quête:new sense

Wildflower is a trio comprising Idris Rahman (sax), Leon Brichard (bass) and Tom Skinner (drums).

The trio takes you on an intense, meditative and spiritual musical journey that embodies the spirit of freedom. Based around hypnotic grooves laid down by Brichard’s unswervingly solid bass lines, drummer Skinner plays around artfully with the beats, grooving hard in constantly shifting, unexpected turns of rhythmic play. Rahman’s contributions range from subtle conversational interplay to loudly expressed angry passion to the most delicate of whispers, conveying a depth of emotion and a deep sense of musical structure withIn an ever changing sea of musical conversation.

Using simple, arresting melodies as a starting point, the trio create freely improvised waves of emotion ranging from powerful climaxes to hauntingly beautiful breath-like passages and everything in-between, creating unique forms and structures that react to the acoustics and the atmosphere of the situation.

Taking inspiration from the spiritual jazz pioneers such as John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef and Sun Ra, compositional influences range from Gnawa music to modal jazz to Bengali folk music but the scope is wider still and the important unifying factor is the spontaneous communication and interplay between the three musicians. Rather than having a tight rigid structure, the tunes are allowed to breathe and develop into new unexplored forms, allowing fresh interpretations that make each performance a unique experience.

The album is a collection of live and studio recordings that have been recorded and mixed by the band.

Mouche (real name Tim Karmouche) returns to Australian label Research Records with another full-length of imaginary soundtracks, instrumentals and sun-kissed digital jazz. Active on the Melbourne scene in projects such as Crepes/The Murlocs/Swazi Gold/Dreamin' Wild, Tim's first album Live From The Bubble arrived back in 2020 as an ode to his aptly named studio space - The Bubble.

Lake Songs builds on those same atmospheres, showcasing the inward-looking craft of his one-man band. Cicada field recordings and light keys open proceedings, reflecting the warmer side of 80s new age, though before long we're introduced to a variety of stylistic shifts incorporating elements of cosmic funk, lounge and library-style compositions. There are traces of Steve Hiett, Max Groove or even the recently re-discovered Ronald Langestraat, though the strength of Mouche's talent for harmony shines through on its own level.

Shifting between moods yet reflecting an overarching sense of positivity, listening through the ten tracks gives off a real sense of place, though time is somewhat irrelevant. The warm climate and sandy beaches of Australia seem eternally embodied in 'Juice' or 'Crystal Water'. Perhaps where Live From The Bubble was dedicated to the very studio that birthed it, Lake Songs is dedicated to the vast land that surrounds it.

*MILKY CLEAR VINYL - 300 COPIES ONLY FOR WORLD!!* Technology + Teamwork’s fizzling synths, interweaving textures and punchy rhythms are beguiling on their long-awaited debut album We Used To Be Friends. However, at the heart of it all it’s the connection between the group’s two members, Anthony Silvester and Sarah Jones, the friendship the much-travelled duo have managed to maintain for nearly 15 years and a showcase of the slow-burning construction of the electronic world that they’ve surrounded themselves with. We Used To Be Friends is ultimately the tale of two storied artists in their own right, holding onto each other through personal and career twists and turns, relocations and broader movements through respective phases of their lives. Silvester and Jones first met and then collaborated as part of biting post-punk five-piece XX Teens in 2008, eventually breaking off to forge their own path together even as the latter’s demand as a drummer grew. Performing with everyone from Hot Chip, Harry Styles and Bloc Party among many others, Jones has been a constant percussive presence across the sphere of alternative UK pop music – she’s also found time for her own solo project Pillow Person and played on records by the likes of Puscifer and Kurt Vile. Silvester meanwhile has performed in art galleries across Europe including: Fridericianum in Kassel, Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne, and Vleeshal in Middelburg, as well as providing sound design and composing work for several art films. Technology + Teamwork is the constant throughout all of that though. “Technology + Teamwork's name perfectly describes how we work” Silvester explains. “Sometimes the teamwork is between each other and sometimes it’s between us and the technology.” Although going by the name Technology + Teamwork as far back as 2014, two events conspired that pulled the project into focus for the pair of them: firstly, Silvester spent a year constructing a soundproof studio shed on the border of London and Essex where he lives. Secondly, inevitably, the pandemic brought the globe-trotting Jones back home to just seven miles away from her long-time collaborator and friend. “We probably hung out more than we had for a few years” says Silvester. “Also, after all her Pillow Person releases Sarah had gotten really good with recording vocals and knowing what did and didn’t work and had a really good home studio set up. We still worked separately though, exchanging ideas via email and WhatsApp.” As with many artists through 2020 and early 2021, working separately was a new necessity that they were forced to adapt to. However, it became clear that there were creative benefits to it. “It really changed our sound and our sounds became a lot more focused as a result” Jones says. “I wanted to use the same ideas of improvisation that I might use while playing the drums for myself and apply that to melodies and lyrics.” The album bristles with hyperpop modernity. You can hear it in the manipulated vocals most prominently on Big Blue’s disco strut and on Moving Too’s heady mix of pitched up voice and burrowing sub bass. However, the pair also looked to San Francisco and the West Coast synthesis movement of the 60s, Silvester inspired by the likes of Suzanne Ciani and Don Buchla. The plaintive lo-fi and melancholy of Amsterdam incorporates Mutable Instrument’s Marbles by Émilie Gillet which – inspired by Buchla’s own synthesis work – outputs random voltages to give the track an air of unpredictability. It’s something that occurs throughout the album, the duo revelling in the happy accidents that disrupt the flow of their hook-laden pop. “The ‘Buchlian’ ideas of music having randomness and uncertainty, completely freed us up” Silvester explains. “It felt a bit like having more members in the band, machines that didn't do what you expected or intended.” Perhaps more subtly, is the influence of 17th and 18th century Baroque music, with Silvester drawing a line between it and the 90’s R’n’B he and Jones both love – exemplified perhaps best on K+B’s percussive claps and sultry grooves. The portentous juddering synthpop of the title track, meanwhile, alludes specifically to Handel’s Sarabande. It’s typical of an album that only needs a scratch of its seemingly glossy surface to unearth a myriad of contorted touchstones and reference points that’ve fermented beneath it. Thematically there’s an anxious sense to the record, with tracks often balancing above a quiet sense of unerring tension even at their most bombastic. Moving Too is the result of an existential doubt that hit Silvester while out cycling, with the outro refrain "it's not enough to die you also have to be forgotten" a take on something Samuel Beckett once said. These worries are echoed on the album’s closing track What A Year, which borrows a lot of lines from the late drag performer and fashion designer Dorian Corey including the grimly defiant "you're gonna leave your mark somewhere in this world just by getting through it”. Those clouds offer a counter point to We Used To Be Friends, but then isn’t that what great pop albums do? Technology + Teamwork undoubtedly love the craft of the hook and the song, but they always position themselves left of centre, prepared to scuff things up, pull something out of shape or manipulate something to leave it sounding warped. Much like their friendship, nothing here is particularly linear – and it’s all the better for it. Bio: Anthony Silvester & Sarah Jones first collaborated as part of biting post-punk five piece XX Teens in 2008, eventually breaking off to forge their own path together even as the latter's demand as a drummer grew. Performing with everyone from Hot Chip, Bat for Lashes, Harry Styles and Bloc Party (among many others), Jones has been a constant percussive presence across the sphere of alternative UK pop music - she's also found time for her own solo project Pillow Person and played on records by the likes of Puscifer and Kurt Vile. Silvester meanwhile has performed in art galleries across Europe including Fridericianum in Kassel, Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne, and Wleeshal in Middelburg, as well as providing sound design and composing work for several art films. Technology & Teamwork is the constant throughout all of that though. "We Used To Be Friends" proves that Technology & Teamwork undoubtedly love the craft of the hook and the song, but they always position themselves left of centre, prepared to scuff things up, pull something out of shape or manipulate something to leave it sounding warped. Much like their friendship, nothing hear is particularly linear - and it's all the better for it.

The eccentric beat ambassador Alexander Skancke showcases his sound once more on his Quirk label, diving into spring with his debut LP, “Kingdom Couch”. The Norwegian has crafted a versatile yet cohesive body of work between 2020 and 2023, parallel to when he began attending sessions with a therapist. The 10 track double 12” traverses between meticulously arranged minimal moods, shuffling jazz rhythms and ethereal experimental textures. In its few years of existence Quirk has become a safe haven for a freedom of expression as Skancke and his affiliates share their wild side on the label, but the LP marks a milestone on the imprint and for Alexander himself whose lifelong dedication to sound has built towards this moment, utilising the vast influences has absorbed over the years.

“Therapy Session I” teases you into the LP, shimmering blissfully as it grows, blossoming into a dream-like world, tuning your ears for the trip you are about to encounter. Constructed upon slick jazzy drums is “Lost In Time” loosening your senses as the pulsating bass swallows up your train of thought. “Dumbo Move” blurs the lines perfectly between the atmospheres the Berlin based producer has captured within the album. Dark, mysterious and mind bending material in “Purple Lucy” a chugging sub heavy bass driving the track forward as precise beeps and bleeps whirr throughout. On a more playful note is the B2, “Extravagance” animated drum patterns converse with the elastic groove perfectly. Closing off the first vinyl is “Therapy Session II”, another extended exploration of otherworldly ambience, drifting deeper in the world of Quirk.

“The Magnificent Tree Hut” stirs consistently throughout, crisp percussion combined with the psychedelic vocal samples which continue to flash in and out. Transitioning now into “Therapy Session III” sophisticated sounds, enticed further into the full bodied experience by the storytelling sounds of a female voice. Your eyes begin to close and you wake up in a hazy club setting, immersed in the after hours; that’s the immediate impact of “New Dawn”, pensive and hypnotic as it rumbles quietly in the realms of the underground. At just over ten minutes long Alexander Skancke brings you down for landing with the final “Therapy Sessions IV”, transcending movements crammed full of raw emotion, floating you calmly
out of the seventh outing on the label, and the thriving talents finest work to date.

The “Kingdom Couch” is an amalgamation of Skancke’s undying passion and burning desire to create outside of the norm, this can be heard throughout this masterpiece and will undoubtedly inspire its listeners to search for the bigger picture.

Artwork: Johann 3000
Mastering: Mike Grinser, Manmade Mastering

MOOD CHILD is the new artistic platform of DJ/Producers, SIRUS HOOD & MANDA MOOR.

Evolving from a collective idea during our difficult pandemic period, MOOD CHILD is, at its centre, about community, collaboration, friends and family. Working together, feeding each others creativity and forging fresh and exciting new sounds and projects.

MOOD CHILD is an invitation to a journey that blends different feelings, emotions and desires. To activate your inner child. Reinvigorate the wild, primitive and unfiltered state of being and create an almost divine sense of unity. All through the power of music and art.

Their collective sensibility is nurtured upon the dancefloor and last summer they were blessed to have presented a first MOOD CHILD experience in collaboration with Hï and Café Mambo in Ibiza. The mood then took them to Bagatelle in Zürich and Lovefest in Serbia and they now prepare to launch their 2023 campaign alongside the elrow family for a sold out event in Andorra 1st of April.

However, what is a party without its soundtrack? Their first release, as its title suggests, brilliantly displays the labels primal perception… ‘Homo Sapiens’ is the mood child of Sirus Hood and Malikk. Four carnal creations, all guaranteed to ignite a rabid dancefloor response.

‘Booty Side’ uses its compass to expertly navigate its way through bubbling acid and rolling snares as we go in search of Jack, while the title track will have us going ape to its chest-beating bump and knuckle-dragging groove.

Silverback beats swing low on the flip too as ‘King MTF Kong’ bites hard with its heavy Chicago hustle and detuned synth, while the feral Juke-infused finale, ‘Gorilla Walk’, is a break-neck bass-driven and bruising encounter that is more Jersey club than Empire State building.

The ‘Home Sapiens’ EP is released on the 14th April and will be available on vinyl and digital formats, alongside a series of exclusive NFTs.

MOOD CHILD’s official online store will launch soon and feature not only the music and digital art projects, but also an official clothing brand, sample packs and exclusive content from their artists.

It’s time to connect with your MOOD CHILD.

Two years after their previous effort, regular as clockwork, Swiss throbbing synth pop duo Veil Of Light is back with a new album and what can we say? These guys keep on getting better and better.

If you have followed the Zurich-based outfit over the past few years, you must have noticed the constant moving towards 80’s FM new wave and synthpop tones – without losing their electro/body music outline – that have marked the band’s parable, especially since their latest Landslide LP.

Sundancing is their sixth full-length and it stays the course, bringing what we’ve just said to the next step. Nine new dancy and bright tunes with emotional depth that blend lush instrumentation and robust rhythms, guided by funky and rubbery basslines. Syncopated rhythm sections match suburban cool synths in the lead single Apricot Kiss and Hypersleep, while Raindancing and Tonight summon a sinuosity long gone since the mid Eighties. The musical backdrop here serves as the fundament for emotional vocals delivering lyrics dealing with the fragility of love, joy and loneliness.

There’s some subtle addictiveness to these songs, one that will gently grab you by the collar of your coat and stick the refrains from Sundancing inside your head for good.
Veil Of Light might make it look easy to keep it neat without being minimalist, intimate without being depressing, romantic in the most true sense of the word, but we know that’s possibly the hardest thing to do.

New album from Jaffa Kid. Powerful rave friendly and acidic breakbeats coming your way!

Modern Power electronics...TIP!!

Philipp Matalla lives and works in the triangle of Halle, Leipzig and Berlin, in Germany. He has previously released music on labels such as Optimo Music, KANN and Kashual Plastik. His new album on Meakusma delves into some of the themes that have so far defined his work, this time increasing the tension between moments of musical harshness and flickers of introspection, ease and downright beauty. Matalla aims not for perfection, instead deploying the listener's sense of imagination. His work toys with the notion of abstraction in electronic music, often going as far cutting short melodic and other ideas, making for a confrontational stance unafraid of leaving his material in a state of difficult to define rawness, based on versatile ingredients equally rooted in rural and urban territory. Stakes is a gorgeous and gorgeously far out album, integrating elements of psychedelic rock and dub, blending in melodic ideas that are at times abstracted, at times soothing. It is pastoral music for the digital age, where raw bursts of noise and energy dislocate and set the record straight. There is even a croonerish feel to some of its tracks, croonerish from a distorted future that is. Stakes is an experience in eclecticism and musical logic. It dissolves structures and ideas and turns musically recognisable elements on their head.

Workaday Strangeness: Gyrating Death Throes From a Void Axiom' is the new LP from Glasgow-based music originator Wormhook. The music therein, we understand, emerged for highly personal therapeutic reasons; nevertheless to describe it as ‘idiosyncratic’ would do a disservice both to Wormhook and to the concept of idiosyncrasy. While the record is certainly a profoundly unique, irreplicable creation, its music is nevertheless based on a visceral, breathing human rhythm which is common to all living bodies. It represents a celebration of the act of creation as a means of processing psychic and spiritual conflict, unconscious thought leading to spontaneous musical discovery.

Through something approaching the musical equivalent of automatic writing, Wormhook gives birth to fluid, home-woven spectral incantations and an untutored, backward-masked concrète hymnody. Brittle-as-glass guitar and grainy, hand-processed electronics underpin cantorial, intuitively modal vocals delivering a kind of raw, revelatory yet anti-prophetic ur-poetry, bridging the centuries between Hildegard von Bingen and Lonnie Holley and fixing the solitary star of Wormhook within the hermetic constellation which these visionaries inhabit.

- Alasdair Roberts 2023