quête:night of the brain

Burnski's agenda-setting garage label Instinct is back with killer new beats from Mance. 'Atmos101' gets things underway with sparking melodies zipping about the stereo field over chunky drums and with a filthy bassline. There is more of a throwback feel to the dusty drum loops of 'Stone Cold, Baby' complete with great vocal samples and spiralling pads. 'All Night' shows another look again with dry, stripped-back beats and big hits under warped synth stabs and more brain-melting bass. 'I Can't Help It' shuts down with silky pads work and soulful vocals.

After Dull Boy Johnny's previous release, a double EP with a tropical A-side and an erotic B-side, this time the three gentlemen are out on the dance floor. After all, the neighbours decided as much.

Unlike the recordings of their previous work that took place abroad, this time they stayed in a steamy attic room in Belgium, where guitarist and producer Jan built a studio. Unable to record at night because of neighbours who did not (yet) appreciate Dull Boy Johnny's music, they dove into Antwerp's nightlife.

The group's previous work took you on a cinematic journey where every musical nuance takes you to a specific setting. Be it an erotic seventies scene, a beach party in the Bahamas, or a blood-curdling chase in the Wild West, Dull Boy Johnny covers it all. Nard Houdmeyers, Rik De Bal and Jan found each other in a shared interest in film genres such as blaxploitation, neo-noir and spaghetti westerns. And therefore also the artists inherent to these genres such as Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield and Ennio Morricone. Dull Boy Johnny's conceptual approach to music can be traced back to this passion for cinema.

For the new EP, however, they traded that cosy movie-watching for turbulent nightlife (the angry neighbours, you know). Besides, it was about time to get their inspiration in the flesh. Dull Boy Johnny immersed himself in the pulses, flashes and swell of downtown Antwerp. Thunder chasing crept under their skin and then into their guitars. In grandfatherly fashion, they then turned to composing, first with just bass, guitar and vocals. In that small lineup and with the sounds of the night still reverberating in their minds, the first pieces of the puzzle were laid out. After that, the sound was opened up and a solid rhythm boost was added. This defined the catchy, up-tempo nature of the upcoming EP that centres on themes of dancing, flirting and partying. Expect rousing riffs, catchy hooks and swinging rhythms. Details were meticulously laid out and bricked into the songs with delicate grouting. The fine polishing of the songs was done with patient finesse and a constant attitude to serve the song. With songs like Suspicion, She Can Groove and Dynamite, it is immediately clear that the gentlemen got their mustard from the club: action, party and spunk! All without losing their typical sensuality.

Despite the different working methods for the third EP, there are a lot of recurring elements that define Johnny's fresh sound. The essence? Catchy high vocals contrasted with a sensual baritone voice, carried by a groovy bass and rhythm section. Around it, the details that give the songs the right atmosphere swirl.

Dull Boy Johnny's music prefers to function as a soundtrack to your own imagination. As you listen, you are invited to wander through the various landscapes of their musical world, regularly giving a nod to the more lustful side of your brain. The songs have already been praised for their compelling melodies and irresistible energy.

With this release, Dull Boy Johnny proves their ability to create timeless music that both touches the soul and moves the body. So surrender to Dull Boy Johnny's punchy grooves and dance the night away. Long live the neighbours!

Michael Mayer albums don’t come round too often, which is one of many reasons why his fourth collection, The Floor Is Lava, is a genuine event. It’s been eight years since his last one, the collaborative & released on !K7; its predecessors, Mantasy (2012) and Touch (2004), took their sweet time, too. It’s no real surprise, given the many hats Mayer wears – globetrotting DJ, revered remixer, inveterate collaborator, and boss of both Kompakt and Imara – that his solo productions are relatively sparing. But this also speaks to their quality: Mayer’s name on a record sleeve is a sign of quality, of music that’s both looking to the future and calling back to the past, that balances the imperatives of the dancefloor and the loungeroom, that’s as exploratory as it is functional.

On The Floor Is Lava, Mayer seems to be taking the temperature of both the music that surrounds him (past and present), and the ides of the industry he works within. There’s that iconic album title, for a start. “The album’s mindset,” he says, reflecting on those four words together. For Mayer, it’s partly a critique of the way the industry boxes in both producer and listener, focuses them on genre, on market, on the next new thing: “Being a free minded spirit that transcends genres has become an uphill battle.” A battle worth fighting, though, and with The Floor Is Lava, the result is an album that’s varied, quixotic, idiosyncratic, charming, and deeply, addictively listenable.

Throughout, Mayer finds thrills in exploration and juxtaposition, allowing unexpected things to blossom and giving them their life, their platform, throwing the listener exciting curveballs: “It’s a DJ album by a DJ that’s easily bored.” Either easily bored, or endlessly curious, The Floor Is Lava is rich with ideas. It opens with “The Problem”, which looks back to look forward, embracing the rickety way early house productions threw samples together with gleeful abandon. Mayer mentions Pal Joey, and the scene around Rockers Hi-Fi and their Different Drummer imprint, as reference points, and you can hear that freewheeling spirit throughout.

It’s followed by “Vagus”, a slinky, sensual minimal house number that Mayer describes as his “musical catnip”. The flow of these two opening cuts defines the dynamic of The Floor Is Lava, defining the dialectical drive at its core: thesis and antithesis leads to synthesis, but with a welcome prickliness that means you’re always excited, always engaged. It’s also productive in the way it derives energy from rubbing genres and sounds against each other, in unexpected ways, for maximum musical frisson. There’s psychedelic techno on “Feuerstuhl”, more minimal techno with “Ardor” (Mayer mentions ‘Immer 1’ era 90s minimal as inspiration), slippery, Shepard-tone breakbeat through “Sycophant”, a lovely, lush vocal turn on the poppy “The Solution”.

The album closes with the melancholy “Süßer Schlaf”, where Mayer sets a poem by Goethe to one of his most haunted, moving pieces of music yet, in abstract tribute to a lost friend. It’s one of the most affecting moments on The Floor Is Lava. There’s also an update on 2020’s wild Brainwave Technology EP, with the surrealist glitter-stomp of “Brainwave 2.0” (check out those handclaps!),where Mayer’s thinking about the socio-political precipice of the now: “I’m reading with great interest about this whole complex of how humanity is about to cross so many lines and the implications that the resulting financial and educational inequality will bring.”

That’s The Floor Is Lava: then and now, brainwaves and nerve structures, problems and solutions, genres on fire; the real, the unreal, and the surreal. An album for the easily bored and the endlessly curious. Mayer has the last word, telling us all you need to know about the album’s spirit: “Burning for the cause, being zealous, being addicted to the heat of the night, the exuberant powers of music.”

Michael Mayer veröffentlicht nicht oft Alben, was einer von vielen Gründen ist, warum ‘The Floor Is Lava’ ein echtes Ereignis ist. Es sind acht Jahre vergangen seit seinem letzten Werk, dem Kollaborationsalbum &, das auf !K7 erschien; seine Vorgänger, Mantasy (2012) und Touch (2004), ließen ebenfalls auf sich warten. Es überrascht nicht wirklich, da Mayer viele Rollen gleichzeitig erfüllt – weltreisender DJ, vielbeschäftigter Remixer, unermüdlicher Kollaborateur und Chef von sowohl Kompakt als auch Imara – weshalb seine Solo-Produktionen eher sparsam ausfallen. Doch das spricht auch für deren Qualität: Ein Album mit Mayers Namen auf dem Cover steht für Qualität, für Musik, die sowohl in die Zukunft blickt als auch auf die Vergangenheit verweist, die das Gleichgewicht zwischen den Anforderungen des Dancefloors und des Wohnzimmers hält, die genauso erforschend wie funktional ist.

Auf The Floor Is Lava scheint Mayer sowohl die Musik um ihn herum (vergangen und gegenwärtig) als auch die Strömungen der Branche, in der er arbeitet, zu reflektieren. Da wäre zunächst der ikonische Albumtitel. „Die Grundhaltung des Albums“, sagt er, drückt sich in diesen vier Worte aus. Für Mayer ist es teilweise eine Kritik daran, wie die Industrie sowohl Produzenten als auch Hörer in Schubladen steckt, sie auf Genres, auf den Markt und auf das nächste große Ding fokussiert: „Ein freier Geist zu sein, der Genres überschreitet, ist zu einem steinigen Weg geworden.“ Ein Kampf, der sich jedoch lohnt, und mit The Floor Is Lava ist das Ergebnis ein Album, das vielfältig, eigenwillig, charmant und tiefsinnig, aber auch süchtig machend ist.

Im gesamten Album findet Mayer Freude an der Erforschung und Gegenüberstellung von Stilen, lässt unerwartete Dinge erblühen und gibt ihnen Raum, überrascht den Hörer mit spannenden Wendungen: „Es ist ein DJ-Album von einem DJ, der sich schnell langweilt.“ Entweder langweilt er sich schnell oder er ist unendlich neugierig – The Floor Is Lava ist reich an Ideen. Es beginnt mit „The Problem“, das in die Vergangenheit blickt, um nach vorne zu schauen, und die wilde Art, wie frühe House-Produktionen Samples mit fröhlicher Unbekümmertheit zusammenwarfen, aufgreift. Mayer nennt Pal Joey und die Szene um Rockers Hi-Fi und ihr Label Different Drummer als Referenzpunkte, und dieser freie Geist zieht sich durch das gesamte Album.

Es folgt „Vagus“, eine sinnliche Minimal-House-Nummer, die Mayer als seine „musikalische Katzenminze“ beschreibt. Der Fluss dieser beiden Eröffnungstracks definiert die Dynamik von The Floor Is Lava und den dialektischen Antrieb im Kern: These und Antithese führen zu einer Synthese, jedoch mit einer willkommenen Schärfe, die dafür sorgt, dass man immer aufgeregt und engagiert bleibt. Zudem gewinnt das Album Energie, indem es Genres und Klänge auf unerwartete Weise aneinanderreibt, um maximalen musikalischen Nervenkitzel zu erzeugen. Es gibt psychedelischen Techno in „Feuerstuhl“, mehr Minimal Techno mit „Ardor“ (Mayer erwähnt ‘Immer’ Ära Minimal als Bezugspunkt), gleitenden Shepard-Ton-Breakbeat in „Sycophant“ und einen lieblichen, üppigen Vocal-Auftritt im poppigen „The Solution“.

Das Album schließt mit dem melancholischen „Süßer Schlaf“, in dem Mayer ein Gedicht von Goethe vertont und eine seiner bisher eindringlichsten und bewegendsten musikalischen Kompositionen schafft, als abstrakten Tribut an eine verschiedene Freundin. Es ist einer der ergreifendsten Momente auf The Floor Is Lava. Ebenfalls gibt es ein Update der wilden Brainwave Technology-EP von 2020, mit dem surrealistischen Glitzer-Stampfer „Brainwave 2.0“ (hör dir diese Handclaps an!), in dem Mayer über den sozio-politischen Abgrund der Gegenwart nachdenkt: „Ich lese mit großem Interesse über diesen ganzen Komplex, wie die Menschheit dabei ist, so viele Grenzen zu überschreiten und welche Auswirkungen die daraus resultierende finanzielle und bildungstechnische Ungleichheit haben wird.“

Das ist The Floor Is Lava: Damals und heute, Gehirnwellen und Nervengeflechte, Probleme und Lösungen, brennende Genres; das Reale, das Unreale und das Surreale. Ein Album für die schnell Gelangweilten und die unendlich Neugierigen. Mayer hat das letzte Wort und sagt uns alles, was wir über den Geist des Albums wissen müssen: „Brennen für die Sache, leidenschaftlich sein, süchtig nach der Hitze der Nacht, den überschwänglichen Kräften der Musik.“

“Sleep Deprivation” began in 2006, during a time when our sleep patterns were drastically altered by constant travel and late-night gigs. This relentless cycle of broken sleep became a persistent part of our lives, and over time, we noticed something remarkable: our music became more emotional, raw, and vulnerable. Sleep, or the lack of it, affects every aspect of life, and its influence on our creative process was undeniable. For this album, we chose to embrace that emotional intensity, allowing it to take centre stage over traditional arrangements. Sleep deprivation blurs the lines of logic, and the part of the brain that usually handles structure and order begins to falter. In that haze, deeper feelings rise to the surface, unfiltered and honest. With this album, we surrendered to that experience, letting the emotional chaos shape the music, and the result is an exploration of what happens when you’re pushed to your limits, both physically and creatively.

Sub-label to the ever-flourishing Semi Delicious and the brainchild of Demi Riquisimo - A Lifetme On The Hips returns for VA number five – the biggest one to date – releasing on 4th October.

Featuring singles from L.P. Rhythm, Mad.Again, and ROKAR, this VA effortlessly bridges the gap between raw, peak-time club hitters and deeper, more introspective cuts—all designed to keep the dance floor grooving.

HIPS005 delivers six gritty, no-nonsense club tracks, making it a dream release for any dedicated raver. With a tracklist that includes both familiar names and emerging talent, this latest VA encapsulates the label's unwavering dedication to pushing the finest in electronic music.

Fate is a funny old thing. One day in 2011, DJ/producer Tom Trago found himself sharing a train journey with Steven Van Lummel, a DIY musician, artist and co-founder of PIP, an underground nightclub and cultural hub in The Hague. Over the course of a rambling, open-ended conversation, the idea of making music together came up; a few weeks later, Trago travelled to van Lummel’s place – a former industrial unit that was now home to a rotating cast of artists and musicians – and didn’t leave for a month.

Cossetted away from the outside world in van Lummel’s loft, with multi-instrumentalists Janneke Nijhuijs and Wieger Hoogendorp joining them to create a musical four-piece, MEGA WEGA was born. Over the course of four weeks, the quartet embarked on an almost continuous creative session punctuated only by impromptu parties and mixing sessions. Life-long bonds were made and over 70 tracks recorded before the mundanity of day-to-day life came calling.

For one reason or another, the project never saw the light of day, with tracks sat gathering dust on hard drives for the best part of a decade. During the madness and loneliness of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trago rediscovered the tracks. Delighted by what he heard, a collective decision was made to add finishing touches and release the resultant album on van Lummel’s PIP Records imprint. Further instruments and vocals were added over two days at Hoogendorp’s studio, before mutual friend Tom Ruig got on board to mix the album.

So, what can you expect from Haunted, Mega Wega’s debut album? First and foremost, it’s the sound of pure creative expression – the distillation of a freewheeling, no-holds-barred, spontaneous musical journey variously inspired by the do-it-yourself ethos of musical counterculture, shared inspirations and influences, epic jam sessions, distant stars (Wega, sometimes known as Fidis or ‘the harp star’, is one of the brightest in the night sky), imaginary journeys across dusty deserts, and the comradeship of four new friends.

Enchanting and alluring, it’s an album that gleefully denies lazy categorization and ploughs its own eclectic, atmospheric musical furrow in vivid sonic detail. It’s a collective exploration of heady musical eclecticism unified by saucer-eyed vocals, low-slung bass, loose-limbed beats, sweaty percussion workouts and hazy electric piano motifs.

Haunted begins with the woozy and hallucinatory slow-burn soundscape of ‘Get Things Done’ – an effects laden shuffle akin to lying flat on your back tripping under an intense desert sun – and ends with the creepy, mind-mangling post-punk funk of ‘Brain Carpaccio’; in between, you’ll find spaced-out, low-tempo lo-fi soul (‘Move Around’, ‘Haunted’), tactile synth-powered boogie revivalism (‘Make Me Work’), deep and off-kilter opioid jazz (‘Copenhagen’), intoxicating psychedelia (‘Last Night on Earth’), piano-laden dream-pop epics (‘Shake Or Fall’), and Latin-infused, percussion-powered hedonism (‘Chopping Heads’).

Born out of spontaneous collaboration and immersive, almost endless recording sessions, Haunted is an album shot through with imagination and boundless energy, captured for posterity by four friends and collaborators at the top of their game.

EYA Records SIDE
Jeku - Phase Lock
JJ Fortune - The Nightmare

System Error SIDE
Kurilo - Break A Leg
Wrong - C.ru.z


With COLLAB02 System Error continues in the spirit of collaboration and joins forces with London based EYA Records. As big fans and supporters of EYA ourselves this turned out to be a no brainer and the collaboration flowed effortlessly when working on our joined selection for this split EP.

On the EYA side we find “Jeku - Phase Lock” a dreamy but driving midnight city ride kinda tune that you just wanna blast out when cruising through the city or over a crowded dance floor. Next we have “JJ Fortune - The Nightmare” a truely haunting house tune reminiscent of last Halloween keeping things weird and spooky all while steadily punching a hole into your speakers(in a good way!).

On the System Error side we have “Kurilo - Break A Leg” this track slow but steadily will fill up and revive any dead dancefloor from the ground up again. Catchy, not cheesy vocal samples riding on a mad beat that will take you straight to the front of the DJ booth. And if that was not enough yet “C.ru.z - Wrong” provides a bouncy but dark dancefloor weapon to also get the last person from the couch to the dancefloor, this one means business!

Having featured on the Diamonds in the Night series with the epic “Midnight Opera”, it was only a matter of time before Lukas Zeringis, better known as Zakmina, had his own 12” on Bordello A Parigi. Following appearances on Correspondant, Future Boogie and XXX, the Lithuanian born musician arrives with two tracks that break the mould. A speeding rhythm sees “For U” race out of the stocks. Bright strings arc before a generous break and this old-school rave anthem reveals itself in all of its brazen glory. Glowsticks at the ready for this seven minute romp into sweaty ecstasy. The flip is inhabited by a completely different animal. “Take Me Back” comes to life with blissful notes before rasping rhythms give way to a rumbling arpeggiator. Sailing strings are countered by squalid acid undercurrents as Zeringis finds a sweet spot between braindance bleep and soulful electronics. A seriously strong debut.

Bar Musica is a brand new label that promises to inject plenty of charm and originality into the underground house and techno world. The first release kicked up quite a storm from label owner Bartolomeo, and the second release features a trio of great originals by J Paraguai, with a remix from long time electronic talent Bruno Pronsato.

Rumba is up first and is a full fat, corrugated house track with tribal percussion, punchy drums that swing down low and Afro vocals. It is a dynamite groove with roughshod tin pot hits that are carefully treated and bring a lovably wild side to the track. Thesoundsays founder and Berlin based New Yorker Bruno Pronsato has been on the fringes of the underground for more than a decade with inventive EPs and LPs on labels like Hello repeat and Bosconi. His remix is stripped back to a forceful and rubbery techno groove. Blistered synths rip up the middle and spooky voices, trippy effects and manic loops all make it a freaky late night or after-hours tune that will send floors wild.

Ble is then another J Paraguai, and this one is again unhinged and urgent, with intense synths exploding above shuffling, tightly knotted minimal drums and sweeping pads. It's pure WTF music for brave DJs and dancers and is a truly original production.

Then last original Atles is rugged and impactful in the way in combines house and techno into new ideas. It is stripped back to little chopped loops that bury deep in your brain and have you in a trance in no time. As such, it rounds out a fine EP and keeps this exciting new label going off in great style.

Any moment can crash your emotional state of mind. You are looking for help. You can’t find it with-inside of you. A Diamond shines twice a day. The night can be day and vice versa. We love you, no doubt. Our friends love you too. Do you love yourself? A Zebra is not a unicorn but is still unique. Who are you to tell us We can’t do it? EUPHORIC SPIRITS EUPHORIC SPIRITS Women are strong and full of love and positive energy. This life is a gift and you should genuinely use it. Read a book. Internet TV connects your brain to something not valid; remember that. We still love you. You are beautiful. Come with us to hidden spheres and find your inner voice. Shock, Projection, Ideals, Sorrow, Disaster, Fundamental, Weak, Strong, More, Less.

We love you. Follow us to the planet of our inner fears, and we do magic. It will become another planet. Together forever. We love you.

As the artwork on the EP depicts, "Darkest hour before dawn" is a dusky scenario representing the Dutch environment known as "the polder" in the lower lands. It questions all kinds of actions taken or not taken to protect, restore, conserve, innovate, or modestly leave the landscape to its own more murky outcome. The darkest hour, full of gloom, will be available around the spring equinox?

Portrait of tracks separately:


"Darkest Hour before dawn"

Is this piece supposed to be an ode to the ancient Dutch hardcore movement, that once and probably only then would be experienced to such intensity or is this still maybe just a little near reminder of it? Anyway starts this unlit track slowly and remains that way but maintains a fat-pumping pulse, possibly reminding of a soldier walking a death march. Settling up those launch pads further down the piece, near the bridge for shooting off some drum-fire 909 snares as if it rocketed. Then, suddenly, the extended delay of that snare turns into a psychedelic drone beside, attending to, or paranoidly chasing comrades soul in his journey throughout and above like a trustful partner?

Arp's LFO that is out of sync with the beat and is being outpaced by it seems to slow everything down even more; meantime creating a pulling, buggy-like effect to the due of all this.

The ascending and descending ghost-pad drawing into the grid of the (tone) key, thereafter parking in them for a while and cycling out again, creating a spatial flow of disturbance and anxiety.

Finishes it with a mountain-big reverberation of organized destruction and chaos. What at first sight seems like simply an innocent route appears to actually be a bit more complex one.


"Lovely memories"

The quite monotonous structure of Lovely memories catchy and groovy song is scanning through your brain files; revisiting, memorizing, and purposely lacking these few "dots above the I" that in some cases you'd gladly be feeling like to square fit it in yourself, of course, when necessary. Connecting the puzzling, dazzling flashbacks together to finally wrap up and perpetuate the pictured events for good, leaving traces of melancholy, loveliness, and perhaps even faith to it.


"24 hours"

Dinginess of 24 hours supposes to be felt in the guts.
The beat, steady with that snare on the 4 & 12, might not be one of the greatest inventions. However, the TR-08's drum line here lays a solid and fertile foundation for a reasonable house track.

Slightly detuned synths weave a scarf pattern around your upper body, and the lower layers carry a warm blanket for the underbelly, providing you with that cozy sense of consolation. Acidy pokes wring itself sneaky and penetrable around, slicing through the song's already solid flesh. Therefore, balancing its bitter sweetness throughout with these soft-hard saw-tooth drops of sourness.

"24 hours" conveys a dispatch or intercommunication that there is little time left to take actions/charge to fix and restore. Something big is about to come if it hasn't arrived already...


"At night"

This remarkable story is a bit out of ordinary.
At night appeared in the artist's dream just the night before his sick father was raised from death in the hospital and got just another year to live before actually passing away completely and anyway. ; ))
And thus also dedicated to the man.

Ever since Levon Vincent came and played at Red D’s We Play House night in Ghent’s infamous Decadance club back in 2012 there has been a strong mutual respect between both veterans of New York and Belgium nightlife respectively. Levon’s unique form of house and techno music always finds its way into the crates of Red D and over the years the two have shared the bill on nights ranging from Berlin’s Panorama Bar to various festivals around Europe.

Getting Levon Vincent to join his U.S. Series on We Play House Recordings was a no-brainer for Red D and a matter of honouring their mutual respect. And so here we have it: a classic Levonesque piece of dubbed out house that moves and shakes across 10 minutes of heady deepness on the A-side and an equally dubbed out Red D affair on the B-side inspired by the likes of Maurizio and Echocord. An E.P. in the vein of its authors…with attitude and determination.

Once in a while a record causes such a wave of excitement, it brings new vitality to dancefloors and generates fresh enthusiasm for the underground scene. ‘Without You’ is one such record, brought to life by the great talents of Art Department, a duo causing deep tremors due to their pioneering use of quivering bass, haunting vocals and fiery kickdrums.

The A side features the vocals of techno’s wonderchild, Seth Troxler, as well as Kenny Glasgow (one half of Art Department), his voice a major element of what makes their records so special. ‘Vampire Night Club’ layers the duo’s trademark synth sounds with an eerie and skin-pinching atmosphere. A truly mesmerizing record that gives the perfect introduction to the Art Dept sound on Crosstown Rebels, pre-empting their debut full length album on the label next year.

The double A and title track ‘Without You’ combines that unforgettable seductive bassline with a lingering vocal call. This record could have been made in the future as much as the past, its simplicity and depth the key to its appeal. Calls for its release have been heard for months and now have been answered with an extended 12” mix.

Art Department is the brainchild of Canadian duo Jonny White and Kenny Glasgow. With musical credentials dating back two decades, together they have constructed their own take on contemporary house music that has caught the attention of some of the leading figures of the current movement. With an album slated on Crosstown Rebels next year, this single is the first in a long line of raw futuristic bullets destined to cause a storm with an international audience.

Longtime friend of the label Eraserhead returns after over a decade away from producing music due to his surreal MS Paint work as 'Jim'll Paint It' becoming an unexpected cultural phenomenon. With his debut full-length, 'Violence', Eraserhead presents a truly eclectic electronic LP featuring collaborations with established producers such as Om Unit, Enduser, and Brain Rays, as well as the vocal talents of Nadia Rose, Beans (of Antipop Consortium), and Cadence Weapon. An album held together by theme and tone rather than style or tempo, 'Violence' is the culmination of a bitter wave of inspiration, initially conceived in the wake of a personal tragedy that quickly grew into a broader polemic about the state of the world.

Originally linking up with Love Love in its breakcore netlabel infancy with his refined, breaks-heavy breakcore/gabba, Eraserhead's flair for tight, intricate productions was evident in his finely tuned tracks of controlled chaos. This time around, his work is a darker, more expansive evolution of his sound, with the scale upsized and the stylistic scope massively broadened, remaining unfaithful to any single genre, but with firm nods to Breakcore, Grime, Drum & Bass, Techno, Rave, Dubstep, and Footwork, all chewed up with a hard industrial edge and cinematically framed by a backdrop of apocalyptic synths.

Opening with the cold tech-noir of 'Shining Brainless Beacon' to set the tone, the album quickly locks in with the blistering spoken-word headrush of 'Hurricane With Teeth' alongside rapper Beans, before Om Unit lends his expertise on the sharp groove and clinical bass blasts of 'Operation Hardtack'. The album shifts and morphs constantly throughout the runtime, moving from the raw and urgent acid techno of 'Crowd Control' to the crunching military march of the Gore Tech collaboration 'No More Worlds' and the tribal sci-fi footwork of the Brain Rays collaboration 'Night Visions'. 'Monolith' provides a final burst of catharsis, channelling Underworld by way of Nine Inch Nails, complete with writhing screams from Amée Chanter of sludge-punk-noise-rock duo Human Leather, before the heart of the album is laid bare with the painfully bleak closing dirge of 'Animal'. In its final moments, 'Violence' leaves the listener suspended between devastation and awe - an unflinching portrait of an uncaring world.

Longtime friend of the label Eraserhead returns after over a decade away from producing music due to his surreal MS Paint work as 'Jim'll Paint It' becoming an unexpected cultural phenomenon. With his debut full-length, 'Violence', Eraserhead presents a truly eclectic electronic LP featuring collaborations with established producers such as Om Unit, Enduser, and Brain Rays, as well as the vocal talents of Nadia Rose, Beans (of Antipop Consortium), and Cadence Weapon. An album held together by theme and tone rather than style or tempo, 'Violence' is the culmination of a bitter wave of inspiration, initially conceived in the wake of a personal tragedy that quickly grew into a broader polemic about the state of the world.

Originally linking up with Love Love in its breakcore netlabel infancy with his refined, breaks-heavy breakcore/gabba, Eraserhead's flair for tight, intricate productions was evident in his finely tuned tracks of controlled chaos. This time around, his work is a darker, more expansive evolution of his sound, with the scale upsized and the stylistic scope massively broadened, remaining unfaithful to any single genre, but with firm nods to Breakcore, Grime, Drum & Bass, Techno, Rave, Dubstep, and Footwork, all chewed up with a hard industrial edge and cinematically framed by a backdrop of apocalyptic synths.

Opening with the cold tech-noir of 'Shining Brainless Beacon' to set the tone, the album quickly locks in with the blistering spoken-word headrush of 'Hurricane With Teeth' alongside rapper Beans, before Om Unit lends his expertise on the sharp groove and clinical bass blasts of 'Operation Hardtack'. The album shifts and morphs constantly throughout the runtime, moving from the raw and urgent acid techno of 'Crowd Control' to the crunching military march of the Gore Tech collaboration 'No More Worlds' and the tribal sci-fi footwork of the Brain Rays collaboration 'Night Visions'. 'Monolith' provides a final burst of catharsis, channelling Underworld by way of Nine Inch Nails, complete with writhing screams from Amée Chanter of sludge-punk-noise-rock duo Human Leather, before the heart of the album is laid bare with the painfully bleak closing dirge of 'Animal'. In its final moments, 'Violence' leaves the listener suspended between devastation and awe - an unflinching portrait of an uncaring world.

AboutBlank produces here 3 majestic tunes...

Super positive state of mind style, not too happy through but really sunny and full of energy, with a repetitive serial music acid melody on the Cosmicology A side 45 RPM killer 180BPM hardfloor track.

The flip open on a regular 160 BPM heavy kicker, trippy mental acid-pikes-of-ice more classic but bloody efficient...

Last track (same speed as A1) is a serious hard-kicker too... at the hardcore frontier with a crazy melody coming in, reminding the old school 90's transecore best-of...

This record was produced both by Brain Bending and Acid Night.

Visual by X.G.

Beautifully remastered and presented 3LP set of exceptional Kanzai psych. Truly classic and very essential business. This stuff melts your heart, brain and face simultaneously..

Temporal Drift presents the first-ever officially sanctioned reissue of celebrated Japanese cult band Les Rallizes Dénudés’ three albums, originally compiled and released in limited quantities on CD in 1991. Led by the enigmatic Takashi Mizutani, Les Rallizes Dénudés has gained an almost mythical status the world over with their delicate balancing act between transcendent psychedelia and pure sonic assault, maintaining its status as an underground phenomenon throughout their three decade existence and beyond.

‘67-’69 STUDIO et LIVE, MIZUTANI / Les Rallizes Dénudés, and ‘77 LIVE are the only albums released during Les Rallizes Dénudés’ lifetime, between its formation in 1967 at Doshisha University in Kyoto to its last-ever show in 1996 at Club Citta in Kawasaki. Produced by Mizutani, the three discs collectively provide a window into the (in)famously impenetrable band’s first decade of existence.

‘77 LIVE is an explosive live set from Tokyo that captures the glorious noise of the Rallizes at their full potential. Recorded on March 12, 1977 at Tachikawa Social Education Hall in Tachikawa, Tokyo, ‘77 LIVE showcases Mizutani’s unmistakable, overdriven, feedback-drenched guitar, played on a newly purchased Gibson SG, soon to become his signature ax. Includes wholly transformed versions of “Memory is Far Away” and “The Last One” reaching the kind of highs that no unsuspecting listener could have imagined coming from Mizutani or the Rallizes just a few years prior, as heard on ‘67-’69 STUDIO et LIVE and MIZUTANI / Les Rallizes Dénudés.

Produced in collaboration with The Last One Musique, the new label set up by former members and associates of Les Rallizes Dénudés, ‘77 LIVE features newly remastered audio by former Rallizes member Makoto Kubota and new liner notes by Yuasa Manabu.

London based experimental producer and composer "Leifur James" announces his return with news of a six date EU tour and the release ‘Wise Old Man’. The first single taken from his highly anticipated second album ‘Angel in Disguise’, which is due for release on the
24th April 2020 via "Night Time Stories" - Sister label to the coveted ‘LateNightTales’.

Driving, melancholic electronica, ‘Wise Old Man’ is a nod to what can be expected of James’ second album, Angel In Disguise, showcasing a more experimental side to his production. Traversing through musicality, progressive synths and introspection, this first single unveils the producer’s distinct sound with disorientated vocals; speaking of the interplay between reason and emotion, the lyrics repeat “Wise old man in my brain, soul bursting through my veins”, opening the gates to this captivating electronically steered opus.

This news comes after an incredible few years for the artist. In 2018 saw James release his esteemed debut album A Louder Silence on Night Time Stories and follow up remix EP that championed upcoming electronic talent including Bruce, FaltyDL and Whities producer, Coby Sey, on rework duties; projects which captured the attention of key tastemakers including Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, Mixmag, Electronic Sound and Future Music UK.

An aesthetically driven artist dedicated to marrying powerful visual backdrops with sonic explorations, James teamed up with Hungarian director, Balázs Simon; producing the critically acclaimed, ‘Wurlitzer’ project which saw widespread support from the likes of Boiler Room, CLASH, Directors’ Notes, Motionographer, the UK and Berlin Music Video Awards, the London Short Film Festival, Dublin International Film Festival and more.

Angel In Disguise promises to explore the themes of love and loss through a masterful blend of harmonic vocals from James himself, nuanced electronic soundscapes and vibrant percussion -
punctuated by bespoke visuals, directed by Balázs Simon.

This exciting project is expected to make waves and see James
step up, exhibiting his discerning ear and painstakingly honed production craft on aseminal label.

Le Corbeau, the brainchild of Oystein Sandsdalen (Serena Maneesh), has become a formidable collective. here with a trilogy of albums spanning eight years. Why such a productive group choses to release twenty-seven songs simultaneously may be a greater reflection on the myopic nature of record labels -The mystic deities of noir have returned. "The band"s sound bows to the vestiges of V.U., Sonic Youth, and Lynchian glamour- but each of the three albums show ambition to go beyond, by player freedom and improv, exploring textural layers, and nuancing each groove. Many songs remind us what we loved in 2009`s Evening Chill / Montreal of the Mind - surrealistic, seductive, draped in velvet. Some circle to the familiar with punk fuzz and playful themes, like "1000 eyed behemoth": about leaving Oslo"s night life behind. Other times, they are creators of their own classics. Opening track to VI: Sun Creeps Up the Wall, "Blossom with an Evil Light" recorded between 2017-2018, illuminates a a new path of change. The long anticipation is over- come enter the murky and magical waters of Le Corbeau." -Ann Sung-an Lee