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Producer CRISTIAN VOGEL, born in Chile and in raised in Bristol, England, represents an inner turmoil within the history of electronic music and techno. Like only a few other artists such as Aphex Twin, he personifies the second wave of techno during which authorship, previously pronounced dead, returned in full force. The former punk, who had completed studies in composition (20th century classical music in Sussex) conveyed a powerful force in his music, which now finds its place very naturally as electronic music; back then, it did more than just shake up the concepts of techno. Complex and intricate rhythms (Süddeutsche Zeitung) dig deep chasms in dark (listening) spaces.

In 1996, together with JAMIE LIDELL as SUPER_COLLIDER, he made a final attempt to breathe life into electronic music, which was still primarily seen as dance/rave/club music, and produced clustered break funk music that was so relevant to its time that many considered it more a music of the future: science fiction for the dance floor. Although the project was not a failure, it did not succeed even halfway in meeting the expectations of an artist who was rather perplexed by the lack of interest he perceived in others in music as art and research. Vogel believes that music has a will to unfold, like a jungle from the undergrowth of industrial cities where music is thought of as an attack and a defense.
Seemingly out of disappointment in the predictably declining hedonism of the scene, he moved to Barcelona and bound his explosive ideas to more accessible formats, founded labels, created networks (No Future, Sleep Debt) and, at the same time, revisited his early days by working more and more on formats such as music for ballet and similar concepts. He also sought freedom precisely in what was referred to as functional electronic music through conceptual and serious endeavors in the artistic sense.
Vogel went under for a time and lived in Vienna before arriving in Berlin nearly two years ago, where he made his first new and daring attempt to assimilate everything that electronic music represented to him on one album: 'The Inertials' on SHITKATAPULT. Shortly after that, his mystical, floating ambient work 'Eselsbrücke' was released, which already spoke the language of the new city.

He now presents a new album on SHITKATAPULT entitled 'POLYPHONIC BEINGS' - a true masterpiece in the inimitable Vogel style, as his fans will no doubt claim. 'POLYPHONIC BEINGS' begins, after two minutes of an irritating noise wave, with a surprisingly classic dub track and grows darker and more abstract from track to track, minute by minute. An eerie and unbelievable sound, with all as it should be: every reverb tail, every movement of the fader, every composed note takes the listener piece by piece into Vogel's own cosmos.
He foregoes interwoven elements for swaying towers of rhythm, powerful sound passages, spaces, roads, mirrors and pathways, leading to a stream of ideas that never wants to end. He aptly quotes Karl-Heinz Stockhausen in the liner notes: These are the "atomic layers of ourselves." And so it is. We are what we hear. This is the definitive CRISTIAN VOGEL.

LTD. FULL COLOUR SLEEVE 12' (500 COPIES ONLY) INCLUDING FULL RE- LEASE DOWNLOAD
Fantasma, the latest project of South African innovator and creatve pioneer Spoek Mathambo, is a fve-man collectve which weaves together electronica, hip-hop, traditonal Zulu maskandi music, shangaan electro, South African house, psych-rock and punk to form a unique, original and fresh hybrid.The godfather of 'Bacardi House', producer DJ Spoko joins with former Machineri guitarist André Geld- enhuys, drummer Michael Buchanan and maskandi mult-instrumentst Bhekisenzo Cele to complete
the line up. Fused by Spoek Mathambo's futurist vision, Fantasma pulls inspiraton from all corners of South Africa:
the sounds and spirits of townships and cites as well as the rural countryside. It is diverse not only in its membership but also in its forward-looking music. The band will be in the studio this summer recording their debut LP set for release early 2015. Watch
this space.

New York City-based DJ, producer and The Corner label owner Anthony Parasole makes his debut on Ostgut Ton with three new percussive-heavy Techno tracks on the My Block EP.

"Percussive music, that's my ground, my foundation but I am missing the feeling of tribalism in Techno today. I've been using a lot of different drum techniques over the past years, implementing them to Techno. The record 'Quickstrike', that I've released on my own label The Corner, was an edit record of an old sample-based house release. To me this was a test if people would gravitate to this sound and it was the biggest record on The Corner so far. From there I knew I could do this and two tracks off my new EP on Ostgut Ton work like this: 'Typhoon' features bongos, congas and all kinds of skin percussion, 'My Block' uses a different kind of percussive color.

HipHop in general and the Cut-up technique in particular have also heavily inspired me as a producer. During the 1990s music seemed really profound - a little bit tougher too. I listened to a lot of HipHop when I was writing the music for this new release and applied its methods to my own music. Many producers at that time were very forward-thinking. Wu-Tang Clan's RZA uses a sixteenth note technique that made me realize that I wanted this kind of hypnotizing sound to work in a Techno format. Another big influence were late 1970s Horror movie trailers. I was watching them while I was working on 'Bizarre' in the studio, I was inspired to capture the eerie tones and textures of those short clips in 'Bizarre'.

At the end of the day I work within certain parameters. Everytime I make a sample, I drop it into my personal folder - so all my music has a similarity of up to 50 or 60%. Maybe I'll use the same drumkit or kickdrum. I apply limitations to myself, but doing this also gives me my own voice. When I was learning how to produce, Levon Vincent taught me to make my own drum kit, to make my own synth kit and to work within this. Sample-based music is inspiring, and creating something out of found sound is very interesting to me. I think a sound signature is something that will always refine ones sonic pallet and skill set."

- Anthony Parasole, Berlin, September 2014 -

Here comes Strike150, the 150th Shitkatapult release. We're doing the same thing again that we did for the milestone releases Strike50 and Strike100: Sensational tracks, most of them previously unreleased, collected in the hope of presenting a certain contemporary attitude and music of the now.
Feat. Apparat, Oval, Phon.O, Christian Vogel and many more

Sie wollten eigentlich nur einen Track zusammen aufnehmen, für die gemeinsame Japan Tournee im letzten Frühling. Auf der Tour sollten Springintgut und F.S. Blumm ihre aktuellen Solo-Alben*) in neun japanischen Städten präsentieren, ein gemeinsamer Track als Zugabe konnte dabei nicht schaden. Das Duo entpuppte sich als Selbstläufer: Aus einem Track wurden im Handumdrehen siebzehn! Wenn man bedenkt, dass beide Künstler für ihre jeweiligen Solo-Alben sechs Jahre gebraucht haben, ist es umso erstaunlicher, dass sie - The Bird And White Noise' innerhalb von zwei Monaten eingespielt haben.

Bell Gardens combines the musical visions of Kenneth James Gibson (formerly of Furry Things, now recording as
*Bell Gardens' origins began arguably as more of an experiment than the duo's current 'experimental' projects - McBride's drone- and string-laden ambient symphonies, and Gibson's ventures in dub and minimalist techno - as they sought to manifest their mutual reverence for folk, psychedelia and chamber pop in a traditional band structure without cannibalising any particular past genre. Bell Gardens' sound is less reliant on effects and studio trickery than the pairs' independent guises, laying bare as it does vocals and live instruments with emotional sincerity, and presenting songs imbued with an almost pastoral or gospel simplicity and timelessness.
Slow Dawns for Lost Conclusions was again recorded mostly at home studios, but additionally the band made use of a friend's desert cabin in Wonder Valley, California, and it seems this willingness to retreat from the city has lent an expansiveness to the tracks, in particular the spacious, ceremonial 'Silent Prayer' (written in a snowbound mountain cabin in Idyllwild, C.A.) and the crepuscular 'She's Stuck in an Endless Loop of Her Decline' (mapped out under the stars in the desert).
While the addition of strings (contributed by Lauren Chipman of The Rentals and The Section Quartet) and trumpet (Stewart Cole of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros) provides a double rainbow of tonal textures throughout, the nine tracks of Slow Dawns for Lost Conclusions are united by an understated elegance belying the newly expanded, communal effort in the studio: each instrument earns its place, nothing is overwrought or conspicuous. Moreover, it is McBride and Gibson's artistry in building stirring soundscapes from the barest of materials in their other guises that lends such assurance and sophistication to these arrangements.
The band is a result of the complimentary cross-pollination of Gibson and McBride's musical tastes - borne from a late-night conversation between the two that grew wings - and it is the universality of the sentiments and their restrained, reflective approach to writing and recording that allows the music to simultaneously straddle the past and the present. The music avoids pastiche, its pedal steel, sleigh bells and harmonies giving a nod to the ghosts of musical genres past, but never overriding or distracting from the emotional content of the sum of its parts.
The album ends with the glorious 'Take Us Away' - one of the first demos Gibson gave McBride when he was on tour with Stars of the Lid - neatly bringing their work to date full circle and exemplifying the band's mindfulness of their own serendipitous beginnings: the dawning of an auspicious, unique musical force.

Bell Gardens - Take Us Away -
Harmonies alert!! Actually, this is rather lovely. Slow-tempo, just the right side of 'twee' and packed full of strings, as if Air and Midlake had been taking balloon trips over the mid-West and sprinkling good-vibes dust across the land. From L.A. and subconsciously plugged into the '60s dream-pop scene, taking in a little bit of Mercury Rev and Brendan Perry en route, stopping off at Pearls Before Swine and Big Star's house for inspiration, before getting stoned with '70s era Brian Eno and Harold Budd.

After releasing his stunning debut "Diamond Days" on Traum and the follow up "Nothingness EP" Egokind told us he had the idea for an album already sitting in the back of his head.
To be able to convert all of his ideas he asked his long time friend and collaborator Ozean to work with him. For both of them "Transition" is their debut album, but both artists can draw on a lot of experience recording music from multiple genres.

The A1 track "Mega" is a track which illustrates Egokind & Ozean's approach to touch many grounds resulting in something gigantic. The track itself begins rather acoustic inviting you to the private world of Egokind & Ozean, before it becomes a joyous balearic tune that despite its wealth keeps slight dissonances coming and going.

"Every Time You Smile" is an energetic piece of warped music which swells and and then in the next moment is diminished to small islands of voices that turn like mad creating a new cosmos almost comical at times, but always very kind and gentle as well.

On the flipside "Light Realms" flows into "Silverbird" with no pause: "Silverbird" then opens the curtain and lets the sun fill out the whole room with yellow golden rays. Egokind & Ozean then unfold a garage house track which makes small turns but stay very organic and warm.

And "Everybody Dance Now" by its title makes things very clear. Egokind & Ozean have crammed all their skills here into an hi-energy dance track, still keeping one big surprise to come halftime, when they decide to leave the trail of club culture by introducing a fantastic acoustic intermezzo, juggling and bending their sounds to the max.  

As Pathway Traxx finds itself embarking on a dawn of maturity the now familiar colourful label welcomes in its 4th vinyl only release.
This bright yellow vinyl 4th installment welcomes on board relative newcomer on the house scene, Amir Maglajlija a.k.a. Espada. Originating from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Espada only began producing in early 2011 but as you will hear on this release his production skills far out weigh his years of experience. Amir delivers a truly sublime A-side with sprinkles of jazz influenced house and funk. He effortlessly intertwines melodic keys with jazzy horns whilst keeping things moving along nicely through his infectious drums and percussion.
The B-side of the EP see's Pathway Traxx return to more familiar ground with a stripped back deep rework by Mannheim native, ManooZ. Having released on the likes of Tomorrow is Now Kid, Swink and ALIVE Recordings to name but a few, its clear to see Manooz is a force to be reckoned with, and a name well-known for quality house productions.
And last, but by certainly no means last, in typical Pathway Traxx style, they've saved the heavy weight banger for the last track on the B-side. This out and out club ripper is delivered by close label friend and well renowned groove maker, Kezla. Expect nothing more and nothing less than Stripped back drums and a bone-shaking baseline!

With his new album "What's Fruit", Schlammpeitziger touches the dancefloor more than ever before in his 22-year long career. Yet his dancefloor is a playful one. The Cologne based composer's sounds electrify with their multi-layered melodic structures. He weaves countless details in perfection, to a high density of musical activity, always focusing on the slow, driving beats which hold everything together. Each of the eight tracks represents shades of the unique humour we love about Schlammpeitziger: The tricky question about what's those things we call fruit, or his mantric German lyrics on "Schneid ein Stück aus der Zeit" are charming messages which never fail to be heard in the guise of those lovely synth hooks. This new Schlammpeitziger disco has its source in a situation which does not quite promise relaxed creativity: In the past year Schlammpeitziger's studio in Cologne has been surrounded by construction works. Locked up in his private space between massive hums, squealing saws and pulsating jackhammers, he delivers this indeed relaxed album with eight tracks. It comes across with the freshness of a debut work. Contrary to his previous records which had been mostly made with analogue synths, this album has been produced with iPad synths at 90% of the time, before taking the mixes to Stefan Mohr's (ex- member of the band "Workshop") mixing console.

Crooked Man is Richard Barratt from Sheffield, better known as Parrot. He was first off the blocks playing house music in Sheffield back in the 80s, had a top 10 hit in '88 as part of Funky Worm, collaborated with Richard H Kirk on the seminal Sweet Exorcist releases on Warp and had another top 10 hit in the 90s as part of The All Seeing I.

Retiring from DJing, a few years ago he started putting out 12" singles as Crooked Man. Song-based and devoid of house music vocal clichés, often epically long, always full of character, endlessly hypnotic and with razor sharp production they would always cut through in every DJ set they were played in. Twitch was an instant evangelist of the Crooked Man sound and is delighted to now present his debut Optimo Trax 12" EP.
Vocals on A1 and A2 by Rachel. Vocals on AA1 by Pete Simpson.

The incredible return of Flying Lotus on Warp. You're Dead! sees producer Steven Ellison taking us on a transcendental voyage into the afterlife. A wholly immersive, psychedelic journey, it's a virtuoso performance from one of the decade's most talented and inventive artists. The album features contributions from (in order of appearance) Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar, Captain Murphy, Snoop Dogg, Angel Deradoorian, Thundercat and Niki Randa. Original artwork by Japanese comic book artist Shintaro Kago

After great success of 2 previous releases, 'Sound Of Vast ' is now about to hit 3rd release. The producer of this deep monster is one of the most respectful Japanese artist, and Womb's resident Dj 'The People In Fog (aka DJ Sodeyama).'
Even though DJ Sodeyama is more known as techno producer, The reason that Sodeyama used the other nickname was, As you could guess from poetic sentence, to express his music in more deeper and emotional ways, he even choose EP name as 'Deep', also, all the track's titles contains the word 'Deep', funny but straight forward way of thinking, if you want to deliver right moods on the dance
floor, by not only sold beat but also unusual emotions that come from organic percussion, this whole EP will give you the answer.
As usual of SOV policy, this EP contain one each of exclusive digital, and vinyl only tracks, this time, 'Deep
Woods Remix' chosen as vinyl only exclusive, the remixer 'Elbee Bad' is the legend of US House, as known as 'The Prince Of Dance Music', if you are fan of Rush Hour Records you should be heard about his name, as he is one of the be loved, and featured artist from the label. His remix of 'Deep Wood' is indeed funky and sexy, one more reason to have this vinyl in your collection.
Lastly, this EP will pressed 500 copies only with out repressing, quicker people will have a benefit as usual.

After a 12 year break the UK Techno label Solid Groove is back.
Kicking off with a collaboration with New York artist and Metroplex label manager Kimyon Huggins.


A1: Track one Sandy is a Detroit influenced track with noises recorded live by the man himself from hurricane sandy.
A2: Aubreys windy city remix is a more peacetime mix of the original with twists and turns and a dark groove throughout.
B1: Aubrey-Dust storm salsa, is a atmospheric journey with a hypnotic groove and has been tested at Panorama bar at peak time by various DJ's to great success.
B2: Kimyon's remix, taking a more dance floor feel with harder beats and driving metallic sounds.

No sleep for those guys at Shabby Doll Records.

Not long since Nail's Lost Trax 1997 sold out shortly after going on sale, and they are already about to drop SHB014...
This time Shabby Doll bring a killer package from two of the most highly respected men in house music today - South West Seven. South West Seven are Montel and Sean Grieve. These guys have a track record to die for.

Their collab label 'Seven Music' has released tracks from the likes of COEO, Rhythm Operator, Giovanni Damico, Death On The Balcony and of course the man Montel himself. As a production duo, they’ve released on labels Kolour Ltd, On The Prowl, Sccucci Manucci, Carry On, and Solardisco.

But when Shabby Doll came calling, shit got serious. The result was three shimmering new cuts, on yellow vinyl no less.

It's a vibrant thing! The EP is BT1. Strong. P.S. And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, along comes Shabby Doll favourite, 'Quell' on the remix.
Angelic.

This double-header from Glen Goldsmith takes one of the best UK soul tracks of 2014 ('Don't Delay') and couples it with a brand new song 'London Skies'.

'London Skies' is mixed by Soul Talk, the team who reign supreme in the soul world right now with their work for Paul Johnson, and Lisa Stansfield among many more.

Glen Goldsmith comes to Expansion following a career that began in the late 1980s with RCA Records ('I Won't Cry' was a UK Top 40 hit, 'Dreaming' reached even higher in the UK Top 20)

'London Skies' was made for Glen's own Soul On Soul label and acquired by Expansion for both a single and a position on the forthcoming compilation 'Soul Togetherness 2014'.

Slo -mo house at it's best deep shape, including the rare, sought after Maurice Fulton remix for Alice Smith 'Love Endeavour'. Compiled by Rainer Trüby.

We live in hectic, turbulent times. It seems season- and reasonable to slow things bit down. In fact: slow house down to what we calling now: SLOUSE. Implying down to earth club music, with a tapping foot under 116 beats per minute.
House music and its many sliding genres have ruled the clubs and charts, well, a special focus on the slo-mo house is well-deserved.
Rainer Trueby become a guarantee for vanguard soulful dance music and club tunes with such special vibe, which he had formidable approved not only as a DJ but also with sucessful compilations like - Glücklich', - Maiden Voyage' on Compost, DJ Kicks (K7) or compilations for Nuphonic, King Street, Talkin' Loud and other labels.
Rainer Trueby, an artist who spreads love like in the good old days, selected some of the best tunes on the planet, some rare, sought after like the rare Maurice Fulton Remix for Alison Smith - Love Endeavor', in demand tunes like S3A - Deep Mood Act2' or Ron Deacon's - Untitled', amazing discoveries like the Moonstarr tune, or a Laid Back remix, few underrated tracks, well all tracks are worth the grab and get played again & again. It's a full palette of slo-mo house flavors and moods as Rainer Trueby takes us on a magical trip into his imagination of Slouse.

The result is a future classic compilation with melodic and groovy masterpieces, made for your home-, garden-, car- , club listening pleasure. It works for the happy hour as well as the after hour.

Hope you love it as much as we do !

The Martin Brothers are pioneers of the Nigerian Funk and Afrobeat scene. Besides many releases under their own name, as the Tabansi Studio Band they lit up innumerable recoding sessions — it's them on Pax Nicholas' Na Teef album, for example; and the same team is behind the legendary Saxon Lee & The Shadows International LP.

Money is the Martins at their deepest and heaviest — tearing, wailing, mid-seventies funk, heady with spirituality. Superbad from start to finish with no let-up.

Original copies are amongst the most sought-after of all African and funk records on the international collectors' scene. It seems there is just a tiny handful of copies at large.

The tracks were originally laid down at Ginger Baker's ARC recording studio in Lagos and later mixed down at London's Tin Pan Alley Studios. The audio restoration and remastering for this re-issue was done at Abbey Road.

Raw District is Belgian duo Vernon Bara and Massimo DaCosta, Under the Vernon&DaCosta moniker, they have released music on labels such as OM Records, AMA Rec, Robsoul, Aroma, OFF, Icon, Doubledown and many more of the world's finest underground house labels.

They have remixed artists such as Brett Johnson, Fred Everything, Style of Eye, Miguel Migs and JT Donaldson and have garnered a reputation as important international producers and DJs with respect paid by great DJs like Luciano, Ricardo Villalobos, Jamie Jones, Mark Farina and DJ Sneak.

Vernon Bara also makes music as Ultrasone alongside Igor Vicente, which is a more techno orientated project that can count releases on Hot Creation and Supplement Facts to its name.

Ladybird is well known for being the singer of Soldiers Of Twilight and vocalist on one of the most famous Llorca's song My Precious Thing among the tons of project she been working for, One of the best, if not the best, soulful singer in Paris,
And now they can add to their resume that there are the very first new release on the briquerouge reboot, Orchestrated by David Duriez himself, the label is back for a new series of releases and reworks from the back catalogue with brand new top names added to the roster.

On this release you can enjoy top remix works by the likes of Nacho Marco (Ovum / Loudeast / Saw) and the head honcho David Duriez (2020Vision / Ovum / Classic) both on the acid side but in a very different way, A very complete package for the deep house heads as well as proper house djs.
DJ SUPPORT:

Detroit Swindle
Richy Ahmed
Jamie Anderson
Kiko Navarro
Chilli Davis
Inland Knights
Spencer Broughton
Orde Meikle Slam
Jozif
Bryan Zents
Flash Brothers
DJ T
Dubfire
nathan detroit
Hernan Cattaneo
Snooba
Tristan da Cunha basics, redux , 2020
Julian M
Florian Meindl
Sleazy Mcqueen
Dan Ghenacia
Chris Fortier
Jussu Pekka
Peter Gelderblom
Phonogenic
The Henchmen
Nuno Dos Santos
Tiger Stripes
Agoria
Timo Garcia
Ekkohaus

Snuff Trax celebrates magic record release number 010: - Happy Jackin Birthday!' For this little anniversary we asked four great artists to rework chosen tracks from the label`s back catalogue. Leading us off, Mr White (you know him from his collaboration with Larry Heard) made an edit of Snuff Crew`s - Are You House'. Followed by Humandrone from Tokyo remixing Perseus Traxx - - Don`t Feel Alone'. On the flipside you hear a remix treatment for Raiders of the lost ARP - - Stealing My Love' made by our man Takeshi Kouzuki of Kobe/Japan. And last but not least DimDJ from Thessaloniki created his own version of - Galaxian Journey' by Elec Pt.1

Bunny 'Striker' Lee's standing in the Jamaican recording business has remained unassailable for over four decades.Known by many aliases including 'Gorgon'.
The legend of the Gorgon originated in Greek mythology some three thousand years ago and has become a common image in art, literature and in Jamaica...Music.
The name actually derives from the ancient Greek word gorgos which means 'dreadful' ,appropriate when one considers that the avalanche of Gorgon inspired records came as a direct result of the influence of the Rastafarian movement on the Jamaican musical mainstream and the dread locked hair of the Rasta brethren was likened to that of the Gorgon sisters.
''About her shoulders she flung the tasselled aegis, fraught with terror...and therein is the head of the dread monster, the gorgon, dread,awful....'' Homer

Sitting down and writing about our latest EP was a fun but challenging exercise, we scratched our heads and this may sound bad but we couldn't think of deep, dark interesting stories on how we made these tracks or what they represent. These jams are simply a combination of previous and random happy accidents that have come together and saying anything else would be a lie. This however does not mean that the thinking behind them is completely random, the three cuts that we selected for this EP we feel are a journey of experimentation and a culmination of unexpected sounds and feelings. A word that we found best described the EP was 'Irony'. The most ironic thing we feel is that the main basis of these tracks were born on the stage during our live performances and they have now been reworked and moulded into a record. We however feel that this brings an interesting element to the EP that yes it is recorded and set, but you are not quite sure where the next sound or feeling will come from. A hi hat A kick It is pure 'organised randomness'... I suppose we should talk about some of the music and try and explain what we mean! We start with 'Pe dos', which in plain English means inside out and it was a track that we had started back in 2011. We were flicking through our 'curiosity closets' one day and found it, we played around with it and heard a kick drum that was not arranged correctly in the sequence due to a random manipulation of the sequencer. Our first thought was to just change it, but then we decided to wait..... when all the other sounds of the tracks came together we threw the kick back in and BAM, Even the acapella voice of the track was screaming. Therefore it was a simple for us to name this track as we worked on it in a completely back to front and 'Inside Out' way!

Fokuz Recordings, founded early 1999 by Dreazz and Drum Origins, has been through a lot over a long, winding road. Thanks to the boundless dedication of our talented artists and the loving fans, we can now celebrate our 15th anniversary! Expect six 12'' records and a double CD packed with tracks by some of the most upfront names in present day drum & bass. This is 15 Years Of Fokuz - Episode 2.3.

In this last part of the 15 Year vinyl series we find drum & bass all star Lynx remixing 'Midnight Runaway' by Intelligent Manners & Enei. Fresh sounds all over, we're very happy to have him as a part of this project. On the flip Amaning and Dramatic deliver the goodness with Moods! Superb rolling sounds that are perfect for sunny, chilled days. Better get both tunes for the full effect!

Late Night Tales welcomes back the cult figure and ultimate musical connoisseur, Bill Brewster to compile his second episode of the curated compilation series 'After Dark'. An obscure and timeless DJled journey which begins somewhere out in the near ocean, the waves are rolling and lolling gently into the shore, while a full moon shines on the surface. It's only faint, but somewhere nearby is the sound of bass, pulsing slowly, almost in time to the waves. Welcome back to 'After Dark: Nightshift'. Once again Bill Brewster comes armed with a sensitivity and sense of occasion that few other DJs possess. Delivering another batch of slow cooked musical stews, making sure the tempo stays nice and steady and the emphasis is on funk, soul, grits and corn fried chicken, Brewster has done so much digging, Late Night Tales had to hire a forklift truck and tractor. Among the unreleased nuggets, there's the Fernando mix of The Detachments; inordinate excitement about Gino Fontaine, a tune spotted a year ago but has languished in Andy Meecham's Stafford catacombs ever since. Also unearthed are some hitherto secret recordings between Robert Fripp and The Grid, and there are also some proper club faves here, too, like the daft but brilliant 'Mopedbart' by Hubbabubbaklubb and the luminous 'Boutade' by Mugwump, as well as killer oldies like Salsoul Invention and General Lee

Fokuz Recordings, founded early 1999 by Dreazz and Drum Origins, has been through a lot over a long, winding road. Thanks to the boundless dedication of our talented artists and the loving fans, we can now celebrate our 15th anniversary! Expect six 12'' records and a double CD packed with tracks by some of the most upfront names in present day drum & bass. This is 15 Yearz Of Fokuz - Episode 2.1.

We're proud to have the mighty Bcee featured on this milestone album. Once again he delivers effortlessly with 'Praying Man' and 'Magic Mirror'. Watch out for these deep, soulful emotional rollers dropping soon on Fokuz! Perfect material for those who like their beats with soul.

Meridian Brothers are back with a new studio album, the bizarre and wonderful 'Salvadora Robot'. Heading deeper into the tropical rhythms of Latin America and the Caribbean each song on the album focuses on a different style and playfully twists it into Meridian Brothers's surreal landscape. Released on Soundway Records on 16th June the album was recorded at Eblis Álvarez's appropriately named Isaac Newton Studios in Bogota, Colombia.

Originally formed in 1998 it was the previous album 'Deseperanza' that brought Álvarez's Meridian Brothers to the attention of the wider world. Released worldwide in 2012, the album's unique aesthetic and freaked-out blend of Latin rhythms and psychedelic grooves won him new fans the world over. DJ and tastemaker Gilles Peterson selected 'Guaracha U.F.O (No Estamos Solos...)' as his favourite track of 2012.

'Deseperanza' focussed heavily on salsa rhythms but on his new release Álvarez based each track in a different Latin American style. For example 'Somos los Residentes' finds it inspiration in Dominican Republic merengue while 'Baile ultimo....' is a slow and sad reggaeton. The lyrics talk of a man who has been sent to the electric chair because he was dancing too much reggaeton, a style that isn't accepted as 'good taste' within Colombia.

The release of 'Deseperanza' brought them to Europe for the first time, making appearances across Europe and at some of the prestigious festival including Roskilde and Transmusicales. The band will be returning to Europe this summer.

50 Cent... was soll man zu dieser Rap-Ikone noch sagen 30 Millionen verkaufte Alben, #1 Hip Hop Künstler in den 'Billboard Artists of the 2000's', Grammy-Gewinner, Schauspieler in Filmen mit Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone und Bruce Willis (just to name a few...) und Geschäftsmann mit eigenen Klamottenmarken, Videospielen, Düften, Kopfhörern und Gesundheitsdrinks. Der Mann, weiß was er will und was er tut. Nachzuhören auch auf seinem neuen Album, für das er nach 12 Jahren bei Shady/Aftermath/Interscope zusammen mit seinem G-Unit Label zu Caroline International wechselt.

Breakbeat Paradise Recordings is proud to present Tom Showtime with his brand new 4-track vinyl release, The Butter Zone EP. As it has done so many times before BBP is bringing Ghetto Funk and Funky Breaks back to its roots by putting the funk in focus and letting the rest speak for itself. Never before has it been done as well as this with Tom Showtime getting on board and tailor-making this 4-track EP of banging feel good jams around our genres beloved 105 BPM, aka The Butter Zone.

Tom Showtime is no newbie to the field having dropped laid-back funk bombs on lables like Groove Penguin, Booty Fruit, Riddim Fruit, Tru-Funk as well as an artist EP on the Ghetto Funk label.

This time he really means business as he takes us on a deep dive into his crates of samples and treats us with some flawless ghetto boogie jams. The EP even comes with a scratchapella cut - so DJs don't forget to pick up your doubles...

Among a thousand projects, Para One is back on the dance floor with 'Club", a new album which was not meant to be one, but believe it or not: it's serious stuff! 'The 'Passion' album is the background for this, as I decided to reshape it for my live act, explains Para One. I've rebuilt the tracks entirely, making live versions for festivals and bigger clubs. Then I found myself with a totally different album. It's not a live album. The tracks have been modified and reinterpreted. It's my tribute to Soulwax's 'Night Versions". Subtlety was not really an option, it had to hit kind of hard. The tracks had to sound real in a club situation and people are now meant to dance to them! It's also a 'treasure hunt' kind of record with many references. It sounds like my DJ sets, when I mix many things and styles, old and new, because that's how a club should sound. It's a place where memories belong.' The pop, melancholic and highly danceable 'Passion", was meant to be listened to at home or on quiet dance floors, but 'Club' only retains the melodies and vocal hooks. It smells like sweat, joy and abandoned bodies. Packed with English acid house piano, huge beats, elegiac vocals, references to UK Garage, EDM filtered french touch and house, 'Club' dives into the heart of dance music. It's a 3.0 rave emblem, a daring record to make people dance without selling out.

For the second instalment from Quantum Entanglement we delve into the misty past, a time when moving parts ruled the dance, when the power of the night rested on a needle and a bassline, and before CDJs calculated the bpm for you...you had to touch things, buy things, and the bassline ruled over all. Acid Thunder, a classic by Fast Eddie, was the first dance record i ever bought. It was important. The guy who sold it to me, at the time a spotty school kid in his school uniform, was called John Stapleton, and the shop was Sidetrax in Bristol. Mentrix totally gets the kinda NY sluttiness of the original, and brings it right up to date....less of a cover, more of a homage, the entanglement of then and now. Need You is an entanglement of two very unlikely BFFs... John Lee Hooker and Joey Beltram. This isn't really a cover, it's more like the offspring of many things, times, and moments - it's like the grandchild of John Lee Hooker's track dated the nephew of Joey Beltram's track and lived in Neukölln. Again, Direct - 'Techno Gone Mad' on R&S was another of my earliest techno purchases - at the time it was considered 'Dutch Hardcore' but now, it's almost cute.... Quantum Entanglement....recycling other people's good ideas since January 2014

Phiorio's Animals release has been a labour of love. After co-running Metroline Limited for the past 6 years and after a series of digital releases and remixes for both Metroline and Retrometro (as well as Letroom Limited and MBF amongst others), Phiorio's vinyl debut on ML finally sees the light of day. The choice of remixers has also been laborious but over at Metroline HQ we are really happy that in the end we managed to secure two stunning reworks by the likes of the more and more in demand French producer Doubtingthomas (with releases on labels such as Hummingbird, Organic and of course, Metroline Limited) and the super-hot up and coming Russian producers Adjustment Bureau. The EP opening track Ninja Cat is a deep and quirky number. The groove is tight with heavy drums and crisp percussions. An acid b-line leads the way while atmospherics pop in and out until an off key synth appears and adds a level of spookiness to the proceedings. Doubtinthomas remix take things into even deeper territory. His landmark reduced drum programming is very noticeable here with shuffled up percussions, lush pads and a very heavy bass to guarantee maximum impact on the dancefloor. Superpupider is a no-nonsense straight up dark and dirty techno tool. It's all about the groove with this track, the drums lead the way with clever use of filtered hats and percussions. That said, Phiorio's ability with abstract sound is still in evidence with plenty of spooky voices, pads and noises firing off in all directions. Adjustment Bureau remix of Ninja Cat completes our tasty package. The Russian duo's (soon to release a stunning debut EP on Hypertone) approach is in line with modern trippy and experimental techno and has a distinctive 'Romanian' vibe. They used the original elements of the track and added extra percussive and vocal samples to create an epic, intricate and groovy paranoid funk number.

LDN003 sees yet another diverse selection of upfront Techno in the form of a four track VA. Featuring exclusive tracks by Token Records artist Inigo Kennedy from London, Berghain & Panorama Bar resident Oliver Deutschmann, Italian co-head of Children Of Tomorrow Antonio De Angelis and last but not least Mirrorpress a brand new dual-alias project from Londoners Chris Stanford and Andrew Wright.

Mastered by Matt Colton at Alchemy Studios. Vinyl only, sub label project. Supported by... Peter Van Hoesen, Rolando, Ø Phase, Rødhåd, Francois X, Samuli Kemppi, Jonas Kopp, Ben Sims, Jeroen Search, Answer Code Request, Psyk and many more...

The debut release on new label Constant State comes from UK duo Al Gobi.
The pair (Ian Blevins & Phil Moody) had a steamroller of a year in 2013 with releases on Disco Bloodbath, Rothmans, Culprit LA and Audio Parallax. 2014 looks set to continue this trend with Al Gobi material signed to Messalina, Keep It Zen and Flight Recorder, amongst others. When they manage to get time together in the studio their output continues to shine.
While the original mix of a Cup of Tea is dark and unsettled - beautifully balanced bass notes and piano cutting through heavy, storm-pregnant air, Cottam's remix is the distillation of a second wind. His tribal, twisted, acidic treatment of this 3am concrete bunker anthem never overwhelms the piano refrain, instead giving it a new life, like the ghost of a party suddenly bequeathed fresh purpose as tired legs find boundless energy.
Meanwhile, Pueblo Grande brings something different to the party. Something harder, more insistent... Submerged snares and synths like razor wire combine with a raw bassline that stomps eloquently from 1994 to present day without missing a beat - and possibly inventing a few on its way - to create something wonderfully unique and very, very special.

Fatima Al Qadiri is a multidisciplinary artist and musician from Kuwait. In just a few years, she has quickly built a reputation as a conceptual artist, exploring themes informed both by her own background and global pop culture, through a number of highly acclaimed EPs, multimedia projects and writings. She is also a founding member of the production team Future Brown. Fatima's debut album is called 'Asiatisch', and as the track titles suggest, the record provides a simulated road trip through an imagined China. Musically, the album is an homage to that quietly influential sub-strain of grime, often loosely termed 'sinogrime' due to its preoccupation with Asian motifs and melodies, pioneered by the likes of Wiley and Jammer at the beginning of the 2000s in East London. 'Asiatisch' is a provocation which asks more questions than it answers. The title is the German word for Asian. Unlike its title, however, the music on 'Asiatisch' revolves around the fantasies of East Asia as refracted through pulpy Western pop culture, in particular Hollywood, literary fiction, music, cartoons and advertising. Fatima asks what is meant by the term 'Asian' in a digital age of viral interchange and the hi-speed trading of cultural bytes; the concept of 'shanzhai' proves pivotal, a term whose meaning stems from a wild, out of control zone of banditry, but which has come to be used to refer to the Chinese counterfeiting of Western brands and goods. While a number of producers have made takes on 'sinogrime' over the last few years, 'Asiatisch' is really the first record that attempts to articulate this weird complex of sonic interchanges between the West and China. With the exception of the opening track, 'Shanzhai', a haunting cover of 'Nothing Compares to You' with nonsensical Mandarin lyrics, and the shimmering 'Loading Beijing', 'Wudang' and 'Jade Stairs' which sample and distort classical Chinese poetry staging an epic confrontation between China's ancient soul and the onslaught of the industrial factory machine, most of the tracks blend mallets, bells, gongs, flutes, steel drums and choral atmospherics with the searing synth-brass and the skittering drums of grime, playing melodies that are inflected as much by classic R&B as to synthetic versions of traditional Chinese music. On "Dragon Tattoo" for example, stereotypical iconography of imagined China is slotted into a threatening, robotic R&B format. The carefree pirating of Western brands blurs into a soft-synth pirating of Chinese musical signs.'Asiatisch' is wrapped in pristine artwork by Babak Radboy from Shanzhai Biennial, and the music was given a 3D sheen by in demand mixer Lexxx. Proclaiming both its love of both ancient and imagined China, 'Asiatisch' is a rare album that is both icily beautiful and conceptually layered.

Perc's second album 'The Power And The Glory' despite being released in mid-February has already been predicted to be one of the standout releases of 2014, receiving excellent reviews, DJ feedback and radio support. Now Perc Trax is proud to announce the remix EP for the album, featuring remixes by three UK artists who all make their Perc Trax debuts on this release. Each remixer was given free rein to manipulate the source material as they wished and the results speak for themselves, as Perc's original mixes are transformed into something new yet still retaining the innovative, forward looking attitude of 'The Power And The Glory'

First up is R&S artist and Poly Kicks label owner Tessela, who thanks to 'Hackney Parrot' and his new BBC Radio 1 residency has been making huge waves recently. Already previewed on his debut Radio 1 broadcast and in Perc's FACT Magazine mix, the Tessela remix of 'Take Your Body Off' is a heavily swung, bass heavy take on the track, still featuring the unforgettable screaming vocal of the original mix.

Next up Hemlock main man Untold, who himself been enjoying a great reaction to his own recent album provides an experimental take on the already out there 'Bleeding Colours'. Sounding like a lost cut from his album the track revolves around a foundation of ever morphing layers of bass.

Finally Scotland's Clouds get their hands on 'Dumpster' and focus more on groove than big room dynamics as they show off another side of their already impressive production talents with a deeper than expected remix to close off the EP...

Vocal driven electronica, pop sensibilities and a touch of melancholia is a tried and tested recipe of SILENCE MUSIC cuisine. A new release titled My Holy Senses is no exception. This creative venture joins together a renown Lithuanian multi-instrumentalist and composer Vygintas Kisevicius, an up-and-coming singer and songwriter Markas Palubenka and a versatile SILENCE producer Few Nolder. Original acoustic versions come under the name of Kurak, a project which Vygintas started a couple of years ago with a goal of bringing together some of the most talented young Lithuanian singers and songwriters for something new and exciting. And indeed they managed to produce some well worthy musical material generating quite a few waves of interest and success back home. Few Nolder picked out a couple of tracks from an ever-expanding Kurak's repertoire and threw them onto the sweaty dance floor. Included in the package are two DJ friendly adaptations from David Krasemann aka Dave DK and Vidis. My Holy Senses is a short modern day Love story about Acoustics giving an adoring kiss to Electronica in a dim light of a nightclub.
- Early support from Âme, Tim Paris, Alex Barck, Michael Rainboth, Hannes Fischer and many others

MF DOOM is the man in the iron mask. The most mysterious figure in hip-hop has also become one of the most popular, supplying beats and rhymes for Gorillaz, De La Soul, Madlib, Danger Mouse, and Wu-Tang Clan, and drawing praise from heavyweights like Just Blaze, Nas, and Mos Def. Since 2002, DOOM has released numerous volumes of Special Herbs, one of the longest-running instrumental series in hip-hop history. Now, volumes three and four of the acclaimed series are available on vinyl for the first time in years. With obscure loops and dusty samples galore, Special Herbs Vol. 3 & 4 is a must-have for any DOOM fan or hip-hop head. Also includes a limited-edition bonus 7', featuring two beats from DOOM's days as a member of 90s hip-hop trio KMD.

Like the parent label, Optimo Trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics.
Optimo Trax is an offshoot label of Optimo Music for tracks aimed at DJs/dancefloors. Yes, we know there are too many record labels already, but we felt an overriding desire to start another one as so much music that didn't seem quite right for Optimo Music (i.e. music that was specifically designed for dancing) kept coming our way. Like the parent label, Optimo Trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics.


Michele Mininni is from Southern Italy where he says people are not interested in his type of music so he was forced to reach out to Glasgow where it turns out some people most defintely are. Citing his influences as kraut, post rock, new wave and electronic amongst others, this is his debut release and most accomplished it is too. Lowering the tempo somewhat compared with previous OT releases, Tupolev Love is a sub 100bpm cosmic trancer while Telekomdisko raises the tempo and heads off into sun drenched space territory. The EP is completed by Michele's fellow countrymen, Boot & Tax's great acid-inflected remix of Tupolev Love.