House News

Repress 2023 !

Synthesiser music from Japan on Safe Trip. Lovely! TIP..!
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The label say:

STRICTLY CLASSIFIED - JULY 2017, AMSTERDAM, NL

WE WRITE TO YOU WITH THE CONCLUSIONS OF OUR INVESTIGATION INTO THE SYNTHESIZED AUDIO TRANSMISSIONS PICKED UP BY THE DEEP SPACE TELESCOPE AT IRREGULAR INTERVALS SINCE 1986.

AFTER MANY YEARS, WE PINPOINTED THE SOURCE OF THE EAR-PLEASING FREQUENCIES. THEY WERE BEING TRANSMITTED FROM A SECLUDED BUILDING IN KAWASAKI', JAPAN. A KEY TO THEIR ORIGIN WAS FOUND ON THE VIDEO-SHARING SITE, YOUTUBE'.

WHEN WE VISITED THE BUILDING, WE DISCOVERED IDENTICAL TWINS, HUDDLED AROUND A SYNTHESIZER MANUFACTURED BY THE CASIO COR-PORATION. THE TWINS TOLD US THAT THEIR NAMES WERE SATOSHI AND MAKOTO, AND THAT THE SYNTHESIZER MODEL NUMBER WAS CZ-5000.

WE WERE STILL PUZZLED ABOUT THE MUSIC WE HAD HEARD, WHICH WAS LARGELY AMBIENT IN NATURE, POSITIVE IN TONE, AND POSSIBLY EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL IN ORIGIN. UNDER INTERROGATION, SATOSHI AND MAKOTO CLAIMED THAT THEY HAD CREATED EVERY MELODY, DRUMBEAT AND MUSICAL PHRASE USING THIS ONE PIECE OF JAPANESE-MADE MUSICAL HARDWARE.

WE DOUBTED THEIR VERSION OF EVENTS, SO ASKED FOR A DEMONSTRA-TION OF THEIR WORKING METHOD. ONCE THEY HAD SHOWN US HOW THEY SHAPED, PLAYED AND SEQUENCED SOUNDS, WE ACCEPTED THAT THE TRANSMISSIONS WE HAD RECEIVED WERE INDEED CREATED ENTIRELYUSING THE CZ-5000. SATOSHI AND MAKOTO SAID THAT THE AUDIO TRANSMISSIONS WE WERE INVESTIGATING HAD BEEN MOSTLY BEEN CREATED THROUGHOUT THE 1990S, UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY JAPANESE TECHNO, THE ORB, YMO, KRAFTWERK AND LOTS OF SOUL'.

WE ASKED TO BE PROVIDED WITH A COLLECTION OF THESE TRANS-MISSIONS, WHICH HAD NEVER BEFORE BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. SATOSHI AND MAKOTO KINDLY PROVIDED US WITH A COMPACT DISC, ON TO WHICH WAS SCRIBBLED THE CODE ST006'.

WE BELIEVE IT IS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST TO MAKE THESE REMARK-ABLE SYNTHESIZER COMPOSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR WIDER RESEARCH. WE HAVE THEREFORE PASSED THEM ON TO THE SAFE TRIP' ORGANISATION. THEY WILL MAKE SUITABLE ARRANGEMENTS FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

AOTN proudly present a new solo outing from long time friend & contributor to Athens of the North, Other Lands aka Gavin L.Sutherland.

Channelling his considerable improvisational skills to evoke notions of island life, his concept was to create something that could work equally well in the wilds of the Western Isles as in the sunnier spots of the world that we all yearned to escape to at that time. The more he played with this idea of groups of islands, of archipelagos the world over, the more it also became about people themselves experiencing isolation as individuals, while still feeling a sense of togetherness with others in the same boat.

Working a little at home but mainly here at Athens of the North studios, he would come in each day over the course of a few weeks and just hit record, playing at times almost without mind. Sometimes the mood would call for keys, strings, or drums through delays for days and days. Often, the music would happen by chance as much as by design. One rule he tried to adhere to was to not overthink things, capturing moments honestly with minimal editing or digital processing.

What we've ended up with is a beautiful, spontaneous, timeless and honest meditation on what it is to be at once both alone and part of a larger whole.

Kid Simius & Bonaparte widmen ihre gemeinsame neue EP dem balearischen Sound der Spät-80er/Früh-90er, der die Anfänge moderner Clubkultur markiert und als das Goldene Zeitalter Ibizas gilt. Die erste Single 'Astrid & Manolo' erschien bereits auf Permanent Vacation und beamt uns mit satten Naturklängen, Pianos und verträumten Pads direkt in die Vergangenheit. Die 'Good Things' EP auf Jirafa mischt nun balearische Elektronikwelten mit Indie-Pop und klassischen Songstrukturen und ist vollgepackt mit fesselnden Originalen wie der Lead-Single 'Good Things', begleitet von zusätzlichen Remixen von Maruwa und einem Edit von Lauer. Kid Simius & Bonaparte werden im Sommer 2022 auf einigen Festivals zu sehen sein und im Jahr 2023 auf ausgedehnte Tourneen gehen.

Following up 2021’s compilation 'and felt like...', ' ...it wasn't really me' can be seen as the missing part of a diptych, only separated by the passage of time, yet whole in spirit. Again, a familiar company of singular artists showcase remarkable unity in diversity. Similar to its predecessor, a rustic gloom glues everything together into a seamless whole, enabling the collective to transcend each unique contributors' musical voice elegantly.ambient

Mystery Circles is busy at the moment with a great series of tapes, albums and 7"s all dropping in relatively quick succession. This one is a nice heavy 180-gram vinyl long player with only 100 copies pressed. It's Brooklyn's Tyler Gilmore, aka BlankFor.ms, at his best, if you ask us. His highly textured ambient uses gorgeous spinet piano, dusty and degraded tapes and analog synthesisers to make for something that evokes deep memories and transports you to places you had long forgotten. It is a touching record that leaves an indelible mark.

Having lived and worked in numerous musical directions for many years, Semay Wu’s begrudgingly
faithful cello still remains at her side: from Merseyside, to Manchester, to The Netherlands, and now to
Central Scotland. Always trying to push age-old boundaries of how the instrument is viewed and heard,
her focus has led her to explore further collaborative and everyday improvisations, blending electronics
with mixed media and a variety of gestural art disciplines.

Raspberry Hotel is Semay’s first foray into recorded solo work. Finding it hard to stick to any one brief,
she filled out a room of a local studio space, with toys, everyday objects, instruments, and her cello.
Sitting on the floor, she recorded whatever came to mind. A week-long session of improvisations were
then taken home, spliced up and pieces were composed and mixed. Raspberry Hotel is made up of
fleeting, off-the-cuff performances, that can be listened to as separate tracks or as one long piece.

At the spearhead of the music press, Tsugi presents for the first time its selection in this vinyl CLUB from Laurent Garnier through Agents Of time and Vitalic.
















p 16 Cheek - Venus (Sunshine People) DJ Gregory Radio Edit

Mercury Prize and Grammy Award-winning James Blake releases the limited 12” of his Before EP on 18th December. The EP was launched in October with the track Before launched as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record In The World on BBC Radio 1. James also made his long awaited return to Boiler Room on 16th October doing a live stream DJ set from The Regent Theater in Los Angeles Paying homage to his London club days, Before sees Blake returns to his roots whilst showcasing the evolution of his music. For James, the EP is the expression of “a yearning for dancefloor elation”, a reminder that he has continued to be a DJ and continued to be plugged into underground club culture all this time, but also a statement of “finally having confidence to put my own voice on dancefloor rhythms”. Directed by Ryder Ripps, each accompanying visualizer reflects this sentiment.



Over the last decade, James Blake has emerged as pop’s most celebrated outlier. He introduced a singular sound on 2011’s James Blake, which was crowned one of “Top 100 Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014)” by Pitchfork. 2013’s Overgrown illustrated that rare ability to align the likes of Brian Eno and RZA on the same project, and was awarded the 2013 Mercury Prize. After 2016’s The Colour In Anything, Blake reached new critical and commercial peaks with Assume Form: his highest charting Billboard entry, the record has clocked over 600 million streams to date and saw James land a further Grammy nomination. Amidst all this, Blake still oversees 1-800 Dinosaur, which spans a club night, record label, and radio show.

A singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, James Blake also unassumingly operates as the engine behind some of the most influential albums of the 21st century. He produced choice cuts on Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. as well as JAY-Z’s 4:44 and Beyoncé’s Lemonade—to which he also lent his voice in both cases. Feature appearances span ‘Stop Trying to Be God’ with Stevie Wonder and Kid Cudi on Travis Scott’s epic ASTROWORLD and ‘King’s Dead’ with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and Future from the chart-dominating Black Panther: The Album. The latter not only went triple-platinum, but it also earned Blake his first Grammy Award in the category of “Best Rap Performance.”

Ko Shin Moon was born in 2017, at a crossroads between traditional Eastern strings and electronic music machines. After spending four years in India collecting folk instruments, Axel Moon discovered that his old friend Niko Shin had started a recording studio filled with analog synths and vintage gear. From this private haven, Ko Shin Moon create otherworldly, hybrid melodies where psychedelia meets space disco. Their credo: eclecticism, cosmopolitanism and hybridity. In this musical journey, repertoires, genres and times blend and form a new language.

In 2020, Ko Shin Moon started a series of EPs called Miniature. With this new body of work, Ko Shin Moon are paying tribute to pop and folk cultures from Maghreb to India, gently inviting listeners to travel through space and time. Each Miniature is a short, accessible format exploring the musical traditions of a different territory. The tracks are a dialogue between traditional instruments, vocals and electric / electronic sounds. For this series, Ko Shin Moon collaborates with craftsmen and craftswomen of a living musical heritage.

Miniature #1 was released in 2020 and is the child of encounters with Sara El Rawy (vocals), Mouna Hawa (vocals) and Amin Shahin (arghul) revolving around music traditions from Egypt and the Levant. Released this June, Miniature #2 is a free and humble exploration of Kurdish, Turkish and Greek repertoires. Ko Shin Moon deliver both original compositions and reinterpretations of traditional songs, in collaboration with Istanbul and Paris-based artists.

The vinyl 'Miniature I & II' brings together Miniature #1 and #2.

This year we have the chance to have onboard some of our favorite new talent from the scene with the like of Burrito Eats, Emapea, Oksami, Flughand and Wun Two. We also have the chance to have standard bearers like Okvsho, Saib, Handbook, Phonics, SamuW, Shuko and Vanilla.

We want to thank so much all the artists who took part in this project and that were as enthusiastic as we are in its realization. It’s been such a thrill since this venture started and this is just the beginning. Much love to all of you guys listening and supporting wherever you are.

PEACE.

Hip Dozer Fam.

Primarily recorded at my home studio in South London, Carrying Colour studio in Freetown, my old studio in Rotherhithe Old Police Station, and Casa Mahler in Spoleto.

Recorded on different pianos, including an upright in Freetown that had lost the felt of its hammers due to the humidity creating a harpsichord-like sound as the raw wood struck the
strings.

Other prominent instruments featured are Moog Grandmother, double bass, electric guitar and Juno-G.

Part of the piano recordings on 'Up' and 'Drift' were composed and recorded through April 2021, whilst I was an artist in residence at the Mahler & LeWitt Studios, Spoleto, for the 'Mahler, The Song of the Earth' project in partnership with Mahler Foundation. During the residency, I was studying and creating work in response to the life and work of Gustav Mahler, in particular 'Das Lied Von Der Erde' (The Song of the Earth) — a vast song cycle engaging with nature, forgiveness, friendship, and mortality themes.

While making this record, I wanted to explore what the natural environment means personally. I went on many trips into nature to engage with plant life and natural materials. These included everyday strolls around South London, walks with my mum in the hills surrounding Bath (Up), hikes through Freetown, the hills of Spoleto, up line in Ghana and nature sanctuaries in Sierra Leone (Wood). I found incredible examples of nature in all of these contexts, which I felt personally close to.

I made field recordings with my phone or Zoom recorder, documenting various birds, insects, monkeys, bats, plants, trees, stones and so on, which are all on the record.

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180g Vinyl (Transparent purple in clear vinyl).
Full colour inner sleeve.
Shrink wrapped.
Insert of a specially commissioned text by Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck.

Needwant Records arrive with the latest in their ever-evolving roster showcasing the sounds of underground city life, proudly presenting label newcomer NATE08's kaleidoscopic debut LP, 'Furaha'.

London-based label Needwant Records have been tirelessly advancing dance music's esoteric fringes for well over a decade, with their immaculately curated catalogue routinely moving dancers and garnering respect and plays from the industry's most revered tastemakers. Here, the newest recruit to the label's glittering line-up, Mumbai-based musician, producer, and DJ, NATE08 brings forth his breathtaking inaugural album.

Equally adept as a producer, session bass player, and genre-spanning selector, Nathan Thomas has become an irrepressible force in India’s blossoming underground music scene. The Mumbai-based musician’s solo project, NATE08, treads the groove-oriented territories of funk, r&b, and house – with his elegantly spun productions firmly rooted in dance music's glorious heritage while imbued with a future-facing production gloss.

Title track 'Furaha' blissfully sets the tone for what's to follow, with dextrous Latin guitar gliding over intricate percussive waves as heavenly chords fill the sun-kissed panorama. Upping the energy just a touch, Azamaan Hoyvoy's honeyed vocal enlivens the summer haze of 'Trigger Fool', arriving over evocative chords and laser tight four/four rhythms to create a stunning slice of low-slung future house deepness.

The funk-flecked bump of 'Bunker' sees Nathan's bass mastery arrive in full force, with spirited slaps propelling misty chords and sublime guitar licks across a loose-limbed beat. Continuing the horizontal sensations, the captivating chord progressions of 'Hold Up' soar over thick, rolling bass notes and shimmering synth swells.

Lead single 'Sunrise Sundown' is a stunning example of NATE08's organically spun deep house prowess, with Jitwam's soul-drenched vocals cascading over succulent chords and dancing synth melodies as smokey beats and pulsating bass cement the heads-down groove. Next, hypnotic fusion guitar refrains soar over lively percussion and gentle pads for a life-affirming Balearic voyage, maintaining the carefree spirit while enlivening the senses as the arrangement heads for the horizon.

The 'Let's Go To Ibar' interlude makes way for the mesmerising deep house flex of 'Want You', where Megan Murray's yearning vocal provides the seductive hook as acidic bass notes bounce over glistening chords and propulsive beats. A prime example of NATE08's futurist intentions arrives in the form of r&b-meets-house hybrid 'Feel It', with Lojal's striking performance flitting between searing soul and street-ready swagger powers over an intoxicating, organ-infused bed.

The forward-thinking two-step rhythm of 'Cold Muse' sees broken drums drive emotion-heavy chords and bewitching guitar licks over sensual bass, before closing track 'Primrose' sees the album home with a fitting flourish. Here, Naisha's heartfelt vocals sail across an ocean of glassy chords and staccato synths, with kinetically charged congas enlivening the groove as the magnetic bass adds body to the celestial instrumentation.

Tricky is back. Back with a new studio album, False Idols, and his own label (also bearing the False Idols name), but also back in a personal sense. I was lost for ages, he says. I was trying to prove something to people, trying to do something to please other people and also myself at the same time, which is never going to work. To be honest with you, Ive been floating around since Chris Blackwell and Island. My last two albums, I thought they were good, but I realise now they werent. This album is about me finding myself again.
It opens with a cover of a Van Morrison song, Somebodys Sins, which sees Tricky and vocalist Francesca Belmonte whispering Jesus died for somebodys sins, but not mine over a sparse groaning bass. The lead single Parenthesis, which features a vocals from Peter Silberman of The Antlers, has more rhythmic grunt, which gives a different dimension to the dark gothic atmosphere that pervades the record. No-one does this kind of thing better.
The resemblance to Maxinquaye is undeniable, though the material on False Idols is gentler; more mature. Many of the songs feature artists signed to Trickys new label, including 24-year Londoner Francesca Belmonte and Fifi Rong. The album also includes collaborations with Nigeria's new global star Nneka, the afore-mentioned Peter Silberman. In the months before the albums release, False Idols will also release an EP "Matter of Time" showcasing the labels roster on new non-album material produced by Tricky.
Why the name False Idols Because theres so much bollocks going on at the moment mate, Tricky fires back. People follow celebrities and read every little thing they do. Its living vicariously through someone else. Get your own life. All this stuff is false idols. In this new album Ill stand behind every track, Tricky says. I dont care whether people like it. Im doing what I want to do, which is what I did with my first record. Thats what made me who I was in the beginning. If people dont like it, it dont matter to me because Im back where I was.

Repress !

One of music's most unpredictable characters Tricky is back with his new album Adrian Thaws, released in conjunction with !K7 Records and his imprint False Idols.
'Calling it Adrian Thaws is saying you don't really know me,' says Tricky, explaining the title of his 11th album. 'So many times people have tried to put a finger on me and every album I
go to a different place.'It's typical of one of music's most unpredictable characters that the first album to bear his
birth name is one of his least introspective. Adrian Thaws is a vivid, attention-grabbing set of songs which roamfrom hip hop to house, jazz to blues, rock to reggae. It was recorded in
Tricky's home studio in London, where he's living again after almost two decades in New York, Los Angeles and Paris, and features an international crew of collaborators: Francesca
Belmonte, Nneka, Mykki Blanco, Bella Gotti, Tirzah, Blue Daisy and Oh Land. It's designed to be played loud.
'I suppose this is my club/hip hop album,' he says. 'I've only heard my music a few times in a club but I grew up in clubs from when I was 14: blues parties, hip hop clubs, a few raves. I'm
not known for doing club music but this album has some club tracks on it — well, what I would consider club music.'
Tricky makes complicated music because Adrian Thaws has had a complicated life. Born in 1968, he grew up in an extended family that was both black and white, urban and rural, containing strong women and volatile men. His choice of cover versions is revealing. Janet Kaye's 1979 lovers rock classic Silly Games reminds him of his childhood in Bristol's Knowle West district. London Posse's 1990 track Gangster Chronicle harks back to his musical apprenticeship with the Wild Bunch and Massive Attack under the name Tricky Kid before he launched his solo career with 1995's startling Maxinquaye. Tricky has always used music to explore the different, sometimes contradictory facets of his
background and personality. 'I can be anything I want when I do an album,' he says. 'I could be a woman, I could bea man. It's great to be able to be all these different things.'

A long awaited solo debut from one of UK electronica’s most exciting names. Analogue machine funk, bleepy elegance, ambient highs and sublime melodies. A modern classic from Gilbert.

Slo -mo house at it's best deep shape, including the rare, sought after Maurice Fulton remix for Alice Smith 'Love Endeavour'. Compiled by Rainer Trüby.

We live in hectic, turbulent times. It seems season- and reasonable to slow things bit down. In fact: slow house down to what we calling now: SLOUSE. Implying down to earth club music, with a tapping foot under 116 beats per minute.
House music and its many sliding genres have ruled the clubs and charts, well, a special focus on the slo-mo house is well-deserved.
Rainer Trueby become a guarantee for vanguard soulful dance music and club tunes with such special vibe, which he had formidable approved not only as a DJ but also with sucessful compilations like - Glücklich', - Maiden Voyage' on Compost, DJ Kicks (K7) or compilations for Nuphonic, King Street, Talkin' Loud and other labels.
Rainer Trueby, an artist who spreads love like in the good old days, selected some of the best tunes on the planet, some rare, sought after like the rare Maurice Fulton Remix for Alison Smith - Love Endeavor', in demand tunes like S3A - Deep Mood Act2' or Ron Deacon's - Untitled', amazing discoveries like the Moonstarr tune, or a Laid Back remix, few underrated tracks, well all tracks are worth the grab and get played again & again. It's a full palette of slo-mo house flavors and moods as Rainer Trueby takes us on a magical trip into his imagination of Slouse.

The result is a future classic compilation with melodic and groovy masterpieces, made for your home-, garden-, car- , club listening pleasure. It works for the happy hour as well as the after hour.

Hope you love it as much as we do !

Timeless atmospheres, hypnotic sonorities, minimal arrangements. And a composer gifted with a never ending passion for music, experimenter in his genetic code, innovator by vocation, at ease with various instruments in order to forge avant-garde themes. Piero Umiliani was already forward in building completely new sounds in the late Seventies. “Tra Scienza E Fantascienza” finds his alter ego Moggi experimenting with alternative grooves, electronic music, jazz tunes and soundtrack motifs. One of the most interesting music libraries in the Italian composer's discography, reissued with a new remastering by Musica Per Immagini, is in full harmony with its title.

Science fiction has opened up our eyes to a variety of scenarios, possible or impossible, sometimes with a happy ending, sometimes apocalyptic, at times familiarly near, more often disarmingly far away, and always capable of inspiring our imagination. For the histrionic artist it took, perhaps, less of a cosmic leap to create this masterpiece. Centred on the cover, a strange creature with only one eye, its hands on a beaker containing a mysterious red liquid. To its right, a symbolic circle is imprinted on a sandy surface, and three bizarre constructions, similar to the volumetric flasks found in a laboratory, of differing heights and shapes. There is a strange blue planet in the distance.