House News

The Exit Planet Earth series continues with the first ever collaboration between two undisputed electro-funk heavyweights Egyptian Lover & Soul Clap. Egypt knows how to rock the TR 808 like no other and has been a true player on the LA electro scene since 1984. While Soul Clap have forged their unique E-Funk sound coming out of New York City as part of the Crew Love collective. The resulting track 'Hai Karate' is a slice of superbly produced classic electro designed to rattle bass bins from Miami to Mars.
Following form in classic electro directions, Futurenauts present their debut track 'We are the Futurenauts' that brings a slower based groove reminiscent of 'A Love from Outer Space' into the cosmos and delivers a powerful message to humanity. The flip sees a welcome return to 20/20 Vision from the Maltese magician Sound Synthesis who continues the vocoded vocals but adds a state-of-the-art assault on the senses with a slamming track aimed firmly at the discerning dancefloor. EPE 08 is finished off in fine style by Mick Wilson & August Artier with 'Akira's Cry', which fuses a deep house bassline and chords with tight break beat programming and powerful lead strings.

The notorious Glasgow producer, Fear-E is back on Hilltown Disco, after originally appearing on the Dundee imprint in 2019, this time with 4 tracks of techno-infused electro, plus a dance-floor geared remix on the A-side from one of the original Hilltown Disco collectives, J Wax. Fear-E runs wild, broadcasting apocalyptical electro sounds, creating a seriously heavy-duty record to soundtrack the end of society in worlds not too dissimilar to earth. Punchy kicks, disturbing vocals from the mystical Mike James, and venomous sirens create a fresh take on the sound. No nonsense electro. It's all in the game yo!

ODESZA veröffentlichen ihr viertes Album auf Ninja Tune inklusive Features von The Knocks, Bettye LaVette, Låpsley, Izzy Bizu, MARO, Ólafur Arnalds, Julianna Barwick & Charlie Houston.

ODESZA veröffentlichen ihr viertes Album ’The Last Goodbye’ auf Foreign Family Collective/ Ninja Tune. Es ist das bisher ambitionierteste & emotional mitreißendste Album des Grammy nominierten Duos. Ein Projekt voller Glanz und Emotionen, nostalgisch und doch in der Gegenwart verwurzelt, ist es ein mitreißendes Klangerlebnis, das Themen wie Verbindung, Erinnerungen und den Einfluss, den wir aufeinander ausüben, anspricht. Es ist eine lebhafte Feier der Menschen und Momente, die unsere Fingerabdrücke hinterlassen haben und die in der gesamten Platte widerhallen. Es ist das bisher persönlichste Album des Duos und eine brillante Sammlung, die Vergangenheit und Gegenwart auf euphorische Weise miteinander verwebt. Neben The Knocks, Bettye LaVette und MARO werden auf „The Last Goodbye“ auch Julianna Barwick, Låpsley, Ólafur Arnalds, Izzy Bizu und Charlie Houston zu hören sein. Das Produzentenduo ODESZA besteht aus Harrison Mills und Clayton Knight, die zusammen Musik zu machen begannen, nachdem sie sich an der Universität in Washington, USA, kennengelernt hatten. 2012 veröffentlichten sie ihr von der Kritik gefeiertes Debütalbum „Summer's Gone“, gefolgt von der 2014 mit Gold ausgezeichneten Platte, „In Return“, die an der Spitze der Billboard Dance-/ Electronic-Charts debütierte und die Platin-Single „Say My Name“ enthielt - ein Remix des Tracks von RAC wurde später für einen GRAMMY 2016 nominiert. Ihr drittes Album, „A Moment Apart“, wurde 2017 veröffentlicht, ebenfalls mit Gold zertifiziert und brachte ihnen zwei GRAMMY-Nominierungen für das beste Dance-/ Electronic-Album und die beste Dance-Aufnahme für die Gold-Single „Line Of Sight“ ein. Das Album erreichte Platz 2 in den UK-Dance-Album-Top 40 Charts und Platz 2 in den iTunes-Electronic-Charts im Vereinigten Königreich und debütierte auf Platz 3 der Billboard Top 200 in den USA.

Quartier Groove Records releases its first EP “Ritmo del Barrio” that features two club weapons from the Spanish electronic music vaults of the 90s, TYU’s remix of Bravo & Dj’s 1989 one-hit wonder “Difacil Rap”, and Richard Fribert’s rework of the early electronic rumba track “Sueño Almohade” by Sombra y Luz. Both tracks have been licensed and agreed with the original labels and writers, and will be limited to 300 copies.

On the a-side, an edgy club revision of a 90s hip-house track that was originally written by a group of DJs compelling us to join them for a wild night out. TYU’s remix, that only makes use of the rad rapapella, makes a perfect match to the daring call and takes us to a 90s rave of today in full style, with its bold drums, slappy snares, trancy synths and road-paving bassline.

The flip comes with Richard Fribert’s powerful and fearless hi-NRG rework of the experimental rumba song “Sueño Almohade” by Sombra y Luz, a track that makes a clear flirt with the history of Spain, a country that was once the Muslim ruled area of “Al-Andalus”. Spanish passion meets Arabic mystique in this hard, slamming, acid ride of an update. The result, a DJ weapon to be reckoned with.

The two tracks comes together to form Ritmo del Barrio EP, “Quartier Groove” in Spanish, the project by label heads Richard Fribert & MOQST that was designed to encourage listeners to search for more unknown and forgotten music in the most unexpected of corners of the world.

Four classic tracks from the Selador catalogue come to vinyl for the first time. Each one a Beatport Top 10 best seller in their own right, this is the sound of Selador.

Arriving some five years after the original 12" created a dance-floor paradigm shift, Roy Of The Ravers returns to Emotinium with an EP of updated retakes, complete with the previously unheard original demo mix in all its twenty minute glory. Emotinium first appeared on the '2 Late 4 Love' cassette in 2015, and caused a storm as part of a 4 track EP with the same name a year later. The track was played as a festival opener by the likes of Bicep and in Sameheads' Berlin basement parties - becoming a must-have that continues as today's second-hand prices testify.

A sense that the dreamy electro meets 303 melodics of the original could be brought up to (breaks) speed held in Roy's mind since creation, so Rave '22 is presented for hearts, minds and feet as we step(pers) out into an updated world. Cut, looped, and reformed, a braindance for millenniums.

This is accompanied by an Ambient Dub for the afters. Highlighting the TB-303's finest again, Roy's garden of dreams flies high, as artificial intelligence finally becomes reality. To close, the long-form Demo awaits. One for completists maybe but in letting the full 20 minutes play you can be drawn in or let go and drift as Tadao Kikumoto's masterwork is presented with respect. Arigato!

Spun Out Agency is honoured to present ‘More of that Frightful Oompty Boompty Music’, a compilation dedicated to the Guv’nor himself Mr Andrew Weatherall who should need no introduction on these pages. Released on vinyl in two beautiful parts, the first drops on April 15th with the second following two weeks after.

‘More of that Frightful Oompty Boompty Music’ (yes we are going to write that out every time we talk about it in this communique) showcases a selection of the shining greatness from the agency’s roster. Paranoid London, Fantastic Twins, Mehmet Aslan, Autarkic, Ruf Dug, Sean Johnston, and Manfredas gift exclusive tracks which highlight the sublime acid, techno and house sound that Weatherall would have described as “oopmty-boompty” music.

Spun Out is a London-based artist booking agency which has been run by Caroline Hayes for over 20 splendid years, that looked after the life and times of Andrew Weatherall alongside his partnership with Sean Johnston under their A Love From Outer Space moniker, and the likes of Optimo (Espacio), Ivan Smagghe, Josh Caffe, Man Power, Body Hammer, Kiara Scuro and many more artists, doing it differently.

Kicking off the A-side of the first record is Hardway Bros’ (aka Sean Johnston) previously unreleased remix of We Are The Axis by The Asphodells, the duo consisting of the Andrew Weatherall and former Battant member and Spun Out talent Timothy J. Fairplay. An energetic techno stomper with percussive rhythms, this exclusive remix offers the ideal tantalising dose to tease any dancefloor. The vocals and synth layers give it a punk rock approach, referencing the multi-genre essence of Weatherall’s taste in music.

Tel-Aviv-based Autarkic’s Sleepover closes the A-side with a chuggy lullaby, one that is certainly unsuitable for putting a baby to bed, given its intricate acid lines of total hypnosis. Following on the B-side is Manctalo Banger, a house bop by the Manchester-via-Ibiza computer game nerd and vinyl digger Ruf Dug, and Shizowaves, Turkish-born Basel-based Mehmet Aslan’s soulful touch to the compilation, bringing Middle-Eastern percussive melodies and catchy basslines.

The second record is introduced by Paranoid London, with a Spun Out dedicated acid techno banger appropriately titled Spinning Out and Fantastic Twins’ EBM track Kali’s Tongue Was A Weapon. On the B-side is Lithuanian chug legend Manfredas’ Hfuhruhurr, and Naum Gabo, who closes the compilation with the chaotic analogue-synth frenzy, Cold Sold. The name Naum Gabo may evoke the pioneer of Russian constructivism, who rose to fame thanks to his crazy kinetic sculptures. However, here it manifests as one half of Spun Out’s Optimo duo Jonnie Wilkes (JG Wikes) and James Savage. The duo’s impeccable manipulation of electronic hardware couldn’t give a better homage to him.

Some highlights for Spun Out artists this summer include 9 acts from the roster playing at Houghton Festival, Paranoid London’s show at Sonar Festival, Love International Festival and Ransom Note’s festival with Optimo Watching Trees.

Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy presents Balearic Breakfast Volume 1. An eleven track compilation of gloriously transcendent genre-hopping music inspired by one of the most listened to shows on Worldwide FM; most tracks impossible to find on vinyl.

How does one make a Balearic Breakfast?

You need to obviously start with one part blissful sunshine, rising over one part white sand, set to the sound of the sea looping back and forth. But what else - that perfect, idyllic backdrop aside - sums up that most important time of the day, specifically when spent right in the heart of the most glorious archipelago in the western hemisphere?

Luckily, DJ, broadcaster and producer Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy has perfected the recipe.

Colleen has been mixing together Balearic Breakfast shows on Worldwide FM for the last few years after starting in earnest during the first pandemic lockdown. Her shows offer a remedy to the pressures of the outside world; each is curated with the admirable aim of trying to “create a musical atmosphere for escape”, be it from bad weather or bad vibes.

Inspired by formative experiences at The Loft in NYC and on the terrace at Space, Colleen’s Balearic Breakfasts are endlessly eclectic and always inspiring, pulling together - in her words - a “hodge-podge of chill out, spiritual jazz, deep soul, percussive house, quirky disco, indie-dance and what may ‘traditionally’ be called ‘balearic’ (whatever that may be).” Basically, the kind of music you want to hear as the sun breaks over the horizon.

For her first Balearic Breakfast album (lovingly compiled for the ever-visionary Heavenly Recordings), Colleen has put together a set of songs that allow the listener to drift with her between myriad genres and join the unseen dots between them. The journey takes in shooting star ambient sounds, deep soulful hypno-house, ecstatic Neu-esque locked grooves, ethereal sea-shore jazz and Southern Hemisphere starlight disco, with tracks by artists such as Friendly Fires, Mildlife, Linkwood and Lady Blackbird (a track praised by Elton John, who called it “a groove that blows my mind”) and producers such as Andrew Weatherall (under his Asphodells alias), Ashley Beedle, Coyote, the late, great Phil Asher and Cosmo herself.

Flowing together, the tracks perfectly create that musical atmosphere for escape - a recipe for daydreaming yourself into a Balearic Breakfast state of mind. Tune in and leave the everyday behind. The sun’s rising overhead and the waves are at your feet, whatever time of day it is wherever you might be in the world.

Kommuna is back with the “Silent Uproar” EP featuring James Andrew with a special feel-good track that sets a positive dancefloor vibe through dreamy breaky rhythms. Driahn’s “Recreate” provides elegant breaks for what can be the perfect track for the obscure late hours.
The B-Side of the record is an energy blast with Driahn’s “Phazed & Confused” infectious groove bringing damage to the dancefloor and Pekkuliar’s ghetto-tech inspired track closing this versatile EP in an unexpected way.

Track by track, we build a Kommuna of well-established artists but also unknown studio dwellers who share a fixation for music discovery without following any trends or limitations.
ele

'Symmetry Systems' is the new LP by Dennis Huddleston AKA 36. Inspired by Warp's 'Artificial Intelligence' releases from the early 90's, it's a melodic, synthesiser-driven record, with a wink to the past and a nod towards the future.

"I have a deep love for those early Warp albums, particularly the Artificial Intelligence compilations. It was a wonderful time for UK electronic music. That beautiful, warm machine sound, with an optimistic (if somewhat naive) vision for the future. I found the whole thing incredibly inspiring and wanted to revisit those memories, albeit with a 36 twist"

Like 'Wave Variations' before it, this record explores various approaches to the theme, with each track directly inspiring the next one. All tracks are sequenced in the order they were made. 'Symmetry Systems' is a collection of hypnotic machine music, made with a delicate human touch.

Electro Spanish label Mars Frequency Records celebrates 10 years of life with a limited edition vinyl with new tracks from previously released artists: Mike Ash (United Kingdom), Robert Cosmic (Spain), Downrocks (Spain), Enigmatic Astronaut (Spain) and Fleck Esc (Japan).

Israeli producer Nenor delivers a 4-tracker of impeccably produced dancefloor weapons for his second outing on Razor-N-Tape.

Since releasing on Moodyman’s legendary Mahogani label a few years back and as part of duo Rabo & Snob, Nenor has been honing his craft in the studio, and now puts his skills on full display on an EP that ranges from the poppy disco house of 'How Can I Be Free' to the deep Larry Heard-esque textures of 'Do You Remember,' and the gritty underground bangers of the title track and 'Work That.' He did indeed take his time on this beautifully crafted record, and the result is something quite special.

The Maltese machine funk specialist himself Keith Farrugia is back once more with yet more of his impeccable electro business as Sound Synthesis. This time the prolific producer is shoring up on Burnski's Infiltrate label with four cool and deadly cuts which build on his previous drops for 20:20 Vision, Furthur Electronix, Orbital Mechanics and more besides. From the nervy sci-fi flex of 'Motor Space Maps' to the playful fun n' games of 'Back In Time', Farrugia knows exactly what he's doing within the electro blueprint, and his tracks are reliably punchy warm - a true master at work.

Seventh candy delivery from Bardouin Music with an atmospheric and euphorythmic EP by Lyon-based producer Hyas. This new chapter presents a dreamy and acid story with 5 vault gems - going through electro, speed garage and breakbeat with cloud-grazing synthesizers and echoing effects in the ocean’s depths. Welcome to the unexplored Angel Island Zone.

Back at it, the PXWHITE series returns with another round of electro re-works. This time giving Ludacris & Mariah the PXWHITE treatment alongside a glitched out remix from Planet Euphorique s D.Tiffany!

A world in flux; temporal and metaphysical realities questioned. The unit - us and self - entering a new phase. With two dark, discordant EP's of eccentric and kinetic music - the aim is connections conceived. Avidya is experience, seeing the ignorance and understanding in one.

002 starts with Aphonia, L.A. based producer and sound designer Matia Simovich's new solo (ad)venture. As part of Inhalt (Dark Entries / Emotional Especial), he pushes new wave and dark synth-pop for the future. Exploring rhythmic, long forms of ritual, Burning Fields' jacking schematics were conceived of and from the severity of the California wildfires.

Industrial, metallic, lo-fi Angels Of Pompeii are a by-product of Montreal's Italian diaspora, an assemblage of Matt D'Alessio (Temple Records) and Anthony Gallati (Solitary Dancer), who pay homage to the motherland's electronic pioneers like Kirlian Camera and Victrola. Moscow's sons, Odopt (Discos Capablanca / Hivern Discs) explore cavernous, virulent techno and soporific atmospherics and tonality in Athma. Finally, St Petersburg's Linja offers Retreat, a brooding aura of slo-mo-proto trance to wrap within the first essence of Avidya's crown.

It takes great courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still love it.

Four standout tracks plucked from the ISM vaults for this 12” Futurism sampler. On the A Ron Basejam gives a late-night twist to Alena – Changes, before Yam Who? teams up with the vocal talents of Natasha Watts for a modern-day interpretation of the Sha-Lor classic, ‘I’m In Love’.

On the flip side, PBR Streetgang aka Bonar Bradbury and Tom Thorpe go full funk with their stomper ‘J2ThaB’. Closing out the EP, Brothers Young let loose ‘Inferno’ featuring NY City's Brother of poetic license, D-Ham, whose narration takes listeners on a journey from back in the day when NYC’s underground scene consisted of merely a blue light, a basement and a feeling.

Dutch pioneer Sp@sms returns to U-TRAX with 'From A 20th Century Box' LP, backed with remixes from Bloody Mary and Cosmic Force

On 'From the 20th Century Box' Arno Peeters, aka Sp@sms, returns to U-TRAX with his debut full-length album. Showcasing years of sonic exploration stemming from his time in various groups including Random XS and Voltage Control amongst others, the LP also draws from his experience studying and teaching music at the Centre for Electronic Music as well as his work in project-based sound design.

Filled to the brim with pulsating arpeggios, crunchy drums and dark, moody atmospheres, the LP is marked by a retro yet timeless feel. Inbetween its snaking, squelchy synth lines and old school electro grooves Sp@sms masterfully incorporates playful textures and elements from found recordings and unused projects, resulting in a vastly versatile and experimental album fusing all things techno, acid and EBM.

An expert lesson in sound design and composition taught by one of the Netherlands' most trusted and experienced artists, the LP also contains remixes from Dame Music's Bloody Mary and Utrecht electro stalwart Cosmic Force and arrives via heavyweight, colored double vinyl, digital, CD and cassette mediums.

As is typical for a U-TRAX release, each physical version has its own set of tracks. The vinyl and CD versions also come with a in-depth interview with Arno Peeters, as well as extensive background notes for each track (on the album's inner sleeves and a 24 page booklet, respectively).