quête:mt

Three more diggers delights from Jake Holloway and the Moton.
DJ Support
DJ Spinna
Osunlade
Mark Grusane / Sounds Familiar
Alex Attias / Visions Recordings
Dom Servini / Wah Wah 45s
Volcov / Neroli / Sounds Familiar
Kiko Navarro
Marcel Vogel / Lumberjacks In Hell
John Gómez

Berlin's Mechatronica returns with another compilation of forward-thinking electro and acid sounds from Innershades, Norwell, DJ Nephil and Gestalt.

The A-side packs a dose of merciless electro/acid for the floor by Innershades, followed by a dazzling, atmospheric electro journey by Norwell. The flip boasts a more gritty sound, as Russian producer Gestalt debuts on Mechatronica with the twisted 'Mndfck', and DJ Nephil's slow-rolling monster 'White Dwarf' finishes off the record.

Most of the musicians who gathered to record this fantastic spiritual jazz record for the Strata-East label on May 24th, 1974 had crossed each other's paths in various musical pairings over the preceding few years. Husband and wife team Dee Dee Bridgewater (vocals) and Cecil Bridgewater (trumpet) had been working together on albums like Frank Foster's "Loud Minority", and Roy Ayers' "Coffy" and "Virgo Red". Ten weeks before the "Freedom Of Speech" session, the couple had been joined in Tokyo by Cecil's brother Ronald Bridgewater (tenor saxaphone) to record Dee Dee's debut album, the beautiful "Afro Blue". Also in the studio on May 24th, 1974 was Donald Smith, (piano, vocals), fresh from recording on his older brother Lonnie Liston Smith's "Cosmic Funk" - on which Ronald Bridgewater had also played percussion. Cecil McBee (bass) was also there - just two weeks before, he'd completed his own Strata East date "Mutima", and in February he'd played on Mtume's "Rebirth Cycle" - with both albums also featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater on vocals. He'd also played on Lonnie Liston Smith's "Astral Travelling".

So 1974 was a huge year for all five of these people. Donald Smith and Cecil McBee were six months away from recording on Lonnie Liston Smith's massive "Expansions", with McBee fitting in a few Pharoah Sanders albums in between.

AND THEN, THE MYSTERY ... So with all this fervent activity, the question has to be asked ...Who was Billy Earl Parker Jr (drums), the leader of this session

Billy Parker remains unlisted as a musician on all major jazz sites. His only other recording appears to be as a percussionist on Charles Tolliver's "Impact" in 1975. Then there's nothing.

Finally, by backtracking one of those Zoom info pages, I found a summary of a "SUNY Rockland Community College" 2002 press release that no longer exists :

"Billy Parker's Fourth World Legacy Concert ...The concert, Billy Parker's Fourth World Legacy, is the eighth annual tribute honouring the late percussionist and RCC educator, Billy Parker. A long-time Rockland County resident, Parker began his affiliation with RCC in 1987, building its jazz program and maintaining his life-long tradition of teaching and inspiring others. A lifelong student himself, Parker was near completion of his doctorate in music education at New York University when he died in 1996.

But then people began to read this blog post, and in the comments, Aaron Fuller said :

"Billy Parker was my uncle. He was an incredibly talented, smart, and kind man. I'm very happy to see that folks are still enjoying his masterpiece. Just to give you a bit more information about him... He was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and then attended college at Michigan State University. He met my aunt in Lansing. They lived in NY and toured in Europe for quite a while. Sometime later they relocated to Nyack, NY and he ended up on the faculty of the community college while he pursued advanced degrees from NYU. He was an Ellington scholar. Although his name isn't well-known even among the most avid jazz fans, I think that if you were to talk to some of the great NY musicians that were around in the late 60s and 70s you would find that most knew him. He also had a huge impact as a music educator and I have no doubt that his former students are all over the place, continuing to put his love of the art into practice."

This 2XLP album, EUROPA, is dedicated to and inspired by events in 2015 & 2016, which saw the spectre of global crisis come knocking at Europe's doorstep.During this time, more than a million migrants and refugees fled their homes in the Middle East, Northern Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and other conflict ravaged areas in search of a better life. For many, hopes of a future for themselves and their families lay in continental Europe.As already said about the preceding 12' single with the same name - One of the most well- trodden paths on this journey was the Balkan route, a trail leading through Turkey, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia.. This route was not without its dangers, and the dreams of thousands upon thousands were dashed by impassible security fences and discordant EU politics, as one by one they were turned away at borders, or worse, forcibly returned to their countries of origin.Europa was recorded during long jam sessions in Belgrade as the media spotlight started to dim. The city became the purgatorial destination for a large number of migrants, whose journeys had been cut short.
This double LP reflects the atmosphere of disillusionment and uncertainty about the future, which descended on the Serbian capital. Dark and melancholic saxophone playing on top of heavy kicks and Mediterranean percussions dominate the epic 17 minutes title track. The collaboration with Jerusalem in My heart continues the melancholic atmosphere, adding to it JIMH signature delayed baglama sounds, to create a 12 minute emotional journey, tearing away abstract concepts of 'longing' and 'home' with ever growing tension and magnitude. Genre-less, illusive and not easy to categorize, Tapan's debut album on Malka Tuti is an original soundtrack of a fragment in time and space, capturing a moment and transcending it musically for the rest of the world to experience.

Written, performed and produced by Thomas Moen Hermansen @M57 Studios Asker Jan-Sept 2016

Published by Smalltown Supermusic/Sony ATV Scandinavia

Mastered by Schnittstelle , Photos by Ragnhild Fors, Design by Metric Design

After the slightly more conceptual "Principe del Norte"album, "5" takes two steps forward and one step back
collecting a batch of tracks that was recorded right after it's preceder and in tandem with the recent "Square One"album with Bjørn Torske.
A "freedom"album of sorts, beyond the slightly misleading album opener "Here comes the band" there's a variety in these tracks tracing inspiration from 35 years (unhealthy)obsession with all things "good music" played enthusiastically.
"5" also marks the launch of my new label "Prins Thomas Musikk".

A run through the tracks with a couple of hints to titles and inspiration:

"Here comes the band"
A planned album of a fake band consisiting of me only was ditched. This is their only entry...
Very loosely inspired by "Bandwagonesque"era Teenage Fanclub

"Villajoyosa"
Melodic ideas hummed into a handheld recorded and specific notes about instrumentation scribbled down while on holiday in Villajoyosa in Spain turned into this little ditty when back in slightly colder Norway.

"Bronchi Beat"
Made in bed during a rough patch of bronchitis. Heavily influenced by prescription cough medicine.
Orbe from Madrid made a dizzy techno version which comes out soon enough...

""
I find great inspiration in working on new ideas while travelling the skies. Partly inspired by a detour into the soundtrack of my early teens (Paul Hardcastle, Warp 9, Maze, Mtume...)this particular one was started on a bumpy flight home from Athens and later finished in my tiny M57 Studio(R.I.P.)

"Æ"
Another bronchitis-ridden idea. Slow and low is the tempo. Beat originally inspired by Brian Briggs "AEO", melodies beamed in from Wally Badarou.
"Æ"is the norwegian pronounciation of the A in Acid refering to the 303 screeches going through the "song"

"Ø"
By the title you might think I'm running out of ideas. Not sure what happened here and why...

"Lunga Strada"
The track that took me the longest to complete hence the "long road".
Personal favourites The Pilotwings from Lyon sent over 2 ridiculously good and fun remixes which will
be released on a separate 10"

"London til Lisboa"
Another idea made on a plane when I should have tried to catch some sleep.
Direction steered by Plaid and Pat Metheny. Thank you for the inspiration

"Å"
Initially the final track AND then: scrapped idea for the alphabet soup of "Principe del Norte".
Later evolved into what we have here. Comes with a really nice remix by Pional on a separate 12"

"Venter på Torske"
The final recorded addition to the album. Made while waiting for Bjørn Torske to reply on a text message...

"Aske Hermansen"
In all seriousness, this is probably as soppy as it gets with me.
Tears into my computer keyboard, made on the road missing my wife and kids.

Repress

Berlin's Mechatronica follows up on the last Dez Williams EP, with a new VA compilation featuring The Exaltics, Drvg Cvltvre, Le Chocolat Noir and Kluentah.

The Exaltics and Drvg Cvltvre pack the A-side with gritty, hypnotizing acid burners, relentlessly paced and bound to induce frenzy. On the flip, Le Chocolat Noir and Kluentah (50% of Hamburg duo Fallbeil) dive deep into analogue driven electro trips, culminating with Kluentah's 9-minute journey 'Nightliner'.

Remastered vinyl with colour innersleeve + download code card. Originally issued by Crammed in 1987, this is one of the most sought-after releases in their legendary 'Made to Measure' series. Known for his numerous albums, soundtracks, and collaborations with the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Van Dyke Parks, Pierre Barouh, Bjork and Elvin Jones, composer and saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu wrote and recorded this brilliant and inventive collection of short pieces, initially conceived for Japanese TV commercials (and bearing sweet titles such as "Seiko", "Sharp", "Honda" etc). This album has achieved near-mythical status in the last few years, which have seen artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never sing its praise.

Expansion's most successful and longest running compilation series returns with a 2017 edition. The concept remains the same, fifteen must-have modern soul room gems taken from the year's biggest dance floor spins on the soul scene. While tracks here have topped UK soul charts, many have not been available in all formats. Once again, attention is paid to the 'flow' of the 15 gems chosen here from shuffling beats to boogie to more soulful house as played at modern soul events. Participants this year include Omar with Los Charly's Orchestra, Tawatha Agree (voice of Mtume's Juicy Fruit') with Aeroplane, Kenny Thomas with Thames River Soul produced by and featuring Incognito, and both Wez and The Groove Association formerly members of Brit Funk group Second Image. Leela James is here after her stint in a US realty TV show R&B Divas: Los Angeles', other guests including Amp Fiddler, Faith Evans, Trina Broussard and Lifford.

Infused with minty flavours this next blend brings raw grooves, warm baselines and uplifting melodies. Crafted with love they make the perfect accompaniment to twilight settings, tracks supplied from Mattiik (UK), Slim Steve (Italy), DOS (Austria) and James Henry (UK).

Die klingt genau so, wie sie heißt: farbenprächtig, schwurbelig, episodenhaft und manchmal richtig schön beknackt. Siriusmo nistet sich auch mit seinem dritten Album wieder an seinem ganz eigenen Plätzchen in der elektronischen Musik ein, indem er alle möglichen Stile und Vorlieben durch seinen persönlichen Filter schickt, notorisch tiefstapelt, maßlos übertreibt und immer auf dem Punkt landet. Siriusmo ist der Vordenker, der gar keiner sein will. "Comic" ist ein perfekt unperfektes Selbstportrait und enthält - in des Meisters eigenen Worten - "14 bunte Geschichten zum Selbstausmalen. Aber keine Bange, diese Geschichten erwachen von ganz allein zum Leben. Vergleiche sind überflüssig, nur einer drängt sich auf: Sowohl melodische Vintage-Electro-Romanzen wie "Dagoberta" als auch fuchsteufelswilde Arrangements wie "Bleat" ziehen Parallelen zu alten Squarepusher-Platten. Statt Jazz und Jungle bestimmt bei Moritz eben die Berliner Sozialisation den Sound.

This obscure and difficult to find LP is the Heath Brothers' debut album and is considered to be their best. 'Marchin'on' is unquestionably a masterpiece and is a much sought-after album. With its wealth of riffs, it is much appreciated by samplers and has been sampled by various contemporary artists. It was originally released in 1976 on Strata-East, a label at the time co-owned by Stanley Cowell. The album flows fluidly, meticulously in a warm rich blend with the four part 'smilin' Billy suite being a tour de force on its own. All suites have the same anchor in melody but each branches out to its own distinctive song varying from relaxed to light to dramatic and upbeat. The Heath Brothers was formed in 1975 by brothers Jimmy, Percy, Albert Heath and the much celebrated pianist Stanley Cowell in Philadelphia. The band later on continued with the brothers and alternate new members, with at one point the very talented 'Mtume' who is Jimmy Heath's son, joining. - Rachel Kinoti

September marks the return of MindTrip's Don on his imprint with a dark, intense and musical exploration, followed by a signature remix by Ukranian icon Stanislav Tolkachev. 'Rise Of The White Dwarf' welcomes you into a trippy journey. 'Double Existence' goes into a darker dimension of broken patterns and modular jam. 'They Want To Fool Us' is a clear statement by Pfirter who delivers a raw, stormy techno track that keeps a melancholic twinge; while Stanislav Tolkachev makes his long awaited debut on MindTrip with a psychedelic, strong and driving interpretation of this original piece. MT16 completely embodies MindTrip's philosophy around music created to take individuals on a higher state of consciousness. This is MindTrip.

I feel unstoppable, I feel unstoppable, I feel unstoppable, singen Superfood auf ihrem zweiten Album.
Und diesen Anflug von Unaufhaltsamkeit kann man tatsächlich spüren. Schließlich kann man seine
gesamte musikalische DNA nicht einfach neuschreiben und den fanatischen Indie-Bombast des
Debüts für eine neue Morgendämmerung hinter sich lassen - so wie es das Duo auf Bambino tut -
ohne dass einem eine übermenschliche Dosis Selbstvertrauen durch die Venen schießt.

Taken from his 'You Might Be Surprised' album from 1985 and produced by James Mtume with additional help from Tawatha & Philip Fields (of Aurra & Mtume) as well as David Frank (of The System), this 12 inch has long been sought after by Roy Ayers fans with the release changing hands for over £100 regularly on Discogs.

This mid tempo joint with forward thinking lyrics, a great 808 beat and beautiful chords is sophisticated, yet hood. Reissued for the first time, don't miss this opportunity to own this slice of mid 80's Roy Ayers.

An Australian classic rereleased for the first time ever. Born in 1993 when euphoria was still cool Sweetness and Light is the original rave anthem. Dreamy and breakbeaty this has aged like your best bottle of wine. Brought to you by icons of the scene Itch-E & Scratch-E AKA Paul Mac and Andy Rantzen, between them they have remixed the likes of INXS, Severed Heads, LCD Soundsystem, Kylie Minogue, The Presets and Sia.
In 1994 it came 21st in Triple J's Hottest 100 followed by the honours of an ARIA award for Best Dance Release in 1995. In his infamous acceptance speech Paul Mac announced "We'd like to thank all of Sydney's ecstasy dealers, without whom this award would not be possible".
On the b-side we have Motorik's newest festival act For Life remixing Sweetness into 21st century tempos. Perfect to break between your house and techno this 130bpm heavy hitter blew off the dust from the original to shine again.
Brought to you by your favourite party techno label Motorik who cares more about concept then a budget, this is an opportunity which couldn't be passed down. Sweetness and Light represented warehouse culture in the 90s, it was the resistance to authority, the acceptance of all and the beginning of underground dance music as we know it today.

More Than Less, started from Seoul, South Korea, came back with 4th Vinyl release Folka EP, composed by Joton, owner of Newrhythmic Records, based in North Spain, Leon. He is also part of More Than Less records, releasing "Fragment EP" with Soolee remixes in 2014. It had great success and been supported by many producers like Surgeon, Pacou, DVS1, Invite ,Lakker, Paul Mac, Samuli Kemppi, Unam Zetineb, Jeroen Search and many more. "Folka EP" has two new tracks, called "Frontier" and "Sendice". These two tracks are remixed by Japanese Techno hero, DJ Nobu, and Korean Techno pioneer, Soolee, again. The "Folka EP" represents the conjunction of AsianEuropean Techno, which More Than Less has been pursuing. "Frontier" has pure anlalog synth sounds with addicted melody line, based on rough sound textures. It s obviously for the peak time of the dance floor. "Sendice" has unique grooves which Joton s trademark and adding rhythmic loops gives numerous dance feelings. "Frontier", DJ Nobu remixed, gives hypnotic raw sounds and exotic feelings. It has subtle rhythmic factor and people can t help moving their body. Another remixer is, More Than Less Records owner, Soolee. It is 9 minute track, consisting with full of hypnotic sounds from the first to the end

Pfirter and his label MindTrip are highly respected in the world of Techno. Being the main vessel for his own productions, it has also featured music and remixes by producers such as Chris Liebing, Lucy, Markus Suckut, Oscar Mulero and Developer, whilst also looking to support and break new artists. The fifteenth vinyl release is in charge of Italian talent Diego Amura who makes his MindTrip debut following releases on the likes of ARTS, Planet Rhythm and Konsequent. Having played alongside leading DJs such as Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann, Rødhåd, Sleeparchive and Dax J, his reputation is growing substantially with each gig and release. Diego's original tracks on the Automa EP incorporate a raw, analogue aesthetic, with a nod to the old school. Straight up jams ready for any dancefloor, they also have a feeling of menace and purpose from the twisted melodies. Jonas Kopp supplies the sole remix, who to many should need no introduction following his influential releases on Tresor, PoleGroup, Ilian Tape, CLR and many more. His rework concentrates on a more hypnotic flow, instilled with sparks of energy, funk and deep textures. This is MindTrip!

To mark the release of their sophomore album, Dark Sky present a pair of remixes of their latest tracks. Brace yourself for a double treat of raw dancefloor virtuosity via Miami and Munich.
Omnidisc labelhead Danny Daze takes on the atmospheric march of - The Walker', creating an eerie and intensely long build-up that eventually gives way to a slamming yet ethereal EBM finish.
Next up are Munich's techno overlords the Zenker Brothers. They infuse - Kilter' with some genuine breakbeat magic and hard-hitting industrial vibes while brilliantly reinventing the original track's melodic themes. Spot-on.