acid and hypnotic sounds with house synths.

With her second album SODA, Belia Winnewisser continues on the path she has been following for quite some time. Few share the Swiss artist’s knack for combining a sensibility to the enthusiastic potential of pop with an interest in niche references of experimental sound design. In recent years, her feel for this fusion brought Winnewisser to the attention of the electronic club music scene. This world and the various genres related to it leave their mark on SODA: sing-along anthems like “So Real” and the densely layered drone of “They Cry of the Sirens” stand alongside the feverish dance track that gives the album its name and rave bombs like “Solen.” A year without club nights allowed Winnewisser to fully embrace her flair for pop and experimentalism, which resulted in more than a mere series of nods to different genres and acts. SODA—both as a resonant title and as a collection of music—is a direct call without hidden meanings or implicit references. It’s simply the path she’s on and the way she’s going.

Enter a world of post-IDM, ambient and reggaeton, with a progression of deep synths, reverb, and percussion whose rhythms are born from the southern hemisphere. This is the world of DJ Python, a.k.a. New York based producer Brian Piñeyro, who also sometimes goes by Dj Wey, Deejay Xanax, and Luis. Making his Dekmantel debut with an extended EP of contemporary electronica, fashioned in his cult unique style, Python brings his deep-reggaeton style to the Dutch imprint.

With his first LP Dulce Compañia released in 2017, Python extended his cult status in the electronic music sphere with motives of ambient, and tropicale, all the time keeping his music deeply rooted in classic underground dance music. Along with a Breaking Through feature on Resident Advisor, an almost legendary appearance on Boiler Room — in which he ignited the room in Santiago with bellowing reverbs —, extensive touring, and a residency at New York’s Nowadays (healthy programmed by the team behind Mister Saturday Night), Python has dutifully snaked his way in today’s cult artist category. Making his next step with this six-tracker on Dekmantel, Python aggrandises his prestigious drum sequencing, merging the world’s of drone-driven electronica, cerebral synths, and steely out-of-this-dimension-dancehall.

The EP’s pening track 'Lampara' snakes and twists, like a rugged 90s London broken-beat, electronic exploration, evoking nostalgic feelings a la Boards of Canada. The retro aesthetic flows through with second track 'Tímbrame', where the tropical reggaeton percussion floats through wafty, deep synth melodies and chimes, like a vibey, emotive, come-down, get-down, post-party dancefloor filler. 'Cuando' steps up a gear, as the digital percussive rhythms go into overdrive, while 'Espero' goes all Gaussian, by offering a transportive, meditative expression. 'Be Si To' pulses into full Phython territory, chops-and-cuts-and-slices across a sleuth of Warping, proto-drones. The record’s final track 'pq cq' is a singular question mark about darkness, feeling, and trans-dimensional thinking, as the track shifts in-between kicks that feel one and the same between past, present, and the dub.

Leoparden dive into the summer with the warm, lovely space anthem "hoyt oppe" and the dancing synth-disco groove "Lopebass" on the B side.

Cinematic Vintage Synth and live drums project by Lance Ferguson (The Bamboos, Menagerie, Rare Groove Spectrum, Lanu). Turquoise coloured double LP incl. download card, limited to 300 copies worldwide.Imagine drummer Bernard Purdie playing with Ryuichi Sakamoto, or perhaps Clyde Stubblefield joining Cocteau Twins. An immersive album that recalls Boards Of Canada, Four Tet, Air, and Tycho.