Suche:natural funk
Last year, following the special vinyl 45 release of Samba De Flora - the Romero Bros from Argentina presented a full LP of Latin and Brazilian club flavours to be exclusively distributed worldwide on vinyl by Echo Chamber Recordings.
It received brilliant feedback from a wide range of DJs across the planet and the full version of Samba De Flora was licensed to Acid Jazz Records for their legendary Totally Wired Compilation LP - so it was a natural idea for a couple of those people to be involved in this next release on a vinyl 45 - with the two tracks that gained the biggest feedback
Side A - “Cravo E Canela” with the Romero’s great take on the classic Brazilian anthem from Milton Nascimento originally on their LP from last year which gained a lot of airplay at the time. This 45 release this has been given an extra special remix / update from the legendary Chris Bangs. He adds more bass bounce to the ounce and a funky shuffle to make it even more club friendly
Side B - “Gabriel” - their Latinized version of Roy Davis Jr’s 90s club smash. LA based DJ Greg Belson was such a fan after he got the LP, that he immediately made an exclusive edit to put on a 45 dubplate - to pack on his 2025 UK Tour - dropping it to devastating effect in place like Glastonbury and club dates across the country. So it was a natural choice to include this version on the flip of the 45 - under his Preacher monicker to align with his other releases on the sister label - Echo Edits
- A1: Miami
- A2: Lullaby
- A3: Dryer
- A4: Dazzle
- A5: Green Eyes
- B1: Born Again
- B2: Did A Dj Ever Save Your Life
- B3: It Stopped Raining
- B4: The Walk
- B5: Seq24
- B6: Summers Almost Gone
- C1: Intro
- C2: St. Nazaire
- C3: Open Window
- C4: Cemetary
- C5: Hot Day
- C6: Rome
- C7 5: Am
- D1: Too Tired To Sleep (Awake)
- D2 12: Hours
- D3: Peace
- D4: Wildly Oscillating
- D5: Sugar Plums
- D6: Still
- D7: My Lovely
Once I Was Young and The Airplane Album find the producer taking yet another sonic right turn. "These records were made in the same year with a very similar creative process. I moved almost completely away from sampling, experimented more than ever with ambient and techno elements and used the album format as a way to tell a story about moments in my life." Once I Was Young is a storytelling work that journeys through analogue synth-pop, modulated techno and raw, dusty drums with otherworldly melodies. Moments of beauty come through escapist, naturalistic ambient tracks and fusions of Kraftwerkian sequencing with more classical piano, while stark, clubready grooves keep things moving. Airplane contrasts similar shades of light and dark, synthetic and organic, rough and smooth. Glitchy, imperfect analogue sounds, knackered drum machine grooves and eerie synth phrasing evoke a post-human world with icy atmospheres. Elsewhere, warmth comes from bittersweet melodies and loose, funky drums that ooze retro-future charm.
Once I Was Young and The Airplane Album show a diff erent side to Escobar, one that embraces introspection and experimentation while exploring a whole other world of meaningful machine soul
This first-time reissue of Quinteplus’ 1971 album revives a key moment in Argentine jazz, featuring crisp trumpet and tenor sax, electric piano-driven funk and modal grooves, and a tight, spacious rhythm section. It showcases prominent figures like Jorge Anders and “Pocho” Lapouble.
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Quinteplus was born in Buenos Aires at the end of the 1960s, emerging directly from the ideas and experiments of the legendary Agrupación Nuevo Jazz. Founded in the early ’60s, this collective brought together some of the most forward thinking figures in Argentine jazz functioned as a creative lab where musicians questioned where jazz could go next. Among the key ideas discussed was the fusion of jazz with Argentine folk styles such as zamba, chacarera, malambo, cueca, and candombe, as well as a deeper look into African rhythms as a bridge between musical worlds.
Two members of that collective, keyboardist Santiago Giacobbe and bassist Jorge “Negro” González, carried those ideas forward when they formed Quinteplus in 1969. The group came together naturally: all the musicians already knew each other and had played in different projects around the Buenos Aires scene. They shared a strong admiration for Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s quintet, along with a clear goal—to develop a modern jazz language grounded in local Argentine rhythms.
From the start, Quinteplus stood out for its openness and adventurous spirit. Rhythm was central, and so was experimentation. The band belonged to a generation of Argentine jazz musicians eager to explore electric instruments and new textures, anticipating what would soon be known as jazz-rock. This was happening in Buenos Aires at the very same time Miles Davis was opening new doors with “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew”. Giacobbe introduced one of the first Fender electric pianos in Argentina, while González pioneered the amplification of the upright bass and even developed a hybrid electric, boxless version of the instrument. Trumpeter Gustavo Bergalli, meanwhile, maintained close ties with the emerging Argentine rock scene, collaborating with Luis Alberto Spinetta and appearing on Almendra’s first album.
In 1971, Quinteplus recorded its first and only studio album for EMI. The original lineup featured Jorge Anders on tenor saxophone, Bergalli on trumpet, Giacobbe on keyboards, González on upright and electric bass, and Norberto “Pocho” Lapouble on drums and percussion—who also illustrated the album’s iconic sleeve. The record is a refined showcase of the band’s musical vision: original compositions, fluent jazz language, folk-derived rhythms, funky electric textures, tight ensemble playing, and standout brass solos. Though critically praised, the album received little label support and sold modestly, eventually becoming a sought-after collector’s item.
Quinteplus disbanded in 1973, their music was perhaps too bold and unconventional for its time.
While self-proclaimed "garage and jackin' house" revivalist Marc Cotterell has developed his Plastik People label into a fine outlet blessed with an ever-growing family of artists, he still maintains a steady release schedule of his own. The British producer is naturally in good form on his latest Plastik People missive. Check first opener 'Take Your Time', where breezy piano stabs and deliciously soulful vocals ride a squelchy bassline and loose-limbed garage-house beats, before admiring the more "trad" soulful house flex of the gorgeous and lightly funky 'Mysterious Ex'. Over on side B, 'Feed The Soul' is a string-laden slab of revivalist New Jersey garage-house goodness which doffs a cap to the early 1990s, while 'This Life Living' re-casts Jill Scott r&b classic 'Golden' as a rolling soulful house delight.
Tim Maia’s self-titled 1973 album is one of those records that hits you from the very first groove and doesn’t let go. Originally released on Polydor Brazil, this was the fourth in a series of Tim’s self-titled albums and many fans and critics still consider it the crown jewel. Packed with irresistible hooks, lush arrangements, and that unmistakable Tim Maia swagger, the album captures the singer at the peak of his creative powers.If you’re new to Tim Maia, here’s the quick story: born in Rio de Janeiro, Tim was a larger-than-life icon whose music married American soul and funk with Brazilian samba and pop long before “fusion” was a buzzword. A true musical polymath, he absorbed everything from Curtis Mayfield to Motown and translated it into a sound entirely his own, gritty, passionate, and full of groove.
He didn’t just introduce soul to Brazil; he made it Brazilian.On this 1973 release, Tim pushes everything up a notch. The arrangements are bigger, slicker, and surprisingly majestic, without losing the raw spirit that earned him a devoted following. From the moment ‘Réu Confesso’ opens the album, you know you’re in for something special—smooth, funky, and heartfelt in all the right ways. The bittersweet ‘Gostava Tanto de Você’ remains one of his most beloved classics, while ‘O Balanço’ bursts with Brazilian flavor that practically dares you not to move. And with tracks like ‘Do Your Thing, Behave Yourself’ and ‘Over Again,’ Tim shows just how naturally the soul idiom fit him, even when he switched to English.This record has everything: deep grooves, soaring strings, magnetic vocals, and that unmistakable sense of joy that Tim Maia carried into every session. It’s a front-to-back winner—one of those albums that deserves a spot not just in Brazilian music history, but in any collection that celebrates great soul, funk, and timeless grooves.If you’re a longtime fan, it’s a reminder of why Tim Maia is legendary. If you’re discovering him for the first time, this is the perfect place to start. Either way: press play, turn it up, and let Tim do his thing.
- 01: Arp Amp Chasm
- 02: Drift Vector
- 03: Modloop 138 Fragment
- 04: Foldsp4
- 05: Osc Hop (Slow Collapse)
- 06: Tweak 3 Driftmass
- 07: Blurform Dust
- 08: Wogglebug Remembered
- 09: Trippy135 Phase 0
- 10: Nachtgrain
- 11: Chronoroute Fank
- 12: Freeqwarp 2025 Redux
- 13 30: 3 Template Refract
- 14: Dln - Soft Ruin
- 15: Cr78 Mesh
- 16: Volca Signal 06
- 17: Ctrssalms (Cold Render)
- 18: Oceans Past And Present
- 19: Jt33Unstable Core
- 20: Modern Birds (Origin Edit)
Contemplating the role of the album format in an attention-deficient society, Speedy J presents Walkman -- a constantly shifting, 90-minute soundtrack to a journey of your choice. Jochem Paap's first solo album in over 20 years is a freewheeling, 20-track testament to his decades-deep studio skill and sonic versatility, running from skewed rhythmic rabbit holes to exploratory tonal abandon. For Paap, the traditional idea of the album had become obscured by listening habits and the non-stop information barrage of our digital lives. Having moved on from his breakthrough years releasing LPs and touring off the back of them, he was more inspired to develop his many-sided STOOR project and feed into a bigger artistic body of work than the temporary shelf-life of a single release. As is natural for any artist, his perspective shifted over time and he found himself drawn back to the idea of an album, realising he connected best with longer releases while he was on a walk, out for a run or generally in transit one way or another. With an endearing call back to the humble Walkman, he selected an hour and a half of material created during studio sessions at the beginning of 2025, perfectly sized to fit on two 45-minute sides of a cassette tape. As has long been the case for his studio practice, there were no fixed intentions when sitting down in the STOOR lab to start making noise -- just a wealth of experience and an expansive set of tools to start exploring with. From hours of jams Paap pulled together standout moments and moulded them into a mixtape-like narrative ranging from two-minute beat nuggets to full-tilt techno workouts and immersive ambient drops. Every sound is intentional, but the overall delivery is instinctive and curious, showing multiple new dimensions to Paap's sound and offering unpredictability at every turn. 'Arp Amp Chasm' opens the album up in a thick blanket of humming, harmonic waves with an electric emotional charge, while 'Ctrssalms17 (Cold Render)' journeys through evocative blooms of melancholic, gritty pads and rugged, half-submerged tech funk. 'Modern Birds (Origin Edit)' reaches skywards with grand sweeps of dynamic, brilliantly rendered synthesis. From the dexterous drum science of 'Drift Vector' to 'Osc Hop (Slow Collapse)'s lurching, beatless swamp of synths, on Walkman even the briefest snapshots leave an impression that lasts beyond the quick-scan cycle of the modern music experience. With his return to the album format, Paap's message is clear --put your headphones on, get outside and lose yourself in the sound of an artist constantly committed to moving forwards.
Gatefold Sleeve
M’Bamina – African Roll (1975)
The story of an album born between Africa, Italy, and the nightclub culture of the 1970s
In the heart of 1970s Italy — a country undergoing profound social change and a music scene just beginning to open itself to distant sounds and cultures — an extraordinary, almost improbable story took shape. It is the story of a group of young African musicians who found their way to Europe, of a Turin nightclub that became a crossroads for communities and experimenters, and of an album which, released in small numbers and largely unnoticed at the time, is now considered a rare jewel of Afro-fusion.
The band called themselves M’Bamina — an ensemble of musicians from Congo, Cameroon, and Benin, who arrived in Italy in the early Seventies. Settling between northern Italy and the Pavia area, they began performing in small clubs and community events, bringing with them a vibrant rhythmic heritage: African polyrhythms, call-and-response vocals, funk-infused bass lines, and Caribbean or Afro-Latin colours absorbed along their musical journeys. Their raw, contagious energy on stage quickly drew attention.
Meanwhile, in Turin, another story was unfolding. There was a venue becoming almost legendary: Voom Voom, one of the city’s liveliest nightclubs, run by Ivo Lunardi. The club attracted an eclectic crowd — students, artists, foreigners, night owls — and Lunardi quickly understood that the dancefloor wasn’t just a place for music, but a melting pot for a new kind of cultural energy. Out of this vibrant atmosphere came his idea: to turn the club’s name into a small independent record label, Voom Voom Music, capable of capturing the spirit of those years and giving voice to unconventional projects.
When Lunardi heard M’Bamina, he immediately sensed that this was the sound he had been searching for: fresh, different from anything circulating in Italy at the time, and capable of blending African tradition with funk and European sensibility. He brought them into the studio.
Production was handled by Lunardi along with Christian Carbaza Michel, while the engineering was entrusted to Danilo Pennone, a young sound technician with a sharp, intuitive ear.
The recording sessions — held in Turin in 1975 — produced a remarkably warm and direct sound. The music feels almost live: grooves rooted in African tradition, but open to funk-rock structures and modern arrangements. It is a natural fusion, never forced. Tracks move between tribal rhythms, funk basslines, light electric guitars, congas and Afro-Latin percussion, with call-and-response vocals and melodies that echo both Congolese tradition and the lineage of Latin jazz. Not by chance, one of the album’s most striking tracks, Watchiwara, reinterprets a Latin standard through M’Bamina’s own rhythmic language.
The album was titled African Roll — a name that was already a statement of intention. It is African music that “rolls,” that moves, adapts, transforms within a new geographic and cultural setting. It is not strictly Afrobeat, nor Congolese rumba, nor Western funk: it is a spontaneous, hybrid blend, shaped more by lived experience than by any calculated aesthetic program.
When African Roll was released, the world around it barely noticed. Distribution was limited, and 1970s Italy had yet to develop a cultural framework for receiving such music. The national music press rarely paid attention to African or “world” productions. The album slipped into silence — though the band’s own story did not.
M’Bamina continued performing across Europe and Africa, even sharing a stage in Cameroon with none other than Manu Dibango. By the late Seventies, they moved to Paris, signed with Fiesta/Decca, and recorded a second LP, Experimental (1978). Meanwhile, the peculiar record they had made in Turin began to resurface quietly among vinyl collectors, Afro-funk enthusiasts, and DJs hunting for forgotten grooves.
That is when the album’s fate began to shift.
Over the decades, African Roll emerged as an almost unique document: a snapshot of an intercultural Italy before the word “intercultural” even existed, a fragment of migrant history, a spontaneous experiment in musical fusion born far from major industry circuits but rich in authenticity. Original copies began commanding high prices on the collector’s market, and the album became recognized as one of the hidden classics of European Afro-fusion from the 1970s.
Today, more than fifty years later, this reissue finally restores visibility and dignity to a project that deserves to be heard, studied, and celebrated. It is not simply an album: it is the testimony of a rare cultural encounter, born in an Italy unaware of how fertile such exchanges would one day become.
It is the story of a visionary producer, an extraordinary band, and a fleeting moment in which music, migration, and nightlife came together to create something genuinely new.
African Roll is — now more than ever — the sound of a bridge: between continents, between eras, between cultures. A record that, after rolling far and wide, has finally come home.
- A1: Kármán Cantata
- A2: Alto Vento
- A3: Low Orbit
- A4: All Is
- B1: Celestial Matari
- B2: Earthly Elements
- B3: Molecules
Fresh off the back of the successes of Work Money Death, The Flying Hats and The Library Archives: Volume 4, ATA Records is proud to present The Karman Line by Outer Worlds Jazz Ensemble.
When musicians are on tour conversations naturally turn to music. Two years ago, whilst exploring the jazz kissas and record stores of Tokyo, woodwind maestro Chip Whickham and ATA mastermind and bassist Neil Innes discussed their shared influences of Yusef Lateef, David Axelrod and Alice Coltrane. The seeds for a new project were sown and soon seven tracks of deep, spiritual, groove driven jazz were laid down and on tape.
The moods of the album are varied yet share a sense of reverence and exploration. On Karmen Cantala and All Is Chip’s flute floats and soars, propelled by dreamlike harp and waves of impressionistic piano. Low Orbit takes things in a funkier direction, arrangements with Steve Parry’s horn (including the unusual instrumentation of bassoon, French horn and tuba) channelling 1970s Quincy Jones and the loping swagger of Archie Shepp’s Mama Too Tight. The Celestial Matari and Molecules recall the flowing, cosmic sounds of Joe Henderson and Alice Coltrane’s masterpiece The Elements, and Earthly Elements gets earthy indeed. Driven by a heavy, dance-floor bass line and an array of percussion, Chips flute gets huskier, dirtier and more insistent, drawing deep from Yusef Lateef’s Psychicemotus and Roland Kirk’s Blacknuss.
Cinthie’s Collective Cuts sub-label of her 803 Crystal Grooves label welcomes the UK’s Black Eyes onto its roster this March with his ‘Hydrocity Reflex’ EP, comprised of four original soul drenched House Jams.
Cinthie’s 803 Crystal Grooves Collective Cuts welcomes Black Eyes with a fresh four-track EP that distils the Manchester-born, Berlin-based artist’s signature aesthetic into its purest form. Fusing deep, trippy and soulful house with a raw, Detroit-leaning sensibility, Black Eyes channels the influence of House music’s roots into rolling rhythms and fluid textures alongside shaped by his enduring love of water. Now firmly embedded in Berlin’s underground while carrying the grit of his northern roots, he delivers a release that feels both immersive and driving a natural fit for 803 Crystal Grooves’ dance floor focused sonic vision.
Opening the EP is ‘Can You Dig That Depth’, an emotive slice of House driven by saturated keys, soulful vocal lines, heavily swung drums and a buoyant bassline. ‘Pressure Malfunction’ follows, stripping things back to organic percussion, sweeping filtered funk loops and intricately processed spoken-word chants. The B-side begins with ‘Loyalty To Tha Deep’, living up to its name as it embraces classic Deep House sensibilities through choppy, airy chord progressions, hypnotic breathy vocals, fluttering melodies and slow-slung, crunchy drums. ‘Funky Oxygen’ then brings the release to a close, channelling the spirit of Motor City House with a refined blend of cut-up samples, shuffled percussion, jazzy keys and a snaking bass groove.
Big Bombs EP marks the debut release on Bertie Bassett’s self-titled label, introducing a collection of groove-led house cuts rooted in classic influences and underground club culture.
Already gaining global support from DJs like Marco Carola and, Shaka Loves You and featured on Traxsource’s Essential Afro chart.
Across four tracks, Bertie Bassett delivers a mix of DJ-focused tools and edits, blending raw house rhythms, funk-driven elements and stripped-back arrangements designed for dancefloor use.
From the driving energy of Get House and Back To Underground to the reworked grooves of Man In Black (Edit Mix) and Finga Loop (Bertie Bassett Rumba Remix), the EP offers a versatile selection suited to both peak-time and deeper club sets.
With a long-standing background in house music and production, Bertie Bassett brings a seasoned approach to this first release, combining classic influences with a modern underground edge.
As the first release on the label, this EP sets the tone for the project moving forward, offering strong appeal for DJs looking for fresh, playable house cuts with a raw, groove-led feel.
A natural fit for fans of labels such as Razor-N-Tape, Toy Tonics, Bed Edits and Disco Express.
A DJ-friendly and versatile release for stores supporting underground house and edit-driven sounds.
Time To Get On Board A New Black Universal Express.
With each new recording Anthony Joseph presents an imaginative, personal vision of contemporary black culture, and The Ark is yet another compelling album by the award-winning Trinidadian poet and musician. This second part of a sequence of two albums launched with last year’s Rowing Up River To Get Our Names Back, finds Joseph giving full vent to his desire to explore many thought-provoking themes. However, there is a specific thread running through the glorious offering of sounds.
”I was especially interested in the idea of using Afrofuturism as a means of using the future in order to correct the wrongs of the past,” explains Joseph. “And so a lot of lyrics reimage or imagine an alternate black history. At the same time there are elements of autobiography.” The aforesaid cultural phenomenon, a view of the black experience through the prism of science fiction and ancient Egypt and Africa, as mapped out by visionaries from music and literature such as Sun Ra, Parliament-Funkadelic and Octavia E. Butler, has previously inspired Joseph. His 2006 novel The African Origins Of UFOs was a multi-hued work, and the new music shows how Joseph
has, much like all significant artists, gone on to broaden his conceptual palette, creating beguiling new stories and images set to startling rhythms and tones. Tracks such as ‘James’, with its taut, crisp bass and dubbed-up brass, and ‘Transposition Of Space (Glissant)’, a potent evocation of the influential Martiniquan theorist set in a haze of jazz guitar and ambient synthesizers, are marvels of text-sound painting.
As for ‘Baron Samedi’, shaped by a languid, almost wounded guitar line and slow rise of horns that frame Joseph’s journey to the ‘mountain of fire, almost touching the sky’ it is an epic blend of commanding vocal delivery and dramatic sonic tapestry.
Joseph led the Spasm band in the early 2000s and recorded well-received albums such as Bird Head Son and Time, in which songs were largely based on spirituals or chants enhanced by improvisation. But his musical curiosity has naturally led to collaborations, and the new work is produced by Dave Okumu, the prodigiously talented guitarist-vocalist-composer known as the leader of Mercury Music Prize-nominated The Invisible, and who was also a member of the seminal band Jade Fox.
Having first performed together at a show curated by influential saxophonist-flautist Shabaka Hutchings at the storied Total Refreshment Centre In London during lockdown, Joseph and Okumu struck up a rapport that further developed when the former guested on he latter’s album. With the connection made Joseph knew Okumu was the ideal producer for this latest project, which has a freewheeling, almost black psychedelic thing. After sifting through demos and loops the guitarist made on pro-tools the poet started to live with the music. Many months later words began to take shape. Joseph then went into the studio with Okumu’s band and set about creating a magnum opus. Boasting a stellar cast such as vocalist Eska Mtungwazi, trumpeter Byron Wallen and keyboardist Nick Ramm, The Ark is a highly intricate musical mosaic framed by simmering funk grooves, wily jazz improvisation and haunting dub effects. Through the use of many genres the music has simply become its own genre.
The Ark can be perceived as a vessel or means of transport to new worlds, along the lines of Sun Ra’s Ark or Funkadelic’s Mothership, and the material it contains is a unique blend of who Anthony Joseph is and how he sees the world and society in these stimulating, challenging times. “It balances the personal with the universal in a much more vulnerable, accessible way than on previous albums,” Joseph explains.
“It has become less about a personal experience and more about a collective, communal experience in which the artist is conduit, messenger, urban griot.”
Making a welcome return nine years on from his last outing on Dekmantel, Makam offers up a generous helping of wayward grooves that take his curious spirit even further into unmarked territory. With a strong dub sensibility grounding his rich tapestry of percussion and instrumentation, Guy Blanken follows his own path to arrive at an album that embodies house music as a launchpad for experimentation.
Blanken says himself he was determined to approach his first Makam productions in years from a place of total freedom — "It's not a single direction, but rather a landscape of sounds, moments, and textures. TARP feels like a new beginning, a free project that just had to happen naturally." The steady pulse of the club remains a guiding principle boldly manifested on heads down roller 'Static Shade', but even in the lilting organic loops and tumbling percussion of 'Forgive' there is a funkiness that's beholden to continuous movement.
At times the direct thump of 4/4 disco juts out as a call to dance, not least on 'Flying Birds' and 'La Tuna', but elsewhere the rhythms are more slippery. 'Dub In Loen' plots a delicate path through dub techno and 'Lummel Spirit' casts off into pattering Balearic bliss. The pervasive dub mood of the record comes to the fore on expertly crafted stepper 'Diagonal Rain' and crooked album opener 'Clear Skies'. 'Jackie B' lands as a love letter to quintessential deep house, and yet still there's a left-of-centre charm that gives the track a personality that is pure Makam.
Exuding warmth and imagination at every turn, TARP is the perfect example of how to make a groove-oriented album a rich home listening experience. There are ample moments primed for the spectacle of the dancefloor, but the mellow hue and broad sweep of approaches make Makam's welcome return utterly compelling from end to end.
Frankfurt am Main -- Leipzig duo not even noticed deliver their long-awaited debut album space beyond noise - a 12-track journey balancing club functionality with immersive, long-form listening.
Shaped by years of touring and a shared ritual of visiting botanical gardens around the world, the album blends shapely grooves, field recordings and warm melodic textures into a cohesive, lived- in sound. Subtle environmental details run throughout, creating a natural flow between tracks.
Musically, it moves between electro-funk, breakbeat and hip-hop- inflected cuts, with downtempo and dubby excursions. Highlights include the driving “chrone,” the sundown groove of “diras,” the acid-tinged “plune,” and the hazy two-step moment “skum.”
Designed with warmer months in mind, space beyond noise captures the balance between dancefloor energy and home listening depth.
The new album by the collective that for
over 25 years has been among the most
representative names of the Italian dance
and electronic scene worldwide.
“BLOOOM”, this is the title of the new release,
will be available in all traditional stores and
on digital platforms starting January 16.
Set against the soundscapes that have become
the Planet Funk trademark, the lyrics by Dan
Black attempt to give voice to a fragile and
contradictory condition of our time: an
intensified sensitivity that, instead of
turning into openness and connection, often
becomes emotional overload. A generation
constantly overwhelmed by excessive stimuli,
relentless information, anxieties, and fears,
called upon to find its way in a world thaoffers neither pauses nor silence. In this paradox, sensitivity is no longer just a natural gift, but
a daily effort: staying open and receptive without being overwhelmed, trying to preserve a human and
vulnerable gaze in order, despite everything, to fully appreciate life and the present moment.
The single’s artwork—like that of the album—curated by Nationhood, visually conveys this tension: the
distant sirens of a city that amplifies feelings of disorientation and loneliness even when we are
surrounded by thousands of people.
“BLOOOM”, preceded by the single “FEEL EVERYTHING”, arrives at the end of an intense, creative year
full of music, which saw Alex Neri (DJ, keyboards, synthesizers), Marco Baroni (keyboards, piano,
programming), Dan Black (vocals and guitar), and Alex Uhlmann (vocals and guitar) engaged between
studio work, collaborations, and live performances in Italy and abroad. A journey that today
transforms into new energy, into an even more open vision oriented toward the future.
Exactly one year ago, PLANET FUNK released “Nights in White Satin”, a single that reached the top
positions of the radio charts and launched a season rich in concerts and DJ sets in Italy and around
the world. The subsequent “I Get a Rush”, the collaboration with Alfa and Manu Chao on the remix of
their hit “A me mi piace”, and the track “È Naturale” together with Francesca Michielin, confirmed
Planet Funk’s ability to renew themselves and engage with different musical worlds while always
remaining true to their own identity.
Throughout this journey, music has inevitably intertwined with life. The memory of Sergio Della Monica
and Domenico “Gigi” Canu, pillars and founding souls of the PLANET FUNK project, is a living part of
this new chapter. Their vision, creative spirit, and way of understanding music continue to be a
constant guide, a deep root from which new ideas and new directions can grow.
“BLOOOM” is also this: a personal and artistic blossoming that, starting from the legacy left by
Sergio and Gigi, transforms into a living process of growth, metamorphosis, and discovery. An album
that does not look back with nostalgia, but forward with awareness, momentum, and a desire for
renewal.
Founded in 1999, for over 25 years PLANET FUNK have represented one of the most important, solid, and
influential realities in the international electronic music scene. Born from the meeting of Souled
Out! (Domenico “GG” Canu and Sergio Della Monica) and Kamasutra (Marco Baroni and Alex Neri), and
following their debut with “Non Zero Sumness” in 2002 (a gold record and a turning point for the
band), PLANET FUNK have managed to reinvent themselves over time while maintaining a unique sonic
identity. This has led them to collaborate with internationally renowned artists, deliver iconic
performances around the world, create soundtracks and international advertising campaigns, and
continue to demonstrate constant creative vitality
Indiana Jones never dug this deep.
Church – the brainchild of Joe Washington – were a band both lucky and cursed to come up in the seventies. Lucky, because they rode a wave of community activism, uplifting messages and a moment when music truly mattered. Cursed, because those same times meant their tight, heartfelt output went overlooked.
Mid-sixties to circa 1980 soul and funk were extraordinarily rich. The era’s big releases have aged like fine wine, yet countless hidden gems remain buried. Church’s only single was one of them. Their hypnotic 1976 release “How Long” b/w “Da Da Song” arrived the same year as Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, Marvin Gaye’s I Want You, Diana Ross’s Diana, and at a time when Black mainstream music was shifting toward disco. Church, however, sounded like Sly & The Family Stone in an alternate timeline — gritty, focused, stripped of additives.
“Da Da Song” is pure grits and gravy: furious, tight drums and lyrics that sound like both a plea to DJs to play their record and an insistence to keep the party alive, noticed or not. It cooks from start to finish in just two and a half minutes.
“How Long” is its own universe. Where “Da Da Song” is skeletal, “How Long” blends key strands of Black music in under three minutes: touches of spiritual jazz with a Gary Bartz-like sax, gospel-blues undertones, and echoes of the era’s flower-power-tinged Black creativity — The Undisputed Truth, The Family Stone, even the poetic freedom of Nikki Giovanni. The lyrics are a timeless plea for love.
Church formed in the Bay Area in the early seventies, shaped by the movement, culture and activism of the time. Joseph Washington, based in San Jose, never chased a music career — for him, music was a way to bring people together. Before Church, he led a backing band called Wash, then added gospel singer Linda Williams (née Stephens) and New York–born Joel Como on xylophone to complete the group.
They rehearsed in Joe’s garage, spread through word of mouth and played every gig they could: Black colleges, opening slots for The Whispers, neighbourhood house parties. Some members studied at Nairobi Junior College in East Palo Alto, then a hotbed of Black community activism, with revolution in the air and messages woven naturally into the music.
This single is a message from that era, resurfacing at last — ready to be sampled just as another Joe Washington track, “Look Me in the Eyes”, was on Drake and J. Cole’s “First Person Shooter”. These rare, spirited tunes are begging for new life through samplers, again and again.
Club Splendore was born in 2022 in Modena, Italy, as an itinerant party and club format.
In just a few years, it has established itself as one of the most recognizable disco-oriented projects within the new Italian nightlife scene, exporting its sonic and visual identity to iconic clubs and international settings.
With over 20 dates in a single year, recurring sold-outs and a diverse crowd, Club Splendore has evolved into an experience that goes beyond the dancefloor: an inclusive, label-free space where music, style and attitude coexist under red lights and immersive atmospheres. The format has appeared in some of the most relevant venues across Europe, including Villa Delle Rose (Riccione), Palazzina Grassi (Venice), Matis Club (Bologna), Hierbas Club (Cortina), while also expanding internationally with dates at Do Not Disturb – W Hotel Amsterdam, COYA Mykonos, and House Party London, confirming the project’s ability to connect with an international audience. From the club to the record.
Club Splendore Vol.1 is the project’s first official vinyl release and marks a natural step forward: capturing on physical format the sound that has been defining its dancefloors over the past years. The record explores a contemporary take on Italo Disco, infused with classic disco, funk and modern house elements, delivered with an ironic, sensual and direct approach. A sound that reinterprets the aesthetics of the ’80s without nostalgia, translating them into a current, club-focused language. Behind the production and on the decks: Sparkling Attitude, Nicola Zucchi and Matteo Mussoni, resident DJs of the format and the core musical force behind Club Splendore.
Side A features “Drink Campari”, an italo disco track built around warm, enveloping textures, elastic basslines, bright synths and a late-night groove. A story of summer desire and endless nights, playing with the iconography of Italian Red Passion in a light, effortless way.
Side B hosts “Madame”, a bonus track and electronic ballad with a more intimate, suspended mood. A track designed for the final hours of the night, when the club slows down and the dancefloor gives way to something more personal.
Club Splendore Vol.1 is not a compilation, but a statement of intent. A first chapter that brings the club experience beyond the club itself, staying true to the promise that has defined the project from the very beginning: “We will bring the light into the darkness of the night.
When Brazilian producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Diogo Strausz arrived in France, he already carried an impressive legacy. Known for his collaborations with the New York label Razor-N-Tape and for producing Brazilian legends such as Gal Costa and Marília Mendonça—whose tracks have gathered millions of streams worldwide—Strausz quickly made a name for himself among an international audience. His productions have also been remixed by acclaimed artists like Yuksek and Ron Trent, further cementing his global reach.
After two critically acclaimed releases on the French label Goutte d’Or Records (Flight of Sagittarius, 2022, and Samba From Outer Space, 2024), Diogo Strausz now naturally joins Favorite Recordings for a new chapter in his musical journey.
On this new album, Strausz pays tribute to the golden era of Brazilian Disco-Funk from the late 1970s and early 1980s, drawing inspiration from visionary producers Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti. The result is an organic, ambitious, and deeply groovy record that celebrates both the vibrant dance culture and the rich musical heritage of Brazil.
Faithful to Favorite Recordings’ analog spirit, the album was crafted using vintage studio gear, capturing the warmth and depth of classic recordings reminiscent of the legendary Estúdios da Sigla sessions in Rio de Janeiro.
The explosive track “Ele é Artista”, featuring Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart (Voilaaa, Mr. President, João Selva, Uptown Funk Empire), is a standout moment—a dancefloor-ready bomb that channels the joyful energy and irresistible funk of modern tropical productions.
With its sun-drenched grooves, jazz-funk sophistication, and boogie flair, this album confirms Diogo Strausz as a master at blending timeless Brazilian soul with contemporary elegance.
Planet Beyond – Selected Cuts Volume 1 marks the first release on Ruiger Records, presenting the distinctive world of ES — a Dutch producer, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist whose work flows effortlessly between live performance and studio creation.
Selected from an ever-growing archive built over the years, the music emerges from a deep vault of unreleased recordings spanning a wide range of moods and ideas. This collection offers a deeper look into a vivid creative universe of sound and feeling — a story that unfolds through rhythm, tone, and emotion. Each track adds a new shade to the journey, like a jigsaw falling into place, revealing new dimensions with every turn.
The music moves through eras and atmospheres — carrying echoes of ’90s electronic music and shaped by the spirit of ’70s jazz & funk. It’s expressive, natural, and percussive, full of motion and detail, where live playing, studio craft, and imagination merge into one seamless flow. The sound drifts from deep, funky electronic grooves to spacious, cinematic, and cosmic landscapes — music that invites you deeper with every listen. It sounds both new and familiar — as if rediscovering something ageless, still unfolding.
Seeking out the inspirational intersection between free improvisation, rave and ancient mysticism, Plants Heal deliver an album of kaleidoscopic, organic beatdowns to Quindi.
Plants Heal is a collaborative project between Dan Nicholls on synths, Dave De Rose on drums and Lou Zon (aka Louise Boer) on visuals. The roots of the project are entwined with Dan and Lou's London-based event Free Movements, which began in 2018 to explore how instrumental music could merge with live electronics and DJ sets. Dave and Dan found themselves playing together frequently at the event and as part of Dave's free improv project Agile Experiments, with their accomplished track records as multi-instrumentalists reaching across many layers of music culture. The particular synergy of their partnership taps into the subliminal, surreal and transcendental soundscapes, but they're reliably anchored by instinctive rhythms and driven by a natural flow-state.
From the tentative steps of their first collaborations, Dan and Dave coalesced Plants Heal as a more pronounced project with Lou's live visuals, culminating in a first self-released album in 2021 and since organically fed and watered through continued performances across adventurous festivals and intimate club spaces. Every incremental step along the path of the project yielded new surprises and the deepening sense of a unique, powerful energy. The trio opted to pour this energy into two days of studio sessions at Sonic Playground Studios in Athens, maintaining their unplanned approach and letting the music and visuals unfold in the moment. The end result is Forest Dwellers, a sincere document of truly free music that uses the rhythmic structure of dance and trance music as a springboard into heightened consciousness.
Throughout the album you can hear hints of the familiar - dub techno shimmers, trip hop boom-bap, kosmische momentum, snarling bass modulation, new age ambience and even the odd sizzle of disco. But none of these references are explicit, and they weave in and out of less placeable expressions deeply bedded into Dan and Dave's sonic practices. The end result is a swirling tapestry of unspooling groove, wide open and agile enough to shift gears mid-flow - just as comfortable letting the propulsion melt away as locking into a four-to-the-floor throwdown. From the slippery syncopation of 'Avena Moon' to the angular bait-and-switch of 'Alien Hardware', 'Yarrow's starry-eyed reverie and the rolling, warm-hearted funk of 'Space Ballad', the Plants Heal sound world is expansive and equally enthusiastic for immediate musical motifs as much as wild abstraction.
Lou's visual practice is an intrinsic part of the project. During performances she improvises with analogue footage from her library run through video mixers and synthesisers, focused on medicinal plants such as yarrow, hawthorn, nettle and thistle. All those plants feature in processed form on the cover of the record, which was designed in collaboration with Lou's brother Arthur Boer. Meanwhile, Lou recorded additional footage in Athens during the recording sessions to feed into the continued cycle of the project's live evolution.
Forest Dwellers' meaning honours this cycle and its reflection of the eternal undulations of the natural world. It's also a sincere tribute to the spiritual importance and radical potential of the dancefloor, drawn from the freedom taught by jazz and dedicated to reclaiming lost ideas about community, agency, bodies and the enduring allure of the unknown.
Vibe Ride is the sixth release of Adam Rudolph's Hu Vibrational project and marks his 60th release as a leader or co-leader. Comes with insert and download code.
“With every record, the goal is to explore new creative territory,” explains Rudolph. Vibe Ride continues a deeper exploration of a trance-like groove and a conceptual framework known as Sonic Mandala. This album marks the most complete realization of that idea, partly due to the group's experience touring beforehand. That time on the road helped to refine ideas and strengthen musical chemistry. The recording process unfolded organically—likely due to the long-standing collaboration within ensembles like Go: Organic Orchestra and Moving Pictures, where the musicians have developed a deep familiarity with the shared musical language.
Sonic Mandala refers to a musical approach distinct from traditional linear structures of theme and development. Found in cultures across the globe, it may represent one of the oldest forms of musical expression—predating written history by tens of thousands of years. Today, it is most vividly preserved in the music of the Ituri Forest peoples (Aka, Baka, Ba Benzele, Mbuti), whose sound traditions revolve in cyclical, orbit-like patterns. Vibe Ride seeks to bring that ancient sense of circularity into a contemporary—and perhaps even futuristic—context.
The ensemble of Vibe Ride—Alexis Marcelo, Jerome Harris, Harris Eisenstadt, Neel Murgai, Tim Kieper, and Tripp Dudley—brings exceptional creativity and skill to the project. While grounded in the sonic languages of today, their performance channels an ancient vibrational lineage, connecting with ancestral sound makers who were attuned to the rhythms of the sun, moon, stars, and seasons. Human beings have always been deeply responsive to natural cycles.
Like a mandala, where the circle reveals itself as a spiral—always returning, but never to the exact same point—the Sonic Mandala musical experience spirals through motion. Refined signal patterns emerge through overtone-rich instrumentation. The groove becomes a threshold, shifting the listener from passive observation into active, even transcendent, participation. With open ears and an open mind, the sound spirals inward—toward a primal center—and outward into the cosmos. When this elevated state is shared among participants, it creates what mystics describe as resonance.
Vibe Ride thrives on the distinctive sonic voices of its players, interwoven with care and nuance into the compositions. Hu Vibrational merges elements of world music, electronica, and improvised jazz into something both funky and spiritual, intense and soothing.
Using signature techniques of organic orchestration, layered arrangement, and electronic processing, the compositions are sculpted from percussion, electronics, and ethereal textures. Rhythmic foundations drawn from diverse traditions serve not as endpoints, but as building blocks. As the saying goes, “Orchestration is the key.” In shaping the sound, the aim was to discover fresh ways of balancing structure and sonic color. As Don Cherry once said: “The swing is in the sound.”
The audiophile LP was carefully recorded, mixed, and mastered by James Dellatacoma—longtime engineer for both Bill Laswell and Rudolph—at Laswell’s Orange Studio.
“This crew artfully blends together to create a seamless tapestry of rhythm… the end results are mesmerizing. Hu Vibrational is all about communing with the groove spirits and creating worlds where earthy rhythms and other-worldly sounds are one.”
— Dan Bilawsky, All Music Guide
“You can be sure that when Adam Rudolph and an ensemble of breathtaking drummers get together mystical and wonderful things will happen.”
— Raul da Gama,
“A stunning effort, enjoyable and grows with repeated listening.”
— Stefan Wood, Freejazzcollective
During the 35 years of making music, Dave Lee has constantly been searching for new singers and writers to work with. A search that’s ended up with many fantastic collaborations and releases with the likes of Thelma Houston, Taka Boom, Dianne Charlemagne and Seal. More recently this quest led him to Maurissa Rose and the creation of their album ‘London / Detroit’. After hearing Maurissa's voice on a Theo Parrish record Dave reached out to her and after a few long phone conversations and mp3 swaps they both agreed a visit to London would be much more fun than trying to work together remotely. Maurissa made the journey from her home in Detroit to write and record an album with Dave at his studio in March 2022 - as they both feel that creating music together in the same room is always better. The fruits of their labour yielded 11 brand new songs (and 1 cover) tapping into their collective love of Soul, Disco and R&B, with a sprinkle of Soulful House. This album is a special one for Dave Lee as it’s the first time in his career he’s recorded an entire album with same singer on every track.
In the album’s liner notes Dave talks of how Maurissa is a naturally creative person, full of ideas, warm & unpretentious which is reflected in her vocal performances throughout ‘London / Detroit’. Dave’s expertly crafted music is backed up with a deeply passionate yet effortless delivery from the Detroiter, a marker of someone who has honed and perfected their art. When it comes to the music side of this LP, Dave Lee is once again proving he’s still at the top of his game and shows no sign of relenting. Drawing from his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Soul/Funk/Disco, we are treated to a range of styles, BPMs and influences from 95bpm street soul to more uptempo disco and boogie flavours. Be it the rippling synth voyage opener of ‘You Decide’, taking the Johnnie Taylor classic ‘What About My Love’ into a modern Boogie realm, upping the tempo on the soulful houser ‘I Feel the Sun” or bringing the tempo back down to the bassy acidic chug of ‘You’re Giving Me Life’. Mr Lee is truly adept at creating a modern disco soul sound without the usage of samples.
London and Detroit might be two very different cities on opposite sides of the Atlantic but this album is proof that creative synergy knows no distance.
Out everywhere on Feb 28th on Gatefold Vinyl, CD and Digital/Streaming.
- A1: Liminal – Tzatziki Bay
- A2: Joe Harvey-Whyte & Bobby Lee – Smoke Signals (Flying Mojito Bros Refrito)
- B1: Intrallazzi & Piana – Plutos
- B2: Tigerbalm – Mexicana Feat. Joi N’juno (Pete Herbert Remix)
- B3: Lex (Athens) – Stolen Dance
- C1: Payfone – Dime Algo
- C2: Emperor Machine – Eumig
- D1: 40 Thieves – Such A Great Trip
- D2: Bo Wosticz – Bs As
- Bonus | 10”
- A1: Tigerbalm - Mexicana Feat. Joi N’juno (Original)
- B1: Emperor Machine & Mudd – Road To Nikko
When Leng Records founders Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy and Simon Purnell marked the imprint’s 10th birthday, they did so via a celebratory compilation that mixed classic catalogue cuts, remixes and exclusives. Five years on, and with the label’s 15th birthday upon us, they’ve decided to look to the future via a compilation made up entirely of fresh productions from Leng’s roster of current and new artists. Presented on limited-edition gatefold double vinyl with a bonus 10” single, the collection offers an updated showcase of Leng’s much-loved trademark sound, a distinctive fusion of mid-tempo sleazy-disco, Balearica and chugging house interspersed with elements of electronic psychedelia and synth-powered space disco. Fittingly for a compilation that wholeheartedly looks to the future, you’ll find first contributions from a handful of label newcomers.
Fast-rising duo Flying Mojito Bros give their spin on ‘Smoke Signals’ by label debutants Joe HarveyWhyte and Bobby Lee, turning in a heady and inspired revision that sits somewhere between dusk-ready cosmic disco and flash-fried desert blues. There’s also an appearance from Swedish producer Bo Wosticz with the dreamy and ultra-deep nu-jazz of ‘Bs As’. Naturally, you’ll also find plenty of heat from those who have already proved their mettle through prior releases on Leng. Danish duo Liminal, who made their debut earlier this year with the much-played ‘Keep Coming Back To Me’, open proceedings with the tactile, slow-disco flex of ‘Tzatziki Bay’ where sweet synth melodies and a heady electric piano riff ride a warming groove.
Roberto Intrallazzi and Dario Piana from Italy’s original Afro-cosmic movement return with ‘Plutos’, a typically deep dubbed-out cosmic chugger. Then there’s Rose Robinson AKA Tigerbalm, whose ‘Mexicana’ featuring singer Joi N’Juno is presented across the package in two different forms. Pete Herbert, who contributed to some of the earliest Leng releases, drops a driving dub disco take on the main compilation, while Robinson’s original mix – a more organic, percussive and horn-heavy affair blessed with plenty of hallucinatory intent – opens the bonus 10”.
There’s a welcome return to Leng for the brilliant Payfone, whose ‘Dime Algo’ is a typically classy, analogue-rich affair in which attractive Rhodes riffs, atmospheric female vocals and pitched-down house pianos rise above shuffling drum machine beats and a slow-motion bassline. Long-serving label contributor Lex (Athens) delivers the loose-limbed nu-disco breeze of ‘Stolen Dance’, while the imprint’s San Francisco connection – the ever-brilliant 40 Thieves collective – drop the dubbed-out Bay Area brilliance of ‘Such A Great Trip’.
Then there are the contributions of the label’s most storied artist, Andrew Meecham AKA Emperor Machine with ‘Eumig’, a deliciously slow, synth-rich chugger full of colourful chords, bubbly electronic melodies and jaunty electronic bass. Then, to round off the bonus 10” single, Meecham joins forces with Paul Murphy (as Mudd) on ‘Road To Nikko’, an extended, Japanese musical culture-influenced slab of pitched-down alien-funk packed to the rafters with squelchy synth sounds, effects-laden percussion, chiming melodies and rubbery bass guitar.
Die legendären und sich ständig weiterentwickelnden Zamrock-Pioniere WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc) verschieben mit ihrem neuen Album 'SOGOLO' weiterhin die Grenzen. Nach ihrem bemerkenswerten Comeback und dem von der Kritik gefeierten Zango von 2023 - ihrem ersten Album seit fast 40 Jahren - beweist 'SOGOLO', dass ihr innovativer Geist nach wie vor ungebrochen ist.
Abgeleitet vom sambischen Wort für 'Zukunft', verwebt 'SOGOLO' den von der Garage inspirierten Psych, Funk und Rock, den WITCH in ihrer Blütezeit in den 1970er Jahren buchstäblich miterfunden haben, mit dem experimentellen Geist des Augenblicks. Aufgenommen in Berlin während ihrer Welttournee, strotzt 'SOGOLO' vor Dringlichkeit, Aufregung und Entdeckungen, wie immer angetrieben von der magnetischen Präsenz des Frontmanns Emmanuel „Jagari“ Chanda.
Die Geschichte von WITCH ist fast zu außergewöhnlich, um sie zu glauben. Bekannt als die „Beatles von Sambia“, gründeten sie die Zamrock-Bewegung und veröffentlichten in den 70er und frühen 80er Jahren sieben Alben. Tragischerweise beendete die Aids-Epidemie die Zamrock-Ära und kostete allen Bandmitgliedern außer Jagari das Leben. Ihre Musik wurde 2012 wiederveröffentlicht und löste eine weltweite Wiederentdeckung aus, die zu ihrer triumphalen Rückkehr führte. Zango wurde von der New York Times in den höchsten Tönen gelobt, es gab ausverkaufte Welttourneen und einen preisgekrönten Dokumentarfilm, der weltweit ausgestrahlt wurde.
Mit 'SOGOLO' bestätigen WITCH, dass ihr kreatives Feuer noch immer brennt und beweisen, dass ihr Vermächtnis noch lange nicht zu Ende ist.
- Ltd. Col. LP: (Zamrock Dust (aka Opaque Natural) LP in einfacher Außenhülle und bedruckter Innenhülle)
In the late summer of 1994, Upadhmanyia (John Mackaay & Michel Rehatta) invited Leo Verhoef (LFU) to collaborate on a track. They met a few more times afterward at a power station converted into a studio in IJsselstein, The Netherlands. "Hasiya" was quickly born and was already in stores by early November 1994. John & Leo drove to house club iT in Amsterdam, where they gave the track to DJ Marcello, resulting in an iT hit! The track was quickly picked up by DJs worldwide, and Richie Hawtin used it in a live set in Denver on November 19th of that year, which can be heard on SoundCloud (Hasiya is mixed around 43:00). The track was also a huge hit on dance floors in England and Spain.
In late 1994, Hasiya appeared on a CNR Music EP titled "Welcome To The Club," along with four other hits from producers like Pete Lazonby, The Shaker, and Drum Club. A double CD of the same name followed in early 1995, released in Belgium, featuring Hasiya alongside artists like Robert Miles, Digital Express, Aura, Natural Born Grooves, and other hits of the era. In early 1995, Arcade released "House Party '95 the Kinky Klubmixx," mixed by Koen Groeneveld & Addy van der Zwan. The same CD was released in Scandinavia as "House Party '95 (5)." Hasiya flourished among the most popular house tracks of the time. The record spent three weeks in the Dance Music Mega Top 30 and peaked at number 22 around the holidays of late 1994.
For 31 years, Hasiya was only available on record, CD, tape, or YouTube. Starting November 21, 2025, it will be resurrected from the underground into the world of digital downloads and streaming. The 2025 Remaster, along with five new mixes, will be widely available, including a limited vinyl release of 350 copies. The 30 test pressings have already been received with open arms by various DJs and received immediate support from Eris Drew and Octa Octa during ADE.
Because Hasiya was created in 1994, the only available remix material is the original DAT tape, which, thankfully, was still stored in an old box in a dusty attic. Most of the sounds for the new versions have been recreated and re-recorded.
Rehatta's Reanimated Mix:
This remix - created by one of the two founders of Upadhmaniya - combines driving, percussive beats with a thrilling, progressive break featuring ascending, dizzying strings. This trick returns shortly afterward to rev things up again. An accessible remix for dance floors worldwide.
LFU 2025 Version:
This straightforward, raw techno version with a touch of acid is ready to rock dance floors. LFU's updated version of the 1994 original, which he created with Michel & John, will undoubtedly remain a head shaker from here on out.
John Consemulder Metaphysical Mix:
With a pumping groove and a funky bassline as an intro, John Consemulder's remix immediately strikes a chord. A refined and elegant approach to the original, with sounds as mysterious and exciting as the flowing lava in the 'Gruta das Torres' - a cave in the Azores - the setting where this tech-trance remix was created.
Davje Remix:
Davje's version begins with the typical club and hard-trance bassline of the late '90s. You're drawn into a trance journey where beat changes sometimes try to throw you off track. Davje's creative Hammond organ interpretation of the Hasiya theme surprises and transports you back to the hippie era by the end of his remix.
Bojcot Remix:
Junglist Bojcot creates an exciting, nuanced, and mathematical remix with a beat that feels like jungle and half-tempo. He conjures up the sounds of LFU's 2025 Version, creates a bassline that sounds like a disturbed bumblebee, and adds a surprising string section. Massive!
Danny Krivit pairs a powerful reworking of a rare groove classic with a NYC boogie classic on this highly useful single from the ever-reliable Most Excellent Unlimited. Billy Paul’s ‘East’ was the opening track on the very first Philadelphia International Records LP release from Gamble and Huff’s legendary label. Written by bassist Tyrone Brown, it naturally has a monster bass groove that Mr. K makes the centerpiece of his DJ-friendly rework, which tightens the tempo while retaining the spiritual vibe of the original. Final Edition move us to the dancefloors of early 80s NYC with their ‘Can’t Keep Running Away’, a musical halfway point between the disco funk of the 70s and the boogie sound to come. Krivit’s edit pares the song down to its propulsive highlights, with the catchy chorus taking centre stage. As always, these handpicked classics from the crates of the renowned Mr. Krivit are mastered and pressed to the highest standards with the dancefloor in mind!
Following the success of the 12” “Trip To Your Mind (The Reworks)”—where Delfonic and LTJ Xperience both brought their own magic to Hudson People’s disco/jazz-funk anthem—we’re back with a fresh twist: DJ Friction steps in for an official 7” rework, breathing new life into this cult classic in his own unmistakable style.
For those who’ve been following the story, you know “Trip To Your Mind” is a true favorite among DJs and collectors since decades, from its creative inception by the writer Reginald Hudson with the GI funk band Body Heat, to the original recording taking place in the late 70s in London that eventually paved the way for disco lovers to produce this recent string of reworks.
Where the 12” reworks stretched out the groove with extended intros and club-friendly builds, Friction’s version keeps things tight and energetic. He adds his own drums, claps, synth touches, and some new vocal layers—combining the standout parts from both the original mix and the classic UK remix. The result is a punchy new take that’s perfect for DJs who want maximum impact in a short format, but still want all the funk and psychedelic flavor that’s made this song a dancefloor staple for decades.
And for collectors? The original 7” of “Trip To Your Mind” is notoriously hard to find—and pricey when it turns up. This new release finally makes it easy to spin a fresh, fully licensed version on 7” wax, expertly mastered for today’s systems.
Whether you were hooked by the Delfonic or LTJ Xperience edits, or you’re just discovering this tune for the first time, DJ Friction’s rework is a natural next step in the ongoing journey of “Trip To Your Mind.
Revolution 1988 EP is an innovative interpretation of early House and Acid House vibes. Clocking in at 125 Bpm on the A side, it sets the mood for the sonic exploration of naturally expressed, impactful and upbeat classic house piano riffs and a tight rhythm section, contaminated with a punchy bassline and rich percussive elements. To complete the journey, it’s also worth mentioning the effortless contribution of well worked out vocals and dubby kind of FXs that will lift the dancefloor to the very last beat.
The Red Pill can’t be labelled as a B side, in that it is a dancefloor filler of its own. Creating an 80s feel, it’s driven by funky, low rumbling bassline, and an articulated, snappy, sharp percussions, it infuses pure dancefloor energy with disco vibes and organic grooves. It encapsulates the listener/dancer in an immersive sonic bubble of exquisitely full range textures, emotional layers and sound stage experience. Again, meaningful vocals and piano grooves intermix with reggae/dub FXs and delays. Stick around for the finale and get ready for the unexpected ....
Ode To Native Tongues” attempts to capture the feeling of coming of age between the years of 1989 -1993 (and beyond) while listening and witnessing the legendary Native Tongues crew releasing timeless classic albums and singles. Told through the experience of seeing the early episodes of “Yo! MTV Raps”, a friend sharing De La Soul’s first album, sharing that album with my cousin who in exchange shared Queen Latifah’s music or finding out about “Bonita Applebum” by Tribe at my high school’s homecoming dance. Evoking nostalgia as well as tell a story of how this music served as the soundtrack woven into the fabric of my youth, my coming of age, was the aim.
Everything’s For Sale” was inspired partly by a story of an elderly couple who went brokhaving to pay for their medicine.“Everything’s For Sale” speaks to how the value of money permeates all facets of this modern life, and as such it seemed only natural for it to reach into my creative world. This time however I wanted to make a song that cross examined how this super ficiality has affected music culture, let alone how it has rendered some in our society invisible -- a clear sign of a society void of compassion. The Platurn beat with a moving guitar riff pushed this song further, providing me the cover of a funky beat to dive into a topic that might not normally move an audience. Part cheat code for slipping in a conscious message to the audience without raising the alarm of the listener who may not be expecting anything more than entertainment.
DJ Support: DJ Sneak, Manuel Sahagun, Jason Hodges, Natural Rhythm & Suburb Beat.
Born into the underground House Music scene of Los Angeles, CA we bring you Tom Carle of Moxy Muzik and Cross Section Music fame.
We’ll keep this short and sweet because the Brooklyn Style EP speaks for itself! You have 3 tracks of down n out funky House Music business and cap it off with the dirty underground banger “This Acid”.
Better hope the floor brought their dancing shoes because the Brooklyn Style EP is straight heat!
- A1: Cloud Nine
- A2: I Heard It Through The Grapevine
- B1: Run Away Child, Running Wild
- C1: Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing
- C2: Hey Girl
- C3: Why Did She Have To Leave Me (Why Did She Have To Go)
- C4: I Need Your Lovin’
- D1: Don’t Let Him Take Your Love From Me
- D2: I Gotta Find A Way (To Get You Back)
- D3: Gonna Keep On Tryin’ Till I Win Your Love
The Temptations Get High on Psychedelic Soul: Cloud Nine Soars with Ambitious Arrangements and Production, Features Standout Vocal Performances and Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers
The Temptations’ Cloud Nine announced that Motown — and “The Sound of Young America” — would never be the same. Influenced by the emergence of cutting-edge rock and pop currents, as well as increasing sociopolitical turmoil, the album broke down barriers between rock, psychedelia, and soul while heralding the arrival of visionary arrangements and production techniques. Bookended by traditional R&B numbers, the 1969 record sent the Temptations in bold new directions and signaled the advent of psychedelic soul.
Sourced from the original master tapes, strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45PM 2LP set presents Cloud Nine in audiophile sound for the first time on a domestic pressing. This collectible reissue bestows Norman Whitfield’s extraordinary production with the grand-scale dynamics, natural tonality, expansive openness, and low-end weight it deserves. The timbre of each of the five members’ voices is readily identifiable — even within the group harmonies — bestowing a realism never experienced outside the recording studio.
Making its debut on 45RPM, the album further benefits from the wide groove space by playing with greater separation and more realistic presence than prior editions. Everything from the brassiness of the horns to the dry snap of the snare comes across with reference-grade clarity and positioning. And since Motown’s renowned Funk Brothers backing band plays on many of the cuts, you’ll want to savor every note. The imaging, soundstaging, and organic bloom-and-decay of the notes make that possible.
Amid Cloud Nine, the instrumentation and architecture stand out as much as any element. Never before had a Motown album contained such ambitious patterns and complex passages. Seemingly conscientious of the departure from their past methods, the Temptations and Whitfield bunched together the tracks that mark a deep dive into psychedelic territory and counterbalance them with seven sterling soul cuts that dovetail with Motown tradition drenched with heartfelt vocals, swelling strings, and finger-snapping beats.
On the original 33RPM release, traditional Motown soul — laden with heartfelt vocals, swelling strings, and finger-snapping beats — occupies Side Two. These songs reveal an ensemble still very much on top of delivering pristine pop-soul material graced with romantic sweetness, persuasive insistent, and soaring highs. Re-energized after the departure of lead singer David Ruffin, who was fired for a variety of reasons in June 1968, the Temptations seamlessly meld with his replacement, Dennis Edwards, on one melodic gem after another.
The collective tackles five songs co-written by the legendary Motown team of Barrett Strong and Whitfield. Not the least of which are the smooth, shuffling “Why Did She Have to Leave Me (Why Did She Have to Go)” and deceptively simple, horn-spiked “Gonna Keep on Tryin’ till I Win Your Love.” On these tracks, as well as on a lush rendition of the ballad “Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing” and pleading, tender send-up of the Gerry Goffin-Carole King classic “Hey Girl,” Edwards and Paul Williams take turns on the lead with the estimable Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams providing backing support.
All five vocalists trade-off leads on the simmering title track, a groundbreaking composition shot through with wah-wah-pedal effects, liquid funk, deep bass lines, Cuban percussion, saturated reverb, and gang choruses. Whitfield mines each member’s natural vocal range with spectacular results, keeps time with cymbals, and channels both the heated temperatures and escapist desires of a society embroiled in war, conflict, and experimental drugs.
Amazingly, the Temptations top themselves on the similarly revealing “Run Away Child, Running Wild.” Nearly 10 minutes in length, the song explodes R&B parameters and harbors a cinematic scope. Urgent pianos, distorted guitars, stripped-down percussion, steamy Hammond organs, minimal bass motifs, five distinct voices narrating the tale of a boy who fled home and now finds himself amid the scary, unforgiving external world: They combine to give the urgent tune a walls-closing-in atmosphere where fear and desperation reign. Bolstered by an extended instrumental section that precedes a climactic return of the singers’ voices, “Run Away Child, Running Wild” equaled the success of the record’s title track, with both reaching No. 6 on the pop charts.
- A1: Got 2 Get Up
- A2: Sunrise Forever
- A3: For Loving On You
- A4: Bring Us Back To Life
- A5: The Mood
- A6: Unconditional Love
- B1: Feel The Groove
- B2: Missing Alll That Love
- B3: I'll S#Ll Be Lovin' You
- B4: On The Radio
- B5: Ocean Drops
- C1: Sunrise Forever (Michael Gray Extended Mix)
- C2: Sunrise Forever (Michael Gray Dub Mix)
- D1: Sunrise Forever (Figo Sound & Jl Remix)
- D2: Sunrise Forever (Figo Sound & Jl Edit Remix)
Change, founded in 1980 by Mauro Malavasi, Jacques Fred Petrus, Davide Romani, and
Paolo Gianolio, is a legendary band on the interna#onal soul/disco scene, renowned for
launching iconic voices such as Luther Vandross and Jocelyn Brown.
Their debut album, The Glow of Love, was produced in 1979 between Bologna and New
York. Widely regarded as one of the greatest disco/soul/funk LPs of all #me, it achieved
enormous interna#onal success. It was the first Italian produc#on in this genre to enter the
Billboard 200 chart, peaking at #29 and earning a Gold Record. The singles “A Lover’s
Holiday” (Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100), “Searching,” and the #tle track “The Glow of
Love” (which reached #2 in Italy) solidified the album’s global impact.
So influen#al was the record that in 2001, Janet Jackson sampled the #tle track for her hit
“All for You,” which went on to win the Grammy Award for Best R&B Recording.
Throughout the 1980s, Change released five addi#onal albums:
• Miracles (1981)
• Sharing
Your Love (1982)
• This Is Your Time (1983)
• Change of Heart (1984, produced by Jimmy
Jam & Terry Lewis)
• Turn on Your Radio (1985)
In 2010, the previously unreleased album Change Your Mind—recorded in the 1990s and
produced by Davide Romani—was finally released.
In 2018, aEer a 33-year hiatus, Love 4
Love marked the band’s comeback. Produced by Romani and Stefano Colombo, the album
introduced vocalist Tanya Michelle Smith and featured eight original tracks wriGen by
Romani, Malavasi, Colombo, and Elio Baldi Cantù. The singles included:
• “Hit or Miss” (remixed by Soulpersona)
• “Love 4 Love” (also remixed by Joey Negro)
• “Make Me (Go
Crazy)” (remixed by Opolopo)
Embrace (2025), credited to Change feat. Tanya Michelle Smith, represents the natural
musical evolu#on of Love 4 Love. Originally conceived in 2019 as Tanya Michelle Smith’s solo
album, it was later reviewed by producer Stefano Colombo together with Mauro Malavasi,
who approved the material and authorized the use of the name “Change.” Malavasi also
contributed to the cover design and selected the album #tle: Embrace.
The first single, “Sunrise Forever,” was released on January 10. The remix by Michael Gray
reached #1 on Traxsource and ranked high on the UK Soul Chart.
The album’s release was postponed when Davide Romani and Stefano Colombo decided to
complete an unfinished demo from the Love 4 Love sessions. Some original parts were lost
due to a corrupted backup, but in 2025 the track was completely rearranged with a newly
recorded bassline by Romani and fresh backing vocals.
On April 4, the single “Got 2 Get Up” was released across all digital plaOorms, receiving
strong radio airplay across Europe and entering the UK Soul Chart. On May 16, a remix by
renowned Italian duo Micky More & Andy Tee will be released in an#cipa#on of the album.
Embrace includes ten original tracks and one cover.
The album will be available on CD and vinyl, distributed by Self Distribuzione Srl. The first
500 vinyl copies will be issued as a limited “Expanded Edi&on”, including the full album plus
a bonus 12” single with Michael Gray’s remixes of “Sunrise Forever.”
Kerrie is back on James Ruskin's Blueprint for her third EP. The "Act Of Resistance" EP showcases Kerrie's refined approach to techno, blending moody industrial tones with dub overtones and intricate sound design. Kerrie's in-depth knowledge and unwavering dedication to music shines through her notable back catalogue and bolshy, unforgiving DJ and Live sets. Honing her craft for over a decade, Kerrie achieved a milestone at the start of 2024 when Tresor announced her as a resident DJ.
Irish-born, Manchester-based Kerrie is a multidisciplinary artist and DJ. Having garnered a rich musical education through working at and holding a DJ residency for one of the UK's most respected record shops, Eastern Bloc, Kerrie's in-depth knowledge and unwavering dedication to music shines through her notable back catalogue and bolshy, unforgiving DJ and Live sets. Honing her craft for over a decade, Kerrie achieved a milestone at the start of 2024 when Tresor announced her as a resident DJ.
Following well-received releases on labels such as Don't Be Afraid, Cultivated Electronics, I Love Acid and Symbolism, Kerrie launched her imprint Dark Machine Funk DMF in 2020, and also debuted on Blueprint Records with her "Raw Regimen" EP.Truly welcomed to the Blueprint family, Kerrie delivered her second EP "Transient Belief" in 2023 and joined the crew at label showcases around the globe.
Since 2023 she has been fully committed to the studio and accommodating her increasingly busy tour schedule, forging a long-lasting path fuelled by drive, passion, authenticity and a community-first way of thinking.
She's now back on James Ruskin's label for her third Blueprint outing. The "Act Of Resistance" EP showcases Kerrie's refined approach to techno, blending moody industrial tones with dub overtones and intricate sound design.
When SW. AKA, Stefan Wust, first established SUED in 2011, their compelling, cosmic and anonymous material struck a rare chord, emanating far beyond the freeform Berlin underground in which it was written. Unknowingly, Los Angelean Oliver Bristow had
established a parallel musical universe, founding the hyper-specific label Acid Test, inviting pioneering artists such as Donato Dozzy, Tin Man and Pepe Bradock to indulge in glorious interpretations of 303 control. Without compromise, these were records that quietly
reinvigorated electronic music.
Some years later, a new label, SWOB, unites Wust and Bristow in a very different landscape. And while it would be easy to transform the purity and integrity of this special alchemy into something like nostalgia, yearning for an alternative culture before
influencers and against algorithms, SWOB endeavours to find inspiration in arguably tougher truths.
“By the mid-90s, the techno scene had already reached a breaking point”, recalls Wust.
“Today, the scene is so highly professionalized that it barely resembles what was once called the "underground. But "underground" was never more than the simple reality that music circulated on cassettes among friends or that dubplates were played at illegal
parties... The consequence of today’s professionalization is the death of the original movement.”
Still, no one can kill an idea. Here, inspired by the “Outside Tekno” or “Outkast Techno” that emerged to subvert even back in the day, SWOB are proud to introduce the tekkNOthing trilogy, a new project from SW. beginning on cassette and culminating later
on vinyl. Some years in development, tekkNOthing first began to take shape during the 2020 global pandemic, when ‘the underground’ quickly began to mean something radically different once again.
“I noticed how everything was accelerating while simultaneously spinning in circles – existing in a kind of creative limbo on a global scale”, recalls Wust. “And that’s where true freedom lies: for artists – in any sense – to consciously engage with this necessity. In
other words, irrationality or nonsense can eventually generate meaning.” While hardly capitulating to the contemporary hammering of techno’s most recent developments, tekkNOthing’s first chapter quickly establishes a frenetic pace; tracks like ‘nuclearFALLoutX’ and ‘paslolESmess’ interlock and unfold at a tempo removed from that typically associated with SW. while ‘euroBSS’ and ‘viscousHEAT’ successfully experiment with a more guttural palette, veering far into a rejuvenating and previously uncharted leftfield.
A resolutely human endeavour, the music of SW. is nonetheless written and recorded in the looming shadow of AI, whose free-form adoption of pop culture, hip-hop and techno reminds Wust of “when photography emerged in the 19th century... painting was no
longer bound to naturalism. Similarly, music today is no longer bound to fixed standards – through AI, it can become truly free.”
If not in competition, than taking inspiration from this landscape of new opportunity, tekkNOthing diversifies further with eight unpredictable tracks across part II, taking in stuttering machine-funk on ‘crAMPDUNK’, a freeform organ jam via ‘sonicENdo’ and the
inexplicable piston-percussive, post-punk exotica heard on ‘poorTENOOR#a#01’ DJs with dual cassette decks skills might even find function in the more overtly floor-focused ‘DU ¨NEhowSE#1takeÄ’ or ‘lookLOOK’.
The times may have changed, but the promise remains simple; more music, more freedom.
- A1: Pas De Pétard
- A2: Tembleque
- A3: L’indomptable Gnonnas Pop
- A4: How Much Love Naturally Cost
- A5: Fini Les Pavés
- B1: Dadjê Von O Von Non (Version 1983)
- B2: Azian Vignin
- B3: Yiri Yiri Boum
- B4: Les Comédiens
- C1: I Got You (I Feel Good)
- C2: Tu Es Tout Seul
- C3: Bailando Mi Solo
- C4: Abito
- C5: Adigbedoto
- C6: Bon Anniversaire (Version 45 Tours)
- D1: Irma Koï (Club Edit)
- D2: Okpo Videa Bassouo
- D3: Intelligement
- D4: La Musica En Vérité
An official retrospective (1967 to 1985) of the legendary Beninese Composer, Gentleman & Salsero Gnonnas Pedro, who recorded dozen of albums & singles from the 1960s the 2000s with mythical bands such as Los Panchos, Les Dadjes & Africando !
21 tracks covering the extremely wide musical spectrum of this mythical artist in 40 years of career : Afrobeat, Salsa, Funk, Soul, Jerk & Folk frenzied grooves that will set any dancefloor on fire !
Available in a beautiful Limited Deluxe 2xLP gatefold edition (with a digital voucher including a Bonus track) & in HQ digital format with very detailed biography & liner notes in French & English, + Exclusive pictures, never seen before.
Bonus track : "À Ma Fille" (Digital only, includes with the download voucher of the album that comes with the release)
Founded by Robbie Redway and psychedelic researchers Mathieu Seynaeve and WaiFung Tsang, UK-based 'United Freedom Collective' has grown into a network of artists including Jordan Stephens, Falle Nioke, Eliza Shaddad, Labdi, William Rees and Facesoul. Originally conceived around psychedelic therapy sessions, online yoga and breathwork channels, the musical scope has expanded on each of the four EPs released on Maribou State's 'Dama Dama' label, and here continues with their debut on Multi Culti. This time Robbie takes the lead on production and sole vocal duties on all five tracks, presenting a range of influences and style. Lead single 'Between Memories' blends tropes of ecstatic dance with uplifting vocal piano house, somehow making flutes fit in with Detroit strings to epic, hands-in-the-air effect.' Title track ‘Bright Patterns’ bridges the gap between Jungle, Jai Paul, and Jamiroquai, a fusion of funky filtered disco-house and electroclash with side-chained pop vocal hooks. ’El Yo’ smooths things out, a dope, laid back groove with a measured reflection on psychedelic healing and the perils of spiritual bypassing. ‘Higher Drums’ warms things back up for the dancefloor with trumpet, afro-latin percussion, and flute flourishes. Finally, ‘Moonshine’ is a soaring, Amapiano-inflected post-desert-house ballad. Influenced, in their words, 'by birds, trees, Buddhism, yoga, headless way meditations, Jungian analysis, Zen Taoism, Chinese plant medicines, indigeneity, Amazonian and psychedelic cultures, icaros and world healing traditions,' the music is eclectic, ranging from afro-inspired jazz to Chinese folk, psych-rock to dub and dance music, an ambitious and inclusive range, collabs that extend well beyond the borders of western musical traditions. Their sound was described by Clash Magazine as an 'aural mosaic that glitters with colour and potential,' and while the sheen of the production and precision of the arrangements might seem a departure from Multi Culti's left-field endeavours, the psychedelic idealism and global connectivity make it a natural fit with the open-ended ethos of the label. Having already had radio support from KEXP, BBC6 Music (Laverne, Ravenscroft, Charles, Nemone, Letts), Jazz FM and Worldwide FM (Gilles Peterson), with a live show that sold out Dalston Curve Garde and The Waiting Room as well as supporting Maribou State for their recent comeback show at Islington Assembly Hall in London the collective's future is looking exceptionally bright.
The single release from Jimi Tenor's second thematic album on Timmion Records offers two very different moods. "Summer of Synesthesia" takes us back to those dreamy summer days, a natural overpour of sensations mixing together, sounds becoming colors before turning into flavors. Synthesizers grow into delicate layers over Cold Diamond & Mink's rhythm, and when your heart can hardly bear the beauty of it all, Tenor's soft lyric places the cherry on top. "Tsicroxe" on the flipside couldn't be more different, kicking into gear with a demonic organ arpeggio that sounds like you've just been dropped into a Dario Argento scene. Even though the familiar funk from Cold Diamond & Mink eases the dread a bit, when Tenor busts in with the eerie flute solo, the ritual closes in on its conclusion.
The contents of the backwards vocal bits at the end shall be saved for your turntable so make sure to rewind that track, selector! Also Available From Jimi Tenor & Cold Diamond & Mink: Is There Love In Outer Space? 7", Gaia Sunset 7", Is There Love In Outer Space? LP / CD. The single takes listeners on a sonic journey: “Summer of Synesthesia” flows with warm, dreamlike beauty, while “Tsicroxe” dives into intense, mysterious depths, showcasing Tenor’s dynamic range. Blending synth layers with Cold Diamond & Mink’s classic funk rhythms, both tracks bring elements of 70s soundtrack-style tension and ethereal soul, appealing to fans of both cosmic grooves and suspenseful soundscapes. Tenor’s layered synthesizers, haunting flute, and even backward vocal elements add a captivating texture, making “Summer of Synesthesia” b/w “Tsicroxe” a must-have for fans of genre-blending, atmospheric music.
The story of So-Do is both familiar and completely unique. A classically trained multi-instrumentalist with a poet’s sensibility and a passion for folk music meets a worldly bar owner with a love for psychedelia, post-punk and dub in the small town neither could bring themselves to leave. Over two years, they play dozens of shows in independent live houses across Japan, cut and self-release three singles – two 7”s and a 12” – and leave behind just eight tracks, all of which are set to be reissued for the first time forty years on.
So-Do’s Studio Works ’83-’85 collects the full output of this iconoclastic post-punk phenomenon, whose sparse, syncopated arrangements were infused with a dubbed-out flair that owed more to Dennis Bovell’s productions of Orange Juice, the Jah Wobble basslines of Public Image Limited or Adrian Sherwood’s live dubs of Mark Stewart than even they knew at the time.
Because for lead songwriter Hideshi Akuta, music offered an escape from the existential malaise of small-town life, folding a melancholy nihilism into tracks like ‘Kakashi’ and ‘Hashiru’ (which translates as ‘run’), or taking aim at the inequalities and creeping apathies of the middle classes, as he does on ‘Get Away’ and ‘Nothing’.
And if Talking Heads had CBGBs, Sex Pistols had the Roxy, then So-Do had Buddha. Influenced by Buddha venue owner and amateur producer Atsuo Takeuchi, Akuta turned So-Do’s sound towards dub, crafting playful, ironic and funky compositions that crackle with live energy at the vanguard of Japan’s nascent independent music scene.“So-Do is hard to explain,” Takeuchi says. “It’s been a struggle for years to try to find the words for our music.” The answer perhaps, is just to listen.
Both familiar and completely unique, So-Do extend Time Capsule’s genre-defining exposition of Japan’s reggae-inspired music of the ‘70s and ‘80s, as collected on the label’s two critically acclaimed Tokyo Riddim compilations, and London-based live outfit Tokyo Riddim Band.
Embracing the rip-it-up-and-start-again ethos of the early ‘80s, So-Do burned bright for a short time and then burned out. Their legacy is about to be reignited. Expect it to catch alight once more.
All songs are written & composed by Hideshi Akuta
Produced by Atsuo Takeuchi
Artwork by Ben Arfur
Liner Notes by Anton Spice, Ayana Honma, Kay Suzuki
Curated by Kay Suzuki
Licensed from Atsuo Takeuchi (Oregano Cafe)
Tape Restoration and Mastered by Mike Hillier at Metropolis Studios, London, UK
Time Capsule | TIME023 | 1983-1985 → 2025
Still sniffing out the gnarliest bassweight swerves on his rounds in the underground, Dogpatrol makes his way back to Sneaker Social Club for another four cuts of irreverent, misfit rave damage.
Hailing from Offenbach (DE) but with a sound more indebted to UK styles like breakbeat hardcore, dubstep and garage, DogPatrol has been a natural fit on Sneaker. The slanted approach he takes to his influences results in a mutant style that shuffles and slams in all the right places without sounding like anything else out there.
‘1200kcal’ rides jagged, dusty drums that come on like drunken UKG, offset by rubbery bass arps that add a cosmic lick to proceedings. ‘Baby Flame’ has a nastier outlook hinging on a bludgeoning synth splat that calls back to the Control Tower brand of warehouse electro from the early 00s. Making sure no-one is second guessing the scent Dogpatrol is tracking, ‘Ya Playin Yaself’ dips into a dubstep-minded half-step roller with naive keys run through a giddy signal chain. ‘Offgenbach HBF Riddim’ completes the set with a breakbeat cut n’ paste job which tracks back to the source with strong echoes of The Blapps Posse’s raw and funky approach.
The reference points are just slight hints of familiarity, but Dogpatrol comes across as inspired as ever digging up the bones of cult rave signifiers and chewing them into his own unique shapes.
The second offering from Mud Trax, a division of MixCult Records is a compilation to remember.
With Dub Tech laid out in all its many forms and moods by a dynamic assortment of rhythms, it is nothing less than exquisitely fresh pop manipulative.The album features contributions from Kirill Matveev, Ataneus, Genning and Etzu Mahkayah. With an electrifying mix of dub's sprawling scope and acid's driving rhythm, even a record that pushes sound the way this one does can come off totally funky.
Kirill Matveev & Wiklauri's Ioli (Kirill's Version) makes for a promising opening, melding into deep dub its ethos of acid, a psychedelic blend that touches the nerves of those who love to dance. Ataneus takes it further on A2 with Napolitaner, a track that is like nothing else: dense, dub-coloured layers of sound, which create a steadily seductive momentum able to steal listeners away into temporal plunge.
On the other side, B1's Red Lights by Genning is at once a punchy piece and a dancefloor phalanx of sound. A work meticulously sculpted by the speakers, yet redolent with natural energy-Geistgemäss.
The journey is brought to a close by Etzu Mahkayah's Cs-137 on B2, hypnotic grooves offering equal parts reflectivity and pumping energy.
Taken together these tracks provide an experience that is euphoric yet absorbing, each not only embodying Dub Tech but also pushing it in new directions.








































