Search:mind to mind

'I'd always wanted Midlake to experiment more
with the arrangements, or to get more into
psychedelic textures,' says Paul Alexander, the
bassist from Denton prog-folk voyagers Midlake.
Those ambitions are fulfilled on 'Astropsychosis',
Alexander's debut album as Two Medicine,
released via Bella Union.
Richly ambitious in its sonic colour and conceptual
reach, 'Astropsychosis' is an album of luminous
space and mindful grace, its depths and details
coaxed into orbit with the lightness of an artist in
his element.

Part II The title of the project is: "An Intermediary Plane of Existence", an in-between world, a shadow zone, two universes, the place between the entrance and exit of a portal. Most electronic music producers probably know the feeling where they, after producing and recording a track they are extremely content with, are suddenly overcome with a slight fear: "what if my computer crashes, what if the file of the recording gets lost somehow and the music gets lost, it's gone forever...". That feeling and the fact that all music, ever written and even the music that has yet to be written, is "somewhere" when it's not
being played or made. It's either written down in notes, stored in
someone's mind, cut into a piece of vinyl, recorded on tape, converted into 0's and 1's hiding somewhere on a hard drive, a cloud, a CD or a USB stick. It's been taken form the place it was before it was made and stored in another place, in an intermediary plane of existence, waiting to be played, to come back to life and listened to again. We wanted to do this various artists album not with just any talented artist, but with people we've met the past years who became our friends and people we admire for their music and personalities. Friendship is also something that most of the time resides in an intermediary plane of existence. When a friend is not in the same room, city or even country it doesn't mean the friendship is not still there. If you've never even met
someone in person, it doesn't mean you can't be friends. Even if you haven't spoken to your friend for a long period of time, it doesn't mean the friendship doesn't exist anymore. The same goes for love I believe.
Some people you will never stop loving, alive, or dead. Both owners of P-RT-L lost their fathers within a week from each other last year, but I also know people who haven't seen or spoken to their dads or moms in over a year, yet somehow it feels completely different not seeing someone for a long time if you know a person is still alive, even though it's not sure you will ever see him or her again. Their dads went back to the place they were before they were born and they will never come back the way they knew them. Just like all music that went lost before we as humans had the ability to write it down, store it on a medium or pass it on otherwise. That exact music, just like their dads, is lost forever. I know this will probably sound a bit too philosophical for some of you readers, but it's something that keeps me awake at night, sometimes. This albums is a way for us to celebrate the fact that the music on it, will never be lost because we as humans have found a way to store and contain it in a place where we can easily reach it, for ever. We hope you will enjoy the music! P-RT-L Featuring artists: Alex Bau ,AnD,Anouk De Vos, D-Leria, Daniel Kane, Dasha Rush, Frame Six Micol Danieli

Led By Nigel Ayers And Caroline K, The Band Was One Of The First To Use Tape Cutting, Avant-garde Art, And Underground Video Works To Create A Stage Experience That Was Being Cultivated By Like-minded Artists Like Throbbing Gristle, Spk And Cabaret Voltaire.

Originally Self Released In 1988 On Earthly Delights, Spiritflesh' Is A Masterpiece And A Major Reference For The Early Drone/dark Ambient Minds.

By The Time The Album Came Out, Nocturnal Emissions Had Already Produced Several Albums Of Electronic Music Which Varied From Noisy To Funky. Displaying His Usual Perversity, Nigel Chose To Ditch Electronic Dance Music Immediately Before The Acid House Revolution And Produce A Series Of Utterly Compelling Atmospheric Albums Which Are Often Referred To These Days As Being 'ambient Industrial'.

"spiritflesh" Was The First Offering By The New Shape Of Nocturnal Emissions. The Record 'came Out Of A Long, Hard Thinking, A Personal Examination Of My Own Motives For Working Within Music.' Nigel Ayers Played Church Harmonium, Chime And Music Box On The Record, And Used Samples Of Chimpanzees, Cattle, And African And European Wild Birds. While Generally Ambient, The Music Is Not Like Brian Eno's Work; It Is Atmospheric, But Impossible To Relegate To The Background.

'there's Always A Dangerous Intrusion Of The Real World Into Our Music,' Ayers Said. 'we're Looking Into The Relationship Between People And The Environment, The Kind Of Feedback Which Happens Between People And Locations. Underneath It All, This Planet Has Got Its Own Message.'

"The bird songs which I had recorded in the West Indies in 1969 made me inclined to find out more about those of the nearby South American continent, and convinced me, moreover, that musically speaking, they possessed an unquestionable originality in comparison with those of Africa and Europa. I therefore decided to carry out a series of orthonological trips on this continent, starting with the North: Venezuela, and so, with this in mind, i disembarked at Caracas on 27th May 1972.

The unusual musical volume of this tropical country made its impact on my arrival in town, where the unbearably shrill chirping of the cicadas overwhelmed me each time I passed under a tree. At night fall, around even the meanest of ditches filled by the daily rain, myriads of toads and frogs struck up a concert, which, through its sheer intensity, muffled all other surrounding noises. When I penetrated the forest, I could hear bird species literally by the dozen and individuals by the hundred, all calling and singing together at dawn and at dusk..."
- Jean C. Roché

"Among many of his amazing records I came across Jean C. Roché's Birds of Venezuela, beautifully produced LPs of birdsong. I began to plan a trip to Amazonas, to record the unearthly song of potoos and Yanomami shamanism."
- David Toop

Jean-Claude Roché (May 11, 1931) is an French ornithologist and wild life field recordist. Roché recorded bird songs worldwide for over 30 years and released over 130 records out of his recordings.

Marquis Hawkes kicks off 2019 debuting on UTTU with 4 romantic house gems aimed at the mind, body and soul of the dance floor.

Its Rap and Roll, 2nd Generation.(1st generation was Run DMC, Beastie Boys,LL Cool J).A mash up of styles all under one album.. 

Trying to explain the immoral wrongs of the world within the world we come from... Re educating our selfs and saying what we believe in our songs.. Hence 'Teach Peace'. Education, housing, healthcare, food banks, racism, corporate greed, tax evasion, climate change, child abuse and religion all need to be addressed properly.

Not swept under the carpet to be covered up by the next scandal.. We need moral leaders who are strong and willing to die for they're beliefs.. Not selling their people down the river to the highest bidder!!... We all need to be speaking our minds about whats going on... Peace is the only way for everyone... Peace can be just as prosperous as war.. Even for the corporations..there's nothing wrong with making money. It's what you do with it that counts..

It just takes a little bit of time and thought. But greed leads to the inequality of more than 80% of our world.. We need to help people become aware of this.. It's not where we're from, it's where we're at!

Following On From Their Breakthrough Album "ego Death" This Is The Internet's 4th Album. A 14 Song Album Available On Double Lp And Single Cd. Described As Kaleidoscopic Neo Soul.

To throw a CANDELA is a popular expression for hosting an impromptu encounter revolving around tobacco, fire and music. CANDELA and fire are used as metaphors of passion, warmth and love, and this is what CANDELEROS transmit in their live performances, delivering their very own unique Afro-Caribbean vibes with a strong identity: folklore and psychedelia given a modern twist in a ritual of catchy drums, surf guitar riffs and South American percussions.
Infusing punk energy into their remarkable interpretation of traditions, the six-piece band embarks on a journey through the vibrant and immensely rich musical culture of the Caribbean, fusing merengue, champeta, salsa, and son, with bullerengue and cumbia; constantly reinventing themselves.
William, Fernando, Urko, Sergio, Alex and Andrés, come from different regions of Colombia and Venezuela. Their paths crossed in Madrid, Spain, where the Latin American family comes together through art and culture, gathering in diverse groups that focus on bringing their common cultural heritage to the world.
Their passion for endless musical improvisation, always crossing the thin line between genres, can be felt in these two tracks selected by Galletas Calientes Records .
A-Side 'La Cumbia Del Chinche' is an experimental, mind-bending cumbia, driven by a heavy mix of electronic and acoustic drums, hissing guacharacas and hallucinogenic guitars.
B-side 'El Boleta' is a totally freaked-out, uptempo merengue; a clever blend of subtle electronic drums, organic and hard-hitting percussions, psychedelic guitars and keys with the iconic ghostly tremolo and trippy reverb of seventies Peruvian cumbia.

Soundwalk Collective is a multi-disciplinary audio-visual collective founded by Stephan Crasneanscki, including members Simone Merli and Kamran Sadeghi.

The Collective's approach to composition combines anthropology, ethnography, non- linear narrative, psycho-geography, the observation of nature, and explorations in recording and synthesis. The source material of their works is always linked to specific locations, natural or artificial, and requires long periods of investigative travel and field work.

Their recent projects include a collaboration with Patti Smith and reworking the archive of recordings on Jean-Luc Godard's film set.

For the 8th Marionette publication, Soundwalk Collective present 'Death Must Die'. A sound piece that began in 2004 and ended up as a composition for the PS1 radio in NY. For this New release the Collective has revisited the piece in a more musical way.

'Death Must Die' is based on Stephan Crasneanscki's multiple visits to the sacred Indian city of Varanasi, originally known as Kashi and Banares. Sacred texts maintain that Varanasi isn't even a city, but rather a lingam of celestial light, the subtle and cosmic form of Lord Shiva which manifested itself as a city for the sake of seekers of liberation. To bathe in the holy Ganga is to be purified of your sins. To die in Varanasi, is to attain liberation and to bring an end to the cycle of rebirth known as transmigration. Determined to capture the elusive reality of this ancient city, Stephan has day by day recorded and re-imagined his understanding of how to perceive the continuously moving stream of the holy Ganga; performing a simple form of sadhana, which request is to be very alert but also to allow your mind to be quiet, making it easier to slip into the streams, and into the current that both the city and the river are offering.

'Death Must Die' begins before the rising of the sun and reproduces the cycle of a day in Varanasi, going down the river that is believed to be the divinity descended to this Earth in the form of water. She grants us happiness and salvation. The composition attempts to emulate the vibration of Kashi that encourages the kind of interiority that enables a person to get a better perspective on reality than one might have, while constantly being in the current of human life. A vibration dedicated to eliminating the distinction between human and non-human, between alive and dead, between light and dark.

Following the success of 'Stellar Tunes', Italian maestro A Credible Eye Witness and his partner in crime Ghost Ride have returned into the studios to bring you this very special phenomenon. Top notch 'Random Research' introduces four tracks of pure electro madness, starting off with well named 'Synthesis', a fusion of both producers creative talent into one of a kind track that celebrates their immoderate taste for mind blowing electro modulations! Pounding 'Magnetic Force' offers a powerful electro monster based upon hammering beats and hypnotic vocals. A pure Dj tool, perfect to drop in the middle of set exactly when you want to lead your crowd into harder areas. Textured 'Metis' on the flipside continues where 'Magnetic Force' stopped to offer more psychedelic and urban melodies. Combined to a groovy bass line, the track appears to be a real winner while 'Leda' slows down the rhythm for more relaxing and no-nonsense electro tinted with acidic loops. The 'Random Research' EP sees two uncompromised artists explore uncharted territories, unusual dancefloor paths to take the listener to a higher level of electro. A must have 12'' ahead of its time, even better than 'Stellar Tunes'. Are you prepared enough for that

Don't Bite Records are happy to announce the release of producer/rapper Tom Dice's solo LP. The witty title has been more than prophetic. These are not just rhythms of Dice but rhythms of life. Reflection, auto biography and idiosyncricity are abundant, as shown on the final track, 'Irrepressible'. 'Put on a uniform, conform, consume, dance to another man's tune that's off key. That never was and never will be the essence of a man like T.o.m D".
From 'The Death of Me''s dark refrain 'How ironic I died from a shock electronic.....clutching at the MPC, finally..... music got the better of me, the energy', we know that Dice is fearless in pushing the envelope and the boundaries of what can be lyrically possible. However Dice acknowledges his influences and the importance of their recognition on 'Authentic'.
On 'Tears Run Dry' Tom touches on feelings of alienation: 'I'm not a loser cos I can't win, I'm just an outsider still looking in' whereas on 'Feelings' he examines the connection between emotion and physical feeling. 'Feelings- computers don't have it, they try to emulate that basic human magic'
On the LP Rhythms of Dice and particularly the track 'Rhythms of Dice' he is rhyming from a producers point of view. 'All you guys who do like 6 tracks a day...how good are they You need to focus your mind or really just stay...wondering....You heard my beat in a studio and just wandered in'
Tom is ably assisted by long time collaborators/ label mates The Phantom and Jumpsteady. While he explores the exploitation of the thug genre on 'Thug killer', he also comes with a new style on 'Interchange' where he and Jumpsteady rap the first 4 bars of each others rhymes causing 1, seamless, verse. We hope you enjoy this tenth release from Don't Bite Records which continues to strive for individual style and originality and embrace our motto that "Only pirates take that which is not yet theirs!"

ST/NE is an alter ego and artist name of Stine Janvin, giving life to a satirical pop experiment combining field recordings, vocal samples and electronic production. ME/WE pulls inspiration from late night bar-chat philosophy, Muhammad Ali's army induction refusal, #metoo-stories and a broken Stockhausen record materialising in 4 tracks of vocal sirenage, fractured techno and mutant trap.

Manipulated and dehumanised as it is, the vocals trace a thread throughout, tying this collection of contrasts together and resulting in a singular, cohesive and compelling EP.

Santo Sangre is a project by San Francisco-based artist, producer and DJ Gonzo Manuel. On its first release, Quetzal, perhaps a reference to the central-American bird with bright, ornate plumage Gonzo taps into a Latin-accented, tribal feel that is ably carried on rolling, syncopated percussion with an organic essence, a birdsong-like chant, sporadic and light bursts of actual song and haunting string chords that cut across the sound spectrum, adding dark energy and urgency to the track. This one will sit nicely out on its own, bringing a hybrid organic/robotic essence to the dance or would work equally well rinsed around in the mix, with all its elements appearing and disappearing at just the right time as a transition ascends and peaks.
Oakland producer Indy Nyles remix builds on the tribal theme by enhancing the syncopated aspect of the percussion. He augments this further with a pretty and drifting melody line composed of glassy keyboard sounds. The sense of drama this creates is boosted further by a breathy and repetitive voice sample. This concoction drives along nicely until around the 5 minute mark when Nyles drops a menacing, snaking thread of 303 bass, stabs of icey strings and echo and delay effects that amplify the shadowy, seductive allure of his remix. Its a new sounding track but the acid line and syncopation bring to mind some of the psychedelic, breakbeat classics of San Franciscos halcyon, rave era.
Rounding things up is the Slope 114 Remix. Here Dmitri Ponce and partner
Elise Gargalikis take the track on a house journey that is, like Indys mix, brand new sounding but possessed by the spirits of the classics. Elises vocal flourishes bring to the mind the Latin house, tribalist dynamism of Louie Vega and Indias River Ocean numbers while Dmitri nudges the bassline from chunk and funk to acid and massive without sacrifcing the subtlety of the maneuver. The subtle aspect being that a techno, a tech-house and a straight up house heads will be able to bounce this one to the box without leaving her generic comfort zone: the true mark of a classic.
This release is a strong start for this new artist, look out for more fire from this Bay Area talent

All things come from and return to the same source - such is the theory of Monism; an ancient philosophy, but also accounting for the music of Jeroen Search. Dictated by an ethos of exclusively recording live takes and the only ever editing happening while a tune is being created, each finished track is imbued with that unique magic of the moment. Such too is the nature of Monism, Search's first LP in over two decades of electronic explorations and personal as well as artistic growth. As with any of his music that has been released so far, the tracks on here hold a timeless quality, existing within their own frame of reference than - that is their immediate experience. Across a carefully arranged course, the album naturally unravels its many ideas, ranging from moments of pensive ambient pieces to thick washes of dub echo and layers of modulated synths, all while providing an endless array of hypnotizing bare-bone grooves in the process. A true Figure mainstay, Jeroen Search upholds his artistic relevancy without any reinventing or switching up the formula - rather by simply keeping true to his accomplished craft.

The latest release on First Cut, comes from a new act, TapesJamaican. Based in Dublin, they deliver three beautiful techno soul tracks, underpinned by rickety drums and dusty break beats. From their minds to ours.

Lost Futures is a new label that explores experimental and often radical approaches to dance music from the past. In a musical landscape that increasingly claims to seek and reward new forms and ideas, Lost Futures delves into the recent past to revisit forward-thinking, optimistic projects that, owing to the social, musical or outright political climate, perhaps struggled to find an audience. Allowing only time to re-contextualise these leftfield, sometimes misunderstood and ultimately human bodies of work, Lost Futures taps into the inherent idealism of rave.

LF001 trips back until the early nineties to revisit the alternative scene emerging from the Dutch city of Utrecht. Here, three young men - DJ Zero One (Sander Friedeman), TJ Tape TV (Arno Peeters) and DJ White Delight (Richard van der Giessen) - joined forces to form 'The Awax Foundation'. Inspired by the transcendent and revolutionary electronic music arriving on their shores imported from Chicago and Detroit, combining their knowledge, gear and ever-expanding vinyl collection allowed additional freedom in paying sincere tribute to these intoxicating sounds, while also developing their tastes in a more personal, eclectic direction.

The musical flavours of Awax initially leaned toward acid house and the roots of techno. However, with three different mindsets in the mix, their tastes were rarely fixed. One thing each shared in common was a devotion to collecting rare sounds, specifically more adventurous and international samples than those emanating from the increasingly-hard, masculine dance music emerging from the Netherlands during the period. Inspired by the cross-over global sound of bands like Suns of Arqa, or 'World Music', as it was perhaps patronisingly termed at the time, the trio became interested in the idea of making techno with 'ethnic instruments'.

Of course, this being 1992, none of The Awax Foundation had access to such instruments, instead, they had a vast, collective library of samples from all over the world. There were no collaborations and no clear plan. Instead, they set to work using a Yamaha TX16W sampler, the legendary Atari 1040ST computer, a cheap mixing desk and a couple of low-end synths and FX machines. When Richard mentioned the project to his friend, Akin Fernandez, the London DJ and owner of cult label Irdial Discs, Fernandez was intrigued enough to invite the trio to record a one-hour show for his 'Monster Music Radio' series on London's then-burgeoning Kiss FM.

Forced to come up with a name, 'CultureClash' seemed like the obvious choice, even if the members of Awax were only creatively sparring among themselves. Along with the term 'ethno-techno', slightly dubious to a hopefully more conscious Western audience in 2017, these were the only guiding principles to the quietly ambitious project that soon combined cutting-edge machine rhythms with samples sourced from everywhere from Bolivia to Togo, and inspired by everything from Ravi Shankar's epic soundtrack to the Oscar-winning movie Ghandi, to the technical limits of their own setup requiring a dazzling degree of cut-and-paste work. Some tracks even emerged out of academic studies within the ethnomusicology department at The University of Amsterdam.

The show aired on October 2nd, 1992, recorded in one blistering take and without any rehearsals, traversing a huge variety of tempos and styles. If the performance wasn't seamless, it was undeniably thrilling, fresh and ambitious. As such, several labels, including Fernandez's aforementioned Irdial Discs expressed an interesting in commercially releasing CultureClash, while another imprint proposed a series of twelve-inches and an album. But the sheer complexity of the project meant that it never saw the light of day, while the trio embarked on different journeys ahead, both creative and personal.

Twenty five years later, and the original CultureClash lineup and founding members of The Awax Foundation provide the sound of the first release from Lost Futures. An otherworldly, ambitious and optimistic compilation, accompanied by extensive sleeve notes from the trio, CultureClash is a timeless ode to experimentation in dance music's ever-overlapping culture.

THIS IS NOT A REISSUE. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS AMAZING MINIMAL SCORE HAS BEEN ISSUED ON VINYL

This is the first time the complete score to The Conversation has been released on vinyl. The film itself was originally released in 1974 and a 7' demo of the theme was sent out as promotional material by Paramount (PAA-0305), but a USA stock edition was never issued. In Japan the same music was also issued on a 7' at about the same time (JET-2273), with a picture sleeve, but until now nothing else has ever been pressed on vinyl.

Jonny Trunk's little obsession with this music began after I'd caught the film, late night, sometime in the mid 1990s. Musically it's an exceptional example of the 'new minimalism' in film music of the period, marking a departure (for some) from big scores to smaller, more economic ensemble sounds.

The film was written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and is still a thrilling journey into sound, mind and murder. Heavily influenced by Antonioni's Blow-Up (and not, as some thought, by Watergate), Coppola wanted to fuse the concept of Blow-Up with 'the world of audio surveillance'. The story centres around Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a mac-wearing professional wire-tapper and clandestine bugger who gets unusually consumed by a conversation he's been paid to record. Caul is a loner, an obsessive-compulsive character with numerous neuroses that play out brilliantly throughout the film. And as he slowly pieces together the conversation fragments and forms his own story around it, his world falls apart.

Sonically this movie - all about sound - is groundbreaking in many ways, with actual 'sound Design' Provided By The Legendary Walter Murch - The Man Who Actually Invented The Term In The First Place.

For The Music, Coppola Wisely Chose A Young David Shire, His Brother In Law. Shire's Deceptively Simple Piano Theme (composed Because Of No Budget For Big Orchestra) Is One Of Tragic Beauty, Brilliantly Capturing Caul's Loneliness, His Slightly Disturbed Nature And This Trip Into Darkness. The Melody Has Both Sweet And Sour Tones, Feeling A Little Like A Slow Ragtime, Which Both Develops And Retreats Throughout The Film; There Are Even Trips Into Avant-garde Territory With Electro-acoustic Flourishes And Concrète. The Solo, Agitated Figure Of Caul, Wearing His Distinctive Transparent Mac, Is Made All The More Raw And Poignant By The Score - The Sparse And Curiously Emotional Compositions Are Unlike Any Others I Can Think Of From The Period.

The Soundtrack For The Conversation Proved To Be A Major Break For Shire, His Career Really Taking Off From This Musical Point. His Next Score Was To Be The Underground Classic Taking Of Pelham 123, Followed Up Later Ironically By All The Presidents Men - A Thriller About The Watergate Scandal.

The Conversation Went On To Win Several Awards And Nominations, And Has Become A Classic Of The 'new Hollywood' Movement. Hopefully Now This Music May Become Part Of The Renewed Interest In Old Film Soundtracks.

After a year in the making Giallo Disco is proud to present GDLP002 the previously unreleased soundtrack to fictitious writer/director Joel Hughes controversial 80s teen drama Wild In Blue. Featuring tracks from label heads Antoni Maiovvi and Vercetti Technicolor as well as the maestro Umberto, Canada's Kindest Cuts, Italy's Queen Of Coldwave Mushy, Germany's Mirror Talk, the legendary HORD and Fever Dream. Halfway between The Breakfast Club and Gregg Araki, with influences ranging from Gothic Electro, HiNRG Synth Pop and Cosmic Melancholy, this Various Artist affair tugs the heartstrings and warps the mind. Mastered by Alek Stark, cover art by MAZ, sleeve by Eric A Lee.

Limited to 100 copies, first time on cassette. Pro duplicated.

Emotional Response is delighted to announce Foreign Affairs - a limited edition special remix 7-inch single featuring reworks from Alexis Georgopoulos & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma's "Fragments of A Season" album by Woo and Felicia Atkinson.

Last year's ""Fragments of A Season"" represented a unique chapter in both artist's canon. Georgopoulos, who released the Arp album "Zebra" in June this year and Cantu-Ledesma, who released "On The Echoing Green" in October 2017 - both on Mexican Summer and to critical acclaim - wanted to stretch out and create a discrete work. A peripheral listen to "Fragments" revealed a resonant album of delicate, ambient vignettes, suggesting a Balearic take on Vini Reilly, Young Marble Giants and other poetically-minded, minimalistic post-punk era bands.

The Brothers Ives aka Woo were a major influence on the album's makers and so AG and JCL are thrilled they've submitted a beautiful reworking of the album's "Marine". Whereas the original sounded like Marine Girls and The Gist getting together for a nice beach day jam, Woo's rework transforms it into pulsating track of glistening proportions. Percolating synths, some guitar and clarinet - the true classic, idiosyncratic Woo-ification - creates a woozy, romantic, impossible to categorize slice of Balearic meets dub atmospherics.

If "Marine" is all midday sun, intoxicating and potently optimistic, Atkinson's remake represents the literal and figurative flip, bringing out the overcast dreaminess to "Cleo". Sounding like an outtake from a Rohmer film, or perhaps Cocteau Twins and Broadcast having a picnic in Biarritz, the version veers between abstraction, celluloid ambiguity and suggested narrative. Atkinson's reworking adds poetry of the tune (quite literally!) with her soft vocal under-gliding to perfection. Representing a temporary idyll, a meeting point where cobblestone streets lead to the sea. At nightfall, a discotheque heard in the distance. The morning mist burns off. Only such memories remain.

Though highly contemporary Bad Woman is an album that takes Pop music back to a time when lyrics where more than esthetic gimmicks. With Céline's music, one cannot avoid to listen to what she has to say. To be honest we've not been struck by lyrics as much as with this record for quite a long time, and it keeps on growing.
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Bad Woman can be seen as a mutant blend of everything that's been produced by the music industry these last 30 years, from Cher's delirious come-back in the 1990's to the most embarrassing moments in Dance music (think Gabber and Happy Hardcore), blurring the frontier between 'good' and 'bad' taste, between commercial and alternative. Just like Cher's Believe, Céline Gillain's Bad Woman sometimes sounds like the music of a former diva who's been through tough times, saw her expectations torn apart and came back to music with a bizarre testimony of her state of mind.

Fresh out of the OdD archives Tapes of Old 3 is enveloped an air of antiquity. Cut straight from the tape reel, A1 'Oops' is charged with reams of static percussion and low frequency oscillation. B1 'Abhorrent SNIP' captures a galactic essence where waves of bass meet synth in a beckoning symphony of creation. B2 'I'm Complete' marches in to close the EP with tight snares cutting into the undulating it's flow and grounded with smooth session of kicks. This postmodern production is pure energy in motion, constructed with an otherworldly soundscape and a purpose for mindful mysticism.

Black Helicopters is Agnarkea (Keaton Transue); a 20 year old producer from Richmond, Virginia, whose debut album is forthcoming on Manchester-based label, Natural Sciences.

Originating out of the WaistDeep Clique (a cell of emerging hip-hop crews operating out of the Southern United States) and recorded on budget equipment, across it's near two hours and extended 23 tracks, the project seeks to un-package homegrown 'conspiracy theories' (MK Ultra, Black Helicopters, The Deep State, Black Sun, Waco Texas) and use this web of extended source material to make sense of day-to-day life in Trump's America, police oppression of black neighbourhoods and the systematic suppression of mind-enhancing drugs.

The Orbitants run into galaxy exploring the unknown. Space ambient track from the electro soldier The Exaltics, explores the parallel worlds with his iconic sound. The electro duo Faceless Mind, straight outta North Europe kicked it with 'Viggen Formations': heavy bassline, highly evocative and hypnotic synth. Follow up the B1. Keep on going with the well-crafted formula DJ Vietnam and Haterparisi. Generated arpeggios by modular square-waves with syncopated beats reminding their techno background tells the experience of an alien abduction. Discover the raw surfaces of the B side which feels both organic and apocalyptic. 'Intergalacid' by Umwelt, a mix of acid-rave and electro to create some high impact sonic weaponry. Highly recommend for the strongest dancefloor!

Fina's next release comes from Mathew Ferness, an exciting and already hotly tipped rising star for just his second ever EP. It features three tracks that showcase his musical house style with a remix from Helsinki's Saine.

Ferness hails from a small town near Montreal in Quebec, where he was an outcast obsessed with music. With no access to record shops, parties or scenes Mathew started taking matters into his own hands DJing in his teens taking inspiration from J Dilla, he soon began producing his own beats on a sampler and drum machine.

An exploration of analogue sounds, DAWS and most recently electronic music have all lead him to the rich sound he has now. His last EP on Beat changers was championed by Rhythm Section International and Radio 1 tastemaker Bradley Zero and this latest EP is likely to prove just as popular.

Pad laced opener 'Escapade' is a summery deep house jam with breezy acoustic guitar and warm, punchy drums of the sort to get any floor cutting loose. 'Solitude' is more paired back, with thoughtful piano keys laid over deep rolling drums. There is a musical romance and beauty to the synths that elevate this one above purely functional fodder, and then 'At First Sight' awakens your senses once more with broad synth smears and perfectly rough-edged drums which create pure deep house soul.

Saine is a producer with a range that goes from hazy hip hop to dusty house on labels like Odd Socks, Andy Hart's Voyage and this one before now. After his 2017 EP Mint, he returns with a remix that is bubbly and laden with colourful melodies and open-air house grooves.
This is EP full of rich house music that is for mind, body and soul.

Limited Edition: 500 x 2 LP Gatefold Pressing. Bentley Rhythm Ace formed in Birmingham in 1996 when ex Pop Will Eat Itself bassist Richard March and DJ Michael Stokes discovered a shared love of obscure, oddball and eccentric tunes. Utilising lo-fi cut and paste sampling techniques combined with analogue synths and some wild turntable action their debut EP was picked up by Fatboy Slim's Brighton based Skint Records and released to widespread acclaim. The BRA live show added Fuzz Townshend on drums and James Atkin (ex EMF vocalist) on keyboards and the latter years of the 90s saw BRA firmly established as festival favourites with appearances at Glastonbury, Reading, V, T in the Park, Montreux Jazz and Fuji Rock amongst many others. Their irreverent approach mixed with big beats, thundering bass, wild synths and esoteric samples proved to be a hit with fans and critics alike. 1998 saw Bentley Rhythm Ace crowned 'Best Dance Act' in that year's NME awards. Their eponymous debut album was given a worldwide release after the Bentleys signed to Parlophone records and the band toured extensively in the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia and USA. As well as releasing a highly regarded DJ mix album on Ministry of Sound, and releasing a second album for Parlophone (featuring vocals from Black Grape/Ruthless Rap Assassins frontman Kermit), BRA also produced well received remixes for the Beastie Boys and Supergrass as well as soundtracking several TV shows and adverts. This "21st Birthday - Bonus Tracks Edition" of the album has been compiled by Richard March of the band and includes the original 11 track album along with 2 bonus tracks remastered and repressed to vinyl for the first time in almost two decades! Presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve, complete with original artwork and comprehensive sleeve notes for all thirteen tracks written for this release by Richard March. Bentley Rhythm Ace (21st Birthday - Bonus Tracks Edition)

Hotly Anticipated Album From The Acclaimed Australian
Duo.
The Album Consists Of Two Acts Across Seven
Movements That Represent The Different Facets Of The
Dionysus Myth And His Cult And Takes The Musical Form
Of An Oratorio, Which Has Informed Both Spiritual And
Secular Pieces Of Music As Far Back In History As The
Early 16th Century.
Two Years In The Making, Perry Has Amassed An Array
Of Folk Instrumentation And As Often Heard On Previous
Albums Takes Inspiration From Across The World, Tracks
Evolve Less Like Songs More Akin To Fragments Of The
Cohesive Whole.
Deluxe Lp Format Is Pressed On Heavyweight
Transparent Purple Vinyl Accompanied By A Copy Of The
Album On Cd Plus A Deluxe 16-page 12' X 12'
Hardback Picture Book With Padded Cover.
Standard Lp Format Is Heavyweight Black Vinyl In A
Gatefold Sleeve.
16 Date European Tour Next Year, Including Two
Headline Shows At London's Hammersmith Apollo

Iori returns to PHORMA with two originals, Drifting and Parallel. On the A-Side, Drifting is a dub-inspired track reminding of Iori's releases on Phonica White. On the flipside, Iori presents Parallel, which unfolds over its 11 minutes to work your mind! Sleeve design by New York based artist Sebastian Lemm. Vital Sales Points: - First solo release by Iori on Phorma - Artwork by New York based artist and designer Sebastian Lemm

*Landing on Alchemy Dubs is our third release on 12' format, a very special collaboration between Ojah, Fikir Amlak, Don Fe and Nik Torp.

The A side contains the track 'On my mind', a vocal version of Ojah's 'Mind' riddim that features beautiful vocals and harmonies by Fikir Amlak paired with inspiring and emotional lyrics. The second cut is a vocal dub version mixed in analog live by Ojah.

On the B side we find Don Fe's excellent flute version 'Remind' that takes the riddim to a different dimension with its deep and meditational melodies. The second cut on this side is a haunted flute dub version, also mixed live by Ojah in classic fashion.
The Hammond and melodica featured on both sides have been played by Nik Torp (keyboard player from The Specials) and masterfully recorded through an MCI desk that used to belong to Island Records (hundreds of seminal records where recorded through it, including for example Bob Marley's Exodus).

Also available complementing this release is ALDBS7007, a 7' that contains an additional Hammond & melodica solo version and an additional dub.

Limited edition of 600 copies, 180g heavyweight vinyl, hand-numbered, served in a thick custom sleeve with amazing artwork by Victor Castro.

Produced by Ojah, recorded at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London, UK
Hammond & melodica by Nikolaj Torp Larsen 'Nik Torp', recorded by George Murphy at Eastcote Studio 1, London, UK
Vocals on A1 by Fikir Amlak, recorded by Manuel Guerra Rubio at Arkchant Studio, Barcelona, Spain
Flute on B1 by Don Fe, recorded by Don Fe at Don Fe Studio, Murcia, Spain
Mixed & mastered by Oscar Pablos 'Ojah" at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London, UK
Graphic design by Victor Castro

Nirosta Steel is a sometime alias of Steven Hall. Musician and survivor of the `80s NYC`s art melting pot. Everybody Sing dances like Steven`s long-term collaborator and lost-way-too-early friend, Arthur Russell. As he forced irresistible, idiosyncratic, Disco-Not-Disco, out of the Ingram Brothers. Riding low rumbling bass. Phased guitar, country picking, flickering in and out of the mix. Strings, choir boy falsetto, and blue yodel, cutting through its delay-drenched, dance floor delirium.

L.A.`s Cole Medina delivers two reworks. His Heavy Disco take is intro`d by cowbell and synth swirls. Cymbals crashing like sampled surf. With Stratocaster microtones, and echoes of the original, washing over an electronically, re-imagined B-line and trip-py sequences.

Cole`s Knuckles Tribute sets poignant piano and gated orchestral euphoria against a classic Def Mix groove. Revealing the song in epiphany. Clarifying the lyric`s call for unity. Where singing your troubles away is a analogy for strength in adversity. Everybody hurts sometimes. In that, we are united. Eventually heading towards its own disorientating climax. Comin` at ya from all sides.

Mind Fair`s version goes in for some tribal thumping. Stripping the track down, before building it back up. Its big kick blowing bins like a hyped heart pumping within a giant's chest. Chicken scratches dropping in between its colossal 'lub dub', and Coati Mundi-meets-Jah Wobble-like Punk Funk..

The godfather of acid house, DJ Pierre, is back - bringing four heavyweight Chicago cuts to the fore, two of which, 'Pinball Machine' & 'The Spirit' are unreleased, exclusives.

'Sexy Aquarian' showcases Pierre's unique style putting his trademark spin on this classic vocal, combining it with a bumping bass and dizzying acid lines, to trigger old memories whilst giving you something new for your mind, your body and your soul.

Next up 'Pinball Machine' goes in heavy on the percussion - filling those speakers with a barrage of weighty toms, crisp hats and crunched up snares. The frenzied synth line bounces around relentlessly, pinging off the sides of your brain like a sonic arcade.

Take to the flip for a lesson in how to take jackin' house to another level. 'Whats Mine is Mine' delves beyond the beat, mixing sassy vocals and spiritual organ stabs, with a touch of swing reminiscent of an era long gone.

Closing out the EP, 'The Spirit' utilises another treasured vocal layering it behind punchy drum programming, a rumbling bass and atmospheric touches that add an ethereal tinge to the track.

DJ Feedback:

The Black Madonna - We Still Believe / Liaison Artists - Excellent!

Eli Escobar - OH yes.

PBR Streetgang - 20/20 Vision - classic

Andy Caldwell - Nettraxx / Cr2 Records - Ooh so so sublime. Good shit here!

Tony Humphries - The Zanzibar / New York - Nice peak time banger.

Danny Howard - BBC Radio 1 / Nothing Else Matters - Aceeeee. Wicked vocal!!! Love the vibe

Returning for his second full-length LP of 2018, DJ Bone steps up once more to his own Subject Detroit imprint to present 'Beyond', a full-length and physical rumination on his own emotive and psychedelic contribution to contemporary techno. Loaded with the dynamics, charisma and widescreen appeal of his finest work, 'Beyond' sees Bone enter a musical state that reflects it's ambitious title, celebrating underground ideals in a style that could only be his own.

The second in a trilogy of albums to be completed in early 2019, 'Beyond' is culled from a sequence of no less than fifty tracks completed by the esteemed Detroit DJ and producer upon returning to his home city in 2017. With it being "unfathomable" to release an LP of that length, Bone has nonetheless captured this wave of creativity and a reconnection with his home city, along with the cathartic sense of soul and energy at the heart of his attitude to dance music.

Across 'Beyond' listeners can sink into an unrelenting sequence of tracks that speak from his experimental, musical and always unexpected mind. LP opener 'Dreamers 7' reaffirms his taste for offbeat electronics shot through with rigid dance floor dynamism; a theme reaffirmed quite literally on the forceful centrepiece, 'With A Vengeance'. Elsewhere, Bone delights in blurring the lines between exotic, futurist ambience on tracks such as 'Techno Aint Techno' and 'Ahhh Life', while further cementing his reputation as master of sheer, unrelenting rhythm on 'True Definition' and 'Rosedale Park'.

Austrian Ken Hayakawa keeps up Stripped Down Records' fine run of form with two new tracks that get remixed by John Tejada and Whitesquare.

Hayakawa's mother is Japanese but he hails from Salzburg. He is formally trained in piano and has performed Beethoven's music in a number of prestigious venues. That melodic, minimalist style still informs his own output and over the last decade has come on the likes of Audiomatique and Upon.You.

Superbly soothing opener 'Sonic Wave' is a brilliantly warm and spaced out deep house track that voyages into the cosmos. Dreamy pads drift by as muted acid lines flesh out the supple, subtle drums. It's a late-night groove to really get lost in.

American tech house titan and long-time Kompakt associate John Tejada steps up to remix and takes things even deeper, with pulsing, sonar-like acid blips and icy hi hats all working on melting your mind as warm, gurgling bass drives things forwards.

It is Italian producer and DFTD, 2020 Vision and Freerange house master Whitesquare who then remixes. He brings plenty of spine-tingling chords to his version, which is deep yet driven, with layer upon layer of rich sound all oozing real soul.
Hayakawa then finishes things off in style with 'Lost,' a brilliantly atmospheric track that is cavernous, dubbed out and finished with exquisite ambient details that cannot help but calm you.

This is a beautiful EP of deep, dynamic house music.

This triple pronged battle weapon from Cowboy Rhythmbox takes is inspiration from a wealth of disparate elements, the brutal drum machine swagger of early Chicago house, the murky world of 1980's video arcades, the bleeps of Sheffield, arcane home computing documentaries recorded to VHS, public access TV, yes there really is something here for everyone.

Terminal Madness:
A quirky track about the paranoia surrounding artificial intelligence, inspired by early Dance Mania releases and broken pocket calculators amongst other things.
Beware, you'll begin to think that computers have minds of their own!!!

Hands Inside The Car:
Proof that there is joy in repetition, a wonderfully eccentric number with a deadpan vocal hook that wraps itself around a killer combination of sub bass, freestyle beats and deranged reversed elements.

Vodonik:
A stark, glacial rave beast, very much a reaction against Cowboy Rhythmbox's usual maximal approach. This is stripped-down-to-the-bone body music that will work in the most cavernous of rave palaces or the most intimate seedy basement club.

On her deeply moving debut album At Weddings, Sarah Beth Tomberlin writes with the clarity and wisdom of an artist well beyond her years. Immeasurable space circulates within the album's ten songs, which set Tomberlin's searching voice against lush backdrops of piano and guitar. Like Julien Baker and Sufjan Stevens, she has a knack for transforming the personal into parable. Like Grouper, she has a feel for the transcendent within the ordinary.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, and now based in Louisville, Kentucky, Tomberlin wrote most of At Weddings while living with her family in southern Illinois during her late teens and early twenties. At 16, she finished her homeschooling curriculum and went to college at a private Christian school she describes, only half-jokingly, as a "cult." By 17, she had dropped out of school, returned home, and begun to face a period of difficult transition in her life. The daughter of a Baptist pastor, Tomberlin found herself questioning not only her faith, but her identity, her purpose, and her place in the world.

"I was working, going to school, and experiencing heavy isolation," Tomberlin says of the time when she first began writing the songs on At Weddings. "It felt monotonous, like endless nothingness. It was a means to get through to the next step of life." In songwriting, Tomberlin found relief and lucidity she had trouble articulating otherwise. When she was 19, she wrote "Tornado" on her parents' piano, and began to develop confidence in her music. A year later, she had written enough songs to fill an album.

Throughout At Weddings, Tomberlin's lyrics yearn for stability and belonging, a near-universal desire among young people learning to define themselves on their own terms for the first time. "I am a tornado with big green eyes and a heartbeat," she sings on "Tornado," her voice stretching to the top of her range. Rich, idiosyncratic imagery — a fly killed with a self-help book, brown paper bags slashed violently open, clouds that weep over a lost love — sidle up to profound realizations about learning to be alive in this world. "To be a woman is to be in pain," Tomberlin notes on "I'm Not Scared." On "A Video Game," she muses, "I wish I was a hero with something beautiful to say."

Tomberlin cites the hymns she grew up singing in church as her greatest musical influence, and while At Weddings in many ways documents the unlearning of her childhood faith, it's easy to hear the reverential quality of sacred music in her songs. "A lot of hymns talk about really crazy stuff — being saved from the depths and the mire, judgment. When you actually realize what you're singing, it becomes really overwhelming," Tomberlin says. "I grew up singing in church. I was still helping to lead worship when I started coming to terms with the realization that I didn't know if I believed. I felt nauseous and shaky reading these words I was singing and feeling their intensity. If I did believe this, how could I sing these words without being scared out of my mind That's what's influenced how I write."

At Weddings is laden with reverence for music itself, for the power it has to heal others and help people navigate their lives. It is a record about learning to love oneself and others without reservation, from a place of deep sincerity — a lifelong challenge whose tribulations Tomberlin articulates beautifully. "My number one goal with my music is for honesty and transparency that helps other people find ways to exist," she says. With At Weddings, this remarkable young songwriter offers up comfort and wonder in equal measure.

a1 | Any Other Way
a2 | Untitled 1
a3 | Tornado
a4 | You Are Here
a5 | A Video Game
b1 | I'm Not Scared
b2 | Seventeen
b3 | Self Help
b4 | Untitled 2
b5 | February

Boum Boum Boum! 25 years of KOMPAKT. When a record label still thrives after a quarter of a century thanks to a focus of what was expected to be a short lived music phenomenon called TECHNO, then it stands to prove two things; that it techno has taken its place amongst serious, multilayered musical genres like rock'n'roll, pop and folk music. And that KOMPAKT has never been only for techno, but KOMPAKT stands as a broad-minded, genre-defying entity that has set out to cross-pollinate all kinds of musical inventions within the realm of electronic music. Through its course, KOMPAKT has sent 'Around The World', all kinds of sub-genres, concept series and crossover adventures based on the non- negotiable 4/4 beat. And back again.

Without a doubt, the 100% kickdrum-free POP AMBIENT series is the most endearing and enduring concept that I have had the pleasure to curate. From the start, I felt there was a strong need to add a certain pop- elegance - ensouled by discourse as much as hedonism - to a sound that was recognized as 'Chill Out' music that could be heard in seedy techno club back rooms and forgotten festival areas. Over the years, I like to imagine that POP AMBIENT has crystallized into a highly recognizable trademark sound and a multi-facetted musical universe of its own.

So once again, I had the pleasure to put together this year's edition by plowing through an ocean of sonic jewelry that had been submitted from all over the world by new and old friends. The task was clear: for this special edition, I must create a homogenous listening experience that would both appeal to our trusting followers, to continue our tradition while integrating new micro facets , variations and influences from neighboring musical universes as possible. Obligatory while being innovative. Conspirative while being cosmopolitan. Albeit the headline 'Ambient' might sound a little too humble for a compilation that encompasses aspects of neo classic, atonal music and the most beautiful aural kitsch imaginable, it still helps as a necessary means of orientation in the best possible sense. Same goes for another dear tradition: Veronika Unland's abstract-floral cover design that keeps on pleasing our sore eyes year after year.

Although each and every POP AMBIENT edition doesn't shy away from diving into the relevant question of 'What is contemporary discourse music' - in the end it all boils down to that elevated moment where all theory dissolves into ambient air, into a higher state of cosmic bliss. POP AMBIENT is sacral music for non-believers.

Wolfgang Voigt Cologne, October 2018

Bum Bum Bum. 25 Jahre KOMPAKT. Wenn ein Musiklabel, das seine inhaltliche Ausrichtung im Wesentlichen auf den anfangs als schnelllebig und vor allem kurzlebig apostrophierten - hype' Techno setzt, nach 25 Jahren in jeder Beziehung immer noch voll im Saft steht, dann zeigt das zwei Dinge: Das erstens mittlerweile jeder bemerkt haben du¨rfte, dass Techno eben kein kurzftristiger hype ist, sondern vielmehr ein vielschichtiges, ernstzunehmendes Genre, das sich ebenso wie Rock'n'Roll oder Schlager fest in der Musikgeschichte etabliert hat.

Und zweitens, dass KOMPAKT nie nur ein reines Technolabel war und ist, sondern ein nach vielen Seiten aufgeschlossenes Experimentierfeld, das sich von Anfang an der Grenzu¨berschreitung und dem musikalischen Erfindungsreichtum verschrieben hat. U¨ber die Jahre wurden unter dem KOMPAKT-Signet etliche Subgenres, Konzeptreihen und Crossoverwagnisse auf Basis der unverhandelbaren geraden Bassdrum - around the world' und wieder zuru¨ck geschickt.

Eine der wohl scho¨nsten und nachhaltigsten Konzeptreihen du¨rfte wohl die bassdrumfreie POP AMBIENT-Serie sein, die ich als KOMPAKT-- Altvorderer' nach wie vor die ja¨hrliche Freude habe, zu kompilieren. Dabei hat sich u¨ber die Jahre aus dem anfa¨nglichen Bedu¨rfnis der seit den fru¨hen 90er Jahren in den sogenannten - Chilloutrooms ' grossra¨umiger Technoclubs, - Lounges' und - Muzakkneipen' entstandenen - Entspannungsmusik' etwas entgegenzusetzen, eine eher von Pop-Eleganz, Diskurs und Hedonismus beseelte, eigene Spielart ambienter Musik, eine vielschichtige programmatische Musik mit hohem Widererkennungswert entwickelt.

So hatte ich auch im Jubila¨umsjahr einmal mehr die Qual der Wahl, aus den aus aller Welt kommenden, grossartigen Klangpreziosen guter alter sowie neuer Freunde die subjektiv besten zu einem homogenen Ho¨rerlebnis zusammenzufu¨hren. Dabei ist mir immer sehr wichtig, einerseits den Erwartungen der treuen Ho¨rerschaft im Bezug auf Traditionsverpflichtung gerecht zu werden und andererseits auch immer mo¨glichst viele Mikrofacetten, Varianten und Einflu¨sse angrenzender Stile und Universen aufzugreifen. Innovativ und verbindlich. Konspirativ und weltoffen. Auch wenn der U¨berbegriff Ambient, fu¨r eine Kompilation die sowohl Aspekte von Neuer Klassik, Atonalita¨t und Kunstmusik mit den allerscho¨nsten Seelenkitschklangwelten zu vereinen sucht, zu eng gefasst ist, so hilft er doch bei der notwendigen Orientierung im besten Sinne. Ebenso wie die Tradition gewordenen, wunderscho¨n abstrakt-floralen Kunstblumenwelten der von Veronika Unland gestalteten Cover, die ein ums andere Jahr auch die Augen in Verzu¨ckung versetzten.

Auch wenn jede Kompilation sich aufs Neue an den relevanten Fragen zeitgema¨sser Diskursmusik abarbeitet, so ist der erhabene Moment am Ende doch der, in dem sich alles zu Gunsten eines - ho¨heren, kosmischen' Ho¨rerlebnisses, im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes in ambiente Luft auflo¨st.

POP AMBIENT ist die sakrale Musik der Ungla¨ubigen.

Wolfgang Voigt / September 2018

The body never lies. Every dance is a graph of the heart. Nothing is more revealing than movement.

These are the words of Martha Graham, one of the greatest American dancers and choreographers of the 20th century. Massimiliano Pagliara might as well have them tattooed on his chest, close to his heart, being an accomplished dancer, too. He has studied contemporary dance in Milan and Berlin, and went on to dedicate his life to transforming experience into movement, be it musical, physical, or spiritual. Massimilano's message is clear: Don't stand still. Don't keep looking back. Know where you are coming from, but don't remain petrified by the past. Take a chance at Endless Change, instead. Move on! Just like Massimilano did.

Stemming from Lecce province, an area at the south-eastern-most tip of Italy, Massimilano has been based in Berlin for several years where he's been one of the main forces behind recombining the city's hardboiled techno scene with an often overlooked sensibility for the soft and the tender. Call it underground disco passion. Massimilano's last and sophomore album, With One Another, released in 2014, was about celebrating the joy of human encounters and in parts seemed like a big get-together with like-minded artists and friends (among them nd_baumecker, Lee Douglas, and Credit 00). The record quickly hit the number one spot in Groove magazine's album chart - and its creator hit the road.

Besides his busy DJ schedule and far from the usual club circuit routines, Massimilano dedicated himself to intense travelling and exploring the world anew. 'I felt like I have lived more than ever,' he states. 'Getting to discover all these beautiful places around the world and meeting so many lovely interesting people, has inspired me in many different ways. I feel enriched.'

The result of these experiences is Feel Live, Massimiliano's third full-length endeavour. It was recorded in several intimate, sometimes improvised studio settings between Los Angeles, Portland, and Massimiliano's homebase in Berlin as well as at airports and on intercontinental flights high up in the sky. Featuring vocals by Private Agenda, Peaking Lights, Kim Anh and instrumental contributions by Fort Romeau, Tim K, and Jules Etienne, Feel Live is Massimilano's most playful and imaginative work to date. It's as emotional as sensual, as vibrant as the first ray of light after a thunderstorm has cleared the air.

Is it awkward or odd to call this record jazzy Presumptuous to pinpoint its spacial, almost orchestral qualities Unfair on the ruling Cosmic powers to highlight its aspirations of founding a new land of Balearic Harmonia and getting down at a huge fertility rite with electro enthusiasts and house lovers Not one bit. Feel Live is pure grandeur and elegance. It feels like an eternal movement.

Martha Graham has dedicated her whole life to dancing. 'It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way,' she said. 'Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable.' Massimilano couldn't agree more. His advice when facing the inevitable: 'Live what you are feeling, feel what you are experiencing, good or bad, it is an experience.'

A-Sim, born Simon Hamelin, is a fresh electronic music producer from France. His productions wind up somewhere between UK bass, electro and techno with a focus on the rivalry between the dark and sweet side of all textures coming from electronic instruments. He released stuffs on R&S, Eddy Larkin and Rawax.

Ghost of Skye glides between lost innocence and joyful tears. It shines like a blurring star, like the glowing glass of your last drink on a late night.
My Opinion (even if you don't care) is the rotating, meditative call to prayer pumped on detroit electro steroids. Take my hand and dive into oblivion.
Unpeaceful Mind re ects our apocalyptic erra. The neverstopping dark and anxious pressure of society. The need of relief. Of escape. Of freedom.

All tracks mastered by Pole at Scape Mastering in Berlin.

Earlier in the year, Red Light Radio co-founder Hugo van Hejiningen and Identified Patient joined forces to debut their new musical project, Stallion's Stud. Artificial Dance is ready to release the first fruits of the duo's studio collaboration.
The four-track EP digs deep into their shared love of electronics, post-punk era experimentation, DIY music culture and dubbed-out drum machine rhythms. The results are undeniably dark and intoxicating, with former punk singer Hugo fronting proceedings via mind-altering vocals and twisted lyrical flows.

Opener 'Promising Promises' sets the tone for what follows, with Hugo's spoken vocals wrapping themselves around ricocheting industrial dub rhythms and raw, delay-laden electronics. The delay trails to oblivion remain a force to be reckoned with on the creepy, fuzz-fuelled cold-wave doom of 'Instrumental Aria', while the throbbing and clanking 'Unpredictable' and 'Voice of No' ratchet up the intensity by several notches via end-of-days guitars, heavyweight bass and face-melting percussion.

This is a long overdue reissue of a fantastic album! Here we find a pure disco classic from the US scene of the late 70s. The original copies retail at plus $300, that's only if you can find one at all! So those who love to spin good music, but are unwilling or unable to lay down too much money can now lend an ear to this fine vinyl! The opening track is 6.5 minutes long and consists of ongoing grooves with a hint of rock thanks to the melodic lead guitar. The driving rhythms are irresistible with soulful and strong female lead vocals that capture you right away. This reminds me strongly of the lengthy Donna summer dance classic, released during the same period 'Better than walking out' which became a dance floor sweeper. There is nothing complicated here, just sheer groove interwoven with catchy melodies. 'Lovin' you is so easy' follows and is a mid-paced soul anthem that comes as clean, slick and close to pop music a tune can come, but the melody of the chorus will stick to your mind. The arrangements are tight revealing several layers of instrumentation on second take. The lead singer's expressive voice matches with the best of its genre. A grand dame of soul familiar to a wide audience. While we ruminate about the different stylistic ingredients of this album we reach ''Woman', an entire instrumental with a straight groovy beat paired by cool funky rhythm guitar that lies beneath a soundscape made by the electric piano. Both seem to interact tightly and communicate with another. This tune just moves you physically with ease. Lushly orchestrated ''Our love is special' turns out to be a wonderful soul pop anthem of the kind that stays with you when you have only enjoyed it once. I'm almost certain that most fans of the late 70's soulful dance and pop will spin this record over and over again. This is what the DISCO LADIES are made for. Their music has this certain disco feeling but the classic 60s Motown Soul roots are so obvious and keep the whole collection of songs so grounded, that the music will go straight to the heart, nestling there for a long time. ''I second that emotion' is again a mid-paced groover that has this fluttering beat with great instrumental figures build upon this footing. One might hear elements of reggae, gospel and funk melting into an utterly joyful soul pop tune that eventually would become an evergreen in the clubs. Last but not least we are treated to ''Woman', again the arrangements of lead and backing vocals are amazing! These are footed by equally amazing strings and horns. These melodies, soulful, expressive, intense and full of joy! The last tune is a vocal version of 'Woman'. Definitely being the highlight of the entire album and a worthy finale for a record that sticks out of the masses of disco music productions of it's era! All this makes a wonderful and delightful reissue ! worthy of joining every black music aficionado of the 1970s.