Gerd returns to AUS with The Prophetess EP, a four tracker that showcases a producer capable of soundtracking peak-time moments anywhere and everywhere. The A side leans towards breaky drums and punchy melodies whilst the flip includes two acid bombs. If you're a fan of G's much loved NY Stomp & Geeeman monikers then this release should be no different
Lowrider soul heads for a south-of-the-border surf date on these two sizzling originals from Alba & the Mighty Lions. A perfect soundtrack for cruising with the bad girls in a drop-top or soothing a late night heartbreak, "La Verdad" and "Esperando" are your tough, no-nonsense friend with a heart of gold who always has your back. Soulful vocals paint a mood while the band's nimble arrangements follow every move. Alba Ponce de León is a multi-talented artist who cut her teeth in the swirling scene of Brooklyn's indie underground, backing up Daptone acts Charles Bradley & Naomi Shelton as well as playing a major role in the fearsome feminist freedom fighters, The Resistance Revival Chorus.
Children Of Tomorrow will celebrate soon its 10 years anniversary. The label was created by Emmanuel Ternois back in the day and being joined by Arnaud Le Texier in 2011. Since then they focused on Techno producing amazing artists, to name few: Terrence Dixon, Zadig, Tensal, Antigone, Oscar Mulero, Jonas Kopp, Samuli Kemppi etc... Children Of Tomorrow is now presenting the first album from Arnaud Le Texier. After almost 30 years Dj-ing around the world and almost 20 years producing. Signing many releases over the years and always busy delivering dance floor releases, it's been a long wait to finally get an album from ArnaudOn his first album we can feel that he wanted to tell a story and to express something deeper with his production experience. There is a different variety of Techno that stretches from ambient / broken beat / hypnotic / raw Techno along with subtles grooves, wondrous atmospheres & sonic textures. On A side the album opens with Dusk, an ambient atmospheric mid-tempo track with sonic sounds that is a perfect intro.Pattern 2 starts with drones and blip sounds and a broken beat groove follows with a pad that sounds like a voice coming from the space. The track ends with some modular click sounds that make the whole track clever. Followed by the album title Granular Therapy, a deep techno track with modular bass line and melancholic pad. A perfect track to play in after or to warm up a party.The B Side is more dedicated to the dance floor with Black Nympheas that is a proper dark modern techno with a grinding bass line and magic drones. A simple beat makes the track evolve in a nice way. Blade Pass frequency is 4/4 effective Techno with a 909 kick, a syncope acid bass line and a pad that sends you to another dimension. It is a powerful track but with a sense of deepness and sensibility that Arnaud can achieve sometimes. This side closes with Binary Sun Dawn which is an ambient track with melody that has a jazz feeling mixed with dark atmospheres, sonic drones and water drops. The C side opens with Mono Driver, a minimal track with a little synth that stays until the end repetitively until it makes you travel and lose your mind. Deep and dance floor at the same time.
Then Snapper is a more percussive track with some shinning bells and a grinding modular bass line.
The last track Virgo Consortium is a cosmic broken beat with dark atmospheric drone, simple bass and phasing efx. The D Side starts with Midi overdub which is a beauty. A mix between ambient and broken beat. The pad has the deepness that transports you somewhere else with an angel choir on top. The beat is spacial and groovy at the same time with smart high hats. This reminds Arnaud's past ambient production but with a modern approach. Surely a special track of the album.
Hideous Engine is more dance floor with metallic bass line and 4'4 beat going towards a sonic pad that closes the track.The last track Dawn is ambient with drones and blip sounds and an acid bass line modulate. A perfect end of the album.This album is an accomplished journey that makes you dance and travel from dusk till dawn. Arnaud Le Texier shows a coherent vision and illustrates his vast diversity in the techno world. Hopefully we won't have to wait 20 years to get another one.
Standards & Practices is proud to present the inaugural release on its new sister imprint, Double Standards, from NYC-based producer Jake Reif (Device Control). His third release working under this alias, Reif manages to amalgamate his dance music obsessions (EBM, bleep techno, Chicago house) in a totally unique way that feels fresh and idiosyncratic, avoiding simple genre exercises or nostalgia for the sake of it.
Lead track 'Spirit Module' is perhaps the finest summation of Reif's aesthetic yet: a mixture of bleepy, raw techno that, with its wild vocal samples and wide, 808-driven groove, comes across like a tougher, more modern take on the classic Sheffield/Richard H. Kirk/Robert Gordon sound. Label partner Ken Meier's first outing here as a remixer is a smashing success his version strips things down, keeping most elements of the original intact, but adds a driving, almost double-time metronomic machine rhythm that's aimed squarely at the dancefloor. On the flip, 'Tension' and 'Symmetry Obsession' row the boat further out, with their synapse-frying tones and jagged, randomized sequences reminiscent of Freddy Fresh at his best. All in all, a future classic destined to find favor with adventurous house and techno DJs alike.
Donor, the Brooklyn-based artist, known for his releases on Stroboscopic Artefacts, Semantica and Prosthetic Pressings, steps up on Sublunar with a brand new EP. The record consists of three original cuts plus a remix from the key figure in the legendary 'No Way Back' parties and 'The Bunker NY' resident Patrick Russell.
'Identity Revealed' is the first track of the EP, a half-stepping creature clanking and booming like steelworks surrounded by a claustrophobic noise that increases in intensity during its development.
Patrick Russell, with his interpretation of 'Identity Revealed', raises the temperature level pushing even further the noisy elements of the track and its thick atmosphere while the bassline takes an unpredictable route becoming something sparse and syncopated.
On the B-side 'Lesser Forms' merges booming kick drums with finely sculpted industrial drones, everything is perfectly lined up until the last microscopic sonic detail.
'Forgotten' closes the EP, a tortuous path carved into glitches and twists where every broken beat hits with brute force and moves onward with a curious poly-rhythmic gait.
The first in a series of all-time CLASSIC hip-hop anthems from the Nervous vaults, pressed onto high quality dinked 45's.
Remastered from the original source material and featuring the unedited 'dirty' version on the A-side, and the full instrumental on the B-side, these 45's are for the heads who know what time it really is! Black Moon's 'Who Got The Props' needs no introduction, it's place in hip-hop history is fully solidified. The combination of vintage Beatminerz SP1200 beats paired with the legendary MC's Buckshot and the 5 Ft. Accelerator's streetwise NYC raps is a heady mixture indeed. Often speaking of street life in New York in the 1990's, Black Moon gained cult status via their 1993 debut LP 'Enta Da Stage', one of the most celebrated hip-hop debut albums of all time. The Beatminerz production changed the game, their deep knowledge and understanding of samples, records and digging in the crates gave their sound a real style and edge. 'Who Got Da Props' is the perfect example of this, one of those timeless rap records that appeals to the hardcore and can ignite the party. Truly essential. Every home should have one (or 2!).
Fully legit, licensed and reissued by Above Board distribution in conjunction with Nervous Records, NYC. 2018.
The 3 release. 3 artists. 3 solid tracks.
Rex Hansson has made a solid original version. You clearly hear his skills as a past percussionist. The beats together with Skånska vocals, Low key Rhodes and some 303 knob twiddling make this track special and great.
Emil Nyman. This mix is something. It's tossing and turning from a metallic sound to the softest wood. From the deepest parts of the ocean we follow the pads and organ up in the sky.
The b side is dedicated Clark Eng. A minimal offbeat version with low toms and rattling high sticks, claps and snares. The track is moving like a Newcomen engine. The minor changes all the time makes it to a hypnotic minimal house track.
Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.
One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Land Of Hits was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. Mistafide's colossal old-school rap behemoth 'Equidity Funk' has long been a record that makes the serious collectors salivate and is now here in full 12" form repress, too legit to quit.
Not much is known about the crew behind 'Mistafide', their government names are listed online but this is the only record they put out using this name. Suffice to say, this has no impact on the fury and style with which the MC's deliver their raps, backed with the studio nous of impresario Peter Brown. Across 12 minutes 'Equdity Funk' is a slamming Disco-rap monster, interpolating elements of the evergreen B-boy jam 'Theme From SWAT' it sounds like everyone just got into the studio and went for it. In the style of the times this is the real hip-hop flavour, a live band, some MC's and some death defying bars being dropped, proper old school. A truly rare recording, 'Equidity Funk' has been one of those records fans of the Disco-rap era have been fiending for for decades - often commanding prices over the $1000 mark you can now grab this slice of essential NYC street Funk.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.
Bergsonist is the moniker of Moroccon born and NYC based Selwa Abd. 'Solyaris' follows the self-released '' and a prolific slew of releases for labels such as Styles upon Styles, Borft, and Angoisse amongst others. For Selwa her uncompromising & otherworldly, hypno technoid creations aim to capture a given moment in time, contextualising her often direct, hugely affective, & unpolished approach to production.
Selwa describes 'Solyaris' as 'an ode to the present broken education system that allowed me to sustain my dreams in NewYork', explaining, 'As an immigrant from Morrocco, I felt always fearful of the future, pressured to succeed at school. The only way I was able to channel all that anxiety was through music'.
There's a undeniable physicality to Bergsonist's work, and the idea of expunging anxiousness into her music is felt from the oft as 'Solyaris' strides into vision with it's quickening roaring pulse and scrambled explorative electronic probes. This sense of anxiety eases as layers of rhythm build - heads begin to turn down and lush minimalist swathes eventually envelope bodies in calm unity, Anxiety diverted.
'Conflict in Yeman' opens with a gambit of off-kilter percussive experiments & electronics, conveying a sense of determined urgency. Things grow more & more intricate & immediate as we progress - layers of disruption weave around a reoccurring 140BPM shuffle, anchoring Selwa's constant explorative concrete diversions.
'Former Alien who has been naturalized by a U.S Citizen' brings things down a notch - skittering drums linger below a truly haunting whispered melody, occasionally broken down by collapsed rewinds and thunderously raw in the red beat grit - to dizzying effect. Whereas previously 'Solyaris' had taken its cues from Drexciyan Detroit Electro 'Former Alien...' stands closer to a Fantastic Damage era EL-P instrumental rather than anything aimed at the floor.
The EP rolls out with 'Fidel Gastro', a structured & focused piece of Machine Funk & end of days drop cues, conjuring an effective mix of both euphoria & imminent dread.
Bergsonist cuts a unique figure for electronic music in 2018 as someone explicitly exploring the relationship between head & body music. Although undeniably more than oft aimed at the dancefloor, Selwa's work also holds an equal respect and understanding of the head & heart. From her politically loaded Track titles, to her ideologically aligned guise of 'Bergsonist', to most significantly - her music's ability to elicit a spectrum of finely tuned emotional responses within the confines of each track
For this EP, Jófríður Ákadóttir has re-recorded some of the finest songs from her bands and solo-projects (JFDR, Samaris, Pascal Pinon) with new string arrangements. These versions have a simple, inherent beauty that is juxtaposed with their seething, stark intensity.
To replace the original arrangements with strings was originally planned as a one-off event: When preparing a Pascal Pinon performance in Portugal, Jófríður asked NYC-based composer Ian Davis to help her re-arrange four tracks. After the show Jófríður realized that the material deserved to be captured.
The featured songs were chosen from the repertoire of JFDR (her solo project) and Pascal Pinon (the duo she forms with her sister Ásthildur). There were no objective selection criteria: - I chose the songs that called for strings, songs that I was interested in continuing their story', Jófríður says. - Making this EP was meant to cast new light onto old bodies, to explore what is song and what is arrangement'. Indeed, the arrangements establish a fresh perspective on the selected songs (except for - My Work' - as the track will appear on a forthcoming JFDR album). Being freed from genre, these versions also expose JFDR's voice and its dynamics— the absence of beats gives her vocal performance new possibilities.
The EP was recorded live in a studio in Reykjavík, where Jófríður was joined by producer Albert Finnbogason, her sister Ásthildur (additional vocals and piano) and a string quintet. Ian Davis also made it to the recording sessions and brought two new transcriptions: - I wanted to have moments of clear simplicity juxtaposed with more dense, experimental passages. Sometimes the strings are just holding root notes and simple chords and other times they open up into more contrapuntal and textural moments', Ian explains. As a result, you'll find both moments of modest beauty as well as intensely seething passages. Even if Jófríður's voice clearly is the main attraction here, this EP - as she emphazises herself - is a collective work of those involved: - Trusting your collaborators is the truest gift'.
The wonderfully monikered Golden Flamingo was one of many labels operating alongside the now legendary P&P Records imprint in late 70's to early 80's NYC. Fans of deep Disco, raw gritty Soul and rare as hen's teeth Electro and early Rap know of the cult status of it's brief but influential output and in recent years the P&P label and it's associated entities have enjoyed further popularity through the exposure of it's music by some of the world's most respected DJ's and selectors, and rightfully so. An amazingly lo-fi, endearing and overtly underground aesthetic runs through all of the labels, from the label artwork down to the music itself. This style is evident on Margo Williams' epic 'God Save And Protect All The Children', a colossally rare 12" from back in 1980.
A huge, drifting soulful Gospel number, 'God Save...' has been an oft overlooked gem in the wider P&P related catalogue. Not much info is known about Williams other than she contributed backing vocals to some classic Disco records including Inner Life's 'Inner Life II' and The Salsoul Orchestra's christmas LP as well as appearing on other P&P projects. The production on this record was handled by the absolute powerhouse duo of Peter Brown and Patrick Adams so it oozes that amazing quality that these 2 legendary studio figures brought to all of their projects - the trademark P&P sound. It's all here in this beautiful stirring plea to the lord to look after all of us set to some incredible arrangement and production. It's obvious these self-made music industry legends were at the top of their game back then and one only has to explore the rich and diverse catalogue of amazing music they've given us over the decades. Absolutely essential repress action here.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, lovingly remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK. Housed in original 1980 release full sleeve artwork.
Harlem's legendary Disco label Queen Constance has long been a cult favourite among fans of underground dance music for decades.
One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Queen Constance was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across the globe. High Fidelity will be the first in a series of Queen Constance rarities to be reissued, an extremely rare and coveted record that can change hands on the second hand market for big big money, avoid those low rent bootlegs that are out there and cop this fully licensed repress.
The group's self-titled sole long-player is a fantastic 6 track set of gritty, soulful and uplifting funky Disco with a DIY edge. Not too much is known about the artists themselves, or even when the record was performed, recorded or released but it certainly sounds like a group who knew their craft inside out. The energy is high across the record and the group sound like they're on fire, just check the outrageously funkified 'Magic Carpet' and you'll see what we mean. Amazing. The whole project has that enchanting lo-fi, back-street feel to it in terms of production and the mind boggles as to how such a record would have come off had it been recorded at a Motown or any other 'big' studio, but no matter as this release is perfect the way it is, an essential piece of street-level NYC Disco straight from the underground.
This is a 100% legit reissue, made in conjunction with Above Board distribution and the Demon Music group, lovingly remastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.
The Caribbean House Is A New Billy Bogus Project. It's The Perfect Meld Of Creepy Atmospheres, Sunset Grooves, Analog Sensibilities And Incessant Rhythms. Bogus Leads This Collective Formed By Federico Bologna (ohmega Tribe, Technogod) And Cristiano Santini (disciplinatha, Dish-is-nein,). This Triumvirate Of 90's Underground Italian Masterminds Come From The World Of Electronica, Noise Rock And Psychedelia. Here They All Combine To Rise Again Rise And Unite To Create Something Entirely New.
And So To The Music. Their Debut Lp Opens Up With The Dark And Haunting "night Drive". Recent Single "gong Bong" Is Next. It Is One Part Slo-mo Disco, One Part Psychedelic Moondance And One Part Sci-fi Horror Movie. If The First Two Thirds Of The Track Is A Caterpillar Then The Last Third Is A Butterfly As Uplifting Riffs And Swirls Of Layered Keys Bring Things To A Crescendo. "lonely Man" Is A Quirky Detuned Monster Tour-de-force Which Leads Nicely Into "love By Proxy". Layered Keys And Intertwined Arpeggios Mingle To Create The Closest Thing To A Love Song Possible From This Trio.
Flip The Vinyl Over For A Hippy Drive With "jesus Freaks" And Its Groovy Guitar Licks And White Noise Synth Blasts. "nature Nature" Is All About The Pulsing Bass Guitar And Sample Like Guitar Stabs Before Heading Completely Off-piste For A Synth-bass Ending. "africa Addio" Presents Us With Meandering Synth Lines Before Layering On A Waft Of Sound Effects And Spooky Keys. Movie Territory. We Close Off The Lp With The "streets Like Noodles". New Wave Nyc Chic Meets Underground Italy Psych.
Steve Cobby and Laurie Welton are both from Hull in the north of England. Cobby is one of the members of the pioneering electronic outfit Fila Brazillia while Welton is the man behind the Myth! project, whose "False Profits" EP was released last year on Posthuman's Balkan Recordings label. In fact, Cobby has known Welton's aunt for 20 years and Laurie has been a fan of Fila Brazillia since the early '90s. So when Laurie was asked by Steve to collaborate with him, he jumped at the chance.
The fruits of their collaboration are the three tracks on the "Absolute" EP. This release is truly an international affair; the label, Adam Warped's Whiskey Pickle imprint, is based in Austin, Texas, the artists are from the UK, while a remix of "Absolute" comes courtesy of New Yorkers Whatever/Whatever, a duo staffed by Bryan Mette and legendary NY DJ, producer and remixer Justin Strauss.
Michael Beharie (new York) And Teddy Rankin-parker (chicago) First Met More Than 10 Years Ago While Attending Oberlin College. Since Graduating, Beharie And Rankin-parker Each Veered Into Markedly Different Avenues. In Addition To A Consistent Output Of Solo Releases On Nyc-label Astro Nautico, Beharie Also Recently Joined Up With The Ever-confounding New York Ensemble Zs (northern Spy, The Social Registry, Troubleman Unlimited), Recently Performed On Albums By Laurel Halo, Greg Fox & Colin Self, And Is A Regular Composer For Dance And Film. Rankin-parker Became An In-demand Cellist For His Prowess In The Work Of Improvisation, Avant-garde Music, And The More Exploratory Realms Of Indie Pop, Lending His Talents To A Wide Array Of Bands And Collaborators, Such As Primus, Iron & Wine, Steve Reich, Pauline Oliveros, Glen Hansard, Father John Misty, International Contemporary Ensemble (ice), Chicago Sinfonietta, And Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble.
The Album From 1978 Gets A Limited Repress! Recorded And Mixed At Harry J Recording Studio With Sylvan Morris At The Controls. The Trio Of Culture Met The Producer Team Of Jaime Hatcher And Seymour Cummings And The Backing Band High Lites Sons Of Jah To Perform And Record Songs For The Short Lived New Jersey, Usa Label April Records.
C R E D I T S
Bass: Clynton Rowe
Drums: Glen Washington
Guitar: Merrick Dyer
Keyboards: Phillip Williams
Percussion: Bernard Shaw, George Subratie
Lead Vocals: Joseph Hill
Vocals: Albert Walker, Kenneth Dayes
Backing Band: High Lites Sons Of Jah
Engineer: Sylvan Morris
Recorded And Mixed At Harry J Recording Studio.
Produced By Jaime Hatcher And Seymour Cummings
"Things take a psychedelic turn for SchleiBen 7 with a welcome to the label of arch exponents of mind expansion in NYC's Georgia and the unlikely but no less diverse inclusion of Balearic stalwarts A Man Called Adam. Having Georgia in the series might not now be a surprise, however discussions with this open, genuine duo started during a visit to New York over 3 years ago and so here, finally realised in this fluid journey of confident pace and harmony, is the best of their freeform evocations. A duo in the everyday sense, Brian Close and Justin Tripp are video / music production teamsters of unnatural talent. Having gained a status of their own that has seen them release for the likes of Palto Flats and FTD, the five pieces that form their contribution drip with psychedelic intent. Culled from archives, the interest is how the tracks - made over different years, locations and situations in life - meld in to something poetic simply by being placed within a specific format. Avant-chimes ebb to rhythmic pulses and erudite teachings before dark percussion and Eastern melodies reach a clattering, but gentle finale. With an upcoming collaborative album with Secret Circuit due on the label later in 2018, as well as recent works with RVNG Intl's Matt Werth and recordings for Sacred Summits' brethren Firecracker Recordings, it's a warm, effusive glow of a welcome. In contrast, the inclusion of A Man Called Adam in the series may indeed surprise but is a false comprehension. The "Sketches" included here show AMCA away from their Balearic pop incarnation of the last thirty years and towards the academia that both members Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones have pursued in the last decade. With both completing PHDs, Sally ('The Diachronic Impact of Technology-Led Abstraction in Oral, Written and Music-based Poetries') is a senior lecturer at Leeds College Of Music, while Steve ('Mobilise: The Carry Principle, Sound and Mobile Media') is based out of de Montfort University, now is the perfect time to highlight the diverse sound environments they have been working in. The music that makes up these recordings are drawn from sound works and audio experiments completed in recent years. From sound toys and apps to home made glass organs and electro-acoustic sound, custom patches to spoken word manipulations, the sketches are excerpts - some evolved from commissions for the National Science Museum, BBC Radio 4 and live performances with the world renowned video artist Milosh JL - fused especially for this release. Bringing these generated pieces in to an audible "mix" creates a discourse of their work in performance, interactions and visual media. An intellectualised album therefore, but still in the premise of the series to allow artists to present something new, unique, discrete, hidden even, all with the aim of giving the recipient the chance to sit back and (un)listen. "
